1
Train Me
Blurb
He was a teacher.
I was a student.
It was so wrong to want him the way that I did, so why did it feel so right?
Why did I agree to meet him after class in a private place, knowing how much could go wrong?
College was already busy and interesting enough for me. It was my dream to get a degree and graduate. Could I make the right choices and graduate like I always planned without getting into trouble?
He was too gorgeous to resist, too magnetic to ignore. The question I had to ask myself was if he was worth everything.
Elena
I dropped onto my back and sighed, feeling the jolt that Liam always gave me when we were together. The sheets on the bed were messy and scattered haphazardly over the king-sized mattress as I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds in the condominium. Liam had gone to the kitchen to get us some water and the chocolate chip cookies for dessert that I knew he loved. I’d brought them over to go with the pasta that he made us for dinner, but we’d gotten distracted halfway through the meal and ended up in his bedroom.
That always seemed to happen to us.
I thought back to the class that I met him in during my Junior year at the University in Seattle. Liam walked in through the door near the front, striding confidently to the podium as I prepared myself for the Economics course. It wasn’t my favorite subject, but it seemed to be the lesser of two evils when it came to my choices, so here I was. I looked at the tall, handsome man that was looking us over with beautiful ocean blue eyes as he set some papers in front of him.
I knew why the subject of students and teachers hooking up was so popular as I looked back. He was stunning and probably several feet over what I considered petite at my own five foot six. His body was clearly muscled underneath the worn jeans and dark blue Henley that he wore with black Converse, making him look like a college student himself. I knew that he wasn’t though just by the way he stood before the large class, guessing him to be in his mid to late thirties. He sure didn’t look it but the way that he oozed authority told me that he wasn’t one of the fumbling boys that had asked me out since I moved here from Portland. He had dark chestnut hair that was long enough to be considered tousled, framing his face in soft curls and covered by a dark green beanie. His hands were big as they organized his things and the smile that he flashed at us when he was ready to start made me forget my own name.
I heard him speaking but got lost in the throaty sound of it more than whatever he was saying. He introduced himself as Doctor Liam Forsberg and told us a little about his degrees that ended with a doctorate in the subject of Economics. That helped me at guessing his age, knowing that he put in a few years to obtain all of that as I sat up in my seat halfway back and in the center of the room. He explained that he’d be passing around a seating chart to keep track of who attended class and that we should pick somewhere that we liked for the semester. That made sense with a class this size and I glanced around at the people that surrounded me, happy to see that they were anything but the jocks that were clustered more towards the front. The students that were sitting around me were just your average, run of the mill people getting an education like myself. I’d even call myself a little awkward and perhaps nerdy, more content with a book in my studio apartment than a night at a frat party.
My best friend at school was a lot different, often urging me to hang out with her at such things. Ginger was a bubbly, beautiful auburn haired girl that had friends in every clique, knowing a lot more of the students than I did since she wrote articles for the paper. She had the chance to meet people whereas I just went to class and went home to my apartment, where I worked as a freelance in order to earn some money and still have time to study. I had a partial scholarship, but since I chose to live alone over sharing a dorm with some randomly selected roommate, I had to work as well. I was all right with that since it was such an isolated job and gave me a lot of time to myself. Emails and chats were a perfect way of keeping in touch in my opinion.
I heard my name being called and I opened my eyes to see Liam looking questioningly at me. “Hmmm?” I asked as he sat down and set a plate of cookies down along with a big glass of ice water.
“I thought you might have fallen asleep,” his voice was soft and rough from what we’d just done together, a memory that made me shiver.
“Just comfortable,” I assured him as I propped my body up against his pile of pillows and reached for the glass. “Are you still hungry for the dinner that we abandoned?”
“I stuck it in the fridge for the time being. It’ll reheat fine. I just wanted to come back here and be with you and these amazing cookies.” Liam winked at me as I blushed, the pink covering my pale skin. I knew just how much that surface reflected our relationship as I shivered under the scrap of cloth that covered the various marks on my body.
