by Jolie Day
Elise collapsed against the sofa, having been unaware of how much she had been arching her back to his thrusts. Eric dropped, removing his member from her. He sighed heavily. Elise took a couple of minutes, gasping for breath, to bask in what had just happened. Her head spun dangerously, and she was glad that she had been lying down. She couldn’t help but wonder how badly she would have toppled over if Eric had pounded into her while she had been standing.
“Eric,” she whispered.
Eric leaned over her, looking into her eyes. “Yes, Elise? How are you feeling?”
Elise basked in his presence, staring deeply into his eyes. “I’ve never felt better.”
His look turned relaxed and relieved. “I’m glad. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t liked what we just did.”
“Are you crazy?” Elise laughed lightly. “I’ve never enjoyed something so explicit and pleasurable in my life.”
Eric seemed pleasantly happy about her statement. He rested down next to her, positioning her so that she was in his arms. “I’m afraid your tea may have grown cold during our little escapade.”
Elise smiled faintly and then trailed her lips down his cheek, giving him soft pecks as she went. “It’s okay. You can make me more in the morning.”
Eric returned her serene expression with one of his own. “I believe you’re right. I’ll make you breakfast tea, and pancakes. Perhaps some bacon and eggs on the side.”
Elise felt like she was in paradise. Her body still pulsed with residual pleasure from what she had just shared with Eric. She basked in it.
“I would love that,” she sighed happily.
Images of her mother came back to her after a few seconds though, and Elise worried.
“I have a question though. What’s going to happen with my mother and Thane Rusnak when they find out that I’ve decided to stay with you?”
Eric stared into her eyes. “Is that what you’ve decided? You want to stay with me?”
Elise nodded adamantly. “Without a doubt.”
“Then Rusnak and your mother will just have to get along without you. You’ll be under my protection now, and I’ll make sure that they won’t harm you again. Your mother won’t be able to control you, and Rusnak will never touch you after this.”
Elise curled up beside Eric and wrapped her arms around his broad chest. She daydreamed about what would happen next. Before she knew it, she had drifted off into a half-sleep, exploring a reverie about basking in Eric’s presence while he kept her safe and sound inside his manor. She decided adamantly that this was where she would stay, and where she would find herself. She would bring her feet back underneath herself and stand tall, and Eric would help her do so.
Perhaps in time I will award my mother with some money if things go well here, she mused. In the meantime Elise needed to heal, and she knew that Eric would help her do so.
“Thank you,” she whispered to him.
Eric held her closely to his body and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you feel comfortable here, Elise,” he breathed.
“I do,” was her answer. “And I hope I will for a long time.”
THE END
Bonus Story 3
The Billionaire’s Night
BBW Romance
I sighed and slumped my chin into my hands. Another dreadful day, and still no inclination to actually listen to Professor Stein, who is standing at the front of the lecture hall. I tried my hardest to remain interested or even write in my notes, but it was useless. Unfortunately, Professor Stein spoke in monotone sounds, and my brain had a serious difficulty processing those sounds into words.
My eyes fluttered closed and then snapped open immediately as something struck me in the back of the head. It hadn’t hurt, but I jolted from my position and sat up straight. A couple students on either side of me looked my way in confusion, but Stein didn’t notice. Glancing back, I caught my best friend giving me a calculating look. She had a piece of a wadded up gum wrapper in her hand, held in a threatening position to throw it at me. Another piece rested next to my seat from where it had bounced off the back of my head. A moment later I felt a vibration in my pocket from my phone.
I looked at Stein briefly, catching that his back was turned as he pointed his laser at a PowerPoint slide, so I drew out my phone and set it on my lap, checking the message I just received.
How many times am I going to have to wake you up during lecture?
My best friend, Heather, had sent it. I sighed and put the phone away, lightly waving my hand at her as if to brush her off. I didn’t feel like texting back. Despite Stein never seeming to pay attention to who was listening and who wasn’t, he was uncannily expert at pinpointing just who, exactly, had a phone out and was texting during lecture.
“Yes, do you have a question?”
I looked up from Stein’s words to see him nodding his head to a guy reclining in his seat with his hand raised. He dropped it when he was called on.
“Yeah, I do.” His voice was cool and even, like he thought highly of himself. “Is any of this PowerPoint really necessary?”
Even though the class was silent for the most part, a heavy shift in the atmosphere seemed to spread out over all of the students, creating an even quieter space. Everyone looked from the student to the professor, wondering what was going to become of the student’s situation.
What a cheeky attitude, I thought, wishing to shake my head in disapproval. Even I have more respect than that. Even for the people I dislike.
“Excuse me?” Stein wondered as he lowered his laser pointer from the projector screen. “Are you losing interest, Mr....?”
