Davis (Thoroughly Educated Book 3)

by Lara Norman

  “Um, I’m ready to order, how about you?”

  “Okay.”

  Luna put her menu down and tried to remember what she liked about Luther. He was kind, and not unattractive. He was sweet, and clearly into her. He was safe, and he was meant to keep her from thinking about Davis all the time. But it wasn’t working. She couldn’t think of anything but Davis, and the way she’d ruined everything since graduation.

  “What do you think?”

  Had he been talking the whole time? “Oh, I think it’s fine,” she said vaguely.

  “Really? You think the school board’s suggestion of requiring an aid in each classroom is a good idea?” Clearly, he was against the idea, if his tone was any indication.

  “Yes, why not?” That was the pressing issue he was worried about? “I could use the help, couldn’t you?”

  “It feels like a way to keep an eye on our every move, and to have them report back.”

  “That’s paranoid.” She regretted it as soon as she said it, but it was already out there.

  The waitress came to take their orders, so they had to shelve the conversation for a few minutes as they placed their orders.

  “You think it’s paranoid to want to keep the district out of our classrooms?” he demanded.

  “Why would there have to be someone sent directly from the school board? That’s not how our system hires people. I came as a teacher’s assistant; do you think I must have been a plant by the school board?”

  “That’s different.” The look on his face said otherwise.

  “Why, because you like me?” Luna tried to modulate her tone, but she realized she was coming across pretty rudely.

  “Maybe.”

  “Our principal looks for college students to hire as interns and then gives them a permanent position if it works out. That’s not someone coming in to spy on us.”

  “I just don’t like it.”

  Luna stared at Luther as the waitress moved around their table refilling drinks. He sounded like a petulant child. She couldn’t quite believe that she had agreed to go out on a date with someone other than Davis. It was such a bad idea, that she was appalled at herself. She didn’t want anyone sitting across from her at the dinner table that wasn’t Davis. She didn’t want to kiss anyone else goodnight, didn’t want to text them when her day was good, or hear their warm, deep laugh in her ear. She sure as hell couldn’t picture herself sharing a bed with this guy.

  “Can we talk about something else?” she said. She needed to get through dinner, but it didn’t have to be torture for them both.

  Luther looked down at his plate and didn’t respond. Had she read him wrong all along in her eagerness to prove to Davis that she could be with someone else and be well taken care of? Had she jumped at the chance to be with Luther because she thought she could get over her yearning for Davis, only to screw herself over in the long run? She couldn’t even really stand to be in Luther’s presence now that she’d made her discovery.

  She ate mechanically, not exactly tasting her food. She drank a soda, not wanting any reason she couldn’t drive herself home later. She hated to disappoint someone she worked with on a daily basis, but she would have to tell him they were not compatible. She could do that. She could let him down easy. She just hoped it would be okay come the next morning.

  “Are you doing okay?” Luther asked.

  Luna looked up to find him staring at her. “Fine. Why?”

  “You don’t seem to be enjoying yourself,” he said with a pained expression.

  “Oh, it’s just that first dates are always a little awkward, don’t you think?”

  “Yes, I suppose.”

  Fuck, she wasn’t going to get out of this one without a few scars. “Honestly, I don’t feel that we’re connecting, Luther.”

  He threw his napkin down and sat back. “Of course. I should have known.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Someone as smart and beautiful as you being attracted to me? It doesn’t happen.” He folded his arms.

  “Sometimes people just don’t click. It’s got nothing to do with my face or your personality.” She winced. That probably didn’t come out the way she intended.

  “Well, in my experience, it does matter. Are you ready to go, then?”

  She looked down at her nearly empty plate and then pulled out her wallet.

  “For crying out loud, Luna, you’ve not let me pay for you even one time. Why is that?”

  She sighed, over it all. “I feel uncomfortable letting you pay for me when we aren’t dating. We can call it a meal between friends.”

  “If you’d like.”

  Luna counted out cash and left it at her place setting. He stood when she did, and he touched the back of her hand. “Thanks for giving me a chance.”

  “It was nice,” she lied. If she was going to hell, the least she could do was try to let him save face.

  Luna couldn’t get out of there fast enough. She didn’t know if she wanted to go home or if she wanted to track down Davis. It was only a little past seven by then, so he was most likely at his apartment. She didn’t want to call him while she drove, so she made the decision to go straight to his place to see if he was there.

