by Kaia Bennett
He found his cock starting to throb to attention and marveled at the way his body could respond to her even as every other nerve ending was screaming to be put out of its misery. He tried to stop thinking about her. He tried to close his eyes, but was startled by how vividly he saw hers hovering in the darkness beneath his lids. He’d fallen in love with those onyx doe eyes, with being close enough to her to see the subtlest difference between her pupils and the deep inky brown that was their true color. He’d memorized the way they stared into his when he touched her softly, the way they slammed shut and then opened wide as her body trembled for him.
His eyes opened and he frowned into the darkness of his room. The more he tried not to remember, the more vivid her image became. His hand was rubbing anxiously over the tense muscles of his stomach. His touch was light, softer than usual as he unconsciously mimicked the tender caress of her fingers.
She trembled, her body succumbing to her need for him. Her fingers caught softly on the flesh of her bottom lip, stroking down her chin harder than normal. She was trying to duplicate the tender strength of his touch. Her eyes closed over those ever-present tears as she tilted her head back and stroked her fingers down the creamy length of her neck.
She remembered the way his hand would caress her there, only to be replaced by his tongue and teeth. He would pull away and his eyes would devour her, his mouth curving into the smile she now knew was always just for her. She watched beneath her lids, trapped within her tortured mind as she rolled onto her back and stroked down the smooth skin of her chest. Her fingers caught on the ribbed collar on her tank top and then kept going. She swept over the curve of her breast and then grasped it, biting her lip against anger at her inability to make her fingers feel like his.
She was starting to burn but the touch of her hand wasn’t enough to sate that heat. She palmed her breast harder gasping as she pinched firmly at her nipple. She licked her thumb and circled it around the taut bud, pretending it was his tongue flicking against her. It answered her call lazily, taunting her, showing her that only he could ease the ache away by suckling it into his perfect mouth.
He could feel his tongue swirling against the roof of his the way it would over one of those silky chocolate nipples. He could feel it between his teeth, stretching under the assault of his mouth as his tongue rolled over it like a wave. He could feel the phantom Gia arching into his mouth and the soft skin of her back as he kept her pressed there.
There was only the soft exhale of breath and the rustle of the sheets as his hand slid them down his naked hips. It hurt too much and felt too constricting to wear clothes to bed, and his cock was revealed immediately. It lay against his stomach, waiting to feel her hands, her tongue, the slickness of her body settling around him. He couldn’t imagine anyone else; he couldn’t force himself to abandon her image.
So many girls, so many hot moments that could have been chosen from to ease the pain, to rub out the ache. But it was her that his body and mind had chosen. It was a fitting punishment, a proper torture as he brought his hand up to his mouth and licked his palm, knowing that when he lowered it to the pulsing weight between his legs that it wouldn’t come close to her.
She rolled the fabric of her shirt up over her breasts, and attacked her nipple with her thumb and forefinger, rolling it back and forth harder. Yes, that was better, closer to the blunt edges of his perfect teeth, the smile he would place over her breasts as she squirmed under him. A flash of his smile entered her mind, genuine and broad, his eyes squinting into green half moons. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, swallowing the lump in her throat. She wanted to be angry, to just use his image to get off and then discard it. Every thought of his body and what he had done to her was a link in the chain, connecting every caress to a memory too vivid for her bruised heart to endure. But nothing else would do and she had gone too long without him.
She released her breast just long enough to slip her shorts off quickly and then she went back to caressing it roughly between her fingers, alternating between each heaving globe. Her other hand stroked down her stomach, towards the throbbing flesh between her thighs.
He let his grip make up for his hips being stilled by the pain from the fight, fisting his cock tightly. His jaw clenched and he immediately jerked quickly over his shaft. He wanted to get it over with, to exhaust himself with thoughts of her so that he could finally embrace a few hours of peaceful sleep. But soon he was caught up in the spell that was her effect on him. She had spoiled him so thoroughly and the memory of those moments had him slowing his pace as he squeezed the head of his cock, running his thumb over the dripping slit there, just the way she used to run her tongue over him.
He inhaled and exhaled sharply, wincing at the pleasure of it as well as the image of her mouth working him. She’d known just how to lick and suck him, just when to capture his eyes with hers as she swallowed him down.
He quickly licked the palm of his other hand, and brought it to the head of his cock, cupping it the way the back of her throat used to do, while the other stroked his shaft. His thighs tensed and his hip seized with pain, but he winced through it. He was on the hunt now, as if coming using the ghost of her could somehow release him from being haunted. As if he could purge all thoughts of her when his body was purged of its desire. He surged into his hands, and he swore he could feel her wet heat as if the veil between reality and his fantasy were thin enough to pierce.
Gia gasped, arching her back as her fingers slid between the moist folds of her sex. She was pulsing with need, her body taking over as she sought out her release. She should be wishing to remember how it felt to be filled by him, but that wasn’t her problem. Her problem was that she remembered all too well. Her pussy clenched at her fingers as her hips forced it to roll slickly back and forth over the two slender digits. It wasn’t enough, would never be enough, but it didn’t matter. She started down the road to release, however pale it was in comparison to the one he could bring her to.
