Lessons From the Professor (3 page)

“See!”

“See what, Leigh?” Sutton asked.

“That smirk and the sparkle in your
eyes.”

“My eyes are not sparkling.”

“Whatever you say,” Leigh said.
 
She flashed
her a
wink as she stepped back to allow her to enter the car, and rolled down the
window.

“Just trust me, Sutton. I know what I’m doing. I got my man
after all.”

“I’m going to regret humoring you, but what do you mean?”

“I don’t think I ever told you how I met James. He was my
professor.”

“Why does that not surprise me?
You little
Lolita.”

“Soon you’ll be benefiting from all of my tricks. So, keep
your little comments to yourself. The key is to make them think everything
you’re getting them to do is their idea.”
 
She stepped away from the car with a smirk that made Sutton’s stomach do
flips.

“You’ll thank me later,” Leigh said. She gave a final wave
of her hand before she sauntered off with an extra sway in her gait.

“Cocky wench,” Sutton whispered. A giggle bubbled up into
her throat as she started her car, and backed out of the parking lot.
Regardless of Leigh’s meddling, she’d had a great time. It was the reprieve she
had needed.

Chapter Two

“So what did you think about Leigh’s friend Sutton?” James
asked.

 
Sidney
peered across the mahogany monstrosity
that was his desk and smirked.

 
“I knew this question
was going to come up sooner or later. I’m impressed you waited all week to
ask.”

“What? You guys seemed to hit it off,” James said.

“She was pleasant to talk to,”
Sidney
said. He returned his attention back
to the remnants of the sandwich he’d packed for lunch, and a comfortable
silence filled the room. They both had breaks in between classes after noon on
Tuesdays and generally took their lunch together in one of their offices.
 

“That’s all?” James asked a few moments later.

“It’s not as if I know Sutton very well,”
Sidney
said.

“So, no sparks?”

“We both know she’s easy on the eyes.”

That’s an
understatement
.
Sidney
felt his cock harden at the thought of her golden skin, large dark eyes, and
full pouty lips. She had an almost exotic look, with her heart-shaped face,
delicate bone structure, and thick black hair.
 
The angular bob stopped just below her chin, making the shiny tresses
short enough to be low maintenance, yet long enough for him to grasp in his
hand. She was smaller than he at about 5’5, and he couldn’t help but wonder if
beneath her clothes, there would be an ample amount of curves to hold on
to.
 

“And nothing else?” James asked.

“Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know, so I can
provide you with the proper answer?”

“Come on, Sid, it’s been over a year since things went sour
with Christine, and other than a few play dates you’ve been a monk.”

Sidney
sighed as he
sat down his bottle of water and met his friend’s concerned gaze. A part of him
knew he was being irrational. When you fell off the horse, you got back on and
rode again before the fear crippled you. The problem in this case was a part of
him thought Christine might have been right.
 

He was over fifty with no prospects of marriage, and he’d
never had a relationship that had lasted longer than three years. Maybe he was
destined to walk alone.

 
His family name meant
to end with him. As the only son out of three siblings, he felt the pressure to
reproduce and keep up the family name keenly.
 
It wasn’t a notion that he was opposed to per se. It just needed to be
with the right woman. Maybe he was naïve to think he could have it all, a
submissive partner for life, marriage and kids.
 
Jesus, I sound like a woman with
her biological clock ticking in her ears
.

“I’m not ready to place all my trust in another female
again.”

“No one’s asking you to give the girl the keys to your house
and your bank account access. Just get to know her, and go from there. I know
the way Christine left threw you for a loop, but in the long run, you never
would’ve been happy.
It’s
better she left before you
married her. Imagine the cluster-fuck that would’ve been.”

“I know you’re right, old friend. I suppose my pride is
wounded.”

“That’s understandable. You had time to lick your wounds,
but now you need to move forward. Now be honest. What do you really think about
Sutton?”

“I’d be interested in getting to know her better.”
 
His voice dropped an octave as he made the
admission. “Does she know anything about our lifestyle?”

“She knows about Leigh and
I
, so
she must be familiar with some things. I mean woman do talk.”

“Does she practice any of it herself?”
 

“I doubt it. From what Leigh’s s told me her love life has
been pretty much D.O.A.
 
Still, she never
seemed bothered by anything she’s seen over at our house.”

“D.O.A.?
 
Are you saying she’s a virgin?”
 
For most men, the taking of someone’s
virginity was an inconvenience, especially this late in life, but
Sidney
relished the idea.
To be someone’s first lover was akin to getting a tattoo on your skin. For the
rest of their lives your mark would be left on them. Your memory etched on to
their heart. If his interest hadn’t already been piqued, this would be the
clincher.

Unbeknownst to his friend he’d all ready laid the ground
work with the woman in question.
 
Her
response to his dominate behavior had been text-book perfect.
 
He’d just choked when it came time to make
future plans. The age difference and newness to the BDSM lifestyle had just
raised too many red flags. He knew better than most that no two people were the
same. However he’d needed more information before he put himself out into what
appeared to be a near identical situation to
the
 
relationship
that had crashed and
burned, putting him out of commission for a while.

