Page 3 of Hidden Intentions (Quick Bites: MM Short Stories #3)

Matt

His chuckle made me scowl. I felt every bit like a cornered lamb waiting for the wolf to pounce. That mischievous glint in his eyes told me wouldn’t let up.

What do I do?

Of all the people who could’ve seen me at the bar, it had to be Kevin Harding. It had to be the boy I was trying to purge from my brain with great effort. It had to be the one student who had me frustrated to the point that I needed relief, enough to show up at that kind of place.

He was right. I didn’t go to the HoneySuckle often, but when I did it was for the same purpose as everyone else.

And seeing Kevin there had been . . . well.

I hadn’t planned on that.

The whole reason I went tonight was so I could escape my thoughts about this student.

Not to find him there, and certainly not to share a cab with him.

And definitely, absolutely not to bring him back to my place.

Kevin was a reminder of a dark secret, a twisted kink I thought I’d buried for good. At least until two months ago, when the spring semester began and he walked into my class.

It didn’t help that he was jaw-droppingly handsome.

Tall, with muscles straight from my fantasies, dark-brown hair, and gray eyes that pierced straight into your soul, set behind hooded eyelids and thick brows. I won’t lie, he caught my eye right away, but it wasn’t his youthful appearance that did it. There was just something about him that drew me in, an aura that commanded my attention, and something dangerous. I recognized what it was after a few weeks and realized why I was so attracted to him. The signs had always been there. He might be young, but he exuded the presence of a Dom, perhaps without even realizing it.

He even projected that energy by just... being in the room. Kevin would sit right in the middle of class, in my direct line of sight where I could never ignore him. And he never looked away. Not once.

While his classmates took notes, glanced at their phones, or exchanged whispers, he only watched me . It wasn’t passive or just observing. He was challenging me, daring me to meet his gaze. And when I did, I felt bare. Exposed. It felt like he could see right through the careful layer I’d built, peeling me open inch by inch with nothing but that sharp, unrelenting stare. And I could do nothing about it but let him.

He wasn’t one of those who spoke up in class often. He mostly sat there, quiet but commanding . He never fidgeted, never looked uncertain. He just sat with that steady, unwavering confidence. It was impossible for me not to take note.

When he handed in an assignment in class, he didn’t just slide it onto my desk like his classmates did. No. He placed it down with careful intention, lingering long enough for it not to be inappropriate but enough to make me aware of his presence.

Aware of his eyes still on me.

Aware that he was watching my reaction... waiting for it. Reminding me in the smallest, subtlest way, of who he was, and what he could do to me if I let him.

I wanted to. That look, the way he was constantly in command?

I craved it.

I shouldn’t crave it. I couldn’t crave it. He was one of my students.

Of course, I tried to resist. But today’s incident in the office had me guessing he might have caught on to my feelings.

For the first time in eight years, he made me want to play again. To surrender completely. To be dominated, totally.

And it terrified me.

Like standing too close to an open flame, I knew the heat could consume me. I’d been burned before in the past, but it wasn’t just one person who’d left me raw. It was a pattern. I’d let people in, hoping for connection, only to find myself hollowed out and discarded once the initial dopamine of a new romance faded. It was even worse when play turned into a chore, or worse, a weapon used to bend or break me.

Somewhere along the line, I swore I’d never let anyone have that kind of control over me again. I built walls—thick, impenetrable, safe.

But Kevin . . .

He made me want to break that promise. He made me yearn for that part of myself I’d locked away. He made me want to embrace that side of me again.

I hadn’t expected to crave him like my next breath. And in a cruel twist of fate, he just happened to be someone I couldn’t cross the line with. Shouldn’t ever cross the line with.

Hell, there were laws against this type of behavior.

So why was I risking it?

I nearly let it slip earlier today in the office. I almost gave in to these desires that shouldn’t exist between a professor and a student. I shouldn’t have such perverse intentions towards my student. And yet, I was slipping again.

We were about fifteen minutes away from my home. I should do the right thing and have the driver take us straight to campus, or anywhere else but my place. I should have resisted him harder. Hell, I was the adult here. I should have told him off, set the line.

But . . .

