“Okay. See you in there.”
Cam took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves as she pushed open the bathroom door. There were four stalls along the wall on the right-hand side, all empty.
Cam stood in front of the mirror, her hands gripping the edge of the white marble counter top as she stared at her reflection. Her makeup held up okay even though it was after midnight. She didn’t normally wear lipstick but the burgundy shade she had on now gave her a boost of confidence and she thought it made her look a few years older.
Cam still wasn’t sure if she should go into Linda’s party. She couldn’t really throw herself at Jackie again no matter how much she thought that those feelings were mutual.
She had to respect Jackie’s position. She had a lot more to worry about than Cam did. Jackie made it clear that she can’t cross that line and date a student.
There’s no point in going in there. Jackie was too tempting, and Cam knew that if they kissed again, things would escalate.
I’ll just go in and find Kayla, tell her I’m going home.
Cam pushed herself away from the counter and reached for the handle on the door, pulling it towards her. She needed to leave before she changed her mind again.
Jackie nearly fell on top of her as Cam opened the door. Cam’s hands flew to Jackie’s waist, keeping her upright. Jackie’s hands were gripping her shoulders trying to keep herself from falling.
“Cam, I’m so sorry,” Jackie said, her hands still on Cam’s shoulders.
Cam’s hands were remained on Jackie’s waist as she stared into her gorgeous green eyes. It was as if time had stopped and they’d stepped into a world of their own, one where there were no consequences for their actions.
Cam didn’t move her hands and Jackie’s slid up from Cam’s shoulders to cup her neck.
Cam licked her lips. The desire that was reflected in Jackie’s eyes meant only one thing.
Jackie’s eyes fluttered shut as she leaned in, her lips crashing into Cam’s as she cupped her neck. The desperation in that kiss made Cam’s knees weak. This wasn’t one sided.
Cam pulled her closer, her hand sliding up Jackie’s back to where the v of her dress revealed her silky-smooth skin.
Cam’s lips parted against hers and when her tongue brushed across Jackie’s, she moaned as Cam kissed her harder, knowing that at any second this moment could come to an end.
Cam tried to savor it, to remember the way Jackie’s lips felt against hers and the way Jackie’s hands caressed her neck, moving through her thick auburn hair at the nape of her neck as their tongues danced.
Jackie’s hands slid away from Cam as Jackie broke the kiss. Cam’s eyes searched hers, waiting for those dreaded words.
We have to stop. That shouldn’t have happened. I have to go…
But Jackie didn’t say anything. She gripped Cam’s hips, pushing her back a few steps until she was pressed against the edge of the counter.
Cam’s palms were flat against the marble counter top as she lifted herself onto it, sitting with her legs spread just enough for Jackie to stand in between them.
Cam’s hand slid up to Jackie’s cheek, her thumb caressing her soft skin as she pulled her into a searing kiss. Jackie’s lips parted against hers, her tongue eagerly seeking out Cam’s, swirling around, making Cam hungry for more.
Jackie’s hands roamed across Cam, one returning to her neck, her thumb running across her jaw line as they kissed, while the other slipped under her teal tank top, gliding across her skin and sending a shiver through Cam’s body.
Cam leaned forward, their kisses becoming more and more heated. She was desperate for more than just Jackie’s lips though. She wanted to grab Jackie’s hand and press it into the heat that was radiating from her sex.
Cam wanted Jackie to push her thigh against her, to slowly grind out her pleasure but she also didn’t want their first time together to be in a hotel restroom.
And what had gotten into Jackie? Down the hall was a room full of her peers and Jackie didn’t seem to care that at any second one of them could walk in here.
When Jackie’s hand slid further up her ribcage to cup her breast through her bra, pinching her nipple through the lacy fabric, Cam forgot all about those things. It didn’t matter. Not now.
Cam moaned into Jackie’s mouth as she moved to her other breast. She was drenched. Every time Jackie had kissed her, she’d become so easily aroused and tonight was no different.