She sucked on two fingers of her free hand and brought them to her clit. Her voice was a stuttering gasp as her pussy circled her fingers, the fingers of her other hand circling her clit. She rubbed and pumped her hips furiously, trying to capture the way he would fuck her hard and fast. Her eyes closed tight, she pictured him kissing her, leaning on his elbows over her eager body as his cocked plunged into her. She opened her legs wider, plunged her fingers in deeper and pressed her face into the pillow to muffle her desperate moans.
He was so close, so close. He was imagining her pinned under him, his tongue plunging into her mouth as his cock was swallowed by the tightness between her thighs. It became a game to see how vividly he could imagine her before he came. He could hear the smacking sound of his cock as it exited and entered her. He could feel her soft skin pressing against his as she panted and moved under him. She was lifting every part of herself up to meet him. She was curling her fingers through his hair. She was whispering his name as she stared into his eyes, calling out for only him.
“Unngh, Cameron,” she hissed into darkness of her room and her voice cracked as she came, the moan turning into a sob.
Still, her body arched into her fingers, her pussy milking them as she rubbed her clit faster and faster to ward off the last of this bittersweet release.
His jaw clenched and his swollen lip throbbed as it stretched over his gritted teeth. He was coming, jerking one hand hard at the throbbing head of his cock. His eyes slammed shut, his brow furrowed in anguish as he groaned into the emptiness of his room, his entire being calling out for her.
“Gia,” he whispered quietly, as if he were afraid someone would hear the desperation, the pure longing in his voice. “Gia, Gia…Ah, ah, G-Gia!”
He doubled over, shaking violently. His body was one nerve ending pulsing with pain as his cock vibrated and spurted milky fluid onto his stomach and chest. He gritted his teeth against every painful jerk of his body’s release. He fell back and slammed his head against the headboard as he shi
vered. He winced at the clenching in his chest, a pain that rivaled every bruise on his body. He slammed his head back again. And then again. His eyes snapped open as he fought to catch his breath.
He could feel himself starting to break. The back of his hand rested weakly his mouth and then ran shakily through his hair. His eyes were unfocused, his lip trembling as he drew in another quavering breath. His body slumped weakly against the headboard and he closed his lids over glassy eyes.
“Cameron,” she whimpered into a shaky hand. She rolled over onto her side, biting into her pillow and trying to muffle her sobs as they turned into one keening wail after another. She cried until there was nothing left, until she felt like a husk of her former self.
It hadn’t been worth it. It hadn’t come close to the feeling of being wanted and consumed by the other. The minutes passed, the hours followed, and soon thin daggers of light were streaking through the blinds of each room.
Neither of them slept.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
“Luca,” Gia heard Rosie say as she opened the door for him. “Oh, you poor baby, look at your face!”
She couldn’t help but laugh quietly at the chipper edge in Rosie’s voice. It was obvious that Luca didn’t know Gia had been already been told the real score. He wouldn’t be here on her doorstep if he had. She came down the hallway just as he stepped through the threshold, causing Gia to freeze in her tracks.
Rosie may have been mocking him with her words, but Gia felt like saying them herself. He looked utterly damaged. Both of his lips were swollen and bruised a deep red in certain places. Though one eye was more pronounced than the other and had a plumpness underneath, both were rimmed a deep shade of purple. When he looked up at her she could see a blatant speck of red clotting in the white of his right eye. His face was swollen and bruised a network of deep reds and purples. He looked like shit. And he looked like he felt like shit. Poor baby, indeed.
“Hey Gigi,” he said quietly. Everything from the tilt of his head, to way he looked up at her through a fringe of dark lashes just screamed, “Pity me.”
“Wow, Luc…you look…wow. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just a little achy.”
Rosie snickered softly as Luca came to sit at her kitchen table and run his hands through his hair. Gia shot her a look over his head that made Rosie shrug and roll her eyes.
“I’m going to go over to Mike’s for a bit before we meet Kate, okay?” Rosie said, grabbing up her keys and jacket.
Gia nodded. They were planning to go to the movies since they were all done with finals for the day.
The door clicked softly behind Rosie as Gia asked, “You want something to drink? Some aspirin, maybe?”
She could see a little smile peeking out through his unnaturally plump lips.
“Water’s fine, babe. Thanks.”
She felt his eyes on her as she bent over to get a bottle of water from the bottom of the fridge. She was in a grey t-shirt and black shorts, just regular lounging clothes. Still the shorts fit her well, highlighting the curves of her ass, one of Luca’s favorite features on her body. She knew that he was looking and she knew he thought he was one step closer to sampling her again. There was proof of that when she stood and turned, seeing his eyes trail up her body to meet hers.
“I’m sorry, you were planning on going somewhere, right?” Luca asked. “I didn’t want to keep you or anything.”
