King of Campus

by Jennifer Sucevic

  The rest of the evening turns out to be a lot mellower than the first half. There’s no more talk about Roan turning pro or questions for me regarding what my plans for the future look like. It’s well after nine o’clock when we finally decide to head home. I have to admit that the evening turned out to be more enjoyable than I thought it would.

  When we’re outside my apartment door, Roan finally says, “So how come you never talked about auditioning this spring?”

  I shrug. “Because everything is just so tentative right now. And nothing may come out of it. There just didn’t seem to be a point in bringing it up.”

  “But if an audition comes along and you get a part, you would definitely take it?”

  It’s not even a question I have to think about. “Of course, I would. That’s what I’ve been working towards all these years. It would be a dream come true to be part of a company.” Ever since I was eight years old, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.

  Both Roan and I have dreams that we’re pursuing and neither one of us are going to change the course of them because of a budding relationship. He could be drafted anywhere in the United States. And my future is equally uncertain at this point. I could spend the next year and a half finishing up my degree and then move to a bigger city where the possibilities for professional careers in dance are more plentiful.

  Instead of asking more questions, he leans in slowly before covering my lips. Oh so softly his mouth strokes over mine. Rather gently he sucks my lower lip into his mouth. A spark of heat ignites in the pit of my belly. It’s always like that when he touches me. Instantaneous. No one else has ever made me feel like that before. It’s completely addictive.

  I can’t help but groan, wanting to taste more of him. I’ve never met anyone who could take me from zero to sixty the way he does. Almost leisurely his lips slide their way across mine. It’s as if he knows exactly how much I want to feel him and he’s toying with me. When his tongue finally slips in between my lips, I open fully to him.

  Wanting more.

  Wanting everything he’s willing to give.

  Our tongues tangle. Stroking against each other until he sucks my tongue into his mouth and it feels as if I’m going to come right out of my skin. Or maybe melt into him.

  My hands slide their way across his broad chest feeling all the chiseled hardness under the pink polo he’s wearing. Yeah, he’s wearing pink and with his dark coloring, he totally owns it. I swear, I’m just about to climb up his big body when he suddenly draws away, breaking contact before resting his forehead against mine. It takes a moment for me to realize that he’s panting just as harshly as I am.

  When he finally speaks, his voice sounds as if it’s been roughed up and scraped raw. God, what a turn on… It arrows clean through me right down to my core. “You should probably go inside, Ivy.”

  I’m so freaking turned on right now. Everything aches. I can’t stop the husky words from tumbling out of my mouth. “Do you want to come in for a bit?” Because I really, really want him to come in right now. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more in my life. It’s been a good nine months since I’ve been with someone. Normally sex isn’t something I think too much about.

  But that certainly hasn’t been the case since I’ve met Roan.

  I’ve thought more about sex in the last month then I have in the last year. And it has everything to do with the way he makes me feel. The chemistry that sizzles and snaps between us when we’re together. And the surprising way he’s opened himself up to me.

  It’s sexy.

  So damn sexy.

  He gives me a heated look that almost singes me alive before quickly shaking his head. Disappointment surges through me as I realize that when I hit the sheets tonight, it’ll be with a massive case of sexual frustration.

  “That’s probably not a good idea right now.”

  Slowly I stroke my hand from the top of his muscular chest down to his rigidly held abs. My eyelids are at half-mast as I continue staring up at him. “Are you sure?” Yeah, I’m not proud of the coy note lacing my words, but what else am I supposed to do?

  I want Roan in the worst way. Especially after that kiss.

  He makes a growling noise deep in his throat before grabbing my purse and rifling through it. I’m so stunned by his abrupt movements that it takes me a moment to realize what he’s doing. Before I can even get the words out, he grabs my key and shoves it into the lock. Throwing the door open, he practically shoves me inside the small entryway.

  “Night, Ivy.”

  With that, he shuts the door in my face. Feeling stunned by what just occurred, I stand there staring at the closed door with my mouth hanging open.

