Ashlynn glanced up at the clock on the wall, tapping her pen nervously against her thigh. When her last University course of the day had begun two hours ago, her plan had been fully formed. As the minutes ticked by, however, doubt had started to creep in.
Stop it. Today is the day you're going to outrun him. Today is the day you're going to get away.
Ashlynn ran her fingers through her long, silky blond hair and her skin prickled with goosebumps. It wasn't the act of playing with her hair that set her one edge. No, it was the knowledge that every time she did so, she could practically feel HIS dangerous, hungry blue eyes piercing her skin and following every single movement.
Dylan was somewhere in the rows behind her, but Ashlynn had refused to look his way when she entered the classroom. It was the cat and mouse game they played. Ashlynn knew her brother most likely already knew she was going to run for it. The minute class was dismissed, and she did not want to give any part of her plan away with her expression.
This was set to be the fourth time they had played this game now. Ashlynn shivered when she thought of how easily her brother had caught her when she tried to run away last time, and the consequences that had followed her attempt. Ashlynn winced thinking about the sound of leather slipping through the loops of her older brothers black suit pants.
She wished she could hate that sound, like a reasonable person. However, today's events would prove, no matter who won, that Ashlynn could never live without it.
"Miss Larsen, would you care to add your thoughts?" Dylan's voice pulled Ashlynn from her thoughts and dragged her back to reality.
Fuck, what was the question?
"Uh, I don't think I heard the question properly, Sir," Ashlynn responded when the black suit pants in question appeared in the corner of her eye. Ashlynn kept her eyes on her notebook, pretending to study something closely though there was nothing written on it.
Yes, her older brother was also one of her college professors. Dylan just happened to have a Doctorate in the field that Ashlynn was studying. Ashlynn resisted the urge to roll her eyes when Dylan made a "tsk" sound and walked towards the front of the classroom. Ashlynn watched Dylan round his desk and felt her stomach flip when she saw him adjusting the sleeves of his suit jacket.
Stripping off the tidy jacket and draping it over the back of her desk chair, Dylan rolled began the slow and torturous process of turning the sleeves of his dress shirt up to his elbows. Fuck, she knew she was in trouble. "I should have run faster..."
Ashlynn shook the thought away, but not in time to avoid meeting her big brothers' searing gaze. "The oldest known historical account of the Scythian's came from whom, Miss. Larsen?" To everyone in the classroom, Dylan must have sounded just like any other slightly annoyed teacher, but Ashlynn knew better. This particular question was on the next exam that Dylan had been making her study unendingly for.
"Herodotus, Sir." Ashlynn knew the answer by heart now, as anyone would if their tyrannical older brother refused to let them venture out of the house for parties or anything remotely related to campus culture.
Ashlynn had lived with Dylan since she was 18 and just starting college. Dylan lived so close to the campus that their parents and Dylan and seemingly everyone on the planet except Ashlynn had decided it would be an excellent idea for Ashlynn to stay with Dylan rather than on campus in a dorm. "It will help you focus," their mother had chirped. Her mother and father had no idea Dylan didn't seem to want Ashlynn living with him, although he had said otherwise in the beginning.
He was always tense, and stern. His words were clipped, and he controlled everything. "Put a sweater on, Ash. For God's sake!" Dylan would growl when she tried to leave the house in a tank top once, and all of her tight, little shorts that she preferred to wear had one by one begun to disappear. Now, a year later, the tension had only gotten thicker between them.
His fault.
Ashlynn thought to herself. If he had just let her go to the campus party last time, she wouldn't have run off and made him chase her all over the city. If he had just let her go to the beach with that guy who asked her out, then she wouldn't have disappeared that day either...and if he hadn't shown up when she was attempting to check out the local BDSM club, she wouldn't have run when she saw him...Ashlynn felt the goosebumps return that his stare always caused.
If she hadn't done all those things, he would never have made her bend over the side of her bed and pull her pants down. If she hadn't done that, Ashlynn would never have felt something hard, and throbbing against her left just before Dylan lifted his arm into the air and brought his belt down to sear across her ass.
Ashlynn rubbed her sweaty palms against her black leggings and tried to calm her racing heartbeat. The last time Dylan had beaten her was over a month ago, and Ashlynn felt her cheeks burn when she thought of the real reason...the only reason she would be running today. "No normal person wants their brother to do these things to them." Ashlynn didn't just want his belt; she wanted so much more than that. Dylan had made it clear what would happen last time she'd felt the sting of his belt on her ass and Ashlynn squeezed her thighs together when his words drift through her head.
"You think this is bad Ashlynn? You cry and cry every time I beat you and yet, you continue to be a naughty fucking girl," Ashlynn froze when Dylan pressed his body into her backside. The only thing separating his hard, throbbing length from her being Dylan's clothing.
"I am beginning to get the idea that you like it when your big brother beats you, Ashlynn," Dylan's voice was husky, and he ground his crotch into her ass once more before pulling away and taking a fistful of her long blond hair to pull her head back.
"One more chance, little sister. One more. Next time you make me chase you, I'm going to fucking letting loose on you. You want to play with bad boys and visit BDSM clubs? I'll show you what those things are for real if you run off again." Dylan spoke the threat into her ear, effectively putting the proverbial ball in Ashlynn's court before shoving her head away from him.
After that day, however, Dylan had returned to the grumpy attitude he had only adopted when she had moved in with him. Ashlynn lifted her eyes once more and met her brother's. He watched her like a lion would a lamb. Her hunter. He had the same golden blond hair as her, and the same blue eyes and pale skin, and yet there was something far more sinister about Dylan that Ashlynn had only recently come to put her finger on.
He was the boss between the two. The one in charge...and she was the one who wanted nothing more than to be made to fall to her knees at Dylan's feet.
Ashlynn's pulse raced, and Dylan's glacial blue eyes seemed to pierce through her and read every thought she was having. He leaned forward, setting his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers, never taking his eyes off of Ashlynn as he said, "Class dismissed."
Ashlynn ran before the word "dismissed" had left Dylan's lips; the action concreting the ass whipping she'd get the minute he caught her, but also telling her brother loud and clear that she had made her decision about what he had implied weeks ago.
