by Dakota Trace
Ethan gave him a bewildered look. “You want to train a newbie?”
Kaleb winced. His avoidance of such a fate had been fodder for more than one of their past discussions. He’d always claimed he wanted a trained sub to torment. At least, until a certain redhead had invaded his dreams. “Well, if the newbie happens to Alyce O’Connell, then yeah.”
“Even knowing she’s only be going through the motions to get Reba to sign off on her thesis?”
Kaleb met the other man’s gaze. “Her motives don’t matter to me.”
“They don’t?” Ethan glared at him. “You’re willing to let her use you as nothing more than a means to an end? There’s a name for men like that and it’s not nice.”
Man-whore.
He bristled at the implication. “I’m a Dominant, damn you! The day I let a sub lead me around by my cock is the day I hang up my leathers.” He pushed back from his desk. “Besides I can guarantee that despite her initial intentions, by the time I'm done with her, her motives for seeking us out will be far from superficial.”
“That confident in your abilities?” Ethan asked with an arched brow.
Kaleb gave a short nod. “Yeah...enough to know that there's more to Alyce O'Connell than meets the eye.” He sighed. “I can feel it right here.” He pressed his hand against his gut. “In her body language when she spoke to me, in the way she lowered her gaze. Even a person who is familiar with the lifestyle couldn't fake the natural submissive aptitude I witnessed. No matter how quickly she tried to cover it with a kiss.”
Ethan's gaze narrowed. “A kiss?”
Kaleb brushed it off with a shrug.
“Fine, if you feel that strongly about it, then put your ass where your mouth is. Wager your membership on it.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Ethan studied him for several long moments, until Kaleb was ready to tell the man to take a picture, that it would last longer. “And the fact she gets your dick hard?”
“That’s just a bonus.” Kaleb replied. He wasn’t about to deny he found Alyce attractive. A good Dom could dominate any submissive, but there had to be mutual attraction for it to be anything more than a mere physical act.
“Even if I tell you no, you’re still going to do it, aren’t you?”
“Probably.”
Ethan gave a sigh. “Fine. You can bring her to the club. Like any other sub, her actions will reflect upon her dominant. In this case, it would be you.”
He nodded. Even the unclaimed subs had a person they answered to at the club - the DMs. So it only made sense as her trainer, he would be responsible for her during her time inside New Beginnings. “I would expect nothing less, Ethan.”
“As long as we’re agreed.” Ethan moved closer to his desk. “I will leave it up to you to explain to her. Her membership will only last for the duration of her training.”
“And if she wants to extend it?”
“Then she’ll have to go through the application process like any other unclaimed sub.”
And prove her need to submit runs soul deep.
Kaleb nodded, but gave an internal sigh. He was going to have his work cut out for him. And damned if he wanted to wait.
CHAPTER FOUR
“You're late, Ms. O'Connell. I expect promptness from my students, let alone my student teacher.”
The slightly scolding tone had Alyce freezing just inside the door of the hall where Dr. Gylberte was holding her lecture. The lecture she was supposed to be helping teach. The one which had started over twenty minutes ago. Damn it to hell, why had she left her cell phone at home? She would’ve been at least able to contact Reba to let her know she would be late.
While the drive from her parent’s estate in Vichy Springs to the Napa Valley College normally took less than twenty minutes on a good day, an overturned tractor-trailer had snarled up traffic on Highway 121 for nearly an hour. Not only had it sent her daughter into an episode, which she’d had to take time to deal with before dropping her off at school, it had made her even later to work. Her cheeks flushed as Dr. Gylberte, immaculately dressed as always, paused next to the podiums. Heads swiveled her way as several of the students turned to gawk at the student teacher who dared be late for one Professor Gylberte's coveted psych classes.
“Sorry, ma'am. Traffic issues this morning.” When the teacher continued to stare at her, Alyce wisely shut up.
“We will discuss this issue after class. Understood?”
