I tried to get him to talk to me, an effort that had only resulted in one of his trademark grunts and an eye roll. "Mom, I'm chill. Stop worrying."
Like that was going to work. I'm a mom. I worry. But I tried to give him space.
Savannah, her mother, and I worked out a deal. They covered the boys in the morning while I continued my cataloging project and, openly now, searched for the ugly little bust of Emperor Vitellius. In the afternoons, I took the kids off her hands, usually with a picnic and a swim.
Tenn played hooky from work in the afternoon most days. To his irritation, everyone agreed he couldn't leave Heartstone Manor for any reason until the last day of the month, even for work. While the will only counted time away from the house if it included an overnight, no one wanted to take any chances.
Tenn gave in with a shrug. Most of a week slipped by that way—work in the morning, play in the afternoon, and me creeping across the hall when the boys were asleep for another kind of play at night.
Across the way, Tenn's door was open, darkness beyond. I didn't need the light. Leaving my own door open, I snuck from my room to his, my body warming as I thought about Tenn. He lay in bed, the sheet at his waist, his chest bared to my eyes.
Yum.
I didn't delay, untying the belt to my robe and dropping it to the floor.
"Efficient," Tenn murmured, flipping back the sheet to welcome me to bed.
I came to him eagerly, fitting my body to his, pulling his lips to mine. I couldn't believe I'd held out so long before getting this man naked. Everything about him was a perfect match for me. He rolled me to my back, settling between my thighs, kissing me everywhere. My jaw, my collarbone, one hand closing around my breast, his mouth sucking at one hard nipple, then the other.
I was ready, soft and slick with need for him when I raised my knees, pulling him up, urging him inside.
"You're always rushing me," he pretended to complain, his eyes burning as he filled me.
"I can't help it." I rocked up into him, taking more, needing to feel him come, to hear his harsh breaths and thundering heart. "It feels too good to slow down. We can always do it again."
I felt his laugh deep inside, all the way to my core. Nuzzling at my neck as he fucked me in that deliberate pace that always made me crazy, he agreed, "True. And again. And again. Or maybe I should cuff you to the bed and take my time."
At the memory, I shivered. Tenn groaned, moving faster, promising, "Later. I'll cuff you to the bed later. Now, I'm going to make you come so hard you see stars."
It didn't take long. It never did with Tenn.
Since the day we'd met, his body and mine had called to each other. Nothing felt so right as Tenn touching me, loving me. We'd never said the words, but I knew. I'd spent so many years with my walls up, doubting men—at the end with Elliott, and then the few guys I'd dated after the divorce. I started with suspicion and never got far enough to let anyone in.
I don't know if I'd ever really let Elliott in. I'd thought I had. Thought what I'd felt for him had been love, at least in the beginning, even if it had faded later. Now that there was Tenn, I knew I'd never loved Elliott. I'd been blinded by his looks and his easy charm, too young to tell infatuation from love. I'd thought it had been his beauty and the sex, but I was wrong about that, too.
Tenn was a million times more handsome than Elliott. And when it came to sex, there was no comparison. Elliott gave me orgasms. Sometimes. Tenn was… everything. Sex with Tenn was so much more than orgasms. It was connection, the feel of his body, his touch, his kisses, and soft words. I was whole with Tenn, and until him, I'd never known something had been missing.
Turning in his arms, I rose up enough to see his face. "I talked to my department head."
Tenn sat up, taking me with him, pulling the blankets around us. I cuddled in, nervous and not nervous at all. I could talk to Tenn about anything, but this was big. He waited for me to go on.
"Back in the spring, when we discussed my course load and me taking the summer off, I mentioned the idea of a sabbatical. We don't have a funded sabbatical program, but a few professors I've known have done self-funded sabbaticals."
"And?" Tenn prompted when I fell silent.
"And when I brought it up, he said he'd approve a sabbatical, but I had to let him know soon so he'd have time to organize my replacement. I also called a friend who knows everything going on around campus and she has a line on a few people looking for sublets for the year. A visiting professor in the Mathematics Department and one in her department. It's a small town and decent housing can be tough to find. Most of the rentals are for students and they're not in great shape."