5. David

5

DAVID

Rebecca stared down at my wallet, the glow of good sex fading to a pasty gray. Her lips trembled as she bent to pick up the wallet. She held it out to me. "You're a professor?"

"Yes." I took the wallet and my pants. So much for staying the night. One look at that ID and my chances of a round two with Rebecca vanished. "Is that a problem?" No fucking shit, Sherlock . But why?

She clutched her dress to her chest and slid her feet back and forth across the carpet. I'd barely taken the time to look around, and I didn't bother now. Other than the delightfully comfortable bed where we'd fucked, I couldn't look away from Rebecca. "I'm a student." Her voice came out a whisper of sound no louder than her shuffling feet. She finally raised her head and met my gaze, her own wide and insecure. "What do you teach?"

"History." I answered without thinking, certain this was some joke. "Did you say you're a student?" My body moved on instinct, pulling on clothes and gathering up my shoes.

Rebecca nodded. Fitz barked and scratched at the bedroom door, his little claws scratching a furious rhythm. My throat turned dry, even as I considered my options. She wasn't one of my students. Not unless she was in the class Professor Weatherly oversaw for me until my return tomorrow. I'd been on leave to help my mother and returned a few days ago. I had to know. "Do you have a class with Professor Weatherly?"

Another nod.

Fuck me in the ass and call me a popsicle. My mother's favorite curse burst through my head. It never occurred to me to ask if she was a student. I just assumed. Damn me. That's what happened when I assumed anything.

"You have to go." She stood, dress still clutched to her chest. "You have to go right now."

"I will. But before I go, are you sure you're okay? I don't like leaving you alone." She'd enjoyed sex with me, but I wasn't your average man, either.

Pink flushed her cheeks, and she winced a little when she walked toward me. "I'm fine. Promise." The dress barely covered her, and the sight of her tight nipples made my mouth water for another taste.

I wanted to taste every inch of her. If that damned wallet hadn't fallen, I'd have my face between her thighs right now, eating a delicious dessert of pussy. My cock twitched. There would be no seconds thanks to a single, inconvenient detail. "I'm not sorry I didn't know." She needed to understand that I'd wanted her with a kind of desperation I'd never experienced before. "As soon as I saw you in the coffee shop, I wanted to spend time with you."

"You don't have to do this, David." Her lips caressed my name with sweet torture. "I don't need you to make me feel better."

Maybe not. I felt miserable enough for both of us. Helping her helped me, and the best thing I could do now was leave before we both recovered and potentially made things worse.

It would be my luck that she was a student. Of all the women in all the world, I had to walk into the coffee shop and find the one woman I should not sleep with. Par for the course in my experience.

I shoved my arms through my shirt sleeves and tugged it over my head. I'd come to California to get away from my terrible history with women.

"I'll be your professor tomorrow." I forced the words between us. "Professor Weatherly was covering for me."

"So, when I see you tomorrow in class, I'm supposed to act like I don't know you." Her lips did that thing where they went completely flat and bloodless.

I couldn't help stepping forward and hugging her tight to my chest. God, she felt good there, like she belonged. "I will never be able to forget tonight. I'll be thinking of it every minute."

Her breath hitched in a soft mutter, and her hands locked in the small of my back. "Why'd you say that?"

"Because it's true. And I've always had a habit of telling the truth." It made things uncomfortable, but I'd found that genuine truth beat out lies every time. "Like it's also true that we will have to maintain a professional distance once I walk out your door." The implication landed between us. "I could stay here a while longer."

Rebecca took her time mulling over the proposal. Her hands clenched and unclenched my shirt. "I can't let you stay. The more time I spend with you, the harder it will be to let go. I need to let you go." She took a step back, her hands trailing over my hips before she moved completely out of reach. Still naked, she stood as glorious as any goddess. "Goodbye, David."

I kept my gaze on her while shoving my feet into my shoes and making sure I had my wallet, phone, and keys. She stood her ground when I approached. Her chin trembled when I used my knuckle to tip her head up. "Goodbye, Rebecca." I kissed her slowly, with every ounce of passion left in me. We were breathless by the time I ended it, and the flush had returned to her cheeks. Good. At least she would have pleasant memories of us.

Opening the bedroom door, I knelt to ruffle Fitz's ears. "Behave yourself. No more running away."

Rebecca made a noise behind me. I almost turned to comfort her, but she'd made her decision. It was the right one. If I stayed much longer, much less the rest of the night, she'd have to pry me from her bed each and every night afterward. I could find another job. Anything that meant I could have sex with her whenever I wanted. And that was the biggest reason I pushed to my feet and forced them to carry me to the front door and out into the night. Obsession. I could not afford to fall into my typical bliss. Not this time, nor ever again.

