Polar Opposites (In Aeternum Book 4) (36 page)

Her pussy was so wet and craving, her gut hurt. She needed what he could give her.

Slowly he stood, dragging his arm out from between her legs in a torturous manner. His kisses ran up her back and to her shoulders before he dipped his head and lapped at her breasts, the flat of his tongue swiping along her taut nipples.

He moved to stand in front of her, his cock poking her belly. She wrapped her hand around it and he moaned low in his throat while capturing her mouth in another toe-curling kiss.

Ivan lifted her in his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the bed, his lips mashed to hers, his tongue surging and dancing in tandem with her own. He laid her back, his larger, stronger body covering her.

She didn’t wait any longer and guided his cock to her pussy. The broad head pushed in easily. Her hand fell away as he drove in with his hips, filling her completely in one stroke.

Words escaped her as passion reigned supreme. Her body shattered and she came around him. That was what she’d needed. She didn’t care—he wasn’t done with her and she knew she would be coming again.

She closed her eyes only to open them again when he tapped her cheek.

“Watch me, Bailey.”

He drew back, slowly, deliberately. Then back in with that same agonizing speed.

“Faster,” she cried.

“No. Slow. Easy. Watch me make love to you.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Watch me so I can see every reaction you have to what I’m doing to you.” He laced their fingers and positioned their hands above her head. “You and me, Bailey Hyde.”

She knew this wasn’t about just the here and now. He was claiming her forever. There was an edge to his words that allowed no doubt to her belief of what he was doing. Bailey tightened her grip on his hands.

“Yes.”

That was all she said. All that needed to be said.

Ivan, as he’d promised, made love to her. When they finally succumbed to sleep, she could hardly keep her eyes open. Her dreams were pleasant ones and she never once woke to a nightmare. She did wake to him eating her out and her cries echoing off the walls.

Her fingers dug into his scalp as her back bowed, hips arched off the bed and she cried, “Ivan!”

He didn’t relent and when she finished coming on his tongue, he rose up and slid inside her with a fierce stroke.

“Now,” he muttered against her lips, sharing her taste with her. “Now, we go fast.”

He hooked her legs over his shoulders, angling her so he could power deeper, and began to piston his hips. Hard strokes. Deep strokes. Unrelenting.

She couldn’t see him—the room was dark as pitch but it didn’t matter. His fingertips bit into her hips as she undulated with his driving thrusts. Their heavy breathing filled the air as she came once more, his name again spilling from her lips.

He slammed into her three more times before she moaned as thick ropes of his cum filled her.

No condom.
It hit her as his release triggered another of her own. They hadn’t used one previously either. Something else she didn’t care about.

His body sank onto hers as he pressed her deeper into the mattress, his lips along the side of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him, telling him without words she wanted him to stay where he was. She didn’t mind him on her, it made her feel safe and protected. And there he stayed, still buried deep inside her.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”

Bailey paused with her hand on the door of the Ford Edge. “No, I’m good. You talk to them and I’ll be back later. I’ll bring something to eat so don’t worry about cooking.”

Ivan smiled. “Have fun, Bailey.”

The one he got back in return was incredible. She’d found herself again. This was the Bailey he remembered. There were no more dark circles under her eyes and she no longer appeared on edge. The serenity he was used to seeing surround her had returned.

“I plan on it.” She hopped inside and, with a wave, drove off.

As she left, he spied Harold and Ross approaching and he waited for them to arrive before going back inside. Soon they all sat in his living room.

“What’s this you wanted to talk to my son about?” Harold stirred his coffee and helped himself to a few of the sweets Bailey had baked before she left.

“Opportunities.”

“I’m not following.”

He glanced between father and son. “I mean instead of a way out with football. The people I work for, the company I represent, has shown great interest in you, Ross.”

“I thought you were just a teacher.” Harold sounded accusatory.

“I’m more than that. I work in a lab most of the time but teach when needed. I’ve spoken to my employer at length about you and how brilliant you are.” He kept his attention on Ross.

