Always You (9 page)

Dalton

Two more weeks.

Two more weeks and my contract
would be over, Wrenn would be finished with school, and we could be together.
God, how I wished it was all that easy. I wished like hell that after those
final two weeks, things would be better. But the real issue was never going to
go away.

Things were never that easy.
Not for me. I needed to tell her. It was such an ass move, letting her fall in
love with me without letting her know the truth. Especially after everything
she’d gone through. She deserved the best. And maybe I could give her that.
Maybe I couldn’t.

I sighed and scrolled through
the job listings in front of me. Layna had hinted that there might be another
contract opening up for next year. Somehow I doubted that offer would still be
on the table once she found out I’d been sneaking around with her niece.

***

It was Friday evening. I’d just
sent Wrenn a text to arrange where we were going to meet the next day. I wanted
to do something special for her, so I had booked a cabin by Forest Lake, two
hours north
—f
ar
enough away so we could completely relax and enjoy each other. Seeing her with
that dick in the restaurant had made me realize that I couldn’t just push my
feelings aside.

The sight of her with another
guy had made me more angry and frustrated than I’d ever been. Following her to
the bathroom and dragging her into that storage room? That was stupid. Anyone
could have seen us, but the need to have her, to touch her, was far stronger
than the warning bells going off in my head.

My phone beeped on the coffee
table. I reached over for it.

Sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to see you.

I smiled and texted back.

I wish you were here right now. Some of the things I want to do to you
. . .

She replied right away.

Really? I’d like to know exactly what you want to do to me . . .

I chuckled, kicking off my
shoes and lying back on the sofa as I texted back.

I’m not texting you that. You’ll have to wait, and maybe someday you’ll
find out.

I waited for her to reply. Ten
minutes passed, and no response. I’d all but given up when there was a soft
knock on the door. I jumped up. Who the hell would be knocking on my door at
ten at night? Unlocking the latch, I opened the door, my mouth dropping open.

Wrenn. My beautiful, sexy
Wrenn. My gaze traveled down over her low-cut sweater and tight jeans that
hugged her curves. She smiled at me. I swallowed, my mouth so dry.

“Are you going to let me in
before or after we get caught?” she whispered.

I flushed and opened the door
wide enough for her to squeeze through.
 
“What are you doing here?” I asked her. “And why aren’t you wearing a
jacket? You must be freezing!”

She laughed. “I’m fine.” Her
green eyes narrowed. “So, we were talking about what you wanted to do to me?”

I laughed, my arms finding
their way around her waist. Having her there, inside my apartment, was such a
bad idea, but I couldn’t resist that smile, or the way those eyes sparkled at
me. I reached up, my hand cradling her face, and tilted her lips to meet mine.

“You came here to find out what
I want to do to you?” I laughed, my lips
seeking
hers.

She grinned and nodded.

“Then I’m not going to tell
you. I’ll show you.”

“I like the sound of that,” she
whispered.

I lifted her arms until they
were resting on my neck, my fingers gently running under her sweater, over her
soft skin. She breathed in heavily. My lips melted against hers as my tongue
slipped into her mouth, curling around her own. She tasted so amazingly sweet
that I felt myself harden as I thought about my mouth touching other parts of
her body.

I kissed her cheek, then her
jaw, finally running my tongue down her neck. She gasped, her grip on my neck
tightening.

“Your skin is so soft,” I
whispered, kissing the corner of her mouth. My hand ran over the outside of her
sweater, resting against the hem at the bottom.
 
She smiled, letting me know this was
okay. The last thing I wanted to do was rush her, but I needed to feel her body
against mine.

I lifted the sweater over her
head, sliding it from her arms.

My God.
She wore a black bra, her breasts pushed up, creating the
most glorious cleavage. My fingers trailed over the softness of her breasts. I
leaned down and kissed them as her hands entwined in my hair. I tugged down the
bra, exposing her hard nipples. She gasped as my mouth enclosed over one, then
the other, sucking and circling it with my tongue.

“That feels amazing,” she
mumbled, her eyes closed. As I watched her, I could feel myself harden.
Fuck, she looks so beautiful.
I backed
over to the sofa and sat down, pulling her down with me. She giggled as she
collapsed on top of me, the sound of her laughter making me smile. Working her
shirt down her arms, I unclasped her bra, letting both fall to the floor.

She straddled me, her bare
chest almost too much for me to take in, my erection painful against the
restraint of my jeans. She knew it, too. With a little gleam in her eye she
ground herself against my cock, as if loving the power she had over me.