Cam wanted nothing more than to reach up to the nape of Jackie’s neck and unzip her dress, slowly sliding the zipper down, pushing the green fabric off her shoulders and down her back until she could step out of the dress.
She wanted to run her hands across Jackie’s bare skin, to feel her shiver under her touch.
Cam’s hand moved to the back of Jackie’s head as they continued to kiss, her fingers weaving through Jackie’s silky black hair, their lips fitting together so easily.
Jackie broke their kiss with a deep breath, running a hand through her hair as she met Cam’s eyes. They were both out of breath.
“This is crazy,” Jackie said with a smile, her cheeks flushed.
“It is.”
“I’ve never wanted anyone like this…”
“I don’t want to pressure you into this,” Cam said, seeing Jackie’s face change as she realized what she was suggesting, what it would mean if they actually did this. She got off the counter top to stand in front of her. “I know what’s at stake for you…”
“You’re not. This is me… Come back to mine,” Jackie said, holding her gaze. “I’m only ten minutes away.”
“We probably shouldn’t be seen leaving together.”
“Right… I’ll text you my address. I’ll just say my goodbyes and then I’ll be on my way.”
“I better find Kayla too, and tell her I’m leaving.”
“I’ll see you at my place, okay?”
Jackie leaned in for a quick kiss that nearly became heated again when Cam’s tongue grazed across Jackie’s.
Cam pulled away, her lips moving into a smile. “I’ll see you there.”
Jackie returned her smile. “Don’t be long,” she said before she turned to leave.
Cam stayed where she was, leaning against the counter top, almost frozen in place.
Did that just happen?
It was something that she couldn’t have even dreamt up. She’d just been trying to convince herself that nothing was going to happen with Jackie again and then she practically jumped on top of her.
Her phone buzzed a few seconds later with Jackie’s address and Cam ran a hand through her hair as she checked her reflection. She reapplied her lipstick and then left the restroom to go find Kayla.
Chapter 22
Jackie climbed the wooden steps leading up to her porch and unlocked her front door, shrugging off her coat and scarf as she closed it behind her. She’d gotten home before Cam.
Jackie went over to the fireplace and threw a match onto the fire, glad that she’d thought to set it up this morning.
At least she didn’t have to worry about her house being clean. It always was. Jackie kicked off her heels and carried them down to her bedroom.
She flicked the light switch as she padded across the wooden floors of her bedroom, leaving her heels in her walk-in closet, and heading into her bathroom.
Despite it being almost one in the morning, her makeup still looked good. She reapplied her lipstick, trying not to smile when she thought about why she needed to.
Cam would be here any minute. Jackie had tried to leave the party for more than ten minutes, but she’d been held up. She felt like everyone in the room had come over to her to say ‘Goodnight.’
Am I really doing this?
Jackie stared at her reflection as she tossed her lipstick back in her bag and left it on the counter. She was tipsy but not drunk. If this happened, she was in control. She would know what she was doing.
She was thirty-five years old and de
bating sleeping with her twenty-one-year-old student. That was what it would look like in the newspapers. That would be the headline if they got caught.
Jackie went through her the school’s registration log to find Cam’s info when she realized she was Cameron Lucas and one of her students. She had to know how old she was. Maybe it was only a ten-year age gap? But no… It was fourteen.
Would I really get into trouble if we got caught though? Max Fields doesn’t seem too concerned… But she’s still my student and that has to be a conflict of interest even if we are both adults.
It wasn’t that simple though. They’d met before she was Cam’s professor. She’d gone weeks without realizing that Cam was one of the two-hundred and fifty-six students in her behavioral psychology class.
Cam was also unlike any twenty-one-year-old that she’d ever met. She was more mature than some of her friends that were her age and the chemistry was undeniable.
The doorbell rang, and Jackie took a deep breath. This was it. If she didn’t want this to happen, she had to decide now before she saw Cam and she wouldn’t be able to think straight.
