Author: Teresa Mummert

William watched me as I stared ahead. As the first song finished he turned down the volume slightly.

“You want to talk… about anything?”

There were a million things I wanted to say to him. I wanted to confess my anger for not taking the time to get to know my aunt better. I wanted to tell him about my parents. Words failed me. I shook my head and reach for the stereo to crank it back up to deafening levels. He gripped the steering wheel and didn’t say anything else.

We reached his home in record time. I didn’t wait for him to open my door. I felt like I was suffocating. I needed to get upstairs as quickly as possible. William took the stairs two at a time to catch me as I made it to his door. I leaned my head against the cold hard surface, fighting back my tears.

What would I do if he decided that I was too much trouble? That I wasn’t worth it?

His arms wrapped around my body and he pulled me into his chest. I felt safe when I was in his arms. I only felt safe when I was there.

He reached behind me and unlocked the door. His arm dipped under my knees and he lifted me into his arms and carried me inside. He placed me gently on the couch and brushed the hair from my face.

“What is it?” His voice was warm and caring.

“I’m going to lose you too, aren’t I?” I held my breath as I waited for him to tell me I was right. That my whole world was going to implode.

He pressed his forehead against mine as he continued to stroke my hair.

“Never, Emma. You are my everything. I could never leave you. You would be impossible to forget. Why would you even think that?”

I nodded as my hand twisted in his hair.

“I love you,” he said gently.

“I love you, too. So much.”

“Wait here.” William kissed me lightly on the forehead and left the room. I waited, wondering what he was doing.

A moment later, he returned with a square cardboard box in his hands.

“What is that?” I laughed, cocking my head to the side.

“This, my dear, is a distraction.” He sat down in the middle of the floor and motioned for me to join him.

“Yatzee? Really?” I laughed as I sat down across from him and folded my legs under myself.

“What? You expected Parcheesi?”

I made face at him as he opened the box and we each rolled to see who went first.

That game turned into ten and before I knew it, I was yawning and stretching across the floor like a cat.

“Quitting already?”

I smiled and propped myself up on my elbow.

“Thank you… for everything.” He had no idea just how much it meant to me. I needed the distraction.

He winked and pushed himself off the floor, holding out his hand for me. I wrapped my fingers in his and let him pull me to my feet and against his chest.

“One more day to go,” he said as he kissed the top of my head.

I knew as long as I had William, everything was going to be okay.

Chapter Eleven

“Oh…mmmm…” I pushed back against the fingers that slid over my mound. I opened my eyes to see William’s face watching me as his fingers traced the delicate curves of my body. “That is the best wakeup call I have ever received.”

“It’s not over yet.” He smiled as he ducked his head to my chest, pinching my nipple between his teeth. I arched my back, desperate for more contact. His tongue gently pushed back against me.

“Ahh…” His fingers, wet with my excitement, slipped lower. He traced my entrance before slipping one finger inside of my folds. His tongue swirled small circled over my breast as pleasure began to build between my thighs. I reached for him, slipping my hand behind his neck. His free hand grabbed my wrist tightly. He pulled it to his mouth and peppered light kisses over it before pushing it down on the pillow above my head.

I squirmed against him, trying to pull my hand free. His lips trailed along my ear.

“I like it when you fight.”

A moan escaped my lips and I brought my hips up to grind against his hand. His palm rubbed against me as he slipped another finger inside. I used my free hand to push against his chest. He grinned wickedly as he pressed his body against mine.

“Bad girl.” He kissed me hard, pulling back to tug my bottom lip between his teeth. I pushed against him, bucking my hips. His fingers left my body and he grabbed my other hand, securing it above my head with the other. I was helpless beneath him and loving every minute of it, except for the aching emptiness between my thighs. He smiled again as if reading my thoughts.

“I want to hear you beg for it.”

My stubbornness kicked in, and I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to give in. His hips pushed into mine as he throbbed against my entrance.

“Ohh…” My mouth fell back open.

“Do you want me?” His hips moved again, his hand slipping between my folds.

“Yes,” I panted. I lifted my head to kiss him but he pulled his face back, smiling.

“Tell me you want me.” He pulled back slightly and I tugged my arms, trying desperately to free my hands from his grip. I needed to touch him.

“I want you, William.”

With one hard thrust, he buried himself deep inside of me. I gasped and cried out. His mouth quickly covered mine, absorbing my moans as he took me rough and without caution. My core burned with pleasure as he filled and stretched me. His fingers curled and dug into my flesh of my wrists as his release neared.

I forgot everything painful in my life when I was with him. He stole my sadness away with his touch. I couldn’t get enough. It didn’t matter if he was gentle or rough.

I rocked my hips as our bodies pounded together, fitting so perfectly. We were made for each other. He broke our kiss to look me in the eye.

“Tell me you belong to me.”

“I’m yours, William,” I moaned as he pushed violently against me as he came, sending me over the edge of pleasure with him. My legs went limp as he collapsed his body on top of mine.

