Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dean Anderson
I study her quivering form as my cock pulses in front of me. Eventually, her gaze slides down the front of my body to land at my dick, and her eyes widen. Such a show of innocence. It can’t be that she hasn’t seen a cock before.
But then, I might be her first man when all she played around with were boys. Either way, the manner in which she studies me is enchanting, enthralling, and wholly erotic. I want nothing more than to drag her down onto the roughened ground and have my way with her.
Fortunately for her, I don’t break my toys. Not like that, at least. A heavy sigh slips through my mouth as precum wells up to my tip. Yet again, I’m forced to have restraint.
Cumbersome, tiresome, irksome.
Crouching down, I run my fingers through her hair, memorizing the softness of her strands, the way her blue eyes darken just a touch as I caress her. It’s sentimental, I know. It’s fucking downright sappy. Right now, however, I want to commit this image to memory.
I want to see her like this, this puddle of goo and submission. Knowing her, it won’t last all that long. A wicked smile curves my cheek as I gather her into my arms and draw her against my chest.
Soon, it turns down into a ferocious frown. Shivers wrack her body, but not the pleasant kind. This isn’t the reaction I’m trying to elicit. I knew it was going to be a bit nippy out here, but her body feels so cold, like ice under mine.
A soft growl vibrates in my chest as I hoist her up and tuck her into my robe. As if on instinct, she snuggles in and robs me of my warmth. She can have it. She can have fucking all of me.
Her tiny whimpers tug at my heartstrings as I rest my free hand against the wall of shrubbery. “It’s no use,” she sighs against me, her voice almost inaudible over the pounding of my heart. “I turned the wrong way.”
“Are you absolutely sure about that?”
Again, she looks up at me, an air of defeat shuttering her features. Even so, she puffs up a touch, as if the very idea I’d find her wrong is abhorrent to her. Silly little fae.
Gripping her arm around me, she reaches out with the other and rests them on the slightly damp leaves. “See? Solid. My hand isn’t even going through.” Her lips turn into a frown as she looks at the scribblings on her skin. “I guess he was wrong.”
“Who?”
“The Russian brute. The one who looks like the entire cast of the WWE mushed into one guy.”
A bark of laughter rips from my throat and chest and shakes my frame hard enough I nearly drop my precious cargo. Now that she’s warmed up a touch, I don’t mind setting her back on her feet. “I’ve never heard Sergei so aptly described. The fact that I didn’t even have to wonder gives yet another point in your favor with your mastery of words.”
She ignores my compliment and stares at her hand, turning it this way and that. “Perhaps I did it backwards?”
“Let me see.” Gripping her wrist, I turn her palm over and chuckle. “It wasn’t fair of him to help you out. But then, this maze is created to be as confusing as possible. I would wonder how he even knew the path to take, but then it’s Sergei. I suppose it’s his business to know these things.”
Bringing her arm up, I graze the sensitive skin of her wrist with my teeth before continuing. “Sometimes, it’s not just about using your eyes. They can deceive you. Always.”
I back up a few steps and drag her against my body until the rasp of her cloak-covered ass grinds against my cock. How the hell did this turn into a teaching moment? Her arm feels slight in my grip, as if she’s ethereal, a wraith, a waif.
Small.
Moldable.
Breakable.
“What do you see?”
“A wall of ivy.”
“Anything else?”
A snort of frustration drifts from her lips as she turns to me. “I thought you were going to fuck me. Can’t you just bring me there and do it already?”
Despite the niggle of irritation at her instance, I can’t help but fall even more under her spell. She’s so unafraid of me, and I find that refreshing and entrancing.
“Am I not the dean of Loftry University? Make no mistake, Miss Hartwell, I was an educator first. If it is my prerogative to wax poetic in the hopes of teaching you a lesson, then you will endure it, thank me, and ask for more.”
Her nose scrunches up in that adorable way that has me both wanting to kiss the pert tip and swat her backside all in one frame of thought. Hopefully she’ll come to the conclusion sooner rather than later because all I want to do is bury my cock within the confines of her sweet, slick pussy currently caged behind that damp bit of fabric.
Hands on her hips, she turns around and really studies the wall. Granted, it’s not her fault she can’t figure it out right away. It’s created that way by design. Just like being a submissive to The Society, everything is crafted to keep her discombobulated and unsteady.
