“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”
~William Shakespeare
“We’re all born with a superpower that tells us when evil is near.”
~Romeo Bradley
I’ve always considered myself to be a man who relies on sound reason and logic, but I’ve never ignored my gut instincts when it came time to make decisions or analyze a situation. Reason and logic told me everything with the play would go on as planned and the POS group would become a distant memory. Why wouldn’t I think that when I looked into the eyes of each board member as they vowed not to let bully tactics from an extremist group pressure them into letting our kids down? They looked at the data Priscilla and Sandra had comprised and said they were convinced this was nothing more than attention-seeking from a group trying to make a name for themselves.
“Bad press is better than no press,” Cait said to the group.
“Press?” Earl asked. “You think there will be press?”
That’s when I realized that no matter what they said to me privately, things could turn on a dime if a mob of zealots showed up or even a news crew from one of the local news stations. Blissville’s proximity to Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus made it a distinct possibility that one, or all, of the media outlets had heard about the board meeting.
Cait’s reply was swift and succinct. “You better dress up just in case. We want to look good on camera when we fight the good fight for our kids.” Earl didn’t look too sure, and a few others lowered their eyes instead of meeting mine. I knew when I left the meeting nothing was guaranteed, but I forced the worry away so I could have a good night with Julius.
Julius.
During my drive home, I realized I could face whatever decision the board handed down the next night as long as I had Julius to celebrate or commiserate with afterward. Julius pulled up in front of my house just as I exited my car. I was running behind, and he was a few minutes early. The first thing I noticed was the battered, brown leather bag slung over his shoulder, and then I noticed what he was wearing. I stood and gaped at him as he headed toward me with a confident—make that arrogant—stride. He wore a navy blue suit, pressed white shirt, and a bow tie that matched his pants and jacket. His pants hugged his legs like they were tailored to fit only him. I couldn’t wait for him to lose the jacket because I knew his ass would look amazing. Jules had put on a pair of black glasses with rectangular frames that made his hazel eyes look brighter.
“Hello,” I said when he stood in front of me. Damn. He made my mouth water.
“Good evening.” His voice sounded formal with clipped words and stiff tones. My dick was getting stiff too. “I have prepared a lesson for you.”
“School me, baby,” I said eagerly, making it nearly impossible for Jules to keep a straight face. His lips quivered for a mere second, but he managed to get it under control. “What’s in the bag?”
“You don’t get to ask the questions here. I’m in charge.” Fuck. He was so hot.
“We better go inside before I embarrass myself in front of my neighbors.” I started to head toward the house, but Jules stepped in front of me, barring my path. He wrapped my tie around his fist then pulled me closer.
“Aren’t you forgetting something.”
“I will kiss you hello once we get inside.”
“She has four legs, dances around in circles, and burrows herself under her blanket instead of sleeping on it. Does that help?”
“I haven’t forgotten Dolly. I just thought we could—”
Jules silenced me with a firm shake of his head. “You need to show discipline, and only then will you be rewarded. Hand me the key so I can let myself inside your house while you retrieve your girl.”
I silently handed him the keys and walked across Lily’s lawn toward her front door. She didn’t answer my knock nor was my presence greeted with excited doggy barks. I trotted down the steps and looked around the side of her house. Like many properties in Blissville, Lily and her husband had a detached garage behind the house. I noticed her car wasn’t in the driveway, and I’d never seen her park inside the garage. I figured she must’ve run a quick errand and had taken the dogs with her, so I jogged back to my house and found Jules sitting stiffly in the club chair facing the door. He had his leg raised and folded so his right ankle was propped up on his left knee. I noticed the outline of his hard-on through his pants and knew he was as turned on as I was. Then I saw the ruler lying across his lap.
“Oh fuck.” I’d never experimented with power play and spankings before, but the hot look in Jules’s eyes told me I wanted to give it a try.
“Where’s Dolly?” God, his voice was rich and dominant. “I gave you an assignment, and it looks like you’ve failed to complete it.”
