The Billionaire Teacher (6 Book Box Set!) - Sarah J. Brooks

The Billionaire Teacher An Alpha Billionaire Romance

Sarah J. Brooks

Copyright © 2017 by Sarah J. Brooks This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Facebook: Sarah J. Brooks

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Chapter One “Money, money, money.” The man in front of us paused to let his words sink in. He stepped into full view. My jaw almost dropped. How had I not paid any attention to him before? His brown hair was cut short and slicked back, and in the overly lit room, I could see his green eyes fixed on the people around him. “When we boil it down to its very core, money is time, hence the saying ‘time is money.’ To most of us that may seem obvious, money is time spent working—but not just any work. I can’t go home and remodel my bathroom then

expect to get paid. Money is time spent working for someone else. In this class we’re going to talk about that, we’re going to talk about money; the issues with money and its benefits, as well as the economy, debt and more.” His smile widened. “And I’m pleased to welcome every one of you to this class.” For a fraction of a second, his eyes locked on mine. At least I think it was only a fraction. It felt like longer. My heart skipped a beat. His smile broadened as he stepped towards me. “I look forward to meeting each and every one of you, personally.”

One week later I sat back as everyone left the class as quickly as they could. The good thing about Mondays is that economics was my last class for the day and that economics was on that day at all. As the last student exited the classroom, I pushed myself up and pulled my papers out from my backpack before slipping the bag over my shoulder and heading toward him. My heart skipped a beat as his eyes locked on me. He smiled widely. ”Kenda, right?” I nodded. “What can I do for you?”

“I um, wanted to hand in my paper.” I held it out to him, trying to make sure my hands didn’t shake. “Already?” He raised an eyebrow. “It’s not due for another week, are you sure you don’t want to keep it?” “I’m sure. If I keep it much longer, I’ll end up just redoing it … again.” I felt my cheeks burn. This was my seventh draft of it already. He chuckled as he took the paper from me. “I understand.” He grinned. “I look forward to reading it.” My heart fluttered. Did he really? Or was he just trying to be nice? I hope he

actually meant it. “Thank you. Your class today … it was really good.” “Thank you!” he beamed. And that was that. I left the classroom already excited for the next Monday to come. I should have been embarrassed, but I wasn’t. He was cute, and the way he looked at me, it made me feel like I was the only one in the class; of course, I’m sure he made every girl and some of the guys feel like that, but still it felt nice. “Kenda!” Hayley rushed up to my side and hooked her arm through mine. “How was it?” Just like everyone around campus she’d

heard all about the hot teacher. “It was good.” That was where I left it. I didn’t say anything about already handing my assignment in, I didn’t want anyone to know about it; otherwise, they’d think I was just trying to get good marks. “Are you done for the day?” “No, I’ve still got one more class. Are you going to head back to the place?” “No, I’ll stick around and wait for you. I’ve got a couple books I want to check out anyways.” “”Alright, I’ll see you later.” “Yup, just text me when you’re done.” I gave her a nod before we went our own

ways. Her towards her next class and me towards the library. Despite the fact that it was my first week here, Hayley and I had become good friends. We were roommates just off campus, but other than her I couldn’t say I’d made any other friends, and I was okay with that. I knew a couple people from classes, but that was about it. “Hey, Kenda!” A guy called behind me. I turned to face him, my brow furrowing as I tried to figure out who he was. Psychology class. Yup, that was it. We sat beside each other. “John, right?”

“Yea.” He came to a stop in front of me. “I thought that was you. Heading to the library?” “Yes.” “Mind if I join you?” “Not at all.” We fell into pace together and fell silent. “So, how are you enjoying your first week?” he asked. I could tell it was some attempt to make conversation. “It’s been good. Still trying to figure out the layout of the place, but it’s been good. Are you enjoying it?” “Yea, I’m not at this campus most of the

time, but it’s been good.” “Are you down at the trade campus most of the time?” He nodded and again we fell silent. “Are you having fun with college life?” He laughed softly. “Not really, “I’m in a house with six other guys. But that’s fine, I’ll be out in two years and that’s what matters.” “You’re only here for two years?” “Yea, the program I’m in is pretty short. You here for the full four, or longer?” “I’m not sure.” I hadn’t decided what I wanted to do. I had options, but I could

figure all that out later in the year. For now, I’d just take classes that interested me and find the things I was passionate about. We approached the library, and I gave him a smile. “Anyways, I’ll see you later.” “Yea, we should hang out sometime if you’re free?” “Yes. Yea, we should.” Did he just ask me out? No. There was no way that I’d be getting asked out after my first week at college, was there? Before I could say anything else, he walked away and I was left standing there wondering what the fuck had just happened.

All the books I checked out were, of course, related to school but most just for one class. By the time I’d gone through the shelves and picked out the ones that I wanted, it was almost time to meet Hayley, and as usual she was one of the first ones out of the class. She grinned as she approached me. “That’s a lot of books you have there. All about economics?” She raised an eyebrow. “Yes.” I felt my cheeks flush. “So is it true?” I’d avoided the question a couple times now, but I didn’t see how I was going to get out of it this time. “Yes.”

He was hot, but it wasn’t just that. He was nice and sweet and funny. His class was good because he didn’t just drone on and on like most of the other teachers did. Sure his green eyes were gorgeous, and his hair always looked perfectly slicked back, but it wasn’t just about his looks. He seemed nice. He went out of his way to help every student that asked for help. I hardly ever actually saw him sitting down at his desk during class. He was always helping someone or checking on what students were doing—of course, most of the girls in the class took advantage of that. I was determined not to be one of those girls. Anyways, that would set me apart from them. That would make me

look good. “Are you even listening to me?” “No, sorry … what did you just say?” Hayley let out a loud laugh. “You must have been thinking about him.” She shook her head. “I was saying that the one girl I’m in class with has the same class as you. Miranda, do you know her?” My brow furrowed. “Is she blonde?” “Yea.” “I think I knew who you mean.” “Well, she said she’s going to make it her goal for the school year to get him.”

I felt jealousy tug at me. I wasn’t quite sure why; I mean it’s not like he was my boyfriend or anything. He was probably married as is. “Good luck to her, I’m guessing he has dozens of girls trying to do the same thing.” “Do you think he sleeps with students? It must be hard for him to turn down a bunch of young girls all the time.” I shrugged. “I don’t know.” And I really didn’t want to think about it. “I think John asked me out,” I blurted out in some attempt to change the subject. “Really? Like John from psychology,

right? He’s cute.” He was. I nodded. “I don’t know, he said we should hang out sometime.” “Yea, sounds like he was asking you out.” I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to go out with John, but if I said that, she’d ask why, and I didn’t want to have to tell her why. She’d laugh if she knew it was because I had a crush on my teacher.

Chapter Two “Kenda, may I speak to you?” I stopped dead in my tracks. “Mr. Hancy, of course.” I caught myself staring at those green eyes again as he motioned for me to join him in his classroom. “Is everything okay?” I asked as soon as he closed the door behind us. “Yes!” He walked over to his desk and grabbed a couple papers. “I just wanted to talk to you about your essay. I finished reading it last night. Although it’s only the first one of the term, it’s very …

good. I couldn’t stop reading it last night.” He handed it back to me. I stared down at the number in front of it. 94%. My jaw dropped. “It … it was that good?” “Oh yes.” His eyes locked on mine and my heart skipped a beat. “I loved it actually.” Still he refused to break eye contact, and there was something about his look that left me unable to look away from him. “I’d like to talk to you about it sometime, over coffee.” I had to work hard to control my reaction. He wanted to take me to coffee? Was that … did he mean he wanted to take me out or was it really just

professional? “Of course,” I said before I could even think about what my answer would be. “Perfect.” He glanced down at his watch. “I’ve got class for the next three hours, but maybe after that?” He looked up at me. “Would that work? I know a great little café that serves amazing hamburgers.” He gave a soft grin. “If you’re interested.” Food? This was getting very close to a date. “That sounds great.” I returned his grin. “Perfect.” He padded to the door, opened it for me and held his hand out. “Do you

mind if I keep the paper? I’d like to make a few comments on it if that is alright?” “Of course.” I fumbled to quickly hand him the papers. Our fingers touched. His hands were warm; they sent a shiver down my spine, but not an unwelcome one. I inhaled deeply as he pulled away from me. “I’ll see you around Kenda.” “See you around, Professor.” “Please, call me Chris.” “Sure … Chris, I’ll see you around.” My heart pounded in my chest as I exited the classroom. I was sure everyone was

staring at me, but as I looked around, I realized no one had even noticed that I’d been here, or in the classroom with Chris. First name basis. I adjusted my backpack and made my way towards psychology class, trying to figure out if I was going to tell Hayley about what had just happened. Psychology was the last class I had, and I was thankful that Hayley didn’t pay much attention to what had gotten me there almost late to the start. “John looked worried,” she whispered. “Oh.” I swallowed dryly. He wanted to hang out sometime too … but I couldn’t

stop thinking about Chris. Truth told I don’t remember much of the class. The topic was about how the brain works and understanding it, but that was all I remember. I didn’t even bother taking notes. Instead, I just sat there, staring off into space as the teacher droned on for two hours. I wished I’d worn something nicer. I wouldn’t have time to change and get back here before meeting him sadly, so I’d have to make do with what I was wearing, as much as I didn’t want to do that. Oh well, I’d just have to start dressing better. That seemed like the right idea; I’d just have to save any ratty clothes for days I wasn’t at school. It shouldn’t matter, I

reminded myself. There was no way he didn’t have a wife or at least a very hot girlfriend. As soon as the class was done, I jumped to my feet and grabbed my backpack. “I’m … I’ve got to get a couple things done in the library.” “Again?” Hayley raised an eyebrow. “Is it more economics books?” I laughed. “No.” “Well, have fun. I’ll wait up for you.” “Alright, I’ll see you later.” Before she could say another word, I headed out of the classroom and towards my economics class.

As I reached the door, it was just in time to see a flood of students leaving the classroom, all of them talking. “I would totally fuck him,” I heard one girl say. The group she was with giggled. “He’s sooo cute. I wonder what it would take to get private lessons.” I rolled my eyes at them. Those kinds of things didn’t happen in real life, I knew that. But yet part of me was acting like this was a date. I felt guilt tug at my stomach, I didn’t know what I was getting into here, but I did know it was probably going to be bad. “Kenda.” Chris smiled widely from the

doorway. “Come on inside for a second, I’ve just got a couple things to wrap up.” “Of course.” He glanced at the bustle of students as I moved past him into the classroom, and he closed the door. “You’ll have to excuse me for closing the door. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about us.” He gave me a smile. “I hear what some of the girls say about me, and I wouldn’t want anyone to think you are … trying to get special attention.” My cheeks flushed. Of course, he’d heard. Thank God, I’d never said anything about

him around the school. “Of course, that makes sense.” I hadn’t thought about what it might be like for him. I stood beside the door as he collected his things and slipped into a well fitted leather jacket. I bit my lip as I stared at him. I knew I shouldn’t but … the jacket fit so well, he wore dress pants and a white shirt under it with a tie. I loved men in ties. I licked my lips trying to restore some moisture to them. He caught me staring, and I felt my cheeks burn; at least I was pretty sure he caught me. A smirk touched his lips as he grabbed a backpack from under the desk

and put some papers into it. He slid it over his shoulder and motioned that it was alright to leave. I pulled the door open and let him go first. “So this place …” “It’s just down the street. But we can take my car; I can give you a ride home after we eat.” I nodded, following him down the hallway and to the parking lot. He walked like he knew every inch of the building. “Have you worked here long?” “Five years or so.” He nodded.

I bit my lip trying to figure out how old he was. I knew it shouldn’t matter (after all, this was just professional), but I didn’t quite believe myself. He pulled the door open and we stepped outside. “I’m just over there.” He pointed to a black sports car. The second I saw the jaguar on it, my jaw almost dropped. “It’s gorgeous,” I said, approaching it. He chuckled. “It’s a good work car.” “Work?” I raised an eyebrow as I pulled the door open. “This is your work car?” I let out a low laugh sliding into the passenger seat. I waited until he was in the driver seat and had closed the door. “I’d love to see your weekend car.”

“Maybe I’ll show you sometime.” He smiled widely as he gunned the engine and we took off out of the parking lot. I watched out the window as we headed down Main Street and onto Broad. My mind raced trying to think of something to say. “So, have you been a teacher long? Or just those five years?” “Just these five years …” He paused as he pulled into a parking lot. “I started off without any high school diploma and now I teach at a university.” The car came to a stop as he pulled the keys from the ignition.

I took that as my sign to get out. I grabbed my backpack and followed him out of the car and to a small café down the street. “I hope you’re hungry. This place has great food.” “I’m starving.” And I loved food. I reached for the door before he could and pulled it open. “After you.” “Thank you, such a lady.” He smiled and gave me a quick wink as he passed me. My heart skipped a beat. The café was adorable. With bright blue walls and black seating. Two walls were covered in a chalkboard that listed

everything you could buy. I licked my lips reading the milkshake options. “Chris!” A man smiled behind the counter, then looked at me. “How are you doing tonight?” “I’m good, yourself?” “Good, what can I get you?” “The usual please,” then he turned to me. “And whatever she wants.” “An expresso milkshake please.” I leaned towards the counter. “Coming right up.” The man behind the counter nodded and got to work on our order.

“You come here often?” “It’s a good place to grade papers.” He laughed. “Quiet, open late, and most of all, I tend not to run into students here so that’s always nice.” “It’s so close to the school though.” “Thankfully, it’s just down a quiet street and no one seems to notice it.” He nodded towards the counter as my milkshake was placed down. I went over and grabbed it, smiled my thanks at the guy and turned my attention back to him. “I’m guessing it’s not fun to run into students when you’re grading their papers.”

He laughed softly. “I normally avoid running into students at all.” Normally? But he was with me right now, wasn’t he? “What about home? Don’t you have a wife or girlfriend to make you dinner while you grade?” “Nope.” His eyes locked on mine. “No wife, no girlfriend.” I felt my cheeks burn as he stared at me. “What about you? Do you have a boyfriend, I mean?” “No,” I said quickly. He didn’t react. Instead, he slipped past

me and grabbed the burger that was on the counter. He motioned for me to follow him to a table. “I really did enjoy your essay, Kenda.” “Thank you.” “I’m interested, what inspired it?” I’m not really sure,” I admitted. “I just … started writing and that was that.”

Chapter Three He had actually wanted to talk about my essay, but that was just where it started. We were out for two hours before he even suggested that we should part ways. And when he finally decided that we should, he offered me a ride home. “Thank you. For everything.” The whole night had been a confidence booster to me. To know that one of my teachers actually liked my work enough to want to take me out and talk about it. It didn’t hurt that Chris was cute as fuck.

“Anytime. I … I really enjoyed myself, Kenda.” “I enjoyed myself too, Chris.” I smiled as we slowed down in front of the house I rented. “We should do it again sometime.” Did that count as a second date? “For sure.” Either way, I knew I wanted to spend more time with him. “I should be clear about something.” I swallowed dryly as he stared at me. “I don’t normally do this. Despite what people may say about me at the school, I do not normally take my students out to dinner to discuss their work.”

“You don’t?” “Of course not!” He looked away. “I’ve never seen a student outside of class before.” His pure honesty and the embarrassment was cute. “So, I’m your first?” I raised an eyebrow, a grin spread over my lips. “Just for the record, I don’t make a habit of going out to dinner with my teachers.” “When I saw you in class, I knew I wanted you.” His pure honesty shocked me. “I won’t lie to you about what I want, and I won’t lead you on, that’s why I’m telling you right now. I don’t expect you

to know how you feel right now, but I want to give you the chance to think about it.” I stared at him, unable to come up with anything to say to that. He just smiled, reached out and took my hand. “I’ll see you in class on Monday.” He lifted my hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss. They were warm against my skin. I resisted the urge to gasp, to pull him closer because that was what I wanted. I didn’t want him to kiss the back of my hand; I wanted him to kiss my lips. Before I could think about it anymore, I pulled away. “Thank you for being honest with me and

for the milkshake. It was amazing.” I wasn’t sure if I was talking about the milkshake or the fact that he’d taken me out, but I decided to let him think whatever he wanted. I opened the door and stepped out of the car. “I’ll see you around.” He sounded like he was making a promise. “I’ll be at class on Monday.” “I look forward to it; maybe later we can talk more.” “Yes.” Maybe we would, but right now, I didn’t know what I was supposed to say to anything he’d just told me. I mean, it was

good to know he didn’t have a wife, and it was good to know what he wanted, but what was I supposed to say? I swallowed as I adjusted my backpack and made my way up the front steps into the house and to the small bedroom that was mine. “Hey!” Hayley called after me. “You were out for a while. Where did you go?” “Just wanted to grab a bite to eat.” She raised an eyebrow. “You were gone for like three and a half hours. I was getting worried.” “No, I’m fine, sorry to have worried you.” Hayley stared at me. “Are you seeing someone?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “What do you mean you’re not sure?” “It’s complicated. He …” “Is he married?” She cut me off. “He says he’s not.” I laughed. “It’s not that … it’s just … it would be complicated, and I’m not sure complicated is a good idea.” “Well, is he worth it?” “I don’t know.” “You won’t know until you give him a shot, a real shot. Not just one date.” She crossed her arms over her chest. She was right, and I knew it.

“Yea … I’m just … not sure it’s a good idea.” “I think if you never take the risk you won’t know if he was or not.” I hated to admit it, but she was right. Monday came far too quickly, and I still hadn’t decided what I wanted to say to him. So I went into his classroom along with dozens of other students and took my place. His eyes locked on me. “Good morning, class.” I’d like to start off by reminding you that your assignments are due today, so either send them by email or hand them in at the end of the class, if any of you even print off copies these

days?” He chuckled. Today we talked about what made up the economy. Mostly I took notes, I’d always hated talking in classrooms, but as we went into it longer and longer the urge to speak up grew. He hardly stopped looking at me the entire time, or maybe I was just seeing things. “God, this class is so worth it,” a girl said, leaning forward to whisper in my ear. I turned to look at her. She had black hair and green eyes. She smirked, her red lips tilting up. I let out a low laugh.

“Because of everything you’re learning, right?” I grinned. She snorted, her smirk growing wider. “Yea, that’s what makes it so good.” She leaned back in her chair, her eyes caught mine, and they lit up. I turned my attention back to the lesson. I think I just made a new friend. When the class ended, everyone was eager to get up and get out of there. I didn’t care too much, it was my last class of the day, but I still wasn’t sure what to say to Chris about the other night. I took my time packing up my notebook. “I’ll see you later.” The black haired girl

gave me a wave as she headed towards the door. “Yea!” I called behind her. I waited until everyone was out of the classroom before making my way over to his desk. “Kenda.” He didn’t look up from a couple papers he was looking at. “Pro … Chris.” I gave him a nod. My heart raced as I took a deep breath. “Have you thought about what I said the other night?” I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. “Yes.” I wasn’t going to admit that

though. “I … I’m still not sure what to say,” I confessed. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Finally, he looked up at me. “It’s not your fault …” I mean it was but what was I supposed to say? “I mean, I’ve never really had anyone tell me … what you told me …” I paused and took a deep breath trying to figure out what to say next. “I’m flattered, and I mean you’re …” hot, gorgeous, smart, funny, cute … the list could go on and on. “But … you’re my teacher. Isn’t there something against that?” “No. I looked into it before even thinking about inviting you out to dinner that

day.” He gave a soft smile. “Oh.” I stared at him for a couple seconds. He was wearing the same outfit as the other day, but this time his tie was blue. “Well … I guess … it would be dumb to turn anything down before trying it, right?” He stared up at me as if he were trying to process what I was saying. I flashed him a grin. “It’s not that I don’t want to … it’s just, I’m not used to this.” Chris stood, he circled around his desk and came to a stop right in front of me. Reaching out, he grabbed my hips, pulling me close to him.

“Are you agreeing to see me again?” “Yes.” I had to work hard to keep my voice sounding normal. He grinned. “Does that mean I can kiss you now?” I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to that. I swallowed dryly and forced myself to nod. His hands traced up over the curves of my body and tangled in my hair. I let out a soft moan before his lips even touched mine. They were warm and soft against mine. The kiss was gentle. He pulled me closer, my arms wrapping around his neck as our kiss grew more

passionate. My heart raced, and my head spun. Another moan escaped me. Shouting. My heart skipped a beat as I pulled away from him. Right, we were in a school. Oh, God. We were in a school. I pulled away from him quickly, but he grabbed my wrist. “Worried about being caught already?” He smirked. “You aren’t?” “No.” He pulled me close to him again. As my body touched his, I was sure I could feel every inch of him. His arms wrapped around my hips keeping me

close to him as his lips traced their way up my neck. I bit my lip to muffle my moan. I had no clue how soundproof this room was, or wasn’t. I didn’t want everyone hearing me moan. I didn’t want him to get in trouble for it. His teeth grazed my neck softly, and then he pulled away from me. “When can I see you, Kenda?” “I’m free all of tomorrow.” “I have a morning class, but I can give you my address, and we can meet there, alright?” “Yes.”

Going to his place already? A little fast but that was very okay with me. He stepped away from me. I wanted to reach out and pull him back to me, tell him I was free tonight. We could go back to his place right now. But I resisted that urge, watching as he grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something down on it. He handed it to me and placed another kiss on my lips. “Now get outta here before anyone thinks too much of it.” Another kiss and he forced himself away from me. I opened my mouth to protest, but he was right. I held the piece of paper he’d given me and forced myself to head for the

door. My fingers curled around the handle, I turned around to see him. He glanced at me. “I’ll see you later,” he promised. The entire night, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I slipped out of the house while Hayley was at class and took a bus to his place. When I arrived there, it was just in time to see him pulling into the driveway. “Hey.” He grinned as he rolled the window down, came to a stop in the driveway and turned the car off. “You’ve

got perfect timing.” “How was your morning?” “Long, I couldn’t wait to get out of there and see you.” I felt my cheeks burn. “How was your morning?” “It was alright.” I’d spent most of it trying to get ready. An hour in the shower to shave, wash my hair, wash my body and just get some relaxation time in, then an hour to do my hair and half an hour to do my makeup. It took me almost an hour just to find the right shirt to go with these jeans; the shoes weren’t a question though. “The bus ride took longer than I expected it to,” I confessed.

“Yes, it would take a while to get here. I’m sorry; I should have offered to pick you up.” “Oh no, it’s fine.” He looked around a little. “Anyways, why don’t we head inside and grab a drink.” I was speechless. So I just nodded. My heart raced as we made our way closer and closer to his front door. We came to a stop in front of it, and he unlocked it before stepping inside. Wow. I looked around. I should have known it would be nice; after all, it was gorgeous

on the outside. But I wasn’t expecting this. It was gorgeous. The living room had a huge TV, like probably 60 inches, and a big leather couch. The TV was surrounded by shelves and shelves of movies. On the other wall, the one right in front of me were the books. There had to be hundreds of them. Wow. I slipped out of my heels and padded further into the house. “Are you thirsty?” “No, thank you.” I looked around the kitchen. Modern everything. Black granite counter

tops with white backsplash and stainless steel appliances. It looked gorgeous. The steel table at the other end of the room looked like it had cost almost as much as I pay for rent every month. I couldn’t stop looking around at everything. He dropped his briefcase on the table and sauntered to the fridge. “I hope your bus ride wasn’t too bad.” “It wasn’t.” “Good.” He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. “So, do you want to go out? Or stay in?” I wasn’t sure if he was trying to hint at something or not, but I took my chances.

“Stay in.” My eyes locked on his, a grin spread over his face. “Sounds perfect to me. Maybe we can make use of the hot tub I have outside.” “You have a hot tub?” Was he fucking rich or something? He laughed and motioned for me to follow him as he reached for a set of glass sliding doors. He pulled the blinds up on them and pulled one open. “Wow.” The back yard looked like it should be from a magazine. The porch stretched out over most of it, with a barbeque and

dining area right in front of us, then to my left was the hot tub. Past the porch was a small water feature that led towards a garden. I was surprised to see the garden was in perfect condition. “You don’t strike me as a gardener.” “It’s a nice way to pass the time on the weekends. And I like food.” He smiled stepping out onto the porch. “It’s not very big, but it provides me enough, for the most part.” I scanned the garden. Peppers, tomatoes, blueberries. That was all I could spot right off the bat. I turned to face him. His smile widened.

“Do you like it?” “Yes.” “Would you like to see the rest of the house? Maybe the bedroom.” I swallowed dryly. “Yes.” He reached out, his hands touching my hips softly as he stepped closer to me. Our eyes locked. “I wanted you so bad yesterday. Right in class. I even thought about taking you right in front of everyone, that’s how bad I wanted you.” My heart raced. My blood boiled as I thought about his words. “Really?” I raised an eyebrow. I reached out and touched his chest. A moan threatened to

escape me just by touching him. I forced my hand lower and lower. Yup. I could already feel him getting hard. My hand cupped his growing erection. A sound of pleasure escaped him as his hands traced over the curves of my body. He glanced behind his shoulder. “You know … I have very nosey people on either side of me. We should take this inside before I jump you right here and now.” I giggled as he pulled away from me. He took my hand and led me into the house. To my surprise, he didn’t take me right to the bedroom. With the way he had been

talking, I expected him to beeline it there, but instead, he came to a stop in front of the fridge. “Have you eaten today?” “No.” “Why don’t we have something … how about …?” He scanned the contents of the fridge. “Grilled cheese alright with you?” “That sounds perfect.” “Good!” I grabbed a couple things out of the fridge. “I’ve got some lavender cheese I need to use up. It’s very strong, but it works very well with the grilled cheese.” His eyes sparkled as he set about prepping our food. “A client got it for me

as a thank you gift.” “A client?” “I do some freelance work when I’m not teaching.” “What do you do?” “I help run a business. I help companies figure out what is wrong with their business, their brand, and their company and then tell them how to fix it.” “Wow.” I stared at him. That was a big deal, wasn’t it? He must be pretty successful to be telling other people how to run their business. “It’s a fun side project. Of course, I can’t

put as much time into it as I would like, but a friend of mine needed the help when he was getting it up and going, and well it just kind of stuck.” He turned to face me after putting a grilled cheese on a frying pan. “So, do you know what you’re going to do when you get out of school?” “No,” I admitted. “I’d like to get a financial degree, at least that’s what I think I want right now … that could change.” “You’ve still got lots of time to figure it out.” “It doesn’t feel like it.” I gave a dry laugh.

Everyone kept asking me and asking me and asking me. It was like whenever I saw my family they wanted to know what I was going to do after university. And I had no fucking clue, honestly. The more I told them that, the more they told me I’d need to figure it out soon. “Anyways!” I didn’t want to leave the conversation on a depressing note. “I’ll figure it out sometime.” “You’re always welcome to come try working for me, we have a couple positions we are looking for more staff in, maybe one of them could give you an idea of what you want to do.” “Really? That would be amazing …

Maybe I could intern over summer sometime?” “We are always eager to get interns.” My heart skipped a beat. Yes. That was perfect. He flipped the grilled cheese, and I was left thinking about what he had just said to me. If I could work there over the summer … I could see him every day, I wouldn’t have to worry about finding work, and I’d be gaining some sort of experience ... “Do you just go nonstop? Between teaching and this other thing, it must be hard to get time off.”

“I take one day a week off, two sometimes. But, other than that, I’m working nonstop most of the time. I try to make time each day to actually live my life, but sometimes that doesn’t work. He glanced at me as he put the grilled cheese onto two plates and padded over to the table. “But you’re in university; you know what that is like.” I laughed softly. “Has it been very hard, yet?” “Not yet, but we’re not very far into it.” I was fully expecting to feel like dying by the end of the year. It would be good practice for adult life, after all. “I’m not in too many classes this year so I should be

able to manage it.” At least I hoped. I stared down at the plate in front of me and picked up the grilled cheese. I have to admit it wasn’t what I was expecting. I’d never had lavender anything before, but it actually tasted really good though a little strong like he had said. “Do clients normally send you food?” “Normally they send some sort of thank you. Food is a common one, which works just fine for me. When I was just starting out and saving money, I’d almost live off gift baskets from clients.” He laughed softly. “Really?”

“Oh, yea. It wasn’t that I couldn’t afford the food. It was that I didn’t want to spend my money on it. I wanted to be able to buy a palace and that was more important to me than having a mix of food. Although I got really good at making instant noodles taste kind of okay.” He laughed. I stared at him. He’d had the money but had still picked to eat cheap food … Now look where he was. A smile spread over my lips. “Maybe you can give me a couple pointers sometime.” I dug into the grilled cheese and finished it without saying another word. When I did have it finished, I looked up.

Chris was staring at me, his eyes twinkling. “You seem to have enjoyed that.” “I did … it was very good, thank you.” “You’re very welcome, now how about I show you the rest of the house?” “Yes.” I almost jumped to my feet as I grabbed the plate, and his, and carried them to the sink on the counter. Reaching out, he took my hand, leading me down a short hallway to the last door on the right. “I did all the work on the house myself,” he said. “Really?” I stared into the bedroom. “Wow.” Hardwood floors, white walls

with black bedding and red accents. The nightstand was black and the light hanging above the bed was a big red circle. The curtains on the north wall, to the left of the bed, were red as well. I stepped forward, the bed was right in front of me. “You did all of this?” “Yup, the house was … outdated, to say the least, when I got it. It was only $203,000. Now it’s worth about $700,000 with the market the way it is and all of the work I’ve put into it.” He sounded so proud of it. “That’s amazing. That is a huge return.” “Yea, not that I’d ever sell it most likely.”

He laughed softly stepping towards me. “But it still makes me happy to know all my hard work has paid off.” His arms wrapped around me as he pressed against my back. I could feel his hips against my butt. I bit my lower lip, desire pooling inside me. His lips touched my cheek. “Kenda,” he whispered in my ear. His warm breath sent a shiver down my spine. “Yes?” “Before we begin.” One hand traced down the curves of my body. “I need to talk to you.”

No. no, no, no. Talking wasn’t what I wanted. He pulled away from me and sat down on the edge of the bed. “What is it?” What was wrong? Had I already done something? I couldn’t help worrying I had, I knew I shouldn’t, but I did. “Nothing is wrong, we just … we need to talk before anything gets out of hand. You need to understand something Kenda.” My heart raced. “The thing is, what we’re about to do is allowed, but it’s not looked kindly on.” He paused as I sat down beside him. I

didn’t care how people wanted to look at it. “It will get people talking if they find out and if they find out you may be … judged harshly for my actions. That isn’t fair to you and …” “I really don’t give a fuck what anyone is going to say.” He paused and stared at me, a smirk spread over his lips. “I admire your attitude towards it, but this isn’t something that should be taken lightly. If people find out about us, they will be mean.” “And you know this from experience?” “Yes. I mean no!” He let out a deep

breath. “You’re trying to ask if I’ve ever been with another one of my students. Of course, I haven’t. It’s not something I commonly do … but you … when I saw you, I knew I had to have you.” My cheeks burned and my blood boiled. “However, I did have a teacher in high school that started up with a student, she was over 18, but people still didn’t have anything nice to say about her or him for that matter, but the majority of the blame was put on the student. It … it was rough on her. It caused her a lot of pain.” Why did it sound like he didn’t want to do this anymore? Was he already trying to break up with me?

“I’m tougher than I look.” His smirk widened. “You seem determined to shut me up.” “I’m not. I just don’t really see where this conversation is going to be honest.” “It’s just … we have to know this going in. We, no you, need to understand that it is a risk. I … if I’m caught with you … I may not lose my job but my reputation will be ruined and you … every good grade you get in my class will be questioned. You need to understand before we become involved that this is a big deal.” My brow furrowed. Didn’t he think I

realized that? I couldn’t stop thinking about what could go wrong, but the truth was that I didn’t really care. “When I think about you, I actually get excited.” That was a hard thing for me to admit. “And I actually want to see you. I could hardly sleep last night because I knew I could come see you today. I get that there are risks involved, but there always are.” *** Having a student in my bedroom put everything into perspective. I knew it was legal, and I knew I couldn’t lose my job for it, but I couldn’t convince

myself it was moral. The second I saw Kenda, I knew I wanted her, and every time I looked at her I felt that same urge I felt when I first saw her, but … but she was young, and I didn’t want to take advantage of her. I stared at her after what she had just said. My heart racing. “Really?” “Yes.” She sounded so sure of herself. She reached out and touched my hand. “I don’t care what people want to think about me, all I care about is living my own damn life.” *** It was my turn to be brash. My turn to be

honest. I crawled on top of him before he could react. My arms wrapped around his neck, and for a fraction of a second, my lips touched his. “I want you,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. I was hardly even thinking as I did it, it could have ended dreadfully. But I still did it. He stared at me, his mouth slightly open. “You …” He trailed off. His lips touched mine, his arms wrapped around my waist pulling me closer to him. Our kiss started off passionate and just grew more and more passionate. “So,” he kissed me. “What happens if we

do get found out?” he asked between kisses. I pulled away and thought about it for a second. “Then we go from there and decide how to handle it. But, on the plus side, you’ll be able to kiss me at school.” The idea of him kissing me as I came into class sent shivers down my spine. The thought of every girl in his class knowing that he was taken—that he was mine— thrilled me. But the truth was it would be easier if people didn’t know. I didn’t want to deal with how people would react; I just wasn’t scared of it. Chris rolled me onto my back, he settled down between my legs and pulled away

just enough for his lips to be able to move to my neck. I moaned as his teeth grazed my skin softly. “Oh yes.” My hands traced over his body. He was still wearing his suit from school, he’d taken the jacket off before he got here, but he still had the tie and the shirt. My fingers fumbled with the button on his pants, eager to get them off. Chris chuckled as he pulled away from me. He had his pants undone in a fraction of a second before he reached for mine, then popped the button on my jeans and slid them down my legs ever so slowly. His eyes traced over every inch of my body as I sat up and pulled my shirt off, exposing myself almost completely to him. He

threw my pants onto the floor and pushed me back down onto the bed. His lips lowered to my uppermost thigh. My eyes rolled back as I felt the heat from his breath. Oh, God, yes. Ever so slowly he kissed a soft trail up my legs, higher, higher, and higher. Until finally … oh, yes. I gasped as his tongue touched my pussy outside of my panties. He pulled away just long enough to slip my panties off and toss them onto the ground somewhere with my pants, then lowered himself back to what he was doing. I gasped as his tongue flicked over my folds, pushing through them and into my pussy. I cried out in pleasure. His tongue explored inside me before slipping out

and licking between my folds. I moaned as the tip of his tongue flicked over my clit. “Oh.” My hips arched. My nails dug into the bed trying to control my movements. His hands slipped under my thighs, pulling my pussy closer to his face. I moaned louder as his tongue slipped back inside me. He wiggled around before pulling away. I stared at him as he wiped his face. “Fuck me. Please.” Pushing himself off the bed, he padded towards the dresser. “There is nothing I would like to do more than that.” He pulled the top drawer open and grabbed

something from inside it. My heart raced. This was it. I was going to fuck him or the other way around depending on how you wanted to look at it. He crawled back onto the bed, between my legs, and I watched as he tore into the condom. He pulled his cock out from his pants, and I swallowed dryly. Oh, I wanted it so bad. I watched as he slipped the condom over his full length and moved closer to me. I sat up spreading my legs wider, reached out and grabbed his shirt, fumbling with the buttons to get it undone. He grinned, watching me as his head touched my folds. I gasped, feeling him

push into me. Pleasure overwhelmed me. I grabbed onto his shirt, my nails digging into the fabric. “Oh, God, yes.” My eyes rolled back as he pulled out of me and slid back in. I moaned, forcing myself to let go of his shirt. His hands rested on my shoulder, carefully laying me back down onto the bed. His eyes locked on mine as I forced them open. He pulled out and pushed back in, each time with more force. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I grabbed his tie and pulled him down to me, our lips crashed together. I moaned against our kiss, my teeth grazing his lower lip. His fingers tangled in my hair.

Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Harder, faster. Chris slammed into me, pulling my hair gently. My eyes locked on his for a second before running over his body. His shirt was completely undone but still on him, his tie was loose but still around his neck. My eyes locked on his muscular chest, his abs … they moved lower. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I watched as he thrust into me again and again. I grinned, looking back up at him. He pulled away from our kiss and grabbed the tie from around his neck, slipped it over his head and handed it to me as he stopped thrusting. I raised an eyebrow.

“You want to tie me up with it?” “No, maybe another time though. Right now I just want you to wear it.” My grin widened. I took the tie and slipped it over my neck. He reached out for my bra and unhooked it. His eyes roamed over my body for several seconds before his lips touched mine. “You look fucking perfect.” A whimper of pleasure escaped me as he pushed back into me thrusting faster and harder. My nails dug into the blankets as my eyes rolled back. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke.

I felt him grab the tie softly; wrapping the fabric around his hands, he lowered himself to kiss me. My teeth grazed his lower lip again, just before he pulled away. His lips traced their way along my jawline and down my neck, placing soft feathery kisses and the occasional nip along the way. His free hand reached for my breast. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I gasped as he pinched my nipple. “Oh, God.” I was so close, and I could feel it. I moaned louder the harder he slammed into me.

Everything went a fuzzy black as I bit my lip. So, so close. I gasped as pleasure hit me in full on waves. My hips arched as he slammed into me. I cried out. Chris let out his own cry of pleasure as he slammed into me, harder, harder, harder. Waves of pleasure overwhelmed my body, coming rapid and strong. One after the other. I reached between my legs and touched myself. My hips bucked as my moans grew louder. More waves of pleasure, this time softer. Chris slammed into me, his hands tracing

over my inner thigh. I gasped for air as another wave of pleasure hit me. My body writhed and my toes curled. Another wave, this time softer. And another, this time almost not there. I fell back on the bed, gasping for breath. Forcing my eyes open, I stared at him. He grinned down at me; despite the look of pleasure on his face, he looked tired as he pulled out of me and slipped the condom off himself. “Do you need a drink?” he asked, pushing himself off the bed and throwing the condom out. He headed towards the kitchen. “Please!” I called after him. I sat up, my head was spinning, and I was in a total

daze. That was one of the most intense orgasms I’d had in a long time. I bit my lip unable to hide the grin that spread over my face. Chris returned to the room in a couple of seconds with a bottle of water for me and a beer for himself. I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” “It’s my day off.” He shrugged, “I hardly ever drink but … after that … a beer just sounded so nice.” His grin widening, he handed me the water and crawled back into the bed. I joined him as he pulled a blanket around himself. I drained half the bottle before putting the lid back on and turning my attention to him. He pulled

me down into his arms, and I closed my eyes. A nap sounded so nice right now but wasn’t the time for it. We still had so much left of the day. I didn’t want to waste any time sleeping. I glanced up at him, his eyes were shut as he let out a deep breath. “So ...” He opened his eyes as I spoke. “Now that we’ve had sex, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?” “What do you want to know about me?” “I don’t know … anything and everything. What do you do in your spare time? Where did you grow up? Why did you become a teacher? I want to know every single detail.”