  What the hell just happened here?

  Cause I was pretty much expecting he’d want to come in and continue what we’d started out in the hallway. But clearly that isn’t going to happen. Which, for someone with his sexual track record, doesn’t exactly make a whole lot of sense to me. And I can’t even ask him what the heck is going on because he’s already gone. I hear the door to his apartment open before slamming shut with a resounding thud.

  Umm, okay. I guess that’s the end of that.

  With a deep sigh, I take off my heels before padding my way towards the bedroom. I hear the noise of the TV coming from the living room and I’m half suspecting Lexie might be asleep on the couch even though it’s not quite ten o’clock. I know the last couple of days have been rough on her.

  I’m trying to quietly make it to my bedroom when a tousled head pops up from the couch.

  Her voice is low and groggy as if she’s been sleeping. “So how did your date go?”

  Halting, I turn back towards her. “I don’t think eating dinner with his dad and,” it’s on the tip of my tongue to say partner, but I quickly remember that no one knows about Roan’s dad being gay. Biting back the words, I say instead, “Um, I don’t think that really qualifies as a date.”

  Saying nothing to my verbal stumbling, she instead latches onto the fact that Roan took me to meet his family.

  “You had dinner with his dad?” Her eyes widen as wonder fills her voice. “I can’t believe he took you to meet his family! Are you two, like, a thing now?” If she had been sleeping only moments ago, she’s wide awake now.

  “A thing?” I’m not even sure how to answer that.

  “You know- going out or whatever the kids are calling it now-a-days.” Her lips twitch. Mine do as well. “I mean, I know you’re not hooking up.” Her eyes narrow before reconfirming, “You haven’t… have you?”

  Well… I guess I tried hooking up with him tonight. Unfortunately it didn’t go so well. But I’m certainly not going to share that little tidbit of embarrassing information with her. I mean, how humiliating… The guy who is pretty much known for his one night stands won’t even fool around with me. It would actually be comical if I weren’t so damn turned on at the moment.

  “No hook up action has taken place. And I have no idea what we are. So chill on the labels, okay?”

  Since Lexie is sitting here all alone and she and Dylan used to be surgically attached at the hip, I’m guessing they still haven’t worked things out between them. “Have you spoken with Dylan at all?”

  Her smile dims before she slowly nods her head. “He texted and I told him I needed more time and space.”

  I nod. “Are you feeling any better about what happened?”

  Sighing, she shrugs her shoulders. “A little bit, but I’m just not ready to jump back into what we had. I guess I didn’t realize just how serious we’d become over the last eight months. I need time to figure out what I want.”

  “Was he understanding about that?” Because not all guys would be. Some might even tell her to go eff herself. Or be out there screwing around. But I don’t think Dylan’s like that. He seems fully committed to Lexie.

  “Yeah, actually he was.” A small smile curves her lips. “He told me he’d wait and that we were in this together even if I wanted to be a
lone right now.”

  My heart actually melts. “Awww, that’s so sweet, Lex. How can you not totally love him?” Hell, I’m not even going out with the guy and I love him. He really is a sweetheart and if I was ever in doubt as to his feelings for Lexie, this has totally confirmed just how much he cares about her. The fact that he’s willing to give her some room to breathe when she’s asking for it, is all the proof I need.

  Giving me a big huffy sigh, she says, “I do love him. But I need to get some shit figured out on my own first. I’m going to make another appointment at the clinic and talk to them about what my birth control options are. In addition to condoms.” Her voice lowers. “I don’t ever want to go through that again. It was really scary. And it made me realize just how careless I was being. I just took for granted that a condom would be enough protection.” Looking irritated with herself, she shakes her head. “It was really stupid on my part.”

  “Well,” I respond lightly, “then something good came out of the whole thing.”

  She gives another little shrug of her shoulders before her expression turns contemplative. She’s been looking like that quite a bit these last few days. “Yeah, I guess.”

