Always You (Love Hurts 1)

He glanced at me in surprise, but nodded.

“I like you. A lot. I understand your reservations about getting into a relationship with me, but I’m eighteen. I’m an adult, and we both have less than six weeks of school left. You’re not that much older than me, and I think you like me, too. I don’t expect—or even want—you to risk your job for me, so I’m willing to wait until school is over for the both of us before we start anything.”

I took a breath, waiting for him to respond. He was staring at me with those gorgeous blue eyes, and I was melting into him.

“You’re right,” he finally said. “I do like you, Wrenn. But regardless of the fact that you’re eighteen, this will always have started with you being my student. There is a balance of power thing to consider, and the ethical issues of me dating a student, or even suggesting I’d be interested in doing so when they’ve finished school.”

I snorted. “You’re worried that I’m feeling pressured by your being my teacher?” I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to face him. Leaning over, I snaked my arm around the curve of his neck, pulling him closer to me. “Does this look like I’m feeling pressured, Dalton?”

He didn’t resist, not even as my lips met his. He kissed me back, his tongue slipping inside my mouth, wrestling against my own. I jumped as I felt his hand on my hip, running down my thigh and stopping on my exposed skin.

Kissing him felt so right, like we were a perfect fit. His lips were so soft, much softer than I’d expected them to be. I ran my fingers over the soft stubble on his jaw, the feeling making my skin tingle.

“I have no idea how this can work, Wrenn. It’s hard enough that I’m your teacher, but we both live on campus. That makes things nearly impossible.”

“I like a challenge,” I said with a smile as I caressed his face. “But if you want to wait until I graduate, I’m fine with that. I don’t want you getting into trouble, nor do I want you to feel like I’m pressuring you into anything,” I added, relaying his own words back to him with a hint of sarcasm.

“You act all innocent, but you’re a little devil, Wrenn,” he chuckled.

Grinning, I leaned over and kissed him again.

Finally, I felt like something was starting to go right in my life again.

Chapter Fourteen

Wrenn

“If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?”

We were lying on a blanket down at the bank of the river, staring up at the sky. It was a clear night, clear enough to make out all the twinkling stars above us. I shivered and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling the thick woolen blanket that covered us up to my chin. I giggled as he kissed me.

“Change about myself or my life?” I asked.

“Yourself. I know what you’d change about your life, Wrenn.” He said it so softly I could barely hear him, but I knew he meant my family.

I sighed, and thought about his question. “I don’t know. I think everything we do, we learn from, so saying I’d change one aspect of myself could potentially have changed who I am today.” I shrugged, gazing up at him. “I know I’m not perfect, but I’m happy with the person I am. I think I offer a lot as a person, and I know I still have so much to learn, but everything that happens to me, everything I am, I live and learn from.”

His arms tightened around me as he kissed my forehead. “Your strength amazes me, Wrenn. Every second we spend together, you find a new way to surprise me.” He kissed me, his lips in sync with mine as his fingers ran underneath my sweater. I sighed as they grazed over my breasts, my nipples instantly hardening. I wanted him so badly. These past few weeks had been nothing short of perfection. I found myself wanting to be with him more and more, and finding it harder to control my emotions went we weren’t alone.

I glanced down at my phone, my heart dropping. Almost curfew. I hated leaving him.

“I have to go,” I said glumly, kissing his lips one more time before I struggled to my feet.

He stood up too, his arms curling around my waist as he kissed my neck. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” he mumbled.

“Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I blew him a kiss as I walked to my car, my heart heavy with sadness at leaving him. I was falling for him, there was no doubt in my mind.

I was falling hard.

***

Kass was talking in my ear about something, but I couldn’t focus. All I could see was Dalton, over on the other side of the classroom, helping out another student. He laughed at something Emma had said, and my stomach churned.

Why was this getting to me so much? He was a teacher in an all-girl school, of course he had to interact with members of the opposite sex. I just didn’t like having to see it.

“Wrenn? What the hell is wrong with you today?”

I jumped and turned back to Kass, who was staring at me. “Nothing,” I mumbled. “What were you saying?”