He stared at me. “Well … I became a teacher mostly so that I could help people. I like helping people, and I like being able to watch people grow. I …” He paused thinking about it. “I grew up an hour north of here; when I was 12 my parents split up, and I lived with my mom until I was able to go away for university. After that, a friend and I moved in together, that same friend I told you about earlier that needed help opening a business. We rented a place together for six years and saved every penny we could until we were finally able to get our own places, but even then we didn’t bother doing that. It was easier on both of us to split the costs,

and it gave us more time to save. Kinda weird for two twenty-year-old boys to be worried about saving as much as we were, but it paid off in the end.” I listened, trying to remember every detail he told me. “When I had the chance to teach, I took it right away. A couple years later my friend, Joey and I decided to go into business together. My mom moved to another state, and I never see my dad. I spend most of my time working so I don’t have many hobbies, but I do try to get a workout in every day. And like I said earlier, I like gardening. I like … well, pretty much anything that will keep me

busy.” He rolled me onto my back; laying between my legs, his lips touched my naked belly. I let out a soft moan as I watched him. Our eyes locked and a grin spread over his face. “Alright, beautiful, your turn.” I bit my lower lip. What was there to say about me? “Um, I’m in university right now?” He laughed softly. “I grew up just outside of town. My parents didn’t want me to come here, but I couldn’t afford to look anywhere else, and they aren’t in a situation where they can help much, so I’ve been working since I was 15 to pay for college, and I’m kind of sorta doing it

…” I swallowed dryly and mentally shook myself. “I don’t go out much, but I like staying at home and reading. I’ll read just about anything, but I like fantasy the best. I’m living with one other girl right now. We get along really well considering, and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather live with.” I stared at him. “I’m sorry, I know I’m boring.” But I wasn’t about to give up all my deep dark secrets in one go. “I don’t think you’re boring at all.” He pushed himself up from me and slid off the bed. “However, I do think we should get out of this bed before I decide to keep you here all day.” The idea sounded just fine to me, but I

followed him out of bed and slipped into some clothing. “So, what would you like to do?” “I don’t know … do you have anything in mind?” “No, but I will think of something …” He trailed off, staring out the window. “Maybe later, once it is dark, we can make use of the hot tub outside if you’re interested?” Sex in a hot tub? “Hell, yes.” I grabbed my panties off the floor, glanced down at them and then dropped them again before heading for my jeans. Not wearing panties was not something I

was used to, but with Chris watching me get dressed I thought he might like knowing I didn’t have anything else on under my jeans. I slipped into my bra and my shirt and then followed him out of the bedroom. “We could always go down to the beach or just relax inside … maybe put a movie on?” The beach sounded fun, but the idea of just being able to cuddle him for hours on end was more tempting. “Let’s see if there is a movie to put on.” I nodded “Sounds perfect.” He led me over to his shelves and shelves of movies. “Pick whatever one you like.” I settled with Lord of the Rings, that way

we could put more on if we wanted to later. He popped open some popcorn, and we settled down to watch the movie. The entire time, he held my hand. Once it got dark, we ordered some pizza from a place Chris swore was the best in town, and I have to admit it was the best I’d ever had. Then we both grabbed a beer, and he turned his attention to me. “So, about that hot tub?” I bit my lip. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tonight. It’s getting late, and I’ve got an early class.” I wanted to say yes, I wanted to stay here longer, hell I didn’t even want to leave.

“Of course.” He did a bad job of hiding his disappointment, but he smiled. “We will have to save that for another day.” “Oh,” I promised, “we will.” I closed the distance between him. “Let me give you a ride home.” “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” “No, I do.” He pulled me into his arms, placing a soft kiss on my lips. “Are you going to come see me tomorrow? Between classes.” “I can if you want.” “A chance to see you? How could I turn that down?” His hands traced over the

curves of my body, and I let out a soft moan, closing my eyes. He made it so hard to be able to leave here. I forced myself to pull away from him, and he took the hint. Chris padded to the front door and slipped into a pair of running shoes. I joined him over there and put my heels back on as he grabbed his keys from a table near the door. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?” My cheeks burned. “No … but thank you.” “I mean it. You look amazing.” He pulled the door open and touched the

small of my back as he guided me out of the house and towards the car. *** “I had a really great time,” I said as we came to a stop in front of my apartment.” “So, you want to come over again sometime?” “Oh yes.” My eyes locked on his as his lips curved into a smile. He leaned towards me, pulling me into a kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe … we can meet up after class and grab dinner or just head back to my place.” “Sounds good.”

We hadn’t really finished that conversation we started before having sex, but it seemed obvious that he didn’t want to make our relationship, or whatever this was, public. Which I could understand. Anyways, it made it totally hot. My fingers tangled in his hair as our lips parted and came back together. I pulled away from him, catching my breath. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Forcing myself to pull away from him further, I said, “I’m already looking forward to it.” He gave me one quick kiss as I opened the door to the car. “Bye.” Before he could say anything else,

or I was tempted to stay in the car, I jumped out. I gave him a quick wave before heading into the house towards my place. I refused to let myself turn around as I reached the door. I unlocked it and stepped inside. “Kenda?” Hayley called. “Yup!” “Geez, where have you been?” She came out from the kitchen; three other people were sitting at the table. She looked me up and down. “I … went out for the day.”

“And you’re just getting back now?” She raised an eyebrow. “What’s his name? Because John is sitting in the kitchen with the rest of us.” My cheeks burned. I knew there was no way I’d be able to deny it had been a guy. “Just … I’ll tell you later.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Okay?” Hayley grinned, giving me a nod. She padded back towards the kitchen. “So how is your mom doing?” she called behind me. Oh, thank God. She’d given me an excuse so I didn’t have to try and figure one out. “She’s the same as she always is. Just

wanted to take me out for lunch and talk about school … Then she seemed to have a hard time saying goodbye.” I entered the kitchen and gave everyone a smile. “What are you all doing here?” “Just relaxing.” Paige, a short black haired girl studying childcare, spoke up. “Does your mom always come visit you?” “More often than I’d like.” That was a lie. We hardly ever saw each other. Sadly, I didn’t even feel bad for it. I knew I should.

Chapter Four I headed to bed before Hayley and I had a chance to talk, so I wasn’t surprised that she woke me up at 7:00 the next morning, a hot cup of coffee in her hand. She handed it to me as I sat up. “Alright, you normally don’t lie about dating and you normally have a lot more to say than you did last night. You have a lot of explaining to do, missy.” I took a deep breath and sipped at my coffee. “What I’m about to tell you … no one is allowed to know this, alright?”

Hayley nodded quickly. She took a sip of her tea. “It’s Chris … the economics professor.” Hayley gasped, choked on air and stared at me. “Are you … are you fucking shitting me?” “No.” I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. Was she judging me? Or him? “Oh, my God.” Yup. I risked a glance at her. Her brow furrowed then she let out a loud laugh. “Every girl in school is going to hate your guts.” “How is that funny?” My eyes narrowed. “Oh come on, you know it’s funny. I’m

not even in his class, and I hear the way he gets talked about. All the girls who have been batting their eyelashes at him for years are going to hate knowing they lost, and they are going to hate you because of it.” “I didn’t realize I’d won.” I wouldn’t admit it to her, but I did like the sound of that. I liked knowing that I had something (someone) that everyone else wanted. And they couldn’t have him because he was mine. I couldn’t resist the urge to smile as I took another sip of my coffee. “So, how long has it been?”

“Not even long.” “And I assume you are keeping this under wraps? Is it even allowed?” “Yea, at least he says it is, and I don’t see why he’d bother taking the risk if it wasn’t …” “You never know, maybe he just liked you that much?” That was a nice thought, but I knew it wasn’t true. “Does this mean you’re going to get good grades in his class from now on?” I laughed. “Probably not.” “Damn,” she muttered. “That would have been awesome.”

“Yes, but it wouldn’t have been fair.” Totally awesome, but what would happen if someone found out about us? Everyone would know that he’d just been giving me good grades because we were fucking. I didn’t mind a lot of things, but I didn’t want people thinking I got good grades just because I was sleeping with someone. I glanced at the clock and pushed myself out of bed. The entire morning, Hayley couldn’t stop asking me questions. I was thankful when we went our own ways and I ended up in psychology class—until John sat down

beside me. He smiled widely. “Hey you.” “Hey.” “So … a couple of the guys and I are getting together tonight, wondering if you’d like to come with us.” I opened my mouth, trying to find a nice way to say no. Chris and I were supposed to get together. “Sorry, I’ve got a test I need to study for. Maybe … maybe next week sometime.” “Sure! That sounds great!” He beamed happily. “Let me know as soon as you know when you’re free, and we can work something out.”

“Yea … for sure.” Okay, that I felt bad about, but I just didn’t have the heart to tell him I wasn’t interested. I knew I should; if anyone found out about me and Chris, it would be the talk of the school … I bit my lip and mentally shook myself. Class was about to start, and I didn’t need to be thinking about this shit right now. *** Class took way too long, it felt like hours and hours before we were finally able to leave the room with our upcoming assignments. I was the first one out of the room and rushed towards Chris’s classroom. As I got there, I saw the door

was open and students were leaving. As I entered the classroom, there were three girls hanging around. They all kept looking at each other as if daring the others to leave. Trying to get a little alone time with him. I felt jealousy tug at me. I got that they didn’t have any idea he was taken, but I still wanted them to back off. To stay away from my man. “Kenda.” He looked up from his desk. “You’re not supposed to be in my classroom today. Is there something I can do for you?” “Um yea, I just had a couple questions I wanted to run by you, about the

assignment.” “Of course.” He glanced up at the other students. “Ladies? Is there anything I can help you with?” “No, thank you,” one said. Another just walked out of the room without a word. The third smiled. “We can talk about it later.” That sounded like a promise, and I had to admit I didn’t like that. I looked over my shoulder before stepping closer to his desk. “Watch yourself.” He spoke softly. “They are trying to listen in on you.”

I snorted. “They really don’t want to hear what I have to say to you.” I grinned. He cleared his throat, glanced over my shoulder and returned my grin. “You can be as naughty as you want now.” I looked over my shoulder quickly, turned back to him and placed a kiss on his lips. It was meant to be a quick one, but he grabbed me, his fingers tangled in my hair, and he pulled me closer. “Before. I. Forget,” he said through kisses, pulling away just enough to speak. “I talked to the dean about us …” I felt my heart slam against my chest. “Oh … really?” I swallowed dryly.

“And?” “And there are a couple hoops to jump through, just to make everything official and to keep the school protected but they will be sending me all the info on that later.” His fingers ran through my hair as his eyes locked on me. My heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the way he looked at me or if it was because of what he had just told me. It was all moving so fast. It was going to be official. I bit my lip. This was what I wanted, right? Yes. It was. He pulled me into another kiss and my teeth grazed his lower lip softly. “I’ve never made out in a classroom before,” I

whispered. “Same. It’s kind of hot.” His hands traced down my body and between my thighs. I let out a soft moan. A single finger traced further and further up my thigh. “Chris. You’re turning me on.” “Oh, you’ve already turned me on.” He leaned closer to me. Our eyes locked, and he grinned. “Just thinking about you leaning over my desk like that turns me on. Thinking about getting up and walking around this table and pulling those pants down to your ankles …” I swallowed dryly. My cheeks flushed, and desire overwhelmed me. I’d never been

one for having sex in public, but the way he spoke to me … My lips crashed against his. My fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer to me. “I want you so bad,” I whispered. “Professor?” Female. Behind me. My heart raced as I jumped back and turned to face the door. The girl had black hair. Her mouth hung open. “Miss Hence, right?” Chris cleared his throat as he pushed himself up. “I’m very sorry; I must not have heard you knock. What is it?”

She stared at him, then turned her attention to me. She looked back at him, her mouth finally closing. “I … it can wait.” Without another word, she tore out of the room, leaving the door open. My cheeks still burned, and my mind raced. “Well.” I turned to see that Chris’s cheeks were about as red as mine. “I guess … I’ll pick you up tonight and we can grab dinner, meet in the parking lot? Alright?” “Sure. When is your last class?” He looked down at his clock. “At three, you?” I grinned. “Same. I guess I will see you

then.” I couldn’t help the grin on my face as I walked towards the door. Then my heart dropped. I was about to go out there, and I’d have to face everyone. By now they probably already knew. I took a deep breath and forced the door open. No one turned to stare at me, no one whispered. Nothing. Oh, thank God.

Chapter Five “I didn’t tell anyone.” Hayley came skidding to a stop in front of me. “I swear I didn’t.” It started just around 1:00. That was when I knew everyone knew. They were all staring at me; I caught a couple people pointing. But so far no one approached me. “I kno—” “I didn’t tell a soul. I have no clue how anyone ...” “Hayley.” I gripped her shoulders. “Relax.

I know you didn’t tell anyone. Someone … walked in on us.” Her eyes widened. “No. Were you two …” She made a face to let me know what she was trying to say but wouldn’t. “No! It was just a kiss!” A very, very hot kiss but still only a kiss, thank God. “Oh, God, that must have been dreadful.” “I can’t even put it into words.” We headed towards a group of people sitting at a table eating. I almost stopped dead in my tracks. John stared at me. His eyes narrowed. “I … I can’t go over there.”

“Why not?” Hayley looked at me, then towards the table. “Oh, it won’t be that bad. Come on.” She hooked her arm through mine and pulled me towards the table. The second we got close, John pushed himself to his feet and walked off. I exchanged a look with the girl beside me. “Okay … maybe it will be that bad. At least he didn’t stick around though,” she offered weakly. “Gee, thanks.” Sarcasm seeped into my voice as I dropped down at the table. Everyone stared at me. I watched as Hayley sat down beside me. She gave me a smile. Still no one said

anything. “What?” I snapped. Paige grinned widely. “You lucky girl.” A soft smile touched my lips. “Other than the fact that everyone knows.” “It’s not that bad. Everyone will get over it in a day.” Paige looked over my shoulder. I glanced to where she was looking. “Miss Geen?” A tall woman with blonde hair looked down at me. She was too old to be a student. “Yes.” “The dean would like to speak to you for

a moment.” “Of course.” I pushed myself up and followed the woman to the dean’s office. She didn’t say a word to me the entire time, and I was pretty sure by the look on her face that she was not pleased; either with the whole situation or because she had been the one to come get me, I wasn’t sure. She didn’t say anything as she opened the dean’s door and motioned for me to stop inside. He looked up. He was an older man, with grey hair and thick rimmed glasses. “Kenda, is it alright if I call you that?”

I nodded. “Good, good. Come take a seat would you?” I took a seat, and he turned his full attention to me. “Chris was in here speaking to me today … he explained the situation …” “Yes.” “Well, I just wanted to let you know that I will be sending a couple forms over to Chris that you will both need to fill out. We value our students here, and though we don’t suggest students and teachers dating, there will be no repercussions for you because of your … relationship.” “Um, thank you.”

“If you need anything, just let us know, and we will be happy to try to accommodate it.” “Thanks.” We talked a little longer, but he didn’t really say anything useful. Then he let me go on my way and the rest of the day was spent with people pointing and staring at me. A couple of the girls called me a slut as I passed them in the hallway, and I ran into John a couple times. He refused to look at me, hell when I went up and said hi, he refused to talk to me. Around three, I went out to the parking lot with lots of other students and made my way towards Chris’s car. I passed John

again, this time I paid him as much attention as he paid me. “Kenda!” Chris called behind me. I spun and turned to face him. A grin spread over his face as his pace quickened. Before I realized it, he had me in his arms and was holding me tightly. He planted a kiss right on my lips. I grinned, nipping his lower lip the second I could. “We should get out of here.” I couldn’t help but think about what he had been saying to me earlier, all the dirty things he wanted to do to me. My eyes caught John’s for a fraction of a second. I felt bad the second I realized he

was staring at us. I pushed away from Chris and smiled. “Or did you have plans for dinner?” “Dinner can wait. I can cook us something … after …” His eyes sparkled with lust, and I took his hand as we headed towards his car. “So, how was your day?” I asked raising an eyebrow. “Well, I had very few students flirt with me today,” he said chuckling. The car ride to the house was quick. “Good.” I tried not to let my jealousy show as we sped out of the parking lot

and towards his house. “What about you?” “It was about as good as I could have expected it to be. It wasn’t bad. There were a few nasty remarks, and a few people mad at me, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.” “Let me guess, boys?” “Yes,” I admitted softly, refusing to look at him. “I’m sorry; I hope I didn’t get in the way of any of your friendships.” “No, you didn’t.” We were already so close to his place, I

couldn’t wait to get there. To take his clothes off him. I swallowed dryly just thinking about it. “I spoke to the dean today.” “Did you? What did he have to say?” “Nothing really.” I shrugged. “Just the basics, I guess. That you were getting a bunch of papers and that we’d have to fill them out. That the school is always there for its students, etc.” My heart rate picked up as we pulled into his driveway, and he parked the car. I was out of the car before I even realized it. He laughed behind me. “Are you in that much of a rush?”

“Yes.” I turned to stare at him. “The second you get this door open, I am taking you to the bedroom and fucking your brains out.” His pace quickened. “I’m coming.” He stepped in front of the door and unlocked it quickly. I chuckled. “Are you in that much of a rush?” I grinned as he fumbled with the key. “Yes.” He pushed the door open then pushed me inside. He was already in the process of taking his clothes off as he closed the door with his foot. I kicked my shoes off and undid my

pants. “Bedroom, now,” he ordered. His words sent a hot shiver down my spine as I turned on my heel and rushed for the bedroom. Turning around to make sure he was behind me, I saw that his shirt was off and he was reaching for his tie. “Leave it.” My eyes sparkled as I reached out for him, grabbed the tie and pulled him close to me. My lips crashed against his as he guided me towards the bed. “Kenda,” he whispered, his lips tracing a soft line down my neck. I moaned, my nails digging into his skin. I

felt my back hit the bedding as he crawled on top of me, and I pulled him higher and higher, my hands fumbling with the button on his pants trying to get them undone quickly. He pushed my hand away and undid it himself. His hand slipped down his pants. I grinned watching as he pulled his cock out, already hard and ready to go. I licked my dry lips, trying to restore some moisture to them as his head moved closer to them, and I mouthed his cock the second I got a chance. His eyes rolled back as he let out a deep breath, his fingers tangling in my hair. His

hips moved back and forth, moving his cock in and out of me. I moaned, my tongue running over every inch of his cock that it would reach. Chris’s fingers tightened in my hair. “Fuck, Kenda.” Just Chris saying my name was enough to turn me on even more. I pulled away from him, slipping out from under him. My shirt was off me in a matter of seconds, along with my panties. Lastly, my bra came off. I grinned as he pushed himself off the bed, let his pants fall off completely along with his dress shirt and then headed for the dresser at the other side of his bedroom.

I watched him, my hand slipping between my legs. My fingers circled my clit as he opened the top drawer and pulled something out. He turned around just in time to see me slip a finger into myself. I gasped. My eyelids flickered shut for a fraction of a second then locked on him. His grin widened as he stepped closer to me and then rushed towards me quickly, tearing into the condom wrapper and pulling it out. He let the garbage fall to the ground as he slipped the condom over his full length. I twirled my finger inside myself, a moan of pleasure escaping me as I lay back against the bed. I bit my lower lip moaning louder.

His fingers curled around my wrist, and he pulled my hand away from myself and spread my legs. I grinned looking up at him. My eyes lowered to his cock as he pushed into me, a gasp passing through my lips. My fingers dug into the bedding as my hips rose to meet his thrust. He grinned, his hand squeezing my breasts gently as he pulled out and pushed back in. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. My hand slipped between my legs again, this time circling my clit only. I cried out in pleasure as he pushed into me harder and faster.

“I wanted to do this all day,” he whispered, reaching out for my hand. He grabbed it, pinning it above my head and squeezed my hand gently. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. All I wanted was for the day to end so I could see you ... and then ...” he slammed into me harder. I gasped. “When you came into my classroom ...” “It was hard not to fuck right then and there,” I finished his sentence for him. His grin widened. “And I was all ready to take the chance.” My cheeks burned. Would he have actually?

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Harder and faster he pushed into me. “I’ve never wanted to fuck in my classroom before. It’s going to be so hard having to see you sitting there every Monday.” Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. “Maybe I’ll dress really sexy, just for you,” I teased. “I’ll wear a skirt one day and forget my panties.” His eyes widened with lust. It had been a lie, just something to turn him on, but it seemed to do the trick.

He pushed into me quicker and quicker, his hand squeezed mine gently. My fingers circled my clit. I bit my lip as he pushed into me faster and faster. “If you do that I might not be able to take it,” he whispered next to my ear. “I might have to take you into a closet and fuck you right then and there.” His words were enough to send me over the edge. I didn’t even know I was so close. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. My toes curled as I cried out in pleasure. “Fuck,” I moaned, my eyes rolling back as everything went a hazy black. My hips

arched as waves of pleasure overtook my body and I squeezed his hand. He let out his own sound of pleasure as he slammed into me. Again. Again. Harder every time. Another wave of pleasure overwhelmed my body. Then another, this time softer. He slammed into me, squeezing my hand gently. Another wave of pleasure, this time so soft. My body fell back against the bedding as I opened my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I stared at the man on top of me. He grinned as he slid out of me. “You’re

cute when you cum.” My cheeks burned. “Um, thanks.” I pushed myself up and reached for his shirt. I didn’t bother putting my bra on, just slipped into his shirt and my jeans. “So, what did you have in mind for dinner?” “I can make something up real quick, pretty sure I have chicken thawing on the stove. How does that sound?” “Sounds perfect to me. He closed the distance between us, slipped into his pants again and pulled me into his arms. “Maybe next time I’ll keep you naked in bed.” He grinned, kissing

my forehead. “That sounds perfect to me.” My arms wrapped around his neck, and I stepped closer to him. I closed my eyes, resting my forehead against his warm chest. I took a deep breath of him. Never would I have ever thought I’d be dating a teacher, and I would have never thought I could like someone so much after just a couple days of being together. He held me tightly not saying a word. It made me wonder what was on his mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to break the silence. So I just took another deep breath and snuggled close to him. My stomach rumbled with hunger, but the

thought of breaking from this hug almost caused me pain. Six months later I glanced over my glasses at him. They were a new addition to my look, something Chris seemed to like quite a lot, and something I hated needing. “Do people actually send this crap to you?” I asked with a sigh. “It’s right out of the textbook. Have they never heard of copyright laws?” Chris laughed. “You would be surprised how many of those I get.” He glanced at his computer. “Oh! My friend got back to

me on your paper.” We’d both agreed to have someone else grade my papers from the second we made things official, there were contracts and everything. Just to keep it official so that I couldn’t be turned down from jobs in the future or people couldn’t think poorly of me. Or that I’d fucked my way to good grades, which I seemed to be getting, so I didn’t care. Chris grinned. “It looks like he really likes your work.” He turned the computer for me to see. A blush touched my cheeks, and my smile widened. I turned my attention back to the essay in front of me. Yup, this one was a fail.

I marked it quickly, added a couple notes and sent it back to the student. Thankfully with a computer no one could tell if it was me or him typing the letter. One fun thing about dating the teacher was that I got to know everyone’s results before they did. Of course, that wasn’t why I started dating him, but it sure was a perk. “So, are you staying over again tonight?” “Is that alright?” He paused, staring at me. “Kenda … isn’t it about time we face facts and admit it?” My heart skipped a beat. “Admit what?”

“That you’re already living here.” I stared at him, unsure of what to say. We hadn’t been together long, but it was so convenient. We’d drive to school together and home together. Plus, if I spent time here, I could help him grade papers and that gave me more time with him, sometimes we’d even spend the entire night at a café eating and grading papers. Hayley once asked me if I did grade other people’s work. I admitted I did, and she handed me a list of people she wanted me to fail. I never did give them their failing grade, well, there was one girl I failed, but her essay was really bad. I couldn’t help it. I did add a few suggestions for her if she

wanted to improve her work. “So, you’re alright with me living here?” He laughed softly. “I would have kicked you out of here by now if I weren’t.” I stared at him. “Should … should I move my stuff in?” “We’ll start on the weekend.” He gave me a nod. How was I going to tell my mom? She’d had a hard enough time when I told her that I was dating a teacher. She was going to die if I told her I was living with him. I bit my lower lip, but I couldn’t fight the smile that spread across my face.

Chris’s smile widened as he reached out and took my hand. “Now, get these done, and we can head to bed at a reasonable time … maybe we could even try out that new toy we got you the other day.”

The Billionaire Teacher Part II An Alpha Billionaire Romance

Sarah J. Brooks

Copyright © 2015 by Sarah J. Brooks This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Facebook: Sarah J. Brooks

Chapter One I watched as Chris took the girl’s hand. She had long blonde hair—just like me. What made her special? My brow furrowed as I watched Chris kiss her. Jealousy tugged at my heart; anger boiled up, and for a split second I wanted nothing more than to go over there, grab her and bash her head into the ground. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was not going to take this lying down. Not after all my hard work. ***

Chris took my hand and pulled me into a kiss. “Hey babe,” he whispered softly. “Are you coming over tonight?” I nodded. I already had everything all packed and ready to go; it had been in my best friend (and roommate’s) car and was now resting on my shoulder. “Of course, unless you’re going to be too busy for me?” I raised an eyebrow dramatically. He chuckled, shaking his head, but didn’t say anything. For a split second, I looked past him, at all the students walking to and from classes. It was easy to spot the ones who were on their way home for the weekend. Yes. I was dating a teacher. It had almost been six months now, and

by now the word had spread to everyone; it had even died down, and I’d stopped getting glares, stares, and whispering behind my back. Not that it ever bothered me that much. A lot of people thought I was just with Chris for his money, but I really cared about him. As we made our way to the car, I let my mind drift off a little. “It’s hard to believe I’ve already almost done my first year of university.” “And then you will be one step closer to getting your degree. Do you know what you will do with it yet?”

“No,” I admitted. I’d had to change my plans a little; I’d been able to finish my class with him by Chris having a friend mark my work, but after that I’d been moved. I wasn’t allowed to be taught by the teacher I was in a relationship with—after all, I might just fuck my way to good grades. Every time I heard that I had to suppress an eye roll. As we neared his car, the clatter of students died down, and it left us almost alone. My heart skipped a beat as her eyes locked on me. Her blonde curls bounced as she walked towards a red car, coffee cup in her hand as she held her purse close to

her chest. The entire time, her eyes never left me, but she sped up as we made our way closer to our car. I mentally shook the feeling that she was watching me as I pulled the passenger side door open and dropped down into the firm leather seats. I was probably just imagining things. I closed my eyes, leaning against the headrest. This car, with its cooling seats and its sunroof, had become something I looked forward to at the end of the week almost as much as I looked forward to spending the weekend with Chris. “What’s the plan for the weekend?” I asked as he gunned the engine and pulled out of the parking lot- almost a little too

fast. “I’ve got some papers to grade; then I thought you and I could do something we’ve never done before.” I felt my pulse increase as we neared his house. Neither of us said a word. “What the hell?” Chris blew out a deep breath. My head snapped towards him. “What’s wrong?” He nodded towards his house. The front door stood slightly open. “Did you forget to lock the door?” Oh, God, he wasn’t robbed; was he? I bit my

lip, trying not to think of the worst possible situation. “Maybe you didn’t shut it right, and the wind blew it open …?” I knew it sounded a little complicated, but it was worth thinking, right? Chris didn’t hear me. He was already out of the car, keys in hand, and heading towards the house. I jumped out with him, grabbing my purse and reaching for the mace inside it. After all, if there was someone inside, I was going to be of some use. Tentatively, he reached for the door and pushed it open gently. Nothing reacted. No one moved inside, but that could just mean they were waiting for us.

My heart raced, pounding in my ears. Relax, I told myself. It’s nothing. I couldn’t help thinking about the worst possible situation as Chris led the way inside. We stepped into his lavish living room and looked around. Nothing was out of place, and nothing was missing. If someone had broken in, why didn’t they steal the cash he had on the coffee table? He peered down the hallway as he padded into the kitchen. “You must be right.” Though he didn’t sound so sure of it. “I must not have closed the door tightly.” “You could always ask someone. If they

saw anything, I’m sure they’d tell you.” A smile touched Chris’s lips. “I’m probably just letting myself get freaked out; it’s no big deal.” He shrugged, unwilling to show whether or not it fazed him. “Anyways, what do you want for dinner?” “Chinese?” It was what we usually did, even though we went through the same talk every Friday. Weekends were for cooking, and simple meals during the work week, but Friday was a treat. Friday we’d sit down with all the homework that needed to be graded, order take out and get as much work done as we could so our weekend was free. Free to do

whatever we wanted, and normally that involved each other. A soft grin touched my lips as I thought about it. “Alright; let’s get to work.” I dropped my purse on the couch and slipped out of my shoes. Though we’d probably be too tired for anything, tonight, I’d be looking forward to the next two days.

Chapter Two “Did you hide it on me again?” I asked as I dropped down onto my hands and knees. “This is real assholey of you.” I’d taken to leaving my bathing suit at his place. Chris snorted. “I swear I didn’t hide it on you, I never do.” “Sure, sure,” I muttered peering under the bed. I caught sight of it and reached for it. My fingers just barely touched it. I pulled it towards me. Chris stepped behind me, dropped down to his knees and pressed himself against me. I bit my lip, letting out a deep breath. Just the feeling of his body pressed against my ass

was enough to send heat to my pussy. I forced myself away from him. He’d said we had lunch plans, and if we stayed like that, well, we’d be missing out lunch plans. As tempting as that was, I really liked food. I bit my lip and pushed myself to my feet in one swift movement. “So,” I pulled my shirt over my head. “Where are we having lunch?” “I’m not telling you … but I will tell you that it’s seafood since I know how much you like seafood, and that you can bring your bathing suit there.” My brow furrowed, but I didn’t say anything. Chris liked to surprise me, and lucky for him, I didn’t hate surprises. I

slipped my bikini top on and tied it up; with the last bit of the summer heat still in full swing it was nice to have someone with a pool; of course, it’s not like I could really have many of my friends over at my boyfriend’s place, considering he taught some of them. His eyes roamed over my body as I slipped out of my yoga shorts and kicked them across the room before wiggling into my bottoms. “Are you sure I have time for a swim then?” “Yes …. we um, have to meet a friend of mine at noon.” He didn’t quite meet my eye as he spoke. What are you planning?

But I didn’t say it out loud; I couldn’t. Otherwise, he’d risk ruining the surprise, and I knew how excited for this surprise he was. So I forced a smile over my lips. “Alright, keep your secrets.” I gave him a soft grin. “But you better be careful I don’t decide to punish you.” A dramatic wink ended my sentence, and a wide grin spread across Chris’s face. Although I was most definitely not the dominant one in the bedroom, it was still fun to threaten now and then. Chris stepped closer to me, his arms circling around my hips; he placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. “Before we go out, I have to make a quick stop

somewhere. I’ll be right back, okay?” “Sure.” I gave him a quick kiss before he stepped away from me. “Have fun in the pool,” he called behind him as he headed for the door. “Oh, I will!” I called after him. If it had been dark, I wouldn’t have even bothered with the bikini, and I was sure he knew it. *** I watched as he left the house. I bit my lip, every time I saw him, I wanted to run over there and pull him into my arms, to kiss him; to show him I was better than

this girl. She wasn’t good enough for him, just some slut he’d picked up in class. Some slut that wasn’t right for him. He deserved so much better, someone who could give him everything—I’d be able to do that. If only he’d realized that two years ago. I wasn’t just one of the girls who batted her eyelashes at him in class. I was better than all of them. So why hadn’t he picked me? Why had he put this girl, Kenda, above me? I swallowed dryly as he got into his car. I paced back to the one I was renting down the street; trying not to show that I was in a hurry—I couldn’t attract attention to

myself. Not this close to his place. *** It was an hour until Chris came back, he didn’t have any bags with him, and really there was no sign that he’d been out. He rushed me out the door without any foreplay, and we headed off to wherever this date was. The entire time he didn’t say a word. I made a little bit of chitchat, but that was more for myself than for him. Silence made me nervous. I sucked in a deep breath as we slowed down and turned onto a driveway. “Are

…” I stared into the adjacent field, at the small plane. “Are you kidding me?” “Nope, I wouldn’t kid about something like this.” I could hear the laughter in his voice, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away from the plane. My mind raced to try and process what was going on. He was flying me somewhere, where? I bit my lip. This was crazy. Utterly crazy. He slowed as he neared the house; a mansion was a better way to describe it really, with large bricks within the walls and an open front door. My jaw dropped as I stared at the grand staircase. A woman stared out at us; she said something, but I couldn’t read her

lips fast enough. Chris came to a stop in front of another car. A vintage car, probably from the 1950s, but it looked in perfect condition. I swallowed dryly as he put the car into park and turned it off, slipping the key from the ignition and into his pocket. “Ready?” he asked, his door opening. I scrambled after him, pushing my door open and rushing after him as he headed towards the house. I reached for him, grabbing his hand in mine; our fingers intertwining. He squeezed my hand gently. “I hope you don’t mind flying.” I laughed softly. I had never done it before, but I was sure I wouldn’t have

anything against it. Chris talked to the man for a little while before he guided us onto the plane, and we were almost ready to go. My heart raced the entire time as the plane fired up, and we headed into the air. Chris held my hand tightly, a grin spread across his face. “What?” “Nothing.” The lust seeped through his voice. “I just thought about how hot it would be to have sex in a plane; have you ever wanted to?” “I … I’d never even thought about it,” I admitted. “Well, maybe by the end of the night that

will be a thought that crosses your mind.” With one swift movement, he pulled me onto his lap, his lips crashed against mine. His teeth nipped my lower lip gently. I moaned, my fingers tangling into his hair as our kiss deepened. His fingers tangled in my hair, pulling gently. My moan intensified as he pulled my hair. Lust boiled inside of me. I pulled away just enough to run my fingers over his chest, my eyes running over his body. He dressed simply, and most of the time you couldn’t see his muscles. Until you got his shirt off. I unfastened the first three buttons, my lips touching his warm skin. He let out a

deep breath, his eyes rolling back as his hands traced over the curves of my body. His fingers dug into my skin. I moaned and gasped, feeling cool air touch my stomach as he pulled my shirt up, leaving it just below my bra. He tried to pull it higher, but I stopped him. “In case we get caught,” I whispered in his ear. My teeth grazing his earlobe gently. “You don’t want to be watched?” His question sent a shiver down my spine; again it was something I’d never thought about, but now … the idea of it … I felt the button of my jeans come

undone. Chris slipped a hand down my pants; his finger brushing my pussy. I bit my lower lip, resisting the urge to moan too loud. “It sure feels like you like the idea of it.” A blush touched my cheeks. Maybe I was open to trying new things with him. My teeth grazed his lower lip, silently begging him for more, and I slipped my own hand down my pants and inside me quickly. I gasped at the warm moisture. I hadn’t realized how wet I was. With my free hand, I reached out for him, cupping his cock. Chris grunted, thrusting towards me. “Play with yourself,” he whispered.

I massaged his cock as I slipped my finger in and out of myself. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I gasped, my hips grinding against my finger; his hand still down my pants, he touched my clit. I gasped, already so close to the edge. “Just um, wanted to let you guys know ...” I gasped, practically jumping off Chris ... “just wanted to let you guys know that we are almost there.” I swallowed dryly, running my finger through my hair to try and straighten it. I pulled my shirt down to my hips, rebuttoned my jeans and took a seat

beside Chris. My heart still racing with lust. Based on the look on Chris’s face, he felt about the same as I did. He crossed his legs, in some attempt to hide his boner though it didn’t do him any good. I knew it was there. I swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down a little. As we started to make our descent, I turned to Chris, buckling myself. “So, where are we, anyways?” “You’ll have to wait and see.” His eyes sparkled. “Do I at least get a hint?” “There will be food here that you will

love.” I laughed softly. “That doesn’t mean much, Chris.” He grinned. I gasped as we hit the solid ground and the plane raced along the landing strip. My fingers dug into the seat gently as he came to a complete stop and I waited for Chris to make the first move. He pushed himself up and padded to the door. The pilot, a man I’d briefly been introduced to, came to help Chris with the door. My brow furrowed. We didn’t bring any bags. Was this just going to be a one day trip? I was tempted to ask, but didn’t want to give up any more of the surprise; as much as I wanted to, the

answer to where we were, I wanted to be a bit of a surprise, at least.

Chapter Three I paced back and forth waiting for the building to officially open. How could he do this? She didn’t deserve this. He was being way too nice to her; he was buying her. She was just with him for his money; I’d be with him because he was amazing. I glanced down at my cell phone. Two more minutes. Was this really what I wanted to do? How else was I supposed to get him to realize she wasn’t any good for him? I needed to get her away from him. I needed to get him away from her; whatever means necessary. I glanced down at my phone again, letting out a deep sigh. Still two minutes, no.

One now. I was so close, but I could still run away if I wanted. I could turn back, after this there was no turning back. Yes, there is, I reminded myself. I was just going to get information. I was just going to do my research, to weigh my options and see if this was the right thing to do. “Excuse me,” a woman said behind me. I spun to face her. “Are you … waiting to come in?” “Yes.” I straightened myself. “I, um, need some information …” “Come on in, my dear.” The girl, about a couple years older than me, with green

eyes hidden behind glasses and red hair, gave me a smile. “Why don’t we go sit down in my office?” She led the way to a back room and closed the door. “What is your name?” “Danika.” “Hi, Danika, my name is Jen. Please, take a seat.” I did as she told me and sat down across from the desk where she made her way to the other chair. “So Danika, what can I do for you?” “I … I just need some information …” I swallowed dryly, trying to figure out how to word this and what to say. “Ask me anything, we’re just here to

answer your questions. We won’t call the police if you don’t want to; all we want to do is provide you with somewhere to come if you need anything during this difficult time.” “Thank you.” I took a deep breath, getting ready to go over the same thing I’d gone over in my head again and again and again.

Chapter Four “You have got to be shitting me.” I looked around, unable to believe it. This had to be some sort of a dream, right? I was dreaming, normal boyfriends didn’t take their girlfriends to Rome for dinner and say ‘Oh, you’ll like the food here’ as a clue. Chris laughed softly. “Would I make something like this up? How would I even do that?” I had no clue, but there had to be a way. There was no way this could be real. He took my hand as we headed down the street. I gaped, trying to take every second of it in, trying to memorize every

second of it, and trying to make sure I wouldn’t forget a single detail. “I … I can’t even believe it,” I confessed; it had been an hour, and I was still trying to process it all. Chris didn’t say anything; he just smiled widely as we came to a stop in front of a store. “Come on, you need something better for dinner.” My jaw fell open. “What do you mean?” Sure my jeans and T-shirt were a little informal, but it wasn’t like they were dirty or anything; they were something I would wear to a casual interview. “How fancy is

this dinner you have in mind?” “It’s nothing crazy, but don’t you want to buy a nice dress from Rome?” “Fine … but nothing too expensive.” I knew where this could be going—Chris had tried to take me out shopping before —and I knew that it could get expensive. I was going to let him spend more than he had to on this date. “So, what’s the plan here?” I finally couldn’t wait any longer. “Do you plan on staying here more than a day?” “No, Josh has to get back to work on Monday, and he wants time to get ready for the work week.”

My brow furrowed. So this was a day trip was what he was saying? I shook my head as he reached for the store door and pulled it open. No one is going to believe this, I thought as I stepped inside the store. “Hi,” a man with a thick accent stepped towards me. “Can I help you with anything?” “No, thank you,” I said quickly. “We’re just … looking around.” I took Chris’s hand in mine and led the way to the back of the store, where the sales were. I reached for a black dress; it was simple and fell to my knees. “This is nice.”

He looked it up and down as I held it against myself. “It’s … alright.” “Alright?” I scowled. “Well, it’s just very … black.” “What’s wrong with that?” “Nothing!” he said quickly. “I just think something a little more colorful would be nice. How about something …” He reached for a bright blue dress. “Like this.” My jaw dropped. He had to be joking—right? “Um … I don’t know.” I looked it up and down, a deep V-neck, and it probably fell to my knees. I wasn’t quite sure I had the cleavage for it honestly.

“Alright, how about …” He pulled a soft purple dress off the rack. “This?” It was bright, but not blinding, with a sash around the waist and cap sleeves. I reached out and touched the silk fabric. “It is pretty,” I admitted. “Good! You can try it on at least.” I opened my mouth to protest but didn’t have time as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the change rooms. The man from before smiled. “Would you like a change room for that?” “Yes.” He spoke before I could say anything, and I was guided into a change room with the dress.

“I’m going to look around for a couple seconds; I’ll be right back!” he called as I slipped out of my clothes and into the dress. I refused to look in the mirror the entire time; as I slipped into it, my jaw almost dropped. It had been a long time since I put a dress on, and it had been even longer since I’d worn a dress that looked this good on me. “Kenda? I’m back.” It took me one step until I got to the door. I unlocked it and stepped out. “Wow.” Chris stared at me, his eyes roaming over my body. “It looks good on you.”

My eyes fixated on the three hangers he was holding. “I see you found more.” “Humor me?” he asked, holding the dresses out to me. “Alright, fine.” I took the dresses from his hand, unwilling to admit how eager I was to try these on. As I turned around to the dressing room, another mirror caught my attention. I couldn’t help but look myself over again; this dress made me look more grown up than I had felt since I turned 18. I took a deep breath and stepped into the dressing room. I tried on a short white one, with a black lace design going from the bust up to the neck. I bit my lip, looking myself over.

