CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

HARPER

Mindy’s shaking her head at me from the kitchen. “You’ve been watching New Dynasty for days, and you’re going through that premium chocolate like it’s fairy floss. Girl, you need to get back out there in the real world and find yourself some replacement penis ASAP.”

I shove another piece of single origin Bovetti dark with crystalized rose petals into my mouth. “Mmmm. Hell of a lot better than that dried tomato and chili abomination,” I mumble, even this chocogasm failing to lift my mood.

“Suit yourself,” says Mindy, collecting her handbag from the table beside the door, “I need to get laid.”

She leaves and I’m left scrolling through my very dry inbox when a new email pops up. I skim the header and open it, carefully examining each word to make sure I’m reading it right.

“Holy shit,” I stammer, standing up with laptop in hand.

It’s from a college in the US. Admittedly, I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds official. They’re requesting an interview… with me—clueless, nobody me.

Or so I thought.

I can’t help but smile at the possibility this presents, a way to finally escape the snowy clutches of Branton. It’s the one good thing that’s happened to me since Colton in so long it’s a double whammy of delight. I dance around the room as Fallon Carrington delivers one of her trademark burns on screen.

I place the laptop down and collapse onto my knees, actually crying I’m so overwhelmed, falling to pieces here with relief the career I’ve worked so hard for may not be lost forever.

Except… it would mean moving away, from Mindy, from the colleagues I do respect here, from Colton…

I don’t know why I’m still thinking about him. We haven’t said a word to each other in weeks, barely exchanged a glance, but he’s there, constantly, with his touch and his hands and that tongue that always knew exactly where to place itself to drive me crazy. And it’s bigger than sex. It’s his laugh and cheekiness, the brash confidence by which he tackles life. I miss it. I miss him, as stupid as that sounds.

But you don’t have a time machine, I remind myself. You’re not Prof. McGonagall with her time turner ready to fix the world…. one orgasm at a time.

The memory triggers a hot flutter between my legs, a heated tendril of desire that snakes its way from the base of my spine all the way up to my stupid, silly head.

I shake it away, closing my laptop.

You should celebrate. That’s what you should do. Have a drink, let that drabby hair down. Yes.

I reach for my cell and text Mindy, tell her to save a seat for me at the bar.

Barely a second passes before she replies she’s heading to The Dive. I cringe a little, but run to my room regardless, tossing out random articles of clothing until I find something half-sexy that doesn’t read ‘desperate’ in Hollywood-high lettering.

The cold bite that’s been battering the town these last few weeks is gone. It’s replaced by a quiet calm, a lingering stillness in the air that keeps the smile on my face as I make my way across campus.

I should be happy. This is a chance for new beginnings, to start fresh. Isn’t that what I wanted, what I’ve been craving?

It’s a mystery then why deep down there’s this lump of sadness that refuses to shuffle along.

“Harper!” someone shouts, a familiar voice.

I see Colton running towards me, his coat whipping out to the sides.

I stop, unsure what he wants. To apologize? To discuss social inequalities?

I expect him to pull up, to explain himself, but instead he sweeps me up in his arms, the protest that rises up in me silenced by his lips.

Oh, to hell with it.

I take his face and return the kiss, those pesky tears coming flowing again now the floodgates of emotion have really been released, because I don’t know what has brought this on, or why, only that I want to keep kissing him, forever if need be, safe and warm in his arms.

We break away breathless, clouds of white appearing and disappearing between us against the cold. He’s pressing me tightly against him, his arms strong and protective.

With horror, I realize we’re not alone. I can see students, some of my students, have stopped, watching us. The world that had only just melted away is rebuilt, terrifying in its implications.

Colton turns my face back to his with a single finger, his opal eyes alight.

I push away and smooth myself down. “I’m screwed,” I tell him.

He reaches forward and holds me again, smiling wide as the horizon itself. “No, baby. You don’t have to worry. You’re free to see whoever you want as long as they’re not a student, right?”

I’m not sure what he’s trying to say, only that I’m shaking in anticipation. “Right…”

“That’s the thing. I’m not a student anymore.” He fishes in his coat pocket, pulling out a fistful of papers and tossing them into the air where they float around us. He laughs. “I just signed the papers. I’m out, I want you, and I want to celebrate.”

“You… quit? But why?”

“Because I couldn’t stand by and let them strip you of your dignity.”

“Colton…”

“No. It was the right thing and I do not regret it for a single second. So, where are we going?”

I can barely speak. “I, I was headed to The Dive to meet Mindy.”

Colton shakes his head, looking around me. “No, that won’t do.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have the keys to your office?”

