A Real Man: Volume Two

by Snow, Jenika

  His hands were curled into tight fists on either side of him, and I heard a low growl leave him. That sound had this chill racing up my spine.

  Lachlan took a step forward, but I reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, stopping him. He looked over his shoulder at me, the shadows covering his face partially but his expression clear. He was enraged over the situation.

  “Let's just leave, please.” Even in the dark I could see the way his jaw clenched tightly. I could feel the energy coming from him in angry, hot waves.

  “You're lucky I don't beat your fucking ass for touching her.” And then Lachlan was the one curling his fingers around mine and pulling me forward toward the car.

  He opened the passenger-side door and gently pushed me in. I knew he was trying to keep me safe, that his gruff demeanor and rough attitude were his way of showing that he cared, that he was protecting me. My hands shook a little bit, and adrenaline rushed through my bloodstream.

  Once he was in the car and the engine was cranked, he took off. I could tell he was heading back to my father’s house by the scenery that passed us. But I didn’t want to go back there, not yet at least.

  I glanced over at him and could see how tense his entire body was. I wondered if me even saying anything was worth it … was a good idea.

  But I couldn’t have stopped myself anyway.

  “Lachlan, I don’t want to go home.” He glanced at me for only a second. “Take me to your place?” Asking him was crossing a line, I knew that, but that’s where I wanted to go … with him. Maybe it was the little bit of alcohol I’d drunk, or maybe I was tired of hiding my feelings for Lachlan.

  I thought he’d decline, but when he started heading away from where I lived, I felt heat consume me. Once we were there I would tell him how I felt. I grabbed my cell, and sent a text to my parents saying I was staying at a friend’s house. This would happen tonight with Lachlan.

  Damn the consequences.

  4

  Lachlan

  This was a bad fucking idea, yet here I was, the dumbass who’d brought Layla—my ward—to my damn house.

  I stood back and watched as she looked around the sparse decor in the living room. This was just a place I rented, a house I slept in. This wasn’t my home, wasn’t a place I felt particularly comfortable at either. It was just a place.

  But having Layla in here made it feel so much warmer. It made it feel so much … more.

  “I should say this out loud.” I waited until she looked at me. “Having you here isn’t the best idea I’ve had.”

  She smiled, and it lit up my entire fucking place. “Noted, but I didn’t want to go back home, and I didn’t want to stay at that party.”

  Yeah, I didn’t want her at that fucking party either. She moved over and sat on the couch, still looking around.

  “This place is pretty barren of … anything.”

  I grunted in response and walked over to the breakfast counter to start unarming myself. I disconnected my earpiece, the knife I kept at my waist, the other one I kept at my ankle, and took off my gun from the holster at my side. I pulled the clip out and set both pieces on the counter. When I turned around, I saw Layla watching me.

  “You wear that stuff every day?” She didn’t sound afraid at the notion I was strapped with weapons when around her. I was glad, because they were to keep her safe.

  I nodded and moved over to where she was, but didn’t sit down. Instead I leaned against the wall, crossed my arms, and looked at her. I didn’t know why she’d wanted to come back to my place, and even though her father would have my balls for this if he found out, I couldn’t deny her.

  “I want to learn how to shoot one of these days.”

  I cocked my head to the side, curious about what she’d just said. “Why? You’ll always have me there to protect you.” I saw the way her cheeks turned pink. She glanced away.

  “Maybe one day you won’t be there. I should learn how to defend myself.”

  Pride welled up in me that she wanted to be strong, that she wanted to protect herself, but I also wanted to be the one to take care of her. The male side of me, the alpha side, wanted to make sure she was safe.

  “That's real good, Layla.” We stared at each other for long seconds, and as much as I wanted to go over there and hold her, I kept my distance. It was better that way. It was smarter that way.

  That’s what I told myself anyway.

  “You know you can come sit next to me. I don't bite.” She smiled, but it seemed a little hesitant, a little uncomfortable. She was nervous. I could see by the way she kept shifting on the seat, and by the way she kept twisting her fingers together.

