Educated

by Charles, Colleen

  I scanned the pristine interior of his car. “I can’t. I’ll ruin your interior.”

  He jumped out of the car, grabbed a heavy blanket from the back, and hit the curb. Before I could blink, he wrapped me in the warm, soft comfort of the fabric and led me toward the vehicle, pushing me inside while remaining careful not to hit my head on the metal frame.

  A groan escaped him. “Devon. I don’t care about my fucking leather seats. All I care about is you. If I hadn’t screamed at that little dipshit that day in the music department he never would have…”

  I throw a hand up between us. “No. He’s been bullying me for months because he and his eight-pack abs have bought in to the media’s warped perception of physical perfection. This has nothing to do with you. And he’s right, you know.”

  He sighed, a heavy, lingering exhale that spoke of frustration and upset. “What is he right about? Not a damn thing that I can see.”

  Once inside, I didn’t know what to do or say so I snuggled deep into the seat, trying not to drip anywhere that would ruin the leather interior. Pulling my hood up, I covered my face so he couldn’t see my expression. I knew that a new river of tears flowed but they’d mixed in with the raindrops.

  “I’m not skinny.”

  “Thank God for that.” Had he really just said that? I looked again at my drenched rat clothes and hair, trying to see myself through his eyes. All I could see was every glaring imperfection. Nothing that would turn the head of a man like him.

  I rolled my shoulders like a boxer, trying to loosen my tight muscles. “Where are we going?”

  “Home. You need to get out of those wet clothes and in front of a heater. And some soup. I think some hot soup is definitely called for in this situation. Maybe even a shot of whiskey. But don’t tell your dad I said that since you’re not legal.”

  Nope, not legal. And sitting right next to the man who felt compelled to say it.

  He pulled the car back out onto the road, and I closed my eyes. Annie would take care of me after we got back to the dorms. She’d know just what to do. Exhaustion overtook my senses and I allowed my eyes to flutter shut, wanting to block out all of the evils of the day. But I couldn’t drift off because Judge was so close I could have reached out and touched him. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my sweatshirt as arousal pulsed through my veins.

  “You’re okay?” he asked, and I heard the distinct change in the pitch of his voice. It got lower, huskier, and I wondered if he was as overcome with sensation as I was even under the stress of the situation.

  “Yes.” I pulled the cloak of the blanket around my shaking body even tighter.

  “You’re not. You’re shivering,” he said, reaching to the knobs to turn the heat on higher. The temperature in the car was already sweltering. My shivering had more to do with his body looming so close to mine than my walk in the rain. He draped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close so that my face nuzzled his shoulder.

  My pulse jackknifed, and I felt my throat tighten. I looked down at myself, knowing without visual verification that I’d lost it. Anxiety pummeled all four limbs, and I held on to my fabric shield for dear life.

  “Devon.” He said my name deeply, with a touch of authority. “Look at me.”

  My traitorous brain had been trained through fantasy to obey his every command. But in my latest version, when he’d demanded that I look at him, we’d been in bed. He’d grabbed my knees, pulled my legs apart, and met my eyes just before he’d licked me.

  I peeked around the rim of my hood, meeting his tortured eyes. He looked like hell. Obviously, he’d read the social media post and felt sorry for me, the poor pathetic loser that he’d kissed in a moment of sympathy and weakness. I didn’t want or need his pity. All of a sudden, the air left my lungs and the car. I needed to get out. I waited until he slowed down for a stoplight and pushed the door handle. Locked. A muscular arm snaked out to stop my forward movement.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice whooshing through my body like a ribbon of desire unraveling.

  “Leaving.”

  “Like hell. Sit your ass in that seat. Do you think I could ever face your father again if you scrambled out of a moving vehicle and hurt yourself? Besides, you probably already have hypothermia from your poor decisions. Why didn’t you call me? I would have come right away to save… get you.”

  Because there isn’t one damn thing you can do for me that won’t cause me even more pain.

