“You are staring. That’s rude.” He looked down at her and smirked. He smiled easily, she noticed, and he had a lethal smile that shouldn’t be legal. They stayed there for another twenty minutes, ogling guys together but none of them fitted into April’s criteria. Because her criteria changed the moment she had set eyes on Nick.
“We’re out of guys here. Do you want to start with girls now? I can see some pretty ones here,” he suggested, and she sighed. What was she thinking? Could she really do what she had planned to do? Seduce a man and give away her virginity? She sighed, having second thoughts. It was always the same for her. Whenever she decided to take a step ahead, she was pulled back by her second thoughts.
“April, you alright? I was just kidding, you know that, right?” Nick’s voice brought her back, and she looked at him. Why not him? Why couldn’t she ask him to make love to her tonight? She wasn’t that bad looking, was she? Her mind drifted towards the possibilities.
“Keep looking at me like this, sweetheart and I won’t be able to keep my hands from you,” he said in a rich, husky voice, and she gasped. Her tongue slipped out and she ran it over her dry lips. Nick’s eyes were right there, following her movement. They dilated, and he sucked his breath. “Fuck, April, you are sexy as hell.” She didn’t know when he closed the distance between them and was just inches apart from her.
April’s heartbeat quickened and a spark lit inside her. A spark of desire. She wanted him. She wanted Nick. If she could walk past the barriers, that would be with him. She wasted no time after the realization hit and covered the rest of the gap between them. Her lips covered his mouth. Nick groaned and snaked his arms around and pressed her body to his front. He took over the kiss and devoured her mouth wildly. April’s hands roamed over his muscled chest. It was just as perfect to feel as it was to look at. The kiss changed its pace from wild to passionate and April gave in to his touch.
“Get a room!” Someone from somewhere yelled and a couple of snickers followed. April tore her mouth away from him and looked down at her feet as color rose to her cheeks. “I know I don’t fit your type, but, God, I want you, April, so much,” Nick whispered into her ears so hoarsely that she moaned. He chuckled at her response and pressed her head to his chest where his own heart was beating like a bird’s flap.
“I want you too.” I want you like I have never wanted anything in my entire life, she completed mentally. Nick gave her one look and then clasped her hand and tugged it. “Your place or mine, April?” This was really happening. Instead of nerves, what April felt were butterflies of anticipation. “Yours, please.” She couldn’t take him to hers. She had three unbearable roommates. Nick didn’t wait for any further confirmation.
The ride to Nick’s home was barely ten minutes from the bar, but it felt like an eternity. She didn’t want to give her mind time to place her rational self back in function. Nick held her hand throughout the ride, and those small circles on the back gave her little shivers – good ones.
Nick’s apartment was small and cozy, but she didn’t allow herself to get distracted by the décor. “Do you want some coffee?” Nick offered, and she stared at him in disbelief. He was offering her coffee? Seriously? “What? I’m just being nice. I don’t want to jump on you right away like a horny teenager. Though I’m feeling like one.”
“Nice is the last thing I want you to be, Nick.” She took the initiative and closed the distance between them. Then there were no breaks for them. It started with a hot, smoldering, wild kiss against the refrigerator and then slowly all clothes were gone in the corridor. Nick picked her up in his strong arms and led her to his bed. In dim light and heavy breaths, in the most passionate and beyond all imaginations way, her cherry was finally popped.
*****
April gazed around at all the people around her, talking animatedly with each other. She wondered how anyone could warm up so much with someone at just one meeting. Oh, who was she kidding? She had given her virginity to the man she had met an hour before. The thought of Nick and that night warmed her heart. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to have such an experience. Words couldn’t describe it. Nick had been the perfect lover to her. As much as she wanted to know him more, she had stopped herself right there and had slipped out of his condo while he was still sleeping. Her score of the night was just getting a one-night stand, and she had done that. There was no room for more. She had parted her ways from him without any strings. They didn’t even know each other’s last names. And that was how it was supposed to be. But, however, April had failed to put him out of her mind.
