He looks up from his work, a tired smile on his face. His desk is in the far-left corner. There’s a bookshelf against the wall, full of non-fiction novels and a few old classics I recognize from past English classes.
“I want you to take this. Don’t argue with me.” I walk in and hand him the check.
He frowns as his eyes skirt over the check, unmoving. “Is that all you have to live on?”
“I’ll get paid again next week.”
“That’s an entire week away. Please keep it. I don’t mind taking care of you.”
“Acquaintances do not take care of her each other.”
“Maybe they should.”
I set the check down.
He picks it up and turns it this way and that, examining my handwriting, tracing my signed name on the line. Then he rips it right down the middle. “Oops,” he says, widening his eyes innocently. “My fingers slipped.”
“Julian!” I march over and grab the pieces from his grasp. “I can tape it.”
He quickly scoops up the tape dispenser from his desk and tucks it behind his back. “With what?”
I try not to laugh at his innocent expression, but it’s hard when he tries not to laugh too. I attempt to reach around his back, but he moves his computer chair so it swivels away from me.
“Grow up.”
“I’m older than you.”
“Only in years. Mentally I’m far more mature.”
He snorts. “Are the monsters under your bed lying to you again?”
“Give it to me.”
“Say that again, but with those sexy eyes narrowed seductively.”
Oh, now he wants to play? I put my hands on my hips and glare. “Please?”
“It’s even sexier when you beg.”
I glare. “If you give it to me, I won’t attack you.”
“I’m not giving anything to you. I don’t want your money. Why did Jaz ask me for your number? And something about a boat?”
I stop mid-attack and lean against his chair. “He asked me out at the party. I didn’t know what else to say. Did you give him my number?”
“No. You’re not going.” He grins tightly. “You know, because he’s my friend, and just because that’s all we are now, I’m not letting him anywhere near you.”
I reach down and take the tape from behind his back. “Please take my check.” I start to tape the two pieces together.
“Fine. I’ll take it.”
“And cash it. You’d better cash it.”
“You have such a temper. I couldn’t believe you in Mr. Hunt’s office.”
“I slapped Brady in calculus.”
He laughs. “No.”
“Yes. Right across the face. Mr. Tane let it slide.”
“Did that feel good?”
“So good,” I admit. “I told him he was shitty in bed and that he was nothing.”
“Give me some.” He holds up his hand for a high five.
I slap his palm and smile timidly when he wraps his fingers around mine. “I also told him that I’m something. Because I am. Right, Julian?”
He pulls me forward until I’m sitting on his lap. I know I shouldn’t, but I drape my legs across his lap anyway; his warm chest presses into my side. Then he looks into my eyes. “Not only are you something, you’re incredibly important, beautiful, and strong. I’m glad you’re finally starting to realize that.”
I lay my head on his shoulder. “I had a good teacher.”
I watch him smile. “How was work?”
“Crazy. My feet are killing me. I need to buy some new shoes.”
“Want a massage?”
I kiss just below his ear softly. The smell and feel of him are doing things to me. The stressors of the day left the moment I was in his presence. “Do friends massage each other’s feet?”
“All the time.”
“Oh, really? I’ve never seen them.”
“You need better friends.” He unties my shoes. “How was the rest of class?”
“I didn’t go.” I breathe in the scent of him as he pulls my socks off.
“Kael.” His hands reach me perfectly, massaging the balls of my feet.
I moan deeply. It feels so good. “Want to know a secret?”
“Yes.”
“For the first time, I’m truly terrified of Nessa. This time I know she isn’t going to hold back. She’s going to get me.”
“Mr. Hunt is aware. The school knows. I don’t think she’ll keep messing with you when everyone’s waiting for her to so do.” But he sighs as he switches feet, rubbing me tenderly. “I’m going to worry all day tomorrow.”
My stomach drops. “Oh, right. The conference.”
“I’ll be leaving early, probably around five. The conference is in Atlanta. I won’t be back for a couple days.”
I bite my lip when he moves on to my instep.
“That feel good?” he guesses when I moan and shove my face against his shoulder. “Better than this morning?”