Alyce nodded. “Yes, ma'am.” She hurried toward her normal seat, sixth row up and third from the left next to the aisle. The one which put her in the perfect position to leave her seat and help when Dr. Gylberte beckoned.
“Class, lets continue to discuss Freud’s theory of...”
Alyce tried to stay on her toes for the rest of the class, as she handed out materials and collected assignments from the students. But it didn’t stop the sinking feeling in her stomach. What the hell was she going to tell her adviser when her Professor asked about how Alyce's trip to New Beginnings had gone? Sure, she’d get her ass chewed for being late, but the root of the problem was her failure in completing the assignment Reba had given her. A first.
The class, of course, flew by faster than Alyce had wanted. As the last student filed out of the hall, Alyce remained next to the podium gathering up the left-over handouts and the stack of turned in assignments. She was no closer to an answer than she’d been when she'd arrived. Maybe she would luck out and Dr. Gylberte wouldn't ask for specifics about her trip. She could possibly buy more time if she was vague enough. After all she'd gone to the club, and it wasn't really her fault she'd been kicked out. And maybe it will give him more time to call me. If Master Kaleb gave him the card, that is.
The gorgeous blond Dom had kept popping up in her thoughts at the worst moments. Why the fuck had she kissed him?
“Ms. Connell, procrastination will get you nowhere.” Reba stood in the doorway, one foot tapping on the marble floor as she held her briefcase in one hand. “And I have several appointments this afternoon.”
“Of course.” Alyce flushed, then dumped the papers into the box Dr. Gylberte kept for that purpose. She might as well get this over.
* * * *
“I've made a mistake. I’m sorry.”
Alyce stilled. She’d just finished explaining the snarl on the freeway, so the last thing she expected was for Reba to apologize. “A mistake, Professor?”
Seated behind her massive oak desk, Reba nodded. “Yes. I should've never made a trip to the club be a requirement for my signing off on your thesis.” She sighed and pulled out a familiar sheaf of papers from her briefcase. “The club is meant to be a safe place for those who wish to explore a side of their sexuality. While it isn't the norm by most standards, it is accepted by the fetish community. To use it in such a manner as I required of you was...” she paused and took a deep breath. “Wrong. Or so my master has informed me.”
Alyce's thoughts whirled as she tried to wrap her brain around the idea of Reba submitting to Noah Gylberte, the sweet demure man who’d pushed her on the swings during his frequent visits to her parents’ estate. She just couldn’t comprehend how her tough-as-nails adviser was in a BDSM relationship. Reba, a submissive? It boggled the mind. But what did it mean for her thesis? Was she going to make Alyce do something else, or was she going to sign off on it as is? Before she could voice any of the questions, Reba opened up file in front of her.
“So I went back over your thesis during what remained of the weekend…to mark the areas where I think you need to strengthen it.” Reba looked up from the papers in front of her. “I still don't feel comfortable signing off on it as it is, and that has nothing to do with your expulsion from the club. I still feel it lacks a personal touch. You have plenty of concrete facts and statistics, but there isn’t any passion. Any real connection.”
Alyce licked her lower lip. “Passion?”
Reba nodded. “I believe I mentioned that during our last visit. I thought sendin
g you to New Beginnings would allow you to experience firsthand the connection which exists between a dominant and his submissive. However, after speaking with Ethan, I realize that while my perceptions were accurate, my approach wasn’t.”
Dread built in Alyce's stomach. Now what was she going to be asked to do? Hang out at a leather shop? Hire a professional Dom for the night? “So then what are you suggesting?”
Reba slid the folder across the desk to Alyce. “I’ve already marked the areas I think you need to expand.”
“Okay?” Alyce waited patiently for the other shoe to drop. Somehow she didn’t think more research at the library was what her adviser had in mind. God, she hated when she was right.
“Along with a short list of Dominants.”
She drew in a sharp breath. “You’re expecting me to hire a Dominant?” Dear God, if Obed found out, she’d find herself back in court so fast her head would spin. He’d sue for primary custody in a heartbeat.
