Uncovering You: The Complete Series (Mega Box Set)

by Edwards, Scarlett

  “Okay,” I say. I remember the dean from the introduction assembly first week. He was a handsome, confident man of forty with a natural charisma about him. Summer swooned a little when she saw him.

  James wraps an arm around my back and leads me forward. I pick up a glass of water from one of the tables on our way. I take delicate sips in an effort to calm my rolling insides.

  There’s a small crowd around him. They part when they notice James and me approach. The dean sees James and smiles wide.

  But when I see his companion, my stomach falls to the floor.

  It’s Summer.

  “James! My good friend, how wonderful to see you.” The dean steps forward to grasp James by the shoulders, leaving Summer behind.

  She and I stare at each other. Shock isn’t a strong enough word to describe how I feel.

  Then she tips her head to the side and gives me a nasty but oh-so-sweet smile.

  “Alfred,” James says. “Let me introduce you to Celeste, my…” he falters when his eyes land on Summer.

  ” …date,” he finishes with a cough.

  Alfred holds out his hand to me. “How do you do?” he asks.

  “Fine, thank you,” I reply. I keep eying Summer, who simply smiles at me. I can’t for the life of me figure out if there’s any malevolence behind that grin.

  “And this is…?”

  “Ms. Blair,” James finishes for Alfred.

  “You’re acquainted?” Alfred seems surprised.

  “Oh yes,” James answers. “She’s a student of mine.”

  “As is Celeste,” Summer offers sweetly.

  Alfred looks a bit taken aback. But his confusion lasts only a half moment. “Well!” he claps his hands together. “Isn’t that just wonderful? Say, James, I’ve been meaning to ask…”

  I lose the rest of their conversation as the two men turn for the bar, leaving me alone with Summer.

  Now this isn’t awkward at all.

  “Hello, Celeste,” she purrs. “You look nice.”

  “Thanks,” I mutter. I look over to James and Alfred, who are already a long way off.

  “Don’t you have something to say to me?” Summer asks.

  “Why?” I snap at her. “What, we’re on speaking terms, now?”

  She flips her hair back, steps to me, and takes my arm.

  My instinct is to pull away. I fight it.

  “Of course we are, sweetie,” she says. She starts in the opposite direction of James and Alfred. “Why? Do you think we shouldn’t be?”

  ‘’I wasn’t the one who broke things off in the first place,” I mutter.

  She looks at me empathetically. “I know. I’m sorry. I was—a bitch.”

  I stop short. “What?”

  “You heard me,” Summer says. “I went full-on psycho on you. Friends don’t do that sort of thing.”

  “No,” I say. “They most definitely don’t.” Then I add, “Good thing we aren’t that any longer.”

  Summer giggles. “Oh, Celeste. You never were a very good liar. Come here. I’ve missed you!”

  She surprises me by enveloping me in a big, warm hug.

  I remain stiff against her.

  “Come on, don’t be like that,” Summer pouts. “I said I’m sorry. I overreacted. I’ve been meaning to tell you that for a while. I shouldn’t have locked you out, and… I guess I shouldn’t have been mad over James.”

  “Oh?” I perk an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied. “I wonder if that timing matches up with meeting Dean Henderson, hmm?”

  She laughs. “Oh, you know me too well, Celeste.” She looks past my shoulder and gives a dreamy sigh. “Isn’t he just so good looking?”

  I simply look at her.

  “Hmph,” she says. “Still pissed, are you?”

  “Summer, you locked me out of our apartment!” I explode. “You changed the locks because of something you didn’t even give me a chance to explain! You think I’m going to forgive you just like that?”

  “Well, um, I kind of forgave you just like that.”

  My mouth drops open. “I didn’t do anything!”

  She rolls her eyes. “Come on. Let’s try getting some liquor in you. Maybe then you’ll be loose enough to just listen.”

  6.

  Half an hour later, over drinks at the bar, I’m no closer to forgiving Summer than I was before.

