Three Rivers (A Gateway to Love Novel)

by Barlow, Chloe T.

  "Do you need me to touch you Ms. Taylor?" he whispered gently in her ear, rubbing his nose against the lobe for a brief instant and the shock of tenderness made her heart turn over.

  "Yes Professor Tate. I need it so badly, please."

  He hummed in approval and licked slowly up her neck to her ear as he pressed his firm erection against her bottom. She could feel his heart beating quickly ─ almost pounding ─ in his chest making her even more desperate for his fervent touch, until he finally said, "Perfect, you are such a very good girl, after all. You've made me very pleased. Now, hands on the other end of the desk."

  He grabbed her hands and scolded her, "Tsk, tsk, your fingers are so messy, Ms. Taylor. We can't have that." He brought her hand to his lips and torturously teased her as he licked her juices off of each of her now shaking fingers. A deep groan rumbled in his throat. "Much better."

  Each pull of his warm mouth had caused her center to clinch in delicious agony. Griffen pulled her hands forward and wrapped her fingers around the far edge of the desk. Her hot cheek was pressed against a cool manila folder placed on top of it. He had her so crazed that she was writhing back against him, craving the relief only he could give her.

  She gripped the wooden edge of the desk, blindly registering the friction he caused as he ran his body down her back until she felt his breath against her ass. Griffen grabbed her bottom and licked deliciously across one cheek, until he bit her through the silk of her panties and she yelped.

  "These won't do, Ms. Taylor. If you were a truly good student you'd know not to wear panties during my office hours." She felt his hot, rapid breath against her as he tugged hard on her panties until they tore away, leaving her ass bare.

  Griffen bit her other cheek, now that her skin was exposed, but this time she groaned. He licked further down until his tongue entered her and she spasmed warmly around it.

  He pulled back. "Very responsive. I appreciate an attentive student." She felt his fingers stroke her where she had just touched herself and enter her while his tongue charted a path that was simply incredible — made all the more intense because she couldn't see what he was doing. He didn't let up until she was coming strongly against his mouth and hand. He stood and ordered, "Release your hands."

  She did so and they felt numb after she'd gripped the wooden edge so tightly. Before she could flex her fingers, he'd spun her around so her ass was on the desk.

  "Remove your shirt and bra Ms. Taylor." She obeyed and groaned as he took one breast in his mouth, then the other. He looked up at her, his hair falling across his forehead as he smiled wickedly around the nipple firmly pressed between his teeth. Althea closed her eyes in ecstasy and instinctively pushed her breast more fully against his face.

  She felt Griffen replace his two fingers inside her, stroking her back into a frenzy. After a moment he slowly removed his fingers from inside her and she whimpered again. "Don't worry Ms. Taylor, it's time for your gold star. I am quite impressed with you. Look at me. Now."

  She'd barely opened her eyes when she saw the condom wrapper flutter to the ground from his fingers and Griffen was fully inside of her in an instant.

  He lifted her right leg so that her knee was grazing her chest, letting him press into her ever so deeply. Her skirt was crumpled around her waist and every part of her loved the rubbing of flesh and fabric against one another. He thrust hard and fast — just like she needed it — until she came so powerfully that she shook as she pulsated around him.

  He grunted as he let go and rested his head in the crook of her neck to compose himself. He straightened and looked down at her. Still deep inside her as he softened. He kissed her softly then pulled on her bottom lip, whispering, “Now, thank me for your exemplary lesson.”

  Althea stroked the suede patches on his arms and said, "Thank you for the extra credit Professor Tate. Did I do okay?"

  "You did very well," he said with a devious half grin, "now you are at a 'C' grade."

  "A 'C,' Professor Tate?" she pouted.

  "No need for concern," he said in a cocky voice as he ran a finger underneath one breast, then the other until Althea's heart started racing all over again. "I think I can come up with lots more extra credit to help you keep making up the difference."

  "Absolutely," she answered, straightening her back and looking at him seriously," I won't stop until I have an 'A+.' I take my performance very seriously."

