Chapter 5

Five

T heir time together seemed like a dream world now. Five days after she'd spent twelve amazing hours with the beautiful god of a soldier, Angelina could still hardly believe the things she'd done.

Or let him do to her.

Her mouth watered just thinking about his body. She craved Ford like an alcoholic craved whiskey. She needed to taste him—needed him in her mouth.

She toyed with a strand of her hair, twisting it around her finger as she waited for her next class to arrive. Her notes were spread across her desk, and today she'd probably need them. Her focus was on a hot soldier, not work.

A step sounded, and she looked up to see a man silhouetted in the doorway. The light from the hallway kept her from seeing his face clearly, but it wasn't the man she'd loved for twelve exquisite hours.

She sat up straighter. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you fucking can." The familiar voice filled her with dread. She jerked to her feet and grabbed her cell, prepared to call for help if Ashwood threatened her. "I need a grade for this class, and you're giving it to me. I did all the work. I at least get a passing grade."

She lifted her chin. She wouldn't be bullied into giving undeserved grades. "You were expelled from my class, Ashwood. That means you don't receive a grade. Now please leave before I call for security again."

He strode into the room, right up to her desk. He towered over her, but he wasn't as big as Ford. The difference was she knew Ford would never hurt her, but Ashwood's menacing tone and body language made her stomach drop.

"Do you know what this will cost me? A promotion that I've deserved for a year. I keep getting passed over, though, in favor of men who have this degree. Now you're goddamn not going to stop me from getting it!"

She swiped her phone with her thumb and poised it to dial for help. Before she could, he swung his arm, knocking the phone from her hand.

Quickly, she circled the desk, putting several feet of oak between them, but she knew these men at Fort Bragg. They were trained to do whatever it took to take down their enemies, and right now, she was his enemy.

She ran.

She didn't make it five steps before another figure appeared in the doorway, and this time it was Ford.

She cried out in sheer relief, adrenaline flooding her body and making her head spin.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Ashwood?" Ford caught her against his chest and shoved her behind him.

She wrapped her arms around herself and watched the two men go nose-to-nose. Ashwood glared at Ford. They held the same rank—but if Ashwood got that promotion...

He wouldn't. She'd go to his superiors and let them know what he'd been doing. Apparently he hadn't been too affected by his last encounter. Had he even been punished after being carted out of here?

Ford's jaw worked and he clenched his fists. "Get the hell out of here, Ashwood, before I put you in a body bag."

Ashwood laughed, looking beyond him at Angelina. "Protecting your woman, I see. Wouldn't the university be interested to hear she's fucking a student?"

Her stomach dropped, but she raised her jaw a notch and stepped around Ford. She couldn't let him protect her or it would look as if Ashwood was speaking the truth. "Wouldn't the Army like to know their corporal is in here threatening a professor, demanding he get a grade he doesn't deserve because he's no longer enrolled here? Now leave for your own." She swiped a hand toward the door, pointing his way.

Ashwood's glare flicked over her, his lip curled. Men took desperate measures to get what they needed at times, and this soldier felt he needed that grade to get his promotion.

She knew Ford, though. He'd report this, and if anything, Ashwood would be demoted.

"I'm going, but don't think for a minute that people won't hear what you two are doing here. Enjoy your position while you have it, Professor Dawn." On his way past Ford, he shoved his shoulder into Ford's.

But Ford stood his ground and didn't react to the taunt. They both turned to watch the asshole strut back out of her classroom.

"Fuck, Angelina, are you okay?" He hovered over her, catching her hand in his big, solid one. He grounded her in a way she hadn't believed she needed until a few days before.

She looked up into his eyes. "Yes. Thank you—again."

"I came by early to talk to you and I thought I'd blow an artery when I saw that motherfucker chasing you." His eyes glittered with carefully banked rage.

"I...I'm okay." She pulled her hand away though all she wanted was to let him reel her close and hold her until the shaking subsided.

She used the desk to her advantage again, putting space between her and the man she wanted to spread her out and take her on it.

He gazed at her for a long minute. "I came to ask if you'd come with me this weekend. I have a few days' leave for my sister's engagement party."

Lips falling open, she tried to make sense of this. They'd fucked—no more.

"Look, baby, I've been tied up in trainings day and night. I haven't had time to come and talk to you since we..." He trailed off, searching her gaze. "I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't finished with you. I'm here now, asking you to come with me."

"When?" she heard herself ask. She must have been struck on the head at some point and was dazed. This was so unlike her.

A spark lit in his eyes. "Right after class. We can swing by your place and get your things. I've got my gear in my bike's saddlebag, and there's room for your things."

The idea of getting on the back of Ford's bike, putting her arms around him and being alone with him again was a comet shooting through the sky. She could barely see from the brightness.

She nodded. "After class I'll meet you in the parking lot. My car's in space F5. You can follow me to my place."

I f this day could get any better, Ford would think he'd died and gone to heaven. He'd awakened to Angelina's beautiful face on the pillow next to his and her musky scent of arousal filling his head.

