Archive of Our Own

Gerri twists a napkin in her hands, both to have something to do and also so she can subtly wipe the sweat from her hands. This had seemed like a good idea when she made the plan. They would meet for drinks here, just the two of them, have a nice conversation, maybe a cocktail or two. And then after…. 

After. She really, really cannot think about after right now. Not if she wanted to have any hope of getting through this dinner.

Gerri sees when he enters the bar, his tall form unmistakable in most settings. He smiles and speaks briefly to the hostess before his eyes light on her. She can see the spark that flames in them as he makes his way towards her. Gerri pushes her chair back, carefully lowering herself from the high stool, and stands on her trembling legs to meet him. “Good evening.” Her voice is meeker than she would have expected. She’s not generally meek about anything but tonight she feels like her words are tangled up inside of her and unable to move. It reminds her of the way lake weed would lash around her ankles in the summer when she and her sisters would try to swim across Lake Michigan, their lips blue within minutes from the cold, and always convinced, if they just swam hard and fast enough they could make it across to the other side.

Tonight feels a little like that too. Like she’s paddling out too far from shore to turn back but she’s not close enough to the other side either and there’s nothing below in the brackish depths but the unknown things that might try and pull her down.

“Good evening, Gerri.” Before she can collect herself he’s there, leaning down, kissing her on the cheek, his arm pulled tight around her shoulders. The dancing spiders of anxiety that had been populating her midsection spread throughout her entire body and she shivers under his touch. She hopes he doesn’t notice but from the very soft chuckle that rumbles through his chest, it’s clear that he has.

“Good evening Professor Kellman.” Gerri averts her eyes as she says this, not feeling quite confident enough to meet his gaze head on. At least not yet.

“Call me Baird. Please.” He waits for her to climb back onto her stool offering his hand for assistance and then sits on the one next to her.

“Baird.” She says his name softly and then finally does look over to meet his eyes. They’re as blue as her own, and staring directly into them makes her feel self-conscious, almost as if she can see herself reflected back, all of her imperfections, her insecurities, her desires, bouncing between them in an endless echo.

“I’m so glad you could meet me tonight.” Baird signals to the bartender to catch his attention. “I was wondering if you’d have plans given the holiday.”

“No plans,” Gerri confirms just before Baird places their drink orders. Martinis for both of them. He doesn’t even ask her first, just orders her drink the same as his own.

“That’s unusual for Valentine’s Day, no?” Baird swings his gaze back towards her. “A beautiful young woman such as yourself in this magnificent city should have no shortage of potential beaux competing for her attention.” 

“Not this young woman,” Gerri says carefully, trying not to betray how much her heart is already pounding. “I’m much too busy with work to have time to date.” 

“Their loss,” Baird says with a smile and she almost jumps out of her skin when he taps her lightly on the forearm for emphasis.

“So, what brings you to town this weekend?” 

“I was here for work and extended the trip by a few days to take in the city,” Baird says, nodding as their drinks are placed in front of them. “I don’t get to New York nearly often enough given how close it is to Boston.” He pauses and takes a sip. “How are you finding the city?”

Baird doesn’t need her to explain her backstory, that she had moved to New York for a job just after graduating law school at Harvard. He was already very familiar with her particular scenario.

“I like it,” Gerri says carefully. “It’s so different from Boston and I am so busy at the office that I don’t get nearly as much time to explore as I’d like, but I am enjoying the parts I’ve seen so far.” Her nerves get the better of her and she takes a larger sip of her drink than she intends to, a trail of fire burning straight down into her gut where it smolders, waiting. Just waiting.

“You know what they say about all work,” Baird says with a chuckle and this time when he touches her arm he leaves it there, his fingers searing into her skin through her light red sweater. She wore this for him. The neckline is a little lower than she usually wears and the knit is clingier, hugging her full breasts and helping to define her still narrow waist. She thought she had looked good when she looked at herself in the mirror before she headed out but wonders now if she looks too casual next to Baird in his jacket and tie.

“It will get easier in a year or two,” Gerri says after clearing her throat. She has questions to ask but is waiting for the right moment to do so. 

“It will,” Baird confirms and he starts to move his fingers now, lightly stroking her arm as he does. Gerri experimentally shifts her body, turning slightly on the stool so her knee is brushing his thigh. “But you can’t let work rule your life. You need to make some time for fun too. You’re only young once.”

