Against the Rules (2 page)

Chapter Two

It had been three days since Ian pulled the blond out of the bathroom at Ale Mary’s and delivered him to a dorm on campus.

Not that he was counting.

He wasn’t going to get involved with a student—even one who was only a few months away from graduation.

But there were no rules against stopping by someone’s room to make sure he was okay.

It was a foolish plan—he didn’t even know Charming’s name—but that didn’t stop Ian from walking to the senior dorm after his last class of the day. It was early spring in upstate New York and the wind was whipping through the trees. His shoulders hunched under his heavy wool coat. His breath hung in the air. He lengthened his stride, hustling the last few hundred feet until he finally arrived at the old brick building. Now he just had to figure out how to get inside. He hunkered down to wait for someone to come out.

“Looking for a friend?” A slender girl in an oversized coat was seated on a nearby bench. Her fingers were curled tight around a half-smoked cigarette. A small puppy was tucked against her feet, huddling out of the wind. His kinky brown fur clearly wasn’t thick enough to protect him from the cold.

“Something like that.”

The girl nodded as she gave him an appraising look. “You a cop?”

Ian blinked in surprise. He was a black man from Chicago. When he was twelve he’d been hauled down to the police station for making faces at a police officer. No one had ever thought he might be a cop. “Do I look like the law?”

“Hey, I’m not racial stereotyping.” The girl grinned. She was probably in her early twenties, but with her face she’d be carded until she was forty-five. “If you’re not a cop then you must be someone’s dad.”

“I’m not that either.”

“You sure?” She stubbed her cigarette out against the bench arm and flicked the butt across the sidewalk. “You’ve got that whole angry vibe down. Little Timmy forget to call for Granny’s birthday?”

“I don’t have a kid, and if I did they wouldn’t be old enough for college.” Ian frowned. Hell, he was getting old. “I’m looking for a guy who lives here. He’s a couple of inches shorter than me, muscular, with blond hair.”

“You got a name?”

“Nope.” Ian shrugged. “He’d be hard to miss. He looks like a cartoon hero. Dragons beware.”

“You’re here to see Kelly?” Maya jolted into motion. She bent and scooped the puppy up into her arms, tucking his wriggling body inside her coat. Her eyes darted back and forth like she was expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. “You won’t tell him you saw me? I get reported to the housing director one more time and my dad’s going to cut up my credit cards.”

“You doing something wrong?”

“We’re not supposed to be smoking this close to the dorms,” she said, but her grip tightened on the puppy in her arms. The animal yelped excitedly, but she didn’t release her hold. Clearly, cigarettes weren’t the only contraband she didn’t want to be caught with.

Ian grinned. He wasn’t about to get someone in trouble just because they’d decided to get a pet a few months before graduation. Besides, the puppy was darn cute. “I’m just looking for a room number and a swipe into the dorm.”

“Right.” She skittered up the stairs to the dorm and fumbled with her key card to let them into the building’s lobby stairwell. “Down that way.” She pointed toward the first-floor dorm rooms. “His name is on the door.”

“Thanks,” Ian said, but the girl was already racing up the stairs. Weird. He walked cautiously down the hall. Most of the doors only had a number on them; others just had a whiteboard.

Next to the bathroom, one door had a small sign posted to it: Kelly O’Connor—Residential Assistant. There was some contact information and then: If you see something, say something. If it’s a real emergency call public safety. Don’t be stupid. Don’t panic.

Okay, so Kelly wasn’t just another student. He was the RA in charge of making sure the dorm ran smoothly and enforcing the rules. If the sign was anything to go by, he also had a sense of humor.

Ian knocked once. Twice.

“Damn it, Pam. Remember your key.” The door wrenched open.

Fuck, it hadn’t been a trick of memory. He really was gorgeous. His jaw was square. His cheekbones were sharp enough to cut glass. His raspberry lips formed a perfect cupid’s bow. Prince Charming come to life, complete with a single golden lock falling between brilliant blue eyes, drawing attention away from the remnants of a bruise that marred his peaches-and-cream complexion. Too bad Ian was too old to believe in fairytales.

His mouth fell open when he saw Ian. “You’re not Pam.”

“Ian Larkin.” Ian held out a hand. “We met the other night.”

“I remember.” There was a slight pause, then, “Kelly O’Connor.” He crossed his arms, and lean muscles shifted underneath his plain white T-shirt. Nice. “Did I leave something in your car?”

“Just thought I’d check in on how you’re doing.”

“I’m fine.” Tension crackled in the narrow hallway. “You can leave now.”

“The other night—” Ian let out a breath. “You seemed like you could use a friend.”

