by Naomi Martin
“You want anything?” I ask.
“You,” he replies simply.
I smile and bite my bottom lip as I look at him standing there, dressed in slacks and a black vest that covers his white shirt. He looks good. Amazing, in fact. The mere sight of him is enough to set a fire burning between my thighs. I pull the top and open the can, taking a long swallow, my eyes never leaving his. And then, just to tease him, I run the tip of my tongue around the rim of the bottle suggestively, drawing a husky laugh from him.
“You are such a tease,” he says.
I shrug. “I’m only a tease if I don’t follow through.”
After closing the refrigerator, I set the bottle down on the counter and crook my finger at him. Owen closes the distance between us and presses his mouth to mine, slipping his tongue past my lips, and swirling it with mine slowly and seductively. I run my fingernails across his broad, strong back, relishing the feel of his muscled body. Owen pulls back and looks into my eyes as he runs his fingers through my hair.
“You have no idea how utterly sexy you are, Winter Keating,” he murmurs.
“Then show me.”
As if I weigh nothing at all, Owen lifts me up and sets me down on the center island. He kisses me deeply and passionately, furiously working at the buttons on my uniform blouse. When he has them undone, he pushes it open and unclasps my bra, smoothly exposing my breasts. His mouth finds my hard, sensitive nipples. I moan softly as he licks and sucks on them, swirling his tongue and nipping gently.
Owen’s smile is salacious as he slides his hands up my thighs. His touch sends a shiver through my entire body as his fingers slip beneath my skirt. I raise myself up, allowing him to pull my panties down my legs. He casually drops them to the floor and then parts my thighs.
My breath quickens as he pushes my skirt up and leans forward. The delicate touch of his breath, warm and moist, upon my wet, swollen lips sends a jolt of electricity shooting through me. And when he slides his tongue across my throbbing bud, I cry out. Owen slips his tongue past my wet folds, plunging deep into the blazing hot center of me and I grip his hair, pushing him down further. He eagerly laps at my pussy, sending wave after wave of pleasure rolling through my body.
I grind myself against his mouth, taking his tongue deeper inside, relishing the way he licks and sucks on me. He takes my bud into his mouth, rolling it around and sucking hard on it as he pierces me with two fingers. I call out his name, gripping his hair tighter as he pumps them into me, hard and fast.
Owen raises his face, slick and glistening with my juices, and finds my breasts with his mouth again. Sucking and nibbling on my nipples, he furiously pumps his fingers into me again and again. I shudder and moan as my body explodes with sensations so powerful, I can barely contain myself. He quirks a smile at me as he moves his mouth back down and drives his tongue into me once more.
He licks me with a power born of raw desire that leaves me breathless. The pressure that’s been building inside of me reaches a crescendo and I get a near weightless feeling in my belly as he tips me over the edge with one final flick of his tongue.
I’m pulling his hair so hard, I’m sure some of it’s going to come out in my hand as I thrash wildly on the counter, my orgasm the most powerful and intense I’ve ever felt. My cries of sheer ecstasy echo around the kitchen and through it all, Owen continues lapping at my pussy in an absolute frenzy, as if my coming for him has spurred him on.
Slowly, I come back to myself as the iron grip my orgasm had on me loosens. I’m able to breathe normally again – more or less. My heart is still thundering in my chest, though, and the desire flooding my body is unlike anything I’ve ever known.
I slide off the counter, being careful as I drop to avoid turning an ankle in these damn platform heels. Owen watches as I slip to my knees before him. He quickly unbuttons his slacks and lets them fall. Reaching into his boxers, I pull his cock out and squeeze it tightly, drawing a soft moan from his lips.
He keeps his eyes on me while I run my tongue down one side of his shaft and back up the other. I swirl my tongue around the head of his cock, teasing the tip of it. As he watches, I smile and lick the salty precum from the tip of his staff just before I lean forward and take him all the way into my mouth.