I lifted my shirt off and
pulled her into me, our skin touching. I licked her neck as her erect nipples
teased the skin of my chest.

“You’re so fucking amazing,” I
growled, my hand caught in her hair at the base of her head. I forced her
toward me, my mouth desperate to explore hers. As our lips touched it was like
the whole world stopped; all I cared about was her and making her happy. The
pounding in my chest echoed through my ears as our tongues mingled.

God, I could taste you all night.
My hands roamed her curves,
running over her breasts, squeezing and teasing. I so badly wanted to feel
myself inside her, but I didn’t want to rush this. I pulled away and she looked
at me, panting softly, her cheeks red. I smiled and smoothed her wild hair,
memorizing everything about her.

She stared at me as I reached
out and traced my fingers around her nipple. This was turning me on so much.
Almost as though she’d read my mind, she slipped off my knee and onto the
floor.

My heart rate increased.
Was she really about to do this?
I slid
my ass further down the sofa as she undid my belt, then the buttons on my
jeans. She reached inside my boxers carefully, as if she was handling a
venomous snake. The thought made me smile.

“What’s so funny?” she asked,
narrowing her eyes.

“Nothing. You look kind of
terrified,” I said.

She blushed.

Fuck, this girl was perfect.

“I’m nervous,” she admitted. “I
mean, I know what I’m doing, but you’re so much more experienced than me…I
don’t want to make a fool of myself.”

I shook my head and laughed.
“Do you see how aroused you make me? I’ll be lucky if I can last more than ten
seconds with your mouth on me. Trust me, whatever you do will be the best I’ve
ever had.”

Her eyes narrowed as she took
me in her hand. Oh God. Slowly she worked her fist up and down the length of my
shaft. She bent down, curling her tongue around the tip of my cock, staring up
at me with those big green eyes, which were framed by long dark lashes.

“Ohh,” I groaned as I watched
myself disappear into her open mouth, her tongue tickling and stroking me as
her lips moved along my length. Fuck, God this is so fucking… My train of
thought abandoned me as I arched my back, silently willing her to suck me
harder and faster. I stroked her hair, my gaze burning into hers.

Then I couldn’t hold it off any
longer as my cock began to throb. She sucked me hard, every motion pushing me
closer to the edge until I finally jumped.

“Oh my fucking hell shit
fuuuck…” I groaned again as I released into her mouth, my body jerking, unable
to handle her touch but demanding it all the same.

She wiped her mouth and smiled
shyly at me. “Was that okay?”

“Okay? That was mind-blowing.
Fucking
hell
, Wrenn. That was…I don’t
even have words.” I lay back on the sofa, not capable of sitting up.

She got to her feet and curled
up on top of me, her head resting on my chest. I kissed her hair, breathing in
the coconutty scent of her shampoo, still unable to comprehend what had just
happened.

An hour later we were still on
the sofa. The TV was on, but neither of us were paying attention to it. I
tickled her back as she smiled, her eyes closed. I studied her face. She was so
pretty. I felt like that was all I ever said, but I couldn’t get over how
beautiful she was.

“Mmm, that’s nice,” she mumbled
as I stroked her neck.

“I like making you feel good,”
I said, breathing in the scent of her perfume.

She smiled again, opening one
eye to look at me. “I always feel good when I’m around you. I feel relaxed and
excited at the same time. I feel safe and scared. You bring out everything in
me.”

“Same,” I muttered, kissing her
head. “I’ve never felt so close to anyone before. I don’t know what it is with
you, but I feel connected to you. Like I was meant to meet you.” I made a face.
“God, I sound like such a girl.”

She laughed and shook her head.
“I dunno, Mr. Reid, I like this sensitive side of you.” She grinned at me, her
chin resting on my chest, her fingers entwined in mine.

“Yeah, well don’t tell anyone.
My reputation would be ruined.”

She rolled her eyes. “Who am I
going to tell? My aunt?”

I slapped her ass. “Not funny.
So
not funny. Are you looking forward to tomorrow?”

She nodded. “But I wish you’d
tell me where exactly it is we’re going.”

“I want to surprise you,” I
said, kissing her forehead. She narrowed her eyes at me and smiled. “Trust me,
you’ll love it.”

“So long as I get to
spend the night with you, I’m happy.” She sighed. “I better get back. I don’t
think leaving your room after sunrise would be a smart idea.” She grinned and
climbed off me.

