lost in it, it was so thick. As the boat came to a stop, she had to tip her head way back to look at the castle. Two turrets rose to the sky, but she couldn’t see the tops because they were obscured by clouds. This was going to be her home for the summer?
“Wow” was all she could say.
“It does have that effect on people,” May said. “Just wait until you see the inside.”
• • •
ANDIE KNEW SHE should stop gawking, but she couldn’t help it. Everything about the inside of the academy was just as awe-inspiring as the outside. The walls were covered with rich tapestries, expensive rugs lined the hardwood floors, and from what she could tell with an untrained eye, most of the furnishings were antique.
Shortly after she walked through the front door with May, a bellman appeared to whisk away her luggage. He didn’t even ask her anything, but rather raised an eyebrow at May and waited for her nod.
“Come with me,” May said. “I’ll take you to Master Matthews.”
They walked down a long hallway and finally came to a stop outside an open door. May stuck her head inside.
“Miss Lincoln’s here.”
“Send her in,” said a low voice from inside.
May shook her hand. “Welcome to the academy, Miss Lincoln. Master Matthews will take it from here.”
Andie nodded and stepped inside.
And froze at the sight of the man standing in front of a desk, arms crossed in front of his chest. His rock-hard, muscular chest. His T-shirt looked like it was practically painted on. He had to be over six feet and if his chest was any indication of the rest of him . . .
Damn.
She tore her gaze away from his abs to find two ice blue eyes staring at her. Two ice-cold blue eyes. And he was frowning. With those eyes paired with his thick, dark hair, he should have been incredibly handsome. But that frown of his? It changed everything.
“Andie Lincoln,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but she nodded anyway. “Sit down.”
She sat in the leather chair that was much too close to where he stood. He towered over her, invading her personal space. She almost pushed her chair back, but the look in his eyes stopped her.
“Tell me why you’re here,” he said.
“May said you would take over my arrival procedures.”
“Not here in my office,” he said. “Here at the academy.”
Wasn’t that obvious?
“I want to be a submissive.”
His nostrils flared. “One does not wish to be a submissive. One is either a submissive or one is not.”
“I think I’m a submissive, but I want to be trained. I guess I want to find out for sure.” What if she wasn’t? She was so afraid Terrence wouldn’t want her. This just had to work.
“You think you’re a submissive? You guess you want to find out for sure?” He mocked her with her own words.
“Why are you being so mean?” She knew she was sounding like a child, but she didn’t like this Matthews guy, no matter how good-looking he was. She hoped the rest of the staff was more like May and less like him.
“Miss Lincoln, there are ten people enrolled here this summer. Ten. Do you know how many people applied for those ten spots?”
She shook her head.
“You will answer me with me words so I know you heard and because I require a verbal response.”
“No, I don’t know how many people applied.”
“No, Sir.”
Yes, he was truly an ass. Something must have flashed in her eyes, because his steely gaze grew considerably colder.
“Or Master Matthews,” he said. “Either one will do, but when addressing a Dom here, especially one on staff, it is always ‘Sir’ or ‘Master.’”
“No, Sir,” she ground out. Damned if she was calling him Master. “I don’t know how many people applied.”
“Six hundred and twelve. And out of those six hundred and twelve, how many do you suppose thought they might be submissive, dominant, or a switch? How many do you think guessed they wanted to find out?”
“I don’t know, Sir.”
“One. You.” He reached to his side to pick up a stack of neatly piled papers and dropped them in her lap. “Those are the applications of the six hundred and two that didn’t get in. I need you to prove to me you’re worthy of being here instead of them.” Under his breath, he mumbled something about her being a virgin.
“I don’t know how to do that, Sir.” Tears pricked her eyes, and she cursed herself for being such an easy crier. She had the sinking feeling that maybe she shouldn’t have begged Terrence to find a way to get her enrolled. And she bit back the apology she almost gave for being a virgin. What reason was there to apologize? The situation had never been right for her to have sex.
“Then I suggest you figure it out. Because unless you do—and soon—May’s taking you back to your hotel when she returns with the next student.”
Andie’s throat was tight with her tears. She couldn’t talk, so she simply nodded.
“Get out of my office.”
• • •
ORDINARILY, FULTON WOULD have felt badly treating a student the way he had treated Andie Lincoln. There had been nothing out of the ordinary about her at first. Sure, she was gorgeous, but he’d taught plenty of attractive women.
She was also petite. Just the way he liked his subs. With long dark hair that had his hands itching to reach out and pull. And she was spunky. He liked that, too. But then she’d answered his question and said she thought she was a submissive. All of a sudden, his fantasies had come to a halt and he remembered she was playacting for her Hollywood boyfriend. Playacting. For her Hollywood boyfriend. Lennox had lost it.
But still, he could have handled that better. After all, she was a student—he had no business having fantasies about her.
“Whoa! What’d you do to the new student?”
He turned back to the door to find the academy dance instructor and a staff submissive, Mariela, glide into his office.
Talk about petite. Mariela couldn’t have been much over five feet, but she was all firecracker.
“Hey, Mariela.”
“Seriously, I said hello and welcome and she burst into tears.”
“She shouldn’t be here.”
“And you determined this on the first day? After Master MacLure made the decision to admit her? Don’t make me regret voting to approve your promotion.”
She was right. He knew it. Lennox would not be pleased with the way he had handled the situation. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“I went too far,” he admitted. “It’s just, she shouldn’t be here.”
“It’s not your decision.”
“Maybe it should be.”
She closed his office door. “I know what you’re getting at, but don’t. Don’t go there.”
Belatedly he realized anyone walking by could have heard everything he said. “Don’t you think someone needs to?”
“Maybe, but I don’t think it’ll be you.”
He studied the petite woman before him and knew by the rigid way she held her spine that she wasn’t going to change her mind. In fact, she raised an eyebrow, almost daring him to try to make her.
He finally grinned at her. “You’re a tough one for a sub.”