“All right. Okay. Anything else?”
“Nope.” Flashing that damned trademark, dimpled Beau Johnson smile that had won him all the best-looking women around the camps, he stood up straight. “But if something comes up, I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll make these changes and get the contract back to you both,” Leah said, as cool as if she negotiated what to order for dinner.
“I see my student,” Steve said, rising. He looked down at Leah. “Thanks for putting up with me for a few minutes. See you later?” he asked Beau.
“Yeah.” Beau leaned over and kissed Leah’s cheek. Then he slapped Charles on the back and strolled out.
“Mr. Hardin?” A cute brunette looked up at him with big, brown eyes. “I’m here for our lesson.”
If he’d been ten years younger and hadn’t just spent the last few minutes trying to figure out how to quell his hard-on for Leah Morris, Steve might have been attracted by the flirtatious tilt of her head. Now all he could do was sigh and hope she wasn’t so far behind in chemistry that he’d have to spend more than an hour helping her prepare for their test.
He led her to a vacant table in the corner far from the traffic in and out of the door. Before getting started, he turned and looked back. Leah stared across the table at Charles. As though sensing his gaze, she looked up. Crazy as it might have been, he thought he recognized a flash of interest in her gaze. Then it was gone. Maybe it was wishful thinking on his part, but if true, that was good, right? A flash was better than nothing.
* * * *
“Leah.” She turned her interest back to Charles. He pursed his lips and stared at her. “We protested against men like them, remember? We held up signs denouncing what they were doing to those poor civilians caught in the crossfire in Vietnam and demanded the war end.”
“I remember.”
“Then why are you so quick to turn your back on all that and sleep with one of them? They were murderers over there. Why would you think they were any different here?” Charles folded his hands and regarded her with disbelief in his eyes.
He made good points. She had protested, though her actions were more personal than altruistic. Always the outsider, she had joined Faculty Against the War and taken part in campus protests just to belong. Being part of any college faculty and not taking part in protests would have separated her from the rest of the faculty. She’d spent her life being odd man out. If feeling one with her peers meant she marched a little and chanted a few slogans, it had been a small price to pay. She wasn’t a great fan of the military establishment, but the war was over, and she had her needs now.
“I have my reasons. Besides, Beau isn’t in the service any longer. He’s given up that mentality.”
Charles stared a moment longer then picked up the cup that had sat before him untouched for the past twenty minutes and drained the contents. “I wonder,” he said and then left her at the empty table.
Chapter Five
Leah glanced at Beau’s empty chair and then at the clock over the door for the fourth time in ten minutes. He had transferred to a psychology class yesterday, making him no longer her student. Now the class couldn’t end fast enough. “And that’s one reason for the Eastward Movement. Now you can—”
“Don’t you mean the Westward Movement?” one of her students asked.
“What? Oh, yes. The Westward Movement. And that’s why people in the 1940s moved in great—
“Don’t you mean 1840s?” asked the same annoying student.
“Would you like to lecture today?” Leah asked sweetly.
The girl squirmed. “No, ma’am.”
Leah blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. As you so rightly point out, my mind appears to be wandering. For Monday, read the next two chapters in your text and be prepared for a test. And with that, you may leave.”
The room exploded with chatter and movement, as though everyone wanted out before the crazy woman changed her mind.
“…needs to get laid,” one male student said to another before exiting.
Whether he meant her or not, he was right. It had been close to a year since she’d had sex. And to think that her first experience in what promised to be a few months of plenty would be with the gorgeous, delicious Beau Johnson.
She threw her materials into her briefcase and rushed to the door only to be stopped in her tracks by Charles.
“I caught you!” he pronounced.
Caught me what? Leaving early? Thinking about Beau? “I’m in a bit of a hurry,” she said.
“I wondered if you want to see a movie tonight.”
“I can’t, Charles. I’m going to be busy.”
