Under The Peaches (Teaching Love Series Book 1)

by Shana Vanterpool

  “We need to stop,” he begs, but he feels me, pressing his hardness into me so we are middle to middle.

  I whimper at the feeling, wanting more. I grasp his shoulders as we grind together. I bury my face against his chest and keep going, stroking his thickness against my pussy until I feel something build from deep inside of me. Something ravenous and unapologetic. I think I may be begging him. “Please, Julian.” But I can’t be sure. I’ve never been this consumed before. I am feeling and sensation, lost so completely I can remember nothing but the perfection radiating from his heat. Right before I feel myself getting ready to explode, he reaches down and touches me through my jeans.

  “Ahh,” I moan, caught off guard by the sensation.

  His fingers knead me through my clothes, melting between my folds. I grip him hard when something hits me. I toss my head back and dig my nails into him as a train of pleasure runs me over. It knocks me down and leaves me boneless. For a few seconds, it’s all I can feel.

  Our eyes connect. Something passes between us, something so profound tears spring to my eyes as the pleasure radiates through me. I ride his hand, unabashed as I find my pleasure.

  “Come for me. Use me.”

  I moan, staring down at his fingers rubbing me.

  “That’s right, baby. I want to hear you come.”

  I can no longer keep my eyes open as I fall apart in his arms. They close, and the last week leaves me in a rush, replaced as we break every rule in the book.

  He removes his hand from between my legs and hugs me to him. I’m thankful he’s holding me together. I could slide down to the floor and stay there forever, content to be disconnected. When I can feel other things, like his breath on my neck, and his chest rising rapidly between us, I open my eyes and smile the first honest smile in my entire life.

  “Wow. That was incredible.”

  He chuckles in my ear. “Please tell me that wasn’t your first orgasm.”

  “It was. It so was.” I pull back to look at him. “Did you …?”

  He shakes his head, his eyes delving into me. “No.”

  “Julian.” I grip his arms, feeling like air. I could float away.

  “I’m fine. Making you come was just as good.” He braces his hands on either side of me against the counter.

  He wasn’t fine. I imagine not feeling what I just felt, being on the cusp of intense pleasure but not getting it. I want to make him feel as good as he made me feel.

  “Don’t fight me.” I beg him with my eyes.

  “Don’t—” he begins, but I cut him off.

  I slip my hand between his legs and meet the hard mound of his cock. He groans low and throaty, shattering the rules one more time. I kiss his temple as I rub the long trail of his hardness through his pants, growing warm and wet again as he moves into my hand. I’ve never done this before, but I imagine his pleasure like my own. I move my hand faster, squeezing and rubbing, wanting him to moan louder, to lose himself in me the way I lost myself in him.

  It doesn’t take him long. Before I know it, he lurches forward and shoves his face in my neck, groaning loud as his body tightens against me. I can feel him in my hand through his dark blue slacks. I love feeling him. I grip him and move my palm against him as his body convulses like a staccato beat.

  “Kaelyn,” he grounds out through gritted teeth, his hot breath kissing my pulse. He laughs breathlessly and shakes his head after he stills. “So much for the rules.” I can hear a smile in his voice.

  I feel a smile on mine. “That felt so good.”

  He pulls back to meet my eyes. His are dripping with his emotions. Desire, like, and lust drip all over me. I am drenched in him. Still gripping the counter, he leans into me, parting my legs again so our chests are pressed together. “You’ve never had an orgasm before?”

  I shake my head.

  “Don’t you ever masturbate?”

  I look down and shake my head.

  “Never?”

  “Never.”

  He tilts my chin up. “Why not?”

  Looking into his eyes, I feel I can tell him anything. “I’ve never found myself … sexy enough, I guess.”

  He presses his forehead against mine. “Do you find yourself sexy right now?”

  “A little,” I admit, stuck on the storm churning in his gaze.

  “That’s because you are. You should see your face right now. You’re stunning.” He kisses my cheek, my jaw. “We should go before I peel your jeans off and give you your second orgasm.”

