“You have to eat, Laurel.”
I closed my eyes, letting his lilting accent sink into my mind. The way he said his ‘l’s had my heart speeding up a beat or fifty faster.
“I do, but I can eat at my dorm room.”
“You’re inviting me to your room?”
I glanced up to him. He still smiled, his eyes full of mischief. I caught the scent of his aftershave and my nipples hardened. He glanced down, no doubt noticing them through my t-shirt. Oh, god.
I pulled my jacket tighter around me and threw my notebook into my backpack. “I should go.”
“Your place it is, then.”
I stood and pulled my backpack on. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know, but a bloke can hope, right?” He rose and took his position in the doorframe again. He wasn’t threatening – though just the thought of him threatening me had my pussy heating and growing wet – only casually blocking my way.
I walked to him, facing him with a bravado I didn’t feel. “I need to get back. So, if you’ll excuse me…”
He didn’t move as my words trailed off and I met his eyes again. They burned, our bodies too close, the heat radiating from him and into me. His scent, his skin so close.
“Let me buy you dinner.” He reached out and straightened the collar on my jacket, his fingertips grazing my skin.
I closed my eyes from the softness of his touch, though I wanted it much, much rougher. I’d imagined him inside me, fucking me from behind, eating my pussy, giving it to me rough up against a wall – any possible scenario – for months. Once Claudia was asleep, I would touch myself and think about Eamon, his body mastering mine, holding me down, giving me every inch. Color burst in my cheeks and I studied my feet, worried Eamon might somehow be able to read my thoughts.
“I can’t go to dinner with you.”
He stroked his finger along my chin until I looked up at him.
“Why not?” He leaned toward me, too close.
“You know why. Claudia.”
“Don’t worry about her.” He came ever closer, our breaths mingling.
I wish I didn’t have to worry about her, but she was obsessed with Eamon. Even though she’d brought home plenty of other guys since her initial hookup with him, she still went on and on about how he was the one. “She’s my friend. She’s in love with you.”
“I don’t think that’s true. And I’m certainly not in love with her.” His lips were only a whisper away.
I wanted to taste him, all of him. I’d only been with a few men, but something told me Eamon would erase them all out of my memory. Chill bumps broke out along my arms at the thought. Ceding ground, I stepped back, though it took every bit of willpower I had.
“She would kill me.”
He tilted his head to the side. “But you want to? Go with me, I mean? You just won’t because of her?”
I bit my cheek to keep from giving him the answer he wanted – the truth – that I would love to go with him. “I can’t.”
“What if I told you she was out on a date tonight?”
I shrugged. “She goes on plenty of dates.”
“Is that so? Then how can she be in love with me?”
I’d asked the very same question plenty of times.
“Listen, all I want is dinner. Nothing else. Can you at least give me that or do I need to make a tutoring appointment?” His eyes flickered down to the desk and then back to me.
Thoughts of me bent over the table with him pounding into me from behind flittered through my brain. I shook them away.
Given the way he was blocking the door, I realized he wasn’t going to let me leave the room until I agreed. “Fine, just food, okay?”
He grinned. “Just food. Come on. I know a good little spot.”
Following him out the door, I was finally able to breathe. He’d stolen the air from my lungs, and I already knew he wanted to take much, much more.
We walked out into the brisk night together. I was hyperaware of him, his easy gait, his scent, the way his hands flexed to grip the door handle, the way he put his palm at my lower back and guided me down the stairs. I tried not to think about Claudia, about what she would say or how she would feel if she saw us together.
“I’ll drive.”
“No.” I opened my car door and threw my backpack inside. “I’ll go separate.”
“Come on, now. At least let me drive you.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave me the panty-melting smile I loved.
“No.” I stayed strong though my knees were turning to jelly beneath me. “I’ll go separate,” I repeated with more force. “Where to?”