Pretend You're Mine

by Francisco, Fabiola

  “I do, too,” he whispers in my ear, kissing my temple. “Let’s go inside.”

  “Your chimney sweeper,” I remind him.

  Harris grabs the broom he spray-painted black from the back seat and holds my hand. We walk into Clarke’s, and all eyes turn to us. Harris looks at me knowingly, winks, and smiles. We move through the crowd that’s dressed up in all sorts of costumes.

  “I’d ask what took y’all so long, but I saw you making-out by your car,” Ainsley laughs.

  Heat flushes my face, and I shake my head.

  “Drink?” Harris asks.

  “Please,” I croak.

  “Don’t be embarrassed,” Ainsley wraps her arm around me.

  I look over at her and scrunch my face. “Who are you supposed to be?” I take a step back to get a better look at her costume.

  “June Carter. Knox is Johnny Cash.” I look at Knox against the bar, dressed in a black suit with a black shirt, holding a guitar. Then I look back at Ainsley. She’s wearing a belted, A-line dress with a floral print that stops at her knees and a pair of red pumps that match the flowers. Her hair is flipped up at the ends.

  “I thought June was a brunette.”

  Ainsley laughs. “Knox vetoed the idea to dye my hair brown, so I’m a blonde June for the night.” She shrugs and winks at Knox, who smiles at her adoringly.

  “Leave your hair as it is, I love it,” he tells her.

  “Are Axel and Lia coming?” I ask Ainsley as I grab the beer that Harris hands me. He stands next to me, his arm around my waist, and his fingers splayed against my hip.

  “Yeah, they were running a few minutes late. Something about a mishap with Axel’s costume.”

  “Cool.” I smile and take a sip of beer, telling Ainsley about the parade at school when she asks.

  Soon Axel and Lia join us, dressed like Eric and the Little Mermaid. Lia’s natural auburn hair is perfect for the costume.

  Averly, Faith, and Abbie also show up, and I’m happy that my friends are here as well. It can sometimes be difficult to merge your friends when you’re in a relationship with someone, but I’m lucky that my friends get along with Harris and that his friends are so sweet and welcoming.

  I don’t miss the scowl that sweeps over Averly’s face when Eli arrives dressed as Clark Kent. I hold in my laughter when he returns the scowl. Those two will kill each other while renovating the bed and breakfast.

  People around us dance to the electric beats spilling from the speakers, others stand by the bar and talk with friends. Everyone is in a good mood, and I wish tomorrow were a holiday. I take a drink from my second beer and scan the area. When I see Jessica, I get on my toes and whisper in Harris’s ear, “I’ll be right back.” He furrows his eyebrows but nods.

  I squirm through the crowd until I’m facing Jessica. “Hey,” I smile. “I wanted to thank you for talking to Averly.”

  “No problem,” she says flippantly.

  I smile and turn away. She can act with indifference, but she still had a hand in making my relationship with Harris right again.

  “Poppy,” she calls before I can get away. I turn and lift my brows. “You were right.” Jessica gives me a terse nod.

  “I wish I weren’t, Jessica. You deserve better.” Her features soften a bit, and she nods. For the first time in years, Jessica smiles at me. I hope she realizes her own worth and stops wasting time with men like Patrick.

  “Everything okay?” Harris asks when I return.

  “Yeah.” I smile and wrap my arms around his neck. His hands land on my waist, pulling me closer. He drops a soft kiss in the corner of my mouth and smiles.

  Grabbing my cup from my hand and placing it on the bar, he links our fingers and leads me to the dance floor. Harris spins me around and pulls me into him. We move together, hands roaming as the music guides our bodies. He turns me around, my back to his front, his hands on my hips as we sway to the music.

  Harris’s breath fans across my neck right before his lips land on that spot right below my ear that fills me with tingles. I lean back into him and close my eyes, his erection pressed against my lower back. My skin breaks out in goosebumps, and I turn around and find his heated eyes. A slow smile takes over my face.

  I lean forward, whispering into his ear, “Do you want to leave?” When I look back at his face, his eyes are a darker shade of blue, his gaze searing me with his lust.

