by Claire Adams
Liquid pleasure rushed through my veins so fast that it left me dizzy and panting helplessly against the onslaught of it. My fingers clawed at the desk to hold myself down while his hands steadied my hips, not missing a stroke down below. Whimpers escaped my lips as my lower stomach coiled in response. I was back on that platform again, rushing madly toward the end of it before I fell off into a stormy sea of orgasm after orgasm.
The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth when I finally came to surface to catch my breath. I lifted my head when I felt Noah finally lift his head from between my thighs.
“Holy crap,” I said, breathlessly. “That was… That was amazing.”
He chuckled deeply, an almost predatory sound. A shiver went up my spine when he turned me over so that my breasts were flattened against the damp wood of his desk. His hands roamed around my buttocks for a moment before giving a full squeeze.
“You don’t hurt at all, do you?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “I don’t hurt at all.”
“Good. I just wanted to check before I did this.”
“Did wha-”
He slid into me hard before I could even finish my question. I curled my fingers around the edge of his desk to hold on while Noah set a fast and hard pace that made it damn near impossible for either of us to be quiet. Our mingled gasps of pleasure filled the entire office. How many times had I thought of being bent over like this in Noah’s office late at night?
Gratification filled me at the thought when I felt myself plummeting downwards to that same turbulent sea of pleasure. Noah’s thrusts were punctuated by grunts now as he drew close to his own release. One hand curled around my shoulder while his free one slipped around my waist. The second his thumb pressed up against me I let out a muffled scream as pleasure shot through me hard and fast.
I fell limp against the desk as tremors crashed over me. A few seconds later, I felt Noah’s hips twitch against me one last time as he stiffened with a satisfied moan before collapsing on top of me.
We stayed that way for a while, drenched in each other’s sweat, but too exhausted to lift away from one another. Noah pressed a tender kiss to the back of my neck before he pulled back finally.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.
I straightened up gingerly, but to my relief this time, I felt nothing. No throbbing pain this time. Just throbbing pleasure.
“No,” I said. “No pain this time.”
“Good. We should get dressed just in case someone comes up here.”
My throat tightened at the thought. We dressed in silence before Noah clicked the lights on. He reached up to run a hand quickly through his hair while I also pulled my hair back into its braid. If anyone stumbled upon us now, nothing would look suspicious.
Except for Noah’s desk.
“This was not how I imagined my night turning out,” Noah said, an amused grin tugging at his lips.
He stepped by me to organize his desk back to the way it was. The spine of a book on his desk caught my eye. Love Triangle. I picked it up curiously to read the description on the back and stopped short when I read the last bit of information at the bottom.
Jack Miller currently lives in Provo, Utah.
I looked up to find Noah’s gaze on me. “Why is this on your desk? Seems a little out of place to me.”
“It’s my book,” he replied, shrugging as if him writing an erotica romance was no big deal. “You look a bit stunned.”
“I am a bit stunned,” I said, flipping through the hefty book with an impressed glance. “I mean, I knew you were obviously a good writer to be an English professor, but I didn’t know you were published.”
“A few months ago, after I came back from New Zealand, I published it,” he said. “It does decent on the market, but it’s also costing me a lot to have my own team to look through it.”
“Team?”
“Editors, proofreaders, cover designer. Things like that.”
I looked back down at the cover of two women wrapped up in a man’s embrace. Ironically, I felt like it suited Noah in a lot of ways. He had women wrapped around him all the time, whether or not he embraced them back.
“Respect,” I said. “I understand why you are so critical of me now.”
His eyes narrowed a bit. “I’m critical of you for other reasons, too, Iris. You’re an adult. I’m an adult. We don’t need to treat each other like we did this past week.”
I set the book back down on his desk. Guilt went through me when I caught sight a brief glimpse of hurt in his eyes.
“I know, and I’m sorry for leaving your house the way I did and then ditching your class. I suck at this, if you can’t tell.”
“I can’t criticize,” he said. “I’m not the best at relationships, either. Don’t look up my track record.”
I twisted my hands around each other nervously. I had no idea what to do now. For the past week, I had told myself to avoid Noah at all costs, but here I was standing in front of him with pleasure still throbbing in my body. It occurred to me then that no matter how hard the both of us tried, we couldn’t avoid one another. I was drawn to him in ways I’d never imagined I would be.
“What do we do now?” I asked. “We can’t let this get out of this office, obviously.”
Noah reached up to rub at his chin with a sigh. “No,” he agreed, softly. “We can’t let anyone know about this.”
I bit my lip in contemplation. “Do you think we got it out of our system for now?”
“Probably not,” he said, shrugging. “How about we just promise to keep it low until the next few weeks are over with? Deal?”
“Does that mean you’d take me out on an actual date then?” I asked teasingly. I didn’t expect an answer, but Noah glanced at me with a mischievous smile.
“Plenty of them,” he said. “We’re going about this backwards, but we really don’t have a choice.”
“We really don’t,” I agreed. “We will wait until May, then?”
