Chapter 2
Mia’s POV
I woke up with a pounding headache and the distinct feeling that I had done something I would deeply regret.
My mouth tasted like regret and cheap fruity cocktails. I groaned, rolling over in bed and burying my face in the pillow. Fragments of last night flickered through my mind like broken film reels. There was the loud music, flashing lights, the smell of sweat and perfume, then a masked man with a powerful body, and the feeling of something thick and hot on my tongue…
I sat up so fast the room spun.
No. No, no, no.
I couldn’t have. I wouldn’t have. I was Mia Cromwell. A conservative virgin. The woman who planned to stay that way until marriage. I didn’t do things like… that.
The bathroom door opened, and Daisy strolled out, already dressed and far too cheerful for someone who had been drinking with me last night.
“Morning, sunshine!” she sang, tossing her wet hair over her shoulder. “How’s the head? And more importantly, how’s the pussy?”
I buried my face in my hands. “Daisy, please tell me I didn’t do anything stupid.”
She grinned wickedly. “You mean besides giving a very enthusiastic lap dance to one of the masked strippers and then sucking his dick in the private lounge? Because you did both. And you would not stop talking about it the entire way home.”
My stomach dropped through the floor.
“I did what?”
“You kept repeating how big he was and how you couldn’t believe you did that,” Daisy laughed, clearly enjoying my horror. “You were very proud of yourself for approximately twelve minutes before you passed out again in the Uber.”
I wanted the earth to swallow me whole.
“I’m a virgin, Daisy. A virgin. I was supposed to stay that way until marriage. And now I apparently sucked off a stranger in a club?”
She shrugged, completely unbothered. “Technically, you sucked off a very hot, very masked stranger. Big difference.”
I groaned again and dragged my hands down my face.
It was my first official day at Adler University after two years of struggling to find a stable teaching position. I needed this job desperately. The student loans and credit card debt from grad school were crushing me. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by memories of… whatever the hell I had done last night.
Daisy reached into her bag and pulled out a long, gift-wrapped box with a bright pink bow.
“Speaking of your virgin crisis,” she said, grinning, “happy first day of work!”
I took the box warily and opened it. Inside was a realistic, veiny, flesh-colored dildo complete with a suction cup base.
I stared at it in horror. “Daisy!”
“What? You keep asking me questions about dicks like I’m a walking encyclopedia. Figured you should have a visual aid. His name is Chad. He’s very supportive.”
I shoved the box back at her. “I am not using that. I’m saving myself for marriage.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re twenty-eight, Mia. Your pussy is going to file for emancipation if you keep neglecting her.”
I ignored her and got ready for work, trying to push last night as far from my mind as possible. But the fragments kept coming back, the heat of a hard body, the taste of salt and skin, the low groan of a man losing control.
By the time I stood in front of my lecture hall, I was already a mess.
The strange pull started the moment I began teaching. A warm, insistent tug low in my belly that made my nipples tighten against my blouse and heat pool between my thighs. I tried to ignore it, focusing on my slides about literary theory, but it only grew worse. By the middle of the class, I was uncomfortably wet, thighs pressed together under the podium, praying no one could tell how badly I was aching.
Please, God, I thought desperately. Send me a husband soon. A good, decent man who will take care of this hunger. I can’t keep feeling like this.
I somehow made it through the entire lecture without combusting. As students filed out, I let out a long breath of relief.
Then one student stopped in front of my desk.
He was tall. Extremely tall. Broad shoulders, dark hair, and almost black eyes that seemed to see straight through me. Something about him made the pull in my core intensify tenfold. My clit throbbed painfully.
“Professor Cromwell,” he greeted, voice deep and smooth. “I was hoping I could get some extra tutoring. I’m struggling with the material, and I really need this class.”
I swallowed hard. I needed the extra money. Desperately.
“Of course,” I said, forcing a professional smile. “We can set something up. What’s your name?”
“Emrys Sternwolfe.”
The name sent a strange shiver through me, but I pushed it aside. “Alright, Emrys. I’ll email you some available times. Just drop your email address here.” I told him, handing him the nearest book and pen I could find.
He smiled slowly, writing down his details, then handed me back my book and pen before nodding. “Thank you, Professor.”
As he walked away, the ache between my legs became almost unbearable. I grabbed my bag in a rush, desperate to get home and… not touch myself. I refused to touch myself.
The bag tipped. The bright pink box Daisy had given me earlier slid out and clattered onto the floor right between us.
The realistic dildo rolled out halfway, thick and veiny, staring up at both of us.
My face burned with mortification as Emrys looked down at it, then back up at me with dark, amused eyes.