I watched her as she put on her
bra and then her sweater, the delicate fabric flowing down over her breasts,
covering her stomach. She turned back to me, climbing back over me until she
was straddling me, her dark hair falling over her face and my own.

“Thought you were leaving,” I
said softly.

“I just wanted to give you
something.”

“Yeah?” I said. Waiting.
Watching. Heart pounding. Mouth dry.

 
She leaned down, her lips crushing
against mine as her hands ran over my bare chest.

“If you don’t go now, I’m going
to take you down to my room and fuck you senseless,” I mumbled, my hands moving
over her bra.

“I wouldn’t complain,” she
said, laughing.

“Go,” I growled, narrowing my
eyes at her.

She laughed and stood up.
Reaching underneath her hair, she flipped it out from inside of her sweater,
sending it cascading down her back like a chocolate waterfall.

“See you tomorrow.” She smiled,
slipping on her pumps.

I watched her leave, a smile on
my face, thinking about how incredible this woman was.

Dalton

I picked Wrenn up from Kass’s
house just after eight on Saturday morning. Neither of us had gotten much sleep
the night before, but we were both so keen to spend more time together that it
didn’t matter.

She slid into my car, a little
smile playing on her lips as she moved closer to kiss me. The scent of her
perfume, sweet and musky, engulfed me.

“Hey,” I murmured, not taking
my eyes off her.

“Hey,” she said back. She
reached up to touch my face, her fingers running gently over my stubble. “I
missed you. And yes, I realize I saw you a couple of hours ago.” She giggled.

“Yeah, well I missed you too.”
I reached over and placed my hand on her thigh as I steered the car out onto
the road. “Sleep well?”

“Not so much,” she said. “So,
where are we going, anyway?”

“You’ll see,” I replied
mysteriously.

“God, I hope there’s a hot
tub,” she said, stretching her legs out.

“Really?” I replied, amused.

“You don’t understand how stressful
senior year is, especially when you’re having an affair with the teacher.”

“Oh, so that’s what this is?” I
said, raising my eyebrows. She blushed, and I laughed. “You’re so easy to mess
with.”

She narrowed her eyes at me,
but her face was smiling.

“I’m looking forward to
spending some time with you. I mean, I know we’re always together, but this is
different. This doesn’t feel sneaky, or wrong.” She stretched out her long
legs, my eyes drawn to them like a magnet. “I want tonight to be special.”

I knew right away where she was
going with that, and I was determined not to pressure her, no matter how badly
I wanted her. I should’ve been more at odds with myself. The idea of sleeping
with a student should’ve been tearing me up inside, much more than it was. But
it wasn’t. I was worried about my job, and how all of this could affect her,
but all of my reservations about taking us further had little to do with my
feelings about being her teacher and everything to do with the rest of my life.

“I want this to be special too,
Wrenn. But I’m not going to rush you. I want you to be ready, even if that
means waiting a month, or a year,” I mumbled. She turned to me, her expression
one of surprise.

“Dalton . . . I’m not a
virgin,” she said quietly.

“I don’t care about that,
Wrenn. This isn’t about that; this is about
you
.
I want you to want me. I want you to
need
me. And no, I’m not about to burst into a song,” I said wryly. She laughed, her
face lighting up at my joke.

“I think you underestimate just
how much I do need you, Dalton. Am I nervous about sleeping with you? Yes, but
it has nothing to do with anything, other than the fact that I
really
like you. If it’s too much for
me, I’ll tell you. I promise.”

She looked out the window at
the lines of trees we were passing. She shivered, and I moved the heating up to
two, and then put my hand back on her thigh.

 
“So, not long until you’re a free man,
Mr. Reid. What are your plans after your contract finishes?” She asked,
changing the subject.

“Well, that depends on a few
things,” I said, running my hand over her thigh.

“Like what?” she pressed. She
leaned her head back against the headrest, facing me, waiting for my answer.

“I guess it depends on what I
get offered next. Whether I still want to teach. What you’re up to . . . ” Why
was my heart racing? Talking about the future scared the shit out of me, but
talking about a future with Wrenn was almost unbearable. “If we’re together,
and you’re in Boston, then that’s where I’ll be, too.”

She smiled at me and wrapped
her hand over mine, and the feel of our skin touching was incredible. She
stared at me for a minute, as though a thought was forming in her head.

“Do you think we can do this? I
mean, actually make it work?” she asked quietly.

“Why not? People form relationships
all the time. Why not us?” I shrugged.

