MY DANGEROUS PROFESSOR

Chapter 8:

The second I opened my eyes, a splitting headache hit me. I squeezed them shut again, hoping it would somehow make the pain disappear. Last night’s alcohol was definitely making me regret every drink.

I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut as I shifted slightly under the heavy, ridiculously soft sheets and immediately froze.

This wasn't Ethan's house. I wasn't in the guest room I had been staying in, either. I looked around, trying to figure out where the hell I was. The room was huge, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Everything looked expensive. Way too expensive.

Oh god.

Then the memories started coming back in flashes. The nightclub. Too much tequila. Chloe and the others laughing as they dared me to kiss the stranger in the private booth. I remembered walking upstairs barefoot, taking whiskey from him, and somehow ending up telling a complete stranger everything about Ethan and our breakup with tears running down my face.

I froze. s**t. Then I remembered having s*x with the stranger last night and shamelessly begging him not to stop.

My stomach twisted. Oh no. What have I done? I slowly turned my head and looked across the bed. Then I lifted the sheet and froze. There was blood on the white fabric. The evidence that I had lost my virginity to a stranger I don’t even know.

The stranger was lying beside me, asleep on his stomach. The sheet had slipped to his waist, leaving most of his back exposed. I noticed the faint red marks across his skin and immediately looked away. My marks. Somehow, even with his eyes closed, he still made me nervous. His dark hair was messily tumbled across the white pillow, his sharp jawline looking relaxed for the first time since I had stumbled into his VIP section.

What the hell did I do?!

Panic hit me all over again. I couldn't stay here. I needed to leave before he woke up. I couldn't face this stranger, and I couldn't face him after what I had done, especially after throwing myself at a stranger because I was heartbroken over Ethan.

I slowly slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him. My bare feet hit the cold hardwood floor. I gathered my clothes, which were scattered messily across the plush carpet. My tight black dress was hopelessly wrinkled, my heels were nowhere in sight, and my body ached in places I wasn't used to, reminding me of exactly what had happened last night. My waist feels like a train ran through it. Damn stranger.

I pulled the dress over my head with trembling hands and tiptoed toward the heavy mahogany doors of the master bedroom.

My heart wouldn't settle down. I grabbed the door handle and held my breath as I turned it. I just needed to get out before he woke up. I wasn't ready to face him or myself.

"Running away after taking advantage of me, little disaster?"

His deep voice stopped me in my tracks.

I turned around so fast my head spun, my heart leaping straight into my throat. He was sitting up in bed, resting his back against the tall leather headboard. The dark sheet was draped casually over his lap, exposing a chiseled chest. and his dark eyes were fixed on me. There was a faint smile on his face, like he had been awake long enough to watch me.

"I... I wasn't running away," I squeaked out, my voice betraying my absolute horror. I cleared my throat and tried to act like I wasn't completely mortified. "I was just... leaving. You were asleep, and I didn't want to disturb you."

A low smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he swung his long legs over the side of the bed, wrapping the sheet loosely around his waist. He stood and walked toward me. He was taller than I had realized, and with every step he took, I found myself pressing harder against the door.

He stopped inches from me. I could feel the warmth coming off his bare chest, and suddenly I was painfully aware of how close we were, and being

that close to him brought back last night's memories. The way he kissed me, his hands around my waist.

"So," he murmured, turning his head slightly as his dark eyes scanned my burning face. "Are you just going to run off after snatching my first time from me?"

I stared at him, convinced I had heard him wrong.

"Your what?!" I gasped, heat rushed into my face and spread all the way down to my neck. "Your first time?! Are you insane? Look at you! You look like you have slept with almost all the women in this city!"

"I'm a very pure, innocent man." He said it with a straight face, but I could see the amusement in his eyes. "You dragged me into your drunken game, ruined my virtue on my own bed, and now you want to sneak out the door like a thief without taking responsibility for what you have done.”

"It was my first time too!" I burst out, completely mortified, my voice cracking under the sheer absurdity of the conversation.

"I know." His gaze dropped to my lips for a second before returning to my eyes. "But you liked it. You were screaming for me to keep going harder. You even threatened to break my head if I stopped.

I swallowed and closed my eyes for a second, trying to figure out what to say. The embarrassment was killing me, but he was right about one thing—I started the whole thing. I was the one who walked into his private section, drank his whiskey, and dragged him into my mess.

"Look," I squeaked out, forcing myself to open my eyes and look him directly in the face. “I take responsibility, okay? I was drunk, I was heartbroken, and I clearly wasn't thinking straight. I’m sorry, I dragged you into this. But if you don’t mind, I can pay for the whiskey, or... or make you breakfast, or whatever taking responsibility means to a guy like you... I will do it."

