by Susan Stoker
He stalked across the bullpen and into the captain’s office, knocking twice on the open door. “Captain, I’d like to take you up on that offer of a couple days off.”
Chapter Ten
‡
Mina pressed a button on her computer that shifted to the last graphic, and projected it behind her on the giant screen. She looked up at the dimly lit auditorium seating where the fifteen graduate students had spaced themselves out among the rows of seats. Not many made it this far in the program, but those who had were like bright stars to her. She knew and mentored each of them, and saw amazing potential for their futures.
“Here’s what you’ve been waiting for. Your homework.” She stood from her chair behind the desk as groans came from a few different directions. She smoothed her knee-length skirt and tucked the back of her blouse into it. Wearing traditional wardrobe during class seemed to give her more confidence, and that translated into a better student response. “Any complaints, take it up with NASA.”
A few people laughed.
She pointed to the screen. “Non-ideal fluids. Sussing their applications for use in problems of astrophysical interest, such as steady and unsteady flows, instabilities, and turbulence.” A movement caught her eye, way up in the back row. Had someone just come into the room? She’d checked everyone who belonged here off her attendance list.
“This will lead us to our next section, which is conducting fluid flows or magnetohydrodynamics.” That fun word she’d put in a big red font. She waited a few seconds. “Great, no more grumbling? Just for that, I’m letting you go five minutes early.”
Her students thanked her as their books slapped shut and their papers crackled.
She pressed a button on the panel on her desk and the lights in the room grew slowly brighter.
The newcomer in the back of the room wore a dark shirt and a…black cowboy hat? Her heart skittered for a second. No, it couldn’t be him. But who was it? It couldn’t be anyone who’d enrolled in any of her courses. One of the silly rules she added to her syllabus was that no astronomy student should wear a hat to class, or after sunset. There was too much to see in a dark sky at night, and too much info to lose in her classroom if someone fell asleep under the brim of a hat.
Her students filed up the steps and out the door and she walked across the floor, her high-heeled black pumps silent on the carpet. She stopped at the first step, looking up at the man with his head tipped down. “Can I help you?”
A blast of recognition hit her, even though she couldn’t see his face, and most of his body was hidden. It was like the light from a far-away star reaching her. “Rex?” She reached for the back of the chair next to her to steady her wobbling knees.
He took off his hat.
His dark hair was short now, his gaze focused right on her, and his jaw worked. “It wasn’t your fault. What happened on the ranch, I mean. Bennet saw that, and me bein’ a rookie hadn’t caught it.”
She heard the words, but they didn’t lessen any of the guilt she felt on a constant basis, even in her dreams…nightmares. Was that why he was here? Yesterday’s press conference? Or was there more? “How do you figure?”
He sat forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. “If you’d told me his name and where he worked, I would have brought him in for questioning, which would have tipped off the cops. These people were desperate, so anything could have happened, then.”
She’d gone over her choices a million times, but hadn’t thought of that consequence. “I could have told you, but then asked you not to act on it.”
He dropped his head with a bitter laugh. “You asking me not to follow up on a solid lead would be like…” He gestured to the blank screen at the front of the class. “Like asking the magnet-hipro-dynamic to just stop…doing whatever it does out there in space.”
A giggle, a very nervous one, bubbled out of her throat. “Magnetohydrodynamics. It’s the study of the magnetic properties of electrically conducting fluids.” Why had she corrected him? And given him more information than he could ever want?
He stood and moved to the steps in the center of the seats, directly above her, but so far away. Would he leave now? She’d make a complete fool of herself chasing after him down the hallways, begging him to come back.
Rex didn’t turn to go, though. “I’m here to ease your conscience, but also to ask you for a favor.” He took a step down. “Will you meet me halfway?” His whole body went still, as if her answer to that question was about far more than just the stairs.
She put her foot up onto the first step and levered herself up, her chest working too fast, hope and longing making her a little dizzy. “What’s the favor?”