  I should've stayed where I was by the wall, but I was the stupid fucking fool and I found myself walking toward her. I sat on the couch, willing myself to stay calm. But having her so close ... being so close to her made me feel like a fiend.

  She just smelled so good, and I felt her body heat radiate from her and into me. I glanced over and looked at her, and saw she was already watching me.

  And then I watched as her body reacted to me, saw the changes right in front of me.

  Her pupils dilated, and her respirations became harder. Her mouth parted, her lush, pink lips opening just slightly, making me think of all kinds of filthy things. Her breath came out in short, fast pants.

  This is a bad idea. I found myself moving closer to her. This is a really bad fucking idea. I reached out and curled my hand around her neck. But I can't stop myself. I won't.

  * * *

  Layla

  I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even think straight. The feeling of Lachlan’s hand on the back of my neck had my blood pressure rising. I felt light-headed, my blood rushing through my veins, my heart pounding hard and painfully against my ribs.

  “I want you,” he said, his voice low, deep.

  This was a dream, or at least it felt like one. I’d wanted this for far longer than I’d ever actually admit, and it was right here. He wanted me, the same way I wanted him.

  He pulled me in closer and our mouths were only inches apart now, his warm breath moving along my lips, making me shiver in anticipation. I didn’t know what to say, how to react. I felt frozen, my emotions and arousal so strong they suffocated me, held me down so I was unable to even think clearly.

  And then he was kissing me, his lips pressed right to mine, the feel of pressure making my heart jump. I was wet, my nipples hard, my need strong. He pulled away, and I knew he was holding back, knew he was doing this to be sweet and gentle with me.

  I didn’t want sweet and gentle. I wanted the alpha male I knew Lachlan was. I needed it. But before I could lean in and kiss him, be the one who went after what I wanted, he was up and moving away from me. I stood, my hands shaking, not sure if he was having second thoughts or maybe feeling guilt. But I didn’t want to stop.

  “Lachlan?”

  He didn’t turn to face me, just walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass and a bottle of alcohol out of the cupboard. I watched as he poured himself that shot. I knew I was feeling more loose than normal because of the almost two beers I’d had earlier, and assumed he might need one as well. This situation was pretty heavy.

  He turned and faced me, lifting the bottle in a nonverbal question. I shook my head, knowing if I took some hard alcohol, I wouldn’t be able to go through with tonight. I didn’t want to be drunk. I wanted to know what I was doing, who I was doing it with. I wasn’t a drinker anyway, and if two beers made me feel this good, I didn’t want to go over the line with the hard stuff.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, because it seemed Lachlan was struggling with this. “This isn’t wrong, Lachlan.”

  He exhaled and hung his head for a second. “No, it’s not wrong, Layla.” He turned and faced me then. “It’s really fucking right.” He walked toward me then, this wild expression on his face, this need radiating from him.

  I felt myself retreating, not because I was afraid, but because I wanted this.
<
br />   God, I anticipated this.

  5

  Lachlan

  I stalked her like this fucking animal, so damn hungry for her, so insatiable for the need to feel her under me. She stopped, the wall forcing her to cease escaping. She braced her hands behind her, her chest rising and falling almost violently.

  She was aroused, her pupils dilated, her breasts pressing against the material of her shirt every time she inhaled. I lowered my gaze to her throat, saw her pulse beating hard, fast. She was nervous, but I had no doubt she was wet for me, so fucking soaked.

  “Tell me you want this, that you want me touching you, owning you … making you mine.” I kept my focus on her. Her lips were slightly parted, the air moving fast and hard between them.

  “I want you,” she whispered.

  I was only a foot from her, the sweet scent of her desire making me drunk. My cock was so fucking hard, this lead pipe between my thighs. Hell, the tip of my shaft was wet with pre-cum.