He stared at me for a moment, the smile slowly disappearing from his face. Apparently he hadn't expected me to take his words seriously.

“Do you seriously think breakfast is going to give me my virginity back? Or make me forget what you did last night?” Face it, you took advantage of an innocent man, you stole my virginity.

“B-but you were the one on top of me?” I tried to argue.

“Hello, I was following your orders,” he said shamelessly. He leaned back and waved his hand dismissively. “Forget it. I don't need your breakfast, little disaster.”

I blinked, caught off guard. "You don't?"

"No.” His expression turned serious. “Neither of us needs complications.” You weren’t in the right frame of mind last night. You were out of your mind on tequila, and I had too much whiskey. What happened in this room stays in this room. We pretend it never happened, and we go back to our normal lives."

I sighed. “I understand. Whatever happened in this room last night stays here.”

"I know your name already, Aria, but you don’t need to know mine," he said smiling, before stepping back to give me space.

Without waiting for him to change his mind or say another word, I grabbed the door handle, and yanked it open. I practically ran down his hallway toward the private elevator. I didn't look back once. I took the elevator straight down, practically threw myself out the lobby doors, and flagged down the first taxi I saw. I just wanted to get home and forget the whole thing.

By the time I got home, I was exhausted. My head was still spinning, and I honestly didn't know what bothered me more, the fact that I'd slept with a stranger or the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about him.

Logan and Julian.

Logan looked like he'd had a terrible morning. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair was all over the place, and he looked furious. Julian stood beside him with his arms crossed, looking just as pissed.

I stepped out of the taxi, clutching my shoes in one hand and trying to keep my wrinkled dress from riding any higher.

The moment Logan saw me, his expression changed. His eyes traveled over my disheveled appearance, and his face twisted with anger.

“Where the hell have you been?”

I barely had time to answer before he stormed toward me and grabbed my wrist.

“Logan—”

“Where were you all night, b***h?” he snapped, tightening his grip. “And what the hell are you wearing? You look like a damn slut.”

I stared at him in disbelief. Julian stood a few feet behind him, watching silently.

I pulled against Logan’s grip. “Let go of me.”

“Not until you tell me where you were last night.” His eyes narrowed. “You disappear all night, come back looking like this, and expect me not to ask questions?”

I yanked my hand free. “What I do with my life is none of your business anymore.”

His face hardened. “Oh, really? Then maybe you should start acting like it.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You didn't send the rent money.”

My stomach sank. “What? Are you serious right now?” I asked.

“Because of you, Julian and I got kicked out of the apartment. “The landlord changed the locks this morning. Do you know how embarrassing that was? Are you purposely punishing me? I never knew you could be this petty, Aria.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “ You are blaming me for not paying the rent of this house you and your boyfriend are living in?”

“Who else am I supposed to blame?” he snapped. “You knew the rent was due, yet you chose to leave the house last night without giving me the money.

I shook my head, my anger rising. What did I ever see in Logan that made me stay with him for five whole years?”

“We are over, Logan. I told you I will not pay for you and your boyfriend to live in my house.”

Julian's expression changed at the word boyfriend, but he said nothing.

Ethan stepped closer. “You're unbelievable.”

“No,” I said, forcing myself to meet his eyes. “I'm finally done being your fool.”

For once, I didn't feel the need to explain myself. I had spent five years paying for a house where I wasn't respected, and supporting a man who had no problem betraying me. I was done pretending that was the life I wanted for myself. I picked up my bag and walked past them.

"You ungrateful bitch."

He raised his hand, and for a second, I thought he was going to slap me. But before he could, Ethan caught his wrist.

"Don't you dare lay your filthy hands on her!”

Logan barely had time to turn before Ethan's fist connected with his mouth. The punch sent Logan stumbling backward before he crashed onto the driveway. Blood immediately appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Stay the hell away from my sister," Ethan warned, his voice low and dangerous. "If you ever put your hands on Aria again or come close to her, trust me, you see the worst side of me."

Julian rushed over and helped Logan sit up.

"Baby!" he cried, wiping the blood from Logan's mouth. "Are you okay?"

Logan shoved his hand away angrily , his eyes still locked on me.

"This isn't over, Aria!" he shouted as Julian helped him to his feet. "You hear me? It's not over yet! You will come crawling back to me in a few days. You always do.

Julian hurried and led him toward the car, still fussing over him while Logan continued glaring at me. I stood there in the driveway, watching them leave.