Chapter 25 - Professor Got Some Softness

Dennis shook his head, trying to clear the fog of confusion.

At the back of the lecture hall, Elena’s blue eyes narrowed.

She’d been half-listening to the professor drone on about Wordsworth’s use of nature imagery when Dennis’s outburst made her attention snap forward.

And there he was.

Raven.

Sitting in his seat like nothing had happened.

But she’d ’seen’ him disappear. Watched that chair sit empty for a solid two minutes while Dennis looked around like a lost puppy.

’He wasn’t there,’ Elena thought, her fingers tightening around her pen. ’And now he is.’

Her gaze swept across the other students in the classroom.

None of them seemed to notice anything strange. They were either taking notes, scrolling through their phones under their desks, or fighting to stay awake.

Only her. Only Dennis.

They were the only ones who’d registered the absence—and the impossible return.

’What the hell is he?’

Before Elena could process that thought further, the classroom door swung open with a loud ’creak’.

Every head turned.

Professor Marla stood in the doorway, her chest rising and falling with slightly labored breathing, like she’d speed-walked from somewhere in a hurry.

Her blonde hair was bouncing against her shoulders, still swaying from the momentum of her movement. Those yellow eyes—sharp, calculating—scanned the room with predatory focus.

"Excuse the interruption," Marla said, her voice tight and controlled. "Is there a student named Raven in this class?"

Professor Karev looked up from his lecture notes, eyebrows raised. "Raven? Yes, I believe—"

But he didn’t get to finish.

Because Marla’s gaze had already locked onto the back corner of the room.

Dark hair. Sharp jawline. Those eyes.

Her entire body ’trembled’.

Not from fear. From something else. Something visceral and confusing that made her stomach clench and her thighs press together involuntarily.

She recognized him immediately.

The same face. The same voice that had whispered in her ear just minutes ago.

"There," Marla said, her voice coming out shakier than she intended. She pointed directly at Raven. "That one."

Professor Karev followed her finger, then glanced at Raven. "Lustre? What’s this about?"

Marla cleared her throat, forcing her expression back into something resembling professional composure. "I’ve been assigned as one of the committee members for the spring festival organization. We’re looking for student candidates to help with vendor coordination and promotional activities."

She paused, her yellow eyes never leaving Raven’s face.

"I’d like to speak with him. Now. If that’s acceptable."

Professor Karev shrugged, clearly not invested enough to argue. "Fine by me. Lustre, go with Professor Thornwood. Don’t take too long."

Raven stood slowly, gathering his notebook with deliberate, unhurried movements.

His expression was calm. Empty. Like he didn’t have a single thought in his head.

But as he passed Elena’s desk on his way to the aisle, he turned his head slightly and gave her the smallest hint of a smile.

Not friendly. Not warm.

Just... ’knowing’.

Elena’s breath caught in her throat.

Her mind flashed back to the conversation they’d had earlier—her excuse about teachers needing to assign festival roles, her polite rejection of his offer.

’No.’

The realization hit her like cold water.

’He just got around it.’

Her lips parted slightly, the word escaping before she could stop it:

"No."

But it was too quiet. Too late.

Raven was already walking down the steps toward the classroom door, his hands in his pockets like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Elena’s eyes followed him, her mind racing.

’That man is going to cause trouble.’

That was the whole reason she’d turned him down in the first place. Not because she didn’t think the idea had merit—but because her ’fiancé’ would lose his shit if he found out she was working closely with another man.

Victor Dalton, the mayor’s son, was possessive to the point of obsession. Controlling. Paranoid.

If he caught wind of Raven being anywhere near her...

’This is bad,’ Elena thought, her fingers curling into fists on her desk. ’This is really bad.’

She watched as Raven reached the door, his tall frame disappearing into the hallway with Professor Marla right behind him.

The door clicked shut.

And Elena was left staring at that closed door, a sinking feeling settling in her gut.

’

The hallway was empty.

Classes were in session, leaving nothing but fluorescent hum and the faint echo of muffled lectures bleeding through closed doors.

Marla walked three steps ahead of Raven, her heels clicking sharply against the linoleum. Her posture was rigid, shoulders squared like she was preparing for battle.

She wanted to speak. ’Needed’ to speak.

But every time she opened her mouth, the words died in her throat.

Because she didn’t have proof.

She’d gone to the security office immediately after that... ’incident’. Pulled up the CCTV footage from the hallway outside the bulletin board.

Blind spot.

The camera angle didn’t cover that section. Just her standing there alone, talking to empty air.

No hands grabbing her. No body pressed against hers. Nothing.

But her body ’knew’.

Her breasts were still tingling, nipples hard and sensitive against the fabric of her bra. Her panties were ’wet’—not just damp, but soaked through, clinging to her pussy lips in a way that made every step feel obscene.

And that voice.

That goddamn ’voice’ whispering in her ear.

’"How exciting would it be... when I fuck you?"’

Marla’s jaw clenched so hard her teeth ached.

She’d found his name through student records. Cross-referenced the time of their conversation with class schedules. Tracked him down to this exact lecture hall.

And there he was. Sitting in his seat like nothing had happened.

Like he hadn’t just violated her in the middle of a public hallway.

’He was there,’ Marla thought furiously. ’I know he was there.’

But without proof, all she could do was drag him out here and—

And what?

Accuse him? With no evidence?

Her hands curled into fists at her sides, nails digging into her palms.

She was so lost in her spiraling thoughts that she didn’t notice Raven had closed the distance between them.

Didn’t notice his hand reaching out.

Not until his fingers ’grabbed’ her ass—sinking deep into the thick, soft flesh, his fingers digging into the crack between her cheeks through the fabric of her skirt.

"Ah—!"

Marla’s entire body jolted forward, a sharp wince twisting her features as she stumbled and whipped around.

Her yellow eyes blazed with fury.

"So it was you!" she snarled, her voice echoing down the empty hallway.

Raven just stood there, hands back in his pockets, and shrugged.

"It’s your fault to begin with," he said calmly. "You should have just given me the permission."

Marla’s mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air, shock and rage warring across her face.

"’My fault?!’" Her voice climbed an octave, trembling with disbelief. "First of all, I don’t have the ’authority’ to give you that permission! Second—HOW DARE YOU MOLEST ME?!"

She took a step toward him, her entire body shaking now—not from fear, but from pure, unfiltered ’rage’.

"I’m going to make sure you end up in prison," she hissed, jabbing a finger toward his chest. "Sexual assault. Harassment. I’ll file a report the ’second’ we’re done here. You’re ’finished’."

Raven tilted his head slightly, his expression still maddeningly blank.

Then he smiled.

Small. Cold.

"Who would believe you?"

Marla froze.

The words hit her like a slap to the face.

"What... what did you just say?"