“I’m hot,” she said and fanned her face once again.
“Why don’t we get some fresh air?” I suggested. I unbuttoned my shirt sleeves and rolled them up to my elbows. It was suddenly very warm in the room.
“Yes,” she breathed. “I think those doors lead to a patio.”
We crossed the room and stepped out onto the balcony with a few soft lights to illuminate the space. I took a deep breath. I felt myself sobering just a little. Not a lot but a little.
“It’s nice out,” I said.
She spread her arms wide. “It feels good. It got pretty stuffy in there.”
“Yes, it did.”
We walked out a little further and came to a small bridge that overlooked a manmade creek that cut through the hotel property. There was a fountain with pretty lights that looked like they were raining down. It was just dark enough outside to give us a great view of the stars overhead. It was the perfect setting for a first kiss.
“It’s gorgeous out here,” she breathed.
She turned to look at me and I knew it was my moment. I looked into her eyes and then leaned forward to kiss her. I was a hair’s breadth from my lips touching hers when she pulled back.
“We can’t,” she whispered.
“We can’t?” I repeated.
“Someone might see us,” she said. “We’re not supposed to do this.”
“Not supposed to?” I said. I was fumbling for words. My brain was telling me one thing and my body was telling me something else. My body seemed to be in control.
“The rules. The university says no fraternization.”
Then I remembered. “You’re right,” I said and stepped back.
I couldn’t risk tenure because I got caught making out on the patio. I needed to keep my head in the game.
“I should probably get going,” she said. “Lord knows I’ve drunk plenty. I’m going to have a hell of a hangover.”
“I’m hoping you didn’t drive,” I said.
I wasn’t quite ready to go back inside. I needed a minute to cool down, literally and figuratively.
“I didn’t. I need to order a ride.”
“We can share a ride,” I suggested. “Save some cash.”
She burst into laughter. “There’s that finance professor.”
“It’s all about being smart,” I joked. “No need to spend more than necessary.”
“You’re frugal.”
“I’m savvy,” I countered.
We walked back into the ballroom and collected our things. “I need to see if I can find Brad and let him know I’m leaving. We rode together.”
“Okay,” she said with a smile.
Damn if I didn’t want to kiss her. I found Brad flirting with a woman that was probably twice his age. “Hey,” I said to get his attention.
“Hey, it’s Garth!” he joked.
“Very funny.”
“You blossomed right before my very eyes,” he said with a laugh.
“I’m out of here,” I told him. “Are you hanging out for a bit?”
I hoped he would say no. I wanted to spend a little more time with River. I knew nothing could happen between us. That was fine. Just a few more minutes. That was all.
“I am,” he said. “Deena and I were talking about going to grab something to eat. Do you want to tag along?”
“No. Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.”
He looked around and grinned. I looked behind me to see River casually waiting for me. “Have fun,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s not like that,” I said.
He slapped my shoulder. “Yep. Okay.”
9
River
He moved toward me with his eyes on mine. There was a sense of determination in his walk. To kiss him would have been amazing.
I wanted nothing more than to kiss him and feel his hard body against me, but I knew I would not have the willpower to stop with a single kiss. That was like eating just one chip. One did not just give a man like Lukas a quick peck and think life went right back to normal. A kiss from him would be one of those things that changed everything.
“Ready?” he asked.
“I am.”
“The ride should be here in about five minutes. Do you want to wait outside?”
I nodded and caught a few people watching us. I had no doubt they were jumping to conclusions about what they thought they were seeing. “Outside seems like a good choice.”
“I agree,” he said with a smile.
We walked out of the hotel ballroom. I noticed the looks and could only imagine what they were thinking. We weren’t touching and there was nothing scandalous as we walked out, but in my mind, the conclusions that were being drawn were damning. They were going to get back to the dean.
“I hope you managed to have a little fun tonight,” I said to him as we stood outside the hotel lobby.
“I did, thanks to you,” he replied. “I was not expecting to be out this late. I didn’t think I would drink this much and I certainly never expected to sing in front of my colleagues.”
“I agree on all accounts,” I said with a laugh. “Thanks for hanging with me tonight. It turned what could have been a very dull evening into something fun.”
“Definitely,” he said. “The next time I get one of those invitations, I won’t toss it in the trash right away.”
I laughed again. “Only if there is karaoke.”
“I’m going to start listening to the radio a lot more. I need to brush up on my music chops.”
“I can’t wait,” I said. I didn’t know if I could do this again with him. It would be too risky. He was like chocolate cake sitting out with a fork next to it when I was on a diet. He was too damn tempting.
“Oh, that’s us,” he said when a dark compact SUV pulled up.
He stepped forward and opened the back door for me like a real gentleman. “Thank you,” I said as I climbed in.
“Good evening,” the middle-aged man said from up front.
“Hi,” I said with a shy smile.
I shouldn’t feel guilty about sharing a ride with a hot guy. We were professionals. This was totally normal. People did this all the time. Nothing to see here, folks.