“I have to go to college—football is my only chance.” Ross gestured at his father. “It’s the only way he won’t be in debt forever. And my one real opportunity.”

“Not true. At all. Let me ask you something. Would you like a career in physics? Have a lab of your own and people working under you?”

“That would be awesome, but I have to finish school.”

“And you would. My company would fully fund your education, undergrad, grad, however far you wanted to go. There would be no expense to you or your father. They will also provide you with a place to live, but you’d have to be working with them when you weren’t in school. As in, that would be your job. You could still play football if you desire. Your choice.”

They stared at one another and he sensed they were coming around to his side. Ivan poured himself a bit more coffee and ate a cookie.

“I know the lure of the NFL is great, all the money. But do you have a guarantee you’d be there? A lot can happen in college to a player, which can end their football career before it begins. With my company, you wouldn’t have to worry about the damage to your body. And it wouldn’t matter if you played and got hurt, we would still want you. We wouldn’t expect you to pay for treatment like colleges do now. You and your father would be completely covered, insurance-wise.”

Ross whistled. “Dude, who do you work for?”

“A government agency.”

“For real?” Ross leaned forward. “Like the CIA or FBI?”

“Not quite. We have facilities all over the world you could opt to work at once your schooling is done. Or perhaps you’d care to go to school in another country. France. Spain. England. Wherever. We can make it happen.”

“Let me get this straight. You’re offering my son a job, now. One that will completely pay for his schooling no matter how many degrees he wishes to acquire? And all he has to do is work for you? He can go anywhere in the world?”

Ivan nodded. “Yes.”

He leaned forward and placed his arms on his thighs. “Mr Collins, we value intelligence at this company. And we pay well for it. The money he would make in the NFL, should he get there, would be nice but that’s years away, given he has to be out of high school for three years before he can enter the draft. Then there’s the physical punishment. How long will that money last when it is going to injuries accrued on the field of play? Or the wrong crowd who’s upset because of a win or a loss?”

They shared another look and Ivan kept going.

“There’s not that risk and the money would be arriving as soon as you are part of the company.”

“Isn’t this illegal? Asking him to work for you?”

“It’s a job, Mr Collins. No different than him working and going to school. Our business isn’t illegal. I’m just offering another career choice. One that will benefit him financially, take care of his schooling and offers the option to travel.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then you said no, Ross. There’s nothing untoward about this offer.”

“You really think they want me?” Ross scooted forward a bit more.

Ivan picked up another cookie. “I know they do. You have an uncanny and unique way in how you look at physics and the world surrounding it. That kind of insight and dedication would be greatly appreciated.”

“What kinds of things do you work on?”

“More than you could possibly imagine. Before I came here I was on a few things, including but not limited to, dark matter, wormholes, that kind of thing.” He finished his coffee. “I don’t need an answer now, but the sooner, the better. And please, no mention of this to anyone at school. Do you have any more questions?”

They did and he spent the next few hours talking to them and trying to allay any uncertainty they both had. When Bailey opened the door, he was shocked such time had passed.

“Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were still meeting.”

“No problem, Bailey. You remember Mr Collins and his son.”

“I do, nice to see you both again.” She shut the door behind her and carried the bags to the kitchen.

Ross looked in her direction. “Does she work with you?”

“With me? No. Same company, though.”

“Can I go ask her a question?”

“Sure thing.”

Ross rose and walked to where Bailey was putting the food away. Ivan watched her stop and give the young man all her attention.

“I’m concerned this is too good to be true,” Harold said, drawing his attention back to the man speaking.

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” He reached into his wallet and withdrew a card. “This is my boss—feel free to call that number and ask her any other questions you may have.”
I hope to God Howland is better than I would expect her to be in this type of situation.

Harold stared at it, flipping it back and forth before shoving it in his pocket. “I will.”

“And if you have any more questions, let me know. If I don’t know the answer, I will do my best to get it and report back to you.”

