His Naughty Lessons
Chapter 55: A Man of His Word

Chapter 55: A Man of His Word

** Eli **

It wasn’t until Harper went to the bathroom to clean up, leaving Eli alone on the bed with tiny residual shudders still pulsing through him, that he finally started coming back to his senses and fully processed what had just happened.

The scent of both of them was still hanging thick in the air, and the image and taste of her climax blended in with the feeling of his own, fitting together into a scene that was ... too lascivious to think back on, even with his body drifting lazily in the calm peace after coming down from the high.

Eli drew in a deep breath. With the clarity that slowly trickled back to his head, he was starting to wonder if he might’ve let things get a little too far. The boundary to their arrangement was blurry, but even in the most liberal interpretation, he’d have to admit that tonight had gone ... just a bit out of control. Too physical, too personal, for something intended as simply "a lesson".

Although, in his defense, she didn’t seem to mind at all ...

The bathroom door from across the hall opened, snapping him back from that moment of doubt, and Harper padded into the room.

She hadn’t taken a full shower, judging from the same shirt she was wearing that only looked slightly damp from splashes. A towel was wrapped around her waist though, so she must’ve just run some water quickly over her belly — God, the mere thought of that image of her rinsing him off was enough to wake up certain parts of his body again. Eli shifted and crossed his legs, hiding between them the thing that was trying to lift up its head.

Why was it that self-restraint had become so difficult recently, whenever Harper was concerned?

He chided himself internally and tried to focus his foul mind on something else. Not Harper’s hair, which was swept up in a haphazard half-bun, half-ponytail that looked so homey and messily sexy, making him want to kiss her. Not her face either, which was radiant with a bright smile and still flushed, making him want to kiss her. Certainly not her eyes—

Her eyes, which twinkled as they stared at something in the bed. "Should I put that back on or ... go get a new pair?" she asked with a wry edge to her tone.

Eli followed her gaze and found that she was looking at the panty he had taken off of her earlier.

Right, he had said that he wasn’t giving it back ...

For a brief moment, he thought this would be the right time to get things back on track and in control. He should probably say that those dirty words were only for her book inspirations, and that he wouldn’t cross the line by actually following through. But then he met her eyes, and the sparkling gleam within that deep emerald green was so gleeful, so full of anticipation, that those thoughts on his mind vanished before he could put them to words.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all, to stretch the boundaries of their "arrangement" just a little ... Neither of them had anything to lose, right?

So he smiled and picked up the lacy garment. "I am a man of my word." He leveled a significant look on her. "And don’t ask me what I’ll do with this. You won’t want to know."

The gleam in her eyes danced. "Oh, I think I can imagine it ... a tiny bit." A grin stretched over her pretty lips. "I’ve read enough books to know the basic idea."

Hmm. That comment made Eli raise an eyebrow. "Are we talking about the same books that were on your coffee table the first time I came over?" The urge to tease her was too strong to hold back. "Do share the details, in that case. I’ve been intrigued by your kink preferences ever since that day."

A new wave of blush rushed over her cheeks. "I-I’m not saying things like that out loud!" she protested. "And stop judging, those books actually have some really good scenes."

Her indignant self defense was so adorable that it made Eli chuckle. "Who said I was judging? I was only hoping that you might give me some better ideas than what I already have in mind ... " Keeping his eyes fixed on her, he rolled her panty into a little ball and sniffed it deeply, chuckling again when she blushed redder and immediately looked away. "Kink is a constant learning process, you know. I was helping May setting up her book fest booth the other day — I heard you met her last week — and I walked away knowing much more about the niche just from flipping through her featured new releases."

That seemed to have gotten around Harper’s defenses. "Book fest?" Her eyes darted back to him with interest.

"Yep, at the harbor this weekend, an event run by the city library to showcase local indie publishers." He tucked her panty away before adding meaningfully, "May’s specialty is all the hype these days, so she’s the one running the booth on behalf of our team. Lots of her favorite books will be on sale."

"Oh." Harper sounded thoughtful. "That actually seems really cool ... Do you want to check it out?"

Ha, this slippery little vixen. Too shy to talk about those books she read, but not shy at all to go browse some more. A smile tugged at Eli’s lips. "You’re that eager to see May’s selections?"

Harper smiled back slyly. "Didn’t someone just suggest — very subtly — that I should be upgrading my reading list? Maybe he can use this opportunity to introduce me to some new books that better suit my experience level." She plopped herself into the bed and snuggled up to his side, lifting her face up toward him in a grin.

It was a peculiar feeling, to see Harper ask him out while lying next to him in bed, practically still naked from the waist down. It made a not-so-special weekend hangout plan feel ... actually kind of special, especially considering the context of kinky books.

He should probably think twice about it though, Eli warned himself. This was probably another decision that would end up getting complicated, once he had the clarity of mind to look back on it. He probably should suggest a safer alternative ... But then he met her expectant eyes again, and that doubt died in his head just as quickly as all the other ones before it.

Yeah, self-restraint was surely becoming difficult whenever Harper was concerned.

"Of course," he said instead. "Tomorrow afternoon?"