Learning Little Lizzie (Littles of Rawhide Ranch #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

“Have you heard anything about our new professor?”

Eliza Bennett shook her head at Harmony’s whispered question. “Nope. Not a peep. But I hope he’s at least cute.”

When Harmony gasped, Eliza couldn’t help but giggle at the shocked sound. “What? If we’re going to have to sit through fucking algebra, the least they can do is give us a hot guy to stare at.”

“Just don’t go getting any ideas.” Wincing slightly, Harmony shifted in her chair. “Hooking up with a Rawhide-U professor isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Since Harmony’s Daddy was indeed a professor at Rawhide University where both she and Eliza were currently enrolled, Harmony was the voice of experience. But Eliza just rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I’m not looking to settle down with any of the men here. They’re all so strict. ”

“You could use someone strict, if you ask me,” Harmony muttered. “Keep you out of trouble.”

Tossing her dark ponytail over her shoulder, Eliza grinned. “Wouldn’t being with someone strict just mean I’d be in trouble more often, not less? ”

Not that she minded being in trouble. In fact, it had become almost like a game to see what kind of punishments the bossy-types at the Ranch would come up with for her. But a strict Dom would try to keep her from having any fun, and that would never do.

Life was too short not to enjoy it to the fullest.

“You know what I mean.”

But before Harmony could expound on the virtues of having a strict Daddy ruling over her life, the door to the classroom opened. Butterflies fluttered in Eliza’s stomach as she got her first glimpse of their new professor.

He wasn’t just good-looking. He was downright gorgeous.

“Hello, Professor Silver Fox,” Eliza murmured under her breath, inspiring a burst of giggles from Harmony and a few of the other students around them.

Professor Hottie turned and pinned them all with a glare that had other parts of Eliza’s anatomy fluttering along with the butterflies in her stomach. As she’d already noted, he was the very definition of a silver fox, with a head full of shiny gray hair and a closely trimmed beard in the same shade. Even his eyes were a dark and stormy kind of gray. Add in the exquisitely tailored three-piece suit and leather messenger bag over his shoulder, and he looked every bit the gentleman Dom.

Yum.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Professor Samuel Eaton, and this semester I will be your guide into the fascinating world of mathematics. I trust you all completed the workbooks I assigned over the summer, so after you pass those forward, we’ll begin with a quiz to gauge where the class is at as a whole.”

Shit . She’d completely forgotten about the workbook, even though Harmony had reminded her about a dozen times over the course of the summer. And she’d meant to do it, she really had, it was just that as soon as Harmony was out of sight, the reminder about her homework seemed to disappear right along with her.

Besides, who assigned homework over the summer? A sadist, that’s who. Unsurprising, given that he’d chosen to teach classes at a BDSM ranch.

Eliza shifted uneasily in her seat as the rest of the class dutifully pulled their workbooks from their backpacks and passed them forward to the front as instructed. While she enjoyed a little humiliation play as much as the next submissive, being caught off guard like this was more embarrassing than she cared to admit.

Especially when she looked up and found those piercing gray eyes locked on her.

To her relief, Professor Eaton didn’t comment on her lack of preparedness before collecting the workbooks from the rest of the class.

And then he pulled out a stack of quizzes.

Seriously? A pop quiz on the first day? More evidence of the man’s sadistic nature.

Grabbing a pencil from her bag, Eliza tried to focus on the questions. But it was clear that her forgetful nature was once again going to bite her in the ass. There were maybe two questions out of twenty she felt somewhat confident about answering, but the rest went completely over her head.

Fuck.

By the time the buzzer went off, indicating the end of the test, Eliza was feeling a bit sick to her stomach. She couldn’t afford to fail another class. Master Derek had already been very clear about her future at the University if she did.

“Pencils down.”

Stomach still churning, Eliza placed her pencil on the desk and passed her paper forward along with the rest of the class. At least she wasn’t just sitting there with nothing to hand in this time.

Small blessings, she supposed.

The rest of the class was a blur. She tried so hard to focus on the lesson, but every little thing seemed to be distracting her, from the way Harmony tapped her pencil to the bird that kept flying up to the window and hopping around on the sill. That happened a lot, usually when she was in a class she didn’t find very interesting, like math.

And nothing was more distracting than the teacher himself. Even when she was able to focus on him, all she could seem to think about was the deep timbre of his voice or how his hands looked tailor-made to deliver a spanking. Occasionally, his gaze would latch on to hers, and she would swear the corners of his mouth tilted up in a smirk. Like he knew some kind of secret she didn’t.

Needless to say, it was a relief when the bell rang to dismiss them from class.

A relief, unfortunately for her, that was short-lived. “Ms. Bennett. A word, please,” he said before she had a chance to pack her bag and flee.