“And you thought you’d apply for the job?” Kelly sniffed. “Sorry, but I’m not interested. Unless you’re here to pick up where we left off. I was going to give you a blow job, and you were going to spank me.”

“I don’t do college kids,” Ian said.

“Pity. The way I see it, you owe me an orgasm.”

“And you can get off just from my hand on your ass?”

“If you know what you’re doing.”

Ian’s nostrils flared. His balls tightened and his cock filled to half-mast as he turned the offer over in his mind. It would be the work of a moment to lower those soft gray sweatpants over his lean hips and reveal the perfect globes of his ass. His hand itched to warm that soft skin and leave Kelly panting with need. “Like I said, I don’t do college kids.”

“You keep turning me down and I’m going to get a complex.”

“You’ll survive,” Ian said dryly. “Is that why you’re interested in me? You want your ego stroked? You must know you’re a beautiful man.”

“I prefer to think of myself as ruggedly handsome.”

“Of course you do.” Ian let out a warm laugh. His gaze skimmed Kelly’s body, drinking him in like a fine glass of wine. His manners might be cool and impersonal, but his lightweight sweatpants didn’t hide his erection. Ian grinned. Good to know he wasn’t the only one affected by their conversation. At least his jeans hid things better. “I wanted to see how you were doing. Make sure you’re recovering.”

Kelly made a dismissive motion toward his face. “This isn’t my first bit of black-and-blue.”

“You shouldn’t be so nonchalant.”

“Why not? Sam wasn’t wrong the other night. I like it rough.”

“There’s a difference between liking rough sex and—” Ian reached out to skim his hand across the bruise on Kelly’s cheek, his fingers tingling as he traced the dark marks on pale skin “—wanting this.”

“Some people like bruises.” He leaned into Ian’s hand, the action natural and unthinking. He was clearly starved for affection.

“Do you?” Ian’s callused thumb dragged across silky flesh, sending a shudder down his spine.

“Not particularly.” Kelly frowned as he realized that Ian’s hand was still on his cheek. He pulled away, retreating back a step. “It’s not about the bruises or the pain. It’s about the way I feel afterward.” His teeth nibbled tentatively at his vulnerable bottom lip. “The quiet in my head. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Probably not, but then I’m not a submissive.”

“Neither am I.” Kelly flinched away from the word. “I might like a quick spanking now and then, but I don’t want a master. I don’t just bottom. I give as good as I get—”

“You don’t have to bottom to want someone else to be in control during sex.” Ian’s smile was broad and easy. They could have been talking about the weather if his calm tone was anything to go by. “Of course, you’re a big guy. You work out. Most men probably aren’t comfortable telling you what to do. That’s why the idiot at the club needed to knock you around. He needed the violence to feel in control.”

There was a long pause. Ian really shouldn’t say anything else. This was supposed to be a quick conversation, not a prelude to more, but with some previously unknown demon riding his shoulder he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

“I’m not like that. I don’t play games. I don’t need a fist or a sharp movement to put you on your knees. I don’t need someone else to keep you there.” He prowled forward, backing Kelly up against the hall’s cracked plaster wall. Anticipation zipped down Ian’s spine and buried itself deep in his belly. His balls tingled. There was something about Kelly, something that reminded him of the first time he’d stepped into a dungeon and thought a smack on the behind was as kinky as it got. That night had been a revelation, but the tinge of pink coloring Kelly’s neck? That was something else entirely.

They were standing toe to toe now, so close he could feel the heat from Kelly’s breath. If he tilted his head he could lick into Kelly’s mouth, tasting him, teasing him, challenging him with his tongue. Instead, he turned slightly to murmur in his ear. “If I put you in a position, you’d stay there without ropes or chains.”

“And if I like the chains?” Kelly asked.

“Arrangements could be made.”

Chapter Three

Oh, yeah. Kelly groaned. Pain might not be his thing, but there was something about being tied up that sent his motor into overdrive. The mental image of Ian putting him in handcuffs had him hard enough to break rocks.

Ian might have been hot in club wear—those leather pants had been smoking—but in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black wool coat open at the neck he was absolutely delicious. His richly colored skin glowed under the flickering lights, and his full lips formed a broad smile.

He reached out to run a hand across Ian’s chest, but a large hand batted him away. “No touching,” he ordered. “Put your hands over your head.”

There was no room for argument. Kelly did as he was told, lifting his arms over his head to rest them against the cool plaster. They were standing in the middle of the hallway, easily viewable by anyone who walked into the dorm or opened their bedroom door, but he didn’t care. He just needed to feel, to think about something other than his grief, his parents’ expectations or the responsibilities threatening to crash down on him.

