I ran my hands up her back, under her shirt, my fingertips gliding along her spine and making her shiver against me. Her skin was so smooth, so soft, it was unreal. She was unreal. Everything about her was unbelievable. Her past, what she’d been through to be here. Ash was enough to make me forget, to make me want to forget. That had to mean something, didn’t it?
I pulled her hair just enough to make her moan into my mouth, but not enough to tear those slick lips off mine. Instinct took over, and I spun us so that I was the one pinning her down on the bed, practically knocking my bag off to make more room for her. My hips ground down, and she ran her tongue over my bottom lip.
Oh, yes. This was what I wanted. She was what I wanted.
I felt her move her hands down my side, tugging at my clothes. If it were just us, if it were up to us, I knew these clothes would be torn off in pieces—I’d never been this crazy about someone before. Yes, I’d had girlfriends, but none of them were ever at this level. This wasn’t just a physical need, it was a mental one. A deep, crushing need that I felt in my very soul.
One of her hands went between us, moving to cup me over my jeans, rubbing along me hard enough to make my balls clench in anticipation. It was my turn to sigh into her; her hand, so firm and brazen, was practically enough to push me over the edge when it came to her. I couldn’t even imagine what being inside of her would feel like.
Heaven. I bet it felt like heaven on earth.
There was a knock on the open door, and Ash pulled her lips off mine the moment Declan said, “Dad’s car is pulling up in the driveway. Just thought I should let you guys know, in case…well, you know.” His cheeks were flushed, and I couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d been standing there, quiet and watching before he’d knocked and made his presence known.
I got off Ash, giving them both my back as I reached down and readjusted myself. By the time I turned around, Ash was by Declan’s side, batting her eyelashes at him. For his part, Declan didn’t seem upset at seeing us together. He seemed…okay with it, if a little embarrassed that he’d had to interrupt us.
It was probably for the best. Dad was home. No more hanky-panky—or anything in realm of it, for that matter. If Dad caught either one of us with Ash, things would surely take a turn for the worse around here. But then again, Dad was the one who fought for Ash to be the test student at Hillcrest; he probably knew what was happening between her and Declan.
Me? Her feelings for me would come as a shock to him, for sure. Dad would probably have a heart attack if he knew what was going on.
Maybe that would be a good thing. All of us sitting around the table, the Thanksgiving turkey between us, half a dozen other plates and dishes too. Declan and I telling Dad about our relationship with Ash, and Dad keeling over right then and there, his face in the butter tray.
God, that would be amazing, not going to lie.
If Dad died, I wouldn’t have to lie to Declan any longer. I wouldn’t have to hide the truth.
The truth? It was ugly, and it was so, so illegal.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Ash
That night we ate a small dinner, mostly because no one wanted to eat a lot so close to Thanksgiving. I sat near Declan, while Will was across from me, and Dean Briggs sat at the head of the table. I imagined this was where we’d sit during the big meal itself, save for Declan. During Thanksgiving dinner, he’d be sitting beside his brother, and I’d be by my mom.
I missed her, I did. Of course I did. I loved my mom more than anything. Growing up poor, you learned what was important in life, and that was family. Did that stop me from lying to her about Ray? No, but Ray was not something I was proud of.
Now especially, I felt like my mom was going to look at me and know I’d lied to her all this time.
“How are you feeling, Ashley?” Dean Briggs spoke, twirling his fork in his pasta. His eyes were like Declan’s, as was the kind expression he wore. His goatee looked a little more grey than it did brown, but he was still a fine-looking older gentleman. “I feel I must apologize for not checking in more often, especially after what happened. Things have been…well, a bit crazy around here.”
Crazy didn’t cut it, but he didn’t know about my serial killer ex, so I’d let him have this one.
“I’m fine,” I said, shrugging. “It’s like it never happened.” My body felt like shit for a while after being hit by that car, but at least I was alive. At least I was here. It was more than I could say for some people, namely those old folks who were doing nothing but living their life when Ray found their house, decided he liked it, and then killed them and stuffed them in his trunk.
