Against the Rules (8 page)

Chapter Fourteen

The puppy was cute, brown and impossible. Kelly rubbed his temples, sure he was seeing things, but when he opened his eyes it was still there. Barely large enough to be away from its mother, it whimpered quietly in a corner of the second-floor lounge. It had wiry hair, brown eyes like molten chocolate, and a heart-shaped nose that twitched curiously every time he moved. The housing director was going to be pissed. Halston University’s pet policy was very, very clear.

No pets.

Not even goldfish.

Definitely not puppies who could make a mess on the carpets and keep the students up at night.

Still, it was kind of cute.

Kelly bent over and wriggled his fingers in the animal’s direction. The movement was enough to make his jeans pull tight over his ass. It had been two days since the spanking at Ian’s house and he still couldn’t walk without feeling those long fingers splayed out against his skin.

Fuck. It had felt good. Every ache. Every throb. They were all reminders of the careful pains Ian had taken to give him exactly what he needed, allowing him to forget his troubles and really soar.

For the first time in months he’d slept the entire night through, waking up well rested and calm in an apartment full of waffles and maple syrup.

He glanced down, checking the time on his watch. Ian was supposed to be picking him up in twenty min—

Now.

Ian was supposed to be picking him up for his date
right now
.

But he couldn’t leave the puppy.

“Hey, sweetie,” he said. “You got a name?”

It wasn’t wearing a collar. Had it wandered in from the streets? Kelly laughed. “Yeah, you just waltzed through a locked door, up a flight of stairs and into the student lounge.” He sat on the ground, biting back an oath when his bruises connected with the ground.

His phone buzzed.

It was probably Ian wondering where he was. He considered pulling the device out, but the tiny dog was finally peering in his direction. It took a tentative step forward, legs shaking.

The hair around his head stood up in a ruff, the beginnings of a mane. He opened his mouth to let out a sleepy yawn, revealing the pinkest tongue Kelly had ever seen.

“I bet all the boys are crazy about you.”

The puppy started moving again, taking a few steps forward and then retreating. Kelly held perfectly still, watching it repeat the process until it got close enough to sniff the cuff of his jeans.

“What are you going to do if he pisses on you?” Ian asked from the open doorway behind him. The sneaky bastard.

“Change my pants.” Kelly wiggled his fingers again, not caring when it had no effect on the puppy. “How’d you get in?”

“Nick swiped me through the door.” Ian crept forward slowly until he was crouched at Kelly’s side. “A guy going the other way said you were up here talking to yourself.”

“Nope, just chatting with Leo.”

Ian groaned. “Don’t name the puppy. I’m sure his owner’s looking for him.”

“Whatever.” The animal had made its way up to Kelly’s knees now. Its nose twitched every time it took a sip. Its little paws were covered in fur. “I think he looks like the cowardly lion.”

“His owner—”

“Fuck, you know who it is.” Kelly swore as he scooped Leo up into his arms. The puppy was a compact bundle of muscle and fuzz. It wriggled into a more comfortable position, flashing its unmentionables in the process. Definitely female. Not a Leo then...but she could be a Lola. “Don’t tell me.”

“Why not?”

“If I don’t know, the housing director can’t waterboard it out of me.” He bent down to nuzzle his face against soft brown fur. The little girl smelled like root beer and beef jerky. She definitely belonged to a college student.

Of course, telling Ian he didn’t want to know who the dog’s owner was didn’t stop a bunch of dorm residents from crowding around him when he left the lounge with the puppy tucked under his arm.

“You found Spike,” said Maya Richards, the dance major Kelly had turned in twice for excessive partying. She must have come straight from practice because she was wearing a pair of yoga pants underneath her parka. Her dark hair was slicked back in a tight ponytail. She reached out for the bundle of fur.

The puppy definitely did not look like a Spike.

Kelly drew himself up to his full six feet. His spine hardened. His gaze narrowed. “I know this isn’t your puppy.”

“Excuse me—”

“She can’t be your puppy.” His head was pounding. His ears were ringing. Maya already thought he was a hard ass, but he’d been hoping to hide that fact from Ian for a little longer. “Because if she was your puppy, I’d have to fill out a report with the housing director—and she’d have to call your parents to let them know you’d been suspended right before graduation.”

“Oh.” Maya wilted a little bit.

“If she was your puppy, you’d have to take care of her for the rest of the semester, walking her multiple times a day and spending your allowance on dog food. Real dog food. Not jerky.”

“I’m sure she’s well taken care of,” Ian tried to interject.

