“What are you doing?” I asked when I felt his left hand land on my right hip.
“I’m going to sleep.” He tugged me closer.
“You don’t want me to leave? To go back to my own room to sleep?” I asked nervously.
“I don’t want you to go anywhere,” he replied, pulling me closer as he hunkered down in bed. “I want you right here at my side, Evie.”
I smiled to myself in the darkness and rolled to my side, so my back was against his chest. He moved in as close as he could get and buried his nose in my hair. His left hand was flat against my stomach. After a moment, he started to lazily trail his fingertips from one hip bone to the other. Despite the things we’d just done, having him hold me and touch me was turning me on again.
I ignored it, noticing how his hand began to move more slowly and slowly until it stopped completely. His breathing got deeper and even, and I knew he’d fallen asleep.
I closed my eyes, praying he’d still be this guy when we woke.
Elliot was still sleepingwhen I woke the following morning. I studied him and noted his long lashes and the way he seemed so at peace. The lines of irritation weren’t on his handsome face. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was Prince Charming. And maybe he was, if Prince Charming were my professor.
Knowing I needed to clean myself after our activities last night, I carefully wiggled my way out of his grasp. I moved quietly to the attached bathroom to clean myself up.
I didn’t know how a single act could change my perspective on myself so profoundly. Being with Elliot like that made me feel special. Like I mattered.
I used the restroom, taking note of how sore and tender I was. I looked between the door that would take me back to thebedroom and the deep bathtub. He was asleep and wouldn’t notice me gone anyway, so I decided to fill the tub with hot water and the fancy bottle of bubble bath. I stepped into the massive tub and sat down. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I let the tub fill.
The hot water felt good, and it helped to ease the stiffness in my muscles. The higher the water got, the more I relaxed. A few minutes after turning off the water, I heard a soft knock on the door. I lifted my head and turned to look over in time to see the door crack open. My eyes met Elliot’s. He didn’t say a word as he opened wider and slid inside.
I watched as he walked toward me in all his glory. It was hard to keep my eyes from falling down to watch the way his big cock hung and moved with his every step, but I managed to keep my attention trained on his handsome face.
He stopped at the side of the tub. “Mind if I join you?”
I didn’t speak. I didn’t want the sound of my voice to break me from whatever dream world I had found myself in. I just scooted up in the tub so he could fit behind me.
He stepped into the tub and sat down, a hissing sound escaping as he adjusted to the heat of the water. With his legs spread and on either side of me, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to my shoulder. His hands moved to my hips and then slid up my arms as he began pulling me backward.
“Relax,” he murmured when he felt me try to stop myself from tipping backward. “Trust me, Evie.”
“I don’t know if I should,” I admitted, on edge. The uncertainty I was feeling had nothing to do with the things we’d done in the bedroom or being with him in the tub. It was because I didn’t know what was to come. I didn’t know what things had changed for him. I didn’t know if I was just something to play with for a short time or if there was more.
Was there any chance for a future together?
“And why not?” His lips trailed along my collarbone.
“This happened so fast. It’s hard to trust things when you feel like you’ve been thrust into them.”
He buried his nose into my hair, and he breathed in deeply. “Or maybe you already trust me and you just haven’t realized it yet.”
“It’s hard to trust something that you don’t understand,” I whispered.
He kissed my neck, just below my ear. “What don’t you understand?”
I tilted my head further to the side, giving him more room. I loved the sensations he was bringing to my skin.
“What this is, what it means, where it’s going,” I said, listing things off. “How you could go from hating me to… this.” I motioned around us.
“I never hated you.”
“Sure seemed like it.”
He placed his fingers beneath my chin and turned my head so I could look at him from over my shoulder.
“The only thing I hated was myself because of how badly I wanted you. This is wrong. You’re my student. If anyone found out, I could lose my job. Not to mention, I’m too old for you, and we have a complicated relationship as it is with our past. I told myself I couldn’t have you, and that made me want you more.”