“But…”
“I don’t want to hear any excuses out of you. You need to learn a lesson.” Jules lowered his right leg and patted his muscled thigh with the ruler. “Get over here and lie across my lap.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. In my haste to cross the room, I hooked my leg on the coffee table and tripped. Instead of sexily presenting my ass to him for a good whacking, I fell into his lap and nearly tagged his nuts with my knee. Julius released all the air in his lungs with an oof. “Fuck me,” I growled, feeling my face turn from a warm, sexy flush to a burning-with-embarrassment red. “I’m so sorry.”
Julius blinked his eyes, and the stern countenance was gone. He held me tight against his chest as his head fell back against the chair, and he laughed harder than I had ever heard him laugh before. I joined in because I knew he wasn’t laughing at me. Julius didn’t have a mean bone in his body. It was the ridiculousness of the situation that had both of our eyes filling with tears.
“I’ve ruined the mood,” I said.
Julius took my hand and pressed it against his bulge. “Not a chance.” Whack. Julius slapped the ruler against the palm of his hand. “Across my lap, Dr. Bradley.”
I scrambled to do as he commanded and was rewarded when his big hand massaged one ass cheek then the other. “Fuck, I love this ass.”
“I love that you love my ass.”
“Silent, Dr. Bradley. I didn’t give you permission to speak.” Whack.
The sting of the ruler through my pants startled me. I jerked and cried, “Oh!” Warmth began to spread out across my ass cheek from the spot of impact. “Oh my.”
“Was that too hard?” Jules asked, sounding alarmed. He massaged my ass until the smarting lessened.
“No it just caught me off guard. It stung at first then my flesh started to heat up.” I involuntarily rubbed my dick against his thigh, seeking friction.
“I’ve never done this before, and I don’t want to go too far.”
“I’m a kink rookie too. You’d think an old guy like me would’ve at least tried a little spanking before now.”
Jules removed his hand and the ruler came back down on my other cheek with a resounding crack. “You’re not old. Knock it off.”
“Yes, sir.” God, I never knew a show of dominance could be such a turn on. I trusted Julius and knew he’d stop if it got to be too much for me.
I heard the clatter of the ruler hitting the hardwood floor then Jules said, “I think we need to get a few things straight.”
“I don’t want to be straight.”
“To your feet, Dr. Bradley.”
I got to my feet and stood in front of him. Jules looked at me with so much need and longing that I almost wanted to say we forget the chit chat and get to fucking.
“We’re going to try a different type of teaching method today,” Jules said. “Positive reinforcement.”
“Sounds promising.”
“Take off your jacket,” Jules instructed.
I removed my jacket and tossed it aside not caring where it landed.
Jules patted his thighs. “Straddle me. I want you looking in my eyes so you can see the truth.” I straddled his lap and watched as he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. He lifted my palm and placed it over his heart. “I want you to feel the truth too.”
It was hard to keep my hand from roaming all over his body, but I could see how important this was to him. Jules’s heart pounded beneath my palm. “I feel it,” I whispered.
“Good. My racing heart doesn’t care that you’re seventeen years older than me.” Jules lifted his hands and deftly loosened my tie and opened my shirt. Leaning forward, he placed his lips over my speeding heart. “Your heart doesn’t seem to mind that I’m younger.”
“No,” I agreed.
“So, it’s all up here then,” Jules said, gently tapping my temple. “Remember when I said I would trust you to know what you wanted?” I nodded. “You need to trust me too. You’re the man I want. You’re the guy I couldn’t get out of my head since the day we met nearly six months ago when the school board hired us. Did you think that jolt of awareness was one-sided?”
“Yes,” I confessed.
Jules leaned forward and licked a path from my collarbone to my ear before he sucked the lobe into his mouth. “You were so wrong. Lust hit me like a donkey kick to the nuts.”
“Ouch,” I said, easing my free hand between his legs to massage his balls through his dress pants.
“I almost convinced myself that I had imagined the electricity arcing between us once I returned to Philly to finish out the school year.” Jules chortled then reached for my belt. “It was merely simmering quietly beneath the surface until I saw you again.” Metal clanked as Jules released my belt. “Then I saw you out jogging early one morning. Hot. Sweaty. Shirtless.” He leaned forward and licked a nipple while unbuttoning and unzipping my trousers. “Christ, you’re the hottest man I know. Do you feel how much I want you?”
