by Mia Madison
“That works out well, then.” I kissed her long and hard. “Because now neither of us has to wait any longer.”
Epilogue
Maya
ONE YEAR LATER
“Have you seen my red dress?”
“Well, since you never hang up any of your clothes, I think we can safely rule out the closet.”
TJ entered the bedroom—what had recently become our bedroom—and as always, the sight of him nearly took my breath away. Even though I’d moved in over spring break, it was hard to believe he was mine.
“Smartass. I need to find it so that I can send it to the dry cleaners before graduation.”
“All right, I’ll help you look.”
“Thanks,” I said, and I smacked him on the ass as he passed by. “Time to put that overeducated brain to work.” I was teasing him, half hoping he’d pick me up, toss me on the bed, and take me, but for once he didn’t rise to the challenge. Was something bothering him? All he was doing was sorting through boxes that I still hadn’t managed to unpack, but he looked a bit… off. Like he wasn’t able to relax even though it was Saturday.
After a few more minutes, he snapped his fingers. “Found it.” When I went to retrieve it from him, he pulled me in for a quick kiss. But he didn’t grope my ass or tweak my nipple through my blouse or do any of the things that he normally did.
“What’s with you today? You’re acting all strange. Is it these boxes? I’ll get them out of here by the end of the weekend. I just have one more set of papers to grade. Unlike certain department heads, I don’t have an assistant to help me out.”
TJ smiled, and as always, the sight made my pulse quicken, but again, there was something not quite right. And his next words confirmed it. “We need to talk.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah,” he said, and he took me by the hand and tugged me over to the bed. “Sit down.”
This didn’t sound good. I looked up at the man I loved and waited to hear what he had to say.
“There’s been a… change at Fairview.”
“Oh my God. Did they give my position to someone else?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s not from the department at all. This comes straight from the president of the community college.”
“What is it?”
TJ crouched down, and automatically, I spread my legs, letting him settle in between my thighs. Now we were almost eye-level.
“There’s a new rule against fraternization.”
“What?” A cold fear hit deep inside me.
“Faculty in the same department can’t date. It’s against the rules now.”
My heart sank. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. TJ had changed his entire career so that we could be together. Now, if I had to go find work in another city, and he stayed here… no. I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t leave him again.
“There has to be something we can do. They knew we were together when they hired you and when they gave me that offer letter. They knew we were a couple.”
He looked glum. “But that was just the Humanities Department. They can’t overrule any directives from higher up.”
I reached out and put my hand on his face, running a finger along the line between his tan skin and his beard. “What are we going to do?”
“Well… there is one exception,” TJ said, taking a deep breath. “But, well—”
“What is it?” I interrupted.
“The rule doesn’t apply to married couples.”
“Oh. That’s good. That’ll mean Darla and Jorge are okay, right?” Darla taught a literature class, and Jorge taught a bilingual composition class.
“Yeah, they’re good.”
I let out a small sigh. “Well, that’s something. But what are we going to do?”
“I have one idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll work…”
But my mind was already on another thought. “Can’t you talk to the president? I mean, FCC knew we were together from the get go. That’s why you approached them in the first place.” This was so frustrating. Ever since we’d met, there’s been one obstacle after another. I pointed my face upward and scowled at the ceiling, my hair falling down across my back.
“Maybe this will work,” TJ said, and I looked down at him and blinked.
My eyes fell to his hand. Specifically, the little blue box on his open palm. He… oh God, he was on one knee. “TJ?” My voice was barely there.
“Maya,” he said in response, seeming to enjoy the look of shock on my face. “Miss Bruckner. Miss MayBee3. Miss Soon-To-Be-Graduate… I love you. I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for you, and now that I’ve found you, I don’t ever want to let you go.”
He opened the box without his eyes ever leaving my face. “Will you marry me, Maya?”
“Oh my God,” I said, my words coming out in a gasp. He was really… he had a ring, and he really, truly wanted to…
My thoughts were jumbled, but my answer was easy. “Yes.”
