by Marika Ray
I trusted him not to hurt me. Everything since I met him pointed toward not being able to trust him and yet I did. All that other stuff was just superfluous information. He was a man who saved cats and helped strange women with car troubles and medical emergencies. Who he inherently was beyond all the labels assured me he was right for me. For right now.
Then his weight was gone and he was crouched at the end of the bed, between my thighs, looking very much like the hungry wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
“Hang on.”
His mouth descended on me, his tongue and teeth and chin doing indescribable things to a juncture of nerves that had never before seen such action. My eyes rolled back in my head and I dug my heels into the bed, seeking more of that. Much more. His tongue flicked my clit more expertly than that battery-operated vibrator Amelia had bought us all a few years ago. And I enjoyed that thing immensely. A finger found its way inside me, then two, stretching me in a way I craved. Waves of pleasure rippled up my torso, but left me wanting still.
My hips lifted off the bed of their own volition, my skin coated with a light sheen of sweat. “Jesus fucking Mary, give me more, Jayden!”
And he did. Three fingers—hell, maybe it was more—joined the party and he sucked down hard, sending me shooting for the stars and out of this dingy hotel room. I trembled, I thrashed my head on the pillow, and I know I chanted a thing or two I’d never remember later. But I would always remember this feeling. What it was like to orgasm for the first time because of a man’s face between my legs. It was dirty. It was delicious. It was everything I’d been looking for.
I came back to the room with Jayden kissing his way up my body, the drag of his cock along my length awakening a deeper part of me that was still left wanting. How I could possibly want anything more seemed beyond my comprehension, but that little ribbon of desire wouldn’t be ignored.
He reached over to the nightstand, his delicious body stretched out above me. While he was busy, I decided exploring was in my best interest. My index finger fit perfectly in the valleys between his ab muscles. He had zero tattoos anywhere I could see. And he had a freckle. A beautiful little speck of a freckle on the side of his cock, near the end. I traced it with my finger before Jayden batted me away to put the condom on.
“Seriously, woman, he could end this all right now. Don’t poke the bear.”
I smiled up at him, feeling like I could fly.
“This is fun,” I stated.
Which was probably a bit weird. But it was true. I was having an incredible time and so damn happy I said yes to throwing the good girl act to the wind so I could explore this exchange with Jayden.
Jayden smirked, pulling one of my legs up and notching himself at my entrance. “Agreed,” he said as he pushed forward.
An acute stretching feeling had my warning bells clanging. I looked down sharply, my forehead clipping Jayden’s chin.
“Ow,” he muttered, adorably confused.
“Mhmm.” I breathed out nice and slow. There, that was better.
Then he surged forward again and the burning thing was back. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Not a micro penis.”
He stilled. “Come again?”
I smiled up at him, ignoring the pain in my forehead from cracking heads and trying to breathe through the stretching going on down below. I was a trooper. There goes Lenora, the best sex trooper in all of Hell.
“I hope I do!” I said cheerfully.
“Wait.” Jayden’s face went pale. “Have you done this before?”
I nodded. “You bet. It’s just he was a lot smaller than you.”
His thick eyebrows came together. “One guy. The aforementioned micro penis, I presume?”
I nodded again, getting a little dizzy. “That about sums it up.”
He pulled all the way out and I scrambled to keep him on top of me, hugging him like a koala bear, heels pressed into his ass. “No…” I wailed.
“Relax, Nora. I’m just going to go slower.” He chuckled, which I did not appreciate.
“But I liked you all growly and throat grabby.” I was officially whining.
His eyes lit up again and it felt like we were back on track.
“You liked that, huh?”
I looked up at him through my lashes, as coy as I knew how to be. Which wasn’t much. “I did.”
“Turn over.”
I smiled at the growl back in his voice. I turned onto my stomach and nearly vibrated right off the bed, waiting for him to make his move. He didn’t waste any time, simply spread my legs roughly and put his hand on the back of my neck. My face twisted to the side and pressed into the mattress. I couldn’t have gotten away from Jayden even if I wanted to.
