The Campus Jock: A College Bad Boy Romance

by Serena Silver

  Andreadora was in her best of moods, and she ordered for Alexandra a lot more dresses than was necessary for her wedding the next day. Alex had to beg her to take it easy on the silks and order her a few simple ones if she had to.

  Alex was also stunned by the energy and swiftness with which the old woman moved. She was eighty-three, and she reminded her of Mother Bernardine. As she thought of it Alex’s eyes stung with tears. Making sure no one was looking her way. She quietly went to one of the window seats and sat dabbing at her eyes. Andreadora followed her there.

  “Morgan tells me that Jim’s comment the other night at dinner distressed you,” she said sitting next to her. She put her frail, wrinkled hand on to Alex’s, and the tears came once again.

  “You make me think of my Mother Bernardine,” Alex said not answering her question directly. She thought something had passed behind those shrewd eyes before the old woman said.

  “You do me great honor by saying that. And so you must believe me when I tell you, that Jim is an honorable man and he will never let you down. “

  “But he did not choose me. You did.” Alex said, and Andreadora appreciated her courage to stand up for herself. The girl was no pushover.

  “None the less you are his wife. And he will always honor that commitment. As for love, you chose this marriage knowing well that it was one of convenience, didn’t you? So now the two of you are on equal score, and it’s up to you to build yourself something of value.”

  Alex nodded. She kept thinking of what Andreadora had said all evening and into the next day. The marriage took place the next day at noon in the small parish church. Ara looked stunning in her bride’s maid dress and Archie as wild in his fine tailored suit as he did in his cowboy get up.

  When the priest declared them man and wife, and it was Jim’s turn to kiss his bride, he brushed his lips over her cheek and whispered into her ear so that only she could hear him.

  “Later.” He said, and that one word laden with meaning kept ringing in her ears all day.

  The gala dinner that had been arranged for, the people from the parish, the Sullivan property, acquaintances from the neighboring estates, family and friends started at sundown. It was a grand affair.

  A marquee had been set up in the Sullivan Gardens, that blossomed on a large parcel of land towards the south of the estate on the banks of a lake. The gray cottage stood to one side of the gardens and was hidden by a small dogwood grove.

  Tables had been laid out for people to sit and partake of the festive dinner. An elaborate menu was being served with dishes from many different cuisines along with the finest wine. An orchestra from Washington played beautiful music to entertain the people. A fine dance floor had been prepared for the young enthusiasts.

  After the inaugural dance that she had to dance with Jim, Alexandra took her seat next to Andreadora and watched the festivities with interest.

  “Do you like the party?” Andreadora asked

  “This my first. I haven’t ever been to another one in my life. But I can safely say that none other could be grander than this one.”

  Andreadora smiled at her guileless manner.

  “You are very honest.”

  “Mother Bernardine always said that lack of honesty is the beginning of a corrupt mind.”

  “Your Mother Bernardine seems to be a very wise woman,” Andreadora said, and once again Alex felt she saw something pass behind her eyes.

  But before she had a chance to say anything, Jim walked over to them and declared.

  “Come Alex we have to leave.” Alex rose from her place hesitantly.

  “Leave? Where are we going?”

  “Home.”

  “But the party is not yet over.”

  “The party is not meant for you Alex. And the people it is meant for are already here enjoying themselves. You, my dear, are expected to be elsewhere. You have duties to fulfill.”

  Once again he threw that bitter look at his grandmother, and this time, Andreadora was about to reiterate when Archie walked over.

  “Your carriage is ready Jim. And Mother, Eileen is waiting to take you back to the cottage. Don’t worry about the guests. Myself, Ara and Morgan will take care of them.”

  Andreadora nodded and took Archi’s hand. As he helped her away, Alex felt she saw tears glistening in her eyes.

  Chapter Nine

  Alexandra stood at the window of her bedroom clad in a white nightgown. It was a chaste piece of clothing that covered her from neck to toe. The curtains were pulled apart, and she stood looking out at the moonlit night. The window faced east so she could not really see the festivities but she could hear the distinct sound of the music muffled by the cool night breeze.

  She had gotten quite used to the cool breeze now and even enjoyed it a little. Another thing she enjoyed and had never experienced in the confined surroundings of the convent was the starry sky. Hundreds of thousands of stars in a sky spread across thousands of acres of land certainly made a breathtaking sight.

  When the door to the room opened and closed behind her a thrill of anticipation ran through her body. She felt Jim’s presence around even without turning to look at him. She was surprised by that connection she was already forming with him.

  “Come away from that window Alex. It’s cold,” he said sitting down on the bed and starting to undress. He took off his shoes and his socks and placed them neatly in his closet. Then he pulled off his tie and threw it across a chair that stood next to the bed, followed by his coat and vest. He then unbuttoned his shirt halfway down to his midsection and pulled it out of the waistband of his trousers, then sat back down on the bed again.

  Alex had been watching him and had derived immense pleasure out of that small conjugal observation. She came away from the window now, and as she approached, he caught hold of her wrist and pulled her forward so that she was standing between his thighs.

  “You look beautiful in that nightgown Alex.”