I tighten my lips around his shaft as I reach the base and he groans with pleasure. Keeping my eyes on his, I start to move my head up and down. I reach up and take hold of him, giving his staff another squeeze as I start to move my hand in unison with my mouth. Owen throws his head back and calls out as he grabs hold of my hair, gripping it tightly. He pumps his hips, thrusting his cock deeper as he fucks my mouth. I let him, relishing every movement of his body, savoring the taste of him as well as the firmness of his cock.
Owen takes a quick step backward and he pulls his length from my mouth. There’s a wicked smile on his face as he draws me to my feet. Our kiss is fiery and passionate, filled with our mutual desire. He gives me a smile as he grips my hair, pulling my head back hard so he can nip at my neck. Then, Owen turns me around and bends me over the counter. I look over my shoulder at him and feel the heat of anticipation flooding my body.
I hear the sharp crack of him slapping my ass a moment before I feel the hot sting in my backside. My yelp of surprise fades to a moan of pleasure. He slaps my ass again and I smile as a breathy moan passes my lips. Owen steps forward and guides his cock to my opening, nestling the head between my soft, wet folds.
I push myself back against him, forcing his length into me inch by inch. Owen presses his fingers hard into my hips, kneading my flesh as he slowly starts to move within me. I close my eyes and bite my bottom lip as the waves of pleasure roll through me. I look over my shoulder at him, the rapt look upon his face fueling my own desire.
“Harder,” I tell him. “Give it to me harder, Owen.”
He smiles and reaches up, winding his fingers through my hair. Owen pulls my head back as he starts to thrust his hips harder, driving his rigid staff into me. With his free hand, he slaps my ass again, the bite of that pain making my pleasure so vibrant that I cry out. Owen drives his cock into me, the sound of our flesh meeting and our cries of passion filling the kitchen around us.
My body is growing tight as he pounds himself into my wetness with every ounce of strength in him. I feel his staff swelling inside of me and know he’s getting close. I stand up and turn around, gripping his cock, squeezing and stroking it as I press my mouth to his. I force my tongue against his as I jerk him off. His cock swells and pulses in my hand, but I’m not ready for him to finish yet so I let go – much to his consternation.
Owen grits his teeth as he picks me up and sets me down on the counter. I part my legs for him as he steps forward. We kiss again as he plunges his cock into me without preamble and I moan his name. His mouth is on my neck and my breasts as he pumps himself into me harder and faster, driving his stiff length deep into me.
I wrap my legs around his waist, gripping him tight as I claw at his back. The pleasure and ecstasy roll through me unabated and my orgasm is like a train hurtling down the tracks, unable to be stopped. Owen’s movements become frenzied, his breathing labored as he drives himself into me and I open myself as wide to him as I possibly can, taking every delicious inch of him and savoring the slight pinch of pain that accompanies his hard thrusts.
Overcome by passion, I lean forward and bite his shoulder, my teeth digging into the flesh beneath his shirt. He draws in a sharp breath and grits his teeth, but can’t keep the smile from stretching his lips wide. My moans are muffled against his shoulder as my orgasm grips me so hard I feel like I might crack beneath the pressure. My entire body shudders and the pleasure that erupts within me is more powerful than a volcano, and it pulls a quavering cry of ecstasy from my throat.
A moment later, our gazes lock together and Owen follows me off the cliff. His howl of pleasure is more animal than human, and he shudders violently as he buries himself deep inside of me one final time. I feel him twitch
and pulse and then he bursts within me; the rush of warm fluid fills me up completely.
Clinging together, we stare into one another’s eyes, making our orgasms that much more powerful and intimate. He presses his forehead to mine and we remain silent, our gazes locked as our hearts slow and our breathing returns to normal.
Owen picks me up and carries me into the living room, where we settle down onto the couch. I lay with his arm around me and my head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his strong heartbeat. I find it soothing. Calming. We lay there in a bubble of warmth and ecstasy that’s as deep and complete as the happiness I feel right now.
