by Kiru Taye
She shook her head, sending her loose braids across his cheek. “No. You didn’t let me down. None of the class members think you did a bad thing. We all miss you.”
“I miss all of you, too.” You, especially.
He stared at her face as his thumb stroked her smooth cheek. His heart felt as if it would punch a hole in his chest. The hairs on his arms and nape stood erect.
The last time he’d seen her, he’d denied the affection he had for her. Now, she sat on his lap, the most intimate contact they’d had so far, her warmth wrapping itself around him. She tilted her head up. She had beautiful amber eyes that flared with heat. Her mouth, so lush, so near.
Nights, even days, he’d dreamt about having her like this. Now, he couldn’t resist bridging the gap that separated them and brushing their lips together.
The motion, just a caress, proved to be immensely more to his mind and body. Tingles spread through his flesh, longing erupting and spreading with the rush of blood in his veins. His heart thudded against his ribs. All the months, the mental struggles of asserting control, of keeping her apart, crumbled in the simple and powerful stroke.
“I shouldn’t do this,” he whispered, not pulling back “But I can’t help myself.”
She gave a small moan. Her hands crept up his chest, creating searing paths through the cotton of his t-shirt. Her movements were so tentative he could swear she’d never been held like this.
Leaning back, he lifted her chin with his fingers. “Have you been kissed before?”
Her lashes feathered her cheeks as she closed her eyes. “Yes, but not like you just did. I...Please kiss me again.”
She lifted her lids. Her brown eyes shone bright with adoration and expectation, bringing him to his senses.
He slid off the sofa, dumping her on it, and turned his back to her. “You should go home.”
“Sir?”
“I’m not your sir anymore.” He froze. That one obstacle no longer existed. The one thing that had kept him in check and demanded he lived up to the respect and admiration of his students. Now, the risk of him ruining her increased with each minute she stayed. “Go home before I take away your innocence. Before I do what I shouldn’t.”
“It was my birthday last week.”
Hesitant fingers feathered his back. Through the fabric of his t-shirt, he felt the burn. His breath caught as his knees jellied.
“Since you’re not my teacher anymore, there’s no reason we can’t be together.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. True. They had no more barriers, except for the ones that surrounded his soul.
When did you become spineless and afraid of living in the moment? Images of the reckless, conceited, and selfish boy he’d once been returned to taunt him. The one who drove carelessly, partied energetically, and fucked rigorously. The one who seized what was on offer with personal gratification in mind. The one who wouldn’t turn his back on a woman unless he’d already satisfied his cravings.
Remember your promise. Every action bears a consequence. You are not that boy any more.
His older brother’s image overtook the others from his past. His brother had been his voice of reason when he’d been alive. In death, he came back to sit as the angel on Ike’s shoulder, when the devil in him tried to take over.
Dragging in a long breath, he puffed it out and opened his eyes. Her fingers still traced his back as if she were uncertain about what to do next. A more experienced girl would press close, making her need blatant. He should send her home for her lack of knowledge alone.
“I’m no good for you. No different from Malcolm. I’m not going to write you love letters and read poetry to you.” A girl like her deserved such things. He just didn’t do them. The things he wanted to do to her were dirty and naughty and, frankly, pornographic.
He turned around. She stood less than twenty centimetres apart. A little step and there would be no space between them. A little fumble and there would be no clothes separating them. His pounding pulse thundered in his ears.
“When I look at you, especially seeing you in that figure-hugging jeans and top, my body goes crazy and I can’t think straight. I want to take all your clothes off and spread you on my sofa. I want to get inside you and cover you with my body. I want to surround you and permeate you. I want to devour you, so that I become you and you become me.”
He stared down at her, his hands lifting and dropping by his sides as the intensity of his need threatened to consume him. She didn’t look away, the soft flare of heat in her gaze showed her answering lust.
“Do you understand what I’m saying, Lara? The way I feel right now is too deep, too dark, and too intense for someone as young as you to deal with. You should be thinking about your upcoming exams, your results, and your future.”
She took a step and closed the distance between them. Reaching out, she took his right hand and placed it on her chest above her left breast.
He squeezed his eyes shut and controlled his breathing, resisting the urge to cup the mound of flesh.
“Can you feel my heart racing?” she asked.
“Yes.” The thud, thud, thud came through against his palm.
“It beats so fast because of you. For the past few weeks, I’ve been so distracted. I haven’t been able to study or sleep properly. I’ve been thinking about you. I can’t function without you in my life. I’m ready for you. I love you. Don’t send me away again. Please.”
He stroked his hand over the bare skin on her chest up to her neck. He laid his hand there, not gripping but loose and flat. Her pulse jumped under her skin.
“Are you sure of what you’re saying?” He stroked his thumb across her bottom lip.
“Yes,” she said in a breathy voice as her pupils dilated.
“We’ll have sex if you stay. You won’t be a virgin afterwards.”