He presses his thigh harder into his leg, the strokes of his fingers getting longer and more languorous. They’ve only been here for a handful of minutes but Gerri is ready to jump right to the end, the part where he fucks her breathless in his room upstairs.

“Why did you call me?” She knows she’s skipping over pleasantries but can’t help herself. “You must have dozens, hundreds, of former students in New York. Why would you call me of all people?”

“I would have thought that was obvious.” Baird removes his hand from her arm and lightly touches his face, brushing his thumb across his lip. She wants his hands back on her as soon as possible, but she finds herself mesmerized by the way he’s tracing the contours of his mouth, drawing her attention with laser-like precision to that spot, the images of what he could do with those lips and his tongue, bouncing through her head in a frantic, sexy image.

Gerri lets the silence sit for too long, unable to look away, only able to see the way he’s caressing himself, and wondering what it would feel like for him to touch her in that way too. The fire in her stomach starts to spread more rapidly, flickering down between her legs. “It’s not obvious to me.” She makes herself say it, knowing that she’s at least partially fishing for compliments. 

“Well.” Baird puts his hand back on his arm, his thigh pressing into her leg under the table as he leans towards her. He reaches out his other hand and toys with the tendril of hair that has fallen next to her face and she has to resist the urge to surge forward and kiss him. “There might be hundreds of former students in this city but there’s only one that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since she took my class in her second year.”

Before Gerri can say anything, her lips barely parted to speak, Baird’s mouth is on hers, his hand pressing the back of her head into him as his tongue runs along her lower lip. Gerri is so surprised that she lets out a low whimper. She grabs for him, somehow only managing to catch his tie in her fist and she isn’t sure if she means to pull him closer or push him away. She can’t even think. Not when he’s kissing her like it’s all he’s been thinking about for months, like she’s the only woman in this hotel bar, fuck, maybe the only woman in this whole damn city. 

“I hope that wasn’t unwelcome.” Baird’s voice is unruffled when he finally ends their kiss, his mirror eyes assessing as he takes another sip of his martini. Gerri’s tongue-tied for one-three-five long moments, her thoughts too scattered for coherence, everything inside of her just raging with want.

“Not unwelcome.” She picks up her glass and drains the rest of her drink in one long sip. Are they actually going to do this? Is this night going to end the way that she had hoped it might? 

“Good.” Baird’s smile is smooth and self-assured. He’s clearly not feeling any of the riot of emotion that she is. “I do have a room upstairs if that’s of interest to you.” He raises an eyebrow at her but doesn’t prompt her any further, very clearly tossing the ball to her to either play or drop to the ground.

“It’s of interest.”

Gerri Kellman has never dropped a ball in her entire goddamn life.

“Perfect.” Baird doesn’t even crack a smile at this news, just calmly pays the bill and escorts her through the lobby, into the elevator, and then down the hall to his room. It’s scrupulously tidy inside, almost as if he hasn’t spent even a single night there so far.

Now that they’re in his room, Gerri’s stomach is rolling again, a potent combination of lust and nerves that could overtake her if she let it. Baird doesn’t seem to notice this though as he gathers her to him, his arm around her waist so he can lift her off her feet. He does this as though it is nothing at all, as though kissing her is the only thing that matters, even if he has to lift her off the ground to accomplish it. His lips are hotter on hers this time, his passion more pointed and aimed directly into her cunt which she can practically feel clench in sync with the way his tongue is fucking into her mouth.

She has to tell him. She has to say the words, but she can scarcely catch her breath as he kisses her over and over again. She doesn’t want him to stop either. She wants him to kiss her like this for hours or days, until both of them are weak from hunger and lack of sleep, too exhausted to go on.

When he carefully lays her onto the bed though, cradling her body so gently, as though she might break if he is too rough, she knows she has to do it. She can’t wait anymore.

“I’ve never done this before.” She blurts the words out and her eyes stay focused on him, waiting for his reaction. She hesitates for the smallest moment.

“Neither have I.” His voice is soothing and he sits down next to her. “I’ve never slept with a student or a former student. But I just… I can’t help myself.”

Her heart flutters at his words and she considers letting him believe that is what she meant, that this was only about their relationship to each other and not about her in particular. But he has to know. It’s the only way.

“No.” Her voice is low and a little desperate as his hand lands on her thigh and slowly works its way up and under the hemline of her skirt. “It’s not just that.” She closes her eyes so she can’t see him as she says the last part. “I’m a virgin.”

