Cassian
Thinking about Elvie was one thing, but not being able to touch her was another entirely.
It took every ounce of discipline I possessed not to lift her onto my desk, bend her over, and bury my fingers inside her right then and there.
The second she stepped through my office door, my cock hardened at the mere sight of her. And when she stood in front of me, looking up with those innocent, wide eyes, telling me she was worried... I nearly lost my composure.
But I am a man of control. I had made a promise to myself. I wouldn’t touch her—not like that, until she wanted me just as desperately as I wanted her. Until she explicitly begged me to do things to her body.
What truly gnawed at me, though, was the fact that she carried the guilt for all this shit. Years ago, I remembered a confident, bright, lively girl. Look at what living under Norman’s roof had reduced her to—anxious, watchful, expecting the world to collapse on her shoulders for sins that weren’t hers.
I meant every word I told her. Norman can’t do anything to me.
My jaw tightened at the thought of our meeting earlier today. The audacity of the man never ceased to amaze me. Norman had walked into the dean’s office carrying himself like a king, demanding I pull the disciplinary report against Asher as if he owned the university. As if he wasn’t the same greedy, selfish bastard who systematically squeezed every penny out of the family inheritance for himself. As if he hadn’t spent a lifetime prioritizing his own ego over his own brother’s. And now he honestly believed he could throw money at me to make his son’s mess disappear.
I wanted to see him try. I wanted to watch him realize that for all his political leverage and wealth, there were some doors his money couldn’t buy open.
Glancing down at my wristwatch, I saw the hands nearing four o’clock. I had told Elvie to meet me by the west lot behind the arts building.
The girl overthinks everything, her mind constantly running in circles. I needed to take her somewhere or do something to get her out of her own head, even for a few hours. I knew I was playing with fire and putting my own cock at risk. Simply being in the same space as Elvie guaranteed a relentless hard-on. But helping her breathe was worth the torturous discipline it took to keep my hands to myself.
**
The moment the clock struck four, I was up on my feet. I shut down my laptop, stuffed everything in my brief case, grabbed my phone and car keys, and headed straight out the door. The hallway was quiet as I made my way down to the west lot, my pulse humming with an edge of impatience I hadn’t felt in a long time. I picked this particular time because I knew that time most student have gone home and some of the professors.
When I rounded the corner into the parking lot, I spotted Elvie right away. She was standing near my car, her head snapping from side to side as she scanned the empty pavement, looking around as if she were carrying out a covert operation. A low chuckle escaped my lips. This girl never failed to amuse me.
"You seem to be right on time," I said as I approached, unable to keep the amusement out of my voice.
Her head snapped toward me, her eyes going wide as if I caught her doing something wild. "I didn’t want-"
"Elvie," I said, my tone shifting into that calm, stern authority she knew all too well.
She immediately understood the silent instruction, forming her lips into a thin line.
I unlocked the car, held the passenger door open for her, and looked down into her eyes. "Get in."
She swallowed, a delicate flush creeping up her cheeks. She slipped into the leather seat, bringing that scent of vanilla in with her. I closed her door, walked around to the driver’s side, and got in.
As I started the engine and pulled out of the lot, I glanced over at her. To my surprise, the jittery tension she had been carrying all day seemed to fade. She leaned back against the seat, looking far more relaxed around me than I expected her to be.
"Where are we going?" she asked, turning her head to look at me as we left campus behind.
My eyes flicked over to her, her soft gaze lingering on my face. A sudden, rare urge to tease her took over.
"Don’t worry, I’m not kidnapping you," I said, a smirk playing on my lips as I shifted gears. "The way you’re staring at me... relax. You’ll see where we’re going when we get there."
I turned off the engine as we pulled into the driveway of a brick building. I looked over at Elvie. She tilted her head, her brows furrowed with curiosity as she looked out the window. She didn’t ask any questions, but I could tell she was trying to guess what we were doing here.
Without saying anything, I opened my door and stepped out into the cool evening air. Elvie stepped out too with her bag slung over her shoulder.
"Follow me," I said walking toward the front glass doors. I pushed the door open and held it for her. Warm light filled the entrance, and soft music played in the background.
The moment Elvie walked inside, she froze letting out a soft gasp, her eyes going wide with pure amazement. The room had high ceilings and bright white walls covered in huge, beautiful paintings—rich oils, dark charcoals, and colorful watercolors lit up by soft spotlights. The space was completely quiet and empty.