He already knew her name? Did they give the new guys a crash course on the problem students or something? “Yes, Sir.”

While the rest of the class filed out, with Harmony pausing to shoot a sympathetic glance over her shoulder, Eliza gathered her things and slowly approached the stern-faced professor. It was her bad luck that the way he was watching her only made him about a million times hotter than he already was. Despite her declaration that she didn’t want a strict Dom in her life, she very much enjoyed going toe to toe against one. “I don’t need a lecture. I know I fucked up. ”

One silvery eyebrow raised in response and a muscle in his stubbled jaw jumped, making her heart race with excitement. Dammit, strict Doms with a short fuse were her kryptonite.

It was going to be a long year.

“First of all, I expect you to use respectful language while you are in my class. Second of all, I have no intention of lecturing you.”

She frowned, feeling a bit off-kilter by his assurances—and even more off-kilter by the fact he’d managed to rattle her so easily. “But… I didn’t do the work.”

“Yes, and while that is regrettable, it’s clear you understand the error of your ways.” That damned eyebrow raised another fraction, and she had to squeeze her thighs together against the flash of arousal. “However, the fact remains that you will need to complete the work in order to keep up with the rest of the class.”

“Oh.” Was that all? Easy peasy. “I can do that. If you give it back, I’ll work on it this week.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Let me see your schedule, please.”

Clutching her books to her chest, Eliza took a step back, suddenly wary of his intent. “Why?”

“So we can find an acceptable time for you to study with me.”

Oh, god, no. She wasn’t giving up what little free time she had so Professor Hardass could watch her struggle her way through math problems. “That’s not necessary. I can do it on my own.”

“You’ve already proven that is not the case.” Looking about as immovable as a mountain, Professor Eaton held out his hand. “Schedule, Ms. Bennett.”

She didn’t bother to hide her eye roll as she pulled out her schedule and handed it over with an annoyed huff. Another rush of adrenaline pumped through her veins as that muscle in his cheek jumped again. That barely-controlled temper was practically making her mouth water.

His gaze lowered from her to the sheet of paper in his hands and he hummed quietly. “Let’s see. Yes, we both have this afternoon free. Meet me back in this room at four o’clock, so we can make a plan for you to finish the workbook.”

Looking altogether pleased with himself, he handed the schedule back to her. “Tardiness will result in a punishment, Ms. Bennett. I trust I do not need to go into detail about what that means here at Rawhide.”

“No, Sir.” She was more familiar than most with Mr. Chambers’ office, as well as Master Derek’s. But a few swats with a paddle would be a small price to pay for seeing how many of Eaton’s buttons she could push.

Poor guy has no idea what he’s just gotten himself into.

A quick check of his schedule told him he had nearly an hour before his next class, which should be just enough time to track down Master Derek for a quick word. Or so he hoped, anyway. Since he’d been delayed in leaving Boston, he’d only just gotten to the Ranch the night before classes began instead of the full week early he’d been expected to arrive. Which meant he’d only had time for a brief tour of the facilities before his first class of the day.

Luckily for him, Derek was exactly where Samuel had hoped to find him, and with a few free moments in his schedule. With his signature welcoming smile, the owner of Rawhide gestured for Samuel to have a seat in one of his visitor chairs as he leaned back in his own.

“Don’t tell me you’re calling it quits after just one class. I thought you were made of sterner stuff, Samuel. ”

“Nothing of the sort.” Since time was short for both of them, there was no point in beating around the bush. “I met the infamous Ms. Bennett.”

Derek’s brows rose, but there was no other hint to his thoughts or emotions on his face. Keeping it close to the vest until he knew the lay of the land, as usual. “And? Thoughts?”

“A brat, through and through, just as you said.”

“Really?” A hint of curiosity twinkled in Derek’s pale gaze. “Right out of the gate. That’s quick, even for her.”

“Yes, well, I may have provoked her a tiny bit.” What else was a Daddy with a weakness for brats supposed to do when presented with such a perfect opportunity? “I was hoping you could tell me a bit more about her.”

“You mean other than her being a constant thorn in my side?” At Samuel’s raised eyebrow, Derek waved a hand. “Trust me, you’ll see what I mean soon enough. For starters, Eliza genuinely enjoys being punished, and it doesn’t matter one bit what type of discipline you choose. Spankings, paddlings, canings, writing lines, timeouts, extra chores—there is nothing she won’t endure with a smile. And then she’s right back to her old tricks.”

“How is she still here, then?”

