Deviance | 18+ | ✓ | REWRITING

x v i .

Marie awoke to an empty side of the bed.

Turning over onto her back, Marie attempted to slip back into sleep. She didn't mind being alone - and she knew Nathaniel most likely had important work to get done in his office. Thus, she closed her eyes once again and let her body hug the second blanket Nathaniel had thrown over her at some point in the night.

But more importantly, Marie didn't want to think about the moments leading up to her falling asleep against his chest.

It was a moment of intimacy and vulnerability.

Two things Marie feared most in her life.

The sleep never came. Marie tossed and turned for a while before coming to the conclusion that her body was fixed on remaining awake.

Marie was feeling curious... and bold.

Before any hesitance could settle in, Marie slowly slipped out of bed, only wearing the oversized t-shirt the professor had given her.

She made her way down the steps to the main floor. Nathaniel's place was larger than most apartments. Marie thought about how the professor was single and living alone...

Marie wondered if he ever got lonely. She knew she did in her relatively minuscule studio apartment.

Marie paused before entering Nathaniel's study.

He had promised her one night. The sun hadn't risen yet...

Fuck it. Marie was here to get the most out of her time.

Marie pushed open the glass-paned doors of the office slowly, doing her best not to disturb the working professor. Nathaniel was at a black slate desk, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he looked up from his MacBook. The room was much more modern and sleek compared to his office on campus which seemed more archaic.

Marie spoke before Nathaniel could. "You work too much."

Nathaniel felt the stress and budding migraine building up within him dissipate as his eyes fell on Marie.

Only in a t-shirt and her face puffy from having just woken up, she immediately assuaged the professor's tension.

He didn't let that show. Because Nathaniel had come here to work as a distraction. A distraction from Marie, who was stirring things inside of him he didn't want to acknowledge. 

"Marie..." Nathaniel began to say, his tone heavy with impending warning. "You need to sleep."

Marie took a few more leisurely steps into Nathaniel's home study, admiring the view of the city from the window. "You do, too."

"Your body needs to rest and your wounds need to heal." Nathaniel shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "Go back to bed, Marie."

Marie felt herself stiffen at Nathaniel's tone. She could feel him shifting into his dominant persona...

Marie knew she should tread carefully but the brat in her enjoyed the twisted game.

Instead, Marie ran her hands over a side table next to the window panning the entire wall next to her. She feigned great interest at the books and coffee machine placed on it.

Nathaniel slowly shut his laptop. Marie was playing a dangerous game.

"What are you working on?" Marie asked innocently, flipping through a worn book on biopsychology absentmindedly. The overly intricate diagrams made zero sense to her. She just wanted to push Nathaniel's buttons.

"I have to write a speech for a donor's charity event. He's a very important man." Nathaniel's demeanor had shifted... he seemed calm. Marie felt chills shiver down her body.