I shrank in my seat, chagrined. I wasn’t dumb. I hadn’t sent it to just anyone. I’d sent it to him. Besides, it was barely a half a nipple. Hadn’t there been any part of him that liked seeing it? “Sorry,” I said, a tad sarcastically. Then I couldn’t help but add, “No wonder no one likes being sent to the principal’s office.”

  A quick smile flashed across his face at that. He tried to resume his serious expression, but there was a twinkle in his eye that he couldn’t quite get rid of. “Take out your phone.”

  I did, and he moved up next to me, showing me his screen. As I watched, he deleted the picture of me. “Now you do the same.”

  I did, trying not to be hurt that he hadn’t wanted to keep a copy. Part of me knew that he was trying to protect me, but another part of me was also disappointed. I mumbled something about needing to get back to work and headed out, feeling dejected. “I bet Great Uncle Auggie would have liked it,” I said sullenly as I passed through the door.

  “Get back in here,” Nick snapped. Immediately I turned and hurried back in the room, standing in front of him. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it, I said it was stupid.”

  Shit, he was hot when he was being bossy. Despite having deleted that picture, I knew he was getting quite the view right now. I could feel my bare nipples pressing against my shirt.

  “And you’re right, I am a principal, and this is my office. So you’d better behave while you’re in here.”

  “Or?” I said, and I stuck out my tongue. Okay, it was bratty, I knew that, but Nick’s dominant side was bringing it out in me.

  “Or you’ll get punished,” he said, and he plucked a wooden rule from a pencil case near his computer. Tossing it in the air, he caught it after one rotation. He shoved some papers out of the way and tapped the ruler on the cleared space on the desk. “Bend over.”

  Holy crap, really? But I hurried to comply before he changed his mind. My heart beat rapidly as I moved to the desk, pressing my abdomen against the edge. Then I bent at my hips, lowering my arms, head, and chest down to the flat surface. My legs weren’t quite long enough, only my tiptoes touched the floor.

  “Count,” he ordered as untold numbers of sexy, dominant men had in the e-books I read.

  Then then there was a sharp sting across my ass, making me yelp. “One.”

  Wow, that had hurt more than I thought. I wasn’t wearing my usual jean shorts today. Instead, I’d opted for a thin white skirt as would almost anyone when visiting the home of a hot man who’d kissed her. I tried to imagine how high it had ridden, but I was pretty sure I was covered. It wasn’t one of my shortest skirts. Unfortunately.

  The next swat caught me off guard again. “Two,” I gasped. I also gasped when I called out the third one, but that may have been because of the wicked thought that just occurred to me—would he flip my skirt up?

  “Four!” I yelped when the ruler came down again. And then, “Five.” Crap, that was really starting to sting, but it was hot. So hot. I couldn’t help trying to grind myself against the table. The increased pressure against my clit sent shivers up and down my spine.

  The ruler descended again. “Six! Please… please, Nick…”

  “Had enough?”

  “No, I just want… could you… use your bare palm?”

  Total silence. Craning my neck, I looked back at him. He was staring at me in surprise. And then he caught my eye. Making sure I was watching, he tossed the ruler on the desk. Holy shit, he was hot. Squirming in anticipation, I rested my cheek against the smooth surface again.

  This time, his large, warm palm smacked against my ass. It hurt more because it covered more territory, but it also turned me on more. “Seven!”

  At ten, I squirmed again, and pleaded with him. “Oh, please…”

  “Please what?”

  “Please spank me on my bare ass.”

  I could practically feel him freeze behind me. Was he considering it? Please let him be considering it. It had been so long since I’d been so excited about a man. Since I’d wanted someone so badly. I hadn’t felt this way about anyone in so long.

  Finally, I felt his warm hand on my upper back. He bent over me, his groin pushed against my ass, and I swear, I almost came on the spot. “No,” he said, disappointing me at the same time his warm breath tickled my ear. In retaliation for his rejection, I wiggled back against him, and there was no mistaking his erection. He could play calm and controlled, but he was as turned on as I was.

