Seducing the Professor (3 page)

I don’t give a fig if PAULIE understands!  If he thought he got an easy bed partner on hand, he had another thing coming!

She quickly unpacked her bags and stood gazing out to the open field through the windows.  Her mind wandered to what brought her to this place.  She has always loved animals, but horses were her passion.  Growing up she spent all her free time at her Grandfathers small horse breeding farm.  She knew she would work with horses one day and no matter how hard her mother tried to drive her in another direction, she qualified in animal science, specializing as an Equine Chiropractor and diseases. She was a fully registered Equine veterinarian, but enjoyed the challenges of research and finding solutions.

She was brought up in a very strict and conservative house.  She worked at the University of Washington heading up the
Animal research department where she met Andre Dalton, a professor in History.  They were engaged for two years.  They only became intimate six months after they got engaged, which was one of the frustrations Alexandra had with their relationship.  He was old fashioned and against anything new.  He stuck to one sexual position and refused to kiss her below her chest, no matter how she craved more. He never even took her nipples in his mouth.  The most he did was stroke them. 

When she tried to explore h
im below his waist he nearly had a heart attack.  That was when she knew he was not for her.  She wanted more, she craved the shattering explosion of a climax, stars exploding behind her eyes, as a matter of fact … having the man give her a climax, not have to do it herself after the fact!

Her mother was horrified.  She gave herself to Andre, now she had to marry him.  A woman
did not share herself and then decide she did not want him anymore.  Oh the shame of it!  Their family name was in tatters!

Alexandra smiled wryly.  Deciding to leave Washington was the best thing she could have done.  The past two years on
Orient Point Island away from her parents did her the world of good.  She grew into her own person, found her strength and realized she had a wild side that begged to be released. A sensuality she has denied herself for far too long.

However it has been a difficult two years of hard work to achieve the level of recognition she craved and achieved.  She dated, but has not met the man that turned her blood to boil … until the night before when her hands were grasped and tied.  When his hands grasped her hips to lift her inside his SUV
, she nearly exploded.  Faced with his naked rampaging body that morning sealed her fate.  Her inner muscles clamped just thinking of his jutting shaft and she groaned when heat slithered down her core to wet her panties.

She dropped her head in her hands.  She better get control over her libido or she is bound to make a fool of herself.  Maybe she should just go into town and find herself a sexy guy and have sex with him
, to curb the trembling need shimmering inside her.

He rode the stallion with perfect balance.  The movement of man and horse harmonious and beautiful to watch.  They were an extension of the other.  Equal amount of bulging and straining muscle and tone with every rise and fall of the massive horse’s legs.

He was clearly not a racing horse, he was too big and suited the big man riding him.  He rode directly towards her and pulled the reins to halt the stallion in front of her.

She looked up into the dark soulful eyes of the pitch black horse right in front of her and she smiled.  Did he really think to intimidate her with a horse … of all things … her specialty?

She cooed softly and the stallion’s ears pricked, he lifted his head and snorted.  She spoke to him soothingly and reached out to touch his neck.  The muscles trilled beneath her fingers.

“Hmm … but aren’t you a beauty?  So strong and proud.  You want a treat, big boy?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind one at all.”

Alexandra stiffened and snorted at the irritating man as he got of
f the horse.  She continued to stroke the stallion’s soft nose with her fingertips and giggled when he nuzzled her neck.

Paul turned to stone.  The raspy giggle shot directly to his groin and tightened his already aroused shaft.  How the devil could a man be jealous of his own damn horse, nuzzling a woman’s neck!

“So, Blondie, what brought you back?”

She ignored him for a further thirty seconds and caressed his
stallion’s forehead.  He stood there like a puppy being caressed.  It looked as if he was about to flop on his back and have her scratch his belly!

“You are such a softy!  David!  Come and brush Lancelot down.”

David came running and pulled a snorting Lancelot to the stable, his tail swishing behind him.

Alexandra looked at Paul.  “Lancelot?”

“Something wrong with his name?”

“Figures … giving your horse a medieval name!  Suits your attitude perfectly!”

He chuckled and took another step closer to her, crowding her against the exercise pen.  She glowered at him through her lashes.

“I am waiting, Blondie?  What are you doing back here?”

