When I knew I was seconds from coming, I rotated my hips in just the right way. Seb gasped and seized up. And then he began to spasm in my hand, shooting white liquid all over my chest. Triumph blazed and pushed me right over the edge. I threw back my own head and came inside him, riding wave after wave of pleasure until I thought it would never end.
Seb was part of me. I was part of him. This was exactly how things should be. Us. Together.
When I finished, I collapsed on his chest. Both of us slick with sweat and his seed. I kissed him tenderly and wiped a cluster of damp hair from his forehead.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“For what?”
“For knowing how good we’d be together.”
And then together, we dozed off. Only to wake up a short while later and do it all over again.
17
Seb
The next morning, after David left and I’d showered and shoved my legs into a pair of marginally clean jeans for class, the doorbell rang.
I smiled. David must have forgotten something. Shirtless, still toweling my damp hair, I padded to the door and flung it open. “Hey—oh. Alex! Hi!”
Alex Hughes, the club recruiter who’d originally approached me at the charity auction, stood on my doorstep. He looked as casually elegant as ever, in a pair of khakis, a t-shirt under a fitted vest, and loafers. He raised an eyebrow at me. I glanced down and cringed. I mean, not a big deal to be bare-chested in front of other guys, but Alex worked for the Billionaire Club. So yeah, having a towel on my head and my nipples poking out wasn’t my ideal greeting.
Screw it. Nothing I could do about it now. “Sorry, I thought you were someone else.”
“Clearly,” he said. My cheeks flamed and he laughed. “I definitely get what David sees in you.”
Okay. Now I was embarrassed for real. “Uh, do you want to come in?” I held open the door and almost sagged in relief when he shook his head.
“No, I’m just here as an errand boy to deliver some news before I head out to do more of Monsieur’s bidding.”
I…sure. Whatever. It wasn’t like I could even pretend to fathom what the hell went on behind the club’s closed doors sometimes. “News, huh?”
“Yes. I’m pleased to inform you that Monsieur pulled a few strings and secured you a position as an entry-level, junior editor at Archer & Stowe. Paid, of course.”
Whoa. Did not remotely see that coming. “I…wow. That’s—”
“Pretty fucking amazing? I know, right? Oh, shhh, don’t tell Monsieur about the cussing, he’s not a fan.” Alex winked at me, so I just nodded. Like I was going to call up Monsieur with something so mundane anyway. That man was intimidating as fuck.
“Yeah, it is, actually.” Everyone in publishing knew how competitive those entry-level editorial positions were—especially paid ones.
“As for your TA position—Monsieur apologizes again for his tardiness in addressing the issue, he was away on business. He said he could make the teaching assistant job happen if that’s what you truly want, but he asks that you take a couple of days to consider the options. He seems to think that the editorial job might be a better…fit, long-term. Just think about it. Might be a nice change from toiling away at the online rag, which I know for a fact doesn’t pay all that well.”
“Right,” I said. Mind reeling. I wondered—if I’d known right away that Monsieur could have snapped his fingers and fixed things with the university, would I have jumped at the chance? Maybe. Probably. Now, though? Now I wasn’t so sure what I wanted, or if the university was the right place for me, long-term. As far as the online magazine, well, I could take it or leave it. “Yeah, okay, I’ll give it some thought. Can you please thank Monsieur for me? I really appreciate all his efforts.”
“Of course. Now, I’d better let you go…pretty sure Professor Lang will not approve of that outfit in his 10:00 a.m. class, so you’d better get hustling if you don’t want to be late. Talk to you later.” He gave this little flutter of his fingers, winked at me, and then he was off.
I shook my head again as I closed the door and laughed. On top of everything else, the fucker had memorized my class schedule. Unbelievable.
Then, I glanced at the time, yelped “oh, shit,” and hurried upstairs to find a shirt.
The rest of the day flew by, with my time divvied up between classes, studying, and work. The following day was basically wash, rinse, repeat. By the time the third day after Alex’s visit rolled around, I was sick of my own company. Plus, if I had to hunt down one more dusty old primary source before Monday and read it, I might be tempted to gouge out my own eyes with one of the cafeteria sporks.
The only good thing about being so slammed? I didn’t have time to torment myself over making a decision about Alex’s job offer. Although, hell, at this rate, the workload might make one for me.
When my alarm rang at two o’clock on Saturday afternoon, I slammed my notebook shut with a satisfied thump. Break time. Finally. I stretched my stiff shoulders, gave my armpit a sniff and winced. Oof. Better shower before my date with David, or he just might change his mind about that break after all.
Although after that last night we’d shared, I somehow doubted it.
By the time David arrived on my doorstep, I smelled a thousand times better.
“Mind if we walk?” David said. “There’s a nice farmer’s market about half a mile from here.”
“That sounds great. Although, I’ve got to tell you—I’ve been so cooped up lately that there’s a chance I might turn into a vampire in all this sunlight.”
David snorted. “You boys and your Game of Thrones fantasies.”
I laughed as we started down the sidewalk, enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun on my cheeks. The scent of freshly baked pizza and something garlicky wafted our way from the farmer’s market. “David, come on. There are no vampires in Game of Thrones.”
David wrinkled his nose. “Really? Then what are those super pale creatures I’ve seen in the previews?”
“You mean, white walkers?” Without waiting for more of an invitation than that, I launched into a tutorial on the white walkers (and how they were absolutely not vampires), dragons, and the different houses.
I guess I geeked out more than I realized, because by the time I finished, we’d already entered the farmer’s market. “Oops, sorry. Guess I can get a little carried away when it comes to Game of Thrones.”
David grinned at me and led me past a colorful display of hummus dips. “Don’t apologize, I was quite enjoying your little lecture. In fact, I was picturing you in a classroom, teaching a roomful of equally nerdy students. Which would mean at least one of us was still educating the masses, since I’ve decided to leave the university.”
I stopped in my tracks when he dropped that little bombshell. “Whoa,” I said. “You’re leaving? For sure?”
He paused “Yes, I’ve made my decision. I’ve decided to take the plunge and give being a full-time writer a go.”
We started walking again, passing by a little girl in a pink dress holding an ice cream cone. Chocolate was smeared all over her face. “But…is this because of the board members not approving of us? Because we can fight that!” Guilt twisted my stomach. I didn’t want David to lose his job over me.