In the space of a heartbeat his eyes narrowed and he stepped easily into her personal space. “It sounds like you need to think about what you want.”
Maggie’s stomach dropped and she looked at the floor as if she would see it rolling across the floor in some puddle of humiliation. She was acting like an idiot.
“Look at me.” He touched under her chin with his finger and raised her face. The slight twitch at the corners of his mouth the only sign he was not angry. “This is why I’m going home tonight. I hate the thought of you waking up in the morning with regrets. Know this, Maggie, when you come to me tomorrow, and I believe you will, then you will come to me as a submissive to a Dominant.”
It wasn’t easy to focus on his words. That single touch and the tone of his voice slid through her like molten lava on a steep slope. She couldn’t catch her breath in the face of that much power.
“Say, Yes Sir,” Tucker prompted.
Her heart skipped a beat. “Yes, Sir,” she whispered, afraid she would not be able to speak. Her reaction baffled her. It’s not as if she hadn’t used the words of respect many times in her research when she interviewed Dominants willing to share their personal details with her. But this felt completely, irrevocably different. Very personal.
“If you need anything, I left my business card next to your phone while you made drinks. I look forward to tomorrow more than you know.” With those parting words, Tucker scooped up his keys and disappeared through her front door, leaving her rooted to the spot.
She still couldn’t believe what she’d seen and heard with her own eyes and ears. Tucker. Tucker Lewis wanted to dominate her. She crumpled to the floor and landed on her butt with a thud. She sucked in gulp after gulp of air and shook her head, hoping to come to her senses. Her plan to hide out and lick her wounds hadn’t lasted very long. She needed water.
Maggie pushed to her feet, scooped up the two margarita glasses and padded into the kitchen. She dumped the contents of the glasses down the drain and placed the empties in the sink. She’d deal with clean up later. First water, and then maybe that long hot soak in the bathtub to clear her head so the could go through the events of the night logically.
She had a lot to think about. No you don’t, dummy. Maggie stopped in her tracks at her sudden thought. Why did she have to analyze his offer? Tucker wasn’t a stranger, she’d been fighting cravings for years, and she no longer had a husband to hold her back. Why shouldn’t she simply go for it? She’d spent the better part of her life analyzing every move or decision she made. Maybe it was time to do instead of think. Quit being a scaredy cat who hides behind her work.
Although the last time she’d thrown caution to the wind she’d ended up in jail, without a husband and on sabbatical from a job she… What? Loved? Not much left to love when you strip away the obsession she’d attached to her research. Teaching bored her. It had never sat well with her that she hadn’t given her students 110%.
She found her thoughts wandering back to Tucker and wondering what he’d done with his life. Besides rescuing women by the side of the road, what did he do? She vaguely remembered something about a scholarship. She racked her brain trying to remember the details but couldn’t remember what school he’d accepted or what he’d planned to study. Senior year had been a whirlwind and she and Derek had experienced a tumultuous relationship. Later, when she’d started her research, she’d concluded that Derek had recognized her submissive tendencies and while trying to act on them he’d failed miserably. Even as a teenager he’d been a good guy and he’d stuck with her through senior prom before breaking up with her. To her current shame, she’d been so wrapped up in her own world, she couldn’t remember much at all about Tucker in those last months.
Tomorrow, she’d rectify that situation. He’d made her body come to life at the speed of sound, but that didn’t mean her mind wasn’t engaged. She wanted to know more about the man who’d set the bar for every kiss she ever received.
For now, she had some instructions to follow. She straightened her spine and strode toward the bathroom. The self pity and river of denial ended tonight.
Chapter Four
Tucker fiddled with the brushes and paints on his table, unable to get the exact color mix he sought. He wanted something the color of Maggie’s eyes when arousal had slammed into her. Specifically, the darker hue that surrounded the edges of her pupils. He longed to paint her, despite portraits not being his usual style. She presented a conundrum in so many ways. An interesting mix of inquisitive, no-nonsense professor on the outside and soft submissive on the inside. While he enjoyed the two facets, it was the inside he wanted to discover today. He couldn’t wait to get to the heart of what she’d desired all these years.