  “Why not?”

  “Because you don’t make the rules in this office.” He straightened up but didn't move away. “But since you’re so into bare skin, let’s try this. Put your wrists behind your back.”

  Was he going to bind them? I wasn’t sure, but I did as he ordered.

  “Good girl,” he said, and those two syllables made my pulse pound between my legs. “Hold them there.” Nick reached underneath me, sliding his fingertips up my sides. When he got to my breasts, he tugged the fabric of my top down, baring my breasts even if he couldn’t see them.

  “There,” he said. “Mash your breasts against the desk while I give you your last five spanks.”

  I did so, grinding my chest against the table as he spanked me. He couldn’t even see me, but it still made me wet. My tits were bare because he’d commanded it. That was hot. “Fifteen,” I squealed, and his hand finally stilled on my ass. But when I pushed back against his touch, he removed his hand. Dammit.

  Panting, I stayed still for a long moment. But then I straightened up and slowly turned. His eyes went wide at the site of my uncovered breasts, and I swear, I saw him start to reach up before he caught himself and returned his hands to his sides. He did want me. The look in his eyes and the bulge in his pants was proof enough of that.

  But he didn’t touch me. Instead, he let out a little sigh. “You sure are eager to jump into the deep end.”

  “Says the man who grabbed my ass the first day we met.”

  “Touché,” he said, his eyes never leaving my tits. But then he reached up and adjusted my shirt. “See you on Thursday, Cassie.”

  And he ushered me out the door.

  Chapter Eight

  ON THURSDAY AFTER lunch, I was back at my usual spot at Nick’s dining room table. I’d been a bit uneasy on my way over here. Last time, I’d been so brazen. That really wasn’t like me. But I couldn’t get Nick out of my mind. Not the way he moved. The way he talked. The confidence with which he approached everything in his life. Guys my age didn’t have that confidence. Hell, I didn’t have it, either. But he did. I loved the way he handled himself publicly, and privately as well.

  Last time with the spanking had been so much fun, but I didn’t know where we’d take things from there. Or if we’d take them anywhere. But I hoped we would.

  Nick had surprised me today with a Thin Mint Frappuccino, but then he’d gone upstairs to his office pretty quickly. But maybe that was normal. We both had work to do.

  I didn’t bother to set up my laptop today. My main plan for the afternoon was to sort through some of the many letters and papers, seeing which were worth keeping, scanning, or transcribing. The rest I would present to Nick to go through. I suspected he’d pitch most of the stuff in that pile.

  Just before I really got in the groove, I remembered it was my great grandfather’s birthday today. Mom had told me that the best time to call him was around four before he left for dinner. They ate quite early in his retirement center. I set the alarm on my phone for four o’clock, but then figured I needed a backup. The battery had been doing weird things on my phone lately. So I pulled my e-reader out of my purse and set its alarm, too.

  The afternoon passed quickly. I’d discovered a hand-printed cookbook that some of Nick’s female relatives had made in the 1920s. I was planning to make it into an updated hardback book. My next step would be to retype the recipes, but today I spent time trying to match the handwriting in the cookbook to some of the letters and journals I’d already started to catalogue.

  I was in the guest bathroom when the alarm on my phone went off. After washing up, I went outside and had a good conversation with Grandpa Jack. He was ninety-four years young today.

  Back inside the entryway of Nick’s huge house, my body froze even as my heart rate sped up. Nearly dropping my phone, I ran into the dining room, my ears straining. Had the alarm on my e-reader been going off the whole time I was on the phone?

  But when I got to my workspace, it was quiet. And that meant… that meant that someone else had turned it off. I knew from experience that the alarm would go all day until silenced.

  Sinking down into my chair, my mind reeled. Had Nick turned off the alarm? There was no one else around. But my e-reader was in approximately the same place I’d left it. Please, please let the alarm have somehow gone off on its own. Please.