Baird’s hand stills halfway up her thigh and it’s burning hot and heavy on her skin. She wants him to keep moving it up, to feel how wet she already is for him, how much he turned her on with just some kisses. “What?” His voice is hoarse and strained.

“I’m a virgin.” She says it again but with her eyes open this time, watching the realization settle into his, the flicker of surprise and then the slow dawn of understanding. 

“Oh.” He pulls his hand off of her and she feels instantly cold, like the sun has gone behind a cloud and left her in the shade. “I apologize for being so forward.”

“Don’t apologize.” Gerri grabs his hand and forces it back to her leg and it feels like her flesh is melting under him like candle wax, pliant, soft and warm. “I want you to. I want to do this.”

“But…” Baird’s hand continues to move, his fingers stroking her skin and migrating slowly further up her leg. His eyes never leave her face even as his hand moves and she has the sense that he almost is unable to stop himself. “Are you sure?”

Gerri pulls him back towards her, her lips moving over his and her tongue delving into his mouth. He tastes like the martini he had sipped at the bar and deep, rich man and she feels her cunt clenching already just from his flavor. Any misgivings or hesitation he had expressed a moment ago seems to evaporate once her lips are on his and he tips her backwards on the bed, half climbing over her, his hands pushing up and under her skirt, skimming over the tops of her thighs and then sliding in between.

“I want you to touch me.” Gerri forces his hand up even higher, needing to feel him between her legs. “Please, Baird.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice is husky and he wrenches his hands away, placing them on her waist instead. He kisses her again, but hard this time as his fingers dig into the knit of her sweater. “Gerri. Are you really sure?”

“Yes. I’m completely sure.” She moves to loosen his tie, but he catches her hand and laces their fingers together and presses his forehead into hers.

“Fuck.” He laughs a little, regrettably, as he struggles to catch his breath. “You have no idea how much I want to do this, but your first time should be with someone you trust.” He pauses again, opening his eyes, the blue so perfect it’s almost crystalline up this close, like the lake reflecting the entirety of the pristine sky above it. “It should be with someone you think you could love.”

Gerri’s heart swells at these words, at the kindness and consideration he is already showing her. She closes her eyes and moves her lips against his, but gently this time, so soft that if not for the weight of him pressed up against her, she could almost believe that she was imagining the whole thing. “It will be like that, though.” She opens her eyes again to meet his gaze, hoping that he can see all of the hope and trust she is laying at his feet. “It will be that for me.”

When Baird inhales, his breath is shaky, almost as though he’s anxious about what might come next and Gerri realizes that she’s tired of waiting. She understands why he might be nervous about hurting her or pushing her too hard or too fast, but she wants him to. She wants to feel the full weight on him on top of her, so gloriously big and heavy and, at least for tonight, only and just for her.

“Don’t make me beg.” She grabs for his tie again and pulls him back to her. Her kiss is harder this time, aggressive and demanding. He holds back for a moment, lets her coax her tongue into his mouth, each stroke gradually washing away his hesitance, any thoughts of resistance crumbling under her advances.

She doesn’t stop kissing him as she reaches for his belt buckle, their mouths pressed together, her sucking on his lower lip, her tongue tracing over it and darting into his mouth. Baird redirects her hands once, twice, and then a third time, placing them onto his chest and his stomach instead, seemingly content to just kiss her for even longer, a makeout session bordering on the nearly chaste if not for the escalating intensity of the blinding need building inside of her.

Gerri tries to drift her hands south once more, going slower this time, creeping down his stomach centimeter by centimeter, certain that this time he won’t be able to resist, will let her put her hands onto him.

“Gerri, I need you to slow down.” Baird gently captures both of her wrists in just one of his big hands. He’s trying to keep her still, but she wiggles restlessly against him, struggling both to free her hands but also to hopefully press the right part of herself to the right part of him to unlock that same impatient urgency that’s pressing up into her throat and down into her cunt.

“No, I can’t.” Her voice is pleading, her eyes wide and her lips trembling. “Please, I’ve waited so long for this. I need you to give it to me.” She thrusts herself at him and clamps her thighs around one of his, trying to create even the smallest bit of friction. She’s so wet, her arousal overwhelming, that she’s afraid she'll transfer some of that dampness to her pants, leaving a spot, making a stain that he won’t be able to easily wash away, Evidence of exactly what it is that he does to her.