Reba shook her head. “No. I spent part of the weekend calling several like-minded friends to see if any would be willing to answer your questions, or even let you observe them during a scene. Unfortunately, I was only able to come up with three, including Ethan.”
“The owner of New Beginnings?” She startled. “After what happened on Friday…”
“While Ethan doesn’t agree to using the club as resource for your thesis, he is willing to take a student, one which I’ve vouched for, under his wing. He’s all about educating the public about how the lifestyle isn’t remotely close to what Fifty Shades of Gray has portrayed it to be.”
She drew a deep breath as she opened the folder. After quickly scanning the other two names listed, she blanched. One she recognized as a rather well known erotic romance author - one whose stories she devoured on a regular basis. How the hell was she supposed to ask him questions without stumbling over her tongue? And the second made her heart beat faster. “Kaleb Terzis?”
“Yes. I was quite surprised when Ethan suggested him. He runs one of our local art youth centers. He likes to keep his personal life quite separate from his professional one. He would be great for the section in your thesis about those who don’t live the lifestyle 24/7.”
“Really?” Alyce flipped through her thesis to the mentioned section, scanning the professor’s notes. It was a good thing she’d been Reba’s student teacher for as long as she had. The woman’s handwriting was atrocious.
“Yes.” Reba thoughtfully tapped her chin. “While he doesn’t have a permanent sub at the moment, his kink would add an interesting spin to your paper.”
Alyce looked up. “What… he likes to have his sub’s lick his feet?”
Reba met her gaze. “Oh nothing as mundane as foot worship, Alyce, my dear. From what Ethan tells me, he really, really gets off on orgasm control.”
Alyce almost fainted from the blood rushing from her head to her lower extremities. Her panties were instantly soaked. “He likes to tease his subs?”
“He more than teases them. Ethan assures me Kaleb has it down to an art form. And he’s willing to talk to you about it. Imagine the insight he could give you.”
Dear God. Alyce swallowed hard as unbidden images of a mysterious man teaching her how to orgasm, then withholding her pleasure. She was so fucked. Especially when Reba let her last bombshell drop.
“And he’s agreed to meet you today. One o’clock sharp.” Reba handed her a piece of paper with the address scribbled on it. “Here’s the address. And if I were you, Alyce, I wouldn’t be late. Doms are notorious about not being kept waiting. They have a tendency to spank first, then ask questions later.”
* * * *
Alyce swore softly under her breath. Today had been nothing but a cluster fuck since she’d gotten up. First the accident, then arriving late for class, and now this! The flashing blue and red lights behind her didn’t seem to care.
“Aw, come on. Give me a break!” She wanted to scream, to pull her hair out, to give the cop walking up to her car hell. Didn’t he realize she had an important appointment to get to?
O’Connells never scream. And cops don’t care about your personal schedule, young lady. You should’ve left earlier, instead of speeding.
She wanted to tell her mom’s imaginary voice to shut the fuck up. She glanced at the clock on her dash. Shit, she had less than ten minutes to make it to her appointment. A tap on the driver’s side window, had her wincing, but she rolled it down. “Yes, Officer?”
“Did you know why I pulled you over?” Dressed in the dark blues of his uniform with his hat shading his face, he made quite the imposing figure.
She pasted a smile on her face. “I…might have been going a bit too fast?”
“A bit too fast?” He pulled off his sunglasses. “You were going forty-seven in a thirty-five mile an hour zone.”
“I’m sorry, I was running late for an appointment…” she glanced at the clock and swore softly, her normally even temper fraying. “Which I’m going to be even later for now. So if you’re going to write me a ticket, can we please hurry it up?”
“Driver’s license, registration, and insurance card, ma’am.” The ice dripped off the officer’s words. Perhaps she shouldn’t have gotten mouthy with him?
After she gave him the requested documents, he strode back to his patrol car.
“Damn, that’s the third ticket in the past six months. There goes my insurance rates.” She rested her forehead against the steering wheel. “I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.”