I stepped out of the change room and ran my hands over the dress, trying to smooth out any of the wrinkles in it. “Wow.” Chris stared at me. “Alright, you are getting that one; no matter what.” My cheeks flushed. “I can’t ask you to buy this for me.” “You’re not asking, but I am paying.” A grin flashed over his lips. Before I could open my mouth to protest, he spoke again. “Now go try on the next one.” He shooed me off to the dressing room before I could say another word. I stumbled over my own feet as the door was closed behind. After a couple seconds

of fumbling, I got the dress undone, and it slid down to my ankles. I grabbed it and hung the dress up on the backside of the door. I reached for an olive green one, this had kimono sleeves and fell just a little bit too short, but I tried it on anyways. The second I opened the door, Chris’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, that one looks good too.” “You know, I’m not going to let you buy them all for me.” I stood with my hands on my hips, grinning. As much as I loved letting him buy me stuff, it wasn’t right to make him buy me

too much. I wasn’t going to be that kind of girl. Before he could say another word, I turned on my heel and stepped back into the change room. I only tried on two more dresses before I stepped out of the change room in my jeans and T-shirt. Chris held up three more dresses. “You don’t want to try on any more?” “No! So don’t even offer to find me one more.” This trip to fucking Rome was more than enough. I hooked my purse over my arm as he reached for the two dresses I was going to let him buy, and we headed towards the checkout.

The girl behind the counter eyed us as we made our way over there, and Chris lay the dresses down on the counter. “That will be $762.” She looked from me to Chris. “Debit.” He pulled his wallet out from his pocket. The girl’s jaw almost dropped as she glanced at me, envy written over her face. *** My mind raced. There was no way this was real. How was this even possible? Candles lined the steps. The wind had

blown some out though with the setting sun they weren’t needed yet. My hand tightened around Chris’s. Is there a special date I’m forgetting about? I went through a mental checklist. Not our anniversary, not his birthday; and not my birthday. I caught his eye. My cheeks flushed. “This is some sort of joke, right?” He laughed. “No! I have put way too much work into this for it to be a joke.” He held his arm out for me, and I took it, allowing him to help lead me up the steps. I forgot to keep counting when we made it up the sixteen steps and didn’t even remember I was trying to keep track until we made our way to the small table

waiting for us. I looked around. There wasn’t a soul in sight. I wonder if he managed to close the place down or something … is that even possible? He had told me about a friend who had closed down Time Square to propose to his girlfriend and about another guy who had gotten the Eiffel Tower to himself for a date. I guess anything is possible with enough money. We came to a stop in front a small table meant just for us. Chris took his arm back as he stepped forward, reached for one of the chairs and pulled it out. He motioned for me to take a seat in the chair. I did as I had been silently told; watching as he circled around and took a seat across from me.

Before I could say anything, someone came towards us. For a split second, I thought they were going to tell us that we couldn’t be here until I looked her over a little more. She had short black hair tied back and wore a black skirt with a white shirt. She stopped in front of me without a word as I gave her a smile, and she returned it my eyes flicked to the wine bottle she was holding. “Would you like some wine, ma’am?” “Please.” Neither of us said a word as we watched her fill both our wine glasses and then walk away. “I’ve read about this place before,” I said

as I reached for my glass and took a sip. The wine was dry but sweet. Something I would have to remember I liked—a lot. “The article I was reading said it was one of the most romantic places in all of Rome.” “We must have been reading the same article then.” Chris grinned as he leaned towards me. “I was trying to find the perfect place or at least the perfect idea, but I can’t put into words how hard that was to do.” He chuckled. “When I saw this idea … I just knew. It’s so you. To sit out on the steps drinking wine and eating food.” He fell silent for half a minute before speaking again. “I have to admit, I was a little worried this would be …

overboard.” “A little worried?!” I laughed, taking another sip of my wine. “About what part? The private plane ride? The random not-so-cheap shopping spree? Or was it all of this?” I motioned to our surroundings. “But really, didn’t you think this might be a little overboard? Not that I’m objecting; I think it’s wonderful and most definitely romantic.” “I know it is overboard. More than a little even … but I got to thinking about it, and I thought about it a lot. I wanted to do something special for you, something so you know how special you are to me. I know you said last weekend that you

wanted to travel.” I had been talking about a road trip, or maybe some camping! “So, I thought this would be a good idea. I know it’s a lot, and I know it’s kinda dramatic, but I also know it’s totally been worth it, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” His words utterly shocked me. My cheeks flushed as I tried to think of something to say. I opened my mouth, my mind still racing but closed it as I saw the waitress come towards us again; this time she was carrying two plates. Chris caught sight of her too. “Ah, dinner. I couldn’t resist; it’s every college

student’s favorite food, isn’t it?” He grinned. *** I yawned as we made our way back to the plane. It was dark by now, we’d finished our dinner an hour ago, and by the time we were two slices into the pizza the waitress had come back out to light the candles and put something over them so the wind couldn’t blow them out on us. Dinner had been followed by dessert, and now as I stepped onto the plane I was stuffed. The new dress I’d just gotten felt tight against my belly, and it had all been

totally worth it in my opinion. We met our pilot back on the plane. He looked as if he’d just gotten back; flashing us a grin, he nodded. “I trust you two enjoyed yourselves?” He glanced at me, giving me a quick once over. “I see you did some shopping.” “I did … thanks to Chris.” I quickly added the last part once I thought of it. I wanted to make sure he knew how thankful I was, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever actually be able to convey that to him. I stepped closer and took his arm. “Lucky for me he has amazing taste.” Both men grinned. “It helps that you

look gorgeous in just about anything.” He pulled me closer to him and placed a kiss on the top of my head. “You two love birds ready to take off then?” “Yes.” “Wonderful, I’ll get us in the air, and then you two will be on your own.” I wasn’t sure if he meant that in a sexual way or not, but he grinned at us both before taking off towards the front of the plane. I turned and glanced at Chris. “There is one more thing I got you …” He paused as he stepped towards a table and reached under it. “I had to order it to

make sure it came on time, and it should be sized to fit you …” He pulled a small brown box out from under the table and handed it to me. I took the box tentatively as he pulled a knife out from his back pocket and handed it to me. My hands shook as I made a small cut into the box and ripped the tape away. I closed my eyes as I tore the top of the box away. When I opened my eyes, I was left staring at a piece of pink silk. My jaw dropped as I pulled the fabric from the box. A small baby-doll hung in my hand. I couldn’t believe it. I glanced up at Chris. He grinned, his

eyes on the garment. “Well, do you want to try it on here? Or wait until we get home?” I felt my body burn. With the idea of trying it on here and the thought of being walked in on. Despite the fact that the pilot’s comment had been laced with a sexual reference, I wasn’t sure that had been how he meant it. “Here?” I wanted to be sure I had heard him right. “Yes … here.” Before I could say anything, a bell dinged above us, letting us know to take our seats. Thank God. That at least gave me a

little time to think about my answer to his question.

Chapter Five I wanted to. I really did, but the thought of getting caught. I flushed just thinking about it. Would he call the cops on us? After all, he could, couldn’t he? I honestly had no clue. “I clutched the seat as the plane began to move, gaining speed quickly. Closing my eyes, I let the speed get to me. My heart raced as we went faster and faster. It skipped a beat as I felt us lift off the ground and move up, higher and higher. Finally, we leveled out. And I’d been so focused on the takeoff that I forgot I was supposed to be deciding how to react to his proposition.

It took me thirty seconds before I could bring myself to look up at him. A smile spread over my lips as I locked eyes on him. “If you don’t want to …” “I know,” I said quickly. But I did want to … I just wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. “What if …” “Someone walks in? They can’t. No one else is here to walk in on us.” His eyes sparkled. “You … you’re sure?” “Pretty sure, yea.” He laughed softly. “I can double check if you like.”

“No!” I didn’t want it known what Chris and I were thinking about doing. He leaned towards me; warm lips touched my cheek. “Go put on the lingerie I got you.” His command sent a chill down my spine, a very welcome one. I bit my lip, nodded and pushed myself out of the chair. I took the box and headed for the bathroom. I can’t believe I’m doing this … this is crazy. Stupid. Crazy. Risky. What if we got caught? I guess really, what was the worst that could happen? I tried to ask myself, but

the fact of the matter was that a dozen things came to mind when I did that. So I pushed each and every one of them out of my mind and closed the bathroom door behind me, locking it. I turned to face myself in the mirror. My cheeks were bright pink, and despite the fact that I’d just done my makeup before dinner, and I was still wearing one of the new dresses, I looked a mess. I fixed my hair with my fingers and tried to accept that was going to be the best I could manage before forcing myself to look away from the mirror. The second I unzipped the dress and slipped the straps off, it fell to the

ground. I stepped out of it and reached for the newest garment Chris had bought me. I held it up before pulling it on. He had said it was made to my measurements. My brow furrowed, wondering how he’d gotten them until I realized that Hayley and I had gotten our measurements a couple of months back when she’d been trying to figure out her size when ordering something online. Was she in on all of this? No. she couldn’t have been … she would have blabbed about it by now. Hayley was horrid at keeping secrets, and we all knew it. So there was no way she was in on it—or at least the details of it. Whether or not she was the reason he had my measurements or not, the garment fit

like a glove. My hands ran over the soft silk of the fabric. I’d worn silk before but never had it felt this nice. It must be good quality, I thought as I turned to face myself in the mirror. Wow. It looked amazing. It fit me like a glove, and even without it being made on me the pink fabric flowed softly, covering every inch of my imperfections and emphasizing every inch of my perfections. It was hard to force myself to look away from the mirror, even for a split second. I tied my hair in a high ponytail. I’ll get lipstick as soon as I get back out there. Even just a little gloss would pull this entire look together perfectly. Turning away from the mirror, I bent down, scooped up

the dress I had been wearing and turned to the door. Here goes, I thought, reaching for the handle. It was time to see if he liked what he’d picked out. I opened the door and padded back to the seats without a word. My heart raced the entire time, a million thoughts going through my head. What if he doesn’t like it? What if this isn’t the one he thought of? What if it didn’t actually fit right, and I’d been seeing things? Or worse, what if someone were there talking to him? Is there any way the pilot can’t be watching us right now? Mentally shaking my head, I stepped into sight of Chris. He was staring out the

window, lost in thought by the looks of it. Padding silently towards him, I worked up some amount of courage before I came to a stop in front of him. He turned slowly. His jaw dropped. “Kenda …” He reached out and touched my waist. “You look … It looks amazing on you.” Without another word, he pulled me onto his lap. I gasped as I felt myself in his lap. “I’m glad you like it, after all you did pick it out.” I grinned. “And I see I did a good job with it.” My lips touched his for a fraction of a second as I readjusted myself so I was

straddling him. I was sure I could feel his boner already. My hand traced over is chest. “Didn’t you have faith in yourself?” “I didn’t think I would do this good a job.” He pulled me into another kiss, this time his teeth grazed my lower lip. I let out a soft moan, my eyes rolling back for a fraction of a second. “So, is this the point where I thank you for the amazing dinner and plane ride?” I pulled away from him just enough so he could see me bat my eyelashes and flash him a sexy grin. “How did you plan on thanking me?” His eyes sparkled.

“Well … I was thinking I’d start by giving you a blowjob.” I paused, letting it sink in. “And then, I thought you could watch me play with myself until you can’t take it anymore, and you spin me around, bend me over one of these chairs and take me from behind, hard and fast.” It wasn’t much, but I could tell by the look on his face that it had been enough to get him eager to see where we went next. Before I could move, he grabbed me, his fingers tangling in my hair, pulling me close to him. Our lips crashed together. I let out a soft moan as I felt his teeth graze my lower lip. My tongue slipped through his lips and explored inside his mouth. My blood boiled with lust. I inhaled sharply

as I pulled away for a fraction of a second, trying to catch my breath. His fingers tightened in my hair as he pulled me towards him again. “Kenda,” he whispered. “You already have me so hard.” I grinned, nipping his lower lip, pulling away again. Before he could react, I was on my hands and knees in front of him. I reached out, my hand tracing over his uppermost thigh as he let out a deep breath. My hand ran over his erection. I groped him gently. His eyes rolled back for a fraction of a second before I let go of his cock and reached for his zipper; unzipping his jeans, my hand slipped down his pants and my fingers wrapped

around his thick cock. I bit my lower lip, my entire body felt warm as I rubbed his cock. I pulled it out of his jeans. Thick and hard, his cock tempted me. My lips moved towards his cock, circling his head. He let out a deep breath, his fingers tangling in my hair again as his hips thrust towards me, sliding his cock further into my mouth. I moaned, my tongue running down his cock the deeper he slid into me. “Fuck,” he gasped. My head bobbed up and down, faster and faster—focusing on not biting him, and my lips tight against him. I mouthed him faster and faster. His fingers tightened in

my hair. “Enough.” His voice was rough with arousal. I didn’t listen. I knew the signs, his body hadn’t tensed yet; he wasn’t close. I took his cock deeper into my mouth until I felt it hit the back of my throat. He gasped, his fingers tightening against my hair; pulling me away. His eyes were clouded, but a grin spread over his face. “You’d better be careful, or you’re not going to get that good fucking you mentioned.” “Or I could just please you now, and you can cum twice tonight.” “And have the first time not be in your

tight little pussy? No. Up.” I jumped to my feet. “But what about me playing with myself?” I knew how much he loved to watch that. He pushed himself to his feet and padded around the chair. “Come here.” He stepped back as I made my way towards him and motioned for me to get up against the back of the chair. “Face away from me.” My heart raced, hoping he would take me right then and there as I stopped in front of him, turning around and sticking my butt out towards him. I bit my lip, waiting for it. After less than a second, I turned to see what he was doing.

He loosened his tie from around his neck and unbuttoned his shirt. I grinned as his muscles came into view from under his shirt. He looked up at me. “Turn around.” He gave me a quick wink. I did as I was told and seconds later felt fabric around my neck. Chris tied his tie around my eyes. My heart raced. His hands traced the curves of my body. I bit back a moan as his hands slipped lower and lower. A gasp passed through my lips as his warm fingers touched my skin. A shiver ran down my spine as he stepped closer to me. I could feel every inch of him against my body. Hot. Wanting me.

Chris touched my breast gently. I moaned, pressing my butt against him. He ground against me. I moaned as his fingers touched my uppermost thigh again. I gasped as he slipped into me, and my eyes rolled back. “Oh fuck,” I moaned softly. His finger wiggled inside me. My juices gushing as he slipped out of me and back in. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. My eyes rolled back; already I felt so close to the edge. As if being able to read my mind, Chris pulled away from me. I felt him step away.

I turned towards him though the blindfold kept me from seeing anything. I heard his fly zip. My heart raced as he stepped towards me again. He grabbed my hips and pushed me up against the chair. I gasped as I felt his hard cock against my legs. He brushed my hair to one side, his lips trailing along my neck gently. “I want you so bad, Kenda,” he whispered. “Then take me.” My voice came out much steadier than I thought it would. I gasped as his head touched my uppermost thigh, pushing past my folds

and inside me. I moaned, my eyes rolling back. My nails dug into the fabric of the chair. He slipped out of me carefully, his teeth grazing my neck. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. He pushed into me, each time faster and faster. Every time he pulled away from me it was slow and gentle, careful that he didn’t hurt me. But every stroke grew faster and harder. I moaned, trying not to be loud enough for the pilot to hear. One hand wrapped around my hips, pulling me closer with every thrust. I moaned louder. Every thrust sent me

closer to an edge I already felt like I was about to fall off of. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. He came into me harder, faster. “Oh fuck, yes,” I moaned as his free hand traced down my back to my butt. His fingers dug into me as he thrust harder and harder. My body tensed as everything went a hazy white. I bit my lip so I wouldn’t moan too loud. My hips bucked as my orgasm rocked me. Chris held onto me, steadying me as a wave of pleasure rushed through my body. My legs gave out on me, but I

trusted him to keep me upright. His fingers dug into me as he gasped, thrusting into me hard. Another wave of pleasure rushed through me. I gasped, grinding against him. Another wave, and another—this time softer. He pushed into me once more, this time a lot more gentle than before. I felt him reach up and grab the tie from around my eyes. He pulled it off me, and I was left facing him. Without a word, he pulled me into a deep kiss, his silence speaking more than his words ever could have. I let out a soft moan as he pulled out of me, and I spun to face him. I ignored the feel of

something dripping down my legs as I stepped closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer. My teeth grazed his lower lip before I pulled away, flashing him a smile. He kissed the top of my head before slipping away from me and reaching for his zipper. “So, is that a first for you?” I asked. I have to admit, I didn’t think I would be happy if he’d said no. Lucky for me, he grinned. “Yes. Isn’t it your first time having sex in a plane before too?” “Yes.”

I wasn’t willing to admit how happy it made me that I got to be his first for something, and that was something no one could take away from me; even if we didn’t last. I looked around us in search of my dress, suddenly aware that I was in nothing but lingerie. I spotted my dress and rushed towards it. I paused before reaching for it and turned to Chris. “I hope your first time was as good as mine was. It’s something I’ll never ever forget.” Chris grinned. “Trust me; I’ll never forget it either.” His eyes locked on me for a couple seconds. I couldn’t bring myself to look away until

he broke eye contact. I can’t believe I just did that. There really was a first time for everything, I guess. Grinning, I mentally shook myself, trying not to let it show how excited it had made me. I picked up the dress I’d been wearing when I got on the plane and slipped into it. Chris sat down, his white shirt unbuttoned and his tie lying on the table along with his jacket. I grinned as I glanced at the tie for a fraction of a second, now whenever I saw that I was going to think of this trip. My mind raced as I dropped into the chair. I sat in there trying to regain my breath as

I closed my eyes. This was crazy. I couldn’t stop thinking it as I forced my eyes open and turned to watch Chris. He glanced at me, his eyes sparkling. “What?” “This has been amazing.” “I’m glad, you deserve every second of it.” He reached out and took my hand as I closed my eyes again. Squeezing his hand gently was the last thing I remember doing before falling asleep. I woke when the plane landed; we got off and went right for Chris’s car without a word; the truth was, I was still half asleep even when we got to his place that night. Chapter Six

Chris’s brow furrowed as he bent down and picked up a small white envelope. “When did you give someone my address?” he asked as he stood and turned to face me in one swift movement. I frowned as I reached out and took the letter from him. “I … I don’t remember giving anyone this address.” Yet here I stood, staring at an envelope with my name clearly written on it. I opened it in seconds as we headed towards the car. My backpack and my school books weighed against my back already as I slipped into the car; the backpack settled between my legs and the

dashboard. I pulled the piece of paper from the envelope and unfolded it. Kenda, Dump him now, before things get complicated and you regret it. And you will regret it. He is not good for you. I was his first. Leave him alone before you regret it. I stared down at the letter, reading it a few times. My eyes read every word again

and again. “Well, what is it?” “Um,” I forced myself to look up and shoved the paper into my backpack. “Nothing. Nothing important.” I knew I should have told him, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about it. What did it mean? Who wrote it? And was there any truth to it? My heart tightened. Who could have sent this to me? There is no way he’s done this before. I’ve asked him about it, and he’s said there was never a student before me … he could have been lying. Guys lie.

As we pulled out of the driveway and headed towards school, I bit my lip staring out the window. “I’m going to drop you off at school; then I’ve got a couple of things I need to get done.” “What do you need to get done?” “Nothing important.” And with that, our conversation was done. I didn’t ask him about it anymore. I wonder if there is a way for me to check into it? Maybe the dean will be able to tell me if he was involved with a student before me … if they’d bothered to tell anyone about it. We never would have told anyone if we hadn’t been caught kissing by a student.

A tinge of lust filled me just thinking about our first two months together. It had been … intensive to say the least. Full of weekends locked away in his house locked away from anyone else and with only each other’s company. It had been full of first times for me. Was he spending his free time with someone else now? I swallowed dryly, trying not to think like that. It wasn’t fair of me. I should trust him, even though a small piece of me didn’t. I didn’t realize I was chewing my lower lip until I tasted the iron of blood—my own blood. As we pulled up to the school, I was eager to get out. The second he pulled the

car up to the curb, I had the door open. “I’ll see you later, babe.” “Yea …” the kindness in his voice shouldn’t have taken me off guard, but it did for some reason. “I’ll see you later babes.” I jumped out of the car before he could say another word and closed the door behind me. I slipped my backpack over my shoulders as I walked, trying to put distance between me and the car. I felt myself come to a dead stop, fall back and hit the ground. My ass throbbed as I let out a groan and looked up. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry.” He held his hand out to me, and I took it, letting him pull me to my feet. And for the first time, I actually looked him up and down. My jaw almost dropped a little. He had short blond hair that was slicked back, and glasses hiding his blue eyes. He looked me up and down. “Are you okay? I should have been paying more attention to where I was going; I’m sorry.” “It’s okay. I’m fine.” I felt my cheeks heat as I realized I still hadn’t let go of him, but that didn’t stop me from still holding his hand. “Are you … you go to school here?” “Yea. I’ve never seen you around though;

do you?” “Yes.” My heart leaped into my throat. How could he not know who I was? Don’t get me wrong, I was glad he didn’t just say ‘Oh! You’re the chick dating the teaching!’ but that was honestly what most people said, so that’s what I was used to. “I’m Al.” “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Kenda.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kenda.” His eyes locked with mine as we shook the hands we were still holding; finally, after a couple seconds he pulled away, and

my hand fell to my side limply. I tried to find something—anything—to say to keep the conversation going, but the fact of the matter was that I couldn’t think of anything, so I forced a smile over my lips. “I’ll see you around.” Oh, God, I hoped I did. My eyes trailed over him again, this time taking in his body, not just his face. He wore a black T-shirt that showed off his muscular arms and tight jeans that left just enough to my mental images but did a good job of making me want to see more. I swallowed dryly as I adjusted my backpack and stepped past him. “I look forward to it!” he called over his shoulder. My heart stopped for a fraction of a second as I replayed his words in my

mind. I couldn’t deny that I was hoping to see him again—and soon. Guilt tugged at me. I knew I shouldn’t be thinking like that about another man, even if it was harmless. The fact of the matter was that I’d found him utterly attractive. “Hey!” A female voice brought a smile to my face as I turned to see my best friend. Hayley rushed towards me. “Hey.” I pulled her into a tight hug and squeezed her. “How was your weekend?” “Forget mine! All I did was study, how

was yours?” “Um … unbelievable …” I paused, thinking about the letter I’d gotten today. There was no way it could be true, was there? I didn’t want to believe it, but I’d seen the way all the girls looked at him; hell, the rumor of him being hot was one of the reasons I decided to take the class in the first place. “What’s wrong? Did you two fight or something?” she asked as she pulled away from me. “No … we didn’t fight I just … got a really odd letter.” “You’ve been home?” She frowned. “I

didn’t hear you.” “That’s part of it actually; I didn’t get the letter at home. I got it at Chris’s house.” “Does anyone know his address?” “I haven’t told anyone.” I mentally shook myself, not wanting to take away from my weekend. “But my weekend was amazing; I got the letter today right before school … the weekend … well,” I laughed softly. “You’re not even going to believe it. I went to Rome.” “What?” Hayley spluttered. “You … Are you shitting me?” “That’s what I asked him too! But no, I’m being one hundred percent honest. He

flew me to Rome; a friend of his has a private plane, and then we went out shopping, and he bought me two dresses, then … then he closed down a public staircase—the Spanish steps—and we had dinner there.” I couldn’t even believe it as I was saying it. It wasn’t all a dream, right? That would make more sense than anything I just said being real; wouldn’t it? “Oh, my God.” Hayley stared at me. “That is … so romantic.” “Yea. It was, and then we had sex on the flight home.” I shot her a grin. “And that was … great.” But then … “Then, when we were getting ready to head out for school … there was that letter.”

“What did it say?” “That I wasn’t his first.” I trailed off, taking a moment to collect myself before continuing. “I mean, that I’m not the first student he’s dated before, I think. Which isn’t what he’s told me. But that’s all something I need to talk to him about.” And I knew that. I couldn’t just keep thinking about it. I had to talk to him about it. “I’m sure you two will work it out. Did anyone sign the letter?” “No.” I checked my cell phone then motioned for us to head towards class.

I didn’t want to say anything else about the letter, and thankfully Hayley didn’t ask me about it again. *** I watched her and her friend walk towards the school. My eyes narrowed. I wasn’t sure if she would actually take the letter to heart or if she would break things off with him, but I didn’t want to get Chris in more trouble than I had to. A broken heart was much easier to deal with then cops, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t call them if I needed to. He was mine. I had to do what I could to

protect him; even if that meant hurting him a little in the process. A group of students passed me. They didn’t look at me or say a word as I turned on my heel. I couldn’t watch her all day. I wanted to know where he was going.

Chapter Seven I bit my lip, wondering what to do. I couldn’t just stand here in front of his desk the entire time. I really wanted to talk to him about the letter. I really wanted him to know about it, but what was I supposed to say to bring it up? I took a deep breath. Honesty is supposed to be the best policy, I reminded myself. “So that letter I got today …” “The one that wasn’t important?” “Well, that was a bit of a lie.” I paused, forcing myself to look at him. He looked confused but didn’t say anything. “I … I didn’t say anything before because I wasn’t

really sure what I was supposed to say, but I got this letter today …” Without another word, I pulled out the letter I had gotten today and handed it to him. It only took him a couple of minutes to read, and then he looked up at me. “Do you believe this?” “I don’t know what to believe. I … I don’t even know what to think about getting it.” If it wasn’t true, why would someone do this to me? “Do you know who it is?” “No.” He put the letter down on his desk, refusing to look at me. “No? You don’t have any idea who it

might have been?” “I said no already.” He pushed himself to his feet. “I’m not sure what to say, Kenda. I can ask around on the street and see if anyone has seen something off, or if they happened to see the person who dropped this off, but it’s probably not a big deal, either way.” Not a big deal. I snorted. Of course, it wasn’t a big deal to him. He wasn’t the one who got the letter “Is it true?” I asked flatly, praying the answer was the same one I’d heard before. “Was there any other student before me?” “I’ve already told you that.”

“You seemed to know exactly how to handle the situation; as if you’d done it before.” “Are you saying you think I’ve lied to you?” “I don’t know what to think anymore.” I grabbed the letter off his desk and turned on my heel, heading for the door. Chris didn’t try to stop me. He didn’t even say anything as I pulled the door open and came to a dead stop. A girl stood in front of me. Long blonde hair, green eyes, and pink lips. She wore a black tank top with jeans. My eyes dropped to her shoes. A pair of red heels, ones I owned as well.

“Nice shoes,” I said before ducking around her and stepping into the hall, not looking back at Chris before he was out of eyesight. It wasn’t until I was almost at my locker that I realized I was shaking. The letter trembled in my hand as I sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down before I had a fucking panic attack. As soon as my locker came into sight, I froze. I knew I should rush towards it, read it, but I couldn’t bring myself to move. I just stared at it. Finally, I forced myself to move. Left foot first, then my right. Each step bringing me closer and closer to the paper taped to

my locker. Leave him. Now. That was all it said. My heart slammed into my chest. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I looked around for any sign of people around me. No one. Of course, because that’s normal. The only time I’d ever wanted someone to be around my locker, there was no one to be seen. I stared down at the letter in my right hand, the one I had just gotten, and in my left was the one I’d gotten this morning.

I don’t remember getting back to his classroom, but when I burst through the door, he looked up at me and opened his mouth to say something. Before he could get a word out, I shoved the letter in front of him. My entire body shook. What kind of sick joke was this? Did I have a stalker? Or did he? Was this some kind of prank the students were playing on us? No matter what the situation, I was scared. How had they known his address? How had they known my locker? He looked up at me and stood. “Let’s go home, now.” I opened my

mouth to protest. It was a Monday; that meant he stayed here to grade papers in case someone had questions, and I spent my time in the library. He cut me off before I could say anything. “It doesn’t matter. We’re going home right now; everything else can wait until tomorrow.” I nodded. I’d never seen Chris act like this. His face looked a shade paler, and his eyes were wide as he stepped around the desk and took my hand. “Chris,” I hardly got the words out, and honestly I wasn’t sure he’d heard them with how quiet my tone had been. “I’m scared.”

“It’s going to be okay, Kenda. We’re going to get this all sorted out.” I swallowed dryly and nodded, letting him pull me wherever he wanted to.

Chapter Eight We sat in the living room. The first thing he’d done when we got home was check the place over and lock all the doors. “Were you expecting someone to be in here?” “Yes.” His answer shocked me. That one word threatened to make me puke. He got a bottle of water from the fridge and padded over to the couch. Sitting down beside me, he opened the bottle, drained half of it and handed it to me.

“What’s going on?” I asked, taking the bottle from him but not bothering to drink it. “Is someone,…” I trailed off, not even sure what I wanted to ask. All I knew was that it wasn’t good. “It seems to me like someone is targeting you because you are with me.” He stopped, I think waiting for me to say something, but the truth was I couldn’t bring myself to speak. My stomach knotted, and for a split second I felt my lunch come up into my throat. I jumped to my feet and made it to the trash can just in time. As my lunch came up, I felt my knees get

weak. What the hell could he mean by what he had just said to me? Oh, God. I hurled again. His fingers tangled in my hair, keeping it out of reach from the garbage bag I was puking in. “Here.” He handed me the half empty water bottle again. I took it and got to my feet, heaving deep breaths before I took a sip of water. Once I was done trying to wash the puke taste out of my mouth, I made my way back to the living room where Chris was waiting for me. I sat down tentatively beside him.

“Are you okay?” “As okay as I’m going to be.” He reached out and touched my thigh as I spoke. “Now … what did you mean when you said that I was being targeted because of you?” Chris took a couple seconds before he said anything. “You know as well as I do that … I get girls in my class who take the class only because they hear rumors about me.” He swallowed, looking away. “I’ve always had a policy about not dating students; when I met you … there was something about you that I just couldn’t stop thinking about. You were smart, and I couldn’t take my eyes off you when I

saw you in my classroom. You are the first student I’ve ever dated, but you’re not the first student to get a crush on me, or whatever you want to call it. “For a lot of the girls I’m a conquest I think. They hear about a hot teacher who doesn’t date students, and they want to be that one; the one that you are.” My brow furrowed as I tried to realize what he meant. Light bulb. The only one he ever wanted to date. The one who ‘conquered’ him. “But I never wanted ...” “It doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “I was the one who wanted you, but the other students won’t feel that way. I’ve had several girls over the past few years

who were … persistent, to say the least.” “You mean the kind that could turn into stalkers?” “Yes.” Great. So I was being targeted because I happened to catch his eye. That was why she wanted me to break up with him—so she could have him. “But … what about the first letter? She said I wasn’t your first, and that she was.” Chris shrugged. “I don’t know what she means by that because you are the only student I’ve ever dated.” “She … she said if I didn’t break up with

you then things will get complicated. What did she mean by that?” “I honestly have no clue.” My heart skipped a beat. “We need to call the cops.” Why hadn’t I thought of it already? That was what any rational thinking human being would do. Then again, I wasn’t thinking rationally right now. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped as the doorbell rang. We shared a glance, and then he pushed himself to his feet and padded over to the door. My heart skipped a beat as he opened it.

Two police officers stood there staring at him. He nodded as they spoke; though I couldn’t hear what they were saying, I could tell by Chris’s posture it wasn’t good. He turned to me. “Kenda, I … I’ve got to go with these officers; they have a couple questions for me regarding one of my past students.” He crossed over to me, pulled me into his arms and placed a kiss on my cheek. “It’s the one who came into my classroom as you were leaving,” he whispered. Epilogue When Chris and I first started dating,

everyone stared; now it was happening all over again, but this time worse. Hayley approached me. “He didn’t do it,” I said flatly. It’s not like I hadn’t heard what everyone was saying. They said he’d raped a girl four years back and that she was just coming forward now. The girl from last night. No one knew who she was, but I did. If Chris was right—if I could trust him. Hayley didn’t say anything, but I could tell she wanted to question me. I frowned, silently warning her I wasn’t in the mood for it. I’d been stared and pointed at all

day. I didn’t need my best friend being hard on me too. She stepped closer to me. “Are you sure?” she whispered. “Yes.” Alright, maybe I wasn’t sure of it, but I trusted Chris. I wanted to at least. “I mean, I don’t know it’s a lie, but I’m trusting him … he knows … he thinks he knows who is saying this about him. If I can prove it … if I can prove that he didn’t …” I couldn’t even bring myself to say it. “If I can prove he is innocent then things can go back to normal.” Normal. Because this all felt like some crazy fucked up dream; something that should be on TV or in a book—not real life.

“What can I do?” I turned to face my best friend. “Y-you mean you’ll help me?” “Yes. I’m not saying I trust him, but I want to know the truth either way, and I want to support you. I’m going to be there for you every step of the way.” I swallowed down the urge to cry; these past couple of days had wreaked havoc on my emotional state. “Thank you.” She shrugged. “It’s what friends are for. Where do we start?” “Well, for starters, we need to see if anyone has seen her around.”

“What does she look like?” Long blonde hair. Thin frame. Pink lips. Tank top and jeans kinda girl … then I thought about those shoes … I stopped dead in my tracks as the realization hit me. I’d spoke to her … I’d been nice to her. I felt my gut tighten as my body got ready to puke. No, now wasn’t the time. “Kenda? Did you hear me? What does she look like?” I opened my mouth, not believing what I was about to say. Not believing that I hadn’t realized it already. I felt like I was going to be sick as I forced myself to

speak. “Me.” *** I wasn’t happy to do it. I hadn’t wanted to, but his stupid girlfriend wouldn’t listen. If she’d just broken up with him, we could have avoided all of this, but no. She was too stupid to do what would be good for her; for him. Now he had to suffer. My eyes narrowed as I stared at the screen of his laptop. It was a picture of her, laughing at something, or just smiling widely. I contorted my face, trying to mimic her

reaction. Was that what he liked about her? Her smile? There had to be more to it than that; right? I slammed the laptop shut, probably a little too hard to be honest. She’d pay for this. She would. I would make her pay for it. This is all her fault. If she’d just stayed away from him; if she hadn’t been posting pictures all over Facebook. That had been how I saw them. It turns out we have a couple mutual friends. I’d almost forgotten about Chris. Not really; I dreamt about him every night, but I’d accepted that he wouldn’t date

students. I’d accepted that I’d have to come up with a plan to run into him, pretending to be someone else. Someone he would date. Then I saw her. One of his students. It wasn’t hard to find the story. Everyone was more than happy to talk about it. She showed me what he wanted, but that doesn’t mean she could have him. Sure she was useful, but she’d outlived her purpose to me. She was useless now. All that mattered was Chris. I’d get him back. I padded into the kitchen and pulled the fridge open. I made a mental note of the

kind of juice he liked to drink. It would become my new favorite. I closed the fridge and headed towards the bedroom. A bedroom I would be sharing with him soon. I’d posed as a writer when I went to meet him, to interview him, of course. Now, now I would be a writer who wanted to help him get out of this situation. A shoulder to cry on, someone who believed him while everyone else pushed him away. I would be there for him when the charges were dropped and didn’t face any jail time. When he got out, and no one else was there for him—I would be there.

The Billionaire Teacher Part III An Alpha Billionaire Romance

Sarah J. Brooks

Copyright © 2015 by Sarah J. Brooks This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Facebook: Sarah J. Brooks

Chapter One “Are you sure you want to do this?” “Well, what else am I supposed to do?” I snapped. I couldn’t let him go at this alone. Of course, there was no case against him, she’d dismissed her charges, after all. Chris was out of town after being told to take a vacation by the school; while they decided if they were going to fire him or not. My brow furrowed as I reached under the stone and pulled the spare key out. I padded over to the door.

“Shouldn’t we, like, wait until dark or something?” Hayley looked around nervously. “No. Chris has some crazy chick stalking him; I’m not going into his house in the dark.” I pushed the door open and slipped my hand into my purse, my fingers curling around the mace I kept in there as I stepped into his house. I needed to find something to prove that she was making this up. He hadn’t raped her. Why would someone even do this? I wondered. Whatever the reason, I needed to figure it out soon; otherwise, Chris was going to be fired, and his reputation was going to go down the drain, and I couldn’t let that

happen. This is my fault. “Do you actually think she was here?” “Yes.” I looked around. I knew she was. There was no doubt in my mind she’d been in his house. After all, she dropped a letter off to me here, so she knew where he lived. I padded towards the computer and flicked it on. Nothing looked out of place; logging on, I skimmed over it. Maybe there would be some record of her in his social media. Would she have added him if she knew she was going to do this? I honestly doubted it, after all, she seemed smart.

I still took his laptop, and Hayley helped me look around the house. We didn’t find anything.

*** “I’m going to come see you later this week. I’m taking some time off school for personal reasons …” “You shouldn’t.” Yeah, that was easy for him to say. “I am.” “Kenda—” “I’m not discussing this with you; I’m taking time off school.” The way people stared at me and pointed … I couldn’t stand it any longer. They’d been doing it my whole time at school because I was with Chris, the hot teacher every girl wanted to date but who normally didn’t

date students. Normally, I could stand it; normally, it wasn’t bad, but since one of his past students came forward and said he’d raped her, it had gotten so much worse. I couldn’t stand it anymore. “It will just be a few days anyways,” I said after a couple seconds of silence. I didn’t want to fight with him about it. I just wanted to be able to focus my full attention on this situation so we could deal with it and get him cleared of the accusations. Most girls probably wouldn’t bother; hell, most girls probably wouldn’t believe him when he said he didn’t do it, but I did. “I have to go,” I said quickly, not wanting

to risk another fight. “I stopped by your place today; there was no sign of her being there, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been. So just to be safe, I grabbed your spare key. I’ll see you soon.” “I’ll see you soon.” “Bye.” “Bye babe.” I pulled the phone away from my ear and hung up before turning to Hayley. My best friend gave me a soft smile. “Are you sure you want to take the time off?” “Yes.” “Even though we both know it will look

—” “Bad. I know it will, but I don’t care. I can’t stand to be there right now.” “Okay.” She stepped towards me with a cup of coffee in her hand. “If that’s what you want to do.” It’s not like I could take it back now; I’d already bought my train ticket. If only he’d gone to Cuba or somewhere warm, but no, he’d wanted to stay close to the school in case there were any changes. I bit my lip as I took the coffee from her. “I’m going to go pack.” I walked away without another word. Because honestly, there was so much I

wanted to say, but I didn’t want to get into it. I didn’t want to weigh anyone down by it. I didn’t want anyone to know what I was thinking right now because, honestly, Hayley was the only person other than Chris that I could trust right now. It only took me half an hour to pack, but I sat in my room for a lot longer, just staring at the bedding and trying to pull myself together. Of course, it didn’t work. So I just sat there thinking about everything, and wishing I could do something about it. You are. I told myself. You’re going to get him out of this. I was going to try; that much was for

sure.

Chapter Two I didn’t tell Chris what time I got into town; instead, I just took a cab right to the place he was staying and went to surprise him. A grin flashed across his face as he pulled the door open. “Why didn’t you tell me you got in? I would have come to pick you up.” “I wanted to surprise you.” “Well, you sure did.” He looked me up and down as he stepped out of the doorway. “Come in.” I slipped my backpack off as I stepped into the hotel room. Of course, he didn’t

just have a normal hotel room; he had to go for a fancy one. My jaw almost dropped as I passed the bathroom, with the large jetted tub and the separate shower. I know for sure it dropped when I saw the tall bed that looked like it was big enough to for ten of me on there—at least. “Holy shit.” I dropped my bag beside the bed and sauntered to the windows. They looked out onto the skyline and over the water. Turning back to Chris, I said, “You sure do know how to pick a nice place.” “Well, I’ve been trapped in here for a while; I figured I should at least get a nice room with a good view.” He stepped

towards me and pulled me into his arms. His head nuzzled into the spot between my shoulder and my neck as he let out a deep breath. My arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to me. “Kenda …” He whispered my name. “It’s okay,” I spoke softly as I pulled one arm away from him, tracing up his body and tangling my fingers in his hair. “It’s okay.” “It’s not okay.” He shook his head as he tried to pull away from me. I held him in place. “You’re right. Right now, it’s not okay, but it will be. We’re going to figure this out.