“That’s enough.” Baird’s words are final, though he kisses her once more, the gentleness of his mouth belying the firmness of his tone. He keeps her wrists clamped and carefully tugs her to the edge of the bed. Is he making them get up? Is he ending all of this before it even really gets started? 

But she should have known better, should have known that he’d already have thought of something better than she’d imagined. He stares at her for a long time, his breath coming fast from how hard and long they’d been kissing and this time his eyes are less like a mirror and are instead are like the lake again, but frozen this time, the depths obscured under an uncracked sheen. “Baird?” She sits perched half on and half off the bed, still fully captive, entirely at his mercy from the power he wields with just one clenched fist. 

“I want you to take your clothes off. Your sweater and your skirt. Your tights. And then get back onto the bed.” He releases her and stands, staring as she scrambles off the bed, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste to do so. She isn’t quite sure where to look as she pulls her sweater over her head so keeps her eyes averted from him, looking for a place to fold it carefully and put it aside for later. She does the same with her skirt and her thighs, placing them neatly onto the dresser, watching only herself and never him.

“Stop.” His voice is soft but unyielding as she reaches for her bra straps. She stops immediately, her hands hovering over her own shoulders where she had been about to push them off. “Get back onto the bed.” Gerri hesitates for a moment. She thought she was meant to be getting undressed. Baird senses this confusion and cuts through it instantly. “Now.”

Gerri raises her gaze to meet his this time, one eyebrow slightly raised. She’s not sure entirely where he’s going with this, but with how deeply she’s aching for him she’ll do anything he tells her to. She crawls back onto the bed and props herself up onto the pillows so she can continue to watch him as he watches her, his eyes traveling from her ankles, up her calves, and over her thighs. She lets his perusal pause for a moment on her underwear, white cotton, and she eases her legs apart as he stares, hoping he can see how he’s already made her so aroused just from the idea of what they might do. 

That action though seems to cut through whatever had made him hesitate there and his gaze moves upward still, over her stomach, past her white bra, slightly more alluring than her plain and serviceable underwear. Then finally back to her face. He smiles at her then, but it’s really almost more of a baring of his teeth, his lips pulling back to reveal them. He looks ready to devour her, to tear through her, and leave her in pieces on this bed. 

He doesn’t say anything though, just starts unknotting his tie and Gerri had wanted to do that, had been the one who had the pleasure of stripping away each piece of his armor to reveal his softness beneath. “Wait, I want to–”

“No.” He’s definitive again and when his tie is off, rather than continuing on to unbuttoning his shirt, he leans over her and nuzzles his face up against hers. “You’ve been so eager tonight.”

“I want you.” She chokes the words out, practically arching herself off the bed to get to him, her hands reaching for his shirt or his belt. Whatever she can get her hands on.

“That’s not going to work for me.” He speaks lowly and her hands make contact with his belt buckle, so close , before he grabs them again, tight in his fist. “I need to take my time and if you can’t behave yourself and let me do that, I’m going to have to make you.” Before she can stop him, before she even realizes what he’s doing, he has his tie, dark red, not dissimilar to the sweater she’d been wearing, wrapped securely around her wrists and tied into a loose bow. She pulls against it, more out of curiosity than actual interest in getting free, and Baird pulls her arms over her head and presses them into the pillow. “If you keep trying that I’m just going to have to make it tighter.”

Gerri settles down, forcing her body to stop moving even as everything inside of her still quivers in anticipation. “I promise I won’t.” 

Baird straightens back to full height and watches her again for several interminable beats before he seems satisfied that she’s telling the truth. “Good girl.” His words penetrate right through her and she moans, trying not to twist on the bed even as the lust pounds like a beating heart in her cunt. She needs this man and she needs him badly.

She is almost certain she hears him chuckle under his breath as he starts to unbutton his shirt cuffs, taking great care, at least from what she can tell, to drag it out, each movement languorous and almost graceful as he sheds his clothing piece by piece, stripping down to only his undershirt, boxers, and socks before he crawls back over her. The heat of him is smoldering as he creeps up her body, even with his weight held off of her. He moves slowly, continuing to draw out the anticipation, though she can feel his cock, hot and huge and hers , pressing into her as he climbs. He’s just as worked up as she is though he is taking care to pretend otherwise.

“Since you’ve never done this before I am going to go slow with you, Gerri.” She whimpers and thrashes her head back and forth. She’s not sure she can wait anymore. It’s already been too long. He makes a tutting sound and shakes his head, his cheek rubbing against her hair. “I am going to make you come first so then when I ease into you for the first time, you are ready for me.” He presses himself into her leg and Gerri sucks in a breath. “Do you feel how big I am? I promise to be so careful.”