“Asher Zane,” the student replied. “And yes, I am. Because to be quite frank, Professor Stein, you covered all of this two days ago. I have all of the notes.”
“And this is a recap, Zane,” Stein answered. “Did you not hear what I said before we started?”
“But there’s no point in having a recap. That’s my point. Think about it. What else are we seriously going to learn from going over stuff that we’ve already been over and have notes on? Basically you’re babying us by giving us all this info repeatedly. We’re grown adults, most of us, so I would assume we should act like grown adults and just write out notes.”
“There was a vote on who wanted a recap and who didn’t,” said Stein.
“Which is why I’m sitting here wondering why I paid a thick wad of cash for this credit when everyone in here acts like they’re still in high school.”
Whispers began to rise from corners of the lecture hall. Stein looked up at everyone and raised his hand to shush them before moving his eyes back to Asher Zane.
“If you find my session that unimportant, Zane, feel free to leave class. I can only teach you what you’re willing to take part in.”
“Don’t mind if I do. Anyone else want to join me?” Asher asked as he stood and slung his backpack over one shoulder. A handful of other individuals on his side of the room stood with him, and Asher led them out to one of the side exits before slipping out.
My phone buzzed on my lap a second later after Stein, unscathed, moved back to his slides. I picked it up discretely and checked the message.
That Asher is the type of bad boy I need in my life.
Of course it was Heather again. I rolled my eyes at her text and finally gave in to text her back.
He’s probably so full of himself that he wouldn’t give a care about you.
I waited several seconds before she answered me.
I like the ones that are run on ego.
“Is there something interesting in your lap, Miss Hund?” Stein called out from down at the projector.
I cursed mentally and stowed my phone away, shaking my head quickly before my peers could glance over at me curiously again.
After class I left in a huff, bothered by how things had gone. It was a shame how one simple misstep could upend my whole day like that. I wasn’t angry with Stein for catching me; I was mor
e bothered by my own self for submitting to Heather’s texts and letting myself text her back. He never catches me when I’m just reading one, I thought sullenly. It’s always when I’m answering or after I’ve answered.
I left the building a minute later, headed toward the sidewalk where I would make my routine route toward the library. I usually stopped there to drop off some books and pick up a new one. I was grateful that our campus library had textbooks and biographies as well as a full level devoted entirely to fiction entertainment. I’d heard some universities weren’t so lucky.
“How was the PowerPoint?” a male voice spoke up to the right of me.
I looked up from the sidewalk at a familiar face striding beside me. The man named Asher had his hands in his pockets. His hair was short and black, contrasting nicely with his tanned skin and liquid brown eyes. He had a narrow look, with high cheekbones and sharp eyebrows that arched with near perfection. At this proximity I noticed how alarmingly good-looking he was. Asher had a strong build through his chest and arms, and I vaguely wondered if he worked out. His gait was smooth and casual, and he had his head tilted upward slightly to display his ever-booming confidence.
“Boring,” I admitted with a sideways glance at him. I wanted to read his expressions and see if he was mocking me for staying in class or not. Why he had picked me out from the crowd of people who had attended the lecture was beyond my understanding. Honestly,I didn’t view myself as anything special. I was a short and curvy sun-bleached blonde. I wasn’t the skinny blonde bombshell guys like him seemed to prefer. Not that I looked for reasons for men to notice me, but it did used to bother me that my friends back in high school got all the looks from men, and I was left to stand there awkwardly wishing to be included in their excited banter about what their interests had been staring at.
“You should have left with us. I spent my afternoon at Parker’s across the street drinking coffee and having myself a salami sandwich.”
Parker’s was the name of a popular café right beside the university that drew in a lot of customers thanks to it being a favorite of students. Their food was delicious.
“Good for you,” I uttered.
“Where are you headed?” Asher inquired as I continued my stride.
I glanced at him again, a little confused that he was still talking to me. “The library,” I replied.
“Hey now, what a coincidence. That’s where I’m headed, too.”
I frowned. “What do you really want from me?”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head and raised a fair eyebrow at him. “No one approaches me out of the blue to strike up a conversation unless they want something. And no one definitely follows me to the same destination without really wanting something.”
Asher looked me up and down. “Are you always this suspicious of people?”
No, I thought before I actually said something. I’m just suspicious of you because you seem like a total smartass. Instead of saying those exact words, I uttered, “I just don’t have a lot of people randomly approaching me is all.”
Asher didn’t say anything to counter my words. Instead he looked ahead and continued to traipse across the campus grounds with me. I waited for him to speak, and when he didn’t, I did once more.
“What? Have nothing to say?” I wondered.
“Hm? I was just enjoying the breeze,” Asher declared serenely.
I frowned. “Really, Asher. What do you want?”
Asher paused his stride and turned toward me with a smirk. “You remembered my name.”
“No one’s going to forget who you are after what happened in Stein’s class. Of course I remember your name.”
