Winter Jacket (14 page)

“Hold on,” I called.  “You’re going to rip your hair out.”

Her hands immediately stilled and she waited for me to come to her side of the kitchen island.  I took the dainty chain in my hands and concentrated on releasing the fine strands from the links without break
ing her hair or her necklace.  I was acutely aware of how close we were; I hadn’t been in such intimate proximity even at Peggy’s last night when we’d had to lean into each other to be heard over the din of the bar.

“There,” I said
when I was satisfied I’d gotten the last of it. “All fixed with minimum carnage.” The delicate chain lay attractively on her slightly flushed skin. She must have warmed up since coming in from the rain.

“Thank you,” she breathed.

I should have taken a step back once I’d completed the task, but I was frozen to the spot. “Not a problem.”

She turned aroun
d into my space.  I still couldn’t move. “Why won’t you touch me?” If her voice had been any quieter, I would have thought I’d misheard her or that the voices in my head were at it again. 

Before I could audibly express my confusion at her question, she
had grabbed my hand and slid it over her chest. The cotton material felt slightly damp as though she hadn’t completely toweled herself dry before putting it on, and her hardened nipple was taut against my palm. I yanked my hand away as if her body had scorched me.

“
Oh my God. I’m sorry,” she gasped; her angelic features twisted in horror.  “I’m
so
sorry.”

Tears immediately appeared in the corners of her eyes
.  “God, I’m such an idiot.  I don’t know why I thought you’d...” She shook her head hard. “You’re amazing, and I’m such an idiot.”  She grabbed her still-damp clothes from where she’d hung them near the fireplace.  “I-I’m just gonna change quick and then I’ll go,” she said shakily. “I’m sorry for taking advantage of your hospitality.”

I stood there for a moment, just opening and closing my mouth like a goldfish feeding.   I don’t know how I managed to pull myself together.

I went after her, using my long legs to catch up before she could hide in the first floor bathroom and then catapult back into the stormy night. I grabbed her wrist and spun her around.  “This is probably a giant mistake,” I muttered more to myself than to her, before crushing my mouth against hers.

My hand moved to cup the nape of her neck, pulling
her tighter into a languid kiss. She shuddered and grabbed onto my upper arms for stability.  Her eyes fluttered, the light blue seemingly having a hard time focusing.

“Are you okay?” I asked. 
I searched her face, worried I had overstepped my boundaries or misread her intentions.  I tucked a still-damp tendril that had worked its way free from her bun behind her ear. “I’m sorry,” I panicked out loud.  “Should I not have done that?”

My concern melted when
her hand cupped the back of my neck. “I’ve wanted you to do that for so long.” 

I bent down and recaptured her lips with my own. I sucked her lower lip into my mouth and bit down lightly.
I nipped at the delicate flesh, pulling a sharp intake of air from her.

“This isn’t at all like how I imagined it
,” she breathed as she pulled away just slightly. Her soft lips brushed against mine, and I felt my knees buckle.  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“How was it supposed to be?”

“I seduce you, but not looking like a wet mop.”

I couldn’t help the grin on my face. “You imagined this?”

She ducked her head sheepishly. “Maybe a few times.”

I touched her chin, tilting her head back up to meet my gaze. “Well it’s nice to know I wasn’t alone in this.”

“R-really?” she stuttered.

I mentally cringed, worried I’d revealed too much about my infatuation
, but instead of scare her off, my words seemed to encourage and embolden her. She dropped to her knees, and before I could register what was happening, her fingers were tugging at the waistband of my yoga pants and pulling them down with her to the floor.  She audibly groaned when she realized I wore no underwear beneath.

The question with the most obvious answer fell from my lips: “What are you doing?”

Apparently not one for teasing or foreplay, Hunter’s mouth immediately found its way to my naked sex. Her tongue was eager, licking and sucking at me with the enthusiasm and inexperience of youth. She licked along my slit with the flat of her tongue, and her nose, deliberately or not, ground into my aching clit.

My knees buckled and I grabbed onto her slender shoulders for support.  She licked against me hard, and I cursed quietly beneath my breath.  She licked me again and my hips involuntarily jerked,
lightly bumping my pelvic bone against her face.  I was wet, so maddeningly wet; the heady scent of sex filled the air and she hadn’t even really touched me yet. When her fingertips unexpectedly brushed along my outer lips, I instantly rethought my assessment of her as inexperienced.

“I can’t,” I grunted out in frustration. “Not like this.”

She leaned back on her haunches and licked at her lower lip, tasting me on her mouth. “Why not?” she demanded.  “I want this, and it’s clear you do, too,” she said boldly.

I pulled my pants back up as gracefully as one can. 
“That’s…that’s not what I meant,” I said, biting back a chuckle.  “I just mean I can’t get off when I’m standing up.  I was going to suggest we relocate.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh. Well, now I’m embarrassed by that little outburst.”

I took her hand in mine to pull her up from the floor.  It nearly stole my breath how
natural
and
right
our hands felt together when I knew everything about this was wrong.  I was no longer her teacher, and the university had no policy about professors and students fraternizing as long as there was no conflict of interest; but she was in
college
for Gods sake, and I was practically a decade her senior.

But as I watched her slowly lick along her lower lip and watched her tongue catch in the small cleft, my misgivings suddenly didn’t seem so important anymore.

+++++

I felt my palms grow sweaty as I carefully maneuvered the stairs up to the master bedroom.  It wasn't from the exertion of climbing stairs though; it had everything to do with the woman who held my hand and followed me upstairs.  I blindly fumbled for light toggles in the dark that seemed to have relocated since I was last upstairs.  I found the light switch for my bedroom as I guided her into the room.  

