A Higher Education

by Rosalie Stanton

  The lock of hair she’d adjusted came loose again. It took every ounce of his control not to reach out and touch it. Touch her. Standing so close to her after so long was intoxicating, such that all the excuses he’d spent the past few weeks piecing together collapsed without ceremony. No matter what had happened, no matter how hard he’d tried, he couldn’t turn off the way he felt about her. Those feelings were illogical and surreal.

  “You were never just a hookup,” he said at last, his voice gravelly even to his ears. “Not to me.”

  Elizabeth met his eyes, and the wealth of what he saw there was enough to turn a skeptic into a proselytizer. “I know.”

  This was dangerous. She was dangerous. He needed to keep that in mind.

  He needed to create distance before she sucked him back in.

  Will cleared his throat and gave his head a shake, forcing himself to take a step back. “But that’s what I was to you, right?” he said. “A hookup.”

  The effect was immediate—whatever softness had been in Elizabeth’s face evaporated. She straightened her spine. “Yeah. That’s all it was.”

  “I was convenient.”

  “Very.” Elizabeth paused, wrinkling her nose. “Actually, no. You were the definition of inconvenient.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. Imagine being attracted to someone who otherwise repels you on every conceivable level. It’s not fun.”

  Will arched an eyebrow and, against his better judgment, recovered that step he’d put between them. “What about being attracted to someone whose biggest accomplishment is in the art of mixed signals?”

  “My signals were so not mixed.”

  “No? You hate me one moment then pull me into a supply closet the next.”

  “I hated you throughout.”

  He just looked at her.

  Elizabeth shrugged. “I can hate with a dick in my mouth.”

  “For future reference, that is not the best way to communicate repulsion.” Another step. Any closer and his chest would be against hers, the weight of her familiar breasts pressed where he wanted them. He inhaled and got a lungful of her scent—sweet and familiar and all Elizabeth. It was all he could do to keep from whimpering. “Neither is showing up at my dorm and screwing my brains out.”

  “What little you have, you mean.”

  He nodded. “That’s right.”

  Elizabeth released a shaky breath, her gaze dipping to his mouth long enough for his cock to take notice.

  “Too bad you’re a stuck-up asshole,” she said.

  “You’re one to talk.”

  Her eyes softened without warning and the air between them went electric. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you more.” Will didn’t give himself time to think—his body was in action, overriding his brain in desperation to touch her. He seized her by the hips at the same time her hands found his cheeks, and then, yes, her lips were on his and every cell in his body cried out in sweet relief.

  The reasons against this were plenty and he was sure he’d revisit them later, but sweet Jesus, he couldn’t be bothered to care at the moment. Not with Elizabeth sighing into him, her tongue exploring his mouth like he was the goddamned elixir of life. There was something frenzied in the way her lips moved, as though she was worried he’d come to his senses. But sense had flown out the window. Whatever had happened before didn’t matter now. Nothing mattered but this. The taste of her in his mouth again, the feel of her body pressed to his, the needy sounds she made had him diving right off the wagon.

  She tasted so good. Just as he remembered and better. Her kiss was all tongue and teeth, hot and frantic, punctuated with passion he was certain was wholly Elizabeth. But there was something else, too—those small whimpery moans she fed him sounded just this side of desperate. That could make him believe what she’d said in the way words never could.

  She had missed him.

  Fuck. He was a goner.

  Elizabeth pulled back with a hard gasp, and for a horrible instant, his happy thoughts stuttered, flooded with the certainty that she was about to shove him away and make for the door. But she didn’t. Rather, she looked at him for a long beat, her eyes searching his, her breaths crashing hard against his lips.

  “Will—”

  He kissed her again before she could say anything else, and she melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing her hips forward until his swelling cock was pressed against her. Another of those sultry whimpers tumbled through her throat, and suddenly he couldn’t get close enough.

  Thankfully, she seemed to be on the same page. Elizabeth scaled a hand under the cotton of his long-sleeved tee and danced her fingers over his stomach, leaving a burning trail in their wake. And her mouth kept battling his, teasing, tasting and tugging until he came undone.