  She’s stubborn and unyielding over really claiming fault, but she does say the word “sorry” half a dozen times.

  She’s on her fourth drink. I’ve only had a sip of mine. Alcohol and chemo drugs do not mix.

  But over time, I see an opportunity present itself.

  I need to move out of James’s apartment. I need to do it stat.

  What better place to go than back to my old home?

  As she gets deeper and deeper in her drinks, her confessions become more sincere. She says that she had no right to get angry, not really, but that she so wanted to be angry with me that she went to extremes to prove it.

  It’s all a bit unsettling.

  Everything comes full circle when, at the very end, she asks me to move back in.

  I play it cool, despite my budding excitement. “I don’t know, Summer. How can I be sure you won’t do something crazy out-of-proportion again?”

  She begins reciting all the reasons, blabbering on and on about having learned her lesson and whatnot.

  I listen to her pitch. As I do, a smile grows on my lips.

  I suspect the true reason for her apology is that she can’t pay rent on her own.

  No shit, I think. She doesn’t have a job, and the lease was for two.

  “Fine,” I say. “Fine. But if I come back, it’s not going to be fifty-fifty for rent. I want it eighty-twenty.”

  She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Celeste, you know I can’t afford that.”

  Caught, I think.

  “Seventy-thirty, then,” I say.

  “Sixty-forty,” she counters. “Come on. We’re best friends. You know I’d pay for you in full if I could.”

  “Sixty-five—thirty-five,” I say. “I’m not paying any more, Summer. You owe me for kicking me out the way you did. ”

  She looks at her drink. She pokes at the ice cubes with one finger.

  Then she gives a sulky nod. “Fine, yes. Fine, I’ll do it.”

  “Shake to make it real.” I hold out my hand.

  7.

  The rest of the night passes in a spectacular fashion.

  After Summer and I make our agreement, the men join us. The four of us just hang out, shooting the shit and laughing like old friends.

  I like Alfred. I think he’s good for Summer.

  I really hope she isn’t with him just to “get back” at me for being with James.

  James gives his speech, and pride swells inside me. Seeing him up there, in his crisp black tuxedo, the envy of every girl in the room, makes me realize how lucky I am.

  I’m here as his woman. He’s up there as my man.

  It might not last much longer, but it’s extraordinarily fun to pretend.

  He ends things and receives a standing ovation. His eyes find me in the crowd. He gives a wink.

  At the very end, when we’re saying our good-byes, James overhears me telling Summer that I’ll call her.

  He smiles at me in the car. “Reconnect with a certain old friend, did you?”

  “Oh, she’s not all bad,” I say.

  He laughs. Then he leans across the center console. We kiss.

  The kiss becomes heated quickly. There’s unbridled passion behind every stroke of his tongue. I’m turned on immediately—more than I have been in days.

  He breaks apart, panting. My heart is thundering louder than a team of galloping horses.

  “Celeste,” James breathes.

  “James,” I say.

  He looks out the window at the towering hotel. He adjusts his pants.

  “It’s a fifteen-minute drive back,” he says.

  “I know.”
>
  “I can’t wait.”

  I bite down an enormous grin. “Me neither.”

  “So fuck this, then.” He switches off the engine, runs around the front of the car, and yanks me from my seat.

  He presses me into the cold, black, metal body of his Porsche. His mouth devours mine. His hips thrust into me.

  Need pools in my middle. God, I need him now!

  “Come,” he rasps. He takes me by the hand and pulls me in the opposite way of the crowd. We swim upstream. He makes hasty arrangements for a room at the front desk. Before I know it, we’re alone in an elevator shuttling to the top floor.

  “Kiss me again,” James growls.

  I jump him. We collide in a tangle of arms, legs, heat, and desire. I kiss him harder than he’s ever been kissed. My lips become swollen.

  The elevator dings. The doors open. We rush through the empty hallway and get to our room.

  James throws the doors open. He swings me inside. The lights are all off, and I’m disoriented.