Damn, he was fucked up.

“Lace your fingers together.” Ian unbuttoned the front of his jacket, revealing a button-down shirt with crisp blue pinstripes. He undid two buttons, giving Kelly just a glimpse at the thick black hair underneath. “Take a deep breath.”

Kelly squirmed uncomfortably. He shouldn’t be this aroused from just a couple of words. They weren’t even touching, and he was already closer to losing control than he’d like to admit. One touch was all it would take and he’d come apart like a damn teenager. “I thought we were going to talk—”

“We are talking.”

“Really, then what’s your favorite color?” Kelly forced air down into his lungs, struggling to cool his fiery libido. “What do you do for a living? Veggie or meat? Links or patties?”

“My favorite color’s blue. I’m a professor. Veggies on my pizza. Links, not patties.” Ian’s hand drifted down over Kelly’s chest, tugging at his clean cotton shirt. “Any other questions?”

“What are we doing?”

“You want to lose control. I can help you—without putting your health in danger.”

Kelly grinned. “We’re going to have sex. Finally.”

“I don’t do college kids.” Ian repeated his earlier words. His gaze hardened and his lips formed a thin line. His expression was serious. “We’re not going to have sex. I’m just going to help you.”

“No.” It took everything he had to unlace his fingers and drop his hands to his sides. The lust he’d felt only a few seconds earlier was gone, replaced by anger and frustration.

Fuck, he wanted him, but he didn’t want to be treated like some kind of pity project.

He had enough of that from everyone else in his life, from his aunts constantly inviting him to dinner to the job offer sitting in his email account waiting for a response. “Get out.”

“We’re not done.”

“I’m not some hard case desperate for a handout. I don’t need your charity. You want to have sex—”
oh God
,
please
“—call me, we’ll talk. Otherwise get the hell out!”

Shouting was a bad idea. Kelly knew that as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but maybe things would be okay. Maybe...His hands began to shake.

“Take a deep breath.” Ian lowered his voice as he tried to talk Kelly down from his rage. “Relax. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Kelly’s head snapped upright. His parents were dead, his ex-boyfriend was madly in love with someone else and he still needed to study for tomorrow’s test. Ian might know how to push all his buttons, but he didn’t know the first thing about his life. “Fuck you.”

Ian didn’t know what he’d done to trigger this reaction from Kelly, but he didn’t like it. He frowned as Kelly dropped his hands to his sides, all that natural submission swallowed up by a wave of anger and frustration. “We should talk.”

“I don’t think so.” Somewhere in the commotion another door had popped open down the hall and a giant had decided to join the conversation. The newcomer was huge, his black Henley stretching to cover a solid wall of muscle and bone. “I think you need to leave.”

“And I don’t think it’s any of your business.”

The stranger’s massive hands curled into fists the size of ham hocks as he looked from Ian to Kelly and back again. “I’m pretty sure he asked you to leave.”

Ian took a beat to consider his options. Crossing the giant was as close to suicide as he was ever likely to get, but he couldn’t leave while Kelly was so distressed. In this mood he could hurt himself or—worse—ask the wrong man to do the honors. Decision made. “That’s his call, not yours.”

There was a rustle and a squeak of recognition. “Professor Larkin!” A slim form peeked out from behind the ogre’s bulk.

Jesse Cole was a bubbly sophomore with a brain that soaked up information. He was one of Ian’s favorite students—when he remembered to show up to class—and clearly the appreciation was mutual.

Jesse bounced up and down. “I was just going to email you about next week’s assignment.”

Damn. Ian forced himself to take a deep breath. Apparently, it was too much to hope he could get out of the dorm without being recognized. Now he just had to trust that Jesse wouldn’t gossip to every loudmouth on campus. “Not too hard?”

“I finished it already. I was wondering if you could recommend some other books on the subject. Keynes is just—he’s fascinating.”

“I can send you a list, but if you’d like something a little less theoretical, I just finished a new history of the conference at Bretton Woods. Keynes features prominently. I can loan you my copy.”

“Perfect.” Jesse elbowed his friend in the side. “Nick, this is Professor Larkin. He’s fantastic. Professor, this is Nick Moretti.”

Nick’s fists relaxed, but his expression didn’t become any more welcoming. He wrapped an arm around Jesse’s waist, tucking the twink into his side. His meaning couldn’t be clearer if he’d hired a billboard. Jesse was his territory. Not that his boyfriend looked upset by the claim.

“Nice to meet you, Professor. Want to tell me what a member of faculty is doing in the dorms?”