He stared for a moment before realization showed on his face. “You mean you’re going to be with him.”
“With Beau, yes. And I need to get home and prepare.”
“You’re playing with fire, Leah. That tool of the defense department can’t be trusted.”
“Charles, stop it. Beau is no more a tool of the military-industrial complex than you or I. He’s a former Marine using the GI Bill for an education. He isn’t still in the military.”
“And if he were? Did those months of protesting the war mean nothing?”
“Of course they did. I was against the war as much as the next person. Protesting was a duty. But the war is over now. All of the marches and sit-ins worked. We won.”
Charles looked thoughtful. “I don’t trust him. I wish you hadn’t chosen him to share your body with.”
“I chose you, too.” And she had been ready to sleep with Charles after their playdate on Thursday, but he had claimed to be tired after a long day in the classroom. She couldn’t deny the niggling sense of relief she’d felt at not having to make love with Charles. They were friends. She couldn’t help but feel their relationship would change forever once they had sex.
Without thoroughly thinking things through, Leah had chosen Charles as a subject of her book because of the obvious conflict with and contrast to Beau. Since then, she’d had to admit to herself that Charles didn’t attract her. The closer their date had come, the more she wondered how she would react to him. What if her lack of natural attraction to him prevented her from responding sexually? She hated being so shallow, but there it was. She couldn’t help it.
Even now, she wished he would get out of her way. She wanted to rush home, shower, shave her legs and underarms, and dress for dinner at Beau’s house. Then—in its natural timing, as he insisted—they would have sex for the first time. The very thought moistened her panties and increased her heart rate. She would have no trouble responding to Beau.
“Leah,” Charles said in the whiny voice she hated, “come home with me. We’ll have some wine and then go to bed. You can call the baby killer from there and make your apologies.”
“Stop calling him that,” she said, and frustration gave her words a sharpness she normally wouldn’t use with Charles.
His eyes widened and he took a step back. “You’re determined then.”
The red flag of tenure waved before her. Since deciding on her course of action, she had called Whitestone and a second publisher who knew the academic world. Her book would be ground-breaking. They had both assured her that no other book like it existed. That was the reason she couldn’t wait to fuck Beau. Nothing else.
She stiffened her back. “I am determined. Are you still willing?”
“No.” A cloud passed over his face. “Yes. Hell, I don’t know. I just don’t understand you anymore, Leah. It’s possible my attraction to you has dimmed somewhat.”
Her heart both sang and sank. Who would she choose as her second man? The negative feelings Charles harbored for Beau would have added so much to her study—would he try harder to win her attention from the Marine, or would he cave in to the other man’s certain confidence and power bred into him by the Corps? Now she wouldn’t know the answer.
“If you feel that way,” she said, “I will tear up the contract you signed.”
“Not y
et.” He bit the cuticle of his index finger.
Such an unattractive habit. “Fine, but I really have to go now. If you want to continue—and I hope you do—”
He jerked up his head. “You do?”
“Of course. We’re friends. I didn’t ask you to participate to make you uncomfortable, though.”
“Wednesday there’s a gallery opening in Charlottesville. Let’s go and stay overnight.”
Overnight visits were not anything she’d considered, but she should have. “Two rooms,” she said. “Just in case.”
“Of course.”
Leah couldn’t help contrasting Charles’s reply to what Beau would have said. She knew instinctively that he would have laughed at the notion of two rooms, at the thought that he might not want to sleep with her.
“Don’t forget.” There was that whiny tone again. It was all she could do not to cringe.
For the first time since knowing Charles, she thought his last name described him. Little. Not the size of his cock, for she didn’t know that yet. But his nature. Inside she frowned. It disturbed her on a base level that she agreed with Steve Hardin.
“I won’t forget. I have a class until four, though.”