My fingerprints were everywhere in that house. If I didn’t have so little faith in the police, I would’ve thought about calling them.
The table got quiet after my response, and I felt immensely awkward. This family didn’t really feel like a family at all. There was a tension I couldn’t name between Dean Briggs and his children. It was not the most comfortable way to share a meal, that’s for sure.
The rest of the meal progressed in much the same manner. Dean Briggs tried asking questions, how our classes were, if Will was excited to transfer to Hillcrest next semester, but none of us were very talkative. Eventually he gave up trying, and we finished the meal in silence. I offered to help do the dishes, but Dean Briggs pushed me off, telling me I was a guest in his house, so I would be doing no chores while I was here.
Now that, that was something I could appreciate.
I know, me being lazy. Who knew?
“Dad,” Declan spoke, leaning on the grey and white marble countertop as he caught the eyes of his father, who was currently rolling up his sleeves near the sink. “I’m going to show Ash around the property, if that’s okay?” Asking permission like a good son. I wanted to roll my eyes and pretend to be sick, but I couldn’t.
“Sure, just don’t stay out too long, okay? It’s going to get dark soon” was Dean Briggs’s response.
Declan and I met eyes, and I followed him through his house. Will had disappeared upstairs, going to his room, and Declan led me to the giant back porch, down the few wooden steps and onto the grass. There was a stone pathway that led to an inground pool not too far away, but the pool was closed up for the season. Woods lined the property a mile or so back, and it was when Declan grabbed my hand, his warm fingers intertwining with mine, that I realized that’s where we were going to go.
The woods. Not creepy at all.
“I’m surprised you guys don’t have a giant fence lining the property,” I said, mostly joking as we made our way across the huge yard, the well-manicured grass. The further we got away from the house, the more hilly the land was. It was just after six o’clock, the first hints of dusk appearing, the sky a beautiful mixture of oranges and reds.
“We used to, but Dad took it down after Mom…” Declan grew quiet, and his hand squeezed mine harder. “After she passed.”
“How many years ago did you lose her?” I probably shouldn’t have asked, but it was a topic we’d strayed from. Seemed kind of important to him, so it was time to discuss it. Hey, he could talk about his dead mother and I could talk about my no-good pig of a father. We could take turns.
We made it to the outskirts of the forest, and suddenly the trees appeared taller, larger. They blocked out the darkening sky above us. Declan tugged me along, and our shoes crunched on the dead grass below.
“Almost ten, I think.” Declan stopped us once we were about fifty feet deep in the woods, turning to face me with a pained expression on his face. “Is it bad that it’s hard to remember? I was young. I…I hardly remember what she was like. Will probably remembers her better.”
Huh. You’d think that after losing their mom, they would’ve only gotten closer to their dad, but people with money didn’t work like normal folks did. A rift had formed between Dean Briggs and his kids, and I couldn’t help but wonder why that was.
Declan led us to an area that was cleared of smaller trees, a single
log lying flat on the dirt, a small, round circle of ashes in front of it. This, I realized, was the brothers’ getaway while they were home. Probably wasn’t the best to go wandering, but with all the dead leaves on the ground, we’d hear anyone approaching.
He sat us down on the log, staring at me with those warm, kind eyes. “What about your dad? You never talk about him.” He still held onto my hand, and he began to absentmindedly trace my knuckles. Over and over.
“That’s because my dad didn’t die,” I said. “He up and left us. Divorced Mom, took his money with him. We’ve been struggling ever since.” The woods were quiet around us, so I felt the need to lower my voice as I added, “Call me a bitch, but every so often I pray that he found himself a horrible second wife and some demonic stepchildren.”
The ridiculously cute boy beside me chuckled.
“So if your dad came back and tried to make amends, you wouldn’t have any of it?” Declan asked, giving me a dimpled smile, as if he knew my answer already.
“Not even a little,” I whispered, leaning closer and closer to him with every word, ending the sentence on a soft kiss. Just a quick, chaste kiss, but it did remind me of what almost happened with Will earlier.