But in that silence, even in the haze of bliss that’s enveloped me, questions begin to float around in my head. Questions that formed at the carnival with the appearance of Asher and Samuel. Questions I haven’t been able to completely shake. Not even the pleasure of having Owen inside of me could completely drive them from my mind. And now, in the quiet after our lovemaking, they raise their heads once more, demanding answers.
“Do you do it often?” I murmur quietly. “Do you… acquire partners for men like Donovan often?”
I feel tension ripple through Owen’s body and he’s quiet for so long, I think he’s either pretending to be asleep or is just ignoring me. But then he surprises me when he speaks.
“No. I don’t,” he says. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what’s it like?”
“It… it was just a one-time thing. He offered me a grand and I wasn’t really thinking – I just did it.”
There’s a slightly rough edge to his voice that bothers me because I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. I don’t want to believe that he’d lie to me. Not after everything we’ve been through. But the strange tension I feel in him, along with the hard tone in his voice gives me pause.
“You believe me, don’t you?” he asks.
I hesitate, not entirely sure that I do. There is a reluctance in his voice, too, and I’m positive he’s not telling me something. I don’t know what he’s hiding, but I’m certain there’s something. But until I know what it is, I know I shouldn’t say a word. There’s no sense in upsetting the apple cart if there’s no real reason to. Especially since we just put things right between us, and it’s been so good.
“Of course I do,” I reply.
He looks down at me and there’s something in his eyes I find disquieting. Something that isn’t quite right, and it only serves to deepen my certainty that he’s holding something back. That he’s hiding something from me.
“Good,” he says softly. “That’s good.”
Chapter Nineteen
Sneaking up behind him, I clap my hands down over Owen’s eyes, giggling like an idiot.
“Guess who?” I tease.
“Ummmm… Chrissy Teigen?”
I scoff and slap him upside the head. “Try again.”
“Scarlett Johannson?”
I scoff even louder this time before I slap him again – harder. “You get one last guess, funny boy. Better get it right.”
He chuckles, his voice a deep rumbling in his chest. Then he grabs me by the wrists and pulls me around, pinning me up against the lockers before he kisses me. It’s slow and sensual and even though I can feel all the people eyeballing us as they pass by, I don’t care. It’s odd, given that I’m a private person and am definitely not down with PDAs, but when I’m with Owen, I just don’t seem to care about all that. Let them look.
Owen pulls back and gives me a smile. “Mornin’, gorgeous.”
“Well, good mornin’ yourself, handsome.”
He takes a step back and starts putting things into his locker. I lean against the wall next to him and cut a glance at the people passing by in the hallway, noticing expressions of envy on the faces of the girls and of outright desire on the faces of the boys. It makes me laugh softly to myself as I look away. Despite being the object of attention since the start of the school year, I still haven’t grown used to it. It embarrasses me every bit as much as it flatters me.
“Still not used to being Sapphire Bay royalty, huh?” He grins, looking at me from the corner of his eye.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, honestly.”
He shrugs. “Eventually, it stops fazing you.”
“Easy for you to say,” I reply. “You’ve been living with it your whole life.”
Owen laughs, closing his locker and turning to me. He takes my hand and we stroll down the hallway together, headed for the exit.
“Gimme a ride to work?” I ask.
“Of course.”
We walk out of the school and into a chilly afternoon. The sky is slate gray and thick with clouds, and the breeze blowing in carries the whispered promise of rain on its currents. We cross the parking lot to his car when a BMW pulls up behind us. Olivia honks the horn then jumps out, a wide grin on her face.
“And where have you two been hiding?” she asks.
“Here and there,” I tell her.
Owen and I share a sly, secret smile and a laugh. Olivia just rolls her eyes and shakes her head. She walks over and stands in front of me, giving me all of her attention while seeming to ignore Owen completely. She doesn’t really address him directly or acknowledge his presence in any way, which I find kind of odd. But then, Olivia can be kind of odd at times.
