Eliza had spent the entire week replaying that night in Dr. Vale’s office.
Every lecture, every seminar, every casual brush of his gaze across the room had felt like foreplay. She’d barely slept, her mind looping through his words—discipline, consequences, bend you over this desk—until she was permanently flushed and restless.
So when the deadline for her annotated bibliography on Victorian gothic literature came and went without her submitting it, she knew exactly what she was doing.
Provoking him.
She told herself it was an accident. A busy week. Oversight.
But the truth was simpler: she wanted to see if he’d follow through.
His email arrived Friday morning, crisp and professional.
Subject: Overdue Assignment – Office Hours Today
Miss Harper,
Your annotated bibliography was due