I’m going to figure this out.” “No, you can’t put yourself in danger like that. I won’t let you.” “Well, it’s too late.” I pulled him closer. “Right now all that matters is that we’re together.” I knew I needed to change the subject. We were both stressed, and right now fighting wouldn’t do us any good. We needed to stay calm. I stepped away from him and gave a soft smile. “I picked us up some condoms.” A smile touched his lips. “I’m glad … I—” “I thought we could have a hotel date,” I said quickly, and before he could shut the

idea down, I kept going. “You know, order room service, have a hot tub together; play around in the water.” I grinned. “Put on some fuzzy robes and see what’s on TV, or order porn whatever you want.” That got a soft laugh from him. “Really though, just the two of us; not going anywhere, not spending lots of money to do something special. Just us … just something small … something intimate.” This time the smile that Chris gave me didn’t vanish, and he didn’t try to fight me. “That sounds really nice actually Kenda, thanks.” “For what?” My brow furrowed. I

shrugged. “Just trying to find something for us to do is all, it’s nothing.” I paced towards the bathroom. “I’ll run us a tub!” I called before stepping into the bathroom. “Does that mean I already get to see you naked?” He spoke right behind me. “I didn’t plan on wearing my clothes in the tub.” I grinned as I turned the taps on and tested the water before turning to Chris. My eyes locked on him as my fingers touched the hem of my shirt. In one quick movement, I had my shirt off and lying on the ground behind me. I stood there in front of him in his favorite bar. My hands moved to the button on

my jeans, still not looking away from him as I undid them and pushed them down my legs. He sucked in a deep breath watching me. I grinned as I shimmied out of my panties and then finally took my bra off. Glancing down at the water filling the tub, I stepped in. “Aren’t you going to join me?” “What, you want to see me naked that bad?” He laughed, pulling his shirt over his head. “Yes,” I admitted. I saw a blush touch his cheeks. “I have to admit, I find you kinda cute.” He chuckled as he quickly slipped out of

his pants and boxers. My eyes locked on his cock, already getting hard. “I’m hiring a private investigator,” he said, sitting down in the tub next to me. I bit my lip. “If that’s what you want to do.” “It is. I’ve already contacted one … he’s coming tomorrow to review the case.” I raised an eyebrow. He just went and did it all that without even talking to me about it. I felt my heart drop into my stomach a little. I couldn’t believe he’d have done that. “Oh … so you’ve already worked out all the details … I see. Well, good.” The last

two words came out colder than I meant them. “Kenda … I didn’t think you’d want to be involved.” No, he didn’t think I wanted to be involved in any of this, did he? That seemed to be the case. He didn’t think I’d want to visit him, or try to help, or try to make him feel better. I crossed my arms over my chest as I sunk into the water, not saying a word. “Baby girl …” He reached out and touched my knee. I looked up at him but didn’t say a word. “I didn’t mean to be an ass.” I still stared

at him, saying nothing. “I’m sorry … I just … I thought when all this happened … it would be best if you didn’t have anything to do with it. I didn’t even want to give you the address to where I’ve been staying. You don’t deserve this … you didn’t deserve any of it, and I was selfish. I took your college life away from you.” I frowned. “What are you talking about?” “College is supposed to be a wonderful experience; it’s supposed to be all about your first time being out on your own, and here I am screwing it all up. You’re supposed to be out socializing, not grading your classmates’ work. You’re supposed to be dating people your age,

having fun, going to … I don’t know pub nights. Not getting stared at the way you do by everyone, getting pointed at and talked about … and now getting dragged into this.” He stared blankly into the water. “I had a rule about not dating students for a reason, and now it’s gotten us both screwed.” I sat up, water lapping as I reached out and took his hand in mine. “I don’t care what I’m ‘supposed’ to be doing; I want to be with you. I don’t want to be going to pub nights or dating people my age. I want to date someone who has his ass in gear and doesn’t want to get drunk every weekend. No. I want you. Not someone like you Chris, you.”

He glanced up at me, shock written all over his face. A smile touched my lips. “What? You didn’t think you could get rid of me so easily, did you?” “I … I honestly don’t even know what to say right now, Kenda.” “Then don’t say anything.” I shrugged, trying to pretend it didn’t matter how happy I’d just made him; the truth was that this was the happiest I’d been in a long time, though. I grinned as he squeezed my hand gently then pulled away and cleared my throat. “Anyways, the water’s getting cold already.

I’m going to get out and snuggle up under the blankets. You’re welcome to join me if you like.” A grin touched his lips. It was nice to see him looking happy again; it had felt like so long since I actually saw him smile. Together, Chris and I slipped out of the tub, dried off, put fuzzy housecoats on that the hotel provided, and headed into the main room. I looked around closely. There was a small mini bar along with single glasses, one of them had been used. I padded over to the fridge and pulled out the open wine bottle, poured two glasses and carried them over to the bed, where I crawled on and handed one to

Chris. He took it and downed half of it in a couple of seconds. “So, this is your plan for the week? Just stay up here with me?” “Unless you don’t want me here,” I teased. He tensed a little. “It’s not that … you know that, right?” “Of course I know that.” I smiled. “I just mean, if you need some time alone I totally understand.” “Thanks, babe.” “Anytime.” I took a sip of my wine and turned my attention to the TV. “So, what’s

on?” I reached for the remote, hoping we could find something on to pass the time until Chris was ready for other things to pass the time.

*** The next day I rolled over, my eyes opening. Chris lay beside me sound asleep. I stared at him. My heart sank into my stomach. Why did this have to happen to us? It wasn’t fair. I reached out and touched his bare chest. I didn’t even remember us falling asleep during the movie we were watching. My hands traced over his soft skin, moving lower and lower as he let out a soft sigh. I grinned as my fingers traced down his muscular chest, past his abs and touched what I had been looking for.

We’d both fallen asleep naked. My fingers curled around his cock. It throbbed in my hand, growing quickly. Before I could wake him up, I rolled onto him, my legs straddling his hips. I guided his cock into me, sucking in a deep breath as his head pushed past my folds. My eyes rolled back as I bit back a moan. His hands dug into the bedding as he let out a sigh of pleasure, his hips pumping, guiding his cock in and out of me. I moaned, resting my hands above his head on the headboard. His eyes flickered open and his hands traced over the curves of my body. “Well, hello beautiful,” he whispered, thrusting

into me. I gasped as each thrust became faster and harder. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. “Hey sexy,” I whispered. “Didn’t mean to wake you there.” “What, you just got so horny you couldn’t take it anymore?” “Yes,” I lied. No, I hadn’t been overcome with desire, I’d wanted to do something special for him and get laid in the process. But his eyes lit up as I said that one word. He thrust into me faster and harder. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke.

I bit back a moan as he reached up and grabbed my breasts gently, his thumb and forefinger playing with my nipple. I moaned louder, my eyes rolling back. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. With one hand, I reached down, my nails digging into his chest. “Faster,” I moaned. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Each thrust coming close to slamming into me, I cried out in pleasure; my fingers digging into his skin. Chris’s eyes rolled back as his body tensed and he let out a deep murmur of pleasure, pinching my nipple. My nails raked down his chest, lower and lower until I let go of him and

reached for my pussy. Just a single finger on there was enough to send a shiver down my spine. Chris stopped. He stared at me; a grin spread across his face. “What?” Without a word, he rolled me onto my back and pulled away from me. He lowered himself towards my pussy, his lips trailing over my uppermost thighs. I moaned as I spread my legs for him, silently begging him to lick me. As if he’d read my mind, his hot tongue touched me, slipping past my folds and into my pussy. My eyes rolled back as I

arched towards him. He grabbed my butt, lifting me closer to his mouth as his tongue slipped inside of me. “Oh yes,” I moaned. “Yes,” I repeated in ecstasy. He pulled away from me. My eyes snapped open as I stared at him. “On your hands and knees.” I rolled onto my belly, and he reached for my hips, pulling me onto my hands and knees. I moaned, feeling his cock against my wet pussy. His head touched my folds, pushing past them in one hard, fast movement.

I cried out in pleasure, my eyes rolling back as my fingers dug into the bedding. One hand went back to my clit, stroking gently for fear of sending myself over the edge already. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Chris thrust into me, faster and faster. I moaned louder as he pulled my hips closer to him, his fingers digging into my nails. The shrill of a cell phone froze us both. I glanced up at him. “Do you want to get it?” He stared at his phone and pulled away from me gently. “No,” I gasped as he

slammed back into me. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Faster and harder. My eyes rolled back as I moaned in pleasure. “Harder,” I begged. Chris obliged, thrusting into me harder and harder. “Oh fuck, yes,” I moaned as I toyed with my clit. Rubbing faster and faster. Everything went a fuzzy white as I felt myself near the brink of pleasure. “I’m so close,” I whispered. “Come with me.” His voice was thick with lust as he slammed into me. Those three words were enough to send

me over the edge. I cried out in pleasure as my hips bucked, rocking against him. His cock slammed into me faster and faster. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. He gasped, slamming into me once more. Everything went fuzzy white as pleasure surged through my body in waves, fast and powerful. The arm holding me up gave out on me as I gently caressed my clit; my hips grinding against Chris’s cock as he gently slid in and out of me. Another wave of pleasure surged through my insides. I gasped, moaned; another wave, this time softer; then another. Finally, the pleasure passed, and I was

brought back to reality. I forced my eyes open as Chris pulled away from me and pushed himself off the bed. Rolling over, I lay there watching him as he padded around the bed and reached for his phone. “Is it the private investigator?” His brow furrowed. “No.” I could hear the confusion in his voice as he lifted the phone to his ear. I lay there, my heart racing as I watched his face contort with confusion, anger, and then sadness and shock. He pulled the phone away from his ear after thirty seconds and stared at me. “I’ve been let go.” His voice broke.

“What?” I snapped, sitting up. “No, that’s not possible. They can’t do that.” “Well, they did. And there is nothing I can do about it.” “What did they say?” I reached out and touched his arm, pulling him into bed with me. I held his hand in mine. “They … they said they couldn’t have a teacher with my situation surrounding the school and that they would send my things to my house for me …. I told them I was being framed when I went in to talk to them. I knew they didn’t believe me.” “Well figure this out. They will have to accept you back if you prove you’re being

set up. We’ll sue them if they don’t.” I added the last part quickly, my mind not thinking fast enough to keep up with what was going on. “I don’t know how I’m going to prove that, honestly.” “That’s what the private investigator is here for.” I gave him a soft smile and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Yea.” I glanced at the clock. “When are they coming?” His eyes followed mine to the clock. “They should be here soon.”

“Crap.” I jumped out of the bed and rushed for the bag I brought with me. “You’re not actually going to put make up on, are you?” “Of course I am!” For all I knew he could look like Brad Pitt. Even if I was taken, I still wanted to look attractive. I scooped up my bag and rushed into the bathroom just as I heard someone knock. My heart skipped a beat. I reached into my bag and grabbed my jeans, my bra and a tank top out. Once dressed, I applied a quick coat of mascara, some eyeliner and some lip gloss. I tied my blonde hair into a ponytail and, after giving myself a final

check in the mirror, I left the bathroom. It turned out he looked nothing like Brad Pitt. He was an older man, with gray hair and a thick beard to match. He glanced up as I came into the room and gave him a smile. Both men sat by the window where there were two chairs. “This is my girlfriend, Kenda.” “It’s nice to meet you ma’am. Your boyfriend mentioned on the phone that you were also a victim?” “Yes.” I nodded as Chris pulled me down onto his lap. “I was sent two notes; the first one told me to break up with him ‘or else’ sorta thing and the second was less

detailed.” “Do you have those notes with you?” The man asked, scratching something in a notebook. “Yes.” “Good, I will need those before I leave.” I nodded as I reached for Chris’s hand, our fingers tangling together. “Alright, now do you have any idea who this might be? On the phone you said …” “An ex-student of mine.” Chris nodded. “I’m not sure who it is, but I’ve made a list of the students I can remember who were … aggressive towards trying to get

me to date them.” “I’d like to see that list.” “Of course. I have it with me, and I can get it for you before you leave.” Chris gave a single nod and then gave the detective an account of what had transpired. The detective looked up from his notes. “This is a very common situation; if you’d like, I can put you in touch with some people who will understand …” “No, thank you.” “Alright, is this where you will be staying?”

“Yes.” “Well, I think we covered everything. I’ll drop by your place and see what I can find; I’ll talk to people who know you both, and I’ll run the names on the list you gave me. If I have any questions I’ll give you a call.” “Alright.” The man pushed himself to his feet. Chris and I both stood quickly. The old man held his hand out to shake Chris’s. “I’ll get this sorted out for you as quickly as I can.” “Thank you.” He turned his attention to me. “And you

miss; you and your boyfriend are going to be okay. And all this will be over and done with soon.” “Thank you.” I forced a smile over my lips and walked away to get him the letters I’d been sent. Back in the bathroom, I bent down and reached into my backpack. I pulled both letters out and stared at them. What if I need one? I thought. It’s not like I was going to stand around and let the detective do all the work. I was going to try to get to the bottom of this myself. I bit my lip as I pulled the second letter away from the first and returned it to my backpack. Pushing myself to my feet, I

padded into the main room. “I’m sorry; I must have left the other one at home.” I gave him a sympathetic smile. “Is this one going to be enough?” “All that matters is I have a record of her handwriting and a description; thank you.” He nodded his head and made his way towards the door. Chris followed him. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent a quick text to Hayley, asking for an update on the situation. She’d promised to keep an eye on everything while I was away. I glanced up as Chris closed the door and

turned to me. “Well … let’s just hope this works out.” “I’m sure it will.” And I was. Sorta.

Chapter Three I met Hayley downstairs with my purse. “He let you come alone?” She raised an eyebrow. “He thinks I’m going to check out the food in the area for dinner.” I shrugged. I knew I should feel bad for lying to him, but I didn’t. I needed to do this; I had an advantage that no one else here did. I handed Hayley my oversized purse. “Hold this.” “Why?” “Because.” I looked around as we made

our way out of the hotel. There were three others on the street. Did I really think she would be here? Yes. I didn’t think she’d be in the same hotel, though. She was too smart for that. The hotel right across the street was honestly, kinda crappy. It looked like it hadn’t been updated in twenty years, had two stories and was more of a motel than anything I guess, but it did allow pets. I guess that’s what it has going for it, I thought, turning my attention to the second one. I didn’t need to look at it more than a second to know it was the right one. This one, like the one Chris and I were staying in, had three stories and looked a lot nicer. “Come on.”

“Are you sure she is in that one?” “Yes.” “How?” “Because she wouldn’t be able to see him from that one.” I pointed to the motel. She’d want to be able to try and see him. I checked the street to make sure it was clear before running across with Hayley close behind me. “Are you sure about this?” “No,” I admitted to my best friend. I turned to her. “I’m not, but I don’t really know what else I’m supposed to do. I have an advantage that no one else has.” She’d seen me, but if I could get her off

guard, I could catch her by surprise. I could get the upper hand on her. “You don’t have to help me if you don’t want; I get that you’re putting yourself in a lot of danger by helping me out.” “Of course I’m going to help you.” My best friend smacked my arm lightly. “But when I need to hide a body, I expect your help, dammit.” A smile spread across my face without me realizing it. “Thanks … it means a lot to me.” Hayley rolled her eyes. “Yea, yea. Now let’s go find this bitch. I can’t keep cutting class.”

“Don’t worry; this is the last time I ask you to.” It had to be; otherwise, she was going to start getting in trouble, and I couldn’t bring myself to be the cause of that. I took a deep breath and made my way into the building. I gave Hayley a quick look as we made our way to the front desk. “Hi.” I gave my best dumb blonde voice; a voice I had perfected a few years back. “Um, I’m sorry … I um, my twin and I have a room here, and I locked myself out of the room. I tried knocking to get her to let me in, but I don’t think she’s around. Is there any way I could get a

spare key?” The man looked at me. “Do you have ID?” I gave him my ‘opps’ look and shrugged. “It’s in my purse. I just ran out to have a smoke; I didn’t even think to grab my purse, and then when I got back she wasn’t around … I just ...” My voice broke, and I forced a shaky laugh. “Sorry … you don’t want to hear all my crap … it’s been a long day.” He gave me a soft smile, and for a second his eyes roamed over my body. “Normally, I wouldn’t be able to give you another key, but you look so much like your sister, there’s no way you could be making it

up.” He smiled. “Give me a sec.” “Oh, my God, thank you so much.” I let out a relieved sigh; that part wasn’t an act. If that hadn’t worked, I wasn’t sure how we were going to get in there. He handed me a plastic card and gave me another smile. “Please return it as soon as you can.” “Thank you so much!” I beamed as we made our way towards the elevator. I glanced down at the card, and my heart raced as we made our way up to the room. God, I hoped she wasn’t here, and I sure as hell hoped this would work out. I turned to Hayley. “I want you to stay out of the room when I first go in there … in

case something happens.” She nodded. “Don’t worry; everything is going to work out, Kenda.” I wished I believed her. Nonetheless, I forced a smile over my lips and went to the door. The key card worked on the first try, and the door clicked as I grabbed the handle. I took my purse from Hayley, reached for the mace in there and got ready for whatever met me on the other side of the door. My heart raced, pounding in my ears as I took a deep breath and tried to move the handle. My body wouldn’t. Come on, it’s just a door. You can open it, I told myself. I knew it was just a door, but it was what was on the other

side of it that had me worried. Just do it! I knew it was the thing to do. I knew that was all I honestly could do, but it still took three tries before my body would listen to my brain. My heart pounded in my ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. Please God, don’t let her be on the other side of that door. I knew she was crazy, and I had no doubt that she’d be willing to kill me if it meant she got what she wanted. I swallowed dryly as I forced myself to turn the handle and push the door open. It took everything I had not to close my eyes as the room in front of me came into view. I shot Hayley a glance for a fraction of a second, not daring to risk looking

away from the room for much longer than that. She smiled, but it looked strained, and quite frankly she looked like she was about to run away. I turned back to the door and stepped inside. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. My heartbeat was all I could hear right now as I made my way down the hallway and past the bathroom. Her room wasn’t quite as nice as the one Chris and I were staying at, but other than a jetted tub the bathrooms looked the same. I peered around the corner and froze. No one was here. No one was within sight. I padded to the closet, I mean come on—

I’d seen a horror movie before. My fingers curled around the steel handle. You’ve opened one door today; you can do it again Kenda. And I did. This time it only took me one try for my body to do what my brain was telling it. My jaw dropped, and I felt my stomach turn. I wanted to puke. My throat went dry as I stared at what was in front of me. Pictures. There had to be one hundred of them. All of them were of Chris. Well, no actually there were a couple that was of me, but only three or four unless I was in the picture with Chris. “Kenda?” Hayley hissed. “Are you alive?”

“Yes,” I whispered, unable to look away from the scene in front of me. How long had she been stalking him? How did she manage to do this? I swallowed dryly as I stared down at a notebook. My hand shook as I reached for it and flipped the first page open. “Call the cops,” I said unable to look away from the notebook. It was a record of everything he did. What he took in his coffee, where he went for dinner, what he wore each day. “Oh, my God,” Hayley spoke from behind me. “I’ll call them right now.”

Chapter Four I didn’t call Chris; I didn’t want him to know about it until I was sure things could work out. The police arrived, and we were waiting for them. “How did you get in here?” The officer asked, an eyebrow raised. “Does it matter?” I snapped. “Look at that.” I pointed towards the closet. The photos of Chris covered the entire thing. I bit my lip, tears welling up. Why weren’t they doing anything about it? “Don’t you get it? She’s stalking him. She’s making shit up about him.”

The officer stared at me. He couldn’t have been much older than I was. “I’m sorry ma’am. We’ll look into it, but there probably isn’t much that we can do realistically. Maybe it’s best you go see your boyfriend.” My brow furrowed as I fought back the urge to cry. Hayley cleared her throat as she stepped towards me. “You head back, I’ll deal with this here, and then I’ll come see you, okay?” I shook my head and opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. “Go, I’ll be there soon.” She pushed me

towards the door. “And be careful.” That was all I heard. I was getting kicked out. I shouldn’t have called them. I should have waited for her and told her to stay away from him. I should have … What was I supposed to do? I honestly had no clue. So I made my way back to my hotel and up to my room. When I opened the door, Chris jumped up from the bed. “There you are, I was getting worried—” He froze when he saw me. “Kenda, what’s wrong?” I took a deep breath. “You have to promise you won’t be mad at me, okay?” “Of course I won’t be mad at you baby

girl, what’s wrong?” I bit my lip and stepped past him. “Well, I lied to you when I said I was going out to look for dinner.” I couldn’t bring myself to look at him as I started to tell him the truth. By the time I was finished, I still couldn’t bring myself to look at him. He reached out and touched my hand. “You really could have gotten hurt.” “I know.” But I didn’t care because I honestly thought we were going to clear his name and get this bitch. I would have risked gunshot wounds for that. I knew it was

stupid, but I would have. A light tapping on the door startled us. “I’ll get it.” Chris jumped to his feet. “It should just be Hayley,” I called after him.

*** My heart skipped a beat as I saw the cop cars. No. There was no way they were here for me. Even if someone had managed to find me, they wouldn’t be able to prove anything. Maybe it’s that girl. Anger tugged at me. No, she’s a pest, but she’s not that smart, I thought as I watched a couple officers come out of the elevator. I gave them a smile, careful not to draw too much attention to myself. I might have underestimated her. I thought as soon as Chris had been taken into jail she’d have dumped him; after all, he wasn’t going to be any use to her while in jail, or while he wasn’t willing to spend

money, but this girl must actually like him. It didn’t matter. He was mine. He always had been; it wasn’t fair for this girl to get him after a few months while I’d been trying for years. I frowned just thinking about it as I made my way past the counter and towards the elevator. By the time I got up to my hotel room, I’d convinced myself I was being paranoid for no reason; anyways, what was she going to do? Wait for me outside my door? That would be stupid although I kind of hoped she would just so I could get rid

of her that easily. I smirked as the elevator door opened, and I froze. There were three officers stepping out of my room. “I feel bad for her really, she’s just trying to do what she can to help her boyfriend.” They all stared at each other, not the open elevator. I jumped out and brushed my hair to one side, turning my back on them so they couldn’t see me. So it was her. I knew I should have been more worried about her. “They both seem kinda crazy to me,” one of them said.

“I mean come on, does she really believe this guy?” “You don’t?” “No. And I wouldn’t want my daughters in his class. He may be handsome and rich, but you and I both know how often it’s the rich ones who are the criminals.” “True …” the first one said. “And they always get away with it.” My gut turned. I’d dropped the charges. They were supposed to believe he could be innocent. I frowned, resisting the urge to turn around and defend Chris. I wasn’t proud of what I’d had to do in

order to try and get him away from that girl, and I wasn’t happy with what I would have to do next, but I wasn’t giving up. I glanced behind as the three officers stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed on them. Now that they were gone, I made my way towards my hotel room. I wouldn’t have long until I had to be out of there. My heart raced. People had touched my stuff, and the closet with Chris’s pictures in it had been left open. I rushed towards the closet and looked over every inch of it. I let out a sigh. Nothing had been moved.

I looked around the rest of the room; everything looked like it was in place … except … my eyes narrowed as I stepped towards the nightstand. A card lay there with a note next to it. Return this to the front desk before you leave. - Your “twin” A growl of frustration passed through my lips as I crumpled the note. Oh, I am going to fucking kill her. I knew it wasn’t actually something I would do, but believe me, it was tempting. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

I would have to deal with her, that was for sure. But I didn’t have time for this. I scooped up my bag and threw the clothes I had lying around into it. I’d have to leave the pictures behind, but that was fine; I had them all on my computer anyways. I’d just make other ones. I scooped my duffle bag up, slipped it over my shoulder and headed for the door. Leaving the key cards behind.

*** “I’ll see you later.” Hayley hugged me. “And be safe … I don’t like knowing that you’re so close to this fucking creep.” I didn’t dare admit that it scared the shit out of me too. “I’ll be fine, you be safe. That’s all that matters. And get lots of studying done.” “I’ll take notes for you.” “Quit worrying about me.” I pulled away from her and forced a smile over my lips. “I’ll be fine, I promise.” She gave me a sad look as she turned away and left the room. I closed the door and locked the deadbolt on it before

turning back to Chris. “Are you mad at me?” “No … I can’t be mad at you … but I am not happy with you.” He frowned. “You should have at least taken me with you.” “And what? Hand you right over to her.” I snorted. “No.” “We have to be in this together, Kenda.” No, I had to take care of him, but I didn’t dare say it out loud. “What do you want to do tonight?” I asked trying to change the subject. “Why don’t we just stay in for the night?”

“Alright.” I let out a sigh. I was going to get sick of this hotel room real fast, but I knew he had the right idea; after all, it was the safest thing to do. I probably really pissed her off when I went through her stuff. “What do you think would happen if we ran?” “We can’t.” “Why not?” “The police aren’t done with me. If I get caught trying to run, they are going to think it’s because I’m guilty.” “Oh …”I bit my lip. Great. I really was stuck here. “It doesn’t matter anyways; I can’t just run

away.” He touched my arm gently. “Trust me, I want to, but it’s not the right thing to do.” I rested my head against his shoulder. His lips touched the top of my head; I looked up into his eyes and moved closer to him, our lips touching gently. Hey, what else was I supposed to do to pass the time? A grin spread over my lips as I reached up and tangled my fingers in his hair. He let out a deep breath, pulling me closer to him and lifted me onto his lap easily. “Chris?” A female voice called from outside. Someone knocked on the door. Chris’s hand shot to my mouth to cover my gasp.

“It’s her,” he mouthed. “Hide.” Hide? No. I wanted to kick this bitch’s ass. Before I could say a word, he jumped to his feet, pulling me along with me. His fingers curled around my elbow and guided me towards the bathroom. “Be careful.” His voice was barely a whisper. “And whatever you do, don’t let her see you.” “Chris, are you in there?” Again there was knocking on the other side of the door. Oh, my God, what is he doing? How are we going to get out of this? I pressed myself up against the wall, hoping she wouldn’t be able to see me if he opened the door. And if she could … Oh God ... I lowered

myself towards the floor, hiding behind the toilet. I tried to see the door but couldn’t. Let’s just hope she can’t see me either. Let’s hope she didn’t see me, or try to kill Chris, or guess that I was in here and maybe, just maybe, we could get out of this somehow. I stared down at my hand; it was shaking. I should call the cops. I knew that, but if I called them she would hear me. They wouldn’t get here in time, and we wouldn’t get a confession from her. We needed to prove that she’d been making everything up. My heart raced as I stood in the bathroom. The door opened. “What are you doing

here, Jessica?” “You remember me.” I let out a soft giggle. “Of course, you do, what was I thinking? I was so worried you didn’t.” “You look like Kenda.”

*** I froze, thankful that I was hidden away from the front door. This was her. Her name was Jessica. She was the one causing us so much pain. “Don’t.” She snapped. She took a deep breath. “Don’t compare me to her. She’s no one … she’s just some girl you picked up. I’m better.” The door opened wider. My throat went dry. She’s in here. I thought. Oh God. Oh God. What do I do? I couldn’t go out there. “Where is she anyways?” She almost spat as she mentioned me.

“She went out to get dinner.” She wasn’t actually going to believe that, was she? “Good to know she’s useful at least,” Jessica spoke from the main room. “Was there something you wanted to talk about?” I fumbled into my pocket, reaching for my phone. That was it. If I could get a confession recorded, I could take that into the police. “I just wanted to talk to you.” Her voice was soft again.

*** I stared at him, thankful she was nowhere around. I hadn’t wanted to kill her, not in front of Chris at least, but if I’d had to, I would have. I couldn’t take it any longer. “I’ve missed you. Haven’t you missed me?” “It’s been five years.” My heart tugged. “I know, it’s been too long … I … I thought you didn’t care about me.” I could see now I was wrong. I stepped towards him. “Do you like my outfit?” I’d seen his whore wearing something close; of course, mine was better quality, and I had a bigger bra than

she would ever need. “It’s … nice.” “I thought you’d like it.” I wasn’t willing to admit how happy that made me, but I could feel my cheeks turn a shade of red they hadn’t been since I was in his class. “I’ve missed you so much.” My eyes roamed over his body. He hadn’t changed a bit. I mean, he had more muscle, but that was it. I licked my lips. “You want me, don’t you?” His words shocked me. “Of course, I do,” I snapped. Why would

he think otherwise? “I wouldn’t have done anything I’ve done these past five years if I didn’t.” “Then why would you do it?” He stared at me, his eyes locking on mine. I let out a deep breath, they were almost enough to make me melt. “Because … I had to get her away. I had to get them all away. I have to be your only one.” I stepped towards him, reaching for his chest. He stiffened. My fingers caressed his chest, but he didn’t relax. “Are you really that mad at me?” My heart sank into my stomach. I couldn’t stand to have him mad at me.

“You told people I raped you.” “I took it back! I had to, don’t you get it?” I shouted. Why was he mad at me? Why wouldn’t he touch me? We were supposed to be happy. We were finally together. I could finally take him from this girl he’d been passing his time with. “No, I don’t get it,” he spoke softly, his gentle voice calming me. “She wouldn’t listen.” My voice broke. “I told her I was your first. I told her you were mine and that she should leave or she would regret it. I told her to leave, and she wouldn’t. I had to make her leave.”

“You did it so Kenda would leave?” “Of course I did! And now that stupid bitch is still screwing everything up.” If she’d just left when she was supposed to, all would have gone according to plan, and we wouldn’t be here now. “Well, it worked.” He turned away from me. “What do you mean? You said she was getting dinner.” “That’s what she said. Do you see her backpack anywhere?” I looked around. My heart skipped a beat. He was right.

*** My heart skipped a beat. I glanced towards the corner of the bathroom, thankful my backpack was right there. “She … she’s really gone?” “Yes.” Chris said it softly. I glanced down at my phone. “I didn’t rape you.” “Of course, you didn’t.” Jessica sounded shocked, but I understood what he was doing. He was giving me what I needed to hear. “But you told people I did. Was it all to get her away from me?” “Yes! See you do get it.”

I shut the recording off as soon as I heard her admit that Chris hadn’t raped her. Someone moved in the room. “I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered. Now I needed to get out of here. I needed to call the cops and get them here with her still around. I stepped towards the door of the bathroom and opened it gently. It opened without a sound. I looked towards the main room carefully. No sign of her. It was now or never. I stepped out into the hallway and made my way towards the door. This would get her attention, there

was no way around it, so I bit my lip and pulled the front door open.

*** Chris held me tight in his arms. I closed my eyes, letting his arms tighten around me. The creak of a door. My eyes snapped open as I tried to pull away from him. Chris held me tight. “What are you doing?!” It all sank in. She had been here the entire time. Chris had lied to me.

*** I heard her scream behind me as I rushed for the elevator. I pressed the button seven times before I heard another sound from her. “Let me go!” she shrieked. The bell rang, letting me know the elevator had arrived. I jumped in, pressed the M button and mashed the button to close the doors until they started to shut. Just before the hallway vanished from sight, I saw her run towards the elevator. My heart raced as I closed my eyes. “Please, please, please, let this work out,” I whispered as the elevator rushed down the levels until it slowed and came to a stop. I tapped my

feet waiting for the door to open. As soon as it was open enough for me to slip out, I was running towards the front desk. I gasped for breath, utterly aware that everyone was watching me. I clutched my phone so hard I almost felt like I could break it. I skidded to a stop in front of the front desk. “Call the police, please.” I gasped for breath several times, trying to restore breathing. I heard the elevator bell ring behind me. Chris. I spun to see if it was him. My heart dropped. She stared at me, her eyes flaring with anger.

It was like she didn’t see anyone around us. All she cared about was me. I carefully placed my phone on the front desk before I stepped towards her. “Where is Chris?” “None of your business,” she snapped. “And you stay the fuck away from him!” “He’s my boyfriend!” I knew what I was doing. I was going to have witnesses to how crazy she was, even if that meant putting myself in danger. “No!” she screamed. “He’s mine! You leave him alone!” “He doesn’t want you.”

Those four words were the mistake that sent her into crazy mode—you know, crazier than she already was. She lunged towards me and tackled me to the ground. I inhaled sharply, feeling my head hit the floor behind me. I was sure I heard something in my back crack. She straddled my hips, her fingers tangled in my hair. “He’s mine!” she screamed, her voice so high I could hardly make out the words she was saying. I tried to smack her away from me; I tried to defend myself. I landed a blow, but that was all before everything went black.

Chapter Five I came to on the couch. Chris was sitting beside me, but his eyes were locked on something else. “Hey,” I mumbled, pushing myself into a seating position. I suddenly saw what he was staring at. She did look so much like me. It was kinda scary, I could see why I’d been able to pass as her twin. She glared at me as the police guided her towards the doors. Her eyes locked on me, then turned to Chris. She made a kissing motion with her lips.

I reached out and took his hand; his arm wrapped around me and pulled me close to him. “Are you okay?” Still he refused to look away from her, not that I blamed him. “I’m fine …” I tried to think about what had just happened. “My head hurts,” I admitted. “The doctors want to look you over once you’ve rested a little.” I sighed. “Fine.” My brow furrowed. “Wait, what did I miss?” You haven’t been out that long. You didn’t really miss anything except the cops getting here. The security guard here

detained her after they pulled her off you. “I didn’t see you.” “No.” He gave a dry laugh. “She um, kicked me pretty hard.” I didn’t need to get any more of an explanation from him. “Are you okay? “I’m okay now that you’re awake. I was worried about you.” “She’s being arrested, right?” “Yup. I gave the cops your cell phone after playing them the recording you have of her. They want to run some tests on it, make sure it’s her … all that. They said … the case isn’t something they’ve ever had

to deal with, and for all they know, we could have staged all of this.” I guess they made a point, but really who would do that? “As long as it’s all over and done with soon, I don’t care,” I confessed, leaning my head against Chris. I didn’t really want to move for the next three days, let alone have doctors poke and prod at me. “Come on, let’s go,” he said softly. I let out a groan, but I knew he was right. I let him help me to my feet and over to the EMT’s. A girl stepped forward. “How are you feeling?” she asked gently. “I’m alright.”

“We’re going to take you to the hospital for the night, alright? We heard you got into quite the fight.” I glanced at Chris. He nodded, and in turn I nodded to the girl. “Alright.” “Are you feeling okay right now? How bad does your head hurt?” “Not too bad I guess.” I didn’t know honestly. I mean, it wasn’t really bad, but it was bad. I let out a sigh, climbing into the ambulance and letting them guide me however they wanted. A man from the front seat turned to look at me. “Well, you look like you got into quite the fight. I hope my girl would be willing

to take a beating like that for me; then again, she probably wouldn’t.” He chuckled softly. “Greg!” The girl next to me scowled. I laughed lightly as Chris came to sit on the other side of me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I’m a lucky man.” He smiled to the driver. “That you are, mister.” The rest of the ride was silent. Neither Chris nor I spoke as we were led into a room and left alone until the doctor was ready to see us. I jumped onto the bed and looked around. It was a typical hospital room, but on the bright side, it

didn’t look like I had to share it with anyone. Chris cleared his throat. “What you did back there was really brave.” I shrugged as a blush touched my lips. “It’s nothing you wouldn’t have done for me.” “You’re right … and it’s got me to thinking about something …” I felt my heart stop for a second. “Oh? What have you been thinking about?” Or did I want to know? “I just … when everything with Jessica was happening, I couldn’t help feeling alone, and all the time you were there for

me. You did everything you could for me, to get this situation taken care of, and if it weren’t for you, it wouldn’t be.” If it hadn’t been for me, he wouldn’t have known about her at all. Would she have stayed hidden for all his life, if it hadn’t been for me? “Today you did two very risky things … two things that could have easily gotten you killed because of me.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t want to listen to him tell me that I should have been careful, and I knew that was what he was going to say. “At first, I was mad when you went to her hotel room; I couldn’t understand how you could have risked yourself like that,

but the truth is … I can understand it because I would have done the same thing for you, Kenda. Because I love you.” I stared at him, not quite sure what to say. He’d said he loved me. Because I helped catch his stalker. I was supposed to say I loved him back; I knew that, but for some reason I couldn’t. Did I love him? I hadn’t even begun to think about if I loved him or not. Why would you have done any of this if you didn’t love him? Since I’d been with Chris, I’d had people threaten me, stare at me, talk shit about me, and today I’d had someone try to kill me because of it. And I still wanted to stick with him. When everyone was

calling him a rapist, I wanted to stay with him. I trusted in him. You didn’t do that for someone you didn’t love. “I love you too, Chris.” I stared at him, not believing that I’d just said it. I hadn’t told a boy I loved them since I was 17 years old. He closed the distance between the bed and me. His arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me into a tight hug. “We’re going to go away as soon as we can; I hope you know that. We’re going to France or somewhere else nice.” “Jamaica.” It would be warm. “I want to go there.”

He laughed softly. “Alright, we can go there. Hell, we can go wherever you want; alright?” I nodded against him, unwilling to break the hold that I had on him. We stayed like this until the doctor came in, and Chris excused himself.

Chapter Six So, what now? That was the question. Chris was allowed back to his job, and in turn, I went back to school; not that it was what either of us wanted to do. We fell back into our routine. Today was a sweater day, not a light extra layer, a full on hoody. I shivered as we stepped out of his car. “Can’t you park closer to the school?” “No.” His lips touched my cheek. “I’ll see you later.” “Love you!” I called as he walked away from me.

“Love you too!” he shouted over his shoulder. I still got stared at pretty often while I made my way to school, but you know what? It didn’t matter to me anymore. Actually nothing really mattered right now. It was a Friday, and I only had a half day and then we were off on a trip. This time, I’d been able to help plan it; unlike the surprise trip to Rome. We’d picked NYC. Not too far away; a cheap plane ride and lots to do. Of course, I didn’t care as long as I got to hang out with Chris, but the idea of staying in a hotel any longer made us both want to blow our brains out; so instead, Chris found us a cottage we could rent. It was a few hours away from

the city, but we figured we could go there first and then come back to the city a day early. That way we could get our fill of the city as well as the country and be away from everyone. That was all I wanted right now. I made my way to class with people turning heads to stare at me. I heard the whispers as I passed. Yes. Getting away from everyone was something both Chris and I wanted. The next few hours were some of the longest in my life. After the whole situation, people looked at us differently. First when I started

dating my economics teacher, people would look at me like I was trying to sleep my way to good grades, which I could understand. Then with everything that had happened recently, they stared at us like he was a creep, some dirty old man, and me like I was almost as bad for staying by his side. Now, now that everything was over, and he’d been cleared, and of course, the recording of Jessica admitting she’d made everything up went public, people stared at us—almost—with a little respect. As if they thought maybe we weren’t some freak show. As if maybe we actually cared about each other.

All I knew was that he loved me, and I loved him—that was all that mattered to me. “Hey.” A hand touched my hip as I spun to face Hayley. “Hey.” I grinned. “What’s up?” “You’re not going to be here tonight, right? Josh wants to come over.” Her eyes sparkled as she said his name. I wiggled my eyebrows dramatically. “Have fun.” Josh and Hayley had met when I was at the hospital. He worked with Chris on a side project, as soon as Hayley met him, I knew they were going to hit it off.

“Oh, I plan to.” She laughed softly as we headed towards English. “You’re going to be having a much better weekend than me, though. New York. Urg, I’m stuck doing homework.” “I have to get all mine done on the flight.” I laughed as I reached for the door to the classroom and pulled it open. I motioned for her to go first, and a grin spread over her face.

*** The flight hadn’t been too bad, and I did manage to get all my work done before we landed. I even had it sent to each of the teachers that needed it, something I was very proud of. “Okay, this is way better than any fancyass hotel you could have found me.” And it was true. The cabin was pretty small; okay no, it was really small. With a living room/kitchen and three doors. One leading to a bedroom, another leading to a bathroom and the third was the one that we’d just used to enter the cabin.

Chris laughed softly. “I thought you’d like it. The guy renting it gave us a pretty fair price too. He even said he’d leave some firewood behind for us free of charge.” The walls were the exact same as they were outside. The wood logs were filled with something to keep the wind from coming through the cracks, and speaking of the fireplace, it was at the far end of the cabin; a couch was opposite, and a small desk at the other side of the room was all that the living room had. The kitchen had a stove, a skin and countertop and a small table with two chairs at it, as well as a small fridge under the counter. Yup, it was small, that much was for sure. But it was cute, nonetheless.

