Stripped by the Professor_The Office Hours Series Read online

  It seemed to work. A few hours went by, and I found myself buried in a stack of books, researching my next academic article. I ended up getting chased out by one of the ancient librarians when they shut the building down, so I wandered to the parking garage to head home.

  Normally the highlight of my day was racing through the darkened city streets in my sleek, black, Alfa Romeo 4C, but tonight was different. In spite of the way the engine purred and the vibrations shot up through my spine, it all felt hollow now.

  I finally pulled into my building’s garage, parked, and got out. I looked around, half expecting to see somebody with me. Britt. But she wasn’t there.

  She only existed in my head.

  God dammit, no matter how I tried, it seemed like she wouldn’t leave.

  I paced to the elevator, hit the penthouse button, and waited as it slid up to my suddenly empty apartment. I owned the top two floors of one of the tallest buildings in the city. It was a gift from my grandparents when I graduated, and normally it made me feel like a king when I stepped out and looked over the expanse of city lights spread out below me.

  But tonight it made me feel like a different man. I drifted around aimlessly and poured myself a drink.

  I brooded the entire night, anxious, horny, distracted, and more than a little cranky at how quickly I’d dropped my rules and allowed a woman to get to me. I finally flopped into bed, alone, and fell into a restless sleep.

  The next morning, I stayed away from my office. I couldn’t face seeing Britt again without fucking her like a desperate man needing her to survive.

  Friday, though, the last day of the week, I couldn’t handle myself any longer. Troy had been texting and begging to drag me out somewhere, but I had one thing on my mind.

  Candy and the Silver Dollar Club.

  I’d called ahead to make sure she was performing and showed up just in time to watch her from the shadows near the bar.

  She was even more magnificent than she’d been in my mind. She was insanely gorgeous and just a glimpse of her perfect ass had me instantly hard and aching for her.

  I found the manager, paid for my private dance, and waited for Britt to come to me.

  For her to finally be mine, and only mine.

  I was going to claim my prize, my sweet candy girl, and my body was on fire as I waited for her. The moment she opened the door and our eyes met, I knew she had been thinking of me as much as I’d been thinking of her.

  Our bodies were meant to be entwined, and we were meant for each other in our lust and possibly our love.

  Britt

  I went straight home after classes so I could find some time alone to think about the bizarre feelings consuming me. I had always thought about having a boyfriend one day, or maybe getting married someday in the future, but sex and lust weren’t things I was comfortable with.

  I hadn’t even been kissed—I hadn’t even found anyone I wanted to kiss—and yet here I was, fantasizing about how Lock’s full lips would feel pressed against mine, devouring me as he’d mentioned.

  God, what was wrong with me? I was never like this, love struck—or lust struck or whatever it was—over anyone, let alone somebody who was apparently off limits.

  I looked around my tiny apartment, and it suddenly felt empty and cold. I’d never had any space of my own growing up. If I wanted alone time, I had to sneak off into the barn loft to read a book or take a quick nap without interruption.

  Those times were few and far between though, so my dream had always been to have my own space. I’d managed to find a bachelor pad not too far from campus and not too far from my work, the restaurant or the club, and it was within my price range.

  I’d reveled in the silence for the first month or so that I’d lived here, but lusting after Lock made my small little place feel wide open and devoid of love and laughter.

  I shook my head rolled my eyes, tossed my backpack on the table, and turned on the kettle. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with me?

  I settled on spending my evening with a hot cup of tea, a couple textbooks, a pile of assignments to complete, and battling the sneaking need I had for Lock that was getting more and more difficult to keep at bay.

  The next day I had a class but I wouldn’t be working in the languages department again until Monday so this was the last chance I had to see Lock for a few days. I was disappointed to find his office empty.

  What did I expect—to walk in and find him waiting for me on one knee? To have him declare his undying love for me?

  I had no idea, but the maelstrom of emotions and sensations circling inside me confused the hell out of me and shook up everything I thought I knew about myself and relationships.

  I made it through my classes and my usual lunch with Sonja and managed to deflect her queries about my moodiness. How could I humiliate myself by explaining how I’d met Lock in the first place and how he’d rejected me almost immediately?

  She seemed satisfied when I brushed it off as PMS. I listened to her wax poetic about the hot guy she’d been partnered up with in biology, and I half wished I could fall for somebody normal like that. Somebody on my level, somebody uncomplicated and easy to accept in my life.

  I was almost late to the club, and Dusty glared as I swept into the dressing room behind the stage.

  “Where were you? I’ve been texting you! You have to take the first dance. Ebony’s cousin was supposed to start but chickened out.”

  “The first dance? Oh my god, I have to be out there…” My voice trailed off as the DJ announced my name and the music started.

  “Now!” Dusty growled. “Just rip this all off, and we’ll get you into the rubber. It’s the easiest to pop out of.”

  I dragged the clothes off, dropped them into a heap on my purse, and threw my phone underneath it all. As I tossed the phone, I noticed the notifications for Dusty’s texts and cringed that I’d spent the time on the bus daydreaming about Lock instead of paying attention to what was going on around me.

