Study Partner

Study Partner
by
Rebecca Leigh

Breathless Press

Calgary, Alberta

www.breathlesspress.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or

persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Study Partner

Copyright© 2011 Rebecca Leigh

ISBN: 978-1-926930-81-6

Cover Artist: Dara England

Editor: Denise Lewis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in reviews.

Breathless Press

www.breathlesspress.com

The dark red brick building that housed the campus library stood in stark contrast to the slate gray sky. Carla frowned. She missed the brilliant orange and pink hues that accompanied sunset back home in southern California. Winter in the northeast was nothing but lifeless snow-covered landscapes stretching monotonously into the overcast horizon.

It wouldn’t be long before she could leave the dreary sunsets behind her and return home. Her third year in law school would end in a month. A few more tests, graduation, and she’d be off to work at Pennybaker & Smith, L.L.P. Soon she’d be Carla Montes, Esquire—attorney to the rich and elite who inhabit Orange County.

She walked straight to her study carrel and opened her casebook. She was in for another long study session filled with ancient cases, stale facts, and unsurprising legal decisions. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy her studies or the prospect of being an attorney—but the late night study sessions had begun to wear on her. She dug into her purse for the glasses she only wore when she studied and put them on.

«Carla?» The sound of her name jolted her from a case-law-induced stupor she hadn’t even realized she’d slid into.

«Yes?» She looked up to find herself staring into the eyes of Edward Gardner.

Men come handsome, but none more so than Edward. He was tall, at least six-four, and toned to perfection from his head to his toes. She’d never exercised much once she’d started law school and wondered where he found the time. His muscles danced under his white t-shirt as he shifted from one foot to the other. His dark brown hair fell in sexy wisps over the sides of his face, with a slight curl against his sharply defined cheekbones. A girl could get lost in his eyes, dark as midnight and bottomless as an abyss.

He was every female law student’s wet dream. Including Carla’s. She’d spent many nights curled up on the couch, watching a romantic movie, and fantasizing about Edward. And what he could do with his big, Texas-grown hands.

The things she dreamt of Edward doing to her were downright naughty. But Carla knew her fantasies would never come true. Edward and Carla occasionally studied together and he’d never shown interest in anything more than her class notes. He was oblivious not only to her, but also to the power he held over her.

«Oh, Hi Edward.» She had to choke down the lump in her throat.

«Are you studying for the big torts final?» Edward was all about business. He didn’t seem to have a clue what his deep, masculine voice did to a girl.

«Yeah. You?»

«Tryin’ to.» He crouched down so that his head was level with hers, so close now she could smell him. He had a naturally musky scent that made her sex buzz. «Wanna be study buddies again?» His long southern drawl made her heart melt.

«Sure.» Carla smiled as she thought of what she really wanted to say to Edward.
Study buddies? How about sex buddies.
She giggled before she realized what she’d done.

“Somethin’ funny?”

“No. Just thinking about a case I just read.” She could kick herself for that response. There wasn’t a funny fact in any of the cases they were assigned to analyze for the torts final.

“I think there’s a private study room free. Let’s go.”

Carla watched Edward as he walked down the hall. His tight blue jeans shifted and creased over his taut butt with each step he took. Before she knew it, her mind was flung into one of her fantasies where she was grabbing his ass and pulling his naked cock into her pussy.

“Carla?” He was standing in front of the door to the study room, staring at her questioningly. “You sure you’re all right?”

“Yes. Sorry. Just tired, I guess.”
Tired of not being able to kiss you, touch you, lick you all over your hard body
.

“Maybe you should call it a night. We can study tomorrow.”

“No, I’ll be fine. Besides, there’s not enough time before the test to take a night off. Let’s hit it.”

The study room was located in the far back corner of the library’s third floor. It was set apart from the other rooms and individual carrels by several high stacks of casebooks and a couple of unused offices. It also had a screen that could be pulled down over the little window on the door for privacy. When he shut the door, Edward pulled the screen. He also locked the door, ensuring that their studying would not be disturbed.

The room was only big enough to hold a tiny wooden table and three chairs. Edward sat in the chair right next to Carla. His proximity caused her sex to moisten.

When he opened his book, his arm brushed gently against hers. Edward’s touch was like cold fire, burning her skin. Her body reacted instantly to the feel of his smooth, well-toned forearm. She trembled.

“Are you cold?” He reached over and put his arm around her.

