Two Doms don’t make a right…
If there is one thing Professor Maureen Stahlbaum is absolutely sure of, it’s her status as a Domme. She is not, never has been, and never will be a submissive.
Even if it means giving up a chance at love with a co-worker who makes her want things she has no business wanting.
Because Professor Trent Holland isn’t just gorgeous and witty and charming, and everything she’s ever dreamed of in a man.
He’s a Dom, through and through. And he isn’t willing to accept anything less than Reenie’s total and complete surrender.
It’s a battle of wills neither is willing to lose. But when a horrific mistake puts Reenie at Trent’s mercy, she might just find that giving up the control she’s fought so hard to keep is the only thing that can release her from the shackles of her past…
Excerpt
“Hi.”
I bit my lip, chewing off the strawberry lip gloss I’d just reapplied. “Hi.”
“A little more crowded in here tonight, yeah?”
I looked around as if I hadn’t noticed and shrugged. “A bit.” We saw each other here nightly when we’d pick up our lunch bags from the fridge after class. Usually, it was just the two of us.
“I’ve been trying to come over here all night.”
It was true, but every time he’d looked in my direction, starting to head my way, someone would snag him and he’d be dragged into another conversation.
“How was your last class?”
“Uneventful. No one drooled on my face.” I pressed my fingertips to my lips, holding back my smile.
His gaze roamed over my body, down, then up again, until our eyes met. “You don’t know what you’re missing.” And then he leaned down, capturing my mouth.
His tongue was warm with whiskey, lemon and ginger, and it teased past my lips with a skill far surpassing the last man I’d kissed. His hand found my neck and he cupped it as he continued the kiss, deepening it, sweeping his warm tongue over mine, making me tingle all the way down to my toes. And when he released my mouth, my eyes, heavy with desire, fell to his beautiful lips, and I was left wanting more.
“Go out to dinner with me? It’s all I want for Christmas. And I promise not to drool on your face.”
My eyes widened. I hadn’t expected him to ask me out. Then again, I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting after that kiss. For a second, the flashing Christmas decorations reflecting in the metal rims of his glasses felt like warning lights.
Twisting my mouth, I assessed him. We’d been casually flirting for months, but he’d never made his move. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to date, so I’d never made one either.
Maybe it was the kiss, the warmth in my belly from the three glasses of wine, or the thought of another lonely holiday. Even though, deep down, I knew it was a bad idea, I wanted to say yes.”
“I can’t answer that. It’s not Christmas yet. I don’t want to ruin it for you.”
His brows rose. “Santa already personally told me he was wrapping my gift in a red bow.”
I swallowed hard, looking down where his finger traced the red bow tied at the waist of my red wrap dress. My breath hitched and my belly fluttered with each inch his finger traveled.
“Well, I guess I can’t be the reason you stop believing in Santa, now can I?” I said, looking up when he finally stopped touching me.
He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and flashed me a smile that weakened my knees. “Not unless you want to end up on his naughty list."
The way he said it made the weakness in my knees rise to my middle and increase by tenfold, maybe a hundredfold.
“Oh, no. Not the naughty list,” I whispered, staring way too intensely at his lips.
“Oh, yes, the naughty list. You don’t want to be there, Maureen. You’d much rather be on Santa’s nice list. I hear Santa spanks the people on his naughty list.”