He moaned softly as he bent nearer. “Just as good as I knew it would be. Better because of the breathiness. You are adelicioustreat, Libby. One that made this trip south most worth it.”
He tipped my chin up and brushed his lips against mine. His were warm, supple, but mine felt cold, a little chapped. I gasped at the electricity that shot through my chest to my core.
“Open for me, little doe. Let me in to taste you.”
Doe? Is that how he saw me? Should I be offended? His lips closed the distance between us, the softness of his skin sliding, fitting, connecting us.
I kept one hand on the stroller as I moved the other to his jaw, fingers splayed wide as I did as he asked. He used his free hand to clasp my hip, tugging me tighter toward him. When his tongue touched mine, my knees went liquid, but he was already gathering me closer, pressing me to the firm wall of his chest, bracing his thighs on either side of mine. Hedevouredme. There was no other way to describe how he consumed my moans and sighs as he sucked, nibbled, licked, and loved my mouth.
I never wanted that kiss to end. Every nerve ending was aflame, my whole body trembling with need, and my panties turned slick. I moved, restless, needing more against my pebbled nipples and a way to relieve the thrum of desire that had blossomed between my thighs.
The sensation was almost foreign—I’d been so wrapped up in Hudson, in grief, that I’d forgotten me, my body’s needs.
He pulled his lips from mine, causing me to gasp in dismay as I tried to follow him. He chuckled, a dark, rich sound that flowed over my nerves, soothing and arousing them at the same time.
“That was so much better than my fantasies,” he murmured as he tucked some of my hair behind my ear.
My lids fluttered open, and I swallowed, shocked by my behavior, frustrated with the need coursing through me.
“I need to go,” I whispered.
He nuzzled into my temple. “If you’re feeling as I am, you need tocome.”
I did. So badly. His words made the desire burn brighter.
“I’m not sure what to say.” Or what to do. For months, Hudson dominated my waking hours. My sleeping ones, too. There’d been no time for a relationship, especially when my boyfriend dumped me as soon as he realized I planned to adopt Hudson. He’d told me he wasn’t ready for the commitment of a family, and while I was fun in and out of bed, he wasn’t looking for more.
I’d been too busy grieving for my family to consider his words, but now they’d stung.
Not as terribly as they might since Jamieson Finch was still holding me, and his taste clung to my tongue. But enough for me to know I needed to deal with those emotions before I jumped into something with my professor.
Not justanyprofessor. Jamieson Finch was one of the most celebrated in my field.
That dumped a bucket of reality on my head. I shuffled back, away from the man who’d starred in every dirty fantasy I’d had these past few months.
“I’myour student.”
He shook his head, his lips kicked up a little. They were plumper, softer than I’d ever seen them. Because of my kisses? A hot flush of pride and lust slammed into me. I wanted him. Badly. With a deep aching emptiness that I wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to fill.
“No, Libby, you’re not. And I never want you to be anything other than my colleague, my partner, again.”
My mind spun with his words.
“Let me in, Libby.Please, let me in.” He pressed his thumb to my lips, seeking entrance, but his words, they were the words of a man desperate to be loved.
CHAPTER6
Jamieson
Her eyes were toointense for the soft, sherry-brown, and with each passing breath, I sank deeper into them. I wanted her mind, her body, but I wanted her heart even more.
That made no sense. Until a few weeks ago, her mind had impressed me—seduced by her logic and her precise handwriting.
Holding Hudson during those classes, meeting her gaze when she told me about her brother, about her fears, I felt something deep, primal—important—snap into place.
She was young, quite probably too young for me. I was forty, and she was in her mid-twenties. But she knew loss; she knew grief; she knew raising a child alone.
These terrible burdens and great joys were shared.