  When she doesn’t say anything more, I jerk my head towards the bedroom. “Okay… well… I’m going to hit the sack.”

  Thirty minutes later, I’m lying there when my phone chimes. Almost immediately I reach for it because I have the feeling it’s Roan and a little flutter of excitement slides through me as I unlock the screen.

  Yep, that’s right. Passcode protected, baby. Thank you very much, Roan King. Lesson learned the hard way.

  U asleep?

  No.

  Wanna talk?

  Sure.

  And then there’s just… nothing.

  A few moments later, there’s a light knock on the apartment door. Hoping Lexie didn’t hear it, I sprint to the door before throwing it open. And there he is, looking adorable and mouthwatering in a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt that hugs his big bulging biceps and chest.

  I seriously love soft cottony t-shirts right now.

  New.

  Favorite.

  Thing.

  Raising my finger to my lips, I give him the- you-need-to-be-quiet look. Smirking, he nods his head before following me in. Just as Roan and I turn the corner into the short hallway that leads to the bedrooms, I skid to a halt as I come face to face with my roommate.

  With a raised brow, she continues leaning oh-so-casually against her doorjamb.

  “Well, well, well,” she drawls slowly with a big shit eating grin plastered across her face, “good evening, Roan. Spending the night, I see.” I haven’t seen her look this bright eyed and amused in days. It would be nice to see… if it wasn’t at my expense.

  “Ummm…”

  Yep, that’s the best I got right now. I’m totally drawing mental blanks over here.

  And Roan being Roan, just flashes her a wide winning smile before adding in a little wink for good measure. “Night, Lexie. See you in the morning.” And with that, he grabs my hand before towing me into my bedroom and slamming the door shut.

  “Don’t think I’m unaware that he spent the night last week, too!” We both hear her hoot of laughter before she closes the door to her own room.

  Covering my eyes with my hand, I sigh. “Aw, crap.”

  He’s quiet for a moment, before asking, “Does it really matter if she knows that I’m here?”

  My hand slowly lowers to my side as my eyes arrow to his. Silently I contemplate the question.

  Does it matter if Lexie knows?

  Probably not...

  But… this is new and I’m not even sure if I can slap a proper label on it right now. I don’t know if I even want to. Maybe I just want to enjoy what’s happening between us and take it one day at a time. Not think too much about it. Which isn’t my usual style at all.

  Just as I say, “I guess not,” he suddenly strips off his shirt.

  And yeah… my mind goes a little- oh who am I kidding? It goes a lot fuzzy seeing his big beautiful bare chest come into view. I swear I go a little bit stupid every time I see him without a shirt on.

  Not that I’m complaining...

  Without waiting for an invitation, he climbs onto my bed before settling in. Kind of like he’s been there a hundred times before and it’s no big deal. Holding up the covers, he silently gestures for me to join him. He doesn’t even make me scoot in against the wall this time but backs up so there’s enough space for me to nestle in front of him. Not saying a word, I climb in next to him. As I do, he curls his massive body loosely around mine making me feel completely protected.

  I can’t help the contented sigh that falls from my lips. How is it possible for this to feel so damn right when I don’t even know if anything is going to come out of this? I don’t have an answer. I just know it does.

  “I’m glad you were with me tonight.” Rather lightly he kisses the side of my face and I can’t help but snuggle in deeper against him feeling utterly satisfied. As if this is exactly where I belong. Where I’ve always belonged.

  “It was nice.” I think about Linc and his laser focus on all things Roan and football. “Linc sure is…” My voice trails off because I’m not sure what the right word to use is. I don’t want to offend him by sounding critical of someone who’s part of his family.

  Without skipping a beat, he says, “Intense?”

  I turn my head so I’m able to meet his eyes in the darkness. “Yeah. Intense. A lot more than your dad.”

  He shrugs. “Linc played college football. So he knows exactly what I need to do to make it to the next level. My dad never played. I think that’s why Linc has really involved himself in the process. He researched all the colleges that were making offers and set me up with an agent.”

