Almost Perfect

by Doyle, Dawn

  He’d noticed? When did Maddoc Dass notice a tiny pendant I wore around my neck that was mostly hidden under my sweaters and jackets? And also the earrings my mom had bought?

  “I’d been caught in the rain on my way over,” I replied in confusion, wondering why he’d asked me that. “I took them off when I showered. I’d gone back an hour later because I’d forgotten it, and that’s when I caught him screwing Eleanor on the couch.” It figured. I wouldn’t screw him, so he’d gotten somebody else for the job instead. Little did I know that they’d started fucking a couple of days into my sham of a relationship, and it wasn’t long after that, that he’d hooked up with Sally. God I felt bad for them, especially Sally getting pregnant by him.

  Maddoc’s face screwed up in disgust. “Ugh, I sat on that couch,” he said, spitting out the words as though they’d wronged him. “I think I might need medical attention now.”

  My lips twitched, my brows furrowed, and the ball of energy rising inside me shot out of me. I burst out laughing, tears pricking my eyes as I held my stomach as my muscles tensed so hard.

  “Miss. Levine,” Professor McNulty sighed as though bored already. “Can you contain yourself until class is over?”

  I nodded and held my free hand over my mouth to stifle the spluttered chuckled that wouldn’t stop. “Sorry,” I gasped as soon as I caught my breath. “I-it won’t h-happen again.”

  Professor McNulty’s brow raised and the corner of hip lips quirked as though to say he wasn’t buying it.

  “You’re taking this pretty well,” Maddoc whispered closely to my ear. His hot breath washed over me like the middle of spring. “I honestly thought you’d want to kill me for going there.”

  I got myself together and turned my face, our noses barely an inch apart. “Yet, you told me anyway,” I replied.

  He nodded, the peak of his cap glancing off of my hair as he did. “I had to tell you, cupcake.”

  “Anything else?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

  “Yeah.” He held my hand tighter and stared at me, and with such intensity I shook harder, but not from fear or nerves. Maddoc Dass was doing things to my body that I’d never felt before. My previous relationships, no matter how intimate or not, had never felt like this, and he was only staring, hard, penetrating me, seeing right through me, and I could do nothing but hold my breath as he pushed the peak upward to get closer to me than before. He licked his lips again as his gaze fell to my mouth, “I’d really like the chance to be your donut.” He smiled, different than his usual mischief-filled expression, one that was sweet, yet unsure. “You’re my cupcake, after all.”

  “I am?” I squeaked.

  Maddoc nodded, then squeezed my hand one last time. “Of course you are. The only sugary goodness I’ll ever kick my diet for.”

  Oh crap.

  Maddoc

  Silence was overrated, especially when I’d waited a long fucking time to get this shit off my chest. Kaia didn’t utter a goddamn word as we headed out of class, and still said nothing when she took off through the thick crowd. We’d been walking for a while, and people started taking notice that we were headed in the same direction, and side by side.

  “Babe, are you gonna say something, or are you waiting for me?” I asked, trying to break the tension, but only succeeded in making it worse when she glanced to me, then right ahead. “Come on, cupcake, I thought we were past the—”

  “Hang on,” she cut in without looking at me. Her tongue darted out over her lips at the same time she searched for something in the distance, then seemed to relax.

  We turned the last corner and Kaia’s steps quickened as we reached the glass-paned doors of the library. It was fucking killing me, her being so close to me, not able to say a fucking thing, not able to do anything… My skin broke out in a sweat at keeping my damn composure. Over the past couple of days, it’d gotten worse, to the point that I’d barely slept, and training had sucked ass because I was losing my focus thinking about how she’d ignored all my messages.

  I stared down at her again, and saw her knuckles white from gripping her own bag tight. Her other arm was across her body, holding the same strap as though it was a lifeline. Her shoulders lifted when she sucked in a lungful of air, then released a slow, shaky breath. Her nervousness was obvious, but I had no idea why she would be. We were walking, not talking, and in public. If I wasn’t mistaken, she looked the same as she had when we were in the diner, her flawless skin turning rosy every few seconds, and her tongue pulling her lip in before biting on it.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, still watching her, and she nodded quickly. I shoved my backpack over my shoulder from where it’d been slipping. I ran the back of my hand over my clammy forehead, then noticed Kaia watching me, her face flushing pink. “What?”

