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“Please, just relax,” I offered in easy rebuttal to her intentions. “As you yourself said, it’s been a trying evening. I’ll take care of this.”
“My parents raised me better than that,” she said while following me to the sink with our place mats and glasses.
“I’m sure they did, but I insist.” I took the mats from her and stole a peck on those sinful lips. My action took her by surprise, and I grinned, watching her process what had just happened.
When a slow smile spread across her face, I turned toward the sink and piled the few dishes in. I’d worry about loading the dishwasher later.
“Would you like to watch a movie or something?” I asked, motioning toward my living room. My house wasn’t very large, but the space was used wisely, and it always felt bigger to me than it was. With Maye here, I wondered what she saw as she looked around.
“Can we just sit and talk? I’d like to get to know you better. Especially outside that little office. Have you always wanted to teach?”
“Yes and no,” I answered as we sat on the sofa. She sat farther away than I wanted, so I patted the cushion beside me. “Sit closer. I won’t bite.” I thought about that for a second, and my dick perked up. “Well, never mind that. I shouldn’t make promises.”
She scooted closer, and I angled my body toward her. With my arm slung across the back cushions, I gently touched her hair. I’d been longing to do that every time she’d worn it down, and it was as silky as I’d imagined it would be.
“You are so beautiful, Maye,” I said before I lost the nerve.
“Thank you. You’re so sweet,” she said automatically. Clearly the response of a woman used to compliments. It was the robotic tone that pulled me out of the moment, and I dropped my hand.
She turned more to face me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. How’s the arm?” I figured it wasn’t worth accusing her of something I didn’t quite understand and risk getting into a disagreement. She flip-flopped from easygoing to defensive pretty quickly, and I didn’t like it. Walking on eggshells was a terrible existence, though, so I reminded myself to slow down a bit. It was possible my aggressive approach was partially to blame for her defensiveness.
“I think the pain reliever is starting to kick in. Thank you again for whatever that was. I must say, though, I’m feeling pretty sleepy all of a sudden.” On cue, her body offered an exceptionally long yawn, and she giggled behind her hand. “God, excuse me. It may just be this comfortable sofa. I could sleep right here,” she said while dropping her head back on the cushion behind her.
She turned her face toward me and picked up the topic we had started. “So can you explain what ‘yes and no’ means regarding my question about always wanting to teach? Like, when did you decide that’s what you wanted to do? Did you have any other jobs before this one?”
I went through a brief accounting of my own university experience and how my parents were very unhappy with me when I changed my major two times in four years.
“Do you have a close relationship with your parents?” the beautiful woman asked between heavy-lidded blinks. She’d be sleeping in the next ten minutes. Maybe less.
“Probably to a normal degree. My father passed away a few years ago, so my mother is alone in the Midwest where I grew up. I’ve tried to get her to move out here so I could do a better job keeping an eye on her, but she won’t do it.” I thought about what I was saying and added, “Eventually she may have to whether she wants to or not. My life and career are here. When she gets to a point that she can’t care for herself, being in Nebraska won’t help either of us.”
“Nebraska?” she repeated with wide eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from that state. Tell me what it was like growing up there. Was your father a farmer?”
The comment made me chuckle. “There are other career paths besides farming in the state. He sold insurance. Mostly to farmers.”
She poked a finger into my side, and we both laughed. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to touch her, though, and since she was bold enough to touch my body, I instantly wanted more of the physical contact.
I scooped her hand into mine and simply entwined our fingers. Even her hands were pretty. Soft and delicate, her slim fingers were tipped with freshly manicured nails. They fit so perfectly with mine, and I must have stared down where we were joined for longer than I should have, because I felt her grow tense.
“What’s wrong?” she asked with an edge of alarm lacing her tone.
“Nothing.” I smiled, but based on her raised single brow, she wasn’t buying it. Fine, I could be a little more vulnerable here. Maybe if we laid our feelings out on the table, we could stop wasting time dancing around them and start enjoying each other fully.
“I want to keep touching you. I want you to touch me. I’ve been fantasizing about you since the first day in class, and I feel like I’m going to suddenly wake up from a really cruel but fantastic dream.”
From behind her hand, she stifled another yawn. I had to pull myself back by the collar and be a gentleman here. The reason I insisted she come to my house was so I could take care of her and her injured arm. Forcing her to stay awake now wasn’t in accordance with that plan at all. My dick wouldn’t be happy, but it was the right thing to do.
“Baby, let’s get you tucked in for the night before I’m carrying you to bed. Not that I’d mind doing that. Believe me.”
Her smile was slow and languid and as seductive as I’d seen on her face. Leading her slowly down the hall, I was battling every urge not to pin her against the wall and kiss her.
“I can just sleep on the couch, really. You don’t have to go through all this trouble,” she protested when I guided her to sit on the guest room bed while I hurried off to get her something to sleep in.
For some reason, that simple task brought me up short. I stood in front of my chest of drawers, staring into the one that held all my T-shirts. What the hell was I doing here? Was I jeopardizing everything I worked so hard and so long for in the name of physical gratification? How bad would this information go over with the university’s board of trustees?
I swiped a shirt off the top of the stack in my drawer, and it made sense why my mind took that momentary detour. The school’s crest was emblazoned on the front and must have sparked the tangent in my brain. My body overrode any thoughts of putting the brakes on with the little doll in my guest room, though.