I must’ve worn my heart on my sleeve, for the moment the kiss ended, Declan murmured, “Don’t feel bad about what happened upstairs. I love Will, and I love you, and if you two can find happiness together, who am I to stop you?”
Leaning my head on his shoulder, I held onto his arm. “I just don’t want you to think that I’d go off and do that with anyone with a dick.” I wanted to smack myself after saying that. I would’ve bet any amount of money—not that I had money to bet, but that was beside the point—that Declan’s face flared up in heat at my words. “I mean, it’s just you guys. You four.”
Four seemed a good a number as any, right? Not that it was an arbitrary number. These guys…they all wormed their way in regardless of me trying to stop them.
Declan didn’t ask about who else was in the foursome. Or, technically, fivesome. Not sure if I would even count Sawyer at this point, but the fucker did have a piece of me, as much as I hated to admit. Declan, Will, Travis, and Sawyer. A group of broken guys. A group of guys I would love to put back together.
Love. Still such a strange concept. I never thought, a year ago, I’d be where I was right now, having such strong feelings for multiple different guys. I loved each of them. I loved them, and I wasn’t ashamed.
I might’ve been a little ticked off at myself for a certain dickish Salvatore, but it was what it was at this point.
“I love you too,” I whispered, lifting my head off his shoulder to meet his dark-eyed stare. “You know that, right?” Felt strange saying it aloud; I’d only ever told Ray before. Telling someone else that I loved them was new territory for me, and I was all different kinds of conflicted about it.
Declan nodded, and I was about to make a corny joke when his mouth moved to my neck, tickling me with his lips, gently nibbling me with teeth. I shivered into him. That mouth…it could do some wondrous things, I knew that much by now. If ever there was a master of a mouth, it was Declan. My sweet, loveable cinnamon roll who may or may not be hiding the fact that he had hurt himself for attention.
Ah, well. Right now, there were other, more pressing things on my mind, such as the fire burning within me, aching to be released.
Declan must’ve known how I felt—that, or he knew the power his mouth held over me—for within the next moment, his hand moved between my legs, pressing hard against me over my shorts. With his mouth still buried in the crook of my neck, I couldn’t help but let out a low moan.
It was insane, how much a single touch from Declan could make me want to go wild.
With Declan rubbing me over my shorts, I wanted desperately to tell him to slip under them, to feel those fingers touching my most sensitive area with no layers of clothing impeding him, but I was too breathless, too lost for words. Tingles shot down my neck, and I was like a helpless doll, willing to let this boy do anything and everything to me.
It wasn’t too long before we heard leaves crunch, and Declan moved his hand to my side, no longer rubbing achingly slow circles with his fingers between my legs, and he withdrew his mouth from my neck. There was no way Dean Briggs would’ve followed us out here, and there wasn’t a neighbor for miles, so I highly doubted it was a stranger walking along.
No, there was only one person it could be. Will. Honestly, my ex was the last thing on my mind right now.
“Will.” My voice sounded strangely airy, light and fluttery, as if the wind itself could blow it away. My sex voice, basically. “What are you doing here?” He’d followed us? I thought he was in his room, but obviously not. Obviously he’d seen us leave the house and decided to come with us.
The shadows from the trees danced across his face as he whispered, “I don’t like being in that house.” His hands were in his jacket pockets, and he looked almost out of place, a bit awkward. But then he met eyes with me, with Declan. Then he said, “Don’t let me stop you.”
It was Declan’s turn to slowly look at me, but I was too busy staring at Will. Who knew Will was such a…well, a kinky guy. Watching me and his brother together—I couldn’t decide if it was hot or weird.
Declan must’ve made up his mind about it, for he leaned into me again, grazing his mouth along my jaw as he returned to my neck, nibbling an earlobe on the way. My eyes were locked with Will as Declan made the move, and suddenly I had the answer.
It was hot.
Very, very hot.