  “Are you sure?” He reaches for my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.

  I nod in silence and press my lips to his. When I take a step back to see his reaction, he has that crooked smile adorning his face. Even the soot marks from his costume make him look handsome.

  We wave to our friends and leave Clarke’s, the chimney sweeper left behind, but neither of us cares. Before Harris can open my car door, he presses me against the cold metal and kisses me hard. I hold on to his strong biceps and get lost in the feel of his tongue stroking mine. Heat fills my body, the cold door on my back a welcomed contrast, and my stomach contracts as my core pulses with need.

  My body becomes sensitive, knowing where this kiss is leading.

  “Let’s leave before we give the town a show I don’t want an audience for,” Harris says as he caresses my cheeks. I shiver and kiss his chin.

  Harris pulls me into a hug, his face hiding in the crook of my neck, inhaling me. “God, I love you.”

  “Did you need to confess that to God?” I tease on a giggle.

  His eyes are light with laughter when he looks at me. “God as my witness, I’m going to marry you one day.”

  My breath catches in my throat, and my heart accelerates. “We haven’t even had sex yet,” I blurt out and hide my face in his chest, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Harris’s body shakes with laughter. When I peek up at him with one eye open, he’s smiling.

  “Babe, I want to make love to you, hold you, make you completely mine, but I don’t need to have sex with you to know that you’re my forever.”

  His words wash over me like a soothing blanket, and I blink back tears. So many thoughts cross my mind. We’re just getting started. What if we break up again, for good this time? We’ve only known each other for a couple of months.

  Then, I look into his eyes and relax. I take a deep breath and smile as wide as he does. In those baby blues that captivated me from the first day, I see a future. I see his love and sincerity. I see his own worries. I see the promise of a life together.

  “I love you,” I say because there’s no other way to put into words the emotions that are running through me. Hope, passion, love, understanding, they all fall short to explain the feelings that being here with Harris is like as he tells me what’s in his heart.

  “I’m glad you do, because about the sex… You see, I have a little problem.” My eyes widen as I stare at him. Harris’s laughter booms in the evening air, and he shakes his head. “The only problem I have, babe, is that I want to rock your world, and we’re currently standing outside.” He kisses my neck, snickering against my skin.

  “I’d love you anyway,” I tell him.

  “I know, but your face was priceless.”

  “You’re mean.” I shove his shoulder.

  “Would you really love me anyway? What if something happened to me, and I was bound to a wheelchair for the rest of my life?” His smile is gone now.

  “I’d take care of you,” I don’t hesitate.

  “What if I were bedridden?”

  “I’d lie with you.”

  “What if—”

  “Harris,” I stop him from continuing. “Take me home and show me how you plan to rock my world.”

  “With pleasure.” He bows and opens the door, my body tingling with anticipation.

  Harris

  This woman. My woman. I hold her hand as we walk up to her apartment. She shivers beside me as I run my thumb across her palm. The entire car ride over here was filled with tension. The closer we get to her door, the greater that tension builds.

  I
follow Poppy into her apartment and wrap my arms around her waist. I kiss her full lips and break away before it gets to the point of no return.

  “I’ll be right back.” Her eyebrows pinch together in the most adorable way. I chuckle and kiss her scrunched up nose. “I’m going to the bathroom a second.”

  “Okay.” She nods.

  As soon as I get into the bathroom, I turn on the warm water and wash my face. There’s no way I’m going to make love to her for the first time with this paint smeared all over it.

  When I walk back into the living room, Poppy giggles. “You could’ve kept that on your face, you know. It made you look sexy.”

  I bring a hand to my chest. “Are you saying I’m not sexy without it? You wound me.”

  “You’re definitely sexy, but the paint made you look rugged.” She takes a step close to me. “Manly,” she continues.

  “I’m all those things without costume paint on my face,” I emphasize, so she remembers I wasn’t really sweeping chimneys all night.

  “You’re a city boy,” she challenges.

