Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“Before I tell you what he said, you need to know what I said. In no uncertain terms, I told him that if it came down to a choice between my job and you, I chose you.”
“You did what?” I get light-headed. “I need to sit down.”
Chuckling, he wraps an arm around my waist and leads me to the nearest sofa in the family room, easing me onto a cushion and sitting beside me.
He clasps my hand in his. “I’m serious. I know it’s early days, but I know what I’m feeling for you and it’s not casual. It’s not something I’m going to walk away from.”
“But your job, your career … tenure.”
“I’d have dealt with losing it if I had to… Luckily I don’t have to. Dean Frost is a smart man. He was able to discern the differences between us and me and an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old student. And regardless, I didn’t violate any school rules or policy. Although I have a feeling that might change going forward, but it won’t affect us.” His hands tighten around mine.
I swallow hard, trying to come to terms with what he’s done. “You risked your career … for me.”
Meeting my gaze, his expression softens. “For us. I risked being terminated for us because I believe what we could have is too special to let go.”
My heart thuds in my chest. “I think so, too,” I whisper, almost afraid to jinx what we share.
“So we’re in agreement? We’re together?” He moves closer, as if my answer is a foregone conclusion. Which, of course, it is.
“Yes!”
He rises, pulling me to my feet.
Happy tears in my eyes, I grin, take a few steps, and jump into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and trusting he’ll catch me. Then I press my lips to his.
I kiss him, and all my worries flee, replaced with hopes and dreams I thought I gave up on. After the kiss, which is long and beautiful, I draw back.
“L.J. is coming home tomorrow,” I tell him. Although he is saying all the right words, I feel compelled to remind him of my real life. The one he hasn’t experienced yet.
He meets my gaze, all the while holding me tight. “And I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Really?”
He tilts his head to the side. “Really. Haven’t I done everything possible to prove that to you?”
I nod. “You really have. Now can we go to bed and let me prove to you how much I appreciate you?”
He strides out of the family room, down the hall, and into my room. Laughing, he tosses me down on the bed and strips me out of my clothes. I do the same to him, and we come together, skin to skin.
Pressing my cheek against his, I close my eyes and breathe in deep, feeling his chest rise and fall beneath mine.
“I love you,” I say, the words tumbling out. “I mean—”
“I love you, too, so you’d better not mean anything else.”
I let out a puff of air. “Well, no. I don’t. I just thought maybe it was too soon or I shouldn’t have said it yet…”
“It’s soon. I get that, but if we feel it, what’s wrong with saying it?” He slides his lips over mine, and his thick erection pulses against my belly.
At the feel of him hard against me, my legs open and his cock comes to rest at my entrance. “Amber.” He lets out a groan.
“I’m on birth control for other reasons. And you know I haven’t been with anyone in a long time. I’ve had an annual exam and I’m clean. I want to feel you bare inside me.”
He visibly swallows hard. “I wouldn’t put you at risk. I’m fine, too.”
His cock seems to throb in response and I grin. “Then what are you waiting for?”
He slides into me and everything inside me settles. My world seems brighter. Everything that is uncertain falls into place.
Long after I climax and he comes right along with me, I lie in his arms, happy and complete.
* * *
Shane
The next morning, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, made by Amber and me together, I am dressing after a shower, stuck in my clothes from the day before. My gaze falls on a long tube leaning against the wall.
Amber strides out of the bathroom, makeup complete, dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and a tank top, looking fresh and sexy.
“What are your plans for the day?” she asks me.
“I was going to go home and change. Then I hoped to come back and meet L.J.?” I hear the hope in my voice. But how can we become closer, more like a family, if I don’t first meet and spend time with her son?
“Sounds good! I want you two to meet.” She braces her hands on my shoulders, leans down, and kisses me.