THREE #2
He looked down at his wristwatch and smiled. “Five minutes early,” he stated with not only surprise but a hint of pride. “Come inside, Miss King,” he stepped aside, and I entered, getting a whiff of his mouth watering scent.
I was completely blown away by how beautiful this foyer was. The area was minimalistic. The walls and furniture were a mixture between dark grey and black with brown accents.
“This way,” he motioned his hand, and I followed him, passing the most beautiful and spacious living room with my heels clicking on the shiny tiles.
I had gotten so lost in my mom’s company during lunch that I didn’t have time to change.
We eventually reached what looked like his office and he opened the door.
“Have a seat,” he said, making my body want to collapse at his command, but I kept my composure. He gestured towards the black leather couch in the corner of the room. A couch? In his office? How rich is this man? Professor salary my ass.
I stepped inside, blown away by the fact that he had his own office too. I sat down, placing my bag down next to me. My eyes trailed around the room until he offered me something to drink, and I settled with water. As soon as he left, I couldn’t help but admire this place.
There was a bookshelf, a desk with a computer, a laptop on the coffee table in front of me, some papers and pens, the couch I was currently sitting on, and what looked like a mini bar section.
He returned in no time and placed my glass down on the table to my right. I thanked him, and he sat down next to me, with his legs spread out in front of him. Oh, my, he has a lap made for sitting on. Get it together, Dakota!
“Let’s get started,” he said, reaching forward to grab his laptop. Yes, fucking sir.
* * *
After what felt like hours, we had gotten pretty far. And comfortable.
He’d easily teach each chapter to me, and we got through a good amount of work. Instead of explaining the work to me so that I could remember, he taught me how to apply it to any type of question. I had simply been studying all wrong.
He said that most of the time we’d be given scenarios and needed to apply everything we learned, so simply memorizing information was pointless.
Whenever I stumbled with a question, he simply guided me to the right path with patience and at a steady pace.
I had been pacing up and down in his office every time he quizzed me.
When I didn’t know the answer of the last question, he sighed in defeat and I reached down to my textbook on the floor. I sat up on my knees, resting my ass against my ankles as I opened to the chapter we were studying.
I trailed my eyes along the page and when I realised I still couldn’t spot the answer, I shifted a little.
He was still seated on the couch behind me, so when silence dwelled between us, he leaned over my shoulder, pointing to the abbreviation at the bottom of the page. My brows furrowed.
His lips grazed my ear when he told me what the abbreviation stood for, and my chest tightened as I froze, holding my breath. “Please, tell me you knew that,” he said and I swallowed hard.
“Will you lecture me if I didn’t?” I quipped, turning to look at him but my stomach flipped. My eyes dropped to his lips, barely inches from mine and when my eyes grew wide I whipped forward again. Shit.
With my heart ramming in my chest, I cleared my throat, and found myself back on the couch as we continued.
“It made more sense the first time,” I admitted, looking down at my book, and I could feel his eyes on me.
“Then why did you have me explain it to you in a different manner?” he asked, and I ran my tongue across the top row of my teeth, trying not to smile.
“Because I thought it would make more sense the second time,” I truthfully answered, and when I turned to look at him, I caught his eyes lingering on my lips before he lifted his eyes to meet mine.
Heat pricked up the nape of my neck and suddenly I was hyper aware of the minuscule amount of space between us. His warm, minty breath fanned my lips and heat swirled in my lower belly.
His soft hazel eyes twinkled with a forbidden temptation, mirroring my own, and the slight brush of his pinky against mine sent bolts of electricity buzzing through my veins.
Professor Hale’s office door swung open, and I jolted back and away from him. “Where’s Kaden? I need some psychological help,” the man—tall and lean from the club and campus—immediately stepped inside.
He halted when his eyes landed on me, and I watched a flash of surprise and curiosity pass his face. What’s he doing here?
Professor Hale leaned back with his arm stretched out on the back of the couch, his fingers grazing my shoulder slightly. “One. I’m busy. Two. Yes, you do,” he calmly said with a hint of mischief in his voice.
My heart slammed against my rib cage as the professor in the doorway and I held intense eye contact.
