Elvie
"...for Professor Reed assignment, I was thinking you and I could go to the museum together on Wednesday afternoon? What do you think?" Gemma said her voice buzzing in my ear as she rattled on about the assignment Cassian gave before he left class earlier.
I didn’t answer. My eyes stayed glued to the glowing screen of my phone, staring at the chat screen.
Can we talk?
I had sent the text to Cassian over fifteen minutes ago. The two grey ticks were right there it was delivered but he hadn’t opened it.
Ever since Gemma mentioned earlier that Asher’s father was pushing the board to question Cassian’s standing, I hadn’t been able to find a single moment of peace. My stomach was tied in tight knots. Even during second period, when Cassian walked into the lecture hall, he had looked completely calm and composed. But something was dangerously wrong. He hadn’t glanced in my direction even once.
Normally, Cassian made a habit of holding my gaze across the room, making my legs feel weak and my skin flush while he lectured. But today? Nothing. He kept his eyes strictly on his notes and the rest of the hall, his tone distant, and intensely serious.
"Elvie? Hello?" Gemma nudged my shoulder, pulling me out of my head. "What’s wrong with you? You’ve been staring at your phone ever since we sat down."
I heaved a heavy sigh, dropping the phone face-down onto the table. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the surface, and looked at her. "Do you think Cassian will be okay?"
Gemma blinked, startled by the sudden shift. "Wait... is this about what I told you earlier about the board? Elvie, I just said it was a rumor! It might not even be true."
"But Cassian was completely different in class today," I murmured, my heart sinking. "He didn’t even look at me."
"Uh-huh... someone is angry her man didn’t give her attention in class." A knowing smirk slowly spread across her face.
I glared at her, too stressed to laugh. "I am serious, Gemma! ...Do you think I should text Asher?"
Gemma’s eyes widened in absolute shock. "Text him?! Text him and tell him what?!"
I shrugged helplessly, my fingers fidgeting with the edge of my plate. "I don’t know... maybe to tell him that whatever issue he has with me, he should face me directly. He needs to stop using his father to tarnish Cassian’s reputation."
Gemma paused, staring at me as if I had suddenly grown a second head. Yes I know I was being paranoid.
She reached out, gently covering my hand with hers. "Oh, my god. Is this really my friend talking? What have you done to the quiet Elvie?"
"Come on, I’m just—"
My sentence was cut short by a sharp buzz against the table. My phone lit up. My heart leaped into my throat. I snatched the device up immediately and flipped it over.
Cassian: Come to my office. Now.
Without losing a single second, I pushed my chair back and scrambled to my feet, shoving my phone into my pocket.
"I’m going to be late to class!" I called out over my shoulder.
"Wait, Elvie—!"
I didn’t stop. I hurried out of the room and took off down the hallway, heading straight toward the faculty building.
I pushed the door to Cassian office open without knocking or even stopping to check if the hallway for any prying eyes. I was too eager to see him.
Cassian was sitting on the edge of his large wooden desk, a thick textbook open in one hand. The moment the door swung open, he raised his head and locked his dark eyes straight onto mine. He looked so unbothered, so completely calm.
I marched right up to him, my chest heaving as I prepared to bombard him with every single question burning in my mind.
"Cassian—"
The rest of my words died instantly in my throat as Cassian reached out, and cupped the back of my neck and crashed his lips on mine in a hard, demanding kiss.
A soft gasp escaped me against his mouth, but he swallowed the sound completely. His tongue slid past my lips, taking over with a deep, possessive hunger that instantly knocked the wind out of my lungs. All my frantic panic, all my planned speeches vanished into thin air, replaced by the overwhelming heat of his touch.
His other arm wrapped tightly around my waist, lifting me slightly so I was pressed flush against his chest between his parted legs. The scent of his expensive cologne mixed with the scent of his skin washed over me, making my knees go completely weak.
I melted into him, my hands instinctively flying up to grip the lapels of his charcoal suit jacket. I kissed him back, letting all my pent-up fear and desperation bleed into the touch.
When he finally pulled back, his heavy breath fanned across my flushed face. He didn’t let go of me, keeping his arm locked like steel around my waist, his eyes burning into mine with intense heat.
"You didn’t knock, little birdie," he murmured, his voice deep, rough, and dangerously low against my lips. "What if someone sees you?"
"I... I didn’t care," I panted, my heart hammering against my chest as I looked up at him. "Cassian, what’s going on? Gemma told me about the board meeting... about Asher’s father—"
"I told you not to worry about them," he interrupted smoothly, his thumb tracing the swollen outline of my bottom lip. "Is that why you were staring at me like a terrified ghost during my lecture?"