  I nod senselessly against him. “We should.”

  Neither of us moves.

  I wrap my arms around him and his come around me. I breathe in the scent of his desire and cologne. Where our skin touches, I feel it all over. His body heat, his scent, his everything is driving me insane. He starts to grow against me already.

  “Okay,” he says firmly, pulling away and running a hand through his hair. “I’m going to clean up and go to work.”

  I smile. “Bye, Mr. Ean.”

  Still, he won’t leave. I swing my legs, feeling so much lighter than I did before he slid between them. Even sex with Brady wasn’t that good. There was no release with him. Julian made me feel so alive, so in the present. I felt different in the span of minutes.

  “I’ll be going now.” The lion is ready to attack.

  I lick my lips and open my legs, showing him where he could be. “I’ll see you at school.”

  His eyes flash to my thighs and then away. He takes a step back, and then one more. Finally, he’s out of the kitchen.

  My head rushes, confused by the lightness I feel. An hour ago, my cracks were spreading too quickly to stop them. Now I’m breathing for the sake of now.

  I hop down and grab my coffee, feeling oddly wonderful. I’ve never felt so damn good in my life. I find his cereal and pour a bowl, in no rush this morning. As I eat, I think about him between my legs. I picture what would happen without any clothes in the way. By the time I’m done with breakfast, there’s a tender ache inside of me.

  The drive to school is spent in the clouds. I don’t even realize I’m there until I park and turn off my PT.

  People pass me in the hall, as clueless as any other day. Today I don’t let it bother me. I know I have Julian. They’re dislike and indifference doesn’t matter when I choose not to let it. But things start to ruin my good mood when I get to my locker. The word ‘slut’ is written across my locker in red lipstick. I spy the hall, looking for Nessa. She’s done this before, choosing a few other colorful words from the dictionary. I ignore it and empty my backpack of the things I won’t need until later.

  Just as I’m shutting my locker, someone bumps into me from behind hard enough to hurt.

  “Whore,” they hiss under their breath.

  My spine straightens. My blood runs cold. It’s one of the girls I saw with Savannah. “What did you call me?”

  “Brady McAlister wasn’t enough? You had to do Mr. Ean too?” She curls her lip over her teeth at me in clear disgust.

  A few people in the hall stop and gawk at me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growl.

  “Savannah saw you two together.”

  “Savannah didn’t see anything.”

  “I hope Nessa beats you down for sleeping with Brady.”

  I want to ask how she knows, but I know how already. Nessa. I am sick in seconds. Why weren’t Brady and Nessa at school? “Thanks for the support.”

  I grab my backpack and march toward my first class, ignoring the panic in my brain. They know. If it happened yesterday I wouldn’t be panicking so badly. But it happened today, after Julian and I shattered the rules as we came apart in each other’s arms.

  A few people eye me. They stop and stare, tapping the person next to them as if to imply that’s her. I walk faster with my head down to my English class. Just as I get there, my phone chimes in my backpack. As I sit down the teachers back is to me; I take my phone out. There’s a text from Julian. I don’t w
ant to open it. I want one more second with my bliss before right now catches back up to me. It’s never far away. My finger hovers over the message.

  Julian: They know

  I eye the teachers back and get up, inching around my desk. But it’s as if she knows I’m taking off and turns around, her face pinched together.

  “Stop right there, Miss Jefferies. You’re wanted in the principal’s office immediately.”

  “For what?” I ask dumbly.

  “How should I know?”

  “I know what it’s about,” the boy who sits next to me sneers.

  “Your pimples?” I sneer back. “Why don’t you mind your business?”

  “Immediately,” the teacher snaps. She hands me a form from the office. “Report to Mr. Hunt’s office, please.”

  I take the form and read it as she closes the door after me. All it says is Mr. Hunt requests my presence ASAP. I feel under water as I walk to the office, like my heart is beating in the kitchen and my body is about to suffer for my time in the clouds. I want to ditch, to run, to pretend this isn’t happening. But I can’t leave Julian to deal with this on his own. After this morning, that’s not possible.