“You two are terrible. You’re like horny teenagers or something,” she says, laughing at her own joke. “Seriously, you’ve been totally MIA. Where have you been?”
“We’ve been hanging out,” I tell her. “Just… around.”
“Yeah, well, ghosting me is not cool.”
“I didn’t ghost you,” I say. “Seriously.”
“Kinda feels that way.”
“It’s not that way. Promise.”
She purses her lips and folds her arms beneath her breasts as she looks at me. I mirror her posture and stare right back at her. Finally, she cracks and laughs.
“Okay, fine,” she says. “You didn’t ghost me. But you haven’t been around and I wanted to hang out with you, bitch.”
“Sorry. I really didn’t mean to bail on you–”
She waves me off. “It’s fine. I just heard that your relationship with the nerd queen went kablooey and got worried about you,” she says. “I know what the nerd queen means to you.”
“Yeah, well, she didn’t like it when I put my foot down and drew some hard boundaries with her.”
Olivia nods as if she understands. “Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but I heard she said you just got all stuck up and totally blew her off,” she whispers conspiratorially. “Something about you being too good to hang out with her anymore.”
“Yeah, not quite how that went down, but whatever.”
She shrugs. “Not saying it did. Just passing along relevant info.” She leans in close. “But, FYI, you are too good for her, you know.”
I scoff. “I’m really not too good to hang out with anybody,” I explain. “I’m just not going to let anybody dictate the terms of my life to me.”
“Whatevs,” she says. “I just thought you’d want to know what’s being whispered about in the little corners of Nerdville.”
I laugh and shake my head. By this time, Owen has walked around the car and is standing behind me. I lean back against him as he slips his arms around my waist and squeezes me tight. I suppose he thinks if Olivia’s not going to acknowledge him, he’ll force the issue.
“Hey, Liv,” he says.
“Hey.” There’s a hint of distaste in her voice.
“Did I piss in your Cheerios or something?” he presses her.
“Charming expression.”
He shrugs. “I’m just feel like you’re giving me the cold shoulder.”
“Am I hurting your feelings, Owen?”
“Yeah, maybe a little.”
“Well, boo hoo.” She grins. “Like the kids are saying, build a bridge and get over it already.”
“Pretty sure they haven
’t said that for years,” I chime in.
“Oh, pucker up and kiss my taint, Keating,” she retorts with a laugh. “Anyway, Winter, I thought since it’s been a while, you and I could have a girls’ night out. Soon.”
“I’d like that,” I tell her. “It has been a little while.”
I feel Owen press himself against me a bit harder as his grip on my waist tightens. The expression on his face looks as if he’s apprehensive about something but I don’t know what it is. I know if I ask him, he’s just going to deflect my question. Or just outright refuse to tell me what I want to know. While I have no real idea what’s going on, it feels to me like this all goes back to the night of the Halloween carnival and Owen’s weird reaction to Asher. And it apparently encompasses Olivia within it, somehow.
“And what are you two going to do on your girls’ night out?” Owen asks.
“None of your business, Owen,” Olivia snaps. “It’s a girls’ night out. Not a girls-plus-Owen night out.”
He rolls his eyes so hard, I’m afraid they’re going to get stuck that way. Olivia stares back at him just as hard, her annoyance with him more than plain on her face. The tension between them is as disturbing as it is baffling to me.
“Yeah, let’s do it. It sounds like a lot of fun,” I tell her, just to dispel the tension and end this weirdness. “I’ll check my schedule at work and shoot you a text.”
“Awesome.” She beams at me. “I’ll look forward to it.”
And with that, she spins around and sashays back to her car. She jumps behind the wheel and speeds off, leaving me in the dust with a million questions in my head. I turn and look at Owen.
“What was that all about?” I ask.
He shrugs. “You know how Liv gets,” he says dismissively. “I obviously did something to break one of Olivia’s little rules of personal conduct.”
“Clearly. And you have no idea what it was?”