Fitz yapped at my heels, his little body bouncing with every step. I made sure he was firmly inside the house before I closed the door. Seconds passed before the turn of the bolt comforted me. I blew out a low, slow breath and turned toward home.

Funny that Rebecca and I lived so close together that I could walk from her home to mine. Night wrapped around me, a silent cloak that warmed my stomach. I cursed under my breath and shook my head. "Of all the fool's luck."

"What's that? Are you talking to yourself again?" Cole's voice rang through the air.

I jerked my head up and stared hard into the distance. He stood beside Ethan, the two of them planted at my doorstep, blocking the path like a couple of bodyguards. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Ethan scowled so hard a thick dent formed between his eyes. "You should check your phone."

"Or you could tell me." I crossed my arms and waited. I'd known these two too long to be intimidated. We could stand here all night for all I fucking cared. I'd already had my heart stomped on. There wasn't anything else they could do to me.

Cole eyed Ethan, who lowered his hands, the knuckles white with pressure. "Did you sleep with her?"

What the hell? I kept my stance quiet, my expression casual. "Since when are you monitoring my social calendar?"

"Since she's a student, and you're her fucking professor." Ethan's low voice held the dangerous edge I'd heard one other time during our friendship. "Did you sleep with her?"

I shouldered past them both. "We're not talking about this out here." My neighbors were a fair distance away, with a privacy fence separating my yard from theirs, but this was not the kind of conversation anyone should have standing outside. I unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Come in, or leave. I don't really give a fuck either way."

Ethan fumed. Cole followed me inside, and Ethan stomped over, slamming the door with a kick of his heel.

"What is wrong with you?" I didn't have to keep my voice down anymore, but the situation seemed on the edge of tipping into a strange territory. Whispering felt appropriate. The haze of what had happened between me and Rebecca finally lifted and I saw the truth in Ethan. "You're jealous."

It all made sense now. The puffed up chest and swagger, plus the attitude, were classic Ethan fuck off vibes.

Ethan snorted, but the action felt disingenuous. "I'm not jealous."

Laughter roared up and spilled out so loudly that it echoed down the long hallway and bounced back. I clicked on the lamp to get a better look at his expression. The soft glow highlighted his dark scowl.

"No? So you and Cole are stalking my house, asking if I slept with Rebecca because you're worried about my tenure?" I mocked them with a dry laugh. "Please."

Cole grabbed Ethan's arm, dragging him back when he stalked forward. "He's right. You both are."

Poor Cole. Always the mediator. Not that Ethan and I would come to blows over this. We'd never resorted to violence before and wouldn't dream of it now. But we'd never wanted the same woman before, either, especially not one so completely off limits.

My two-bedroom house suddenly felt too small for this exchange. Then again, we could be in the middle of a football stadium and I'd feel confined by the emotions in the room.

I had no choice. Ethan and Cole were my best friends. They deserved the truth. "I didn't know she was a student. And she didn't know I was a professor. Not until after." Not until after a round of sex so pleasurable, I'd dream of her every night for the foreseeable future. "She asked me to leave as soon as she found out."

An arched eyebrow from Ethan prompted me to spill the entire story, sex details excluded. Rebecca deserved her privacy. Still, talking about my wallet falling from my pants reminded me of how she'd looked beneath me. I'd give just about anything to change the situation.

"How long will she be a student?" I asked Cole when Ethan continued to scowl at me.

"None of your fucking business." This time, when Ethan spoke, he jabbed a finger in my chest.

I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt and jabbed him back. "What's it to you, if you're not jealous?"

Cole moved like he might intervene, but I motioned him back. Ethan could deal with his own problems. "We're grown ass adults. Ethan can use his words."

He growled at me like some kind of feral animal. "She's off limits. Even after she graduates, you need to leave her the hell alone. We all know how your relationships end."

"Fuck you." Anger burned so hotly, I might very well be the first man to self-combust. "I'd never hurt her."

"Not intentionally." Ethan offered the comment with a begrudging wince. "She's special. I don't want to see anything happen to her."

Yeah, well. Neither did I. I hated that he had a point. All my past relationships were disasters. I'd learned from each failure. Years of seeking out love honed me into the man who'd brought Rebecca pleasure so intense she'd turned to putty beneath my hands and mouth. I'd told her I wasn't a fuck boy, and I meant it. But giving out great sex and being emotionally available were different things.

Cole scrubbed a hand down his face. "It's too late."

"What?" Confusion darkened Ethan's expression.

A beat of silence passed where we stared at each other. I shook my head at Cole, silently begging him to keep his mouth shut.

Cole sank onto the edge of the couch and threw his feet onto the coffee table. "He's already in love with her."