I carried my bag into the bedroom. Again, it was very simple, with nothing but a bed, a dresser, and another (much smaller) fireplace. I dropped my bag at the end of the bed as Chris stepped past me and moved towards the fireplace. In less than ten minutes, we had a warm fire going. “So … what now?” Had we really come out here just to do nothing? “Well, I’ve got some papers that need to be graded, and then I thought we could have a romantic dinner and spend the night in bed.” He raised his eyebrows. “Tomorrow, we are going to take a hike to the beach, and then there is an old fire

watchtower in the area. They built a replica of it so people can climb up. I thought that would be fun too. I figured we could head back to the city tomorrow night and do some stuff there, like maybe a nice expensive dinner and a show or just walk around the streets and get pizza.” I laughed. “Sounds like you have the weekend all planned out.” It also sounded like it was good; it was a long weekend for us both. “I do.” He stepped towards me. “But before any of that … there is something I want to give you.” My heart stopped for a fraction of a

second. “There is?” “No, it’s not an engagement ring.” His eyes sparkled as he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. A small black box. He held it out to me. My hands shook as I reached for it. “I …” I tried to think of something to say, but the truth was, I was too scared to open it. “It’s just a thank you for being so supportive throughout this whole mess,” he said quickly as I reached for the lid and pulled it off. My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped. I stared down at a silver band with a purple stone in the middle.

“It’s nothing fancy, I know but—” “It’s perfect,” I said, cutting him off. “I wouldn’t want anything too crazy anyways … this … this is perfect.” I pulled the ring out from the box and watched as the light flickered from it. Chris took the ring from my hands, and I held out the finger I wanted it on. Carefully, he slipped it over the finger. I looked up at him, and a smile touched my lips. “Thank you.” I pulled him into my arms. We embraced for a long time. These few weeks had been crazy for us both and truthfully I was amazed that we made it out of this alive. And together.

Despite the fact that I didn’t want to leave him for a second that all of this was happening, I had worried it wouldn’t work out between us. I pulled away. “Wait.” My brow furrowed as I thought back to the Monday after we came back from Rome. “Before any of this happened … you were acting strange …” You were distant. “Not telling me when you went places. What was that all about?” Chris chuckled. “That? Oh, that was nothing.” I raised an eyebrow. He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I thought you trusted me.”

“I do, but I still want to know what you were doing.” Without a word, Chris scooped me into his arms and carried me to the bed. I glared at him but couldn’t stop the smile as I felt my back hit the bedding. “I was with a travel agent.” “Was she pretty?” Again, I raised an eyebrow, but I wasn’t mad. He rolled his eyes again. “I never knew you were the jealous type.” “I never realized I had to be.” He laughed. “So what, now you’re going to demand to know about every girl I

speak to?” He shook his head; his lips touched mine. “The travel agent was male, for the record.” Again, another kiss. “And he was helping me plan a vacation to England, for two people … you know, if you’re interested.” I stared blankly at him. “Are you joking?” This had to be a joke, right? “No. Why do you always think I’m joking when I want to take you nice places?” He pouted. “Hey, I didn’t think this place was a joke.” I kissed him, my teeth grazing his lower lip. He let out a soft moan. “True.” He returned my lower lip

nipping, and it was my turn to moan. My eyes fluttered back for a fraction of a second. His hands traced over the curves of my body gently. “I thought you had work to grade,” I teased. “It can wait.” He nibbled his way down my neck, gently grazing my skin with his teeth. I giggled, my fingers tangling in his hair as I watched him move further down my body. This was why we’d come away. I closed my eyes biting back a moan. Chris pulled away.

“Don’t try to hide it. I want to hear your moans—no. I want to hear you scream.” He grinned as he stepped away from the bed and pulled his shirt off. I returned the grin, my eyes roaming over every inch of his body. His strong arms flexed as he pulled his shirt over his head and let it drop to the ground. I bit my lip as my eyes made their way lower. His muscular chest, his abs, and finally his hands on his belt. Without another word, I jumped from the bed and dropped to my hands and knees in front of him. My eyes locked on him as I reached for his belt, brushing his hand out of the way.

I unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and pulled them down to his ankles. I grinned as his cock sprang forward. There was only a moment’s hesitation before my mouth slipped around his head. Chris’s eyes rolled back. “Fuck.” His fingers tangled in my hair as his hips pumped, pushing his cock deeper into my mouth. I moaned as my tongue slipped over as much of his cock as I could manage. I reached for the button on my jeans and popped them easily. His hold on my hair tightened, pulling on me gently.

I mouthed his cock faster and faster, taking him deeper with every time until I could feel his head hit the back of my throat. I moaned trying to take him back. Nope. I coughed, pulling away as quick as I could as my gag reflex kicked in. A blush touched my cheeks, but Chris just grinned. “Too big for you?” He untangled his fingers from my hair and helped me to my feet. “We could always see if somewhere else can fit it all in.” I grinned. “Where did you have in mind?” He pulled me close to him, his lips

trailing up my neck towards my ear. His teeth grazed my earlobe gently. “That tight little pussy of yours,” he whispered. A warm tingle ran down my back. I backed up towards the bed, pulling Chris with me. My eyes locked on his, not daring to look away as he reached out and unbuttoned my jeans. My heart raced as he pulled them down, ever so slowly; lowering to one knee, he kept eye contact with me the entire time as I felt the rough fabric against my skin. I stepped out of my pants, still refusing to look away from him and sat down on the bed. Chris grabbed my legs, spreading them wide open. He stepped towards me. My heart raced as I felt his head against my folds. I

gasped as he pushed into me. Gentle at first. Softy he pulled out of me and pushed back in. My eyes flickered back for a fraction of a second as I arched towards him. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Soft at first but growing more powerful, faster, harder. “Oh yes.” My fingers tangled in the bedding as Chris lowered himself onto the bed, resting between my legs as they wrapped around his hips. I pulled him closer to me, our lips locking. “I love you,” he whispered.

I was used to dirty talk in the bedroom, and over the past few weeks I’d almost become used to him telling me he loved me, but somehow to have him say it while having sex … it was so intimate, so raw. Emotion ran through me as our kiss deepened. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I pulled away from him just enough to speak. “I love you too, Chris.” A smile touched his lips as his hand traced over the curves of my body. My eyes rolled back as he thrust into me faster and faster. His fingers dug into my skin softly. I moaned louder as he thrust

into me harder and harder. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I could feel my orgasm coming, so close after hearing his words. My eyes snapped open, locking on him. My fingers traced over his chest; I didn’t dare look away. “Come with me.” He bit his lip, his body stiffening as he thrust into me. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I gasped, arching towards him. Everything went a fuzzy white as Chris let out something close to a growl as he slammed into me.

I cried out in pleasure as waves of ecstasy washed over me, intense and overpowering. I moaned, my hips grinding against him as he pulled out and pushed back in, again and again. Another wave of pleasure overcame me. I moaned, my nails digging into the bedding as another wave washed over me, and another. Each one just a little gentler than the last, all coming so fast it was over in less than a minute. I forced myself to open my eyes and found Chris staring at me. A grin touched his lips as he gave me a kiss. “I love you, Kenda.” “I love you too, Chris.”

He pulled away from me and padded over to the fireplace. “I’ll get a fire going.” “And I’ll go make the instant noodles.” I jumped off the bed. “Meet you back here in three minutes, and I expect you to still be naked.” I heard his laugh as I made my way into the kitchen. Content filled me. Content to be here, to be alone with him, and to know that we were just going to spend the night cuddling, talking, and fucking.

The Billionaire Teacher Part IV An Alpha Billionaire Romance

Sarah J. Brooks

Copyright © 2015 by Sarah J. Brooks This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Facebook: Sarah J. Brooks

Chapter One He pulled the chair out for me, and as I slipped into it, I felt him push me towards the table. I nodded my thanks as he sauntered to the other side of the table and sat down across from me, a smile spreading over his lips. Reaching for the bottle of wine, I poured us each a glass. When your date is one rich guy, the best of the best is a given. I could tell the people around us were staring. Many were covertly pointing as they wondered what the hell made us so

fucking special. It was all something I still wasn’t used to, even after a few weeks it felt strange to have everyone eying me. I wasn’t used to that kind of thing. To being taken out, to having a date who picked me up in a Porsche or wore suits that were probably more than my rent each month (not that I told him that!). “How is Kenda doing?” His voice snapped me back into reality. “Oh … she’s okay … She doesn’t leave her bedroom very much unless Chris is over, but I think that is mostly because she needs to sleep, honestly.” My best friend (also Josh’s friend's girlfriend) had just faced down her

boyfriend’s stalker, and although bruised and beaten, she’d come out on top, with the bitch now locked up and Kenda and Chris finally happy after what felt like ages. Actually, it was how Josh and I met. I grinned just thinking about it. When Kenda was in the hospital, I spent ever second I could with her, which was easier for me than it was Chris, who had classes to teach and papers to grade. So when he dropped by late one night with a friend, the friend and I went to grab coffee so Kenda and Chris could have some alone time; then all of a sudden, I’m getting asked out! Of course, I said yes! I’d been telling Kenda for ages to hook me up, and though it was only meant as a

bit of a joke, I wasn’t going to turn down the chance at a date; even if he hadn’t been rich, I wouldn’t have said no—he was cute. “And school’s been good too?” “It’s been alright.” I nodded and took a sip of the wine. The dry taste lingered on my tongue as I swallowed it down. “It’s been hard on Kenda.” Which in turn had been hard on me to support her and get all my work done. Of course, my best friend had to fall for the super cute teacher all the students wanted that wouldn’t date students— Kenda had been the exception, which warranted her glares and stares. Even

more so when his stalker had started rumors about him raping her, and even when the case had been cleared up, the students at school hadn’t stopped staring. With a bruised face and everything she’d been through, the looks were hard on Kenda, even if she wasn’t willing to admit it. So I was there for her as much as I could be. I bit my lip trying not to focus on it. I wasn’t supposed to be worrying about Kenda tonight. She was with Chris, they were doing their own thing for the weekend, and I was supposed to be off having a nice time with Josh. I looked down at the menu. Normally, I

would never dream of getting dinner from a place like this, but I guessed maybe Josh got a discount. My mouth watered as I stared at the options. A few seconds later, a waitress came over with a smile. “Do you know what you would like?” She spoke softly, refusing to meet Josh's eye, but I noticed a blush touch her cheeks. “I’ll have the steak please, rare.” My stomach grumbled as I closed the menu. “Same, please.” The girl nodded and walked away without another word as I turned my full attention to Josh.

“So,” placing my elbows on the table and my chin on my hands, my eyes roamed over his body. “How is that secret project going?” His hazel eyes lit up as he laughed softly. The five o’clock shadow he let grow in every weekend twitched as he laughed. “It’s going well.” Tonight his brown hair wasn’t slicked back; instead, it looked like he had rolled out of bed without brushing it and went to work that way. That was fine. I liked it like that. “Have you made much progress?” Although I didn’t know much about it, I still liked to keep up to date with it and

make him feel like I cared. He liked to keep his secrets, and I had to understand that. But I’d find out sooner or later. I’d coax it out of him slowly. “We have.” He meant him and Chris when he said ‘we’. “We’re actually talking about taking it into beta testing. Just a dozen people so far, but it will be a start to see what people think of it and if there are any issues and bugs with it.” My brow furrowed. I honestly had no clue what it could be. I knew he worked in the restaurant world, which meant it could be anything relating to food, and Chris had a fancy degree in economics. So it had to do with food and money. That

didn’t narrow it down all that much. His eyes sparkled as he talked about the project. “If things keep going this well, we might be able to launch in a year. Then …” He trailed off lost in space. “That’s great.” I beamed as I reached out and took his hand. Even if I didn’t know what it was, I could still share in his success. “Have you heard from your parents?” I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it. “Not recently,” I lied, looking over my shoulder as the waitress came towards us. I licked my lips, thankful for a reason to get out of the conversation.

*** “Do you want to come in?” We hadn’t come out right and said it yet, but I was beginning to spend weekends with him. I hopped out of the car with a nod. “Sure, but I’ve got to get some homework done this weekend … at some point.” I grinned. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t stay all weekend.” He chuckled as we made our way to the door, and he unlocked it. “Are you trying to suggest you want me to leave after…?” I didn’t need to finish my sentence for him to know what I

meant. “Oh no!” he said quickly. “Just that I don’t want to get in the way of your homework.” He backtracked quickly. “Relax.” I smiled at him. “I’m just teasing.” I reached behind him as he pushed the door open and grabbed at his crotch. A deep breath escaped him as he flicked on the kitchen light. The first time I saw Josh’s house, I almost went into shock. The place looked like it should be in a magazine, actually it had been in a couple. The kitchen was all modern, with stainless steel appliances

and old wood counter tops. I think they were oak. I’m pretty sure that’s what he’d said when I spent my first morning here. The kitchen led into the living room. Just what you would expect from every millionaire boy who didn’t have anyone to keep him in check. A 70” TV with every gaming console out there, either about to be released or super outdated, it didn’t matter. He had it, along with most of the games to go with all of them too. I grinned as I looked around at the big black comfy couch. Josh’s hands touched my butt, pulling me close to him. I let out a deep breath, my eyes fluttering shut for a fraction of a second before I smiled and pulled away.

“I’ll be right back.” With my purse in hand, I headed for the bathroom without another word, leaving him questioning what I was doing. Locking myself in the bathroom, I dropped my purse on the counter, rummaging through it. I grinned, pulling out the corset I’d packed along with the black mini skirt. I pulled my shirt over my head, let it drop to the floor and slipped my bra off before reaching for the studded bra I’d just bought. I slipped it on then buttoned the corset up in the front. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I silently approved of the top, with one button undone.

I shimmied out of my pants and panties, again leaving them both on the ground and stepped into the mini skirt that barely covered my ass. I tied my brown hair into a ponytail, now much longer than it had been thanks to the extensions that Josh had suggested I get; his treat, of course. More like payment for the charity dinner he wanted me to go to with him, which I didn’t mind doing—but I wasn’t going to say no if he wanted to buy me stuff for the night! I grabbed my red lipstick and applied a fresh layer to my lips before touching up my eyeshadow and pulling out the black, sparkling shoes. I’d worn the black thighhigh stockings under my pants, which

meant all I had to do was slip the shoes on, and I was ready to get back out there. But I didn’t leave right away. Instead, I looked myself over, biting my lip nervously. Was it too much? I hadn’t actually gone out of my way to dress up for him yet. What if this wasn’t his kinda outfit? Then he can just take it off me, I said inwardly, taking a deep breath and forcing myself to turn away from the mirror and reach for the door. My fingers curled around the cold metal as I pulled it open. Josh had turned the TV on. He glanced at me as I stepped out of the bathroom. Suddenly it didn’t seem like whatever he

had on TV was all that interesting. “Holy shit …” he whispered as I stepped closer to him. “Do you like it?” I asked, holding my arms up and spinning in a circle. As I turned to face him, I saw him swallow. “It … you look …” He trailed off, looking me up and down. “Wow.” I laughed softly, closing the distance between us, and then placed a hand on his muscular chest. “I’m glad you like it,” I whispered, placing a kiss on his neck. His hands touched my hips, pulling me

closer to him as he kissed me. The kiss was full of passion, trying to show me just how much he liked my new outfit. I moaned softly, nipping his lips gently. His hands traced the curves of my body, and his warm fingers touched the skin on my uppermost thighs as he realized I wasn’t wearing panties. He took in another deep breath, pressing me against the back of the couch. I was sure I could feel the bulge in his pants, but maybe I was just wishing it was there. I reached between his legs. Nope. I wasn’t making it up. Josh let out a soft moan as I massaged him gently. His teeth grazed my lower lip. “Just

looking at you makes me want to cum.” A shiver ran down my spine as heat pilled in my pussy. His words made me throb, wanting him deep inside me already. No. I was going to have fun with this. I pushed him away from me; a grin spread across my face. “Really?” I tilted my head to the left. So if I took my clothes off …” I trailed off, reaching for the second button on my corset. It came undone with a pop, and I reached for the third. His eyes widened as he watched me slowly unbutton my corset until he couldn’t take it anymore. He stepped towards me and reached for

my corset. I gasped as I heard dozens of pops. I was pulled into his arms from the momentum of my corset being ripped, and raised an eyebrow, supporting myself against his chest with my hands. “You know I really liked that.” “I’ll buy you a new one.” He turned me around, his hands tracing over the curves of my body. “Once I fuck you.” I swallowed dryly. My heart raced as I thought about his words. I wanted nothing more than to feel him deep inside me. His hands made their way lower and lower, then back towards my breasts. I moaned as he bent be over the couch and stepped closer behind me. I grinned as his

fingers touched my butt and then moaned as his nails dug into me. His fingers traced down my skin ever so softly, over my uppermost thighs, slowly inching closer and closer to my pussy. I gasped as his finger slipped inside me. A deep moan caught in my throat. “Oh, yes.” My hips rocked trying to get his finger to move inside me. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I moaned as his finger slipped in and out of me, faster and faster. “Fuck, babe you’re so wet,” he whispered close to my ear. “It’s cause I want your thick cock inside

me,” I retorted. “Is that what you want?” His lips touched my neck as his finger wiggled inside of me. I moaned as he said, “Then that’s what you’ll get. As soon as you say it again.” My heart skipped a beat. “Josh, I want you inside me. I want your thick cock pounding at me. Please, please give me your cock,” I begged. A second later, his finger slipped out of me, and I heard the zipper on his pants go down. My heart raced as I listened to his pants fall. My body tingled as I felt his cock against my folds. He spread my legs, pushing me over the edge of the couch.

“You want it that bad?” “Oh yes.” I nodded urgently. My fingers dug into the couch as I let out a low scream. Josh all but slammed into me. My eyes rolled back, my hips arching against him as his hands touched my back, reaching for my hips and pulling me closer. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. He pushed in and out of me fast and hard. I moaned, my eyes rolling back still further. Pleasure threatened to overwhelm me with ever thrust and I groaned as his fingers dug into my skin. He thrust into me faster and faster. I moaned louder as pleasure engulfed me.

My fingers dug into the couch as one hand guided its way towards my hair. His fingers tangled in the thick strands finding a happy hope. “Don’t pull too hard. They will fall out.” He laughed softly. “Got it.” He pulled gently. “How’s that?” I moaned in response, which he seemed to take as good enough. Without another word, he pulled away, still holding my hair he pulled me up against him. “Turn around,” he whispered, letting go of my hair. I did as I was told and turned to face him. His eyes roamed over my body as his hands

reached for my breasts. I moaned as he massaged them gently. “Oh, Josh.” I clung to him, not trusting my own legs to keep me standing. He grinned, grabbing me in his arms and scooping me up, and my eyes locked on him as we headed towards the bedroom. “When did you go shopping? I’ve never seen this outfit before.” “I went the other day with Kenda.” I grinned. “I thought you would like it.” “I think ‘like’ is a bit of an understatement.” He smiled broadly as we made it into his bedroom. He didn’t bother to turn on the light as he made for

the bed, and we dropped down on it. My back hit the soft fabric of his fuzzy blanket. He slipped back into me without warning and I gasped, arching towards him. “I’m not going to last much longer,” I admitted, reaching for my clit. “Neither am I.” I didn’t need the light on to know he was grinning. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Fast and hard, growing faster and faster with every stroke. I took a deep breath, my fingers circling my clit, faster and faster as I tried to keep time with him. He grabbed my free hand and pinned it

above my head. I moaned as our fingers entwined and he squeezed my hand gently. I squeezed his hand back. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Josh thrust into me faster and faster. My body arched as my eyes rolled back. My fingers rubbed faster and faster. I bit my lip as pleasure threatened like a tidal wave. Josh gasped, slamming into me. I sighed as he thrust into me harder and harder, letting out something close to a growl as his fingers dug into me. It was all enough to send me over the edge. Everything went a fuzzy white as

pleasure hit me in a wave of ecstacy. My body arched as I let out something close to a scream. My hips bucked and thrust towards him, faster and faster as he slammed into me. Our hands tightened around each other’s as another wave of pleasure overwhelmed me, then another. My fingers circled my clit. Another wave of pleasure surged through my body, then another this time softer. I moaned trying to catch my breath as a further wave overwhelmed me, this time even softer than the last, then another softer one. Finally, the waves of pleasure stopped, and I forced myself to open my eyes. Josh slipped out of me, but instead of

moving away like he normally did, he rested his head on my chest. I reached out with my free hand, and my fingers tangled in his hair. I don’t even remember falling asleep in his arms.

Chapter Two I had to admit, I still wasn’t used to this kinda stuff. I bit my lip as I looked myself over. “You look great.” “Are you sure it’s not too much?” I felt like I should be on an episode of Gossip Girl. The long green dress, the faux diamonds along the plunging neckline, and my brown hair curled perfectly all just made me feel like I should be getting ready for the director to yell ‘action’ as I walked onto a filming set. Not about to

go to dinner with my best friend and our … boyfriends? Is that what Josh was to me? It hadn’t been that long. Just a couple of weekends, really. Then why is he asking you to come to this thing with him? Honestly, I didn’t know. Maybe it was because he cared about me, or maybe it was just because him and Chris needed me to keep an eye on Kenda. Josh looked me over. “I’m very sure it’s not too much.” He reached out and grabbed my hips, pulling me into his arms. “You look amazing,” he assured me. “Why aren’t you changed yet?” I asked,

looking at his dirty jeans. “Because I don’t take as long as you.” He grinned. A soft kiss touched my cheek. “I promise, you look wonderful.” “Thank you.” A blush touched my cheeks as I turned to look myself over in the mirror again, and Josh left the bathroom. I allowed myself one more look before turning away and entering the living room where there were no mirrors. I saw a car pull into the driveway and crossed through to the kitchen just in time to see two people step out of the car. “They’re here!” I called, heading for the front door and pulling it open without

waiting for them to knock. Kenda grinned as she looked me up and down. “Damn you clean up good.” “I was about to say the same to you.” I looked my friend over. She’d picked a red cocktail dress. A black lace belt brought the eye to the thinnest part of my best friend. She blushed as she stepped past me and into the room. “Are you two ready?” I glanced towards the bedroom. Josh stepped out as if he’d heard Kenda. I took a deep breath checking him out.

Tonight he did have his hair slicked back and had changed from his jeans into perfectly pressed black dress pants. I bit my lip. He held his suit jacket n his arms. Under his white shirt, I could see the muscles flex as he moved his arm while checking his cell phone. His hazel eyes were hidden behind the glasses he normally wore for work, and a black tie capped it all off. He shrugged into the well-fitted suit jacket, and for a split second I wasn’t too sure my knees would keep me standing. I bit my lip as our eyes locked for a fraction of a second. God, I wish we were alone. As if reading my mind, Josh smirked.

“Alright, you three ready to get this over and done with?” “Yea.” I managed to sound somewhat normal as I turned around and went for the sparkly black shoes I’d worn last night. Once I had my shoes on, we were off. We all piled into Chris’s Jaguar and headed to the kind of part that I thought only existed on TV. When we got there, I had to work hard to make sure my jaw didn’t drop. It really was like something you’d see on TV. The entire room was full of men and women in their best; two ice sculptures

greeted us at the door, and at the back of the room I caught sight of a snack table. Well, it was the size of a submarine, but it did look like a table. I shot Kenda a glance. She looked as nervous as I felt. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but guessed it didn’t do any good. I felt Josh touch my arm gently and place a kiss on my cheek. “I have to go mingle; you and Kenda have fun.” I nodded, not trusting my words as Chris said something to Kenda and together the boys walked away, heading for a large group of people as Kenda and I were left standing there.

“So … you want a snack?” “Sure …” Together, in a bit of a daze, Kenda and I made our way towards the snack table. “This is weird, right?” “Yes.” She sounded so relieved that I felt the same way. I looked my friend over. “Did you get your makeup done?” The way she looked at me told me that she understood what I was trying to ask without actually coming out and asking it. “She did a good job covering it up, eh?” A dry laugh escaped her. “I couldn’t believe he asked me to come at first. He’d

already found the makeup artist.” So the bruise was still there. I knew it had been hard the first couple of days out of the hospital. She’d been so worried about what everyone had thought or what they would think. She spent three hours trying to cover it, and I’d gone out to buy all the foundation and every product that promised to cover. She forced a smile over her lips. “I’ve got her on speed dial for the night,” she confessed. “It looks great. Like it’s not even there.” That got a smile from her. “Thanks …” She took a deep breath and turned away

from me, looking the snack table over. I hadn’t been there for her when she faced down Chris’s stalker. My heart twisted. I should have been, and I knew that, but she’d told me to leave, so I had. As she turned to face me, I opened my mouth to say something. “Crap,” she muttered, looking past me. “Looks like Chris wants me over there.” She gave me a sympathetic look. “Sorry. “No, no. I understand. Good luck over there.” I gave her a smile. “Thanks.” She closed her eyes for a fraction of a second, then headed towards Chris.

“You’ll do great!” I called behind her. I reached for a drink on the table and took a sip before I sensed someone behind me. Whether they were just enjoying the table like I was or actually wanted to talk, I wasn’t sure. So I turned around. “Hi.” He held his hand out to me. “I’m Brad.” Alright, so he was here to talk to me. “Hayley.” I held my hand out to him. We shook hands as he looked me up and down. I returned the gesture. He wore a gray suit with a blue tie. His dirty blond hair was slicked back out of

his face, and his green eyes sparkled as they roamed over my body. He was clean shaven, but I was sure I could see the edge of a tattoo on his wrist as we shook hands. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “I’m basically here to meet the right people.” He laughed softly. “And because my boss suggested I come. I’m still pretty new at the job and didn’t want to get into trouble quite yet.” He grinned. “What about you?” “I’m … here with a few people.” I wasn’t sure what to say. Boyfriend? Was he my boyfriend? I had no fucking clue, honestly. So I just said ‘a group’ ’cause

that wasn’t lame at all. Brad didn’t seem to think it was lame. He smirked. “At least you have some friends here.” “True … except they’re all off mingling.” “Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?” I paused, a grin spreading over my face. “I guess you’re right. So tell me about yourself, Brad? What kind of things are you even supposed to talk about at these kinds of things?” “Well, for starters, not yourself.” His eyes sparkled as he chuckled. “Unless there is anything about yourself that makes you special. Normally, it involves what you

can do for other people, or who you know.” He paused. “I can think of a few things I could probably do for you.” My heart did a back flip as I stared at him. Had he actually just said that? Oh yes, he did. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to speak. “Well, I have to admit I’m interested.” I raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t too forward?” A blush had touched his cheeks by now. “It was meant in a joking manner.” “Oh … well in that case.” I pretended to pout. “I thought you were serious.” Grinning, I saw his blush deepen. “Relax, now I’m joking,” I said as I took a drink. “So, really, what do you do for a living? I

don’t care about who you know or any of that crap. I want to know about you.” I wasn’t really sure why I cared, maybe it was because I didn’t have anything better to do, or maybe it was just because he was cute. But there was no point in me not enjoying myself. As I looked around the room and caught sight of Josh with a couple of people, it seemed pretty obvious, I was on my own for the night. Not that I minded! I knew the work he did took a lot of time from his life, and that was something I was going to have to accept. “You want to know about me?” He raised an eyebrow. “Well, there isn’t really much

to tell … I was born and raised in the area; I dropped out of high school and then had to get my GED when I was 20, and then I went right into work. I’ve been working nonstop since then, with little room for fun. And the only fun thing I really get to do is read on my way to work.” Read. Yes, reading was good. A common interest. “Really? What do you like to read?” I asked, taking another sip of my drink, well more of a gulp. I downed the drink and reached for another. With no kids at the event, it seemed like they had alcohol

out on the table for anyone to grab. I picked a white wine this time. “I honestly read just about anything I can keep my hands on though I like the classics best, and nonfiction.” “I love The Picture of Dorian Gray,” I said without a second thought. He raised an eyebrow. “Really? I have to admit I’m more of a Mary Shelley and Frankenstein fan myself, followed, of course, by Dracula, but Dorian Gray is a good one as well.” His eyes sparkled as he spoke. “Frankenstein is my second favorite,” I said with a grin.

It was nice to find someone who enjoyed the classics. With all the fluff that was out there these days, it was hard to find a good book that drew me in the way some of the classics had. Of course, others had made me want to put a bullet in my brain. “My book club hates it; I always make them read a couple classics a year.” I laughed softly. “Book club?” He raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like fun.” My heart did a back flip as I realized what he was hinting at. I didn’t want him to know I was in college. I looked him up and down again, trying to gauge how old he was. I knew he wasn’t 20 anymore. “So

how long have you been working?” I asked, trying to figure it out still. He shrugged, not really giving it to me. His eyes sparkled as if he realized what I was doing. *** Chris drove home, and as Kenda and I said our goodbyes I promised her I would be home the next day; more of an outward statement, so I had to keep my promise, but still one nonetheless. As I turned to Josh, he grinned. “Come on.” He took my hand and led me towards the door. “Did you have a good night?”

“It wasn’t bad,” I admitted. I’d spent most of it talking to Brad, though. “Were you able to get much mingling done?” “Yes.” He unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Though I had a little too much to drink.” He chuckled. “I always do at these things.” He kicked his shoes off and had his jacket off before I’d even reached down to unstrap my shoes. “Did you meet anyone worth meeting?” “Not really.” He shrugged. “But it was good experience for a couple guys I’ve taken on.” He turned to face me. “Brad had never been to this kind of thing before.”

My heart stopped as Josh stared at me with a smile spread across his face. Did he notice Brad and I talking all night? Or was it even the same Brad? Of course, it is! He said it was his first time. What were the chances of there being two Brads there who had never done this kind of thing before? “Really? How did he do?” Josh shrugged. “I didn’t see much of him. I’ll have to talk to him on Monday about it.” He slipped out of his shirt and my eyes locked on his muscular chest. I swallowed dryly as they made their way lower and lower, down his six pack … then his pants got in the way. I mentally

shook myself. Probably for the best, anyway. I unzipped my dress and made for the bedroom; now that the idea of pajamas had entered my mind, there was nothing more I wanted than to put some on. “So you weren’t lonely or anything, right? I was worried about leaving you alone all night. Even more so when I saw Kenda leave you.” “It was fine. I found someone to talk to.” I didn’t mention who it was. I’m not sure why I didn’t, and I knew I should have, but nonetheless, I didn’t. Should I feel bad for not mentioning it? No. It’s not like I was hiding it. If he asked who, I’d tell him.

It was the weakest way I could justify it, but I still tried. “Good.” I could hear him come into the room behind me as I pushed the dress down to my ankles and stepped out of it. I carefully placed it in the closet where it had been and turned to Josh. Without a word, he closed the distance between us and pulled me into a hug. Although I was pretty much naked, the hug didn’t seem sexual at all. It just seemed … caring. I took a deep breath of him, wrapping my arms around his. “I have to tell you something.”

I froze. “What is it?” “I … I think I might be in love with you.” I pulled away from him. “What?” I stared at Josh. For the first time all night, I really looked him up and down. But it was his bloodshot eyes I noticed more than anything else. I bit my lip and took a deep breath. Great. “You’re drunk.” “That doesn’t mean it’s not true.” I opened my mouth to say something, but he made a point. “It could, though.” “It doesn’t and it’s not.”

“Then you can tell me that when you’re not drunk.” He was full of shit. He had to be. We hadn’t even been together for like two months, and he was going to try to tell me he was in love with me? Oh, that wasn’t going to work. Nope, nope, nope. “Now come on, let’s go to bed.” Because really I couldn’t bring myself to face him or talk to him right now, and if I had to stay up with him, I was going to have to do those things.

Chapter Three I left at 5:00 in the morning. At least that’s what the clock in the kitchen said. When I stepped into my house, I instantly felt better, but I couldn’t stop thinking about his words. Why would he say that? It was too soon, and it wasn’t something you said when you were drunk. I tried to push it out of my mind as I went for my bedroom, didn’t bother clearing any of the clothes off and dropped down without a word. Before I realized it, I was asleep and dreaming, but even then his

words wouldn’t leave me alone. *** Around 10:00 that morning, I pulled myself out of bed and made my way into the kitchen. Kenda grinned as she sipped at her morning coffee. The second she saw me, her grin fell from her face. “Why were you in your bedroom?” “I was sleeping.” I pretended not to fully understand her question. “That’s not what I meant.” She glared at me. “When did you get home, and why aren’t you at Josh’s where we dropped you off?” “Because I came home this morning.” I

shrugged, heading for the coffee pot. “What happened?” “He told me he loved me.” My hand shook as I poured myself a cup of coffee. “Last night while he was drunk.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Damn … that’s …” “Yea.” My phone beeped. I looked down at the text. It was him asking where I’d gone. I lied and told him I had some plans with Kenda and asked how much of last night he remembered. Seconds later, I had my answer.

I sucked in a deep breath. “He doesn’t remember anything from the time we got in the car,” I whispered. That meant he didn’t remember telling me he loved me. My stomach turned, and for a split second I felt like I was about to puke. No. “So, I was going to head to the mall today, do you want to come?” I looked my friend up and down. “Yea.” That was what I needed. A girls’ day. A day not to worry about him or think about him. I should leave my phone at home, I thought, but I knew I wouldn’t. Oh, well. I grinned as I took a sip of coffee. “Just let me go get dressed.”

Kenda nodded. “I’m right behind you; then we can head out.” Thankfully, both Kenda and I were quick to get ready, even more so when the idea of shopping was involved. Quickly pulling on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top, I stared at the mess of hair on my head. I’d forgotten to take the extensions out last night. I sighed and pulled everything into a messy bun. Alright. Good enough, I thought as I grabbed a pair of flats, slipped into them and grabbed my oversized purse that was perfect for the kind of shopping spree Kenda and I wanted to go on; not quite the kind we could afford!

As I exited the room, Kenda was slipping her shoes on. She’d gone for yoga pants and a simple shirt as well though she seemed to look a little more put together than I did, without looking much different. Once she had her shoes on, we got ourselves a coffee for the drive, and then we were out of the small apartment that we shared. “Do you think we should get a roommate?” I asked. It was something I’d been thinking about for a while. With me spending a lot of time with Josh. My gut turned as I thought about his words last night … I swallowed dryly, staring off into space. Snap out of it. I told myself. “With you and Chris almost ready to move in

together ...” “We’re nowhere near ready to move in with each other!” Kenda protested as I slid into the driver’s seat. “Sure, right.” I knew it was a load of crap. Even if she didn’t see it coming, I knew it would happen within the next three months. “Anyways, with us both … with people in our lives we might want to move in with eventually …” And her coming first. “I thought it might be a good idea to have someone else helping to pay rent at our current place.” Because really it was going to be a pain in the ass if I had to cover it myself, honestly. And it would give us both a little extra

cash. I gunned the engine and headed towards the less crowded mall in town. As if realizing what I’d just thought, Kenda nodded. “It could be an option. Like you said, we’re not normally there on the weekends, so it’s just sitting there empty.” “Seems like a waste to me.” I nodded. I shot her a grin. She returned it. “Alright, I’ll get the word out there that we’re looking for a roommate.” “We’re going to have a lot of options.” “What makes you say that?” “They’re all going to want a chance to see

Chris naked.” Kenda burst into a fit of laughter. *** For a Sunday, the mall wasn’t crowded at all. Most of all, Kenda and I were probably part of a handful of actual college age students. It was either all old people or young people, normally there with their grandparents, it seemed. Which worked just fine for me. It meant that as we headed into a store we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. Even better when going into a store that had 50% off almost everything. My eyes sparkled as I looked around. Sure

the stuff here wasn’t great quality, but it was cute, and that had to count for something. Right? I reached for a tight lace tank top and took a deep breath. Oh, yes. It was cute. I checked the price tag and didn’t say another word as I grabbed two more. At $2 each, I was going to get at least three! I pulled myself away from the tank tops and looked around the rest of the store; after all, I couldn’t spend all my money on tank tops! I ended up picking up a skirt, three pairs of shorts, two purses and a cute little dress that I was probably never going to have the chance to wear. Kenda looked like she had done just as

well as me, except she’d picked up a thin jacket as well. My eyes locked on it. “Last one,” she said with a grin. “We can share.” “You’re the best.” What was I going to do when she moved out? I bit my lip not wanting to think about it. Kenda and I had been friends since we were 13 and my parents moved in across the street from her family. Since then, we’d pretty much lived together. And that’s all going to be over soon. Of course, it wasn’t until we started going to college that we actually started living together, and I knew on some level that nothing would really change, but it sure didn’t feel like

everything would be the same once she left. Stop. There was no point in ruining the day by thinking about it. Anyways, you don’t know when she’s going to be moving out. For all you know they could break up. Not very likely I had to admit, and not something I wanted! As the girl behind the counter rang up my total, I looked around the store, then towards the mall trying to decide where to go next. My jaw dropped. He wasn’t wearing a gray suit, but I was sure it was him. There was no doubt in my mind about it. The tattoo I’d thought I’d seen was there for sure. Today, he wore baggy jeans and a black muscle shirt. I

took a deep breath as I realized just how muscular he was. The girl behind the counter cleared her throat. Then she glanced at what—um, who—I was staring at. “Oh.” I turned to look at her and saw her lips form a perfect O. She looked at me, then grinned. “I can see why you were … distracted.” A blush touched my cheeks. “Credit,” I said quickly, hoping to draw attention away from the fact I’d just been checking him out. “Of course.” I glanced at Kenda, who was no longer in

line. She was over looking at the necklaces. My heart fluttered with relief. I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to tell her about Brad, or that I’d spent the night talking to him last night. As my transaction was approved, the girl handed me my bag. “He went that way.” Her eyes sparkled as she pointed behind me. “Um, thanks.” My voice came out almost shaky. Her grin just widened as she turned her attention to Kenda and ran up her purchases. Kenda’s eyes sparkled as she paid, and we made our way towards the mall. “So, now where?” she asked. “How about some makeup?” I was in

need of some new lipstick. I tried to tell myself it was just lucky that the makeup store we often went to was in the same direction as where the girl had said Brad went. “Sure!” Kenda beamed as she put a little spring in her step. “Oh, by the way, how was your night last night? I’m sorry I had to ditch you.” “It’s fine. You had to go mingle with Chris; I get that. My night was actually pretty good.” “That’s great! Did you and Josh get much time together? You know … before he …”

“Before we got home, and he told me he loved me? Nope. I actually didn’t talk to him at all at the charity thing.” I tried not to show any emotion as I said those words. Part of me was hurt. The other part was glad I’d been able to spend my time with Brad. “Ohhh.” Kenda grabbed my arm as she came to a stop in front of the lingerie store. “We should go in here.” Without waiting for my reply, she headed into the store. I followed her in. Flicking through the racks I looked at each garment. If I had the money, I was sure I’d buy at least a couple dozen new outfits from here.

My fingers traced over the soft silk fabric of one garment as I debated the price. I felt eyes locked on me. Maybe I was just feeling things. No one actually gets the feeling they are being watched and is actually right, I told myself. I swallowed dryly, trying to ignore my feelings, but I still looked up. My jaw almost fell as a blush covered my cheeks. A grin spread over his face as he gave me a nod. Dropping the garment back on the table, I left the store without really realizing what I was doing. “Hi,” I said breathlessly.

“Hey.” He grinned. “I um, hope I’m not getting in the way of your shopping.” “No!” My blush deepened. “I mean …” What was I supposed to say? I swallowed and bit my lip. “What are you doing here?” “Same as you. I mean,” he added quickly. “Not the exact same as you. I just wanted to pick up a couple of books for my commute this week.” “Ah.” I took a deep breath, trying to think of something else to say. Why had I even bothered to come out here? It hadn’t really been something I thought about, but now that I was thinking, it seemed like a dreadful idea.

“So,” his words brought be back to reality. “I had a really great time last night.” “Thanks, I … I had a good time too. Actually, talking to you was the only good thing about last night,” I confessed. “My date left me to fend for myself and then got drunk and …” I trailed off, already regretting the fact I’d just told him that, but thankful I didn’t mention anything my date had said to me. “Sounds like a crappy date.” I swallowed dryly, not answering. I didn’t want to admit it had been. “I could … you know, show you a good date … if you’re interested.”

My jaw dropped. I knew it did, but I couldn’t stop it. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to focus. “I …” “I know, you just said you had a date, but if you’re interested … it could just be as friends. I had a lot of fun talking to you last night.” “I had a lot of fun talking to you too.” I paused as a smile spread over my lips. “I’d love to take you up on that offer. You know, as friends.” “Of course.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and from that came a small square piece of paper. “Give me a text sometime. Maybe we can hang out on the weekend or something.”

