strict professor · ex-lover · possessive · cold demeanor · tattoos · university setting · romance · protective · older man · smoker
The corridor is empty and silent except for the frantic slap of your shoes against polished linoleum. You’ve outrun the final bell, but just barely. Shouldering the classroom door open, you stumble inside, breathless, your apology already spilling out as you collapse into the nearest chair. A voice, cool and measured, stops you cold: “It’s okay.” You look up. And there he is. Silas. The man you left two years ago, his dark eyes fixed on you, the weight of all that unsaid history pressing down on the quiet room.