Davis (Thoroughly Educated Book 3)

by Lara Norman

  They’d had enough to drink that she wasn’t as shy as she would have been, didn’t cover herself the way she would have, had she been completely sober. He latched onto her taut nipples with his mouth and swirled his tongue over one, feeling her fingers tighten around his. He kissed where he could reach: her breasts, her stomach, her abdomen, and back to her breasts.

  Luna untangled their hands and climbed on the bed, giving him a splendid view of her tight ass. He followed her, feeling the leaking of his hard cock as he rested on his side to face her. She traced her fingertips over his chest and he sucked in a breath. He wasn’t sculpted, but he was well-defined enough not to feel embarrassed. Her heavy breathing sounded like heaven to his ears as he kissed her. He wanted to drown in her, to love her repeatedly and make her his. This was an opportunity he had desired and waited for, and he was going to enjoy it as much as he could.

  He broke away from her. “Condom?”

  She nodded, so he scooted off the bed and dashed for his pants. The condom may have been years old, but he’d held onto the hope that one day he would need it. It appeared he’d been smart to do so. At the last second, he thought to check the expiration date and breathed a sigh of relief. He was cutting it close. He grinned at the thought that after tonight he’d have to replace it.

  Luna looked up at him when he stood by the bed, and he gazed down at her. He felt a knot of apprehension grow under his heart. If he screwed up what they had, he would lose her forever. If she had regrets in the morning . . .

  “Luna, are you positive?”

  She licked her lips and tucked the bottom one between her teeth, finally nodding and saying, “Come here.”

  He rejoined her on the mattress, balancing himself as it sank under his weight. She looked good enough to eat, so he did. He took her top lip into his mouth, sucking on the tender flesh and listening to her moans of pleasure. He let her go, rising up on his knees and running his hands along her legs. Her muscles contracted and her hips rose, inviting him in. The buzz of good wine was swimming in his head and he was so tempted to just dive into Luna’s willing body. The pervasive thought that he might not get another chance was enough to prevent him from taking the plunge. Instead, he ran his nose along her inner thigh, pressing his lips at the crease where her leg met her torso. She stuttered out a breath and he moved inward, flicking out his tongue to test the water.

  “I—No one—”

  Davis grinned when Luna couldn’t seem to finish her sentence. He was caveman-proud that he was the first to taste her. He let his tongue come out to play again, focusing on her clit. She gasped and jerked her hips.

  “More,” was all she said.

  He obliged.

  He yearned to drive her up and over the ledge into a mind-blowing orgasm. It may have been several years since he’d had any experience, but he knew what to do. Coating his fingers in her wetness, he slipped first one and then another inside her and searched for the spot to make her scream. His fantasies included his name falling from her lips as she came, and he was going to make that come true.

  Luna gripped the sheets and panted a curse he’d never heard her say when he stroked her just right. He enjoyed the taste of her, the feel of her, the excitement of getting what he wanted. The volume of her cries increased, and he knew she was seconds away from a shattering orgasm. Her body shuddered in his arms as she whimpered and moaned. Her legs locked around him and he pried them open until her quaking subsided. When she lay sated and soft, he reached for the condom. He watched her eyelids flicker and she focused hazy eyes on his. He thought about asking again if she was sure, but she put her hands on his ass and urged him closer. She was so fervent that Davis almost forgot to open the condom. He managed to get ahold of himself long enough to be smart, though he wanted to sink deep inside her wet heat.

  “God, Luna, look at me,” he begged as he hovered over her. He hoped he’d remember in the morning. He prayed that she would remember and not hate him.

  Her eyes were heavy-lidded with lust as she gazed up at him. Muted light played over her face from the gap in the curtain. Davis pushed forward, holding his breath as he connected with Luna. He couldn’t keep his head up anymore and his forehead thumped to hers. His breath caught in his chest on a sob. Better to trap it inside than freak her out.

  “Oh God.” He savored the feelings coursing up his spine. Luna raised her pelvis to meet his every thrust. He knew he wouldn’t last as long as he wanted. He cursed the alcohol he’d consumed even as he was grateful for the chance it gave him.

  “Davis!” It came as a drawn-out moan that he felt in his balls.

  “Fuck, Luna, you’re so hot.”

  She gripped his ass hard, and he knew he was done. He buried his face in her shoulder when he came and tried not to crush her beneath him. He wanted to freeze that moment in time. After kissing her throat a few times, he shifted carefully and dropped to the mattress beside her. He took a minute to catch his breath and then made a trip to the bathroom.

  Luna dozed lightly when he returned. Her eyelids fluttered as he settled next to her. He couldn’t resist pulling her close, smiling in triumph when she snaked her arm around his waist. He fell asleep quickly.

