Chris shrugged, walking towards the front door of the auditorium. Instead of passing through the door, he leaned against the door frame. While Sara stared at him curiously, she became aware that she was no longer moving. She had stopped mid stride when she realized that Chris was going to wait for her. “Oh hell,” she muttered under her breath. Sara peeked back over to the front of the auditorium where Mr. Pearce was waiting for her. He was perched on the edge of his desk with his legs crossed at the ankles.
Sara continued to creep towards Mr. Pearce as he strummed his fingers on the desk impatiently. She looked down at his incredibly long fingers. Sara wondered if he played piano. Her mother had always said that people with long fingers had piano fingers. Those strong, lean fingers would also be great for other things too, Sara thought as she studied all of his features. Looking back up to his face, Sara realized that he was waiting for her to speak.
“Mr. Pearce, I think I have a better grasp of the subject matter after this lecture. May I have an extra day to finish the assignment and then I will be caught up again?” Sara breathed out all too quickly as she looked down at her shoes.
“That would be fine Sara, you can turn them in at the next class and I will still accept them. Mr. Lake would make an excellent tutor, if you are so inclined.” Mr. Pearce nodded towards Chris waiting in the doorway.
“Oh, um, I think I have it now, but thank you, Mr. Pearce,” Sara replied quietly.
“I would appreciate it if you would take my recommendation for a tutor with a little more gratitude Ms. Lonneman. Chris is an excellent student and would be able to teach you a few things that will help you to get farther in this class.”
Chris walked down the steps toward them both and put his arm around Sara’s waist. “I’d be glad to work with her Dominic.”
A little shocked that Chris was on a first name basis with their accounting teacher, Sara was even more stunned that Chris was standing so close to her, holding her this way. He started to turn them both towards the door to leave. Needing to be free from his grasp, Sara started to wriggle. Chris clutched at her tighter as he led her out.
“Are you afraid I am going to lead you into a lion’s den?” Chris teased her as they walked out into the hallway.
“No.” Chris held the door open and Sara veered past him into the cold autumn air. “Do you and Mr. Pearce know each other really well? I didn’t realize it was acceptable to call a teacher by his first name.”
“I have known him for a few years,” he answered with a sly grin. He stopped them both, spun her around in his arms so that they were pressed together. He leaned down, brushed his day old beard on her cheek, making his way towards her neck in slow motion. She could feel his breath on her ear again and the familiar tingle started in her arms, migrating down her body.
“I would like to get to know you better. I would really like to get that cup of coffee now.” She was on the verge of sagging into his arms as he held her. She was a little disappointed that he didn’t say something a little more sexy like, “I would like to get to know every inch of your body better. Let’s go back to my place and I will show you how much I want to work with you.”
She trembled as the thought passed through her brain along with the image of Chris slowly undressing her, brushing his beard across other parts of her body.
His low laugh virtually sounded like a rumble of thunder, the sensation of which Sara could feel in her own chest. Feeling light-headed with lust and afraid her legs would give out, Sara wrapped her arms around Chris’ waist to keep from falling backwards.
Chris lightly pulled his body back from Sara, pressed their foreheads together. “I’m not even going to ask you what that thought was. Your body is telling me enough.”
Sara felt a chill run down her spine from the words. How did he know what she was thinking? Was he a psychic? She started to shake from the cold outside, realizing that Chris had stepped away from her. Immediately missing his warmth, she wrapped her arms around herself as her teeth chattered in her head.
“Come on little one, let’s get you something warm to drink,” Chris urged as he led her to the cafe. Thank God it was only a block away, she shouldn’t be this cold, this chilled, she was used to much worse. It wasn’t even close to winter in Colorado yet, and actually was a beautiful fall day. So why then was she shaking?
Chapter 3
Their time in the cafe surged by as Chris filled Sara in the missing pieces to the puzzle in the complicated world of accounting. They already had three coffees each, but nothing of any sustenance. Sara heard her stomach snarl at her, waiting would no longer be an option. Chris stopped working on his assignment, shook his head and smiled, then raised his arm to motion for the waitress. She bounced over, batting her eyelashes at him.
“Could you get us two cheeseburgers and fries, please?” Chris said to the waitress, shooting her his crooked grin.
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” turning away with a noticeable sashay of her ample rear.
As Sara’s audible groan escaped her lips, she looked across the table to find that sexy crooked smile of his and one eyebrow raised, “Jealous, little one?”
Did he just call her out and want an explanation of her feelings? At a loss for words, Sara began rubbing her thumbs against the tips of her fingers, something she hadn’t done since grade school. There was no way for her to explain what was going on inside her brain, her emotions were a jumble. Part of her was attracted to Chris, but yet he had pushed her beyond her boundaries so many times and he was way out of her league. He was dangerous and exciting, so much more than what she was used to. But the longer they sat together, the greater the desire she felt. There was a longing there, that kept pushing her to bridge the gap between them and find some common ground.
