Crazy in Love (Lovestruck Series) (10 page)

I swear I feel his damp lips brush my cheek before he says, “I’ve missed you.” Three words and my heart beats triple time while goosebumps race up and down my arms. Glancing around belatedly to see if anyone else witnesses it, the room is emptying with everyone facing the door and not us.

“Shouldn’t you be saying that to your wife?” I whisper.

“What?” he asks, dropping my arm. “You don’t understand, Reagan. In all the years we were married I never felt for her what I already feel for you.”

“Then why was she at your house kissing you?” I ask, turning around to face him to see his reaction.

“Because she won’t give up for whatever reason…Wait. How did you know?”

“I stupidly showed up to your house, but when I saw you two together I realized just how crazy I was to think…” I stop the insane words from escaping my mouth before I make an even bigger fool of myself. God, I’m so tired of trying to force something that isn’t gonna happen. “Never mind. I’m working my ass off on the paper and studying for the final so that I’ll hopefully pass. Either way, don’t do me any favors.”

“You’re so fucking clueless,” Gage says, his fingers tugging on a chunk of his thick hair in frustration. “You never had anything to worry about because I’ve been head over heels for you since I first saw you sitting underneath that tree months ago.”

“If that’s true, then you have a shitty way of showing it because all I’ve ever been to you is your dirty little secret,” I tell him before I walk away.

Gage doesn’t call out to me or try to follow me. He just lets me leave, telling me all I needed to know.

I was wrong about him. Even worse, I was wrong about us.

…

Gage

Having never been an angry or aggressive man before, it was difficult to come to grips with the emotions raging through me after Reagan walked away. What I wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder, drag her back into the empty classroom and fuck some sense into her. No, I wanted to fuck her until she wouldn’t have a single doubt about the way I feel about her. I’m tired of pushing her away or only sampling her when I want to feast on her. Shit, maybe I’m going insane just wanting what I can’t have. No, it’s definitely more than that with Reagan.

There has to be something I can do to fix whatever the problem is between us, but I have no idea what.

Oh, but there’s someone who might know.

I quickly gather my belongings and then practically jog up the stairs to my office where I open my laptop and pull up Reagan’s page. There are only a few likes so far, so I easily find the profile for Josie, Reagan’s friend, and send her a message.

“
Hi, Josie. We met the other day when I nearly died of a food allergy. I’m not sure how much you may know about what’s going on with Reagan and me this week, but I need your help. She’s obviously upset about something, so do you know what it is or what I can do to get back into her good graces?”

I stare at the message, tweaking it here and there for over an hour, second guessing myself on whether it’s stupid since filling Josie in if she doesn’t know about us could end with her reporting me. But my desperation for Reagan wins out, and I hit send.

A few hours later I get my response.

“
Good to hear from you, Professor. There’s more on the line than you know, so if you truly care about Reagan, like I think you do if you were crazy enough to contact her friend on Facebook, the solution is simple, and you’re the only man for the job. *wink wink* But I’m begging you to do it ASAP, like before Sunday at noon. No, seriously. This can’t wait until after graduation, so put on your big boy panties, forget ethical dilemmas, since this is so much more important, and go get your girl right now
!
You’re welcome, and I expect to be maid of honor.
”

Sighing, I sit back in my office chair and consider her advice. If I simply make this a choice between my job and Reagan, well, even though I haven’t really gotten a chance to get to know her, I think the answer is still the same. Reagan. And since I trust her, it’s not like my career would be in jeopardy. So what exactly
am
I waiting for?

If I'm honest with myself, I know it’s probably because I’m scared. Terrified actually of falling in love with her, only to have it dissolve into the nothing I had with Trish.

But did I ever really love Trish?

Not that I remember. She was just always…there, and I guess there was some comfort in that.

Now here we are, soon to be divorced, and the woman of my dreams is so close to being mine. I just need to prove it to her; to show Reagan that she’s who I want and fuck the consequences.

Decision made, now I just need to figure out a way to apologize. I can’t very well show up empty handed asking her to forgive me and give me all of her, body, heart, and soul. Looking at her page gives me the perfect idea, though. In fact, just to be sure she doesn’t already have such a thing, I send her friend one last message. As soon as she responds giving me the green light, I’m out of my seat, heading to my car. I’ve got two hours before my next class, and after that, I’m gonna finally get my girl.