“Meet me at my house. And we’ll take your Datsun. It’s more economical than mine, and at forty-four cents a gallon for gas, we should consider that.” He walked past and then turned. “I guess I should say to have a good time tonight, but I just can’t imagine you will. I know you have more sense than to enjoy being with a military man.” Spinning on his heel, he hurried off, just as the bell marking the end of the class rang.
“Sense, schmense,” she muttered. “I just want to get off.”
And then, later than she’d hoped, she, too, hurried down the hall.
* * * *
“Nervous?” Steve asked Beau.
“What? Of course not. She’s a woman, I’m a man. Things will happen in natural course. What’s to worry about?” But he was nervous. Sure, Leah was a woman and he was a man, but their sexual encounter had been planned. Who did that?
“Right. I stand corrected.” Steve stirred the sauce one last time and turned off the heat. “Since I’ve been ordered out of my own house for the evening, I’ll tell you now. Heat this up slowly. It would be a sacrilege to serve my mama’s secret spaghetti sauce burned. You do know how to boil the pasta, don’t you?”
“Smart ass. I’m a Marine. If I spoil the damn sauce or undercook the spaghetti, I’ll go out back and find us a few slugs for dinner. After fucking me she won’t remember dinner anyway, no matter what I serve.”
“I repeat, right,” Steve said dryly. He put the lid on the saucepan and checked his watch. “She’s due to arrive in an hour or so. I’ll be back later.”
“Don’t hurry. I plan to make this an evening she remembers.”
“I’m sure you will.” Steve picked up his books in one hand and car keys in the other. “By the way, I received orders today. Uncle Sam is ending our time in the Corps and put us in the reserves. Our first duty weekend is next month.”
“Good. It’s great the Corps has put us through school, but I’ve missed getting with the guys and shooting things up,” Beau said with a laugh. “I’ll probably get my letter this week.”
“It’s something to keep in mind when you’re planning time with Leah. She can spend time with the Little guy on those weekends.”
Beau crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “I plan to make her forget all about being with a second man. I have a feeling about her. I’m attracted.”
“Seriously?”
Beau shrugged. “Maybe. There’s something there beneath the surface. I wouldn’t be doing this otherwise. I want her in my bed, and not just a few times a week.”
Steve raised his brows. “Well, buddy. Good luck. It seems to me the lady has an agenda.”
A Datsun 240Z pulled into the drive. Beau smiled despite himself when he saw who climbed out. “She’s as anxious to get this show on the road as I am.” He walked to the door before Leah could ring the bell. “Hello. Come on in.”
“I’m early, sorry.”
He smiled. Was she nervous, too? There was nothing overtly anxious about her, except that she clutched the handle of her shoulder bag with a grip that looked like it could bring down a football player.
“Steve was just leaving,” Beau said as Leah preceded him into the kitchen.
“Hello,” Steve said softly.
Her shoulders tensed. Beau saw it immediately and once more worried over what had happened between his best friend and the woman who would soon be his lover.
“Hello,” she said. “Don’t let me keep you.”
Steve tossed his keys in the air and neatly caught them. “I’m going. Don’t forget about the sauce,” he said to Beau, and then he was gone.
“Sauce?”
“Steve is the chef in our household. I clean, he cooks. His mom is Italian, and she trained him well in the kitchen. We’re having her famous secret sauce and spaghetti.”
“He cooked for us? That was generous.”
“Steve’s a good guy. I’ve known him longer than you, and I’ve seen him in good times and bad. I think if you got to know him again, you’d like him.”
“I don’t care to, thanks.”
Okay. So much for trying to change her mind on that score. “Would you like something to drink?”
She strolled to him. “I want more than anything what I came here for. Then I’ll think about food and drink and discussing friends. Right now I just want to get naked and under you.”
Well, damn. Every corpuscle of blood rushed to his groin and his dick grew hard in seconds. “Then let’s do just that.” He took her hand and led her down the hall to his room. Once there, he wasted no time taking her into his arms.