  “It’s a simple nightgown without any fashion. You must have seen much better.”

  “Is that your way of asking if I have been with other women?”

  “No, I really didn’t mean it that way,” Alex said looking up horrified then as she saw the smile tugging at his lips realized he had been teasing her.

  “I have no right to question you Jim.” she said softly, and Jim stood taking booth her hands into his.

  “You have every right to question me Alex. Let me tell you this. I have not lead the life of a monk all these years, but my heart has never been touched. And since the time I have met you all other women of my acquaintance have faded into oblivion.”

  You have come dangerously close to touching my heart, he had wanted to add but refrained. Instead, he gently pulled at the pins in Alex’s hair and watched her hair cascade down to her shoulders. He then shoved his hands into the mass of auburn curls and brought her head slowly forward as he bent down to claim her lips. At first, she resisted slightly then allowed him access. Then the magic happened. Sensations she had never imagined coursed through her body.

  Instinctively Alex looped her hands around his neck and held on for the wild ride of emotions that ebbed and fell inside her as she gave in abandon. Jim drew her closer, their bodies grinding against each other as he deepened the kiss and took mindlessly.

  When he finally drew back, Alex was so lost in the waves of sensations that she did not even put up a customary resistance as he deftly undid the buttons of her nightgown and pushed it to the floor. And there she stood, completely bared to the inspection of his hungry eyes, bathed in the starlight flooding in from the window, the milky glow complimenting her translucent creamy skin.

  Not knowing how much longer he would be able to resist, Jim pulled her down to the bed then slowly pushed her into the mattress, her head resting on the pillow among a halo of her radiant hair. He propped himself up next to her, his head supported by one arm and explored her body with the other.

  It pleased her immensely to see the w
onderment in his eyes as he slowly rubbed his knuckles over her collar bone then drew his fingers lower, going excruciatingly slow. He feathered over the mound of her breast, then down her ribs, circling around her navel, threading over the thatch of light brown hair in the crook of her thighs, he locked it around her waist and turned her to him.

  “You are too thin. Have you always been like this or is it the month and a half long train journey that has done this to you.” He said running his fingers up and down along the length of her bare arm, circling back to her breast, then rubbing the pad of his thumb over her nipple bringing it to peak. He enjoyed watching Alex’s honey colored eyes go dark with passion as he repeated the treatment with her other breast.

  He bent down then and indulging in his most torturous fantasy closed his mouth over one creamy breast and pulled at it. Alex moaned in delirious pleasure as the exploration and assault continued into the silent night. The glimmer of the moonlight, the sighs of the wind, the chirps of the night time insects outside her window, the distant commotion of the festivities all faded away as the only thing they were now aware of was the potent pulsations of their mutual desire.

  Jim had at some point rid himself of the remainder of his clothes. He now lay there pleasuring himself and her with his hands and mouth plundering her lush, beautiful body. When he, at last, parted her knees, Alex stiffened.

  “Shh, relax. I am not going to hurt you more than what I have to honey. And I promise it is going to be alright soon afterward.”

  As she eased back, he dipped his fingers into her core and found her wet and ready. He withdrew them then just as she was expecting him to stop he plunged in again and again, kneading his thumb over the folds of soft flesh and the sensitive little nub and Alex whimpered deliriously bordering on the edges of consciousness. When she came shuddering into his arms, Jim just started over again.

  When he finally knelt between her thighs, parting her knees and positioning her for his entering, Jim was barely in control of his own wanting. Just before he entered her, he whispered with tenderness.

  “Look at me Alex. I want you to look at me. This is going to hurt sweetheart. Just for a minute. Then I am going to make the hurt disappear.” Alex looked up at him her eyes full of blind trust and Jim hated himself for what he was about to do.

  Then he thrust himself into her and Alex screamed out as pain shot up through her core the sheer size of him overwhelming her. Jim continued to thrust going deeper inside with every stroke, spreading her knees further apart to give him better leverage. Alex bit down hard on her lower lip and moaned as the pain dulled down to an ache that transformed slowly into a pulsating volcano of desire screaming for release.

  As he brought them both to the peak, there was nothing between them but their frenzy, a race to climax as they were thrown overboard, shattering with release, rising and falling on the waves of desire.

  Over and over they made love all night, amazed by the delightful discoveries they made about each other along the way until finally, somewhere just before dawn they fell asleep in each other’s arms exhausted and replete with fulfillment.

  Chapter Ten

  Jim Sullivan sat on a low stool, in a hay field just outside the borders of his estate, his eye glued to his transit, mounted on a tripod. He dictated quick notations to Trevor Rothschild, a young engineer, sent by the WPR to help him with the land survey. Suddenly he lurched back then looked up at Rothschild annoyed as if it was all his mistake, then back into the eyehole of his equipment.

  A slow, silly grin spread across Trev’s face. “Looks like lunch is here sir. Am I invited to your table?”

  “Keep leering like that every time you see my wife, and you will soon be surveying land and laying tracks in the Tundra.” Jim threatened good-naturedly as he rose from his stool and wiped his hands down his work pants.