She padded across the wooden floors in her bare feet.
Was this how Linda felt? Had she debated the situation to death or had she just jumped into it without worrying about the consequences?
At least I’m single and not married like she was. If Linda got away with it, why can’t I?
Chapter 23
Cam paid the taxi driver and got out in front of a massive house. She doubled checked the address that Jackie had texted her and glanced over at the number on the mailbox.
Yes… This is her place. Wow…
Last week’s snowfall still covered the ground and she wrapped her scarf a little tighter around her neck as she walked up the driveway, careful not to slip on the slick surface.
The colonial style house was beautiful. Did Jackie really live here? On her own? Her white Audi was parked outside the garage door and Cam wondered if that meant that another car occupied the garage.
She climbed the steps up to the porch. This all felt surreal. Cam thought that if they ever got together, it would be spontaneous, but this was planned. This was Jackie’s suggestion.
Cam took a deep breath as she lifted her hand to press the doorbell. Cam rubbed her hands together while she waited. She wasn’t nervous, which surprised and scared her at the same time.
Jackie opened the door a few seconds later, still wearing her emerald green dress, but a few inches shorter now that she was in her bare feet.
“Hi,” Jackie said with a smile as she stood back to let Cam in.
“Hey… Were you afraid that I wouldn’t come?” Cam asked when she saw Jackie’s almost surprised expression.
“It crossed my mind, but I knew you would. Come in,” she said, reaching for her hand. “It’s freezing out there.”
On the taxi ride over, Cam thought about how this would go. They’d either sit down and talk, maybe have a drink or they’d jump on each other as soon as Cam walked through the door.
She didn’t know which she’d prefer either. She just hoped that things wouldn’t be awkward or that Jackie wouldn’t have changed her mind in the half hour since they’d agreed to come back here.
“You have a lovely home,” Cam said as she took off her winter jacket and hung it up on the coat rack beside the door. She left her blazer on and ran a hand through her hair.
“Thanks.”
“Sea views?”
“Yes. I try and spend as much time as I can out on the deck in the back… I love looking out at the ocean, listening to the waves… Can I get you a drink? Wine? Beer? Something stronger?”
“I might go with something stronger… I couldn’t drink tonight,” Cam said as Jackie headed into the kitchen that overlooked the living room. The massive space was open planned with dark hard wood floors. “I had to be responsible and keep an eye on everyone.”
“I’m well ahead of you then… So, I have whiskey, vodka… And I think rum.”
“Whiskey sounds good. Lots of ice.”
“Okay,” Jackie said with a warm smile. “Make yourself at home.”
Cam took off her heels and left them by the front door. She took a seat on the beige wrap around sofa in the living room. A stone fireplace was across from her, the flames flickering up between the thick logs.
She glanced over at Jackie as she fixed her drink in the kitchen. She was so sexy, sauntering across the kitchen to get ice in a dress that showed off her toned legs. Cam wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was.
“Do you run?” Cam asked as Jackie came into the living room and handed her the tumbler, the ice cubes rattling against the glass.
“Yes. How’d you know?”
“Your legs.”
Jackie laughed softly as she sat down beside her. “You were checking out my legs just now?”
“Yes.”
“You always said what was on your mind… I like that about you,” Jackie said as she brought her own tumbler to her lips.
“I just don’t see any point in bullshitting anyone.”
“I might as well be honest with you then.”
“What is it?”
“I feel like I’m losing control when I’m around you,” Jackie said softly.
Cam’s eyebrows rose. She waited for her to continue.
Is this the part where she calls this off? She’s probably trying to figure out a way to let me down easy…
“I’m usually in control,” Jackie said, her voice quivering slightly. “I like how I run my life… This is my first-year teaching behavioral psychology you know.”
“Really?”
Jackie nodded. “And I don’t normally teach freshmen at all.”
“You picked a good year to start,” Cam said with a sad smile.