Professor Hale spoke up again. “Dakota, I’m sure you know Chase from campus.”
Well, I didn’t. I mean, I recognised him for sure. But, I didn’t know him. I didn’t have any classes with him.
I smiled to greet him but he spoke, beating me to it. “You’re a tutor now?” he questioned Professor Hale, meeting his gaze, all while being eerily good at keeping his composure that I was certain he was slowly but surely losing.
Professor Hale nodded, and a door opened before slamming shut, and my body subconsciously flinched at the sound. Who the fuck—
“Found him,” Professor Hale almost humorously said, but Chase hadn’t seemed to get over the fact that I was still here.
The men had been exchanging silent words with mere eye contact and finally, Chase stepped back. “Excuse me,” he calmly said, and Professor Hale simply brushed him off by shifting his attention to me.
The office door closed and I slowly exhaled. “I thought professors were only friends on campus,” I leaned over in a playful whisper.
“Most of them are. Not us,” he replied, and I nodded in understanding.
“So you’re friends then? You and Chase?” I asked for clarification with a hint of suspicion. “Or like… more than friends?” I insinuated, and his calm expression turned into an intrigued one.
“Chase and I are friends, Dakota,” he stated, and I smiled, nodding. “Nothing more.”
“Right,” I cleared my throat—not believing him—as I stood. So, you’re telling me two hot guys are just casually living together? Yeah, right. Okay, fine. Maybe they are. But teasing Professor Hale just seemed like so much more fun.
“Where’s your bathroom?” I asked, looking down at him.
After he gave me directions, I followed them precisely until I reached their bathroom. I finished up inside and stepped out but nearly froze when I saw Chase heading for the stairs with Muscle Man from the club. He must be who Chase was looking for. Kaden.
The bonus was the fact that Chase was shirtless, showing his muscular back. Holy shit. They’re going to be so much fun to play with.
I snuck back into Professor Hale’s office and we continued, except this time, there was way more tension than before. When our gazes met and lingered, when his fingers brushed against mine sending spikes of heat through my body, or when his eyes stayed glued to my lips as I spoke.
The room had suddenly gotten smaller, and warmer.
It was time for him to quiz me and I got to my feet, pacing up and down as I answered. When he asked the last question, I turned my back on him so that he didn’t see the uncertainty on my face.
I answered slowly—reluctantly—and could feel his presence draw closer.
“That’s correct,” he eliminated the space between us until I could feel his entire body mere inches from me. His hips grazed my ass and the strong desire to arch my back crept up my spine. But, I didn’t. I refrained. Strong willpower and all that.
“You’re really good at what you do, Professor,” I admitted.
“I’m aware,” he murmured, his fingers gently tucking my hair behind my ear. His fingertips trailed down the side of my neck and over my shoulder, goosebumps following suit.
A lustful chill raced down my spine at the close contact. It was like my skin was burning and every little touch from him sparked the fire inside of me.
“You did exceptionally well today, Dakota. I’m quite proud of your progress.” Yeah, you better fucking be. Forcing me to concentrate with those big hands, not to mention Mr. Back Muscles and Dwayne The Rock Johnson upstairs.
“I’d like us to accomplish a lot more in our next session,” he said, his fingertips tracing a line down the side of my arm and I nodded in agreement. Me fucking too.
The traitorous warmth my belly had been brewing slipped between my thighs in liquid heat, dampening my panties. My mouth slightly opened when his lips grazed the shell of my ear.
Subtly, my thighs clashed together as a tightness formed in my chest. “I—“ My cell phone’s screen lit up and I looked down, seeing a text from my mother.
“Wednesday, right?” I cleared my throat, whipping around to face him. I reached down, picking up my phone and he nodded.
“Yes.”
My mom’s text read, ‘Have you seen my gold necklace?’ which was code for ‘Your father is losing it, sweetheart, don’t come home’.
“I need to go,” I blurted out, grabbing my bag, laptop, and notebook. “Mom says I’m late for dinner,” I lied, not meeting his eyes.
“I’ll walk you out.” He placed his hand on my lower back, holding suspicion in his eyes.