by Simply BWWM
It was long into the second half of the day when a young woman who was waiting at the microphone asked a question about men making decisions about women’s body parts. Since men didn’t have the parts in question, she felt that they had no right to make decisions about organs that they did not have themselves.
There was a stirring in the audience and a man who happened to be standing at the opposite microphone on the other side of the audience turned to her and called out his opinion about having a right as a father about deciding whether or not his child should be aborted. He felt that the woman didn’t have the solitary right to the decision, and before he was even finished speaking, the crowd erupted in anger and frustration. Nothing the moderator said made any difference to the mass of people who launched at each other.
Catalina was right in the middle of it when it broke out, and Connor, who had been watching her and everything around her with a hawk’s eye, leaped forward just as a huge man swung his fist toward another man. The target of the huge man ducked and the huge man would have hit Catalina directly in the face if Connor hadn’t jumped in front of her.
Just as he put himself between her and the huge man, the man’s massive fist landed hard on Connor’s face and knocked him backward into Catalina and both of them landed against three security guards who were struggling to restore order in the melee.
The security guards, seeing what happened, converged on the huge man and had him on the ground and in handcuffs in a matter of moments. Two other security guards helped Catalina and Connor to their feet and steadied them as Connor tried to regain his balance.
Catalina hadn’t realized that he had been hit at first, all she knew was that they had both flown backward with considerable force and she’d landed on other people. It wasn’t until the guards picked them up and began to make a fuss over him, that she looked up and saw blood pouring from a cut over his eyebrow.
Her mouth fell open and adrenaline and panic flooded through her as she reached for him, sure that her heart was going to break in half at seeing him injured. The security guards hauled them both to the front of the building where a team of medics took over and hovered around Connor, cleaning him off and patching him up.
The debate was brought to an immediate end and several people were escorted from the building in handcuffs. Connor and Catalina got into the car and she drove them back to the hotel, worrying about him the entire way.
When they reached their room he lay on the bed for a few minutes, but then sat back up. She was looking for ice to make a fresh ice pack for him and when she got back, she stood before him and looked down at him as he sat on the edge of the bed looking like hell.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, knowing that it wouldn’t be good. She handed him the ice pack and he held it to the bandaged cut on his forehead.
“I feel like I got hit by a truck.”
She sighed and tilted her head, looking at him in sympathy. “You did get hit by a truck. Luckily, they arrested him, so if you want to press charges later, you can.”
He shook his head and sighed. “I’m not going to press charges. I just wish my body didn’t feel so sore and stiff, and my head wasn’t about to explode.”
She frowned at him. “Did you take the pain pills that the medics gave you?” she asked as she reached her hand up to touch his forehead lightly.
He nodded. “Yeah, I took a couple of them. They’ve kind of taken the edge off, but they aren’t doing much to get rid of the pain.”
Catalina shook her head at him. “I can’t believe that you took a punch for me.”
He looked up at her with his one good eye. “What, you think I was about to let you get hit by some whack job?” he asked incredulously.
She rolled her eyes. “I guess not. Listen, why don’t you lie down, that might help you feel better.”
He shook his head, speaking in a low voice. “No, it made my head feel worse. Thanks, though,” he said appreciatively.
Catalina tilted her head and looked at him thoughtfully. “What if you went outside and sat in the hot tub for a while? That might help your muscles feel a bit better. What do you think?”
He considered it and realized that she was probably right. Nothing else was going to make his sore, tired body relax and heal as fast as the hot tub would. He nodded and went to the bathroom to put his swim trunks on. When he came out, he saw that she had changed into her swimsuit and was wearing one of the hotel robes over it.
His stomach tightened at the thought that she would be joining him in nothing but a swimsuit and he wasn’t at all sure if he would be able to get through it easily, but for the sake of his battered body, he realized that he was going to have to try.
They walked out to the courtyard and pool area together, and were surprised to find no one else there. She helped him into the hot tub and he turned his head away from her as she slipped her robe off and stepped into the steaming, bubbling water.
She had had to avert her gaze when he came out of the bathroom, because the sight of his toned and muscular body in his swimming trunks was enough to make her gasp as her body flooded with warmth and the butterflies in her stomach went wild. She had felt stirrings deep in her when she had taken his arm and steadied him as he entered the hot tub, his strong back almost mesmerizing her as she wished she could run her hands over it.
Catalina took a deep breath and sat beside him. She had brought a red bikini that flattered her figure and was comfortable to wear, and Connor was doing his level best not to look at her in it, though it was extremely difficult, especially as she engaged him in conversation.
“I can’t believe that it got so wild again today at the event.” She was thinking back on the fights that erupted all over the room. She was trying to keep her mind on the debates rather than on the beautiful man who was sitting beside her in the steaming water.
He sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe it either. I’ve never seen anything like that happen before. Ever! I guess that’s just how photojournalism goes. It’s probably best that you saw it early like that before you really got in too easy in the beginning, thinking it would be all peaches and cream and then discovering that the road can sometimes be really rocky. I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt today!” He looked over at her face with a look of utter relief.
She tipped her head a little and smiled at him with guilt and gratitude. “I’m glad that I didn’t get hurt, but I feel horrible that you did! Thank you again for jumping in between us. I was so surprised and I didn’t know what was going on with you, and then suddenly we were flying backward and it was pure chaos. I didn’t even know that you were hurt at first. This is just crazy.” She reached her fingers up to touch his forehead near his bandage.
She reached over to the side of the hot tub and picked up the ice pack that she had made for him, lifting it in her hand to hold against his forehead. She moved closer to him to get the pack on comfortably, and as she closed the space between them, he looked up at her so near him and could not look away.
Feeling his gaze on her, her eyes drifted down to meet his and suddenly it felt like a magnet had locked them both together. She felt inexplicably drawn to him, and though she knew she shouldn’t, she could not resist leaning a little closer to him, her full lips close to his, parted slightly. She wanted to kiss him more than anything, and she could see in his eyes as he stared at her, that he wanted it just as much as she did.
Her breath grew shallow as she drew nearer to him, so close she could feel his breath on her lips, and in that moment he could not hold himself back any longer, and he could not resist the temptation of her offer of a kiss. He lifted his hands toward her and gently pulled her body to him and lifting his chin, pressed his lips softly to hers with just a feather touch at first.
It was like a fire had been lit between them, and the soft touch of their kiss ignited a desire in both of them that swiftly grew hot. Her lips moved tenderly and sensually over his and she slowly traced the tip of her wet tongue over t
he curve of his mouth, making him groan deeply and close his hands tighter on her body as he pressed her to him.
Feeling the same hunger for him that he felt for her, she tasted his tongue, twisting hers around it, and sucking gently on it as her belly tightened and everything in her felt like a riot of desire.
She turned her body fully toward him and slowly slid both of her knees up around him so that she was sitting on his lap facing him. As she moved her body gradually toward him, spreading her thighs as she went, she felt his rock solid erection press against her body and the feel of him against her made her gasp with intense need. He cried out softly as she began to move herself along the length of him, their swimsuits a thin barrier over their bodies.
He clenched his hands on her hips, pulling her down harder against his erection, rubbing it on her and making her sigh softly as their kisses deepened and he lost himself to his desire for her. Connor’s mouth left hers, trailing slowly down her neck, biting her skin gently as he kissed and pulled at her skin with his teeth and lips, moving lower and lower as they moved their hips together, pressing hard with desire against one another.
His mouth descended to the swell of her breasts and he kissed at them hungrily, his mouth moving the material of her bikini top aside until he had captured her dark nipple in between his lips and teeth and was sucking at it, rolling the tip of his tongue over it while she arched her back and rode herself against him harder.
Connor’s hands slid beneath her bikini bottoms at the waist, and he slowly moved them over the round flesh of her ass as he pulled her tight against his groin. Everything in him was lost in her, and there was nothing in the universe but her, until he let her nipple go, running his hot tongue over it again and again, kissing and pulling at it, and then he looked up into her face and everything in him stopped.
She looked down at him, hungry for him, aching to feel him deep inside of her, but when their eyes met, he gasped and a tidal wave of guilt washed over him and bound him tightly. He pushed her away from him suddenly, and she stared at him with wide eyes, full of confusion.
“What… What is it? Did I hurt you somehow?” she asked sadly, shaking her head and reaching her hands to him.
He drew in a deep breath and turned away from her for a moment, his hands pushing hers gently away. “No. You didn’t hurt me. I was hurting you. I was hurting us, and failing in the biggest possible way; letting you down.” He felt wretched for what he had allowed himself to do.
She shook her head again at him and tried to get close to him again. “You aren’t hurting me or us, Connor, I want this with you!” she said in an anxious voice as her eyes searched his downward turned face. “Please… don’t stop. Don’t push me away. I want you… I want you so much…” she said softly, reaching her hands under the water and sliding them up his thighs toward his groin. “Connor… we both want this.”
He shook his head and closing his hands around her forearms, gently pushed her away again. “NO! We can’t do this! It isn’t right! You are my student and I’m your teacher, and there’s nothing right about this at all! I have a duty to you, and allowing this to happen between us is failing that duty in the worst possible way!”