“Yes.”

He takes me by the arm. “Lead the way.”

I hastily text Mindy while we walk-slash-run, tell her I might be late tonight… very late.

We crash through the door of my office, don’t even switch on the light in our desperation.

“This time,” I tell Colton, “lock the door.”

He does so smiling, tossing his coat aside and pulling his shirt off in one, quick action, moonlight cutting across his abs and chest, turning the ink on his arms blue and sapphire.

He swipes everything off my desk with one arm, computer included, before laying me upon it.

Colton steps out of his shoes undoing his top button. There’s a slight smattering of hair on his chest, just enough to fire a shot of pleasure so profound between my legs I’m surprised I don’t simply drop down then and there and beg for his cock.

He lifts my shirt away, tossing it to the corner with my collection of rare candy wrappers.

His eyes are greedy as they take in my body, almost dangerous in their desperation. I stiffen as he reaches behind me and unclasps my bra as if plucking a string. It sags against me, the straps clinging fast.

He kneels before me, this god of a man, two hands on either side of my jeans and panties, drawing them softly down my legs until they reach my ankles. I step out of them. As he runs a hand up the lush curve of my hips, his breath hot on my bare pussy.

Fasten your seatbelts, folks.

He stands and draws my bra away from my body, adding it to the growing pile in the corner. Finally, I am completely, utterly naked before him.

I watch his eyes make a line down my form. They linger on the pert chocolate pebbles of my nipples, wander around the plump globes of my breasts. Lower, pausing on the crimson lips of my sex splayed and ready for his cock.

The transformation is complete. The shy academic is gone and in her place is a woman of power and sexuality made unstoppable.

I want him desperately to take the little nubs on my chest into his mouth. They strain towards him, begging for attention.

He takes a step closer. His fingers slide up the inside of my thigh until he’s cupping my pussy. He stops in surprise. “You shaved for me.”

“You noticed.”

“Of course.”

His free hand cups a breast. It molds perfectly to his large hand, a mound of sensation that sends fire shooting through my blood.

His fingers move away, running across my shoulder, the peachy nape of my neck before plunging into my hair and pulling my head back. I wince, watching the satisfaction in his eyes, straining to meet his kiss. My lips part and he seizes my mouth with his own. In that moment every ounce of restraint is stripped away.

As we kiss he slides a finger into the wet seam between my thighs, strumming my clit with his thumb in a slow, rhythmic circles.

My toes curl in, tensing and releasing, as I gasp into his mouth.

He pulls back and I strain forward, nipping at my bottom lip, brushing his lips over mine until my arousal builds around his fingers.

I don’t know how it has come to this exactly, a relationship like this working, but I am going to make it work going forward, whatever it takes.

I press forward, my mouth flowering open, but Colton dominates the kiss. I allow him access, his tongue against mine, running across the silken corrugations that make up the top of my mouth.

He breaks away, leaving me breathless. His finger draws out. “Are you ready?”

I have never been so sure of anything in my life. “Always.”

I admire him. Bulging shoulders run to firm pecs and a series of tessellated abdominals. It is an athlete’s body, but I know that money cannot buy this. No, a body of this kind of perfection needs to be honed, gently sculpted into being.

My eyes continue to drop as he removes his jocks. Instantly, my gaze glues itself to his cock.

It looks different in the low lighting, the bulbous head of his helmet swept back, graceful in complete arousal. Here in the blue light, I can see every vein and outline.

Naked, he kneels up onto the desk and parts my legs, looking down at the engorged folds of my pussy.

His head lowers and I gasp.

My pussy is on display before him. He runs a hand down the soft swell of my inner thigh, cupping my ass and lifting me towards his mouth.

When his lips press against the slick heat of my pussy, I stiffen on the desk, mouth wide, staring at that one lightbulb above as he works on the bundle of nerves at the top of my sex. I shiver, sensation running in a hot highway up my spine.

Déjà vu enfolds me, memories of what happened here what feels so long ago now.

I whisper his name. It spills out of my mouth with a moan.

He doesn’t acknowledge it, continuing to please himself with my pussy. He lashes my core with his tongue, sucking my clit into his mouth, every area of my sex showered in attention until I’m thrashing, barely able to keep my body under control. He holds my thighs tight, taming me, pulling me even harder against his face, my desire wet upon it.

He groans, hungry, his tongue driving into my slit. “You taste so fucking good.” His words reverberate through my flesh. Deeper still his tongue runs, seeking every crevice and wet nook.

He pulls lightly at my lips with his teeth, the sensation so erotic I am immediately overwhelmed, teetering already on completion. He parts me again with his tongue. My blood surges, heat pounding against my chest. Deeper he goes, deeper than I ever thought possible.