“I’ll let you know if I’m free,” I promised. The main question was going to be if I’d cancel my plans with Josh to see Brad. That seems wrong. And it was. I knew that. “Well, I’d better go. I hope I see you this weekend.” He grinned as he walked past me. I was left standing there in shock, trying to process his words. I wanted to see him so bad this weekend, but you didn’t cancel plans with a date to go see a friend. A friend. Yes. And that was all he was going to be. As cute as he was, he would just be a friend. There’s no harm in having a cute friend. And that’s what I was going to tell myself. “Who was that?”

“No one,” I said a little too quickly. I breathed deeply. “He’s who I spent my night with last night.” Kenda raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to give her all the details. I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Let’s go get a coffee.” The ones we’d brought with us were long gone. “Then you will tell me everything?” “Then I will tell you everything,” I promised.

Chapter Four I stared at the hot chocolate in my hands as Kenda stared at me. “So, when you left last night, this guy came over, and we got to talking.” I spoke slowly, piecing together what I would say next. “I … we spent the night talking. That’s really all there is to it, but I might not have mentioned just how involved I was with someone.” “So you didn’t tell him about Josh?” “Not until today.” I paused and took a drink of my hot chocolate, praying it

wouldn’t burn on the way down. “When he asked if I was here with anyone, I told him the truth; I was there with a few people, but today when he asked about my night, I confessed that my date had gotten drunk. And now … now he’s asked me out. As friends, of course, but he still asked me out, that has to count for something, right?” “Oh, yes. It does.” I paused and drew in breath, trying to wrap my head around everything. I bit my lip. He wants to see me again. Normally, I’d be dying of joy right now. Brad was cute; no, he was hot. He had great taste in books and he honestly seemed really nice.

Plus, if he was there, he must be a pretty successful guy. Maybe I’d have to press Josh for details. Not that it should matter. He was just going to be a friend if anything. Yes. Just a friend. “I know that look.” Kenda glared at me. I let out a deep breath. “I know, but you didn’t see him.” He was so freakin’ hot. “Oh noo, I saw him.” A grin touched her lips. “And I get it. But you have to remember you’re with Josh.” “Josh and I …” We were still testing

things out, right? “Is it really wrong for me to have a male friend?” “When that male friend looks at you the way this guy does? Yes.” And that was the end of our conversation. We kept on our shopping trip, and we kept talking but neither of us mentioned Brad. It seemed obvious to me that Kenda didn’t like the fact I wanted to be friends with him, and I was sure Josh wouldn’t either, but that didn’t matter to me. He’s cool, I told myself. I wanted to get to know him better. What was so wrong with wanting to know successful people? He interested me. I had every right to get to know him

better. And Kenda didn’t seem to want to argue about it, so she just let it be. As I made my way into the house, I dropped my bags and let out a loud sigh. “Well, that was much needed. I can’t believe I have to go back to school tomorrow.” “I know right. It fucking sucks.” It was like we spent a weekend away living a dream, and when Monday came rolling around we had to go back to reality. And it sucked. As much as I loved being dragged into this world, a world where someone spent $1000 on a dress they only planned to wear once, or where dinner was over $100 a plate—it was

becoming harder and harder to get brought down every week. To remember that this was where I was. That I was a broke college student who paid her rent by buying and reselling shit online that no one seemed to want, but someone would always pay a crazy price for. If they were willing to buy it. “So, what now?” Kenda asked although I wasn’t quite sure what she meant. “Now, I have to get a little homework done, what about you?” She looked at me carefully. “Chris wants to take me out. He mentioned him and Josh coming over together.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What?” I forced myself to take a deep breath. It wasn’t a big deal. Of course, they were going to come over together. “Alright, I should go change then.” Kenda raised an eyebrow, but I didn’t say anything. Of course, I wasn’t going to wear yoga pants and a tank top! I was even going to brush my hair. I might be nervous around him, but I was going to look my damn best; no matter what his feelings were for me or if what he’d said last night was true. Butterflies pooled in my stomach, already getting ready for when Josh arrived, and we were eventually left alone. It’s going to be

dreadful, I thought. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’d just have to deal with it when the time came, and the time would come. I just have to figure out what I’m going to say before that time comes. I made my way to my bedroom, not bothering to close the door as I pulled my shirt over my head and changed into something that at least looked clean. Then I slipped into a thong and skinny jeans, his favorite pair, actually. I reached for my grandma’s necklace and put that on before looking at my hair and letting out a deep breath. Screw it. He was going to have to see me with a messy bun in; it was that simple. I didn’t even try to adjust it as I applied a little lipstick and

foundation, then eyeliner and mascara. I looked myself over. I looked kinda cute in a messy/lazy sorta way. I smirked. No. not sorta, I look cute, I thought. My heart skipped a beat as I heard them knock. It had to be them. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing pulse. There was no reason for my heart to be racing this fast. It hadn’t gotten past that a couple of weeks ago. I heard her say hello as she opened the door, and as I came out of the room, my eyes locked on Josh. A flood of emotions overwhelmed me. Guilt, fear, nervousness. I thought about the words he had said to me last night, the ones he

didn’t remember. Kenda and Chris hugged. She pulled away and grabbed her purse. “We’ll, see you two later.” Chris grinned. “Yea, see you later!” I called as they left Josh and me alone in the house. “Hey.” He smiled. He sounded as if nothing was wrong; as if nothing had changed. God, I wished I felt like that. “Hi. How are you doing?” “My head is a little sore, but other than that I’m good. How are you?” “Fine. Thank you.” It all felt so odd. So wrong.

“I hope I didn’t scare you away last night. I was pretty drunk.” He smirked. “No.” It wasn’t quite a lie. “I just had an early morning; that’s all.” Again, not quite a lie, right? His hand slipped into his pocket as he stepped towards me. “I um, wanted to thank you for coming to that dinner with me last night. I know I wasn’t really able to hang out with you, and I’m sorry for it. But it means a lot that you came to support me.” “Of course, I did.” That’s what I was supposed to do, right? “Well, I meant to give you this last night,

but I must have forgotten.” He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me. I stared down at the little blue box. My hands shook as I forced myself to lift the lid from it, and I gasped, staring down at the contents. It wasn’t extravagant, but I didn’t like flashy things. It was just simple. A diamond pendant sparkled in the light as I reached for it and pulled the necklace from the box. “I know it’s just simple but … I know you said you didn’t like anything too crazy.”

I hadn’t realized he’d actually been planning to buy me something when he asked what kind of jewelry I liked. I stared at him speechless as he stepped towards me. “May I put it on you?” “Yea …” I held the necklace out to him as he stepped behind me and took it, and I stood there frozen as he put the necklace on me and kissed my cheek. “Do you like it?” I turned to face him, nodding. “Yes.” My mind raced. “I just … I’m a little speechless, I guess,” I confessed, a blush rising to my cheeks. “It’s gorgeous.” But what did it mean? Was this his way of actually asking me to be his girlfriend or

something? My fingers touched the pendant without me realizing I had even moved, and I couldn’t resist smiling. “Thank you, Josh.” He shrugged. “Anytime. I like buying you stuff.” His eyes sparkled as he turned away from me. “So, what’s your plan for the day?” “Oh, not too much. How about you?” “I have to make a quick stop at the office. Someone needs me to get files to them ASAP, so I told him I’d meet him there around 6:00.” I glanced at the clock. That meant we had a couple hours to kill. “I was hoping you’d come to dinner with me

before then.” “I’d love to.” I smiled. I couldn’t quite get past what he had said to me last night, but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of my own feelings towards Josh. He was a great guy. He was kind, and sweet, and sexy, and he made me feel special. Out of every girl out there who wanted him, he saw something in me, and that meant a lot. If he brings up last night ,I’ll just let him know the ‘I love you’s’ are going to have to wait, I told myself. *** We had a quick dinner. Not the kind we

had on Friday or anything special like that, just some subs in the park, but to me that was more than enough. After that, we walked slowly towards Josh’s office, choosing to leave the car at the park and just take a nice walk; plus we had time to kill. Josh grinned as he wrapped his arm around me. “So, this is where I work.” He pointed towards the large building in front of us. “Wow …” I let him lead me into the building and to his office. He glanced at the clock. “You know, if I weren’t expecting him to arrive any second, I’d try to have sex with you.”

He grinned. I felt a blush touch my cheeks. “Maybe we could come back some other time when we are sure no one will catch us on your desk.” His eyes sparkled as he watched me. “I think we should do that for sure.” I felt desire pool inside me; as if that was something I needed right now. Not to know my feelings for him and to be horny. A knock on the door brought me back to the real world. “Brad, come in.”

My heart dropped as I spun to face the person who had just knocked on the door. Josh moved behind me. His hand touched the small of my back as he passed me and stepped towards Brad. Brad wasn’t looking at Josh; he was too busy looking at me. As Josh came to a stop in front of him, Brad turned his attention to … oh, God. His boss. “I hope I didn’t get in the way of your weekend.” “Don’t worry about it. I love seeing this kind of work ethic from you.” Josh smiled widely. “It’s what will set you ahead of everyone else.” “Thank you.” He smiled as he took the

file from Josh. “You’re welcome.” Josh turned and gave me a warm smile as he took my hand. “Will you be needing time here?” “Nope, I can do the rest from home.” “Great, we’ll walk out together, and I can lock up.” Together Josh and I stepped past Brad. I stared at him. “My boss?” he mouthed without daring to say the words out loud. My cheeks flushed, but I didn’t have time to say a word about it. So I just turned away from him.

Chapter Five The week passed as quickly as it could when you were stuck in a classroom for so long. Josh and I were supposed to spend the weekend together. He’d said he had a surprise for me, and over the week I’d sat down and really thought about the whole situation with Brad and him. I knew it was wrong, but I never texted Brad. I knew he deserved answers to questions he had, and even Josh deserved to know about what was going on in my head, but I didn’t tell anyone. Not even

Kenda. She left on Friday night to spend the weekend with Chris. As I got home from school, I dropped my backpack on the couch and was heading towards my bedroom when my phone vibrated in my pocket. “Hello?” I answered the phone without checking to see who it was. “Hi, babe.” Josh sounded stressed on the other end of the phone. “Hey, what’s up?” It had been almost three days since we last spoke to each other. “I … I’ve got to cancel tonight. Sorry.”

I felt my heart drop “It’s okay. I’ll just see you tomorrow,” I said, trying to force a smile over my lips. Really it wasn’t a big deal at all. “Um …” I swallowed dryly, knowing what was about to come next. “Yea … about that … can we just do something next weekend?” “Sure,” I said without a second thought. I mean really, it’s not like he was actually asking. I couldn’t say no. “I’ll see you next week,” I said. “I’ll try to call you during the week.” “Alright.” All the joy had deflated from my heart.

“Bye.” I didn’t even bother saying goodbye. I just hung up the phone and made my way over to my bed before dropping down. I stared at the cell phone in my hands. My heart skipped a beat. It was wrong. I knew that, but I didn’t care. I reached for the small business card that was on my nightstand and put the number into my cell phone. I was going to send a text, but I couldn’t bring myself to. So I took a deep breath and hit the call button. My heart skipped a couple of beats as I raised the phone to my ear and

listened to it ring. On the third ring, it picked up. “Hello?” “Brad? It’s Hayley …” There were ten seconds of silence before he spoke. “Oh …” Again. More silence. “So … what do you want?” I could hear the bitterness in his voice. “I … I guess I was just wondering if you’re free tonight. I thought maybe we could get together … talk … or something. If you’d still like to.” “Sure.”

Sure? “We don’t have to if you don’t want,” I said quickly. “I just … I thought I might owe you a conversation.” “Your date at the charity dinner was Josh, right?” “Yes.” “Have you two been together for long? Is he your boyfriend?” “I … I don’t really know what he is,” I admitted. “And no. We haven’t been together long.” Again there was more silence. “I’ll text you my address. Sound good?”

“Alright. I’ll bring pizza.” A smile spread across my face. I just really hoped everything could work out. I wanted to hang out with someone tonight, and more than anything, I wanted it to be him that I hung out with. We hung up the phone, and my heart fluttered. I grinned. I’d really enjoyed chatting with him; now I was going to spend the night doing that. After I showered and changed. I decided on a good pair of clean jeans and a tank top, along with my faux leather jacket, and I didn’t bother with the extensions tonight though I did go for some red lipstick. Before leaving, I left a

note on the off chance that Brad was going to kidnap or kill me so that people would know where to start looking for me, and then I grabbed my purse and headed for some pizza before making my way towards his place. The closer I got, the more nervous I got. Maybe this was a stupid idea. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this; after all, I was pretty much with Josh. But I can have male friends, that little voice in my head said again and again, but I wasn’t sure it was true. I bit my lip as I pulled into the driveway of a small townhouse. There were two other cars there as I got out and grabbed the pizza box. Does he have friends over? I wondered as I made my way to the

front door and rang the bell. Seconds later, someone answered. He wore dark wash jeans today. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes rested on his abs. He was completely shirtless and, oh, my God … there was so much to admire. His muscular chest flexed as he reached for the box in my hands. “I don’t think my boss would like you staring at me like that,” he said coldly as he turned away and motioned for me to follow him inside. “I don’t think your boss would like you answering the door, shirtless,” I retorted. After all, he’d known I was coming, so if he’d been that worried about it, he would

have put a fucking shirt on. “But you don’t really care about that, do you?” He glanced behind me and smirked. “Not really,” he admitted. He led me into the living room and placed the pizza box down on the coffee table as he sat down, motioning for me to do the same. I slipped out of my shoes and sat down across from him. “So … did you get that work done?” “Yea, Josh seemed impressed. I’m guessing you didn’t tell him I spent the charity dinner chatting you up, did you?” “Nope.” “Why not?”

I paused, then shrugged. “I guess … I just didn’t want to. I mean it’s not like it mattered, really.” “Why didn’t it matter?” He raised an eyebrow. “Because.” I shrugged. I didn’t have a reason, but I wasn’t going to admit that. The truth was that I just didn’t want to face it. Anyways, there was no real knowing if Brad had feelings for me or if he was just a flirty kinda guy, so there was no point in worrying about it until the time came that I actually had to worry about it. Right? “Anyways, how was your week?”

“It was fine.” He reached for a piece of pizza, staring at me. “But I don’t want to make small talk.” “You don’t?” Oh great, what did he want to talk about then? “No. Why aren’t you spending the weekend with Josh?” “Because he canceled on me,” I said bluntly. Brad raised an eyebrow. “For the weekend.” I bit my lip trying not to let myself get annoyed by it. I didn’t want to admit how much it had hurt me that he had to cancel.

“That sucks, but I guess at least in this modern day and age you can text and everything …” “You would think so, yea.” I didn’t mean it to come off as snarky as it did. I swallowed dryly and cleared my throat. “He gets busy, and I get that.” I shrugged. “That doesn’t mean I like it all the time, but I understand that his work comes first for him. And that’s okay with how much work he’s put into it; I fully understand it.” “It sounds like your trying to rationalize it to me,” he said. “I …” I paused and took a deep breath. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I mean, I do

understand it … but often it’s like his work comes before anything else … including me.” I shouldn’t be surprised or hurt by it—not really. But the truth is, I was. “It’s hard when someone has something they are passionate about, and it comes before you.” “It sounds like you’re speaking from experience.” “Maybe I am.” He gave me a soft smile. “So Brad, what are you passionate about?” “I’m passionate about succeeding.” He said it quickly, as though he’d answered

that question millions of times. “Just succeeding in whatever it is I choose to do … that and reading. I really like reading.” He smirked. “I’ve never met someone who said reading was a passion of theirs.” “Then you haven’t met anyone worth meeting.” His eyes sparkled as he reached for a piece of pizza. “What are you passionate about?” I paused. What was I passionate about? “I’m passionate about helping people.” It seemed like the perfect answer, but it took me a second to realize that it was what I was passionate about. After all, that’s why I wanted to be a consular, so I could help

people improve their lives and maybe even help someone from … My mind trailed off as I mentally shook myself. Brad stared at me. He reached out and took my hand in his. “Hayley ...” He paused as he put his pizza down. “Can I kiss you?” My jaw dropped. Yes. No. That wasn’t right. We were friends. Friends didn’t kiss. I sat there staring at him. I wanted it so bad, but I knew it wasn’t right. “I know you and Josh have some sort of … thing going on but … I just … I won’t ask for more than a kiss. I promise you.”

Just a kiss. Such a small gesture. He was so close to me. I didn’t realize why until I looked down at my body. I was on my hands and knees in front of him. I could smell the pizza on his breath. My eyes locked on his. “Is that a yes?” I nodded, unable to make my voice work. My heart raced as he reached out, his fingers brushing my cheek gently. They tangled in my hair as he pulled me onto his lap. Just a kiss. I reminded myself. My heart skipped several beats as he

closed the distance between us. His lips were warm against mine. Soft. The kiss was gentle. At first. I took a deep breath as our kiss grew more passionate. My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to me as my teeth grazed his lower lip. A soft moan passed through my lips as my eyes rolled back. Our kiss deepened to the point of almost becoming aggressive. My teeth grazed his lower lip and he sighed, his eyes rolling back as his hands traced the curves of my body. Pulling away from me gently, he rested his forehead on mine. “You know, if we keep kissing, I’m going to want something more from you.” My

heart jumped into my throat. “But I told you I would only ask for a kiss.” In one swift movement, he stood, moving me over to the couch again. I stared at him, trying to process what had just happened. We’d just kissed, and it was one of the best kisses of my life. I shivered. I swear I could still feel his hands on me, tracing their way along my body. My body ached, wishing they’d explored further, touched more, done other things. Guilt tugged at me. “Come on, I want to show you my library.” He grinned as he held his hand out for me.

The Billionaire Teacher Part V An Alpha Billionaire Romance

Sarah J. Brooks

Copyright © 2015 by Sarah J. Brooks This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Facebook: Sarah J. Brooks

Chapter One “I kissed him.” I felt the blush rise to my cheeks. Shame, guilt, hurt, pleasure. I was feeling it all, and it was all wrong. “You kissed him.” She didn’t sound surprised, which didn’t make me feel much better. “And then what?” “Then … then we went to look at his library.” My best friend raised an eyebrow. “He showed you his book collection?” “Yes.”

“That was how he planned to get down your pants?” “He didn’t plan to get down my pants,” I said quickly. Kenda snorted. “He didn’t!” I protested. “He asked for a kiss, he said that was all he was going to ask for and that was all he did ask for.” I knew I was defending him, and I knew that would only fuel whatever feelings it was that Kenda had about him, but I didn’t care. The truth was that kiss Brad and I shared was the best thing that had happened. I hadn’t felt the way he made me feel … in ages. I couldn’t even remember the last boy I’d kissed who made me feel like that. “So you’re not going to see him again,

right?” I paused. I hadn’t actually thought about it much. I hadn’t texted him since the last time we saw each other, but I’d wanted to. I just hadn’t had the nerve to admit that I might actually want something more from him. Godammit. Why was it that as soon as I met this great guy some other amazing guy needed to step in and practically wave his cock in my face? I grinned. Now that idea I had to admit I liked. My heart skipped a beat as someone pounded against the door. I turned to face it but Kenda jumped to her feet and was already at the door before I’d even

stood. “Hello?” “Um, yes … I have a delivery for … Hayley?” A man spoke from the other side of the door. My heart jumped. Who would be sending me something? Kenda took a small brown package, shut the door and turned to face me. “Waiting for something?” “No.” My brow furrowed as I reached for it. Carrying it over to the counter, I grabbed a knife that I’d used to cut fruit this morning and sliced into it. I stared down at a thin card and reached for it before unwrapping the rest of the box.

Hayley, To my fellow lover of the kind of books that are no longer made. I hope you enjoy. Best wishes, Brad. I stared at the note for several seconds before putting it down and reaching into the contents of the box. I gasped as I pulled out a hardcover book emblazoned with the title of my favourite novel. “Wow … that sure doesn’t look new.” Kenda stepped forward, looking down at

the note. She was right. It wasn’t new, but it was in wonderful condition. It looked like it should be new, other than the fact that they didn’t make books named like this anymore. “It must have cost a pretty penny.” I didn’t say anything as I carefully opened the book. “Are you sure he just wants to be your friend?” “Pretty sure …” I said, not daring to look away from the book. There were no breaks in the spine, it opened just fine. I could actually read this if I wanted to. I didn’t need to worry about breaking it by looking at it the wrong way.

“Hayley, you have to know he wants to be more than just friends.” I closed the book and turned to face her. “I …” “I mean come on.” She cut me off. “That book must have been more expensive than flowers. Why didn’t he just send you flowers?” “Because I told him this was my favorite book,” I admitted. “Ahhhh … I see.” She turned away from me. “You know you have to tell Josh.” Yes. Of course, I knew that. I still don’t want to.

*** I took a deep breath as I sat down beside Josh. “What’s wrong?” He looked like he wanted to have a panic attack. “It’s nothing … just you know, if we’re going to be together, I thought I should tell you … there is this guy …” “Oh.” He looked away from me. “It’s not like …” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “I haven’t fucked him,” I said flatly. “We met a couple weeks ago, hit it off, so we started talking. I thought it was going to be friendly; otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered with any of it.” Was that part a lie? I honestly wasn’t sure

if wanted to know the answer to that. “Anyways, he kissed … and then he bought me a book.” It all sounded so stupid. “A book?” He stared at me blankly. “An expensive book?” I offered. I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to say. Yes. It was a book. “I like books.” I shrugged. “You do?” He tilted his head to the left. “I wish I’d know that … I wouldn’t have gotten you that necklace.” “No!” I reached up and touched the small necklace he’d gotten me. “I like it.” My eyes locked on him. “So you kissed him?”

“Yes.” “And you liked it, didn’t you?” I swallowed dryly. By the look on his face, my silence was more than enough of an answer. “I’m sorry,” I offered weakly. “I … I just thought you had a right to know.” I lifted my hands to the clasp on the necklace. “I’ll go get my things and leave.” As I undid the necklace, Josh stared at me. “Is that what you want? To be with him instead of me?” My jaw dropped. “I … it’s not like that. I just … I thought you wouldn’t even want to look at me; I figured you were done

with me.” “Was it just a kiss?” His eyes narrowed. I nodded. It was just a kiss. And feelings. The voice in my head nagged. I told it to shut up. It wasn’t right. I didn’t have feelings for Brad. Not the way I did for Josh. Josh, I cared about. I didn’t want to hurt him. I bit my lip as I risked looking at Josh. “So … what now?” “Now, I’ve got to do a couple of things. I’ll see you tomorrow?” “But tomorrow’s Monday …” We never saw each other during the day. It was just

how it was. Josh shrugged. “Clearly we need to spend more time together.” I tried to conceal my surprise. Was he really willing to let me get in the way of work? “Okay,” I managed. I was going to have to do something really special for him tomorrow, and I already had the perfect idea. “Good. I’ll meet you at work, alright?” My heart dropped. “Okay.” It’s not like I could say no. I was just going to have to hope Brad and I didn’t run into each other. If I said no, Josh would want to know why, and I couldn’t bring myself to

tell him why. And I can’t risk Brad’s job like that. It’s not fair of me. Okay, that nagging voice was right. It wouldn’t be fair for me to risk his job. He shouldn’t be fired for me kissing him. No, this was a secret I would have to keep.

Chapter Two You’re fine, I told myself. I wasn’t going to puke, no matter how bad I felt I was going to. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down. I was acting stupid. Josh wanted to meet me at his office. When I said I’d wait downstairs, he wouldn’t hear of it. So now here I stood in the elevator after he gave me a detailed text on how to get to his office. I stared down at my hands; they all but shook right then and there. Whatever, if you run into him, all you have to do is pretend you don’t know him. Yes. We’d

just act like we didn’t know each other. I’d sent him a text last night telling him that I’d told Josh the truth and that I wasn’t going to tell Josh it was him, but that we couldn’t see each other again. He never replied to me. I wasn’t even sure if he’d gotten the text or not, but it shouldn’t matter. The elevator dinged as it slowed to a stop, and I stepped out. I turned left just like his text said and headed straight until I found his office. He looked up at me from behind his desk. Today he wore a black and red plaid tie with his black suit. I took a deep breath, looking him up and down. It was Monday,

which meant he was clean shaven, and today he hadn’t bothered to slick his hair back. “Are you still working? I can leave if you —” “No. It’s fine. It’s nothing that I can’t work on at home.” A smile touched his lips though it looked a little strained. He looked down at the bag in my hand. “What do you have there?” “Well, I know you normally don’t have time to make a nice dinner during the week, so I thought I would do it for you.” He raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to suck up?”

“Maybe … a little … yes.” “Well, I’m not going to turn down a home cooked meal.” He rose from the desk and packed his laptop away. “Josh?” Someone knocked on the door. My heart did a backflip. I didn’t need to turn around to see who it was, but for some stupid reason, I did. I stood there staring at him. His eyes locked on me. I couldn’t bring myself to look away. A blush crept to my cheeks. Brad cleared his throat and turned away from me. “I have those files you wanted.” He handed something to Josh before

glancing at me. I looked away, not daring to look at him again. So much for pretending not to know him. Every second that passed, my blush deepened. “Will you need anything else?” “No, thank you.” “Alright, I’m going to head out in half an hour, so if you change your mind before then let me know and I’ll add it to the list.” “For sure. Thanks, Brad.” I didn’t dare look up until I heard the door close behind him.

“Well, I was going to wait until later to ask who it was you kissed … but clearly I have my answer.” My heart sank as guilt tugged at it. I felt like it was drowning. I risked glancing up at Josh, and he didn’t look angry. More than anything, he looked hurt. Great.

Guilt twisted my stomach into a knot. I let out a deep breath and lifted my head. “I wasn’t aware we were exclusively seeing each other.” I knew it was a lame response. I knew it was stupid, and most of all I knew it was probably hurtful. Dammit Hayley, just shut up and admit that you fucked up, the voice in my head said, the nice one at least. The nagging one I should never listen to would be thrilled with the fact I was defending myself. I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eye as he grabbed his stuff and turned to face me. “Did you bring your car?” “No …” “Good. No point in both of us driving

when we can just ride together.” He motioned for me to follow him out of the office and towards the elevator. Neither of us said a word. Really, what was I supposed to say to him? My heart dropped as I realized it. How could I have been so stupid? I was so busy feeling guilty and like an idiot that I hadn’t said the only thing that mattered. “Josh …” I touched his arm as he turned to face me. “I’m … I’m sorry.” He stared at me blankly. “It’s alright,” he finally said. Reaching out, he took my hand in his, squeezing gently. I took that as a small

grain of forgiveness. Maybe I wasn’t completely there yet, but I would get there, and that was all that mattered. Together, we made our way out to the car. “So … Brad, eh?” He slipped into the driver’s seat. I made my way to the passenger’s. My heart skipped a beat. “You really want to talk about this right now?” “Yes.” I groaned. Why did he have to make this hard? I didn’t want to talk about it. I just wanted to suck up for the next month and then pretend it never happened. Why wasn’t that an option?

“Then, yes, Brad.” I wasn’t sure what else he wanted me to say, so I didn’t say another word. Josh gunned the engine, and we drove towards his place. “You two met at that dinner, didn’t you?” “Yes.” “That’s why you didn’t care about us not seeing much of each other … because you had someone else on your mind.” “I didn’t care because I understood you needed to get work done … and yes, it was nice to have someone to talk to,” I admitted. I wasn’t going to be ashamed of being happy someone else was talking to me. “He has good taste in books.”

“Books. Right. I remember you saying something about him and a book.” As if he was accusing me of having an affair. “So … are you going to fire him?” “Do you care?” He turned to look at me as we came to a stoplight. I bit my lip. Of course, I cared. I didn’t want Brad to be fired because of me. I didn’t want to cause that kind of pain. But you already have. Guilt was a feeling I was becoming more and more used to. I slumped back in my seat. “Yes. I do care.” I didn’t say anything for a couple seconds. “Wouldn’t you care if you got someone fired? Anyways, it would say

a lot about you if you’re going to fire him, so I want to know. The whole situation would be very … insightful.” “Well, it will ease you to know that I’m not going to fire him.” “You’re not?” I raised an eyebrow, looking at him. “But … you have total control of all that …” “I do. And it would be pretty crappy of me to fire him over a girl I like. I would also be losing a wonderful worker. I can’t blame him for having good taste in girls, although I may not like it, and I’m a businessman. I don’t want to lose someone who works half as hard as him.” He paused as we turned onto his street.

“Not to mention it would be pretty weak of me. I don’t plan to fire him. I’m just going to prove to you that I’m better than him.” I choked on air as I listened to his words. Did he actually mean all of that? “Well … that’s very mature of you.” “Although it might be best if you don’t meet me at work anymore. No offense, but I don’t like the idea of people getting distracted when working and … well—” “I’m a distraction.” I wasn’t going to make him outright say it, so I said it for him. “Yes.” He looked pained to admit I was

right. We pulled into his driveway, but neither of us moved. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” “No.” He put the car into park and shut the engine off before sliding the keys from the ignition. “Okay.” I would just have to find a way to make up for it without knowing what he needed from me. I can do that. I was determined to make sure I didn’t totally fuck this up. I grabbed my overnight bag and the stuff for dinner from the car and padded towards the front door. The last time I was

here, he told me he loved me. Well, it wasn’t crazy to guess that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon, so that was a plus … I guess. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. “So I’ve got some work I have to finish up. I’ll probably be about an hour, is that alright?” “Yea for sure. Dinner will take about an hour.” I smiled. “Do you want a beer or something?” “While I work?” The idea seemed to confuse him. “I can’t say I’ve ever had a beer while working.” “Do you want to try it, just this once?” I

raised an eyebrow. “I guess …” Giving a soft laugh, I strode to the fridge and pulled him out a beer. “I didn’t realize you were so innocent.” “Only when it comes to my work.” He grinned as he looked at me. My heart skipped a beat. Would it really be this easy to fall back into our routine? *** Hayley handed me a beer, and I took it from her careful not to touch her hand. I waited until she was in the kitchen before letting out a deep breath and running my fingers through my hair.

My heart felt like it had been stepped on, several times. But I loved her, so what else was I supposed to do? My heart stopped for a fraction of a second. Love. I hadn’t used that word over all the time we’d been together. Why would I use it now? I bit back a groan of frustration, loosened my tie, and then pulling my laptop out of my bag, I opened it. I’d wanted to fire Brad, I won’t lie. But I couldn’t because she was right; it would say a lot about me if I did. It wasn’t really a matter of how hard he worked. I just didn’t want to be that asshole who would do that. Even though I would have. No, I

was going to have to prove to her that I was the one for her, not because of my money or even my personality, but because I was better than Brad overall. “Hey, will you grab a sweater from the bedroom, please?” I called, unable to suppress a grin. She said she liked books; she was in for a surprise. *** “Sure!” I was honestly just glad he was going to talk to me. I put the chicken in the oven before rushing to the bedroom. Stopping in the doorway, I stared at the bed. Holy fucking shit.

“You said you liked books,” he said behind me. “How … wha …” I turned to face him. A bed full of books lay behind me. My eyes widened as I stared at the bouquet in his hand. All made from the pages of books. “I …” I tried to put a sentence together, but it just wasn’t working. I closed my mouth, swallowed dryly and opened it again. “You didn’t actually need a sweater, did you?” Yup. That was the best I could put together. I felt a blush touch my cheeks as he laughed. “Guilty.”

He stepped towards me, holding the flowers out to me. I reached for them, and then glanced up at him. “You … you did all of this for me?” “Of course. Do you like the flowers?” “Of course, I do.” I took them from him but didn’t pay any attention to them; instead, I pulled Josh into my arms and held him tight. I closed my eyes as his body warmed mine. I could feel a tear prick the corner of my eye. No. I wasn’t going to cry. His arms slowly wrapped around me as he pulled me closer. I was just about to say something when my phone buzzed.

I glanced down at it and groaned. “Timer.” I held my phone up so he could see it. “I’d better go check on dinner. I don’t want to burn it on you.” “Alright.” “But later!” I pointed to the bed. “Later, I am going to look at every single one of those,” I promised him. “And there damn well better be a Kama Sutra in there.” A grin touched his lips. “Oh, trust me, you don’t need that.” My heart skipped a beat as I walked past him and headed back for the kitchen.

Chapter Three Were things really going to be this easy? There was no way they could be. I bit my lip, dreading what would happen to fuck everything up. It wasn’t until after dinner that I got the call. My phone rang twice before I picked it up. I didn’t even bother to look at the name on it. “Hello?” “Hi …” Brad paused. “You’re with him, aren’t you?” I froze. I could feel him staring at me, trying to reach into my thoughts and figure everything out.

“Yes, Brad I’m with Josh right now,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, trying not to let on to the hurricane of emotions I was feeling right now. “Was there something you wanted?” I didn’t want to sound half as cold as I did. The truth was I cared about him and Josh. I wanted them both in my life, but that didn’t look like it was ever going to happen. “I want you.” No, no, no. I didn’t want to hear that. That was not what I wanted to hear at all. I opened my mouth to say something, but he kept talking. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Hayley; I miss you so fucking much. When I saw you at the office, I wanted nothing more than to

go over there and kiss you. I didn’t care that I’d probably lose my job over it. I mean, I’m probably losing my job anyways.” “You’re not losing your job,” I said softly. I risked a look at Josh. He smirked. “I would, for you.” My brow furrowed. “Are you fucking drunk?” He had to be. “I wish I was. Then at least I’d have an excuse for saying what I’m about to say.” “Brad—” “Give me a chance. Please.” He cut me off.

My heart backflipped. I wanted to say yes so badly. I wanted to see him; I didn’t even care if it was in a romantic way or not. I took a deep breath and looked at Josh. What was I supposed to say? If I told Brad, he could have a chance, would Josh still want to fight for me? It wasn’t fair, but neither was not giving Brad a chance. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I knew I was going to be a bitch. I knew it. “Fine. One chance,” I said it out loud before I could take it back. I didn’t dare look at Josh as I spoke. Without another word to Brad, I hung up.

“I …” What was I supposed to say? “He deserves a chance, doesn’t he?” As if Josh was going to agree with me. I felt tears threaten to spill out from the corner of my eyes. This time, I couldn’t fight them off. I got to my feet and went to the bathroom. Josh didn’t say a word. *** She was making this hard. I bit my lip, staring down at the beer can in my hand. I’d dented it as soon as she said those words. Was Brad really that much better than me? If I was good enough, then why did he deserve a chance? It’s fair. Part of me tried to

rationalize it. The other part of me wanted to go to Brad’s and knock him out right then and there. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I have to try and see it from her side, I told myself. Maybe if I had two women fighting over me, I would be the same. No. If one of those women were Hayley it wouldn’t matter who the other one was. I stood, grabbing my keys and headed out of the house without a word as I heard her in the bathroom. My heart ached. I didn’t want to hear her cry, but I couldn’t go comfort her. So I went to the only person I could; Chris.

Chapter Four My heart dropped when I saw Kenda’s car here. I took a deep breath and headed inside. “I thought you were with Chris tonight.” “Yea, well someone stopped by.” She folded her arms over her chest. “Josh.” I’d seen it coming, but it didn’t make the blow any easier. “Really?” “Yea, saying something about another guy … I thought you two worked through that.”

“He called me tonight … asking for another chance.” “And you said yes?” she spat. “I …” I let out a deep breath, a fresh stream of tears running down my cheek. “I couldn’t say no,” I said shakily, trying to calm myself down, but it didn’t help. The tears kept flowing. Kenda wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into her. “It’s okay,” she whispered. I gasped for breath. “No,” I pleaded. It sure didn’t feel like it. Her fingers traced over my back gently. “It’s okay. You did what you thought was best.”

“But it wasn’t.” It wasn’t best. I pulled away, wiping away tears. “What the fuck was I supposed to do?” Kenda stared at me for a couple of seconds. “I’m not sure I can tell you that.” “I would have felt bad if I’d said no, and I feel just as bad saying yes. I wasn’t fucking winning.” Sadness was replaced by anger, which meant I was starting to get better. I let out a sigh of frustration. “I know we haven’t been together long, but I know Josh really cares about me.” “And do you care about him?” “Honestly? I don’t think I care about him as much as he cares about me. I do care

about him. I really do. I don’t want to lose him … but I don’t want to lose Brad either.” I wasn’t sure what it was about Brad that made me like him so much, or what it was about Josh that made me never want to have him out of my life. Both men gave me feelings the other one didn’t. I just wasn’t sure how the hell I was supposed to deal with this. I sighed, dropping onto the couch. “You know … worst comes to worst, you lose them both.” “Gee, thanks for reminding me.” “But, you’ll lose them both knowing that you took a risk and did what you thought was best. You’ll lose them knowing that

you didn’t pick Josh because you were scared to lose him, or Brad because you didn’t want to hurt his feelings. You’ll know you lost them because you gave yourself options.” “You’re not supposed to give yourself options in a relationship!” I protested. But I had to admit, I liked the idea of what she was saying. “But thanks, I know you’re trying to make me feel better.” My best friend shrugged as she came and sat down beside me. “It’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” “So,” I wiped away more tears. “He came by Chris’s? I’d wondered where he went.” Honestly, I thought he might have gone

to Brad’s. “What did Chris have to say?” Kenda shrugged. “I don’t honestly know. I left before they really got into the details about it. I figured if he was going to cry, he wouldn’t want me to see it.” “Oh, God. I hope he didn’t cry.” There was no worse feeling in the world than making someone cry. Okay, maybe killing puppies ranked up there, but that was about it! I took a deep breath. “I go out with him tomorrow.” “Tomorrow?” “He said he didn’t want to wait. He’s probably worried I’ll take it back or something.” And the truth was, I was

worried I would take it back, so I couldn’t blame him. *** All day I wanted to text and cancel. Not even call. Text. But I didn’t. Thanks in part to Kenda. She had to watch my cell phone for a while. I came out of the bedroom in a simple black skirt and a green mesh top; of course, with my pinstriped corset under it. “Too much?” I asked. “No, you look great.” I smiled. “Thanks.” I stared at my best

friend. “And … thank you … for supporting me.” I knew it had to be tough. She shrugged. “No biggie.” My phone buzzed. I took a deep breath as I saw the name that came up. “Hi,” I said answering it. Josh didn’t speak for a couple seconds. “Hi,” he finally managed. “H-how are you?” “Busy.” He paused. “Look, I just … I wanted to call and let you know that I hope you have fun tonight and … and maybe it’s best we take a break while you get your feelings sorted out.”

My heart sank. I was getting broken up with. “Alright,” I said, trying not to cry. “I … I know …” He took a deep breath and started over again. “Just, have fun tonight. I didn’t want you … worrying about anything. If you want to give him a chance, he deserves a real chance.” I stood there trying to figure out what to say. No, trying to figure out how to use my words. He had me speechless. “I’ll talk to you later. Love you.” He hung up without another word and without a chance for me to say anything else.

Kenda eyed me. “What’s up?” “That was Josh …” “What did he say?” “That he wants to take a break, so he pretty much broke up with me … and then he told me he loved me.” I sat down stunned. “Well, that seems …” Kenda trailed off as she made her way over to me. She rested her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow. Tonight, just have fun.” *** Fun. I was supposed to have fun. And

honestly, I wasn’t really sure how I was going to do that knowing what could happen. But nonetheless, I smiled when Brad showed up at my door. He wore jeans and a black button-up shirt. “Hey.” He pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back. “Hey, how’s it going?” “Good.” His eyes sparkled and roamed over my body, and he stepped away from me. “You look amazing.” “Thank you.” My cheeks flushed. I cleared my throat. “Um, I want you to meet my roommate.” I turned to Kenda as she

smiled and stepped forward. “Kenda.” She held her hand out to shake his. “It’s nice to meet you.” “Thanks, it’s nice to meet you too.” He smiled, shaking her hand, then turned his attention to me. “So, are you ready?” “Yea.” I grabbed my purse and took his arm as we headed out the door. “She doesn’t like me, does she?” Brad laughed softly. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “She’s dating one of Josh’s friends, so she might not.” I blew out a deep breath.

“Right, Josh. What did you tell him by the way? You know … about what you were doing tonight?” “The truth,” I said simply, looking around as we made our way outside and towards Brad’s black Jetta. “How did he take that?” “Alright … he said we should take a break … so that if anything happened tonight, I wouldn’t have to worry about feeling guilty.” Because that was really going to stop me. “That … that was nice of him.” “You don’t need to sound so disappointed.” I gave him a smile.

