Chapter 2

In the dream, Elliot Kingsley sat at a desk in a dark wood-paneled study. His sleeves were rolled to the elbow and a pair of reading glasses sat low on his nose while he worked through a stack of quarterly reports. He was still in college, but the Kingsley heir didn't get to wait until graduation to learn the family business.

I, meanwhile, was wearing what the system had picked out for me: a black lace slip that barely counted as clothing and a pair of red stilettos. I took my time crossing the room.

"Elliot," I said softly. "Could you help me with something?"

I wound both arms around one of his and leaned in close.

With the system's boost working on him, he reacted fast. His face stayed perfectly calm. His throat didn't. I watched him swallow, hard.

"What do you need?"

The way he looked at me now was dangerous.

"I've never done this before." I caught my lip between my teeth and made my eyes as big and helpless as I could. "Will you show me how?"

He pulled me into his lap in one move, his breath hot against my ear. "For you? Anything."

He carried me to the bed and laid me down.

"Oh, thank God." I rolled out from under him, grabbed the folded paper I'd smuggled in, and slapped it flat on the sheets. "Problem seven. I've been stuck on it for three days. You're a genius, so if anyone can teach me, it's you."

So we spent the whole night in bed. Doing calculus.

I woke up the next morning feeling incredible, fully charged, like I'd drained every last drop out of him.

[Elliot Kingsley | Affection +10 | Current: 10/100]

[Points +120]

I rubbed my eyes, read the details, and burst out laughing. He'd really done it. He had tutored me for an entire night, starting with limits and going all the way through Taylor series.

"Okay," I muttered. "Free one-on-one tutoring from a math genius? It would be an insult to this system if I didn't make him mine."

I was mid-stretch when another notification popped up.

[Achievement Unlocked: Thirst Trap, Homework Edition]

[Wore the lingerie. Did the calculus.]

[Reward: 60 points]

I laughed even harder. At least my system had a sense of humor.

I opened the shop to look for something that would help me study and nearly choked at the prices.

Last life, I never had the time or energy to study. I started at the bottom in sales: drinks with clients I couldn't stand, people talking down to me, people looking straight through me. It wore down my body and my mind, and that was the price I paid for where I ended up.

So this time, what I wanted more than anything was a sharper brain and the ability to learn fast.

Downstairs, Juliet was at the stove, frying an egg.

She was in an old, faded T-shirt, poking at the pan like it might bite her. The Girlboss System came with a self-reliance clause. Nobody was cooking for her anymore.

She took one look at me, bright-eyed and well rested, and her face soured.

"Wow. Settling into your new role already? Careful you don't screw yourself to death."

I didn't even get mad. I just pointed at her pan. "Worry about yourself. If that gives you food poisoning, the ER bill's on you now."

Grease spat out of the pan and Juliet shrieked. Watching her suffer put me in an even better mood, and I hummed all the way to campus.

The university looked as rich as ever. Fountains, statues, flower beds trimmed with a ruler. Money in every direction.

I crossed the quiet quad in the early morning, and everything felt different from last time.

In the library, I pulled out a problem set and tried the method Elliot had drilled into me all night. Problems I couldn't touch before suddenly opened up.

I didn't put my pencil down until my stomach growled.

The dining hall was packed at lunch. I carried my tray to a corner table and opened my notebook to review.

A shadow fell across the page.

I looked up. Elliot Kingsley was standing over me, faint gray circles under his eyes.

"Did you figure out the problem from last night?"

He said it quietly. My spoon froze halfway to my mouth.

"Thanks to you, it finally clicked." I kept my face calm. "And if I get stuck again, I'm counting on you to teach me just like last night. As passionately as you can. All night long. Until you've got absolutely nothing left."

I made that last part as suggestive as humanly possible.

[Elliot Kingsley | Affection +5 | Current: 15/100]

He set his tray down across from me. The whispers started immediately.

"Who is she? Elliot Kingsley's having lunch with her?"

"Maybe her family does business with his?"

The gossip spread across the dining hall. Elliot tapped one long finger on the table, and every curious face suddenly found something else to look at.

"Integration by parts," he said. "Why do you keep picking the wrong u?"

I almost choked on my soup.

The math genius had genuinely treated a sex dream like a tutoring session.

"So," I said, leaning toward him and letting the collar of my shirt fall open just enough, "are you offering to tutor me personally?"