She shifted from one foot to the other. “I know. I want us to be together in every way.”
She had an answer for all of his doubts, demolished the last of his restraint. The corner of his lips tilted in a lopsided grin as he curled his right hand around her nape. He’d always thought her to be intelligent and competent about her school work. Why did he think she’d be any different about her life choices?
“Lara…” He spoke her name with reverence as he wrapped his left hand around her back and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her, properly this time. Their lips fused, hers hesitant, although she clung to him, arms around his midriff. “Open your mouth. Let me in.”
She did, parting her lips with a gasp. He swept in, tongue tracing the entrance, sampling her, preparing her, before plunging in. She tasted sweet—bubble gum and Lara.
His left hand slid down her side and cupped the globe of her bum, drawing her close so no space existed between them aside from their clothes. His right hand tangled with the plaits on her nape. He tilted her head back and angled his so he could deepen the kiss.
They both moaned into each other’s mouths. Her grip on his shirt tightened as if she would slip to the ground if he let her go.
Passion burned his veins. Any more arguments he could come up with as to why they couldn’t be together fizzled away. He broke the kiss, panting for breath, as did she.
He rested his forehead against hers.
“I care about you and I want you. But I can’t make you any promises. My life is screwed up right now and I need to focus on getting it back on track.”
“I know,” she replied in a husky voice.
“And I want you to get the best results in your exams, so that should be your top priority. Promise me.”
“Yes. I promise.”
“Good.” He loosened his grip on her. “Now, we have to talk about sex.”
She frowned and dropped her hands, her gaze lowered. “Do we have to? Can’t we just do it?”
He smiled. “No, we can’t just do it. It’s going to be your first time. I want to know what you know.”
&nbs
p; She pulled away and shrugged. “What’s there to know? A man puts his penis inside a woman’s vagina.”
He burst out laughing. “This is not a biology lesson.”
He took her hand and pulled her down on the sofa beside him. “When two people who care about each other have sex, it is more than a physical coupling. Sex becomes an expression of the way they feel about each other. It becomes about giving and receiving pleasure in the most intimate way, not just with their bodies, but with their minds, too. That’s why some people refer to it as making love. That’s why some wait until they’re married. Don’t you want to wait until you’re married?”
She shook her head, distractedly. “No, I don’t.”
She sounded emphatic enough to convince him. He stroked a line with his fingers from her temple down to her neck, repeating the action until she shivered. “I don’t just want to have sex with you. I want to make love to you. I want to give you so much pleasure that will make you addicted to me.”
Her breath hitched. He held her gaze, watching the dark pupils blow out even more. She made him want to be a better person. The person she deserved.
Chapter Five
“I’m already addicted to you.”
Lara didn’t know what got into her whenever she was around this man, but her mouth just went loose and spouted whatever was in her mind.
Perhaps it was because she knew instinctively that he felt something similar.
The truth remained that she didn’t think she could live without him. The past few weeks had been a ton of misery for her. She’d been honest when she’d said she couldn’t sleep or study. Even eating had become a chore forced upon her by Judy, who was getting more worried by the day.
“And I could get so easily hooked on you,” he said and kissed her with an intensity that blew her mind.
She writhed in his arms as his hands stroked her body. Then his hand was palming her breast through her bra and tweaking her nipple through the fabric. An arc of sensation ran from her breast down to between her legs. She moaned as her body arched. What was he doing to her? She felt like she was burning up. She’d never felt like this before.
He trailed his lips down her neck. Then, he was tugging her top strap down her arm, exposing her black bra.
He looked up and met her gaze. His eyes were so dark and intense, her breath caught in her throat.
“I’m going to suck your breast. Would you like that?”
He didn’t need to ask her. She was happy to hand over her body to him. She nodded as her tongue seemed to be suddenly heavy in her mouth.
He tugged her bra down, pushing up the plump tissue of her left breast. His head lowered and his mouth covered the top flesh which he sucked in.
She moaned long and loud and arched her back and clutched at his shoulders. His tongue flicked over her nipple, licking and teasing while his hand slid down her belly to cup between her thighs. He stroked up and down the seam of her jeans and liquid heat converged in her panties. Just that simple stroke and she wanted to take all her clothes off and have him touch wherever he wanted.
He lifted his head. “Open your jeans. Let me touch you, please.”
Something squeezed at her heart. She hadn’t hidden the fact that she wanted him. Somebody else would take advantage. Malcolm had wanted to jump right in without permission. Even going as far as claiming that he had.
Instead, this man was still asking her permission to do what she’d already offered him. How could she not love him even more? With fingers that barely functioned, she fiddled with her zip and buttons until it lay open.
“Lift your bum.”
She did, and he pulled the denim down to her ankles. He reached down and stroked her through her white cotton panties. She rocked her hips, wanting more. He rubbed her again.