What the hell was he doing? There was no way Carla could concentrate on contracts now. The words on the page in front of her danced then blurred. All she could think about was the heat generated by his skin against hers. And the way his hand rested gently on her shoulder. She trembled again.

“Here let me warm you up. They keep the air so damn cold in this library.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. It was an action meant to warm her, but all it did was make the butterflies in her stomach do somersaults. Even though she wasn’t cold, goose flesh pricked her skin at his touch.

“I’m okay, Edward.” She meant for her voice to sound thankful for his friendly gesture. Instead, it came out husky, filled with need.

As soon as his name left her lips, he looked at her. At first, she thought she might be going insane because the look in his eyes mirrored the way she felt. Lust bubbled in the dark pools.

He moved his arm off her shoulder and used both hands to take off her glasses. “Do you mind? You have beautiful eyes. I’ve never seen the ocean off the coast of Bermuda, but sometimes I think your eyes must be the same color.”

For a moment, Carla thought she might start hyperventilating. Was Edward actually coming on to her?

“Edward . . .” She hesitated. She didn’t want to tell him to stop, but she wasn’t sure what he was doing. He’d never shown the slightest inkling that he’d wanted anything more from her than a study buddy. But now he was moving his lips over her forehead and down her cheek. His breath was sweet and hot and threatened to consume her with a passionate fire.

“Carla.” She never knew the sound of her own name could be so sexy. He brushed his lips over hers.

That was it. She couldn’t control herself any longer. Every move Edward made, every touch, every caress induced her to abandoned her inhibitions. Her study partner was inviting her to be much more. She took the invitation.

She reached her arms around his neck, entwined her fingers into his hair, and arched her body to his. They kissed, igniting electric sparks in her sex. His tongue flicked and searched, seeking to possess every inch of her mouth. As they kissed, she lifted herself off the chair and sat on Edward’s lap, curling her legs around his waist.

She felt his hand drift down her sides and hitch up her knee-length brown skirt. As his fingers teased along the edges of her panties, she pushed her lace-covered pussy into his jean-clad crotch. She ground her cunt into him and felt his cock jump and pulse.

She fumbled when she tried to unbutton his zipper, but he moved his hands and helped her. Then he placed her hands around his cock and guided them up and down. She rubbed him from base to tip, slowly and smoothly, bringing him close to climax.

“Not yet,” he groaned, picking her up and sprawling her on the little wooden study table.

Dropping to his knees, he pulled down her panties and spread her legs. She was wet, slick, and wide open to him. He lowered his head and licked and nipped her clit. Her body shuddered with each expert flick of his tongue.

She wanted to scream when he licked his way down and thrust his tongue into her sex. But she knew she couldn’t. Even if this room was out of the way, it was still in the library. Instead, she gripped his shoulders and sunk her nails into his skin.

“You taste so good,” he said before inserting two fingers deep inside. While he pumped, his used his teeth to gently bite her clit. Oh God, she’d never felt anything so erotic in her life.

Her climax hit her like a tidal wave, crashing her violently against the shore, and then carrying her back out to sea. His fingers continued massaging her through the storm, his breath an inferno on her clit, until the wave finally subsided.

“Fuck me, Edward.” Sweet, studious Carla had never said anything like this to a man in real life. But she’d said it many times to Edward in her fantasies. It was easier than she’d thought to repeat the command aloud.

“My pleasure.” He reached down to his jeans, now crumpled around his ankles, and pulled a condom out of the back pocket. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he said as he smoothed the rubber over his erect penis. When he did, it dawned on Carla that Edward had planned this encounter.

For Carla, just as exciting as the orgasm she’d just experienced was the knowledge that Edward had wanted her too. Before tonight. Like her, he’d been very good at keeping his desire a secret. But it had been there, smoldering just under the surface of his luscious body. Simmering and waiting to be set free.

Freedom came when Edward took Carla in one deep, slow thrust. She dug her nails deep into his back as his large Texas cock stretched and filled her. He buried himself in her to the hilt with each powerful drive. No matter how hard she tried to remain silent, she couldn’t help the whimper of pleasure that escaped her lips when he plunged faster and quicker.

“Oh, yes, Edward. Yes,” she murmured when his thrusts brought him closer to her body.

He bent his head down to her breasts and covered them with kisses. With each inward thrust, he sucked her nipples. First one, then the other, licking and nipping like they were the best thing he’d ever tasted.