  I step forward, meeting her. I run my hands down her arms and over her hips, moving them to her backside as I press her into me. “City boys can play just as dirty,” I growl, and she gasps.

  I grip her ass and smash my lips against hers, devouring her. I don’t waste time thrusting my tongue into her mouth. I want to spend days like this with Poppy, holding her and kissing her, touching her perfect body until she melts into me and screams my name, begging me never to stop.

  I meant what I told her before we got in the car. I’m going to marry this woman one day. I’m going to work my ass off to make her the happiest person on Earth, cherish her, protect her.

  I move my lips down her jaw, peppering kisses as I find that spot on her neck that makes her moan. I lick and nip her skin, Poppy holding on to my back as her nails bite into my skin. I want to feel her claim me without fabric lessening her grip.

  Poppy’s soft moans shoot straight to my dick. Her body pressed against mine tempts me to skip the build-up and strip her naked. But I want to take my time, I want to worship her body.

  “Babe, you’re too covered up,” I say against her neck, where her white, collared blouse blocks me from kissing any further.

  “What are you going to do about it?” Poppy challenges.

  I groan and drop to my knees. “I told you I’d only get on my knees for one woman and for two reasons.”

  Her eyes grow big and her lips part. I sneak my hands into her knee-length black skirt and pull down her tights. My fingers brush against her soft skin as I move the black satin down her legs. I drop a kiss right above her knee. Poppy is already helping by lifting a foot so I can remove her booties.

  Once she steps out of her shoes and tights, I run my hands up the length of her legs, tracing the shape of her calves and thighs, hitting the curve of her ass. Poppy shivers as I palm her ass before I move my hands to the back of her skirt in search of the zipper. Her flared skirt falls around her feet as soon as I lower the zipper, and I’m faced with Poppy’s underwear.

  I look up at her on a groan. “Lace?”

  Poppy gives me a shy smile as I trace the line above her pink, lace panties. “I’m usually a boring, cotton kinda gal, but I was hoping this would happen tonight.”

  “You bought special underwear for me?”

  She nods, and I groan, dropping my forehead against her stomach.

  “The bra matches.” My head snaps up, and I see the challenge in her eyes, the way she arches one eyebrow, the way her eyes are dark instead of the light, playful aqua.

  “Fuck,” I murmur. I want to take my time, though. I slip a finger inside the waistband of her underwear, just enough to feel her soft skin. God, she’s even bare here.

  I lean forward and press my lips right above her pussy. Poppy gasps at the contact and her hands fly to my shoulders.

  “I’ve got you, babe,” I promise and slide one hand under her panties to hold her ass. Poppy’s legs buckle, and I grip her harder. My other hand moves under her blouse and presses into her stomach.

  It’s killing me to keep my self-control when I’m this close to her, her wet pussy luring me in. Her living room carpet digs into my knees, but I welcome to pain to keep me distracted, so I don’t rush this.

  I run my thumb over her barely-covered clit, and she cries out. I look up in time to see her head thrown back and her chest rising and falling rapidly.

  “Do you like that?” I taunt.

  “Harris…” Her words come out in a hushed tone.

  I rub against her again, a little harder this time, and her entire body shakes. I want to make her feel even better. My hand on her ass tightens as I press my thumb against her clit in slow circles, her wetness coating my finger through the transparent fabric.

  “I can’t wait to taste you.” My voice is hoarse.

  “Me neither,” Poppy moans. Her hands are now in my hair, her nails scraping my scalp.

  I press my lips where my thumb just was, and I run my tongue along her slit. The roughness of the lace is a contrast to her soft skin.

  “Babe…” Poppy’s breathing is heavy. I nip her right above her lips, and she groans.

  My other hand sneaks under Poppy’s backside to grip her other cheek. I press her pussy to my face and lick her with more force this time, getting a better taste. Her hands tug my hair, encouraging me to continue.

  “My sole purpose right now is to pleasure you,” I say against her.

  “Oh, God…” she breathes out.