He came down another step. “Will you teach me what that means?” He looked at the screen. “That magneto thing?”
Her eyes closed as moisture burned behind them, and emotion choked her. Was he saying he wanted to be with her? She took another step up. “Is this just for educational purposes, or do you have an ulterior motive?”
Rex trotted down three steps and stopped. “Ulterior, without question.” He rubbed his palms on the denim at his hips, then quickly dropped them. “I want to apologize for letting you go alone from the ranch in the sheriff’s car. I should have been there to support you, hold your hand.”
She jogged upward three levels. They were just ten steps away from each other. “You were right to let me go. I had to face what I’d done, and having you there with me would have made it more difficult to concentrate. You needed to distance yourself from me for professional reasons, too.”
He nodded. “That’s all true, but I still hate that I let you go on your own.”
She shrugged and took another step up. “If it’ll ease your conscience, the fact is, Bennet needed you more than I did.”
Walking down three steps, he held out his hand to her. “Will you forgive me? Will you give me a chance?”
Now she couldn’t hold back the tears. She ran up the last steps and landed in his arms. “I will. Always. Forever. Until magnetohydrodynamics no longer include plasmas, liquid metals, and electrolytes.”
He laughed, big and bold, the sound echoing off the high ceiling. He hugged her tight to his chest. “That’s a really long time, right? Like, forever?” He leaned back and set his palms on her neck, his thumbs under her chin and tipped her head up. His dark eyes smiled, small crinkles at the outsides, his face so handsome with his white teeth and full lips, she wanted a picture of this moment to keep with her forever.
“Forever is a possibility.” She went up on tiptoes and he leaned down and kissed her, his lips soft on hers, his breath coming fast and minty. “How did you get in here?” She returned his kiss, her tongue tickling the corner of his mouth.
“Had to use my badge a few times.” He met her tongue with the tip of his and circled it, coaxing it into his mouth.
She gave him a kiss to remember, desperate and loving, sweet then wild. “You wanna get out of here? I’m done for the day.”
“Aw, Doc, I don’t know if I can wait until we get to your apartment.” He moved his hands to her bottom and pulled her belly tight against his hard erection, his mouth still on hers, his tongue tracing her front teeth like he was memorizing them.
Her apartment was a mess. An idea popped into her head. “Don’t have to. I have an office down the hall.” She rotated her hips, pushing him into her belly, sending heat and contractions down low in hers.
“Yeah. Office.” He stepped back, breathing fast.
“Wait, did you bring your wallet this time?” She held his hand and walked down one step.
He slapped his back pocket. “Got my wallet, and it’s fully-stocked.”
“C’mon, Detective.” They raced down the steps and through a back door that led to a private hallway for professors. She unlocked the back door of her two-room office and they stepped inside. Leaving Rex in the back room, she made sure the front door was locked, and her Out of Office note was displayed.
; When she stepped back into her private space, he stood next to her big, wide couch. In a basket beside it, her pillow, blankets, and sheets sat in a jumbled mess. “You live here?” He grinned.
“Almost. Being an astronomer, I sometimes have to work nights.” She smiled as she walked toward him, unbuttoning her blouse.
“Doc.” He reached out and captured her hands. “Let me do that. Please.” The hunger in his tone sent shivers down her spine.
“Yes.” She reached for the buttons of his shirt and together they undid one at a time, the need to rip fabric making her breasts swell and tighten.
He eased the soft material from her shoulders, revealing the satiny camisole she’d chosen instead of a bra.
“Mmmm.” He slid the delicate satin garment down to her elbows and held it there, imprisoning her in a wonderful captivity. He bent and pressed his lips to where her nipples showed, hard and longing for him. He mouthed one, then the other, the touch spreading flashes of hot light in her head, and sending rays of desire to her core, her pussy.
Letting her free, he unbuttoned her skirt on the side, unzipped, then let it fall to the floor, revealing the pair of tap shorts that matched her cami.
