CHAPTER THIRTEEN

HARPER

Colton pays and I find myself sad the meal is over, that this perfect night has come to an end.

As if reading my mind, Colton holds up what looks like a credit card. “We’re not done yet.”

“We’re not?”

He flicks the card over in his fingers. “This isn’t just a restaurant. It’s part of a hotel.”

“…And you booked a room,” I finish. “That was very presumptive of you.” I smile, growing wetter by the second at the thought of an entire night spent with Colton away from campus and its watching eyes.

He takes my hand. “Well, it’s either that or a really long walk home, so if I was you, I’d take out my cell and text my friend I won’t be home tonight.”

“Where am I going to tell her I am?”

The smile that comes to his face is pure sin. “Heaven.”

*

‘Heaven’ is a pretty good description of the hotel room. It’s above the restaurant looking out over the lake and the forest beyond turned turpentine in the moonlight.

I stand at the full-length windows looking out, goosebumps on my arms even though it’s a perfect eighty degrees in here.

“What do you think?” asks Colton, stepping up beside me and popping the top button on his shirt. He smells musky and soapy. He smells like the kind of man James couldn’t begin to be.

I spin and pace across the expansive room, looking up at the exposed beams and faux fur rugs, the Swedish furniture. “I think this place has more style than I’ll see in a lifetime.”

Colton paces behind me. “You give yourself no credit. I promise if you walked into Branton wearing that dress half the faculty would be walking around with a third leg.”

“Or dying of laughter.”

He presses up behind me, his thick length between my buttocks. “Does it seem like I’m dying of laughter here?”

I keep walking towards the bed, teasing him. “Blood loss, maybe. I don’t know how your brain functions given your constant state of, ahem, excitement.”

He follows me with his hands in his pockets. “You never told me what else you like, besides chocolate, that is.”

The ten-texture chocolate cake we had downstairs was up there, I’ll admit. My mouth has rarely been so satisfied. “Chocolate is all I need.” I sit on the edge of the bed with my hands in my lap, my legs pressed together.

Colton stands before me with a pyramid in his pants, not that he seems to care. “How’s that? Don’t tell me you’re one of those ‘chocolate is better than sex’ types, are you?”

“I am.”

“Alright. Give me five reasons why. Give me that and I’ll do whatever you want.”

I bite my lower lip, quite amazed at the sex kitten I’m becoming here so far removed from the lecture hall. “Whatever I want?”

“Anything,” he smirks.

I raise my hand, counting them off. “One, chocolate satisfies even when it’s soft.”

Colton looks down to his pants. “No problem there.”

“Two,” I continue, “you can have chocolate in front of your mother.”

“Kinky.”

“Three, you don’t get hairs in your mouth when you have chocolate.”

Again, Colton glances down. “Good thing I keep myself well-groomed.”

“Four,” I slur, drawing it out, “chocolate lasts as long as you want it to.”

“Like I said, you’ll find no problems from me on that front.”

“And five,” I pull over the last finger, “chocolate isn’t scared off by words like ‘commitment’.”

That shuts him up, even if he continues to nod. “You got me. I’m all yours.”

I spread my legs, my dress riding up and the slippery seam of my pussy on display.

Damn, girl. You are sex.

Well, that or I had way too much wine.

“You know what to do,” I tell him, my confidence high. Maybe it’s the dress, maybe it’s the surroundings, but whatever’s doing it I’ve never felt so in command and control of my own sexuality.

Colton wastes no time, taking me under the thighs and tipping me over onto my back, my heels clattering to the floor.

Legs folded, caught in his grip, he licks my pussy from top to bottom, his tongue pressing against the tight pebble of my clit, flicking at it until I release a throaty moan.

Yep. Definitely better than chocolate.

I reach forward and hold his head, taking in the way his blue-black hair brushes against the side of my thighs, the stubble on his chin feathering across my skin. If he was hungry before, he’s damn near staving now, burying himself between my legs, lapping and licking, pulling and sucking until I’m near madness.

But it’s when he folds my legs over further, pushing them to my chest, I stop. His mouth leaves me, temporarily lost until the tip of his tongue presses against my other hole.

I stiffen, slowly relaxing into the strange and delicate sensations it provides. It’s dirty, yes, probably fifty kinds of unclean, but I don’t give a damn.

