The Headmaster (11 page)

If this had been a multiple-choice test she knew what she would answer.

All of the above.

With reluctance she felt in her whole body, Gwen left the bed and walked to the bathroom. She’d expected to feel sore after such intense lovemaking. Edwin had held nothing back with her and in her. But she’d never felt better. She wanted a long hot bath for no other reason than to feel the water surrounding her naked body and imagine Edwin’s arms around her again.

She lay back in the water, washed her hair, washed her body, traced the path of Edwin’s kisses on her mouth, neck and breast with her fingers. She stayed into the water until it went cool before getting out and drying off. Friday night…barely nine o’clock and here she was getting ready for bed. This wasn’t like her. No, Gwen had never gotten to go to bed this early in her entire academic career. Before she came here she stayed up well past midnight working, answering emails, writing papers she hoped to get published in scholarly journals. But that part of her life was gone now. Poof. No more emails. No more late-night writing binges. No more “publish or perish.” All that madness was gone and she didn’t miss it. Looking back she’d must have known her relationship with Cary was going nowhere. She’d thrown herself in to the academic rat race even though she resented how far it took her from her real passion—teaching. But that was all over now. As of today she was the new literature teacher at the William Marshal Academy. No one cared if she was published in the
New England Journal of American Literature
. Her only responsibility now was to teach thirty boys everything she knew about literature. And of course, to take care of Edwin’s every sexual want, need and desire. She’d considered that aspect one of the fringe benefits.

She could go to bed early. Nothing else to do, right? She’d taught her classes, gone on a walk, had sex with the headmaster, had her bath…a full day and now it was over. Or was it?

Gwen glanced out her window and saw a light flickering behind the stained glass on the fifth floor of the main building. Edwin was back in the headmaster’s residence. She studied the courtyard and saw no one out and about. The evening had promised to turn cold and it had kept its promise. All the boys were inside their dorms.

Gwen changed from her flannel pajamas into a slip and dress. If someone caught her she would at least look semi-professional.

Carefully and quietly she slipped out of her cottage and walked briskly across campus. She kept her head high and her face forward. She didn’t want to look like she was sneaking around. She wasn’t sneaking around. No reason to sneak around. She was a teacher here. Edwin was the headmaster. She had a half-dozen excellent and valid reasons for going to his quarters at nine o’clock on a Friday evening. Mentally she listed them in case someone asked her.

One—Samuel was the lone African-American student at the school. Perhaps they could add some black authors to the curriculum. Alexandre Dumas, perhaps?

Two—she’d found Miss Muir’s family Bible. She really should mail that to her. Perhaps the headmaster had her address.

Three—did Laird ever stop meddling in the personal lives of his teachers?

Four—Gwen needed to get laid. Again. Also she needed to know the grading scale. But mostly she needed to get laid.

Five—did she mention that part about needing to get laid again?

She knocked on Edwin’s door and he opened it moments later. He’d lost his jacket, vest and tie. That was a good start.

“Miss Ashby, I hope you have a valid reason for knocking on my door this late at night,” he said, his voice stern but his eyes playful.

“Yes. Many valid reasons. Three or four of them. And one invalid reason.”

“And the invalid reason?”

She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

“That one,” she said.

Gwen had expected some chiding, some pushback, some playing hard to get from him as punishment for sneaking to his quarters. Instead she got his tongue in her mouth, which is exactly where she wanted it. He pulled her inside and kicked the door shut behind her so hard she heard the paintings on the wall rattling in their frames.

Edwin ran his hands up and down her back. She unbuttoned his shirt.

“I miss your bedroom,” she said, her voice breathless. “I was only in it a couple hours.”

“How long would you like to be in it tonight?”

“Oh, until next Friday at the very least.”