  It was not long before Alexandra had realized the secret behind the very successful Sullivan conglomerate. In one of her letters to Mother Bernardine, she wrote that her husband and his grandmother worked for the company with unbridled commitment.

  They dealt in mining, lumber, and raw material, capitalized on banking and stock investments, served various charities and funded research. Besides Jim worked from time to time as a consultant with the Western Pacific Railroads. But what Alexandra found most admirable was that they contributed largely to the development of the region.

  Usually, Jim left for work early and often returned after sundown. Alex started her day early too. She cooked an elaborate breakfast for her husband, and once he left for work, she mapped out the rest of the day’s cooking for Rosa, tended to the kitchen garden herself, kept the books, packed a lunch for Jim and Andreadora and sent it to them with Johnson. Sometimes she took it to them herself.

  She visited Scot at his clinic sometimes if one of her staff, especially a woman or a child needed medical attention. Sometimes she simply dropped by and helped him for an hour in his duties. Jim did not approve completely of the later, but she had somehow convinced him into allowing her to do it. Alexandra had kept her promise and given her husband complete devotion and compliance. But she had also taken Morgan’s advice and not let him manipulate her into becoming a different person.

  Now as she approached him, sitting atop a trap cart steered by Johnson, swaying with the motion, her blue sun hat held in place by one hand and a huge lunch basket held in her lap by the other, Jim was mesmerized. She reminded him of a painting he had in his attic that was gifted to him by a man called Oscar Monet, whom he had met several years back in England. He had stashed the painting away simply because he did not consider it as true art but now looking at his wife through the scope of his theodolite he was strangely reminded of it.

  “You are the most beautiful thing that has ever crossed the lens of my transit,” he said helping her down from the cart. Johnson was already on his way to the tent, a few yards away, with Trevor at his heels.

  Alex and Jim walked hand in hand towards the tent. As they were crossing a gigantic bale of hay, Jim pushed her against the bale and leaned in for a deep kiss. He thrust his knee between her legs and slid his palm up her thigh. He took his time nibbling at the lobe of her ear, nipping the delicate column of her neck and plundering her soft lips.

  “Jim, you are at work.” Alex hissed in disapproval trying to push him away.

  “You are a piece of work.” he said nuzzling the crook of her neck and leaning farther in.

  “Stop this now.” She said mortified.

  “That’s not what you said at dawn,” he grumbled, and a pink hue spread up from the base of her neck. They had made wild consuming love late into the night till they had both fallen asleep spent and worn-out. Just before dawn, she had woken up with his fingers plunging her wetness. He loved to see that shock in her molten gold eyes, hazy with somnolent desire. Even after four months of marriage Alex never ceased to surprise him. He had stretched the play so far that she had finally begged him for release.

  When finally, they entered the field tent, Johnson had already laid out the table. Trevor was nicking pieces of cheese, fruit and smoked ham as he promptly answered all questions Andreadora was throwing his way. She was seated at a side table with a proposed plan of the Western Pacific Railroads in front of her.

  When Jim and Alex entered, she was overjoyed to see Alex. She hurried to the younger woman and kissed her gently on the cheek.

  “Alex, how are you darling? You haven’t been to see me all week.”

  Since after the wedding Andreadora had been living at Gray cottage, Alex visited her frequently there. Sometimes she read to her or helped her with the garden. But her conversations with Eileen were restricted, though the other woman had always been friendly and welcoming. And she almost never showed any interest in her work, for she knew Jim would not approve.

  When the week before Eileen had asked her advice about some of the books she was using and asked to discuss curriculum and methodologies with her, Alex had declined, saying she was busy and
would come back later. Since then she had been avoiding a visit to the cottage. Now before she had a chance to explain Jim said peering down at the map his grandmother was studying.

  “Ara and Archi would never agree to this. This stretch would go right through their ranch.” He said shaking his head and drawing a finger across the chart.

  “Imagine what it would do to our business.” Andreadora hissed with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Many people are going to lose their land,” warned Jim.

  “Oh, there is no shortage of land here. There’s plenty to be had, and with the right price, you can buy any piece you want. Andreadora drawled breezily waving her hand.

  “What about Archi and Ara?” Jim asked

  “We will talk to them after the bash,” Andreadora assured him. Then turning to Alex, she said,

  “Archi and Ara celebrate the Harvest Festival every year. It's next Sunday. Ara came to invite you, but the two of you were in town last Friday. So she left your invitation with me.” She said and handed it over to Alex before continuing. “I am traveling there tomorrow. I always go a week before the bash to help them. Eileen is going with me. She wanted me to ask you if you would look after the school for her for a week.”

  From the corner of her eye, Alex saw Jim go very still while he was still bent over the map.

  Jim never spoke about his mother, and on the rare occasions Alexandra had tried to get him to talk about it, he either changed the subject completely leaving her to take the hint or shut her out for hours afterward. Eileen was not a welcome subject between them. It had not escaped Alex’s notice that apart from her husband everybody else treated Eileen with friendliness and dignity and Andreadora had a clear affection for her.

  “Alex, I would never have asked if I had had a choice. Please, do it as a personal favor to me.” Andreadora implored, and Alex nodded a reluctant consent silently imploring Jim to help her out, but he did not.