STORY EXCERPT

The temperature in the hallway was radiating—blazing hot. Worse than the classroom had been. A low pulsing heat ignited low in her belly. She couldn’t recall a time any man had looked at her so appreciatively.

That’s saying a lot since I work at Iron Horse.

She cleared away the lump that formed at the back of her throat, making it difficult to swallow. Recalling all the naughty whispers about the sexy and irresistible Professor Masters. Students had their favorites, and he was clearly the one most fantasised about. Seeing him in the flesh, she had to agree.

“You have a reputation, Professor Master,” she shared honestly.

“Do I?” He seemed amused. “What type of reputation?”

She arched a brow. No one had ever accused Claire of holding back her thoughts. So why start now? “Since you asked, nice to look at but noncommittal.”

He laughed, the husky rumble sexier than it should’ve been. Rattled by her reaction to him again, she was aware she should leave. But strangely, she was intrigued that he hadn’t refuted what she’d told him.

“So is the rumor true? Are you worried about being tied to one woman?” She pursed her lips together.

Why did I ask that? Why do I care?

“Not at all,” he started, leaning against the wall at his back. “I simply haven’t met the right woman.”

The blue blouse she wore felt snug over her breast. The soft, silky fabric of her bra scrapped teasingly over her sensitive nipples. A shiver rocked her as even her panties felt too tight.

“Have a drink with me?”

Her lips parted on a gasp. “What? No.”

Did he just ask me out?

He smirked. “Tell me your name?”

“Claire.” She frowned, unable to stop herself from telling him what he wanted to know.

What is wrong with me?

He shoved away from the wall, closing the distance between them. “Have a drink with me, Claire?”

She shook her head, stepping back. “Isn’t this some kind of ethics violation, Mr. Masters?”

His grin drew her attention to the fullness of his lips. Stop that. Her pulse raced with such a vengeance she could barely hear her own thoughts.

“I’m not your teacher so it’s not an ethics violation.”

The air fled more rapidly from her lungs. Her body churned with desire. The masculine scent that had easily distracted her during class was once again clouding her mind.

It’s been so long. I wouldn’t know what to do with a man or a drink. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

As she turned to leave, he asked, “Afraid you might like being with a noncommittal type?”

She faced him, furrowing her brow. “I never said that,” she countered. “And do you normally go around asking students out?”

The corner of his mouth quirked, her gaze dipping to lips that were only inches away. “Claire, you’re the only student who has ever tempted me,” he replied. His tone was without inflection.

Her breath hitched. “I should go.”

“Yes, you should.” He closed the last remaining space between them. “And yet, you’re still standing here. You’re curious about me and you want that drink with me.”

She scoffed, hating herself for wanting exactly what he’d accused her of. “I think you’re a bit chauvinistic.”

He grinned, and that buttery smooth curve to his lips had her desiring to press to her toes to lick that delectable mouth. I have a daughter. I can’t think like this.

“I know what I want, Claire.”

She sighed, drowning in the smoldering look in his eyes. What she wouldn’t give to let her hair down once. To forget about responsibility and just have a night to remember. “I can’t.”

He brushed his fingers through her long, blonde hair, holding the ends between his fingers. “Then why are you still here?”

She laughed nervously. “This has got to be some kind of ethics test, right? See if you can get a student to cave to the wiles of an attractive teacher. No, thank you.”

“Your loss,” he said candidly. “I have a fully stocked beverage cart right in my office. I’m saddened that this is the first time I’ve met you and likely the last. You’re a beautiful woman, Claire. I wish you well.” He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and began walking down the hallway.

Stunned, she looked around waiting for another teacher to come out and tell her that she had passed this crazy exam she’d been subjected to, but no one came.

Had he really wanted to have a drink with me?

What if he did?

She hastened her steps, catching him standing at the end of the hallway, his one leg bent up and his foot pressed to the wall. He slanted her a hungry look. The man made her insides tremble and her lusty thoughts surface in a flash. No man had allured her like this before, tempted her into doing something rash and so unlike herself. He was sexy and devilish.

Would it be wrong to have a drink him?

Nox Master was anything but vanilla, and Claire had never been anything more than vanilla. The rush of heat that flooded her body had her moving toward him. She couldn’t stop herself.

Is it wrong to want something more than just to be a single mother? Is it wrong to want a man to look at me the way Nox is? She sighed. I hope not.

“It’s not normal, you know? Asking students out for drinks.”