  But that hope was dashed a moment later when my phone chimed. It was a text from Nick: Report to the Principal’s Office at 5:00. Don’t be late.

  Gulping, I wondered how much he’d seen. Just the alarm page? Or the titles of some of the steamy romances I’d been reading lately—all of which featured older men and younger women? God, if he’d seen those, I’d be so embarrassed. So humiliated. But I had to admit, his strict summons and the sexy promise it held also really turned me on.

  * * *

  At five o’clock sharp, I headed upstairs. The door was open, and I had to smother a laugh as I neared. He’d taped a little sign on the door that read: Principal’s Office. This was either going to be really humiliating or really fun.

  Or both.

  Rapping my knuckles on the door, I peeked inside. Holy shit, he was wearing a suit. My jaw dropped as I looked at him sitting behind his desk, peering at me over his sexy black glasses. His dark charcoal suit elevated him to being the most handsome man I’d ever seen outside of a movie or TV show.

  “Ms. Davis. Have a seat.”

  Suppressing a nervous giggle, I sat opposite him. He needn’t have bothered putting the “Principal’s Office” sign on the door. Just sitting across from him, with him looking so intimidating and hot, was enough to set the mood. I was genuinely nervous, apprehensive, excited, and turned on. All rolled into one.

  “I’m sure you know why you’re here.”

  “Umm… no, Sir, I don’t.”

  He frowned at me, his piercing eyes glaring at me from over his glasses. “You’re here because of your inappropriate reading material.”

  Oh god. How much had he seen? What did he think of it all?

  “Do you think those naughty stories are appropriate in a workplace environment?”

  “No, Sir,” I said.

  “Give me that device.”

  Oh no. This was just too humiliating, but the blood pulsing between my legs suggested that part of me was very excited by this sexy little role-play. I passed it to him across the wide desk.

  He flipped it on, and my face reddened. Hell, I’m pretty sure my whole body reddened. It was agonizing, watching him swipe through the stories I knew were loaded on there. He kept alternating between looking at the screen and looking up at me over his glasses. Soon, I was squirming in my seat.

  Nick cleared his throat. “This one features a professor and his naughty young college student.” He swiped at the screen again. “And this one is about a boss and his naïve young secretary. And here’s one with a young woman falling for her father’s best friend. I’m sensing a theme here.”

  He was staring at me, so I said, “Yes, Sir.”

  “So here’s my question, Ms. Davis. Are these the kinds of stories that you’ve always been turned on by? Or has this fascination with older men and younger women been a more recent interest?”

  Holy crap, he was enjoying making me squirm. “Both, actually.”

  He flashed his sexy, crooked grin at that. “And why do you like stories like these?”

  “Because they’re hot,” I blurted out, but he just looked at me over his glasses, waiting for me to continue. “And… I like how confident the older man is. How sexy. How he can teach her things. Make her feel things she’s never felt before. Make her experience things she’s never done before.”

  “Like being spanked over a desk?” He cocked an eyebrow at me, and I felt moisture pool between my legs.

  “Yes. Like that.”

  “Bringing this kind of material along when you’re supposed to be working warrants another spanking, wouldn’t you say?”

  Oh god, he was going to make me admit that I wanted it? But I did. There was no denying it—to myself. Saying it in front of him was an entirely different matter. Finally, I spoke in a small voice. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Tell me you want it.”

  I took a deep breath and looked down at my hands. “I want you to spank me.”

  “Eye contact, Ms. Davis.”

  Shit, he was really making me squirm now. Gathering my courage, I looked directly at him. “Please, Sir, I’ve been bad. Will you give me the spanking I deserve?”

  “Gladly,” he said, the gleam in his eye growing bigger by the moment.

  Seconds later, I was bent across his desk, like before, but this time, he immediately flipped my skirt up. I was wearing pale pink lace bikini briefs, and his fingers slipped under the waistband, making me moan. “Hold still,” he said, his voice low and husky, and then he tugged my panties down to my upper thighs.

