The Fall Up

by Aly Martinez

  “Fuck,” she cursed, dragging a single fingernail over the ridges of my abs.

  I had a torso full of tattoos I’d expected her to inspect for the first time, but as she pushed against my chest again, her eyes were glued to the outline of my hard-on in my jeans.

  After licking her lips, she ordered, “Lie down.”

  “Funny. I was just about to tell you to do the same thing.” I gently urged her down with one hand while dropping the other to the lace between her legs.

  She gasped and threw her head back, grinding herself into my touch while tracing her hands up and down my stomach. “Sam,” she breathed, pausing to take my mouth in a rough kiss. “Can we speed this up?”

  “We can now,” I mumbled into her mouth.

  With one swift movement, I pushed her panties aside and pressed two fingers inside her drenched pussy. Her legs fell to the sides as she collapsed backwards on the bed.

  “Yes,” she hissed, fisting the sheets.

  Kneeling on the edge of the bed, I stared at her hips, which were fluidly rolling against my hand. I could have watched all night, but the memory of her breasts in my mouth was still fresh.

  “Take your bra off.” I twisted my hand as punctuation.

  She didn’t delay in sitting up, sliding it down her arms, then discarding it off the side of her bed. Her eyes and her smirk were confident, but she immediately pushed her hands into her hair, forcing her breasts together like some sort of bikini model. Fuck. Levee’s body was incredible, and the last thing I wanted was her trying to alter my view in any way.

  One by one, I removed my fingers. Her mouth fell open in protest, but I tugged her hands from her hair and placed them around my neck.

  “Don’t do that. Not to me.”

  “Do what?”

  I settled on my side next to her. “Try to strike a pose like I’m some cameraman looking for the perfect shot of you.”

  “I didn’t,” she huffed.

  Gripping the back of her neck, I dragged her mouth up to mine and swallowed her lie. “Yes, you did, Designer Shoes. But I’m not here for a photo shoot. I’m here for the real thing.”

  At the familiar nickname, her eyes lit.

  “I’m not perfect, and I’d really appreciate if we could pretend you aren’t, either, while I have my fingers inside you.”

  She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, holding it so long that it became unnerving. Finally, those whiskey browns opened, emanating freedom with every blink.

  “Okay,” she whispered, dropping her arms to the sides, revealing herself completely.

  “There she is.” I pecked her lips and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “You’re gorgeous, Levee. Even more right now than when you’re on the cover of a magazine trying to be.”

  Her cheeks turned pink as she tried to fight back unshed emotion.

  Even that battle was beautiful.

  Several seconds later, a laugh bubbled from her chest. “That was some serious cheese dickery, Sam.”

  I smiled down at her. It really was. “It was also the truth.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” She shrugged. “But I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.” Her teasing gaze faded away as desire once again filled her eyes, which sent blood sprinting back to my cock. “No more talking. Touch me, Sam.” She took my mouth and tried to lead my hand back between her legs, complaining as I resisted.

  “Shhh,” I urged between kisses.

  She grumbled in frustration, “I need—”

  I cut her off. Using her wrist, I guided her hand down to my denim-covered cock. “Me. You need me.”

  I only knew because I needed her.

  And, as her face softened, the truth tumbled from her mouth. “I really do.”

  “Then take it.”

  It was just that simple. I was there to be with her. She could have me in any and every way she wanted.

  Without another word, she unbuttoned my jeans and slid her hand inside, wrapping it possessively around my cock.

  “Fuck,” I breathed.

  It was promptly followed by a curse of her own when her palm made contact with the metal of my apadravya.

  I hadn’t even caught my breath as her mouth collided with mine. Her hand continuously worked my cock—her thumb rolling over the metal at the tip with every upstroke. It wasn’t long before a familiar sensation formed in my balls—entirely too soon.

  “Levee, wait.”

  The words had barely cleared my lips when she pushed me off-balance and onto the bed beside her. In only a pair of panties, Levee climbed off the bed without even releasing her grip on my cock.

  “Up,” she ordered, standing between my legs.

  “Up what?” I asked, shocked by our sudden role reversal.

  I attempted to sit up only to be forced back down. Her hand fell away to shimmy the denim off my hips.

  “Toe your shoes off,” she ordered.

  This bossy side of Levee took me aback, but she was almost naked…trying to get me naked.

  I did as I’d been told.

  Levee began a frenzied task of undressing me, not even glancing back up into my eyes until she was satisfied with my jeans, boxers, and socks all lying on the floor at her feet.

  “God, Sam,” she breathed, dropping to her knees and once again gripping my impossibly hard cock.

  “Wait.” I sat up and tried to pull her back to her feet. “I go first. I mean, you go… Son of a… Fuck!” I lost all conscious thought as she dipped her head and circled her tongue around the head of my cock.

  “Your dick’s pierced.” Her hand stroked a relentless rhythm from base to tip.

  “I… Fuck… Ugh.” My muscles tensed as I glided through her hand. “Is it? I thought they all looked like that.”

  “So fucking thick.” She went back down for another lick. Collapsing back on the bed, I gave up on my objections.