Thankfully, she doesn’t give up like I’ve seen other submissives do. Many of them, when confronted by the enormity of the maze, broke down and had to be carried out. A rare few have ever made it to the center. The fact that she’s so close, even with help, is astounding. I can’t let her falter now. Not when she’s come so far.
“It’s an illusion,” she murmurs under her breath as she slides her fingers through the leaves. “These feel different. They’re not the same as the ones growing on the other walls. Those, I’m pretty sure, are real. These feel fake.”
“Very good. What else?” My balls clench as she fingers the leaves, trailing the delicate tips over the points and dips as if memorizing the curves of a lover.
“Air. I feel a gust.”
Her body quivers as she shifts over, as if excitement finally creeps back into her. This is what I want. This is what I crave. It’s partly been her questing knowledge and thirst for cerebral stimulation that first drew me to her. She’s someone who can be my equal as she grows older.
I know I’m at least double her age, but the gaps certainly seem smaller when I can actually hold a conversation with her that’s not peppered with petulant “whys” or idiotic musings. Her only failing is that my minx can be a little too curious. A little too bold with her mind.
My own excitement grows as she follows the wall over to the edge and slides her fingers around. “Oh!” she cries out, turning to give me a self-congratulatory smile. “Oh, I see what you did! Oh, I love this!”
Gone is the despondency that seemed to cocoon her when I approached. There’s no trace of it anywhere. Instead, she’s vibrant, quivering even, as she goes around the wall.
It seems as if her adrenaline wards off the cold once more as she goes to the next barrier. She’s all smiles and soft, wonder-filled laughs as she goes to the next wall and so on. It takes far more time than it would for me to traverse this path by myself, but I don’t rush her.
This time is about her and exploration. I’ll have time enough for mine. Shuffling closer, I keep her within an arm’s reach from me. It’s not that I fear for her safety. Not when the best men I know stand poised to guard and listen out for danger. It’s more a need to be close to her, to know she’s real at any given moment.
Eventually, we go out into the clearing. A large fountain bubbles up from the center, surrounded by delicate snowdrops blooming around it. For a moment, she just stands there, her mouth hanging open as her jaw goes slack.
“Do you like my little paradise?” I murmur against her ear as I draw her body into the shelter of my arms once more.
As if on instinct, she snuggles back against me as a happy hum drifts from her lips. “I never knew something this pretty could be on campus. If I knew this was here, I would be visiting every day to do my homework and writing.”
A stab of panic cramps my insides as I curl my fingers into her shoulders. “You’re not coming back here. Tonight is a onetime thing. Don’t make the mistake that me wanting to fuck you will edge out the even greater need to discipline your naughty backside.”
“Oh,” she fairly hums. “I was expecting it. You do have such a heavy hand.”
My lips pull down into a fierce frown as I whirl her around to face me. “You just don’t get it.” With a jerk of my hand, I tear my mask off and toss it to the ground. “What you did tonight was fucking dangerous.”
For a moment, I think she might actually have some sense in that thick skull of hers, but instead, she crosses her arms and furrows her brows at me. “I watched a bunch of horny men jerk off onto a girl. Oooh. So scary.”
“You really aren’t afraid. Are you?”
“Of course not. I’ve seen worse in porn.”
“No. That’s not what I mean. You aren’t afraid of getting in over your head. Of making a mistake that can cost you everything. Nor of me. You aren’t at all worried about what I intend to do to you.”
A bit of pink washes over her cheeks as she ducks her head. “I mean, your cane sucks, but I think I can handle it now.”
“Oh. You do? You really think you do? You actually think that little bit of foreplay in my office is anything like what I can actually do to you?”
“Y- yes?”
Dragging my phone out of a hidden pocket in my robe, I speak into it. “You’re going to hear a lot of noise. I’m fine. She’s fine. Everything is fine. Doctor Andrew. My tools if you’d be so kind. We’re at the center.”
Her eyes widen as takes a step back from me. Finally, she has the right idea. For the first time tonight, an air of uneasiness swirls about her as each faltering twitch of her legs puts more space in between us.
Maybe I was wrong about her. Maybe she’s not as smart as I thought she was. She’s certainly not showing any intelligence. But then, she’s also not wrong. Perhaps it’s time I actually show her what it means to truly be mine.