Until We Meet Again (Breaking the Rules #1)

by Lea Rose

I'm exactly where I want to be—at home, avoiding people. I'm cozied up in my pink reading chair, losing myself in a story about a girl who falls in love with her brother's best friend—a trope I adore. Honestly, any book that allows me to escape into my own little world of passion and desire is my kind of thing. Give me all the angst!

Nothing—literally nothing in life—makes me happier than reading about a man whose love for his girl is so all-consuming that he would willingly set the world on fire to keep her by his side. However, because of these fictional men, my list of book boyfriends grows longer by the day. As do my unrealistic expectations.

I want someone who makes me crave them so badly that their 'hello' sounds like 'come here'. To consume me in every possible way. Someone who leaves me breathless. I want fire, desire, and every other emotion that takes over you and makes you forget who you are.

"You have one life, Zane, and you have to make it beautiful because I need you to live for both of us."

"You're beautiful, and I want you, but I'll never move faster than what you're comfortable with.

"Kiss me." I gently kiss her mouth, fighting the urge to devour her the way my body craves. But the connection confirms everything I already knew, and as I pull back with my eyes closed, I bite my bottom lip in frustration. "Now kiss me like you mean it, Zane."

She's addictive, and I'm completely fucked.

"What do you want, Professor?"

You spread out on my desk, begging me for my tongue.

"You have no idea how badly I want to fuck the brat out of you, Tessa, so don't ever say that to me again."

P.S. I MISS YOU In desire’s dance, your lips I seek, To seduce you, to make you weak. My heartbeat quickens, veins ablaze, While lust twists in a fiery haze. Connected, our passions entwine, A taste of euphoria, so divine. With every sip, you drink me in, A thirsting desire, a forbidden sin. Drink deeply, and let yourself fall, Intoxicate your senses, surrender to my call. Let lust swirl like a dizzying dance, A tornado of emotions, a tantalizing trance. Allow yourself to be consumed by me, by this fierce lust, As we spin in a room, where time turns to dust. I want to make you so very dizzy. Please, Professor. P.S. Do you still miss me?

"Don't ever label yourself a casual hookup, Tessa, because that's not what this is. I know I can't give you the fairy tale, love, or anything else that comes with it, but I'll never think of you as someone I'm just fucking. It's more than that, and you know it."

"Because you've waited a long time, and you deserve to be treated like a queen before I bring you home and fuck you like my whore."

Looking down at him, I no longer see Zane, my teacher. Instead, I see Zane, the man who's ignited something inside me that I've never experienced before. This Zane is the one I've been waiting for, and despite the challenges that wanting him brings, the universe sent him to me anyway.

"You have no idea how many times I've imagined you like this in front of me."

"And you have no idea how many times I've thought about how good your cum will taste."

"Was it okay for you?" I look up at him, wishing I didn't need reassurance, but I find myself looking for it anyway. I've had little to no experience, and it's difficult not to wonder about or compare myself to other women he's had.

"Feeling you come around my cock was everything I ever imagined it would be with you and more."

Good girl. Make your way over to my house later. I want you there before me, and I swear to God, Tessa, if I find you wearing any panties, I will drag your pleasure out until you're climbing the fucking walls.

"You know I'm crazy about you, don't you?"

Ignoring the flutters in my chest, I nod at him, and he decorates my throat with his hand while his lips ghost mine.

"Remember that…" He pinches my nipple between his fingertips and pulls my lower lip between his teeth. "Because I'm a...

A new favorite moment of mine is when Zane holds me after we've been intimate. I'm not sure if it's something I expected or believed I needed from him, but I always feel so at peace in his arms. I look up at him, trying to make sense of my feelings for him, and I can't help but wonder if he feels anything remotely close to what I do, and if he does, would he ever acknowledge it? Because I can't imagine having this with anybody other than him.

Laying curled up in his arms, I grab my book and start devouring the last few chapters of Jaxon and Emily's story. Meanwhile, he's lost in the pages of Beneath a Scarlet Sky as we soak in the peace and calmness we find in one another.