  Griffen laughed and leaned down to wrap his arms tightly around her waist. "Althea, you're full of surprises. That was amazing. You're amazing."

  "You're not so bad yourself, stud," she said with a grin.

  Griffen was pulling himself back together — both mentally and sartorially — after Althea's smoking hot game, when she teased, "This is one fancy office, I must say." She then sarcastically ran a finger across the rough wooden desk beneath her bottom and held up a finger covered in dust.

  "The best. After what we just did, I'm glad I hadn't gotten to putting too much stuff on my desk."

  "Oh yeah, good thinking."

  She began to smooth her sexily rumpled hair down, but Griffen took over, running his fingers through her hair repeatedly.

  "Careful, Griffen, you may lose a hand in there," she said with a smirk.

  "Fine by me. I love your hair. There's so much of it, too."

  "You should try blow-drying it, stud."

  "Is that another one of your fantasies?" he asked.

  "No, it just seems like a good test of how strong these massive biceps of yours really are. Though you may get tennis elbow from all that exertion," she teased, trailing her nails down the ripples of his arms until he groaned and had to kiss her.

  "Mmm," she moaned when they came up for air, "so, tell me, how was class today?"

  "It was good. They mostly wanted to hear about my books and how they got to be movies, but I did try to teach them something actually helpful."

  "I'm sure you were great." She put her bra back on and he felt a pang of sadness at no longer getting to stare at her perfect bare breasts.

  He forced himself to look at her eyes, chiding himself that every time he was around Althea he acted like a horny teenager. "I could never do justice to Professor Stevens' classes. He is the best teacher I’ve ever met."

  "Oh, I'm sure he appreciates the chance to rest more and that students got a great opportunity to meet a real writer," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly. "What is the university going to do about his classes after you leave?"

  "Mmm, what?" he murmured. She then giggled and moved on to kissing him lightly on his neck. "I'm not sure. They'll have to think of something because I think by the end of two weeks I'll have had my fill of being back in this damn city."

  Her eyes widened, "Wow, I didn't know you hated it here that much."

  Griffen pulled her close again, "I have my reasons for hating this place. It's not the city so much as what it represents to me."

  "Is it because of your dad?" Griffen's jaw clenched and Althea swallowed nervously. "Uh, Carol said he was a bad guy and you said as much, too, and I recognize the look — mine wouldn't exactly win any father of the year awards, either. I'm babbling again, it's none of my business, sorry."

  "No, don't be. I'm constantly dragging stuff out of you. I guess it's only fair I let you ask a question or two," he said with a smile. "Yeah, my dad is the reason for a lot of how fucked up I am about many things, including getting hives thinking about coming back here. And there are...other reasons." Griffen swallowed at the thought of how he'd let her husband down so terribly — that he may have contributed to her becoming a widow by being such a self-absorbed prick.

  She looked at him worriedly, "Griffen, are you okay?"

  He swallowed and replaced his signature cocky grin back on his face. "Absolutely, gorgeous, but you're making this time here way more bearable."

  More than bearable, he thought.

  In fact, more and more
, his hatred of the idea of leaving her was overtaking his discomfort at being home.

  "Bearable, huh? Don't pump my ego up too much, stud," she said teasingly.

  "Trust me, our time together is awesome. Anyway, I think Stevens is planning to be better by then. Not that you can control that."

  "No, you can't. That's true. Just like Javier Jimenez couldn't control Cade Jackson from bringing down his cartel single-handedly in Bloody Tequila Sunrise."

  He pulled back from her intoxicating little feather kisses and asked, "You read one of my books? Not just the jacket?"

  "Yep. I was curious."

  "What did you think?"

  "It was...thrilling," she smirked.

  "That is what they tell me."

  She leaned back and looked in his eyes. "When did you decide to become a writer?"

  "I wrote for as long as I can remember. I was always an observer, my whole life. I don't know if it was a choice or a dream. I never said — 'this is what I want to do.' It was simply what I had to do. I actually figured I could never do it publicly."

