CHAPTER IX

"Melt away every resolution"

(North & South, Elisabeth Gaskell)

Show me the way to be myself again

Without you

In one first and last embrace

Let us give in

The anonymous call incoming from Wendy's phone could only mean one thing.

Sitting at her desk, she watched her phone vibrate for a while, her hands folded under her chin. She considered the object, lost in thought. She felt oddly calm. Then, as the ringing menaced to die out, she reached for it, almost mindlessly, and picked up, but remained silent.

At the other end of the line, James Hook waited as well; patiently, taking his time and weighing out his words. Finally, he spoke first.

"I was beginning to fear that you would never answer."

"I didn't mean to at first", Wendy answered in complete honesty. "But then I realized that wouldn't stop you." She paused. "Was I wrong?"

Hook chuckled slightly on his end of the line. "I ought to feel slightly worried that you should know me so well."

Wendy didn't comment on this remark. Instead, she said nothing, waiting for him to go to the point of his calling her. Her throat was dry, but she was calm still, so calm.

Hook picked up this silent cue, licking his lips slightly before continuing. She could almost picture him doing so, sitting in front of his own desk, or maybe in his most comfortable chair. She had never seen the inside of his house, ever. And now she felt the need to know what it looked like, just so that she could picture him in detail at this very instant. A voice on the phone could only go so far.

"I think we need to talk, dear."

She laughed silently at this. What an understatement! Heavens, did they need to talk. So many things needed to be sorted out.

But at this moment, she didn't feel like doing the talking. So she only launched a few invitations for him to carry on.

"Yes, we do."

She heard him sigh. She was not making it easy for him, and she knew it. And she didn't feel apologetic about it in the least.

"I'm afraid we need to set boundaries, Wendy. We acted somewhat... recklessly. We might have burned some bridges on our way."

Now Wendy laughed out loud. This whole situation was ludicrous! They knew perfectly well where they were headed to from the very moment she allowed him to lay his hands on her.

The mere thought of his hands on her brought back some vivid memories. They had gone too far already, but she still craved for more. So what was even the point of pretending?

"Hell, Hook. What kind of boundaries do you even want to set? I'm afraid we've established we've passed the point of no return back when you knelt before me back in the classroom. Also, I really hope you've taken lengths to insure our conversation is not being recorded right now."

"Well, since you feel the need to bring this up, I must assure you that what I meant by boundaries was exactly this – us taking precautions." He paused for a while, before adding in a lower tone: "Let me assure you that I, by no means wish to interrupt this – thing we're having. The mere promise of what we still have to do to each other is too great for me to wish to stop."

Now Wendy's bravado was cut short, her breath caught in her throat while she felt herself growing instantly wetter at the suggestion. Aware of the effect his little speech just had on her, Hook continued; she could almost see him smile as he spoke.

"Of course, if we have the need to contact each other, we must do so discreetly. I did take some precautions while calling you – a good thing your University file is so easy to find on the school's online system."

"Now, that could be considered a violation of privacy, sir," Wendy interrupted. "You could get into big trouble for that."

"True, but not as big as being caught doing – whatever I feel like doing to you, my dear. Or you doing the same to me, for that matter." Wendy felt herself growing redder and redder at this remark – and she was not one for blushing. Hook continued, his tone smoother than ever.

"And unless you have any objections, I would very much like to see you again. But – in safer conditions, let us say."

Wendy did her best to keep her anxious gulping inaudible. Now he really went to the point.

"What do you suggest?"

Hook smiled once again, the crooked smile of a man who knew he had obtained what he wanted, no doubt. "Find me this evening. My place."

Wendy took a quick look at the time: 6:02 pm. Even if she had had an assignment due for the next day, she would still have gone at the least indication he wanted to see her; and damned be her Grade-A expectations.

What was she left to do but to accept? They had, as he pointed out, a great deal of things to do to each other. One could only go for secret encounters in small, semi-public spaces for so long.

When she put down her phone, she remained immobile for a while. They still had to work out a lot of things. But how could they possibly discuss any of this while they were both still rendered incapacitated by their seemingly infinite desire for each other?

She only threw on a light jacket and jumped straight to her car. There would be no use for lipstick tonight.

When James Hook heard the knocking on the door, he had to fight to keep his composure. There was no need to act with haste – for the first time since they approached each other again, they had all night before them, and then some.

Still, in less than a few seconds after she had knocked, the front door was opened and Wendy was hurried inside.