  “Nothing,” she rushed out, then pushed the door open. I followed behind her, then caught up when she walked over to the assistant’s counter. “Hey, Dora, do you have the key for the projection room?” she asked quietly.

  The older lady smiled at Kaia, but eyed me with suspicion. She nodded her head, her tight, gray and brunette bun unmoving on the top of her head. The chain dangling from her glasses swung, and she pushed the black frames up her nose. “Of course, Kaia. Remember, though, you have fifteen minutes to sign the key back in, or I’ll have to come knocking.” She glanced to me again, and my brows furrowed.

  What did she think was going to happen in one of the rooms in the quietest fucking place on campus? And just like that, the images my mind conjured had me needing to adjust my long T-shirt over the front of my jeans.

  “No problem,” Kaia replied, taking the brass key. A brown ticket hung from the round end. “I just need to get some notes from a scene for a project we have.”

  I stared at her, my mouth popping open. She brought me here for a fucking project? What about the talk we were supposed to have? Was what we’d discussed in class been dismissed so easily? “Yeah, we won’t be long,” I said when Dora raised a brow at me. I got my composure together in a flash, knowing this was going nowhere fast. I’d wasted my time blurting out that shit to Kaia. She didn’t give a rat’s ass that I’d practically told her I wanted her. “Just some stuff to work out, the usual. No sex, we promise.”

  Kaia’s head whipped toward me, eyes bugged and jaw slack. “Maddoc!” she hissed.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Dora snipped. “I trust Kaia, so I’m not worried.”

  Great.

  Kaia slid her phone out of her back pocket and I saw her set the clock for the allotted time. She looked up at me, her blush stronger than before. “Let’s go,” she said, jerking her head toward the spiral staircase.

  “Are we seriously gonna watch some old crappy movie for a project?” I asked, trying to keep quiet, but doing a shitty job at controlling my volume. A few disapproving stares were thrown my way. “Kaia—”

  “Just hurry before I change my mind,” she hissed and took off up the stairs. I stood at the bottom, unable to keep from admiring her ass with every step she took. She paused, and looked over the wooden-topped railing. “Are you coming up?”

  I sighed, then followed her to the top, then down the narrow corridor to the door in the shadows at the far end. “Seriously, aren’t we gonna talk—”

  “Sh.” Kaia unlocked the door, and went inside, waited for me to go in and then locked it behind us.

  A small projector sat on a high counter at the back of the plain room. Shelves filled with DVD’s lined the sides, all alphabetized. The curtains were drawn, keeping the room shaded from the light.

  I dropped my bag on the thin-carpeted floor, then turned around. Kaia stood in front of me, her hands trembling as she toyed with her fingers. “Cupcake, are you okay?”

  “We’re not here for a project,” she whispered. “We can’t go back to my apartment because Daria and Cash will be there.”

  I frowned. “Okay, so why would that matter?”

  “They’d be, um, you know.” She raised her
brows like I should know.

  I laughed. “Oh, I get it. They’ll be getting busy and your place isn’t exactly soundproof.” I winked, loving her awkward smile. I’d heard everything from the conversation outside the door to her room, so if Cash was servicing his lady, then we’d no doubt hear them through the walls.

  “We could’ve gone back to the house,” I suggested.

  “The others would probably be there,” she replied. “ Or at least some of them.”

  “So?”

  She stepped closer to me, and let her bag slip from her shoulder. “I don’t want to go to your house,” she said, her eyes falling to my mouth. “Here was closer.”

  My heart kicked up speed. “Oh?”

  Kaia’s chest rose and fell in quick succession, then her lips pulled together. “Oh, what the hell.”

  I had no time to react. She closed the gap between us and reached up, one hand snatching off my cap, and the other cupping the back of my neck, pulling me down to meet her. Her lips pressed against mine, catching me off-guard, surprising the shit out of me.

