Semua Bab His Forbidden Model: The Professor's Obsession: Bab 21 - Bab 30

DavinTwo weeks.That was how long I’d stayed away from campus.Partly because I needed the distance. Mostly because I finally believed I’d gotten whatever madness had taken hold of me out of my system.The paintings had stopped, and the restless urge to pick up a brush every time Jasmine crossed my mind had faded. Not completely, but enough for me to return to work.Besides, there was a meeting with the dean the next day about the upcoming exams. Jessie had been handling my classes while I was away, and I needed to see how much of the syllabus she’d covered and what was left.It was time to get my life back on track. Jasmine was my student. Nothing more, and that was exactly how it needed to stay.The lecture hall was its usual self when I walked in—low chatter as students settled in.I dropped my notes on the desk, gave my usual greeting, and began.Everything felt normal. Or it should have, except that every few minutes, my eyes drifted across the room without my permission.The le

JasmineI grabbed my bag from the locker, slung it over my shoulder, and headed out front.Peggy and Davin were still where I’d left them.The moment his eyes met mine, my grip tightened around my bag. A frown settled on my face before I could stop it.I walked toward them without slowing, every step reminding me of the way he’d spoken to me the last time we’d met.“I’m done, Peggy,” I said, forcing a smile for her. “Everything’s locked up.”“Oh, thank you, dear.” She reached over and squeezed my hand warmly. “You didn’t have to stay this late.”“It’s okay.”She glanced outside through the glass doors. The streets were almost empty now.“It’s nearly midnight.” She looked between Davin and me before smiling. “My grandson will drop you off at home.”“No.”The word came out so quickly and sharply that even I was surprised by how cold it sounded.Beside Peggy, Davin turned his head toward me. For the briefest second, something flickered across his face. Surprise, maybe—but whatever it was

JasmineBy the time we were done with the practical, my hands smelled like starch, and my feet were stinging from standing for hours.Ari peeled her gloves off while she was still muttering about her titration numbers.“Tell me 0.24 molar isn’t garbage,” Bella said, shrugging out of her lab coat.“It’s not garbage. Mine was basically the same,” I said as I took off my gloves and threw them in the bin.“Close isn’t the same as right,” Ari said, though she was grinning when she said it because she loved being right almost as much as she loved being smug about it.We were still going back and forth over decimal points when Mia walked up to us with a huge smile, waving like she hadn’t nearly torched my whole life a month ago. I forgave her a long time ago—but my friend? Not so much.“Hey, guys!”Ari’s smile dropped like someone pulled a plug. “What the hell are you doing here?”“Ari.” I let out a sigh. “She apologized. Can you just let it go, please?”“Sure, as if that fixes everything.”

DavinI’d told myself the sessions would stay exactly an hour.An hour was reasonable. It was professional, and it also felt like there would be enough distance between us, enough that I could still call this arrangement what it was supposed to be—an artist and his subject, nothing more complicated than that.We were forty minutes past the hour now, and I hadn’t said a word to her about ending it—or about anything else, for that matter.Jasmine stood under the lights, restless as she shifted her weight onto one hip and then the other every few minutes. Her attention was fixed somewhere past my shoulder, the way it always was when she got tired of holding still.I should have ended the session a long time ago. But instead, I reached for a fresh sheet of paper and told myself I just needed one more study of the way the light caught her collarbone.That was a lie, and I knew it the moment I thought it.“You’re stalling,” she said without looking at me. “Are you trying to punish me on pur

DavinI was grading lab reports when someone knocked on my office door; two sharp raps followed by a pause that felt deliberately timed, like whoever stood on the other side had rehearsed the entrance.“Come in.”The door opened, and it took me a second longer than it should have to place her. Mia Laurent. One of Jasmine’s classmates, though I’d only ever seen her in passing, usually in the hallway or in class, conversing with her friends.Today, she’d clearly put effort into the visit. She wore a dress that belonged more in a nightclub than at a university. Her hair was styled in loose waves, and her lips were painted a shade of red that struck me as familiar, though I wondered why. I didn’t like where that thought led, so I set it aside.“Professor Jackson.” She said my name sultrily, like she was testing how it felt in her mouth. “Do you have a minute?”“I have office hours until four.” I gestured toward the chair across from my desk, already reaching for the next report in my stac