You wanted a bad boy. You got one.

He pulls away humming with satisfaction, unbuttoning his shirt and pants, easing them over his hips.

I rock forward off the bed onto my knees and take the length of his cock in my hand. “Look at me,” I command, taking him into my mouth.

He sighs, looking down and finding my eyes open, locked on his.

I want this, crave this control that’s so lacking in my day-to-day life.

I moan, the vibration of it running up his shaft, from base to tip. I hollow my cheeks and slide all the way down, cradling his balls in my fingers.

He licks his lips, hands on his hips as he starts to thrust forward, slowly driving deeper and deeper.

I can’t believe I’m doing this, that I’m taking so much of him, but my enjoyment is short-lived.

Suddenly, he pulls me up and turns me around, drawing the zipper of my dress down and letting it puddle around my ankles. He helps me step out of it, all the while detailing in the dirtiest of terms what he’s going to do to me. ‘Fuck’ and ‘pussy’ and ‘cock’ feature prominently, far from any textbook or syllables I know, Cosmo inclusive.

The sheer pleasure of it all, these surroundings, is bringing on a heat and lightheadedness I’m unaccustomed to. I revel in the new, in this foreign landscape before me.

Before I know it, his mouth is on mine. He slides his fingers into my hair and lets his tongue press between my lips, seeking out my own.

There’s a rush of endorphins down my spine as he grabs my ass with his free hand, squeezing hard.

His lips move to the soft cornucopia of my ear. “You’re so fucking beautiful. Are you even real?”

“I’m real,” I pant. “Are you?”

He guides my hand down to the bulge between his legs. “What do you think?”

I gasp again when his hands trail over my bare torso, moving up to explore my breasts. His touch triggers fresh pleasure, sends it pulsing and surging through my body. I’m helpless, eyes closed tight to stave off the idea that by looking into his eyes I’ll come on the spot.

His hands take the pale globes in full, my swollen nipples pressing into his palms.

I open my eyes and see him smiling at this revelation, of how aroused I really am. I’m aching for his touch, cooing and mewing for it in heat. I arch forward, desperate.

He doesn’t provide it, instead using both hands to run down my sides until his hot breath beats against my crotch.

He lays me down on the bed, eyes skimming over my prone form as he undresses, his glorious cock bobbing free of his underwear hard and awe-inspiring as always.

I tense at the sight of his manhood, my body reacting at the thought of it inside me, but the moment Colton climbs over me, his lips on mine, I melt once more into the mattress below.

I mewl into his mouth, unable to get enough of this kiss. The kiss becomes harder, his teeth lightly biting down on my lower lip, his hand snaking up from below to cup a breast. His fingers strum at the nipple, hard and tender.

He shifts his lips to the creamy column of my throat, never stopping, never giving me time to breathe. Finally, when his mouth meets my nipple, I cry out.

The world is drifting away. All those papers to be graded, all those lectures to be organized, the rent and nightmare with James… All of it evaporates when he moves over me.

Colton takes his time, circling the dusky peak of my nipple into his mouth, pressing it back and forth with the tip of his tongue until I’m pleading, calling out his name. He does the same with the other side of my chest, sharing the pleasure.

Lower he shifts, pausing to dip his tongue into the indent of my belly button. I can’t help but laugh. Belly button stimulation—Who would have thunk it?

But my laughter soon turns into panting when his head falls between my legs.

I’m ashamed of my heat and wetness there, moving to clamp my legs together, but Colton won’t have it. He presses my knees wide, takes in all of me with his hungry eyes. “Why would you want to hide this?” he says, before his head drops.

I twitch in anticipation. Here we go again.

I shudder, drawing in a pained breath, gripping at the sheets.

He runs his tongue over my clit, dragging it lightly over the sensitive pearl. I convulse, pulling tight. “Ohhhh.”

I bite my lip, fighting the throbbing between my legs as he sucks my clit, drawing it away from my body before letting it fall slacken once more, his tongue darting into the heated cleft of my pussy.

My head kicks back. Still, he licks and sucks at my tender flesh, adding more pressure here, less there, always in control. Nerves I never knew I had are lit and stoked, sensation pooling between my legs and the urgency increasing by the second.

“Yes,” I breathe out, an orgasm starting to build.

“No,” he says, lifting his head away, “not yet.”