“Until then,” he said. Wrapping me up into a tight embrace, he rested his forehead against mine. It felt so natural to fall right into his strong arms. “Don’t be afraid to sneak off to my house in the meantime. I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.”
I grinned up at him. For the first time, I felt confident about where things were going between us. It wasn’t awkward, or strained like I had dreaded. It felt assuring and steady, despite the cold hard reality outside of Noah’s office door.
“Count me in,” I said. “I’ll be there for visits away.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Noah
I nursed a hot coffee while I made my way across campus to the English Department. Only a few students were out and about on the campus, but I had been up for hours already thinking about the recent exchanged I’d had with Iris.
We had both agreed to keep a low profile when it came to things between us, but there was still a high risk of getting caught. The only times Iris insisted that we could get intimate were away from campus, and I grudgingly let the idea of bending Iris over my desk again go. She was right about that part.
I crossed a dewy patch of grass before I heard my name being called repeatedly from somewhere behind me. Dread curled in my stomach when I recognized the owner of the voice. For a moment, I debated on hurrying up my stride while pretending I didn’t hear him, but footsteps approached me quickly from behind.
“Mr. Webber! Mr. Webber!”
I turned slowly to find Miles jogging across the pathway to catch up with me. His pale face was flushed when he finally reached my side.
“You move too fast for someone who has an ACL injury,” he panted out, placing a hand on his chest. “I’ve been calling your name out since the parking lot.”
“Sorry. I didn’t hear you,” I said, watching his expression with wariness. There were only two reasons why he would be calling after me, and I didn’t want to deal with either one of those reasons. “I have to get
to class, Dean. It starts in ten minutes-”
“Of course,” he said, still panting. “I’ll make it fast, then.”
I gritted my teeth. “Right. What is it that I can help you with?”
“I’ve been talking with the boys on the rugby team.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes in exasperation. “They have a key game coming up soon. I told them that maybe if your schedule is open that you could-”
“With all due respect, Dean,” I cut in smoothly, “you hired me as a professor. I have focused all my attention into teaching students here. My freshman class is in desperate need of tutoring, so I have been focused on helping them anyway possible outside of class.”
I’d expected some sort of argument to follow, but Miles’s lips thinned into a tight line. His eyebrows knitted together, as well.
I swallowed down the bulge in my throat. I had no idea if Miles had any suspicions about what had happened. It was an unspoken agreement between Iris and myself to not talk about our situation with other people. The only person who knew about it didn’t even set foot anywhere near the PHU campus.
I didn’t regret my relationship with Iris. Now that I had her, I had no intentions of ever letting her go. I only worried about her reputation.
“I’ve heard you’ve become quite the popular teacher here,” Miles said, and it was hard to read the tone in his voice. Panic steadily rose in me. “Some of the other professors here have expressed concern that you might be becoming too popular.”
“Too popular?” I repeated, dubiously. “It’s a crime here to have students actually like you and enjoy your class?”
“No, it’s not a crime. However, I won’t tolerate rumors of relationships, if you catch my message, Mr. Webber. Remember the discussion we had before you arrived here.” He looked at me seriously for a moment. “Just keep yourself professional at all times. I’d hate to cut strings with someone like you.”
“You’d cut strings without knowing the entire story?”
“I have before,” he said, a bit too coldly for my liking. “Keep that in mind, Mr. Webber. We have a reputation here at PHU that I’d like to keep clean. Now, think about that rugby team will you? The boys would be heartbroken if you turned me down again.”
He clapped me on the shoulder before turning to go back in the direction he had come from. I turned to resume my path to the English Department and tried to shake off the conversation.
“Fuck,” I swore quietly. “I didn’t tell the persistent son-of-a-bitch that I wasn’t going to help out the team.”
I made a mental note to email Miles later in the afternoon. As I had hoped, Iris was already seated in her desk when I stepped into the classroom. The center of her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink when I met her gaze with a grin. She looked beautiful in her usual attire of skin-tight leggings and a simple shirt that said PHU on the front.
It took all my self-control to not dismiss class, take Iris up into my office, and have my way with her on my desk again. I still pictured that look on her face when she had finally gone off the edge…skin flushed and biting her lower lip to keep quiet.
I shook those images away before I could get entirely aroused. Class went smoothly as I let everyone break up into groups to discuss the reading assignment. It gave me time to grade the papers I had forgotten to grade Wednesday since Iris had come into my office.
“Professor Webber.”
I looked up to find one of my students, Melinda Grace, standing in front of my desk. She batted her eyelashes at me while leaning down on my desk with her palms. It gave me quite the impressive view of small breasts through the top of her blouse.
“I was wondering if I could get into the tutoring sessions with you,” she said. “These readings are a bit complicated for me to understand.”
I leant back in my chair at the sultry tones in her voice. Over Melinda’s shoulder, I caught sight of Iris’ amused eyes.
“I’m sure we can arrange that, Melinda,” I said. “I have a few other students who will be getting together for tutoring later this afternoon.”
