Seducing the Professor

by Sabel Simmons

  “What do you want, Slade?

  “Where did she go?”

  Paul startled, as if only now remembering what made him drink in the first place. He dragged his arm over his eyes.

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t know? Did you not phone her or Wade? Her parents?”

  “She left without saying a word. She took all her things. She did not even leave a hairband behind, Slade! She is gone!”

  “And you are just going to roll over and accept it? I thought you loved her?”

  “I do love her! But she left me! What about that don’t you understand?”

  “Maybe it is because her assignment here is over. Have you ever discussed whereto from there? You knew she was going to leave once it was done, except if you asked her to stay.”

  Paul lifted his head and stared at Slade. He realized the truth in what he said. He never brought the subject up because he assumed she was going to stay.

  “No, I just assumed …”

  “Just as I imagine you assumed she knows that you love her? Especially after she saw you kissing Gloria.”

  Paul went from grey to white and he cursed. He grabbed his phoned and pressed the call button on her number. It went directly to voicemail. He phoned Wade next.

  “Paul, my friend. I expected your call last night already.”

  “Where is she?”

  “She took a month’s leave.”

  “Where did she go? Wade I have to know!”

  “All I know is that she is in Australia. Where I’ve got no idea. She said she needed time alone. Maybe you should give it to her.”

  He ended the call and leaned his head on the back of the couch.

  “All he knows is that she is somewhere in Australia. She took a month’s leave.”

  “What about her parents?”

  Paul searched for Wayne Simpson’s number and hesitated only a second before making the call.

  “Paul, how are you, son?”

  “Uncle Wayne, where is Alexandra? Please I have to find her.”

  Wayne heard the despair in Paul’s voice and glanced at his wife that made wide eyes at him.

  “She is in Australia for a holiday, Paul. She needs some time alone.”

  “No, we need to talk! She has not … we have not spoken … Goddammit … I have not opened my damn mouth! Please! Tell me where she is.”

  “I’ll make you a deal. Let’s give her at least a week. If she still has not contacted you, then phone me again.”

  Paul sighed, but agreed and ended the call.

  “What did he say?”

  “To call him in a week if I have not heard from her by then.”

  “I think maybe that is a good idea. At least it gives her some time and you have time to think about what you need to say to her.”

  Slade handed him a mug of strong coffee and a plate laden with sandwiches. He shook his head.

  “I can’t eat.”

  “Yes, you can. Take it!”

  Paul grabbed it from him and scowled at him, but started to eat.

  The week dragged by. Paul spent most of it out on the Ranch. He worked from dark to dark that he was so tired by the time he got home, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillows.

  He phoned Alexandra’s Dad a week later as discussed, not really expecting him to give him any information.

  “Paul, I’m sorry, but Rosa feels we should honor her wishes to be left alone for the month.”

  Paul sighed and sank down on the couch.

  “I understand.”

  “I will tell you this. She flew into Adelaide and from there took a ferry to where she is staying.”

  Paul frowned and then snapped.

  “Kangaroo Island! She is on Kangaroo Island!”

  “I’m not at liberty to say. Good luck, Paul.”

  “Thank you, Uncle Wayne.”

  There was a commotion outside. Paul sighed and went to see what was going on. Samuel was flat on his back in one of the training pens and David battled to bring the vicious white stallion under control. Paul ran towards him and shouted at him to let the horse go. He did not hear him and Paul lengthened his strides. He cleared the fence in one smooth jump and grabbed the reins from David. He released it immediately and shouted at the White, chasing him away. He sprinted in a circle and Paul shouted at him again, He started galloping and cleared the fence. He watched him gallop over the crest.

  He turned towards Samuel. His face was grey and his left leg was twisted at an angle. He cursed and told David to go and fetch his car. He kneeled at Samuel’s side and frowned at him.

  “I told you to leave that damn devil to me. I am going to help you up, but it is going to hurt a damn lot. Are you ready?”

  Samuel nodded and ground on his teeth. He screamed when Paul lifted him and supported him with his hand around his back. Sweat broke out on his forehead. David came to help and they carried Samuel to his car.

  “David, phone Samuel’s wife. We’ll go and pick her up first and then go to the hospital.”

  “Hell no! I will never hear the end of it, Boss!”

  “Nor will I if I don’t fetch her. You just relax, it looks like a clean break. You’ll be running around in no time.”

  The X-rays confirmed it was a clean

  break. They set his leg in the usual plaster wrap and armed with pain tablets, Paul dropped them off at their cottage.

  “Doctors’ orders, Samuel. Keep the leg still for at least a week, then only may you start moving around.”

  “I can’t stay off work for so long, Boss! We’ve just started with the breeding program!”

  “Stop worrying, Samuel. I already phoned my Dad. They are probably already at the house. I will need his help for this week and by next week, hopefully you’d be able to spend a few hours in the office to keep the paperwork up to date. I need to go to Australia, but I will have to postpone it for a week.”

  “Did you find her?”

  “No, but I at least know where to go and look for her.”

