Hers Read online

  What the hell did that mean? She rolled her eyes. “What a geek.”

  Chapter One

  Two months later…

  “Oh. My. God.” Conner’s entire body stiffened as his gaze landed on Sabrina Duluth’s sexy ass. An ass that was barely covered by the short black skirt she wore. In fact, covered might have been a stretch. He was pretty sure he could actually see the bottom of each cheek every time she took another step away from him.

  Zane sat next to him at the bar, twisting his head around to follow Conner’s gaze. “What? Oh, wow. Sweet. I think she’s with someone though.”

  Conner adjusted his cock. Two seconds ago, it had been perfectly flaccid. Now, holy mother of God.

  Zane turned back to face him. “Conner?”

  “I know her,” he muttered.

  “You do? I’ve never seen her here before.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Where do you know her from?”

  “She was in my English lit class last semester.”

  “Wait. Don’t tell me she’s the hot chick you mentioned a few times?”

  “The very one.” Conner continued to watch her back, craning his neck to see where she headed. He’d spoken of her months ago. He had not, however, mentioned the incident in King Pizza. Even though Zane had been there—hell, all six guys from The Fight Club had been there—he’d left them to follow her to the restroom. In a moment of insanity, he’d literally fucked the woman against the bathroom door. He couldn’t believe he’d done it even eight weeks later. He’d barely stopped thinking about her every hour of every day. He’d whittled it down to perhaps only at night…and a few times a day. That’s how sweet she’d been. He’d forced himself not to hunt her down for all these weeks to get another taste of her own brand of heaven.

  What he had not done was burn her out of his system by fucking her in the bathroom. He’d told himself the entire semester she was way too innocent for the likes of him, and he’d used that motto to keep her at arm’s length, going so far as to treat her harsher than the other students, just so there would be no misunderstanding.

  Until the afternoon at King Pizza. When he saw her squirming in her seat unable to take her gaze off him, he needed to have her. Like a drug, he was lured to her.

  And like an idiot, he took her. She held his entire life in her hands now. She could ruin him if she wanted. Fucking a student was strictly forbidden.

  That pissed him off. Even though it was entirely his fault.

  And here she was in Extreme. A BDSM club. One of the top clubs in the Vegas area. A club where he was a member. Not her. And he wanted things to stay that way.

  Deep down, he’d known she was submissive after that incident. Even if she hadn’t known, he had. She was way too young to dabble in BDSM, however. Way too young for him. And way way too young to be hanging out at Extreme.

  The woman was off limits. He hadn’t seen her on campus this semester, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t taking classes in other departments. He was an asshole of the largest variety.

  And here she was walking through his life again. In my fucking club.

  Zane chuckled, completely oblivious to Conner’s plight, both the physical and emotion plights he fought. “What luck. She’s into BDSM.” He paused. “Although, again, it seems she’s with that guy who has his hand on her back.”

  Conner stood, scooting his stool back several inches. He didn’t have the first clue what he intended to do, but sit on his ass and watch her wasn’t an option. Hell, it hadn’t been an option the last time he’d seen her either. Thus the restroom incident.

  The woman pulled him in like a magnet.

  “Conner.” Zane grabbed his arm. “You better think about this, dude. Now doesn’t look like a good time to approach her.” Zane had no idea what Conner was so worked up about. He was misinterpreting Conner’s haste, probably assuming lust drove Conner to react.

  Although, on the one hand, that was true. The lust Conner felt for Sabrina Duluth made his cock hard and his blood pump. And if he thought his cock had been stiff for her sweet ass two months ago at King Pizza, after having a taste of her, his cock was solid steel this time.

  Conner seethed. He’d had his eye on Sabrina Duluth for the entire spring semester. Fraternizing with a student was more than prohibited. Besides the fact it was against university policy, it was entirely unethical. Conner would never cross that line. Never. But then he had. He wanted to scream for his foolishness over the summer. All she’d have to do was turn him in, and he’d be fired on the spot.

