He’d been up late the night before, browsing collars on Etsy instead of working, but he kept having to take breaks because the idea of her wearing his collar was making him crazy. She would never be a good girl for him—not without him catching her off guard or blowing her mind—but that suited him just fine. Girls that were chronically good were boring.
“We’re leaving. Unless you need help with something else?” Banner’s eyes were gleaming, as though Kate was still all new and shiny and he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
“No, if you get rid of those boxes for me, I’m all set. Go get your fuck on.”
Banner nodded to him cordially and grabbed Kate by the hair. “We might even make it out of the parking lot first.”
* * *
The candles he’d lit around the space, as well as turning off the lights, did wonders for his new apartment. He’d fed her, and now they were relaxing on the couch, watching a movie. It was possibly the most relaxed but ready for action he’d ever been on a date.
“You have to quit feeding me so much,” Everly groaned.
“Food is all I have going for me.” He smiled and switched to massaging her other foot.
She sighed and melted against the armrest. “And massages. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were trying to get me into your bed. Or would that be too inappropriate for one of your students, Professor?” She gave him an innocent smile and buttoned her blouse up, as though flaunting her cleavage throughout dinner had been an accident.
The hem of her skirt had ridden up, and she tugged it down modestly, just as he was starting to think he was going to get a glimpse of what she was wearing underneath. Sexy, sweet, or nothing at all—he couldn’t decide which woul
d be more of a turn-on. Even her smoothing her skirt down was doing it for him.
“I don’t think it’s that odd for a professor to want to get to know his students,” he said, playing along. “We’re all adults, after all. There’s no reason to treat you like a child.”
“No, Sir.” Everly pulled her foot away and slipped her black flats back on. “Actually, I needed to ask you something.” She slid the tip of her finger between her lips and sucked on it, and for a painful moment his dick seized his full attention and he forgot to answer her.
“Uh . . . yes?”
“Well, as you know, my grades on your assignments haven’t been very good. I’m not sure why, Sir. I seem to be doing pretty well in my other classes. I was just wondering if . . .”
He cleared his throat because he was pretty sure his heart was beating in it. “If what?”
“If there was anything I could do for extra credit?” She twirled her finger in her hair and blinked at him.
“Well, I doubt that. I’m a bachelor, so I don’t have much that needs doing. What do you have in mind?”
There was a hint of mischief in her eye, but she masked it. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I could . . . polish your silverware?” She bit her lip and he struggled to squelch the laugh that threatened to escape.
“My silverware? Do I look like I have silverware?”
“Maybe not, Sir. But what else could I do for you? I’d do almost anything.”
“Almost?”
She stood and moved to stand in front of him. The flash of bare thigh he saw past the sway of her skirt fascinated him. He wanted to put his mouth there, taste her, and maybe mark her.
“Yes, Sir. There are some things good girls like me won’t do.”
He’d see about that.
“Come with me.” He took her hand, and she hesitated before letting him lead her to the desk.
“You want me to do paperwork for you, Sir? Filing?”
He moved his laptop onto the counter. “Lean over the desk.”
She gasped, then swallowed hard. “But why?”
Inside him, something sinister sat up and growled.