Page 86 of When Sinners Fear
I look down at my tea and stir the ice around. All the places we saw did have people on the door, a lobby, and the elevator was secure. He's right, not having to worry about safety will be a positive, but being a kept woman wasn’t exactly how I pictured my life. I’ve come up against enough barriers as a woman in science already to know that my independence is important. Old stereotypes, like that of my father’s, aren’t welcome in my world. Except isn’t that what I’m allowing now? Being a kept woman, with money made from criminal activity that degrades women to the point of selling them like possessions, also isn't something I'm content about.
My eyes shimmer as I try and wrap my head around the problem set in front of me.
“Peyton?” he prompts, and I look at him across the table.
“Yeah?” I pick up and take a sip of my drink.
“Which one? I’m not leaving without you in one of them.”
“The first one. It’s got the best light,” I answer, flatly. Isn’t this meant to be exciting? Shouldn’t I have butterflies?
God, I’m a mess of contradictions.
My fingers wring together under the table, and I start tapping my thumb to steady my thoughts, as he picks up his phone. I hear enough to tell me he’s confirming the details with the agent. A whirlwind is exactly right.
Maybe it’s the hormones making everything skew and feel at odds. If I can’t control Knox, I need to focus on what I can.
I wait until he’s finished before trying to regain some control. “Do you want to go and see where I work?”
“Sure.”
“You can talk to me about what you learned from your reading. I’ve not accomplished much so far, and my timetable doesn’t allow for any downtime.”
He closes the book he’s now apparently finished and stands, offering me his hand. "Make sure you allow time to seduce your guest lecturer in your research lab.”
I try to keep the smile from my lips. "Well, it’s not really a lab. More like an office.”
“Desk sex, got it.”
“Knox!”
“I told you, not enough fucking. I’m changing that.”
My cheeks flush, and I race out of the diner and head towards his car parked a little way up the street.
“There’s parking on campus,” I tell him.
“Can you drive?”
“Yes. Do you–”
“Do you have a car?”
“No, I don’t need one.”
“You will. We’ll get that sorted as well.”
“Knox, you really don’t.”
“Stop. Non-negotiable. Come on. I’m looking forward to quizzing you. There might be some interesting teaching techniques that'll help.”
~
“There, please, yes!” He pulls my thighs tighter around him as he shoves against me, knocking that magic spot inside me that makes me feel like I’m going to unravel and explode all at once.
“Fuck, you look good like this.”
My skirt is hitched around my waist, and my shirt is unbuttoned, revealing my bra to him. He’s still fully dressed, standing over me in that sexy suit that seems to define him so well. The professor-student fantasy has never appealed to me before now, but with him as the teacher, it's easy to see why it’s a fantasy.