Eyes fixed on the table in front of her, Sara shook her head from side to side to deny her jealousy. “She was just so transparent,” looking up to meet Chris’ eyes, “I’m sure that the check will come with her phone number written on the back of it.” Sara’s eyes drifted down to the table once more, scanning over the menagerie of accounting homework.
“I’m sure it will too, but there is someone that I have my eyes on right now,” Chris teased as he reached over and tilted Sara’s chin up to look at him. “Although, she doesn’t seem too eager to give me her phone number.”
The contact between the two of them sent an electrifying tingle straight to her insides. Sara’s emotions begin to swirl even faster and she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. Her skin began to overheat, causing a thin sheen of sweat to coat her upper lip. There was no denying the attraction that she felt for Chris, but Sara held on to a bit of fear towards him.
“You’ve never asked for it. But you’re right, I don’t do a lot of socializing aside from my pets at my apartment. I have too many obligations back home for me to get too involved here in Colorado.”
“Where is back home?”
“Wisconsin. A little town called Amulet, way out in the middle of nowhere. My mom and sister run a dairy farm there. I go back to help out as much as I can.”
The waitress came back, refilling their coffee cups. This time she was brazen enough to wink at Chris as he sipped his hot coffee. Sara didn’t particularly care for the fact that this woman was openly flirting with the man that she was sitting with, it was blatantly disrespectful.
Yeah, that’s what it is. I am not jealous. I am angry that this woman would assume that Chris and I are not dating because of our difference in appearances.
The heady intoxication of the possibilities between the two of them began to get the better of Sara. Her inhibitions started to wane as she leaned over and brushed Chris’ knuckles with her fingers. “But maybe it’s time I got to know some people here in Colorado.”
Chris’ deep belly laugh almost made her wince. He held his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
Just great, the first time I try my hand at seduction and I fall flat on my face. Traitorous tears began
welling in her eyes, though she tried to hold them back. “You obviously don’t want me here. I’m just going to go home. Now. Enjoy your supper, Chris.” Rising from her seat to escape humiliation, Sara quickly snatched her homework papers, stuffing them into her backpack.
Peeking up at Chris through her eyelashes, Sara could see the scowl on his face. He placed his hands on the table, lifting his lithe body off the seat. The thermal shirt that he wore fit him like a second skin, the sinewy lines of his muscles were visible through the fabric. He ever so slowly moved towards her, leaning into her face. She could smell that musk again – it was as if it came out of his pores as his anger rose. “SIT. DOWN. SARA.”
“Yes, sir,” falling back into her chair. Why does my body do everything he tells it too? Is my brain short-circuiting?
Chris’ eyes didn’t move at all, not even to blink. He was fixated on pinning Sara to her chair. She could see the vein on the side of his neck pulsing as he held his position towering over her. The icy, intimidating glare was sexy as hell, but Sara was too embarrassed at this point to care. She wanted to steal away into the shadows, retreating from here as fast as possible.
Chris’ gaze shifted to the tear that had escaped her eye, waiting on top of her cheek. Chris sighed heavily and sat back down in his chair. “Let’s get one thing straight. I want you here. I want you in every way possible. I wasn’t laughing at the gesture. I was laughing at the fact that you really don’t know what you are or what you do to me.”
Sara felt very vulnerable once she realized that he had seen her emotions so plainly on her face. She did not want anyone to have so much control over her, there were enough people pulling on her strings, back home in Wisconsin. All her life she was treated like she was invisible, not strong enough emotionally or physically like everyone else in her family. There was no way that she was going to let someone else intimidate her any longer.
Her annoyance got the best of her as she spit back to him, “And I assume that you are going to clue me in on what that would be, right, asshole? Sara felt her cheeks warm with her tell tale blush.
“You are a submissive, little one.” Chris sat patiently waiting as the information processed in her brain.
“And just what the fuck…I mean, what is a submissive?” Trying to stifle the profanity mid sentence was easier said than done. Sara knew how to curse, but she hardly ever did. It usually wasn’t necessary. Some part of her felt like this situation totally called for some profanity.
With a growl growing in his chest, “You do not curse at me, little one, I will not tolerate it. Since you are unfamiliar with the terminology, I will let those two infractions pass, but believe me those were your only freebies. You curse at me again and you will be over my knee, baring that pretty little ass of yours to this entire restaurant as I change that gorgeous skin color to a deep red.”
Sara hung her head as she processed the words in her mind. Did he really just tell her that he was going to spank her in public? Like a child? Oh hell, she knew he was dangerous from the first day she met him on campus. Maybe his muscle clad, leather wearing, bad boy appearance wasn’t a facade and he was the devil sent to tempt her.
Chris sat in silence, letting her think about his words. Just then, the waitress brought their order, leaning herself over to reach the ketchup bottle, cleavage first, in Chris’ direction. Chris did not even look up at her. He kept his focus on Sara the entire time. Finally realizing that he wasn’t going to give her any attention, the waitress “humphed” and stomped away.
“I’m sorry I swore,” Sara finally muttered as she looked down at her food, pushing it around on her plate. “My dad used to resort to profanity when he was angry, even my perfect sister uses cuss words. I don’t know what came over me, it wasn’t very lady like. I’m not very good in social settings. I’m much better with my animals.”
