Jules left after issuing the challenge. He stepped into the hallway without looking back, because Connor hadn’t looked back at Veil and Jules understood now that the exit was part of the conversation. It was part of the game between them.
The corridor was empty now. Even the other professors must have called it a day. He was thankful no one would be there to see how disheveled he was. The aftermath of Connor Thorne was brutal.
Jules made it to the stairwell before he stopped. Leaning against the railing, he pressed both hands over his face and breathed deep.
His hands were shaking. The adrenaline rush, the teasing, the comedown. All of it had torn through him so quickly. Not being affected was impossible.
Thinking of Connor staring at his number made things even more dramatic. With the ball in his court, Jules had to wait for his professor to reach out.
Jules knew he would. Not because Connor wanted to.
Because Connor couldn’t resist the pull.
Jules straightened up, running a hand through his hair. As he started down the stairs, he felt like a brand-new person. Like he’d been taken apart and reassembled slightly differently.
His phone buzzed. For a second he wondered if Connor had already succumbed to need. The professor hadn’t come when Jules did. His cock had been hard. Jules knew as much from howit rubbed against his thighs. But there’d been no outward signs to show the other man had found relief.
He checked his cell. It was Davis.
Roomie:You forgot to get milk.
Jules laughed. It came out louder than he’d intended and bounced off the stairwell walls.
Jules:On it. Be home soon.
He pocketed the phone and walked out into the late afternoon grinning. While he didn’t get everything he’d come for, there’d been some progress.
Professor Connor Thorne would be his soon. It was only a matter of time.
CHAPTER 4
JULES
Jules was sprawledon the couch pretending to watch whatever movie Davis had picked, half-focused on the screen and fully consumed by the fact that two days had passed without a word from Connor. Two days of checking his phone like a man waiting on life-changing test results. He’d been telling himself he wasn’t anxious while exhibiting every possible sign of anxiety.
Davis had yet to call him out on it, though he’d forced Jules into a movie night under the guise ofhanging with his bro.His friend was the kind of person to let you marinate in your own stupidity until you were ready to talk.
He was forcing himself to focus for the umpteenth time when his phone buzzed against his thigh. It took tremendous effort for him to refrain from yanking the device out. While Davis was being chill, he would absolutely lose his shit if Jules did that.
The screen showed a text from an unknown number.
Unknown Number:714 Winlet Drive. Saturday. 8 PM.
Jules bit his lip as he stared at the screen. It was nearly midnight, which meant in a few minutes it would be Saturday. Which meant it was the day he’d see Connor again.
The address wasn’t really necessary, though his professor didn’t know that. Jules had long ago figured out where the otherman lived. Had even stalked him a time or two from a good distance. This was back before he’d started ramping up his plans to get Connor and him in the same place.
His message held no context. It didn’t even address Jules by name or admit that itwasactually Connor on the other end. There was really no need to. Not when there was no one else who could possibly be messaging him.
Jules:I’ll be there.
Taking an extra moment of Davis being distracted by the movie, Jules labeled the man’s number in his phone. He’d been about to put the device away when another message appeared.
My Dream Man:My terms. Non-negotiable. You do as I say, or you leave.
Jules’s entire body went hot. He read the message twice, letting each word settle into his bloodstream.My terms. You do as I say.This wasn’t an invitation. It was a contract. One where Connor had outlined every clause and Jules was being asked to sign with nothing but trust.
The rational part of his brain told him to negotiate. It suggested asking questions and clarifying boundaries.