“You know well enough why I am here!  Wade … my boss already spoke to you and let me assure you Paul Shuttle, I do not appreciate being manipulated!”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“No?  I suppose it was not your idea then that I move into your house whilst doing the research?”

“Why Blondie, I was only thinking of
your own safety and wellbeing!  I could not very well allow you as female to travel late at night on these back roads.”

He took another step and pressed into her.  She gasped when his hands folded around her waist and lifted her against his chest.  His eyes were glued on her lips and she could barely
breathe.

“Let me go!”

“You still have my ache to cure, Blondie.  A kiss would do for now.”

“No! Get away from me!”

“You chased Gloria off this morning, so pucker up, professor!”

His lips closed around her indignant gasp and his tongue took immediate possession of her mouth.  He explored every crevice inside her hot
mouth before he took possession of her tongue and drew it deep into his, feeding as if starved. He demanded her full submission and she had no other recourse but to comply. By the time he ended the kiss, she was steaming and every cell in her body quivered.

Good Lord, the man can kiss!
  I am on the verge of an orgasm!

She removed her arms from around his neck, mortified when she realized she
had wrapped them around him during the kiss.  He chuckled at her venomous glare and rapped her on her nose.

“That’ll do for now, Blondie.  But don’t for one moment believe it is enough!”

He forced himself to turn away from her and appear unaffected, whilst he was on fire inside.  Every cell in his body sizzled with need and his shaft throbbed painfully against his jeans.  There was no way he was going to be able to stay away from her bed tonight! 

“Wait
, Mr. Shuttle … dammit!  We need to talk about my research!”

He waved at her and disappeared into the stables, leaving her to steam in frustration and then follow
ed him with long adamant strides.

He sank down into the stable
masters’ chair behind his desk in his office, desperate for some relief from his straining shaft.  She stormed in soon after and glowered at him with her hands on her hips.

“Now listen here, Shuttle.  I have a limited amount of time to resolve this damn issue and I need to get started.  Ignoring me when I want to talk to you does not help me!”

“Why is that?”

“Why is that what?”

“That you have a limited amount of time?”

“I have another project in Ru
ssia that I am heading up.”

“Hm.  So you are only here as an interim fill-up of your time?”

“No, that is n …”

“How committed are you really to resolve this issue for
me here, Professor Simpson?”

Suddenly his demeanor changed and he became the ruthless businessman. 
One that demanded, that took and gave no quarter.  She scowled and said angrily.

“Don’t insult me. I take every assignment serious and am fully committed to get results.  But let us make one thing very clear, I am not going to run after you all over the place to get the information I need.”

“Well, well, well … the Professor has claws! Very well, Alexandra.  What do you need?”

“I read the reports drawn up by the Institute
for animal control here.  They were very detailed and very thorough.  Why do you need further investigations done?”

He stared at her for long moments then blinked and drew his hand through his hair.

“I took over from my father eight years ago and since then only bred top winning racing thoroughbreds.  Never once with any defects, never once still born and never once with parental casualties.”

“The mares died at birth?”

“Not at birth, but within a month or two.”

“How many have you lost?”

“Three mares over the past six months.  Four still born foals and six with defects.”  

“This only started over the past six months?”

He nodded, his eyes brooding.  He shrugged and looked at her.

“I don’t trust those results. It came to my attention that the team that headed up the research included two of my opposition siblings.  They had free access to my stables for months.  The supposed results and resultant treatment were guaranteed to resolve the issues, yet since they left there were four more deaths. 
It was indicated as genetic defects, but why all of a sudden and all the time?  I need to find out what they did and how they did it.  They are slowly killing my whole stable from right under me and I have no idea how to save them!”

She could see he was broken up about the
loss, but more so about his inability to save the animals he loved and treasured.  She felt the anger building inside her.  She hated humans who used helpless creatures for their own gain.  Killing them infuriated her.

She nodded and sat down.  She took her iPad from her bag and started making notes.

“I need full details on your whole stable.  Breeds, age, gender, feeding patterns, everything and anything you have on them.  I’ll start in the morning drawing blood and DNA samples of all of them and start analyzing them.”

A tall lanky black man walked in and greeted Paul with a smile.

“Samuel, this is Professor Alexandra Simpson from the Animal Disease Center on Plum Island.”