Gerri wants to tell him not to be careful, that she wants to feel him in every cell of her body when he pushes into her soon, but instead she just lets her eyes partially close, watching as Baird eases himself off of her enough to pull his shirt over his head, before kissing down her body. He lingers over her breasts, first nibbling at them through the fabric of her bra, before pushing the cups down so he can suck first one nipple and then the other into his mouth. Just as he does this he eases his hand into her underwear, swiping his large index finger straight over her. Gerri’s arms fly off the pillow as her body reacts to him and Baird makes a low, displeased sound. “I can’t keep going if I can’t trust you to behave yourself.”

“I’m trying.” Gerri has to force the words out. She’s not sure she’s ever been this worked up before as she considers this scenario, the one where Baird Kellman, the sexiest man she has ever known, is the first man to know her in this way. Even the thought of it is nearly enough to leave her panting and she has to clamp her thighs together to try to contain some of the excitement she feels flowing through her.

“Try harder.” He nips at her this time, his teeth clamping gently just over her navel as he works his way lower. “I am the expert here and I need you to stay still.”

“I want to touch you.” Gerri can hear the whine in her voice and it gets worse on the last word as Baird hooks his thumb into the sides of her underwear and eases them down her legs. He ignores her comment.

“I like these. Just white. So innocent. But we know you’re not quite as innocent as you seem. Right, Gerri?”

She shakes her head again, taking care to keep her arms firmly overhead still, even as she wants to grab at his hair and push his face deeper into her, to finally have some relief from the deep ache inside her. “I– I don’t know what you mean.”

Baird runs his finger over her again, each pass over her clit jangling through her and she has to close her eyes because it’s too good. He’s too good at this and he looks to good there with this face between her thighs and she’s not going to last even another minute like this.

“I know you’ve never done this before but you’ve wanted to, right?” He finally dips his head and circles his tongue over her, the touch light but positively electric for her and she can’t hold in her deep moan. “I saw the way you watched me in class. The way your eyes would get dark and how you’d keep your legs tightly crossed, even as you made sure that I could see just how lovely those legs are.” 

“No. I didn’t.” Gerri shakes her head again and cries out when his tongue makes contact with her clit. 

“You’re lying, Gerri. You’ve been thinking about this for so many months now. You’ve probably been fantasizing about what it would be like for me to be the one to taste you here first.” His tongue swipes through again and Gerri thinks she might actually be going insane with need , her orgasm still just out of reach and the way he’s teasing her somehow making that need even greater. It’s like a black hole inside her, expanding, and pushing against her skin from every direction, threatening to subsume her. “Maybe I should have given it to you before now. Took you back to my office after class, draped you over my desk and took you right there. Would you have liked that?”

Gerri moans and she’s pushing herself into him, begging him to do more, to give her more.  She likes the things he’s saying, his words doing almost as much to push her closer as his teasing touches, but she still needs moremoremore. 

“I thought so.” He sucks her between his lips for the briefest moment and Gerri practically sees stars, but it’s over just as quickly as it began and not nearly enough. “And it’s not going to be all valentines and hearts while you float away on a cloud. Even if I’m careful and gentle, I’m taking my pleasure too, and that might hurt you, Gerri. Do you think you can handle it?”

“Yes!” She practically shouts the word as he sucks her back into his mouth again, his lips perfectly suctioned around her clit and his tongue flicking over her. “Yes! Please. I’m begging–” She loses her voice then as Baird eases a finger into her, his mouth still working her over.

“So tight.” He pulls off just long enough to hiss out these words. “I’m going to have to stretch you out to just my size.” He scissors his fingers back and forth, touching everything inside of her all at once and she lets out what sounds like a sob. “But I think you might actually like that.”

She wants to assure him that she will, that she will love everything he does to her, but he settles his mouth back onto her and with his fingers also working, she can’t even speak, can only feel, the sounds of her own breathy moans filling her ears as she comes, her legs tight around Baird’s head and her arms still pressed into the bed where he’s told her to keep them.

“That was so fucking beautiful.” She surfaces, her eyes fluttering open to find Baird back over her. He’s managed to kick off his boxers during her afterglow and she feels his bare cock already nudging against her. 