Declan leaned me back, practically pushing me down onto the log. My spine rested against the old bark, and I let out a fluttery sigh when Declan moved to touch me under my thin coat, under my shirt. As his mouth showered my neck with kisses, his hands cupped and kneaded my breasts, pinching my nipples every so often, sending tiny shockwaves of pleasure searing through me.
Everything was made more taboo, the sensations stronger, because Will stood ten feet away, his hands in his pockets, watching every little thing Declan was doing to me. Will’s hazel eyes grew lustful, an imprint forming against his jeans, but he made no moves to touch himself, or even to adjust himself. He simply watched, his lips parted slightly.
My head leaned back, and I moved my gaze to the tree branches above us. My breasts felt the loss of Declan’s hands once he moved them down, out of my shirt, but another part of me was about to score a homerun. His lips left my neck, and I felt a certain type of giddy as I felt his fingers work on the buttons on my waist. It was a bit cool for shorts, but I was heating up all over, honestly. Plus it was still like sixty degrees out. That’s like summer.
Okay, not really, but as long as I wore shoes, my legs were pretty resilient.
Declan pulled everything down just enough to expose me. Enough to show both him and Will what sat at my apex. I barely had enough time to blink before Declan licked his fingers and ran them along me. I didn’t need the extra wetness; I was already wet from the things he’d done. I wasn’t kidding when I said his mouth worked wonders. It did. It really did. In a perfect world, that mouth would be attached to me twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, giving me constant orgasms.
Hey, you could never have enough orgasms. They were healthy, or some shit, right?
Well, either way, they felt good.
No, better than good. They felt amazing, and all my self-love in the beginning of the semester really couldn’t compare to how it felt to be brought to the brink and pushed over the edge with a greedy mouth and an expert tongue.
The boner Will sported was full-on now, and yet still he did nothing to it as he watched Declan lower his face between my legs. His lips parted slightly the same moment Declan’s tongue flicked out and met my achingly hungry body; it was almost like he was imagining himself between my legs, giving me head that was so good it was otherworldly.
I lost myself to the feeling of Declan down there. His tongue, his mouth could meld to me, and I’d
be happy. My eyelids fluttered shut, and I moaned the moment I felt him press a finger against my entrance, sliding it in. My body took the digit eagerly, easily. My body, of course, wanted a different appendage, but it would learn to make do with what it was given. In this case, it had a finger, along with a tongue that loosened me up no matter how stressful my day was.
Honestly, my entire life had been stressful. Helping my mom with the bills, hating my dad on principle because he left us—taking his gifts because I didn’t want them to go to waste—not to mention everything with Ray…you know what? I deserved this. I deserved all the orgasms and more.
The combined force of his finger fucking me and his mouth pleasing me brought me to the edge quickly. The pressure built inside of me, and I let it happen. No more edging, no tiptoeing around it.
A sensation so strong it was practically blinding, the orgasm dominated me like I knew it would. I cried out the moment I came, unable to keep myself quiet. No soft, girly moans. This was a wail of pleasure, of hunger, me saying I needed more. More of that tingly, amazing feeling that swallowed every nerve in my body. More of his finger pumping in and out of me, the sounds of my slickness rising in the air. More of his mouth sucking on me, his tongue licking me, pressing against my clit. More, more, more.
I didn’t have to voice that I wanted more; Declan knew to keep going. And he did, God, he kept going. Declan was the fucking energizer bunny, running on horny energy, giving me life with the number of orgasms he gave me. A second, a third, a fourth. At that point, my body felt like jelly, like goo in the form of a person. There was not a thing as too much pleasure, but I knew if I tried to stand right now, I’d just tumble over like a useless log. Like the log I laid on currently.
Oh, fuck. Declan was so good.
I think I lost count, that or my mind was too hazy with the high the orgasms gave me, but Declan eventually pulled his finger out of me and lifted his mouth from my wet folds. My clit ached with the need for him to keep going, but I knew I’d have to walk back to the house. Hell, the moment I made it back, I might need to call it a night and go to sleep. Damn, that boy knew how to wear me out.
Psycho: A Dark College Romance (Hillcrest University Book 4) Page 17
