Teacher's Pets [Unlikely Bedfellows 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Jenna Stewart Read Free Book Online Page B

leave.”
    The room exploded with chatter and movement, as though everyone wanted out before the crazy woman changed her mind.
    “…needs to get laid,” one male student said to another before exiting.
    Whether he meant her or not, he was right. It had been close to a year since she’d had sex. And to think that her first experience in what promised to be a few months of plenty would be with the gorgeous, delicious Beau Johnson.
    She threw her materials into her briefcase and rushed to the door only to be stopped in her tracks by Charles.
    “I caught you!” he pronounced.
    Caught me what? Leaving early? Thinking about Beau? “I’m in a bit of a hurry,” she said.
    “I wondered if you want to see a movie tonight.”
    “I can’t, Charles. I’m going to be busy.”
    He stared for a moment before realization showed on his face. “You mean you’re going to be with him.”
    “With Beau, yes. And I need to get home and prepare.”
    “You’re playing with fire, Leah. That tool of the defense department can’t be trusted.”
    “Charles, stop it. Beau is no more a tool of the military-industrial complex than you or I. He’s a former Marine using the GI Bill for an education. He isn’t still in the military.”
    “And if he were? Did those months of protesting the war mean nothing?”
    “Of course they did. I was against the war as much as the next person. Protesting was a duty. But the war is over now. All of the marches and sit-ins worked. We won.”
    Charles looked thoughtful. “I don’t trust him. I wish you hadn’t chosen him to share your body with.”
    “I chose you , too.” And she had been ready to sleep with Charles after their playdate on Thursday, but he had claimed to be tired after a long day in the classroom. She couldn’t deny the niggling sense of relief she’d felt at not having to make love with Charles. They were friends. She couldn’t help but feel their relationship would change forever once they had sex.
    Without thoroughly thinking things through, Leah had chosen Charles as a subject of her book because of the obvious conflict with and contrast to Beau. Since then, she’d had to admit to herself that Charles didn’t attract her. The closer their date had come, the more she wondered how she would react to him. What if her lack of natural attraction to him prevented her from responding sexually? She hated being so shallow, but there it was. She couldn’t help it.
    Even now, she wished he would get out of her way. She wanted to rush home, shower, shave her legs and underarms, and dress for dinner at Beau’s house. Then—in its natural timing, as he insisted—they would have sex for the first time. The very thought moistened her panties and increased her heart rate. She would have no trouble responding to Beau.
    “Leah,” Charles said in the whiny voice she hated, “come home with me. We’ll have some wine and then go to bed. You can call the baby killer from there and make your apologies.”
    “Stop calling him that,” she said, and frustration gave her words a sharpness she normally wouldn’t use with Charles.
    His eyes widened and he took a step back. “You’re determined then.”
    The red flag of tenure waved before her. Since deciding on her course of action, she had called Whitestone and a second publisher who knew the academic world. Her book would be ground-breaking. They had both assured her that no other book like it existed. That was the reason she couldn’t wait to fuck Beau. Nothing else.
    She stiffened her back. “I am determined. Are you still willing?”
    “No.” A cloud passed over his face. “Yes. Hell, I don’t know. I just don’t understand you anymore, Leah. It’s possible my attraction to you has dimmed somewhat.”
    Her heart both sang and sank. Who would she choose as her second man? The negative feelings Charles harbored for Beau would have added so much to her study—would he try harder to win her attention from the Marine, or would he