“Tristan, I’m still so…”
I stop her before she can continue. “Nothing else will happen between us outside of me kissing you relentlessly, until and unless you initiate it. Though, I do request that I be allowed to hold you while we sleep.”
“You request? Who are you? Men don’t act like this. They just don’t.”
“Then you’ve been mistaking men for brutes or boys. Will you stay, Petal?”
She nods slowly as I offer her my hand. When we are nose to nose, I kiss the back of her hand before leading the way to my bedroom. “I need to let my roommate know that I won’t be home tonight and… I don’t have anything to wear.”
“In any other circumstance, I’d simply say clothes were not needed, but... I have a better idea.”
I leave her standing at the end of my bed and disappear into my closet to retrieve one of my white T-shirts and a pair of my boxer shorts for her to wear. She’s still standing in the same spot, looking around at the artwork on my walls when I return. If I had my way, I’d replace every piece there with a portrait of her.
“Thank you,” she says, taking the folded clothes.
“I’m going to step into the bathroom for a moment while you change.” I’d give anything to watch her slip out of her clothes and into mine, but I’ve promised to be a gentleman and I intend on keeping that promise.
“Wait,” she says, reaching out to take my hand before I can turn away.
“Yes?”
She steps toward me and presses up on her tiptoes to place a small, gentle kiss to my lips. It only lasts for a moment but there are fireworks surrounding us.
“There,” she says when she pulls away. “Now you can go.”
I can. I don’t want to.
I linger in the bathroom in front of the mirror. I turn on the faucet so I’m not waiting to hear every bit of her clothing hit the floor. The cool water I rush to my face doesn’t deepen the fire I have raging inside of me for her. I’ve never connected with a woman the way I have with her. The speed at which I’ve tethered my soul to hers is alarming. She’s afraid of being hurt. What she doesn’t realize is that if she disappeared, so would I.
Chapter 14
Nora
The soft caress of the most luxurious fabric I’ve ever felt sliding against my skin slowly and gently pulls me from the deep, extraordinary sleep I was thoroughly enjoying. The sun is just starting to peek through the clouds and the orange glow greets me when I blink open my eyes.
I am on my back, staring up at the white ceiling with ornately carved crown molding along the edges, completely at peace with this exact moment, in this exact time. I’ve tried, ever since I left London, to live each day with complete contentment.
I made it out of that situation alive and that is cause for celebration.
Making it out allowed me to wake up in this bedroom, in this huge bed that could easily hold a dozen people… and that thought alone makes me blush and smile like a schoolgirl.
This bed is huge, but Tristan spent the entire night holding me, weaving our limbs together like vines on a fencepost, cradling me like he’d cease to exist if he let go.
And he kept his promise. He was the perfect gentleman. He only touched me where he needed to in order to hold me close, and we simply enjoyed each other’s presence and slept soundly.
But now these very comfortable sheets are much too cold and empty.
I roll to my side and where I should see him, I only see a rumpled pillow and I can smell the faint scent of his cologne.
Where is he?
I push myself up and climb out of the bed. I wiggle my toes on the cool floor and set off to search for my missing professor.
It doesn’t take me very long to see the steam billowing out from the bathroom and when I step inside, my breath is taken away by the large, marble beauty that is more than just a bathroom. It’s far too chic and stunning to be called something as mundane as that.
This is a room fit for a king, and wouldn’t you know it… there’s one standing just behind the glass right now.
In a moment of boldness that can only be blamed on the most incredible night of sleep I’ve ever gotten; I slowly and quietly strip out of the T-shirt and boxer shorts he lent to me and step into the steamer shower with him.
“I was just thinking about you…” he says in a sleepy, gruff voice that sends shivers across my skin.
“What were you thinking about?” I ask, gingerly reaching out to slide my hands across his wet back and he shudders at my touch, like my fingertips were dipped in fire.
“How badly I wanted to kiss you and how desperately I wanted to climb back into bed with you.” He places his hands on the tile in front of us.
“Then why did you leave the bed? I was right there with you.” I lean forward and press a kiss to the middle of his back, between his shoulder blades.
“Because I made a promise to be a gentleman, and if I’d kissed you or felt your body mold against mine for much longer,” he sighs heavily, “I would have broken my promise… if you’d have me.”
He wants me so badly. He makes me feel irresistible, wanted, and craved… but respected and worshipped. It’s a heady combination that’s impossible to ignore, especially when we are both naked, in a steamy shower, with no one around and absolutely no consequences.
At least for now.
“What if I wanted that?”
“Be careful what you say, Petal.”
I don’t say anything else. I’d rather act.
He’s made me feel so good and I think it’s time I return the favor and help ease this ache he’s clearly feeling.
I carefully slide my body around his, dipping down to slip under his outstretched arms until we are face-to-face, his hands planted on the tile on either side of my head.
He finally sees me for the first time, letting his gaze travel to my lips, my neck, and finally my bare, naked chest.
“You’re a fucking goddess.”
“Thank you,” I say simply before I slide down the wall, staring up at him the entire time.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“What both of us desperately want right now.” I settle on my knees. The tile is hard against them but the bite of pain is worth the groan of pleasure that tickles my ears when I wrap my hand around his cock and swirl my tongue over the tip.
“Fuuuuucking hell,” he groans, flexing his hips causing his cock to push even farther past my lips.
I take a deep breath through my nose and bob my head forward, taking him to the back of my throat then slowly pulling back, dragging my tongue along the underside of his dick.
I feel him place a hand on my head and tangle his fingers into a fistful of my hair. It ignites my fire and I start moving at an even pace, and we quickly find our rhythm together.
“Look at you,” he whispers and I look up at him through my lashes. “There’s water dripping into your eyes and your cheeks are red from the hot water, but you’ve never looked more perfect. I love seeing my cock in your mouth.”