  “Tell me how much you want this,” I demanded slowly, my voice low, thick. I needed—wanted—to hear her admit she wanted this, that she wanted me. I was aching to hear those words come from her mouth. I had no doubt she’d surrender to me, be mine in every way.

  I stepped closer, my chest right up against hers now, her breasts pressing into mine every time she breathed. I was good at picking up body language, how others acted, what they were thinking by the way they reacted to me, to my presence.

  And I could see that my presence made her wet, needy.

  I reached out and ran my finger along her bottom lip, pulling the lush pink flesh down. I lifted my gaze and stared at her face. The sound she made was a little bit of pleasure, maybe even uncertainty.

  I lowered my hand, sliding my finger along the collar of her shirt, wanting to tear the fucking thing from her, just tear the material from her body.

  Then do it. Make her feel good.

  The anticipation and excitement of what I was about to do raced through my veins. I needed this—her—so damn badly I could taste it. “Tell me what you want and it’s yours,” I said on a groan.

  “I want you,” she said, her words heated, whispered.

  I went for the button of her pants and had them undone and pushed down her thighs a second later. She made this noise that turned me on even more.

  “Take all of it off. All of it.”

  She obeyed me instantly, and my cock jerked at that knowledge, at the fact she was so receptive to me.

  Once she was naked, I didn’t stop myself from doing the same, getting out of the irritating garments that hid me from Layla. I needed to be just as naked as she was, needed her to see how much I wanted her. I wanted her to see how ready I was.

  She was breathing so hard, her large breasts rising and falling, her nipples hard, puckered from the air and her arousal.

  “Do you want me to touch you?”

  She licked her lips and nodded. I was surprised she’d understood me. My voice was so hoarse, so guttural that the words had sounded distorted.

  I was in front of her seconds later, letting my fingers skim over the bare flesh of her belly, along the slight indentation of her navel.

  “Ask me for it.” I desperately needed her to tell me she wanted this, to show me verbally how much she needed me.

  “I need you, Lachlan,” she whispered.

  Fuck, I’d never get tired of hearing her say that. All these filthy fucking images slammed into my head, all the things I wanted to do to her, do with her. I touched her softly and swirled my finger along her belly button as I stared into her eyes.

  I wanted to be her reality.

  “I want this.” Her eyes were so big, so expressive. “I want to be with you in every way.” She reached up and gripped my biceps, her nails digging into my arms, the sting feeling so fucking good. I clenched my jaw, a deep sound of pleasure leaving me.

  “I want you to be my first.” She swallowed, the sound audible, her breathing harsh.

  “I’ll be your only, Layla.”

  She was a virgin, and I’d be the one to claim her cherry, to own it. No other man would ever know what she felt like, would ever know the sounds she made when she was stretched and filled.

  I ran the tip of my nose up the arch of her neck, inhaling the scent of her, feeling like some primitive, wild fucking animal for what I was doing, for how I felt. The little moan she made, her little inhalation of air, speared right to my dick and had my balls drawing up.

  I wanted to fill her up with my cum, make her so full of my seed that I could see it slipping from her sweet pussy.

  “Kiss me,” she begged, whispered.

  I slammed my mouth down on hers, slipping my tongue into her mouth, fucking her the way I wanted to do between her legs. While kissing her I slid my hand along the back of her knee, her skin so smooth.

  I bent slightly, lifting her leg, urging her to wrap it around my waist. And fuck, when she did that and I felt her wet, hot pussy press to my cock, the fucker jerked in response. I grabbed her ass, squeezing the lush mounds, pulling her closer to me.

  I wanted to be a virgin for her, wanted to say she was my first, too. But even if I wasn’t, I hadn’t been with a woman in years. This felt so fucking incredible.

  I wanted my mouth on hers, on her flesh, on her pussy. I wanted to lick, to lap up her cream, to drink it until I was drunk. I’d never get enough of her, never stop wanting her.