  His hand remained steady and firm on my shoulder. And God, I felt it. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the heat that consumed me whenever he laid a hand on me. He didn’t speak for long seconds, but he was definitely appraising me. Daring me. After several tense moments, I settled back again and he broke contact.

  “This isn’t your fault, Judge. I don’t understand why you keep insisting it is.” I felt my hands start to shake from my nerves. I was losing it, but I couldn’t stop the energy moving through me. Sexual energy. The confines of the already small car seemed to be caving in all around me.

  “Devon.”

  An oath.

  A plea.

  A gritty, husky, sexy invitation.

  Butterflies took root in my belly at the way he said my name with such authority, demanding in that single moniker that I speak and explain myself. But I couldn’t. How could I tell him that every cell in my body yearned to flee the shit storm of my current life and become enveloped in the cocoon of his protection? But that wasn’t possible because I didn’t belong to Judge. And I never would. In spite of the perfect kiss we’d shared. Thankfully, he hadn’t mentioned it and I sure as hell wasn’t going to open that writhing can of worms.

  “What?” I snapped, unable to keep the waspish tone from my voice. Hoping against hope that if I kept up the bitchy routine, he’d get frustrated and drop me off on the nearest street corner.

  But he didn’t. He just sighed as if he saw right through my routine.

  I felt my damn tears intensify and pulled the drawstring on my hood to tighten it.

  He moans a sound that speaks of regret-but-not-regret. “So, that’s how it’s going to be? Okay, then. You can remain silent. For now.”

  He looked at me after scanning my drenched body for several tense seconds. I liked that he took charge. I’d fantasized about it for so many years that now that it was actually happening I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt safe in the confines of his car. But not safe enough to admit to anything of any import.

  True to his word, he just drove and we didn’t speak until the car slid to a halt in front of a two-story house on an oak-lined street. It looked like something out of a children’s storybook. This was not my dorm. Where in the hell had he taken me?

  My heart flipped over. “Where are we?”

  “My house.”

  No. No. No.

  I struggled against the handle again and it remained locked. He must have hit the child safety button, effectively keeping me trapped inside the vehicle. I was a grown ass woman! He couldn’t keep me hostage in here. I could leave if I wanted to.

  I stared at his face, and I could have sworn something crackled between us that wasn’t there before. “I want to go home. You don’t need to take care of me, Judge. I’m not some little play toy for you to hover over and then put away on a shelf.”

  He reached up and snatched my hood off my head, causing my long hair to cascade in a damp halo around my face. His tender fingers traced from my jawline, across my lips, and over my eyelashes. My heart hammered against my chest as Judge’s scent entered my nostrils, and I inhaled his essence. His passion. After several long moments, he wrapped his long fingers around the back of my neck and pulled me so close our breath mingled.

  “This has nothing to do with protecting you, Devon. This bullshit is over. I’m tired of the intense struggle, the yearning, the wanting. I’m ready to make you mine.”

  Chapter 8

  Judge

  My cock roared to life in my j
eans. I couldn’t stop thinking about Devon and the way her rain-soaked clothing hugged her every curve like a second skin. The moment she’d slid inside my car, I’d smelled it on her. That unique fragrance she wore and something else. Something darker and naughtier. Desire. I’d tasted her passion on her lips and I could smell the heat on her as if we were both wild animals. And now, I’d taste her body. Just like I’d imagined every night in my dreams until I’d jolt awake, shaking and aching.

  I could have thrown the car in park in some deserted parking lot and taken her right then and there, shown her what I wanted to do to her, and not given a shit if some homeless bum saw it all. I’d been hard, so fucking hard, ever since I’d touched her that I’d thought about unzipping my pants and showing her just what she did to me. Watch her eyes widen when she saw the massive size of my erection.

  I remained focused on Devon and the way she wouldn’t make eye contact with me. She’d been doing it the entire time she’d felt trapped inside the warm car, but I no longer gave a shit. I was the hunter, and I wanted to bite into the tender neck of my prey. I wanted to taste her. Devour her. Make her scream my name until she had no idea where I ended and she began. And I’d have her. Nothing would stop me. Not even her fear or my pride.