  Real. This is real.

  Will pulled away again when oxygen became a concern, panting and pressing his forehead to hers. “You’re not gonna run away, are you?”

  “No.”

  “You want this?”

  “Uh huh.”

  He slipped the hand up her side until he had one of her soft breasts cradled against his palm. Strange how his body remembered her given the small amount of time they’d actually had together, but everything about her felt familiar.

  “I’m serious,” he whispered, rubbing his thumb over her nipple. “I don’t want you regretting—”

  “I’ll regret it more if we don’t.”

  “You mean it?”

  Elizabeth nodded before pressing her mouth to his again, and whatever lingering strands of resistance he had in him melted. Her fingers abandoned the exploration of his stomach, which made him groan in frustration until he felt her palm rubbing along the hard length of his cock, and every nerve in his body blazed with fire. He remembered that hand—the way she’d held him, stroked him. Over the last few weeks, he’d managed to convince himself that the memory was better than the real thing—because sex couldn’t be that good with someone who didn’t like him. Who had no reason to want to make him feel these things. Pleasure was not a reward for disdain, so it had to be imagined.

  Yeah, he’d been an idiot. Rationalizing things that couldn’t be rationalized. Because no matter what had happened between them, he wasn’t creative enough to invent the way she felt and tasted or the things she did to him without even trying.

  He forced the hand at her breast to move, then ducked under the hem of her shirt and felt her warm flesh burning against his palm. But it wasn’t enough, and apparently she agreed for the next second, Elizabeth had pulled back and jerked her shirt over her head. He took a moment to appreciate the sight of her in the center hall of his home, her rosy nipples peeking through the strappy lace of her bra before he was on her again, dragging hot kisses off her mouth as he explored her warm flesh as he’d thought he never would again.

  Did the rest of her taste as good as he remembered? He needed to know. Will broke his lips from hers and began kissing a path down her throat as his fingers toyed with the straps of her bra.

  “Fuck…”

  He pressed a kiss to her collarbone and grinned. He’d missed that mouth of hers. He’d missed everything. “I intend to,” he murmured, reaching behind her to pop the clasp. And then the bra was gone and her breasts were bare against his hands, erect nipples pressing into his palms.

  “Will…”

  He dipped his head and teased one nipple with his tongue, relishing the hard shudder that coursed through her body before sucking her into his mouth. Elizabeth hissed, raking her fingers through his hair and clutching him tight, as though he wanted to go anywhere else. He sucked and swirled, licked and teased before kissing a path to her other breast and doing it all over again.

  “Will—”

  “Mmm?” he hummed around her flesh.

  “You…you think…I could get the rest of that tour now?”

  That lent him pause. He flicked his gaze up to hers, uncertain until he saw the heat in her eyes.<
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  “Tour?” he asked.

  Elizabeth nodded shakily. “I was told the upstairs was off limits, but since you’re here…”

  He blinked and straightened before favoring her with a smile that felt downright goofy. “You mean you don’t want to get fucked against the wall down here?”

  She trembled, her eyes darkening. “Maybe later.”

  The words sent a thrill up his spine. “More than happy to oblige.” Will pulled her back to him, swallowing whatever retort she had ready with another kiss. He gripped her hips and began walking backward, dragging her with him as he made his way blindly to the stairs.

  “Is that a yes?” Elizabeth asked against his lips before ripping his shirt over his head.

  “Mmm?” He unbuttoned her jeans and drew down the zipper.

  “You’ll show me the upstairs?” A shoe went flying across the room.

  “I’ll show you whatever you want.”

  “Promises.” She whipped off his belt and tossed it over her shoulder. Something crashed to the floor but he couldn’t be bothered to care. He was too busy kicking off his own shoes so he could help her push down his pants.

  “I keep my promises,” Will said against her lips. “All of them.”

  How he made it upstairs, he didn’t know. One second he was tugging down her jeans and the next, he had her in his room, naked across his mattress.

