“Ready to feel some real g-force?”
“In the cock…pit?” I ask.
“In my cockpit,” he says.
“Are we going to get the inside dirty?”
“More than you can imagine,” he says. His voice suddenly turns serious. “But this is a museum so we have to keep it clean.”
“I won’t spill a drop this time,” I say.
“I know you won’t, because I’m going to cum so deep inside you it will never come out.”
CHAPTER 8
Aria
T he next morning I wake to a knock on Ryker’s door. I open my eyes just as he pulls in a breakfast cart. After an explosive orgasm in the airplane, and a couple surprised looks from Japanese tourists when we crawled out, we headed back to the hotel to pick up where we left off. And now it’s morning, and I’m starving.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he says. “Like to join me for breakfast?”
He hugs me tight and now I’m not sure if I want to eat or cuddle for a few minutes. The decision is made for me as he sets up the trays designed for eating in bed and we dig in.
“Your phone was vibrating,” he says.
“Probably just my mom…again.”
“I’ll have to fly out to pay them a visit after this weekend.” He’s staring straight ahead at the wall. He looks confident and unwavering, but still needs to work through how to best let them in on what’s become of their daughter. Of course, knowing him it will be quick and direct, but he’ll still want to deliver it with the same class he carries himself.
We spend the rest of the day acting out more of my fantasies, and I even learn a few of his. He’s getting off and so am I, but there’s something heavy in the air. Something we don’t address and neither of us can quite put a finger on.
We decide we can’t spend the entire weekend inside so we head out to the Gaslamp Quarter and take in the sights and enjoy a nice meal and drinks.
We’re walking around after and I can see something’s off. It’s been hanging over us the last few hours and I need to know what’s going on. “What’s up? I ask.
“Our time here is winding down,” he says.
I’m not sure if he’s suddenly had a change of heart and that signifies the end of us, or if he’s working out how to make it continue. “I know.”
We don’t discuss it anymore and enjoy the rest of the day completely unhinged. We’re acting like crazy kids in puppy love. There are more fireworks that night and the next morning we awake to a call from reception asking Ryker if he’ll be extending his stay. My ticket is already bought and he has business elsewhere so the answer isn’t in doubt. We pack up and before I know it, we’re saying goodbye at the airport.
He kisses me deeply and I fall into him, needing to feel his body against mine. He raises his hand and runs his calloused fingers over my cheek. His sent wraps around me like a protective shield. He says he’ll call and will take care of everything. Everything except the thoughts in my head which are already of us apart.
I’m not sure why, but the thought of us going our separate ways never really hit me until yesterday. And when it did we just swept it under the rug and kept up with the pleasures of the weekend.
In my mind I know he’ll find a way to make this work out. Not just with my parents, but with us. Someway we can be together. There’s just that nagging thought that maybe this is how it always goes for him. Fly in, do the dirty, and fly out. Not to be seen again until the next time he’s in port. The Marines are a division of the Navy where the old saying of ‘a girl in every port’ got its start, so I’m sweating thinking about how this will turn out.
How in the world will I ever be the same again? I got my dream guy, but now it feels like he’s falling through the cracks. How can I focus on college, or anything, knowing we’re apart? How can I stop this throbbing headache and pain in my stomach? And how can I fill this hole in my heart? I can’t. The only one that can is him, the guy I’m waving goodbye to as the doors to the bus close and the driver pulls away, taking me down the tarmac to a plane which will fly me way, way, way far away from him.
CHAPTER 9
Ryker
I t’s nice to hear your voice,” I say as she picks up the phone on the first ring.
“Hearing yours already makes me feel a whole lot better.”
“Bad flight?”
“It’s not the flight that was bad. It was being on it without you.”
“Where are you now?”
“We just touched down in West Lafayette.”
“You’ll be home soon.”
“If you consider the dorms home, yes,” she says as a laugh escapes her lips. “And vending machine food and who knows what that stuff is called that my meal plan buys.”
“I know the feeling.”
“Come on,” she says, a laugh underneath her words. “What do you know about struggling?”
“I enlisted at seventeen, remember. My foster parents had to sign the waiver because I was a year too young. I arrived with little more than the shirt on my back.”
“But you sure left with a whole lot more.”
“I did.”
“Self-made man,” she says.
“And one of the benefits of that is that now I can do what I want. Come and go as I please.”
“Hard to think there was ever anyone with power over you.”
“Most of my life, until after I worked my way up the ranks. When you’re abandoned at a young age that’s about as close as you can get to the definition of powerless. You just keep grinding.”