Her phone buzzed, pulling her out of the whirl of thoughts. It was her dad. “I’ve a dig starting in New Jersey in a couple of weeks. So I’ll be visiting you soon.” It wasn’t a week for her here in Princeton, and he was already planning a visit. She wanted to roll her eyes. “I’m fine here, Dad. NJ is growing on me.” Way better than she had expected. “I’ve to see for myself. Also, one of my ex-students is there in Princeton whom I want to see. Maybe he’ll let you intern at his firm.” Her dad and his associates were spread all over the United States. But interning at an archeological firm other than her dad’s? Hell yes! She told him to forward her request for the internship.
Gerard Blackstone was the best archeologist in the country, but for April, working with him meant a continuous sword hanging over her head. She just couldn’t suffer. She was pursuing the degree in archeology because she had his genes and was a sucker for discovering the undiscovered. She had assisted him in a couple of digs, but she knew that if she wanted to learn, it had to be someplace other than Blackstone Firm. “I’ll forward you the details when I have them.”
She stowed away her phone and walked towards her last class of the day. The one she was most excited for: Introduction to Archeology. She had heard a lot about the professor who was teaching the course. He was said to be the most intellectual and smart person to teach in the entire college. She was looking forward to attending Professor Jackson’s class.
As she entered the hall, she was greeted by a tall figure with broad shoulders in a sharp gray suit and brown hair that reached the inception of the collar. Professor Jackson, she presumed, had his back towards the door and was on the phone. April took a seat in the second row and set out her notebook for the lecture.
“I’m Nicholas Jackson, your ITA Professor.” An all-too-familiar voice hit her ears and she snapped her eyes up. Nick was standing in front of her. Holy fucking hell! She heard a lot of gasps from around her. Someone whispered how hot he was while another complained that no one told her he was that young. But all April could see was the man she had fucked her brains out with was her professor and she was screwed big time. Run, April! This was her first instinct, and she had almost gathered her stuff when Nick’s eyes met hers and everything went silent.
*****
Nick gaped at the woman sitting before him, April. At first, he thought he was hallucinating because ridiculous as it sounded, he hadn’t once stopped thinking about her in the past sixty-three hours. Since he had woken up alone in his bed after having the best lay of his life. She had gone without leaving any trail for him to follow. She had just vanished and only then had he seen the blot of blood on his sheet. His first thought was that he had hurt her, but soon he had remembered how tight she was. She had been a virgin. Since then, he had been in a state of utter turmoil about his feelings – whether he should be furious with her for using him and then leaving him behind or thanking her for saving them from the awkwardness. But now that she was sitting before him, in his class, his teeth clenched tightly. He definitely wanted to strangle her. How could she leave him like that? And she didn’t even tell him that it was her first time with him.
If she is in your class, it means she’s your student. His mind decided to work. Holy shit! She was his student? He had screwed her. Nick pushed all the panicking and other thoughts aside and started with the attendance. He had to keep a grip on himself. Control had never been a problem fo
r him, but damn, April, she had crossed every barrier around him when she had sat with him at the bar and ogled the guys. She was looking for someone to pop her cherry? The fury started to take over him again. She was willing to give it away to any asshole in the bar? Well, he was the lucky asshole among them.
He stopped at her name and then called out with a sharp voice, “April Blackstone.”
“That’s me,” her meek voice came out small and low. He looked through his lashes to find her looking down at her lap. Was she flustered? She should be. Though she had some hell of justification to be so. He decided to wait until the end of the lecture.
He kept looking at her as he spoke but never once did she meet his gaze. By the end, she was up and gone before he could ask her to wait behind. She was avoiding him. He let her have her way the first day, but it wouldn’t be for long.