I sounded so sure of myself, so
sure of us. What I didn’t admit was that I’d asked myself that same question.
What if, after all this, we just didn’t work? I squeezed her hand again.

“I can’t tell you how this is
going to turn out, Wrenn. All I can do is promise that I will do my best to
make this work, if that’s what we decide we want.”

She nodded, her eyes meeting
mine. “I think I’m already past making that decision,” she said, her voice
soft.

***

I pulled into the cobblestoned
driveway of the cabin, the movement waking Wrenn up. She gazed out of the
window in confusion, as if she’d completely forgotten where she was. She
glanced at me, blinking a few times, then back at the log cabin that was our
home for the night.

I’d gone all out, wanting to
make this special. I couldn’t wait to see her face when she saw how beautiful
it was inside.

We got out of the car, the
fresh country smell almost overwhelming.

“This is beautiful.” She turned
slowly, taking in the breathtaking views of Forest Lake and its surroundings.

“Wait until you see inside.” I
grabbed her hand and walked up the path to the front balcony. Using the key
that had been left for us, I opened the lock, swinging open the door. Wrenn
went in first, and I followed her.

“Holy shit. This place is
amazing,” she squeaked.

I grinned. For the amount I was
paying, it had fucking better be. One night had almost cost me the equivalent
of one week’s pay.

I walked into the living area
where Wrenn was standing. Okay. This was pretty nice. The open space made it
feel much bigger than it actually was. The bedroom was off to the left, with
the bathroom. A huge balcony wrapped around the right side of the cottage.
Floor-to-ceiling windows separated the living area from the balcony.

“Holy shit, a hot tub! A
freaking hot tub!” I jumped as Wrenn started squealing. She threw her arms
around my neck, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. I saw glimpses of her youth in
moments like this. She pressed her lips against mine, her hands working their
way under my jacket and shirt, and onto the bare skin of my back.

“Fuck, your hands are
freezing!” I gasped, trying to pull away from her.

She laughed and held onto me,
refusing to let me get away until I could no longer feel the cold in her.

I kissed her again; just having
her so close was making me hard. I grabbed her hand and lifted her into my
arms. She laughed as I carried her into the living room and threw her onto the
big three-seater suede sofa.

“I’m going to make you a hot
cocoa, then I’m going to cook you dinner.”

“You cook?” she asked,
impressed.

I nodded proudly. I wasn’t the
world’s greatest cook, but I could throw a decent meal together.

“How about we both cook?” she
asked.

“If you insist,” I replied. “I
will be back.”

I grabbed our bags and put them
in the bedroom, throwing my wallet and phone on the nightstand. Back in the
kitchen, I heated up a pot of milk, and then added the cocoa and sugar,
stirring it until it dissolved. I poured it into the two mugs I’d gotten out and
added a few marshmallows. I carried the steaming hot drinks back to the living
room along with a bag of cookies.

“Thanks,” she smiled, taking
the mug with both hands. She brought it to her lips and took a sip, her lips
parting into a grin. “Perfect.”

“So, what did you tell your
aunt about where you are?” I asked.

“With Kass. She and Trina have
gone away. Layna thinks I’m with them.” She smiled gleefully as she took
another sip of cocoa.

 
“Are you hungry?” I asked her.

She nodded. “Starving.”

“Come on then.”

We went into the kitchen. She
walked around the counter and sat down on one of the bar stools, her hands flat
out in front of her. “What are we having?”

“Spaghetti à la Reid,” I said
proudly.

“Can you elaborate on that?”
she grinned, raising her eyebrows.

“Sure. It’s spaghetti, onion,
garlic, tomato, basil, and my secret ingredient
—
anchovies.”

“Ugh. No way!” she screwed her
nose up in disgust. “Sorry, but I draw the line at those fishy little
monsters.”

“You can’t even taste it once
it’s dissolved into the sauce,” I protested.

She shook her head adamantly.

“Fine. I’ll omit the anchovies
in yours.” I begrudgingly agreed.

I placed a cutting board, an
onion, and a clove of garlic in front of her and handed her a knife.

“Finely diced?” she asked. I
nodded. While she did that, I put a pot of water on the stove to boil. Heating
the frying pan, I splashed in some olive oil and added the very nicely diced
onion and garlic, my mouth salivating at the smell filling the air.

“That’s a lot of garlic,” she
grinned.

“What, now you don’t like
garlic?” I shot back.

