my chest, but I noticed that she also bit back a laugh.
“Look,” I said, “first of all, your accent is so thick that no one can understand what you say anyway. It’s pure gibberish.”
“Understand this?” Delaney asked, raising her middle finger.
I reached out and pressed it back into her fist.
“Secondly, we need to keep up the air of intriguing mystery presently swirling around your juicy hips.”
Delaney’s eyes watched my lips move as I spoke; I watched her quickly sink her teeth into her bottom lip.
“And nothing kills intrigue more than things like ‘shit on a biscuit’ and ‘roadkill pie’ coming from those sumptuous lips of yours.”
I lifted a hand to run my thumb along Delaney’s lips. Her mouth curled up into a wicked grin and she said, “Careful. I bite.”
I pulled back my hand to hold up two fingers.
“Suggestion two…” I said, and Delaney waited patiently and listened intently. “…let’s have sex.”
Delaney snorted in laughter, crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned away from me.
“What?” I said, throwing up my hands. “You don’t trust your hard working, diligent, devoted teacher?”
Delaney’s eyes narrowed. “Not even a little bit.”
I sighed in defeat. “Alright, alright,” I said. “Suggestion number three is to avoid rich old men, rich young men, rich old ladies, and, most importantly, rich young ladies.”
I earned another burst of giggles from Delaney. “Isn’t that everyone who’s going to be there?”
“Hmm…” I said, tapping my chin. “I suppose you’re right, Ms Evans.”
Delaney watched me as I puzzled through the dilemma.
“Well,” I said with a slow shrug, “the only thing I can think of is to direct you back to suggestion number two.”
Delaney raised an eyebrow and asked, “And how exactly is us having sex going to help with me avoiding the entire guest list at the Solstice Ball?”
I grinned mischievously. “Because the Solstice Ball ends at midnight.”
Delaney leaned forward and grabbed my wrist, twisting it to spy my watch in the dim lighting. Her head was above my lap and she looked up at me from between long, dark eyelashes and it took all my control to not shift my hips at the sight of her.
“You’re telling me you can last for three and a half hours?” she asked.
I cupped her neck and twisted my finger around a strand of hair fallen loose from her low chignon. I then let my hand trail down to her exposed clavicle and further down…
“There’s only one way to find out,” I said, my voice tight.
Just as my fingers grazed the silky swell of the top of Delaney’s breast, I howled in pain as she latched onto my wrist and twisted it with a surprising strength. Delaney pressed herself against my chest so that her face was mere inches from mine. Her lips were curled at the edges and her eyes were bright.
“Never happening,” she whispered before kissing my forehead.
She then patted my cheek and returned to her seat to smooth once more her black evening gown.
“Ow,” I whined pitifully, clutching my wrist to my chest. “Suggestion number four: don’t assault your tender, beloved, gentle, oh, so kind teacher.”
Delaney laughed easily. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”
Before I could reply, the divider between the front and back seats slid down, and Benson caught my eye in the rear-view mirror.
“We’re here, sir,” he said, pulling the car smoothly against the curb.
Next to me Delaney swallowed heavily and ducked her head to spy the flashing lights outside the hotel out the tinted back window.
“We can still fuck,” I said, grinning casually.
Benson immediately pressed the button to raise the divider once more, but Delaney lifted a hand to stop him.
“He’s joking,” she assured my butler.
I shook my head. “I most certainly am not.”
Benson exited the car to come around to open my door. I scooted over but stopped when Delaney’s fingers brushed mine. I craned my neck to see her, and her eyes were soft on mine.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her hand cupped gently over mine on the leather seat.
A normal human would have simply smiled and said, ‘You’re welcome’. But I had a reputation to uphold of not giving a fuck. It was a reputation I’d maintained for years and I certainly wasn’t going to risk it all tonight. I held on tight to that reputation like a security blanket because I wasn’t sure who I was without it.
So I winked devilishly at Delaney and let my eyes skim down the line of her cleavage.
“You should have let me make you come, Ms Evans,” I said