  I run my tongue along the length of her and pull her clit into my mouth, sucking her. I bring a hand forward and into her underwear, entering her. God, she’s so fucking tight. My finger enters her pussy as I keep sucking her clit. Poppy is a wild mess of a woman over me. She tightens her fists in my hair, and I hold her upright with my hand on her ass.

  Her legs buckle, threatening to give out, but I make sure she remains standing and enjoying this. When I push a second finger inside of her, she cries out my name. I need to taste her completely.

  I stop what I’m doing and am met with a whining whimper. I look up at Poppy, who’s staring down at me with heavy lids, and wink. Hooking my fingers into her underwear, I inch them down her legs, finally getting a full view of this beautiful woman.

  Poppy hastily steps out of her underwear, and I chuckle. “Laugh all you want right now, but if tables were turned, you’d be begging me to get this show on the road.”

  I cock a brow in her direction. “I’m looking forward to the tables turning.”

  Poppy groans, and I’m not sure if it’s out of frustration or because she’s imagining taking my dick in her mouth. I don’t waste time trying to figure it out. I kiss her hip, trailing my lips over to the other side. Then, I hook my arm around her waist and hold her to me. I taste her without any barriers, licking and sucking her.

  “The scratching of your beard feels so good,” Poppy calls out on a moan.

  I don’t respond. I continue to pleasure her, my one goal to make her feel so good, she’ll never forget this night and the way my mouth felt on her body. I thrust my tongue into her before I run it up and flick it over her clit.

  Poppy is thrusting her hips as she begs me not to stop, her legs barely keeping her standing. I enter two fingers into her and hook them into the spot I know will drive her wild as I bring my lips over her clit. Her body trembles and her walls squeeze my fingers as her impending orgasm starts to take over.

  I take her in my mouth, tasting every bit of her, as she loses herself to her climax.

  “Fuck,” Poppy cries out and grips my head, keeping me in place.

  I slow my pace, bringing her down from her orgasm a little at a time until her body relaxes.

  When I sit back on my heels and look up at her, she’s offering a lazy smile, her eyes half-closed.

  “Did you just curse?” I ask her.

  “You gave me a curse-worthy orgasm.” She drops to her knees in front
of me and kisses my lips.

  “I was aiming for world-shattering.” I bring her to my lap and cradle her body.

  “Trust me, if I cursed, it surpassed world-shattering and sent me straight into the universe.” Poppy cups my cheeks.

  “That’s a lot to live up to from now on,” I quip.

  “I have a feeling you’ll have no trouble,” she winks.

  “Now, what was it that you were saying about city boys?” I move her so she can straddle me, her legs wrapping around my waist, and I kiss her.

  “You’re an Everton resident now, so let’s get down and dirty.”

  I laugh and drop a kiss on the base of her throat where her pulse hammers. I take off the red bowtie she’s wearing as part of her costume and begin to undo the buttons on her blouse. As promised, I’m greeted with a pink, lace bra that matches her panties. Her nipples are erect through the see-through material, and I run my thumb over them. Poppy moans, grinding into my hips.

  “Last time we did this, you got off by dry-humping me,” I remind her.

  “I know, but tonight you’re going to be inside me when we both climax.”

  I shut my eyes and groan, the idea of being inside her tight pussy almost too much to bear. I bring my mouth over her breast and suck in her nipple, biting down lightly. Poppy moans and arches into my kiss. I move to her other breast, making sure it receives the same attention.

  “Now it seems as if you’re over-dressed,” Poppy says, untying the red bandana around my neck. She leans back a bit on my lap to remove my shirt, her fingers swiftly undoing the buttons. Her palms move over my shoulders, sliding the shirt off my body.

  Poppy runs her fingers over my chest, tracing the indentations of my muscles as she becomes acquainted with my body. She leans forward and kisses my neck. I moan as her lips skim over my skin, her breath tickling me. She trails her lips from my neck up to my jaw and finds my lips. Her tongue sweeps along mine, and I move my hands to her back, unclasping her bra.

  I run my fingers over the sides of her body, from her ribs up to her breasts. I move my hands between us, cupping her tits and kneading them as we continue to kiss.