When their eyes met once more, he had to breathe in deep. Slow.
He was nervous too. Lila was relieved. Jack had always been good at hiding his nerves. They’d never suited him, but today, they shone brightly.
The champagne glass he’d been cradling all afternoon began rotating under his fingers, the amber liquid offsetting his olive skin beautifully. His eyes searched hers, and he found himself bringing the glass absently to his lips.
Lila couldn’t help smiling. “What are you doing? You hate that stuff.”
He gazed down at the champagne glass still dancing under his fingers, wincing as the bubbles went down his throat. “You remember that?” His eyes grew intense as he looked back up from under his eyelids.
“Of course I do. You wouldn’t go anywhere near it back home. The only time I ever saw you swallow a drop of champagne was when…” Lila had to stop herself.
He didn’t need her to finish. When I was licking it off your naked body? His eyes came alive. Mercifully, he managed to bite his tongue. There was no need for elaboration anyhow. His eyes said everything neither of them could.
She looked up into the sky playfully, and then back down at him. “I thought I might see you here.”
He held his arms out. “Here I am.”
“You look good, Jack. Really good.”
“Thank you.” His acceptance was gracious, if not a bit cold.
Lila struggled with the silence. “So… what are you doing for work these days?”
“I run a non-profit organization for blind orphan girls in Southeast Asia.”
Lila covered her heart with her hand. “Really?”
The smirk, though a far cry from the gleaming smile she knew lived somewhere in the deepest parts of him, lit up his face. “No.”
She immediately shoved him, becoming instantly embarrassed by her actions. They didn’t know each other well enough for her to put her hands on him, even playfully. Not anymore.
Jack took the blow in stride, licking his lips. “I’m a lawyer, Lila. It’s what I do. It’s all I’ll ever know how to be. Didn’t you tell me that once?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Not that I can recall.”
“Hm…” He licked his lips again.
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“How?” He blinked lazily. “How am I looking at you?”
Lila looked around her. He was looking at her like he wanted to eat her alive. Like he was a ravenous man who’d happened upon a tenderloin. He was looking at her like he knew what her pussy tasted like, because he’d already licked every inch.
“It’s been a long time.” He held his breath and waited until her eyes were on his once more. “Why?”
Lila swallowed as the wave of emotion she’d been fighting hit her like a brick. “You know why.”
He squinted at her and wondered whether he should speak. “Do I?”
Without answering, Lila looked towards the grass.
Her eyes immediately went to Chase, who was in the process of grinding against a redhead who had an ass that should’ve been illegal. That redhead was one of the many pretty young things that Lila saw Chase running around campus with these days. As she watched the small smile grow on his face, and the sway of their hips become more intense, she wondered if this was the girl that would finally stick.
Jack’s eyes never left her. Not even as his baby brother degraded himself in broad daylight. Not even for a moment.
--
The next morning, Lila couldn’t focus.
It was the first class of summer semester—a semester Lila had always despised. The students at Harvard were nearly all Type A, so when they felt they were floundering in their work, they immediately began to panic and crumble under the pressure. The summer workload wasn’t just heavy, but fast paced, making the semester a breeding ground for some of Harvard’s most infamous student body breakdowns. Lila hated it.
She struggled with keeping her students at arms-length. Young people, especially those who were just trying to get ahead in their education, were easily her biggest weakness. She yearned to see them succeed. Watching them stress out in any way was not her idea of fun.
The fact that this was a Human Sexuality class didn’t make her much more excited. She’d been hired to teach the course on Childhood Trauma, in The School of Arts and Sciences, during the spring and fall semesters.
She’d planned on taking the summer off to finish up the final edits of her manuscript. Being saddled with a six-week course that met Monday through Thursday had shot those plans straight to hell.
The original professor for the course had dropped out at the last minute. Though she hated the summer session, Lila had to take into account that she was being considered for a full-time assistant professor position. It was one step up from the lecturer position she held now, so she hadn’t had the luxury of saying no when they’d offered her the opportunity to teach this class.
She could only hope this session went by fast.
Her eyes traveled over the auditorium that sat 200, easily the largest group she’d taught so far. The classroom didn’t have individual desks, but long tables in the shape of half-moons, each one growing wider as the rows climbed. Lila could hardly make out the faces of the few dozen students seated all the way at the top.
“Good morning class…” Her voice roared out into the auditorium like there was a speaker system in there, and it startled her. She’d gotten so used to dealing with the shitty classrooms the tenured professors didn’t want that projecting her voice had become second nature. That apparently wasn’t going to be necessary here. She adjusted her blazer proudly and lowered her voice.
“My name is Professor Lila James. You can call me Lila. I’m pretty laid back...”
She sat on top of her desk and crossed her legs, not missing the many eyes that fell to them the moment she did. Perhaps the black skirt suit she’d chosen today was a bit too short.
“And I’m not that Professor that just says she’s laid back, waits until you get comfortable, and then eats her young out of the blue.”