  It had been a rough several months with Sabrina’s cute ass sitting in the second row of his class three times a week. It had been a rougher two months since he’d had her.

  At thirty-eight, Conner was far too old for her. He’d never once in all his years of teaching considered dating a student. Until January. He’d scampered from the classroom more times than he could count to avoid making eye contact with Sabrina or revealing the hard-on he inevitably got each time she spoke in class.

  He closed his eyes for a moment and gripped the edge of the bar. He could picture her licking her lips before she asked a question, her timid hand held in the air. The way she tossed her long brown curls over her shoulder.

  The first day he saw her, he’d done a double take and swallowed his tongue. Assuming she was an eighteen-year-old freshman, he’d chastised himself repeatedly. As time went by, he began to doubt she was actually that young. She didn’t giggle with the other girls in class. It didn’t seem she knew anyone, nor did she take the opportunity to get to know them.

  It would have been easier to ignore her if she’d been in her teens. But Sabrina was undoubtedly a woman, not a girl. Still way too young for him, but old enough not to feel like some sort of pervert when he lusted after her.

  “Conner. Let’s think this through.”

  Conner opened his eyes to meet Zane’s gaze. “You’re right.” He sat back down, but stared across the room where Sabrina disappeared down the side hall. “Shit. Do you think she’s doing a scene?”

  “It’s possible. Or watching one.”

  The hall she’d turned down had a series of three-sided rooms where Doms and subs could play while other patrons watched. The idea crawled up Conner’s spine and made him stiffen his neck. He moaned.

  “Does she know you’re into her?”

  “Of course not.” Conner furrowed his brow. “I haven’t seen her for months. I’ve never been so relieved for a class to end.” That wasn’t entirely true. He had seen her—once. But that didn’t mean she knew he was into her.

  “Okay, then it really isn’t reasonable for you to stomp up to her and go all caveman. She’s with a guy. You’re going to have to handle this another time.”

  Conner rolled his eyes. “I have no business handling this ever. She’s a student.”

  “It’s a new year. She’s not in your class anymore, right?”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean she’s not going to show up in one of my other classes someday. If she’s an English major, there’s a good chance I’ll have her again. I still can’t approach her. It’s totally against school policy to date a student, even if she isn’t in my class.” He cringed, listening to his own lecture.

  Zane leaned forward, blocking the spot where Conner’s gaze wandered again. Zane’s grin was huge.

  Conner startled. “What?” He shook his head to clear it. There was no way he was ever going to have that woman again.

  “Want me to see where she went?” Zane asked, ignoring Conner’s rhetorical question.

  “No.” Conner stood again. He didn’t say anything to Zane as he walked away, heading in the direction his sexy student had traveled. He wouldn’t confront her. That would be beyond uncomfortable. He just wanted to know where she went. Another glimpse of her wouldn’t hurt anything. She would never know. And then he’d leave the club. Obviously tonight wasn’t a good night for him to be at Extreme.

  Hell, if she started coming to the club of
ten, he’d never be able to return.

  Sauntering slowly down the viewing hall, Conner scanned in every direction, unsure if he would find Sabrina watching or participating. If he found her inside one of the rooms with that other Dom’s hands on her… Hell, he didn’t know what he might do.

  Nothing, you asshole. You don’t own her. And you have a moral obligation to completely ignore her.

  Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. There she was. He couldn’t breathe. For one thing, the hint of perfect ass he’d seen peeking out from under her skirt was completely in his line of sight. She was positioned on a spanking bench, her smooth white cheeks exposed with her skirt pushed up to her lower back. He could make out the distinct tan line that split her ass from her thighs.

  She wore a thin, lacy, black thong that barely covered her pussy. With her legs spread on the pads of the bench, she left little to the imagination.

  Conner’s gaze darted to the man dominating her as he set his hands on Sabrina’s ass and massaged her cheeks. Conner didn’t know him, though he’d seen him at Extreme before. He was closer to Conner’s age than Sabrina’s. He was built and tall, not as built or as tall as Conner, but few people were.