  Still, I walk slowly, sensing the calm in the air that existed for the past few days’ shift to mayhem.

  As I round the corner, the office doors in sight, Nessa and Riley round it too on the other end. Riley pats Nessa’s shoulder and she looks up from her papers, and then she grins a grin so evil I don’t even wait. I know what she’ll do. I take off and run, feeling them behind me. I fly around the corner I came from and duck down a row of lockers, knowing this way will take me the back way to the office. Behind me, I can hear their feet pounding, feel their rage—in my heart, I know sleeping with Brady is going to be my biggest mistake.

  “You’re going to get it, you little slut!”

  “Wait until we get our hands on you,” Riley joins in.

  I can hear them getting closer. I push my feet harder. The halls are empty. If they get me alone, I won’t be able to fight them both off.

  “He manipulated me!” I scream, trying to get them to understand. I just wanted to be wanted.

  “Save it, whore!” Nessa growls, gaining on me. “You’re pathetic!”

  I skirt around the corner, the office in sight. When I get to the door, I wrench it open and run inside, my breaths so heavy they feel like weights in my lungs. I slam the door shut just as Nessa and Riley skid to a halt outside. Riley looks pissed, but Nessa looks demonic. A woman who finally got what she wanted: a reason to end me.

  “Miss Jefferies!” someone snaps. “Get in here.”

  I whirl around to find Mr. Hunt standing in the back by his office door. Julian is coming out of the room. He sits down in the waiting room, finally looking at me. His face is pale and his gray eyes are terrified. Just as I pass by him, his hand shoots out to touch my fingers. Lie, I pretend he says. I have to lie.

  When I look over my shoulder, Nessa and Riley are gone.

  “Have a seat.” Mr. Hunt closes his office door and takes a seat at his desk, his large belly falling over his belt.

  I sit down slowly, sickeningly nervous. “What’s this about?”

  He eyes me for a long time. “A few things have been brought to my attention recently. I’ll bring Mr. Ean in when we’re done talking about them. For now, it’s you and me. I expect the full truth from you, young lady. Do you understand?”

  I nod.

  “We’ll start easy. Is it true that Nessa Ferguson has been bullying you?”

  That’s easy? I was expecting him to start with Julian. “Yes.”

  “For how long?”

  “Since sophomore year.”

  “Mind telling me why?”

  I study his tape dispenser. “I slept with her boyfriend.”

  “Who is?”

  “Brady McAlister.”

  “And you thought it was better to deal with this on your own and not tell anyone?”

  I look up, enraged. “Why didn’t you stop it? Why didn’t you see the time she punched me right in front of your office?” I accuse him so hard he flinches.

  He looks at his computer and not at me. “I apologize for being unaware. If I had known, it would’ve stopped immediately.”

  “But you didn’t know and it didn’t stop. It’s been going on for years. Mr. Ean has done more for me since I met him than you have since I’ve been here.”

  He looks at me sharply. “Nessa Ferguson will be dealt with as soon as possible. I’m sorry this has been happening to you. I have thousands of students, and though I try to be on top of them all, I can’t. I didn’t ignore you on purpose.”

  “Whatever. You’re all the same. You’re all blind when it suits you.”

  “Calm down.”

  “You calm down!” I hiss, losing my cool. “You haven’t been tortured for almost two years!”

  The door swings open, and Julian bursts into the room. “What’s wrong?” he demands.

  “He’s an asshole. That’s what’s wrong. It’s always my fault.” I attempt to get up, over it, done with people blaming me for my emptiness.

  “Sit back down.” Julian’s tone is unarguable. He closes the door and stands in front of it.

  Mr. Hunt watches with interest when I do what he says, settling back down in my chair.

  “May I?” Julian asks, nodding toward the seat next to me.

  I sulk in mine, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Please do,” Mr. Hunt says, eyeing me uncertainly. “We were just discussing the bullying.” He repositions in his chair, clearly uncertain. “You’ll have detention after school tomorrow for that, Miss Jefferies. Cursing is not tolerated at my school.”

