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“I was wondering if there was any way I could get some…private tutoring?”

He coughs and sits back in his chair. “I rarely tutor students at your level.”

My face drops, my eyes hood to the floor. “Oh. It’s just…I really want to major in psychology, and I hear you’re the smartest professor on campus.”

His lips hint at a smile at my attempts at stroking his ego. “What are you struggling with?”

Pride apparently, too.

I can’t look up at him, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor instead. “All of it. The subject material is so fascinating, but complex, and I’m having a hard time with it.”

He takes out a piece of paper and pencil, scribbling something. “Here’s an idea. I can write you a list of tutors, along with the names of the class TAs who can help. Talia Vital’s a bright young lady, and she understands the concepts in this class better than most PhDs.”

Not young enough though, is she?

He scribbles some names on a piece of paper and slides it across his desk. “Is there anything else I can help you with, Rose?”

He motions to leave, and I panic. I’m losing his attention. I chew on my bottom lip and give him my best seductive look, even though I have no idea what that is. He stares at me, frowning, and I uncross and cross my legs again, shifting in my seat.

I glance up at him through my lashes and give him a shy smile. “I think you might be misunderstanding my question.”

He gives me a heated look, and the energy in the room shifts. “I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood me, Rose.”

My stomach twinges. Talia was so sure he’d go for it. Perhaps he’s different from the other rich and powerful men in this town, taking whatever they want with no repercussions.

Maybe he doesn’t deserve to bleed.

My hand draws down between my legs, just under my skirt, letting out a breathy moan as my fingers connect with my undergarments. I’m surprisingly more turned on than I thought I’d be, but I think it’s because of the thrill of doing something naughty to help Talia.

I bring my finger to my mouth like Talia showed me and bite softly. “I guess I got it wrong… I’m just a silly girl. I’ll go now.”

His hand goes to his mustache as a heady look enters his eyes. I rise and walk to the door, adjusting my skirt.

“Wait,” he says abruptly, and I pause, turning to look at him over my shoulder, raising my eyebrows.

“What is it?” I ask innocently.

“Don’t go yet,” he says carefully.

I turn to face the wall and lean back into it, pressing my chest out. His hands move to his pants, where he touches his growing erection. I keep my eyes on him as he walks toward me, and I lift the hem of my dress to tease him—aware of the knife I have hidden near my thigh.

He steps closer. “What is it you want from me exactly, young lady?”

Young lady. I wish he wouldn’t call me that. Talia was young when she was first taken advantage of, too. “You like them young, don’t you, sir?” His lip snarls in response.

Killing this man will be easy now.

He takes a step closer, then another. And finally, he leans down and puts his hand on my hip. I arch my back and lean into him, and he presses his body into mine; his cock centered into me through his pants.

I try not to vomit as he fondles my breasts above my shirt. “I don’t care about age, as long as they’re perky,” he says, cupping my breasts, assessing whether I’m worthy. I try not to vomit at the smell of his rancid breath. I stall by lifting my neck while he fumbles with his zipper.

“Do you like to suck cock, little girl?” He grabs me and twists me around, pressing his sweaty body over mine as he lifts my skirt. “Or should we do it quick and dirty from behind, like the little slut you are?”

I panic, the air shifting out of my lungs. If he finds my knife, this is over.

I turn to face him, grabbing him by the shirt. He moans as my lips find his, and as soon as my hands contact my knife, I pull it out, twist it in his side, and bite down on his lip so hard it bleeds. Not to kill him—at least not yet. But that will do some damage.

His eyes bulge, and I dig the tip in further and watch as a trickle of blood hits the ground. “If you move even an inch, your insides will fall out.”