I clench my hands into fists to stop them from touching her. It isn’t an easy task because there’s a voice in me that demands me to do it. Ivy seems to be as tense as I am. She doesn’t speak a word, and her breathing is fast. The darkness that falls gradually doesn’t help either, and the crickets' mating calls make it worse. Involuntarily, I walk faster as if running away from temptation. I’ll be fine once we get to the chateau, I tell myself.
Ivy quickens her pace to be close to me. We’re about fifty yards away from the building when a squirrel darts across the path, startling both of us. Ivy loses her footing and nearly falls, but I catch her in my arms.
“I’m so sorry!” she says, giggling with embarrassment as she gazes up at me.
She’s so beautiful. Her blue eyes look dark in the night, and her cheeks blush deep. Her lips part slightly as she breathes heavily.
My heart pounds madly in my chest and my breathing is ragged as if I’ve just run a marathon. I’m fighting with my urge to kiss her when she bites into her bottom lip, showing me she knows exactly what I have in mind.
I give up my fight right there and swoop down to claim her lips. She doesn’t struggle, but lets me have my way. Whimpering like a complaisant kitten, she nudges her body closer to mine, wrapping her arms around my back, and pressing her tummy into my hard-on.
Fuck. It’s delicious. I need this. After sucking her lips until they are swollen, I plunge my tongue into her mouth, tasting her ravenously. She’s so soft, so warm, just as I imagined.
I press her tightly against me, driven by the need to own her. Christ! I don’t remember ever kissing so passionately in my life. It’s just a kiss, but it has the power to destroy me.
I don’t even have the will to tear myself away from her mouth. My hand falls onto her ass, and I palm her greedily.
Ivy moans into my mouth, and the subtle movement of her pelvis tells me she’s as turned on as I am, that she’s aching between her thighs. She wants me. With the little blood left in my brain, I consider my choices. I can carry her to the bench a few steps away and take her right there, or I can wait till we get back to her room…my room…shit. This has gone too far.
I pull myself away and stare at Ivy. She looks dazed for a moment. She blinks and then smiles.
I reach a hand to brush the strands of hair off her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” I say, guilty of taking her by surprise.
“Oh no,” she says. “I…like it.”
“You do?” I can’t help the smile spreading across my face. I must look like foolish to her.
“Yes.” She looks away and lowers her voice, although no one else is around. “You’re a good kisser.”
Although flattered, I’m a bit jealous, too. How does she know what a good kisser feels like? Has she been kissed a lot? I guess the answer is yes, but still, I can’t help but ask her. “Have you had many boyfriends?”
“No!” she shakes her head vehemently, her eyes widened. “I’ve never even had one.”
This is unexpected. My mouth falls open. “You must be kidding!” Ivy is twenty-two years old, beautiful, and adorable. How could it be possible?
“What about your friend from Oregon, the one who speaks fluent French?” Shit. Why did I ask? Now she knows I’m a jealous fool.
“Oh! Jason is only a friend.”
I’m not convinced. “I see. From what you told me, I thought you guys were more than that.”
“Well,” she stammers, looking away. “We went out a few times, but I didn’t feel that way toward him.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, although my jealousy isn’t completely gone. There is no way a man would only want to be friends with this girl. I’m positive this Jason guy hasn’t given up on her yet. Is that why he’s coming to see her? I keep that thought to myself, knowing how ridiculous I must sound if I speak of it.
Ivy doesn’t belong to me. Even though she might think I’m a good kisser. Damn. Her compliment does strange things to me. I can’t stop grinning. No one, not even my ex-wife, has ever called me a good kisser! I think I’ve never been one, until now. I have an overwhelming urge to hear her compliment when I do other things to her, too… God help me! I’ve got to stop.
“Are you all right?” I say after taking a deep breath and help her to balance on her feet.
“I think so,” she says, wobbling a little. “I should be fine.”
When she bends to rub her ankle, my eyes are glued on her beautiful ass. My breath hitches again. It takes all my willpower to shift my attention to her foot. She’s wearing pumps with block heels. “I should’ve warned you to wear comfortable shoes,” I say, my mouth still dry. “We’ll have quite a lot of walking to do tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry,” she says as she straightens up. “Well, I thought about it. I tried on my flats but they didn’t match the outfit.”
“I see,” touched again by her effort to look professional. She’s trying hard to do a good job.
“You should take my arm just in case,” I offer her my arm. “I don’t want you to get injured again.”
“Okay,” she takes my arm gingerly.
The moment her skin touches mine, my body heats up again. Damn. It’s a trial to go through the fifty yards without doing something stupid. When we reach the main entrance of the house, I pause before opening the door for Ivy.
“I enjoyed the walk,” I say to her. It occurs to me I haven’t had a nice walk like this for years.
“Me, too!” she says, smiling. “Thanks!”
I walk Ivy back to her room. The nineteenth-century chateau has never felt so full of hope and energy. I have the false sensation that I’m once again a college boy who’s not only gotten the attention of the prettiest girl on campus, but the permission of walking her to her dorm as well.
“Are you going to come inside?” Ivy asks as I pause at her door.
My cock shouts yes in my pants, but my brain says no. It would be crossing the line. I shake my head. “You’ve had a long day, sweetheart,” I say. “Rest early. Tomorrow we’ll have another long day.”
She looks a bit disappointed, but she nods. “Yeah, I am drained. I’m going to shower and head straight for bed.”
Speaking of shower, I say to her, “It takes a while for the hot water to get to the shower. Just be patient.”
“Oh, thanks. But not to worry. My last apartment was like this. I normally did yoga in the bathroom while waiting for the hot water.”
Holy fuck. The image of her stretching in her panties and bra, or without anything on, flashes quickly in my head. My eyes head straight to her twin peaks under her shirt. I wonder how they look without any constraint. Will they bounce? Her eyes fall onto my jeans as well, which causes an exciting movement of my boner. Without looking, I know I must be very obvious.
I clear my throat. “Good night, Ivy. I’ll see you tomorrow at seven. Breakfast will be served in the dining room.”
“Good night, Gavin,” she says, her eyes shimmering as if begging me to stay instead.
I rush down the stairs. If I stayed a moment longer, I would be pushing her into her room and let my animal desire get the better of me.