“Charming,” Shawn said dryly—or rather, tried to, but his voice came out a little breathy.
Rutledge lifted his head from his neck. His pupils were completely blown as his gaze alternated between Shawn’s eyes and mouth. “I’ll come to your place tonight and we will fuck.” That wasn’t a question.
Shawn wet his lips. “Already forgot about the twins?”
Wrong answer. He should have refused outright.
Rutledge stared at his lips, his thumbs stroking Shawn’s bare stomach. “Aren’t kids supposed to go to sleep early?”
“I— I can’t leave them alone. What if they wake up?”
“We’ll be quiet.”
Shawn wasn’t sure he could be quiet. Not when he already had to swallow back moans just from having Rutledge’s hands on his stomach.
“But—”
“I’ll come tonight,” Rutledge said firmly. “And we’ll fuck.”
He started leaning in to kiss Shawn again, but stopped, looked away and stalked out of the room.
Shawn banged his head against the wall and had to wait for a while until his arousal faded and he could think—and move—again.
“How very nice of you to deign us with your presence, Mr. Wyatt,” Professor Travis said when he entered the classroom. “Only twenty minutes late.”
“I’m sorry, Professor,” Shawn said, trying not to squirm under her sharp gaze. Professor Travis had never particularly liked him, but her class was actually one of his best, so she usually had no reason to criticize him. Until now.
“Do you have any explanation, Wyatt?”
Shawn rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, yes. Professor Rutledge had an urgent task for me. He told me to apologize to you on his behalf. He’s the reason I’m late.”
The woman’s eyebrows flew up. “Professor Rutledge?”
“Yep,” Shawn said, trying hard not to laugh. He couldn’t imagine Rutledge apologizing for anything, much less to this woman. “I’m really sorry for my tardiness, but if you have a problem with it, you’ll have to take it up with Professor Rutledge.”
Like hell she would.
Professor Travis still looked puzzled but nodded. “Very well. Sit down, Wyatt.”
Shawn headed to his usual seat next to Christian.
“An urgent task, huh?” Christian murmured as soon as Shawn took his seat. “Like sucking his dick?”
Shawn felt himself blush. “Come on—”
“Look,” Christian said quietly, his brown eyes looking at him intently. “I’m not judging. But you shouldn’t have lied. It’s over, my ass.”
Shawn winced. “I really thought it was over, I swear. And it is. But…”
“But?”
Sighing, Shawn murmured, “I’m kinda really bad at thinking with my head when he puts his tongue in my mouth.”
Christian stared at him for a short while before shaking his head slowly. “This is so weird, man. I mean, this isn’t even some random guy we’re talking about. It’s Rutledge. Rutledge!”
“I know. I know it’s weird, and stupid, and totally crazy and pointless. He’s everything I don’t want, but at the same time… Shit, it’s fucking with my mind.”
“But you still want him.”
“Yeah,” Shawn said.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“He thinks if we fuck a few more times, it’s bound to get boring.” Shawn leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his face. “He’d better be right.”
He’d better be.
Chapter 16
The girls fell asleep at nine in the evening, just after Shawn returned from work.
After that, Shawn spent an hour trying to make the shabby apartment look semi-presentable. At last, he gave up on it as a lost cause and took a quick shower. Putting on a pair of old blue shorts, Shawn was drying himself off when there was a quiet knock on the door.
Barefoot, Shawn tiptoed to the door and opened it.
Rutledge’s gaze immediately fixed on his bare chest, his nipples, his belly button before settling on the shorts that were riding low on his hips.
Shawn cleared his throat quietly and Rutledge looked at his face.
In the semi-darkness of the room it was hard to read his expression.
Shawn pressed a finger to his lips and pointed to the girls’ bed.
Rutledge nodded curtly.
Shawn took his hand, pulled him inside, and locked the door. Then he led Rutledge to his bedroom.
It was the only bedroom in the apartment. When they had just moved in, Shawn had intended to make it the children’s room, but it was cold and damp, so he’d ended up taking it himself.
The room was also small and void of any furniture besides a narrow bed and desk. Shawn would have felt more embarrassed if Rutledge was actually looking around, but he didn’t seem to be interested in his surroundings as he quietly shut the door and stared at Shawn in the dim light of the lamp.
Rutledge started silently undressing.
Shawn’s heart beat faster and he could actually hear his own breathing, uneven and shaky. He stood still and watched, his skin warm, his cock hard and heavy in his shorts.
At last, Rutledge was naked. Looking completely unselfconscious, he walked to the bed, sat down and patted his knee, tension rolling off him in waves. His erection stood long and thick from a thatch of dark hair at his groin.