Shuttered Affections (Cornerstone #1) (10 page)

“If he wasn’t going to offer his lips to me, I was going
to take whatever part of him I could get between my teeth.”

The electricity in the air told me he was coming closer. Footsteps,
barely audible, whispered along the floor behind me.

My hands fumbled for the canister. I needed to pop the top
off and carefully remove the film.

I could feel him close behind me. He was really close. As I
successfully removed the film from its canister, I could feel him move even nearer.
I felt his breath by my ear and heard him gasp slightly as a curl fell forward
and must have brushed against his face.

I was just about done putting the film around the reel when
I felt his finger slowly push the tendril of hair back behind my ear.

I deftly finished coiling the film and placed it in the
developing tank. Once the lid was in place, effectively protecting my film from
light exposure, I spoke.

“Okay. I’m good.” My voice was barely a whisper. I didn’t
seem to have the strength to muster any more volume.

“Mmhmm…” he moaned in my ear. “Your hair smells divine,
Angel.”

I felt his hand brush against the back of my ear and push my
hair to the side, exposing my neck to his touch. I felt his breath on me and,
suddenly, it was as if all the oxygen in the room had been used up completely. I
couldn’t breathe.

“You’re so beautiful, even in darkness,” he said adoringly
and I felt the tickle of his breath on my neck.

Warmth sizzled through my abdomen, my clit pulsed, and my
nipples hardened. His words whispered through my ears, seductive and alluring.

His body pressed against my back and he wrapped his hands
around my waist, sticking his thumbs into the waistband of my jeans. His
fingers gently touched my hipbones. His touch made me arch my back and tilt my
head to rest on his shoulder.

His lips, hot as fire, brushed along the column of my neck. I
wanted to turn my body and wrap myself around him, but he held me in place.

“Aiden, I thought we were going to try and behave
ourselves,” I said breathlessly as he continued his assault on my neck.

“I don’t care,” he mumbled, clearly aware he was melting me
to the bone.

Animalistic lust took us over. Grabbing my shoulders, he
quickly turned me so my chest pressed against his and shoved my back up against
the wall with just enough force to tell me he was turned on as much as I was.

As if attempting to control his urges, he let go of me and I
felt his hands press against the wall on either side of my head, just above my
shoulders.

“Oh, God. I want to touch you,” he said hoarsely. “I want to
touch every inch of you.”

I could tell his lips were so close. The tip of his nose
brushed against mine, causing me to involuntarily tilt my head upward,
attempting to close the gap between our lips. As if he sensed me pouncing, he
turned his chin up, causing me to meet the scruffy facial hair on his jaw.

Unable to see my prey, I reached out and dug my nails into
his strong back, pulling him closer to me and lightly sinking my teeth into his
jaw. If he wasn’t going to offer his lips to me, I was going to take whatever
part of him I could get between my teeth.

As if on cue, a rumble echoed from his throat. His hands
snaked down my body, grabbing my ass and pulling me against him.

The move was so bold; I thought for sure he was going to
kiss me. Instead, he tilted his head up, exposing his neck to my nibbling
assault.

His body, hot and hard, pressed me against the cold,
concrete wall. His hands, still on my ass, lifted me slightly so I was forced
to the tips of my toes.

I felt his mouth on my neck again and couldn’t help voicing
my pleasure.

“Oh, Aiden. Kiss me now,” I begged. I didn’t know why I had
to beg this man to press his lips against mine. I only knew I needed more. So
much more.

“Tell me, Juliana. Do you want me?” he asked softly,
caressing my ear with his lips.

“Christ, yes!” My answer left my mouth before I even had
time to process what I was saying. I was quite simply speechless.

“Then you shall have me… eventually.” With that, he let go,
opened the door, and walked out.

I was left standing there, completely overwhelmed, and
aching with desire.

Utterly pent up with sexual frustration, I had to continue
with my film development. After I agitated the developer chemicals in the tank
and set it in the flow of water to rinse, I made my way to the lab table and
pretended to busy myself. In reality, I was trying to make tabs on where Aiden
could have gone.

As if I summoned him, he came strolling out of his private
office and made his way around to his large desk. He looked like the perfect
picture of composure, while I felt like I was going to wither away with
yearning. This time, aware there were no other students using the lab at this
hour, I wasn’t embarrassed as I watched him sit at his iMac and begin to work.

His movements, as he manipulated the image in Photoshop,
were nothing short of impressive. A new thrill roared through me as I thought
of him teaching me new and exciting things… and that could be taken so many
different ways, which made it even more stimulating.

Suddenly, as if lightning struck me and jolted my cerebral
cortex to function properly, I recognized the photo he was working on.

It was me.