Lukas got in the back seat on the other side. I reached for my seatbelt and buckled it at the same time he did. Our knuckles brushed across one another. It was like being hit by lightning. Okay, maybe not lightning, but there was a spark that sizzled through my body. I wanted more. Our eyes met and I could see the question in his eyes.
Fuck it.
When his hand grabbed mine, I didn’t pull away. He leaned forward a few inches, and this time when he tried to kiss me, I didn’t pull away. I was all in. His lips were soft and full as they brushed over mine. It was as if he was testing the waters. Of course he was. I’d rejected him not fifteen minutes ago.
The very second he applied a hint of pressure to the kiss, it was like a switch flipped inside me. Nothing else mattered except him kissing me. The world around me faded away and it was all about me and him chasing something I couldn’t quite identify.
His hand was in my hair with his strong fingers holding my head steady while he deepened the kiss. He tasted like sin. My body temperature went from cool to overheated in a matter of seconds. I tried to scoot closer to him but the damn seatbelt kept me restrained. His solution was to pull my head closer to his. I was straining against the shoulder belt. If the seatbelt hadn’t been in the way, I would have crawled into his lap.
I didn’t know how long we’d been kissing, making out really, when I felt him pull back. I was a little dazed and a lot bummed that the kissing was over. I was really getting into it. Getting? Shit. I was all in.
“Thanks,” I heard Lukas say.
“Will there be just one stop?” the driver asked.
“Yes,” Lukas answered and pushed the button to release my seatbelt.
He tugged on my hand. It was basically an invitation. I pulled my hand away and opened my door t
o get out. “Thanks,” I hollered at the driver before rushing around the back of the car and directly into his arms.
I barely noticed where we were. He grabbed my hand and dragged me up the stairs to his front door. I blocked all thoughts and hesitations. He got the key in the lock and pushed open the door. There was a lamp sitting on a small entry table. It emitted a soft light that gave me a quick glimpse of his living room area. I didn’t get a chance to check out his home because he was dragging me up the stairs of his townhome.
We walked into a dark room. He dropped my hand, and a moment later, a bedside lamp was turned on. He looked at me. This was a moment. I could walk away right now. He was giving me the chance to shut this down before we went too far.
I took a moment to take stock of the situation. I stared at the man that was breathing just a little harder than normal. His eyes were dark and heavy-lidded. His arms hung at his sides. I looked at the tiny glimpse of his exposed chest. He looked roguish. I was not the type to go after the bad boys. I wouldn’t call him a bad boy, but the way he was looking at me made me feel dangerous.
I took the first step toward him. It was the okay for him to make his move. He lunged at me. His hands going to my neck as he held me in place. His mouth slammed against mine. I immediately parted my lips to let his tongue inside. The ferocity of his kiss damn near made me weak in the knees. His hands dropped away from my neck and moved to the hem of my blouse. He tugged it up and pulled his mouth away from mine just long enough to pull it over my head before his mouth was on me again.
His hands slid over my ribs before one reached behind me and undid the black bra I wore under the sheer shirt. The moment it was undone, he was jerking it off me. His hands cupped my breasts as his mouth continued to cover mine. I finally took advantage of the moment. I had his body in front of me. It was mine for the taking.
I reached for the shoulders first and then slid my hands down his biceps. I didn’t know if he was flexing or if he was just that strong. It was hot. So fucking hot. I moved to undo the buttons on his shirt. My fingers fumbled with the tiny things. With him squeezing my breasts and his tongue halfway down my throat, I couldn’t make my fingers function. I wanted him so damn bad.
Frustrated, I groaned and pulled my mouth from his. “Dammit, I can’t,” I complained.
He reached for his shirt, untucked it from his slacks and jerked it open with so much force I worried I would be taken out by a flying button. He shrugged out of it and dropped it to the floor. “Better?”
I nodded, and shocking myself, I attacked him like I’d been possessed by a vampire. My mouth opened wide and I found myself sucking on his chest before my mouth moved to his throat. I couldn’t get enough. My breasts pushed against his hard chest as my hands slid down his body. I grabbed a handful of his hard ass and squeezed.
He grunted once before wrapping his arms around me and lifting me up his body. I gasped, slightly surprised as he carried me the few steps to his bed. He dropped me onto the mattress. I wasn’t ready to let go of him. My arms wrapped around his neck as I pulled him in for another hot kiss. His hands moved the button of my jeans and quickly unzipped them. I lifted my hips for him to pull them off.
When he had to pull his mouth from mine to unzip my boots, I went up on my elbows and watched him. His hair was just a little messier than the sculpted messy look he had clearly worked hard for. My boots dropped to the floor with a thud and then he was pulling the panties and jeans down my calves. I couldn’t believe my luck as I stared at him staring down at my nude body on his bed.
His flat belly had the hint of a six-pack. He was tanned, like he spent a lot of time outdoors this summer. I imagined him sitting poolside in a pair of swim trunks and nothing else. He was so fucking hot. His hands moved to his belt and quickly undid it before going after the pants. When he pushed them down, along with his briefs, the breath literally caught in my throat.