Reagan

Since my face is soaking wet with tears, I decide to run a bath with the idea of hiding the flow in a tub.

The usual warm water and bubbles don’t relax me or make me feel even a smidge better. Everything feels like it’s gone all to hell in a handbasket. I don’t even have the heart to call Josie and break the bad news. She’s gonna be so disappointed in me. Well, I’m disappointed in myself. How stupid could I be to think something as complicated as true love could be found by drinking a silly potion?

Besides, love isn’t all that great anyway. I mean, look at my parents. My dad died way too young, leaving my mom behind. She’s constantly depressed and so lonely that I nearly cry every time I see her when I go home to visit.
That
is true love, caring about someone so much that when you unexpectedly lose them, the rest of your life becomes miserable. Lonely has to be better than miserable, right?

The sound of a rapid knock pulls me temporarily out of my gloom as I try to figure out if it was coming from my neighbor’s door or mine. Hearing it again, I start to think it must be mine. Josie? Oh no, has she sensed the epic disturbance of my failure in the universe?

Pulling the stopper to drain the tub, I quickly towel dry off and slip my short, fuzzy robe on before I make my way to the front door. After I yank it open, my knees nearly give out at the sight.

Gage.

He’s really here, on my doorstep.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, pulling my robe tighter around me.

“You’re the reason I told my wife I wanted a divorce.”

“What?” I ask in confusion.

“I didn’t even know your name at the time, but I knew my world suddenly revolved around seeing you under that tree every day.
You
were the one person I got out of bed for in the mornings, and
you
were the last person I thought about every night.
You
are the reason I filed for a divorce last October because I realized that just being near you made me happier than my marriage.”

“Really?” I try to blink away the moisture in my eyes, but a single tear escapes and runs down my cheek. 

“Yes.” Gage reaches out brushes away the wetness with his thumb. “And Trish still won’t give up because she doesn’t understand why I wanted out, and I can’t explain to her that I fell in love with a student the first time I saw her. But I swear to you, Reagan, that is the honest to God truth,” he says, his sapphire eyes honest and pleading. 

“Then please don’t make me wait another second,” I tell him, launching myself at him. My arms wrap around his neck, and I kiss him so hard I nearly knock him backward. Both of us laugh until his hand slips inside my robe, separating the two sides, and then we go back to devouring each other’s mouths.

I hear the door shut, and then we’re moving. Gage carries me straight to the bedroom, lowering us both onto the mattress without our lips ever separating. Vaguely, I notice a gift bag being tossed to the floor, but there are more important things to worry about right now.

Holy shit! This is really happening. I’m nervous and excited and so freaking happy.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Gage asks, his lips leaving a damp, teasing trail down my neck.

“Yes!” I assure him. “Now get naked!”

Chuckling, he sits back on his knees and starts undoing the buttons on his dress shirt while watching me pull my arms from the robe and casting it aside. I reach up and lower each of his sexy suspenders before I start working on undoing his pants, unable to wait any longer. Standing up, Gage takes care of the rest, shucking his pants and boxer briefs in one move, along with his shoes and socks before yanking his dress shirt off.

“Holy…wow, Gage,” I mutter, seeing him finally standing in front of me without a shred of clothing. “Hurry up and get back up here so I can kiss every inch of you.”

Gage climbs on the bed, stretching out beside me. I quickly throw my leg over him, straddling his waist. Starting at his lips, I kiss him softly before brushing my lips over his cheek and jaw, down his throat. My hands caress over the muscular expanse of his chest as I swirl my tongue around each nipple. I keep moving lower, licking a circle around his bellybutton and loving the way his abs contract with that little bit of contact. When I reach for his cock, he grabs my hand to stop me, anticipating where my mouth was headed next.

