A/N: Surprise! I'm back a day early this week. This is thanks to a canceled class and a very inspiring muse whom I aim to please.

Campus Liaisons

Chapter 12: Primal

The lock's soft click hung in the air for a moment and neither of us said anything.

Edward was still facing away from me and I was staring intently at his shoulders. They were wide and proud, and I instantly wanted to run my fingers along the smooth muscle I knew was there.

The silent moment continued.

I wanted to do something, to say something.

But what?

My body was telling me to just attack him. Rip off his clothes and hump him right there on my desk. Morals be damned. Setting be damned. Old, thin university walls be damned.

My mind, on the other hand, was screaming that he was being an annoying, cocky bastard again and needed to be put in his place.

The image of him slowly undoing his buttons in the back of the classroom flashed across my mind again and I felt the tide of arousal in me shift.

God, I wanted him.

The humping didn't seem so bad. Matter of fact, it seemed like the much better option.

We could talk any old time, but now I had him alone with me. In my office. With a locked door. And free time.

Oh, wait. Maybe he had somewhere to be. I hadn't considered that possibility.

"Do you have somewhere you need to be?" I quietly asked, breaking the tense silence.

"Not for another two hours," Edward answered in an equally quiet tone.

Perfect.

Two hours.

What could I do in two hours?

What could we do in two hours?

A lot.

I set my stack of papers down on a little corner table and slid into the chair that students normally used. Edward stood standing and didn't turn around.

Cocky bastard.

"Mr. Cullen, I think there's a few things we should discuss," I said in my most professional sounding voice.

"And those would be what, Professor Swan?" Edward returned and stood motionless.

"First of all, there's the matter of your extremely rude conduct in class today."

Edward slowly pulled the strap of his messenger bag over his head and let it fall to the floor with a dull thud. I moved to the edge of the chair and my legs parted slightly. I couldn't stop my body from moving.

"I don't think it was particularly rude, not after being without any company yesterday," he said.

I huffed indignantly and Edward slowly turned around to look at me.

I watched his every movement, every muscle that twitched and stretched beneath his skin. The strong arms, the sinuous legs, and his stomach that I had learned so well with my tongue such a short while ago.

A low fire began to burn within me, a fire I recognized as one Edward could start with a mere glance in my direction. It smoldered in me, charring me on the edges and desperately looking for that spark to ignite into a full-fledged blaze.

Edward's eyes, so distinctly green and sharp, pierced right through. For the longest time I had felt he could see everything when he looked at me, and now that I knew him better I felt no different.

A whimper left me, uninvited and unwelcome. I could never hide my attraction to him.

But I needed to.

I needed to tell him that playing me like that in the middle of class was not okay. I was a serious professor who wanted a serious job and a serious reputation.

A serious professor who was fucking her seriously hot student.

Oh, yeah. That would fly over real well at my tenure discussions.

If I got that far.

"You can't do that, you know," I said after taking a deep, steadying breath which didn't help much.

"Do what?" Edward asked innocently though I could tell full well he knew exactly 'what.'

"You can't …" I squeaked out before my speaking ability ground to a screeching halt.

Why, you ask?

He took one step towards me. One very large, very sexy step. How could steps be so sexy? Well, hell if I knew, but somehow Edward managed to make steps sexy. Walking. He made simple, ordinary walking sexy.

"Can't what? What can't I do, Professor Swan?" he crooned in his velvet voice.

My breathing picked up and I tried to clear the jumbled mess of my thoughts. I'd been doing what now? Oh yeah, chastising him for flustering me so badly in class.

"You can't distract me in class," I mumbled, my mind still hazy.

"I can't help it if I'm so distracting," Edward chuckled softly.

My eyes narrowed on him and I frowned.

"Yes, you can. The shirt thing," I quipped.

Edward grinned at me, that same knowing grin he always had when he managed to get away with something.

"Oh, right. That," he laughed.

