“Me? But I’m not even an engineer yet.”
She cocks her head, sending dozens of tiny braids cascading over one shoulder. “You think about how to save the world, I’d say you’re a pretty good one.”
12
Olivia
Liv: How’re the fish?
Repentant Asshole: Look for yourself. Here’s a picture.
Liv: Much better.
Repentant Asshole: It’s hot that you know how to heal living things.
Liv: Are you trying to get in my pants, Professor?
Repentant Asshole: Mm-hmm. Holding fish hostage is the number one way to lure a woman into bed.
We’re back on.
The long looks.
The hot texts.
The simmering awareness under my skin that makes me feel like I’m living a life beneath a life.
School and friends can’t possibly compare with the reality that is Sawyer Redmond’s attention.
The difference is I’m smarter this time. We’re doing it on my terms.
Okay, our terms.
No feelings for me.
Exclusive for him.
All weekend, we text.
We still haven’t found a moment since that hot kiss by my car outside the studio, because I’ve thrown myself into work after talking with Aliya and agreeing to sit on her panel.
Monday in class, I wear the tightest jeans I own, a thin sweater that hugs every curve, and black heeled boots.
When I join a group of students getting his signature on some documents for the team, he slips a sheet of paper on top of the signed form.
You’re trying to make me hard.
I flip it over and write back.
Glad it’s working.
I return to my seat and my phone vibrates.
Repentant Asshole: Meet me in the supply room of the design lab.
Liv: My ass still hurts from the last time.
Repentant Asshole: Bet you’re still wet from it, too.
He’s on me the second I arrive, dragging me against his very hard, very aroused body.
“You wore this for my benefit?”
“You like it?”
“Love it.” His eyes darken with desire as he closes the door and turns me to face it.
My cheek hits the side but my gaze skims down the aisles. “I’ve been thinking about this project. What if this robot isn’t only inspired by nature? What if its purpose is to help nature?”
He stares back at me.
“There are robots used in diving for all kinds of purposes like off-shore drilling, or patrolling ships to look for contraband. But I was doing some research about environmental remediation—”
“You want to save the fish,” he finishes.
“Yeah, Sawyer. I want to save the fish.”
“What are you looking for?”
“A big glass box. Something we can fill with water. If the robot is going to function in an aquatic environment, it has to float.”
“You’re crazy.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not doable?”
“You didn’t design with those specs in mind. You’ll need to change metals, and have some kind of—”
“Ballast system to control how it goes up and down,” I finish. “The judges want something that’s important. Saving the oceans is important.”
He shakes his head and starts down the aisle.
He’s almost down the other end of the row.
Seriously? My idea is so terrible I’m not even getting laid anymore?
He leans into the shelving, finding a sheet of glass.
He’s helping.
My chest expands.
He slides the sheet out and lays it against the shelves.
“Thank you,” I say and mean it.
The next second he’s got me backed against the shelves. The expression on his face is lust, but more than that. “You’re welcome.”
He takes a breath. “Did you enjoy it when I spanked you?”
The hard right should be a relief, but it’s not. “Yes. And no.”
“Because you were afraid.”
“Because I wondered whether you did it with her, too.”
He turns away. “I barely knew her, and she’s practically a kid.”
“And I’m not.”
“No. You’re not.” He closes the distance between us and my heart stops. “You’re a woman. A challenge. An escape from a life I thought was destined to be filled with predictable, judgmental people.”
The cold metal shelving presses against my shoulders but all I feel is the warmth of his gaze.
I look down and see him slide his fingers down my jeans, inch by inch. “What kind of lesson is this?”
“A reminder. When two things collide, both are changed by it.”
I don’t have time to ask him what he means because a finger rubs across my clit.
The ribbons of pleasure make me gasp, my nipples pulling tight beneath my bra.
“Fuck. You this ready for me all the time, sweetheart?” His voice is a drug.
He doesn’t stop there but presses inside me. Pleasure spikes through me and I squirm, to get closer or farther away, I’m not sure.
Before I can decide, a second finger joins the first, stretching me.
The heel of his hand holds me there, grinding against my clit, but it’s his eyes that pin me in place.
I grab the shelf behind me and brace myself as his fingers rub my clit in fast circles.
“Yes. Harder.” My voice is thick with sex, because I’m already so turned on. I reach with trembling hands to unfasten my jeans and shove them down my legs, giving him better access.
He groans his approval, sliding a third finger inside me, and I don’t know how I stand.
“This better than the last time you were in lab?” he teases.
“My fingers are still scratched from building circuits and my ass was sore for two days.”
The bulge behind his fly twitches.
“Did that seriously turn you on?” I manage.
“We’ve established I’m a twisted man, Cherry.”
He might call this a lesson, but it’s not. Nor is it a punishment like the last time we were in here.
This is a reunion. A reminder of what we create together.
“I’m going to come,” I gasp.
“Not yet.” He easily pulls my hips out, hitching my leg around his waist. “Want to feel you when you do. It’s been too long.”
He unzips his pants and takes out his cock. I forgot how big he was, how thick and hard.
I fish in my bag for the box of condoms from the CVS. I take one out and start to rip open the package, but he takes it before I can.
His lips brush my fingertips, the skin that’s still sore from all the work in the lab.
“I got it.”
It’s a fucked-up kind of sweet when Sawyer rolls the condom on and positions himself between my thighs.
But all sweetness evaporates the moment he grabs my hip and thrusts inside me.
He’s so wide it’s hard to take, but he doesn’t stop until he’s all the way in.