My hand will have to make do for tonight, but come tomorrow, I’m going to get what I want.
I always do.
Chapter 8
Good Lord, He Got a Horse
Renée
The heat coming off my laptop is no match for the little fan built into it. Even so, I’ve been grading assignments all morning, so I take the little inferno as my sign for a break. I dislike online summer classes—I feel disconnected from my students, and there’s no way they’re learning as much as they could if we were in person.
From my seat on the couch, I take off my reading glasses and rub the corners of my eyes before fixing my gaze outside.I stand for a closer look through the window, only to find a large trailer unloading a horse onto Jonah’s property.
Good Lord, he got a horse.
I shake my head. Caring for a horse is the last thing I think Jonah Johanssen could handle. It’s only been two years since he was my student, so I can’t imagine he’s changed all that much. Responsible is not a word I would use to describe him.
Infuriating, yes. That is partly my fault, though. Every semester a new group of students sits before me, and my hopes are high. I should have learned by now that most students are not there for their love of biology—they’re there for the credit, and I am but a stepping stone on the way to their future.
He never took my class seriously; he never showedinterest in the material. He was there to interrupt me and flash that megawatt smile.
Distracted, he was also. I don’t know how many times I looked up from my presentation to find him texting, or whispering to the person next to him, or flirting with girls the second class was over.
My phone buzzes on the ottoman. My eyebrows raise when I see the name of the man who stood me up at Strip Tease. The man I was supposed to dominate and degrade for cheating on his fake wife.
Matt: Please give me another chance, Mistress. I’ll do anything. I’m so sorry. I’ll never do it again.
It’s the tenth time he’s messaged me asking for forgiveness or providing an excuse for his absence. After his first reply, I simply told him I would punish him, but I never gave him a definite answer about whether I would ever forgive him. I enjoy holding this kind of power over him. Truthfully, I don’t know if I will see him again.
The first time we were together, he showed up twenty minutes late, but he clearly enjoyed my punishment too much because then he didn’t show up at all. I have exactly one night a month to free myself, wither a submissive into a boneless mess, and get my rocks off in the process—I’m not wasting it on no-shows, and Matt is learning that.
The urge to respond is tempting, though. Right as I’m about to type my first letter, I realize it’s quiet in the house—too quiet. Amber’s working at the country club, but where are the girls?
“Loretta? Delta?” I call, but hear nothing in response. I bust through the back door to scan our backyard, but they’re not out here either. A cold sweat breaks over my skin. I run toward the side of the house, yelling for the girls, my voice cracking. From the corner of my eye, I catch two little redheads over at Jonah’s petting the new horse.
I curse under my breath and storm towards them. There’s two other men standing nearby, and my hackles rise even higher. My children’s safety is my number one priority, and even though I’ve spotted them andknowwhere they are, the panic doesn’t lessen. They are still standing next to men I don’t know.
When I’m close enough, I grab my oldest daughter’s hand. “Delta,” I bark, my voice harsh, and I hope no one can sense my raging fear. “You do not leave our yard without my permission. You know that.”
“But Jonah got a horse, and her name is Ginger—”
“I don’t care if Jonah got a Ferris wheel. You don’t leave the yard without asking.”
Hand wrapped around Lo’s, I start back to our house, but Jonah stops me.
“It’s okay, Professor Wi—I mean, Renée.”
I whip around and bore lasers into him. “It isnotokay, Mr. Johanssen. It is not okay for children to go on the property of a stranger.”
Delta tugs on me. “But we—”
“I don’t care that we’ve met him already. There are other people here I don’t know, and...”
The other young man standing next to Jonah steps over, his expression curious and knowing. “Hi, Professor Wilde.” He stares at me as if we know...
“Oh my goodness.” I breathe, and an ease settles over me. “Dane Johanssen, what are—“ Reality cuts through the fog of my panic like a lighthouse when I remember I had two Johanssen brothers in my biology classes.
Dane was a perfect student, a dream for someone like me. In his senior year, he transferred to Keystone State University to concentrate in veterinary sciences. Since biology was his major, I had him in five different courses through his master’s and doctorate years. He came to class with a mission to learn everything. Hand in the air moreoften than not, his curiosity had no limits. He sought me after class during office hours to discuss his assignments. I set him up with an internship, for Christ’s sake.
