Lessons of the Heart (20 page)

He shakes his head. “I don’t want to keep piling up the lies to people. It’s hard enough at school to fight what I want most in my heart.”

My hand trails down his cheek and rests upon his strong jaw where the muscle ticks slightly in frustration. “We could always leave. I can go to school anywhere. Hell, I’ll even do online school and get my GED. Or maybe I should talk with Mr. Leonard about an early graduation?”

“No,” he says firmly. “You will not do that. I will not have you sacrificing your future just so we can be together. You have one of the best GPA’s in school and your acceptance letters will be coming any day now, giving you your options for a bright future.”

“But you’re my future too,” I whimper.

He leans up to kiss the corner of my mouth. “And you are mine. We just need to wait a little longer. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.”

I frown and cross my arms in front of my chest. “If you’re telling me that I have to wait for six months to have
any
kind of contact with you, I can’t accept that. Patience is not a virtue that I possess,
Mr. Dumont.
”

A flash of heat crosses his eyes and my insides come to life, knowing how much he loves and hates it when I call him by his last name.

“Say that again.” His voice drops to a low, seductive tone.

I sit up straighter on his lap and blink my lashes demurely. “
Mr. Dumont.
”

The movement is so sudden I don’t have time to prepare myself, but I let out a loud giggle as he tosses me onto the couch. When his body presses into mine and elicits a long, slow moan from me, the giggles fade.

“You know it drives me wild when you say that.”

There’s not enough air in the room as I stare into his eyes. “I know.”

James places his forearms near my shoulders, holding most of his weight off of me. His fingers trail lovingly through my hair and the tiny fluttering of butterfly wings goes through my stomach once again.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, his eyes growing soft around the edges. I reach up and trace his lips with a fingertip, hoping that I’m reflecting the same look back at him.

I reach down and start to pull my dress up my body. He stops me before I can get it over my head. “What are you doing?”

I ignore him and toss the dress onto the floor. “I want you to touch me. I need to feel you against me.”

He shakes his head but doesn’t hold back his perusal of my body. At least what he can without fully sitting up and taking me all in.

“That’s not why I brought you back here. We don’t need to-”

“James.” I place my index finger on his lips. “I’m not a virgin so please don’t think you’re stealing my innocence. But I don’t sleep around either. I’m careful who I choose to give myself to and right now, I choose you. I will always choose you. There is no one else I will ever give myself to again. Only you.”

I grab his hand and guide it to my full and aching breast. He kneads it slowly through the thin lace of my bra, making my nipple harden almost painfully. He shifts his weight to one side, slowly moving between me and the couch so we’re facing each other. I rest my head on his outstretched arm, wedging my other arm between us at the perfect point of contact for his growing erection. My fingertips play with him through his flannel pants and he takes a sharp intake of breath.

“Are you sure about this?”

I can’t hide my amusement as I bite my lip. “Usually it’s the girl who questions the sexual motives, not the guy.”

He smirks and kisses the end of my nose. “Funny. But I need you to be sure about this because once we start we can’t go back. Everything will change.”

I slide my hand against his jaw, the stubble lightly scraping the pads of my fingers. “Everything changed the moment I saw you.”

I bring his face closer to mine and kiss him with everything I have. His hand slides down my side, down across my thighs before coming up my back and twisting into the hair at the nape of my neck. I feel like I’m on fire, burning with an intense need for this beautiful man before me.

Grabbing his hair lightly, I twist it between my fingers and bring his lips to my neck, needing to feel the press of his mouth against my skin. He shifts his body lower, dragging his lips with him as I pant out my breaths and give in to the myriad of sensations running wildly through me. He’s gentle with his touch, something I’ve never experienced with another guy before. The others always rushed to the end goal. They never took their time to explore and worship. And that’s exactly what James is doing right now. Worshiping me.

When his lips find an aching nipple under my bra, I moan with delight. James pulls the cup down, exposing it to the air, which makes it pucker even more. My hips move of their own accord as his tongue makes contact with the sensitive flesh, flicking it lightly before taking it fully into his eager mouth. The feel of his warm mouth has me panting out his name, begging him to continue.

“You’re perfect. So very perfect.” He blows on it again and I arch my back into him. Curling my leg around his, I drag his thigh between my legs and press my needy core against it.

“God, James, that feels so good,” I breathe. My fingers gently stroke the outline of his erection through his pants and his hips move in time with mine. I’ve never felt this level of passion before, from myself or someone else. I need to see how far we can go, how high we can climb.

He bites down on my nipple and I cry out while gripping his shoulder tightly. A desperate need to feel him inside me pulses through me as I attempt to wrap my legs around his waist.

I’m about to roll him on top of me and beg him to do just that when I hear my phone rings somewhere in the distance. A specific ringtone dedicated to the one person who I do not want to think of at this moment.

My hand pauses its movements, as does his tongue against my skin.

“Fuck,” I groan, closing my eyes as my head rolls backward.

“Ignore it,” he says, letting his lips trail against my skin again.

I wiggle and he pulls back, the haze of lust still lingering in his eyes. We sit up and I adjust my bra back into the correct position. “I can’t. It’s Liam.”

James runs a hand over his face, threading it through his hair before grabbing his neck and pulling down. I kiss his mouth quickly before padding my way to my purse. I remove the phone as it starts up again.

“I’m fine. I’m safe. No need to send out the rescue squad,” I say, walking back to James, who is adjusting his rather impressive erection on the couch.