Before she'd fully opened her eyes, he'd buried his tongue in her pussy and made her come. Then she'd rolled atop him, shimmied down his body and returned the favor. His cock hardened now at the thought of her sweet, plump lips stretched around his cock.

Across the patio crammed with guests celebrating his sister's engagement, he caught Angelina's gaze. She stood with a beer in hand, talking to one of his sister's friends. When she caught him staring, that tormenting blush crept over her cheeks and made his dick even harder.

"Angelina is great. Where'd you find her?" Haley slung her arm around his shoulders, and he crouched to accommodate her. His sister took after their mom, who'd been on the petite side. It was too bad she couldn't have lived to see her daughter's happiness. Ford had never seen Haley so excited.

"She's my professor."

Haley's eyes widened and she dropped her arm from his shoulders. "Wait—you're not kidding, are you?"

He gave a single shake of his head.

"Isn't that something she could go to jail for?"

He laughed. "I'm not underage, Haley." He pinched her nose hard enough for her to wail. People looked around and laughed at their antics.

"I can see you're hung up on her, Ellis. Maybe you'll be next to put a ring on your finger."

His lips quirked at the sound of his first name. Nobody ever called him Ellis in the military, not even Angelina. He loved hearing her screaming his name and wouldn't want her to change it.

As for the ring...

He couldn't let his mind touch down on that war zone. Having her was one thing, but marrying her scared the hell out of him. Especially when he didn't know how he could expect a woman like her to sit around and wait for him. If his last girlfriend hadn't and Angelina was the stuff of every man's fantasies...

"Here she comes. Don't even think about mentioning a ring, Squirrel." His nickname for Haley had the right effect—she skittered away with a dirty look.

But as Ford watched Angelina walk toward him, his chest grew tight. Too easily he could picture this as her day, a special party thrown to celebrate their union.

Fuck, I'm in deeper than I thought.

Angelina smiled. "Your sister was harassing you, wasn't she?"

They looked after Haley, who was now wrapped around her fiancé.

"Is it that obvious?"

"From the scowl, yeah." She could easily step up and put her arms around him but she didn't. In fact, since they'd arrived at his dad's place, she hadn't touched him when anyone was looking.

"Why don't you do PDAs?" he blurted, feeling the scowl take over his face again.

"PDAs? Public displays of affection?"

"Yeah."

She lifted one narrow shoulder and let it fall. "I guess my job keeps me from acting out of order at any time. It's become habit."

"But you're not a professor here. You're my guest. My date. My?—"

She seemed to know he was about to say "girlfriend." Leaning closer but not touching, she said, "Ford..."

He held out his hand. "Prove that you don't care about what people think or see." He held out his hand, inviting her to place hers in it.

Her eyes darkened a shade, and she sank her teeth into her lower lip.

"You're so buttoned up and live strictly by the rules. You're more of stickler for rules than I am, baby." He waggled his fingers.

She released her hold on her lip, and his cock stretched at the bead of wetness she left there. Still, she hesitated.

"Let go of the rules, baby. There's nobody we know here to see you touch me. Don't you want to touch me?"

She swayed closer. "Of course I do."

"Here I'm not your student and the dean isn't standing around the corner waiting to bust you." He brushed his knuckles over the crest of her cheek, raising another blush in his wake. "Angelina." He drew her name out on a long breath that sounded so sexual.

Her eyes hooded.

"Forget the rules. It's you and me."

She glanced around. "A lot of people are here. They don't want to see us drooling all over each other."

He issued a low, warning growl that only made her smile.

She stepped closer yet. Her breasts were a scant inch from his chest. If she wasn't careful, he'd have his hands around them for all to see. "Am I making you mad?" she asked.

"Mad, no. Frustrated, yes. I'm going to turn you over my knee and spank you in front of everyone if you don't at least let me hold your hand and occasionally put my arm around you."

Her eyes widened, her lashes appearing too long and heavy for her eyelids to support. Her hair was escaping her neat chignon, and on impulse, he reached behind her head and pulled the sticks holding it in place.

When her long mahogany locks spilled over her shoulders and swayed around her breasts, several heads turned. Oh she was gorgeous, all right. She was also his.

"Ford!" she said in a heated whisper.

"Forget holding hands. You're going to kiss me right here in front of everyone." He wrapped his hand around her nape and reeled her in, crushing his mouth over hers.

Several whoops sounded, and Angelina stiffened momentarily. Then he swiped his tongue through her hot, gasping lips. She threw her arms around him and kissed him back as though she'd been dying to all evening.

F ord got her away from his family and their friends as fast as possible. He bundled her around the corner and into the pool house. The electric hum of the pump would conceal most of her screams, and he could always put his hand over her mouth.

As soon as he closed the door behind himself, Angelina faced him. Their gazes clashed.

Then she ripped off her top. Her breasts were high and round, encased by a red satin bra that made his dick hard in an instant.

"Pull down your shorts and panties."

Holding his gaze, she did his bidding. A thrill went through him that she was following his orders. He followed hers in the classroom—it was give and take.