“Nothing could feel better than this morning.”
“I know a couple things that might.” He clears his throat and pats my thighs. “All done. You have been restored to good health.”
I don’t move. “What other things?”
“You seriously need to use your imagination more.”
“I’m a little rusty,” I admit dryly. “Tell me.”
“Sex for one.” He holds my gaze boldly, his gray eyes gleaming. “Oral sex for another.”
My mouth is dry. “Oral sex?”
He grins privately. “Get off my lap, Kaelyn.”
I nestle down deeper. “No one’s ever given me oral sex.”
“We’re not talking about this.” Now he looks away.
“Friends talk about sex. All the time. I hear them at school. Some of them even talk about you.” I giggle when he groans. “Oh hush.”
He rises with me in his arms. He shifts a bit to hold my weight and then he’s carrying me out of the room. “Did you eat at all today?”
“Breakfast. Today wasn’t the kind of day an appetite can last in.” I sigh; the minor good mood he gave me is gone.
He sets me down in the kitchen. “Today was rough. I can make something.”
“Is oral sex something you enjoy giving?” I lean against the counter, completely and utterly curious about this new topic. I imagine his tongue on me and nearly erupt.
“Kael.” He laughs in disbelief. “Yes on dinner, or not?”
“I’m curious. This morning felt so good. If something might feel better, I want to feel it.”
“Did the conversation at Bella’s never happen?” He opens the fridge and pokes his head in. “Omelet’s sound good?”
“Can we try it?”
“No.”
“Why not? Is it me? You don’t want to do it to me.”
He looks over, eyes narrowed darkly. “I only want to do it to you. I’m thinking about it right now. And trust me, gorgeous, that’s not something I should be thinking about.”
“Why not?” My breathing deepens.
“Because we’re friends. I’m trying to give you what you deserve. Remember? You’re not going to be my secret.”
I only want to do it to you. I bite my bottom lip and take a deep breath. He’s right. Unfortunately, he’s so right it makes me depressed in a matter of seconds. “I’ll miss you tomorrow.”
His eyes tighten a bit, as if he’s disappointed somehow, but the look is gone so fast I can’t tell if I misunderstood it. His expression becomes as depressed as my own. “I’ll miss you too. I don’t feel right unless you’re with me.”
“You’re obsessed,” I tease.
“Who better to be obsessed with?” He smiles at me as he gets the eggs out and the deli ham.
“There are many women better than me.” I roll my eyes and hop onto the counter, remembering the last time I was on the counter and my hand was on him. The feel of his hardness against my palm, how solid and warm he was. A tingle begins to blossom whe
re he rubbed. I squeeze my thighs together and wonder how long I’ll be able to take it this time.
“Don’t do that.” He sets everything down and looks at me. “Don’t put yourself down. If I wanted another woman I’d go find one. I don’t want another one. I want this one.” He grabs my kneecaps and urges them open, slipping between them. He slides his hands all the way up my body slowly to cup my face in his palms, my thighs, my waist, my shoulders; I can’t breathe. “I want this aggravating, sexy, strong woman.” He swallows hard. “We’re not supposed to be doing this.”
I gulp when he leans down. He’s going to kiss me. All I can think about is taking a bat to the rules. If he kisses me right now, we will shatter them once and for all. I can sense it in the air. After this kiss, Julian is mine.
“I’m not your secret?” I ask, his lips so close I can feel his warm breath.
“I would never hide you.”
He tilts his face and our lips connect. I close my eyes when he does. His lips are soft and smooth, and crazy warm. He moves them against me slowly. I’m scared at first. If I kiss him back, this will be real. He’ll stop. I don’t want him to stop.
His thumbs rub my cheeks as he urges my lips open. I kiss him back the second his warmth seeks mine. The moment I succumb, he groans low and deep in his throat and presses against me, bringing our mouths impossibly closer. Our lips connect perfectly. I’m shocked by how good it feels just to be kissed. To be held and touched like he never wants to let me go. I can sense everything he isn’t saying. I feel wanted for the first time in my life. This time I know it’s true.