“I’m too turned on for that, sweetheart,” he says before he tugs me up his body and then rolls me over to my back. “Now, it’s my turn,” he tells me with a crooked smile. His mouth explores every inch of my body, slowly, deliberately. And when his mouth moves between my legs, I don’t stop him. My muscles are wound up so tight that I desperately need the release. So I let him run his tongue over my pussy, penetrate me with it, tease me with quick, light flicks over and over again until my body erupts from the pleasure and I scream his name in gratitude as I tremble through the amazing orgasm.

Gage seems to lose control then, moving up my body to kiss me frantically, plunging his tongue in and out of my mouth as his body rocks urgently against mine. I wrap my legs around his waist, trying to guide him inside me. The swollen head of his cock presses against my still sensitive flesh, causing my hips to lift, seeking more friction. At the same time, Gage thrusts forward; and then his steely length is filling the emptiness. Both of us gasp at the exact moment my virginity yields to him and then our two bodies are perfectly, fully joined as one.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Gage asks, holding still above me while his worried eyes search mine. I’m not even sure he’s breathing as he waits for my response.

“I love you,” I tell him, running my fingers through the sides of his soft hair.

His breath comes rushing out in a hurry as his sapphire eyes soften. “I love you, too,” he says, brushing the hair from my face before leaning down to recapture my lips with his.

The loss of my virginity is not as uncomfortable as I imagined it would be, or maybe Gage is just keeping me too distracted by his deep, passionate kiss and the incredible way his body fits effortlessly with mine, like the missing puzzle piece I’ve been looking for all my life. My inner walls contract around his thick shaft, trying to keep him from ever withdrawing. They succeed when my climax eventually quakes through me. I can feel Gage’s length being milked from the pressure. His cock swells and pulses with the hot release at the same time I swallow down his pleasurable groans.

“How was that? You doing okay?” Gage whispers against my lips as our bodies relax and we continue to cling together, mingling our sweat and other bodily fluids.

“I’m great,” I tell him with a smile. “That was better than I imagined.” I’m more than great, I’m ecstatic. Unable to hold in my giggle, I bury my face in Gage’s neck. We did it; we made love, after all the ups and downs of the crazy week. I guess I don’t hate the love potion quite as much now.

“Well, that’s one response I’ve never had after sex before,” Gage says, rolling us to our sides. “A woman laughing at me.”

“I’m not laughing at you,” I lean back so I can look into his eyes when I assure him that’s not the case. “I’m just…really happy.”

“Me too,” he says with a quick kiss on my forehead. “Is it crazy that I feel like being with you is where I was always meant to be, and it just took me a long time to find my way here?”

“No. I feel the same,” I admit, blinking back the joyful tears.

“If you hadn’t been my student, I think we would’ve ended up here sooner.”

“If I hadn’t been your student, then we may not have ever gotten here,” I counter.

“I guess that’s true,” he concedes. “Oh, that reminds me.”

I nearly cry at the loss of his warmth when he moves off the bed and picks up the forgotten lavender gift bag he brought in.

“What’s that?” I ask, sitting up on my elbows.

“An early graduation gift,” he replies with a smile. “Open it.”

“Do you buy all your students graduation gifts?” I ask.

“Ah, no. Graduation gift, giving me your virginity gift, call it whatever you want,” he says as he stretches out next to me. “Just promise me you’ll keep it and use it.”

I sit up in bed, only a little embarrassed about still being naked in front of him, and pull out the snowy tissue paper. Peeking inside, I see two boxes, Photoshop software and a freaking digital camera!

“Oh my God,” I say, diving across the bed to throw my arms around Gage. “Thank you so much.”

“You like it?” he asks.

“Of course. I love it,” I tell him, grabbing both sides of his face to kiss him until he falls backward on the mattress.

The rest of the night is spent just like that. We don’t make love again, but our mouths and bodies never separate. Between breaks to catch our breath, we have pillow talk, telling each other little things about each other, like Gage’s dad was a professional baseball player and he misses going to games with his parents ever since he moved to North Carolina. I told him about my mom and how I worry about her because she’s still lonely and misses my dad. Gage promised me that pineapples are the only thing he’s allergic to, and I warned him I’m allergic to Christmas trees and cats. When he tells me not to worry, that he puts up a pre-lit fake tree every year and doesn’t have any animals in his house, I can’t help but get excited about our future together.