Playing Hard to Get(68)

Knox grimaces as he pulls a chair out and falls into it. “I do. She gave us time to work on the paper in class today, but I’m sure I mangled it.”

“You probably didn’t,” I reassure him as I settle into the chair right next to his. “Let me read it.”

We work on his rough draft for the majority of the hour. Me offering him tips and tricks while he pecks at the keyboard, frowning in utter concentration. A lock of hair hangs over his forehead and it’s the cutest thing. My fingers itch with the urge to push it back, but I restrain myself.

I mean, I had his dick in my mouth a couple nights ago, but it still feels too soon to be all touchy-feely.

Oh, and he smells incredible, like he spritzed himself with some sort of cologne infused with pheromones and an aphrodisiac, making me want to bury my face into his neck and never, ever leave.

“You keep staring at me,” he says at one point, sending me a shit-eating grin when I gape at him.

I sit up straighter, keeping my focus on his laptop screen. “I’m trying to help you.”

“By staring at me?” The moment I turn to explain myself further, my lips parting, he leans over and kisses me, brief and full of tongue before he pulls away. “It’s not helping. You’re a complete distraction.”

Oh my God, he’s the distraction here.

“We need to stay on task.” I wave at his laptop. “Keep writing.”

“I hate writing papers.” He groans, shaking his head.

“You’re so close. Only a couple more paragraphs.”

“I need a reward,” he says, dead serious. “Something to keep me going, so I finish this stupid essay.”

I check the time on his laptop. “We can make out for five minutes straight if you finish it in ten,” I offer, somewhat kidding.

“Deal.” He hunkers down, staring earnestly at his computer screen while he continues to write.

Of course, he finishes only a few minutes later, angling the laptop toward me, so I can read it. It’s a standard college essay that’s about two pages, and I skim over it, making a few spelling corrections and fixing grammatical errors before I declare it’s good enough to turn in. He sends it with a few clicks of his fingers, then slams his laptop shut, turning to me with that naughty grin he tends to wear.

“You owe me now, Sutton.”

I arch my brow. “Oh, you’re calling me by my last name now huh, Maguire?”

He nods, reaching for me, lifting me completely out of my seat and pulling me onto his lap. I have no choice but to straddle him as he slips his hands beneath my cropped sweatshirt, touching bare skin. “You’re killing me with these crop tops, Sutton.”

“They’re not even that cropped, Maguire.” His fingers slide around to my back, his touch so light, it’s making me shiver. “They barely show any skin.”

“That’s the problem. It’s like a sexy little tease.” He kisses my neck, his mouth lingering. Soft. Damp. “Those words describe you perfectly.”

I rest my hands on his shoulders, leaning into his mouth. “A sexy little tease? Pretty sure no one has ever called me that before.”

“Hmm, it’s true.” His right hand slides down my side, his fingers tracing atop the waistband of my jeans. “I can’t stop thinking about what happened the other night.”

I love it when he makes these confessions. They make me feel so wanted. Something Bryan rarely did. “The other night was…”

“Fucking awesome.”

“I was going to say really good.” He nips at my neck, making me giggle. “But your description works too.”

“You snuck out though.” He pulls away slightly, so he can look into my eyes. “I don’t remember hearing you leave.”

“I just—I needed to get home. Sleep in my own bed. I made sure and locked the door before I left.” Not the deadbolt but I tried.

“It’s okay.” He skims his fingers from my jaw to my chin, catching my lower lip with his thumb and dragging it down before he releases it. “Fuck, I like your mouth.”

My cheeks grow hot at his compliment. “We only have like…four minutes left, Knox. You better take advantage of your reward before we have to leave.”

He cups my cheeks with both hands and pulls me in for the most delicious tongue-filled kiss I think I’ve ever experienced. Better than the first time he kissed me. Better than a couple nights ago when we couldn’t stop kissing. Better than anything.

We keep it up for long minutes until I’m finally pulling away from him, out of his embrace, and climbing off his lap. He reaches down, readjusting himself, and I smooth a shaky hand over my hair, working my jaw to ease the ache.

“I’ve never kissed a girl as much as I’ve kissed you in my life,” he admits, reaching for his laptop and shoving it into his backpack.

Another shockingly sweet admission from Knox Maguire. I feel like I get a lot of them, and every one of them is a surprise.

“Oh, come on.” I gather up my things and put them in my book bag, then slip it on my shoulder. “That sounds—”

“Unbelievable? Well, it’s true. And it’s all I can think about.” He grabs hold of my waist, yanking me toward him and my thoughts scatter.

“What’s all you can think about?”