Page 874 of One More Kiss

Chapter5

Lu had never experienced a “morning after”with a man before. The soldiers she’d slept with hadn’t been more than fun in the back seat of a car or a quickie in the motor inn near the dance hall. It never extended into the morning. Even the few men she’d been with as an adult hadn’t spilled over into her everyday life.

She hadn’t even slept with Max, yet the tension between them this morning hung thick in the air. He’d appeared at her classroom door with a vacuum bottle of what she presumed was coffee and had even brought his own flask this time. He grinned at her, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He was as nervous as she this morning, trying to cover it up with everyday normalcy.

But as she’d told him last night, nothing would be normal again.

She didn’t even have the will to start an argument with him about the coffee or the whiskey or the fact he’d shown up last night uninvited and might well ruin her reputation with such behavior.

So instead, she smiled weakly, thanked him, and returned to the board to scribble more notes for her first class.

He set the coffee on her desk, dropped his briefcase on the floor, and approached her. “Lu. We should talk.”

She continued to scribble on the black board, trying to drown out his deep voice with the scratching of the chalk. “About what, Max? We can talk about the play at rehearsals this afternoon.”

“Don’t ‘about what’ me, Miss Danvers. I didn’t sleep for a moment last night, and I’m guessing you didn’t either.”

She squeezed her eyes shut as he moved behind her, heat radiating from his body and setting all of her senses on fire.

“In fact,” he whispered, moving so close his jacket brushed against her backside, “every time I closed my eyes, I envisioned you, on your bed, under me, legs open, so warm.”

She swallowed, and the chalk in her fingers snapped in two.

“And do you know what I did then? Do you want to know?”

Yes, yes, yes. “No. And no.”

“I touched myself, Lu. I reached into my briefs and wrapped my fingers around myself and stroked, pulled. I imagined it was you touching me. And then with my hand wet, I imagined it was your mouth, your beautiful red lips, sucking on me. That I was inside you, and making you scream my name…”

“Max!” Her knees buckled, and the warmth in her belly fanned out to her limbs.

He turned her to face him. “And when I took a shower, I did it all over again. Imagined you there with me, with this—” He gently squeezed her rear. “—turned to me, you begging me to take you…”

“Good morning, Lu!” Betty chirped from the door. “I brought coff— Oh, never mind. You already have some.”

The laughter in Betty’s voice was not lost on Lu.

Max cleared his throat and backed away. “I’ll send Clyde over with my notes, Miss Danvers, so you can review them before this afternoon’s rehearsal. I hope you find the information I’ve given you useful.”

Lu took a deep breath before answering. “Yes, sir. Most useful. I’m not sure when, or even if we’ll be able to take action, but we can discuss this later.”

“That you can rely on.” He picked up the bottle of coffee he’d placed on her desk, retrieved his briefcase, and practically skipped out of her room into the hall.

He’d gotten to her, and was rather proud of himself.

Lu hated him even more now.

No matter how much she hated him, though, she now wanted him even more.

* * *

Max whistled the Crew Cuts’“Sh-Boom” all the way down his hall to his own classroom, but his cheerful mood was stopped short by the sight of Clyde, already arrived, but looking downtrodden.

The false smile the young man pasted on his face did not help. “Good morning, Professor Fischer.”

Max winced at the formality, but decided if it helped make Clyde more comfortable, he would play along. “The same to you, Mr. Taylor. I hope you are well this morning.”

“Yes, sir, I am. The papers are all graded, and ready for your review. Also, I’ve made dittos of the story from One Thousand and OneNights to hand out in class today. Is there anything else you need?”

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