Kelly ignored his date. “
If
she was your puppy, you’d have to take her home at the end of the semester, flying her all the way back to Seattle. Didn’t you say your mother’s allergic to dogs?”

“Right.” Her lips drooped even further. “She is.”

“And
if
she was your puppy, I wouldn’t be able to find her a new home, somewhere in town with a big fenced-in backyard, a warm kitchen for her to nap in, and children next door to feed her crackers.” It sounded like a nice freaking life. “So, I’m going to ask you, is this your dog?”

Maya shook her head. Her cheeks were pink with embarrassment. Her bottom lip was wobbling. “Of course she’s not my dog. I’ve never seen her before.”

“Do you have any idea whose puppy she might be?”

“Not a clue.”

“I guess I’ll have to find somewhere else for her to live.” Kelly turned on his heels and started down the stairs, ignoring the sniffling coed behind him.

Ian caught up with him in the first-floor hallway. His jaw was tight. His gaze was harsh. Clearly he didn’t approve. “You going to steal candy from a baby next?”

“I don’t exactly have a choice.” He fumbled with his key, unlocking the door to his room and waving Ian inside.

Everything inside was exactly as he’d left it, neat, tidy and dog hair free. He frowned. If he let the puppy go she could scramble out of reach under the bed. He could put her on the bed, but then she might fall off.

Finally, he dumped his dirty clothes out on the floor and put the pup in his laundry basket. The sides were too high and too slick for the four-pawed bandit to escape.

“Sorry I screwed up our date,” he said.

“It’s been entertaining so far.” Ian leaned back against the far wall, crossing his arms.

Damn, he’d dressed up for their date in a pair of crisp black slacks and a blue button-down under his wool pea coat. A sapphire scarf was wrapped around his throat, the rich color contrasting against his steel-gray eyes.

Kelly glanced down at his black T-shirt and faded jeans. Up until a few minutes earlier he’d thought his clothes looked good. Now, the best thing he could say was that the shirt was clean and the jeans didn’t have any holes in them.

“I need to change.”

“Nothing wrong with what you’re wearing.”

“Uh-huh.” He slammed open his wardrobe and rummaged around inside, pulling out the black pants he’d worn to his mother’s funeral and the forest-green sweater Aunt Emma had given him the previous Christmas. He could change in the restroom, but Ian had already seen everything there was to see. He tugged the sweater on over his head then dropped his jeans.

Ian’s intake of air was audible. “Does it hurt?”

“When I’m lucky.” Kelly raised his head proudly, swinging his hips to give Ian a show. He’d spent a while the previous day doing contortions to get a view of the marks in his bathroom’s tiny mirror. There was a red blur across his ass where all the bruises had blended together and then a clear handprint on the back of his thigh.

Of course, none of that could compare to the bite mark on the back of his neck and the dull throbbing pain he could still feel when he applied the right pressure. The soft reminder provided by pulsing water against his bruise made him rock hard and he’d spent the past few days jacking off in the shower.

His cock throbbed at the memory, the motion clearly visible under his blue boxer briefs.

“Want any help with that?” Ian asked, his voice like dark velvet.

“Thanks for the offer, but weren’t you the one who wanted to go out on a real date?”

“Maybe I changed my mind.”

“Too late.” Kelly dragged on the slacks, letting out a deep breath as the soft fabric skimmed his thighs. He did up the fly then looked around for his jacket. It was hanging on the hook beside the door, exactly where he’d left it. He pulled the coat on, then checked the puppy.

She’d fallen asleep in the laundry basket, clearly exhausted by the day’s adventures.

“Do we need to drop her off someplace?” Ian asked.

It was probably a good idea, but Kelly shook his head. He wanted to think about what to do with the little fuzz ball next. She was starting to grow on him. Like mold.

“I’ll find someone to take her in the morning.” He’d always wanted a dog, but it had been out of the question with his mother’s allergies. He took the pillowcase off his bed and tucked it in around the puppy. He glanced up. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Ian smiled, the expression softening his hard features. His eyes were dark with...lust? Affection? Either way it sent a burst of heat through the small room. He stepped forward and tugged Kelly up onto his feet, kissing him gently on the mouth. “I’m ready.”

Chapter Fifteen

Their first official date—with fancy clothes and dinner reservations—was getting off to a rocky start. Ian frowned as he escorted Kelly out to the parking lot and held the car door for him. Neither of them said anything on the way to the restaurant.

Kelly kept shifting in his seat like he couldn’t get comfortable.

