Chapter 1
I had heard of him. Everyone had been talking about the new Physics professor. When the girls on this campus call a guy hot, it’s usually an understatement.
There he stood—the devil himself. Professor Tobit Asmodeus.
I hadn’t gawked at a man the way I was gawking at him right now. Short, banded gingerish hair, neatly trimmed and combed. Gorgeous greenish-blue eyes. A squared jaw and the most handsome face I’d ever seen. He was dressed in a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black pants—the usual teacher attire—except most teachers didn’t walk around with a body that bulky. He looked very young, too.
I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t help wanting to see what he looked like without the shirt. He looked so hot.
“Good morning. I go by the name Tobit Asmodeus. To you, that would be Professor Asmodeus, and I will be your Physics lecturer for this semester,” the man began politely.
I was seated in the front row, right in front of him, but I could already hear the girls whispering in the far back. Even the male students looked intimidated, staring at him intensely. Everything about this man felt natural—his posture, the way he stood, how calm and confident he seemed. He walked around his desk and came to stand in front of me while speaking to the class. I wasn’t paying any attention. I was staring more at the way his lips moved than listening to a word he said.
“This is your sophomore year,” he continued, walking back to the desk. “So I’ll spare you the whole ‘work hard and study hard this semester’ lecture.”
He dropped in a corny joke, and the entire room laughed. He clearly had a great sense of humor. I could already tell he was a cool guy.
“And ladies… I am twenty-eight. But I’m not looking for anything, so please…” He added the comment in a rather flirtatious tone, and the girls at the back started giggling. Ugh. They were probably already thinking of ways to get into his pants.
To be honest, I hadn’t even realized he was this hot until I saw him in person. I’d started hearing the rumors the moment I set foot on campus. On my way to find my roster, even the secretary had told me I was lucky to have a hot mister like him as my lecturer—and that I should go for him quick before all the other whores on campus snatched him up.
One would think it was the men who went on Easter-egg hunts for women, but around here it was usually the other way around.
I’d only shaken my head at her and said I wasn’t interested. I had come here to focus on my studies. My dad died last year. Mom got remarried. Bon got accepted into the military. Ben is in rehab. Things hadn’t been great lately, and I wanted a fresh, clean start. I wanted to get my life back in order. That was the whole point of breaking up with Matias—I hadn’t been in the right headspace.
And then I walked into this room and saw Tobit. My Physics teacher. I almost melted under his presence.
He handed out textbooks, notebooks, and papers, explaining the syllabus and informing us about the tasks and tests we’d be doing over the next few months. He seemed like such a decent man—organized and very hot. Way out of my league. I highly doubted any of the girls here were in his league either.
After explaining everything, he walked to his desk, then suddenly started moving through every row, dropping a paper on each desk.
“A test already?” one of the students complained.
I widened my eyes and stared down. This had come completely out of nowhere. It must have been his way of testing us, of seeing what he was working with. He left one on my desk and stood there staring at me for a moment before continuing on. Once he’d given everyone a handout, he went to stand next to the large whiteboard.
“Relax!” He held his hands up and left the leftovers on his desk. “This will not affect your grades in any way. It’s just a small monkey-puzzle test I put together. It only requires general knowledge. The whole point is to see if all of you have what it takes to complete your second course in Physics. You may start.”
General knowledge. Perfect. I happened to be very good at that when it came to the scientific side of things. I’d been fascinated by science for as long as I could remember.
The first few questions gave me a head start, and I answered each one easily. I was the first to finish. I flipped the paper upside down and sat back, only to notice he was looking at me—staring, actually. I looked down to hide my blush, hoping he didn’t think I was some smart-ass student who thought she knew everything. I just didn’t see the point in taking my time when I already had the answers.
After about thirty minutes, he looked around. “Is everyone done?”
When nobody answered, he took that as a yes and began collecting the papers. He took mine last. As he passed me, he bent down a little and whispered in my ear,
“I want you to stay behind, Miss.”
In that moment it felt like I was in trouble. I tried to think of what I could have done wrong. Even though I knew I probably hadn’t done anything, I still planned on apologizing. I glanced around to make sure no one had heard him.
“I’ll be marking these and then I’ll let all of you know what I think tomorrow. Class is dismissed,” he announced, then looked at me, clearly waiting.
I took my time packing up, deliberately slow. I wanted to be the last one to leave so no one would see me go to him. Once the final person walked out the door, I stood, backpack still strapped over my shoulder, and walked slowly toward him.
He had my paper in his hand. He stared at it, flipped it over to check the other side, then looked back at me.
“Impressive,” he said.
I had expected a scolding, not a compliment. I blushed and smiled. “Thank you.”
“What’s your name?”
“Bonnie, sir.”
“Please… just call me Tobit.”
The fact that he didn’t expect formality made me feel a little more comfortable. I kept looking at him while fidgeting with my fingers. It seemed like he had more to say.
“I’ve heard about you. You’re a bright student, and I look forward to working with you. I do wonder about something, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you believe in the supernatural?”
It was an odd, yet very straightforward question. I was pretty sure he already knew what my answer would be, but I gave it anyway—honestly.
“I don’t.”
He looked at me for a moment, then smiled. “Good. A true scientist is one who lives by their own beliefs. You will make a great physicist.”
“Thank you, sir—I mean, Tobit,” I said, biting my lower lip. I checked the time and decided I should probably leave. I pointed my thumb toward the door. “I should probably go.”
“Yes, of course!” He nodded, kindly dismissing me.
I walked to the door and out of the room as quickly as possible. The second I was outside, I placed a hand on my chest. It felt like my heart was about to jump out of it.
What the hell was that?