She kept still in front of him, staring at him with a hint of defiance in her perfect brown eyes.

He raised his hands and slid them underneath her jacket, softly. Then, just as carefully, he pushed the fabric down, until it slipped from her shoulders and arms, landing in a ruffle on the floor. All the while, he seemed entranced by her presence here, a promise – and deep down, he knew he was entirely devoted to her.

She was there – she had rendered whatever was about to happen next possible. If he had been proud and sensual on the phone earlier, he felt as helpless as a child before the pure look she gave him now.

So the only thing he could do was to bend down and softly kiss her.

And sure enough, Wendy kissed him back, in a perfect combination of acceptation and desire.

She would gladly have allowed him to take her entirely, right there, in his hallway; yet, Hook found the will in him to break the embrace and lead her to a sofa. Always the gentleman, she thought smiling. He laid her down, almost in a gentle fashion, then resumed the kiss which he had to interrupt a minute before.

Her arms around his neck, his body warm atop of hers, and their lips intertwined – it all felt unreal. But most of all, if felt so right – despite everything.

Hook, kissing her. Her childhood enemy had surrendered: once fueled by mutual hatred, their two bodies were suddenly willing to push those memories away. Or it was, perhaps, the only reasonable solution to hatred. That mutual joining into a tight embrace. So she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him closer, always closer.

And suddenly, it was too much.

Once more, she brought her hands to his collar, to his buttons. He interrupted the kiss for a short moment, gazing at her with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Well, aren't you eager, my dear Darling..."

She replied by wrapping her leg around him and brushing closer against his groin.

"Don't act like you're so surprised – or like this displeases you", she replied mischievously. Hook chuckled.

"I would be a fool, as well as a liar, if I didn't." She smiled once more and felt like kissing him once again; and sure enough, he didn't protest while she did.

His hips were moving against her now; in a slow, sensuous rhythm overtaking him. She felt herself growing dizzier and dizzier at the sensation, now loosing herself entirely in the kiss, her lashes brushing against his skin. Not thinking about the consequences. After a while, she even forgot who she even was; all she was, at the moment, was pure rapture.

They had both gone too far to stop now.

She felt his hands work at her blouse, tugging it and removing it, throwing it far away from her. He paused only to stare at her, undone, contemplating her soft breasts rising and falling in an erratic rhythm.

As if hungered by the sight, he worked more diligently now; in an expert manner, he undid the clasp of her bra, which soon enough rejoined her rumpled blouse at the other end of the room. He fought the urge to get lost in the kisses he laid onto her perfect, erect and red nipples – kisses which she seemed to greatly appreciate, given the moans she emitted then – and slid her jeans down her legs, leaving her completely bare before him.

He contemplated her. His Wendy – finally, his and his alone. She felt the weight of his gaze upon her, and was not ashamed. She drank his appreciation in like a nectar.

But as he started to slid he hand along her naked thigh, his pupils dark with desire, she pushed his hand away, tutting him.

"It's not fair I should be the only one in such a vulnerable state here, wouldn't you say?"

Hook smiled, understanding right away. He raised his hand to undo his shirt, but she stopped him, laying her hand on his softly. The contact of their hands still thrilled her. "Let me do the honors," she whispered. Hook gave in, and felt her delicate hands work down, and down, finally reaching the top of his pants – and not stopping.

She then slid down the shirt from his shoulders, the same way he did for her jacket in the hallway; when it reached down to his pants, Hook lent her a hand, and sooner than either could realize, he stood naked before her, having discarded the unwanted layer of clothes far away from them, where they were not needed.

They remained immobile for a while, their legs intertwined. Hook stood erect in front of her, and she could only crave for more as she looked at him. He was all she had ever wanted.

She looked at him – her professor, whom she had qualified as her enemy, an eternity ago. It had all come down to this – this moment of perfect intimacy. The promise of their conjoint pleasure; the thrill of discovering the other, underneath their shared history, underneath the labels – professor, student, neighbour, enemy. It all fell down to one single definition, now; one which, after all, made so much more sense.

Lovers.

Softly, Hook took her hands and raised them atop her head, before pushing her back down on the sofa. And as he worked his way up from her breasts to her neck, she couldn't help but whimper and slither underneath him, her wrists tied together by the firm pressure of his hand upon them. Possessive, yet ever delicate, gentle-mannered. Each of his kisses were declarations of worship on the body he had desired so vividly, for so long.