  Dusty helped me as I slid into a rubber bustier and matching thong, pulled on black latex boots, and stumbled out onto the stage to dance my way to the front and center.

  The problem was that I was the new girl. The first dance was notoriously the worst, with fewer in the audience and barely any tips. None of the other girls wanted to do it, which was why I was the one thrown out into this messy situation.

  I did my best though, relaxed my eyelids so I didn’t see the sparse crowd, and moved to the beat and eventually on the pole for my finale.

  It was difficult to shimmy up it, so I simply hooked my leg around it and spun as I arched my back.

  I unhooked the front clasps of the bustier and slipped out of it, feeling my breasts fall free as I slithered to the edge of the stage, hoping for more than the usual couple dollars the first dance generally earned. I looked around and tried to make eye contact with the few guys near the stage, but they were more interested in getting settled and starting their night of drinking.

  It was official—the first dance sucked—and I could see why the more experienced girls fobbed it off on new dancers like me. I couldn’t wait to be here long enough that I could command top billing, hit the best spots, and really make the good money.

  I finished up, picked up the few wrinkled bills, and walked back to the dressing room, feeling dejected and more than a little disappointed.

  After not seeing Lock today, failing at the dance felt especially personal, as if the universe was telling me I wasn’t meant to be here at all.

  I had another dance scheduled for later on, but part of me just wanted to call it a night and go home sick or something. I could see myself curling up on my couch with a hot cup of tea and binge watching some dramatic series on Netflix. I was about to look for Rod and let him know I was leaving when Amber grabbed my elbow and jerked me around to look at her.

  “You’ve got another special request in the champagne room.” Her mouth pressed into a grim line. “I don’t know why. You were
barely there for your dance. I felt like I was watching you unpack a suitcase or something. Boring!”

  “I know. Something feels off about tonight. Can I pass on the private dance? I was thinking I should just go home.”

  “Hell no. Rod will fire your ass if you turn down a special request. Get it done and then you can leave.”

  I sighed, pulled on the tight rubber bustier, and walked toward the bank of rooms against the wall of the club.

  “Get them buying drinks!” Amber called after me, but I ignored her.

  I wasn’t up for this tonight and had no idea how I was going to force myself through the motions. Not when Lock was on my mind and my heart was dragged down with confusion. I opened the door, plastered a smile on my face, and prepared to meet the man who had just bought my time for the next ten minutes or so.

  I wasn’t prepared to meet the sparkling, sexy green eyes of Lachlan Craig.

  “It’s you!” I covered myself with my hands in an instinctual gesture.

  “Yes, it’s me.” He chuckled. “How are you, Britt?”

  “What are you doing here? You weren’t in your office today.” I dropped my hands and stared at Lock, unable to trust my own eyes.

  “I came to see you.” He held his hands out as if in apology.

  “But you don’t come here,” I said. “At least that’s what Troy told me.”

  “I don’t normally come to places like this,” he said carefully. “But I had to see you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

  From the speakers around the room, a slow, steady beat started and the music throbbed, a deep bass that I could feel in my bones.

  “So are you going to dance for me?” His eyes pierced me like I was a treat in front of a starving man. His naked hunger made me feel self-conscious but also sexy and powerful.

  So I danced. I moved like water with the music, slowly and sensually in front of him, just out of his reach.

  I danced for Lachlan Craig, the professor and man who was so off limits I should have run out of there the moment I saw him, but there was no way I could turn away.

  I wanted him. If I was honest with myself, I needed him. I’d never been so consumed with lust, and it no longer confused me—it excited and empowered me.

  He reached out to touch me, and even though it was forbidden and I should have pushed his hands away, I couldn’t tell him no.

  His touch was liquid fire and burned along my waist, my hips, as I rocked and swayed, keeping eye contact with him.

  “You haven’t left my mind since I first saw you,” he growled and raked his gaze along me, leaving heat that matched his touch. “I’ve tried to stop thinking about you, but you’re so god damned sexy. Where did you come from, sweet little Candy?”

  “Back east.” I smiled. “I’m boring, not much to tell you about my life.”

  “I want to know everything.” He pulled me toward him. It felt like a something had happened, as if he had been wearing a mask and now revealed his true nature. “I want to fill my head with you. I want all of you.”

  “This is crazy.” I exhaled. “Isn’t this wrong? What if the college finds out?”

  “I don’t care about that, Britt.” He pulled me even closer. “All I care about is right here in front of me.” He pulled me onto his lap. I was still slippery from the oil I’d applied earlier, and I slid right down hard, making contact with...

  My brain short-circuited, and I couldn’t think about what was happening. Feeling the thick ridge of him pressing against my thigh made all reason and sense flee from my head, and I was consumed with a singular thought.

  I wanted him, all of him, as much as he seemed to want me.

  “Oh fuck.” He held me tighter. “This is crazy, isn’t it, little sweet? I’m not this kind of guy. I’m the books and studying type, not the chasing-strippers type.”

  “I’m not exactly the stripper type.” I smiled at him. “I’m really not.”

  “I know. I think that’s what makes this so unbelievably sexy.” He looked me up and down. “You’re making me crazy.”