“Let me touch you.” She wants him to untie her. She wants to hold him and touch him and pull him closer, but he shakes his head.

“I don’t trust you not to get over excited.” He smiles at Gerri’s groan of frustration and she can feel him pressing up tighter into her. She lets her legs fall further open, making room for him to take her in whatever way he wants to. “I need to know you’re going to be good for me, Gerri. Maybe next time.”

She nods, and, as ridiculous as it is, she feels tears pricking her eyes as he eases into her, just his tip first, moving so slowly that she can scarcely even tell he’s moving at all. “I’m being good.” She wants to assure him that she can take this, that he can give her more, and she will be able to take it. He must get her meaning because he pushes in deeper, his own moan mingling with hers.

“You are so perfect. Your body is perfect for mine. Do you know that?” Gerri has never felt this full, not with him half in and half out of her, lingering at the precipice, waiting for just the right moment to push himself fully home. But even through that distraction she knows he’s right. They are perfect together. They fit together just exactly right, two halves of a whole, just as she had always known they would.

She can’t find her voice again, can only nod, her eyes open now, even through her tears as she gazes at him, his eyes mirroring back a well of affection and longing with infinite depth on both sides. He must see what he needs there because with deliberate slowness he pushes deep into her, the movement so careful but also dragging an untapped bolt of pleasure from her body as it goes. She waits for a sliver of pain but it never comes, it’s just pleasure sizzling up her spine and jolting her body.

“Shhhh.” Baird lowers his head closer to hers, shushing her before giving her a long, slow kiss. She can taste the tanginess of herself on his lips and she licks at it, her tongue flicking over him as he pulls back out and pushes back into her, his pace increasing.

Gerri is so focused on him, on what he tastes like, on noticing every detail of his breathing and the way that he’s stroking her in an even rhythm, not breaking stride for even a moment, that she doesn’t notice her next climax building until it’s right upon her. It rips through her body, her arms flying off the pillow until they collide with his head. 

Baird’s head snaps up and his eyes narrow. “Someone’s not behaving.” His voice is oddly placid for how athletically he’s moving atop of her. He grabs her arms with one hand and forces them back above her head, holding them tightly in place his pace increases. “If someone wants to get fucked like a bad girl instead, I can do that.” Gerri is pretty sure her eyes actually roll back into her head at his words and she lets herself go nearly boneless, held into place by his powerful arm and his driving cock, pushing her deeper and higher into the bed with every thrust.

She doesn’t come again, but she loves every minute of it, the way he’s no longer being careful, fucking her like she’s a woman, maybe someone who is a little bad. The feel of him finishing, the way his cock gets even harder and then twitches inside of her as he spills into her, filling her up and making her now and always his.

He recovers quicker than she would have expected, unlacing her arms with a single tug and helping her to lower them back against her body before he pulls her close, his arm tight and cozy around her waist, the warmth and bulk of him behind her so comforting.

“I hope that was everything you wanted it to be?” His voice is low again in her ear and she can hear a laugh just at the edge of his words.

“Better,” Gerri says, snuggling back further. “Though I wasn’t sure if you were going to go with it. You hesitated for a minute.”

“You caught me off guard. I thought we were doing professor and student. The virginity angle wasn’t a twist I was expecting.” He kisses her cheek and bends his arm so he can cup her breast, brushing his fingers over her nipple. “It was hotter than I would have expected, though.”

“So hot,” Gerri agrees and she wants to give her mind and body a rest but there are things to be done. “Do you think we should call and check in with the sitter? Petit was running a slight temperature–”

“Petit is fine and probably already asleep,” Baird assures her. He throws his leg over hers and pulls her closer. “They would call if they needed us.”

“I know, but–”

“No. It’s Valentine’s Day and I’ve just deflowered the most beautiful student in my class.” He chuckles, the rumble of it dearly familiar against her back. “I’m already thinking about doing it again.”

“You can only be deflowered once,” Gerri points out, but the idea is already sending lust coursing through her. There are just so many possibilities.

“I think we can make it work,” Baird assures her. “There is no end to our possible first times. Oh!” His laugh is more dangerous this time. “What if this time you’re engaged to my best friend, his future virginal bride, but our chemistry is so hot that we just can’t help ourselves?”

“Well, that part is obviously true,” Gerri points out. “But I can work with that. Uncontrollable and combustible chemistry…right after I rest for a minute.”

“Love you.” His words are low and dear and though she’s too sleepy to say them back, he knows. He always, always knows.