Professor Astor (Off-Limits)

“You misled me?” she asks, her eyes widening. I see the confusion in her gaze and bite down on my lip.

I nod and run a hand through my hair, worried I’m letting her down. “You can’t actually see Mercury at night. Because it’s so close to the sun, you can only really see it in the morning, at dusk, or just after sunrise.”

Ley sighs and shakes her head, a laugh escaping her lips. “You… you trickster! I should call you Loki, instead. How are you going to make this up to me? I don’t forgive easily, you know?”

I grin at her, relieved that she isn’t angry. “I suppose it’s a good thing that I have our entire lives to earn your forgiveness, huh, wifey?”

She shakes her head and wags her finger. “Sounds like a cheap excuse or an attempt at procrastination. I won’t fall for it.”

I smile and wrap my fingers around her wrist, pulling her closer. She’s startled, and her eyes widen just slightly as I bring her hand to my face, pressing a kiss to her palm. Her sharp intake of breath has my heart beating a little louder. I feel like a teenager all over again. “Very well, love. Tell me how to make it up to you.”

Ley smiles, her breathing quicker than it was moments ago. Whatever this is between us, she’s feeling it too. “Do you really have a telescope with you, or was that all deception, too?”

I chuckle and nod. “I do really have one with me. It goes almost everywhere I go.”

She tilts her head in question, and I look away for a moment before speaking. “Staring at the stars reminds me of how insignificant we all are, how small our problems are. There’s so much out there that we haven’t even discovered yet. The universe is so vast, you know? It gives me perspective.”

She nods and rises to her tiptoes to brush a strand of hair out of my face. “Perhaps so, but that doesn’t mean that our problems and worries aren’t valid, that they don’t deserve our full attention.”

Her fingertips trace over the side of my face, and I grab her hand, holding it against me. “You’re right, of course. It just allows me a moment to step away, to see things from a distance.”

Ley nods, and I have a feeling she truly understands. “All of that, and you don’t believe the stars and planets can affect us.”

I purse my lips to hold back my laughter. “Mercury is not fucking up your emails. Besides, didn’t you say that Mercury Retrograde brings stuff from the past back into your future? But this, my love, is a new beginning.”

I can’t tear my eyes off her. She’s tiny, probably no more than five feet tall, but she’s stunning. I let my eyes trace over her long lashes, her small straight nose, and those lips… those lips of hers. Full, and perfectly kissable. I want to know how she tastes, but damn it, somehow I just don’t want to fuck things up with her. Before we drove here I promised myself that this thing between us wouldn’t last beyond tonight, but the thought of walking away from her already fills me with regret.

“Let’s grab that telescope, shall we?”

Ley nods and takes a step away as though my words snapped her out of the trance we were both in. I inhale deeply as I grab my equipment from the backseat, my heart racing. When was the last time I felt anything like this? What is happening to me?

“Come to think of it,” she murmurs. “This is the perfect place to bury a body.”

I burst out laughing and glance at her. “Your mind is a terrifying place,” I tell her, and she grins menacingly. “I’m starting to wonder if I should’ve been the one that’s worried.”

“Only one way to find out,” she says, winking at me.

This woman… what is it about her? I suppose it’s the carefree and impulsive nature of our date. I don’t remember the last time I wasn’t weighed down by responsibility. She’s making me feel free in a way I haven’t in years.

“Come look,” I tell her. Ley walks up to me, and I lower the telescope for her, readjusting it to make sure she’s seeing what I want her to see.

She leans in to look through my telescope, and I shamelessly wrap my hands around her waist, holding her close. “Do you see three bright stars that almost form a straight line?”

She’s silent for a moment, and then she nods. “I see it.”

“That’s Orion’s belt. If you look to the top on Orion’s left, you’ll see Gemini.”

Ley pulls away and turns, finding herself in my arms. I should step back, but I don’t. If anything, I want her fully pressed against me.

Her eyes widen, and she falls silent for a moment. “That reminds me,” she murmurs, her voice barely above a whisper. “What is your zodiac sign?”

I chuckle, not in the least surprised she’d ask me that. “Scorpio.”

“Ugh,” she says. “Jealous, possessive, and petty. I’m a Leo, so we’re surprisingly compatible.”

I smirk and bite down on my lip, enjoying the way that draws her gaze to my mouth. “Scorpios are also loyal, passionate, and determined. We always get what we want, love, and we never let go.” I might not believe in zodiacs, but I’m aware of the basics.

Ley places her hands on my chest, hesitant, as though she wants to move them up but doesn’t dare to. “And what do you want?”

My eyes drop to her lips and I swallow hard. “I want to kiss you, Ley.”

“Then kiss me, husband dearest.”

I lean in and cover her lips with mine, a sharp burst of desire going straight through me at the feel of her full, soft lips. Fucking hell. I need to know what her lips feel like wrapped around my cock.

Ley moans, her hands finding their way around my neck, and I lift her into my arms. Her legs wrap around my hips instinctively, and I don’t doubt that she can feel how hard she’s making me straight through my jeans.

I hold her up, my hands on her ass as she deepens our kiss, her tongue stroking mine. The way she moves her body against mine tells me she wants me just as badly, and there’s something so magical about this moment, here in one of my favorite places.

Ley pulls away for a moment, her forehead resting against mine as we both catch our breath, the two of us lost in this moment.

“I want you,” she whispers. “I need you, Thor. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone quite as badly.”

I nod. “The feeling is mutual, love.”

My lips come crashing back down on hers as I blindly walk us back toward the truck. I struggle to pull away from her to see where I’m going, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I’ve got her pressed up against the car.

“Let me open this,” I murmur against her lips as I let down the tailgate before putting her down. I spread her legs wide open to stand between them, enjoying the way Ley’s hands run over my body. She’s as impatient as I am. She’s honest with her feelings. There are no games, no pretence. It’s refreshing, and it’s sexy as hell.

My lips move to her neck as I try to discover every single spot that makes her shiver.

“Oh God,” she moans when I kiss her right below her ear, and I smile against her skin before doing it again. I start to suck on her neck, wanting to mark her as mine, but she pulls away. “Don’t,” she pleads. “Don’t leave marks, Thor.” For a moment, irrational anger surges through me at the thought of her having someone in her life she’d want to hide evidence of tonight from, but then she silences my fears. “My parents would kill me. They don’t care how old I am, they won’t stand for indecency.”

I chuckle and nod, moving lower as her hand disappears underneath my t-shirt, my muscles tensing as her fingers trace over them. I watch her expression as she explores my body, and she smiles shyly before moving her lips back to mine, hiding herself from me while giving me her all.

I smile against her lips and kiss her while my hand finds its way underneath her dress. The tips of my fingers trace over her skin, higher and higher. I love the way she squirms against me, the way she rolls her hips impatiently.

I brush my thumb over her pussy, straight through her silky underwear, and I smile when I realize she’s wet for me. Just when I think she can’t get more perfect, she does.

“We don’t have to go any further than this, Ley.”

She pulls away from me and looks at me. “I’ve decided,” she tells me. “This is how you’re going to make up for lying to me about being able to see Mercury. You’re going to make me forget about anything but you.”

I smile and nod, my heart skipping a beat. “Yes, my darling wife.”