Chapter One

 

Zoe Caldwell liked to pretend to an insouciance she did not possess. She actually didn't have much self-confidence but hid it behind an act, a pretense of being aloof to anything which happened around her which might otherwise be embarrassing. That included people saying rude things to her, especially boys, or making mistakes in front of other people.

One of her teachers had once even commented to her parents about her lack of emotion in her response when he chastised her or praised her. In truth, she was afraid to show her emotions in case someone took advantage of them and mocked her.

She had been relentlessly bullied when younger. She had bad teeth, and thus braces fairly early in life. Her hair seemed uncontrollable and would never stay where she put it. And she remained beanpole thin deep into her teen years. The boys had shown her little interest other than noticing she had a very shapely bottom. The girls had mocked her.

And then she had begun to develop and her body had changed. Her braces came off, her hair seemed to shift into something smooth and silky, and her breasts had suddenly sprouted several cup sizes practically overnight. The newfound attention that brought her from boys was extremely embarrassing.

But her newly shaped body certainly didn't cause the girls who taunted her before to suddenly embrace her as one of them. They simply found other reasons, including the growing size of her breasts to sneer at her for. They were jealous, she knew. At least she knew that intellectually. Emotionally was an entirely different thing.

They called her a snob for her lack of reaction when they teased her or said unkind things. But holding her emotions in check was her only way of fighting back and not giving in to their taunts.

As they all got older, the bullying let up considerably. Though she did learn there was a bet among her male classmates about who would cop her cherry. That caused her to look at all of them with extreme suspicion, for she'd have been mortified if she slept with one and they then told everyone else.

When she graduated from high school bullying basically disappeared. Still, she eagerly anticipated her new life as she arrived at college for the first time. No one here knew her. No one here knew anything about how she used to look. All they would see would be a very pretty, green-eyed girl with long, silky brown hair and a very shapely body.

She anticipated being popular, finally. She would no longer have to keep her head down or ignore the invitations she got for fear they were simply trying to lure her into a trap. The problem was, of course, that she had become set in her ways. Despite her looks, which even her worst critic, which was herself, had to admit rivaled anything one would see on the internet, she still felt self-conscious and anxious whenever strangers looked at her.

And she remained wary that someone being nice to her might just be setting her up to mock her in front of their friends.

When Evan Lord knocked on her door in the dorm, she had opened it carefully and inspected him suspiciously. That didn't mean she didn't immediately appreciate how good-looking he was. He had carefully coiffed blonde hair brushed back from his forehead, blue eyes, high cheekbones, a square jawed face, and broad shoulders.

She was quite sure that he got more than enough girls in his life and wondered what he wanted with her.

He smiled broadly displaying perfect teeth.

You absolutely must be Zoe Caldwell," he said. "My name is Evan Lord, from the freshman welcoming committee."

"You don't look like a freshman," she said doubtfully.

"You are a very discerning woman," he said. "I am a senior. It falls upon the shoulders of us seniors to welcome the newest class each year in order to lend them our knowledge and assistance as they begin their scholarly career here."

She raised her eyebrows in disbelief and was greeted with another of those broad, charming smiles.

"I would like to offer you a personal tour of all the more interesting spots on campus, information I have gleaned over the last few years on where the best places are to study, where the snack machines are, which cafeterias and restaurants are both the fastest and have the best food, the shortcuts between where you are and where you want to be, and information on your teachers before you encounter them. I offer this all for the tidy sum of only your company."

Zoe had not had an awful lot of experience with boys to date, but she recognized bullshit when she heard it. Then again, she didn't think he actually meant her to believe him. She suspected he had seen her picture in the freshman guide which was produced to acquaint freshmen with their classmates and had picked her out as a likely target for his seduction efforts.

Boys, in her experience, wanted only one thing from girls, and that was sex.

Still, one of her resolutions and hopes when coming here was that she rectify her lack of experience with guys. And this would be the ideal place, away from home, where unlike at high school she didn't have to worry about it being a trap or her reputation being damaged. It was a big school, and the people here were no longer children. It would hardly shock them that so-and-so had slept with such and such. Dating and sex were perfectly acceptable and expected.

And he was awfully good-looking. And charming. The alternative was sitting in her dorm examining her textbooks alone. Her roommate had come and gone in a rush to join friends she had already made. Maybe this guy would be the first of her friends. She certainly had to start somewhere!

"I don't believe a word you said but if you want to show me around I'll give you a chance to convince me," she said.

He beamed happily at her. "Because I'm hot, right?"

"And you're here because I'm ugly?"

He grinned in amusement, then stepped back and waved his arm as he bowed to her.

"After you, Mademoiselle."

Evan turned out to be an amusing guy. He was also a font of information that would come in very useful over the next few years. He did indeed know all the best places to study and relax and get food. He was also rather handsy. Oh, he was smooth enough about it that she actually admired his skill.

It started with his hand on her back, gently guiding her. It moved onto his hand casually draped across her lower back, hand on her hip as they walked. He took her hand, several times, and was not quick to release it.

