"No." I shook my head vehemently, and he laughed.

"I can't wait for the moment when you beg me to stay," he whispered, not smiling, and I stared at his handsome face as if frozen.

“When I beg you to stay?”

“No, when you beg me to stay the night with you.” He smirked cockily.

“Not going to happen.” I took a step back.

"There will come a time when you will not be able to get enough of me." He smiled at me and took a step towards me.

"I doubt that." I shivered as I stared at his fingers. “You’re not a teacher here, are you?” I crossed my fingers behind my back. Please don’t be a teacher here. I touched my collarbone unconsciously, still feeling the burn.

He smiled again. "There will come a time when you'll be remembering more than my fingers, Nancy," he leaned in and whispered in my ear. I could feel the tip of his tongue lightly caressing my inner ear, and I swallowed hard. “And no, I’m not a teacher here. I’m so much more than that.”

His breath tickled me, and I knew then that this was going to be the experience of my life. And I wasn’t quite sure if it was going to be the experience I had come for.

Chapter 3

“Where have you been?” Amber looked up as I reentered the room.

“I told you. I needed the restroom.” I avoided her gaze and sat down. I didn’t want to tell her about my encounter with the man. I didn’t even know his name. Or why he was here.

"The lady was looking for you." Amber made a face. "Her name's Louise."

"Oh, do you think I should go and find her?" I jumped back up again.

"Nah." Amber sipped her drink. "She's coming back with the teachers. I guess we're the only three in this class."

"Oh wow." I looked surprised, though I really had no idea what that meant.

"Are you excited, Nancy?" Shannon asked me. "Do you think Hunter is going to be your teacher?"

"I sure hope so." I nodded eagerly at her, but my mind fell to the guy I'd just been talking to.

He oozed sex. But dangerous sex. Kinky sex. He screamed of wild nights with whips and chains. I shivered as I thought about all the dirty things I’d read about in erotic romance books. He looked like the type of guy into pleasure and pain, unlike my Hunter. Hunter was one hundred percent pleasure.

"Aren't you freaked out though?" Amber spoke up, and I looked at her in confusion.

"Freaked out about what?"

"Aren't you freaked out that he f**ks women for money?" She raised an eyebrow at me. "He's like a male ho."

"I don't know what he does," I responded, but my heart ached at her words. I hadn't thought about that before. Did Hunter sleep with every girl who came to the academy?

"Yeah." Shannon gave Amber a look. "None of us knows exactly what goes in here."

“I can’t wait to find out though.” Amber grinned and fluffed her short, blond hair. “I have to get a guy with a big c**k who knows how to go all night looonng.” She winked at me and then laughed. “I’m not shocking you, am I, Nancy?” She licked her lips and laughed again. “I’m not a virgin. I like sex, and I want to learn every trick that I can.”

“If you’re so good, why are you here?”

“I want to learn all the secrets.” She shrugged. “The lovers’ academy will teach me that.”

“I see.” I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes.

I could feel my phone vibrating in my backpack. I knew it had to be Katie or Brandon calling me, asking me if I’d made it to campus safely. I’d have to call them back soon and make up some excuse about a mixer.

I heard the door open, but I didn’t open my eyes right away. I think I was too overwhelmed.

“Girls, the teachers are here,” Louise said.

I slowly opened my eyes, and my heart started thumping when I saw Hunter. He was here. My Hunter was here. I was about to jump up and run to him, but then I realized that would be awkward. I gave him a huge smile, but he didn’t seem to notice because his eyes left mine and continued looking at the other girls.

“Shannon, your teacher is going to be Hunter. He’s going to take you to your suite and explain how everything works.”

My heart dropped as I watched Shannon standing up. She gave me an awkward smile and walked towards him. He looked so handsome standing there, with his golden-blond hair. I tried to make eye contact with him again, but he didn’t even look at me again before he left the room.

“Amber, you’re going to be with Keenan,” the lady continued, and Amber jumped up eagerly.

“See you later, sweets.” She grinned at me and practically ran to the front of the room.

It was then that I realized that there was no one left in the room aside from Louise and myself.

“So, Nancy. It’s just you and me.” She smiled at me. “I’m going to escort you to your room. Your teacher, Ryan, missed his train this evening. He’ll be joining you tomorrow.”

“Oh okay.” I frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought I’d be with Hunter?” I spoke slowly and tried to ignore the disappointment in my stomach.

Hunter had acted like he didn’t even know me. How could he not know me? Was I wrong? Had he not been the one to accept me into the academy?

“Are you ready, Nancy?” She stepped forward, and I realized that I hadn’t heard what she’d said.

“Yes, sorry. I was just daydreaming.” I smiled at her weakly and stood up. “Let’s go see my room.”

I followed her into the foyer and then up a flight of stairs. She paused at the top of the stairs and then pulled out her ringing phone.

“Hello?” she answered, and her eyes lit up. “Hold on.” She placed her hand over the phone and looked at me. “Nancy, your room is the last door on the right. Make yourself at home. We’ll see you tomorrow morning.” And then she walked back down the stairs.

I sighed as I made my way down the corridor. I was already regretting coming to the academy.

I walked into the bedroom feeling tense. I didn’t know what was going to happen tonight. I had seen Hunter once and he hadn’t even given me a second glance. I couldn’t believe it. I was in shock, and I felt hurt and angry at myself. How could I have been such an idiot?

“Sit down,” said a deep voice as soon as I walked through the door.

