The Tutor's Temptation (English Edition)

Curiosity Grows Stronger

"Xena open up about what you really feel when you stare at me like that."

I was not letting her slip away this time. My mind kept replaying that page I glimpsed... my name surrounded by those little hearts. It stirred something deep in my chest that I could not ignore anymore. Part of me wanted to stay professional like the strict tutor her father trusted me to be. Another part... that part burned to know exactly how far her thoughts about me went.

"I... I do not know what you mean Professor Kyle."

Her voice came out soft and shaky. It pulled at me. I stepped closer until the space between us felt charged. "Do not call me Professor right now. We both know this stopped being just about math weeks ago. You write my name in that notebook. You watch me during lectures like you are memorizing every move I make. Tell me why."

I kept my tone firm but inside my pulse raced. Xena Voltaire was not some ordinary student. She carried the weight of her family empire on her shoulders yet here she was getting flustered over me. aaaaa It should not affect me this much but it did. Every time her eyes met mine I felt seen in a way no equation ever made me feel.

She bit her lip and finally met my gaze. "It is nothing bad. Just... thoughts. Personal stuff."

"Personal stuff about me." I pressed. My voice dropped lower. "I saw my name. Those doodles. You smile while writing them. You laugh to yourself. Do you think I can just pretend I did not notice?"

Her breathing picked up. "Kyle please. This is embarrassing. My dad picked you because you are the best. I cannot mess this up."

Hearing her say my first name sent a rush through me. Not Professor. Just Kyle. I liked it too much. "Your dad trusts me to help you pass. But right now I am not thinking about your grades. I am thinking about why the heir to the Voltaire hotels spends her time drawing hearts around my name instead of solving the problems I assign."

I reached out and gently tilted her chin up so she could not hide. Her skin felt warm under my fingers. Touching her like this crossed a line but I could not stop. She did not pull away. Instead her eyes softened and something vulnerable flashed across her face.

"I look at you because you make sense." She whispered. "Everything in my life is about expectations. The empire. The legacy. But when you explain those formulas... you break things down until they feel possible. You do not treat me like I am fragile or spoiled. You push me. And yeah... I write about that. About how your voice stays in my head after class. How your focus makes me want to be better."

Her words hit me straight in the chest. I expected silly crush stuff but this felt deeper. Real. I let my hand drop but stayed close. "You see that in me?"

She nodded quickly. "More than that. You are intense Kyle. The way you command the room. The way you look at problems like they cannot beat you. It makes me... curious. About what else you are like outside the board and equations."

A small smile tugged at my lips. "Curious enough to fill notebooks."

She groaned and covered her face with both hands for a moment. When she peeked through her fingers I saw the mix of nerves and something warmer. "It started as notes. Then it turned into me processing why I cannot focus when you are near. You are always so put together. I am the opposite... always late always scrambling. But you never gave up on me even when I bombed the last test."

I chuckled low. "Because I see potential under all that chaos Xena. You have fire. You just need someone to help direct it."

I noticed how her eyes held mine without backing down now. My thoughts raced. This girl could have anything she wanted with her last name yet she chose to obsess over me. It made me feel possessive in a way I had never experienced. Like I wanted to guard that attention. Keep it for myself.

"Tell me one thing you wrote." I challenged. "Just one honest line."

She hesitated then spoke softly. "I wrote that when you explain derivatives your hands move with such confidence it makes my stomach flip. And I wonder what it would feel like if those hands... never mind."

Heat flooded through me. I stepped even closer until her back brushed against a desk. "Finish that thought."

Her eyes widened but she did not retreat. "I wonder what it would feel like if you touched me with that same confidence Kyle. Not as my tutor. As a man who sees me."

Fuck. Her words lit a fire I struggled to control. I was supposed to be the disciplined one. Yet here I was hanging on every syllable from the girl I was paid to teach. My hand moved on its own brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. She leaned into the touch just slightly. That small movement undid me further.

"You have no idea what you are starting." I murmured. "I cannot stop thinking about you either. Every time I catch you staring I want to pull you aside and demand answers. Now I have them and it only makes me want more."

She smiled shyly but there was a spark of boldness there too. "Then ask me more questions. I will answer if you promise not to judge."

"Deal." I said. My thumb traced her jaw lightly. Sensual tension crackled between us. I could smell her light scent and it clouded my thoughts. "Do you touch yourself when you think about me after writing those entries?"

Her gasp was immediate. Color flooded her face deeper but she did not look away. "Kyle..."