  She could officially go first.

  I continued to fire off cuss words and random thoughts as she stroked and licked my shaft, teasing the barbell that ran vertically through the head. When she finally slid my cock to the back of her throat, I came unglued.

  “Shit, woman.” I threaded a hand into her hair, attempting to pull her up.

  Levee wasn’t done yet.

  But I was.

  Tucking my hands under her arms, I dragged her onto the bed.

  “Sam!” she squealed.

  Rising to my feet, I had only one answer. “I’m fucking you.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath. Toying with the ends of her hair, she unnaturally pressed her perfect tits together. I quirked a pointed eyebrow in a not-so-subtle command. She promptly dropped her arms to the sides. Dragging my gaze away, I found my jeans and retrieved a condom from my wallet while silently cursing myself for not having brought a whole damn box.

  Levee watched from the bed with her knees bent and wide open for me. Her hair fanned out around her as her hips squirmed from side to side.

  She was showing off. And while I loved it, it wasn’t enough and she knew it.

  “Get rid of those.” I barked, flashing my gaze down to her panties.

  Her lips twisted in a smile, but she quickly obeyed, seductively sliding them down her legs. Then she twirled them on her finger before ceremoniously dropping them to the ground.

  A growl rumbled my chest as she brazenly opened her legs, revealing a smooth, glistening pussy just waiting for me to drive into it.

  “I’m gonna need more condoms,” I announced, ripping the foil packet open.

  “I have some.” She guided her hand down between her legs and rubbed a circle over her clit.

  Christ.

  This. Woman.

  “Keep going,” I said as I rolled the condom on. “You ready for me?”

  “You? Not even close,” she whispered shyly. Then her eyes turned dark, and a sinful grin appeared on her lips. “Your dick though? Absolutely.”

  I swallowed hard. Suddenly, I was afraid I wasn’t ready for Levee, eith
er. But, as my pulse sped, I prowled up the bed, ready to take the risk just to feel her.

  Her fingers continuously circled her clit, and I lowered my hand to join them. She was soaked and couldn’t help bringing it to my lips for a taste.

  “Mmmm,” I purred as she lifted her wet fingers to my mouth, offering me a second course I was more than willing to accept. “I fuck you. Then we’re taking a shower. Then I’m eating you until I get hard again.” I glided my cock through her folds.

  Her head pressed back into the pillow as she arched off the bed.

  Bending down, I roughly grazed my teeth over her nipple. “Then we’ll start the cycle over again.”

  “You’ll have to smoke at some point,” she taunted even as she writhed under me.

  “Not if you’re occupying my mouth and hands,” I smarted back.

  Then, without warning, I drove hard inside her.

  We both cried a blessed curse then stilled to allow our bodies time to adjust. For me, adjusting meant spending the moment pleading with my balls not to fire off inside her.

  “Are you okay?” I panted.

  “I’m going to come as soon as you move. Fair warning.”

  I chuckled then stared at my cock slowly sliding out before filling her again.

  “Ahhhh!” she cried out in ecstasy. “Stop watching and kiss me.”

  I wouldn’t deny her that. I was desperate for her mouth again anyway. Dropping to my elbows, I less-than-gently covered her mouth.

  Mmmm…mangos.

  Levee clung to my back as her muscles tensed around my cock with every swipe of my tongue in her mouth. I didn’t even need to move, but as her hips began to rock against me, it became obvious she did.

  Looping an arm under her leg, I pressed it up to her shoulder, opening her even wider for me. With her nails raking up my back, I pumped into her. She wasn’t exaggerating. Approximately four thrusts later, she came while crying my name. With her tight pussy milking me as she lost herself beneath me, I didn’t make it much longer before I joined her.

  I came on promises of giving her more.

  What worried me was I didn’t even know what kind of more I was offering.

  The words didn’t feel sexual even as I emptied inside her.

  I just knew I wanted to give it to her.

  So. Much. More.

  FRESH FROM A shower where Sam had used his fingers to give me earth-shaking orgasm number two, I watched him, wrapped in only a towel, smoking on my balcony. He was so obviously freezing his ass off, but it was a glorious sight. I hated that he was a smoker—but, God, he looked sexy as he did it.

  It was after three a.m. when my phone started ringing on my nightstand. It was Henry, and while it wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to drunk dial, it still worried me that he’d call so late.

  I snatched it up immediately. “Hello?”

  “Tell me he’s lying?”

  “What?”

  “Please God, Levee. Tell me he’s full of shit and you aren’t seriously trying to kill yourself.”

  I froze. “What are you talking about? Who?”

  “Whoever that guy is you’re sleeping with!” he yelled before getting himself back in check. “He told Devon you go up to that bridge every night to jump. Damn it, Levee, what the hell are you thinking?”

  My heart began to race as the blood drained from my face. “It’s not. I mean… I’m… I don’t….” I stumbled over my words as my eyes lifted to Sam on the other side of the glass.

  “Stewart is losing his fucking mind right now that Devon was just this guy’s first stop before heading to the press.”

  Oh God.

  “Just tell me this is some kind of rumor.”