  And because I was so far gone with my need, I didn’t stop myself from getting onto my haunches, her pussy now right in front of me. Her legs were slightly parted, and all I could smell was the sugary scent of her.

  She was ready for me.

  I bet she was so pink between her thighs, nice and primed, her clit engorged and ready to be sucked on. I wanted to lap at her right now, but instead I rose back up, needing to look into her face when I finally touched her pussy.

  I slipped my hand between her legs and placed it right over her cunt. I couldn’t help myself. “You, this…” I added just the smallest amount of pressure right on her pussy so she knew exactly what I meant. “This will be mine, only mine.” She was so wet for me, making my fingers soaked, making me soaked, hungry for her. “No other man will have you, will know how you feel … will know how you taste.”

  “Oh. God,” she gasped out, rising on her toes, her mouth parted.

  “I want to lick you, taste and devour you until my lips are numb.”

  “Lachlan.” She whispered my name so softly.

  I ran a finger up and down her center, gathering her pussy cream. I pulled my hand up so she could see just how wet the digits were, so she could watch what I was going to do.

  I licked those fingers until they were clean, swallowing the oh-so-sweet flavor of her, memorizing the flavor, imprinting it in my body.

  I’d make sure Layla knew what she meant to me, what it meant to be mine.

  6

  Lachlan

  “God, Lachlan.”

  I loved hearing her say my name, fucking loved how it rolled off her tongue.

  “I need you,” she moaned, and I almost lost it right then, nearly came without even being inside of her.

  And fuck, did I want to be inside of her.

  “It’s been years since I was with anyone, Layla,” I admitted. “Even before you came into my life, I only wanted you.”

  I couldn’t stop myself anymore. I wanted her. Only her. “I have no self-control where it concerns you.” All I wanted to do was devour every part of her, to show her how good we could be together, how much we were meant to be together. I didn’t care what her father said or if he didn’t want this relationship to happen. I wanted her no matter what.

  My cock jerked at the thought of finally having her, claiming her. And after this was all said and done, she’d know that she was mine.

  I saw her throat work as she swallowed, and knew how much she needed this … how much I needed this. I knew once I had her under me, was inside of her, I wouldn’t last.


  “Tell me again what you want, baby.”

  “You,” she said breathlessly.

  I groaned. I could have come from that word alone. I moved closer, pressed my chest right up against hers, and felt how hard her nipples were. I wanted to hear her scream it out as she came for me, wanted to watch the ecstasy as it rolled over her body. I wanted my big, thick cock in her, wanted to claim her virgin cherry, make it mine, only mine.

  “Lachlan.” The way she said my name was an auditory orgasm.

  Christ.

  It took all my control not to get off right then and there.

  She licked her lips, and I was riveted to the sight. Filthy thoughts of her on her knees in front of me, grabbing my shaft, bringing it to her mouth, filled my head. I was a dirty bastard for the things I wanted to do to her.

  “I want you so fucking badly, baby.” I couldn’t hold in the words, didn’t even try to. I leaned forward and ran my tongue along the seam of her lips. I was already addicted to her.

  She had her head resting back on the wall, her mouth parted, and her eyes half-closed as her pleasure clearly washed through her.

  “You make me so damn hard.” I grabbed her nape, curled my fingers around her neck, and held her, just looking into her face. “You make me feel so damn good. Do I make you feel good?”

  She nodded. “Yes. God, yes.”

  “I want you as mine,” I growled out low. “Say you’re mine, that you’ll only ever be mine.” I could have held her all night.

  “I’m yours, Lachlan.”

  I thrust my cock against her belly, needing that friction, needing to be inside of her. I forced myself to take a step back so I could look my fill of Layla, loving that she was bared for me, innocent, but so vulnerable that she was primed. I stared at the trimmed thatch of her pussy hair making my cock jerk. I loved this woman, was getting drunk on the very sight of her. I lifted my gaze to her breasts, staring at the large mounds, the pink tips, and felt my mouth water.