  "Why not?"

  "I had to hide my writing from my dad for years. He said it was weak, so as soon as he was dead and I was free, in college, I made my choice and that choice was running around the world instead of on a football field and I kept on writing."

  "Did you always write stuff that was so...um..."

  He laughed, "Not a fan of action-adventures?"

  "No, it really was exciting, actually, just not very..."

  "You can start breathing again Althea, you won't offend me. I know my books aren't too deep. Cade Jackson isn't exactly Holden Caulfield. I know that. When I was young, writing was my escape. Jack and I would make up these adventure stories out loud and then I'd write them down. We did it in my backyard but then..."

  "What?"

  "Then we stopped. Now, tell me, why'd you pick that one?" He swallowed and ran a finger down her arm. He took a step forward, leaned in and licked gently across her lips until she moaned.

  "I. Uh, oh God. It was the most recent one I could find, but it was a few years old. I couldn't find anything newer."

  "That's it. Just two books." He leaned over and nibbled right below her earlobe.

  "Wait, how many years is that?"

  He swallowed, "My second book came out five years ago. I'd stopped writing several months before that."

  "So if you don't write, what have you done with yourself all these years? Maybe working on your perfect shaggy author hair?" she teased rubbing her fingers through his wavy soft hair that had fallen across his forehead.

  "A lot of that, I guess," he laughed. "If you like the hair then it was worth it. Other than that, I have obligations to promote all that Cade Jackson crap. I've traveled around and consulted on some investigations for other journalists — but no writing of my own."

  "What about people? Relationships, attachments?"

  "Not much of those either. I don't think I'd be very good at them. I've never really had a relationship that lasted longer than a couple weeks. Must sound weird to you, huh?"

  "I'll say! My life has only been work and attachments. That makes you and this arrangement perfect for me, though, right?"

  "Right." He kissed her again but felt a pang in his chest that was becoming all too familiar whenever she reminded him of their expiration date.

  "But you're so successful as a writer. Doesn't your publisher or fans want you to write more?"

  He licked a trail from her cleavage all the way to her other earlobe. "Oh yeah, gorgeous, they definitely want me to write another book."

  "So, are you? Writing another book, I mean."

  He straightened and looked in her eyes seriously, "My agent and publisher are hungry for more installments but I've felt disconnected, uninspired for a while now." That inspiration died with Jack it seemed. Gone was the friend who helped me escape by weaving elaborate stories where the hero was strong and always won. "But I've actually started writing a new book. I guess being home has stirred up all kinds of things in me, including inspiration," Griffen continued.

  "That's wonderful! What's it about?"

  Oh no, not going there. The last thing in the world she needs to know right now is what my book is about. If she learned what I found of Jack's, my darkest suspicions that Jack may have sold military secrets in his last days — it would break her heart. No telling her until I know the whole truth.

  "Well, this one is actually deeper, more personal."

  "Come on, now I have to know what it's about!"

  "Uh, it's still a secret and besides I'm a little shy when I'm in the early stages of a book."

  "You, shy? I find that hard to believe."

  "Oh, I can be shy."

  "Show me your best shy face." He turned his head down and looked up at her with big puppy dog eyes and slightly pouty lips, his hair flopping across his forehead. "Come on. That's not shy, that's just a sexy face."

  "That works too," he said and grabbed her, pulling his pelvis to her center.

  "Well, now I'm all distracted."

  "Good, I like you distracted. You need to turn off that big brain of yours once in a while," he said and kissed her hard. He pulled back, letting his hands linger on her waist as he stood between her legs. She sighed and he asked, "So, did you do anything exciting today, baby? I mean other than me?"

  Althea slapped his shoulder but couldn't help laughing. "Not really. I talked to David. He wanted to have dinner but I said no."

  "Because you want to have dinner with me, gorgeous?"

  "Well, uh."