He must have taken a photo of me while I was working the
other night. The blue glowed around me like an oceanic halo and made the wispy
curls that fell out of my hairband around my face look like my hair was flowing
in water. I was smiling, my head slightly tilted back as if I was in mid-laugh.
There was a slight blur to the photo and I knew it was because of the low
lighting. He had to leave the shutter open slightly longer in order to get the
proper exposure.

Not realizing what I was doing, I must have moved across the
room to where he sat. My hand rested on his shoulder as I stared at the screen.

“That’s me…” I whispered, unable to clear the lump that had
taken residence in my throat.

“And it doesn’t even do you justice, Angel,” he said with a
hint of adoration.

I couldn’t help but continue my stare as I dropped to my
knees in order to get a view of the screen straight on.

“Oh, no, Juliana. The last place you belong is on the
floor.”

He swiftly picked me up and placed me in his lap.

I panicked and looked up around the room. Just as my eyes landed
on the closed, locked door, I heard him chuckle.

I glared back at him with a little annoyance in my stare for
laughing at me. Delight touched his eyes as he wrapped his arms around my waist
and said, “I closed them shortly after you came in. Technically, I’ve changed
the lab time so it doesn’t start until eleven. The changes have been posted, so
no one will be surprised. According to Mr. Barnes’ notes, only one student
showed up for lab early on Tuesdays or Thursdays… and now I have a strong
suspicion, that one student was you. I actually made the decision to do so
before I met you. Of course, now I am convinced that I am a pure genius,
because this means I have you all to myself, Juliana."

I just sat there in stunned silence. Not only was I
speechless, but my mind was completely blank as well.

“Do you like it?” he asked, nodding his head toward the
computer screen.

“It’s amazing. You were able to make something so ordinary
look absolutely stunning,” I admired.

“You are anything but ordinary, Juliana. You take my breath
away.” His words, whispered into my ear, sent a surge of tingles all over my
body.

I closed my eyes and relished the feel of his breath so
close to my skin. I felt him lightly brush my hair to the side and his lips
almost touch the puff of my lobe.

“So beautiful…” he whispered, causing his mouth to brush the
edge of my ear. I could feel his excitement press against my backside as I sat
in his lap.

He placed a small peck at the soft skin just behind my ear. Leaning
back into the office chair slightly, he let me lay my head on his shoulder and
snuggle my nose into the crook of his neck.

God, he smelled so good. Just the way a man should smell. I
wanted to taste him, kiss him, lick him. Luckily, my brains were somewhat aware
that we were on campus and I restrained my desires.

A soft moan left my throat and I felt his hand tuck into my
hair at the back of my neck in response.

He just held me for several moments. I felt so safe and
secure in his arms. I barely knew this man and yet he made me feel safer than I
had ever felt my entire life.

His hand slowly left the back of my head and I didn’t move. I
didn’t want to move. I felt him move the mouse around and heard a few
keystrokes. I could tell he was continuing to work on the photo.

Feeling a little awkward for being in his way, I slowly
tilted and opened my eyes, still keeping my head on his shoulder. I watched him
gracefully work with only one hand.

He must have known I was now watching, because he spoke and
said, “This was the only photo that turned out well with the low light.”

“How many did you take?” I asked.

“Oh, roughly twenty to thirty. I didn’t count. I wanted to
take more, but since I haven’t officially asked the owner if it was okay, I
didn’t want to offend anyone and get kicked out,” he chuckled, although I could
tell he wasn’t completely joking.

Just after he saved the photo, his hand came up to my face
and cupped my cheek, rubbing light circles around with his thumb. He touched my
lips and trailed his fingertips around my jaw.

He put his hand down to rest on my hip just as I lifted my
head and looked at him.

Our lips were inches apart when I whispered, “I should get
back to work.”

I didn’t make any attempt to move. All it would take is for
one slight move in his direction and sparks would fly. I could tell kissing him
would be nothing short of mind-blowing. I also knew getting involved with him,
especially here, was not wise.

He brought his hand back up to my face and caressed my skin
some more. His finger touching my lips was my undoing. My eyes fluttered shut
and I let out a sigh of appreciation.

Just as I thought he was going to kiss me, he grabbed my
face in both his hands and gently placed a kiss on my forehead.

“Go work, Angel. I promised I’d let you get some work done
alone. And I’m nothing if not a man of my word,” he assured me quietly while
looking straight into my eyes.

I got nervous. I didn’t want to be alone, but I also didn’t
want to divulge my reasons why. Still, I couldn’t resist…

“You’re not leaving, are you?” I asked, panic clear as a
bell in my voice.

He chuckled and shook his head, “No, Julia. I don’t have the
strength to leave you right now, or possibly ever. I plan to stay in here while
you work in the darkroom. I really want to see how those prints turn out and
don’t want to be a distraction, unless you need me.”

