“Do you want to dance with me?”
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. “I like it right here.” The truth is, I’m so tired I could fall asleep right now. That’s what alcohol does for me, makes me sleepy.
Brody cinches his arms around my waist, pulling me in tighter to his chest. “Me, too. Your boobs make amazing pillows.”
Jerking back, I slap his chest. “Ass!”
“What? They do. They’re like little fluffy clouds of heaven.”
I slap him again. “My boobs are not little.”
He chuckles, pulling me back so he can nuzzle his scruffy cheek against my cleavage. “Nope, they’re not. They’re exactly the right size.” He hums contentedly, and I feel a little...weird letting him get this close.
The line of friendship is vanishing too fast.
Patting his shoulder, I tell him, “It’s getting pretty late. Maybe we should round everyone up and say goodnight.”
His glassy eyes scan the room. “Yeah, good idea. I’ll drive you home.”
“No,” I say pushing him back in the chair when he attempts to stand. “You’ve had too much to drink tonight. I’ll bring everyone back here, and then I’ll take you home.”
When I stand, my head feels a little lighter than usual like it’s not fully attached to my body, but it’s nothing I haven’t experienced before. I’m not a lightweight, but I may have had slightly more to drink tonight than I realized. Still, as I collect everyone and we say our goodbyes, I don’t feel unclear. In fact, I feel pretty steady.
I allow Brody to lean against me as I lead him to my car, despite him being more than twice my height and weight. The fact that I can do that without falling over adds to my confidence that I am well enough to drive. When I trip over a crack in the parking lot as I head back to the driver’s side, I’m a little less certain, but Brody’s house is only five minutes down the road, and my apartment is only a few more from there. All I have to do is take a little extra care in making sure my attention is on the road.
I don’t even get the door open when I feel a hand on my shoulder pulling me back.
“There’s no way in hell you’re getting behind that wheel.”
When I look up, it’s into Ransom’s seriously pissed off, hard as stone onyx eyes. I’m instantly incensed by his presence. What the hell is he doing here? “Excuse me?”
“Give me the keys. I’ll drive you two home.”
“What makes you think I’ll just hand my keys over?”
Tilting his head to one side, he gives me an impatient look. “I know you’ve been drinking tonight, and you just tripped over your own feet. If you think I’m going to stand back and let you endanger your life and anyone else’s, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“It was a crack,” I shoot back lamely.
“There’s no crack, just your clumsy, drunken feet.”
I laugh. Like, really laugh, with snorts and everything. “Feet can’t get drunk.” Okay, maybe he has a point.
He gives me a pointed look, and I know I'm beaten. I hand over my keys without further argument because I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m one of those people. The kind that think they’re the exception to the rule, and I know if he hadn’t been here, I might have hurt someone.
“So what are you doing here? I thought you said you were passing on tonight.” After transferring Brody, who is so out of it he’s asleep the moment his ass hits the backseat of Ransom’s car, I climb into the passenger seat and wait for my answer.
“Like your friend said, a guy’s gotta eat.” He turns the key in the ignition and pauses. Without looking at me, he adds, “And I might have wanted to see you.”
Seriously, I’m pathetic because those were the single best words I’ve heard all week. I know I’m grinning like a lunatic, and I can’t stop myself. Giving me a sidelong look, Ransom returns the smile, and then puts the car into drive.
Brody is passed out cold by the time we reach the frat house, and it takes three of his buddies plus Ransom to get him inside and into bed. I take a moment to pull off his shoes and tuck him in, giving him a kiss on the forehead before I go, because who the hell else is going to do it? After making sure someone will check on him throughout the night, I drive home with Ransom.
“Do you want some coffee?” I ask as he parks in front of my place. I know what I’m asking, but I can’t get past the fact that he showed up tonight because of me.
It’s risky, but what I should do and what I want to do are two entirely different things. Earlier, I thought it would be wiser to explore my options and not dismiss Brody. Now, I think life is too short to deny myself. I can deny it until I’m blue in the face, and maybe tomorrow I’ll resort to old habits and do just that, but tonight I want to live a little. I want to have some fun. And I know without a doubt that Ransom can provide it.
He stares up at the darkened windows as he considers my offer. We both know there is no coffee waiting for either of us behind those doors.
I’m just about to retract my offer to save some face when he turns off the car and pops open his door. “Coffee sounds nice.”
FIFTEEN
Thank God Ransom is on the same page. We barely make it past the front door before we’re tearing at each other’s clothes. I lost my shoes somewhere near the door, my top between the living room and the kitchen, and my pants outside the bathroom. When Ransom pushes me down on the bed, I’m wearing nothing but a pair of lacy black underwear and bra. He’s still fully dressed in his jeans and gunmetal gray button-down shirt. He makes causal sexy in a way no man, I've ever met, can. My stomach flutters in anticipation as he stands between my legs and stares down at me.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” he says, his voice low and rough.
“You’re here to fuck me.”
His grimace gives me a moment of panic. Did I say something wrong? What if he walks away? I sit up, smoothing my hands up his torso. “Stop thinking so much. You’re giving me a headache.”
“I’m sorry.” His fingers burrow into my hair, tugging at the strands as he makes a tight fist at the back of my head. “I just can’t stop thinking about how wrong it is for a teacher to be with a student.”
“We’re more than that, though.” Being involved prior has to count for something, right? “We’re adults, Ransom. Do you really think anyone would punish us for being attracted to each other?”
“For acting on it, yes. Definitely.” Despite his words, Ransom leans down, pressing me back into the mattress, and kisses the swell of my breasts. If he cares so much about the rules, he’s certainly not showing it.
Gripping his biceps, I revel in him, in his touch. It’s been so long. “Then we’d better make sure no one finds out.”
A growl rumbles in the back of his throat and Ransom surges up, claiming my mouth with a bruising kiss. Our hands move frantically as we remove the rest of the clothing that separates us. Ransom is as eager as I am, but somehow he manages to rein it in.
Moving down my body, he nips at my skin, placing soothing licks after each bite. I look down in shock as he positions his wide shoulders beneath my legs. Reaching down to sift my fingers through his hair, my breathing increases in anticipation of his next move. This is another thing he hasn’t done in a while. The last time I asked, he had muttered something about being too impatient to be inside me, and that was that.
Seeing him there now, staring up at me, I can hardly breathe. When he covers me with his mouth, my head slams back into the blankets, and a vicious moan rips from my lips. He circles my clit with his tongue and then laps at my opening. Dragging the flat of his tongue up my slit, he repeats the pattern, lapping, circling, tasting, and teasing. Taking me further than he ever has before. It’s a torturous dance that causes all of my muscles to convulse, until I am shaking so hard, I can’t tell whether I’m going to come or if I already have.