Taking her by the hand, Edwin pulled her through the living room. He pushed her into the bedroom and shut the door behind them. On the fifth floor with two doors between and them and campus, she could be as loud as she wanted. Good. She wanted him to hear how much he pleased her. She wanted to hear him saying her name when inside her. He kissed her mouth, her neck as she pulled his shirt out from his pants and shoved it off him. With unconcealed pleasure she kissed his bare chest and ran her hands over his rib cage. He was muscular and lean, and she had to bite that little vein that pulsed in his biceps. She started in on his belt but he pushed her hands aside. He unzipped her dress and pushed it all the way down, leaving her in nothing but her white silk slip. She hadn’t bothered with panties or a bra. They just would have gotten in the way. And tonight she wanted nothing between her body and Edwin’s.

She pulled away from his arms and stood two feet in front of him, the bedpost at her back. Slowly, seductively, she pushed the straps of her slip down her arms, pushed the fabric over her breasts and let it fall to the floor. Now she was naked, completely. Except for her shoes. He was so tall that she decided to keep her shoes on until he’d gotten her horizontal.

“Your turn,” she said.

Edwin unbuckled his black leather belt and pulled it out of the loops. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the leather strap in his large hands. Maybe some night she’d talk him into playing a game of Stern Headmaster Punishes the Naughty Student.

“You’re exquisite, Gwendolyn,” he said as he unbuttoned his pants. “Beyond beautiful. If I could sculpt, I’d make a career out of capturing your curves in marble for posterity.”

“You already have me here naked. You don’t have to sweet talk me.”

“It’s simply the truth,” he said. “And a gentleman tells the truth.”

He’d answered the door in bedroom slippers. He must have been getting ready for bed when she knocked. He kicked the slippers off and then stepped out of his pants and dark silk boxer shorts.

“Speaking of sculpting someone out of marble,” she said, stepping forward and wrapping her hand around his hard length. “Marble would not do a body like yours justice.”

He closed his eyes as she stroked him.

“Gwendolyn, let me touch you…”

Gwen covered his lips with her finger.

“You take care of this entire school,” she said. “Let me take care of you.”

She dropped to her knees in front of him. Edwin gasped as she kissed the tip of him with her tongue.

“Gwendolyn…” he said again, in obvious shock.

“Just enjoy it, Edwin,” she ordered. “Even ladies give gentlemen blow jobs.”

“Are you certain of that?”

“Absolutely. And I promise, this will be a ladylike blow job.”

With all her heart she wanted to give him the most pleasure he’d experienced in his life. She took him in her mouth and caressed him with her tongue. She ran her hands over his hard thighs as she sucked him, gently scratched the delicate skin of his hips and stomach. He gasped and flinched and she rejoiced at knowing that he enjoyed what she did to him. He might even be enjoying receiving her attentions as much as she enjoyed giving them.

“Gwendolyn…” he breathed. She tasted the first drops of salt on her tongue. “I need to be inside you.”

She smiled up at him.

“If you insist.”

“I do insist,” he said, taking her by the arm and pulling her up. He captured her mouth with a kiss but pulled back.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I can taste myself on your lips.” He seemed surprised. Not at all bothered. Simply surprised.

“You’ve never tasted yourself on a woman’s mouth before?”

He shook his head. “Never.”

“You poor man.”

He laughed and kissed her again with renewed passion. As he kissed her he pushed her toward the bed.

“Is that something you like, as well?” he asked when the back of her thighs hit the footboard.

“You mean, getting kissed like that?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely,” she said with a seductive smile.

“Good,” he said as he eased her onto her back on the scarlet sheets. She opened her legs for him. The only light in the room came from the antique table lamp on the bedside table. But it was enough to illuminate every part of his beautiful body. She gazed up at him as looked down at her with such desire that she could barely breathe. His eyes were with need. His lips were parted and panting.

Edwin went down on her, feasting on her with his mouth and fingers. His tongue found her clitoris and his fingers pushed into that soft spot just inside her that made every muscle in her body tense when touched.

“There,” she said, grasping his forearm with her hand. “Right there. Like that.” He’d found the perfect tempo, the perfect rhythm. Everything went tight inside her. Tight and tighter. She held on to his arm with a death grip as every breath brought her closer and closer and pushed her higher and higher and just when she couldn’t take it anymore, she came with a rush and a shudder that shook her to her core.