“I’m not. I think that was really nice of him. Obviously, he cares about you a lot.” “Thanks for reminding me.” I felt guilt tug at me again. “Sorry.” He took my hand and squeezed it gently. “Let’s have some fun tonight. You can stress over shit later.” He pulled me towards him and placed a soft kiss against my forehead. “I have something special planned for you, actually.” “You do?” I raised an eyebrow. “Yes.” His eyes sparkled as we reached his car, and I opened the passenger side door. “You know, you’re supposed to let me do that for you.” He grinned.

I shrugged it off. “I’ve got it, but thanks.” He laughed, circling around to the driver’s side before sliding into the seat and gunning the engine, as we took off towards the outskirts of town. “So, do I get a hint?” “Just that I really hope you like animals.” I paused, my brow furrowing. Not a very good hint if I do say so myself. Nonetheless, Brad and I chatted most of the way there. There was something about his gentle tone that made me want to listen to him talk all day. “So, how has work been … You know, since …” “You mean how was it today?” He

chuckled. “It was … fine. I have to admit I was worried, but Josh seemed … nice. He didn’t try to knock me out or anything.” “That was nice of him.” “Much nicer than I’d be in his situation. But I’ve been told I resort to violence quickly.” He laughed softly as we passed a sign, my jaw dropping as we stared at it. The zoo, twelve minutes away. “Are you taking me to the zoo?” “I hope you like animals,” Brad offered weakly. I laughed. “Oh, my God that is so cute!” My voice rose to a level that it hadn’t in

years as we made our way closer and closer. My heart raced. The zoo at sunset would be gorgeous. As we pulled into the parking lot, I looked around; my brow furrowed. There was no one around. There were no other cars, no people, no nothing. I looked at Brad in amazement as I realized what he’d done. “You …” “I wanted us to be able to have the zoo to ourselves.” He shrugged. “There’s only one tiger at the moment, and I didn’t want to have to fight everyone else for her attention.” He sounded a bit like a kid as he pulled

his car into park and jumped out of the car. I sat there trying to process. “Are you coming?” he called from outside the car, staring at me. “Yup!” I jumped out of the car and joined him as we made our way towards the building. “Are you here for the private tour?” A petite blonde girl asked, stepping out of an office and coming towards us. “Yup!” Brad grinned, pulling me into his arms. She looked from him to me, then back to him. “Will it just be the two of you?”

“Yup.” He grinned. “Alright, well if you’re ready, we can get started.” “Actually ...” He let go of me. “I’ll use the washroom before we get started. If you don’t mind waiting?” He glanced at me. “Not at all.” By the time he got back, I would probably still be processing everything anyways, so he might as well go pee. “I’ll be right back.” His lips touched the top of my head before he rushed off towards the washroom. The girl turned to me as soon as he was out of ear reach.

“Is it a special day for you two?” “First date,” I told her. The girl’s jaw would have fallen to the floor if it were possible. “A first date? And he closed down the entire zoo for you two? Wow … honey, I want to meet some of the guys you know.” I laughed softly. She had no idea. “You must feel pretty damn special to know he went through this much effort for you though.” She let out a soft sigh. “That’s super romantic.” “I know right … I’m sure I’ll be really flattered; you know, once I actually get through processing the whole deal.”

She laughed. “Well, I just want to let you know that I have something very special in store for you two.” Brad rejoined us and we were on our way. He took my hand in his and pulled me close. His lips touched my cheek for a fraction of a second as the girl, Jess, led us along on the tour. She spoke quickly as if she’d been over the details dozens of times before, but she still looked like she was enjoying it. She’d give us a little bit of feed. “Now, normally we don’t let anyone do this, but since it’s just the three of us, why don’t you go feed them? Just keep you hand out flat to lower the risk of getting bitten.” Her eyes sparkled as

she watched us reach for the seed and move towards the giraffe. I swallowed any inch of nervousness that I had as I held my hand out to him. “Eww.” My nose wrinkled as he slobbered all over my hand. The girl laughed. “Here ...” She held a towel out to me. “I keep one on me at all times; I love feeding them by hand, even though it does mean I take longer to do the feeding.” “You sound like you really like your job.” “I love it! Sadly it doesn’t … well it doesn’t pay at all.” She laughed softly. “I just moved to the area, and I’m still trying to get settled in.” Light bulb. “In the

meantime, it’s been so expensive commuting from where I’m living to here that I hardly have any of my paycheck left by the time I’m done with rent and food,” she said with a sigh. “You know, my friend and I live about a half hour away; we’re in the market for a new roommate.” Her eyes widened a little. “Really?” “Yea. I’ll get your number before we leave, and I’ll talk to my friend about it so I can give you the details, like rent and everything.” “That’d be awesome.” It sounded like I’d made her week. “Thank you so much!”

She beamed as she turned away from me. “Now! Onto the star of the zoo, Jazzy.” Jazzy was the tiger. “The zoo’s only tiger.” I could tell she was used to making it sound fancy. “But we’re looking for a mate for her. With luck, she’ll have a friend within the next three months. Do you want to feed him?” “He … he’s not going to eat me, right?” Jess laughed softly. “No, he’s more of a steak fan than a human flesh fan.” She smirked. I laughed. “Alright, then I’d love to feed him.” Jess nodded. “I’ll be right back.” And

with that, she was gone. I tuned to Brad. “Okay, so this is actually pretty amazing.” “Only pretty amazing?” His eyes shone as he stepped closer to me. “I guess it’s good that I have something else planned.” “You have something else planned?” “Well, yea.” He shrugged. “I said one chance. When you agreed, I knew I was going to have to go all out with it.” “That … that’s really cute,” I admitted. He shrugged. “It’s the truth. If I have one chance with you, I want to go all out. I want you to know what you could have

with me, every single detail so that if you decide you want to be with Josh you can know you knew what you’d be getting with me.” I stared at him, trying to process his words and swallowed dryly. Was that cute? Or sad? “I’m really sorry for putting you in this situation.” Shaking his head, he said, “It’s fine. I put myself in it.” He looked away as Jess came back with three steaks in her hand. Chapter Five

“So pizza is what you had in mind?” We’d stopped and grabbed a box of pizza, and now we made our way towards his place. I assumed we were going back there for dinner until he turned right instead of left. “Sorta.” “What do you mean ‘sorta’?” “Well, I thought the weather was pretty nice out today so I figured we could do a little star gazing.” “With pizza?” “Give me the benefit of the doubt, won’t you?” He shot me a grin.

“Okay, okay.” I held my hands up in submission as we turned again, this time onto a highway. My brow furrowed as I tried to figure out where he was taking me. We were on the highway for a few minutes before he slowed down and pulled over to the shoulder, then onto a small patch of dirt that had clearly been used as a road at some point. I looked around. Straight ahead was a valley, and the highway was to my left and my right, and behind me. A gate keeping everyone from proceeding into the valley stood in front of us. “What are we doing?” “Just hold on.” He rolled his eyes as he

reached into the console and grabbed something before getting out of the car. I watched him walk over to the gate and unlock it. He pushed the gate out of the way and made his way back to the car. “How do you have a key for that?” “A friend of mine owns it.” “Really?” I raised an eyebrow as he headed into the valley. For a split second, I was worried we would get the car stuck, but Brad didn’t seem concerned with it at all, so I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. “So you’re bringing me out to the middle of nowhere?”

“Yup.” He pulled the car to a stop and pressed a button. I heard the sun roof go down and looked up. It was strange to think that we were just outside of the city, but out here you could see the stars so much better. “There are so many,” I whispered. Brad pushed the middle section up. I hadn’t realized the front seat had been a bench. I raised an eyebrow. He just shrugged with a grin as he reached into the back, grabbed the pizza and moved closer to me. “So, you brought me out here to go stargazing?”

“Yes. I was going to do it outside, but I thought it might be a little cold for that; you were shivering at the zoo.” My jaw dropped. I had no clue how he’d noticed, but I didn’t say anything. Instead, I grabbed a piece of pizza. “I brought you out here for a reason.” I paused mid-bite, waiting for him to explain. He didn’t for a fraction of a second; instead, he just watched me, his eyes roaming over my body. “I … It might sound stupid to you, but I want to get to know you.” “Oh,” I said through a mouthful of food. I chewed and swallowed. “What do you

want to know?” “Well, for starters, tell me about yourself. Like you right now. Why you’re here, what you do with your time.” I took a couple seconds to collect my thoughts. “Well, I’m in college, so I spend most of my time focusing on that, but when I’m not in school or studying, I spend a lot of time with my friend; that one you met at my place. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember…” I trailed off, thinking about all the times she would sneak over to my place when her parents were fighting. A soft smile touched my lips. “We’ve been through everything together.” First boyfriends,

first kisses—hell, we were each other’s first kiss— I mentally shook myself and cleared my throat. “So yea, my friend and I have known each other a long time. We are both in school, and we live together. When I’m not spending time with her or doing something related to school, then I just like to try and relax and read,” I admitted. “I know, I’m not all that interesting.” I laughed softly. “What are you studying?” “Honestly? I’m not sure what I want to go into. I know I want to help people though, so I’m taking a couple of psychology classes since that can be pretty

much helpful in any line of work.” “And other than the classics, what do you like to read?” “Fantasy.” My answer was quick. It had been my first love when it came to books. “I love The Wheel of Time series.” He perked up as soon as I said it. “God, so much of my childhood was spent reading those.” He laughed softly. “That seems like so along ago.” He looked lost in space as he relived the past, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a happy past or a sad one. “So, your turn. I want to know all the details.”

Brad sighed. “Honestly, you sound a hell of a lot more interesting than I’m going to. Okay, I was raised in an upper middleclass home for the first 15 years, then my parents split up, and my mom didn’t take it well; we lived with her mom for a while and my mom worked nonstop. She was used to it, of course; my parents didn’t get lucky with the money that they had. They worked hard for it every day. But when the time came and my mom was getting ready to have me, it did let allow her a few years off work.” He looked lost in thought. “Anyways, I worked a lot growing up, and I dropped out of school to help bring money into the house. As my grandma got older, we wanted her to

start working less. Although she wasn’t a fan of the idea, she did eventually cut her hours down a little.” He smiled. “She actually still works. Anyways, when I was 20, my mom told me I should go back to school, and so I started looking into it, and I found a way that I could work it around my work schedule. Of course, I started with just my GED, then after a couple years of working, I got to the point where I could afford postsecondary.” “What did you go for?” “Business. Running and owning, bookkeeping, all that.” “So what do you do for Josh?” The

second I asked it, I realized it probably hadn’t been a good idea. “I pretty much do whatever he asks me to do,” Brad said with a smile. “I keep track of numbers mostly, though. Which works just fine for me; for now, at least. Eventually, I want to move up; you know, in the next three years or something. Ideally in the next five I’d like to be running my own business, but it will be incredibly helpful for me to see how other people do it, and Josh seems to understand that this is just a stepping stone for me.” He paused suddenly. “I’m sorry. I’m talking so much.” He shook his head. “Anyways, I’m really not that interesting.” He reached for a slice of

pizza. “You said you were in school, right? So … did you take a couple years off or …?” I laughed softly. “Are you trying to figure out how old I am?” “Yes.” “I’m 23. How old are you?” And did I really want to know the answer? “I’m … a little bit older than that.” “A little bit?” I raised an eyebrow as I reached for another slice of pizza. I took a huge mouthful waiting for him to give me a real answer. “32,” he murmured.

Math wasn’t my strong suit, so it took me a couple seconds. Nine years. I mulled it over. I guess that isn’t too bad … “Is that why you have such a tight deadline for all your goals?” “Sadly no; that’s just who I am.” He laughed. “So, I guess the big question is, does an age gap matter to you?” “Not really.” I shrugged it off. Not for him at least. I took the last bite of my pizza before wiping my hands. “So, at what point are you going to ask to kiss me again?” I grinned as I watched his reaction. “Oh.” A smile slid across his face. “I

wasn’t going to. I thought you might like to have to do the work this time.” I snorted. “If you hurry up and finish your pizza, I might.” I’ve never seen a man eat so quickly in his life. Brad moved the pizza box away from between us and smirked. “So, wasn’t there something you wanted to ask me?” I moved towards him, suddenly thankful there was a bench seat in the car. On my hands and knees, I stopped right in front of him, giving him my sexiest look possible. “Brad,” I batted my eyelashes.

“Can I kiss you? Pretty please?” He chuckled as his fingers tangled in my hair and pulled me close. “Well, I was going to say no, but since you said please …” He pulled me into a kiss, his warm lips crashing against mine as my arms wrapped around his neck. A soft moan escaped me as our kiss grew more passionate. One hand left my hair and traced the curves of my body. Lower and lower. I didn’t want to stop him as his hand touched the button on my jeans. My heart raced as I heard it pop. I pulled away just enough to look into his eyes as my fingers fumbled with the hem of my shirt. I pulled it off me and let it fall to the ground. “It’s been a long time since I

made out in a car,” I whispered, crawling onto his lap. “What about sex in a car?” “Even longer.” His teeth grazed my lower lip as his lips trailed soft kisses along my jawline to my neck. I moaned, my fingers tangling in his hair. My heart raced as his hands traced over the curves of my body towards my breast. His lips traced down my breast gently. His teeth grazed my skin every couple of kisses as my moans deepened. I pulled away from him. “Take your shirt off.” I wanted to see every inch of him.

My eyes sparkled watching him unbutton his shirt and slip it off. My jaw almost dropped as I looked at him. Not because of his muscular chest or his abs, which were a welcome surprise, but because of the tattoo on his chest. He smirked. “Wasn’t expecting it?” he asked, slipping his shirt off. His entire right arm was covered as well. I reached out and took his arm in my hand. “No … I knew about this one.” I pointed to the one that went up to his wrist. “I hope you like them.” My eyes locked on his. “Oh, trust me.” I smirked. “I like them.”

My lips touched his neck, nipping lightly at his smooth skin. He let out a deep breath, his nails digging into my skin. Gasping softly, I pushed myself closer to him. Arousal burned inside of me, wanting my clothes off, wanting his clothes off. Fuck clothes. I just wanted him inside me; I didn’t care how he got there. I tried not to laugh; I’d come to realize that killed the mood pretty quick for guys. My teeth grazed his skin, sucking gently. He grinned as he pulled me closer to him. I felt my bra loosen as he undid it and pulled the bra away. His hands went to my breast. I moaned as he pinched my nipple lightly. My body arched towards him.

“I want you so bad,” I whispered next to his ear, nibbling his ear lobe. He sighed deeply, letting out something close to a moan as he pulled me into his arms and moved me onto my back. “You want me inside you?” His eyes locked on mine. I shimmied out of my pants and panties in record time. “Yes.” I didn’t dare look away from him as he reached over me and into the glove box. I raised an eyebrow. In the dark, I couldn’t see him well, but from his voice, I would bet he was blushing. “I um … thought this might happen. It’s not that I just keep something in there.”

I debated telling him not to worry about it; after all, I was on the pill … but. No. That seemed wrong. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but it just somehow seemed wrong. So I didn’t say a word as he pulled the condom out of the glove box and settled down between my legs. I took a deep breath as my eyes locked on the tattoo on his chest. I grinned. Tattoos had always been something I really liked, but I’d never had the chance to be with someone who had tattoos. Brad unzipped his pants. That was enough to make me look away from his tattoo. My eyes widened as I saw his thick cock, already fully erect. I swallowed dryly

as a hot shiver ran down my spine. God, I wanted that inside me right now. He slowly slid the condom over his cock and grinned down at me. His lips lowered to mine for a fraction of a second as he kissed me, and his head touched my folds. My eyes locked on his, my heart racing as I waited for him to thrust into me. I gasped as he pushed into me gently. My body arched towards him as he reached out for my hand and held it tightly. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Soft and gentle. Brad watched me closely as I moaned, pleasure overwhelming me already.

“How’s it feel?” “Fucking good.” He grinned. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Faster and harder. “Oh, yes.” My eyes rolled back as my fingers dug into the leather seat. Brad thrust into me faster and faster, harder and harder. His lips lowered to my neck, placing gentle kisses along every inch of my neck. He thrust into me faster and faster. I moaned louder. I could feel myself so close to the edge, so close to pleasure. I wanted nothing

more than to jump, but I wanted to savor every moment of this. My fingers reached for his back. I wanted to leave red marks that would last for weeks. He gasped as my nails dug into him, thrusting into me ever quicker. “I’m so close,” I confessed. I didn’t want to be. Not so soon. Not yet. His lips lowered to mine, pulling me into a deep kiss as he thrust into me faster and faster; harder and harder. I moaned against his lips, his teeth grazing my lower lip gently before his tongue slipped into my mouth, exploring

every inch of me. My eyes rolled back. It was enough to send me over the edge. I gasped, my hips arcing as everything went a hazy white. Pleasure overwhelmed me, crashing through my body. My nails dug into Brad, pulling him closer to me as he gasped, thrusting harder and harder. Another wave of pleasure overwhelmed me, sending ripples of joy through my body. I moaned, trying to regain my breathing as another wave of pleasure overwhelmed me, then another. All rocking through my body. Then it was all gone. I gasped for breath, slumping against the seats. A soft sweat had broken out along my back.

He grinned, pulling out of me, slipping the condom off and throwing it out before he turned his attention to me. He lay down, resting his head on my belly, and we lay like that together for a long time, not saying a word and not needing to.

Chapter Six “So I think I found us a roommate.” “You’re going to ask him to move in already?” Kenda sounded like she wanted to kill me. “No.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “We went to the zoo, and the girl who gave us a tour is looking for a place to stay. I got her number, but I wasn’t sure how much it was going to be for rent. I was thinking maybe … $400 each, how does that sound? Plus rotating groceries. And then each of us share the bills.” “That sounds good to me.” Kenda

nodded. “So what’s her deal? Why did you tell her she could move in with us?” “I didn’t say she could move in with us! I said I’d talk to you about it. And I don’t know … she seemed cool.” I shrugged. “So how was the date?” Kenda asked, changing the subject. “It was …” I couldn’t even put it into words. “Hold on, I need a tea, then I will tell you all about it.” I showered and made a tea quickly before changing into a fuzzy robe. I found Kenda on the couch where I had left her, but she now held a bag of chips. Looking up at me, she asked, “I’m waiting.”

“Are you going to tell Chris everything I tell you so he can tell Josh?” “I might tell Chris some things; whether he tells Josh or not isn’t up to me. Did you sleep with him?” “Yes,” I admitted; a grin spread over my face as I thought about the two of us in his back seat. I mentally shook myself. “So anyways, he picked me up, and we went for a drive. It was all supposed to be a surprise …” It took me an hour to tell her everything, minus all the kinky details on the sex. Kenda stared at me when I finished. “That actually sounds really … really nice.”

I snorted. “What—you didn’t think he would actually give me a nice date?” “I have to admit I was kinda hoping he would blow it.” She shrugged. “But it seems like he did something really sweet for you, and I think that’s really nice.” “So you’re on ‘team Josh’?” “Of course, I am, Chris is.” She laughed softly. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I reached for it and sighed. “Speak of the Devil.” I stared down at Josh’s text. “What does it say?” “It’s Josh. He wants me to give him a

chance to prove he is worth it.” A smile touched my lips. “He says that Brad had an unfair advantage and that he deserves to be able to put it all in to prove how much he wants me … and that he’ll pick me up tomorrow and that I should take a day off school.” My brow furrowed as I looked up at Kenda. “I … I don’t even know what to say,” I admitted. Kenda laughed. “Yea, Chris has the same effect on me.” She smiled and fixed her eyes on me. “So, what do you think he has in mind?” “I was kind of hoping you’d be able to give me an idea.” Laughing, she waved a hand dismissively.

“Sorry, I wasn’t in on it.” “Great,” I muttered, but I had to admit I felt kinda excited. *** Jess stopped by around lunchtime. While Kenda got to know her a little bit and showed her around the place, I made sure dinner didn’t burn, and then the three of us sat down to eat. It’s not normal practice to sit down and have a meal with someone who might rent with you, but we wanted to familiarize ourselves with her so we took the risk, and honestly she seemed more than happy to have a meal with us. Then I remembered what she’d said about not being able to make ends

meet very well and made a mental note to send some leftovers home with her. “It is really close to the zoo,” Jess said looking around. “But I don’t know … you two seem to have a really good thing going, and I don’t want to get in the way of it.” “More the better.” Kenda’s eyes twinkled. I could tell Jess had won her over. “Always, you look about our size; if you move in, we will have more clothes!” I grinned. “More clothes will make everything better.” Jess laughed. “Sounds like a win-win to me.”

“Of course, we’ll give you some time to think about it if you’d like. I know you said you were new to the area; if you want to look around more or something …” “No … I just need to get a couple final details sorted out at the place I’m staying …” She paused. “And, of course, if I move in, one of you are going to have to hook me up with a cute rich boy.” Her eyes sparkled. Kenda had been more than happy to tell her all about my recent drama. “It sounds like you both know your fair share.” “Oh, you’ll have to talk to Hayley about that, she seems to be collecting them.”

Kenda grinned as she eyed me. “Even got another date tonight.” “Really?” Jess eyed me. “With the same guy as last night.” “No.” Kenda spoke before I could. Jess’s jaw dropped. My cheeks turned red. “Yes, well speaking of that.” I’d had enough of listening to them talk about my dating life. “I’d better go get ready for that.” I gave Jess a smile. It seemed obvious to me that she was going to fit in just fine with me and Kenda. Kenda gave me a wink as I caught her eye. “Be good,” I told her. She mocked offence that I would even

think of telling her to be good, then laughed. “Go get pretty! Josh will be here soon, and I want you looking your best for him!” She didn’t try to hide who she wanted me to end up with. I closed the door behind me, letting out a deep sigh. Guilt tugged at me. Here I was less than 24 hours after one date, and I was going on another. Isn’t it wrong to be doing this? I wanted to say yes, but if I said yes, I would have to admit what a crappy person I was for doing it, and that I just couldn’t manage to do. I bit my lip and padded over to my closet, pulling out a red dress that hugged the curves of my body. It wasn’t anything

crazy fancy since I had no clue what Josh would have in mind, but I did know he tended to be more of a formal kinda guy. I’d bet it wasn’t a box of pizza and stargazing. Not that we did much stargazing. Heat flushed my cheeks as I thought about it. We’d been out there for over two hours, just having sex and talking. We only went a couple rounds but didn’t bother putting our clothes on until we were about to head back to the city. I’d gotten a text this morning from him telling me how much he’d enjoyed it and how much he missed me. I don’t want to have to pick between them. But that was what I was doing to myself. I was

going to make myself pick. Because I just had to go hang out with him, and then I had to say yes when he asked if he could kiss me. This all could have been avoided. Yes. And from now on, I would never ever talk to an attractive guy again if I had a boyfriend. I could just hear the conversations now. Oh no, I’m sorry I can’t talk to you. Yes, I understand you are trying to help starving puppies, but you’re just too attractive. Sorry! That actually brought a smile to my lips as I slipped into the dress, pulled some black stockings on and padded over to my mirror. I reached for the brush and ran it through my hair a couple times before pinning it back in a high ponytail, and

reaching for the makeup bag I kept close to the mirror. Today I went for a Smokey eye, glossy lips and a little foundation just to even out my skin. That was it. I let my hair out of the ponytail and left it flowing over my shoulders as I grabbed my purse and headed out of my bedroom. Kenda glanced at me. “You look great.” “Thanks.” A smile touched my lips, but it fell as soon as I heard the knock on the door. My heart did a backflip as I forced myself to head over and open the door. “Hey.” Josh’s grinned. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Chapter Seven Boy when he said surprise, he really meant it. “You have got to be shitting me.” “Nope,” he said with a smile. “I know in reality I only have one shot to make this work, so I figured I’d give it my all. At first I was thinking Paris, you know the whole city of lovers kinda thing … but then I thought maybe that wasn’t your kinda thing … so then I thought about you. And it occurred to me that you once said something about Vikings and ancestors … so I figured where better to go?” He grinned. “As it happens, I’m

from Welsh descent too. I’ve been meaning to come here for a while; I just haven’t gotten around to it—well, I keep putting it off is a better way to say it … so I figured it might be kinda fun to do together.” I stared blankly at the plane in front of me. “You’re crazy.” Good crazy, but he was still crazy, there was no way around it. Could I be with a crazy man? Yes. I bit my lip. Of course, I could, if I cared about him as much as I cared about Josh. “Is this a joke?” “Of course it’s not a joke!” His brow

furrowed. “I wouldn’t play such a bad joke on you.” His eyes sparkled as he stretched his hand towards mine. “Now come on, we’ve got to make our flight.” He led me towards the private plane, his frown replaced by a grin. “Wait … is this the same one Kenda and Chris used?” I looked around. “Yes … why?” “Um …” No reason. I looked at the chairs, trying to decide what ones they’d sat on. I wasn’t stupid. She might not have mentioned anything about having sex on a plane, but I was going to be careful nonetheless. She’s a left sitter. Any time I’d taken the bus with her, she always

sat on the left. “Let’s sit over here.” I took his hand and led him towards the seats on the right. “So, Chris hooked you up?” He shrugged. “He might have helped.” I couldn’t help wondering how much of a role Kenda had to play in it. “So, how’ve you been these past couple of days?” “Alright, we interviewed a girl about living with us. She seems really sweet actually. Kenda really likes her.” “Well, that’s good.” I stared at Josh for a couple of seconds. I

couldn’t help thinking about Brad and the conversation we’d had last night. Nine years isn’t that bad, my brain told me. But if I were 10 and he were 19 it would be a whole different story. Did that matter at all? “How old are you?” I asked without really thinking about it. “30,” he said without batting an eye. “I know you’re younger … what, 25?” “23.” “Oh, so you’re not that much younger.” He shrugged it off. Looking up at him, I asked, “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“That you’re a couple years younger than me? Of course not.” He shrugged. “I stopped caring about age a long time ago. If I met the right woman and she as 80, that wouldn’t bother me one bit.” My brow furrowed. I wanted to call him a liar, but I didn’t. *** When we finally landed, I was sure this had to be a dream. People in reality did not get off a plane in front of a castle. “H-how?” I stammered. “Anything is possible with enough money,” he said dismissively. “Like I said, I had to make a good impression.” He

took my hand, guiding me down onto the ground. “I managed to rent it for the night,” he said with a sparkle in his eye. He held a large duffle bag in his hand. I shook my head. “Okay, now you have to be joking.” “Nope.” My head felt light as I looked around. People all around stared at us, but no one was near the castle. I stared at Josh. “I … I can’t even put into words …” And that was just it. I couldn’t process anything. I couldn’t put anything into words, I was so speechless. I laughed softly. “It’s … it’s fucking amazing,” I

admitted. Josh grinned. “Good, now what do you say we head inside?” He held his hand out to me and I took it from him, our fingers intertwining as we headed towards the castle. “They normally don’t allow people to rent it for the night, so I hope you don’t mind that we’re going to have to sleep on an air mattress. I laughed. “You just told me I was sleeping in a castle; I don’t care if it’s on the fucking floor!” I pulled him closer to me. “I guess I kinda have an unfair advantage

though, don’t I?” “What do you mean?” “I mean with Brad … he probably wouldn’t have the money to do this.” “He might not have as much money as you. Maybe he couldn’t fly me to Wales and rent a castle for the night … but he did close down a zoo for me.” “He closed the zoo down for you?” “Yup.” I was sure I’d heard a little insecurity seep into his voice. “So he must have money, and from what he said about his past, I be willing to bet it for sure.” I stopped talking as we made our way to the door. Josh reached out and

grabbed it for me, and my heart skipped several beats as we made our way into the castle. You know the way a cabin smells when it hasn’t been used in years? That’s kinda what it smelt like in here, but the smell of damp rock was there too. Without a word, I rushed up the stairs, taking two at a time, to the top of the watchtower. “Wow …” I whispered as I looked out over the green grass and towards the small town on the other side of a lake. I glanced at the plane for a fraction of a second.

“What’s the pilot going to do?” “He has some friends in the area.” Josh shrugged. “Don’t worry. He’s not going to be staying with us,” he teased, stepping closer to me. Josh dropped the duffle bag as his arms wrapped around me. “I just hope it’s enough,” he whispered softly as if he hadn’t even meant for me to hear it. I knew what he meant, of course. He hoped this was enough to win me over. The sad thing is that I had no clue if it was. Obviously Josh had a couple advantages, but Brad … he was sweet, and we had something in common that Josh and I never would. Josh hated

reading fiction. He was a nonfiction kinda guy, and I respected that, but it made Brad all the more appealing when we started talking books. Josh pulled away from me. “So, what do you say we set up the air mattress and then we go do a little sightseeing? I spoke to a couple people I’ve worked with who have been here, and they told me about some great local treasures. Once we’re all tired out from walking around, we can grab dinner, and I was told I’m allowed to have a fire in here so I brought stuff for s’mores. He grinned as I turned to face him. “Can you believe how gorgeous it’s going to be at night to be able to look up and see all those stars?”

The Billionaire Teacher Part VI An Alpha Billionaire Romance

Sarah J. Brooks

Copyright © 2015 by Sarah J. Brooks This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Facebook: Sarah J. Brooks

Chapter One “She’s not here.” “She’s out with Josh, isn’t she?” I saw the smile touch her lips. Right. Hayley said this chick was dating one of his friends. Of course, she was happy Hayley was out with Josh. “She is.” “When will she be back?” The girl looked down at her watch. “I don’t know … they just landed like half an hour ago. I don’t even know if she’ll be home tonight. Do you want me to tell

her you stopped by?” “No thanks. I’ll wait for her.” Her eyes widened. “You’re going to wait for her?” “Yup.” She let out a sigh and stepped out of the way. “Alright, come on inside then.” “Thanks, but I don’t want to get in your way. I’ll wait out here for her.” “Suit yourself.” She didn’t say it, but I could tell I’d managed to impress her. I grinned as she closed the door, looked around the small hallway and sat down. Putting the roses aside, I leaned up

against the doorframe. They landed half an hour ago. I couldn’t get those words out of my head. Where had they gone? Anger nipped at me. I should have put more effort into her date. I should have done something special like take her on a trip. I ran my fingers through my hair, letting out a deep breath. Well, there was nothing I could do right now other than wait and hope her friend wasn’t warning Josh I was sitting out here waiting for her. *** I was ready for a nap as we got off the

plane. I felt like it was all a dream still, even after a night in the castle, and then all the exploring we did before leaving. I was just glad I’d gotten pictures to prove I’d actually been there so no one thought I was making it up. By the time we got to my apartment, I was pretty much asleep. My heart skipped a beat as I glanced across the street and saw a black Jetta. I mentally shook myself. Lots of people had black Jettas, it probably wasn’t Brad’s. “I had a really good time.” I turned my attention to Josh. “Thank you … it was ... well, it was totally amazing.” “I’m glad you thought so.” He grinned as he leaned over to kiss me. His lips were

soft and warm against mine. “I hope this isn’t the last time we see each other, Hayley.” I did too. I just wasn’t sure if I could tell him that; he might take it the wrong way. I took his hand in mine. “I do care about you. A lot. I don’t want you to ever doubt that.” Just because I fucked up and couldn’t keep my emotions in check didn’t mean I didn’t care about him. “And … I’m sorry … for hurting you.” Josh shrugged. “It happens.” He tried not to show that it mattered, but I was sure I could see the pain in his eyes.

“I’m uh, going to be heading back to work tomorrow. I probably won’t be able to talk much this week so if you want to … you know ... text when you …” “Figure shit out?” I wasn’t going to make him come out and say it. “Thank you.” I gave him one more kiss before unbuckling myself and getting out of the car quickly before I wanted to invite him inside. I waved, watching him pull away as I headed towards my apartment. It wasn’t actually an apartment building, it was a house. Kenda and I had the downstairs, and our landlord had the upstairs. Then we shared the front room. I pulled the door open and stepped inside

before freezing as I stared at him. “Um, hi,” I managed. Turns out I wasn’t crazy for thinking about Brad when I saw that Jetta. “Hey.” He jumped to his feet, grabbing a bouquet of flowers. “I um, I didn’t realize you were out … I just wanted to stop by and see you.” “How long have you been sitting there?” He glanced down at his cell phone. “34 minutes.” He cleared his throat. “Your friend told me that you’d landed, and I figured you wouldn’t be that long so I decided to just wait. It wasn’t all that long.” He seemed utterly nervous.

I crossed over and pulled him into a hug. Don’t get me wrong, both Brad and Josh had shown me half a dozen times how much I meant to them, but for him to sit here and wait for me for over half an hour … I smiled, pulling away. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting so long.” “It’s alright.” He cleared his throat. “Right. I brought these for you.” He held the flowers out to me. Tie-dye roses. “I was going to go for red, but I saw these and thought they might be more up your alley.” “These are really cool,” I admitted, taking them from him. “Thank you so much.” “So how was your date?”

“It … it was nice.” I swallowed dryly, not wanting to go into details with him about my date. “How was your … day?” Because really we’d only been gone like 24 hours. “It was alright. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, though.” A blush touched my cheeks, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I cleared my throat trying to find something. “Look ...” he spoke before I could. “I just wanted to stop by. I get you’ll probably be busy this week with … school and everything else.” Somehow I didn’t think he was actually worried about school. “So, just text me sometime at the

weekend … no matter what your plans are, okay?” I didn’t need to be an expert to read between the lines and see what he was saying. “Of course,” I promised. I pulled Brad into another hug. “And really, thank you so much for the flowers, they are awesome.” My mind drifted to the bouquet Josh got me recently. They would look killer combined. Brad pulled away and forced a smile over his lips. “I’ll see you around, Hayley.” “Yea … see you around.” But it didn’t sound like a promise, and I honestly wasn’t sure if he’d had any truth in what

he said. Maybe he thought Josh had already won me over. He stepped past me then stopped and turned to face me. “By the way, where did you two go?” “Wales,” I said as if it wasn’t a big deal. A smile touched his lips. “Did you get to feed a tiger there?” “No,” I admitted. “Then I’ve still got something going for me.” He gave me a wink before turning and walking out into the night. I didn’t dare watch him leave. Instead, I went inside, kicked my shoes off and slammed the door, letting out a frustrated

sigh. “How was your date?” Kenda didn’t look up from her computer. “Fucking amazing.” “And you’re angry because of that?” This time she glanced up at me. “Because I’m …” I sighed. “Oh never mind.” She wasn’t going to get it. “Let me guess, Brad was still sitting outside the door like a puppy dog when you got home.” “Yes.” “And now you feel worse than you already have.”

“Yes.” “Well,” Kenda pushed herself away from the computer. “I do have some good news for you.” “What’s that?” I raised an eyebrow as I dropped down onto the couch and curled my feet under me. What could she possibly have to tell me that would make me happy right now? “Our new roommate is moving in this weekend.” “Oh … yea, that is good.” I bit my lip. Sure, I knew it was, but it wasn’t what I’d been hoping for. What had I been hoping for? I honestly had no clue; maybe that

this was all some kind of joke, or that we were going to move to Canada and leave everything here behind. I’d be okay with that right now. I sighed. “Cheer up! It will all be over soon.” Kenda’s eyes sparkled. “I mean, come on, you’ve tested them both out, which one do you like riding, err, which one do you like better?” She dropped down beside me. “It’s not that simple.” “I know it doesn’t sound that simple, but it really is.” I rolled my eyes. Of course, my best friend thought it would be that easy. “It’s

…” There was no point in arguing with her, and I knew it. “I just don’t know.” I admitted.

Chapter Two The next morning, I didn’t know, and come lunchtime I still didn’t know. Neither Brad nor Josh tried to text me at all, which I took to mean that they were trying to give me space. That or they had moved on, which I would really be okay with. It would make this a hell of a lot easier on me. I want them both. But I couldn’t have them both. In the middle of psychology class and doing something only 12 year olds should do when trying to figure out who they

liked better. Making a pros and cons list. It was stupid, I know, but I didn’t know what else I was supposed to do. The only issue was that the pros and cons list didn’t cover it well enough. They were both great, and it didn’t come down to what they had and didn’t have. It came down to the way they made me feel, so I tried to think about that, and I tried to figure out who made me feel better, but I couldn’t figure that out either. Of course not. The pros and cons list wouldn’t work so why would that whole feelings thing work for me? I sighed as I glanced up at the teacher. He was still going on and on, but I don’t think anyone in the class was actually listening. I don’t think anyone

did. It was kinda a waste of time, considering he pretty much quoted the textbook word for word. By the time class had finished, I was no closer to figuring out my feelings than I was when I went in. I was, however, closer to being done my school day; so that was something, right? I grabbed my bags and headed out of the classroom as quickly as possible. Of course, that got me stuck in traffic as everyone tried to push their way out. I bumped into someone, turned to them and muttered a quick sorry. “It’s alright.” His voice was deep. “I’m

John.” “Hayley,” I said, more to be polite than anything else. “It’s nice to ...” I got my chance and took it. I was out of the classroom before he even finished what he was saying. I didn’t need another guy in my life to complicate things, and I wasn’t going to try it. As I headed into my English class, I took a seat in the back and then pulled out a piece of paper. Josh,

I’ve known you for about a month now, and I have to say that you are an amazing man. You’re so young and so successful, you’ve been such an inspiration to me since I’ve known you, and in that small time it’s crazy I’ve actually seen you succeed so much. You … you honestly make me feel so special. Did you know you got drunk and told me you loved me? You said you didn’t remember the night so I didn’t want to mention it. It would have been kinda awkward if I’d mentioned it. And that was the night I met Brad. But I won’t talk about him … I want to talk about you … I don’t

think I can honestly tell you that I love you, but I can honestly tell you that I could love you easily. It just takes me a while to fall in love, see. When I went to the hospital every day to spend time with Kenda, I never thought anything would come of it. I just understood that Chris had to work, and I wanted to be there for her. When Chris brought you, I took one look at you and my jaw almost dropped. You’re probably one of the most attractive people I ever met. When we went down for coffee, I was so worried that as soon as you opened your mouth I was going to regret thinking you were hot! But I

didn’t. It makes me like you more. Over that cup of coffee I realized I wanted you in my life … I’m just not sure that I can ask you to be in my life the way that you want to be in mine, and that scares me. Right now I’m writing this, and we just got back from Wales—it was amazing by the way. I just can’t help but wonder if it will be worth it for you in the end. In the end I can’t keep stringing both you and Brad along. I wish I’d never met him, honestly. If I hadn’t met him

that night would be so different. And I’m so sorry. I feel like it is all my fault and in reality it is … I felt tears prick at the corner of my eye. Yes, I knew it was silly. I put the letter away. There was no way I was going to cry in class. So I tucked the note away and slipped it into my purse promising myself I would finish it later. Maybe … if I could bring myself to. Not that I was ever going to give it to him, it was more just so I could try and sort my own shit out. I bit my lip, turning my attention to the class as the professor began to speak. Not that I could focus on anything. My

mind drifted from Brad to Josh then back to Brad—it was a never- ending cycle. I wonder what they’re doing. *** I looked down at my phone again. Dammit Josh. I took a deep breath. It’s been seconds since you last checked your phone. She hadn’t texted yet the last time you checked and she still hasn’t texted. I shoved my phone into my pocket as I waited for the elevator to come to this floor. “She still hasn’t texted you, has she?” My body stiffened as I recognised the

voice behind me. Was he the reason she hadn’t texted me? Did he know something I didn’t? I wasn’t sure if I wanted to turn and face him or not. If I turned to face him, I might want to knock him out. “She hasn’t texted me either.” He gave a nervous laugh. “I keep checking like 30 times a second … obviously that’s a bit of an exaggeration…” he added quickly as if he wasn’t sure I’d point out his flaw. I turned to the man beside me and gave a smile. “She sure knows how to make a guy nervous, eh?” Brad chuckled. “Anyways, I saw you out

here, and I have these for you.” He handed over a file. “And I just wanted to let you know that no matter what happens, I’m not going to hold anything against you. In truth, if she picks you I’d totally want to leak a virus into your computer system or something, but that seemed pretty low of me, so I figured keying your car, or breaking your window, or really anything wouldn’t be much better. I just wanted to let you know that um, if you choose to keep me around, I’ll keep doing my job the way I’m supposed to.” I stared at him. “Thanks. And I won’t fire you if she picks you … your car I’m not going to make any promises about.” I

gave him a smile to let him know I was joking as the elevator dinged, coming to a stop for us and we stepped on. Something else dinged. My heart skipped a beat as I turned to Brad. “Sorry.” He glanced up at me. “It was my sister. She wants to meet for dinner tonight … I’ve been putting it off like crazy.” I felt relief wash over me. It hadn’t been her. Which meant that neither of us had heard from her yet. Still. “I swear I’m at the point where I don’t even care if it isn’t me. I just want to know before I have a fucking heart

attack.” Brad snorted. “You know … my sister wants to bring her husband to dinner … He always ends up being the third wheel and not having anyone to talk to. If you don’t have plans for the night, you’re welcome to come; you know other than staring at your phone until it dies or you do.” His eyes twinkled. “Are you asking me out on a date?” I raised an eyebrow. He shrugged. “Call it what you like. There is the chance to get drunk, and distracted.” “Good point.” I checked my phone, this

time for the phone. “When you’re done going wherever it is you planned to go grab your bag, we’re taking an early day.” “I’m not meeting my sister until 5:00.” “Then we have two hours to get drunk before that.” It might seem odd to go out for drinks with the other man my girlfriend wanted to fuck, but what else was I supposed to do? Hell, if he pissed me off, I might knock him out. That made a smile touch my lips, even though I knew it shouldn’t. He was right about one thing. There was no point sitting around waiting for her to text one of us. Anyways, Chris was busy for the night, so it’s not like I could have

hung out with him. I could give this Brad guy a short, and maybe I’d actually like him. Or I’d be able to get an idea of who she was going to pick—he was probably hoping for the same.