  Fuck, there had never been a prettier sight. Elizabeth lying spread before him, her nipples hard and her pussy wet and best of all, her eyes full and alert and on him like she was as astounded to find herself here as he was to have her. Not even in his most optimistic fantasies had Will imagined this. But she was here and open and not hating him, and so beautiful he almost wanted to cry.

  “There’s so much I wanna do to you,” he murmured, barely aware he was speaking at all. He zeroed his gaze in on her wet, swollen pussy and found himself suddenly parched with the need to taste her there. He’d gotten a hint before, a quick one, but the later he’d told himself at the time had never come.

  “Later,” Elizabeth said, as though reading his thoughts. She sat up, linked her ankles behind his hips and pulled him forward. “I need you inside me now.”

  His dick throbbed its agreement. Will bit back a growl, which faded into a moan when she wrapped her fingers around his shaft. He’d forgotten how warm her hand was, how she intuitively seemed to know just how he liked to be squeezed or how she stroked him at the perfect rhythm. He’d forgotten how much he loved watching her as she touched him, and the way she was looking at him now…

  Will inhaled and reached for his nightstand drawer, muttering a quick prayer that he did have condoms in there and that they hadn’t expired. He hadn’t had much occasion to bring past girlfriends here, typically erring on the side of caution, especially with a teenager in the house. But it had happened a time or two, and…

  Hallelujah. There was a box in there. And it hadn’t gone bad.

  Elizabeth giggled. He looked up to find her grinning impishly at him.

  “What?” he asked, fighting off a smile.

  “You look so relieved.”

  Will laughed and fished out a condom. “Wasn’t sure I had these nearby.”

  “I’m pretty sure they’re a prerequisite for any single guy’s bedroom.”

  “I don’t entertain in here often.”

  Elizabeth leaned back on her elbows, an action that all but demanded he trail his gaze down her body. He figured he could spend the next few centuries looking at her and not get his fill.

  “I guess being filthy rich means you have your own penthouse somewhere?” she asked, drawing his attention back to her face. “So your dates get the full billionaire bachelor experience?”

  Will blinked, then shook his head as he tore open the foil packet and began rolling on the condom. He didn’t get very far before Elizabeth batted his hand away, took hold of his cock again, and slipped the latex over his shaft with a long stroke.

  “Mmm?” she purred a moment later.

  “Huh?” He stole a kiss off her lips before she could respond, gripping his cock by the base and placing it where he wanted to be. And goddamn, even through the condom, he could feel her heat.

  “I was fishing for info on your legions of female admirers.”

  “I have legions of female admirers?”

  She looked up at him, her eyes hooded. “The Caroline Bingleys of the world?”

  Will stared at her for a moment. “This would be the first and hopefully the last time that name has been mentioned while holding my dick.”

  Again, Elizabeth laughed. “That’s good to know.”

  “And there aren’t legions of admirers.” He paused. “None that I’ve paid attention to, anyway.”

  “Oh?”

  Will shook his head, tugging her forward so her hips were hanging off the edge of the mattress and he was cradled between her legs. He nudged the tip of his cock against the slick flesh of her labia, entranced by the sight. “The only woman I’ve wanted is here,” he murmured before dipping a hand to spread her open. “So pretty.”

  “Will…”

  He ran his thumb over her clit, smirking when she gasped and arched into him, then slipped two fingers along the seam of her opening. “Gotta make sure,” he said before pressing one digit inside. And god, she sucked him right in. She was tighter than he remembered, if that was possible. Tight and silky and so hot he wanted to cry.

  “Shit.” He added another finger, this time not bothering to hold back his moan. “You feel amazing.”

  “I’ll feel a lot better in a moment.” Elizabeth rolled her head back, panting. “Please. I don’t need foreplay. Just fuck me.”

