FIVE
DAKOTA
I bit back a grin in shock as he exhaled sharply, glancing down at his now-soaked shirt. The white fabric clung to him, outlining a physique far more interesting than any professor should have.
“Wow,” I heard Solace say beside me. What do we have here…
Some girls seemed to have a field day with the sight, giggling loudly, while others gasped and whispered.
I strolled forward, twirling the hose in my fingers. “Oops,” I said smoothly, barely masking my amusement. “Guess I got a little carried away.”
He slowly lifted his gaze to me, his jaw tight while swiping a hand down his shirt.
“Miss King,” he said, his voice level but laced with something unreadable. “Try to aim more carefully.”
I slowly stepped back, giving him a single nod. “Of course, sir.”
Part of me felt guilty because it may or may not have been an accident, but the other part of me between my thighs was beaming at the display of… well, him.
I whipped around and Solace elbowed me hard when I stopped beside her. “You did that on purpose.”
I simply shrugged, feeling the heat of Professor Hale’s lingering gaze on my back. “Maybe,” I said, tossing the sponge back into the bucket. “And?”
She humorously shook her head. “You’re going to get in trouble.”
My grin widened. “Only if he catches me,” I playfully whispered to her before bending over the hood of the car I was washing.
My ass was evidently out, and I watched him leave from my peripheral vision.
There. Now, he’s soaking wet. I did end up getting what I want, because, don’t I always. But regardless, I hope he wasn’t too mad. It was a genuinely funny mistake. Plus, with a body like that, he has no reason to be embarrassed.
“Here,” Solace grabbed my attention, handing me a white button-up shirt. My brows pinched together and she explained, “Asher keeps an extra shirt in his car. Go.”
My confusion only expanded. “How did you get into Asher’s car so quickly?”
She dangled the keys in front of me. “These.”
“And why do you have the keys to Asher’s car?” I folded my arms over my chest.
“You’re stalling. Go!”
I sighed, rolling my eyes as I dried my hands. I took the shirt, following in the direction of Professor Hale.
I made my way down the hallway until I eventually got to his classroom, where I was assuming he’d be.
As I stepped inside, I watched him stand with his back to me, shrugging off his wet shirt.
His back muscles flexed as he moved before holding his shirt in one hand. Well, this was a fun surprise.
His head snapped up at the sound of the door closing behind me.
His jaw clenched, and I swore I saw a flicker of something dangerous in his eyes before he schooled his face back into that usual, unreadable expression.
“Dakota,” he said, reaching for his dry shirt like he’d just realized he was half-dressed.
“You left the door open. Thought that meant I could come in.”
His lips twitched like he wanted to smile but was holding back. “It wasn’t an invitation.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” I shot back, pulse racing.
A charged silence settled between us. He made no move to cover himself, and I made no move to leave.
“You’re in my classroom?” he murmured in confusion.
I leaned my ass back against one of the desks, arms crossed and not looking away.
“And you’re half naked.” A slow smirk curled on my lips. “If I didn’t know any better, Professor, I’d think you were trying to seduce me.”
“Miss King.” A warning. “That’s not appropriate.”
“Neither is stripping in your classroom with the door open,” I shot back, tilting my head. “But hey, who am I to judge? If you needed a little attention, all you had to do was ask.”
His exhale was sharp, but he refused to look at me, focusing instead on fastening the buttons of his dry shirt. “You were the cause of my shirt being drenched.”
“Mm-hmm.” I hopped onto one of the desks, legs swinging. “So you weren’t waiting for me to walk in and get flustered?”
He fastened his last button and turned to face me fully, arms crossed now, his usual armor back in place. “Are you flustered?” Damn him. He knew exactly how to turn the tables. But, two could play that game.
I slid off the desk and strolled closer, stopping just shy of touching him. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, could see the way his throat bobbed just slightly, the way his grip tightened on his bicep.
“No,” I murmured, looking up at him through my eyelashes. “Are you?”
His jaw locked. His eyes darkened. And for a second—just a second—I thought he might snap, close the space between us. But then, he stepped back.
“You can see yourself out, Miss King,” he said, his voice clipped.
I grinned, victoriously. Oh, this was getting fun. “Brought you a dry shirt, but it looks like you don’t need it,” I mentioned, lifting the shirt. I tossed it onto his desk before stepping closer and lifting my hands to his collar.
“Is that your way of apologizing?” he asked, allowing me to fix his collar. It didn’t need fixing, I just wanted to get closer to him.
“It was an accident,” I pressed, but he evidently didn’t believe me. “There,” I murmured having fixed it.
“Then you have no business being here any longer,” he calmly stated, hazel eyes staring down at me. Being this close to him made the golden brown around his irises pop. Forest green rimmed his pupils, with a lighter green melting into the brown. His eyes are beautiful.
My lips slightly parted when he removed any and all space between us with one small step, his front firmly pressed to mine.