She caressed his manhood by raising her hips against him, again and again, in a delirious fashion, moaning against his devouring kisses; yet, it seemed he was determined to tease her by denying the connection which she was dying for. She couldn't take it forever; she, too, had waited for so long.

"Please – please," She begged; gods, she never thought she would ever have to beg. He maddened her terribly. "I want you – I want you now, please..."

She felt him smile against her own lips; a wicked smile she came to love and loathe at the same time. But she hadn't expressed her desire in vain: instantly, she felt the tip of his cock caressing her entrance. For a second, he lowered his second hand, and his fingers moved, in a flicker, over her clit; brushing it teasingly. She thrust her hips forward in an immediate response, craving him inside her more than ever. As if to silence her moans, which made him more rapt with desire than ever, he pulled her head down and planted a violent kiss onto her lips. She withered against him, rendered almost delirious by her desire, by his body against her, by him, only him – and at the same time felt him finally entering her, filling her entirely. She moaned, in complete bliss.

"Christ! You feel so perfect..." She breathed in, carefully drowning in extasy as she felt him, whole, against her.

"Oh, Wendy..." Was all he could sigh against her ear, his voice heavy. The sigh caused a hot wave of indescribable pleasure to hit Wendy in the chest. But then Hook began to nimble at her earlobe, sending hot waves of pleasure running through her body.

She couldn't say anything but moan along with him, holding his head against her neck, fingers tangled between strands of dark hair, as he started to kiss and suck at her tender skin. She clenched around his length, delighting in the sensation of having him inside her – inviting him further down their forbidden passion. But she needed more.

"You need to move... Move, James, please..."

The sensuality of her whisper almost caused Hook to moan; and, in truth, he could only oblige but to do what she told him to. He was besides himself. Grabbing her legs with fervor, he angled her against him before pushing her deeper into the sofa. Wendy couldn't repress a loud moan as he pressed further into her – to which he responded by placing one last hot kiss at the nape of her neck.

She was seeing stars already. And then he moved; thrusting into her once, hard. She cried out loud, all shame forgotten.

Gods, it felt like heaven.

He pulled back, if only for an inch, before thrusting once more, his hips digging further against her bare flesh. This time, she couldn't master her emotions any longer and found herself crying his name out loud, over and over again. Soon enough, he did the same, repeating her name in whisper, without seeming aware that he did, in a way that seemed to accompany each thrust.

She was there, against him, quivering with the pleasure he gave her. Her body responded naturally to his ministrations – her eyes were half-closed, and her mind was far beyond her body. But more than that, she was aware that he was – if nothing, a perfect lover. A tough lover, knowing precisely how she wanted it – and, from him, for their first union, she wanted it hard.

Unable to contain herself, she raised her hips to meet him, earning a moan from him as she continued to grind against his body. In a response to his moans came a muffled cry, escaping from her flushed lips.

"Oh, James, don't stop – yes –" Raising his hips in order to graze her clit, he thrust into her once more. And with that, she was undone. "Yes! Right there – oh gods yes, James!"

He was thrusting ever more violently, and was getting closer to his own release. But she needed to come first. That girl had waited for him for so long. He went back to her earlobe, draining more muffled cries of pleasure from her, electric thrills running along her body; she was withering against him frantically, but still crying out his name, her eyes lost in a haze.

She felt him lower his hand to reach her – and his fingers found their way to her erect bud. She gasped, realizing she had craved their return there. His expert manners knew just how to toy with her clit, never rubbing too harshly nor forgetting to tease it perfectly.

Wendy grew impatient, almost maddened with desire; she quivered uncontrollably under him, drawing all the pleasure she could from his ministrations.

Then, with a final flick from his dexterous fingers, she felt him more accurately than ever – strong waves of pleasure rushed through her. And Wendy knew she couldn't hold it any longer.

"James – I am – I'm –" Her head thrown back, she screamed as she felt her walls clenching around him with force. She climaxed more violently than she ever did before.

"James!" She cried loudly, the force of her climax almost too much to take. Another thrust. "James–" A muffed cry died in her throat.

The way she said his name finally allowed him to follow her. He pumped into her with passion, kissing her madly before his release. "Gods! Wendy – my darling…" He couldn't finish his sentence; already, hot spurs were pouring from him. Three times it shot into her.

He collapsed on her shoulder, feeling her erratic breasts mounting and descending against his chest.

Neither truly remembered much the details of what happened afterwards; only that they found themselves profoundly asleep, limbs still tangled on the warm and soft velvet cushions of the sofa.

è_é Well, there you have it. Where to go from now on?