Episode 3: “Crossing the Line”

Episode 3: “Crossing the Line”

It had been four days since Jiva had left his office, leaving a trail of tension in her wake, and Professor Alex Hartley hadn’t been able to focus properly since.

He saw her every class—front row, as always, eyes sharp, lips curled in a half-smile that suggested she knew exactly what she was doing to him. She didn’t touch him, didn’t say anything out of line, but it was there. Every glance was a flirtation. Every question she asked in front of the class was laced with subtext.

Alex kept his composure. Or, at least, tried to. But that spark, that damn fire she had lit inside him—it hadn’t gone out. It smoldered quietly in the pit of his stomach, waiting for the right moment to burst into flame.

And today, it did.

It was Friday, late evening. The campus was nearly deserted, a gentle breeze rustling through the trees as dusk began to settle. Alex stayed late in his office, half to finish grading, half because he wasn’t ready to go home to the silence.

The knock came again—light, almost hesitant.

He knew it was her before he even turned.

“Come in,” he said, voice low.

Jiva stepped inside, dressed in a black oversized sweatshirt that slipped off one shoulder, revealing bare skin and the delicate strap of a bra. Her long hair was damp, as if she’d just showered. No makeup this time. Just her—fresh, young, impossibly tempting.

“I didn’t think you’d still be here,” she said.

“You knew I would be.”

She smiled at the honesty. “I wanted to see you.”

“Jiva…” He stood up, his chair scraping lightly against the floor. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Then tell me to leave,” she challenged, stepping closer. “Tell me to walk away, and I will.”

He stared at her. God, she was beautiful. Not just in the surface-level way—though her lips, her curves, her skin made it nearly impossible not to reach for her—but in the way she looked at him, like he wasn’t just a man, but her man.

He couldn’t do it anymore.

He couldn’t pretend he didn’t want her.

Alex moved fast—one step forward, closing the space between them—and then his hand was in her hair, pulling her head gently back as his lips crashed against hers.

Jiva gasped, the sound swallowed by his mouth as he kissed her deeply, hungrily, like he’d been starving and she was the only thing that could satisfy him.

Her hands went to his chest, fingers twisting in the fabric of his shirt, and he backed her up against the door, pressing his body against hers. She moaned into the kiss, and that sound—that sweet, aching sound—lit him on fire.

“You don’t know what you’re doing to me,” he growled against her throat, kissing down her neck, his lips brushing the delicate skin there.

“Yes, I do,” she whispered. “I’ve wanted this since the first moment I saw you.”

Alex gripped her thighs and lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively. He carried her to his desk, setting her down gently but urgently, his mouth never leaving hers.

“Do you know how dangerous this is?” he murmured, running his hands under her sweatshirt, feeling the bare skin of her waist, the curve of her back.

“I don’t care,” she breathed. “I want it. I want you.”

He hesitated only a moment longer—one final flicker of restraint—before tugging the sweatshirt up and over her head. She wore nothing underneath but that thin black bra, and it barely contained her.

“God, Jiva,” he whispered, his fingers tracing the edge of her bra, his mouth following right behind. “You’re so damn perfect.”

She arched into him, hands slipping down to his belt, fumbling with it. “Please, Alex…”

Hearing his name on her lips like that—soft, needy—broke whatever thread of control he had left.

He grabbed her hands, held them to his chest, and looked into her eyes. “If we do this, everything changes.”

Jiva nodded. “Let it change.”

He kissed her again, slower this time, savoring every second. Then he leaned her back on the desk, moving with purpose now. His hands slid beneath her skirt, fingers teasing at the edges of her underwear, feeling the heat and wetness that had already soaked through.

“You’re ready for me,” he murmured.

“I’ve been ready,” she whispered. “For so long.”

And when he finally slid her panties down and spread her thighs, he knew there was no going back.

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