Seduction After Class

Restraint

✤ Adrian ✤

The day had dragged on longer than I expected. The last of the afternoon light was already gone and had left the campus cloaked in soft gray. Rain clouds had gathered outside my office window, and it was the kind that promised a storm. I sat behind my desk, half-focused on a pile of essays that refused to hold my attention as the clock on the wall ticked quietly. It had been a week since the last time Sera D’Amour had come to see me, since that conversation I should never have allowed. I had replayed it in my mind more often than I wanted to admit: her words, her tone, the look in her eyes when she said desire was more honest than confession. I should have stopped her. I should have made it clear that what she was doing was inappropriate. But I hadn’t. I heard the door open, and I looked over to see her standing in the doorway. She was here again, and I was excited to see her. Sera stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

“You really like to keep busy, don’t you, Professor?” she said, her voice soft but carrying that same teasing edge.

“I prefer productive to busy,” I shot back, and she smiled, amused.

“That sounds like something you tell yourself to feel better about working too much,”

“Was there something you needed, Miss D’Amour?” I asked as I closed the folder in front of me.

“I wanted to go over my essay on The Depth of Restraint,” she said. “It’s about forbidden relationships and how morality shapes attraction,”

Of course it was.

I leaned back in my chair and gestured toward the seat opposite.

“All right. Let’s see it,” I said. Sera smiled as she crossed the room, and the faint scent of her perfume, something light and floral, surrounded me. She handed me the paper, and her fingers deliberately brushed mine for a split second. Still, it was enough to make my pulse trip. I scanned the first paragraph and forced my expression to remain neutral. The essay was well written, insightful even. But it was the topic that made me uneasy. Every line seemed chosen to provoke me. “You are improving,” I said as I set the page aside.

“Just improving?” she urged as she tilted her head. I hesitated.

“You write with confidence. That’s good,”

“Do you ever think about why people find what’s forbidden so fascinating?”

“We have had this discussion already,” I reminded her, but she merely smiled.

“Not really,” she said. “Last time, we talked about literature. I meant people,”

“People are curious. They like to test boundaries,” what I didn’t say was that she was testing mine.

“Even when they know they shouldn’t?” she countered, and I wanted to smile. She was clever.

“Especially then,” I said, and her smile widened slightly, and of course, I realized that I had walked right into her trap.

“You sound like you understand that better than most,” she said quietly. I didn’t answer. I turned to the window instead and checked the weather. The sky had darkened, and the first few drops of rain began to trace lines down the glass.

“You should head home soon,” I said instead. “It looks like it’s going to pour,”

“Oh, Professor, are you trying to get rid of me?” she asked with that teasing glint to her tone of voice. I shook my head.

“I’m trying to make sure you don’t get stuck in a storm,” I said. I also wanted her to get the hell out of my office before I did something I knew I shouldn’t. Her expression softened as she stared at me.

“It sounds more like you are trying to protect me, Professor,” she whispered, and for a moment, I didn’t see her as the student. I saw her as a woman. Sharp, self-assured, and fearless. It unsettled me more than I wanted to admit. Lightning flashed outside, followed by the low roll of thunder. The rain hammered against the window, and Sera sighed. “Well,” she said as she looked out the window. “Too late for that. I will just have to wait until it slows down,” my eyes went wide as I imagined her waiting right here in my office. I couldn’t let that happen. “I could wait right here, Professor. It’s nice and warm,” suddenly, the room felt smaller, and the sound of the storm outside didn’t help. “You look uncomfortable,” she then said, and I shook my head.

“I’m not,”

“You are,” she argued. “It’s strange, isn’t it? We can talk about desire, restraint, boundaries…but the moment it feels real, you retreat,”

“Because I know where the line is,” I stated firmly.

“Do you?” she asked, her voice a whisper. She was testing me again. Pushing. Waiting to see if I would push back. I abruptly got to my feet and started to clear my desk.

“Come on. I will give you a ride home,” I said. I shouldn’t have. I don’t even know why I did. But Sera smiled as if she had accomplished something. Something I didn’t want to think about.

“That’s very kind of you,” she said as I slipped on my jacket.

“Let’s go before it gets worse,” I said. I ushered her out of my office and locked it before we hurried down the corridor. When we reached the exit, the rain was relentless. Sheets of water blurred the view outside. “Wait here. I’ll bring the car around,”

“It’s fine, it’s just rain,” she said, and before I could protest, she pushed open the door and stepped out. Within seconds, she was drenched.

“Sera!” I followed her out, and the cold rain hit my face and soaked my hair. She turned to me and laughed softly. The sound made something inside me twist, and that’s when I noticed how her white blouse clung to her skin. I could see the faint outline of her red bra beneath it, and I looked away immediately. I shrugged out of my jacket and crossed the distance between us. “Here, put this on,” I told her, but Sera looked at my jacket and then at me. She reached out and grabbed my hand instead of the jacket. Her fingers were cold, but firm. Before I could react or even think about what was happening, she pressed my palm flat against her chest. The warmth of her skin burned through the thin fabric, and my breath caught. Every rational thought vanished under the surge of feeling.

“Do you feel that?” she asked quietly. Her heart was racing beneath my hand. “That’s what restraint does. It makes everything stronger,” for a moment, I didn’t move. My pulse matched hers, wild and uneven. My fingers flexed, and I could feel her n****e harden. But then reason crashed back through the haze, and I pulled my hand away as if the touch had scorched me.

“Sera,” I said, my voice rough. “That’s enough,” she looked up at me, her eyes bright in the rain.

“You don’t mean that,” she argued, but I hurriedly draped the jacket over her shoulders and urged her toward the parking lot. The rain pounded against the pavement, pooling around our shoes, but I didn’t care. When we got to the car, I breathed out a soft sigh of relief. My hand trembled slightly as I started the engine. The windshield wipers swept back and forth, useless against the torrent. I glanced at her. She was staring out the window, the jacket still wrapped around her, her hair damp and curling at the ends. She didn’t say a word, but the silence between us was louder than the storm. I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles pale. Every rule, every line I had spent years living by, suddenly felt fragile. She turned her head then, and her gaze met mine. “Thank you for the ride, Professor,” she said softly. I nodded once, afraid of what I might say if I spoke. As I pulled away from the curb, I knew one thing for certain: this wasn’t over. Whatever had begun between us had crossed the point of return.

✤ ✤ ✤