With the rainbow Ian had seen on his ass that was probably true. He bit back a smile. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about Kelly stealing the damn dog, or the easy way he’d done it.

“I made reservations, but we can go someplace else if you want,” he finally said as he pulled into the parking lot at Valentino’s. The restaurant was small with romantic lighting and intimate booths. When he’d asked Sinclair for a recommendation, the professor had called it “panty dropping.”

“And miss out on the cannoli?”

“You’ve been here before.”

“It’s a small town. I’ve been everywhere.” Kelly’s hand reached over to skim across his thigh. “Are we okay?”

Ian’s breath caught in his throat. He wanted to answer immediately, rushing to get the words out and reassure his nervous date, but there had been a hard edge to his voice. A question that serious deserved a real answer.

He rolled his head, stretching the stiff muscles in his neck as he considered. It shouldn’t be this hard. Stealing was wrong. Stealing puppies was a sin up there with pinching babies and licking all the free donuts at an academic conference. Completely unacceptable.

But there had been extenuating circumstances...

Kelly had to follow the rules—he had to enforce the rules—and there were no puppies allowed in the dorm. Ian turned the details over and over again in his mind before letting out a long sigh. He didn’t know what he’d have done in the same position, but it hadn’t been his choice.

Kelly had acted quickly and competently to solve the problem at hand. And now he was going to find a long-term home for the puppy.

“What did you decide her name was?” Ian asked.

“The puppy? Lola.”

“It’s a good name.” Anything bigger and it might overpower the tiny dog. Ian took Kelly’s hand in his and squeezed tight. “We’re fine.”

“Good to know.” Kelly nudged his door open. His hand slipped from Ian’s. They both got out of the car and walked into the restaurant.

Inside, the place was exactly as requested, intimate and romantic. Ian gave his name to the hostess, and she hustled them over to a small two-man booth near the back.

“Specials are on the board. Your waitress will be with you in a minute.” The girl was a thin brunette, probably still in high school. She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked at Kelly. “If there’s anything else you need, please let me know.”

Ian waited until she left before grinning. “Another cousin?”

“Never met her.”

The laughter that bubbled out of Ian’s throat was warm and assured. At the Bluebird things had been new and uncertain. If Kelly had responded to the little barista’s friendliness with a line or two then Ian would have stepped back and given them space. Things had changed. Kelly’s text message from a few days earlier was still saved on his phone:
You’re taken.

Those two words had filled Ian’s chest with a sense of pride and warmth. His relationship with David had been open and free-form. He wasn’t interested in doing that again. He wanted to know he was the only man in Kelly’s life...and if the flirty hostess got out of hand, he wanted to be able to handle it without wondering if he had the right.

He reached out and took Kelly’s hand in his above the table, biting back a laugh when he heard a squeal of indignation from the front of the restaurant.

Blue eyes twinkled in the shadows. “Forceful.”

“You like it.” Ian didn’t let go as he opened the menu with his other hand and peered inside. “I don’t share—not anymore.”

“Good thing we’re both out, or this could be awkward.”

Crud, he hadn’t thought about that. In Los Angeles he was used to dating men who were out and proud. Moving to upstate New York with its more staid atmosphere had been a complete culture shock. In Halston there was one gay bar, and on long weekends most of the guys decamped to Albany or New York City.

“Do you want me to drop your hand?” he asked.

“Never.” Kelly leaned forward. The sudden motion must have jostled his ass because his mouth twisted in a low grimace. His lips parted. He let out a soft noise that had Ian hard and panting for more.

He hadn’t been lying about liking the aftermath. Ian’s heart stuttered as he considered all the tools locked up safely back in his apartment. The pain they caused and the marks they made...nothing too rough for Kelly—the bullwhip was still out of the question—but the tawse left a colorful imprint.

Maybe next time he’d mark Kelly somewhere more visible—nothing excessive, just a slim line across his shoulder or a bite mark he’d have to work to cover.

It wasn’t a collar, but the thought of Kelly wearing his marks made his gut clench and his heart beat faster. Forget holding hands. He wanted to take his lips in a rough kiss that left no question in anyone’s mind as to the exact nature of their relationship.

But then the waitress was there asking for their orders. When Kelly tried to order the baked chicken, the middle-aged woman chuckled. “This isn’t prom night, O’Connor. You don’t have to worry about getting sauce on your shirt. Order the ravioli special.”

“Fine.” Kelly laughed. “The ravioli special and a glass of the house red, but if I get a stain on this sweater, you have to explain to Carly.”