  "Hey," he said pulling her back close to him. "Of course I want to have dinner with you and spend the evening with you. That's why I asked you to meet me here."

  "Are you sure? I didn't know if you wanted this to be all, you know..."

  "Sex?"

  "Right."

  "Althea, we had dinner the last two nights."

  "Yeah, but I asked you, those times. I just assumed because you asked me, and, argh," she hid her face behind her hands.

  Griffen pulled them away, kissing each palm, before saying, "I want to spend as much time with you while I'm here as you'll let me. Yes, sex with you is great, but I do enjoy just being with you."

  "Good, well now I'm really glad I said no to David," she smiled and kissed his nose. "I think David was hurt I said no, though. I haven't been giving him much attention lately."

  Griffen felt a knot of jealousy rush through him at the memory of how David looked at Althea at Johnny's birthday party, but quickly shoved it down. He was in no place to get possessive, even though he felt the urge coursing through his veins. Besides, David was a good ten years older than Althea and she clearly did not return his affections. "Oh yeah? Well, since you had to let down a friend, I'd better take you somewhere great. Is Johnny all right if I take you out tonight?"

  "Yes. He's with Carol tonight. She likes to have him spend the night at least one night a week. I try to let her be with him nights that she's not working at Viola so she won't get lonely or sad in that big house by herself."

  "Okay, how about we go to Silver?"

  "Oh wow, I read about that place in Bon Appétit! I've tried to go for months. But it takes forever to get in there and I can't go dressed like this," Althea said pointing to her clothes.

  Griffen leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth. "You look beautiful, as always, and come on, it's Pittsburgh, a fancy restaurant just means you need to pull out your dress Pittsburgh football jersey."

  "Ha ha, that doesn't change that we won't be able to get in."

  "I'm old friends with the owner from high school. Don't worry."

  "For someone that left over ten years ago you sure know a lot of people."

  "Pittsburgh's a small town dressed up like a big city. I'm starting to realize that when this is your hometown, you never really leave it."

  "I get that. I'm so far from where I grew up, bu
t I can't imagine leaving." Her smile dropped and Griffen squeezed in closer. He was starting to read her well enough to know when she was about to shut down, so he asked her something to keep her in the moment with him. "I was wondering about that actually. Why didn't you leave Pittsburgh after Jack died? You don't have family here. Are Jenna and Aubrey from here?"

  "No, they aren't. They moved here for me."

  "Wow."

  "I know. I really shut down after Jack died. My life was work and Johnny. Work was the only thing I allowed myself to do separately from Johnny. His mother helped and David came around all the time, but I cut out anything that didn't directly relate to my memories of Jack. Even with all those sacrifices, I was so lonely and overwhelmed. The girls gave me some space for a while, but when opportunities came along that let them move here, they did."

  "That's pretty awesome of them."

  "Well, for Jenna it was no hardship. The sports medicine and orthopedic surgery groups here are some of the best in the world, and Aubrey can be a freelance photographer anywhere. She does a lot for the local magazines but she travels all around the world for shoots."

  Althea glanced down for a minute and paused. When she looked up again and her eyes met his they were wet with tears. "I was lost when Jack died. Totally lost. And without them — Carol, Jenna, Aubrey, David — I don't know..." Althea breathed deeply and Griffen could hear the catch in her throat. "Point is — if it takes a village, they're the folks in my village." She paused and he watched her chest rise and fall as she regained her composure. "So, are you gonna go wine and dine me now or what?"

  "You better believe it gorgeous," and he couldn't deny how warm it made him feel that he was the reason a huge smile spread across her face.

  As she grabbed her purse and finished pulling down her skirt she asked with a pout, "Will it be a problem that I'm not wearing panties at dinner, Professor Tate?"

  He groaned and smacked her waiting bottom soundly.

  She inhaled deeply when he brushed her hair from her neck and whispered in her ear, "No problem at all Ms. Taylor. Maybe you can get some extra credit under the table while we're there."

  With a nip he opened the door for her, but he was pleased to hear that now she was the one groaning.