She dropped her blouse to join her skirt, then tugged his shirt from his big shoulders and powerful arms. Running her hands over the manly body she hadn’t had enough time to explore, she followed his rippled abs down low, trailing along the light furring that disappeared into his jeans.
She unhooked his belt buckle, undid his jeans, and wiggled them until they dropped to the floor.
In his blue boxer briefs, his erection pointed out, big and firm, a spot on the cotton fabric showing her she’d aroused him perfectly.
Mina rubbed her palm along his length as he stared down at where she touched him.
With a shudder, he grasped her wrist. “Save some for later.”
She smiled and leaned in, kissing the spot on his chest just at his heart. “We’ll have lots of time for saving. Let’s go a little crazy right now, shall we?”
“Doc.” He pulled her arms up in the air. “Hold there.” Easing her camisole up, he spent a few seconds teasing the hem against her nipples.
She felt the pleasure down deep in her core, heating and becoming slick for him.
He pulled the cami off then went down on one knee in front of her. Slowly he pulled her shorts down, revealing her belly, the top of her mound, then all of her, as the satiny fabric fell to the floor. With a groan, he leaned forward and kissed her, his tongue slipping into the top of her cleft, finding her little bud, and teasing it with amazing results.
“Rex.” She grabbed his hair, but it slipped through her fingers. Too short. “Save some of me for later.”
He chuckled and slowed his teasing. “Yes, ma’am.” Rex grabbed a condom from his wallet as Mina laid a sheet over the cushions of her couch.
He stood and she reached for his underwear, slowly pulling it over his turgid length, letting the elastic trace the underside of his cock, then brush gently over his balls.
“You snap that, Doc, and I’m gonna be crying, here.” He watched her face, a slight curve to his lips.
“I don’t want you crying, Detective. I want you howling at the moon with pleasure.” She gestured to a big poster of the solar system on the wall.
He smiled then. “I’ll do it quietly, though, so your neighbors don’t think you brought a wolf to class.”
“Wolf.” She peeled his shorts down to his feet and quickly took the big knob of his cock into her mouth.
“Wooo.” He howled quietly, then grasped her shoulders and eased her from him. He held out the condom. “You wanna shield me for duty?”
“Oh no, now we’ve switched from astronomy to naughty detective sayings?” She took it from him, opened it, and rolled it on.
“You’ve got your astronomical terms, I got my cop lingo.” He swooped down and picked her up into his arms. “We make a good team.”
She slid her hand over his cheek. “We do. We really, really do.” She wanted to go for it with him, all the way, but she wouldn’t scare him with that pronouncement right now.
He set her on the couch, using his hands under her knees to spread her legs, then knelt between her thighs. “I want you to know, Doctor, that I’ve been dreaming of this moment for a week now, so if I’m too rough, just box my ears, and if I go off too fast, you’ll have to forgive me and give me another chance to prove I’m not a hair-trigger.”
She smiled. “I’ve been thinking of this moment, too. But if you’re not deep inside me in two seconds, I’m going to have to start marking your grade down a few points.”
He gritted his teeth. “Mina.” Lifting her bottom up off the couch, he braced a hand on the padded arm by her head. “Put me where you want me, professor.”
Tingles roared through her whole body and she reached for his cock, guided it to her opening, and tipped her hips just enough to push him slightly into her quivering slit.
“Aw, sweet.” He pushed his hips forward, sliding in slowly, filling her, expanding and heating her, the lovely ache in her core expanding to sparkle through her whole being, in every secret place inside her.
He moaned, grumbled a cuss word, then pushed in further, deeper, until his hips hit her thighs, and his balls scratched against her butt.
“Yes, Rex.” She could feel a wave of invisible rays rolling steadily, building higher and higher.
He leaned down and kissed her. “You’re okay?”
“I’m yes okay. And you?” Her brain wasn’t functioning at its optimal capability, evidently.
He smiled. “Yes okay for me too.” Easing his hard shaft from her, he sucked in a breath. With his next movement, he slid himself all the way into her.