I wrap my arms around him, deepening the kiss. I’m not scared anymore.
He tastes so good. So unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. His lips grow insistent and urgent against mine. I whimper and slide forward on the counter, pressing my chest against his. I want to be as close to him as possible. Hesitantly, I push my tongue into his mouth. I am ablaze the moment his urges back. His tongue is searing, silkily sliding over me, wrapping and twisting around mine. I moan into his mouth. His hands reach around to grasp the bottom of my neck and the back of my head. Tilting my face to the right makes it so his mouth is against mine perfectly.
As if he can’t help himself, he moves deeper between my legs. His erection presses into me, rubbing right across the middle of my core. After that I am frantic. I want something from him. I need it. Every part of me is aching and hungry. I kiss him harder, needing more from him. I reach up to plunge my fingers into his hair, wanting to feel a different part of him.
“Stop me,” he whispers against my lips, and then he delves his tongue deeply into my mouth.
I will not stop him. To make him forget that he’s doing anything wrong, I reach down to touch him through his slacks. He’s hard and long against my fingertips. I stroke the outline of his erection, earning a deep guttural moan. He presses against my hand. He doesn’t want to stop; he’s just trying to protect me. Right now, I want to be Mr. Ean’s secret. I don’t need protecting. I want to be nothing but his lies. I want his untruths to feed the fire inside of me.
“Kaelyn,” he whispers, kissing me so deeply I stop stroking him to keep up. “I want you so damn bad.” He talks in-between kisses. “From the second I met you I haven’t been able to get you off my mind.” Julian reaches up to hold my face and he pulls back, looking into my eyes. “Stop me. Or we’re going upstairs. I’m taking your clothes off and I’m showing you how much I love giving oral sex. After you’re satisfied I’m going to make love to you until you’re mine. Until you can’t walk without remembering where I was all night. All night,” he emphasizes.
His words are my undoing. I smash my lips against him, giving him permission to do all of those things to me. All night.
Just as Julian reaches down to lift me up, no doubt to take me upstairs, the doorbell rings. He pulls away from my kiss to look through the walls at the door. He scowls, and then drops me like I’m on fire when we hear keys in the lock.
“Layla’s here.”
It’s as if someone splashed me with ice water. The fire is out. I scramble off the counter. “What should I do?”
He looks stumped, unmoving. “You don’t have to hide.”
“I’ll go upstairs. I’m not hiding,” I assure him. “I’m protecting what we have.”
I run down the hall and reach the stairs right as I hear the front door open. I let out a breath of relief when I get to the top. The wall blocks me, so even if she happened to look up she wouldn’t be able to see me. I sit down and pretend I’m calming my racing heart, and not eavesdropping.
“Julian?” Layla calls.
“In the kitchen.”
“Why haven’t you answered your phone?”
“Because we’re done. What else is there to talk about? And give me back my key. I told you to call first before you came over.”
“I tried,” she bites. “But someone cut my phone off!”
They must move further into the kitchen because his reply is muffled. I get up and go to my bedroom, legs still hollow. I touch my lips, still tender from his kiss. Julian makes everything bad I’m feeling disappear. This morning feels like it happened last week, and yet it isn’t even over. Nessa’s still out there, he’s still on probation, and I am still a secret. But the rules lay on the floor in pieces, perfectly shattered.
I refrain from pacing my bedroom on the off-chance Layla might hear. What am I doing? I can’t let Julian get to me like that. Even if that was the sexiest most amazing kiss I’ve ever had. He was such a man. So rough yet gentle. So warm and knowledgeable. He knew how to kiss, how to touch, and exactly how to move. Most of all Julian knew how to please me. A man had never wanted to please me before. But Julian seemed to only want to do that. How can I give that up? The idea of ending up with a man unlike him because I can’t have him now has me in a tailspin.
Men like Julian are rare. If they weren’t, women wouldn’t waste their time on ones like Brady.
I’m being stupid again. But so are the rules.