“What’s your major again?” Chris asked as he poured ketchup all over his burger.
“Well, right now it is Business Marketing and Management. I keep changing it all the time. I thought that an accounting class would work for me no matter what field I ended up in.” She realized that was probably the first time she had ever said something to him that sounded vaguely normal. The realization made her proud. Sara let go of some of her insecurities, deciding that she needed to loosen up a bit.
Sara and Chris continued their conversation about majors as they ate their burgers. Sara even found herself giggling at Chris’ off-handed comments on life. She had relaxed enough that she had let go of her death grip on the chair. Chris noticed, reaching across the table, grazing his fingertips over her hand. Sara thought the gesture was meant only to be friendly, but it put her libido in overdrive. She found herself drooling over the man that sat across from her, losing all track of his words as her eyes began to take in every inch of his delectable face. Sara suddenly felt very parched, both physically and emotionally, he was the cool water, she the hot desert.
“So back to you being a submissive, did you have enough time to dwell on that, in your pretty little head? Any questions for me?” Chris’ words snapped her back into the present.
“Submissive as in like, a slave?” Sara questioned.
“Not really. More like I am your controller or boss. You do everything and anything you can to please me, in return I take care of you. It’s called a dominant/submissive relationship. I am incredibly turned on by seeing to your needs. You do as I tell you to or risk being punished.”
“Are we talking all the time, or is this just a behind closed doors kind of thing?” whispering as she nervously ran her thumbs over her fingertips again.
“It can be whatever a couple wants it to be. Some people live the lifestyle 24 hours a day and the dominant is in complete control over the submissive in every way, from what they wear, to what they eat, to when they sleep, when they talk and on and on and on,” Chris drawled as he rolled his eyes. “I’m not into that scene. I prefer to have submissives just in the bedroom. But sometimes that side of me does drip out into the public.”
“Kind of like when I cursed at you?” looking up from her hands with a small smirk on her face.
“Yeah, just like that. Your gorgeous mouth does not need to resort to dirty language for effect. In fact, I know of a few things that I could do with that mouth right now.”
Sara jerked her head up at his word as she had an idea of what he was insinuating, but she didn’t have much experience with oral activities like that. In fact, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to participate in such things, but her body had decided otherwise, she could already feel the throbbing between her legs at the suggestion.
Sara gulped the last bit of food she was chewing. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for Chris to speak again. Sara stared down at her hands, nervously picking at her nail polish.
It was taking every bit of her courage to not lift her eyes up to him. She thought if she sat still enough, maybe he would go away. She didn’t want him to go away, but she really didn’t know what she should say. How do you respond to a statement like that? Sara screwed up every last bit of courage she could muster and uttered, “I doubt you want me to do that here, so I assume that we are leaving now.”
His deep chuckle was heaven to her ears. “You’re right, I’m not into public scenes. Let’s get out of here.” He stood up, holding his hand out to her as she rose from her seat.
Sara realized that the waitress had not been back to check on them at all. “Shouldn’t we pay the bill?” she asked as he pulled her away from the table.
Chris pulled some cash out of wallet, throwing it on the table. “I think that our stacked waitress is pissed that I didn’t stare at her tits when she shook them in my face. She wasn’t my type. Anything more than a handful is a waste.” Chris brushed the back of his hand across Sara’s nipple. Her nipples instantly tightened at the promise that his words held.
Oh hell, I am in trouble, she thought as he pulled her out into the night.
&n
bsp; Chapter 4
Chris pulled Sara back towards campus to get to his bike. She was trying hard to keep up with him. Sara could only make one step to his two long, graceful strides. She felt herself stumble after only one block of this maddening pace. Chris turned around, grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder effortlessly. Sara squealed, struggling against his grip. Chris swatted her hard on her rear.
“Hey, what was that for? You don’t need to carry me you know.”
Chris jostled her around on his shoulder to find a comfortable place for her. “This is quicker.” Chris came to an abrupt halt near the edge of the parking lot, far away from the main campus. He let go of his hold over her thighs, pulling her body down from her perch. She slid down his shoulder, her shirt getting bunched up as she slipped. Her belly now exposed to the cold autumn air, she gasped when Chris touched her skin with his hands.
“Shit, your hands are so cold! Damn it!” she screamed as she tried to scramble away. Sara instinctively clamped her hands over her mouth. Knowing how Chris felt about her use of profanity, Sara wished she could scoop her last sentence up, shoving it back down into the dark pit it came from.
Chris’ eyes seemed to change from anger to a lust in a millisecond. Then the anger was back, quickly replaced by something else. It was as if she could see a mask fall over his eyes, an unknown mood filling his soul. Sara could only use one word to describe it – predatory.
Chris grabbed Sara’s neck, yanking her in close to his body. The action was so fierce and powerful, the air left her body in a rush as she was thrust against him.
“I warned you not to curse, little one. This time, I will have to punish you.”
Just One Night Page 2