He lay over me, his weight back on top. “Tilt those hips for me, baby.”
I searched my brain for what he was asking me to do, not really feeling like I had much choice over the tilt of my hips at the moment. I decided to go with instinct and pressed my ass up into his hips.
My instincts were rewarded when he grazed the tip of his cock over my crack and then down, sliding back inside me with half the pressure from before. All that was left was delicious sensation sliding up and out through the top of my head. He glided in and out, the pressure on my neck staying right on the cusp of pain. The combination of pressure on my neck and heaven between my legs made for one hell of a ride. And ride me he did, the sound of his hips slapping my backside loud and lewd in the quiet room. He kept going, pace increasing and hand slipping between my body and the bed to stroke the fire higher, until I was screaming his name and thrashing about on the bed. Could one die from too forceful of an orgasm?
Somewhere in the aftermath of chaos I felt him stiffen above me, his fingers tightening for one painful second on my neck and then his body weight collapsed, pinning me to the mattress while I tried to recover with him. My core kept clenching over and over, little aftershocks of pleasure creeping up on me.
Jayden reached over and pushed a lock of my hair off my face and behind my ear. His eyes looked unfocused, but the smile on his face told me he’d found our time together to be just as enjoyable as I did. The air conditioner turned on, clanking and whirling from the wall. The breeze cooled off my sweaty skin quickly. This was way more fun than going for a run.
“Jesus fucking his own mother?” Jayden’s deep voice had me looking back at him. “Damn, Nora. You preachers’ daughters really know how to curse.” The bed shook as he began to laugh.
I ducked my chin to my chest, feeling my cheeks reddening. I wracked my brain and even though I couldn’t recall saying that, I knew it was true. I thought my creative cursing was confined to the car, but it looked like I’d found a new place to unleash.
“Don’t be shy about it. I loved it,” he said quietly. His finger traced over my neck. “I hope I didn’t leave a mark.”
I winked at him. “I hope you did.”
He gave me a warning look. “I’m not a kid anymore, but if you give me twenty minutes, I can make sure I leave fingerprints.”
As much as I wanted to stay and have him make good on that statement, I knew I needed to go soon. I had to get home and back into my room without stirring up my parents’ suspicions. As much as I professed to want to get out from under their rules and judgements, I still lived under their roof.
“Actually, I have to get going soon.” I looked away, not wanting to see the finality in his face. If I could just stay on this sex cloud for a little longer and push off reality, that would be excellent.
We weren’t a couple. Fantastic sex or not, I couldn’t expect anything more from him. This may never happen again, but I had to be okay with it. At least I knew what I’d been missing. Maybe I could find it with someone else. You know, once I got over this ache in my chest.
Jayden sat up and smacked me on the bare ass. “How about some cold tamales and then I’ll meet up with you at Coffee tomorrow morning before my meeting? You can point out people and tell me who to avoid.”
I s
at up, delighted to see his gaze travel down to my breasts like he couldn’t keep his eyes off me. A non-date at Coffee tomorrow? That was more than I expected. Just like that, the ache lifted.
“I’d love to.”
“My usual, please,” I told Lukas, my brother, as he stood behind the counter with a bored look.
I’d gotten to Coffee a few minutes early, eager to see Jayden. I’d spent most of the night pulling myself back from the abyss. I knew getting my hopes up about anything concerning Jayden was a big mistake. Ultimately, I’d come to the conclusion that while I knew we couldn’t date, I still wanted him. On a purely physical standpoint. Who said we couldn’t be friends with benefits? And given the right timing, I would float that idea by him while we ate breakfast.