Soft, nervous laughter followed her joke, and she was thankful to have a light-hearted group. Her fingers held the edge of the desk, nerves calming quite a bit at the friendly faces before her. “I really, really am… very laid back. Having said that, I won’t lie to you guys. This is a fast paced course. I have a lot of work in store for you. I’m not going to let you skate by, but watching you guys tear out your hair from stress is certainly not my idea of fun, unlike some professors I know.” She winked, enjoying the sound of the laughter growing with ease. “I’m not going to saturate you with work, but I won’t coddle you either. Come to my class prepared, and I promise you’ll be just fine. Also, if you’re not feeling comfortable with the subject matter of this class, or any of your classes for that matter, if you’re having issues in your life, questions about the work I give you, anything at all, I’m here for you okay? I really am… So--”
Her words were cut short when the door to the classroom opened at the top of the auditorium.
She motioned to the door. “I’m so glad someone is showing up late to my classroom because that is the one thing I am definitely not laid back about. Young man?” Lila waited until her late student stepped into the classroom and showed his face, her mouth dropping when she came face to face with Jack Almeida for the second time that week. She recovered quickly, hiding the surprised expression that had flashed across her face, but not quickly enough to stop her students from turning their heads to see who was at the door.
It had been an entire day since they’d run into each other at the Crimson event. After saying congratulations to Chase, and declining his invite to a celebratory dinner, she’d gotten the hell out of dodge as quickly as possible. She and Jack hadn’t said much to one another outside of that one polite, casual conversation, a conversation that was constantly laced with something murkier and darker under the surface.
What she remembered most abo
ut Jack was his total inability to speak with anything but biting honesty. So the elusive mental game he’d been playing with her at the event had left her feeling on edge long after the day had ended. Looking at him at the top of the auditorium now, she was still on edge. She was also pretty sure she’d scratched ten nail shaped claw marks into the cheap wood under her desk.
Without taking her eyes off him, Lila uncrossed her legs and jumped down from the desk.
“Class will you excuse me?” She didn’t wait for an answer, eyes still riveted to his as she climbed the steps to the door.
As she and Jack grew closer, she could faintly hear the knowing mummers and giggles of her students before she pushed him out into the hallway. The door slammed closed behind her.
In the hallway, she looked up at him, immediately recognizing the expression on his face. The old Jack Almeida was finally back, the one he’d done a stand-up job of tucking away the day before, and he was on the verge of saying exactly what was on his mind.
If Lila knew Jack, she knew it would be something that had the potential to steal her calm and her control. So she pulled him across the hall, to the door of her small office. The keys in her hand shook as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. She didn’t have much more than a desk, computer and bookshelf. The walls and carpet were dark crimson, perfectly matching the deep darkness she felt every time she looked at him.
Jack swept into the office. He didn’t say a word, but he was speaking to her. When he turned to her, stormy eyes claiming hers, she could hear him loud and clear.
She stepped in after him, closing and locking the door behind her. The moment she locked it, she wondered why. She turned just as he began making his way toward her, prompting her to move backward in response, and the answer became clear.
“Jack, what the hell are you doing here?” Lila’s face could only register the shock she felt in her heart as he continued to move in on her slowly. When her back hit the door behind her, it shook her out of her reverie.
He moved in, so close she could see the jagged shards in his eyes where the brown turned to black. She braced herself for his biting words, his venomous tone, and the anger that had spent an entire year flourishing inside him. His warm breath hit her lips, and hers touched his as well.
“Jack?”
Leaning down, he covered her lips with his passionately, violently, pulling her body firmly forward until it was flush with his own.
Lila froze. She had half a mind to pull away, but she felt immobilized by the familiar feel of him. She gasped when he ripped her white button down clear open and lifted her off her feet. All common sense left her body as she wrapped her legs around his waist, open and ready for him. Ready for something she hadn’t even realized she’d been missing.
Their lips battled as he carried her to the desk and sat her down. Her legs spread for him before she could think another thought. Even after all this time, her body was instantly ready for him. The skin of her inner thigh burned as he reached under her skirt and ripped her lace panties off.
The faint sound of his zipper coming down sent her into overdrive, and her lips left his, finding a new home in the crook of his neck. He moaned in response. She helped him push his slacks halfway down his legs before cradling her knees at his waist, gasping when the head of his heat brushed her slick entrance.
“Yes,” Lila whispered, continuing her wet, languid assault on his neck. Her hand came to the back of his head, and she pulled him closer, feeling like she could swallow him whole. She’d never been more desperate or hungry to have a man inside her. “Please fuck me, Jack.”
“I missed this so bad…” Jack groaned as he pushed past the tight walls of her entrance, taken completely off guard at the pleasure that gripped every bone in his body. “You’re so warm, baby, god I missed you so fucking bad.”
Lila collapsed against the desk and threw her head back as he sank inside her. The eager cries on her lips grew more pronounced the deeper he went, until he’d filled her completely.
Jack began a deliberate, slow rock of his hips.
