Free Come Monday by Mari Carr Page A

grow—to last beyond this single night. As a result, he refused to do anything that would negatively impact that outcome.
    He shut the door, locking it behind him. “Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour.
    This is the living room,” he said, gesturing at the room.
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    “I love it. I should have known you’d have an eye for color,” she said, walking in farther.
    “And why is that?” he asked, pleased by her compliment.
    “There doesn’t seem to be anything you can’t do,” she said, and he laughed.
    “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I can’t cook.”
    “Shit,” she murmured. “Neither can I.”
    “Lucky for us, your family and my friends own restaurants.”
    “Guess we won’t starve,” she teased.
    He grasped her hand, moving them forward. “There’s the kitchen and this is the dining area. There’s been a lot of takeout consumed in both of those rooms.” She laughed. “Takeout is good.”
    “One of the things I liked about this place is that the entire area is open. And since I don’t cook, I generally don’t have to worry about the kitchen being a mess.” The kitchen was separated from the living room by a long bar, which made the space look larger.
    He proceeded down the hallway. “There’s a bathroom here and at the end of the hall is my master bedroom and another bathroom.” Opening a door on the right, he gestured to yet another room. “And this is my home office.” She walked into the spacious room, turning a full circle to take it all in. “And I thought you had a lot of books in your office at school,” she said. The entire room was lined with bookshelves, every available space filled with volumes and volumes of books.
    “Reading is a guilty pleasure for me.”
    “Why guilty?” she asked.
    “Usually I’m reading when I should be grading papers or preparing a lesson.”
    “And where does the football fit in?” she joked.
    “Every Sunday afternoon in the winter. I’m only human after all.”
    “You’re a male. It seems that, along with a penis, you all share the football gene.” 64
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    He laughed at her jest, despite the fact that by saying the word penis , she seemed to have awakened his to her presence. He glanced at his desk and realized she was looking at the same piece of furniture.
    So he hadn’t imagined it.
    “I can take you over my knee or you can bend over the desk.” His words were simple and direct and he watched her eyes widen at his abrupt change of subject.
    “You’re giving me a choice?”
    “You will always have a choice in what we do, Keira. I’ll never do anything you don’t like or that frightens you.”
    “What if I told you I was scared now?” she asked.
    He shook his head and grinned. “You want this as badly as I do. I know the difference between fear and nervous anticipation.” She looked longingly at the desk and he wondered if she’d have the nerve to voice her preference. His alpha male came to the forefront. “Time’s up. Go bend over the desk and pull your skirt up to your waist. I want to see your lovely behind, bared and ready for my hand, in ten seconds.”
    She shivered slightly at his demand before moving toward the desk. He walked behind her and could feel her surprise when she turned to find him standing so close.
    She walked to the front of the desk and slowly bent forward before reaching behind her to lift her skirt. Unable to stop himself from touching her, he helped her lift the material, dragging his hands along the backs of her thighs.
    Once the skirt was around her waist, he lifted her arms, moving them until her hands rested beside her head. “Leave your hands here,” he ordered.
    She nodded, her head twisted to one side.
    “Is the desk cold against your cheek?” he asked, her words from his office at school drifting through his mind.
    “Yes,” she whispered.
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    He lightly touched her buttocks and she flinched. He grinned, aware that she was probably suffering from