“Yes, but the part of my brain that’s still functioning says it’s only lust and this will pass when someone closer to your age comes along.”
Jules removed his hands from my body long enough to retrieve a bottle of lube he’d hidden in the cushions when he set up his scene. My ass puckered when he poured a generous amount on his middle finger.
Jules captured my mouth in a searing kiss while he slid his hand beneath my underwear. He pressed his slicked finger against my pucker and ripped his mouth from mine. Jules circled the rim of my ass but didn’t push inside. “Do I have your attention now?”
“Yes.”
Jules slid just the tip of his finger inside my ass, making me whimper for more. “It isn’t just your body that stimulates me, Rome.” He eased the digit inside me a little further, breaching the first ring of muscles. “Your intelligence drives me wild.” Jules pushed in to his first knuckle then rotated his wrist.
“Christ,” I said, fighting the urge to sink down and fuck myself on his finger.
“Are you listening?”
“Uh huh.”
“Your kind heart makes me want to be a better man.” Jules inched inside a little deeper then crooked his finger to press against my gland. I made no attempt to stifle my moans of need and pleasure. “There is nothing I want to change about you, Rome. Nothing. Do you believe I’m a man who knows what he wants?”
“Yes.” I did trust that.
Jules circled my gland with the tip of his finger then nudged harder against it as he kissed a path up my neck. “Good. Have faith in me.” Jules bit my neck. “Trust me.” He tagged my prostate again then massaged it. “Believe me.” Circle. Tag. Circle. Tag. God, he sent me reeling.
Could it really be that simple?
“I want you to remember this moment every time doubt creeps in. Will you try to do that for me?”
“Yes,” I whimpered.
Jules rewarded my answer with a passionate kiss. One slick finger became two and he continued to work me open while I let my hands roam freely over his beautiful body. When he thought I was ready, he stood up holding me against him like I weighed nothing. Instead of carrying me to my bedroom, Jules laid me across the coffee table, propped my calves over his shoulder, and continued my lesson on positive reinforcement until my toes curled and he wiped out every negative thought in my head.
Lesson learned.
The forecast for Friday said there would be clear skies and sunshine, but I awoke to a deluge of rain hitting my roof and windows thirty minutes before my alarm went off. Julius appeared to be sleeping soundly, so I brushed my teeth then headed downstairs to start the coffee. Since I was already up, I decided the day called for a nice breakfast.
I had just finished frying the sausage links when Julius and Dolly joined me in the kitchen. I welcomed his minty-fresh kiss and loved the way he looked wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and T-shirt.
“Will Dolly go out in this kind of weather?” Julius asked, peering out the window.
“Yeah,” I replied. “She takes two steps off the patio and does her business as fast as she can.”
“Come on, Miss Dolly. Let’s get our business done.”
“I keep a towel in the laundry room around the corner for days like these.”
I cracked eggs in a bowl, added milk, vanilla, and cinnamon and whisked it all together to make French toast batter. I had the first two pieces sizzling in the skillet when Jules and Dolly returned to the kitchen. I watched over my shoulder as Dolly did her dance while Jules got her treat.
“Who’s a good girl?” Jules asked. Dolly answered with a soft woof and immediately received her treat.
Jules walked up behind me, slid his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on my shoulder. “Smells delicious.”
“I felt like I needed to kick this day off on the right foot.”
“I was thinking morning sex, but this works too,” Jules said. He turned his head and kissed the sensitive spot behind my ear.
“Who said we can’t do both?”
“Even better.”