“No it’s cool, I’ve always got time for you,” she said sweetly, handing him his bottle of water. He opened it up and took a ginger swig through his swollen lips.
She was looking down at him, leaning against the table as she said, “After all, you are the guy that popped my cherry, the one that taught me how it’s done and everything.”
The look on Luca’s face was utterly priceless. His body stiffened, his eyes widened as much as was possible under the circumstances, and when he looked up at her, he met the gaze of girl he’d never really seen before. Of course, Gia had been angry with him in the two years they were together. A few times he had even seen glimpses of the temper that Flynn had come to know all too well. But none of that compared to the restrained fury he saw when she gazed down at him. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.
“Yeah,” she said, her eyes narrowing like lasers as she looked into his. “Whoops.”
She watched with bitter amusement as he faltered briefly before finding his bearings. It was in that moment she realized just how seasoned a liar he was. Her mind went back over all the times he had told her he was going to hang out with the guys, all the times he’d been too tired to give her any of his time. All the times he had told her he loved her, too. All of it was bullshit, even if he believed it at the time, and whatever he was going to say next would be more of the same.
“Is that what he told you I said?” he asked, referring to Flynn “You know he’s the one that did this to my face, right? He’d say anything to keep us apart now that you’ve broken up.”
“Actually I think you’ve gotten Flynn confused with you. He didn’t tell me anything.”
When she was met with his puzzled expression she smirked and replied, “Word to the wise Luc; next time you want to go talking about the first time you fucked your ex-girlfriend at a party full of people, make sure her friends aren’t there. Rosie’s the one that told me.”
And she thought he looked shocked before.
“You fucked up, Luca. That girl was your number one advocate, and now she knows you’re full of shit, too.”
She tipped his bottle of water over and it splashed into his lap, the chair scrapping against the floor as he jumped abruptly to his feet.
“Shit, Gigi! What the—”
“My fucking name is not Gigi!” she yelled, the boom in her voice catching him off guard, making him pause in the middle of trying to swipe futility at the chilled water soaking into his crotch.
“It’s Gia. But don’t worry; you’ll never have a reason to get the two mixed up again.”
“Gia, I didn’t mean it. I was drunk and I just wanted to make a point.”
She shook her head, the corners of her lips curving into a smile. “You’re so pathetic. Even now you’re going to stand there and try to lie to me. You meant every single word Luca, but that’s just who you are. A selfish, lying joke.”
He stared at her for a moment and then looked to the side as he processed her words. When he turned his eyes back to hers she could already see the shift. The glazed puppy dog look was gone, replaced by something a little more biting.
“I’m a joke?” he asked, sarcasm dripping from his swollen lips. “Well, I guess that makes two of us. Seems like it wasn’t too hard to get you and Flynn to part ways. He looked like he was enjoying himself this weekend when he was dancing with that other girl.”
Gia had to force herself not to hold her breath, not to look effected by what she’d feared. Flynn was over her after all.
She got the biggest kick out of the look on his face when instead of shrinking from his mocking gaze, she smiled slowly, flashing white teeth.
“Nice to see the real Luca come out and play for a change,” she said. “At least this way I don’t have to listen to you whine about what you lost and how you miss me. It was getting real old…like looking at you right now is.”
She padded to the door, opened it and waited for him to get the message. When he just stood there, dumbstruck by the venom in her, she swept her arm ceremoniously across the threshold.
“Okay, Luca, this is the part where you leave.”
The way she said it, the snarl curling her lip and the inky darkness of her eyes, told him that she was not only serious, but that she was seriously contemplating breaking something on him if he didn’t concede very soon.
He walked slowly towards the door, obviously trying to figure out what alternate universe he had stepped into. Even at her angriest Gia had never spoken to him that way. She had always been so sweet, always willing to give him the benefit
of the doubt. Now as he approached the door, crotch soaked and mind reeling, she could see him finally processing the change in her.
The young virgin that had risen and fallen on his whims was no more. In her place was an angry, volatile-looking girl that meant everything she’d said. It made all hope of pretense drop from his face like a mask. Perhaps he had loved her once, but now all of that was left in the past, replaced by the bitterness of not getting what he wanted.
“You know why I was fucking Ashley, Gia?” he said in the drawl of a man who had been found out, cutting his eyes at her. “Because you changed, babe. You used to be so much fun, so sweet. And now look at you. Just another bitter bitch with an axe to grind because no one wants you.”
“Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you. Right down to the bitter bitch part,” she said, and this time there was no hint of laughter in her eyes or on her face.
She looked at him, the seriousness of her next words soaking into his hazel eyes.
“You want to know the real reason you cheated on me Luca? Because I grew up, and you didn’t. Because my world stopped revolving around you, and you just couldn’t take that. We both know how much you hate to lose.”
She smiled as her words filtered into him. The smallest inkling of him understanding that they were the truth was there for her to see. She may have been deceived by him, but she did know him, at least a little bit. She knew that this was the beginning of him truly comprehending that she knew all the signs, all his tricks and ploys. And she was no longer playing his game.
