Of course she’d wondered what it would be like if they were free to be a couple instead of professor and student. The first semester after she’d been in his class, they still would’ve had to be careful, she’d imagined, to ensure that no rumors or nastiness were ever attached to his career.
But eventually, she’d be able to openly date him. She’d be able to cheer for him when he won the favorite professor award again, nod at all his colleagues, and brag about what a great teacher he was.
If they only knew the half of it.
Miss Belle targeted the dean while Conn introduced her to his fellow teachers. They were all kind, teasing him about bringing someone they didn’t know, asking how long they’d been dating—the nosy yet honest questions of friends. Her chest felt heavy and she tightened her grip on his arm. Would she ever fit in with his colleagues? How could she? Returning to campus, she sank to the level of a tongue-tied student not a sophisticated woman who could help further his career.
Lord help her if they started talking shop. The only English class she’d taken outside the requirements to graduate was Conn’s.
They wandered through the reception, Conn introducing her as they went. No one shouted, “Student! Scandal!” In fact, everyone was perfectly welcoming.
Until she bumped into one of his current students.
Conn left to get them each a cup of coffee, and as soon as he was gone, the young woman approached. She was obviously a student, at least several years younger than Rae, and beautiful in a ripe, floozy sort of way. Okay, maybe that was rather harsh. Rae didn’t even know her yet and already felt an instant dislike.
Not exactly jealousy, because she didn’t think this girl would ever draw Conn’s eye, but she walked with intent, evil intent, right up to Rae.
“Who are you?” All righteous fury and indignant hurt, her attitude was rather ridiculous.
As though Conn had some claim on her affections. Again, Rae’s instincts said no. She couldn’t imagine him being attracted to this girl. It didn’t make sense.
Not when he was so obviously and openly attracted to
her
.
A warm, thick rush flooded her at the thought. He did want her, crazy or not, and this other woman was night and day different. She decided to keep it simple and polite. For all she knew, this girl was the dean’s daughter. “I’m Rae Jackson.” She couldn’t resist adding, “I’m with Dr. Connagher.”
“Oh, I know who you’re with alright. What I want to know is when you were his student.”
Rae arched a brow at the girl and didn’t volunteer anything.
“He always hooks up with a female student each semester. Everybody knows it. So what year were you?”
“I haven’t been on campus in years,” Rae replied stiffly. She didn’t believe it. She’d already asked Conn about his relationship with other students. She was the only student he’d been involved with, she knew it. She trusted him. This girl was just being nasty. But the worry nagged. What if people found out she’d been his student years ago? Would that hurt his reputation even more?
“No wonder he had me transferred to another class.” The girl sniffed with disdain and fluffed herself. “He had to get rid of me before he could bring you in.”
Rae wasn’t going to stand here and let this lying little cat smear his name. “You have a thing going with Dr. Connagher, do you?”
“Oh, yes. I’m his teacher’s pet this year, if you know what I mean.” She gushed, smiling prettily so a dimple appeared in her cheek. “We only had to wait another month or so, but you know him. He never keeps his girls after the semester is over.”
Rae felt ill.
I don’t believe it—but what if other people do?
“Does he contact you often outside of class?”
The girl leaned closer to whisper. “Every day. I’ve got his e-mails saved. Just in case, you know, I need the protection later.”
She trilled a metallic laugh that made Rae want to punch her. However, the knots in her stomach untangled. She laughed, too, hard and mean, not nice at all, but she couldn’t help it.
“You really don’t know much about him, do you?”
“What do you mean?” The girl turned her attention behind Rae and paled, her gaze darting side to side for escape. Rae edged closer, keeping her backed into the wall.
“If you really knew Dr. Connagher, then you wouldn’t have said anything about e-mail.
Take your story to the dean and she’ll laugh, too.”
“Is there a problem here?” Conn’s voice echoed with menace. He wrapped his arm around Rae’s shoulders, a sign of possession that even the silly twit would recognize.