  He doesn’t take the time to find the switch. He presses me against the wall and kisses me roughly. His hands shove my dress up. He grips my ass and squeezes tight.

  I press my legs together and moan into him.

  He feasts on my lips and then drops his head to my neck. My eyes flutter closed. I release a shuddered breath as he kisses me in my second favorite spot.

  The favorite is reserved for between the legs.

  Then he tugs the top of my dress to my waist. My breasts plunge out.

  He takes one in his mouth. He scratches his teeth against the nipple, bites, then kisses the hurt away.

  Meanwhile, my breaths are ratcheting up and up, blood is pounding in my ears, and an all-consuming need encompasses my entire body.

  “Celeste,” James pants. He drops to his knees and holds me to him. “God, you’re a fucking wonder.” He licks through my panties.

  An exotic chill runs through me.

  I look down at him. I wrap my fingers through his hair. I push him away from me so he can look up into my eyes. “You’re the one who’s amazing,” I say.

  He answers with a savage growl and starts to eat my pussy.

  Immediate pleasure rushes through my body. I’m consumed by him. He laps at me, flicking my clit, rubbing his whole face into my folds. His hands find mine. Our fingers twist and link.

  I urge him back up. “Baby, come here,” I plead. “I want you to fuck me.”

  “Make no doubt about it. I will. But just as soon as I finish here.”

  He resumes what he was doing.

  My moans break into cries. I’m so sensitive tonight. He’s absolutely killing me. I don’t know… I don’t know if I can take more than one orgasm. My body is too weak.

  The last thing I want to do is disappoint him. And he’s so focused on getting me off. Always, always, my pleasure seems to take precedence over his.

  “No, James,” I say, as soon as I can muster the will to speak. “James, no. Stop!”

  Immediately he draws away. He stares at me with those beautiful, soulful green eyes. Such concern shows there.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I—I just want to be fucked.” I wipe away the sweat breaking over my forehead. My whole body feels like it’s burning up. “James. Please. I need…” I take a surprisingly difficult breath. “I need… your cock…” another tough breath, “…inside me. Please!”

  He surges up. He stands so fast that the moment makes me dizzy.

  Shit, I think. Shit, shit, shit, shit, fuck!

  I pray my body doesn’t give up now.

  Luckily, James takes my breathlessness as a sign of arousal. Not… something worse.

  “Yes,” He agrees. “How? Tell me how you want it, Celeste.”

  “On the bed,” I breathe. My knees give way. I fall into him.

  Alarm rips across his face. “Are you all right?”

  “Carry me,” I say.

  He makes a primal sound deep in his throat. He sweeps me off my feet.

  My head spins as I’m carried across the room. Come on, come one, come on, stupid body, I beg. Don’t fail me now!

  James deposits me right on the mattress. I manage to crawl up to the headboard.

  Everything is aching. Not in a good way. I need time to pull myself together.

  “Strip for me,” I say, thinking it a perfect diversion.

  He brings his hands to his suit and tears off his jacket.

  “No,” I stop him. “Slowly.”

  He cocks his head to the side. “Slowly?”

  “Seduce me, James,” I whisper. “Just like you did our very first night.”

  His eyes darken. “You liked that, did you?”

  “You said you were watching me,” I reply. “Now, I want to watch you.”

  James nods and slowly, sensually, flows out his jacket.

  He comes on the bed. I spread my legs and start to finger myself. “Right there,” I say. “Let me enjoy the sight of your wonderful body.”

  My words have their effect. All men are vain. All men want to look good naked. It’s not a condition restricted to the female species.

  Lucky for me, and for him, he actually has the muscles to pull it off.

  His eyes focus on my pulsing hand between my legs. “You. What are you doing?” His voice is raspy and raw.

  “Enjoying the view,” I tell him. “Now strip.”

  He swallows. His arousal is obvious. And yet, he holds back… because I asked him to.

  He unbuttons his shirts. I keep touching myself, loving the way each button reveals more and more of his glorious skin.

  The front of his shirt falls away. I suck in an awed breath.