Zoe was not stupid. She knew very well what he was after. But then she'd known that as soon as he started talking. And she hadn't decided yet whether or not he was going to get it. Then she chided herself for lying to herself. She had already decided he was going to get it. She'd simply not yet decided how much work he had to do in order to justify her giving it to him.

She didn't want him to think she was some kind of easy slut, after all.

But the truth was, the more he touched her, the more comfortable she felt about him touching her. And the more she anticipated him touching her more. His first kiss was little more than a light peck on the lips. There and gone before she could object.

Some minutes later he cornered her on an outside staircase, with lots of students around so she wouldn't feel trapped. Caught between him and the railing behind her she tilted her head up as he leaned in and kissed her. She didn't fight him but kept her hands on the rail as he kissed her softly, and gently.

He was very good! In fact, she could feel her heart beating faster with every passing second. His lips moved softly against hers, not dry, but not wet. His right hand slid around her to caress her just below her shoulder blades while his left slid up through her silky brown hair behind her head.

The kiss deepened and his tongue lightly slid along his lips where they caressed hers. She felt an unfamiliar throbbing down low in the sudden tightness in her chest. She was still caught in her old familiar habits of showing no emotions or responses, though. Her fingers were tight against the rail on either side of her body, keeping her arms from sliding up around him.

She simply accepted his kiss, without response other than to be polite and kiss back. And even that was slow in starting. She was astonished at how long the kiss was lasting. Was he waiting for her to break off? Did he expect her to push him away? Probably. So she should do that!

She didn't want to, though.

Finally, she loosened her grip on the rail and put her hands against his chest to push back lightly. He acquiesced at once, easing back and smiling down at her. His hands, both of them, slid down her back until they were lightly squeezing her buttocks.

"You're very... cocky, aren't you, Evan Lord?"

She was proud that her voice was only a little breathless.

"It's the duty of we seniors to mentor our juniors," he said.

"In kissing?"

She cursed herself for saying it. For she was fairly sure she wasn't anywhere near as good as him. She felt a sudden sense of chagrin and self-consciousness, suddenly aware of the gaping distance between his level of sexual sophistication and hers. And while he might not have yet realized it, if she let him go further it would not be long before her lack of experience and skill in that department became obvious.

And yet, that would happen with anyone. She couldn't get the experience to get the skill until she started sleeping with guys. Whoever she slept with was going to realize that she had very little experience. She could fake it, to a degree. She had read a lot on the internet and even watched porn videos so that when the eventuality happened she wouldn't seem like some completely clueless virgin.

It seemed a pity to waste her first time on someone who had potential. Then again there are lots of men at the school who had potential. And it would be a pity for her first time to be with someone who didn't know what they were doing. Because that would make two of them, and probably result in a pretty messy and uncomfortable situation.

"In life," he said with a smile.

"Well, we'll just have to see how much of life I decide you should be showing me," she said.

***

He lived off-campus, which didn't really surprise her. He was a senior, after all. He lived in a two-bedroom apartment on the fourth floor of an older building. It had a surprising amount of light coming in from large windows overlooking a shopping mall across a busy road.

The view was not exactly spectacular, and if you opened the door to the balcony or the windows you would hear the steady drone of traffic at almost all hours of the day and night.

But the master bedroom was very large, and it had a decent-sized kitchen.

She had come for coffee after a movie, but been prepared for a lot more. They started out on his leather sofa, where his hands skillfully drew her in closer and then began to lightly caress her body. With the surge of excitement came the fear of embarrassing herself. And she had anxiously weighed how much she should let him do before putting a stop to it.

He was doing amazing things to her breasts. Boys had groped them before since she'd gotten big enough to grope, but they had never made them throb. Nor made her nipples burn and tingle the way he was doing. Most boys simply squeezed her breasts again and again so they ached. Evan caressed them, squeezing them ever so lightly, letting his fingers glide across her nipples even through her shirt.

He took his time getting his hand inside, and deftly undid her bra before she even knew what he was doing. Once he got his bare hands on her breasts she felt herself sinking into a warm, glittering river of liquid heat. She was becoming more aroused than she ever had with a guy before and startlingly quickly.

This wouldn't do, at all. He'd think she was a slut! She needed to slow things down. She broke away and stood up with a gasp.

Weren't you going to get me a drink?" she gulped.

She thought she saw a scowl on his face momentarily, but it soon disappeared and he grinned at her as he stood up.

"Of course, fair lady."

He went into the kitchen and she walked over to the door leading to the balcony then opened it and stepped outside. The balcony was nothing to write home about. It was a concrete box you couldn't see out of if you sat down. But the air was fresh and she leaned on the stone railing to look down at the grass and trees below and then over at the lights of the mall on the other side of the road.

Evan soon came up to join her and handed her a glass of something clear.

"Vodka lime and soda," he said as he handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said.