  When the first spank landed on Sabrina’s ass, Conner flinched—not because he was averse to watching a woman get her ass swatted, but because he had a deep clawing urge to yank this particular Dom off Sabrina and take over the scene.

  He wouldn’t, of course. But, he fisted his hands at his sides and forced himself to remain still.

  Conner’s reaction was nothing compared to Sabrina’s. The little minx moaned. Pink rose up on her smooth cheek as she squeezed her knees against the padded sides of the bench.

  The second swat landed on the other cheek. The Dom was good. His blows were perfect. He wasn’t a regular at Extreme, but Conner could see he was very familiar with the lifestyle and undoubtedly belonged to another club. He had experience. The evidence was on the perfectly pinkened ass of Ms. Duluth.

  The man stepped between Sabrina’s legs and molded his palms to her butt, massaging the sting.

  Conner almost groaned. It had been years since he’d reacted like this to a woman. He’d had the hots for her for so long his balls ached. Seeing her with another Dom didn’t make him feel warm and fuzzy. Even though he couldn’t have her for himself, it still smarted.

  The Dom stepped back and resumed the role-playing, landing several more strikes on Sabrina’s ass and thighs until they were a gorgeous rosy color.

  After another round of soothing touches to Sabrina’s enflamed skin, the guy stepped around and leaned down to say something in Sabrina’s ear.

  She nodded. Her thick brown hair fell across her cheek, and the man tucked it behind her ear.

  The Dom eased back.

  Sabrina had turned her face in Conner’s direction, however. And the second the Dom stepped out from Conner’s line of sight, her gaze met his.

  Conner inhaled sharply. He hadn’t meant for her to see him. He was caught. He froze.

  Her gaze widened. Her mouth opened. The Dom at her ass didn’t notice.

  Conner finally had the sense to spin around and walk away. He turned the corner toward the main section of the club, taking deep breaths.

  Shit.

  Sabrina was under his skin. How the hell had that happened? He’d been a member of Extreme for years. He’d done hundreds of scenes with many different women. He’d even dated a few. Never had he had a reaction to a submissive like this. His cock was hard, and his heart pounded.

  When he could manage to control his legs again, he ambled back toward the bar. Zane was no longer around. Thank God. The last thing he wanted to do was chat about what he’d seen.

  “Water,” he said to the bartender, who nodded and handed him a bottle.

  The club didn’t serve alcohol. If they had, Conner would have asked for the entire bottle of something stiff and taken about a dozen shots to get the image of Sabrina’s fine ass out of his head.

  “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. He needed air.

  Conner headed for the entrance, which was at the back of the building, spilling into the parking lot instead of the street. The arrangement allowed people to come and go from Extreme without encountering the general public between their cars and the door. Many patrons arrived and left severely underdressed.

  As soon as Conner stepped outside, he nodded at the guard, Frank, and leaned against the side of the building, several yards away from the door. He was supposed to meet up with Rafe and Mason later. He hated to bail on them and hoped if he hid for a while, he could avoid Sabrina and catch his friends outside when they arrived.

  It was with this idea in mind that he took several deep breaths, crossed his legs at the ankles, and let his head fall back to rest against the wall.

  *

  Sabrina couldn’t breathe.

  Doug continued to mold his hands to her burning rear cheeks, but she hadn’t breathed for so long she wasn’t sure she remembered how. He was an attentive Dom. He knew something was up, and he circled back toward her face and kneeled in front of her. “You okay, Sabrina?”

  She stared at him for several moments, blinking. Her mind could only process the sexy Dr. Bascott, who had made eye contact with her and then fled as if the place were on fire. She had seen him correctly, right? She knew she had. After a semester of lusting after every aspect of that man, she would know him anywhere. Hell, even if all she saw was his hand or his elbow, she would know him. That’s how much time she’d spent staring at his every feature for four months.