I watch him climb upwards, his powerful pecs and tight abdominals at my beck and call, thick arms coming from broad shoulders, a man in the very best sense of the word. His cock is thick and proud before me.

I shift onto my knees, keen to return the pleasure but daunted all the same by the sheer size of it. A tingle shoots through my sex.

I extend my fingers and touch his cock. I wrap my hand around the girth of it, examining the smooth, velvety texture of his shaft. It jerks in my grip, alive.

I start to pump it lightly, adding a second hand to the first and using both to jerk him off but still only covering half his length.

His cock throbs inside my grip. I continue to stroke his length, still wondering how in the hell I’m going to get this thing inside me, because it is going to happen, one way or another.

I stroke around the bulbous head of him, stroking all the way down to his balls. His head drops back and he sighs, lost in the sensation.

I lean forward and place him in my mouth once more, only able to take a few inches at first, but enough for him to grip my head and mew his approval.

Pleased, he starts to rock forward deeper into my mouth. I wrap my tongue around the hot helmet of his cock, lashing his glans until he’s begging to go deeper, to fill my throat.

I pull him away. “I can’t take any more. I want you inside me.”

He answers with a smile, reaching to the side of the bed and reappearing with a wrapper in hand, quietly sheathing himself before me. Even this simple act drives the anticipation to the breaking point.

I drop back onto the mattress, watching as he takes hold of his cock and places it against the wet mouth of my pussy. His heat against mine, the delightful pressure to come… It’s almost too much. Sparks shoot up and down my spine in anticipation.

This is it.

He kneels, lifting me up by the torso so my ass comes off the bed, smiling as he runs his length up and down my wetness. “Are you ready?”

I simply nod, unable to speak.

I literally stop breathing when he presses forward, slowly sliding into my slickness inch by solid inch.

I bite my lip before I scream in delight. He fills me slowly, still smiling before pulling out.

“No!” I plead, jerking my hips upwards to feel him again.

He laughs, sliding forward deeper now, his fat cock filling me in the most incredible way possible.

I wrap my legs around him, eager for more, to prove I can take him. He responds by grabbing my hips and driving in deeper.

He drives forward again, his cock running deep.

My arms and thighs are slick with perspiration, my fingers clawing deeper and deeper into the sheets against this onslaught. My pelvis drops, rising again to slam against his, more of him swallowed by my hungry sex.

I feel the root of him and realize I’ve taken him completely. The thought sends a new shiver of release pulsing to my pelvis.

We grind against one another, Colton drawing out of my body before stroking in long and deep, his strong hands holding my hips for leverage.

He draws almost all the way out and the emptiness, the loss, is almost too much to bear. I reach up and pull him forward, wanting to cry at how incredible it is having him inside me. I lock my heels behind his buttocks and squeeze, pressing him forward into me over and over until I’m teetering on the edge of release.

“God,” I cry out, knowing divine intervention is pointless given I’m already in heaven. The way his hard body rocks against my clit, the body of his cock stretching me out, heat and tiny tremors spiraling around and around… It builds, the tsunami of sensation, rising and rising until I know there is no escape but to give into it completely.

“Colton,” I call out, but I don’t know if it’s a cry for help or encouragement to push me further under.

Whatever is building inside me is doing so with such power and ferocity I genuinely fear for my wellbeing should I allow it to consume me.

Colton’s sweating with the effort, brows knotted as he builds up into a quicker rhythm, the wet slap, slap, slap of our bodies echoing off the walls. I hold still, rocking and arching against him, the top of his cock adding pressure to the top of my pussy, to that magic, unicorn spot I never believed existed until now.

I don’t know why, but I reach up to hold my breasts, my fingers pulling at my nipples. Colton’s pale eyes lock on the sight. He powers forward, each stroke hammering me deep into the mattress. I’m powerless against him. Every downstroke bumps against my clit, a constant.

His hips speed up and I start to lose control, incoherent blurts of sound loosed from my lips, squealing like an animal as I reach completion.

“Col—” I can’t finish the word as my climax overruns me. I stiffen from head to foot, spasming and convulsing, as Colton gives a final thrust in release.

My eyes roll back in my head, my body twitching and slumping, limp and electric at the same time.