  I could sense her inner turmoil about what was crackling between us, the arousal that I knew she felt just as strongly as I did. It radiated from her every pore, and I could smell her pussy. Even though I couldn’t verify it, she throbbed and ached for my hand. My cock.

  She belonged to me, and I’d show her.

  Right now.

  After I jammed the gear shift into park, I jumped out and trotted to the passenger side to let her out. I’d expected her to be annoyed when I’d instituted the child safety locks but her surly attitude surprised me. I’d thought she’d be devastated by the ignorant little asshole’s portrayal of her on Facebook. I’d already called the campus police and demanded an investigation and that it get deleted. They’d been on it within minutes. And if my interference pissed her off even more, well, she could just deal with it after I fucked her senseless.

  I grabbed her hand and tugged her forward, shielding her body from more rain as surely as it came at me in sheets. Lust slammed into me at the touch of her body and the feel of her heated skin, but so did love. I fucking loved Devon… and not like a sister or my best friend’s daughter. I loved her like a man loves his woman.

  For her, I’d go to any lengths to make sure she was protected. I’d leave my tenured position at the merest whisper from her lush lips.

  “Judge.” She whispered my name, and everything in me tightened. Ached. Pulsed with desire for her. “I’m just going to say this because I’m done hiding. I want you.”

  I curled my fingers into the doorframe, trying to refrain from pulling her into the house, throwing her over my shoulder caveman-style, and running toward my king-sized bed. I wanted to kiss her until she was breathless, until she was clutching at me and begging me to take her.

  But I didn’t move, because she clearly had something to say. This would be a break it or make it situation. She’d either tell me what was between us couldn’t go on or she’d finally give herself to me.

  Body and soul.

  She looked down at her shaking hands, tinged blue from the cold. I faced her and clasped them in mine, rubbing the warmth back into them. Her teeth started chattering and in that moment, I no longer gave a shit that she had to tell me something. It would have to wait until we reached the bedroom, and I could get her out of these drenched things.

  Once we’d reached our destination, I reached out and placed my palm on her jawline and lifted her head up with a forefinger under her chin. She stared up at me, her eyes so wide, her expression so vulnerable. I lost it. I lost my heart. I lost my soul.

  “What did you want to say?” I whispered, wanting to pull her into my chest and comfort her, to stroke my hand over her hair, and to let Devon know I’d always be in her corner. Her champion.

  “I love you, Judge. I can’t run from it anymore. It’s always been you.” Her eyes got even wider under the strength of her admission, and if possible, my cock hardened even further. It felt like a steel rod jutting out and tenting my pants. And I didn’t care if she knew it. From this moment on, she belonged to me.

  And I’d own her.

  Chapter 9

  Judge

  “I love you so much, Judge. I have since that moment in my mom’s kitchen that time you helped me with my paper on Treasure Island. I’m sure you don’t even remember. But I do. I remember every single moment I’ve spent in your company. I’m tired of trying to pretend my feelings might go away… because they haven’t. If anything, they’ve only intensified.” She speared me with a tormented gaze and all I wanted to do was ease her ache and tell her everything was going to be all right. Because it would. Or I’d die trying.

  I lacked any semblance of rational thought or tenuous control when it came to Devon. Right now, the way she looked at me, the things she said… I wasn’t about to try and stop myself from having her, from showing her that I returned her feelings. All of them. She already owned my heart and over the course of this night, she’d own my body.

  I couldn’t have stopped myself even if her father suddenly appeared as the voice of reason standing on my shoulder to whisper censure in my ear. Nothing mattered. Nothing but Devon and our love for each other.

  I cupped my hand on the back of her head, held her in place, and leaned forward. For a second, all we did was stare into each other’s eyes and breathe the same air.

  “Kiss me, Judge,” she whispered, begging me in that husky whisper that ripped through my body like lightning. “Prove to me that it wasn’t a fluke. The electricity between us at the Semple Mansion. I need to feel it again. Just to be sure.”

