“I’m teaching skills that go beyond the stage. Cooperation, determination, compassion—all of those are important tenets I’m trying to instill in my students. If I think an important role might impact that for someone, then I might not give it to them. Far be it from me to exacerbate an issue.”
I scoff. “And here I thought we were making progress in our relationship. I guess you’re still mad about the Maiden thing?—”
“I had no malicious intent when I posted the cast list,” he says in a dark voice that makes me cold all over. “But if you’d like me to punish you, I can think of more effective ways.”
He walks around me, crowding me until I’m forced to shuffle forward against the desk. I’m staring at the wall and his chair and the plethora of papers and ink pens scattered across the surface.
My breathing hitches when his words graze the shell of my ear. “Is that what you want, temptress? For your professor to punish your bad behavior?”
I slide my fingernails against the wood. “Should we?—”
“Answer the question.”
My heart hammers inside my chest, tension threading through my muscles. “Yes,” I whisper faintly. “Yes, please.”
I hear him swallow. The change in our usual dynamic ramps up my pulse; I’m so used to being the one to initiate, in control, that I’m not totally sure what to do with myself. Breathing becomes a concentrated effort the longer we stand there, a hairbreadth away, before he presses a hand against my lower back.
Pushing forward.
“Bend over,” he commands softly.
Resistance is a reflex. “But the class?—”
“They won’t come in.”
“The door is open.”
“Then you’d better be quick.”
I’m breathing through my mouth when I obey.
“Stretch your arms out, and grab the edge of the desk.”
Slowly, I do that too, gripping the wood so tight that my hands cramp. Excitement swims in my stomach, making me extra sensitive when he finally slides his fingers over my hips, down the sides of my thighs.
“You have no idea what you fucking do to me,” he groans, moving all the way to my feet. He lifts them one at a time, dragging my boots off and letting them fall to the floor with a resounding thud I feel in my gut. “My productions are business only. I don’t make personal decisions when it comes to casting, and I would never use your passion as some sort of correctional device—not your passion for the stage at least.”
Both his hands glide up the outsides of my legs, shoving my skirt up over my hips. His palms are cold but warm the longer he caresses me.
“Not getting the lead isn’t a reflection ofyou. It just means we had a lot of talented people, and I tried to be fair.”
I raise up on tiptoe, blood pumping like lava through my extremities. He hooks his icy fingers in the waistband of my tights and drags them toward my feet with painstaking measures. Each new inch of exposed skin is caressed by his hot breath, making my pulse ratchet up between my thighs.
This is the most reckless he’s ever been with me, and I can’t deny that I like it. A lot. Or that I needed this.
“Doing okay?” he murmurs, right against the back of my thigh.
I swallow. Nod.
“Words, Elle.”
“I’m fine,” I breathe.
“If you want me to stop?—”
“Didn’t you say this was a punishment?” I ask, turning to look over my shoulder at him. “Quit fucking around and?—”
The first blow comes out of nowhere, a stinging sensation that ripples the meat of my ass. I drop my head, my mouth falling open.