Lukas grunted at me as I handed him a twenty for my bagel and coffee. I slid down the counter, knowing he wasn’t going to give me the change. That tip he was pocketing was coming right out of my own pocket, which was getting a bit light. I needed to take on a few more riders if I wanted to keep up my savings. Marketing jobs around here weren’t plentiful. I should know. I’d been scouring the want ads online since the second I found out I passed my last college test. Most of the jobs I applied for were in San Jose, which was way too far to commute every day. I’d have to move out right away and I just didn’t know if I had it in me to leave Hell. As much as they annoyed me, my parents and my brother were family. And my friends? I couldn’t imagine leaving them behind.
No, I’d have to keep ride sharing until something better came along.
“Hey, did you order?” Jayden came up behind me, breathless and carrying a squirming infant.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Want me to hold Red so you can order?” I reached out and after a quick second of indecision, Jayden handed him over and went to stand in line.
The little guy stared at me while I prayed he didn’t start screaming immediately. Before Roxy, I hadn’t spent much time around little kids, but I felt pretty confident now. His little fist popped out of his mouth, covered in drool. He smiled a huge toothless grin and I was sold.
“Well, aren’t you just the cutest, drooliest little thing?” I asked him while bouncing from side to side. “Let’s go find a table, huh?”
Red kept smiling at me and it was hard to look away as I kept up the inane baby banter. I found an empty table and had a seat, propping him up on my lap. He smelled like Roxy, all lotion and baby powder and something uniquely baby. He started to squirm a bit, so I bounced my knee, hoping to distract him long enough until Jayden got here.
“Lukas said this was yours.” Jayden placed a coffee and a plated bagel on the table.
Red made a weird noise and a split second later I felt a warmth on my thigh. I looked down to see some milky spit-up on my leg. Jayden sprang into action, grabbing some napkins from the dispenser on the table and trying to wipe my thigh. I grabbed his wrist to still his hand, trying not to laugh.
Baby spit-up or not, his hand in my crotch was not a good idea. And not just because of the public nature of the crotch grab, but because it was turning me on and it really wasn’t the appropriate time for that.
“I got it. Just sit down,” I yell-whispered.
I looked up to see half the coffee shop looking at us with curious eyes. Lukas, still behind the register, ignored his current customer and stared right at Jayden. If the narrowed eyes were anything to go by, I’d have to talk to Lukas and calm his brotherly fears. My whole body flushed hot and I willed my cheeks to stay out of it. I was sick of everyone treating me like a child. Twenty-eight years on this planet and I still felt like I was doing the walk of shame last night coming home from Jayden’s. Or that I couldn’t have an innocent bagel and coffee with a guy without my brother looking to rip his head off. I couldn’t tell Lukas the truth, but maybe a version of the truth. That Jayden and I were friends. Period. End of story. No need to protect my honor. It was already gone.
I nearly laughed out loud at that thought. Instead I turned it into a glare at Lukas until he saw me and went back to business as usual. Jayden took the baby back as soon as I got my leg cleaned up.
“I’m so sorry,” he said for the tenth time.
I waved away the apology. “Listen, I’ve been spat up on so many times by Roxy it doesn’t faze me. Besides, I probably shouldn’t have been bouncing him.”
Between the two of us, we were able to consume our breakfast even with Red there to keep things interesting. It certainly did not feel like the time to bring up the whole friends-with-benefits idea, so I kept quiet. As we got up to clean our table and head out for the day, I came up with a better idea.
“Any chance you want to come to my graduation party tonight?”
His forehead immediately wrinkled, so I talked faster.
“It’s super low-key. A bunch of us are going to be there. It’s at the beach, so think swimming, bonfire, drinks. It’ll be fun. And you could start to meet some people here. Make friends, you know?”
I followed him to the door, stopping to hug Mrs. Trudowsky who nursed a tea and crumpet at her empty table for two. She let us girls bowl for free not long ago simply because we reminded her of her and her friends years ago.
Jayden dumped his trash in the bin and eyed my interaction with the old lady. He held the door open and let me walk out onto the sidewalk first. Red gurgled in his arms, happy now that he’d gotten a bottle while we ate.
Jayden finally looked at me. I could see the worry in his eyes. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Thank you, Nora.”