I take my uniform off and exchange it for my pajamas. A black camisole and a pair of pink pants. I put my hair in a ponytail and sink onto my bed. Loud voices sound beneath me, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. They reach a crescendo and then taper off. A moment later, the house shakes. I feel pounding on the stairs, and then Julian is opening my door. He’s breathing hard and his expression is hectic. Rage, want, anger and desire; he is on fire.
“Lie down,” he orders.
I gulp. “Julian.”
He starts to unbutton his dress shirt. It hangs open, revealing his tight white undershirt. He pulls his shirt off his shoulders and drops it on the floor. “Do I have to undress you too?” He tugs his undershirt over his head and drops that as well.
His glorious body is before me. His broad chest, his abs, and his muscles. My mouth is dry and I can’t stop staring at his hard rippled abs. I want to curl up against his stomach and count the grooves.
“What are you doing?”
He reaches for the zipper on his dark blue slacks. Unzipping them and unbuttoning them effortlessly, he pushes them down his hips. Stepping out of them, he stands before me wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue boxer briefs. They’re tight on his hips, highlighting his heavy hanging erection. “Finishing what we started.”
“But Layla.”
He shakes his head. “You know what I was thinking the entire time she was here?” He puts his hands on the bed and crawls toward me.
“What?” I watch him stalk me.
“That I was so glad she broke up with me because I wanted you so much more.”
I feel his words all over my body. I lie down just as he moves to hover over me. He braces himself on either side of my head. He leans down and kisses me, moving to rest between my legs. His lips are urgent and soft, parting me with his tongue. I touch his face as his kiss deepens. He feels so good, warm, everything I want and need. Tilting his face to the side, the kiss locks in place.
His tongue is even hotter than I remember. It wraps around me, tasting me as I taste it. His body weight eases on top of me. Soon his entire weight is pressing me into the mattress as we kiss so deeply I can’t even be bothered to breathe. My lungs are screaming, but I give them no release. Not with Julian on top of me, wanting me with every stroke of his tongue.
When I think I’m going to implode, he moves his lips to my throat. I gasp for air beneath him, rubbing my face against his hair as his lips suck right over my pulse. He feels good there. I bet he feels good everywhere. I twist my fingers in his hair and use the other to grip his bicep.
“Julian,” I moan, shivering as he sucks gently, lapping at my flesh with his tongue.
“Again,” he growls, sucking harder.
“Julian.”
“Louder.”
“Julian!” I gasp.
He captures my lips again, kissing me deeply for too shortly. “Sit up.”
I attempt to do so, but his body weight is preventing me. I sit up as much as I can. His hands slip below my black top, touching my bare stomach. He urges it over my head easily. He flings it away and then stares down at my breasts in my black bra. They’re not much usually, but the way he’s looking at me, I think they’re perfect. He bends to kiss my cleavage. I exhale as his lips continue to kiss me. He sucks at the tops of my breasts, pulling the skin between his teeth. The sensation drives me mad. I writhe against him.
His hands emerge from beneath me. My bra gives way. He looks into my eyes before he pulls it down my shoulders and leaves me bare in front of him.
“Beautiful,” he breathes, staring at my breasts.
I look away and cover myself, but he stops me.
“Don’t hide from me. Look at yourself. You’re beautiful, Kaelyn. Look,” he begs.
I look at him and then at my breasts. They’re pale and round. My pink nipples are embarrassingly hard and chills grow across them, making my areolas darken.
“Watch me.” He makes sure I am before he leans down and wraps his lips around my nipple. I watch him suck me into his mouth, and when he sucks on it gently, I explode.
I become my moans. I am loud, desperate, and wanting. I’ve never felt anything so good in my life. It’s so erotic, watching him suck on me. No one’s ever done it. Knowing it’s his tongue licking them is even better. I move my body against him, needing some form of contact before I erupt. He shifts so his leg is between my thighs, giving me something to move against as he switches to my other nipple. With his free hand, he plays with my left breast as he sucks on my right, massaging it between his fingers as I tremble beneath him.
Under The Peaches (Teaching Love Series Book 1) Page 19