Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Saved by the bell

The door to Professor Jade’s office hissed shut, the hydraulic seal locking the room into a heavy, pressurized silence.

It was just as sterile and gray as the last time he was here, no personal touches, just data slates stacked with military precision, sharp angles, and the woman currently glaring at him from behind her obsidian desk.

Zaeryn stood in front of her, hands sliding casually into his pockets. He kept his posture relaxed, shoulders loose. He knew exactly why he was here, skipping her class after his marathon night with Ingrid and Genevieve wasn’t exactly subtle—but acting guilty would only give her more ammunition. With someone like Jade, showing weakness was like bleeding in shark-infested water.

"Explain," she demanded. She didn’t bother sitting. She rounded the desk, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. She stopped directly in front of him, arms crossing over her chest. The movement pushed her bust upward, straining the fabric of her severe outfit in a way that was excessively distracting.

"You missed my lecture yesterday, Mr. Noctis. My class is not optional. Neither is my patience."

"I overslept, Professor," Zaeryn said, keeping his voice smooth. He opted for partial honesty; it played better than a lie she’d see right through. "I had a... late night."

"A long night, was it?" Her brows climbed, disbelief coloring her tone. She stepped closer, deliberately invading his personal space. It was an intimidation tactic, one she likely used to make cadets crumble. "Do you think this academy is a social club? Do you think because you are a biological anomaly, you are exempt from the discipline required to survive here?"

Zaeryn didn’t back up. He held his ground. At this range, the sterile air of the office was replaced by her scent, crisp, clean, with that faint undercurrent of florals he remembered from their first detention.

His gaze dropped. He couldn’t help it. Up close, the buttoned-up strictness of her uniform only emphasized the voluptuous reality underneath. He tracked the rise and fall of her chest, the way her breathing had hitched just slightly.

"My eyes are up here, Noctis," Jade snapped, her voice cracking like a whip.

Zaeryn blinked, dragging his gaze back to her storm-cloud eyes. But he didn’t look embarrassed. He didn’t stammer or look at his shoes. Instead, a slow, lazy grin spread across his face.

"Just admiring the... strict adherence to the dress code, Professor," he drawled.

"You are testing boundaries you do not understand," she hissed. She leaned in even closer, her face inches from his. "You missed my class. That is a mark against your discipline. And in this academy, a lack of discipline gets you killed."

"I appreciate the concern," Zaeryn replied, letting his voice drop to a low rumble. "But I think I can handle myself. I’ve survived worse than a missed lecture."

"I’m not buying your excuse. And I don’t care if you can conjure golden swords or run through walls," she said, referencing his display in the Aegis Chamber. "If you cannot respect the academic rigor of this institution, you have no place in it."

"It won’t happen again," Zaeryn said, though his tone was more confident than apologetic. "I’ll get the notes from Morticia. I’ll catch up."

"Catch up?" Jade let out a sharp, humorless laugh. She poked him in the chest with a manicured finger, hard. "You think reading someone else’s notes is the same as attending my lecture? That is the arrogance of the uneducated. No."

"What do you mean... No?"

"You insulted my time and my curriculum," she said, her finger lingering on his chest, burning through the fabric of his uniform. "And for that, you are getting punished."

Zaeryn looked down at her hand on his chest, then back up to her eyes. They were furious, yes, but there was something else swirling in that stormy gray. Her pupils were dilated. Her chest was heaving slightly faster than a simple scolding warranted.

He remembered the System’s analysis from their first meeting: Hidden attraction to anomalies. Elevated heart rate suggests intrigue, perhaps arousal.

She wasn’t just mad. She was frustrated.... Sexually frustrated? And she was standing way too close for someone who supposedly wanted him expelled.

"So what’s the punishment this time?" Zaeryn asked, stepping into the heat rather than away from it. "Another ten thousand words? Or did you have something else in mind?"

