Ivory Tower Read Free

one.  “And look at this guy.  Isn’t he a bit young to be a professor?  You should check his references—or call his mom.” 
    “Stop it.”  I grabbed the papers and dropped them on the coffee table.  As I raised myself back up, Pete leaned over and pushed me down into the sofa cushions, locking his eyes with mine.  His move was sudden and unexpected, not to mention a little unnerving, but I let him continue, curious about where  it might  lead and confident I could knee him where it hurt if I had to.  He moved his hands to my face to brush back an unruly strand of my shaggy dark hair.
    He was wonderfully assertive, in complete control .  And I didn’t  mind.  I should have been taken aback, or at least played hard to get.  What was it about me and men?  At work, at home – I let them take what they wanted without a fight.  But this time I  actually  enjoyed it.  With Pete, I had a feeling I was going to get something out of it.  So I let him take the lead with his strong confident hands that  traced the line of my jaw and  made my toes curl in the process. 
    “Do you usually use faculty bios for foreplay?” I asked, my voice more breathy than I would have liked as he cupped a breast in one hand while steadying himself against the arm of the sofa with the other.
    “Whatever works,” he grinned as he feathered his lips over mine.
      ****
    I woke to the dull rays of the morning sun playing across my skin.  Blinking against the light, I groaned.  I was unusually warm despite the fact I hadn’t turned up the heater.  With a jolt, I realized the warmth was coming from the lightly snoring figure beside me.  His face looked younger in sleep;hair flopped untidily over his forehead.  He smelled faintly of the woodsy cologne I remembered from our date, mingled with sweat and sleep.  I leaned over for a closer look.  His hair was thick and coarse and I had vague memories of running my fingers through it.  I reached out to touch it again, unable to resist this beautiful man. 
    He snorted, angling his head toward me, and that’s when I noticed something peculiar – a dark line down the part of his hair, almost as if someone had taken to it with a black marker.  It was about an inch across and perfectly solid while the rest of his hair was speckled with gray—almost as if he had dark roots and dyed his hair to look older.  Why would anyone do that?  Before I could muse on it further, he stirred.
    “Hello beautiful.” 
    Oh God , he had the best throaty morning voice. 
      Running his fingers through his hair, he eradicated the dark line, immediately creating a boyish ruffled look. 
    “What time is it?”  He narrowed his eyes against the sun. 
      “ Eight-thirty.”
      “How  do you  feel?”  His eyes reminded me of soft, sweet caramel as he peered at me through long dark lashes.
      “Good.”  I knew I was grinning like an idiot, but I couldn’t help it.
      “Only good?” he asked, trailing his fingertips up my arm to rest them on my shoulder.  “Come here.”  He rose above me and lowered gently down over me until we were nose to nose.  He had pulled on his boxers during the night and I appeared to be wearing his shirt although I didn’t remember putting it on.  His excitement was obvious as he dipped to brush his lips against mine.  Pressing one arm between us, he began to unfasten the buttons on the shirt so he could slip the fingers of his other hand inside the collar, sliding them down to tease the sensitive skin between my breasts.  I raised my head to return his kiss with a little more pressure. 
      “Rats,” he murmured.
      “What?”  I was trying to maintain contact with his lips, but he pulled away, nuzzling the crook of my neck in the process, his hand still playing along my chest.  “I gotta go.”
      A little stung, I pushed him away.  He rolled to his side, propping his chin on his elbow.  “I’m sorry.  I have a class.  I need