I grab at the sides of the desk, anything to anchor me against this onslaught. My mouth gapes out in a silent whimper. I am powerless before this man.

He concentrates on my clit, drawing it in and out of his mouth, teasing at it. I thrust my hips towards him. I beg and plead, the release so close. He holds me down with his strong arms. I remain a prisoner to him, pleasure to give and take as he sees fit.

His lips and tongue leave me open. He kneels between my legs. I lift my head, greedy to be filled.

I whimper softly as he applies more pressure.

Colton eases himself between my legs.

I’ve forgotten how large he is.

I spread my legs a little wider to accommodate him. He begins to inch inside slowly, more and more of his cock swallowed up into my steaming hole.

He presses deeper. I lift my hips, urging him on, needing him now.

He gives in, unable to take it any longer, grabbing my hips and surging through into the hot pocket beyond.

A little yelp runs from my open mouth as he drives forward all the way to the end of me, hilting himself in my wet depths.

He begins to rock gently back and forward. My body adjusts and stretches, morphing and reshaping itself around his shaft. I calm. His strokes go bolder, more of his cock running out before plunging back inside, his face a mask of concentration.

He thrusts faster, shaft pulsing buried in my warmth. I wriggle my hips, beckon more of his length inside.

Now he begins to show his experience, withdrawing right to the sensitive ring of my sex, pulling his cock across the sensitive floor inside me. With a shuddering breath he eases deeply back inside. My own breath comes out in rasps, pleasure tingling throughout, my toes curling against the satin. He repeats the process, over and over, each time increasing the speed of his thrusts until he’s plunging into me with a quickened pace, every thrust eliciting a new sound from my mouth.

He covers me completely, tongue pressing urgently, his fingers netting with my own and his pelvis grinding down upon my sensitive clit.

I never knew it could feel this good.

I begin to work with him, lifting my hands to clutch his buttocks, drawing him into me. I match him thrust for thrust, my powerful thighs scissoring against his sides. Everywhere there is sensation.

I soar, twisting below him. I tell him how much I want this, how much I crave it. “Give it to me,” I gasp, on the verge of tears from the sheer energy running through my veins.

He pounds into me harder, fingers digging deep into my own.

I reach up to his shoulder with one hand, the other on the depression of his back, feeling it lift and fall against me all muscle and manliness. He hammers into me with deep, measured thrusts. His kisses become rough, urgent, his need desperate. I rise with him until we are a sweaty blur.

He lifts my legs up, compressing them against my breasts and allowing himself to sink even deeper. There’s a strong swelling in my core. My body tenses. There’s heat everywhere. It accelerates and builds, climbing and gathering too fast and stifling my ability to breathe like a normal human being.

Suddenly, everything turns sharp, my orgasm avalanching through my system. I scream out, my back arching and the hot shock of the climax threatening my very consciousness.

The feeling is incredible. It consumes me, every inch of my body drawn into it. He has done it. Colton Beckett has unraveled me completely.

I slam against him, each of his thrusts punctuated by a sharp intake of air. He stiffens, bearing down inside, everything pulling tight until I give in to the ecstasy. It seizes me brutally, washing over me in a great torrent. My head thrashes in rapture, Colton’s face screwing up as he gives a final thrust and unloads.

Annnnnd, we’ve landed.

Afterwards, we lie side by side on the desk trying to regulate our breathing, staring up at the light fixture.

“Do you have a plan?” I ask. “Now that you’re free, so to speak.”

“Besides making you my sex slave? Sure, I do.”

I still haven’t told him about my offer. “You’re, what? Quitting college completely?”

“No, no,” he starts, chest rising and falling. “I’m going to start over somewhere else. That is… unless you want me to stay, because if I’ve learnt one thing here at Branton, it’s that I can’t be without you.”

I mentally file that compliment away, smiling. “What if I told you I received an offer for an interview in the US? It’s an opportunity, not a guaranteed position, but I’m confident.”

He sits up. “You did?”

I nod, a hand on my breast, the nipple underneath still sensitive to the touch. “I did, and it’s no Harvard, but it’s a good college with a solid track record and modern facilities. They’ve even got a half-alright lacrosse team. It might not be so bad,” I add sheepishly, unsure how he will react. I swallow before asking the most important question of all, don’t know if I’ll be able to take the rejection if he says no. “Would you follow me?”

He sits fully, picking me up and shifting me so I’m sitting in his lap, my ankles hooked against his back. His eyes tell me everything I need to know. “Baby,” he says, “I’ll follow you anywhere.”