Jade’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t retreat. "I’m considering recommending your expulsion from my course. Academic probation. You would be the first student in Lyceum history to fail Matriarchal Theory in the first week."

"You could do that," Zaeryn agreed, his voice dropping to a velvety whisper. He took a slow, deliberate step forward, forcing her to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. "But I don’t think you will. I think you like having me here too much."

Jade faltered. Her lips parted, a flush rising up her neck. "I—my interest is purely academic."

"Is it?" Zaeryn challenged.

He didn’t wait for permission. He reached out, his hand settling firmly on her hip, his thumb pressing possessively into the curve of her waist.

Jade gasped, her body going rigid. But she didn’t push him away.

"You dragged me in here the second I stepped into the hallway," he murmured, his thumb rubbing slow, taunting circles against her hip bone through the fabric of her skirt. "You get in my face every chance you get. You tell yourself it’s discipline, Jade... but we both know you’re just starving for attention."

"You’re undisciplined," she whispered, her voice trembling, though she leaned into his touch rather than away from it. "Reckless..."

"And you love it."

With a sudden, fluid motion, Zaeryn pressed her back against the edge of her sleek obsidian desk. He hooked his arms around her waist, lifting slightly so her feet barely hovered above the floor, bringing her face level with his. Her legs instinctively parted, and he stepped closer, his hips pressing against hers, the heat between them undeniable.

"You’re not mad I missed the lecture," he said, his hand sliding from her hip, gliding up her thigh. "You’re mad.... I make you feel things you can’t control."

Her composure shattered. The strict professor mask cracked, revealing the woman underneath. "You arrogant..."

"Am I wrong?"

His hand moved higher, ignoring the hem of her skirt, his fingers tracing the curve of her inner thigh the heat radiating from it. He brushed against the damp fabric of her panties, and she let out a choked, desperate sound.

"Tell me to stop, Professor," he challenged, his eyes dark and mocking. "Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll walk out that door."

Jade stared at him, her chest heaving against his, her hands gripping the lapels of his uniform to pull him closer. "I... don’t..."

She pushed her head towards him, smashing her lips against his. It wasn’t soft; it was aggressive, a release of pent-up frustration. She kissed him like she wanted to devour him, her tongue demanding entrance.

Zaeryn allowed it for a second, then took control. He broke the kiss, his hand moving firmly between her legs, cupping her heat through the fabric. She bucked against his hand, a moan tearing from her throat. She bit her lips as she struggled to hold in all the moans she wanted to let out.

"That’s it," he whispered against her lips, kissing her tenderly,while he rubbed the nub of her clitoris through her underwear, feeling how soaked she already was. "So wet for the student you want to expel. Hypocrite."

"Zaeryn, stop...," she gasped, her head falling back, abandoning all pretense of authority.

He slipped his hand beneath the fabric, his fingers brushing wet, slick skin. He was just about to slide inside her...

BRRRRRNNNG!

The academy bell rang out, a jarring, shrill sound that cut through the heavy atmosphere like a knife.

Jade froze. Her eyes snapped open, wide with sudden panic as the reality of where they were, and who they were, crashed back in. She scrambled back slightly on the desk, breathless and disheveled, her skirt hiked up to her hips.

Zaeryn didn’t flinch. He slowly withdrew his hand, bringing his fingers up to his face. He inhaled the scent of her arousal, his eyes locking onto hers with a devilish smirk.

He brought the same hand he used to her lips, "Saved by the bell, Professor," he said smoothly.

He stepped back, giving her space. While she tried to smooth her skirt and fix her hair with trembling hands, Zaeryn casually adjusted his uniform, looking completely unruffled.

"We’ll have to finish this ’punishment’ another time," he said, turning toward the door. He paused with his hand on the sensor, glancing back at her. She was still sitting on the desk, flushed, breathing hard, staring at him with a mix of fury and desperate want.

"Try not to miss me too much until then," he winked.

The door opened, and Zaeryn walked out into the corridor, leaving a wrecked Professor Jade behind him.