Chapter 108

“You? Please. No way.”

“Yes, I would.”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t be here when I got home,” Hardin says. I look up at him and he looks down at me.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him and pray that it’s true.

Instead of speaking, he presses his lips to mine.

Chapter sixty-five

TESSA

What a way to begin the New Year,” Hardin says when he pulls away from our kiss. He rests his forehead against mine.

My phone buzzes on the table, breaking the spell, and before I can grab it, Hardin already has it and is pressing it to his ear. When I get to my feet to try to take it from him, he steps back, shaking his head.

“Landon, Tess will have to call you back,” he says into the small speaker. His free hand grips my wrist, and he pulls me close to him, my back to his chest. Seconds pass before he says, “She’s otherwise occupied.”

He pulls me with him as he walks into our bedroom. His lips brush my neck, and I shudder. Oh.

“Stop being annoying, you two need medication,” Hardin says and ends the call before setting the phone on the desk.

“I have to talk to him about our classes,” I say; my voice betrays me when he licks and sucks at the skin on my neck.

“You need to relax, baby.”

“I can’t—there’s so much to do.”

“I can help you.” His voice is slow, slower than usual.

His grip on my hip tightens when he places his other hand across my chest to hold me still. “Remember that time when I fingered you in front of the mirror and made you watch yourself come?” he asks.

“Yes.” I gulp.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” he purrs.

Heat makes its way through my body at the sound of his words. Not heat—fire.

“I can show you how to touch yourself the way that I touch you.” He sucks harshly at my skin. I have now turned into a ball of electricity. “Do you want me to?”

The dirty idea sounds somewhat appealing, but way too humiliating to admit.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” he says and lets go of my waist, but takes my hand. I stay silent, nervously going over his words in my mind. This is beyond embarrassing, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

He guides me to the bed and gently pushes me back onto the soft mattress. He climbs on top of me and straddles my legs. I assist Hardin in taking off my sweats, and he places a kiss on the inside of my thigh before sliding my panties off.

“Stay still, Tess,” he instructs.

“I can’t,” I mewl as he softly bites my inner thigh. There’s just no way. He chuckles, and if my brain were actually connected to the rest of my body right now, I would roll my eyes at him.

“Do you want to do this here or would you like to watch?” he asks and my stomach flutters. The pressure continues to build between my legs, and I attempt to squeeze them together to get some relief.

“No, no, baby. Not yet.” He’s torturing me. He pushes my thighs apart and puts more of his weight on me to keep them separated.

“Here,” I finally answer, almost having forgotten he asked a question.

“Thought so.” He smirks.

He’s so cocky, but his words do things to me that I never thought possible. I can’t get enough of him, even when he has me pinned to the bed with my legs spread open.

“I had thought about doing this before, but I was too selfish. I wanted to be the only one to make you feel this way.” He leans down and swipes his tongue along the bare skin between my hipbone and the top of my thigh.

My legs involuntarily try to stiffen, but he doesn’t allow it. “Now, since I know exactly how you like to be touched, this will not take long.”

“Why do you want to?” I squeak when he bites down on my skin again, then licks the sensitive skin.

“What?” He looks up at me.

“Why . . .” My voice is thick and shaky. “Why show me if you want to be the only one?”

“Because despite that, the thought of you doing it to yourself, in front of me . . . just, fuck,” he breathes.

Oh. I need relief and soon; I hope he doesn’t plan to torture me long.

“Besides, you can be a little uptight sometimes—and maybe this is just what you need.” He smiles, and I try to hide my face in embarrassment.

If we weren’t doing . . . this . . . I would say something back about him calling me uptight. But he’s right, and like he said earlier, I’m otherwise occupied.

“Here . . . this is where you start.” He surprises me by placing his cool fingers against me. A hiss escapes my lips from his cold touch. “Cold?” he asks and I nod. “Sorry.” He chuckles, then slides his fingers inside of me without warning.

My hips buck off the bed, and I clamp my hand over my mouth to silence myself.

He smirks. “I just need to get them nice and warm.”

As he moves his fingers slowly in and out a few times, the fire within me heats up. Then he removes them, making me feel empty and desperate. Suddenly he places them back where they previously were and I bite down on my lip.

“Now, don’t go and do that, or we won’t be able to finish your lesson.”

I don’t look at him. Instead, I swipe my tongue across my lip and bite down again.

“You’re very testy today. Not a very good student,” he teases.

Even while teasing he drives me crazy; how is it possible to be so seductive without even trying? This skill is surely something that only Hardin has mastered.

“Give me your hand, Tess,” he instructs.