His eyes met hers and he spoke seriously to her. “I want you more than you could imagine, but that doesn’t make it right, and that doesn’t mean that we should give in to our desires. We are not in a position to have a relationship like this! We have to maintain our roles. I cannot let you down this way! I won’t!” he insisted, pushing himself up to his feet.
She felt hot tears sting her eyes and she looked away from him, reaching her hand over to the material of her bikini top and pulling it to cover her exposed breast. He sighed and reached for her, bringing her to her feet in front of him. He placed both of his hands on either side of her face and tilted it upward to him. She looked at him sadly and he saw a tear as it rolled down her sculpted cheek.
Connor shook his head. “God, you are so beautiful, and I feel so lucky and flattered that of all the men you could have, you somehow decided that you want me, but you and I aren’t able to have each other that way. It’s my job to teach you and guide you, not to make love with you, no matter how much I want to.” He shook his head and looked up for a long moment, taking a deep breath. “God, I want to.” He sighed and then his eyes lowered to hers again.
“You deserve to be in a loving relationship with a young man closer to your age who isn’t in any kind of position of authority over you. An equal. Someone who doesn’t have a responsibility to you the way that I do. Please understand…” he whispered, begging her to see the rational perspective of their situation, rather than the emotional one.
She sighed and pulled his hands from her face, nodding slightly and turning away from him. She knew what he meant, but it did nothing to dampen the fires that burned hotly inside the depths of her, the fires that made her ache for his touch, his kiss, his body to be inside of hers.
He followed her out of the hot tub and they walked back to their room silently, each of them saddened and hungry for the other. They each took a turn rinsing off in the shower and putting their pajamas on, and neither of them said a word to the other as they went to bed with their backs to each other, both of them barely one breath away from rolling over and reaching for the other to make love.
It was a long while before either one of them fell asleep, but they both finally did, and though neither of them had a restful sleep, both of them woke with a start as the phone rang in the morning.
Connor rubbed his good eye and reached for the phone as she turned to look over her shoulder at him while he took the call.
“Yes, this is Connor James. Hello, sir…. Yes, I did…. You do? .... Well, that would be wonderful! There are two of us, of course, is that a possibility? It is…. Well thank you so very much! We certainly appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity, and we will look forward to seeing you there, sir. Good morning to you as well.” He hung up the phone and turned to look at Catalina, who was watching him expectantly.
“We just got two invitations to the banquet tonight,” he said with a smile, and she smiled back and leaned against the pillows.
“That’s great! I’ll have to get my dress out and steam it.” Then she turned to look at him with regretful eyes. “Connor… I’m sorry about last night. I just… I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you to begin with. I started it, it was my fault, not yours, and I never should have --”
He cut her off, raising his hand and shaking his head. “No apologies, okay? Please. It was both of us, it happened, we both let it happen, and we both took responsibility for it. We don’t worry about it, we go on. I’m just so sorry that I failed you, but I’m determined that it won’t happen again, so please, don’t worry or think about it, and we will go on and everything will be fine. Okay?” He looked at her hopefully.
She nodded with a small smile. “Okay,” she answered simply, and then the two of them got out of bed and got ready for the last day of the event. They were both careful about giving each other space and respect as they readied to go, and both of them were caught in between wanting to give that respect, and wanting to give in to their heated desires and make love with one another. Both of them were concentrating on avoiding the electric heat between them at all costs.
When they arrived at the event building, they were not surprised to see that there was twice as much security as there had been both previous days, and it seemed as though every person going in was aware of the seriousness of the situation and prepared to be on their best behavior. Catalina and Connor stayed close to one another and as the morning went on, she was able to work in a peaceful environment.
All of the attendees behaved as she had expected that they would have on the first day of the event, and it made her work infinitely easier. But Connor still stayed very close to her all the while that she worked.
The last day of the event, rather than having a midday break, went straight through for five hours and then the event ended
on a positive note as the candidates all shook hands and left the stage and there were no uprisings in the audience, and no demonstrations outside of the building. It was as calm and peaceful as it could possibly have been.
When Connor and Catalina walked out of the building, they were surprised to see that the snow, which had stopped falling earlier in the evening the day before, had begun to fall again, this time much thicker, faster, and heavier than the prior storm had deposited on Springfield.
They looked at each other with worried glances and went back to the hotel. Getting the latest report on the weather told them that the city should expect up to six inches, which was not enough to cause any kind of traffic problem, or delay them from leaving the next morning. They were both relieved and hopeful that the report was accurate that time.
Catalina laid down for a nap and Connor worked on his laptop, taking care of classes online while he was away. When the afternoon grew late, he readied himself for the banquet, and she woke up shortly after he had finished dressing. She pushed herself up from the bed and saw him standing before the desk in the room wearing his black tuxedo. She drew in a long, slow, silent breath and raised her eyebrows slightly.