“Your aunt’s a calm, reasonable person who never speaks out of turn. I’m sure she’d understand.” The waitress’s cheeks flushed. There was a moment’s silence and then they both burst out laughing.

The wine at Valentino’s was full-bodied and fruity. It was locally grown in one of the vineyards near Lake Ontario, and Kelly could almost taste last summer’s sunshine in the glass.

“Was she telling the truth?” Ian asked, easing back in his seat with a bottle of craft beer. “You came here before prom?”

“Everyone comes here before prom,” Kelly explained. “It’s a town tradition. All the guys and dolls get dressed up in their finest, and everyone comes over to take their pictures.”

“Cute tradition,” Ian said, and for the first time all night the smile on his face was relaxed and genuine. Thank God. He sipped his beer. “I bet you looked hot in your rented tuxedo. Was it powder blue? Did it have wide lapels?”

“No, I wasn’t an extra on
Saturday Night Fever
. It was prom.” Kelly had bought a slim-cut tuxedo jacket to go with his suit pants and coated his hair in musky gel. He’d taken someone else’s boyfriend and danced half the night away...before finally ending up at a bonfire on the banks of Lake Halston.

The next morning his father had been waiting at the front door when Kelly finally made it home. “You stayed out all night.”

“It was prom.”

“You worried your mother. She hasn’t been feeling well, and...” He’d sighed. “Tell me you used condoms.”

Since his date had left halfway through the night with another man, it hadn’t really been an issue. But Kelly hadn’t bothered to tell his father that. Instead, he’d crossed his arms. “I know what I’m doing.”

That comment had earned him a generous scolding, two weeks spent doing the dishes after dinner every night and a month of escorting his mother to university events. But the punishment had been worth it to wake up on the lakeside with sand in his pants and smoke still curling upward in the predawn air.

It was the first time he’d really felt free.

“What did you do for prom?” Kelly asked.

“I didn’t go.”

“Let me guess, you didn’t want anyone to ask why you weren’t taking a girl.”

“Nope,” Ian chuckled. “I told my parents I was gay the morning I turned sixteen—they weren’t exactly enthusiastic, but they handled it—but prom wasn’t a big thing at my school. There were a thousand people in my graduating class; probably half of them went to the big dance. I went to Boystown.”

“That a real place?”

“In Chicago? Sure. The realtors call it Lakeview, but it’s where all the clubs are. I was seventeen with a good fake ID and a great ass. I practically lived there.” The memory made Ian grin. “Prom would have been a disaster anyway. My brother—” Sorrow pierced his eyes. For a moment it looked like he wasn’t going to continue. He took a deep breath. “My brother was prom king two years earlier. The first black prom king in school history. Hard to compete with that, especially if you’re the queer mathlete.”

Kelly winced. “Yeah, you probably made the right decision.”

Their food hit the table a second later. Kelly cut into a large hand-shaped ravioli, dipping it in the creamy red sauce and taking a bite. There was a reason Valentino’s was the best restaurant in town. Mushrooms, homemade pasta and rich vodka sauce all came together in a symphony of flavor.

The food was piping hot and delicious, but Kelly hadn’t expected anything less. They’d catered his mother’s fiftieth birthday party and his Aunt Emma’s wedding anniversary. He’d been there at least a dozen times over the years with family and friends...but never on a date.

This was a date. His stomach churned. A real date. Had he ever been on a real date before? He’d gone out for pizza with Nick—they’d definitely ordered food to the dorms—but had he ever gone on a real grown-up date with wine and cloth napkins? Not really.

He put his fork down. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m your—”
Boyfriend
wasn’t quite the right word. They hadn’t been going out long enough for that kind of title. Kelly forced himself to take a deep breath and calm his rattling nerves. “I don’t need a fancy meal to put out.”

“And if I said I was doing this just for me?” Ian asked.

Kelly considered for a long minute. He’d seen the inside of Ian’s kitchen. He definitely cared about his food. “Is it just for you?”

“No,” Ian said. “It’s a little out of my price range, if I was just looking for a night out. This is for us...because I want it to be more than just putting out.”

Right. Ian wanted a relationship, more than just sex—even exclusive sex. Kelly’s heart pounded. Could he make that kind of a commitment? He wasn’t sure, but part of him really wanted to find out. There was a long pause and then the sexy professor nodded, like he was aware of the conflict his words had caused, and he started talking about something else entirely.

Kelly took another bite of ravioli. It really was good. In fact, with Ian telling a story about his move from Los Angeles to Halston—a story that involved a cute delivery guy, two misplaced boxes and an unfortunately shaped cactus—everything was just about perfect.