"That."

My breath caught in my throat as he took another step towards me, this time a much larger one. He was so close to me, practically within arm's distance.

My heart was beating so loud in my chest I'm sure he could hear it in the silence of my office. I desperately wished my body wouldn't betray me so easily, but I was never that lucky. My body was so easily swayed by him. It was as if it reacted to him without even being asked to.

I could hear his breathing too and I was shocked that it was just as frantic and uneven as mine. Edward's eyes bored into me and I could see so much behind that special shade of green that was already my favorite color in the entire world.

It almost felt like when he took me home the other night that a wall had been broken down inside him. I had looked into his eyes before, but I had never seen this depth. He hadn't allowed himself to be seen.

Maybe Edward had let me in. Maybe he had granted me entrance to his most secret place: his mind.

Maybe this was something more for him too.

My heart clenched and my mouth fell open in a muted whimper again.

"Bella," Edward whispered and extended his hand towards me.

I reacted without thinking about my movements and my hand came up to find his. The tips of our fingers barely grazed against each other and I felt it.

That spark.

That brilliance.

That something that was pulling us together.

My world was indeed different.

Our fingers knit together and I pressed my palm to his. Edward stood there while I sat, both of us looking at our entwined fingers. It seemed we were both simply in awe of the sight.

"Do you feel that?" he whispered again.

I nodded, too lost in the feel of his skin on mine again. I'd gone nearly 36 hours without touching him that this reunion of sorts was making my brain go completely haywire.

I had really only known Edward for some 48 hours. If that. The moment his lips had grazed my shoulders at the club a few short nights ago, I'd been lost to him. I'd given everything over and surrendered my free will.

There had always been that instinctive pull towards him. From the moment I had set my eyes on him. There was always that urge to take him into me, to consume him and be consumed by him.

And by now there was definitely no stopping it.

I simply couldn't withdraw at this point. I was in over my head.

Once the connection was made, it was unbreakable. A part of me knew that if I would ever have to go without him again that something in me would shatter. I would be left without my base, my being.

But how could I feel this so suddenly?

My universe was playing tricks on me again. Throwing this perfect person at me. A perfect person I could no longer go without from now on.

Was this … love?

Love.

The word hit my brain and my stomach dropped out.

Love.

Love.

Edward.

Love.

Yes.

No.

Edward.

Love.

Could I?

"Bella," Edward's soft voice brought me out of my confused thoughts and I looked up at him to see those same soft tears I'd seen in my kitchen.

"I'm here," I replied, not knowing exactly what to say.

Edward pulled up out of the chair suddenly and his arms locked around me. I was enveloped into his body, and his scent filled my head. He smelled like clean, soap, outdoors and everything. That distinctly manly smell that always managed to drive me crazy.

I melted into his body and clung to him like a drowning woman. My hands clawed at his shirt and I wanted nothing more than to rip it off him. To see what I had seen before. Those defined abs. That gentle V of his hip bones.

Edward was doing the same to me and holding me tightly against him. Almost like he thought he would lose me.

Well, I wasn't going anywhere. I couldn't go anywhere.

Whatever pull I had to him prevented that.

Edward's lips were on me, over me, consuming me. He pressed them hard against my lips, practically sucking on them. I returned his kiss with as much passion as I could muster. I hadn't yet decided if I loved him, but I could still definitely show him how much passion I had for him.

It was deep. Carnal. Primal. Passionate.

It was everything I had never had but always wished for. It was everything I had always read about in all my books. That desperate need to be with someone no matter what was going on around you.

A force of nature.

Edward kissed up my jaw to my ear and sucked on the skin there, causing me to moan out.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Edward gasped. His hands slid down my back and over the curve of my ass. They kneaded me there and Edward ground himself into me.

I could feel his arousal through our clothing and the idea that he was as turned on as I was sent waves of arousal through me.

I wanted him. I needed him.

I had been without.