“Ms. Blackstone, can you please collect the quiz papers and bring them to me? I’ll be in my room, thank you.” The fourth day, he had had enough. He didn’t give her a chance to run away. Picking up his MacBook and iPhone, he stepped out of the hall, not waiting for her to make an excuse. Five minutes later, his door was knocked and April entered.
“Put them on my table.” He tilted his head sideways, and she followed his instruction. She was about to leave when he stood in her way. “I see you are wearing your running shoes again, April.”
“Am I excused, Professor?” She didn’t look into his eyes.
“No,” he said flatly. “I need to leave. I have another class in ten minutes.” She tried to walk past him, but he didn’t let her. “I need answers, April.”
“Please, Mr. Jackson, step out of my way.”
“Wasn’t that the first thing you said to me, as far as I remember?”
That made her look up at him. He could see that in her eyes. That spark, that desire he had seen the other night.
“April.” Her name came out as a husky whisper. “Mr. Jackson, please.”
“You want to pretend like nothing happened, April? You want to make that night as nothing but a cheap fuck? Was that what it was for you?” He was so angry that he could feel it on his tongue. Every follicle on his body was shaking as the fury unrolled. Why did it matter to him so much? April looked at him and her eyes said it all. She was affected all right. Even if her words said otherwise.
“I didn’t know you were my teacher.”
“It came in your dream then? And you decided to sneak out of my bed without waking me up? You didn’t even bother to tell me that you were a virgin?”
She flinched at his words but he’d be damned if he took any of it back.
“I don’t want to talk about it. Can we please just forget what happened? I won’t tell anything to anyone, and I hope that you’ll be discreet too. I want to be here and complete my degree.” Saying that, she walked past him, and he let her. She was out of the door in no time. “You keep trying to forget, April, and I’ll keep reminding you because I am not finished with you.”
*****
“Sign here.” Nick stood right next to her and pointed at the paper below. His fingers brushed ever so slightly against hers, and she sucked in a breath. She quickly signed the sheet and tried to move out but bumped into him again. “Oh, I am so sorry, Ms. Blackstone.” She glared at him. There was no hint of sorry on his face. Bastard. He was doing this on purpose. This dancing around each other was making her frustrated.
Nick kept giving her those small accidental brushes and touches here and there for days. Every time he got too close, or his hand touched her, she’d jump and Nick’s face lighted up like it was Christmas. And what’s more, she was in perpetual distress. And this distress was all related to her other needs. She wanted Nick again, but the more she was trying to fight, he was making this difficult for her. She was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything else. But that was it. She was going to end it today. This was going nowhere, and it had to be put to an end before things slipped out of their hands.
April grabbed her bag and went after Nick to his room. Determined to make him see what he was risking for her, and himself, she felt the adrenaline rushing inside her. She knocked once and then turned the knob and stepped in. Nick was standing next to his chair, his jacket discarded and first two buttons of his gray shirt undone. He was on the phone talking and folding his sleeves up. Even that small movement of his gave her flips in the stomach. How could he do everything so effortlessly and make it look so sexy at the same time? She felt her mouth going dry.
“Ms. Blackwell, I wonder how I earned this unexpected visit from you. How can I help you?” He walked around his table and in front of her and then sat on the edge of the table, his hands on either side. Damn him, and damn her! Why was she attracted to him so much? Remember what you are here for, April!
She straightened herself and put her angry mask back on. “What are you trying to do, Nick?”
“Am I back to Nick? Ah, progress!”
She gritted her teeth in sheer vexation. Didn’t they say that if reason and patience fail, punch the guy? She felt like punching him.
“Do you get this? What you are doing, it will get everybody alarmed and they’ll think something is going on between us. Something dirty.” Why didn’t he understand this? “They’ll think that I am having some illicit affair with you to land the course.”
“Are you, April?” he asked in a quiet voice. His blue eyes were dark and hard. She swallowed. “People will …” “I don’t give a jack’s shit about what people think, April. Talk about yourself. Are all those things true what you are saying?” He was all cold, and she didn’t like that.