  His bladder woke him. The room spun as soon as he stood; he put a steadying hand on the wall to keep from falling on his face. He felt the pitch and roll of his stomach and made a dash for the bathroom, barely making it before he lost his dinner. He knew drinking that much was a bad idea, but he’d been having enough fun to keep going when he should have stopped. By the time he crawled back in the bed, Luna’s eyes were open and she stared at him.

  “Hey,” he said hoarsely. He cleared his throat.

  “Hey,” she said in return.

  He had no clue how she felt or what she was thinking. He had the spins and she looked perfectly fine. At least she didn’t seem to feel the need to panic.

  “You doing okay?” he asked.

  She frowned. “Shouldn’t I be?”

  Oh, how to answer that question. “I feel sick after all that wine. Just want to make sure you don’t.”

  “Oh, that.” She focused on a spot over his shoulder. “I’m fine.”

  Davis thought about what he should say next. Bring it up or let it go? He needed more sleep before tackling the subject of what they did. He closed his eyes like a coward and willed his brain to quit rotating.

  The second time he woke, the bed was empty. He groaned at the light that seemed determined to sneak through her curtains and pierce into his retina. He knew where she kept the Tylenol, so he went in search of it. He found Luna in the kitchen after he finished in the bathroom. She sat in a chair with her knees pulled up, reading a magazine. Steam curled up from the cup at her elbow.

  “Good morning.”

  She looked up with a smile. That was a good sign. “Good morning. I have cereal and I made coffee, if you want some.”

  He hesitated in the doorway. He’d expected her to at least want to talk about things, if not outright freak. “Okay.”

  He made himself breakfast, refilled her coffee, and sat at the small table with her. He watched her as he ate. A bowl with a bit of milk sat off to the side, and he stared at it as he tried to decide what to say.

  “Don’t hurt yourself thinking about it so hard.”

  Davis snapped his gaze to hers. “Wh-what?”

  Luna watched him with a neutral expression. “You’re trying to figure out how to talk about the fact that we had sex.”

  “Yes.” He looked down at the table for a moment. “You aren’t having second thoughts.”

  “And you figured I would.”

  “Well, yeah.” He arched one brow.

  She laughed. “You were the one that said no strings.”

  He groaned. “I did say that.”

  “I may have been drunk, Davis, but I remember. Some of it is a blur, but I know what we agreed on.” She took a sip of her coffee.

  Davis wondered if she was as calm on the inside as she appeared
to be on the outside. “I’m more than happy to enjoy those benefits any time you are.”

  “I don’t doubt that one bit,” Luna said wryly and stood. “I had plans to go to the store today, but that’s about it. Do you want to come with me?”

  Davis pondered her question. They typically spent time together doing mundane things. It wasn’t unusual for him to go to the store with her. Apparently, he was the only one freaking out. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Good.”

  He couldn’t believe she was going on about her day as if nothing happened the night before. He’d been trying so long to get her to date him, all to no avail. All along, he simply had to suggest friends that banged? “I could have saved myself so many arguments if I’d known you would be completely unfazed by this.”

  “It was a one-time thing.” She shrugged. “I’m going to get dressed.”

  Davis watched her get up and leave the room, his jaw hanging open. One-time thing?

  He followed her, stopping short when he realized she was pulling off her shirt. He turned around, thinking he didn’t have the right to watch her dress just because they’d had sex. “What do you mean, only once?”

  “I think it’s obvious.”

  He heard rustling sounds, but she said nothing else. “Well, it’s not.”

  “We’re friends, Davis. We are not getting involved.”

  Davis spun to face her, finding her buttoning a pair of shorts. “I—”

  “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter 3

  Things were awkward between them, as Davis feared they would be. There didn’t seem to be much to talk about at the store, and instead of sticking around, Davis went home. He worried he’d screwed everything up with his stupid idea of friends with benefits. Sunday was a wasted day; he paced his loft in an effort to come up with a good idea to help convince her she only had to be his friend. He needed a time machine to put them back where they’d begun.

  He had never figured out why she thought they wouldn’t work as a couple. Granted, their worlds were completely different, but he wasn’t a snob. He loved her regardless of whatever she perceived to be her flaws. Things that he didn’t have a problem with at all or even found endearing, she thought were flaws in their otherwise perfect relationship. She insisted his parents didn’t like her, though the only time they’d spent together was brief. Ian and Sophia had come to the university to visit one weekend, and he’d introduced them. He thought it went well, but after that Luna insisted that they hated her.

  On Monday, he tried very hard to focus on work and put Luna out of his mind. He’d had plenty of practice over the years trying not to think of her. All of that effort didn’t seem to help him as he struggled to keep his mind on something resembling paperwork. His job was boring; everything they handed to him was soft and easy. He hated it. He wanted to work, not to be a paid slacker. His parents didn’t take him seriously when he said he wanted to get into the real estate side of their company. In that department, they bought and sold retail and commercial spaces, broke them up, and resold them to smaller businesses. Negotiating was something Davis felt he was good at, and he wanted to train in that area. Instead, he sat around doing useless drone work.