Breakfast was tasty, the sex was delicious, but my mood started diminishing once we parted ways to drive to school separately. I tried to shake off the gloom, but it hung over me like my own personal rain cloud. For my first act of the day, I burned myself when I sloshed hot coffee on my hand. It kicked off a series of misfortunate events that made me want to go back home and hide under the covers. The highlight had to be when I jammed up the Xerox machine when I tried to put together copies of my speech for the board members. The copier was the size of a VW Beetle, had two dozen places where paper could go in or come out, and featured more buttons and options than the Starship Enterprise. This bastard could print on both sides, correlate those pages into a binder for a presentation, or staple the documents together. I had no clue where to start first, so I just fed my presentation into it. Instead of sucking one page in, it took all of them and made a horrible grinding sound before it stopped working altogether. I was just grateful smoke wasn’t billowing from the damn thing. I wasn’t prone to tantrums, but I was ready to kick that—
“What are you doing?” Priscilla asked angrily. “Since when do you make your own copies?”
“You were at lunch,” I said, aiming my most charming smile at her.
“Save that for your boyfriend and get out of my way.” She elbowed her way past me and pushed a button to open the belly of the beast. As much as she hated technology, she sure knew all the ins and outs of the copier. “Here’s the problem,” she said, tugging on the papers I’d fed the beast until they were free. “You forgot to take the staple out before you fed the document.”
“Oh,” I said sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Priscilla’s annoyance faded when she turned to me holding my speech in her tiny hands. “You’re a mess today. Normally you only trip all over yourself when Julius is around, but today…” Her words trailed away. “Get ahold of yourself, Rome. The kids are counting on you.”
I nodded. “That’s why I was trying to make copies of my speech. I just needed to do something to keep busy and be prepared.”
“You are prepared.” I watched in horror as she ripped my prepared speech in half then in fourths.
“Why’d you do that?”
“You don’t need fancy words on a piece of paper, Rome. You need to speak from your heart.” She dumped the pieces of paper in the trash bin beside the copier.
“But—”
“No buts about it. Speak with conviction and share your story. Talk about how much this play would’ve meant to you as a kid.”
She was right. There wasn’t a single hateful thing Roy Halifax could say I hadn’t heard before, nor a situation he could present I hadn’t already overcome.
“Be yourself because no one can represent those kids and our district better than you can tonight.” She crooked her finger for me to lean down, and she kissed my cheek.
“Should I be jealous?”
I turned and found Jules standing behind us holding a cafeteria tray laden with food. His warm smile said he wasn’t the least bit concerned about the peck on the cheek Priscilla gave me. “Pizza day,” I said, sniffing the air appreciatively.
“I know you’re probably busy, but I had an extended break since the kids are going to a pep rally in the gym. I thought I’d treat you to lunch for once.”
“Your timing is perfect, Julius,” Priscilla said. “I think I’ll go over and watch the pep rally. Sandra is already over there, and none of the board members are in the office right now. You guys can close the door and have some quiet time.”
I felt my cheeks turn pink. “We’re not—”
“I didn’t say you were,” Priscilla said. “I used the words quiet and time. You’re the only one whose mind went straight to the gutter.” She closed the copier then walked to her desk where she pulled her purse out of the bottom drawer. “All you men love to jump to conclusions and make assumptions. Don’t know why I even bother,” she muttered as she left.
“That can’t all be about you,” Julius said. “Howie must’ve tried to let her down easy or something.”
“That’s my guess,” I agreed, watching her through the door as she walked toward the high school. At least the rain had finally let up. I faced Julius once more and said, “I’m so glad to see you.”
“Rough morning?” he asked, following me into the office.
Regardless of what Priscilla said, I left my door open and took a seat at the table in the corner of my office. “I really would love to close us in here together and maybe steal a kiss, but it’s not worth the risk. I don’t care who knows we’re dating, but I will not touch you intimately on school grounds.”
“We could always pretend later. You can call me down to your office.” Jules waggled his brows suggestively.
“Yeah, that roleplaying thing didn’t work out so well last night.”
“Last night was perfect,” Julius said in a low, husky voice. “As was the night before that and the night before that… You see where I’m going with this.”
“I do.”
“You’re going to be amazing at the meeting tonight. I heard what Miss Priscilla said and she’s right. I didn’t interrupt the cute little pep talk until she went to make moves on my guy.”
“I’m all yours, Jules.”
He smiled because he liked hearing it.