My gaze shifted to his mouth, and I hated myself for noticing how handsome he looked and how much I wanted that mouth on me.

He moved closer, his eyes locked onto mine, a slow, knowing smile spreading across his lips. He put his arm over my shoulders again and gave me a firm squeeze.

The heat that flared through me had me biting my tongue to keep from gasping at the intimate contact.

“Wh-what are you doing, Mr. Harding?”

“Oh, he speaks. I was beginning to worry I’d shocked you so much that you’d forgotten how to.”

That confidence. It made my stomach flood with butterflies. I tried to tamp them down, but they only fluttered higher, lodging in my chest and squeezing my breath tight. “What do you want?”

Kevin leaned in, and I stole a glance at the driver, worried he might be silently cursing us for acting like this in his car.

“Professor...” Kevin’s voice dropped mercifully low, meant for my ears alone. I appreciated his discretion for a split second, until I realized the feel of his breath on my ear was making me quake with need. “You were in that bar for a reason, just like me,” he purred. “We both wanted to find someone to hook up with, and now here we are, coincidentally going home together.”

I leaned back. “You forced your way into my cab.”

His chortle shouldn’t have sent a shiver down my spine, and I definitely shouldn’t have found the amused sparkle in his eyes so damn seductive.

“Right, but you don’t seem to mind, do you, Matt?”

Hearing my name on his lips again sent a fresh wave of heat through me, and Christ, it turned me on. It also reminded me of the lines we were crossing. I gripped the door panel.

What was it about this young man?

Those full lips of his curved into a smirk as he continued. “Since we’re already together, and since we both wanted the same thing out of tonight...”

Oh no. Don’t you go there. Don’t you—

“We might as well hook up,” he said with a shrug, so nonchalant it was as if he were suggesting grabbing coffee down the street.

Heat pulled south and I shifted in my seat. This was wrong on so many levels.

“I’m not sleeping with you,” I managed to bite out around the arousal clawing at my throat.

He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Are you sure about that?” His fingers dug into my shoulder, through the layer of clothes, biting into my skin. The pressure wasn’t enough to bruise, but enough to be felt.

Enough to make my breath catch.

Pain, sharp and sweet, shot through my arm, making my eyelids flutter for a brief second. A slow, shaky breath slipped past my lips.

He flexed his fingers, tightening his grip, and my body betrayed me. I pressed into the touch, chasing the sensation rather than escaping it.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, trying to hide the way my heartbeat quickened.

He cocked his head to the side, running a slow gaze over me. “You like the pain, huh?”

I refused to answer that.

Kevin leaned in again, pressing his lips against the outer edge of my ear. “Come on. We were both there to find someone to fuck. Unless you really don’t know what that place is notorious for.”

Of course I knew. The event in my office had me so riled up that I had to let it out. To be honest, I didn’t know what I was looking for when I went there. I just wanted to get rid of this frustration. But no way in hell would I admit that to him.

“What gives you the audacity to talk to me like that?”

He let his eyes drift downward, too slowly, too deliberately, and stopped at my groin area. Inside my throat suddenly went dry, and I swallowed, silently hoping Kevin wouldn’t notice the tightness in that region. I already knew I was sporting a semi but I just prayed it wasn’t that obvious. His gaze lingered there and only made things worse. The more he looked, the harder I became.

Damn it.

I brought my hands to cover my crotch, and Kevin laughed. So confident, so damning.

Of course he noticed it.

I had no idea what sparked his boldness, but he placed his hand on my thigh and met my eyes. I recognized what it was. A challenge, a statement . He was daring me to resist if I could. He curled his fingers, pressing them into my thigh. I bit hard on my bottom lip, refusing to let that betraying moan leave my mouth.

“I think you like it.” He leaned too close, his nose almost touching mine. “My audacity. You like it.”

He pinned me with those gray eyes, and the denial stuck in my throat.

I turned to look out the window, pretending the hand caressing my thigh wasn’t affecting me, or that the tightness in my chest meant nothing. That I could still resist.

But . . .

I didn’t move.

Didn’t stop him. Didn’t push him away.

I sat there, letting the heat coil low in my stomach.

“Matt . . .”

I cleared my throat. “How old are you?” I winced at how my voice came out—too tight, too strained. Too desperate.