  He was ready to tear his hair out by late Monday afternoon when his office door opened. He looked up in surprise as Luna walked in wearing what must have been her work clothes.

  “I haven’t been able to focus on teaching at all, Davis.” She slammed the door and paced his medium-sized office as he watched. “I want to go back to how things were before Friday night. We can’t have any sort of bonus relationship.”

  “Why not?” He sat back, dropping his pen on his desk and propping one foot on the opposite knee.

  “Because it’s odd.”

  “I was joking about having that type of thing ongoing,” he said. She came to a stop in front of his desk and leaned over it.

  “It didn’t sound like it. It sounded like a way for you to have the best of both worlds.”

  He snorted. “If I was having the best of both worlds, it would include you and me in a serious relationship, not this thing that’s made you so worked up.”

  “That’s not fair.” She straightened and began pacing again. “I can’t get involved with you; you know that.”

  “I only know it because you’ve drilled it into me, but that doesn’t mean I understand it.”

  “You and I are not right for each other! You know how I feel. We’ve had this discussion so many times. You live in Richie Rich world and I live in crunchy granola world. We’re not compatible.” She glared at him.

  He spread his hands. “And yet, we’ve been friends for years, with everything working out perfectly.”

  “Only if we don’t rock the boat.” She sighed. “And we’ve rocked it heavily. Hell, we capsized it.”

  “What are you afraid of, exactly?” Davis asked, standing to move next to her.

  She dropped her head to avoid his gaze. “I can’t lose you.”

  “I’ve told you before, you couldn’t possibly lose me.” He tipped her chin up with his fingertips. “Even if you constantly try to push me away out of fear.”

  “That’s not it.” Luna wrenched her head out of his grasp. “I don’t belong in your world, and you sure as hell don’t belong in mine.”

  “You’re a snob, Luna. A reverse snob.”

  She gasped. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “You think differently about anybody with more money than you. You think only people in your social class are acceptable.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” she said with a laugh. “I just know that we’re not the same. Your parents didn’t like me, and I can’t blame them. Look at the way Hudson’s parents treat Reagan. I won’t come between you and them, leaving you estranged from your family.”

  “My parents wouldn’t be like the Clarks. They don’t have a problem with you.” He leaned in closer. “It’s in your head.”

  “It’s not, for crying out loud.” She threw her hands up. “Your mother wouldn’t even look me in the eye when you introduced us.”

  “She made eye contact when I gave her your name. After that, I can’t say.” He didn’t understand what she was talking about.

  “Don’t you see?”

  “Mom was worried about the apartment I was staying in. She thought it was a frat boy dump, as she called it. She didn’t ignore you, or decline to have you come to dinner with us. She didn’t say at any point in time that she didn’t like you after you’d gone.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

  “Oh, no, if there’s one thing about my parents, it’s that they’re never afraid to hurt my feelings. Just consider the crappy job they’ve stuck me in because they don’t believe in my abilities.”

  Luna rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”

  “So your point is invalid.” Davis ran his hand down her hair.

  “No, just because you think your mom doesn’t have a problem with me, doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Why are you afraid to be involved with me?” he asked again, standing as close as he dared. “Are you afraid of how good we can be together?”

  “That’s not it,” she insisted, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze.

  “Well, the sex was pretty fantastic as I remember it, so it can’t be that,” he teased.

  She flushed. “No, it can’t be that.”

  “Wanna try it again?”

  Now her gaze snapped to his, fiery green to laughing blue. “You said that was a joke.”

  “It was. It is. But . . .” He ran the side of his finger down her cheek. “If I get another chance with you, I’m taking it.”

  “I can’t stop thinking about it,” she admitted quietly. “What I remember versus what must have actually happened.”

  “I admit it probably would have been better if we’d both been sober.” He kissed her cheek, watched her pupils dilate, and kissed her again. �
�Do you think we should give it another try to find out how good it can be?”

  She shook her head even as she leaned into Davis’s embrace. “It’s a bad idea.”

  But Luna touched her lips to his and, for him, everything went black. The only thing Davis could think of was her hot mouth. Not the air conditioning that kicked on, or the fact they were in his office surrounded by other people. He’d realized that he needed to seize the moment when it came to Luna, so that’s exactly what he did. With a hand on either side of her head, he pulled her closer to him and thrust his tongue in her mouth. She whimpered, and he angled his hips to press his growing erection into her belly. She drug her hands down his back and untucked his shirt, grabbing his ass and grinding her pelvis with his. She kissed him back before jerking away, licking and nibbling his throat until his scruff rubbed her face raw. Davis couldn’t resist groping her, running his hands over her ass cheeks and squeezing as she moaned in agreement. Luna dragged her mouth back to his and bit his lower lip.