She’d barely recovered from the orgasm when Edwin pulled her to her feet and kissed her again. This time she could taste herself on him. He turned her around and placed her hands on the bedpost. She started to ask what he was doing but then he entered her from behind, her wet body giving him no resistance.

Gwen rested her forehead on the back of her hands and gasped with every rough thrust into her. She turned her head to the side and saw their reflections in the cheval mirror.

Had she seen anything so beautiful in her life as the sight of her body joined with Edwin’s? She watch, mesmerized, as he moved in and out of her, his erection slick with her wetness. His right hand held her by the hip, held her steady as he thrust into her. His left hand roamed the front of her body, cupping her breast, plucking her nipple. Her second climax built as his thrusts went on and on. She’d never been with a man of such stamina before.

“You can come whenever you want,” she said between ragged breaths. “You don’t have to wait for me.”

“Ladies first,” he said and Gwen laughed.

She took his left hand and guided it between her legs. She showed him where to touch her, how to touch her. He took instruction beautifully. He massaged the tight knot of flesh between his fingers until Gwen cried out with her second climax. She stood limp and spent as Edwin held her by her waist and thrust up and into her. He came in near silence, the only sound he made a soft rasp. She shivered as she felt the heat of his breath on her naked back.

She leaned back against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. He had such magnificent forearms. Sinewy and muscular…and the fingernail marks she’d left in them only added to their appeal.

“I want to sleep in your bed tonight,” she said. “Can I do that?”

Edwin turned her to face him and she wound her arms around his neck. Good thing she kept her two-inch heels on the whole time. Made it a little easier to kiss him.

“It would hardly be gentlemanly to send you out in the cold dark night all alone,” he said.

“Yes, those fifty yards between your door and mine could be deadly.”

“You never know what ill could befall you,” Edwin said, running his fingers through her hair. “Bears. Snakes.”

“Lions. Tigers.”

“Fires,” he said.

“I don’t know. I think all the fire is right…” She kissed his chest. “Here.”

Edwin led her to his bed and pulled the covers down. Once under the covers she stretched out on top of him and rested her head on his chest.

“Now that we’re lovers, are you going to tell me all those personal matters you said you couldn’t discuss with a lady?”

“No,” he said.

“No? Did you say no?”

“Was ‘no’ the incorrect response?” he asked.

“It was the opposite of the correct response,” she said. “You said those personal matters of your past would be inappropriate to discuss with a lady. I said what if that lady was your lover and then we were in bed together. Well, here we are in bed together. And we’re lovers now.”

“And if I didn’t tell you?”

“I guess we’d no longer be lovers then.”

“Well,” he said with a sigh. “When you put it that way…”

Chapter Ten

“My past is not terribly interesting,” he began once they’d settled into his bed. Such a luxuriously comfortable bed, she could spend the rest of her life inside it. She hoped Edwin felt the same way about her body.

“Stop stalling,” she ordered. Edwin sighed heavily. She laughed as his chest moved under her cheek with the force of that sigh. “Everything about you is interesting. You’re an Englishman with an overdeveloped sense of duty and chivalry running an all-boys boarding school in the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains. I can’t begin to guess how that happened.”

“It’s really quite simple. After the war—”

“War? You were in the war?”

“Yes, but not for long. The war ended a year after I was commissioned.”

“You were an officer?”

“Low level,” he said, and waved his hand.

She rose up so she could glower at him. “This is a British thing, isn’t it? Not telling people anything about your life?”

“Indubitably.”

“I’ve never met a more British man in my life,” she said and rested her head back on his chest.

“Thank you,” he said.

“It wasn’t a compliment. Go on.”

“After the war, I went to university. I enjoyed what little taste of authority I had experienced in the army. I thought leading a classroom of children would be a similar sort of challenge and reward.”

Gwen did the math in her head. She wasn’t sure of Edwin’s age but she guessed he was about forty. The Gulf War ended in 1991, which meant Edwin was barely twenty when he was in the army. Just a boy not much older than the boys at William Marshal.