“Okay,” I said in a sad, almost scared, sounding voice. I
hated myself for sounding so vulnerable, but I couldn’t help it. “Even though
you are a distraction, I still want you to stay with me,” I said with a fake
smile, trying to recover from my fear-laced response.

I looked at him with pleading eyes, hoping he wouldn’t ask
questions.

“What are you scared of, Angel? Is everything okay?” Of
course, my luck, he asked questions.

“Yeah, it’s nothing. I’m being silly. I don’t want to burden
you,” I said, a silent request visible in my eyes.

“Of course, I won’t leave. I’ll stay in this room until you’re
ready to take me,” he said with a wag of his eyebrows and a grin on his face.

I thanked him with a hug around his neck and then got up
from his lap. I’m sure I was probably breaking his leg from sitting on it for
so long.

The rest of the morning was spent in the darkroom. He did
just what he said he would do… he left me to work alone. I knew he was around,
which made me feel comfortable, especially since I really didn’t want to be
truly alone.

I was surprised at how focused I managed to keep myself. Every
time I heard the darkroom door open, my heart took a flying leap, knowing it
would be Aiden’s beautiful form coming through the door.

By quarter till eleven, I had several very successful prints
and couldn’t have been happier with the turnout.

Noticing the classroom doors were now open, but still no
other students were around, I walked to the lab table and laid out my work. Aiden
walked over and stood behind me. Since no one else was in the room at the
moment, I wished he would touch me, talk to me, breathe on me… anything. But he
just stood there, gazing at my work.

He stood so close he was almost touching his front to my
back. But he kept a hairs’ distance between us, which made me excited and
disappointed all in one breath.

Finally, he spoke. “Phenomenal.” It was barely a whisper but
it held such sensual truth.

I turned to him, but he was still looking down at the
prints. I just stared at him and smiled. His genuine reaction to my work gave
me courage I never knew I had.

“I was hoping we could eat somewhere a little more private
than the courtyard. There’s a little path leading out to…”

“I’ll go anywhere you take me, Angel,” he interrupted with a
shy smile on his face.

“His taste was the anti-venom that would save my life.”

As soon as the lab volunteer, Angela, showed up at precisely
eleven, I knew Aiden was free to leave. Excitedly, I packed all my work away
and stashed my things in his office. Aiden smoothly placed his camera around
his neck and one shoulder, making it fall effortlessly by his sculpted waist. I
smiled as I remembered seeing him wearing his camera like that when he shrugged
off my curses in the parking lot on Monday.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked, just as I was about
to head out.

“Oh, nothing really. Just remembering you wearing your
camera like that when I screamed at you Monday. I remember being somewhat
surprised that I didn’t know you because I thought I knew all of the
photography students. I used to assist some of the beginning students in Mr.
Barnes’ other classes. So, when I saw you with the camera, it made me question
why I had never seen you before,” I rattled on.

He chuckled, put his arm around my shoulder, and said,
“Well, I’m glad the experience was so memorable for you.”

I lightly elbowed him in his taut six-pack and gave him a
sly grin.

I grabbed our lunch cooler and led the way out to the back
parking lot.

One thing I liked about Angela, she kept to herself. She
just gave us a courteous nod as we headed out the classroom doors together.

Aiden looked at me curiously but didn’t ask where I was
taking him. It was as if he wanted to prove he trusted me, although picking a
picnic spot wasn’t really something that earned trust, now was it? Knowing we
didn’t want to get caught spending this much time together, I guessed the
location
was
rather important.

I smiled at the thought of us getting a little too close
during our picnic date.

In the center of the back parking lot was a large gazebo
with a sidewalk going straight through. The gazebo, covered in vines of jasmine,
smelled divine. Even though I loved the faux-garden paradise, it definitely
wasn’t private enough, considering it was smack in the middle of rows and rows
of cars.

Continuing to follow the sidewalk, we walked side by side
without speaking. I led him off the sidewalk and through a small canopy of
trees.

This was what I loved about the pine tree forests that lined
the backside of the college campus. There were so many beautiful and peaceful
places to relax that most people were completely unaware of.

We followed the small, dirt path through a thicket of trees
until we stepped into a small meadow with springtime wildflowers just beginning
to bloom.

I was glad I decided to wear tennis shoes instead of sandals
today.

Since the college had a zoology department, there was a
small zoo of animals several hundred yards from this private, little meadow. In
the opposite corner of where we stood, we caught sight of a beautiful male
peacock with his feathers splayed for us to marvel at his natural beauty.

Aiden immediately grabbed his camera and began snapping a
few shots, squatting down low to get some of the flowers within the viewfinder.