I looked around, but I could only see the silhouette of the man in the dark.

“Huh?” I answered dumbly.

“I said sit down.”

“Hunter?” I asked hopefully.

“Nancy, have a seat on the bed.” The voice was dry. “And no, this isn’t Hunter.”

“Oh.” I paused and my heart started beating. “Who are you then?”

“I’m your teacher.”

“Teacher?” I frowned. Hadn’t Louise just said he wasn’t arriving until tomorrow?

“That’s why you came to the academy, yes?” He chuckled. “You came to learn.”

“I thought Hunter would be my teacher,” I whispered.

“You thought wrong.” The voice was no longer humorous.

I reached the edge of the bed and sat down. “What are you going to do?”

“What do you want me to do?” He chuckled again, and I froze.

I finally recognized the voice. It was the man from the train, the man I’d met when I’d first arrived. The arrogant as**ole who’d been so rude to me.

“I know who you are.” I gasped. “You’re not a teacher.”

“I am tonight.” He stood up and walked over to the bed. He turned on a lamp at the side of the bed and then turned towards me. He looked down at me with a sardonic smile, his eyes dark and shadowed.

“You can’t just become a teacher.” I stared up at him, trying to ignore the feelings that were building up in my stomach.

“I can do whatever I want.”

“But...” I stuttered and watched as he loosened his tie.

“As the owner, I can do what I want.” He ran his hands through his hair, and I stared at a gold ring on his pinky finger.

“What are you going to do?” I questioned him again, wondering if I should run out of the room.

“I’m not going to touch you.”

“Oh.” I looked down, feeling confused and slightly disappointed.

“I’m going to blindfold you and handcuff you.” His voice was rough. “And I’m going to let you see what anticipation feels like.”

“What?” My voice rose, and I looked at him with wide eyes. “How?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

I swallowed hard as he spoke. His voice had become silky, and I felt like he was already seducing me.

“But you’re not going to touch me?”

“Not with my hands.” He grinned at me and leaned towards me. “Not unless you beg me,” he whispered in my ear before pulling back and staring into my eyes. His blue eyes mocked me as he stared at me with a smug smile. “Now, take off your clothes. Leave your underwear on though.” He brought a finger up to my cheek and ran it down to my trembling lips. “If you beg me, I’ll take those off as well.”

“I’m not going to beg you to do anything.”

“We’ll see.” He grinned. “What are you waiting for?”

“I’m not going to take off my clothes.” I jumped off the bed and walked towards the door. “Are you crazy?”

“Isn’t that why you came here, Nancy?” His voice cut through the room. “Or are you chickening out already?”

“I don’t know you,” I whispered and stared at him as he threw his tie onto the ground. My brain was screaming at me. What the f**k was going on here?

“Do you want to get to know me?” He started undoing his shirt.

“Not particularly.” I shook my head.

“I think you want me.” He took a step towards me.

“You’re a creep.” I licked my lips as he continued walking towards me.

“You were breathing heavily on the train.” His voice was soft. “I could see your lips trembling as you stood next to me. I could feel your body heat rising. I could feel your ni**les against my back hardening.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shook my head, but I couldn’t move.

“When you fell against me.” He stopped in front of me. This time his shirt was all the way open. “When you fell against me, you held on to me tight. You held on to me longer than you had to.”

“I was disoriented.”

“You were horny.”

“No, I wasn’t.” I shook my head.

“That’s what we do here, Nancy.” He stared into my eyes as he whispered against my lips.

“What are you talking about?”

“We make you own up to the truth about your feelings.” He smiled as he gently licked my bottom lip.

“I am being honest.”

“No, you’re not.” He cocked his head and smiled at me gently. “I can see in your eyes that you’re attracted to me. I can tell from the way your nostrils are flaring that you’re a bit angry, a bit confused, and a bit turned on. I can tell from the flush on your face that I’m making you hot. I can tell from the fact that you’re still standing here that you’re intrigued. You want to know what’s going to happen next.”

“No,” I whispered, still unable to move. My eyes widened as he pulled his shirt off and threw it on the floor. “What are you doing?”

His chest had a sprinkling of dark hair, and he was as muscular and built as I’d thought.

“I’m getting ready.” He grinned at me like a wolf before dinner.

“Ready for what?”

“Ready to take you to bed.”

“You’re not taking me anywhere,” I gasped out.

“No?” He moved towards me again, and I took a step back.

“I don’t even know your name.”

“That’s all you need?” His eyes sparkled and he laughed as my face turned red.

“No, no. I’m just saying that I don’t know your name. Not that I would sleep with you if I knew your name.”

“It’s Jaxon.”

“Jaxon?” I repeated.

“Yes.” He grinned and stepped forward again. “Are you ready now?”

“No.” I took another step back and hit the wall again.

He moved towards me and placed his hands against the wall on either side of me, pressing himself against me. I could feel my heart racing as my body once again welcomed his warmth.

“Now?” he whispered.

“No.” I pushed him away from me. “What are you doing?”

“So you do have some fire in you then?” He stepped back, picked his shirt up off the floor, and buttoned it up.

“Huh?” I looked at him in confusion. “What’s going on here?”

“I wanted to test you.” His smile faded and he looked at me seriously. “We don’t allow women who can’t speak up for themselves to enter the academy.”

“So this was all a test?” I frowned, suddenly feeling deflated.

“Yes.” He nodded. “Or did you hope it was something else?” He paused and looked at me for a second. “Can I ask you something, Nancy?”

“Yes.”