Threading my hand through his, I drag him over to the living room and we sit on the couch. “You’ll get accepted into your program, you know that.”
He bites his bottom lip, looking too adorable for words. “Maybe. I just…” He taps his temple. “Sometimes I feel like everything up here is made of static and chaos, you know? What if my grad school instructors see that I can barely keep myself together, let alone manage to help someone else?”
I wrap both of his slender hands in mine. “They’ll think you’re a college student. No one will think less of you for being nervous.”
“I feel like I’m always nervous,” he whispers, his eyes downcast.
Pulling him into my lap, I rest a hand on his hip. Tipping his chin up, I make sure he’s looking at me before I say, “You’re everything you need to be, Luca. There’s nothing wrong with you being nervous. That just means you care about your work and you want to do a good job. Youalwaysdo a good job.” That familiar flare of his eyes makes my cock twitch, but I don’t pay it any mind. “You’ll do well in anything you do.”
“Thank you, Professor,” he sighs, kissing me gently.
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
He nods as he rubs his belly. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard my stomach growling. I forgot to eat before my presentation.”
“Luca,” I say in a warning tone.
He lowers his gaze, though he peeks at me through his lashes. Damn, my little lamb knows how to get me. “I know, I’m sorry. I was going to eat when I was on the way here, but I really wanted to see you.”
Before Crista came to my office and forced me to look at my feelings for Luca, I would have thought that was a line he was feeding me, saying the right things so he could get what he wanted from me.
But over the past few weeks, I’ve realized Luca isn’t a liar. Whatever he says, he means. It makes my chest swell knowing that he wanted to see me that badly. But he also needs to eat.
Grabbing his hand, I lead him to the kitchen and plop him on the stool. I don’t have anything quick to cook, so I ask Luca if he’d like to order takeout. “I can make you a quick snack to tide you over until they arrive.”
“Yes, please. Thai food? I have money.”
I shoot him a glare that makes him wither, and I kick myself for that initial reaction. “I’m sorry,” I say, coming around to take his face into my hands. “I’m not mad at you for asking.” Luca nods, his muscles losing all tension. “No, I don’t want you to pay. When you step through my door, I take care of you. You don’t pay for anything, okay?”
“Okay, Professor. Thank you.”
After I order dinner, I make Luca a quick grilled cheese sandwich and watch him devour it in a few bites. “No more skipping meals,” I warn in a softer voice.
“Promise,” he says around a mouth full of bread.
My heart clenches at the word. It’s small, something that probably means nothing to him, but he’s promising me he’ll take care of himself, that he’ll keep himself healthy because I asked him to.
When the food arrives, I fix his plate and turn on my projector. I flick through movies and put on a rom com Luca says he’s been waiting to see.
The movie plays and Luca laughs while he stuffs his face with shrimp tempura. I can’t look away. The fucking ice that was keeping my heart safe, protecting me from the pain of my past, is melted, the last tiny icicle blowing away like dust in the breeze.
I’m in deep shit and I know it, but fuck it. I’m not going to go back and forth on whether I want Luca and for how long.
My little lamb has taken up residence in my heart, a place only one other person has occupied. But this time, it’s honest. It’sreal.
When the movie is over and Luca and I retire to bed, I hold him in my arms, hugging him tight.
“Thank you for tonight. It was perfect,” he says sleepily and my heart leaps that he’s enjoyed himself with me. I only want Luca to feel comfortable when he’s with me.
I wrap him up tighter and kiss his forehead, listening to his soft snores.
I’m not sure when I dropped off to sleep, but I wake up on a moan, tight heat gripping my cock. Eyes still closed, I fumble around, grabbing at warm flesh. A dragging feeling surrounds me and I hiss, my hips bucking up on their own volition.
“Professor,” Luca whispers on a whimper.
I peel my eyes open, looking up at the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen in my life—Luca, straddling my hips, his ass impaled on my length.
“Fuck,” I grunt in a sleep-soaked voice, feeling his walls clench around me. “Luca…”
