Chapter 35 Rumors and Shadows #3
Before I could process what was happening, he flipped me onto my back, pinning me to the cushions. His shadows wound around my wrists like silk restraints, pulling my arms up over my head with unyielding pressure.
His hand gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his burning gaze. “Focus, Tealeaf. I want to watch you take me.”
The shadows slithered down my body, spreading my thighs wide as he freed himself. He positioned himself at my entrance, the blunt pressure making me gasp, and then he thrust so deep I felt him everywhere. My back arched off the couch as he groaned.
“Fuck, you feel perfect,” he growled. He hooked my legs over his shoulders, changing the angle, and the next thrust punched the air from my lungs. The shadows coiled loose around my throat—a constant reminder of his control as he drove into me with relentless precision.
His rhythm was merciless, the couch creaking beneath us, and his shadows found my clit again, moving in feather-light circles that contrasted with the brutal depth of his thrusts.
He suddenly pulled out, dragged me off the couch with a possessive growl, and bent me over the armrest. His hand pressed between my shoulder blades, pinning me down, holding me in place.
“Stay,” he commanded.
Then he slammed back inside me from behind, his movements raw and primal, hitting deeper in a way that made me sob his name.
His fingers tangled in my hair, gripping tight, using the leverage to pull me back onto him with every brutal thrust. The shadows bit into my hips, my thighs, anchoring me in place as he took me apart piece by piece.
“That’s it, Tealeaf,” he rasped, his breathing harsh and uneven. “Let me hear you.”
Broken, incoherent pleas spilled from my lips as he pounded into me without mercy. When I came this time, it ripped through me so intensely I couldn’t even scream, my body seizing around him as pleasure whited out everything else.
He followed a heartbeat later with a guttural groan, his shadows flaring wide before collapsing back into him. He held me there, both of us trembling and gasping, his forehead pressed against my spine.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he breathed.
“I think I do,” I whispered, giving him a lazy grin. “And I’ll do it over and over again anyway.”
He huffed out a laugh, carefully lifting me into his arms. We collapsed onto the couch in a tangle of limbs, his fingers tracing idle patterns on my skin.
“You’re going to be the death of me, Tealeaf,” he murmured against my hair.
“Good thing you’re the God of the Dead,” I managed, my voice wrecked.
He chuckled, pressing his lips to mine again.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
Students whispered. Someone swore they’d seen me leaving his office late. Someone else claimed we’d been caught kissing in the back hallway. True or not, the gossip circulated.
The next time I was called to an office, it was the Dean’s.
Dean Carroway’s office was too quiet. It felt less like a meeting and more like a courtroom where the verdict had already been decided.
Kian sat across from the Dean in one of the leather chairs.
He looked infuriatingly calm, leaning back in his chair, ankle crossed over his knee, fingers steepled against his mouth.
My pulse raced. Kian’s eyes flicked up at me as I entered, and in that one look I knew what he was telling me: Stay calm. We’ve got this.
I swallowed hard and sat down beside him, trying not to look like a deer caught in headlights.
Dean Carroway adjusted his glasses, his expression stern. “Ms. Blumenthal. Professor Ward. I’ve called you both here because certain rumors have come to my attention.”
My stomach sank through the floor.
“They concern,” the Dean continued, “the nature of your relationship.”
I felt Kian’s gaze brush me, calm as ever. Meanwhile, I was screaming internally.
“Ms. Blumenthal,” Dean Carroway pressed, leaning forward, “is there anything you’d like to say about these allegations?”
Panic hijacked my vocal cords. The words came out before I could stop them.
“I have never seen this man in my entire life!”
The words hung in the air. The silence that followed was horrible.
Dean Carroway’s head tilted, confused. “He is your professor. You have been in his class for almost an entire semester.”
Oh gods.
My face burned hotter than the surface of the sun.
“I mean—” I scrambled. “I have never seen this man naked in my entire life.”
Kian’s sharp inhale beside me was the only warning before his shoulders shook once, twice. He was laughing, or trying very hard not to. His hand came up to cover his mouth, but I could see his eyes crinkling.
Dean Carroway pinched the bridge of his nose like he regretted every decision that had led him to this moment. “Ms. Blumenthal. Please.”
I wanted to die right there.
Before I could dig myself any deeper, Kian’s voice broke through, smooth as silk and perfectly composed.
“Dean Carroway, with all due respect, I assure you these rumors are completely unsubstantiated.” His tone was professional, carrying just the right amount of indignation. “I would never engage in such inappropriate behavior with a student. My professional ethics are beyond reproach.”
He said it so convincingly, I almost believed him myself.
Then, with the subtlest edge, he added, “And I’d thank you not to make Ms. Blumenthal uncomfortable by entertaining such baseless gossip. She’s an excellent student who doesn’t deserve to have her academic reputation called into question.”
The Dean blinked, caught off guard. He cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses. “Yes, well. I see your point, Professor Ward. Perhaps I was too hasty in giving credence to—” He waved a hand. “In any case, I trust I will not hear of this matter again.”
“Of course not,” Kian said, standing. “Thank you for your time, Dean Carroway.”
I scrambled after him, nearly tripping in my haste to escape.
The door shut behind us, and we walked down the hallway in tense silence.
He didn’t look at me, his expression neutral.
We reached the stairwell at the end of the hall.
The instant the door clicked shut behind us, Kian’s composure shattered.
He backed me against the concrete wall and burst out laughing. “That was the most spectacular disaster I have ever witnessed.”
I groaned, covering my face. “Don’t—”
“‘I have never seen this man in my entire life’?” He chortled, his forehead dropping to my shoulder.
“I panicked!”
“And then—” He pulled back, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Gods, Melanie—naked?”
“Shut up!” My voice muffled behind my palms. His fingers wrapped around my wrists, pulling my hands away from my face.
“For the record,” he purred, his voice dropping to that low, dangerous register that made my knees weak, “I rather enjoy that you have seen me naked.”
“Kian—” My breath hitched as his hand slid to my hip.
“In fact,” he continued, leaning closer until his lips brushed my ear, “I plan to give you many more opportunities to do so. You were so flustered in there,” his mouth trailed along my throat. “It was adorable.”
I shoved at his chest. “Don’t tell anyone, I’ll never live it down!”
His grin turned absolutely wicked. “Tealeaf, I’m telling everyone—”
“I will end you.”
“Promises, promises.” He caught my chin, tilting my face up. “Though I have to say, the idea of you ending me has a certain appeal. Especially if it involves you riding me until—”
“You’re incorrigible,” I huffed. His thumb brushed over my lower lip.
“And you love it.” He kissed me deeply, his hand sliding into my hair. I melted into the kiss, feeling the tension leave my body. When he pulled back, his eyes were dark. “Come home with me. Let me show you exactly how much I enjoyed watching you squirm in that chair.”
My cheeks burned. “What about being careful?”
“We’ll be careful,” he murmured against my lips. “After I’ve heard you scream my name at least twice.”
I pulled back just enough to look at him. “That’s the opposite of careful.”
He grinned, unapologetic. “Exactly.”