“No, no,” she babbled, backing away.
“You’re not supposed to be at this event, Miss Barrak. Perhaps we need to speak to Dean Strobel again. I’m sure she could assign you some extra credit if you don’t have enough work to keep you busy.”
The girl whirled and ran away.
Conn sighed heavily, his mouth against Rae’s ear. “I need to see you in my office, Miss Jackson. Immediately.”
Chills crept down her spine. His voice was heavy, his hands hard, taking command as he led her out of the reception. Her heart pounded.
His office. He was taking her to his office. Her knees trembled so badly she could hardly manage the stairs.
“Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder, Rae.”
His office looked exactly like she remembered. Books lined the walls and were even stacked on the floor because the bookcases were overflowing. Despite the clutter everywhere else, the glossy cherry top of his desk was completely bare.
She remembered the cold press of that wood against her cheek, his arm heavy across her back, the sting of his palm…
Heart hammering, she twined her cold fingers together. She didn’t trust her voice. Did he think she believed that silly twit of a girl? Was he upset? Even though he wasn’t touching her, she could feel the heat and silent menace of his body behind her.
He shut the door. Frozen in place, she waited, blood rushing in her ears.
At the ominous click of the lock, she jumped like she’d been shot. Or slapped.
A sound escaped her throat that sounded rather distressingly like a squeak.
Still without touching her, he sat down behind his desk. Dear Lord above, he looked incredible: his dark suit somber against the crisp white shirt, his face chasmed with grooves between his eyes and the stark angles of his cheeks. She’d always loved his distinctive face and had stared endlessly during class, aching to map that unknown territory with her fingers and lips.
“Come here, darlin’.”
Surely it was a good sign that he wasn’t using formalities. Legs trembling, she edged around his desk, still gripping her hands together to hide the tremors. The long black skirt of the velvet dress Miss Belle had picked out for her clung to her legs, threatening to trip her, but she went. She couldn’t have refused him even if she wanted to.
“Are you afraid?”
Truth, always the truth with him. “A little.”
His voice remained easy, a low, soft rumble. Leaning back in his chair, he winked.
“Turned on, too, I dare say.”
Her fingertips were numb with cold, but sweat trickled down her back. If he’d touch her and kiss her like last night, then all the nerves would dissolve, but this reserved silence unnerved her. It was too much like those dreams that had tormented her for years.
She bit her lip, trying to decide whether she had to answer or not. She’d been tempted not to wear anything beneath the long dress so she could torment him about it, but in the end, she hadn’t had the courage. It’s a good thing, because she couldn’t imagine walking around so messy with no panties.
Silence stretched out. She hated it when he did that, waiting for her to answer.
Stubbornly, she clenched her teeth and refused to answer just to spite him, even though heat flared through her entire body. It was all she could do to stand still.
“I apologize for that nasty scene downstairs.”
She twitched with surprise, jerking her gaze up to his face. Only then did she realize she’d been staring at the black material stretched across his groin.
“Like what you see, darlin’?” His voice purred through her, his mouth quirking with amusement even while his eyes darkened. He reached out and fingered the flowing skirt that draped her hips. “I sure like what I see. All of this material covering your body makes me wonder what you might have on beneath.”
His breath sighed out and he leaned forward, slowly slipping his arms around her waist in a loose hug. “That student caused me so many problems that I didn’t get the chance to go shopping for you yet. I will tomorrow, darlin’, I promise.”
Unsure of his mood, she ran her fingers through the short dark hair at the base of his neck. He made another low noise, this one of pleasure. Drawing her closer, he pressed his cheek against the bodice of her dress and just held her.
It dawned on her that he was upset, tormenting himself about that student. She was suddenly furious at that girl for causing him such distress. “She’s not worth it.”