  It was a half hour drive from the area they’d been in for the field trip before she got back to their side of town. Well, Davis’s side of town. He lived in a decidedly more upscale area than she did. She didn’t know what she was going to say, just that she needed to see him face-to-face and hoped the right words would come. She still worried over what would happen to him if his parents knew he was with her, but she couldn’t stand being apart. She debated telling him what was said versus keeping all of it a secret. Him, his mother, their relationship, all of it could be a secret. It terrified her to think of his whole world coming crashing down around him because of her, but she was making them both miserable by not giving them a chance.

  She had to pass his office on the way to his apartment; on a whim, she pulled into the parking garage. She stopped in the through lane and pulled out her phone, sending him a three word text and waiting for his response. When it came, she grinned and found a parking spot.

  Luna whistled on her way into the building, waving at the security guard she knew pretty well by then. She took the elevator and saw Sorensen waiting in the lobby on the seventh floor. Luna shook her head. Davis hadn’t driven himself since his early years of college, and even then he didn’t do it very often. It would be amusing to see him give it a try.

  She waved at the driver as she strode past on her way to the office tucked in the back corner. The other offices were darkened, proving her theory that Davis was attempting to show he had what it took to do this job. She pulled the door open when she reached it, finding Davis standing behind his desk looking down at a stack of papers.

  “Davis,” was all she said.

  He looked up at her, a pleased grin lighting up his face. “I guess it didn’t go so well with lover boy if you’re already here.”

  She closed—and locked—the door behind her as she stalked toward him. “No, it didn’t. You want to know why?”

  Davis widened his eyes as she came closer, turning so he was facing her approach. “Of course I want to know. ED? Sloppy kisser?” He smirked.

  “All I could think of was you.” She yanked on his tie until they were face-to-face and smashed her mouth to his. Davis didn’t even hesitate to kiss her back, diving right in with no qualms.

  Luna pulled his shirt free of his pants, running her hand along the muscles that comprised his abs. They tensed and bunched under her seeking fingertips, and he hissed against her lips.

  “God, Luna, I can’t be on this roller coaster with you, despite how much I love you. I just can’t.”

  She looked up into his eyes, saw the pain she’d caused, and felt the pain reflected in her heart. “I love you, Davis. I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I want to give us a try.”

  He cupped his hands around her face. “Yo
u do?”

  She nodded, feeling tears spring to her eyes. “I do. I’m so sorry.”

  “Stop apologizing and kiss me again.”

  She rose up on her toes and caressed his shoulders as their lips melded once more. “This is where I belong, Davis. With you.”

  She could work out the logistics of their secrets later.

  Chapter 10

  Luna could tell it was easier that time around. There weren’t any nagging questions running through her head. There was no demanding that she resolve all of their issues beforehand, and there was no wine to muddle her emotions. There was heat, and there was fire, and there was lust.

  There was plenty of lust.

  His hands were everywhere; a talent he seemed to possess. If one was in her hair, the other was up her skirt, but then one was on her breast. All this while he kissed her, sucked her lips into his mouth and laved them with his tongue. Her breathing was sharp and shallow, and she feared she might pass out. It would be worth it.

  “Are you sure you want to do this here?” he grunted in her ear.

  “Here, and then everywhere else.”

  “Fuck, Luna.” He grabbed her ass and picked her up, propping her on the edge of his desk. He shoved everything out of the way, most of it crashing to the floor. He pushed her shoulders until she was on her back, then kneeled and shoved her skirt up. Propping her feet on his shoulders and yanking her panties aside was all the warning she had before he dove in.

  She’d been afraid she would never again experience the wonder of Davis and his tongue. She couldn’t remember the exact sensations from their first time. Not the pressure, or the texture of his tongue, or God, the sounds he made in his throat as he worked her over. He groaned like he was feasting on the finest food he could afford, and that was saying a lot for a rich man. He went in again and again, backing away to use his fingers before finding her clit and nibbling on it. She cried out so loudly she worried the only other person on the seventh floor would hear her.

  When she came, she convulsed so hard she thought she would crush his head between her thighs. She clamped one hand over her mouth to keep her screams to a minimum. When Davis stood and ran his hands up her legs, she sat up and met him for a searing kiss. He fumbled in his back pocket, and it occurred to her that she might be out of luck if he didn’t have a condom.

  “I need to go on birth control, don’t I?”

  He panted a bit as he answered her. “That would be great, beautiful.”

  She grinned at him and watched as he unfastened his pants and rolled the condom onto what she was learning was a very talented appendage. He stepped forward, cradling the back of her head and looking into her eyes.

  “You know how much I love you, don’t you?”

  Luna gave him her brightest smile. “I love you, too, Davis.”

  His return smile was brighter than hers.