Chapter Three My brow furrowed as I crossed the street to meet up with Kenda. He wore a muscle shirt, and I could clearly see his tattoos. But who is that? I wondered, my eyes narrowing at the woman he pulled into his arms. Jealously tugged at me. “Hey! There you are!” Kenda rushed over to me, then came to a dead stop. “Isn’t that Brad?” “Yup.” “With some random girl?” “Looks like it.”

As if he heard his name, he looked over in my direction. He stared at me for a couple of seconds then smiled as he looked away and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Seconds later my phone buzzed. Let’s avoid the chick flick moment, shall we? She’s my sister. I glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. “He says it’s his sister.” “Do you believe him?” “I’m not sure; I want to.” Boy, did I ever want to. I mean there was no way he would go through that much effort and then move on so quickly, was there?

I looked down at my phone. Really? I’d love to meet her. Mind if I come over? I stared at him as I hit send and waited a couple of seconds for him to look at his phone before I started to cross the street. When he looked up, he was grinning. “Hey Becca,” I heard him say. “There’s someone I want you to meet.” He held his hand out for me as soon as I was close to him. He pulled me into a hug and placed a kiss on my cheek. As he pulled away from me, he turned back to Becca. “This is Hayley.” Becca looked me up and down. She was

gorgeous with natural red hair and green eyes. She had a slim and short body. “Hi.” She held her hand out to shake mine. “Are you my brother’s friend?” “Yes,” I said without really thinking about it. “I never would have pegged you as his sister,” I admitted. “Only by half.” Her eyes sparkled as she looked me over. “I um, was just heading out actually. We’re just waiting for my husband to bring the car around.” I looked down at the hand on her stomach. Yup. There was a wedding ring there. “Well, I won’t keep you.” I smiled widely,

partly because she was married. “It was nice to meet you.” “Oh, you don’t have to leave. I don’t mind the extra company.” “Thanks, but I promised my friend ...” I motioned towards Kenda, “I’d help her with a couple family things.” I turned my attention to Brad. It took me a couple seconds to get my voice to work. “I’ll see you around, Brad.” “See ya around Hayley. Text me sometime.” His eyes said everything his words didn’t. He wanted to know where we stood. If only I knew I’d tell him. I bit my lip and

nodded. “I will,” I promised. Wherever I stood, I was going to have to figure it out fast. But for now, Kenda saved me as I turned towards her and we headed towards the car. “So … I’m guessing she was his sister,” Kenda said once we were out of earshot. I actually laughed. “Yea.” I glanced behind me in time to see a car pull up and a man get out. He grabbed the passenger door for her. Then I caught Brad staring at me. “Was it wrong of me to go over there?” “Of course not! You had to be sure,” she

said as we reached the car and she went for the driver’s side. I slid into the passenger seat and closed the door behind me with a loud sigh. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do,” I admitted. Every time I thought about it, I started getting a pounding headache. The ride home was quick, and as soon as we got there, I dropped my school bags in the living room before heading towards the comfort of my bed. I flopped down, not bothering to take my shoes off and buried my face in the blankets. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I muttered.

I looked up and took a deep breath. My eye caught a notebook and pen. I shuffled over to it with as little effort as I could put forth. Brad, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say. Part of me is sorry I ever met you, the other part of me never wants to say goodbye to you. I’m so sorry we had to meet while I was with Josh. It would make everything so much easier if we hadn’t. As soon as I met you, I knew there was something drawing me

towards you. The truth is, I care about you, and I do care about Josh, too. Does that make me a bad person? It does, doesn’t it? But still I can’t help but wonder what you would say if I asked you what you thought. Would you still want me? Maybe not. Maybe it’s best you don’t know how much I care about Josh ... maybe it would be good for you to know. I’m honestly past the point of feeling like I know anything right now. Everything is all too confusing. Everything is too much of a jumble.

I do know that when you took me out, it was one of the most amazing nights I’ve ever had. Not just because you got us a tour of the zoo in private, which God knows how much you spent on that, but also because when I talked to you under the stars the other night … it was something out of a movie. It … it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had because it was simple. It was just us. Together. Getting to know each other, body and mind. And that was something I’ll never be able to forget. I can’t put into words how sweet you are or how much you mean to me, which is sad ‘cause we haven’t known

each other all that long, but you do mean a lot to me. I don’t want to lose you … but I don’t want to lose Josh either. I stared down at my last sentence. That was all there was to it; I didn’t want to lose either of them. But that didn’t really make anything any easier. I blew out a deep breath of frustration and looked at the letter. Water in my eyes clouded my vision. A tear slipped down my cheek and landed on the paper. It was the only way I actually realized I was crying. I sniffled and sat up, wiping away the tear.

Several more slid down my cheek in its place. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there crying. I turned out my light so Kenda would think I was sleeping, and I wouldn’t have to talk to her if she came to check on me, and then … well, I just sat there and cried. I felt like I was 14 years old again, and Jonny Blake had just broken up with me. My first break up. My heart was broken. I rolled onto my side and stared at the clock. How had five hours passed? There was no way it was past midnight, but that’s what my clock said.

I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and stared at the time. Yup. It was right. The last time I was up this late, I was with Josh. The thought made my heart ache. Without realizing what I was doing, my fingers moved along the phone. My heart skipped a beat as the first ring sounded. Then the second. And the third. Of course he’s not going to answer. “Hello?” He sounded like he was still asleep. “Josh?” My voice was small as I stared at the glowing light in the darkness that my phone brought me.

“Hayley?” “I’m sorry to call so late … I know I woke you.” “No. No it’s okay, don’t be sorry. What’s up?” “I just …” Missed you. But I couldn’t say it. “I … I don’t really know why I called,” I confessed. Was I supposed to talk out my issues with him? Somehow that didn’t seem right. “It’s okay babe.” This time when he spoke he sounded a hell of a lot more awake. “Do you want me to drive over? I can grab us some coffee.” “No,” I said a little too quickly. “I mean,

it’s really nice to offer but …” I let out a deep breath. “Honestly, I know how much of a bad person this makes me sound, but if you’re here … I …” I couldn’t admit to it. “It wouldn’t be fair to Brad,” I finally said, hoping he’d get the hint. A new stream of tears ran down my cheeks. *** I flopped down on the bed as I listened to her shaky breathing. It was obvious she was crying. My heart ached. “I get it,” I said. And I did. She was trying to be as fair as possible. But

nothing about this was fair. It wasn’t fair to me that she’d allowed herself to fall for Brad. It wasn’t fair to Brad that she hadn’t told him about me, and it wasn’t fair to her that she was caught in the middle of this and had to choose one or neither of us. Life wasn’t fair, and we were all suffering. She sniffled on the other end. “How was your day?” I asked, pulling the conversation away from this mess and trying to maybe sorta cheer her up. “It was alright … I just had school and that was it. How was your day?”

“Fine … I um, had a half day and went out for drinks after it.” I didn’t tell her who I went out for drinks with. I was trying to keep her mind off this whole situation. I rolled onto my stomach and tried to think of something for us to talk about. I was trying to take her mind away from it, but I couldn’t help thinking of the reason her and Brad connected. “We’ve never talked about books, have we?” I felt guilt tug at me. I knew the answer to her question. “No.” She sounded hesitant. “Well, what do you like to read? What’s your favorite book? I’d like to read it.” And I did want to read it. I wanted to

know what her favorite things were and experience them. “I … I like The Picture of Dorian Gray.” I made a mental note of it and nodded. “Have you been reading anything recently?” “Not really … I don’t really have the time for it.” Yes. That made sense. “What’s your favorite food?” “What? You want to know my favorite food?” She sounded skeptical. “You’re the one who called me at some god awful time.” I reminded her with a

grin. “Good point.” She gave a soft laugh. “I like all food, except coconut,” she added quickly. “I can’t stand the texture of it.” “I hate the texture of mangos.” She laughed a little. Then paused. “I’m sorry for waking you up.” “Don’t be.” I was glad she’d called me of all people. I bit my lip, wanting to tell her so badly how much I cared about her, but knowing I couldn’t; otherwise, I’d just make all this harder on her. “You know, I have a book I think you’ll like. Of course, it’s not fiction, but if you’re willing to give it a shot I think you might like it.”

“I’ll give it a shot, but only if you try something for me.” “Oh, I already planned on reading The Picture of Dorian Gray.” She laughed softly. “You’re cute, Josh. Don’t ever doubt that.” *** I didn’t realize I was smiling until I heard myself laugh. My heart skipped a beat. Talking to him made me happy; happier than I had been all day, which I guess wasn’t really saying much; I hadn’t been very happy today. “That roommate is moving in tomorrow apparently.” She and Kenda had been

talking almost 24/7. I wasn’t sure if I should be jealous or if Chris should be. I smirked. “I think Kenda really likes her.” “Are you jealous?” Josh teased. “Nope, but you might want to warn Chris he might have competition.” Josh laughed. “Oh, I’ll have fun letting him know that.” We fell silent for a couple of seconds. “I’m glad you called me … I missed you.” “I miss you too,” I admitted. “A lot.” I bit my lip. “But it’s late, I should let you go.” “I don’t mind if you want to talk more.” Oh, God, I wanted to talk more so badly,

but I couldn’t keep him up. “No, I’m sure you have important shit you need to do tomorrow. I’ll talk to you later. I promise.” And I meant it. No matter what, I wanted to talk to him later. “Alright, I’ll talk to you later … and no matter what, I want to see you again.” He said the last part so quietly that I wasn’t sure if I heard him right or not. I bit my lip. I wanted to see him again so badly. He hung up before I could say another word. My heart skipped a beat as I stared down at my phone. It beeped softly to let

me know the line was dead. Chapter Four I forced a smile over my lips as I heard someone knock on the door. It’s not that I wasn’t happy we were getting a roommate; it’s that I wasn’t happy at all today. I had to know what I was going to do, and I had to know now. Kenda rushed to the door and pulled it open. “Hey!” She beamed. “Do you have boxes downstairs? I can go grab some!” Jess grinned as Kenda stepped out of the doorway. “I have a couple boxes.” She

caught my eye as I stood and headed over to her. “You look excited.” “The last place I was staying was disgusting. I’m honestly so thankful to be out of there!” She gave a quiet laugh and looked around. “Where should I put these?” “In the living room is fine. Let’s get all your boxes in and then we can start moving them into your room. It’s kinda small, but we should be able to make everything work.” “Great!” Jess beamed as she put her box down on the couch and headed out to the

car with me in tow. “How have you been?” she asked as we reached the car. “I’ve been alright, yourself?” “Busy with work mostly, but it will be worth it in the end when I can open my own zoo.” A sparkle touched her eyes as she talked about the zoo. Then she shook her head. “But that’s a long way off.” She reached for another box and stepped out of the way as I grabbed a garbage bag of clothes. We had the car unpacked in half an hour. Truth be told, she didn’t have much, and with the three of us working quickly we

were done in no time, which left me with more thinking to do and nothing else to keep my mind off it. I couldn’t even try to be distracted by school today since I didn’t have any classes. So when I was done helping Jess unpack, I got dressed and headed out for a walk.

Chapter Five I hadn’t really meant to talk all this way. I hadn’t even realized that was where I was going until I got here. I can’t go in there. I wasn’t sure who I’d gone see, honestly. I thought about my late night conversation with Josh, then about the feelings I had when I saw Brad with his sister and thought it was another woman. My heart did a backflip. It was right in front of me. I knew who I wanted to be with; it was on the tip of my tongue, but still just out of reach. Dropping down onto the bench across

the street, I turned to the older woman beside me. She didn’t look up from the book she was reading. My eyes locked on it. I cleared my throat. “That’s my favorite book,” I said. She looked up and smiled, her eyes twinkled behind the thick rimmed glasses. “Mine too.” Despite the fact she had white hair, it was neatly styled, and she wore flattering clothes. I looked down at the rings on her finger. “That’s a beautiful ring,” I said, looking at the one on her right ring finger. The band was gold, with a purple stone in the

middle. “It’s from my first husband.” She stared down at the ring as she held it out for me to see closer. After a couple seconds of looking at it, I looked over at her left hand. A gold band with a diamond on it. “Is that from another husband?” I almost gasped as soon as I said it. “I mean you said first,” I quickly said trying to cover myself. Oh, God, I’d probably offended her. I repressed a groan. The old woman laughed gently. I stared at her in disbelief. I hadn’t offended her? “Yes. My second one.” She giggled as she

held that one out for me to see. “My current one.” “They’re both gorgeous.” “Aren’t they?” She nodded, looking down at them and letting out a soft sigh. “Does your husband know where the other ring is from?” “Oh, yes. He helped my first husband pick it out … they were best friends.” Something perked up inside me. “Really?” Suddenly I was listening very carefully. Best friends. Interesting. “Oh yes, since they were little boys. Way before I was in the picture.” She smiled

widely, thinking about the past. “And they both loved you?” “Over time, yes.” She nodded. “That’s what happens sometimes. You spend so much time with someone that you fall in love with them even when they are with your best friend, or in my case, you fall in love with them even when they are your husband’s best friend.” “I’m in love with two men.” I felt my cheeks burn as soon as I said it. I was mortified I’d even said something like that, let alone to a stranger, and an old lady at that! Her head crooked to the left. “Really?

Now how did that come about? Are they best friends too?” Her voice was soft. Understanding. I stared at the woman in front of me. I bit my lip. “When you were in love with them … how did you decide who you loved more?” I paused. “I was with Josh before I met Brad, and I never meant to lead Brad on. I just wanted a friend who read like I did … but then … I didn’t think it was fair of me not to give him a chance just because Josh was there first and, of course, that didn’t go over well with Josh … not that he’ll admit it …” I trailed off as I turned to look at the woman. “I’m sorry. I-I don’t really know why I just told you all that.”

“Because you can’t tell anyone else. They don’t understand how you’re feeling unless they’ve been there.” She patted my hand with her cold wrinkly one. I smiled. It reminded me of my grandma. Maybe that was why I’d told her that. The way she styled her hair, and the red lipstick—I could swear it was the same shade my grandma had worn. “Yea,” I admitted. “Well, to answer your question, I didn’t decide.” “You … you didn’t?” “Nope.” The old woman’s eyes sparkled. “Carl moved in with Rich and I, and that

was that.” Both men shared her? I stared at her in shock. How had they managed to do that? I thought about my situation. Would I actually be able to ask that from them? My brow furrowed. I didn’t think so. Something clicked right then and there. I knew my answer. I turned to the old woman and smiled widely. “Thank you.” I paused. “Are you still with them both?” “Oh, yes.” She let out a soft sigh. “Rich isn’t doing too well. He’s going into a home next week … I think he actually feels better knowing that Carl will be

there with me. Of course, he won’t admit that to me.” She laughed softly. “I come out here every now and then just to get away from the two men. That’s one thing about them living together with me, it gets fucking cramped.” I stared at her slightly taken aback by her language and tried to swallow down my laugh. Then she eyed me. “You’ll figure out what to do.” “Thank you,” I said. “I think I have.”

Chapter Six I took a deep breath as the elevator came to a stop at their floor. I looked around as I stepped out of the elevator. There was no sign of either of them. Bowing my head, I made my way towards Josh’s office. I can do this, I told myself. I’m here now, there is no backing out. Honestly, I could have found a dozen reasons to back out, but I wasn’t going to let myself. As I came to a stop in front of Josh’s office, I heard him speaking. “I just hope we can get it out of the way

soon,” he was saying. “I’ll try my best.” My head snapped up as Brad spoke. “I can’t promise you I’ll have any luck with it.” “I know, I know.” My heart skipped a beat. “They’re probably closed by now.” Josh glanced at the clock. “Then it will have to be something that gets done tomorrow.” He gave Brad a smile. “Either way, do whatever you have to in order to make Mr. Drell sign with us. If you have to get him drunk, so be it.” He paused. “Although any hookers are on your dime.”

Brad grinned. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” I stood there frozen, watching the two men I cared about speak to each other. They knew I had feelings for the other man and still they spoke calmly; hell, it even looked like they were making jokes. My mind raced trying to take in all this information. I cleared my throat. Both men turned to look at me. “Hayley,” Josh stared at me, his eyes wide. “I um,” I felt the blush on my cheeks. “I was wondering if I could talk to you guys.”

“Each? Alone?” Brad raised an eyebrow. “No.” “Together?” Josh stared at me. “Yes. I … I know I shouldn’t have come during work. I’m sorry … I’ve been sitting outside the building for like an hour and then me and this old lady who had the same lipstick as my grandma were talking and she said something and I just knew … I …” I took a deep breath, trying to focus myself. “How about dinner or something?” Josh looked at Brad then me. “We can go now.” “No, you two sound busy. It can wait a

little longer.” “No, it can’t,” both men said together. “I’ll go grab my stuff,” Brad said, making his way towards the door. Shit. What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to look at him or avoid all eye contact? Should I just look at the ground and pretend I didn’t notice anything. Brad saved me the dilemma of deciding. As he passed me, he touched my arm gently. “I’ll be right back.” As I risked looking up at him, I saw a smile spread across his face. I turned my attention to Josh as Brad walked out of the room. He was collecting his things from the desk.

“I don’t mind waiting if—” “I do.” He cut me off. “I mind waiting. I don’t want to wait any longer.” Guilt tugged at me. “I’m sorry.” He shrugged. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Hayley.” Brad joined us quickly, and we made our way towards the elevator. “Why don’t we head to my place, it’s not far from here,” Josh suggested. A private conversation was probably best. I wasn’t sure how well this was going to go; on the other hand, having it in public might be good. You know, with witnesses and everything. I swallowed dryly. Is this

really the right choice? It had seemed like it as I was sitting on the bench. We rode down the elevator without a word, stepped off it when we got to the main floor and made our way outside. I glanced across the street. The old lady still sat there, a smile spread across her lips as she glanced at me, then at Brad and Josh. She shot me a wink before standing and walking away. A soft giggle escaped me, causing both boys to look at me. “Sorry,” I muttered, but the old woman had brought a smile to my face that wasn’t going anywhere as we got into Josh’s car and headed towards his place. The entire drive was dead silent.

I was so thankful when I got out of the car and took a deep breath of fresh air; it had felt stifling hot in there, but maybe that was just my nerves. “How was work?” I asked both men as we headed towards the house. “Fine,” Brad said. Josh grunted his agreement. Well, grunting doesn’t tip the odds in your favor. I frowned as we made our way into the house and turned right for the living room. As both men sat down, they turned to look at me. I sat on the edge of the couch across from theirs.

“So I assume you’ve made your mind up?” Brad said. Although I’m sure he didn’t mean it, his words came out harsh. I winced and took a deep breath. “I did, but you’re not going to like my answer.” I didn’t waste any more time telling them how I felt. “The truth is that I really like you both. Over the past few weeks that I’ve known you two, I can honestly say that you’ve brought so much into my life and I … when it came down to me trying to decide …” I couldn’t even bring myself to finish the sentence. “I couldn’t.” I paused, letting this sink in before continuing. “I tried everything. Kenda

wanted me to pick you, Josh because you’re Chris’s best friend, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t just let her pick for me. So I tried to write a pros and cons list, stupid I know, but I had no clue what else I was supposed to do … I tried writing you letters; hell, I even debated just flipping a coin. But all of that seemed so wrong.” I looked from Josh to Brad. They both stared at me silently, waiting for me to get to the point. I sighed. “I went for a walk today, and I didn’t realize where I was going until I got to your office. I debated on going in, but I couldn’t bring myself to, so I went and sat

down on a bench where I met this lady. She was really sweet; she was reading The Picture of Dorian Gray.” I smiled. “And wearing the same shade lipstick as my grandma wears. She had this really pretty ring on her finger, and when I mentioned it, she said it was from her first husband, and we got to talking … she told me about how she fell in love with her husband’s best friend, and she showed me this other ring she had on her other ring finger; it was from him. She … She’s with them both.” I paused, trying to collect my thoughts. “I-I guess when she told me about that, it just made me realize that it’s a possibility to be with you both and that other people do it. That little old ladies

do it, and maybe if little old ladies do it and have been happy I should give it a shot. All I know is that I really care about you both, and the thought of having to choose between you two is worse than the idea of getting hit by a car. So I guess I need to ask you two not to make me choose.” I looked up at them. To my surprise, neither looked mad. “Is that why that little old lady winked at me?” Brad asked. “I … I um, think she was winking at me, but yes.” A smile touched Josh’s lips. Still neither of them really said anything about what

I’d just asked of them. “So, do you guys need to think about it?” “No.” Josh was the first one to speak. “If it means having you, I’d be more than happy to share.” He glanced at Brad. “And it could be with worse people out there.” Brad grinned. “Speak for yourself.” Then he turned to look at me. “So do you divide up weekends or something?” “Um, I guess. I’m sorry, I didn’t really press for details about how it works. I was caught up in the moment.” Was that how it worked? They divided me up. Like being a child of divorce. Wait …“Does that mean you’re willing to give it a

shot?” Brad smirked. “Of course, I am.” My heart did a backflip as a smile spread across my face. “Really?” I looked from Brad to Josh for confirmation. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?” Brad grinned. “No!” I jumped to my feet and rushed over to them. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I pretty much jumped on Brad as I pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I pulled away from him and turned to Josh. He grinned, pulling me down into a hug. “You’re welcome,” he said, seconds

before his lips touched mine. “Now, how does all this work?” Honestly, I had no clue. *** I took a cab home, mostly so the boys didn’t fight over who got to drive me. As I stepped into my apartment, I wasn’t all there. I was focused on how the hell this was all going to work. Jess and Kenda looked up at me. “You’ve been gone a while.” “I went to talk to Brad and Josh,” I said. Kenda perked up. “You did? Who did you pick? Why didn’t you tell me you’d

made your choice?” “Because I hadn’t.” I padded over to the couch and dropped down beside my best friend. “I went out for a walk to clear my head.” And then I told her everything, including the fact that I was now dating two men. As I finished my story, my friend gave me an impressed look. “So you found a way to keep them both?” “Is it that wrong of me?” “No!” It was Jess who said something. “If you three are willing to try it, and everyone is alright with it, then it’s not wrong.” She smiled. “Love is love, no matter how many people are involved.”

“Thanks.” For the first time, I actually felt like this might have been the right choice. Like maybe I wasn’t a dreadful person for doing this. Love is love, no matter how many people are involved. I thought about it. “Now I just need to figure out how to … I don’t know, balance it or something. Like do they get me every other weekend?” Kenda cleared her throat. “What about me?” “Of course, I’ll make time for you!” My friend’s eyes narrowed playfully. “You better, or we’re going to have some issues,

little lady.” “You always come first.” I gave her my best innocent look, one that I’d perfected with her. Kenda laughed. “So really, how’s it going to work? Do they have to put in a request time with you or something?” “No,” I snapped. It wasn’t some kinda of business relationship; it wasn’t going to be like that. “I’ll just have to make sure I can balance out my time with them as well as with other people, it will have to be that simple.” But was that really simple at all? What did I get myself into? My heart skipped a beat as my phone

buzzed in my pocket. I snatched it up and answered the call without looking at who it was. “Hello?” “Hey,” Josh’s voice came from the other end of the phone. “Hey, what’s up?” I stood heading for my bedroom so we could have a little privacy. “I was just thinking about this weekend, what about you?” Was he going to steal the weekend already? Maybe I can do Friday and Saturday with him and then Saturday night and Sunday with Brad … “I just got home pretty much.”

“I figured. I didn’t catch you while you were in the cab, did I?” “No. I’ve been home for about half an hour, did you miss me that much already?” “Yes. And I want to see you this weekend.” “Okay.” “I um, talked to Brad about it.” He almost sounded embarrassed by it. “He said it’s cool. I was thinking maybe I could pick you up for the weekend.” For the whole weekend? “Sure. That sounds good.” My heart did a backflip. It felt like ages since I’d spent the weekend

with Josh; I know it was my fault, but I still missed it more than I’d realized I had. “Good. I can’t wait to see you, Hayley.”

Chapter Seven That week passed without me even realizing it. Jess fit into the house without an issue. It was almost as if we’d been doing it for years the way she fell into a routine with us. We’d spend the nights in front of the TV or just chatting, and the days for me and Kenda were spent in school while Jess when to work. She was talking about taking time off work to further her education. “I know I need to get better at marketing,” she said as I stuffed clothes into my backpack. I couldn’t shake the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I’ve been to his house dozens of times, it’s nothing new, I reminded myself for the seventh time this hour. I took a deep breath. “You should come to school with us!” I said. “I’d take a marketing class with you. That sounds fun to me!” Jess grinned. “Really? I wouldn’t want to do it alone honestly.” A blush touched her cheeks. “Wait, you’ll move to a new city and be fine with it, but the idea of being alone in a classroom without friends scares you?” I raised an eyebrow. “It’s silly, I know.”

Kenda shrugged. “We all have our quirks.” She grinned at me then glanced down at my bag. “Which one has you tonight?” A knock on the door sounded before I could answer her. “It’s open!” I called. Josh opened the door and stood in the doorway. “Hey.” Kenda grinned. “Hey.” He gave her a quick nod. “Josh,” I pointed to Jess. “Jess. Jess, Josh.” I pointed back at him as I tucked my makeup bag and my school books into

the backpack and zipped it up. I stood slipping the backpack over my shoulders. “I’ll see you guys later.” I turned my attention to Jess. “And let me know about those classes, I would totally take one with you.” As I made my way over to Josh, he pulled me into his arms, his lips touching mine for a fraction of a second. “All ready?” “Yup.” I nodded as we made our way out the door and towards his car. *** In all honesty, I felt a little bad that I was spending the weekend with Josh, but when Brad called me that night, he didn’t

say anything about it. He just wanted to know about my day and talk about his, and just chit chat. He didn’t ask what I had planned with Josh, or if I was going to see him soon or anything like that. So I never said anything about it. “It feels nice to have you back for the weekend,” Josh said as we pulled into his driveway. “It feels nice to be back here for the weekend,” I admitted. “I … I’m really sorry for any hurt I caused you. You know I never meant—” “I know. Some people aren’t meant to love only one person.” He shrugged.

Maybe that was me. Maybe that was that little old lady I’d met. I smiled, thinking about her. I thought about her often; I wished I could see her again. Maybe I’d start going to that bench often, just to see if she ever stopped by; or just to be a little bit like her. As Josh pulled the keys out of the ignition, I stepped out of the car and made my way towards his front door. “It should be unlocked,” Josh called after me. My brow furrowed. Josh was always anal about locking the door because he had so much stuff in there, as well as his work laptop that had some confidential stuff

on there. But he was right; when I opened the door, it was unlocked. I stepped inside and slipped my boots off, taking a deep breath of something that resembled apple pie. “Did you do some baking?” I asked frowning as Josh came in behind me. “No.” He snorted. “That was me,” Brad said from the kitchen doorway. My backpack dropped to the ground as I stared at him then looked at Josh. I looked between the two men for a couple seconds trying to piece everything together. As if my confusion was written

all over my face, Brad snorted. “We figured it wouldn’t be fair for you to have to decide who to spend your time with,” Josh said. “We um, thought we could all spend weekends together.” Together. They wanted to spend weekends together, the three of us? My jaw dropped as I processed everything. “Not together-together.” Brad clarified. “No!” Josh chimed in. “Not … No! Just no.” I smirked as I bent down and picked my backpack up. “Well, you two are full of surprises.” I slipped out of my shoes and headed towards the bedroom.

“Brad is in the guest room. I won the coin flip, which is why it is here and I get you for the first night.” A coin flip. That was how they decided who got to spend the first night with me. I laughed as I made my way into Josh’s bedroom and dropped my bag down. He followed me into the room. His hands traced over my hips as his lips touched my neck. “By the way, you look gorgeous right now.” I turned around to face him, his arms wrapping around me as he pulled me into a kiss. “Thank you, you’re pretty cute yourself.”

A grin spread over Josh’s face. “Oh, Brad and I talked about it and there are no threesomes going on.” His eyes sparkled. I pouted dramatically. “None at all?” “Nope.” “Is it something you two might reconsider?” “Maybe eventually.” He grinned as he pulled me against him. “For now, you’re not going to get that lucky.” “But I am going to get lucky, right?” I grinned, nipping his lower lip gently. Josh didn’t say anything. Instead, he pushed me down onto the bed and

crawled between my legs. His lips touched my neck, placing feathery soft kisses along every inch of my skin. My fingers reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it off him quickly. He smiled, pulling away from me just enough to slip me out of my shirt. “Take your pants off,” he ordered. Grinning, I said, “Well, you’re not in the mood to wait at all, are you?” “No.” His words sent a shiver down my spine as I quickly removed my pants. Josh pulled me onto his lap, his teeth grazing my neck gently. I moaned as his fingers tangled in

my hair. “Oh, yes.” My eyes fluttered back for a fraction of a second. When I looked down at him his eyes were locked on mine. He pulled away from me, cupping my face in his hands. “I love you, Hayley. I understand if you can’t say it back, but I do. I love you.” My heart did a backflip. Before I could say a word, Josh pulled me into a kiss. This one was soft, gentle; almost loving. I pulled away from him. “I love you too, Josh,” I whispered. I might not have been ready to say it a couple weeks ago, but after everything

that had happened these past few weeks it was clear to me that I cared about him so much I could only call it love. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have given him a chance. My fingers tangled in his hair as I pulled him back into a kiss. He slowly guided me down onto the bed; soft fabric tickled my back as he pulled my panties to one side. His fingers slipped into me easily. I gasped, rolling my eyes back. “Oh, yes.” My fingers dug into him gently. His finger wiggled inside me.

“Feels like you could use something else.” His eyes locked on me as he pulled away and out of me, reaching for his nightstand he pulled the drawer open and grabbed us a condom. I smiled as I watched him undo his pants, slide them down to his knees along with his boxers and reach for his thick cock. He rolled the condom over his full length and turned his attention back to me. “You sure we can’t get Brad in here?” I asked jokingly. Josh snorted. “Maybe some other time.” I felt his head touch my folds. He hadn’t completely ruled the idea out, just said another time. I grinned.

He pushed into me gently, and I gasped, my fingers digging into the blankets. Reaching out, he took my hand in his. I squeezed his hand gently as he slid out of me and back in. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Soft and gentle at first, growing faster and faster. Josh’s free hand traced over the curves of my body. I moaned, my eyes rolling back. It felt like it had been so long since I felt this much pleasure. Faster and faster he thrust into me. His lips lowered to my neck as he traced over every inch of skin he could get.

Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. I let go of his hand and my fingers traced their way along his muscular back, my nails digging into him. Josh’s eyes rolled back as he let out a sound of pleasure. He thrust faster and harder. I could already feel myself so close to the edge. I bit my lip, trying not to cry out too loud. As if realizing what I was doing, Josh smirked. He thrust into me faster and faster, harder and harder as his hands traced over the curves of my body to my breast. I moaned as his fingers dug into me, massaging my breast gently. “Does it feel that good?” he whispered. I nodded.

“Then moan.” I did, loud. “Louder.” My cheeks flushed, but I did as I was told. I moaned louder as he thrust into me faster and faster, harder and harder. My eyes rolled back. “Oh, fuck, I’m so close,” I whispered. Everything went a fuzzy white as my body arched towards him. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Faster and harder. I cried out in pleasure as my orgasm rippled through my body. My fingers dug into him as I gasped for breath, waves of pleasure flooding through my body again

and again. My hips bucked as another one came, then another. Josh gasped, thrusting into me as hard as he could. Again and again. I moaned, pleasure overwhelming me. Another wave came rippling through my body, this time softer, then another, and the next so soft I could hardly feel it. I lay in bed gasping for breath. My eyes flickered open as Josh pulled out of me and went to the garbage. “I’m going to go take a shower.” He came over to the bed and gave me a quick kiss. “You should go say hi to Brad before he comes in here and tries to have sex with you on my bed.”

I giggled. “I’ll see you when you get out of the shower.” Grinning, I pushed myself up and grabbed a condom from the nightstand. I waited until he was out of the room to grab my pink robe and slip into it, then I headed for the kitchen. Brad glanced at me, a smile spreading over his face. “Sounds like you enjoyed yourself.” “You could hear that?” A blush touched my cheeks. He laughed. “Loud and clear; I’m guessing his house isn’t very soundproof.” My cheeks burned. “I’m so sorry.” He shrugged. I closed the distance between

us. Brad held his arms out so I could slip between them; they wrapped around me, and I kissed his cheek. “I’m still horny,” I whispered next to his ear, my teeth nibbling gently. “Really.” His hands traced over the silk fabric, lower and lower. “Did he not do it for you?” Brad grinned as he pulled away from me. I hit him playfully. “Maybe it’s me. Seeing you just made me horny again.” Okay, lame response, but it was the best I could come up with quickly. Brad laughed softly, pulling me close to him again, his lips crashing against mine.

“So you’re against threesomes too?” I asked between kisses. “Yes.” I made a whining noise but stepped closer to him, climbing onto his lap. His rough jeans against my skin felt nice, but it was the bulge in his pants that felt even better. I moaned, nipping his lips gently as I reached for his crotch, unzipping his jeans and reaching for his cock. His warmth surrounded me as my fingers wrapped around his member and gently pulled it out from his jeans. My hand rubbed him off as we kissed. Brad let out a deep breath. “Fuck, Hayley.” He let out a deep breath

as I pulled away. I held the condom out so he could see it, tearing the packaging as fast as I could, and then I rolled the condom over him before I looked him in the eyes. Brad grabbed me and pulled me closer to him. I hovered less than an inch away from his cock, and I could feel his head touching my folds. I lowered myself down onto him. His eyes rolled back as I rode him. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. His eyes opened as he pulled the robe away from me and undid my bra. It fell off between us, but neither of us

bothered to move it. Brad’s lips lowered to my breast, nipping gently. I moaned, rolling my eyes back. “Oh, God, yes,” I moaned, moving faster. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. His cock slammed in and out of me, faster and faster. His teeth grazed my nipple gently. I moaned, tangling my fingers into his hair as he released my nipple and kissed my neck. His hands traced over the curves of my body as one of mine slipped between my legs. My fingers circled my clit, faster and faster as his cock moved in and out of me.

Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Faster and harder, faster and harder. I murmured as his nails dug into the small of my back. “Fuck,” he whispered. “I forgot how good it felt to be inside you.” He pulled me into a kiss as his body tensed. His words sent a wave of heat through my body. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. My fingers circled my clit faster and faster, keeping time with his cock slamming into me. His cock slammed into me harder and harder. Brad’s fingers dug into me as he let out a gasp, thrusting

into me as hard as he could. I gasped, my eyes rolling back. “Again,” I almost begged. He obliged, thrusting into me. Hard. My fingers massaged myself as everything went a fuzzy white for the second time today. My free hand clung to him as if I feared I would fall without his support. My body twitched as my hips bucked against him, grinding on his lap. Brad’s cock wiggled inside me as I gyrated, my fingers working frantically over my clit. I gasped as pleasure overwhelmed me. Waves of pleasure crashed through my body and I cried out as Brad thrust into me again and again.

“Oh, fuck.” His arms wrapped around me, and I let him fully support me. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I moaned. Another wave of pleasure overwhelmed my body, then another. Each wave crashing through my body became softer and softer. Finally, my body relaxed and I slumped against him. He held me tight in his arms as I gasped for breath. “You look like you’re ready for a nap,” he whispered. I laughed softly. “I feel it.” The idea of having to get up and walk anywhere seemed like torture. I wasn’t even sure if

my legs would be able to carry me. “Did you tire her out already?” Josh asked from behind me. My head snapped up as I turned to look at him. “I’m sure she’ll be ready for another round after she gets a little rest.” He pulled me up just enough so he could slip the condom off as Josh headed to the living room. Throwing it out, he tucked himself back in before lifting me in his arms and standing up. I closed my eyes as he carried me somewhere, and then felt him lay me down on the couch. I looked over, stretching myself across Josh’s legs.

Yes, I thought. We lay on the couch together, the three of us as we watched a movie. And you know what? It felt right. My head rested on Brad, and my legs lay across Josh. Josh held my hand, and Brad’s fingers were tangled in my hair. I took a deep breath as the urge to fall asleep overwhelmed me. I made the right choice, I told myself, and honestly, I could fully believe that I did make the right choice. I’d chosen both Brad and Josh because I couldn’t see myself picking one or the other—and if it hadn’t been for that old lady with lipstick like my grandma’s, I never would have thought that this was a possibility. But now, thanks to her, I sat here between

one man I knew I loved and one man I knew I’d grow to love—and for that, I couldn’t be happier. *** My fingers entwined in her hair as she rested her head on my lap. I caught Josh’s eye, and he gave me a smile. I returned it. When she’d left that night after telling us she wanted to be with both of us, I’d stuck around for a while. I liked Josh on some level; I’d liked him when we went out drinking; if it hadn’t been for the fact that I wanted Hayley as bad as he did, I would have considered him my friend. I glanced down at Hayley. I really hadn’t

meant to tire her out this much. She must have had a rough week. As she lay on my lap, she adjusted her robe so it covered her better. Josh reached above us and grabbed a blanket, laying it over her. She glanced at him. “Thank you.” Then she turned her attention to me. “And thank you. You’re the best pillow I’ve ever had.” She smiled before resting her head back down on me. I’m not going to lie, my heart skipped a beat. ***

I lay there for a long time. I wasn’t actually watching TV. The boys had put a hockey game on; thank God they seemed to agree on the same team. How am I going to remember all this crap? I wondered. It was bad enough when I had to remember what one person’s favorites were, but now it was two and I couldn’t get them screwed up, otherwise they would feel like the less important one in the relationship. Can I actually love them the same? I knew I couldn’t tell Brad that I loved him yet, and I had told Josh, but we’d been together longer. I just had to hope it wouldn’t affect his feelings towards Josh. It’s going to be perfect, I told myself, and I

was right, it would be perfect. Both Brad and Josh were perfect, it was just that simple. I knew that when it came down to it, the three of us together could really do something cool with our lives. I opened my eyes and turned to them. “So guys, I think I know what I’m going to do with school.” They both stared at me. “You do?” “What? Brad asked. “I’m going to take a marketing class next semester, and Jess and I are going to go into business.” I looked at Brad. “Remember that girl who gave us a tour at the zoo? She’s my new roommate. I like

her, she wants to open her own zoo one day, but she says she isn’t good at marketing, so we’re going to take a marketing class together.” Josh and Brad exchanged a look, and then they both smiled. “Alright babe,” Josh said. “As long as you let me feed the wildcats.” Brad smiled. “I’ll feed you to them if I get mad at you.” Both men laughed.

THE END Dear reader, I really hope that you liked this story! I will send a new free romance box set to you within the next coming days, so look out for it in your inbox! In the meantime, you are welcome to checkout my Facebook page and my Amazon Author Page for all of my latest updates and releases if you like! Talk soon!

With love, Sarah