"Cassian..." she whispered, staring at a giant painting of a golden landscape. "Is this... an art gallery?"
I stepped up close behind her, feeling the warm heat radiating off her back as I looked down at her face. "A private gallery," I said stuffing my hands inside my pocket.
She turned her head to look back at me, her lower lip caught between her teeth. "How did you even find a place like this? It’s... it’s incredible."
"I know the owner," I replied, taking a slow step to the side so I was standing right beside her instead of looming behind her. "He keeps it closed to the public on weekdays."
Elvie took a slow step toward the golden landscape painting, her fingers reaching out as if to touch the textured canvas before catching herself and pulling her hand back. A smile touched her lips—the first real smile I had seen on her face all day.
"You really brought me here?" she asked softly, her eyes still glued to the artwork.
"You spend too much time carrying problems that aren’t yours," I said, my tone even as I kept my hands buried deep in my pockets to resist the urge to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "For the next half an hour or an hour, you’re not a girl carrying guilt. You’re just a painter."
"Thank you, Cassian."
"Don’t thank me yet," I murmured, a subtle smirk playing on my lips as I pointed down the main hallway toward the larger exhibit rooms. "We’ve only seen the first room. Come on."
I watched Elvie walk from canvas to canvas with a smile on her face. I knew I would get that lively girl out of her the moment I brought her here. Everyday, I learn things about her that she didn’t even realize about herself.
While she explored the inner gallery, I stepped over to process the invoice for the three pieces Elvie had lingered over the longest. A moody charcoal portrait, a watercolor study, and a vibrant impasto landscape.
When I walked back into the main wing, I caught sight of her standing by a vintage bronze sculpture. One of the gallery curators was showing her around, enthusiastically sharing the story behind the piece. She was holding up her phone, taking pictures with a bright, uninhibited smile that lit up the entire room.
She might not know it, but seeing her smile like that brought a genuine sense of peace to my chest. She deserved to feel this kind of untethered joy. She deserved to be happy.
She turned around, her eyes scanning the hall until they found mine. A fresh wave of excitement flushed her cheeks as she hurried across the polished floors toward me.
"Cassian, this place has so many incredible pieces," she said, her voice rich with enthusiasm. "I just got so many ideas for my next canvas."
A smile touched my lips as I looked down at her. "So, did you enjoy yourself?"
She nodded eagerly, looking right into my eyes. "Yes. Thank you so much, really."
"We can come here often. They bring in new collections every month."
Her face brightened even further at the promise.
An hour later, I pulled into the driveway. Night had fully fallen. We walked inside together, the familiar warmth of the foyer greeting us as the heavy oak door clicked shut behind us. Elvie kicked off her shoes and turned around to face me. "Thank-"
The rest of the words got stuck in her throat when I extended the wrapped package toward her. "It’s for you."
Her brows furrowed in confusion. She looked down at the rectangular package in my hands, then looked back up at my face, her lips parting as she stammered, "F-for me?"
"Yes,"
She took it hesitantly, her fingers brushing against mine for a brief, electric second as she took the weight of the frame into her hands.
"They’re delivering the rest tomorrow," I added, watching her eyes widen as realization dawned on her. "You can hang them in your room."
"You... you didn’t have to do this," she whispered. "These cost a fortune. I can’t accept—"
"I didn’t buy them for you to worry about the price," I cut her off gently, taking a small step closer. "I bought them because when you looked at them back there, your face lit up. You liked them. That’s all that matters."
A soft flush warmed her cheeks. She lowered her gaze, her fingers clutching the edges of the brown paper. "No one has ever... done something like this for me."
The simple truth in her words stung. My chest tightened, the urge to pull her close and shelter her from everything hitting me with sudden force.
"Get used to it, Elvie," I replied.
She swallowed hard, her eyes flicked down to my lips before snapping back up to my eyes, a subtle flare of desire passing through her gaze that made my blood run hot.
I kept my hands at my sides, as I fought every instinct screaming at me to take the package from her hands, pull her against my chest, and taste her right here against the door.
"Goodnight, Cassian." She said destroying that thought from my head.
I nodded. "Goodnight, Elvie."
I watched her walk up the staircase, her gentle steps echoing softly until I heard her bedroom door clicking. Only then did I let out a heavy breath, running a hand over my face as I stood alone in the dark entryway, my body tight with a hunger that was growing harder to ignore by the day.