I can hardly believe this is happening. Here I am in my office with Kat, pressing her against the grain of my desk. Buried deep inside her because that’s where I feel whole. This woman I barely know has clicked the switch inside of me that says I can trust my feelings. This morning I thought I lost her because I didn’t have the balls to want more, and now here she is, and I am going to make her mine.

Her beautiful breasts seem like they are suffocating in her V-neck T-shirt and need liberation. I pull the cotton over her head and set them free. Her lips part and her body twitches beneath my thrusts.

“I’m drawn to you.” My hands cup her breasts. Her nipples taut under my fingertips. I bend over and devour her lips. Craving her taste, I pry past her lips with my tongue and explore her mouth. She’s sweet and my hunger for her is insatiable. I move to her neck, collarbone, and graze my lips across her nipple. Her moans excite me, and my hand slips between her legs to press against her bundle of nerves.

“Oh, God,” she says in a muffled voice, because her lip biting gets in the way of her words.

I move swiftly, in and out of her body. Her hips rise to meet each thrust. “This is just the beginning, Kat.”

“Yes,” she says, and I take that as affirmation. Katy is back in my life, and I’ll do whatever is right for her.

We jump off the cliff together and ride the pleasure down in a slow spiral. I plant soft kisses on her belly and help her off the desk. Not ready to let her go, I sit in my chair and pull her onto my lap. She turns her face to mine, and I kiss her with more passion than I knew I possessed.

We kiss for minutes, and I gently bite her neck. “You're mine, love. Mine.” I say. Inside of me, the statement feels true and right.

“Yes, yours... all yours.” She curls into me and lays her head on my shoulder. I love the way she fits against my body. The way my heart races when she’s near.

My fingers dance lovingly against her nakedness. “I’m done for the day. I’d love to take you out.” I look at her clothes sprawled around my office, and it’s a fucking turn on. “No room service or bubble baths I’m afraid.”

She climbs off my lap and pulls on her jeans while I wrap the condom in a tissue and stuff it into my pocket for later disposal.

“What are you hungry for?” Her voice is like a stroke to my cock. It jumps to attention, but I shove it inside my pants. I’m hungry for her. All of her. I know this girl’s body, but I want to know her mind.

“Let’s go somewhere nice. A real date, Kat. You deserve wine and candles, not a quickie on my desk.”

She pulls her shirt on and hops on top of my desk. “I like this desk.” She runs her palms over the knotty grain like she’s touching my cock.

* * *

Katy takes me to a ramen house far from campus. I’m not sure if she’s trying to hide me or protect me.

We sit in the corner next to each other and drink Asahi beer and slurp noodles.

“You acted like you didn’t notice me,” she says.

“I noticed you.” I reach my hand under the table and set my palm on her thigh. “Years of being a professional helped me school my features and get me through the class. You did notice that I stood behind the podium right?”

“That’s not unusual.”

“It is for me. I like walking around and interacting with my students, but I had a hard on for you.”

Her lush lips broaden into a smile. “Does that happen a lot?”

I wasn’t sure if she meant with her or with others, but it was time to clear the air and get the questions out of the way.

“Kat, I’ve never slept with a student, and if I had known you were my student, I would have tried to resist you.”

Her smile flops over to a frown. “It does pose a weird kind of problem. I need your class, and you’re the only one who teaches it.” She pulls the bottle to her mouth and drinks. “Maybe this is a bad idea. Won’t you get in trouble if you’re caught with me?”

“It’s not illegal or unheard of for professors to have relationships with their students. The problem comes when the grading begins, but I will grade you fairly, Katy. No special treatment.”

“None?” She laughs. “Does that mean my private tutoring sessions in your office are over?”

“Hell no. I’m beginning to think my office might be my favorite part of the campus.”

She stirs the broth in her ramen and turns in to face me. “What’s an English professor doing in Denver?”

“I needed a change.” I tell her about my girlfriend and colleague and how going to work felt like walking into a dungeon. About how I want more from my life and the people in it. How I came to Denver looking for something special, but I don’t tell her I think she’s it. I vow to show her.

“What do you want from me, Hugh?”

I thumb her chin up and tell her, “Everything. I want everything, Kat.”

After dinner, I walk her back to the apartment she shares with a classmate, and I kiss her softly on the lips.

“Homework is online, Kat.”

She lets out a groan, and I pull her in for a hug. “You’re smart. You’ve got this.”

Before I leave, I ask for her phone and plug my number in. “I don’t want you to ditch me again like you did at the airport.”

She leans into my chest, and we stand on her front porch for a while. She pulls back and looks up at me with her gemstone eyes. “I was protecting my heart.”

“Aw, Kat. I’ll take care of your heart and your body.”

After one more languid kiss, I’m on my way.