One Hot Winter Break (Yardley College Chronicles Book 2) (13 page)

This is a big thing. I never dreamed he would want me to move in.

But I have to shake my head. “I’ve committed to residence for this year. It wouldn’t be fair to Lara if I suddenly move out. Besides, if I was living with you, I would be focusing on sex with you, not work for school. School is important. I have to do well, Jonathon.”

“Your discipline is amazing.” He grins. “Remember, the offer is open. You would have your own apartment of rooms. Plenty of privacy and quiet for studying.”

Is this like a novel where the powerful Dom wants the submissive in his home, but only in his life on a controlled basis? Or is this something more? Jonathon is definitely not the rich, spoiled college boy Dom I thought he was when I first met him.

I want to move in with him. But what happens if we break up?

The old me would have jumped at the chance to be with him. The new me knows I have to respect my dreams and aspirations. “I will remember that. But I don’t think I’ll change my mind, Jonathon. I want to be with you, but I really have to focus on college.”

“Is this also because you still have feelings for Ryan?” he asks.

I never dreamed I would start to have feelings for Jonathon so quickly, but I guess it’s because our friendship grew in the fall term. “No,” I say. “It’s really just about school.”

“There’s something else I want to talk about.”

I sit up straight in my chair. “Something else you want to ask me?”

“Something I want to tell you. Something I’ve never said to anyone before.”

He gets up and paces on the sand. With his back to me, he says, “I knew this would be hard. I should have kept my mouth shut. Now you won’t let me get away without telling you what it is.”

I want to tease him, and say, “Damn right.” Then I hear him let out a fast breath. Jonathon is nervous.

“If it’s about what you told me about your mother—your parents—I promise I will never reveal that to anyone. Ever.”

“No. I know that. I trust you.” He turns. The gold of the sky glows on his tanned shoulders, his thick, black hair. “I’ve never known what it’s like to trust someone. To have someone who knows everything about me,” he says. “Normally, I never reveal anything about my past or my family. If I let anything slip, I feel like I have to do damage control. I can’t relax until I’ve averted the potential danger. I don’t feel like that with you.”

“I hope not,” I say.

“I love you, Mia.”

He says it so fast, that I’m not certain I heard it right. I stare at him. How do you ask someone to repeat that?

A smile shows his dimples. “You look more shocked than when I suggested a threesome. Hell, you probably are more shocked.”

“You did say…what I think you said?”

“I love you, Mia. I’ve never been in love before. It’s intense.”

I don’t know what to say. This was supposed to be an emotion-free vacation, and it’s been anything but.

“I think…I’m falling in love with you. Starting to,” I say. God, that sounds terrible. But it’s still new for me, too. And it’s scary. I’ve never had love end in anything but a broken heart. I’m only nineteen and in college and I can’t expect love to be permanent now.

Which means this has to end in a broken heart, doesn’t it?

Jonathon comes over to me, crouches down beside my chair, putting his fingers to my lips. “I know you aren’t ready. Right now, the fact I love you is enough for me. It’s a new experience for me—loving a woman.”

“Jonathon, I’m pretty certain I do love you. I just need time.”

“You have as long as you want, Mia.”

He kisses me. A long, slow kiss. In the sand, my toes curl in joy and pleasure.

He told me he doesn’t kiss when he has sex. But he’s kissed me many, many times. He’s been willing to change for me. When he draws back and smiles at me, I read so much emotion in his eyes, I forget to breathe.

This is real. He does love me. I don’t think he would have told me so much if he didn’t.

I know the truth in that moment. “I don’t need very long, Jonathon. I love you.”

“Move in with me then, Mia. Please.”

It’s killing me to say no. But I must stick with my convictions.

“I’m going to spend the next term trying to convince you to change your mind,” he warns. “I want to spend my life with you right now.”

“We’ll see, Jonathon.” I’ve never been like this in a relationship. Strong. Making decisions. It’s a new and exciting experience.

I realize Jonathon has helped me grow, helped me become stronger.