As soon as her smooth flesh came into sight, he whipped open his jeans and extracted his thick cock. With his hand wrapped around the tip to hold back the urge to blow, he watched her sweet pussy bared to him.

"Let them drop to your ankles then turn around and put your hands on that wall."

A shiver ran through her, and her nipples hardened against her bra cups before she did his bidding. Once she was facing the wall with her hands braced and her round ass aimed his way, he rolled a condom onto his length and edged behind her.

She threw a look over her shoulder. "Hurry. Someone's going to catch us."

"Nobody's coming in here, baby. Spread your legs. Wider."

She did, and he eased home in one long, smooth shove. She cried out, and he grunted in answer. As he drew his cock in and out of her tight heat, he burned to hear her screaming for him. But he reached around her and stuffed his fingers between her lips, cutting off all her noises.

"Mmmphhhh." Her pussy sucked at his cock on the withdrawal and she raked in a sharp breath on the in-stroke. His need mounted. Higher and higher.

"Your body's so fucking hot. I'm going to blow in you. Fuck, I want to be bareback."

"Ford!" She reached back and grabbed his hip, dragging him balls-deep. The first contraction squeezed his cock, and he couldn't hold back another moment. He churned his hips as she came around him with a muffled cry. Stiffening, bliss slammed him, and he threw his head back with a swallowed roar.

Jet after jet filled her pussy. Seconds ticked by as his haze faded and he was left with the sounds of the pool pump and her rasping breaths.

He kissed her throat, pushing her hair aside to gain better access to her sweet spot. Gooseflesh broke over her skin. "How was that?" he asked.

"Amazing. We've become pros at quickies." She grabbed his hand and brought his knuckles to her lips. After she pressed a soft kiss there, he grinned against her shoulder.

"See? Going against the rules can be pretty damn fun," he rumbled and then pulled out.

By the time they left the pool house, the party was in full swing. Night was falling, and a bonfire was shooting sparks into the sky. The group was gathered around it in lawn chairs, and nobody noticed when he slipped into one and brought Angelina down on his knee.

She struck up a conversation with one of his cousins, and Ford listened with half an ear, mostly aware of how well she got along with his family. She fit right in, and that was not an easy feat. They tended to judge, which was why he'd never brought anyone around before.

Who am I kidding? It's because none of the others were worth bringing.

Angelina wasn't even protesting the public display of affection by sitting on his lap. She just cuddled closer and closer until his cock was as hard as steel again.

Gauging the darkness, he eased his hand around her hip and down toward her pussy.

She went dead still and turned her head. "What are you doing?" she asked through a clenched jaw.

Brushing her hair aside, he pressed his lips to the delicious shell of her ear. "I'm ready for round two."

She caught his head in her hands and turned his ear so she could whisper into it. "You have a lot to learn about loving a woman, Ford."

He turned her so he could whisper into her ear. "I'm pretty sure you were more than satisfied last time I loved you."

She launched to her feet and excused herself as she walked away from the fire.

"Uh-oh, brother. You picked a feisty one," Haley said from several chairs away.

He didn't respond, just went after his feisty little vixen. When he caught up to her, he grabbed her by the arm and spun her into his arms. "What do you mean I have a lot to learn about loving a woman?"

"I mean that you just want the sex and on your terms. That isn't what I'm after in a relationship."

In the moonlight, her eyes were dark but flashed with warning. He'd pissed her off by attempting to touch her that way in public, but no one could have seen from where they were sitting. His little professor wasn't going to back down on this one, but if she believed he only wanted sex, she was wrong.

"I want you bad, baby. That's no crime. But I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable back there. Let me make it up to you." He gathered her close so she was flush against his body—and hardness.

She pushed against his chest, and he released her but kept hold of her hand. "Come on."

He took her around the house and toward the sidewalk that meandered through the small residential area. As they walked, he felt her relax. Their shoulders bumped once or twice.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm giving you a tour of the neighborhood where I grew up."

"I..."

"What? Didn't imagine I was going to do anything but drag you off like some caveman and fuck you?" His voice was amused.

She issued a short laugh. "Maybe a little bit."

"You're right, though. I don't know how to love a woman—not properly. Because I've never been in love before now."

She stopped walking. When he pivoted to touch the crest of her cheek and skim his thumb over her parted lips, he knew she was shocked.

"You don't have to say anything back, Angelina. I know we haven't been seeing each other for long. It's just that I fell for you months ago."

"But you never said anything."

He cupped her face. "I battled to keep control, but I wanted you. You should know that I always get what I want once I've set my mind to it."

"I'm not a conquest."

"No. You're already mine. That's different. Don't deny it, baby. We're good together."

"I don't know how it can go on. My job?—"

"We keep it quiet until I graduate and then nobody can say a word."

"You don't think Ashwood will tell? He'd do anything to bring me down."

Ford pulled her against his chest and just held her there. Her pulse leaped like a scared rabbit's beneath his finger. "I'll take care of Ashwood and any allegations concerning us. In the meantime, you just teach—and don't forget to wear those hot little red heels once in a while for me."