= Sarah POV =

  I decided to take a cold shower to cool down—not just my body but the relentless swirl of thoughts in my head. The chill of the water helped, but it couldn’t completely wash away the warmth that lingered from Chris’s touch and teasing.

  Afterward, I grabbed a change of clothes from the pile of unfolded undry on the bathroom shelf. I tossed my towel into the dryer, giving it a quick spin before hanging it up. It was a stalling tactic, I knew. I wasn’t ready to face Chris again, not after the way my heart had raced around her earlier. Just the thought of her made my face heat up.

  Was this love? I didn’t know, but it was definitely something—a pull I couldn’t deny, even if it left me flustered.

  Forty-five minutes ter, I finally emerged, my hair damp and curling at the ends. Peeking into the kitchen, I found the table already set. Dinner sat neatly pted, pstic covers shielding the dishes from dust and stray ants.

  “There you are,” Chris’s voice startled me as she rose from the couch, her ptop in hand. She leaned casually against the doorway, her presence filling the room with an easy confidence. “Didn’t think you’d take so long. What were you doing, pleasuring yourself?”

  I nearly choked on my own breath. “I was doing no such thing!” I excimed, heat flooding my cheeks. I hurried to the sink, fumbling for a gss of water to hide my embarrassment.

  Chris’s ugh was low and teasing. “You’re too easy to rile up. I should call you a pufferfish—you puff up at the slightest provocation.”

  I snorted mid-sip, which only made things worse as water dribbled down my neck and soaked into my shirt. I turned to gre at her, expecting at least a shred of sympathy, but all I got was a wicked wink.

  “Puff, puff,” she teased, settling onto a barstool with a catlike ease. She poured herself a gss of wine, the faint clink of the bottle against the gss making the air feel heavier, charged with something unspoken.

  I fought the urge to pout as I slid into the seat across from her. I knew I shouldn’t let her get to me—she thrived on this kind of back-and-forth—but it was impossible to resist. She pressed my buttons so effortlessly, like she’d memorized exactly how to fluster me.

  “Then what should I call you?” I shot back, tilting my chin up in defiance. “Vixen?”

  Chris’s lips curved into a slow, deliberate smile, one that sent a shiver down my spine. “Vixen, huh?” she drawled, swirling her wine. “I could get used to that, but it makes me wonder…what does that make you? Prey?”

  Her words hung in the air between us, and for a moment, the only sound was the faint hum of the fridge. My heart thudded in my chest as I struggled to hold her gaze, the intensity in her eyes making my pulse race.

  “I think I’ll stick with pufferfish for now,” she added, leaning back with a smirk. “It suits you—cute, spiky, and all too easy to catch.”

  I huffed, crossing my arms in mock indignation. “Just wait. One day, this pufferfish might surprise you.”

  Chris chuckled, raising her gss in a silent toast. “Looking forward to it.”

  “But at the end of the day, I’d prefer Mistress,” Chris grinned as she picked up a delicately prepared prawn from a prawn and mandarin sad and popped it into her mouth.

  My jaw dropped, the audacity, how could she just cooly decide such a dramatic shift in our retionship.

  Chris picked up another prawn and, with deliberate ease, brought it to my lips.

  “Open,” she commanded softly, her tone low and teasing.

  Against my better judgment—and possibly my sanity—I obeyed, letting her pce the prawn in my mouth. But as soon as it was there, I quickly pulling the prawn out and dropping it onto the empty pte in front of me.

  “You can’t…why would…don’t you think that’s a bit…” I stammered, my words tumbling over each other as I tried to regain some sembnce of composure.

  Chris leaned back in her chair, one brow arched, a wicked grin tugging at her lips. “What, my pet? You don’t think that’s what’s happening here already? Landlord and tenant, teacher and student… You’re the one asking, and I’m the one answering. You’re taking, and I’m giving. It fits the narrative, doesn’t it?”

  She reached for the discarded prawn and popped it into her mouth, chewing nguidly before adding, “Wouldn’t you want to get the details right for all your little online friends when you tell them about me?”

  My heart skipped a beat, panic blooming in my chest. Did Chris know about my streams? Then I remembered mentioning to her once how I liked talking to people online. That had to be what she meant…right?

  “That’s not what I—” I began, but Chris cut me off.

  In a swift motion, she leaned across the table, her hand cradling the back of my head as her lips crashed against mine. It wasn’t a gentle kiss—it was insistent, dominating. Before I could process what was happening, the prawn found its way back into my mouth, this time with far more persistence.

  I raised my hands, trying to push her away, but the attempt was feeble at best. Chris pulled back, her eyes glinting with satisfaction as I sat there, stunned, my mouth full of prawn and my body betraying me with an undeniable heat coursing through my veins.

  “Don’t waste food,” Chris said smoothly, her voice as controlled as ever. “My colleague and I spent ages deciding on this menu for next week’s ga. I want you to try it and tell me what you think.”

  She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, hands folded beneath her chin as she regarded me. Her gaze was sharp, predatory—a snake watching its prey with unnerving patience.

  I quickly chewed and swallowed the prawn, my movements stiff and awkward under her watchful eyes. Considering what happened when I tried to remove it earlier, I wasn’t making that mistake again.

  There was definitely something different about Chris tonight. She wasn’t just teasing—there was an edge to her now, bold and unapologetic. She seemed more… possessive, like she was staking her cim in no uncertain terms.

  And the worst—or maybe the best—part?

  I wasn’t sure I minded.