Page 101 of Stutter

“Feels… very… good.”

I beam down at her, entranced by her sweaty state in her little black biker shorts. Her praise also pleases me.

“There’s… a different way… to get” she bites down on the T, “in… A sssecret book-door th..at leads to… a ssst-staircase and… all the way d-down… to the restricted sssection. Don’t need… a key…tag to… ennter.”

I summon the tears of pride that are stinging the back of my eyes to not fall but when she notices none of us have spoken, the tops of her cheeks go pink, and she darts her gaze downward.

Maverick clears his throat, obviously swallowing down the same emotions I’m feeling to not embarrass her further. “So we just sneak in?”

Jonas is still looking at Raven like she’s the most incredible thing he ever set his eyes upon. “Kinda feeling like that’s our only option. With mostly everyone gone because of winter break, there’s less of a chance of us getting caught.”

She tips her head back to look at him and lifts her hands.I can show you how to get in and stay on the lookout.

“Thank you, baby,” he grins down at her. “Mav, if you don’t want to do this you don’t have to.”

“I didn’t say that.” He almost snaps. “I’ll… I’ll do it. I just wanted to make sure you had a foolproof plan.”

Jonas’ grin turns to a cocky smirk, “Well, two of my plans went down perfectly. So I have that going for me.”

“What plans?” Maverick asks.

Jonas puts up his middle and index fingers, “One, seduce Raven and make her my girlfriend, andtwo” he puts down his index finger so he’s flipping Mav off, “getting rid of Simon without using physical force so my girl doesn’t hurt herself.” He puts his down, so pleased with himself I let out a chuckle.

“That was you?”

“Easy when you broadcast you have a fucking strawberry allergy to the entire Syndicate in a public setting. By the way, what were you and Damon talking about so close and comfy and cozy together at the banquet?”

Maverick and I glance at each other, but Mav shakes his head. “Nothing important. The head of the school board asked me to be the new Dean, and I said no.”

“Why’s that?”

Slipping her leg out of my hands, Raven gets up on her knees and Maverick squats down, tucking a dark strand of damp hair behind her ear. “Because if Raven decides to go elsewhere, I’ll be readily available to leave. I won’t be signing a new contract at the end of next semester because I’ve applied to teach at Columbia.”

Raven grins, grabbing his hand and kissing the palm of it before he cups her face again, melting into his touch. “Julliard… accepted my… request to… re… audition.” She tells us and we’re stunned.

But then we break out in cheers with Maverick kissing her first, then Jonas dipping down to grab her and finally, I put my arms around her and kiss her firmly.

“Oh, my! What’s all the good tidings and cheers for?” Elena asks from the staircase. She’s dressed to the nines in abeautiful festive red pantsuit, her red hair is up in a tight bun, and her lips are parted into a confused smile.

If I hadn’t seen this woman in her pajamas yesterday, I’d think she woke up fashionably every morning.

“Our girl just told us Julliard accepted her request to audition for them!” He kisses Raven’s temple then helps her up.

Elena almost runs to Raven and pulls her in for a tight hug then kisses her cheek, leaving behind a kiss print. “Oh my darling, darling girl. You are going to be so wonderful!”

Raven lets out a small whimper. “Thank… you.”

And Elena’s tears well up and she smiles softly again. “Well, aren’t you full of surprises?” Her voice cracks but she pinches her face and then shakes her head, overcome with emotions. Her fingers reach down and thread into Raven’s. “Come now, dinner will be ready soon and I’ve gotten Jackie to set up the living room so we can watchHome Alonewhile we make cookies for Father Christmas. Have you seen it?”

Raven nods enthusiastically as if watching a movie and baking with her future mother-in-law sounds like the best thing in the world to her.

“Oh, dreadful, really, for the mother to forget her own son but, it does make for a silly movie….” Her voice trails off as they climb the stairs and we’re left alone.

“We’re not getting any Christmas pussy are we?” Jonas asks with a pout.

Maverick laughs. “Is that what you wanted under your tree this year?”

“And every day after that.” He answers.

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