The peacock was so graceful as he ducked back into the rim
of trees and disappeared from our sight. I could faintly hear other peacock
calls in the distance and it made me grin. They sounded like crying cats.

“I remember when I first started going to this school, I had
no idea what the sound was that sounded like crying cats,” I chuckled as I
continued. “It was probably a few months before someone finally told me there
was a zoo department back here.”

“Yeah, this is a pretty good school,” he said with
conviction.

I just nodded and kept walking.

Bravely, I grabbed his hand and sparks tingled through me
with the slightest touch of skin against skin. His touch was so warm and
inviting. Staring at each other, we both just stood there and enjoyed one
another’s contact.

I smiled, knowing I was holding a forbidden fruit in my
hand, and caring less whether I ended up banished from the Garden of Eden. In
my mind, this fruit was well worth it.

Breaking our gaze but keeping a tight grasp on his hand, I
led him toward a clear spot amongst the wildflowers. Regrettably, I had to let
go to spread out a small blanket I was carrying in my arms.

As I spread the blanket, he kept his hand suspended, as if
he pretended my fingers were still enveloped in his.

Grabbing his hand again, I knelt down on the blanket and
looked up at him. At this moment, I saw the carnal desire in his expression.

Just then, I noticed he still had his camera in his other
hand, and by instinct, a smile broke across my face. Noticing my grin, Aiden
brought the camera up with the one hand, leaving his other hand still grasped
in mine, and took several quick shots of me looking up at him and even a few of
me looking away with a bit of embarrassment.

He slowly lowered himself down to my level and just knelt
there, gazing into my eyes.

“My perfect subject,” he said with a serious, almost sad
look on his face.

He brought the set of hands we still had clasped together
and brushed his lips to my knuckles, then the pads of each finger, then my
palm, then my wrist… As he continued his way up my arm, I giggled.

Was he trying to tickle me on purpose?

Looking into my eyes, he said, “Such an angelic sound. I
want to hear you laugh more often.”

I smiled at his sweet words. “Keep up with the tickling and
you definitely will hear me laugh more often.”

I broke our trance, and the hold we had on each other, so I
could serve the lunch I packed for us.

“I made chicken salad sandwiches. I hope that is okay,” I
softly spoke with my head down.

Aiden gently grabbed my chin and tilted my face upward and
said, “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”

I blushed and focused back on the cooler to continue my
hostess act. I pulled out some bottled water and food.

We sat facing each other with our legs crisscrossed and took
a few bites of our sandwiches.

I watched him eat as if I’d never seen someone eat a
sandwich before. Each move his mouth made, each time he brought his tongue out
to lick and clean his lips, each time his lips pressed firmly around the water
bottle as he drank, I melted. Even the bob of his throat as he swallowed was
erotic.

Even when he wasn’t trying to be sexy, he was fucking hot as
hell. And it wasn’t just his looks, but the way he looked at
me
. The way he treated me was like no
other experience I’d ever had. I was so turned on right now, it was actually painful.

Without thinking, my eyes darted toward his pants to see if
I affected him, too.

He must’ve noticed where my thoughts went, because he began
to chuckle.

I looked up and saw he had a little bit of mayo in the
corner of his mouth. I brought my middle finger to the crease of his lips,
wiped the little speck of white, and in an act of boldness, brought my finger
to my mouth and sucked it clean, fluttering my eyes shut in the process, as if
his taste was the anti-venom that would save my life.

He closed his eyes like he was in pain and a small moan
escaped his throat.

He set his sandwich aside and looked back at me. I couldn’t
tell, but it almost seemed like he was sad again. Maybe he was realizing what a
bad idea it was to get involved with a student.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, I changed the subject. Uncrossing
my legs, I planted my feet slightly apart in front of me and propped my elbows
on my knees.

“I also brought some fruit… grapes and strawberries.” I
smiled big at my attempt to be sweet.

“Ahh. Actually, grapes would be great, but I’m not too fond
of strawberries,” he said with a playful look on his face.

“Oh, what a shame,” I said with a hint of seduction in my
voice. “Because they’re very plump and juicy. I just love strawberries.”

“Oh, you do, do you?” he teased.

I nodded, biting my lip out of nervousness with what I was
about to do.

Then, I did the most daring thing I could think of.

I grabbed one of the strawberries and slowly brought it to
my mouth. I parted my lips and thrust my tongue slightly out to meet with the delicious,
red morsel. I bit down while sucking the juices slowly. My eyes fluttered and
rolled shut as I enjoyed the delectable flavors bursting onto my taste buds. Seductively,
I flicked the leftover green cap into the grass beside us, then began licking
and sucking on the two fingers that were covered with the sticky juice.

After enjoying each slow chew, I opened my eyes to gaze upon
a man with power and hunger in his eyes. Hunger for me.