Nocticadia

by Keri Lake

“I came here to find answers, Professor. I’m not afraid to ask questions.” “At what cost? Your scholarship? Your future? Your life?” “Is that a threat?” “Yes.” One step forward backed me against the shelf behind me, and he threw out his hand, creating something of a cage. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with.” I’d been cornered by men before, terrified of them, but that wasn’t the case with Professor Bramwell. This almost felt like an invitation. A dare. Heart pounding in my chest, I gave a defiant tip of my chin. “Who am I fucking with?”

“That is the tragedy of women, isn’t it? We deny ourselves beauty for the sake of misleading men.”

I liked that he was older. More mature. I’d always been attracted to older men.

Because I wasn’t every other student. I was the one who’d given her professor a blow job and carried his check for five grand in her bag.