  The cool air made my skin tingle, but I swear, I could also feel the heat from his eyes on my bare ass. And then he touched me, placing his large hand on me, rubbing. And then pinching, making me jump.

  “Count,” he said, like he did last time.

  And I did. He gave me fifteen again, and by the time he was done, I was squirming and grinding against the edge of his desk with shameless abandon.

  He trailed his fingertips lightly over my punished flesh. “Did you like that?”

  “Yes, Sir. But…”

  “But what?”

  “I want more.”

  “More spanking?” He sounded surprised.

  “More of you,” I replied, and I straightened up, turned toward him, and wiggled out of my panties. Part of me couldn’t believe I was doing this, but I wanted this so badly. I wanted him so badly. It still seemed unbelievable that a man like him could be here with me. Could want me as much as I wanted him. At least I hoped he did.

  His voice was low and husky. “Are you sure, Cassie?”

  And this wasn’t a role-play anymore. This was real. He was real, and amazing and I wanted him so badly. With slightly shaking hands, I pulled my shirt off over my head. And then I reached behind me, unhooking my bra. “I’m sure,” I said.

  He stared at me. At my face, to make sure I really meant it. And then at my body. At my breasts, my stomach, my trimmed mound, my legs. And then he kissed me, kissed me hard, so hard that I almost lost my balance, stepping back until I felt the desk behind me. Placing a hand there to steady myself, I kissed him back, sinking my free hand into his hair.

  Oh god, his hands… his hands were everywhere at once. Cupping my sore ass cheeks. Tweaking my nipples. Running up and down my thighs. And then one long finger pushed in between my legs and stroked my clit.

  “Yesssss,” I moaned against his mouth, my head tilted back. Then he moved his lips against my throat, kissing, licking nibbling. He kept up the pressure on my clit, and tremors of pleasure snaked through my body. “Please… I need you inside me.”

  Nick responded by lowering me onto the desk, bending with me, his lips finding an erect nipple. He teased me, biting gently, sucking, as he reached one arm up across the desk. Even through the waves of pleasure radiating through my body, I registered what he was reaching for. A condom.

  He straightened up and tossed the little foil packet on my stomach. “Are you sure you want this?”

  “Two hundred percent sure,” I said with a moan.

  “Then touch yourself while I undress. Show me what you do after you read those naughty stories.”

  Blushing, I ran my hand down my stomach, toward my core. I was embarrassed to do that in front of him, but I didn’t want to close my eyes. Not when he was busy tearing off his clothes.

  Gingerly, I grazed up and down my slit with my fingers. His gaze… seeing the lust and longing there made me so damn wet. I could feel that moisture now as I stroked myself. And then I zeroed in on my clit. I couldn’t help it. I was so turned on.

  Nick had his shirt off, and I moaned deep in my throat, seeing his muscular chest again. I stroked myself faster when he unzipped his pants and stepped out of them. Staring into my eyes, he put his thumbs under the waistband of his underwear. “Come,” he said simply, and when he lowered his boxers, freeing his massive erection, I did.

  Writhing on the table, I barely noticed when he put the condom on, but when he moved up between my trembling thighs, I reached for him. His eyes blazed at me for one long moment before he plunged inside me.

  I was so wet that he thrust all the way in, filling me, making me scream. God, it felt amazing. It had been so long since I’d done this. He barely fit into me, but it felt amazing. He seemed to think so, too, his head thrown back, the muscles in his neck tense.

  And then he began to move as I brought my knees up and squeezed myself around him. It felt incredible, the way he parted me. Filled me. Completed me.

  He reached down to tug on my nipples, never breaking eye contact. His pounding intensified, and I knew he was getting close.

  “Please, Nick…”

  “Please what?”

  “Please bend me over the desk. Like you did for the spankings. I want you to finish that way.”