“Do you like me touching you?” he asked, his voice rough.
“Yes,” she replied as she breathed fast.
“How does it make you feel?”
“I feel good. So good.” She couldn’t describe the sensation fully. It was all so new. So foreign. Her body was burning up. Her breaths came in pants, as if she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. “I...I...”
“Do you want to come?”
He watched her even as he kept touching her, as if assessing her response to him.
“Yes! I want to...come,” she breathed out. She’d never had an orgasm before.
“I can do that for you. Just tell me one thing.” He kept caressing, up and down, teasing her, driving her insane. “Are you my girl?”
“Yes.”
Stroke, up and down. Need flowed through her veins. She trashed about from left to right.
“You can’t let any of those boys in school touch you. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Then, you’re my girl,” he said as he pressed down on the bundle of nerves hidden by her underwear.
Fever spread out from her sex down to her toes and up to her head. She keened and he kissed her then as she trashed about, succumbing to her first ever orgasm.
He held her until her body calmed and she became aware of her surroundings again. Then he pulled her jeans back up. She was a little too exhausted to protest or ask why he wasn’t removing it totally. She knew what should come next, him taking his clothes off and filling her up.
But he seemed to be doing the opposite. He tidied up her top and bra, too, so she was looking composed again.
“My name is Ike, short for Ikenna.”
Warmth spread across her chest that he’d told her. Still addressing him as Mr. Thomas would’ve been weird considering what just happened. Now, she felt as if he’d granted her access into his life and they were finally on the same footing. “You have such a great name.”
“Thank you.” He smiled at her but it wasn’t a cocky, self-important grin. No, one side of his face dipped, as if he were saddened.
Her heart thudded. Had she said the wrong thing? She frowned and turned away.
“Omalicham.” He cupped her face and turned her to face him. “Why is my girl frowning?”
“Why did you call me that?” she asked.
“Because you are my beautiful girl. I got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside, I got the month of May. I guess you’d say, what can make you feel this way. My girl, talking about my girl. You remind me of an old song from The Temptations.”
“Really?” She couldn’t help the massive smile on her face.
“Really.” He leaned down and brushed their lips together. “So why was my girl frowning?”
“I thought I said something or did something wrong. You were smiling sadly.”
“I’m happy and sad.”
She opened her mouth to talk but he placed his finger on her lips.
“You have such beautiful innocence and at the same time, you are bold and strong,” he said. “Everything about you calls to me to claim you as mine. But at the same time, I’m worried about spoiling you when there are so many things unclear.”
“But being with you feels right.”
“It does. I enjoy your company and not seeing you the past few weeks hasn’t been easy. I don’t know. There’s a part of me that feels this could end badly. I don’t want to hurt you.”
She didn’t know what else to say and just leaned her head against his chest.
He scooped her closer and wrapped his hands around her. She listened to the strong thudding of his heart. His skin was warm and firm. In his arms, she felt safe, the worries of the past weeks wiped away, the peace of mind she’d lacked since the death of her parents now restored, perhaps temporarily.
He kissed the top of her head before leaning back. “By the way, how come you’re not in school today?”
She looked up at him. “We don’t have classes any more, just study periods for revision.”
He glanced up at the wall clock. “So you’re supposed to be studying right now?”
She nodded.
“And you’re here? That’s b
ad, Lara. I can’t allow you to miss out on your study time.”
“I can study later.”
“No, you can’t.” He stood up. “Do you have any books in your bag?”
“Yes,” she replied tentatively.
“Then go and sit at the table and do your work.”
“Really? What about making love?”
“Not for you right now. Study first, sex later.” He smiled and winked at her. “I’m going to cook lunch.”
She grabbed her bag and walked over to the small dining table at the other end of the living room. “You’re cooking?”
“Yeah. If I don’t cook, I starve. Simple.”
She chuckled as he walked away.
She took out her text book and study notes and managed to get into it within a few minutes. The subject she’d been struggling to absorb managed to sink in this time. Perhaps it was because her mind was more settled.
An hour later, the aromatic smell of whatever he was cooking had her stomach growling. She looked up from her books to find him leaning against the door post.
“How long have you been standing there?” she asked as she leaned against the back of the chair.
“A few minutes.” He straightened up. “I enjoy watching you study. You have such an intensity that is mesmerising to see when your focus is on whatever you’re reading.”
She lowered her gaze. Her cheeks heated up.
He pulled out a chair next to her. “I’ve learned so much from you.”
“You have?”
“Yes. I wished I was as studious as you when I was your age. I wouldn’t have gotten into as much trouble as I did.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“In those days, I was more interested in being popular and getting the girls than I was in studying. When it was time for my exams, my parents had to pay for a private tutor and I had to work doubly hard because they banned me from socialising until after my exams. It was a pain to have to study so hard in a short period of time. To be honest, it was sheer good fortune that I passed my exams.”