The Darkest Hour

Chapter 5

Royce slipped into the hall and leaned against the banister by the stairs as he struggled to get control. Tonight was going to be a huge test of his strength. Letting his sweet, innocent and incredibly smart teaching assistant sleep under his roof was going to damn near kill him, because he wanted her.

There were reasons he preferred visiting the Gilded Cuff. The safety and security of a place where everyone understood the rules, and everyone was a temporary player. MacKenzie Martin was not that type of girl. She was the kind a man fell in love with and married, and he wasn't the marrying kind.

Having her under his roof was like waving an expensive glass of scotch in front of an alcoholic. Just the scent of her, the feel of her hair beneath his fingers, and seeing those wide brown eyes begging for his help She was a temptation he would do almost anything to possess.

He hadn't hired her based on her looks, even though she was sexy as hell. He'd chosen to hire her after a stellar phone interview followed by an in-person follow-up. But the moment she'd walked into his office two years ago as a twenty-six-year-old graduate student wearing nothing but jeans, a Hendrix concert T-shirt, and black Converse shoes, he had taken one look at her and known she was going to be trouble. She had that girl-next-door sweetness and vulnerability but also a touch of sass that drew him in and made him a little crazy with lust. Yet there was so much more to her than just the physical temptation.

She was funny and so smart he sometimes wondered how he'd gotten lucky that she'd wanted to work for him. When she looked at fossils, it was like she could see the past, see the ancient creatures roaming a very different landscape than the one where the bones had been found. Kenzie had a gift for reading the dirt, reading the fossils and the rocks in a way he'd never seen before. And when she talked to him about their work, her eyes lit up and her face was so full of animation, and he was fascinated. He wanted to watch her and listen to her for hours. And that was when he'd realized he wanted more than just her body. He wanted herall of her.

He hadn't known he'd want a woman like that, but he did. f**k, he really did. So he'd hired her on the spot. That meant he had to ignore every instinct in him to cross the professional lines that kept him on his best behavior.

It was the curse of every good dominant involved in the b**m lifestyle; they were drawn to protect those who needed it. Kenzie was strong as hellmost submissives werebut when it came to responding to commands, they were delightfully obedient in the bedroom. He sensed Kenzie was a natural sub. Smart, feisty, and naturally equal to him, she likely had no idea that she needed a bit of kink in her bed, kink he wanted to provide over and over again until she was exhausted or overwhelmed with ecstasy.

Her reactions tonight at the club had suggested that she was a submissive in nature. The woman stretched out on the bar being handled by Jaxon, the club owner, seemed to have aroused Kenzie. Her cheeks had flushed, and she'd been unable to look away. More than just idle curiosity there. It would be such a treat to show Kenzie how fun his world could be. He was tempted to lean down and whisper in her ear, "Come over to the dark side. We have cookies and hot sex."

But dating students was off-limits, and for good reason. A b**m relationship involved a power exchange, and someone who wasn't familiar with the lifestyle would mistake his domination as an abuse of his power as a professor and not see his being a Dom for what it was.

If he wanted to date Kenzie, she'd have to leave her position as his TA and then sign a ton of relationship forms with the paleontology department and the school. If he didn't, his reputation would be ruined. It would be a f*****g nightmare. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about that right now. He and Kenzie had bigger problems, like the men who'd hurt her tonight trying to get to him.

Guilt dug into him. He should have been there working with her on the grades tonight, not enjoying himself at the Cuff. He had no way of knowing those bastards would show up, but still, he should have been there.

I just have to figure out what these men want, then I can keep Kenzie safe. He lifted his phone up and called someone he knew who could help. It rang only twice before someone answered.

"Brummer here," a deep voice said.

"Hans, buddyI need some help." Royce grinned as he heard a dramatic sigh on the other end of the line.

Hans Brummer was a professional bodyguard. He had been employed by the family of Royce's closest friends, Emery and Fenn Lockwood, since they were eight years old. Hans had been Emery's protective shadow ever since Emery had recovered from being kidnapped as a child, along with his twin brother.

The danger to Emery was over, and his long-lost brother was home again. Now Hans was bored. For the last couple of months, Royce had taken to hiring Hans to teach them things like lockpicking, safecracking, and tactical firearms. He'd always been a fine shot at a target range, but he'd never had to shoot like his life depended upon it. Now he was glad he had improved his marksmanship.