"You have a lovely home,” Hunter remarked. “I meant to tell you that when I was here for the English Department’s party.
"

"Thank you
," I reflexively replied.

M
y house was two-level bungalow style  with the bedroom and bathroom upstairs dominating the entire floor.  Instead of getting to comment on the Do-It-Yourself projects I'd recently completed, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of her pink mouth pressed once more against my lips and her tongue sliding along my bottom lip. My lips parted and she slipped her tongue into my mouth to slowly massage my tongue with her own.  I gasped sharply as the intimacy heightened and metamorphosed from tender hesitation into the mashing of mouths and clashing of teeth.  We clung to each other, full of need and desperation. 

I ran my hands through her golden hair, tangling and twirling the
damp strands around my fingers.  Her hands wandered to the hem of my top and she toyed with the material.  I couldn’t help my own shiver when Hunter came in contact with my bare stomach, her hands sliding easily over the taunt skin.

Perhaps feeling her hands on my naked skin is what broke me from her spell.  I pulled away. I had known when I first kissed her that it would be just a matter of time before I woke up from this dream or before my conscience realized what was happening and brought this all to a crashing halt. "At the bar
last night you mentioned this was fairly new, um,” I searched for an appropriate word, “
territory
for you."

She was a smart girl.  Her kiss-swollen lips pursed. "And you want to know if this
is my first time."

I nodded.  I wasn’t an entirely morality-free zone.  I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation or of her.

She tucked her lower lip into her mouth. "This
is
my first time,” she haltingly admitted. “With a woman, I mean. I’ve had boyfriends."

"Who I really don't need to hear about," I interjected with a
nervous laugh.

She
looked away bashfully. "Sorry," she murmured.

"We don't have to do anything." I gently brushed a few errant strands of golden locks away from her face.  She was so beautiful, it made my heart ache. "
I can’t stress that enough, Hunter.  I don't want to pressure you if you're not ready or you're uncomfortable.” I reluctantly let my hand fall from her features. “I can give you a ride home right now."

Her bashful smile stretched into a megawatt grin.  "While I appreciate your concern – i
t's all very chivalrous of you,” she added. “I
really
want this, Professor –."

“
Okay, so as hot and incredibly taboo as that sounds," I hastily interrupted, hands flailing, "and I can't even
pretend
that doesn't play into practically every fantasy I've ever had,” I unnecessarily added, “you
can't
call me Professor or Doctor Graft ever again. You have to call me Elle or I can’t do this." I motioned between our bodies with my hand.  “Whatever
this
might be.”

Her
eyelashes fluttered prettily. "I think I can manage that,
Elle
."  I loved the way she said my name – the way it tripped and tickled across her tongue.  I shivered slightly, anticipating just what that tongue might feel like on the rest of my body.  I’d been privy to a sneak preview in the kitchen.

She made the next move, falling back onto my mattress,
and in one fluid motion, she pulled me down on top of her.  My knee instinctively went between her slightly parted thighs, and she was unable to stifle her moan.  I kissed her open mouth again, not able to get enough of her. My tongue brushed against hers, and I smiled into the kiss when I felt her body melt into the embrace.  With each touch, she became bolder and I became less anxious.  I pressed my knee harder against the juncture between her thighs, and her body lifted from the mattress and molded against my curves.

I knew I would probably
have a panic attack in the morning, but for now I tried to enjoy this moment that I had literally been dreaming about for a year. I pushed the naysayers and nagging voices from my thoughts. Hunter was in my bed.  Hunter Dyson was hungrily pressing her mouth against mine; she was whimpering with need.

I pulled her up to a seated position and removed her long-sleeved shirt, mindful of her hair.  Her hands went to the bottom hem of my own top, and she unceremoniously yanked it off. 
I cupped the back of her head and returned her to a reclined position.  When our naked breasts touched for the first time, I kissed her fiercely; our tongues dueled and teeth gnashed unapologetically.

My right hand found its way between her thighs where my knee had been pressed. I cupped her there, hard, feeling her warmth burning through the thin material of her borrowed pants. I dug my heel in and rubbed in a wide circle, providing pressure – just enough to keep her clawing at
me – but not enough for her to grow lazy from her own desire. It was a delicate balance, this give-and-take. Satisfy too soon and your own needs go unattended.

When she clung to my shoulders, erratically panting in
to my mouth, I felt the desire crest within me, churning from the pit of my stomach and rushing down to my sex. I felt it defiantly flare, begging to be released, but I pushed it down.  I shoved it down and censured it to never rise again. I knew it was just a matter of time, though; it would come back again, probably yet tonight.  But I would blanket and snuff out that fire in my belly when it inevitably returned.

I summoned an unexpected willpower and tore myself away from her candy lips.
We had time,
I reassured myself.  I didn’t have to paw her like teenagers fumbling and groping in the back of a car in an abandoned parking lot.  As eager as I was for my own orgasm, if this was her first time with a woman, I had an obligation to take my time.

Her breath was still uneven as she lay on her back, and I watched the ragged rise and fall of her chest.  I ran my fingertips down the center of her body, down the fine column of her throat, between creamy, supple breasts,
and down to her flat abdomen. Her grey-blue eyes fluttered shut, and she rounded her back into my touch.

She cried out when she felt the first contact – warm, wanting, wet kisses fluttering briefly over her naked breasts.  I kis
sed the underside of her breast and slowly traced a line to her nipple with the tip of my tongue.  She gasped at the sudden sensation as my tongue lashed against the sensitive bud before I took her nipple gently between my teeth.  My tongue flicked the jumbled nerves back and forth from within the humid cavern of my open mouth. She arched her back even more, holding my mouth tight against her breast, crying out into the room.