  Paul was slightly frustrated, but accidents happen and there was no help for it. He would not be able to leave for another week.

  His parents were already at the house when he got there. He went to set David’s mind at rest first about Samuel before he walked to the house.

  His mother smothered him immediately and he hugged her tight. Appreciating her hug for the first time in a very long while. She leaned back and smiled at him.

  “You’re going to fetch her?”

  “Now how the devil would you know that by just looking at him, darling?

  She smiled at her husband. “I know my boy. He might have slipped up and lost her, but he is not stupid. He needs her. Don’t you, Paulie?”

  “Yes Mom. More than I ever thought possible.”

  “So son, what is on the agenda and how can we speed it up to get you away sooner?”

  “Unfortunately we’re at a stage with the breeding program that we have to follow. I would not be able to leave for a week. But I would appreciate if you could hold the fort while I am gone. Samuel will be mobile by then.”

  “Of course. It would be nice to be working with those beauties again.”

  The evening was pleasant and he was glad his parents were there. He pushed his upset away and conceded to the fact that he won’t be able to leave any sooner.

  In the meantime he booked a late afternoon direct flight to Adelaide for the following Friday. He should arrive in Adelaide, bar any delays, on Saturday around one in the afternoon. That would offer him plenty of time to get to Kangaroo Island and start searching the villages. There aren’t that many and he would ensure he knew everything there was to know about the place before he got there. Hopefully he knew her well enough by now to take a guess where he might find her.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Alexandra spent a lot of time at the Seal Bay Conservation Park observing and studying the seals. It gave her something to keep her mind occupied. Her
long lonely nights were already filled with thoughts and memories of Paul, causing many sleepless nights.

  Since her return from the kidnapping she had waited for him to talk to her about what happened in his study. To tell her why he did it and more importantly, what she meant to him. Yet, he never once approached the subject. She came to despair that her feelings for him were not reciprocated.

  They never spoke about where their relationship was going to go once the assignment was over. The day she walked in on him kissing Gloria, she assumed that was the message. It was over. Then the way he treated her after the kidnapping the message was totally the opposite. Now she was even more confused. Was it guilt that changed his attitude?

  She smiled wryly at her thoughts. Her father would reprimand her severely for not talking to Paul about it. He believed in open communication in all aspects of one’s life, especially with your loved ones. She has always been a real firebrand and never scared to say what was on her mind. In this, she didn’t and now she questioned herself, why?

  She sighed heavily and packed up her notebook. She loaded her bag and basket with leftover food in the beach buggy and arrived at the Beach House just after three in the afternoon.

  Over the past two weeks she did a lot of retrospection and realized on the short trip back that she could not just walk away from Paul. She loved him too much. One way or the other, she had to get him to open up to her. He was her future and she had to make him realize she was his.

  With her mind made up she felt a lot more at peace. She took a long leisurely bath and dressed in a mini sundress with flip flops. She grabbed a bottle of soda from the fridge and a magazine she bought at the airport and walked to the bench in the garden facing the sea. For a while she just sat enjoying the beautiful view. She breathed the fresh sea breeze, sighed and opened the magazine.

  “So Blondie, I never believed you to be someone that had double standards.”

  Alexandra stiffened at the deep, raspy voice behind her. So close she could feel the heat from the body attached to it, burn her neck.

  “I don’t.”

  “Really? Then, please explain to me, why I could not find a note anywhere in our house from you?”

  She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart and accept that Paul was really standing behind her. Him referring to their house, had her heart beat even faster.

  “That was different?”

  “How was it different?”

  “You know why! And how the hell did you find me?”

  “That is of little importance at this stage. I want to know why you just left without talking to me, Alexandra.”

  “Because I understood the message very clearly that day in your study. Since then, you have not said anything to the contrary and we both know my assignment was over. I had no reason to stay.”

  “So, Professor, let me just understand this clearly. Are you claiming that it is normal practice in your profession to just pack up and leave without saying goodbye to the people you did an assignment for?”

  She bit her lip, feeling her temper rising and she took a deep breath. His attitude of placing her under cross-fire as if she was the only one to blame for her leaving, made her forget her recent decision.

  “Are you questioning my integrity, Shuttle?”

  “No, I am questioning you running away from me. You are the one that brought your assignment up.”

  Paul was becoming relatively frustrated that she did not move. He wanted her to get up and face him. He needed to look in her eyes, to see her real feelings and emotions.

  “Well then, maybe you will understand this. I thought you were mine. You made it clear you were not. I had nothing left there to stay for, so I left. I did not owe you an explanation and I did not run away. You were the one that opened the door and kicked me out.”

  “You know that is not the truth. Do you think I would have been with you after that stupid incident if I did not want you anymore?”

  “Now here’s the thing. Shuttle. How the hell was I supposed to know that?”

  She jumped up and spun around and screamed. Paul reached over the bench, took her by the waist and yanked her in the air to slam against his chest.

  “Let me go! I don’t want you here!”

