This time, I didn’t move her hand away.

Bad decision. Terrible decision. My chemistry project stared accusingly from my laptop screen. The clock on the wall showed 11:08. Less than an hour to finish before Vivienne claimed her time slot.

"I need to work," I said, but my voice lacked conviction.

"Work later." Her hand slid higher. "I need help with another formula."

"What formula would that be?"

"The one for friction." Her smile turned wicked. "You know, force times the coefficient of..."

She didn’t finish because I grabbed her wrist, stopping her hand’s upward journey.

"Cassidy."

"What?" Those purple eyes gazed into mine, challenging.

"You’re playing with fire."

"Maybe I like getting burned."

We stared at each other, her wrist still captured in my grip. The air between us crackled with something dangerous.

"Your mother will kill me." My voice came out rougher than intended.

"She doesn’t have to know."

"Your sisters—"

"Got what they wanted." Her eyes flashed. "Vivienne and Sabrina already staked their claims. Even Harlow had you trying on cat ears or whatever the hell they were doing. What about me?"

"This isn’t a competition."

"Isn’t it?" She leaned closer. "Then why does it feel like one?"

I released her wrist and turned back to my laptop. "I need to finish this project."

"And I need you to look at me the way you looked at Vivienne last night."

The raw honesty in her voice made me turn back. Cassidy Valentine, the fierce tennis player, the rebel, the storm—looking vulnerable.

"I do look at you," I said quietly. "Too much."

"Prove it."

Challenge accepted. I grabbed her waist and pulled her onto my lap in one fluid motion. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she recovered quickly, adjusting to straddle me in the library chair.

"Careful what you ask for, Valentine."

Her hands settled on my shoulders. "I always know exactly what I’m asking for." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

I ran my hands up her sides, watching her react to my touch. "What about your math problems?"

"Fuck math."

"Pretty sure that’s not in the curriculum."

She laughed, and I felt it vibrate through her body against mine. "You’re such an asshole."

"Yet here you are."

"Here I am." She rocked her hips slightly, making me grip her waist tighter. "Going to do something about it?"

The rational part of my brain screamed about boundaries and jobs and sisters and mothers and every other complication. The rest of my brain had effectively short-circuited.

I checked my watch. 11:15. Forty-five minutes until Vivienne came looking for me.

"I need to finish my project."

"Are you serious right now?" She looked incredulous.

"Dead serious." I lifted her off my lap and back into her own chair. "And you need to finish your problems."

"You’re unbelievable."

"I know." I turned back to my laptop. "But I also need this grade, and you need to pass that test."

She stared at me for a long moment, then grabbed her pencil with unnecessary force. "Fine. But this isn’t over."

"I didn’t think it was."

We worked in tense silence for the next thirty minutes. My fingers flew over the keyboard, banging out analysis and conclusions while my brain kept replaying the weight of her on my lap. Focus, Angelo. Chemistry now, chemistry with Cassidy later—wait, not that kind of chemistry. Fuck.

At 11:45, I saved my document and attached it to an email to my professor. Done with five minutes to spare.

"Finished," I announced.

Cassidy looked up from her notebook, where she’d actually completed all twenty problems. "Congratulations. Want a trophy?"

"How about you show me what you’ve learned instead?"

She pushed her notebook toward me. I checked her work—seventeen out of twenty correct. A massive improvement.

"See?" I said. "You can do this when you focus."

"I’m better when properly motivated." Her foot nudged mine under the table. "Speaking of which, I completed four sets of five. That’s four questions you owe me."

"I answered one already."

"Then you owe me three." She closed her notebook and fixed me with that purple stare. "First question: did anything happen with Sabrina last night?"

"She came to my room. We talked. She left."

"That’s not the full truth."

"She kissed me. Nothing else happened."

Cassidy’s eyes narrowed. "So Sabrina kissed you, Vivienne kissed you... what about Harlow?"

"No. And that’s two questions."

"Fine." She tapped her fingers on the table. "Last question, most important one."

I braced myself.

"What happens when I lose the bet and become your pet for a day?"

My throat went dry. "That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you actually lose the bet." I gathered my papers, needing something to do with my hands. "And on whether I decide to collect."

"Oh, you’ll collect." She reached out, fingers catching my wrist. "And I’ll make sure it’s worth your while."

The door opened, and Vivienne stood in the entrance, impeccable in her cream blouse and navy slacks. Her eyes took in the scene—Cassidy’s hand on my wrist, our chairs suspiciously close together, the tension obvious in the air.

"It’s twelve o’clock," she said coolly. "My time slot begins now."

Cassidy released my wrist but didn’t move away. "We’re not quite finished."

"Your scheduled time with Isaiah ended two minutes ago."

"Since when do we schedule time with the staff?" Cassidy’s voice dripped sarcasm.

"Since Mother hired him to help all of us," Vivienne countered. "Not just you."

I stood up, gathering my laptop and papers. "We’re done anyway. Cassidy completed her practice problems."

"All of them?" Vivienne looked genuinely surprised.

"Most of them correctly, too." I couldn’t help the pride in my voice.

Vivienne’s expression softened slightly. "That’s... excellent progress, Cass."

"Don’t sound so shocked." Cassidy stood too, stretching her arms above her head in a way that made her shirt ride up. "I contain multitudes."

"Indeed." Vivienne’s gaze flicked to the exposed skin at Cassidy’s midriff, then back to her face. "Mother will be pleased."

"Mother can choke."

"Cassidy!"

"What?" Cassidy grabbed her notebook. "She threatened Isaiah’s job over my GPA, then threatened his sister when that didn’t work. She’s a monster in Chanel."

Vivienne didn’t argue, which spoke volumes.

"Are you ready?" she asked me instead. "We have several matters to discuss before Mother calls at two."