  “Wow.”

  Quickly he adds, “I appreciate everything he’s done for me. I wouldn’t be in such a good position without him.”

  I can see how helpful that would be but still… It just seems like a lot of pressure to be heaping on a twenty-two year old.

  His arms are wrapped around me, holding me close. His warm breath feathers against my skin. “Other than all the football talk, did you enjoy yourself?”

  Closing my eyes, I revel in the feeling of him pressed up against me. “I did. They’re both nice. And I like how laid back your dad is. It seems like you two have a really close relationship.”

  “We do. It took a while to get to that point but I can finally accept and appreciate that my dad isn’t like everybody else’s. And football is what Linc and I bonded over. Having that in common gave us something to talk about.”

  Needing to see his face, I turn in his arms. My eyes hold his. “I’m glad you have people in your life who see you for the person you are,” I whisper before pressing my lips softly against his.

  After a few more gentle caresses, Roan pulls away before tugging me against his chest. “I like being here with you, Ivy.” His lips flutter against my forehead. “I like it a lot.”

  “Me, too,” I admit.

  For a long time we just lay there, tangled up in each other’s arms, exploring one another with soft slow strokes. When we finally fall asleep, my head is nestled against the solid wall of his chest and I feel more happy than I can ever remember being.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  There’s a huge game coming up this weekend and everyone is expecting Roan King to lead the team to another amazing victory! Tons of people are caravanning to UMass for the game. If you’re a true RK fan, you’re not going to want to miss this one! KingOfCampus.com

  Shaking off the last remnants of sleep, I roll towards Roan who is still snoring soundly besides me. Sometime during the night, the sheet slid down so that it only covers the top of his low slung shorts. The edges of the thin tan cotton are crumpled across his lean hips. Much to my delight, there’s nothing but hot naked chest as far as the eye can see. To say that he’s merely gorgeous is a complete underst
atement.

  I swear, every time I look at him, my heart stutters in response.

  It’s doubtful I could pull my gaze away even if I wanted to. But since he’s still sleeping, I don’t have to. Slowly my eyes slide from the tips of his inky black hair that has just a hint of curl to it to those ridiculously long lashes that are feathered closed across his cheeks.

  Seriously, who has lashes that full and thick?

  Ugh. So not fair.

  And that mouth...

  Total sin.

  He has a really strong profile. It would be a lie to say I’m not tempted to nip at that jutting chin. Somehow I resist the urge as my eyes continue gliding down his body. Because he’s not awake, I don’t have to worry about him smirking at me for openly ogling him. Because I know he would. So you better believe I’m going to take advantage of this while I can.

  I can’t help but notice that his body has a natural sun kissed hue to it.

  He has wide shoulders and huge bulging biceps. There is so much muscle that has been painstakingly sculpted. Almost as if it’s been carved from marble. I can certainly appreciate the level of dedication it takes to develop a body like his. It’s a work of beauty. It really is.

  His chest is so wide and solid. The swirl of dark hair on his torso only makes him sexier. He’s so damn manly. Everything about him screams masculine. My eyes continue meandering their way over those strong pecs down over his ribs to his tight abdominals. Even in sleep, they’re amazingly well-defined.

  I can only stare at the sight of him in bewilderment.

  Someone needs to explain just how Roan King has ended up in my bed.

  With me.

  No, seriously. Because, for the life of me, I just can’t wrap my brain around it.

  Not that I couldn’t lie here all morning eating him up with my eyes, but the need to touch him pounds through me like a steady, insistent drumbeat. So it’s carefully that I lean over before gently pressing my lips against his softly parted ones.

  As I feather soft kisses across his mouth, Roan begins to stir beneath me as if he’s fighting to surface from a deep slumber. Groaning, he stretches that great big powerful body against me. Just as I lower my mouth to his again, he suddenly kicks away the sheet before hauling my body up on top of his.