Jackie reached up and brushed a lock of Cam’s wavy hair away from her eyes. She rested her arm on the back of the sofa, holding Cam’s gaze.
“Maybe I’m boring. I don’t know… But things were so simple before you showed up.”
“I doubt that… But you pursued me.”
“I know,” Jackie said with a smirk. “And I’m glad I did, for the record.”
“I just want to say that I’m okay with whatever happens,” Cam said as she mirrored Jackie’s position with her left arm draped across the back of the couch, their fingertips just a few inches apart.
“Do you really mean that?”
Cam nodded. “I can’t imagine being in your position right now and as much as I want you… I can wait. Or you know… If you don’t want to wait until the summer, I’d understand that too.”
Jackie nodded and looked away as she took a drink, her eyes falling on the fire, the glow casting shadows across the room.
“I have a confession to make,” Jackie said, clearing her throat.
“Okay…”
“I’ve never told this to anyone, but I was in the position that you’re in right now, fifteen years ago.”
“You were with one of your professors?”
“Yes… Linda… I didn’t give it a second thought though,” Jackie said softly. “I wanted her. She wanted me. I wasn’t nearly as mature as you are. I can’t believe the risks that she took to be with me and I never once thought about putting the brakes on. If anything, I was the one encouraging it to happen in the first place.”
“Did you get caught?”
“No.”
“But you obviously split up.”
“Yes. It only lasted about six months,” Jackie said as she took a sip of her drink.
“Did she break it off with you?”
“Yes… She was married so it was never really going to go anywhere.”
“Wow,” Cam said as she brought her tumbler to her lips. “I’m kind of surprised.”
“That I’d get myself involved in that kind of situation?”
“Yeah.”
“I wasn’t exactly sensible back then,” Jackie said with a smirk.
“But you are now?”
“I thought I was… Now… I don’t even know,” Jackie said, her eyes locking onto Cam’s.
Jackie leaned forward to place her tumbler on the glass coffee table in front of them, but she didn’t sit back into the cushions. Her hand found Cam’s, resting in her lap. She delicately traced a line across her palm with her fingertips, maintaining eye contact, waiting for Cam’s reaction to her touch.
Cam’s eyes met Jackie’s in a heated stare and her eyes flickered down to Jackie’s lips.
Jackie’s hand slipped away from hers and before she could object, Jackie stood up, her hands moving to the hem of her dress, hiking it a few inches further up her thighs as she gently pushed Cam back into the cushions and climbed on top of her, straddling her waist.
She took Cam’s tumbler from her hand and reached behind her to leave it next to hers. Jackie’s hand slid under Cam’s chestnut hair, cupping her neck as she dipped her head, her lips hovering just above Cam’s.
Cam’s hands moved to Jackie’s hips as their lips inched closer. Jackie’s lips captured hers in an intoxicating kiss that sent a shiver through Cam’s body.
Cam couldn’t believe that it had been three months since the last time they’d kissed. Those long months had been torture, and Cam had started to think that she’d never get to kiss Jackie’s lips again.
Cam could taste the whiskey on her lips as they covered her own again and again. Jackie moaned softly into her mouth as their tongues met in an erotic dance.
No one was putting on the breaks tonight, of that much Cam was sure. Jackie’s hand cupped her cheek, her other hand lost in Cam’s hair.
“You’ve been driving me crazy,” Cam breathed between kisses. “Skirts… Dresses. I thought you used to wear pants most days.”
Jackie’s lips found hers again, her tongue lightly running across her lips as she pulled away.
“Are you complaining?”
“Not at all,” Cam said with a half-smile. “Although I’ve been daydreaming about what’s underneath for months.”
Cam’s hand slid up Jackie’s back, her fingers finding the zipper to her dress at the nape of her neck. Jackie’s lips parted against hers as Cam gently pulled the zipper down, pushing the dress off her shoulders.
Forbidden Love Page 31