After catching our breath, we took a long soothing soak in the tub. We talked of random events in our lives to keep the mood light. He never let me think of my aunt’s death.

“Tell me about your first kiss?” I asked as William swirled circles of soap on my knee.

“Junior High. She slapped me.” He laughed as he recalled the memory.

“Quite the lady killer.” I laughed and William’s hand stilled.

“Got you, didn’t I?” he whispered in my ear.

“I didn’t mean to offend-“

“You didn’t.” He slowly started to rub the soap over my leg again.

“What about pets?” I asked.

“I got a golden retriever for Christmas when I was ten. Her name was Lacey. She was a great dog.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “What about you?”

“My mother was highly allergic to pet dander. I was never allowed to have a dog.” I sighed.

His hands slid up to my shoulders and he began to rub the tension from them. “We can get a dog one day.”

The idea made me smile from ear to ear.

“I’m beginning to prune.” I laughed and held up my fingers. William slipped from behind me and grabbed a towel for each of us.

I dried off and threw on an old pair of jeans and a tank top. William dressed in a navy blue vintage t-shirt and dark blue jeans.

I cooked a nice brunch for the both of us. William settled in at the island, clearly not happy about not being in control in his own kitchen.

“I need to get these smoke detectors upgraded if you are going to take over cooking in my kitchen,” he groused.

I shot him a glare over my shoulder as I prepared our omelets.

“Careful,” he warned, raising his eyebrow at me.

My cheeks flushed pink and I turned back to the food on the stove. “So… what are our plans for today?”

“I was thinking we could rent a movie, cuddle on the couch.” He got up from his seat and began to prepare a pot of coffee. We danced around each other as we got our breakfast together. It was nice.

“A movie sounds great.”

I dished out our breakfast and took my usual seat at the island. William sat the coffee cups on the table and sat next to me.

“This is nice, having you here all the time.” He took a bite from his food.

It was nice. It felt natural. We worked well together. I wanted to be able to stay with him forever, but I knew it was a bad idea. William’s father hated me, and he could disinherit him or cut off his money. I was still worried about his job, too. No one would offer a teaching position to a professor that was sleeping with a previous student, I was sure—despite what he said about it not mattering since I’d graduated. We already have taken too many risks.

I took a bite of my omelet and made a face. It was awful. William never complained; bless his heart. I took a few more bites. If he could suffer through my cooking, so could I.

When we finished our meal, it was already well after noon. I was thankful William was keeping me busy enough not to worry about all of the things going on outside of our relationship.

After we cleared the dishes and finished off our pot of coffee, we drove down to the local movie store.

I made a beeline for the romantic comedies. William just raised an eyebrow and wandered around the other rows.

“What about this one?” I asked, holding up the latest blockbuster about a female bounty hunter.

He frowned and held up a gory slasher film. I made a face at him but couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

“Fine, if you throw in some popcorn it’s a deal,” I said, caving in.

He rounded the end of the row and looped his arm around my waist. “Good girl.” He smiled and my insides melted.

We went back to William’s place. I prepared the popcorn as he popped in the disc and grabbed the pillows from the other couch. I sat down on the couch and William disappeared into his room. He returned a moment later with the heavy comforter from his bed and laid it out over the sofa for us to cuddle under. I leaned against him and he placed his arm around me as the movie began.

We only got about ten minutes into the film until his free hand slid over my thigh and he was breathing heavily into my neck.

“I’m actually enjoying this,” I laughed and pointed to the screen just as the killer was chasing a girl up a flight of stairs. She tripped and he grabbed her by her ankle, dragging her back down to him. I winced and snuggled deeper into William’s side. He chuckled, his breath tickling my neck.

“William,” I giggled. “Arggh!” The killer stabbed his poor victim in the chest.

His laughter was deep in his chest now, obviously amused by me. His hand slid further up my leg.

“Don’t you want to see him get caught?” I asked, shoving a handful of popcorn in my mouth.

“How do you know he won’t get away with it?” William grabbed a handful and shoved it in his mouth.

“They never get away with it. Come on. They always leave some sort of clues behind. It’s like they want to get caught.” I rolled my eyes and watched the screen intently.

“You think that guy wants to get caught?” He pointed at the killer who was still in his victim’s home, waiting for her guests to arrive.

“Subconsciously, yes.”

William looked at me as if I was crazy.

“Stupid does not mean he wants to get caught. It just means he’s not smart enough to do it right.”

“Whatever.” I threw a piece of popcorn at him and sighed.

“Bad girl.” He tackled me, pinning me underneath him on the couch, which sent popcorn spilling everywhere. The moment his hips pressed against mine, the mood shifted from playful to something else.

“We are gonna miss the movie.”

“Fuck the movie.” His tongue pushed into my mouth. He lowered me back until he was resting fully on top of me. “I want to make you scream like you did a minute ago.”