  He has the V. I mean, it’s not a revelation that he does, but it never fails to impress me.

  It looks even more amazing in the dark.

  He slides his belt free and edges toward me.

  I hold my foot up and push him back. “Not yet,” I warn him. “I want you completely naked before we begin.”

  His eyes go down to my throbbing pussy. “You’re destroying me here, Celeste,” he growls.

  His hands go for his slacks, and he makes as if to rip them straight off. I stop him with a quick, “Tut-tut.”

  “Slowly,” I remind him. “Let me see each leg revealed in slow motion.”

  He makes a displeased sound. “Celeste—”

  “No,” I cut him off. “I just want to see you. Slow, James.” I smile. “We have all night.”

  He growls again. I stop rubbing my pussy. I sit up higher. “Don’t ruin the mood.” I bring my fingers to my mouth. I lick each one, watching the shifting excitement on his face, so full of desire.

  “You want to taste these fingers?” I ask. “You want to taste where they’ve been?”

  “Yes,” he grunts.

  “Then strip and get over here,” I say.

  He moves out of his final articles of clothing with the grace of a swimmer underwater.

  I think I’m finally ready for him.

  “Come kiss me.”

  He leans across the space separating us. His mouth touches mine. The kiss is tempered at first, but then a heated fury erupts.

  I kiss him back just as hard.

  His hips press between my legs. I can feel his cock against me, just begging to be let inside.

  I reach down and grab his glorious, full, solid dick. I widen my knees.

  “Fuck me,” I gasp.

  He pushes in. One hard, swift move and we’re connected. A man and a woman, linked together as one.

  He takes one of my legs and brings it to his shoulder. I love the exposed position. He turns his head to the side and sinks his perfect white teeth into my calf.

  I suck in a pained breath. He kisses the spot… and then starts pounding me in earnest.

  I gasp and moan and am overrun with pleasure. James is heated, relentless, out of control. I squirm beneath him as he pushes into me. His hips move with astonishing speed.

  H
is mouth drops down and latches onto mine. Our bodies are hot. Skin-to-skin contact makes me want to explode. I’m assaulted by all the sensations James brings out in me. I’m consumed by lust and greed and desire.

  My hands scratch his back. My nails break the skin. His grunts deepen. His breaths are hard and short and lustful. He raises his mouth by my ear, scraping his teeth over the skin. Little jabs of air hit me with each of his exhales, each of his grunts.

  “Oh James, oh James, oh James!” I moan, lost in his ecstasy. “Mmm, yes. Fuck me. Fuck me harder. Fuck me!”

  He rears up like a stallion. His hips pound into me. His cock fills me to the brim. Every delectable thrust is a mix of too-sweet pleasure and a bite of pain. He’s big, really big, and I’m small and tight in comparison.

  He utters a primal roar, pulls out, and spills his seed all over my stomach.

  Before I know what’s happening, his fingers are back in my pussy, and he’s there, urging me on.

  I shatter to pieces around him.

  When it’s over and done, James surfaces beside me. We both lie there, panting, recovering, lost in our own thoughts and memories but utterly satiated by each other.

  Then softly, slowly, he stirs. “Come here,” he whispers. He crooks one finger under my chin, tilts my head toward him, and presses his lips to mine.

  8.

  I skip class on Friday. After Thursday’s dinner and the night of passionate fucking at the hotel, I’m so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open.

  Dragging myself around campus would be an impossibility.

  James has to teach, however. So when we return from the hotel, I’m left alone in his massive suite.

  I take the opportunity to collect my things. I don’t mean to run out on him unannounced like last time.

  But this is the perfect time to pack.

  I’ve no doubt James will protest. But enough’s enough—I can’t hide my sickness from him any longer.

  In my apartment, I’ll have my own room with a private bath. It’ll be easy to keep Summer in the dark. Especially when I have the perfect front for still being pissy.

  I ring her up around lunch.

  “He-ee-ey, girlfriend!” She sounds more cheery than usual. “How you doing? I missed you in class today.”