“I’m just checking on a friend.” Ian glanced over at where Kelly was vibrating angrily in his doorway. He gave him a reassuring smile. It had no effect. If anything, his muscles clenched even tighter. Damn.

“Didn’t sound too friendly from where I’m standing,” Nick growled.

“For fuck’s sake,” Kelly yelped. “I’m standing right here. You want to ask me something then ask. Not that it’s any of your business.” He stepped forward to jab a finger into Nick’s muscular chest. “We’re not dating anymore. You’re not my boyfriend.” Anger stained his pale cheeks a deep red. “I don’t need you to fight my battles.”

“And that means I’m supposed to let some professor give you a split lip?”

Enough was enough. Ian let out an angry growl. He might like things a little rough in the bedroom, but he wasn’t abusive. He respected his partner’s boundaries. As for his own limits? He’d do almost anything once, but he needed to be able to trust his partner completely.

He had a personal rule against picking up newbies and giving them an initiation on the end of the whip.

He liked a man who knew exactly how hard he could play—and when to call things off.

That wasn’t Kelly.

The blond had fresh meat written all over him. He might like to play rough, but he hadn’t yet figured out when to say no. If Ian hadn’t stepped in then, he would have gone home with Sam...and his friends.

Fuck. Fear jolted through Ian’s body. If he’d been a minute later—if something had happened—he’d seen how much trouble a man could get into if he didn’t know when to end a scene. It was the reason he’d left Los Angeles and headed halfway across the country.

And it was just one more reason he should stay away from Kelly. He might have made it in time the other night, but he was nobody’s knight in shining armor. He couldn’t keep him safe.

He needed to leave, but first he needed to clear up Nick’s misconception. “I don’t hit my friends. The split lip was courtesy of some asshole in the bathroom at Ale Mary’s—”

“Oh, fuck,” Jesse swore as he grabbed for his boyfriend.

“You got jumped at Ale Mary’s?” Rage had the giant’s lips curled in a scowl. A vein throbbed on the side of his neck. His entire body was tensed—full of kinetic energy—like the only thing keeping him from exploding was Jesse’s body held against his side. “Who did it? Give me their names.”

“I wasn’t jumped,” Kelly said. “I was with a guy. It was a misunderstanding.”

“You had a misunderstanding with a man in the bathroom at Ale Mary’s.” Nick stressed the club’s name. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll take care of it.”

“You don’t need to do anything.” The color had drained away from Kelly’s face. He didn’t look angry anymore. He looked guilty. Delicate skin crinkled at the corners of his eyes. He cleared his throat anxiously. “It won’t happen again.”

“You’re picking up rough tricks where I work,” Nick said. “You could have been hurt. The police could have shut us down. You’ve been warned before. You didn’t listen. Now, you’re banned from Ale Mary’s.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Kelly snorted.

“Afraid not. You try to get in and you’ll get stopped at the door.” Nick grunted. His large body shook like a dog coming out of the rain, dislodging his boyfriend without harming him in any way. “I’m going to make a phone call.” His door slammed shit.

Kelly’s door echoed his friend’s, closing firmly with the handsome blond on the other side.

The hallway was quiet. The only person left was Jesse Cole in an oversized black sweatshirt. The sophomore shifted forward onto the balls of his feet. “It’s okay.” He offered a soft smile. “They can get loud, but they really are good friends. Nick’s just a big puppy dog. He’ll be fine once he’s made his call.”

“And Kelly?”

“Kelly’s been through a lot.” Jesse looked away. “But he’s getting better every day.”

Ian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Clearly Kelly’s friends knew what was going on in his life. It made sense but that didn’t stop a spark of jealousy dancing across his skin. They might not be in a relationship—he didn’t deserve that kind of trust—but he’d seen Kelly at his most vulnerable. He’d seen the weakness in his protective walls.

How long would it be before all those barriers came crashing down and Kelly lost control entirely?

“If Kelly can’t get what he’s looking for at Ale Mary’s, he’ll go someplace else,” he warned.

“Nick will take care of it.”

The kid’s faith in his boyfriend was absolute. It was damn cute, but Ian didn’t have the same willingness to believe. If Kelly was determined to self-destruct, he’d do it...no matter how many strings Nick pulled.

Ian wasn’t a knight. His uniform was black leather not gleaming plate mail, but when he got home maybe he should give it a shine. It looked like he was going to rescue the charming young man after all. At least he’d give it a try. “Do you still have the syllabus for my class?”

“Of course.” Jesse looked offended. He really was a good student.

“My cell phone number is on the front. When Kelly calms down, give it to him.”