There’s too much sensation, I think. Wave after wave of bliss engulf me, heat rising and falling from within until, finally, my mind starts to fall back into my body and I can start to take stock of what just happened.

A tear comes to my eye, running over the lid to trail down my cheek. Colton, still inside me, still pulsing, leans down to wipe it away. “What is it?” he asks, panic in his voice. “Did I hurt you?”

I quiver again, smiling and wiping away another. “No, not at all. Quite the opposite.”

He kisses me, crushing his lips against mine and leaving no room for breath, for further thought.

I’m still not entirely sure what happened, only that this has moved way beyond a quick fling.

We lie in each other’s arms content and comfortable. I’m warm as a kitten, nuzzling against him, letting his lips explore my neck, the area under my earlobe where I’ve always been so ticklish.

Eventually, Colton rises and heads to the bathroom. “How do you feel about a bath?” he calls. “You could host a pool party in this thing.”

“Sure,” I call back, my voice unsteady.

I place my fingers against the slick seam between my legs and squeeze my eyes shut, my thighs clamping against my wrist, my hips snapping upwards in delight.

I take my fingers away, surprised at how sensitive he’s made me.

OMG, people. We have arrived.

While Colton runs the bath, I find my mind filled with questions. Pangs of pleasure, small aftershocks of sensation continue internally. I let them come and go, thinking about where I am, what I’m doing here.

Three times isn’t a hookup, is it? I wonder. That’s more than a one-night anything. It’s serious… right?

I don’t know. This is uncharted territory for me. I’ve been with James so long, any kind of prior sexual activity so forgettable, I simply can’t place what’s going on here, with me, with Colton, with any of it.

Some master thinker you are.

It’s one thing to study culture. It’s quite another to study yourself.

I’m oddly intrigued when the answer to my little conundrum doesn’t immediately come to me. It’s nice, in a way, to be confused, unsure. Because this could be more, much more.

The water stops running after a few minutes.

Colton returns to the bed with two flutes. “Champagne, m’lady?”

I sit and take one, surprised at how at ease I feel around him so naked, my nipples remaining rosy and erect.

“You’re hard again,” I note.

His eyes run over my body. “If you were in my shoes, you’d be too.”

“I don’t know. The idea of having a penis, swinging around between your legs all day like that… It’s…”

“Weird?” he offers. “A bit like the idea of having this hole between your legs that bleeds once a month you push a human out of?”

“Touché,” I concede.

“What are we?” I ask, letting my thoughts roam free.

“Don’t name it,” he tells me, leaning down to kiss me, the tingly taste of bubbles on his lips.

“Okay,” I agree, and, strangely, I’m good with it.

Still, there’s a kinship and safety with Colton I’ve never felt with anyone. If there is more to this, I’d like to explore it, but it’s going to require his cooperation.

“Your family, what are they like?” I ask.

“You want to meet my brothers already? I’ve heard of moving quickly, but…”

I give him a shove, almost drive him right off the bed. “Don’t be an ass. I’m curious, that’s all.”

“Well, Cay’s got everything—the wife, the contract, the kids. I suppose he’s the Beckett poster boy. Mason, he’s the eldest. He met this small town girl, Jeanie, so I suppose he’s on the same bandwagon, and Hunter? He’s still in LA busting heads, breaking hearts… It’s what we do.”

“Are you going to break my heart?”

“Like your cock jockey of an ex?” He shakes his head. “Don’t let the person who didn’t love you keep you from the one who will,” he says, adding, “whether that’s me or the next guy, you deserve to be happy.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you were such a—”

“Philosopher?” he laughs. “I’ve been called many things, but ‘deep’ is not one of them.”

“We’ve got a great philosophy department here at Branton, you know.”

He sits forward, emptying his lungs. “Honestly? I’m in purgatory here. Not here here with you, but here in this place, this town with its damn weather, shitty stores and five-pin bowling.”

“What’s wrong with five-pin bowling?” I tease. “It’s great… if you’re a kid… or drunk.”

“You’ve just described the last five years of my life, but seriously, I had it all back home. I was heading towards my own contract, just like Cay—the best school, my brothers, and look where I am now?”

I hide the irritation. “You’re with me, but I get it. I do. Branton’s not the first choice for anyone, but I’m here, you’re here and we have to make the most of it.”

And the silence that follows couldn’t be any louder.