“You have cars to attend to,” he insisted—clearly resisting the urge to keep me in here longer with him.
“Yes, sir,” I mused, watching a flame of dark desire burn behind his eyes before he gripped my nape with his large hand, pressing my body to his.
“Professor Hale,” he corrected me. His warmth settled between my thighs, grazing my clit.
“What?” my lips formed a playful pout. “You don’t like it when I call you, sir?” I asked, eyes glued to his mouth.
His body stiffened against mine.
As though he knew better, he dropped his hand from my neck and stepped back, but I matched his step, refusing to allow distance between us.
“You seem tense, sir,” I murmured, lifting both of my hands to place them on his sturdy chest.
“Dakota.” The slight rasp of his voice fueled my unexplainable pull to him, and as much as I knew I was on dangerous territory, I couldn’t stop. I wanted him. I wanted him knowing this was fucked. Wanted him even though he was my professor and us having any sort of relationship was unethical.
My teeth faintly nibbled my bottom lip, my head slightly tilting to the left, and without fail, his eyes caught the movement.
Using his chest for support, I lifted myself to my toes, hovering my lips over his ear. “I really enjoy hearing my name roll off your tongue, sir,” I whispered, feeling both of his hands grip my waist. “It’s so… sexy,” I finally admitted, pressing my chest to his.
I took hold of one of his hands, sliding it down my back, allowing him to grab my ass and I watched his eyes darken with frustration.
“Did you enjoy watching me today, sir?” I asked, trailing my lips over the shell of his ear. “Dripping, soaking wet, bending over the hood of your car.”
His shuddered breath hit my neck, pulling tiny goosebumps from my skin.
My next question caused a rough noise to slip from his throat. “Did you enjoy knowing that I wanted you behind me, forcing me to stay bent over while you did very bad things to me.”
With my entire body pressed to his, I slowly trailed my lips down his jawline, stopping mere inches from his lips.
“Do you like feeling me this close to you, sir?” My voice was tiny, coated in honey as I looked up at him through my dark eyelashes.
Lust bubbled inside of me when something long and thick pressed to the inside of my thigh. The hair on the back of my neck rose. I didn’t doubt that he’d be big but that…
His long fingers curled around my nape as he moved me, bending me over his desk.
He pushed his hard erection against my ass and I sucked in a quick breath, my heart pounding.
I placed my hands flat on the desk, to lift myself, but he grabbed my wrists, pinning them behind my back, rendering them useless.
“Is this what you want, Dakota?” His voice was hoarse, his actions driven by his desire.
His hold on my wrists tightened as he pressed himself against my ass one more time and my bottom lip curled between my teeth.
Don’t moan, don’t moan, don’t fucking moan.
This is sick, Dakota, and wrong. So, fucking, wrong.
I could feel him lower himself, hovering his lips over my ear. His warm breath fanned against my skin and I shifted against him, feeling the ache between my thighs.
There was a thunderous knock at the door, and my body stilled, panic licking my spine. With a sharp exhale, Professor Hale stood upright, holding me firmly in place.
His tone was wrapped in frustration. “I’m busy.”
There was a brief moment of daunting silence, until the door creaked open and my chest tightened. I squirmed against Professor Hale’s grip—fearful of who might enter and see us like this—but he didn’t budge.
Professor Chase Madden and Kaden both stared back at us, standing side by side. Kaden closed the door behind them, and I watched Professor Madden cross his arms over his broad chest, running his tongue on the inside of his cheek with dark eyes piercing through us. Oh, he was pissed.
His gaze met mine—his voice holding authority. “Get out.”
I swallowed the ball of anxiety lumping in my throat, tugging my wrists from Professor Hale but his fingers only tightened around me.
Then, Professor Hale’s words made my stomach drop. “She doesn’t listen to you.”
Professor Madden’s eyes snapped to Professor Hale’s, a spine chilling glint of something unreadable dancing behind them. This was more than a professor caught with his student. This was something else.
“Logan.” Kaden finally broke his silence. The edge in his tone held a warning, but something told me it didn’t frighten Professor Hale as much as it did me.
“Who do you listen to, Dakota?” Professor Hale asked, curling his fingers around the back of my neck as he helped me stand on my feet again.
I swallowed hard, feeling him turn my face to look at them. With his body firmly pressed to mine, he lowered his lips to my ear and I held back a shudder. “Tell them who you listen to.”
I was fearful as I met Professor Madden’s gaze, then Kaden’s. My heart pounded and I turned my head to look back at Professor Hale.
“You.”
The room fell into silence, and Logan’s eyes danced with undeniable mischief. Maybe even a hint of pride.
“I’ll see you on Monday, Dakota.” He let go of me entirely, and my knees nearly buckled without his support. I lowered my gaze, heading to the door before slipping between Professor Madden and Kaden, exiting the classroom.
I left with my heart racing and an unhealthy amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
He’s my professor. I shouldn’t feel this way. But I do.