I’ve changed him too.

It’s time to go back to college, but everything is different now. I have more confidence than I’ve ever had before. And I’m in love with Jonathon. I don’t know where this journey will end, but I do know it will be one hot, intense ride.

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Look for Book 1 in the series, One Hot Fall Term, available now! See my website
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Here's an excerpt from One Hot Fall Term, Book 1 of the Yardley College Chronicles by Sharon Page:

Chapter One

It's only the first weekend in September, but it's cold out here on the dock. I undo my jeans and wriggle to push them down, exposing my butt in thong underwear to the frigid night air. I can see my breath, even though last week it was still summer. Goosebumps race over my bared butt cheeks. They already sprinkle my arms and chest, since I've stripped down to my bra and my t-shirt is lying on the planks of the dock, on top of my shoes.

I stop and rub my arms, trying to warm up. Am I covered in bumps because I'm cold or because I'm nervous? When I'm finally naked, I'm supposed to jump into the lake. And that rippling, black water looks freezing. Waves slap against the side of the dock. The smell of smoke from the cabin's fireplace fills the crisp air. Music sounds faintly from the cabin and laughter spills off the deck. The sounds of an end of summer party and I have to bite my lip because tears are burning in the corners of my eyes. I'm nostalgic sometimes, and this weekend-my last before I leave for college-is killing me. In so many ways.

I have my back to Ryan, but I peek over my shoulder. In the pitch dark-clouds cover the sliver of moon-I can barely see him. I hear the boards creak under his feet and his fly unzip, and I hear his breathing. Ryan runs ten miles every morning and evening, and he never seems to be out of breath when he's finished. But tonight, his breathing sounds fast and furious.

Just like mine.

"Whoa Jesus, that's cold."

I take another peek and hear his footsteps as he walks to the end of the dock, out of my field of vision. I suppose I can't ogle him until I get everything off and let him get a look at me.

I've never seen Ryan naked. That's funny and strange, coming from me, but I promised I was going to be different-everything was going to be different when mom and I came here to Milltown to live. It was like starting over again. And by some miracle I found something I thought I'd never find, something I was too screwed up to ever have.

An amazing, sweet, decent-not to mention uber gorgeous-guy. When Ryan went west to do his tour of his future military college in the summer, he sent me a rose. A single, perfect red rose in a crystal vase, delivered to my front door by courier. Why? Because he was going to be away from me for two days and he missed me.

Even remembering it, standing freezing on the dock, I start blinking. Damn, the tears are starting. I promised I would get through this one night without crying. I've got lots of time to cry on the trip to Yardley College-two days to do nothing but think about Ryan.

Tonight I get to see him. I'm not going to screw that up by being sad a couple of days early. Tonight I know exactly what I'm going to do. This is probably it for Ryan and I-he's going to be in the state of Washington at a military school, I'm going to be at Yardley College in New Hampshire. For tonight, I've decided to ditch the good girl thing.

I'm going to make love to Ryan for the first and basically only time.

I've got one night to throw away all my promises to be sweet and good-the exact opposite of what I really am. I've thought about sex with Ryan for months now, and I've restrained myself. But I don't want to go the rest of my life wishing I'd taken the chance to make love to a guy I love.

So I commit. I shove down my jeans and kick them aside. Undies next or bra? I guess the bra, and it's a fight to unhook it. Bras are my addiction. This one is candy pink with white lace and even though it's dark, the bra practically glows. My breasts bounce as it comes off and tighten as a wave of goosebumps wash over them. My nipples go hard at once and I cup my boobs with my hands in a desperate attempt to warm them.

Why-so the shock of the water hurts more?

I have to release my breasts anyway to ditch the thong. At least I can see my bra, shining like a beacon in the night-like a lighthouse for crazy females about to skinny dip in frigid water. I know where to toss my undies.

Clouds part above me and shafts of silver-blue moonlight fall on us and the water.