“I’m not sure. She is a southern girl from a small town. I
know she was engaged at one point. I’ll give Leigh the go-ahead to see if she
can test the waters a bit if you’d like.”

 
“As if she’d wait for
an all clear to go in guns blazing,”
Sidney
said. “She’s probably been hounding the woman since we had dinner.”
 
He rolled his eyes at the cheek his friend’s
wife had.
 
The girl had waltzed into
James’s life ten years prior as a student. She’d teased and tormented the poor
bloke until he’d given in and agreed to date her. It’d been amusing to watch,
to say the least.

“Hey, that’d work in your favor, if she’s taking you two on
as a project; victory is just a matter of time.”

“I’m not a battle to be won.”

“You want to tell her that?”

Sidney
cast a scowl
and shook his head. Truth be told, he could use a little excitement about now.
If he had a taste of what James went through with Leigh he wouldn’t complain
too much.
 

Every road to healing started with a single step forward
towards recovery. He supposed this could be his.
 

 
“Sutton seems like
she’d be a challenge.”

“
Aaah
, we both know how much you
love those. People are like puzzles to you.”

“Hence my profession.”
 
They shared a laugh as they both began to
clean up what was left of their lunch in preparation for their return to
classes.

****

The sound of a key turning in a lock made Sutton frown as
she laid down her e-reader. She wasn’t expecting company, especially not at
eleven at night.
 
She stood and padded to
the front in her black flannel pants and a white tank top.
 
The door swung open, and she bit back a moan
when the moon light spilled in and revealed the all too familiar pixie hair cut
that belonged to her youngest sibling, Carissa.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. Carissa jumped as she
stepped inside, and tossed the carpet bag she’d been holding to the floor.

 
“Oh,
hey, Sissy.
I figured you’d be asleep about now.”

I bet.
 
She crossed her arms, ignoring Carissa’s weak
attempt at distraction.

“Turns out I’m not.
 
Why are you here?”

“Mom and I got into it again, and I just thought I could use
some space. I mean you’re just up here in the condo by yourself, and I figured
you could use the company.”

“Come on in,” Sutton said. “What were you guys arguing about
now?”

“The usual, who I’m dating, What I’m going to do with my
life,
yada
,
yada
,
yada
.”
 

“Why is she asking you that? I thought you were working as
an office assistant at the salon and finishing up your second semester of
school.”

“Well, classes are done for the semester, and I really
didn’t like the receptionist job, so I quit.”

“Carissa!”

“What? I’ll find something before school starts again.”

“Does Mom at least know where you are?”

“I’m sure.”

“Call her. She doesn’t need to be up late worrying about
you.”

“Fine.”

Sutton rolled her eyes as she locked the front door and
kicked the duffle bag to the side as Carissa pulled out her cell phone. They
had all babied Carissa growing up, and now they were paying for it.
 
Her friends always told her she needed to
practice tough love, but she felt so responsible for Carissa it was easier said
than done.
 
Carissa had missed out on a
lot growing up with their mother always at work and no real memories of their
father.
 
Sutton headed into the kitchen
to make a mug of hot cocoa as she listened to muffled conversation taking place
a few feet away.

By the time she had the mug ready and loaded down with
marshmallows, Carissa had made her way back into the kitchen.

“She just doesn’t understand that I’m young, and I want to
have fun,” Carissa said. Her voice was huffy as she pouted and wrapped her
hands around the mug Sutton slid toward her.

“Mom just wants what’s best for you Carissa.”

“No, she wants me to be a carbon copy of her. Not everyone
can be like you two. All business and no play would make me a very dull girl
indeed. I plan on living life to the fullest while I’m still young enough to do
it.”

Sutton frowned as she removed her cup of hot cocoa out of
the microwave.

“I have fun, and I’m thirty-one, hardly ancient.”

“Umm yeah, like once in a blue moon. Face it, Sutton. Your
life revolves around work. Which may be fine for you, but it isn’t the kind of
life I want. When’s the last time you went on a date, or got laid for that
matter?”

“That’s a really personal question.”

“Wow, that long,” Carissa said with a roll of her eyes.

Sutton fought down a twinge of hurt. If her sister knew the
truth, she’d never let her live it down.

“Be nice. You are staying in my condo.”

“Ooh you know I love you, Sissy,” Carissa said. A toothy
grin spread across her lips as she moved over to hug her.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sutton said.

Carissa always knew how to worm her way out of things.
Sutton grabbed her mug as she headed over to the breakfast bar and slipped onto
her high back stool. She loved everything about her condo, but the view out of
the picture window from this position was one of her absolute favorites.

 
“So how long are you
planning on bunking with me?”

“For a few weeks, maybe?
It’ll give
Mom time to cool down, and let me breathe a little bit. You know Michelle goes
to U.T., so I’ll have someone to keep me company.”

Sutton nodded her head in agreement. Michelle and Carissa
had been good friends since they were in grade school. Michelle had a good head
on her shoulders.
 
It’d be one less
concern for her to have. Carissa seemed to gravitate towards people who weren’t
good for her. It might bring excitement, but it also brought a ton of problems.
Sutton fought back an eye roll as she thought of all the sticky situations
she’d pulled her out of over the years.