“As you already know, you’re not my student. And you won’t ever be. You’re graduating, right?”

She nodded.

“So no issue.”

She couldn’t help but be curious about him. She had to admit, she liked being the desire in a man’s gaze. It was exciting. “Do you pick up women often?”

His gaze was dead serious. “No.”

He shoved away from the wall. As he moved toward his office, Claire followed.

ADULT EXCERPT

“I’m going to kiss you, Claire.”

Her breath hitched as she nodded, her wild gaze shifting from his lips to his eyes. He liked the way her breasts brushed against him with each inhalation of breath. The muscles in his arms tightened as he glided his fingers over the smooth skin of her cheek, dipping through her silken hair, gently clasping at her nape. His free hand moved to her waist, pulling her against him. His cock was hard, and damn it, if he wasn’t more excited to take a woman than he’d ever been. The arrangement between them was unreal. Never had he been so brazen, so needful of a woman like he was for her.

“Well?” she asked, as if challenging him. Damn, he liked this woman’s tenacity.

He lowered his mouth to hers. At first his lips simply touched hers, a teasing caress, but once her arms moved around him, he deepened the kiss, taking her mouth more hungrily. The more desperate his kiss, the more moans escaped her, fueling the dueling desires brewing between them.

On a gasp, Claire shoved him back. He hit the bookshelf behind him with a solid thud. A moment’s hesitation and she dove at him, ripping his tie off and unbuttoning his shirt as she crushed her mouth against his. Her hands explored his chest, dipping beneath the undershirt. The warm palms of her hands delighted him, and he shook out of his collared shirt and tugged his undershirt up over his head.

He brought her hands to his mouth, kissing them in turn. “One of us is wearing more clothes than the other,” he pointed out.

She nibbled her lower lip. “Turn the lights off.”

“I want to see you,” he confessed. She swallowed hard and he could see her unease. “But if it makes you feel better.” He flipped the switch.

She eased back and unbuttoned her blouse. Once the material hit the floor at her feet, she reached around to unfasten her bra. Sliding the straps down her arms, she visibly shivered. His mouth grew wet as he spotted her erect nipples. He wished he could’ve seen their color, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

He moved to her, dipping his head to taste her. She cupped the back of his head as he loved one breast and then the other. Then he stood, kissing her the way he knew would spark her desire. A fluttering moan escaped her and again her hands raked over his chest, gliding down to the buckle of his belt. She unfastened him and had his cock in her hands before he could blink. The feel of her grasping him was almost his undoing. It had been so long since he’d had a moment like this with a woman, he feared embarrassing himself.

He couldn’t get over the raw need firing within Claire. She seemed so needful of…shit, he didn’t know what to call it. He instinctively knew she hadn’t been fucked well in a long damn time.

“Easy,” he rasped, massaging her breasts and pinching her nipples between his forefingers and thumbs.

Her hand relaxed as he leaned in and nibbled the lobe of her ear. “Looks like someone’s wearing more clothes than the other again.”

He reached down and unbuckled her jeans, then gently shoved her down onto the sofa. He took off his own shoes and then hers. Before he removed her pants, he removed his own, his cock jutting forward. She leaned back as he dug his fingers inside her pants and tugged them down, bringing her panties with them. Both of them naked, he pressed his knee into the sofa and moved closer to her. Starting at her knee, he brushed his fingertips along the inside of her thigh. Slowly, he encouraged her to part her legs, enough for his hand to caress the folds of her pussy. When one of his fingers slipped over the dampness, she opened for him even more. He dipped his finger inside her tightness, holding his breath at the feel of her slick heat. He groaned as he pumped his hand a few times, mocking what he was desperate to do with his cock. Then, he took his soaked finger and circled her clit, stroking her until her back bowed and her cries of passion exploded with her orgasm.

Once he was sure he had wrung every ounce from her body, he moved to his pants and pulled out a condom. As he tore the foil, Claire’s hands were on his, taking the condom from him. He turned and she immediately placed the latex over his long, hard shaft. Then, she guided him back to the sofa, pushing him back. He fell soft against the sofa, and to his surprise, she straddled his lap, taking his cock in her hands and guiding it to the entrance of her pussy.

There were a dozen reasons he was intrigued by Claire. Sure, she could easily be a model with looks like hers, but it was more than that. He never expected her to be so hungry, so aggressive with her desires, and he was more than willing to give her what she achingly craved.