“Nothing she ever does is truly malicious. It’s mostly just mild bratting, mouthing off a bit, maybe a prank here or there. Ask Grant about the time she glitter bombed his office.” A smile tugged at Derek’s lips before he seemed to catch himself. “But the big rules like no drugs or alcohol, things like that, she follows to the letter. It’s like she knows exactly where the line is and she won’t cross it but she’s damn well going to camp out and live there.”

“I see.”

Again, Derek’s lips twitched, but now there was a hint of mischief in his eyes as well. “I bet you do. She is pretty, isn’t she?”

Stunning, actually. With rich dark hair that seemed to come alive when she shook her head and those bottle-green eyes filled with mischief, she was leaps and bounds beyond just “pretty”. It was shocking to Samuel that even with her bratty reputation, some enterprising Dominant hadn’t managed to snatch her up yet. “She is. And I have a weakness for brats, as you well know.”

“I do know. You two would do well together, I think.”

It was comforting to know that some things never changed. Like Derek’s penchant for matchmaking. Normally, Samuel would have balked at being so blatantly set up, but he’d been captivated by Miss Eliza Bennett the moment he’d laid eyes on the picture Derek had attached to his plea for Samuel to come teach at the University and “help him with a brat problem” as the email had put it. “And that won’t be a problem, given my position?”

“Please. You’ll hardly be the first of our professors to fall for a student. At this point the University practically doubles as a dating service. All I ask is for you to be fair in dealing with her. No special treatment.”

“You know me better than that. If anything, she’ll be held to an even higher standard than her peers.”

Some of the tension visibly eased from Derek’s shoulders and his grin widened at Samuel’s words. “I would expect nothing less from you. There is one other thing, though.”

“What is it?”

“Eliza does not identify as a Little. And she’s shown no interest in anything related to ageplay. In fact, when I’ve mentioned spending some time in the Littles’ Wing, just to give it a try, she has very adamantly refused.”

“That’s disappointing.” Samuel wasn’t just a Daddy in name. He wanted nothing more than to find a Little girl who would rely on him for everything.

Everything .

“I know. If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if she does have a Little side, despite her protests. I do have a sixth sense about these things, you know.”

“So I’ve heard. But you know better than anyone how important it is to honor a submissive’s limits.”

“Ah, but there’s the catch.” Derek pulled open a drawer and withdrew a small stack of papers to hand over to Samuel. “She doesn’t have ageplay listed as a hard limit. As you’ll see, she has almost no hard limits at all.”

“Really?” Taking the papers, Sam flipped through them, anger boiling in his veins as he studied the pages. Other than a few obvious exceptions like scat play and water sports, every single item on the “kink survey” all residents and guests were required to fill out was marked “Yes”. Not a single “Maybe” or “No” to be found.

And, as Derek had said, that included every single item in the ageplay section. Including wearing and using diapers. “Did you talk this over with her? You made sure she understood what she was signing?”

“Of course. She knows what every single item on that list entails, even if she hasn’t tried it herself. I quizzed her on them in person. And she swears she is open to them all. When I got to the ageplay section, I could see they made her uncomfortable, so we spent a fair bit of time going over those items. But no matter how hard I pushed, she continues to maintain that she ‘Doesn’t like that sort of thing but it’s not a real limit’.”

“I see.” He didn’t, not really. It seemed unlikely she was actually open to every single thing on Derek’s extensive list. There was a reason behind her lack of limits, but the mystery only made her more alluring. “Interesting. ”

“Yes.” Derek tapped a finger against his desk, and Sam could practically see the struggle playing out on his face before he finally spoke again. “As a matter of principle, I would not push ageplay, or anything else really, on a submissive who wasn’t interested in such. The role of the Ranch is to allow people to explore their personal interests and kinks, not to force them to endure things they are not comfortable with. That being said, if a Dominant, even one in my employ, felt that it might be an effective punishment for their submissive, I would not interfere in that decision.”

“I see,” Sam repeated slowly, his mind racing with possibilities.

“And while a romantic relationship certainly can’t be forced on any of my students, I am well within my rights to assign them guardians as needed. Said guardian would be responsible for any and all discipline that submissive may earn during the course of their arrangement.”

Ah. So that was why Derek had brought naughty little Eliza to Samuel’s attention. “Are there any punishments a guardian would be exempt from utilizing?”

“As long as you honor her limits, nothing is off the table.”

Her practically non-existent limits, which he couldn’t wait to test. “Then I humbly offer myself for the role of Eliza Bennett’s guardian.”

“Offer accepted.” Derek smacked his hand on the desk like a judge striking a gavel. “I’ll inform Eliza as soon as her classes have finished for the day.”

“As it happens, she has an appointment with me at four this afternoon. Why don’t you join us in my classroom?” Two birds, one stone, as it were.

Rising to his feet, Derek stuck out his hand and they shook on it, sealing the deal. “It’s a date.”