I loved all of them equally and every act that gave them to me.
Liam turned on a movie on the large television as I snuggled against his side, tearing off small bites of the cookie on the top of the pile as I drifted between what was playing on the screen and his warmth and scent. There was a fire to the left of the television, keeping the spacious room warm as I smiled.
I didn’t plan to sleep with my college teacher. That was never a thought in my head and only happened in some of the books that seemed to be so popular. I was attracted to him, but so was every other female in the class as well as at the college. He was one of the hottest men I’d ever seen, but I didn’t expect the interest to be given back to me.
It all started when I had a little trouble in the class and went to talk to him. His office wasn’t huge on campus, and I sat down, prepared to ask him my questions until I looked into his eyes. Their blue depths and varying shades captivated me as I opened my mouth to speak, making me forget everything that I was saying. “Miss Carter?” He asked as I remained silent, blinking, and taking a deep breath. Once I explained the issues, he directed me to the class tutor and gave me the email to contact the girl before leaning back in his seat. “You’re a stunning girl, Miss Carter.”
His words caught me off guard. “Please call me Elena and…thank you.” No man had ever told me that before or anybody else for that matter. It thrilled me while a tremble went through me, knowing that this was my older teacher who was not supposed to think about me that way. I blushed as I wondered what it was about me that could be called stunning.
I was a bit taller than some girls, and I had a curvy figure, but I didn’t think I was overweight. I had no desire to be stick thin as some girls were, but I didn’t think that my dark, wavy hair and dark green eyes were that unusual. Some pretty girls were walking around this campus, and he had to notice them, too. Right? I looked up to see him gazing thoughtfully at me, just taking in my silence. “So, I guess I have the information I need. Thank you, Mr. Forsberg. Thank you so much.” I had a partial scholarship that I didn’t want to blow, making me work hard at all my grades.
“It’s Liam,” he spoke urgently as I widened my eyes. “Here, like this. It’s Liam.” He gestured around the room as I let myself wonder where else we might see one another, before pushing that thought out of my mind. I couldn’t and I wouldn’t. I stood as I forced myself to stop staring back at him, thanking him again before I stumbled out of the door and leaned against the wall. Holy hell, he was gorgeous and charming. I heard a noise behind the door and shuffled towards the exit that led me outside to the dreary, overcast sky.
Liam
I was entering my tenth year teaching after working with friends at school tutoring and assisting in classes while I got my doctorate. Once I came back to Washington to take care of my mom as she succumbed to breast cancer, I stuck around when this job was offered. I liked this city and had grown up here, after all. I let my sister Marie have the house that we grew up in while she went to school and bought myself a condominium with some of the money that Mom left for me after her tragic death. It wasn’t fancy, but it was mine. I could sell the three-bedroom unit if my life changed and I ended up with a family, but I was already thirty-nine, and it hadn’t happened.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like women. I loved them and was well-aware that they enjoyed me as well. Before I started teaching, I played the single card frequently when out with friends, but I had to be careful now. College students were forward when they wanted me, men and women, alike. Some of the girls were fucking gorgeous, but that was against every rule when I took this job. Hell, I had to be careful when I was out at bars and check that the girls weren’t students at my school. I didn’t want to lay a finger on a girl that attended U-dub.
Admittedly, that slowed me down some. Seattle was a big city but the early mornings and evenings doing my job took over as I got older and I didn’t want the casual sex as much as I once did. I saw my friends but the late nights of drinking so much that I had to think about the evening before for a beat after waking up were done, as far as the weeknights went. I kept it to a couple of beers at most with dinner or just watching a game.
This semester, I was teaching every day in the mid-morning and then helping the tutor with some of the work she prepared. It took more time than one might think. I kept the same tutor after my fifth year teaching this class until Sarah graduated in a couple of years. Before that, there were teacher’s assistants and worked well enough, but Sarah was a steady worker.