"Please don't do that in class again," I managed to groan out. "I need to be professional."

"Anything," Edward moaned and took my earlobe into his mouth.

I could feel myself unraveling, coming apart at the seams in his arms. And yet I felt so comfortable. Like I had always been there. Like I was always supposed to be there.

Love.

The tiny voice in the back of my head refused to go away and its voice was getting louder by the minute. I had recognized what I had refused to for days and now there was no turning back. No turning away.

I pressed myself into his body and earned a throaty moan from Edward. I felt the vibrations against my skin and it shook me to my very core. My bones seemed to liquefy and I was suddenly very unsteady on my feet.

Edward seemed to realize this as well and his arms snaked around my waist, lifting me up into him. My legs locked around his waist and this brought my center closer to him.

I wanted him.

Right here. In my office.

"Please," I whimpered. My pathetic voice shocked me; it was thick with need and desire.

"What do you want? I'll give you anything," he whispered into my neck.

"Now," I whimpered again. I couldn't get out what I really wanted: him. I wanted to see him, taste him, touch him, fuck him.

"Anything," he echoed and moved us over towards my desk. It was relatively clear and I thanked my lucky stars for that.

I didn't want to have to sort through stacks of papers hastily thrown onto the floor in fit of passion.

Edward set me down on the edge and leaned into me, kissing me. The room was starting to spin and I knew it wouldn't be long before I lost it.

My arousal was already beginning to seep through my panties and I could practically smell myself. I had been on edge for so long, too long really. From the moment my eyes had locked with his when I walked into class up until this moment it had been growing and surging.

We wouldn't need to fool around much. There wasn't a need for any fingers or hands or mouths. I just needed him. I needed him in me.

Edward's hands fumbled for the button on my pants and I put my hands over his to settle him. Our lips never lost touch as I managed to guide him in undoing first the button and then the zipper. I braced myself on my arms and lifted my hips up so he could slide my pants down my legs.

They were on the floor in an instant and Edward's smooth hands were running up my legs. His touch left fire in his path. Our tongues were battling, each looking for dominance over the other.

We were practically eating each other. It was deep and primal. Animalistic. We were in a rush and any moment between now and when he was in me was too long.

I had gone so far in such a short amount of time. It wasn't too long ago that I had agreed to a night of drinking, only to have my entire world turned upside down. For so long I had been the driven, bookish student and now I was just driven.

I was driven to be with him. Driven to be around him. Driven to be next to him.

And it seemed Edward wanted that with me just as much. His body was telling me as much.

His fingers hooked in the elastic of my panties and he dragged them down my legs. The cool air of my office hit my overheated center and I moaned quietly. My desk was cold and hard beneath me, and my skin was quickly becoming much hotter.

I lunged for his belt and undid it with shaky hands. I had been so able to undo my own pants just a moment earlier, but now undoing his seemed like such a battle.

It was his turn to cover my hand and guide me, something I was thankful for. I needed his pants off. We needed his pants off.

Once they were undone Edward's hands returned to my waist and I snaked my fingers into the waistband of both his pants and his boxers. I tugged them down just far enough to release him from his confines.

He was big and proud for me, already fully aroused.

I ran my fingers along the length lightly and Edward gasped into my neck where he was kissing. I took him into my hands and squeezed just hard enough so he'd feel me, feel that I needed him soon or I would explode.

"Bella," he groaned and thrust his hips into my hand.

I did it again and he moaned loudly, deep and throaty. It was the most beautiful sound in the world. I wanted to hear it over and over, never stopping.

"I … don't … have a condom," Edward said, his voice quivering with need.

"Birth control," I shook out and squeezed again.

"Fuck," he groaned and thrust into my hand once more. "You sure?"

I nodded, quickly losing whatever coherence remained.

I pulled him towards me, leading him. His hands slid down my thighs to my knees and spread my legs open, before sliding back up to cup my ass.