“Twenty-one.”

Jesus Christ. I swung back to face him. “You’re barely out of your teens!”

The driver’s eyebrows shot up in the rearview mirror, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t hide my shock.

Kevin was even younger than I’d thought. With the undergrad population being a mix of fresh high-school graduates and older students, plus the way he carried himself, I’d pegged him closer to twenty-four, maybe twenty-six. Not twenty-one.

“I wouldn’t call twenty-one barely, Professor,” he said, the corners of his mouth curling up. “And what’s a little age difference gotta do with anything?”

“I wouldn’t call a fifteen-year age gap little.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind at all.”

I shook my head, forcing down the lump that had lodged in my throat. “No... no... I can’t—”

“Hey...” His fingers grazed my cheek as he angled my face toward his. “It’s okay.” His lips hovered above mine. “It’s okay...” The words seeped into me like an aphrodisiac, stealing my breath and any shred of resolve I had left.

“Matt...” His breath ghosted over my lips, then his mouth brushed mine. Soft, just a whisper of contact.

I whimpered against him, stunned, my cock at full attention. His grip tightened, locking me in place as he captured my lips. He pried at the weak barrier of resistance I was putting forth, commanding me to open for him, and I... I did .

A soft snarl escaped him as his tongue slipped into my mouth. He tasted so good, like spearmint and debauchery, a forbidden fruit too delicious to resist. I tried to push back, but that only made me writhe against him, made me feel things I shouldn’t be feeling. He was solid underneath the jacket and shirt he wore. Not sure when it happened but my hand had crept up between the small space separating us, to his chest... touching him.

Oh . . . fuck . . . no . . .

No . . .

I moaned into his mouth, helpless against the raging storm brewing inside me. He stroked against my tongue just hard enough to make me break into shivers. I was already on the edge of surrender, ready for him to have it.

Just when I was about to let him devour my mouth the way he wanted, he pulled back, forcing me to chase after his lips.

“Now tell me you don’t mind the age gap . . . Professor. ”

He was breathing just as hard as me, eyes dark with desire and mischief.

I swallowed against the tightness in my throat as my eyes bore into his.

He tapped a finger against my lips that were still tingling, still aching for more of that kiss. My tongue flicked out to wet them, inadvertently licking the pad of his finger.

His breath hitched. Then he pushed his finger past my lips, sliding it over my tongue, tracing it along the bottom row of teeth.

“You want more? Hm?” He pressed down on my tongue. “If you want more then take me to your bed,” he said, sounding every bit like the devil seducing me to taste forbidden fruit. “And... let me redo the assignment.”

I swatted his finger away with a scoff, reason creeping back in, but not fast enough. I was still reeling from that damn kiss.

“So there’s a catch?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “No, not really. I want you either way. But...” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Throw it in and I’ll make you come more than once.”

Heat crawled up my neck. Damn tempting. And the worst part? I was actually considering it.

“You don’t have to worry. This will stay only between us.”

I stared at his lips longer than I should have. What did this mean for me? Was this a one-time thing, or would there be more favors? Would I even want to stop after tonight?

Not sure what he read from my expression because the next instant his mouth was on me.

This time, the sounds that left my lips weren’t ones I could control.

His fingers trailed from my face to my neck, and each time his tongue stroked mine, he tapped against the pulsing spot in my neck. He pulled away from my lips only to bring us back together. I was out of breath, but he seemed to be the only oxygen I needed to fill my lungs. I felt drunk on him as he deepened our kiss, sucking on my tongue before pulling away.

I took ragged inhales as he stared at me as though he couldn’t look away from me. Another smile popped onto his lips, while I remained in a daze, mind completely fucked.

“What do you say, Matt?”

A charged silence passed between us.

“I don’t think we should do this . . .”

Even as I said that I knew it was just my brain trying to salvage the situation. My body, on the other hand, was in full agreement.

“This will be our little secret. Hm?”

My throat worked in a swallow as I looked at him again, unable to understand why I was so scared. He was just what I’d been searching for. He had the charisma and passion I’d been craving for so long, and right now the only thing I wanted to do was let myself get lost in him.

“Fine.”