Her eyes narrowed in disappointment. “I was hoping that you could tutor me personally, Professor Webber. You’re so smart.”
Iris burst into a fit of coughing that sounded suspiciously like veiled laughter. Too popular. Those two words echoed in the back of my head as I looked up at Melinda in exasperation.
“I will be at the tutoring sessions this afternoon,” I said. “Please stop by if you need the extra help.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but shut it after I arched an eyebrow at her. I looked to where Iris was gathering her own things while talking with a few other students. She paused briefly by my desk, a teasing glint in her eyes.
“See you for tutoring today, Professor Webber?” she asked, sweetly.
Not the type of tutoring I hoped for. I forced a smile on my face though well aware of other students lingering about the classroom.
“If you want a passing grade,” I commented.
“That I do. See you later this afternoon.”
I loathed the fact that there would be other students there, but I needed to keep professional now – especially after what Miles had said to me. I nodded goodbye to Iris while I gathered my own books. I stepped out into the hallway right as Kale emerged from the office with a thick stack of papers in hand.
“Your senior seems to have a better attitude these days,” he said. “I overheard her offering help to another student with your class assignment.”
I shrugged my shoulders as we walked up the stairs to our offices. I didn’t want to tell Kale what had happened with Miles this morning, even though that conversation burned in the back of my mind. I kept my mouth shut as we passed by a few other professors’ offices, their doors open as always.
“She’s been doing well in tutoring, too,” I said, casually as possible. “I hope she’ll keep up the good work. I don’t want to be the reason why she doesn’t graduate.”
“You won’t be,” he said. “It’s only a student’s fault if they don’t pass a class because they didn’t do any of the work.”
I looked away from Kale to hide the heaviness I felt settling on my shoulders. I will be the reason why she doesn’t graduate. I couldn’t shake that thought out of my head. It wouldn’t be because Iris didn’t fail a class; it’d be because we had let passion blind us, and now we were eager to let it burn us.
Only a few weeks though, as Iris had put it. In a few weeks, we could go crazy on one another without the fear of losing my job or getting expelled.
I just didn’t know if I could keep away from Iris for that long.
“Maybe,” I said. “I think there is a lot more to it than that.”
“Well, whatever you did, it worked,” he said. “You must’ve given her the grade she had been hoping for.”
I could feel my cheeks burning. I didn’t bother responding to Kale’s comment. I let out a relieved breath the second my office door closed. Images of Iris spread out on my desk from the previous day went through my head again. A few pens were still scattered on the floorboards. I could still hear Iris’ muffled whimpers echoing in the room.
“Fuck,” I breathed out, rubbing at sweat beading my forehead. “What did I get us both into?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Iris
The door slamming shut stirred me out of a heated dream starring Noah. Sweat pooled at the back of my neck. I rubbed at it with a grimace before sliding out of bed, checking my phone in the process to see I had a text message from Jen.
Do you want to grab something to eat the mall today? I need a distraction from homework.
I smiled. I needed a distraction from the hot and flushed feeling that now occupied my body from dreaming about Noah.
Yes. Let’s meet in the school parking lot to get something to eat?
I waited until Jen confirmed the plans to meet before slipping into a cool shower. The apartment was empty, as I expected it to be on a Saturday. Bailey rarely hun
g out around the apartment on the weekends.
My phone vibrated repeatedly, signaling a phone call, and I grabbed it with a grin when I recognized Noah’s number.
“You’re going to get us both in trouble if you start calling me,” I said, teasingly.
“Some things are worth the trouble,” he replied, and I couldn’t help but notice the tension in his voice. “What’s going on with you this weekend?”
I let it go. If he didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering him, I wasn’t going to push it.
“I’m going to the mall with Jen to get a bite to eat.”
“No frisky business today?” His voice was husky.
Heat flickered in my lower belly at the tempting thought of driving to his house for another round.
“No,” I said. “I don’t want to lose the only good female friend by ditching her after I promised her a day together.”
“Oh, fine. I see how it is.” Noah sighed dramatically. “I guess I’ll just please myself in the meantime then.”
I grinned. “A few days of celibacy won’t kill you.”
“Says who? You’re the drop-dead sexy one. I’m going to burst because it’s been a few days.”
“Go out and do something fun then. What are your plans?”
“No idea yet what I’m going to do. It’s still early.”
“Go back to sleep, then,” I said. “Have sweet dreams.”
“I’ll dream of you, so they’ll be sweet and hot.”
He hung up after that. My stomach fluttered as it always did whenever we talked. Was it possible to ever grow out of feeling this wanted by someone? It didn’t seem possible from the way Noah acted every time we talked or looked at one another. It was nice to have someone wanting me for a change.
Jen was waiting for me in the parking lot when I pulled up ten minutes later. We drove to the mall while chatting absently about the various homework assignments we had to finish over the weekend.
“I wish I was graduating this May,” she said wistfully. “I’d love to be getting on with my life.” She turned in the passenger seat to look at me. “Is it bad that I’m already over the whole college experience?”