  That would have been enough to cause her to pause. But after he busted into that restroom two months ago and fucked her against the door, her last brain cell had been sucked out. She was ruined for other men. Hell, she was ruined for other Doms.

  Doug was a nice guy. More than nice. She wanted to feel something for him. In fact, she’d worked hard for the last month of seeing him to make that happen.

  Professor Bascott shattered that hard work in two point five seconds.

  Before the incident at King Pizza, she never acted on her lust for the sexy professor. She wasn’t stupid. Besides, she assumed there was surely a Mrs. Bascott, even though the man didn’t wear a wedding ring. At the very least, he had to have a girlfriend. That’s how fucking sexy he was.

  He didn’t look like an English lit professor—whatever an English lit professor was supposed to look like. He looked more like a bodybuilder. But the man was passionate about his literature, and he knew it well.

  The only thing that dampened his good looks was his attitude. Although he clearly enjoyed teaching and loved his job, he treated her with a certain level of distain the entire semester. She didn’t think she imagined it. He never spoke to the other students with quite the same level of frustration. It didn’t make him less sexy, however. And she hated that fact even more.

  Sabrina blinked in an effort to dislodge herself from her wandering mind and return to the present. It was impossible. The scene was ruined.

  “Sabrina,” Doug repeated.

  She licked her lips. “Sorry. I spaced.” What was she supposed to say? I just saw the man of my dreams, and he turned around and hightailed out of the room as though I’d bitten him.

  Doug set a hand on her shoulder. He stroked her cheek with his thumb. Suddenly she had very little interest in him. This was the first time she’d come with him to this particular club, and she wasn’t sure if she thoroughly regretted the decision or wanted to thank Doug.

  Nope. She was sure. Regret. Now she would have images of Dr. Bascott filling her brain for weeks again. She’d finally gotten to the point where she didn’t think of him every other minute since the last time she’d seen him. It was almost October, for heaven’s sake. She needed to shake Dr. Bascott and move on.

  The unexpected made her head spin. “I’m sorry, Sir. I seem to have broken the scene. Can we try it again another night?”

  “Of course, hon.” Doug smoothed her skirt bac
k over her butt and helped her stand. He held her hand as she steadied herself. “You feel okay?”

  She scrunched her face. The perfect excuse. “Just a headache. Thought it would go away. Guess it’s distracting me.”

  He pulled her in close and hugged her against his chest. Her ass stung where her skirt swayed against her exposed cheeks, but she hadn’t slipped into a subspace that required recovery. What she needed was to get the hell out of Extreme quickly before she saw Dr. Bascott again and made a fool of herself.

  She lifted her face. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll call it a night.” Thank God they’d arrived in separate cars. The last thing she needed was to sit in awkward silence with Doug on the way back to her condo.

  “Okay, hon. You sure you’re all right?”

  “Yeah. Call me tomorrow?”

  “Of course.” Doug squeezed her closer and planted a kiss on the top of her head. He turned toward the hall, still holding her hand. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  “Thanks, Doug.” She squeezed his hand, silently thanking God Doug was so nice and easygoing. She felt like a bitch for leaving him like this and practically lying about it at the same time.

  At the entrance, Doug kissed her softly on the lips and held her face tipped back to stare into her eyes. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  She smiled and headed out the door.

  The man who worked at the entrance, nodded. Frank. He introduced himself when she arrived. “You need help getting to your car?”

  “Nope. It’s close. You’ll be able to see me from here.” She could spot her dark red Honda Accord in the second row of the parking lot.

  She turned to step in that direction when she noticed movement out of her peripheral vision. Her automatic response was to glance that way. She was a smart girl. It wasn’t prudent to ignore her surroundings in a dark parking lot late at night.

  Her breath caught for the second time. Dr. Bascott. She couldn’t see his face in the shadows, but she would know his stance anywhere. And now that she’d turned to face him, she had no choice but to acknowledge their acquaintance. She cleared her throat and took several steps toward him, her head held high.