“I know, but I hate to fail, darlin’, even with students like her who couldn’t give a rat’s ass about learning something. I always have the hope that maybe I can show them something new that will grab their attention and change their opinion. I want to spark their motivation to do more than drink and party.”
His breath was hot and moist, soaking through the material to torment her breasts. While she hadn’t been brave enough to go commando, she couldn’t wear a bra with the low-cut back of this gown. “Was she right about the rumors?”
He pulled back enough to look up at her, his brow creased. “What rumors?”
“Am I going to cause problems for you because I was your student?”
“Darlin’, that was five years ago. Damn that little hussy for worrying you. The most important people I care about on campus already know I was tempted by you while you were in my class, and I protected us both as well as I could. Dean Strobel double-graded your work herself as a result to make sure I was completely fair in my treatment of you, and she didn’t have a single concern about our conduct. There aren’t going to be any rumors or problems about us, and Miss Barrak is already in a world of hurt with the dean. My colleagues have dealt with students like her before, and I’ve been very careful to make sure she can’t hurt me.”
“Do they—” She swallowed hard, searching his gaze. “Do they know what happened in here?”
“Of course not. You and I are the only ones who know what I did to you on my desk.
What I’m going to do to you now.”
Conn watched her reaction. Her gaze flickered down to his mouth briefly, and her eyes widened with anxiety. Her pulse thumped in her neck so strongly he could see it, and her body stiffened against him. Her nipples poked at the bodice of the dress, but she nearly took a step away from him.
Afraid, but aroused, and damned if the combination didn’t kill him. He liked a hint of fear
—if it was a fun sort of fear that knew deep down he’d never hurt her. He wanted her to respect his control and wonder exactly how far he’d go, because he was going to push and take as much as she’d give.
As long as she trusted him.
He tightened his hands slowly, watching her for any indication of real fear. “Miss Belle is a bloody genius.”
A startled laugh escaped Rae’s throat, breaking the rising tension in her trembling body.
“Why do you say that?”
“I can’t imagine two entirely different dresses than this black one and the white one you wore last night, but I honestly can’t tell which one I like better.” He molded his hands down her hips, following the fall of crushed velvet, then slowly smoothed his hands up the curves of her waist. “From the front, it’s very modest yet attractive, drawing my attention to the way the velvet hugs your body. It makes me want to drape my body over yours just like this dress.”
He allowed his voice to roughen on the last, although he waggled his eyebrows a little to make her laugh again.
“Then you turn around…” Tightening his grip on her hips, he told her to turn with the silent command of his body. After what happened the last time he’d turned her away from him right here before his desk, this was a tough test.
Braced for her refusal, he would release her immediately.
Stiffly, she let him turn her around but he could hear her breath rasping in the room.
“You turn around, and I see the expanse of your lovely back, bare, vulnerable, and open.” Lightly, he walked his fingertips up her spine. “You hair is pulled up to make sure every naked inch is visible, tormenting me with the thought of kissing every bump of your spine.”
He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her skin. She shivered, her breath still shaky and loud, but the sharper edge of fear softened. Kissing a slow, wet path down her back, he applied gentle pressure to her shoulders, urging her to lie down on his desk.
Her face touched the wood and she cried out, tension trembling through her.
“Shhh, darlin’. I’m going to make sure you never dread coming to my office again. I’m going to give you a new dream to keep you up at night, a dream right here on my desk.”
Without lifting his mouth, he scooted his chair closer. He was extremely careful not to hold her down this time. If she wanted to get up, she could.
Her skin felt like rose petals, the sweet feminine taste of her as delicate. He lingered in the hollow of her back with long, lazy swipes of his tongue, while he tormented himself with the vision of her fully naked and stretched out on top of his desk. She could put her whole luscious body on the cherry top and he could roll his chair from head to toe and taste every inch.
“Conn?”
He smiled against her. “Darlin’?”
“Can I make a request?”
Ah, she had his full attention. “Absolutely. What do you want, darlin’?”