He was an Adonis. There was so much to look at, but the massive cock between his legs drew my full attention. It made sense. He was a big man. Of course, he’d be big in every way. He leaned over to the nightstand and pulled a condom from a drawer. I watched with a gaping mouth as he rolled the thing on. I had no idea how this was going to work, but I was certainly very anxious to try.
He lowered himself over me with a small smile on his lips. “You good?”
I nodded once. “I’m good.”
“You sure? You look a little nervous. Are you going to tell me you’re a virgin?”
I laughed nervously. “No.”
He kissed me again. His hand slid between my legs. The tip of his finger moved over my slit before he applied more pressure and pushed the finger inside me. I groaned and opened my legs wider. He adjusted himself over me before guiding the tip of his cock to my opening. I prepared myself for the moment he would push inside me. When he started to move, I felt pressure and then stretching. The exquisite pleasure of his dick sliding inside mine was nearly my undoing.
He moved slow with a steady downward force until he was fully seated inside me. I was breathing hard despite my lack of activity. It was him being inside me, filing me completely that had me gasping. Before I knew it was going to happen, an orgasm hit me. I cried out, my hips bucking and my nails scraping across his back.
He groaned and moved once and then again. I rocked my body up and down his length. He pushed himself up on his hands and rose above me. His hair flopped forward on his forehead. His eyes were dark and his jaw clenched tight.
“Holy shit,” he moaned a second before he started to pound inside me.
Just when things were getting really good, he stopped. “Oh fuck,” he said and pulled out.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Condom broke,” he muttered. “Give me a second.”
He quickly handled the situation and was pushing back inside me in under a minute. He moved like a man on a mission. We both had the same end goal in mind. I felt the change in him. I felt the moment the need pushed him to the edge. When he finally released inside me, it triggered another orgasm for me.
He lay beside me, his arm stretched across my waist with his face buried against my neck. “Damn,” he gasped. “This sure as hell turned out to be one hell of a night.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I was not expecting things to turn out quite like this.”
He kissed my jaw. “Thanks for making sure tonight wasn’t a bust.”
“Right back at you,” I said with a smile.
I closed my eyes for a second. I was going to be thinking long and hard about my life choices in the morning, but for now, I was going to enjoy the moment.
10
Lukas
I coughed, ripping my tongue from the roof of my mouth. It felt like I’d been sucking on cotton balls. I tried to collect enough spit in my mouth to relieve the feeling but came up dry. As my brain slowly came to, the cotton I was certain had been in my mouth was now in my head. I felt like a giant Q-tip. My head was fuzzy. Like fur grew on my tongue fuzzy.
“Gross,” I murmured and tried to lick my lips. It was like rubbing sandpaper across them.
It took a minute for my brain to kick into operational gear. Then everything came flooding back. I remembered coming home with River. I remembered the kiss and every other glorious detail. In fact, even though I felt like shit, I was hoping to repeat the act. I rolled my head to the side to see if River was still in bed with me. She wasn’t. I hoped she was getting a drink of water. Maybe she’d bring one in for me. That’d be amazing.
I didn’t immediately move to get up. I waited and listened to see if she was going to appear in my room. I closed my eyes and imagined her climbing back into bed. We wouldn’t kiss because I could actually taste the stink on my breath, but the rest of it was game on.
I lay in bed and waited a little while longer. I knew my house well. I could identify every creak and groan and know where I was stepping with my eyes closed. It felt empty. I threw off the blanket and sat up. My head immediately be
gan to spin, leaving me feeling a little nauseated. I was not used to drinking that much. It had never been my thing. I took a second with my feet resting on the soft shag rug under my bed. I had to make the room stop spinning.
“Fuck me,” I groaned and got to my feet. I walked into the bathroom and quickly splashed cold water on my face.
When I walked back into my room, the first thing I noticed was the fact her clothes and boots were no longer on my floor. I pulled on a pair of boxer briefs and headed downstairs. I crossed the original wood floors that I had polished and refinished to a high shine. She wasn’t in the kitchen. There wasn’t a note. There wasn’t even coffee in the pot. I had no idea what time she snuck out, but she was gone.
I was a little bummed. I started some coffee and opened the fridge to find something to eat. I needed some real food in my gut to soak up the alcohol. I sipped coffee and made myself a protein-packed breakfast.
“Alexa, play music,” I spoke aloud.
That ended up in a far lengthier conversation than I intended to have with a piece of technology, but after answering a few questions, I was finally rewarded with music. I wasn’t big on music, but after last night, I felt like I needed to get with the times.
I sat down at my table and ate my breakfast. All the while, I replayed the events of the night before. I did stuff I couldn’t believe I did. Not the sex. I wasn’t a saint. I didn’t have any relationships to speak of, but a man had needs. I had my fair share of one-night stands. Never had they ended quite like this. Usually, it was me heading out after the deed was done. If the woman came to my place, they generally liked to stay the night. I didn’t have a problem with that, but after a quick cup of coffee in the morning, the goodbyes were said and they went on their way.
Our Little Secret Page 6