His grin was quick and genuine. “You belong to me now, and I belong to you. I’m the first man you’ve ever been with, and I’m going to be the last man, too. Till death do us part. Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Hell yes,” I said, and I threw my arms around his neck. He hugged me back and then he stood, picking me up with him. But once he straightened up, he set me back on my feet again.
“Forgot something,” he said, sounding a little sheepish. And before I could ask what, he picked up my left hand and slid the ring on my finger.
“A perfect fit,” I said, waving my hand in front of my face, enjoying the way the light sparkled off the diamond.
“Yes, you are,” TJ said. “You fit my life just perfectly. So… I was thinking a June wedding.”
“What?” I said with a yelp. “That’s two months from now.”
“Well, why waste time? We have to be married before you join the department in August. That’s the dean’s rule. And I was thinking we should take our honeymoon in Europe.”
“Europe! Oh my God, that would be amazing. Can we go to Rome? I’d love to go to—-wait. You said it was the president’s rule.”
“Yes, he announced it just the other day.” TJ leaned down to kiss me, but I placed a hand on his chest, stopping him.
“But just now, you said it was the dean’s rule.”
“I meant the president. I always get them confused.”
My fiancé’s voice was a little too innocent—and that wasn’t his usual style. “It’s not really that hard. The president is a tall, fifty-year old man. The dean is a sprightly woman of sixty-five who’s probably only an inch or two taller than Yoda. They’re not exactly twins.”
“What’s your point?” TJ said, grinning down at me. And then I knew.
“There is no rule about fraternization,” I said, moving my hand back to smack him on the arm before getting distracted by the sight of my beautiful ring.
TJ’s grin was incredibly smug. “I may have been mistaken.”
“So this was all just a ruse for us to get married quickly?”
“And it worked, too. You said yes.”
“I would have said ‘yes’ anyway, you dummy.” This time I did try to smack him, but he caught my wrist in his firm grasp and twisted my hand behind my back. Now I was pressed up against his chest, a position that made it impossible for me to miss the hard bulge in his pants.
“I know, but you would have wanted to wait a long time for the wedding. If it takes you half a day to find a dress, how long will it take you to plan a wedding?”
“Half a year at least,” I said, holding up my free hand and admiring my gorgeous ring again. But then TJ caught that hand, too, and pushed it behind my back.
“You’ve got until the end of June. You’re mine,” he said, tightening his grip on my wrists, “and I don’t want to wait any longer. Do you?”
“No,” I admitted. “But I’m still mad at you for tricking me,” I said, though the smile I couldn’t wipe off
my face probably belied my words.
“Fair enough. Want to fight or do you want me to throw you down on the bed and make you come so hard your toes curl up?”
“Option B, please.”
“See?” He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. “You can make quick decisions.”
“I opened your private message a year and a half ago. That was a quick decision, and it worked out pretty damn well.”
“That it did. Now let’s see what you look like wearing that ring.” He let go of my wrists and I flashed my ring between us. “Wearing only that ring, sweetheart.”
Oh. Sheepishly, I peeled my shirt off, then my pants. And then my fiancé, the man I loved, the man I’d waited so long for, threw me on the bed and made love to me. Once roughly, once gently.
And afterwards, as we collapsed in a heap of tangled limbs, I placed my left hand on his chest, right over his heart. His heart may not have been fully open during his first, brief marriage, but it was for ours.
And he was right. Why wait when we’d finally found each other? He was mine, and I didn’t ever have to wait to be with him again.
Backmatter
About the Author
In the mood for something decadent, delicious, and provocative? Meet Mia Madison, purveyor of Forbidden Fantasies Romance. Come in, sit back, and relax. The candles are lit, and the dancing shadows on the wall promise sexy, seductive tales of spine-tingling love, leading to a pleasure-drenched happy-ever-after.
You'll discover young women eager for experience, who have scorching encounters with older men who know exactly what they're doing between the sheets. In Mia Madison's world, anything can—and does—happen. So leave your inhibitions at the door and come along for the ride.
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