“No,” she giggled, “I love it,
I’m just cautious about garlic breath. I was planning on doing a lot of kissing
later.”

“Why wait till then?” I leaned
across the counter, kissing her lips. “Besides, we’ll both have garlic breath,
so it won’t really matter.” I threw in the tomatoes, some basil, salt and
pepper, and then turned the heat down to a simmer. Next, I added the spaghetti
to the boiling water, with a sprinkling of salt.

“You look like you’re made for the
kitchen,” she smiled.

“I helped Mom out a lot with
cooking and cleaning and things, so I’m pretty domesticated.”

“Mmm. Very sexy,” she laughed,
her eyes twinkling at me.

I narrowed my eyes, not quite
sure if she was messing with me or not.

“So, you’re close to your mom?”
I saw her eyes drop and instantly felt bad.

“Yeah, I am. Were you close to
yours?” I asked softly.

“Yeah. I mean, we fought. I’m a
teenage girl—fighting with your mom is normal
—
but she was also my best friend. I could
talk to her about anything, you know?” She smiled in spite of herself. “Well,
maybe not everything. I probably wouldn’t be telling her about you.”

“Yeah, that probably wouldn’t
go down so well,” I winced. “Is Layna your only extended family?”

“Yeah. My grandparents died when
I was little, and Dad had no siblings. I’m lucky to have her though. She’s been
so supportive. Besides, there are people worse off than me. I had a wonderful
family for a short time. That was better than not having them at all.” She
shrugged as if it made perfect sense.

Again, she had amazed me. How
can you lose so much and still remain so strong? How the hell can she be so
positive? She had this way of making me feel very self-absorbed. Thinking about
my life and the things I had no control over consumed me. Here was a girl who
had lost everything and was still able to see the good in things.

I stirred the sauce, tasting it
to see if it was ready.
Almost perfect.
All that was missing were the anchovies. The spaghetti was ready, so I strained
it and then divided it into the two bowls. Over the top of one I spooned the
sauce. Then I broke a few anchovies into the pan and stirred it until they had
dissolved.

“Try this,” I said, after I’d
poured the sauce over mine. She made a face. “Just do it,” I said with a laugh.

She sighed but obliged, curling
a few strands of pasta around her fork before lifting it to her mouth. Her eyes
lit up.

“Holy shit, that’s really
good,” she muttered, shocked. She went back in for another forkful. I
sniggered, pulling her plate back over to me.

“Have that. I’ll have this
one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I grumbled. “Maybe
you’ll listen to me next time?”

“Probably not.” She grinned and
I laughed. At least she was honest.

***

After dinner, we talked. The
conversation just flowed. I felt like we could sit there for hours and never
run out of topics. I loved that she had her own opinions on things. She would
argue if she didn’t agree, and she was passionate about her beliefs.

“So…I might go try out that hot
tub.” She smiled at me mischievously.

“Really?” I murmured,
stretching my arms behind my head.

She turned, stretching her leg
over mine until she was sitting on my lap. Wow. She lifted her sweater over her
head, dropping it on the floor. My hand found its way to her chest, my fingers
releasing her breasts from the cups of her pale pink bra.

Leaning forward, I took a
nipple in my mouth, flicking it with my tongue until it sat erect. She cried
out as my mouth closed over her other one, my hands resting on the arch of her
back.

“Maybe I’ll join you in the hot
tub,” I murmured, kissing my way up her neck.

She cupped my face, her lips
pressing against mine as my cock began to spring to life.

I stood up and hoisted her onto
my hips. She kissed my neck, undoing my shirt as I carried her out to the
enclosed deck, to the hot tub. Shrugging my shirt off, I set her down and
kneeled in front of her. She giggled as I undid her jeans and began shimmying
them down her milky white thighs. In awe of the beauty that stood before me, I
kissed the edge of her pink thong as she stepped out of her jeans.

“After you,” I said, gesturing
to the bubbling, steamy hot water.

She gingerly stepped over the
ledge, collapsing down into the water. “Ooh this is fantastic,” she grinned,
her eyes oozing happiness.

Unbuckling my jeans, I shuffled
them off and stepped into the water. It was hot—hotter than I was
expecting
—
but
against the coolness of the night, it felt good. Falling into the water, I
pulled Wrenn onto my lap, my erection very obvious.

“Someone’s excited,” she
mumbled, kissing me.

“I’m always excited around you,
Wrenn. It’s so hard not to show that when we’re not alone, but you always have
me worked up.”