“Thanks for the pep talk,” she says.
“I sense the sarcasm, but that’s what it takes. I’m not going to cut you any breaks, Aria. You have the talent. I saw it this weekend. I heard it when we spoke. You could take the industry to new heights. You could push the future, change it. You’re that good. Right now you’re a piece of coal.”
“A piece of coal? Thanks,” she says.
“A very sexy piece of coal, and one that’s becoming more polished every day. You will become a diamond one day. I know it. But it takes times.”
“Thank you.”
“But you’re already a diamond to me. I just want to help you become a diamond to the world. For the entire world to see how bright you can sparkle.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone ever said to me,” she says.
“I’m glad the words came from me,” I say.
We spend the rest of the evening talking and before I know it her words trail off. She’s falling asleep and I have work to do. I call her name and she hears me just long enough to say our good nights and end the call.
I dive into my work, but my mind is still with her. There’s work to be done, but for once in my life not the kind that revolves around dollars and cents. The kind that revolves around getting exactly what I want. The one thing that can’t be measured and which you can’t put a price tag on.
CHAPTER 10
Aria
T he following week I’m back to rushing from one class to another. Ryker sends me funny, inspirational, and even sexy picture messages throughout the day to let me know he’s thinking about me. I’m thinking about him too. In fact, he seems to be the only thing on my mind. I contemplate a prescription for Adderall to help me focus on my work, but get stage fright at the last moment and walk out of the doctor’s office. Getting it is easy. It’s prescribed like candy, but I don’t want to mask the problem. I want to address it head on and the only way to do that seems to be spending time with him although I have no idea how that’s going to happen right now.
“You’ve got mail,” my roommate says one afternoon when I walk in.
“Probably just more bills.”
“Doubt it. It’s handwritten.”
I don’t recognize the handwriting, but then again, who writes anymore these days? I grab a knife and carefully open it. It’s an invitation to an open house at a Frank Lloyd Wright house in town. Frank Lloyd Wright has a house in town? The house
even has a name. It’s called Samara and it’s at 1301 Woodland Avenue. There’s no real mention of who it’s from, but I’m guessing it’s one of the aviation clubs on campus throwing a party. All it promises are free drinks, including wine, an a surprise guest speaker. Free wine and networking opportunities sound good so I make a note on my calendar to attend.
CHAPTER 11
Aria
M y Aerospace Vehicle Propulsion and Tracking Systems professor doesn’t seem to know it’s Friday and can’t stop rambling on about these crazy theories. As much as I enjoy learning, I’m dying to get home and that open bar scheduled for tonight is starting to sound good. The event started already so if I don’t get out of here soon I’m going to miss it.
Finally he wraps up, and I’m out the door. I catch a ride with a guy from my class who has a car. There are six of us inside a hatchback. Two guys are in the back, pressed against the window. The joys of college life.
We pull up and see right away that we’re underdressed. We consider turning around, but remember it is college, so decide what we’re wearing should be adequate enough. If the guests inside have already started drinking they’ll hardly remember how we looked…at least that’s what we tell ourselves.
We sign the guestbook only to be told the speaker has already finished. The place is buzzing, but we have no idea why.
The interior is beautiful and everyone seems so warm and energetic. There are a lot of faculty members which throws me off a little. I decide the best way to get my bearings is to have a drink. I need to unwind after a long week and being away from Ryker for so long. It’s really starting to tear me up inside, but I’m doing my best not to let on each night when we talk on the phone.
I turn the corner to the kitchen and my jaw hits the floor. Ryker. He’s facing me leaning against the wall. He’s got his arm up and he looks cocky as hell. What else would I expect? There are a group of faculty around him and a group of girls hawking him from just behind…waiting to get their turn to take selfies. I don’t think so, bitches.
He continues speaking to a professor as his eyes lock on mine. That oh so sexy smirk appears and my panties melt instantly.
“And we’re so glad to have you here,” one of the professors says to Ryker. “And to think you’re doing it solely to help the next generation. Our donors couldn’t believe you wouldn’t accept payment.”
“Sometimes you have to do things out of the goodness of your heart,” a second professor says. Ryker shakes his head yes, his eyes still locked on mine.
“Did you hear?” one of my classmates asks.
“Hear what?”
“Mr. Bell’s going to be a professor.”
“Mr. Bell?”
“Yeah. The hottest guy in the field, and his classes start right away. Special mid-semester enrollment. They’re already adding classes. Half of the room enrolled online about fifteen minutes ago when it was announced. The website guys should have more offerings up really soon. Mr. Bell agreed to additional lectures.”
