He looked around at the marina. The boats rocking near the dock and the smell of the saltwater brought him back to the present.The evening breeze was fluttering Amanda’s hair off her face.
He stopped walking when they reached the lone windblown tree near the last pier. He leaned against it and pulled her closer. “Enough about me. I’d like to talk about us.” He kissed her and his pulse quickened.
“What about us?” she replied, her voice breathier than before.
Was she feeling something for him? Time to take a chance, to test the waters. “I’d like to see you again—and again—hell, all the time.What did people used to call it—going steady, going together? What do you think about that?” Hope in his heart, he grinned at her. “Say yes, Amanda.”
“Are we allowed to do that? Faculty, I mean? I don’t recall whether the Faculty Handbook mentions that among the dos and don’ts.”
“As long as neither of us is married to someone else, we can ‘fraternize’ all we want.” He laughed. “That’s what we called it in the Army. And, we have the same rank, so we’re not breaking any rules.” He kissed her again and did not let her go. When she kissed him back, his pulse raced. “What do you say? Will you go steady with me? It’s been a long time since I had a regular girlfriend. I’m kind of out of practice, but I’d like to do that if you’re willing.”
“What about your plan to marry Cece, or someone like her?” A smile played across her face, making him want to cover those luscious lips with his. “Maybe you’re just marking time until she’s out of high school, because you like blondes so much.”
“Maybe.” He took her hand and started walking back to the car. “I like a certain brunette, too.” He waggled his eyebrows at her until she laughed.
He drove out of town to a lookout well-known to the students on campus. After selecting a spot with no other cars, he parked so that they could watch the moon reflecting on the water, and he put his arm around her shoulders.
“Amanda, I really want—to get to know you.” He wanted to say more, but could not find the right words. Instead, he kissed her deeply.
She moved closer to him.
She didn’t pull away. Good. Now go slow. Don’t scare her off. The quickening pulse of Amanda’s heartbeat in the small of her neck encouraged him. The tiny birthmark at the curve of her right breast peaked out at him from her décolleté.The silver necklace drew his eyes to where the heart rested and his hands followed. He slipped them under her blouse and lifted it so that he could cup her breasts.
“You are beautiful beyond description, and I want you so badly.” He let his lips tell her how he felt, acutely aware of what his hands were feeling, how her body was responding, that tiny gasp as she sucked in her breath, then parted her lips to let his tongue tease and taste.
When she slid her hands under his shirt, his excitement intensified. His muscles jumped where her hands explored his chest and back. His mouth moved away from her neck as he worked his way downward. Amanda gasped quietly when he covered one nipple with his mouth.
Then she pushed him away, her hands gently easing his mouth away from her breast. “Marcus. We have to slow down,” she murmured.
“Why?” His uneven breathing matched hers, urging him to bring her closer. “We’re going steady—we’re getting to know each other. It’s what people do who are going together.”
“Then you must know why we have to stop, or at least slow down.” Wherever she touched him—on his arms, his chest, his back, the sides of his face—left trails of heat.
“I’ve read enough women’s bodies to know what yours is saying, and it’s not what you just told me.” He was aware of the catch in her breath when he touched her, the glow on her cheeks, the hunger in her eyes, the way her nipples had hardened against his hands.
But Amanda turned her face away before she replied, as if doing so would cool him down. “There’s usually no going back once we’ve taken that step.” Her fingers fluttered against his chest.“What if this … going steady as you call it, is a mistake? I—it will change our relationship—at work. It might get in the way of what you asked me to do, that writer’s workshop, for instance—our professional relationship.”
Why had he talked about work when what he wanted to concentrate on was her, them, their relationship? “You’re thinking too much.” He dismissed her concern, not wanting to acknowledge it, wanting to get back to what his body was demanding.