"Mia-" Ryan's voice, deep and sexy and low, stops abruptly. Nineteen-like me-Ryan possesses the hottest vocals of any guy at Hubert J. Rory High. Baritone tones and a deep, throaty laugh. The first time I heard him read a section of Shakespeare in English class, I swear I almost had a climax on the spot. And that was for MacBeth.

I turn quickly. A spike of fear-this is going to be it. We're going to be a thousand miles apart. He's going to break up with-

I forgot I'm naked. My breasts swing, nipples perky, the curves limned with silver. But I'm staring at Ryan. Seriously, I've seen David Beckham's underwear ads, and Becks didn't begin to look as good as Ryan. Bulging muscle defines his straight shoulders, and his chest is broad and bronzed from the sun. A tattoo of a dragon perches on his left pectoral muscle. Just looking at his arm muscles makes me feel a tug deep inside. A hard, visceral tug telling me how much I want to wrap myself around him and take him deep inside me.

It is more intense when you're in love. Now I know. The jolt of desire is so strong my legs shake. My gaze coasts down his amazing gut. His stomach is a flat plane, with an eight-pack instead of a six. Who knew there were that many muscles?

I let my eyes go a little lower-

"Mia, you're beautiful." Awe fills his voice. Awe that wraps around my heart and makes it feel warm and soft, like it did when I signed for my perfect rose.

He laughs. A rough, totally masculine chuckle that sends shivers through me.

"I-I'm freezing. You, however, are completely gorgeous." It's on the tip of my tongue to compliment him more. To say he's huge. To gasp, or take another furtive look between his legs and marvel as though I've never seen a guy's cock before.

I've never seen one like Ryan's, I have to admit. It's perfectly straight and points toward his navel. Blond hair skims down his stomach in an arrow then cuddles the hilts his erection with crisp curls.

He laughs, then sobers. "Do you really want to do this?"

I don't know what he means. Get naked? We've just done it. Have sex? Oh God, yes I do. After all the times I've shut my eyes and pretended things weren't happening, this time I want to open my eyes wide and savor every wonderful moment with Ryan.

"Are you sure you want to go swimming?"

Swimming. Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. "You did dare me," I hedge. "I never turn down a dare."

"That was something I never expected about you," he says. "You look too serious and smart to give a crap about dares. But you're crazier than me." He grins, showing his dimples. "So you aren't going to back down?"

"If you don't want to jump and you want to let me win, I'm good with that."

He holds out his hand. "No way, babe. We're in this together."

My heart gets utterly squeezed. Every girl loves Ryan's hair, which is now buzz-cut short since he's going to military college. It looks soft as velvet and every female in senior year wants to find out for herself by stroking it. I can't resist, standing on tiptoe to try to run my palm over it now.

That lifts my breasts upward and he groans.

"I think I'm going to need to hit that cold water."

No, I want to say, you don't..

Ryan is like no guy I've ever known. We're standing in front of each other naked, and he still is not completely certain this is going to lead to sex.

Sometimes I used to cry myself to sleep. I used to think: what if I meet a nice guy, the kind of guy who would be wonderful and romantic and who you'd want to be married to forever? How can I have that nice, perfect, beautiful guy after what I've done?

Now I think I can-as long as I don't ever tell the truth.

Standing beside Ryan, I stretch and dip my toe in the water off the edge of the dock. I scream. "Oh my god, it's freezing."

I try to haul my toe out fast and I'm so stiff with cold I lose my balance. My arms flail. My heart stops beating-as if in preparation for the pain I'm about to endure. Ryan grabs for me. His fingers graze my arm and he tries to catch my wrist but my arms swing wildly, out of his reach.

For a moment, I hang in space, then icy water slaps my back, wraps around my arms and legs, and sucks me into the cold, black depths. God, it feels like my lungs seized and my heart really did stop, and I suck in water in a silent scream.

A splash beside me and a rush of bubbles. Strong arms wrap around me and I'm being lifted to the surface. It's Ryan; he jumped in after me. I can swim, but when I hit the cold, it was like I forgot how to do it.