She took his hand and smiled at him.

“Samuel Broden is my stable master and the one to supply you with all the information you need.  Of course, I am around if you need me, but he is your go to guy.  I’ll leave you to it then.  We have dinner around seven, Blondie.  Don’t be late.”

He got up and ran his hand through her satiny soft hair as he walked past her.  A sensual
thrill shivered down her spine at the unexpected touch.

It took thirty minutes before she was able to forget the touch of his fingers at the nape of her neck when he pulled her hair through his hand.

Alexandra was relieved when she walked into the dining room just before seven to find Slade, the Police Captain and Paul’s cousin just arriving.  She has been dreading having dinner with him all day.  He totally turned her inside out and she was at a loss on how she was going to keep him at a distance.  For her own sanity, she had to!

“Well, hello again Professor.  You look slightly better than you did earlier today.”

“Please call me Alexa and I feel slightly better than I did earlier today.”

Ellie cam
e bustling in with the dishes and started loading the heated buffet.  Paul poured wine and Alexandra could relax for the first time since she arrived at the Ranch.

The two cousins ribbed each other non-stop and Alexandra learnt that Slade’s wife was visiting her mother in Wyoming
for three weeks.  She was expecting their first born and the baby was due in three months.

“It will be the first baby in the family and everyone is treating her like gold.  I think she left to get away from all the attention.”

“Do you have a big family?”

The two cousins looked at each other and chuckled.  “You could say so, yes.”

Slade was the one that supplied the numbers and Alexandra was amazed.  There were five brothers and two sisters of which each of them had at least three children.  Slade was the first to have a baby, with their cousin Suzanne following close on their heels, expecting twins a month later, their cousin Andrew’s wife yet another month later and cousin Shelly around Christmas.

“The family is growing quite rapidly at this stage.  Most of the cousins are married now, except for Paul and Steven, my younger brother.  Even Paul’s younger sister got married a year ago.  Everyone has decided it is time to start their families, so
hence the sudden influx of expecting mothers in the family.”

“How much younger is your sister than you?”

He smiled indulgently.  “Six years.  I despaired that she was going to become a spinster at one stage.”

She pulled upright in her chair and glared at him.

“And just how old are you?”

“Thirty
four … aahh, I see!  You are also of the spinster age!”

“I am far from being a spinster!  Women nowadays don’t jump into marriage at the age of twenty!” 

“So … let me guess … what do you think, Slade … thirty?”  She nearly swallowed her tongue and they chuckled.

“No?  At a guess I would say you’re about the same age as Amy.  Twenty seven, Blondie?”

She nodded and he smiled wickedly.  “Definitely entering the spinster sphere then.  But don’t despair … I’ll save you from their dark depths.”

She gasped and speared a glance at Slade who suddenly looked at his cousin with interest.

“Thank you, but I am fine and do not need your assistance with my … spinsterhood!”

“Oh no, I insist.  I am not getting younger either, so … why the hell not … hey Slade … don’t you think she would be a good addition to the family?”

“Very funny … and on that note … good night.  It was a pleasure seeing you again, Slade.”  

Alexandra walked up the stairs her heart thumping at the thought of him saving her from spinsterhood.

She took a quick shower and washed her hair.  She wrapped a towel around her and dried her hair in front of the mirror.  She smoothed moisturizer on her face and all over her body.  She pulled the duvet back and got into the bed.  She opened her iPad and read through some of the notes she’d made of her discussion with Samuel during the afternoon.  She searched for the report from the local institute and re-read it.

Frowning down at her iPad she concluded that something did not make sense.  There seemed to be gaps in the report on the DNA analysis that worried her.  The sooner she managed to start analyzing samples, the better.  She did not want to
see another innocent animal suffer if she could help it.

She switched the iPad off and sat it down on the bedside table. She noticed in passing it was already past eleven and stretched her arms tiredly above her head.  She pulled the towel from around her and flung it to the bottom of the bed.  She bit her lip.  She always slept naked, but wondered if it was such a good idea to do so whilst staying here.  She’ll get some oversized tee-shirts in the
morning, for now, she could do with a soft bed after last night’s hard bunk.  She reached over and switched the bedside lamp off.  She sighed and curved her back until she found her comfort zone and closed her eyes.