She smelled good. Her shampoo had a citrus scent and her skin was fresh and clean. She wore only a little makeup, so he kissed her lips but nuzzled her cheeks, jaw, and neck, tasting her with his tongue and lips together. He ran his hands up and down her arms. Damn, but her skin felt like silk.
“Close the door,” she whispered.
“Steve’s not coming back. I don’t want to feel like we have to hide.”
“Fine.” Leah took control, framing his head with her hands and kissing him. Her tongue glided in and out of his mouth. He slid his hands down her torso, along the sides of her breasts, in to her narrow waist, and out over the flare of her hips. Through the material of her sundress, he knew she wore no bra. There was no panty line, either. He groaned into her mouth. Moving against his body, she kicked off her sandals, and he pulled up her dress.
“You came prepared,” he said before exploring her mouth again.
“No need putting on unnecessary clothing I just planned to take off.”
“Smart woman.” He leaned back to sweep the dress over Leah’s head. Her body was perfection. Full, round breasts with large nipples tempted him, and he gave in, bending to suck one of her nipples into his mouth.
“Yes, oh, God, yes.” She moaned. Her hands were everywhere on his head, her fingers ruffling his hair.
He switched nipples at the same time he moved his hands down her body and between her legs. She spread them apart, and he rubbed her pussy lips, his fingers sliding on her moisture, already lubricating her pussy. She was just waiting for him.
Taking her clit between his thumb and index finger, he squeezed gently and felt it grow in his care. Her hips flexed onto his fingers and over his hand. She was hot and wet and so ready.
He stood back and ripped his shirt over his head. Leah started with his belt, and then he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. As he pulled them off, she stretched out on the bed, legs spread, and fingering her clit while she watched him.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
“You’re perfect,” she said back.
He opened the drawer of the bedside table and removed a condom. Seconds later, he climbed onto the bed on all fours and between her legs.
<
br /> “Fuck me,” she whispered.
He smiled. “Not quite yet.”
Chapter Six
Oh. My. God. Leah couldn’t believe she finally occupied Beau Johnson’s bed. At long, fucking last.
Beau grasped the insides of her thighs and inched them further apart before fitting his head at her pussy. He blew on the hair that covered her pubic bone, making her shiver. But then, he licked her. His tongue followed the furrow of her pussy lips and teased her clit out from its hood. When he sucked it into his mouth, she arched her back off the mattress and took the bedcover into her fists. Her breath came fast and shallow. Her heart raced, but all Leah concentrated on was the fire raging between her thighs, igniting her clit and pussy. She sped toward an orgasm as the sensations begun by Beau’s tongue and mouth urged her body to respond.
He slid two fingers inside her pussy, stroking just at the opening. Seconds later, she spiraled into release. No amount of control on her part could stop it. Hell, she didn’t want to stop it. This was why she’d come.
“Gotta feel you,” Beau muttered, edging up her body. He took her mouth, and she tasted her cream on his tongue, on his lips. The taste—the scent—drove her wild with need.
He thrust forward, and for the first time in so long, a man’s cock filled her. The difference was, Beau’s cock stretched her nearly to the breaking point. He must be huge, and she hadn’t even taken time to admire him properly. Pulling her knees up, she met his drives, anxious to come again now that she knew he would send her into a universe of wonder.
Light sweat covered their bodies and they slid over each other. Their groins slapped with each thrust. The bed groaned and squeaked as he slammed into her. The smell of sex filled the air. Leah could hardly breathe. She broke the kiss and turned her head to his shoulder. She started to cry out and opened her mouth on his skin. The taste of his salty sweat knocked her off the tenuous hold she had on her control.
In the midst of her orgasm, Beau must have come, too. By the time she regained viable thought, he rolled off her to the side, still breathing hard. He wrapped her in his arm and tugged her against his side. They lay like that for several minutes with their breathing the only sound in the room. Hers gradually returned to a normal rhythm.
Teacher's Pets [Unlikely Bedfellows 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5