  The pressure of her mouth eased off, and began pulling away. I wrapped my arms around her, stopping her, and held her close, her body flush to mine. I parted my lips, and dove in, kissing her back, working her soft warm lips as she worked mine.

  I slid my hand up the curve of her spine until I reached her head, then moved around to cup her face. I tilted her head to deepen the kiss, exploring her mouth, tasting her, feeling her tongue dart out against mine.

  My hand fisted at the back of her sweater when she moaned, her sexy sigh turning me on so fucking much I was barely keeping myself together.

  Kaia gripped my hair in one hand, keeping me to her, while the other slipped down my neck to my chest, her dainty hand resting over my right pec. She matched me, my pace, my pressure, my licks… I wanted her so fucking bad.

  Her body pressed up against mine, and I held her tighter, her back arching, her tits pushing into me. Fuck I wanted to take her in my hands, to explore her, to feel every single inch of her skin.

  I pulled back and rested my forehead against hers. “Damn, cupcake,” I panted. “You could’ve warned me you were gonna pounce.”

  Her adorable flush bloomed again. “I didn't expect it either,” she breathed.

  I chuckled. “I’m a little too tall for this position,” I said, sliding my hands down her back. I grinned when her eyes widened as I ran my palms over her ass, and squeezed her toned cheeks. “But this one,” I moved further and she gasped when I hoisted her up by her thighs, the movement causing her to wrap her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, “is much better.”

  Her eyes met mine before she dipped her head, and I tilted mine back, our mouths crashing together again. I turned around, and took the few steps to the back, and sat her down on the counter.

  I cupped her face, letting my fingers rake through her silky hair, keeping her just where I wanted her, her mouth on mine, her hands on me.

  “Maddoc,” Kaia whispered against my mouth between kisses.

  I licked across her lower lip, then sucked it into my mouth. “Yeah?” I asked, then kissed her again. “What’s up?” I moved from her mouth to her jaw, skimming over the skin, working my way to her neck. Her breaths were shallow; sped up the further I went, and as I reached the throbbing pulse point in her neck, her legs tightened around me. I dropped my hands to her knees, stroking up her toned thighs to her ass, then all the way back up, memorizing her shape. Fuck, she felt perfect under my hands.

  “We don’t have much longer in here,” she said.

  I lifted my head to gaze into her eyes, her pupils huge, dilated so much I could just about make out the thin ring of color remaining. Mine would be the same, I fucking knew it. I was rock hard in my jeans, my dick pressing painfully against the zipper.

  I placed a featherlight kiss against her jaw, then the other side. “What do you want to do with the time left?” I asked, knowing what I wanted, but I couldn’t assume she wanted the same. I cupped her face, sliding down to her neck, my thumbs caressing over her cheekbones, across her jaw, and down the column of her throat before pressing my mouth there, too. She swallowed, and I darted my tongue out over the bob as she did.

  Kaia’s hands covered mine, and I lifted my head, glancing down to see our bodies dangerously close together, my dick less than an inch from pressing against her pussy.

  She began to tug on my hands, and I let her, my gut sinking, thinking this was over way too soon. “More,” she whispered, and continued lowering my hands without taking her eyes from mine.

  She stroked my hands down her neck, over the swells of her chest, and she took a sharp breath when she stopped on her full tits. Her loose, cream-colored, buttoned sweater did nothing to disguise the soft flesh underneath, large orbs that were bigger than I could hold.

  Kaia released my hands and I gently squeezed, and even through the knit, two distinct buds stood proud.

  “Fuck,” I groaned. I was in physical pain. My dick strained harder than ever, desperate to be released, and when Kaia’s lashes fluttered as she bit down on her luscious lip, I’m pretty sure I almost blacked out.

  She leaned forward, offering her mouth to me, hers parting, her warm breath fanning over my lips. And I took it, delving inside hers with my tongue, nipping on her…

  I massaged her tits, changing positions with my hands to feel every part I could. I searched for her nipples, finding them again with ease and running my thumbs over them. Kaia’s legs pressed against me again, I flinched forward with her grip, my cock meeting her center for a split-second, and she whimpered.

