The tension mounted. Dean leaned closer.
What to do? No man or boy had ever kissed her. Is that what he was going to do? Shit. What if I’m bad at it? Holy shit. Most women her age already had plenty of experience.
Her heart raced and she thought it would explode out of her chest. He was close and she felt the rush of air as he exhaled on her face. She closed her eyes. Dean kissed her on the cheek and then quickly pulled away from her. As he got up she noticed he turned his body so his crotch wasn’t visible to her. Was he turned on by her?
“I think you should go,” he said. His voice quiet and he wouldn’t look at her.
Laura nodded and grabbed her bag. She walked toward the front door and closed her eyes. You idiot, she thought. She couldn’t leave like this, but facing him seemed much worse. “I’m sorry. I won’t play any more music,” she shouted for him to hear. As she grabbed the door handle and twisted the knob, a hand came out of nowhere over her head and closed the door.
When he turned her around she saw the arousal on his face. He didn’t speak a word as he closed the distance between them.
“Just this once,” he said seconds before his lips took control of hers.
She gasped and dropped her bag. His touch, taste and every little detail consumed her. It was so unexpected. She followed his lead and sighed.
He pulled away and stared down at her lips.
“Open for me,” he growled.
Laura didn’t speak and opened her lips slightly. He ran a thumb over her bottom lip and then bent down to kiss her again. Dean tilted her head back further and plunged in, his tongue invading her mouth and meeting her own. She moaned as he continued kissing her, their lips taking what they wanted from each other. Laura wrapped her hands around his neck. She didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but the passion was driving her forward and just as suddenly as it began, the passion ended when Dean pulled away.
“You’re too young for me,” he told her and reaching round her body, he opened the door.
Laura was more than thankful to get away. Her first kiss and his only comment had been about her age.
* * * *
Dean watched her go. His lips tingled from the touch of her lips. He licked them and was sure he could taste her on his lips, subtle, yet reassuring to him. The kiss hadn’t been something made up in his mind. Shaking his head, he closed the door and went back to his study. His work-in-progress was still in the works.
After reading through the manuscript in bed, he’d seen it needed a lot of work. There were still some holes in the story that needed to be worked out. His editor had been on the phone earlier and told him he had until the end of the month to finish or his other books were going to be pulled. The publishing house had had enough and with the market being the way it was, someone else could easily fill his shoes. Gone were the days of writing at your own pace.
The kiss had been stupid and he should have stopped himself, but he couldn’t. Once he’d started touching and tasting her, she’d become impossible to ignore.
Dean felt like a bastard. He usually drove her home and he’d left her to walk. Fuck. He grabbed his coat and went to his car. He started the machine and drove along the paths to find her.
She’d been innocently dancing and he’d been the one to turn it to something more. He was twenty years older and he had to constantly repeat the age gap to himself whenever he was in her company. Being around her and talking with her made him forget how young she actually was. Even though she responded to his touch, he shouldn’t be feeling anything other than a bastard.
He found her walking along the country lane, her head bent and arms folded. Dean pulled up beside her and pressed the button to wind his window down.
“Get in the car, Laura,” he ordered. No matter what she said, he intended to be the gentleman and take her home.
“I’m happy walking.”
Shit, was she sobbing?
“I’m telling you to get in the car,” he shouted.
Laura turned toward him and he saw the evidence of her heartache. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears ran down her face.
“Stop ordering me around. You’re not my father and no way in hell am I a child to be told what to do,” she shouted back and stomped her foot.
Dean threw the car to a stop and got out. Laura sobbing her heart out was making him ache. He grabbed her and held her against his body.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Her body shook with her tears.
“Why?” she asked.
“I shouldn’t have shouted at you or sent you out alone or kissed you.”
“Only two of those do I agree with,” she said.
“The kiss and the shouting?” he asked.
“No. The shouting and being sent out alone. I liked the kiss,” she said.
Dean froze. The summer season meant she only wore minimal clothing. Usually baggy shirts and shorts, but with her working at the library she wore the close-fitting clothes.
With her held against his body, the swell of her br**sts pressed against his chest and he couldn’t deny the wonderful feeling of her figure snug within his arms.
“Don’t say stuff like that, Laura,” he warned.
“Why not? I can’t keep hiding from it and I won’t lie. I enjoyed you kissing me.”
He closed his eyes and looked away from her. Staring at her didn’t help him fight the attraction.
“You’re too young. You need to find a man your own age,” he said.
No, she doesn’t. You could look after her and care for her and give her everything she ever wanted.
“I don’t want anyone else,” she replied.
“Let's not talk about this.” He placed a finger on her lips when she began to talk. “Not now. We’ll talk another time,” he assured her.
Laura pulled away and nodded her head. Dean followed as she got into his car. The drive back to her house was a slow one and simply seeing her mother answer the door drove home the fact again of just how young she was.
He should be tortured for the lustful things he thought about her. He didn’t want to think about her admission or to think Laura went to bed imagining him. Would she touch her own lips and think about him touching her other places?
“Get a grip,” he shouted at himself. “You’re a fully grown man who has had women and loved them. Laura is too young. Stop seeing her as a woman of your own age.”
The words he shouted at himself didn’t help his mood. The barrier erected between them as tutor and student or as friends had been crossed and Dean didn’t know how to put those barriers back up.