“Where are you?” he asks. The calmness of his voice relaxes me. It’s a good indication that he’s not annoyed at my sudden departure. But rarely does he ask questions without knowing the answers already, so I keep my guard up slightly and brace for the impact of my reply.

“James picked me up. I’m at his house.”

The silence on the line is deafening. I have to look at the phone several times to make sure the call wasn’t dropped. James places his hand in mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Are you mad?” I ask tentatively.

Liam blows out a slow breath. “No, I’m not mad. I was worried about you. You ran off and I didn’t know who found you or where you were. Lyle told me you got picked up by a friend after another incident with Chase, who, by the way, is going to lose his balls the next time I see him.”

I lay my head against James’s shoulder. “No need. I took care of his balls for you. Where are you?”

“I took Penny home, but I’m sitting outside of her house, waiting for her light to turn off.”

“Stalker.”

“I need to make sure she’s okay.”

“She’s fine. You took care of her. No need to worry about her anymore tonight.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you both.”

James kisses the top of my head and I know he can hear our conversation. “You don’t need to protect me. I already have someone lined up for that job.” I can feel his smile against the crown of my head and my heart melts a little more.

“Are you still sure about this?”

I tilt my head to look at James and I know my answer. “With all my heart.”

“Okay then. Look, Mom and Dad are expecting us home tonight so I should probably come get you.”

Disappointment fills me at knowing I need to leave. James grabs the phone from my hands and brings it to his ear.

“Liam? This is James. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to bring her home. I can have her there in ten minutes. I don’t live far away.”

I wait patiently for Liam to erupt or have some sort of reaction. But it’s quiet and muffled and I can only make out what James is saying, which isn’t much. A lot of yes’s and no’s, absolutely’s and I will’s…typical guy talk. But then a smile crosses his face and I know that he just won Liam’s approval. He hands the phone back to me and I quickly kiss the corner of his mouth.

“See you in a few.”

I end the call and place the phone on the coffee table. “What did Liam say?”

He smiles and runs his hand through my hair. “He asked a lot of questions I would expect a protective older brother to ask. But the main one was if I truly cared for you as more than just a conquest, as someone who I would protect with my life.” I bite my lip at the smile that crosses his beautiful face, and I know the answer without him saying it.

“Thank you,” I say, kissing him softly. He helps me put my discarded dress back on, taking great care not to touch me again. I’m sure I know the reasons why.

“He’s a good brother for wanting to protect you.”

I nod and face him. “You’re a good man for wanting to protect me too.”

“Should we be worried that Liam knows?”

I shake my head. “Liam won’t tell anyone. I trust him.”

His hands run up and down my arms before leaning forward to press a kiss to my forehead.

“Well, then I better stay in his good graces and bring you home. We’ll continue this another time.”

“Promise?”

When our lips meet, I can feel the answer all the way down to my toes.

“Promise.”

As he drives me back to my house, I can’t help but look over at his profile in the muted light from the street lights outside. And for the first time I think I can truly admit to myself that I am falling for James, harder than I ever thought. I just hope that we can make it through the next six months without any bumps along the way.

“H
AVE YOU TALKED TO HIM
yet?” Penny asks as we walk to my first-period class. Usually, I’d be walking with Chase since we have class together, but seeing as we’re not on speaking terms right now it’s Penny who has taken the job instead.

I shake my head and purse my lips. “Nope. And it’s probably a good thing too because I’m still pretty pissed off that he ruined my entire winter break that night.”

“What a dick. I hope you never forgive him. I mean, it was completely unacceptable the shit that he pulled. I just wish I could have seen you kick him in the balls.”

“He had it coming. Twice he had to be told to leave me alone and twice he ignored it. Although he got off easy with me doing it instead of Liam. I had to talk him off the wall and reassure him he did not have to go back and defend my honor.”

Penny looks down and scuffs her feet against the marble floor. “Well, that’s because he was too busy protecting my honor. God, I feel so stupid right now. I mean, how could I not have seen that coming? And with Sarah? I felt so sorry for her, even though I don’t think I should.”

We pause in the hall and head to a corner to talk without interruption. “No, you should feel sorry for her too because she was duped by Travis, just like you were. Although the way word gets around no one will be going after him for a while. Once you’re branded a cheater and a dirtbag you’re pretty much blacklisted as boyfriend material by every girl in school.”

“But that won’t stop them from sleeping with him just because.”

I shrug. “Then those girls are idiots. Just don’t give him another thought. You deserve so much better than him. Besides, you’ve got me.”

“And Liam.”

My eyebrow rises at the mention of his name. “Yes, and Liam. I’ve meant to ask you about that. What exactly have you and my brother been up to lately? He hasn’t been his usual pervy self when you were over these last two weeks.”

A blush appears across her cheeks. Do I really want to know the answer to that question?

“Nothing. He’s just been really sweet, calling to check up on me and making sure that Travis is leaving me alone. He took me out to lunch a couple of times but really that’s been it.”

I smile and jerk my head to indicate we need to start moving again. “You know it's fine, right? If you two want to start something? It doesn’t bother me anymore. I just want you both to be happy. And watching you avoid each other like the plague because of me hurts. So if you want to date him, by all means, you have my blessing.”

She shrugs and walks next to me. “I’m not really ready to date anyone right now. I mean, Travis is still a pretty fresh wound and I need to spend some time on me, not someone else. Liam understands and said he just wants to help me however he can.”

“Well, I’m glad you’ve come to this decision on your own and not out of some guilt trip. If you ever decide to further your friendship with him, you have my full support.”