“That’s great,” I say. I’m so shocked I don’t even know how to respond.
Shocked isn’t the word for it. Staring at him for a full hour is going to get me so wet I’ll have to take a towel to dry off my seat.
I feel my fist ball up and my primal instinct to punch her for calling out his hotness is quickly restrained when I remember where I am. It doesn’t help any when I remember that we’ve never even come out as a couple. Did a taste of me make him think he could come here and get a sampling of the entire student body? Had he been playing me this entire time? He still hadn’t told my parents.
I see him mouth the words ‘excuse me for one second’ and the crowd parts like he’s Moses. He comes right up to me and pulls me in close. He picks me up and swings me around. When he sits me back down everyone’s eyes are on us. He kisses me hard. I hear people gasp and whisper. Sides are being nudged and fingers pointed. He’s probably risking the very role he just signed on for, but he doesn’t seem to care.
“You’re here?” I say, still in shock, but at least able to catch my breath again.
“I couldn’t be without you,” he says.
“And you’re going to teach?”
“I’ve signed on to be a professor…and I’ve saved a spot in each class for you. Just tell me the one you want to take.”
“All of them!” I say.
There comes that smirk again. “It’s the same class.”
“I don’t care. I want to watch how you control that classroom all day long.”
“Don’t forget about the practical portion.”
Now I was really getting wet. “And I really can’t wait to see you fly.”
“You know,” he said, pausing for effect, “a good pilot is only as good as his co-pilot.”
“I know where you can find one of those,” I say.
“I’ve already found one,” he says, leaning down to kiss me again.
I have so many questions, and I know he has all the answers. “Where will you live?”
“You mean where will we live. We will live right here, effective immediately.”
“How is that possible?”
“I made the owners an offer they couldn’t refuse.”
CHAPTER 12
Aria
H ours later the last person leaves and I wrap my arms around Ryker, finally glad to have him all to myself.
“This has turned out to be a very, very exciting day.”
“Tomorrow just might top it,” he says.
Thoughts of what he could do next dance through my mind.
“Your parents arrive tomorrow midday. I’ve chartered a private jet.”
Suddenly my stomach hurts, and I know I’m not going to get any sleep tonight…and not for the reason I thought.
CHAPTER 13
Ryker
I ’d banned all journalists from the event last night so that no pictures of the kisses I shared with Aria would surface. Jim was going to find out from me, first. He more than deserved at least that much.
The mood at the airport had been festive and the private car I’d hired provided plenty of space for everyone. We all shared a drink in the back on our way to my new home. Jim seemed at ease but Linda, his wife, seemed to sense what was up. Female intuition is real.
I’d told Aria last night to let me handle this. I had her covered, but if Linda jumped the gun I’d have to address this a few minutes earlier than I thought. At one point during the ride we made eye contact and I could see she knew. She gave me an awkward smile which I returned with a slight nod. A simple ‘I know’ returned with a ‘thank you for letting me handle this’ all communicated with the most subtle of body language.
We all get to the house and I announce I have something important to talk about. I had made sure this morning to clear away anything Jim could throw. He’s a Marine and disciplined beyond belief, but this is his daughter we’re talking about. I’m not taking any chances.
“Jim. Linda. I am in love with your daughter.”
My instincts are right as Jim decides to throw things. Mostly a fist against my jaw. I let him land the first without any form of resistance. When he goes for the gut with number two I have to block him and wrap him up from behind. The first one I understand, but I’m not about to be a punching bag.
I take him down to the floor as the girls start crying. It’s ugly. He promises not to try and punch me again if I let him up. I never believed him for a second and block his attempt at a foot sweep as we’re standing back up. Getting out his anger isn’t going to be quick, not that I expected it.
Fifteen minutes later he’s finally sitting and the girls are hugging over in the corner of the room. I shoot them a look and they change rooms, allowing Jim and I to talk.
He throws every swear word in the book at me. I keep my cool even when he calls me a pedophile. I remind him that I only met his daughter three years ago, and at that time she was eighteen. They raised their daughter with an incredible amount of maturity,
but even eighteen is young by any stretch of the imagination. When I lay out for him exactly what happened and how I wanted to speak with him now, he’s slightly less angry. I was expecting this heavyweight fight to go the distance and I can clearly see that’s going to be the case.
More than two hours later I hear a ring at the front door. I’m not about to answer it, but Aria and her mother come from the other room and handle it. Less than thirty seconds later they’re standing in front of us with boxes in their hands.
Professor: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 7) Page 4