  “But bullying is? What are you going to do to her, Mr. Hunt? Nothing. She’s going to kick my ass again and again and again. And you know what?” I lean forward, a caged animal tired of being poked. “This time I’m not going to take it. I’m not dealing with it anymore. I used to because I thought I had to. But I don’t have to anymore. I’m going to put that bitch in her place.”

  “Miss Jefferies!” Mr. Hunt is red-faced.

  I am unhinged. “You’re so full of crap. She’s going to get off and I’m getting punished. You know she punched me in my ribs so hard one time I had to sleep on my back for a week?” I look at Julian. “He’s giving me detention. Can you believe it?”

  “Calm down, please. You’re boiling over right now.” He looks at Mr. Hunt. “I have to agree. Detention doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Look how she’s behaving.”

  “She’s been through a lot,” Julian says, as if Mr. Hunt knows things he shouldn’t.

  “You told him about Bruce?” I guess icily.

  “I had to.” He meets my eyes, always unbothered by my anger, so used to my mess.

  “I’m sorry that happened to you, Kaelyn. Where are you living now?”

  “I’m eighteen. It’s none of your business where I live.” I seethe at him. “I’m not coming to detention tomorrow. I’m not doing anything you tell me to do. You’re blind and now you want to see?” I snort. “Sure, Mr. Hunt.”

  “Detention will not be recanted. You’ll report here after school and I will personally oversee it. Now, on to other matters. I’m here to help you. I know you’re upset now, but every effort from here on out to prevent bullying will be made. If Nessa does anything to you that you deem threatening come to me. I will see that she doesn’t hurt you again. Is that satisfactory?”

  I shrug. It would have been satisfactory a long time ago.

  He continues. “Finally, I think we both know why you’re here. It has been brought to my attention that you and Mr. Ean were seen together off campus.”

  My anger leaves me. “Yes.”

  “In what capacity?” I blink at him. “Were you at a nightclub?” he prompts. “Did you go to dinner? Were you at a bar?

  “No.” I refrain from rolling my eyes. “We were only getting pizza.”

  “For aca
demic reasons or other reasons?”

  “We were hungry.” Idiot.

  “Kaelyn,” Julian groans.

  Mr. Hunt takes a deep calming breath. “I’m just going to ask you this point blank since you seem to be so bothered. Are you two having an inappropriate relationship, Miss Jefferies?” His eyes bore into me.

  Lying isn’t so hard when I’m pissed. Plus, nothing Julian and I do is inappropriate. “No,” I lie. Smoothly, easily. I don’t even blink.

  He sits back, watching me closely. “You’re not allowed to hang out with teachers after school hours for non-school related activities. He could get fired for it. As it is, he’s being put on probation. One more indiscretion revolving this sort of thing and I’ll have no choice but to fire him. You two are not allowed to communicate outside of school. You’re not to be alone with him in a classroom and you are not to go to pizza with him. He’s a teacher. You’re a student. Do you understand?”

  My blood runs cold. “Yes.”

  “Anything else?” he asks me.

  “People are accusing me of sleeping with him. Someone called me a whore in the hall.”

  “Shit,” Julian curses. “Sorry,” he mumbles when Mr. Hunt glares at him. “What are we going to do about it?”

  “You should have thought about that before you got hungry, Julian.” Mr. Hunt’s lips tighten. “I know she’s pretty and she’s eighteen, but she is still a student. You may be twenty-four but you’re still an adult. We talked about this when you applied to work here. I gave you a chance. Don’t make me regret it. I’ll talk to the staff and inform them to watch out for any bullying. I’m glad you’re going to that conference tomorrow. I’ll need at least a day to clean this mess up.”

  Julian looks down. “Yes, Sir.”

  I refrain from grabbing his hand. “Can I go now?”

  “Please,” he dismisses. “My office door is always open. We can talk anytime. I promise.”