He joined her at the railing, of course, standing behind her, his hands gently massaging her shoulders as she brought the drink to her lips.

She did not drink from it, however. She had been too wary for too long to trust a guy she'd only known for a couple of days to make her a drink out of her sight. Although she told herself she was being silly since she was going to give him what he wanted anyway. If not tonight, then very soon.

His hands slid down to her waist and then pushed up inside her shirt. As they slid up inside she felt a hot throb of excitement for his hands felt deliciously erotic against her bare skin. Given he had been fondling her bare breasts she could hardly object to him caressing her bare back so pretended to sip from the drink again as his hands slid gently up and down.

She was not surprised when his hands shifted further to the sides and then came around in front to cup her bare breasts, squeezing them up and back as he leaned in to kiss his way along the nape of her neck. His hands felt wonderful against her breasts and her nipples burned hungrily.

His lips made their way up under her ear, and he sucked lightly on her earlobe even as his right hand slid down off her breast to caress her belly and abdomen. She felt so distracted by the rising heat she was barely aware of his fingers pushing in under the waistband of her pants until they were already inside her panties.

She gasped then but her body was pressed firmly against the rail a little below her breasts and she held the drink in her hand which delayed her reaching down to grab at his wrist. He took advantage of that delay, and before she could grab him, his fingers had found the top of her tightly closed lower lips.

"You're so beautiful!" he whispered into her ear.

The touch of his fingers against her there, moist fingers, for some reason, and the quick little rubbing he gave her right from the start, sent a wild emotional jolt through her mind even as the sensations erupted with startling power between her legs.

"I want to possess you," he whispered.

Her hand had closed on his wrist, but his fingers were deep inside her pants, rubbing insistently and skillfully in a way she had never felt before. She felt a tremendous rush of excitement and emotion even as his lips widened and he chewed lightly along the nape of her neck.

Wasn't this what she had come here for? Wasn't this what she was hoping for? She wanted to get experience! She wanted to see what it was like! Why should she fight?! Especially when it felt so good!

She felt his erection pressing against her buttocks as his fingers pressed more firmly against her and sank between the lips of her sex. Unlike other boys' efforts to penetrate her, he gently eased his fingers down to stroke lately crossed her clitoris in a circular motion.

Before long it was all she could do to keep her hips from grinding in the same motion as her breasts felt swollen and heat swept through her body.

He peeled her shirt up and off and removed her open bra before turning her to face him, then he crushed her lips with his, showing her again the depth of his skill with his lips and tongue. She welcomed it eagerly. She put the glass on the top of the railing and slid her hands up over his shoulders as they kissed, doing her best to imitate him.

His hand slid up and down her bare back then pushed down on her pants and she felt them sliding over her hips. They dragged her panties down with them and she felt another wild shock as she realized she was naked with only her pants and panties sliding down around her knees.

The fingers of his left hand gripped her hair behind her head and drew her head back more and more as he licked and kissed and lightly chewed his way from her mouth down along the nape of her neck and then along the front of her throat. His right hand was kneading her breast as he bent lower, pulling her head back further so that her back arched.

Then his mouth was on her breast, his lips folded around her nipple as he began to lick and suck rhythmically. She shuddered, her eyes fluttering as she stared up into the night sky, her nipple on fire as his tongue flicked back and forth across it and he sucked harder and harder.

His hand dropped down between her legs and began to stroke her again as he shifted his mouth from one breast to the other and back again while holding tightly to her hair.

Zoe was confused. Her head was so far back she couldn't even see him. And her hands could do nothing but hang helplessly at her sides or reach up to grasp the railing. She did the latter and accidentally knocked the glass over the side to fall into the garden below.

Neither of them cared. But suddenly he released her hair drawing her forward and lifting her up high with his arms around her hips then thighs so that she collapsed belly down across his shoulder. Startled, Zoe gasped as he turned and headed back inside, carrying her like the sack of potatoes.

Or like a conquering hero, with the virtuous maiden across his shoulder, she thought excitedly. She was impressed by his strength, by how easily he lifted and carried her. Had the cavemen brought females home like this, she thought as he carried her across the room.

Still, she felt she ought to protest.

"Evan!" she gasped breathlessly, her hair hanging down below her.

"On our way to heaven, beautiful," he said.

"Put me down, you crazy man!"

She slapped lightly at his bottom and a moment later yelped as he slapped her bare bottom more sharply.

"Impertinent wench!"

Crack! He slapped her bottom again and she yelped in pain.

"Hey!"

He yanked her pants and panties off as he walked in she felt another rush at now being completely naked.

"Show proper respect for the Lord of the Manor," he said in a mock English accent.

She giggled. "You live in a rented apartment!"

Suddenly she was being swung up and forward to land back sprawling across his bed.

He grinned at her and peeled his own shirt up and off and her eyes raced over his well-muscled chest.

"If I can't make you scream in pleasure, I will be very disappointed in myself tonight," he said.

He turned on the bedside light and she blushed hotly as he looked her up and down.