"What did you have in mind?" Hans asked.

"Can you come over to my place tonight? My TA was attacked while working late at my office. She said they were looking for me. They roughed her up pretty bad, but she got away. I need someone I can trust to help me protect her and get to the bottom of this."

Hans chuckled. "Sounds like you need someone to watch your ass as well, Devereaux."

"Probably. You up for it?"

Hans sighed. "This is serious s**t, isn't it?"

"Could be. They shoved a gun in Kenzie's face. Hit her too. She jumped from a second-story window to escape the bastards. I want to find them and make them pay." He couldn't keep the growl out of his voice as his anger built up like a storm.

"No cops?"

"Kenzie said they might be compromised. Best to keep them at arm's length."

"Understood," Hans said. "I'll be over in ten minutes. I'll bring my gear and some other fun toys. Make sure you turn on your security system. If they know where your offices are, they know where you live."

Royce wanted to hit himself. He'd been so focused on Kenzie that he'd forgotten the first rule Hans had taught him. Make your home a safe place. He usually didn't worry about security. He'd never had a reason to, until tonight.

He pocketed the phone and went over to the small gray panel by the front door, activating the window and door sensors. Then he returned to the kitchen. Kenzie was perched on a chair, her mug of cocoa still in her hands. God, she was as cute as f**k. And every time he saw the bruise on her cheek and her split lip, he wanted to beat the s**t out of the men who'd done it.

"Come on, Little Mac, let's find you a spare bedroom."

She rolled her eyes at being called Little Mac. He couldn't resist, though. It's what he usually called her at work, a way of keeping a level of deeper intimacy from forming, yet it also gave him a chance to connect with her because he did care, all too much.

Kenzie followed him out of the kitchen, and he led her upstairs. The Devereaux mansion seemed to impress her, judging from the way she took in the paintings and Edwardian-era furniture. His mother had loved decorating this house. It'd become a shrine to her fine taste after she died. In a way, the ghost of his happier days lingered here so long as the house remained just as it had been before his parents died. When the sunlight hit the library in the middle of the afternoon, he could almost see his mother curled up in her favorite leather armchair, a Mary Stewart book in her hands. She'd fostered his love of learning, and reading in particular.

"How many rooms does this place have?" Kenzie asked when they reached the top of the stairs.

"Ten bedrooms. Fairly small compared to the other houses on the Gold Coast. The Old Westbury Gardens, for one, is huge." He escorted her to a spare bedroom that was kept ready for guests. More often than not, Emery or Royce's other best friend, Wes Thorne, would crash there after a late night. But they hadn't been by that much lately, too busy getting married and running off on extended honeymoons. Royce felt decidedly alone in a way he hadn't since his parents died more than fourteen years ago.

"Here we are." Royce gripped the brass knob of the spare bedroom and opened the door. "My bedroom's at the end of the hall if you need anything."

Kenzie slipped past him into the room and turned, her eyes wide and soft.

"Do you have some pajamas or" She rubbed her arms, and Royce nodded as he noticed her sweater was still damp.

"Sure, wait here." He left her and went down to his room. He didn't have any clothes for women there, but he had something that would do for tonight. He pulled out a pair of button-up striped blue-and-white pajamas with pants and walked back to the guest room. He found Kenzie standing by the tall window, arms hugging her chest.

The rain was still coming down outside, and the warmth of Kenzie's body fogged up the glass. It created an eerie ghost of her form, and the sight made him shiver. The fact that he could have lost her tonight was starting to sink in. His Kenzie. His Little Mac. Royce didn't let these thoughts continue. It wouldn't be smart to admit she meant more to him than just being his student. Over the last year he'd grown to think of her as a friend first and foremost.

He came up behind her. "Try these."

She spun and almost bumped into him. "Oh! Sorry."

Too close She was too close to him with that vulnerable look in her eyes. Every instinct inside him demanded that he rush in and slay her dragons for her.

"I need to see to a few things. Change and take a hot shower if you need to. Try to get some rest. The security is on, and I have someone I trust coming over to help." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, even though he wanted to do so much more than that. As long as she was this close he'd be tempted, over and over again.

God, I'm so screwed.