One last hard push of his cock and they both shuddered in simultaneous orgasm.

Edward gently moved Carla so that she lay completely on the table and did his best to curl up next to her, his legs dangling from the end and resting against the wall, “Oh, God, Carla, you’re fucking amazing.”

“Ditto,” she responded, still breathing heavy. She reached for his arm, pulling it around her waist and relished the feel of his firm chest against her back. “So, you’ve wanted to do that for a while?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said in his Texas twang. “I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you. Remember? First year, contracts?”

She remembered. In her memory, Edward Gardner had strode confidently into the first law class of their careers, clad in cowboy boots and a black Stetson. He walked straight to the front of the room and plopped down right in front of the professor. The only one of all of them secure enough to sit in the first row. She also remembered how every female set of eyes in the room stared at him the entire hour. Poor Professor Fulton. It wasn’t his fault half his students that semester ignored every word he said.

“I remember.”

“I never thought you felt the same until tonight.” He breathed the words in flames over the back of her neck. “But when you said my name, I knew. I could hear the longing in your voice. It was the same thing I was feeling. I had to have you, finally.”

“You can definitely have me.” Carla rolled so that she faced him. The table was so little, and they were so close that her breasts molded to his chest.

“Mmmm,” he whispered, rubbing her nipples between his finger and thumb and bringing them to an instant peak. “I will.”

***

Law school was over.

Edward walked to the stage first, and waved to Carla when the Dean handed him his juris doctorate. She did the same, but felt a tinge of sadness ripple through her body. She had spent the most amazing month of her entire life with Edward, and now it was coming to an end.

She’d go back to southern California and Edward would go back to Texas. They hadn’t talked about staying together after graduation. They both had plans that couldn’t be changed. No matter how good the sex was. Or how much she loved him.

Graduation night was their last in the recently defrosted northeast. They spent the evening in the library, in what had become their private study room. Even though they no longer needed to study, they needed something much more. Carla would keep the memory of their last night in the room with her forever. Later, they sat on the soft manicured grass of the large soccer field that bordered the law school campus.

Looking up at the stars, Carla knew she had to tell Edward how she felt, even if they were never going to see each other again. As he held her close, she looked into his eyes and whispered, “I love you.”

The only thing that surprised her more in the last month than the first time they made love in the study room was his response. A quiet, murmured, “I love you, too.”

But neither the words nor the sex could stop the inevitable goodbye that came the next day. They both vowed to cherish the memories of their time together. No regrets.

* * *

Two weeks later, Carla opened the large black doors at the entrance to Pennybaker & Smith. It was the first day of her new career. Of her new life.

As she sat on the brown leather couch waiting for the senior partner to greet her, Carla couldn’t help but remember the last few months.

She’d shared more than great sex with Edward. She’d shared love. They’d pledged their love to one another with their minds, bodies, and souls. When she’d been a little girl—dreaming of her knight in shining armor—a pledge like that was always enough. But as an adult, a little too hardened by one too many failed relationships and the realities of a pre-planned future—it was far from satisfactory.

Edward and Carla had shared their mornings, afternoons, and nights. Their beds. And their hearts.

But life got in the way.

Carla’s decision to join the firm wasn’t one she regretted. There was no doubt in her mind working here was a dream come true. But California was a long way from Edward.

She closed her eyes, images of Edward drifting behind her eyelids. His strong body. His muscular arms. His tight ass. His eyes. His smile. His deep, sexy voice.

The way he said, “I love you.”

Carla heard the bell on the elevator chime. The sound made her jump, ending her daydreams. She opened her eyes and her sex jolted. Another new associate strode with confidence off the elevator and sat on the oversized couch next to her. Someone she hadn’t expected to see. Clad in an exquisite black suit, dark blue shirt, and power tie.

Edward.

He smiled, a spark of passion gleaming in his eyes.

“Will you be working here too?” he asked with faux innocence.

“What are you doing here?”

“I had a change of plans. I have an uncle who lives in the OC and he convinced me to give southern Cal a try. Apparently, Pennybaker & Smith still had a position they needed to fill,” he said with a wicked, sexy smile.

Carla returned the smile. Although they sat a respectable two feet from one another, he reached over and briefly touched her fingertips with his. As she looked into his eyes, she knew that their lives as lawyers, and lovers, hadn’t ended. It had only just begun.