Summer's Edge (29 page)

Moments passed. Too long to ignore. She could not speak.

Teachers and pupils do not stand gazing into each other’s eyes, in silence. Not like this. She was half his age. But the line was already crossed.

He took a step towards her. His hair fell over his forehead, his eyes dark grey, chiselled features tense.

"I’ve been fighting this for so long."

A muscle twitched as he clenched his jaw. He was looking at her, serious, no joy in his expression. His eyes seemed almost sad.

Her stomach was lurching. It was the moment she had longed for, dreamed about, and yet it felt more like a terrible taboo than ecstasy.

He stroked his hand down the side of her face, moving her hair back.
 

"This is something that could ruin both our lives," he said.

She couldn’t speak. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t care, that she only wanted to live for the moment. But she was terrified.

"Wanting you this much… it makes me willing to risk everything."

His lips came down on hers, warm and firm, and her first sensation was relief. At last! Then joy, and terror, and desire. His tongue invaded her mouth, exploring her, tasting her. It was a union: so different from French kissing the St Duncan’s boy, or the boy from her holiday.

She was in his arms, and he was holding her gently at first, then more strongly, pressing her harder against him as his own desire for her grew.
 

Her head was spinning, racing. There were two of her: a wild, abandoned purely physical Laura who wanted and needed him as though she was drinking him in. Her hands felt his body, his warmth, the firmness of his muscles, the flat, hard planes of his chest through his shirt.
 

Then there was a panicking, mind-whirling, Laura-of-thoughts with a thousand questions and doubts and anxieties. What if someone came in? What if someone saw them?
 

Then he turned her so her back was against the wall and pushed her hard up against it, his passion increasing. He crushed his body against hers, bruising her lips as he kissed her. She felt as though he was devouring her.
 

His hand moved over her breast, feeling it through the thin wool of her school jumper, making her body arch and press towards his. His lips were on her neck, he twisted his fingers through her hair to draw her closer to him.

His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me…

And then he broke away. Ran a hand through his own hair, moved away. "God, this is madness." He was speaking to himself.

She was left breathless, torn away.

He regained some composure. "You must go. This is completely wrong."

Overwhelmed, she fled.

To find out what happens between Laura and Mr Rydell,
click here
to learn more about Noël Cades’ first student-teacher romance novel, Forbidden Lessons.