  I groaned, my body shaking. “Your wish is my command.”

  “It is?”

  “Anything,” I said on a wicked groan. “I love you, too, Devon. God,” I groaned and closed my eyes for a heartbeat. “God, I love you so much it pains me to even think of it. So, I don’t. I’ve shoved it inside and buried it but that’s only made it grow. And now it’s coming out and it wants a pound of my flesh. And yours.” I leaned down to kiss her like it was the last time I ever would. I wanted the strength of my passion to steal the breath from her body.

  She moaned underneath my capture of her mouth, and I kissed her harder, gripping the back of her neck so I could weave my fingers through the glorious mass of her hair. I loved it so much. Always had. Itched to touch it every time I saw her. Before the night was over, I wanted that hair trailing over every inch of my fevered skin. After another tortured moan, I moved my mouth down her neck. With my tongue and lips, I ran a path down the slender arch of her throat, licking, sucking, and trailing butterfly kisses over her sensitive spots. I sucked on the slope of her shoulder, loving the way she arched her back, her breasts lifting, begging me to touch them.

  “That’s it, Devon.” I sucked on her flesh until I knew it would be red, because I wanted to mark her. I wanted every little fucker on the Diamond campus to know she’d been branded by a real man who knew what he wanted and took it. From this moment on, no other man was ever going to have what was mine. And no man was ever going to hurt what was mine. “I’ve wanted you for so long. It seems like forever. Kissing you, touching you, those thoughts have consumed me. You’ve bewitched me, woman.”

  “Judge.”

  The way she whispered my name made my cock twitch. I wanted to demand that she scream it just like in my fantasies, as if the one syllable had been torn from her body, wrenched on the power of her lust. “Tell me what you want, Devon. Tell me what you’ve thought about when you were alone.”

  She lingered longer with her heated gaze, looking deeper, keeping her eyes on me until heat erupted in every cell. “I want your hands on me, Judge. Then your mouth. Everywhere.”

  Scooping her up as if she weighed nothing, I carried her to my bedroom where I’d
spent hours imagining claiming her as mine. I shoved her down on the bed and climbed on top of her. I had to get the wet clothes off of her. Not only to see her curvy body but to get her dry and warm. As I divested Devon of her garments, I stopped to kiss and lick every inch of skin I exposed, rubbing with my palms until I was sure she’d warmed back up to an acceptable level.

  “Are you okay or do you need a blanket?” I asked, fumbling around on the bed for the decorative afghan my mum had knitted for me when she found out about the temperature of the Minnesota winters.

  “No, I’m warm. Almost too hot,” she said, blushing under my scrutiny. I loved her innocence. In that moment, I wondered who her first had been and I wanted to reach back through the hands of time and punch his damn lights out. If I found out he hadn’t been tender, slow and perfect, I might still do it.

  “Good.” Devon continued to blush until she rose up on her elbows. I leaned over her so she could be covered by my chest and she wound her arms around my neck and kissed me. I liked her taking control.

  I groaned, loving that she opened her mouth wide for me. I plunged my tongue into her the warm, sweet recess of her mouth.

  “I’m aching all over.”

  The sound of her whispered words turned my cock to a steel rod of throbbing discomfort. I wanted to bury myself to the hilt, to feel her sweet pussy pulsating around it, stealing every drop from my depths and taking it deep into her womb. I wanted to mark her. I wanted to claim her. I wanted everything she had to give.

  My lips brushed her jawline. “I know, sweetheart. I’ll ease the ache. I promise.”

  “Don’t stop.” She lowered her gaze to my mouth, and I looked at the pulse in her neck that fluttered with rapid intensity.

  I’ll never fucking stop. Not until the day I die.

  “No.” I looked back at her face. “I won’t ever stop. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I love you, Devon. This is what love looks like.”

  She sighed and moaned on a ragged exhale. “Good, because I’d die if you stopped. I feel like I’m reaching for something. Somewhere I’ve never been.”