“You are my professor.” That was the only thing she could think of. “So what?” Suddenly he was too close to her. “This is wrong,” her voice came out as a whisper.
“What is wrong, April?” he too was whispering.
“This, what you are doing.”
“What am I doing?”
“You are fogging up my mind.” And my heart.
“I can say the same for you.” He raised his hand and grazed his fingers across her temple softly. “Nick …” She wanted to stop him. She wanted to keep him doing that. God, utter mess! “Tell me, April, what feels wrong. This?” he asked her and caressed her cheekbone and then down to her jawline. “When I touch you, does that feel wrong?” Wrong? What was wrong? His thumb trailed across her lips. “This feels wrong?” Nick’s other hand pressed her close to him. She wanted to moan. This was heaven. She placed her hands on his chest. She should push him away, but the feeling of his hard muscles under her touch felt too good. Just a minute and then I’ll push, she said to herself.
Nick lowered his mouth and nibbled her earlobe. “This feels wrong to you, sweetheart?” She moaned. He brought his lips to her temple and pressed a kiss there. April fisted her hands on his shirt. She was melting. “Nick.” His lips finally found her mouth, and he kissed her.
His lips moved softly across hers. There was no rush, just slow movement. She wanted more. “Kiss me like you mean it, Jackson.” Her voice came out as a needy whisper and Nick growled. He grabbed her tightly and ravished her mouth desperately, just like a thirsty guy savoring the first gulp of water. He bent his knees slightly and dipped her a little low. April clutched her fingers into his hair tightly. He pulled her leg up to his hips, and then seconds later, she was straddling him and he was kissing her like she was never kissed before.
"I can't stop thinking of you, April. I want you so much,” he murmured as they both tried to resume their breathing. He pressed his forehead against hers. “Nick …” Reality was kicking in, but he didn’t let her continue and kissed her again. Soon she was pressed against the wall, and he was reaching for her shirt. She almost gave in. Almost. The loud ring of her phone brought all the senses back.
“Oh, God! Put me down, Nick. Right now,” she struggled in his arms, and he let her go. She took hasty steps back. Her phone was still ringing. “This did not happen. And this will never happen. Do you understa
nd that?” she warned him. “April, you are …” She raised her hand to silence him. “Please, don’t. This ends here,” she said to him, and that expression on his face almost undid her. The phone stopped ringing but started again three seconds later. “Goodbye, Professor.” She turned around, straightened her shirt and hair and then picked her bag up before rushing out of the room.
Holy fuck! What was she thinking? Oh wait, she couldn’t think straight with Nick this close to her. That was the problem. She made a vow to keep the hell away from him. Maybe then the desire for him inside her would die. Her damn phone was ringing continuously and she pulled it out to see it was her dad. “Why weren’t you picking up your phone, April?”
“I was occupied, Dad.” Occupied kissing her professor.
“What is it?”
“I called to tell that you have to visit Leo Archeological Research Firm today at four for the internship interview. Martin Frank will be there. He knows me. He’ll let you know what to do.” April tried to get excited, but all she felt was emptiness. This was what she had wanted for a long time, but she couldn’t get herself happy about it. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll let you know how it goes.” She disconnected before Gerard started another lecture. He treated her like she was still twelve. She stowed away the phone. Maybe this internship and workload would help her distract from the lewd thoughts about her professor.
*****
Nick stole a glance at April. She was talking to the guy, Jack Rutherford, sitting next to her. She was blushing at something he was saying. He noticed that Jack had a permanent seat next to her for the past three weeks. Three weeks since he had kissed her in his office. Three weeks since she ended things between them. Jealousy erupted inside him. What was Jack saying to her? Was she interested in him? Were they together? Was she sleeping with him? The thought of Jack screwing her, or even sitting this close to her made him see red. He wanted to beat the crap out of him.
Sucker for the Boss Page 49