Lila was overcome, throwing her head back further. Her spine arched as pleasure overtook her, feeling Jack slide his hands over the dips and curves her body created.
He tapped at the dip in her neck as he pumped her, before slowly moving down and tugging impatiently at the cups of her black lace bra. Her breasts spilled out just enough to expose her dark, pebbled nipples, and he cupped them instantly, teasing the buds between his fingers. She felt the hardened nubs grow warm, screaming when he covered one with his lips and tongue, making amends for the rough treatment. He licked a languid trail across her chest to the other nipple and gave it the same attention. She cried out as he tortured her with his mouth while picking up the pace of his hips, hitting all the right spots, like they were built just for him.
“Jack, ugh…” She cried out her release, tears brimming on the edge of her eyes as her body spasmed.
Jack watched as she came, a passionate scowl creasing his handsome face. He waited until every last shudder left her before pulling away, grabbing her waist and flipping her over. His trembling fingers traced the delicate line of her back from her ass to her hair, which had grown moist with sweat. He buried his nose in it, smelling that same shampoo she always wore. His dick jumped in response.
Lila braced her elbows against the desk and clawed her nails into the cheery oak as she spread her legs, looking over her shoulder. Their eyes met just as he entered her from behind.
Jack’s eyes rolled back. He sank slowly into her warmth and fell helplessly forward, cradling himself on either side of her as he began a slow pound.
Lila screamed at the beautiful sensation. She was already on the verge for the second time.
Jack watched her ass bounce as she took every stroke with ease. He lost all control, laying on her back and grinding into her blindly. Burying his face in her hair again, he groaned, sliding his hands up to hers and entwining their fingers, thrusting desperately. His fingers clasped hers tightly as his orgasm built. When she clutched him in return, he came, screaming his release into the soft ringlets of her hair, sweat dripping down his nose and dampening the strands as he pulsated inside her.
“Lila…” he gasped. His abs continued to contract long after his release, and he thrust into her unconsciously, one last time, his body powerless and overcome.
Lila’s breasts heaved against the desk. She swallowed the moisture that had pooled in her mouth. She still yearned for him, an appetite that seemed almost insatiable, even with him still inside her. Her slick walls swelled for him as he finished, still hungry for more. She allowed her eyes to flutter closed, enjoying the sound of their gasps jumping off the walls in the room and the feel of him on top of her, stomach pressed against her back.
Jack was in no hurry to move. He was petrified. It hadn’t been his plan to take her like this. Not at all. He hadn’t been able to control himself when he’d come face to face with her again. It was as if the last year had immediately fallen away. As if he’d just seen her yesterday, and all he could comprehend was that he had to have her. It was the only thing that existed.
Not the hurt, not the anger, not the resentment. Just Lila.
As if her mind was running the same course, Lila tried to stand up, unable to get far due to the weight of him. His fingers remained tangled in hers. He released them with great reluctance when he felt her trying to stand tall.
“I have to--” She turned her head to speak to him and moaned when his lips covered hers in a passionate kiss. His fingers stroked the skin of her cheek as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss, his dick growing hard inside of her once again. Lila whimpered and pulled away, but he kept his hand on her cheek, eyes searching hers.
“I have to get back to my class…” she whispered, her eyes falling to his swollen lips. “My students.”
He placed another languid kiss on her lips, and a few more followed, short and sweet. Finally, Jack stood tall and pulled out.
They began to straighten up. They hadn’t even bothered taking off most of their clothes, so dressing was quick.
Lila watched him pull his briefs and pants back up, unable to hide a coy smile as she tucked her shirt into her pencil skirt. Her smile quickly fell when she went to fasten her top and found all of the buttons had been ripped away. Fingers playing against the white thread that hung down where each button used to be, she eventually gave up and let it hang open. She couldn’t go back to class looking like this.
Jack held her gaze as he fastened his pants. Once they were on, he stepped towards her and took her arms. His fingers curled around the fabric of her ruined shirt before he slowly peeled it off her. It fell into a heap on the floor. He took his time appreciating her lace bra and full breasts as he began unbuttoning his shirt. He pulled it off, leaving him in just a thin white undershirt.
Lila couldn’t help grinning coyly up at him as he fanned his button down across her shoulders. It cloaked her like a massive tent of fabric, and she could only shake her head as she slipped her arms inside of it.
Jack’s eyes never left hers. He buttoned each button, a grin touching his lips when he finished. It was about five sizes too big for her, but it would have to do.
Lila tucked the shirt in with a shake of her head. “Are you going to say something?” she asked. When he only stared in response, she placed her hand on his chest, feeling his still thundering heart as she turned away from him. She opened the door to the office and stepped out without looking back.
--
An hour later, her class was dismissed, and Lila was behind the desk gathering up her things in trembling hands. She could only hope something she’d said or done in class that day made sense to her students, because her mind had been in a completely different world. If she thought seeing Jack the other day had been messing with her senses, it was only because she’d forgotten how beautiful it felt to have him inside her.
Thunder Rolls (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy Book 2) Page 2