Still looking pleased, he started up his walk again. “I suppose I’m a pretty unforgettable person.”
I ground my teeth. At this point I wanted to punch the smugness out of him, although I was sure my tiny fist would barely knick him even if I had the courage to do so. Ignoring his last comment, I stopped in front of the library entry doors and leaned in to push them open. Asher was quick to catch the doors for me before I could touch them. He held one side open for me and let me walk in.
Well that was surprisingly chivalrous of him, I mused. He really must want something after all.
“So what’s your name?” Asher questioned quietly as we strode across the entry floor. “You know mine. Do I get to know yours?”
“It’s Cassidy,” I replied.
“Ah-ha. Do you happen to be Heather’s friend? You know, Heather Green?” he asked.
“Yes...she’s a close friend.” Was this the part where Asher told me that he had a massive crush on her? It only seemed realistic. Heather was gorgeous. Many guys sought after her. Not only that, but Heather apparently had a growing crush on Asher. It was perfect.
“Ugh, that girl is as annoying as all hell. No offense.”
I blinked in surprise. Well, that kills Heather’s dreams.
“Oh really? Because she actually seems quite fond of you,” I admitted.
Asher raised an eyebrow. “Is she really?”
“What makes her so irritating to you?” I wondered. “She can be bold, but she’s never been aggressively annoying to me.”
I wasn’t entirely positive why I was trying to smooth out the roughness between Asher and Heather. Perhaps it was because they were both rather obstinate and outgoing faces, and I saw some kind of relationship developing between them. Besides, Heather liked Asher, and I couldn’t care any less about him.
“She’s buddies with a friend of mine. She’s hung around for a little while, and I just can’t get past her weirdly perky energy. She strikes me as the crazy type.”
I headed up a set of stairs towards the fiction sections after dropping off a couple of books at the front desk. “What exactly is the ‘crazy type’?” I wondered as Asher followed me.
“You know, the type of girls that are really calm and sweet at first, and then after you start dating them, they go ballistic. They start checking your messages, reading your private emails, stalking you when you go out to hang with friends…”
“I can’t say I know what that feels like,” I uttered, “but Heather isn’t really the crazy type. She’s flirtatious and a little vulgar at times, but very much open and relaxed. Of the men I’ve seen her date, she’s never acted weird with them.”
“Eh, even best friends will keep things from each other,” said Asher. He dropped down heavily into an armchair once we reached the upstairs. I walked over to a nearby shelf to start looking for the second installment of a series I was fixated on.
“Sounds like you have just as many suspicions about people as I do.”
Asher chuckled shortly as he reclined. “I think you may be right.”
There was a silence that fell over us as I searched for the book. I scanned two more shelves.
“Cassidy, right?” Asher questioned.
I nodded, then realized that he probably couldn’t see me from his position, so I responded with a quiet, “Yes.”
“You know I’m having a game night going on tonight. Are you interested in coming?”
I pulled out my designated book and turned toward him. The back of his chair was to me, so I couldn’t see his face. “I’m not really interested in going along with you and a bunch of your friends when I barely know you.”
“I’ll invite Heather along,” Asher insisted, leaning back in his chair so that he could see me. “It’s a harmless party, Cassidy. Come have some fun. You look like you could use a little break.”
“You don’t even know anything about me,” I explained, waving the book at him for emphasis.
Asher straightened in his seat and twisted so that his legs dangled over one of the armrests. He looked me up and down, much like he did when he had been walking with me to the library. “Let’s see…your name is Cassidy, you’re obviously a bookworm, you pay attention to lecture even though you don’t really have to, you’re friends with Heather Green, and you’re cagey around most peo
ple. Really, I think this would be a good opportunity for you to branch out and meet some people who aren’t ones to be afraid of.”
“Offering advice to me too, huh?” I sighed and slumped my shoulders. “Even if I tell you a hundred times the same ‘no’, you’re going to be persistent, aren’t you?”
Asher smirked. I watched him flash his white teeth, and suddenly my knees trembled. I swallowed and leaned against the bookshelf. The expression was absolutely stunning on his face, and I almost felt intimidated by his handsome allure.
“Yep. Sounds like you’ve got me figured out already,” he said, still with that grin. “What do you say, Cassidy? Will you be bold and daring, and try it out?”
I walked over to the sofa beside his and perched on the edge. “Why don’t you tell me about this game night? What, exactly, does it involve?”
“Drinking games, video games, sports games, board games, you name it. It’s a real game night. A serious one. I have nerdy friends, geeky friends, jock-like friends, alcoholic friends…”
“Ah, so it’s just a night to go wild and crazy and do anything other than study for tests next week,” I concluded, eyeing him skeptically.
Asher chuckled. “How long have you been going to college, Cassidy?”