Page 37 of The Teacher and the Virgin

If I hadn’t already given my notice, I’d be freaking out right about now. But I had a nine o’clock meeting with my new financial team and only five more days in the Buchanan office. Which meant I would need to survive two more meetings between Carter and Ford. Two hours in Carter’s presence. And then? A new job. New people.

New life.

I glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. Seven, and I still had to get home, shower, and change into something respectable for my meeting.

With a sigh, I pulled free of Carter’s hold and slid out of bed. First thing I did was use my phone’s app to call a car. I watched the little dot work its way around the streets a few miles away. Six minutes. I had six minutes to be out front.

It didn’t take long to get dressed, because I hadn’t been wearing much. My panties were gone, nowhere to be seen. I still had on the garters and stockings, and my bra was on the floor next to Carter’s dress shirt. Unhooking the snagged and ruined stockings, I stripped them off and dropped them on the corner of the bed. I shimmied into my skirt and had the little pearl buttons done up on my blouse in record time. I was hopping on one foot, trying to get my heels on when I felt the energy in the room shift.

Carter.

“Where do you think you’re going so early?” He rolled over onto his back, the dark sheet low over his abdomen. All that muscle on display made my mouth water, and from the cocky grin on Carter’s face, he’d been watching me admire him.

“I have a meeting at nine. I have to go.” I grabbed my cell phone and credit card and ID and shoved them back in my bra in preparation for my walk of shame.

He watched me, his eyes soft and warm. The look he was giving me made my heart ache, made me long to crawl back into that big bed with him, curl up and purr like a kitten.

“Stay. Just for a few minutes longer.”

“I can’t.”

He raised a brow, frowning. “Then kiss me before you go.”

I shook my head, backing away from temptation. “I don’t think so.”

“Emma. Come here.” He sat abruptly, the sheet falling to dangerous levels and I got my first glimpse of the head of his very large, very impressive morning wood. Oh, God. He was magnificent. I'd seen him the night before, but in the bright morning light… My pussy clenched as arousal struck me hard and fast, the slight pain between my legs a reminder of exactly where that hard length had been last night.

I took another step and bit my lip. “No. I have to go.” I was at the door when he stood, his bare body on display like a Greek god’s. His dark hair was tousled from sleep and he looked even more beautiful. Approachable. Real. It wasn’t fair, his perfection. It simply wasn’t fair to us mere mortals. “I have to go, Carter. I’m…I…” What the hell was I supposed to say?Thanks for taking my virginity. It was fun?“Thank you for last night.”

“Emma—”

I interrupted him, waving my hand in the air to get him to stop talking. It was hard enough as it was. “I know it was just one night, Carter. Don’t worry. I won’t say anything at the office.”

“Emma—that’s not…”

I bolted before he could finish his sentence. I didn’t want platitudes or promises he wouldn’t keep. I knew the rules, and I’d agreed to play the game. And what a game it had been. He'd definitely scored a goal, but we'd both been winners. But the game was over. Now, it was time for me to act like a mature adult and leave without a lot of drama. And, apparently, without my panties.

His house was huge, the long hallways filled with classic pieces of art and rugs that probably cost more than I’d make in a year. Yeah, he was so out of my league.

Luckily, I made my way straight to the front door. Carter appeared at the top of the stairs, and he'd taken the time to put on his pants, but left them unbuttoned and hanging low over his hips. His feet were bare and his chest was on magnificent display. I paused just long enough to burn the image into my brain for later inspection and waved as I opened the door.

“Emma, stay right where you are,” he commanded. “We need to talk.”

I shook my head. Why did he have to make it so hard? Since when did the love-'em-and-leave-'em types want to talk?

“No, we don’t. I’m a big girl. I might have been a virgin, but I do know what a one-night stand is.” I smiled a super-bright, ridiculous, over the top smile to make sure he knew I was all right, even though I felt anything but. “Thanks, Carter. Bye.”

Slamming the door behind me, I jogged in my high-heels like an idiot down the ridiculously long, curved drive. Giant trees lined both sides of the private road leading to Carter’s mansion. Perfectly manicured flower beds and shrubs completed the look of an old, stately estate. I turned around as I fled and took in the two-story, colonial mansion with its marble columns, giant windows and bright white walls. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. The prince with the magical cock.

But I was no princess. Damn it anyway.

The car I’d been expecting pulled up and I slid into the back seat just as the Carter stepped out onto the porch. I waved as my driver completed the circuit and pulled away from the only man on the planet I’d never wanted to leave.

“Bye, Carter.” I whispered my goodbyes as the driver pulled onto the street. I wiped a tear from my cheek. Just one. And I refused to think about why I was crying at all.

Chapter Seven

Carter

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