People asked if she and I were hooking up, making me shake my head. She was a sweet kid and smart as hell, but no. There was no way that I’d touch her even if I found her attractive. Sarah was on the geeky side with large glasses and dirty blonde hair that was often in a bun. Then again, friends asked me if I ever sampled the hot sorority girls that were scattered throughout my classes as well, as if life was one big orgy.
I didn’t like the vapid sorority type to begin with. They had grated on my nerves when I was in college, for fuck’s sake. They hit on me all the time, and I went for it sometimes. They aimed to please, but that was all it ever was: one night.
That all changed for me this year when I walked in that first day, feeling the eyes on me as I prepared my podium and fought the yawn that threatened to come. I let my eyes take in everyone and halfway up, wide green eyes got my attention. She was a pale girl with those dark eyes and wavy brown hair but beautiful, and I took her in for a moment before she looked up at me.
Jesus, I felt my body stirring. I needed to get laid soon at this rate.
I continued to look over the class as I explained about my seating chart and what was expected of them this semester. These were college students, and I wasn’t going to be holding their hands. They came and sat in their assigned seats for attendance credit, no questions asked. I handed out a syllabus and dismissed the class a few minutes early before I started for real tomorrow.
I watched as the girl tucked her stuff into a pretty teal backpack and left the class after giving me a look. Yep, she noticed me like a few of the other women in the class. Nothing new.
The problem was that I noticed her as well. I saw her curvy body and those eyes that begged for me to take her. I needed to keep this in check for the next several weeks because women rarely affected me this way.
I sent out the seating chart the following day, telling everyone to pick a spot they were happy in. I collected it about halfway through the class and set it on my desk before I continued with my first lecture. I heard the bell and watched them leave before I sat down and held up the chart to compare it to the seats.
Elena Carter was her name. She was a Junior. She was hot as fucking hell and would test my patience for the next few weeks.
The class seemed to settle down and get serious after that since I jumped head first into lectures. I noted who was paying attention and seemingly getting the information, with Elena being very intent on what I was saying. She took notes, and I liked the way the tip of her tongue stuck out slightly when she was concentrating. She wore glasses when she was reading and looked like a hot, nerdy librarian in them.
There were always the students that seemed to nod off during class, making me smirk. If they missed anything at a
ll, they would be behind and beg me for help from the tutor. I always had those students and expected it, getting a certain amusement from them before I explained to them what they had to do to fix the situation. After that, some would pull their grade up, and others would just disappear.
I was surprised a few weeks in when Elena was one of the ones coming to me for help. Her lovely dark eyes looked scared, and there were circles under them as she approached me after class. I told her to come to my office where we could talk, feeling her behind me as I led her across the campus even though I’d rather be following her. Her worn skinny jeans made her ass look amazing, and the gray shirt that she wore buttoned over a camisole showed off her cleavage just enough to make me want to see more. We sat down in my small office, and she licked her full lips nervously as I took in the movement with rapt attention. “So, I got a bit lost in last week’s material when I missed a day because I was sick, and I am just drowning now. I was hoping that you had some way to help me.”
It was criminal what I was considering offering her to bring up her grade, even though I knew she wasn’t that far behind. I refrained and told her the standard information, passing along Sarah’s email before I leaned back in my seat and took in the grateful look on her face. I was shocked by the words that escaped my mouth next and judging from the look on her face, so was Elena. “You’re a stunning girl, Miss Carter.” She blushed as she told me to call her Elena and thanked me awkwardly. She was quiet for a few moments before thanking me, giving me the chance to tell her to call me Liam, which I never did. Not with students and not even Sarah, who called me Professor Forsberg even though I told her I was okay with her using my first name. She was just formal that way.
Elena looked shaken and excused herself to leave, making me rest my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe that I came off as that forward with her, but I couldn’t help it. There was something about her that drew me in without that invisible wall that every student here had for me.