  I groaned against her mouth, and she ran her hands up my shoulders, finding my hair again, and held me so tight to her, there was no way I could pull away.

  I moved to her neck, letting her catch her breath, and licked over her skin, then down to the dip between her neck and shoulder, easing my way further down. In the silence of the room, I could hear Kaia’s heart racing as well as our frantic breaths.

  A loud beeping sound had me pulling away, searching for where the intrusive noise had come from.

  “Damn it, time’s up” Kaia hissed.

  I held her face in my hands and shifted her head back, then kissed her once more.

  I stepped away and gripped her small waist, helping her down from the counter, loving how her face flamed as she stared at me, even though I’d had her tits in my hands a few seconds before.

  Kaia pulled her phone out of her pocket and silenced the alarm. “Dora will want the keys back,” she said, still looking down at the screen. She lifted her head, then froze, her wide eyes zeroing in on my torso. I looked down and saw what she was looking at—my obvious hard on that wasn’t going down.

  “Yeah, I might have to wait a while.” I grinned when her face turned scarlet as I adjusted my dick in my jeans.

  Kaia turned away to fix her lop-sided sweater, and smoothed down her mussed tresses.

  I fixed my hoodie, adjusted my cock once more because it didn’t get the memo that fun times were over, and ran my hands through my hair.

  “Here,” Kaia said, and lifted my cap. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled it on my head.

  I grinned. “Thanks, cupcake.”

  Once the door was unlocked, I turned back. “Just one more thing,” I said, lifting a hand to Kaia’s cheek. She looked up at me, her lips dark and puffy. I dipped low to press my mouth to hers, just once, only for a few seconds, then gently pulled back. Kaia’s lids slowly opened, her lips still parted. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Dora eyed us when Kaia handed over the key, but said nothing as we hurried out of the library.

  “So, that was interesting,” I said when we walked out of the building.

  Kaia smiled although she fought it by pulling her lips into her mouth. Her eyes flicked up to mine, the blue standing out in the sunshine. “Yes, it was.”

  “Are you looking to do that again in the near future?” I raised my brows. “Sooner
than later.” And holy fuck, she smiled with her lower lip between her teeth, looking cute as hell.

  “Sooner would be better.”

  I ran my hand over my face to get myself together. “Babe, just say the word, and I’m there.”

  Chapter 15

  Kaia

  I rolled over onto my back, still staring at my phone screen. My face ached from smiling so much, and as I read through Maddoc’s messages, it only hurt more.

  Cupcake for my cupcake.’

  A picture had followed, and my mouth watered. A chocolate cupcake with swirly rainbow-colored frosting, chocolate sprinkles, and glittered sugar sparkling on top. He’d gone all the way home to get it for me, and I’d been here, wondering where he’d gone; ignoring his messages.

  ‘That looks delicious,” I’d typed out.

  ‘Not as delicious as your lips.’

  I pressed my fingers to my mouth, the other day coming back to me in a flash, not that it’d left. I’d kissed Maddoc. Me, the one who never made the first move, the one who was too uptight to relax and let go. And it was spectacular. His lips, his body, how he felt standing between my thighs, his hands on me… I flushed and absent-mindedly covered my chest. My skin still tingled from his touch, his caresses, and I shivered at the memory of the thrill that fired through me when he brushed his thumbs over my nipples.

  ‘Well, Bobby found it and ate it, so I’ll have to get Willow to make you another one next time. I’ll go as soon as I can.’

  He’d been benched for a game from fighting with Trent, but he still had to attend training, and classes that were mostly different to mine. We’d seen each other in passing, and we’d managed one light kiss in the hallway before a crowd of students flowed like a wave, separating us. He’d walked up to me, checked no one was looking, palmed my cheek, then dipped down to take my lips in a soft kiss.

  ‘You don’t have to go all the way home to get anything for me.’

  Three little dots appeared on the screen, disappeared then came up again.