"You didn’t even look at me once!" I vented out suddenly getting annoyed by it.
"I thought... I thought something terrible was happening and you were trying to distance yourself from me."
A low chuckle vibrated through his chest beneath my cheek. "If I looked at you during class, Elvie," he whispered into my hair, his hand pressing firmly into the small of my back, "I wouldn’t have been able to finish the lecture. I would have dismissed the hall early just to lock the doors and bend you over the desk."
My cheeks burned bright crimson, heat rushing straight to my face as his filthy words sunk in. I tried to pull back, wriggling slightly to put some distance between us before someone actually walked in, but Cassian’s grip only tightened like iron, pinning me right in place.
"I didn’t say you could leave, Elvie," he growled, his voice full of command.
I lifted my head, forcing myself to look him in the eyes despite how hot my face felt. "But Cassian, what is actually going on? Tell me. Did Asher’s father really—"
Before I could finish the question, his hands moved down to my thighs, parting them wider and pulling me even closer between his legs.
A gasp tore from my throat as my core pressed right against his hard frame. He leaned down, his warm lips brushing against the sensitive shell of my ear. "Do you have any idea what you just brought upon yourself, walking into my office looking like this?"
I bit my bottom lip hard as his hand slid beneath the hem of my pleated skirt, his fingers trailing hot sparks over the bare skin of my thigh. The contrast of his cool hand against my burning skin made my head spin.
"But... Cassian..." I stammered out, clutching desperately at his broad shoulders to keep my balance. "I came here... to talk... about..."
The rest of my sentence died out, turning into a breathy moan instead as his fingers crept higher, pushing past the edge of my lace. "Mmm..."
A dark, satisfied chuckle echoed in his chest.
"Talk about what, exactly, little birdie?" he murmured against my neck, his thumb stroking a slow line that had my hips trembling against him. "Just so you know, Norman can’t do a single thing to me. I might be Asher’s uncle, but that doesn’t mean I will allow him to keep misbehaving."
I was right in the middle of letting out another soft moan when those words hit my brain like a splash of freezing water.
My entire body froze completely. Uncle?
My eyes snapped wide open, the fog of pleasure clearing out in an instant. I placed my hands flat against his chest and pushed back with all my strength, breaking the rhythm of his hands and staring at him in sheer disbelief.
"Uncle?" I repeated, my voice barely a whisper, completely lost in confusion. "What do you mean, uncle?"
Cassian’s hand stilled on my thigh, his eyes narrowing slightly as he registered the shock on my face.
"Norman is my older brother, Elvie," Cassian said, his voice dropping into a flat, dangerous register. "Which makes Asher my nephew."
My jaw dropped. The room felt like it was spinning around me.
All those years I lived under the Norman family’s roof... and Cassian was his brother? They shared the exact same bloodline?
"You... you never told me," I whispered, the words barely finding their way out of my mouth. "I lived in their house for years, Cassian! How could this....be possible?"
My mind raced back through every memory of my life in that house. Did Mr. Norman ever mention a brother? Did Asher? I searched every corner of my head, trying to recall a single conversation, a dinner table rumor, or a photograph on the wall. Nothing. Absolutely nothing came to mind.
How had I never met him before? How had I never put it together?
Cassian Reed. Norman Reed.
God, I was so clueless. I felt like the most naive girl in the world. The same last name was staring me right in the face this whole time, yet I never once connected the dots. I had just assumed it was a coincidence, or maybe I was just too wrapped up in my own misery to notice the obvious.
Cassian’s hands moved up, his broad palms cupping my face gently, bringing my frantic gaze right back to his dark eyes.
"It doesn’t change anything," he said, his tone surprisingly calm. "I’m sure you don’t remember because you were very young when I last stepped foot into that house. So chill, Elvie."
A surge of frustration flared in my chest. I threw him a glare. "I’m not going to just chill! You made me look like a total fool when you’re literally part of Asher’s family—"
"Don’t," he growled, his jaw clenched tight. "Don’t put me and that family together."
"I’m... I’m sorry, Cassian," I murmured, my voice softening as I looked into his eyes.
The dark edge in his face melted away, replaced by that familiar, possessive warmth. A subtle, wicked smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Good girl," he whispered softly.
He gripped my waist, dragging me forward until my body was pressed completely flush against his chest once again. He took my hand, placing my palm right over the heavy bulge pushing against the front of his trousers.
"Now," he murmured against my lips, his breath hot on my skin, "back to what we were doing. Daddy is hard. Make him feel better."