  He pushed inside her with a groan, shifting his hands to grip her hips and adjust her position to make it easier on them both. He snapped his hips forward again and again, pulling noises from her that she didn’t know she was capable of producing. It was the same with the sensations. Tingling in her toes that rose along her spine, tightening in her belly as he kissed her over and over and never stopped looking into her eyes. Lightheadedness that led to a pulsing behind her eyes before she remembered to breathe.

  “Come with me, Luna. I’m so close. You feel so fucking good, baby, squeeze my cock. That’s it, Luna, come again for me.”

  He drowned her with his voice alone. His cock teased out another orgasm, and his fingers fumbled under her clothing until they found purchase on her pussy. It became too much to bear, and she did as he asked and let herself fall over the edge.

  “Oh, God, Davis.”

  “Let me hear it, baby.”

  He grabbed the back of her neck and pressed his forehead to hers when he came. Luna felt the difference, understood the significance.

  “Next time we find a bed, Davis.”

  He pulled away from her and smiled. “But there’s something so satisfying about having you in not one, but two of my offices.”

  She gasped and swatted at him. “Sorensen probably heard me. I’ll never be able to look him in the eyes again.”

  He chuckled. “He’ll think you’re meek in his presence.”

  “He better not.”

  Luna slid off the desk and straightened her clothes, trying her best to smooth her hair out. Davis tucked his shirt back in and pulled his jacket on.

  “Ready?” he asked with an extended hand.

  She accepted his hand and followed him out into the hallway, keeping her head down as they approached the elevators.

  “Done for the day, sir?”

  “Oh, not nearly. But we are ready to head home.”

  Luna bit her lip to keep in the foul words that threatened at Davis’s innuendo. Sorensen was too professional to comment, but Luna’s face burned.

  The car ride was nearly silent, but it was comfortable. Davis ran his fingers up and down Luna’s leg while she rested her head on his shoulder. Her nerves had found her, but tried hard not to let them get the best of her. Regardless, she promised herself to tell him how she felt instead of hiding.

  The walk into the fancy building with rarified air almost made her choke. This was the world she nearly feared, because it meant he had things to lose far greater than she did. It reminded her of all they stood to lose.

  She realized she trembled as the elevator doors closed behind them. Davis immediately turned to her.

  “What is it?”

  His voice remained gentle, but she trembled again anyway. “I can’t help but remember our differences when we’re here.”

  “Why does it bother you so much?” He tilted her chin up with his fingertips. “It has never affected the way we feel.”

  “Easy for you to say.” She didn’t want to have to look directly into his eyes, but he left her no choice. “It’s because of the things your parents want for you that don’t include me.”

  “And what do they want for me?” His eyes moved back and forth between hers, searching for answers.

  “Someone not looking to benefit from your money.”

  “Ah, then we’re all in luck. I know that’s not what you want.” He smiled softly as though that solved everything.

  It wasn’t the time to get into it, she knew. “I don’t want to focus on that right now, anyway. It’s just something that’s on my mind more often than I’d like it to be.”

  “Then I’ll just have to keep your mind occupied with other endeavors.”

  That sounded like something she could get behind.

  They arrived on his floor and the doors slid open without a sound. The carpet was so plush that her heels sank into it and twisted just a little as she walked. The walls were a dull gold paint with a chair rail spanning the hall on either side. Tables that shined with the deep glow of wax were scattered between the doors, which were few and far between. Davis was one of three others on the level very near the top. He hadn’t wanted a penthouse all to himself, though he certainly could have afforded it. Luna had been there twice since graduation, and she held a love/hate relationship for the place.

  It was opulent, a constant reminder of his wealth and the words his mother had spoken. It was also comfortable, masculine, and all Davis. She enjoyed seeing him in his element as much as she despised it. He opened the door of the last unit on the end and let her precede him inside. The drapes were still open from the day, and the city and all its glowing lights spread out beneath and before them.

  She walked straight to the bank of windows as she had the previous two times. She loved his view. Loved it even more when he came up behind her and pushed her hair off her neck to kiss her there. They were reflected in the glass in front of them; he was tall and dark, and she was slightly shorter and fiery red. She could almost see the hunger in his reflected eyes, could feel it press up against her ass. He pulled her shirt off and kissed her spine, elicit
ing a shudder as goosebumps erupted across her skin.

  “You’ll come back tomorrow night and stay the weekend?” he asked as he peppered her shoulders and the nape of her neck with kisses.

  Her nipples tightened to the point they were almost in pain. “Y-yes.” She would probably agree to anything right then.

  He sucked on a spot behind her ear and she gasped. “Good. I want you so much I can’t contain it, love.”

  “I’m sorry I made you wait so long,” she whispered.

  He took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “I know, but don’t worry about it anymore.”