Stars spun in her brain, like a whirling universe all her own. “Yes, please.” She didn’t recognize the pleading as her own voice. “Harder, please take me all the way.” She wrapped her legs around his back.
“Mina.” His word came out on a growl. He released his grip on her ass and braced that hand on the other side of her head. “Hang on, Doc.”
She grabbed his shoulders and did as he asked.
Rex pulled out, slid in, and sped his movements, shifting his hips to the right, then the left, then up and down with each thrust.
The exciting changes in trajectory hit every part of her just perfectly, sending her floating on a cloud of sweet tingles.
He pumped faster, his mouth open and soft grunts coming from him. His eyes rolled back and closed. With perfect accuracy, he moved and thrust, shifted and drove in, pulled out and went back for more. Over and over he slid into her, the heat in her core swirling through her, sending her so close to the edge of her climax, she didn’t know how she held back, except that she wanted him to never stop. She wanted forever.
He shook, from hands to feet, and started jackhammering into her, straight and true, hard and fast, hitting her so deep, new feelings surfaced, nothing like she’d ever felt in her life. His pelvis rubbed perfectly against her clit, causing shards of pleasure buzzing through her.
She had no choice, her body let go, sent her soaring, spinning straight into space, dark and light whirling around her, sparks sending trails of pleasure to her skin. Everything concentrated on where he joined with her, her slick lips tingling, her core contracting around him, her belly jittering as she broke out of her body for one last spinning whirl, then slowly floated, drifted, glided.
Above her, his body jerked, his cock seated deep inside her, once, twice, holding deep inside as a low howl came from his chest and out of his mouth.
She wanted to raise her hands to touch him, but her body had no muscles left, no feeling, except where he joined with her.
A second later, he crashed down on her, smooshing the breath from her in the most perfect embrace she’d ever experienced. He rolled them onto their sides, his back against the back cushions, his arms tight around her, holding her flat against him.
Rex’s heart beat against h
er breast, fast and strong, and his breath brushed by her ear. They lay quietly for a few minutes. “Jeez, Doc. You should have warned me.” He kissed her temple and his body gave a quick shudder.
“Warned you about what?” Her voice came low and soft, her mind still spinning with a sweet aftershock of orgasm.
“How potent you are, how everlastingly perfect you’d be for me.”
She kissed his shoulder and snuggled closer. His words sent a happy ache to her heart. “I think it’s the chemical structure of the two of us together. It’s like we were meant to do this with each other.”
“Yep. Like we have magnetic properties in our electrically conducting bloodstreams.”
She backed away a few inches, her mouth dropping open. “You are amazing. You turned magnetohydrodynamics into a bedroom sport.”
“No sport, it’s serious business.” His mouth curved down. “I don’t want us to move forward like this, though. I want to clear up everything first.”
He was right. “I want you to believe that my lying to you was something I’ll never do again. I was so afraid, I didn’t know who I could trust. I went with the person who seemed the least likely to sell me out.” That night, she hadn’t known if she’d live until morning. “I had to withhold the information about Tory to make you more trusting of what I said.”
“I know, Mina. I don’t fault you for it. I’d have done the same thing.”
That surprised her. “I appreciate your saying that, but I’m not sure I believe you.” She gave him a smile to soften her words.
“When I was a kid on the res, I did a lot of lying to keep myself from getting beat up by the other kids. Sometimes it got me into trouble with the teachers, or with my parents. Even though I knew it was wrong, I felt I had to do it. I had to save myself.” He rubbed his thumb on her arm. “You were in the same position.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me. I carry a lot of guilt right now, but with your help, I think I’ll get past it.” Tight in his arms, anything was possible. When she’d been sitting in that copse of trees, listening to the gunfire, horrible things had gone through her mind, like why hadn’t she tried to talk him into turning Merle around and running? She knew he wouldn’t have. “You’re a brave man, Rex.”