Whatever this feeling is, I never want to let go of it.

"I’m completely addicted to you, Tessa," I whisper as a sob catches in her throat. "I’ve never wanted another person like this. Half the time, I can’t get my head straight because the only thing I can think about is you."

"I almost had you, didn't I?" My voice trembles as the words I wish I'd kept locked inside leave me.

"That 'almost' will haunt me for the rest of my life, Tessa."

"Close your eyes, sweetheart," he whispers. "Don't watch me walk away from you." I shut my eyes tightly, and a tear slips down my cheek, falling onto his pillowcase as he leaves me alone in his bed, closing the door behind him.

I can't bring myself to tell her I love her or allow my heart to fall for her completely when the last person I said those three words to never woke up. I never got to hear her voice again or see her smile, and I carry that pain with me every single day.

She deserves someone who can openly love her without needing to run from it every five seconds.

T: I didn't want to wake you, but I'm okay. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye. Please understand that I just couldn't. P.S. Whatever happened that hurt you, I hope one day you can let someone in to help you heal.

Hey, sweetheart, I hope you're okay. What am I even saying? Of course you are. You're graduating. I know how much this day means to you, Tessa. I know that this is everything you've been working toward. I don't know if you'll hear this before you get up there and do this today; I don't know if you'll listen to it at all. For all I know, you could've blocked me, but I just want to tell you that I'm so damn proud of you, and when you walk up there, I want you to know that you deserve everything good in this world. I won't be there today; I decided to stay away so that you could concentrate on yourself and your family, so please don't worry about possibly seeing me because the last thing I would ever do is taint this day for you. I hope you get everything you want, Tessa. You deserve the world, the moon, the fucking stars, and anything you want in life is there for you to take.

I want to become a better man, one who can accept the love of the woman he's fallen for, but I won't be able to do that until I've healed my screwed-up and broken mind, which is why I need to speak to my sister. I can't offer Tessa love right now, but I want to because I feel it. It's there, buried deep inside my still-damaged heart. I won't ever be worthy of her unless I can offer her the world, and when that day comes, I'll fight for her. I'll fight every day for the rest of my life if that's what it takes because I refuse to let her be the one who got away.

The moment I figure out the words to say to Tessa and have a plan to win her heart back, I'll be on the first flight back to Chicago. I'll show her that I'm the right man for her and prove that my love for her is stronger than anything else.

I'm hers and will forever be hers.

"I was broken, Tessa, and I didn’t think I could ever heal what was shattered inside me, but that all changed the day I met you. You brought me back to life, and I don’t think you understand how beautiful you make my world just by existing in it."

"I should’ve told you that you’re everything I dream about, you’re everything I think about, and god, I hate that I’m about to do this without being able to hold you, but I love you, Tessa. I'm so in love with you."

"I just want you. I want us. I want Sunday mornings where I can read to you while I play with your hair. I want to wake up in the middle of the night with you in my arms before I worship your body like the goddess you are. I want fifty years from now where we're sitting on the front porch of the home we built together with a bunch of grandkids running around us."

"I want to build a life with the woman I'm fucking crazy about."

P.S. I MISS US I want you. With me. Beside me. Inside me. My soul aches for your touch. God, I miss you so much. Consume me, Professor. Your breath on my neck, My heart knows you're near. Watching you smile as I whisper, "I'm forever yours" in your ear. I want you. I love you. I'll love you loudly, Love you fiercely, And if you ever want to run, Just run with me. If I'm anything in this life, I'm yours. P.S. Find me and kiss me. Kiss me like you missed me.

I have to read it twice to ensure my mind isn’t playing tricks on me. But as I spin around, clutching the poem tightly in my hand, I open the door and find Tessa standing there before me. Her smile lights up her entire face, and I fall even deeper in love with her.

My girl. My...

She came home...

"Are you mine, Tessa?"

"I've been yours since you asked me what my favorite book was."

"I've loved you in this house that only feels like a home when you're in it, and I've loved you out there when I couldn't show the world that you're mine. You're everything to me, Tessa. You always will be."

"I'll stay."