  Will released a long, trembling breath, his gaze glued to the sight of his fingers, shiny with her juices, pumping in and out of her. But he couldn’t take it long—he could barely take it now. Later, he promised himself, he’d explore her the way he’d wanted to. With his hands and mouth and he’d feel her come apart on his tongue. But she was right and he’d teased them both long enough.

  Elizabeth mewled when he pulled his fingers away, but the sound turned into a whimper of relief almost immediately. The blunt head of his cock parted her folds, and then he was sinking inside her, and it was like coming home or back from the dead or both. Will swallowed her moan with a hard, needy kiss and didn’t release her until he was buried to the root.

  He’d taken this about as slow as he thought he could. But now that he was inside her, that her pussy walls were squeezing him to oblivion—now that he knew that it really was real, the chains restraining him snapped and wicked need tore through him with all the subtlety of a hurricane.

  “This might be bumpy,” he warned her. It was only fair.

  Elizabeth bared her teeth at him. “Bring it.”

  He grinned, pulled back, then slammed back inside.

  After all, he was not one to deny a lady.

  The sharp gasp that tore from her lips was music to his ears. Will braced his hands on the mattress on either side of her to steady himself. Her arms were again around his neck, leveraging her to him as he swirled his hips and answered his body’s call for a bruising rhythm. Elizabeth threw her head back and his mouth followed, sucking desperately at her creamy skin as the air thickened with the heady smack of their bodies coming together.

  It hadn’t been in his head. None of it had. Not the sounds she made or the sweet scent of her sweat or the look in her eyes. Even the way she smiled at him seemed familiar. The silky feel of her pussy around his cock, squeezing him so tightly every time he thrust himself home, as though desperate to lock him inside. She was perfection, and as much as he hated her for it, he loved her all the more.

  Fuck. He loved her. He’d never had a chance of stopping.

  “Perfect,” he whispered and kissed her. Elizabeth moaned and slid her hands over his shoulders until his face was cupped between them. Beads of sweat raced down his back, his skin burning, his lips on fire. The bed whined an
d their flesh slapped and he was going to come much sooner than he wanted to, but he didn’t think he could hold on. Not with her squeezing him like that. Not with her looking at him like that. Not with her kissing him like that. His balls tightened and the base of his spine tingled.

  “I need you to come,” Will whispered against her lips. He pressed a hand to her belly, then slipped down until his thumb was just over her clit. “Please.”

  Elizabeth smiled one of those smiles that undid him, clenching her pussy even tighter around his dick in a way made him want to weep. Instead, Will growled, looking between them—at the sight of him pumping in and out of her, and tensed.

  “I mean it. I need to feel you come around my cock,” he told her, pressing down on her clit.

  She gasped and bucked. “Oh shit.”

  “I know you’re close. Tell me how to get you there.”

  “Just…keep talking.”

  Will bit back a grin and nipped at her ear. “You like it when I talk to you while we’re fucking?”

  “Oh…” She shivered, and damn, that felt good. “Apparently,” she agreed, the word breathy.

  “What do you wanna hear?” He pushed in so hard he nearly went cross-eyed. “That your pussy feels amazing? That I can’t wait to bury my face between your legs? That I’ve gotten off to imagining how you taste?” He tapped her clit again, his words riding off on a gasp when she tightened around him. “Oh yeah, you do like that.”

  “Will…”

  “I can’t hold off much longer.” He drew a circle around her clit with his forefinger, then pressed down again. The way she’d told him to in her dorm a million years ago. “Elizabeth…”

  And that was it. She threw her head back, her body spasming and her pussy clamping down around him so hard he could have sworn he saw stars. Will panted and pressed his mouth to hers in one last kiss before his control snapped. Euphoria shot through him like a bullet, his hips crashing against hers as he emptied himself inside the condom. His skin burned, hot pinpricks dancing along his arm and down his back. He gave one last thrust before his legs trembled and threatened to go out on him. Will wrapped his arms around her and let her drag him back until he was lying half on top of her on the mattress, cradled in the welcoming heat of her thighs. She pressed kisses along his brow and down his cheek, and when she found his lips again, she was smiling.