By the time the officer had returned with two tickets for her, one for speeding, and other for a burned out taillight, she’d was resigned to the fact she was going to be horribly late for her appointment with Kaleb. But with her phone sitting at home, she couldn’t even call the youth center and let Kaleb know she’d been delayed. Hopefully the man would still be willing to talk to her.
“Or at least let me reschedule the time.” She muttered as she pulled away from the curb.
* * * *
Ten minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot outside the youth art center. It was three quarters full of parents dropping off their kids. By the time she found a parking spot, it was nearing one-thirty.
Shit!
Pocketing the keys, Alyce slipped from her car to head toward the front entrance. When she stepped over the threshold, the sound of children’s laughter and a huge aquatic mural caught her attention. Done in dramatic sweeps, the waves were done in shades of blue and deep purple while the white caps were a soft gray. The lone glow in the wind tossed sea was a buoy frozen in time, it’s soft yellow light beaconing. Her nerves instantly calmed. Who would’ve thought a storm-tossed sea would inspire tranquility?
“Anissa would love it.”
“Admiring the mural?” A soft voice asked from her left. She started, and turned to the dark-haired woman, who had obviously come from the open classroom behind her.
“Yes, the artist is quite talented. Do you know who painted it? My daughter is autistic, and her therapist suggested that color pallet for her bedroom. While we’ve painted her walls a soft gray with purple accents, I think she’d enjoy something like this much more than the blank walls we have now.”
The woman giggled. “That would be our illustrious director. And if you can catch him in a good mood, maybe he’ll discuss it with you. Although right now probably isn’t a good time though - he’s on a rampage because some woman stood him up.” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Sabella, by the way. I teach several of the youth art classes – including our newest offering: one that caters to autistic and special needs kiddos.”
“Alyce O’Connell. The mother of an autistic twelve-year-old. And a woman whose horrible sense of timing happens to coincide with being the woman your boss is pissed at. Nice to meet you.”
Instead of being taken back at Alyce’s frank talk, Sabella grinned. “Oh, girl, you’re going to keep Kaleb on his toes. Let me go tell him that you’re here.”
* * * *
“Knock, knock.” A sweet melodic voice filtered through the head of steam Kaleb had building, as he repeatedly punched the speed bag he had set up in the corner of his office. Stopping to wipe his forehead on the towel around his neck, he growled at the woman in the doorway. Sabella just stared back at him – unfazed by his surly mood.
“What?”
“Guess who just showed up?”
He froze, his dick stirring. He glanced at the clock. “I don’t have time for her now. My drawing class starts in about twenty minutes and I still need to clean up.” He gestured to his damp work out shorts and wife-beater. “Besides I’m pissed.
Bella gave him a sympathetic smile. “You’re not pissed. Just grumpy because you’ll only get to spend ten minutes with her instead of the forty-five you wanted.”
“And what exactly am I supposed to accomplish in ten minutes?”
“A spanking.” Bella quipped, then grinned. “At least that’s what my Dom would do if I was late.”
He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s not in the lifestyle. I just can’t go around spanking her.”
Bella laughed. “Sure you can. She wants to explore the dynamics of the power exchange, so show her.”
His dick thumped inside his shorts at the idea of bending the flirty red head over his lap and swatting her rounded ass. Did he dare? His dick screamed yes, but his conscience warned he would be walking a fine line between domination and arrest if he did as dick commanded. Fuck! He was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t.
“Don’t over-think it, Kaleb. Just go with your instincts. If she seems open to the idea of making amends, warm her ass, and reschedule your appointment. If she doesn’t, then give her a firm scolding and reschedule. Either way, you get to release a bit of your pissy-ness while still getting her promise to return.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Pissy-ness?”
Bella winked at him. “What else do you call your current state of mind? The growly bear attitude, let alone the fact you’re beating the hell out of a leather ball?” She nodded toward the still slightly swaying speed ball.