Laughter from the kitchen had him looking over there. Bailey and Ross were laughing together and looking all chummy. Ivan approved—he loved watching Bailey happy.

Harold rose and said, “Thank you for taking the time to explain things to us. I think we should go and discuss a few things ourselves.” He scooped up some more cookies. “I’ll just take a few to go.”

“Please, take them all,” Bailey said, walking up. “We have plenty more where they came from.”

“Far be it for me to argue with a lady.” Harold winked and did as she’d suggested.

The two men left and Ivan turned back after he’d shut the door behind them. Bailey sat on the chaise portion of the couch. “So, how’d it go?”

“He’s definitely interested. Was amazed we’d pay for the schooling and all that so long as he was working for us. I tried to emphasize that, unlike football, it wouldn’t be dangerous to his body. And Ross really perked up when I mentioned dark matter and wormholes.”

“You have until the end of school, right?”

“I think they would take him any time. The boy doesn’t even realize how smart he is. All he wants to do is make his father proud of him, but he hides his intelligence to fit in at school. I see it in class because the light goes on and I know how quickly he gets the answer.”

She reclined back, propping up on her arms. “I thought you said there were tests where it looked like he struggled.”

Ivan walked over to her and straddled her, lowering his head to hers for a kiss. “There are. But I’ve been putting extra credit questions on the bottom, stuff we do in the lab and, Bailey, he never misses those. Ever. No one else even comes close to getting it right and it’s not stuff we’ve discussed in class. So I know he’s deliberately dumbing down what he does in class. He’s afraid of being an outcast.”

She hooked her legs up around his hips and tugged him down, so their pelvises met. “Good thing you’re there for him then.”

He trailed one hand up her side to cup the underside of her breast. “If you say so.”

“I think you’re getting distracted.”

“Only think? I’m doing something wrong if you only
think
I’m getting distracted.” He flicked his tongue against the corner of her mouth. “Way wrong.”

“Probably. I could use another example.” Her breath sounded thready.

“Just one?”

She gave him a wry grin. “Or three or four. Hell, maybe ten or more.” She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing her breasts into his chest.

“I’m liking that.” He captured her mouth, bending his arms so she was pressed back into the cushion.
Yeah, I’m liking that idea a lot.

* * * *

“Did you make a decision?”

Bailey stared across the large desk at the man behind it. Kevin McNeal. Her uncle. Her boss. And, until recently, the focus of her anger. She blinked and put her foot in the seat beside her, leaning her head against her knee.

“Why did you save Lynn?”

“She needed saving.” He laced his fingers and leaned back in his chair.

“Is she your daughter? Is she my cousin?”

A few charged moments of silence lingered between them. “Yes.”

“Is that why you wanted her to stay with me?”

His jaw tightened then relaxed. “Yes.”

“Does she know who you are?”

“No.”

“So yet another woman who doesn’t know your relationship status in regards to her.” She shook her head. “Does it make sense to keep so many secrets?”

“I liked you better when you didn’t ask so many questions.”

“And I respected you more before I found out about the subterfuge. Where does that get us? No-fucking-where.”

“What is the meaning of this visit, Bailey? Did you make a decision?”

“I did.”

He waited then raised his brows. “I’m not going to beg for your answer. Tell me or leave and I can make it for you.”

She narrowed her gaze. “That’s the problem—you’ve thought you had the right to make decisions for me. It’s what got us here to the situation we’re in now.”

“This isn’t the
Care Bears
or
Barney
. Shit happens and we’re not always happy about it.”

“You’ll never admit you were wrong, will you?” She waved off any answer he may have been about to make. “I don’t care. I don’t need to hear it. Your approval isn’t my goal. I’m back to work as of now. I will go where you send me, but I think it best we stay out of one another’s way. You keep interfering with my life and I will go work directly under Masters.” She pushed to her feet. “That’s all I have to say. Now, I have to get back in time for high school graduation.”