"Tell me." I insisted my voice rough with need. "Be honest like you claim to be in that notebook."

She swallowed then nodded. "Sometimes. When the words get too intense. I imagine you noticing me the way I notice you. Taking control. Making me focus only on you."

Possessiveness surged in me. I wanted to be that for her. The one who occupied her mind completely. The one she wrote about late at night. I leaned in until our foreheads almost touched. "I notice you Xena. More than I should. It frustrates me how much I check for you in the room. How I linger after lectures hoping you will stay behind."

Her hands came up to rest on my chest. The contact sent electricity through my shirt. "I stay behind because I crave these moments. Even if they scare me. My dad would lose his mind if he knew his chosen tutor was making his daughter feel like this."

I smirked. "Then we keep it between us for now. But I am not hiding how I feel anymore. You invaded my focus. Now I am invading yours right back."

We stayed locked in that moment sharing breaths and unspoken wants. My mind filled with images of pulling her closer. Exploring the obsession we both fed into. She was the chaos to my order yet together it felt electric. Heartfelt in its rawness. I traced her lower lip with my gaze wanting to taste the truth she kept offering.

Suddenly the door creaked open down the hall. Footsteps echoed. We jumped apart but the heat remained.

Xena grabbed her bag quickly her eyes glowing with emotion. "We should go before someone sees."

I nodded but caught her wrist gently. "This isn't over. Meet me at the usual study spot tonight. No notebook this time. Just you and me talking everything out."

She bit her lip again that nervous habit I now found addictive. "Okay. But Kyle... what if talking leads to more?"

I released her wrist but let my fingers linger. "Then we deal with more. Because I am done pretending I do not want to know every single thought you have about me. Every feeling."

As she walked out I watched her go my body still buzzing. The hallway swallowed her but her words echoed in my head. I gathered my things and headed out too. The evening air hit me but it did nothing to cool the fire she started. I drove home replaying her confession. The way she admitted imagining my hands on her. It made me grip the wheel tighter. Xena was not just a student anymore. She was becoming my fixation. The one person who could throw my organized world off balance and make me love it.

Later that night at the quiet cafe we used for tutoring I arrived early. I claimed our usual corner table and waited. When she walked in my heart did that stupid flip again. She had changed into something casual yet it hugged her in ways that distracted me instantly. No uniform. Just Xena.

"You came." I said as she sat down.

"Of course." She replied with a small smile. "I told you I would answer your questions."

We ordered drinks and dove in. Conversation flowed easier than expected. She opened up about the pressure from her father Gerard. How he saw her as the future of the empire but sometimes forgot she was still figuring herself out. I shared how I worked my way up. How proving myself to people like her dad meant everything but left little room for personal distractions. Until her.

"You are the best distraction." I admitted across the table. My foot brushed hers under it and neither of us moved away. "I find myself planning lectures around what might make you smile. Or what could finally get you to pass with flying colors so no one can question why I spend extra time with you."

She laughed softly. The sound warmed me. "I smile because of you Kyle. Not the math. Though you make even that exciting. I wrote once that your brain is sexy. The way it works so fast. It makes me want to keep up. To impress you."

Sexy. She called my brain sexy. I grinned feeling that possessive pull again. "Keep talking like that and I might not behave like the professional I am supposed to be."

Her eyes sparkled with challenge. "Maybe I do not want you to behave."

The words hung between us full of promise. We talked for hours. Emotions deepened with every exchange. I felt heartfelt connection growing. Not just obsession but real care. I wanted to protect her from the weight she carried. To be the steady presence in her chaotic world. She made me feel alive beyond numbers and deadlines. Sensual tension built with every glance and accidental touch.

As the cafe prepared to close I walked her to her car. The night wrapped around us. "Xena before you go..."

She turned to face me. "Yes?"

I pulled her into a gentle hug. Her body fit against mine perfectly. I whispered near her ear. "Tell me you feel this too. The pull."

She hugged me back tightly. "I feel it Kyle. Stronger every day."

We parted but I kept her hand in mine for a moment longer. My thoughts swirled with possibilities. Hate to love? Maybe not hate but definitely from strict tutor to something possessive and deep. I wanted her. All of her. The legacy girl who doodled my name.

"Tomorrow after the session we are not stopping at math." I said my voice full of intent.

She looked up at me with those expressive eyes. "What are we stopping at then?"

I leaned in closer my lips brushing her ear as I spoke the words that left everything hanging. "We are stopping at the point where I finally kiss you and make all those notebook entries real."