  I wanted to tell him something to let him know how I felt, but before I could come up with anything that sounded even slightly sane, the door to the room popped open and one of the bouncers, Reggie, strode in.

  “Amber wanted me to check up on you. It’s a good thing I did.” He glowered at Lock. “Get your hands off the girl, buddy.”

  “It’s okay, Reggie. I know him.” I twisted around in Lock’s arms. “You don’t need to keep an eye on things.”

  “She’s safe with me,” Lock added.

  “We’re not worried about safe. We’re worried about wasting club time and money,” Reggie said with a sneer. “You’ve been in here longer than necessary. Either get your client on the hook to pay more or finish him off and get the hell out of here.”

  I looked at Lock, horrified that he’d seen the way I was being treated. I felt less than human and ashamed that I was in this situation.

  When I stood up, Lock jumped to his feet and stepped around me. I hadn’t realized how big and muscular he was until he towered over our toughest bouncer by at least a couple inches. He must have been a foot taller than me, and that made me feel safe and protected.

  Lock balled up his hands at his sides. “You need to apologize to her.”

  “I don’t apologize to the strippers,” Reggie said. “They come and go. I’m not gonna waste my time worrying about hurting a bitch’s feelings.”

  “Now you are going to apologize.” Lock held his hand up in front of me as if to protect me.

  “Let it go,” I said. “It’s not a big deal. You should go.”

  “Listen to her. Pay for her time or get the hell out,” Reggie said with a smirk.

  Before I knew what happened, Lock pulled his fist back and slammed it into Reggie’s face. I screamed. Reggie roared and fell back, holding his nose as blood oozed through his fingers.

  Lock yelled at him to get the hell out of the way and grabbed my hand. He pulled me out of the room. “Where are your things? You’re coming with me.”

  I was speechless. I couldn’t just leave my job, but there was no way I could say no to the man who had stood up for me like this. And the way he had taken over my entire heart, mind, and body, inserted himself into every aspect of my life—I couldn’t say no to him.

  The need for money was strong, but my need for Lock tugged in the pit of my stomach, drawing me away from all sense and into his arms.

  “They’re in the back, through here,” I said, suddenly determined to abandon all tethers to my old existence and dive head first into the desire I had for Lock. I showed him where my clothes were. He gathered them up and watched me like a hawk as I slithered out of the bustier and thong to pull on my own outfit.

  “Britt, what the fuck is going on?” Dusty yelled and stomped across the room. “Reggie told Rod that you’re being a totally psycho!”

  “I’m leaving,” I said, and Lock put his arm around me protectively as I grabbed my purse.

  “What the hell? If you leave now, you’re going to be fired.”

  “She’s not dancing here anymore.” Lock grabbed my hand, pulling me with him. “You don’t have to do this, little sweet.”

  I did need to do it though. I had to pay my tuition somehow, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I was under Lock’s spell and would have followed him to the ends of the Earth if he’d asked me to.

  We burst out the back door of the club into the crisp night air, our breath hanging in the darkness as we exhaled our excitement.

  “That was crazy.” I laughed. “I can’t believe I just did that.”

  “You don’t deserve to be treated like that.” He put his arm around my shoulders as we walked around the building to the parking lot. “You’re too precious to let that scum push you around. Which car is yours?”

  “I don’t have one. I take the bus everywhere.”

  “Perfect. You can come with me.” He led me to a sleek, expensive-looking
sports car with an exotic name I vaguely recognized. I wasn’t exactly a car fanatic, having grown up around Dodge pick-up trucks and tractors.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, only slightly aware of the world around us. It felt like things were dropping away and leaving only Lock for me to see, for me to care about. I was numb to everything else, but his presence tuned my body in with his, like each one of my cells struggled for freedom to touch him, to feel his touch.

  “Anywhere you want.” His dark, hooded gazed sent a shiver down my spine. I knew where I wanted to go—where I could be alone with him and in his arms.

  I didn’t want him in my humble little apartment though. I was suddenly embarrassed at my lack of luxury when faced with the possibility of him being so wealthy and successful. I wasn’t ready for him to see me for who I really was, and the humble background I’d come from.

  “I want to go to your place,” I said, my voice a little husky with the weight of my desire.

  “Perfect,” he replied, and we sped off into the night.

  Lock

  I had her in my car, and my life suddenly felt complete. It was as if all the pieces of the puzzle had finally come together and I could see what I’d been working on all this time.

  The big picture.

  It was her. She was the final piece that had been missing from my life.

  And I was taking her home to make her mine, to bring her into my world and mark her as my woman, my sexy stripper, my beautiful baby girl.

  I pulled into my underground garage, into my spot, and cut the engine. Silence engulfed us, and I turned to look at her.

  She was incredible.

  I couldn’t stand it. My cock throbbed so hard it hurt, and I needed her more than I’d needed anyone before her.

  “So this is where you live?” she asked, hesitantly, as if she sensed that things were about to change for both of us.

  “Well, upstairs.” I chuckled. “Shall we?”

  I opened her door, took her hand, and pulled her against me. I couldn’t help myself—I needed her then and there. I needed to taste her before I fell into madness and became somebody unrecognizable. She had that power over me.