  “No. We are going to talk this through and I am not leaving until we do.”

  They glared at each other, both their eyes glittering with anger. Paul bent down and lifted her in his arms and she struggled immediately. He stopped and scowled at her.

  “Stop that, Alexandra.”

  “I can walk! Put me down!”

  “No.”

  He started walking and took the few steps onto the porch with one long step and into the den, pulling the sliding door closed behind them.

  “We can do it either here or in your bedroom, you choose.”

  “Do what?”

  He looked into her eyes and the message was very clear. She shrieked and struggled.

  “You are totally demented if you think I am going to spread my legs for you now!”

  “Hmm … I think the bedroom is a better option. These couches are a bit small for what I have in mind.”

  He ran upstairs, ignoring her struggles and screams of frustration.

  “I will never forgive you for this! No! Put me down! You have no right to just waltz in here and throw me around … eekk!”

  She ended in a scream as he did just that. She flew through the air and landed with an umphf on the bed. She rose on her knees and glared at him, then stopped breathing. His shirt was already off, his sneakers kicked off and he yanked his cargo shorts and underpants down and kicked them off. His arousal sprang forward, hard and fully erect.

  He reached for her and she rolled off the bed and stood glaring at him from the other side of the bed. Trying desperately to ignore the pulsing of her core and her straining nipples against her dress, in response to his naked rampaging body.

  “What’s the matter, Shuttle? Glorious Gloria kicked you out?”

  “Get on the bed, Angel.”

  “No. You may as well put your clothes back on, Shuttle. You can’t just waltz in here and expect me to welcome you with open arms. Go back to Gloria. She at least … NO! Stay where you are!”

  “If you mention that woman’s name one more time, I am going to whip your ass, Alexandra! You know I don’t want her!”

  “I do? Let’s recap that scene, shall we?” She ignored his furious growl.

  “You in all your aroused glory sat on your desk with your legs spread and you had your hands around her hips. You pressed her into your body, your lips were covering hers. You kissed her, Paul and it was anything but a chaste kiss! You had your tongue down her throat! So do not stand there and tell me you don’t want her! It sure as hell looked like you did then!”

  “Very well, if you insist. Number one, yes I kissed her, with my lips. I DID NOT have my tongue down her throat or even inside her mouth for that matter. Most of all, Angel, I was as flaccid as they come. I felt nothing!”

  “Then wh …”

  “Enough! I am done talking for now!”

  Paul did not bother to walk around the bed, he just stepped in the middle of the bed and his hands closed around her shoulders before she could even comprehend what he was doing. He yanked her on the bed with him. He lifted her dress but she was over her shock and refused to lift her arms. They were both standing upright on top of the bed.

  Paul did not relent, but neither did she. He growled and then her eyes widened in disbelief when he grabbed the front of her dress and easily ripped it in two and threw it on the ground. Her panties received the same treatment and then he lifted her again.

  “You … No! Put me down!”

  “Your wish is my command, Angel.”

  And he toppled her over and immediately settled between her spread thighs. She struggled and he sighed heavily. He captured her flailing arms and pulled them over her head and held them in one of his hands. He caressed her cheek and turned her face
to his. He stared at her, his eyes warm, soft and tender. He lowered his head and his lips covered hers, as soft as a butterfly’s wings. He rubbed his lips against hers, tracing them with his tongue. His tongue found its way inside her mouth and he kissed her deeply, demanding her submission, not allowing her any resistance. She sighed and gave him all he demanded.

  Paul’s body trembled, he needed to be inside her. He had to feel her heat engulf him, pull him into her and fold around him with a tightness only she has ever offered him. He lifted his hips slightly without breaking the kiss. He hissed into her mouth when his blunt tip easily speared through her opening to slide into her pulsing channel.

  He pushed inside her slowly, savoring every inch he breached. She became tighter and she moaned, he pressed deeper and deeper until he was all the way in, feeling as if he just arrived home.

  Alexandra mewled into his mouth. His shaft filled every inch inside her. She felt his hardness, his fullness and his heart beating inside her. She knew she was doomed. She would not be able to let him go.

  He lifted his head and looked into her eyes.

  “This … deep inside you … is where I belong, Angel, nowhere else … only here.”

  “You hurt me, Paul!”

  “I know and I cannot begin to explain how much I regret what I did. I need you, Angel. Are you going to tell me no?”

  He leaned down and kissed her softly in her neck.

  “You know I can never say no to you.”

  He groaned and placed a line of kisses down her chest and slowly licked over the slope of her breast to flick his tongue over her nipple. He licked the same trail to the other nipple and slowly pulled it deep into his mouth, suckling long and greedily, pulling and stretching it while he sucked. Alexandra moaned long and deep, arching her back, pushing her breast deeper into his mouth. He moved to the other and repeated the pleasure.

  Paul felt his whole body quivering and he knew he could not wait any longer. He straightened his arms with his hands next to her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

  “Angel, never do something like that to me again! I missed you … Lord, I can’t begin to tell you how much!”