I smiled at him, trying to cover the uptick in my heartbeat and not act too excited over the prospect of seeing him again. “No problem. I’ll text you the location and time?”
He nodded and then reached out like he wanted to give me a hug. Friends gave hugs, right? I leaned in too.
And got a punch to the face with a sticky little hand.
“Oh!” I drew back and wiped my cheek.
Jayden rolled his eyes and sighed. “Sorry ’bout that.”
I waved him off and walked down the sidewalk to my car. Both he and Red were adorable. Penelope Fines popped her head up several cars over and gave me the death stare. I looked down to see my meter still had ten minutes on it. I gave her an evil grin and leaned against the post like I had all the time in the world. Nine minutes and forty-five seconds to be exact.
I nodded hello to people as they walked by. Even the mayor came by on his way to Coffee. He said hello, but his eyes were shifty. Something about that man didn’t sit right with me. Maybe because he was the one who lobbied for the parking meters downtown and hired Penelope.
When I saw my dad park farther down the street, probably on his way in for a cup of coffee and to stir up attendance for tomorrow’s sermon, I decided waiting to leave just to piss off Penelope wasn’t that fun anymore. I’d rather avoid my father and his probing questions. Besides, without a marketing job in sight, I needed to pick up some paying rides today before my party.
10
Jayden
“Come on, Red. Time to put our best foot forward and meet some new friends,” I coached as I got him out of the car seat and out into the blazing afternoon sun. He’d just had a nap while I met with the mayor, so he should be charged up and ready to create chaos. I’d also greased him up with so much sunblock I wasn’t sure I could get a firm grip on him.
“Is it always this warm in summer?” I asked Lucy as she strapped Roxy into a jogging stroller.
She blew a lock of hair out of her face. “Yeah, but this week has been brutal. Normally these temps wait until the end of summer.”
Bain lugged a huge bag out of the trunk with every conceivable thing under the sun for Roxy. I just had a backpack with more sunscreen, food, and one towel. Maybe some people thought I was doing this dad thing wrong, but Red and I just traveled light. I refused to believe I was giving him a less than stellar childhood without a mother in the picture.
A loud shout drew my eye to the cliff to my right. I didn’t see an
yone, but seconds later I heard a splash and a fresh round of whoops and hollers. Nora had said there’d be swimming, but I didn’t imagine cliff jumping. Maybe this small town had something to offer an adrenaline junkie after all. Not that I was looking to do it, but it was nice to know the town wasn’t just gossiping, church, and badly navigated traffic circles.
“Sounds like they started without us.” Bain clapped me on the shoulder and headed down the dusty trail.
I followed the threesome, keeping my eyes focused on the rocks in the path so I didn’t trip with Red in my arms. Tumbling down the hill and into the party was not the entrance I needed to be making. Right as we reached the bottom and the dirt turned into soft sand you could sink your feet into, a seagull swooped close enough I ducked, covering poor Red’s head.
“Damn sea chickens,” Lucy muttered, having ducked her head too.
“What’s the deal with those things anyway?” I asked, curious why they were so aggressive here. We had seagulls in LA too, but they didn’t dive bomb you.
Bain looked away quickly, Lucy’s glare bouncing off the back of his head. “They’ve been teased and stirred up by some ill-placed birdseed. Now they’re out for blood.”
I reared my head back, instinctively covering Red’s head with my hand. “Jeez. Dramatic much, Lucy?”
Bain coughed up ahead, sounding a lot like suppressed laughter.
“You be quiet, mister!” Lucy yelled.
“Hey, you made it!” Nora bounced over to us, a huge smile on her face.
She hugged a squabbling Lucy and Bain before turning my way. I thanked the sea chickens she greeted them first. It gave me the precious seconds I needed to put my eyeballs back in my head. She was in another pair of cutoff jean shorts—so short I could see the pockets hanging out the bottom—and on her top half she wore a bright blue bikini barely held up by strings around her neck and tied at her back.