He pulled me forward just as I pulled him closer and his tip brushed up against my heat.

We both moaned at the feeling and I was lost.

There was so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to feel, so much I wanted to do. That image of us on the swings as the two children played in the yard flashed across my mind again and it was my undoing.

I let go of him and allowed him to take over. My hands went to his shoulders, anchoring myself to what I felt would remain the most stable on him. Edward slid himself around my entrance, gathering my wetness as he went.

"God, Bella," he said as his body shuddered and I felt the vibration under my fingertips, even though the fabric of his shirt.

"Please," I whimpered.

He pressed one more kiss into the hollow below my ear as he thrust into me. He settled between my legs, holding still for a moment.

It was a glorious feeling. Being full. Being centered. Being there in this moment with him. It always was so much more than sex for us so far; it was truly a joining of souls.

Even this hot, impromptu, rushed, haphazard office sex was that.

This thought was running through my head until he started to move.

Then all thought erased except how amazing he was making me feel.

My body needed him. My mind needed him.

And he delivered.

Our breathy whimpers soon turned to moans as he picked up his pace. I clung to him, desperate for my anchor. I could hear his skin slapping against my thighs.

My coil, already wound from all the stress of the past two days, was winding impossibly tight again. It wouldn't take much for him to set me off.

I just hoped I could bring him there with me.

I wanted to experience my climax with him. I wanted to bring him as much pleasure as he was bringing me.

We were both beyond words, too lost to sensation and touch to say anything.

I could make out a few stilted groans of my name and I was surprised to hear his name echoed back from my lips.

Edward gripped my hips hard and tilted me. This caused him to hit at a new angle, just the right angle.

I cried out from the feeling and knew I was almost there.

"Bella," Edward groaned and I started to feel his body contracting under my touch.

One last thrust of his sent me flying. I clenched around him and was gone. It must have pushed him over too because he twitched and stilled for a moment before thrusting again.

This peak was different than the others I'd had with Edward so far. It was filled with so much more emotion, so much more feeling that I knew it could only be love.

We were saying it without saying it, just as we'd done on the phone.

The words didn't mean anything when our bodies could say it for us.

Love.

I was feeling him love me.

As I slowly came back to myself, Edward continued kissing my neck, whispering things I couldn't yet comprehend into my skin. His breath was hot against me and I could feel his hands rubbing circles into the skin at my hips.

It was simply delicious.

It was hot and steamy, while still being sweet and romantic.

"Bella," he whispered and smoothed my hair from my forehead. I couldn't stop the tears that came to my eyes from his simple gesture.

"Edward," I whispered back.

"I promise to be good," he said and pulled his head back to look at me.

His eyes sparkled and yet still asked for forgiveness.

"Thank you," I replied and pushed his hair from his eyes.

He smiled at me, the wide dopey smile this time that made him look so much younger.

"Can I put my pants back on now?" I laughed.

"Well, only if you don't want more," he grinned.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well, of course I would like more, but you have somewhere to be and I need to do some work before afternoon conferences," I said.

He grinned at me again, but this time it didn't reach his eyes.

"Tonight?" he asked with breathy anticipation.

I smiled and said, "I couldn't sleep last night. I'm beginning to think I'm addicted to you."

Edward chuckled and reached down to pull up his pants.

I slipped down off my desk and found my underwear and my own pants.

Edward was buckling his belt as I had my hand on my button when a knock came at the door.

We both froze and our eyes locked. I could see the sheer panic and desperation in his and I'm sure that and all that much more was reflected back in mine.

"Bella," he whispered.

My mouth fell open to tell him to do something when the knock came again.

"Professor?" a whiny, nasally voice came from behind the door.

The pit of my stomach dropped out and the taste of desperate panic rose in my throat.

There was only one person that voice could belong to.

"No," Edward choked out, his complexion paling.

Another knock, this time more insistent.

My hands started to shake.

I was so screwed.