  As if he could sense my distress, Sam turned to face me. His golden eyes locked with mine, immediate concern painted his face.

  “What?” he mouthed.

  I couldn’t reply.

  Not to Sam.

  Not to Henry.

  Not even to myself.

  It wasn’t true.

  It also wasn’t a lie.

  “Oh God,” Henry gasped when my silence told him more than my words ever could.

  Sam regarded me warily for several seconds before he dropped his cigarette and headed my way.

  My world began to move in slow motion even as my mind frantically swirled.

  He told Devon.

  Betrayal chilled my veins, sending a shiver down my back.

  “Levee?” Henry said, reminding me that I still had the phone to my ear.

  “Yeah,” I whispered absently, my eyes glued to Sam as he slid the balcony door open. A gust of wind blew the curtains in the air as he entered.

  “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a half hour, okay? Stay put. We’ll figure this out.”

  “I’m…really… I’m….umm….” My chin quivered as Sam stopped in front of me and tilted his head in a silent question. “I’m fine,” I finished. A tear escaped my eye as Sam physically flinched from the word, immediately folding me into his arms.

  “What’s going on?” he questioned softly.

  Why would he do this to me?

  “I’ll be there in a half hour,” Henry repeated. “Devon’s on his way now. Hang tight.”

  But I couldn’t do that at all. The man who had been the only thing grounding me for the last week had just sold me out. The terrifying free fall rushed up at me from the ground, all but swallowing me even as I stood wrapped in his safe arms.

  He wouldn’t really tell anyone else… Would he?

  If word got out that I was some sort of suicidal basket case, there was no way they’d let me help out at the hospitals anymore.

  My pulse raced, and my hands got clammy.

  I wouldn’t let him take that from me—from them.

  My ears pounded, leaving me unable to make out the words Sam was repeating into my hair. I wasn’t sure if they were questions or soothing sentiments; it just broke my heart that he was uttering them.

  He was the bandage—and, now, the wound.

  Dropping my phone, I stepped out of his reach. After plucking his jeans off the floor, I threw them at him. “Get out.”

  His head snapped back. “What?”

  “Get the fuck out of my house.”

  He put his hands on his hips, notably confused. “Excuse me?”

  “Get out!” I screamed so loud that it echoed off the glass.

  He didn’t budge. Instead, he pulled his jeans on and then chewed on his bottom lip as his eyes flashed between mine, searching for some sort of answer. “Who was on the phone, Levee?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Is he jealous?

  I was about to become front-page news and he was jealous?

  This is not happening.

  It really fucking was.

  And, for that alone, I got pissed.

  Really pissed.

  “I won’t let you do this to me. Your word means nothing against mine. You have no proof.” I snatched the robe off the back of my door and wrapped it tight as if it could magically keep me from falling apart.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” He tugged his shirt on.

  “I will not let you ruin me because of some misplaced savior complex. I don’t need you, Sam. So do me a fucking favor and keep your mouth shut about shit you don’t know anything about.”

  “I’m so lost right now.” He threw his arms out to his sides.

  “You told Devon I was planning to jump off the bridge!”

  His shoulders sagged in visible relief. “Well…yeah. Someone needed to know. I’m not going to just stand by while you kill yourself,” he scoffed as if I were insane.

  “I’m not going to kill myself!” I shrieked then began to pace around the room.

  It was almost comical.

  I was hurt

  And pissed.

  And floundering even more than ever before.

  But Sam looked like he had just saved a litter of puppies from a burning building.

  “Wel
l, no. Not anymore you’re not.” He smiled proudly.

  “Oh my God!” I threw my hands up in frustration. “You have mental issues.” I should have looked up. I didn’t. I kept pacing. “You seem to be so fucking hell-bent on saving me, but what about you?” I should have shut up. I didn’t. I kept ranting. “You were planning to jump off that bridge too, Sam. Maybe I should run to your employees and share that little secret. But no, I wouldn’t do that. Why? Because I’m a decent human being who respects your privacy. Congratulations, Sam. I didn’t jump, but when this little secret trickles down shit creek, I’ll wish I had.”

  When I finally—fucking finally—looked up, Sam was gone. He was still standing in the room, but he’d left me all the same. His face was pale, and his fists were clenched at his sides.

  “Listen up, princess,” he snarled. It wasn’t a term of endearment that time. It was an insult that hurt far worse than any other name he possibly could have called me.

  I didn’t even have enough time to flinch from his verbal blow before he continued.

  “Before you go around slinging insults from inside your glass mansion, you might want all the facts. Four months ago, my mentally ill sister went out for a stroll on the bridge. Two days later, they recovered her body from the bay.”

  My hand flew up, covering my mouth as acrid guilt settled in my stomach.

  “The last conversation I ever had with her was that morning when she adamantly told me she was fine.” He spat the word then cracked his neck. “She wasn’t. And neither are you. Levee, I never wanted to die. I go up to that bridge because I want Anne to come back.”

  My vision swam. “Oh God.”

  “Maybe you were never going to jump, but you were up on that bridge for a reason. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. But I won’t apologize for telling Devon. I’ll gladly leave now, but one day, when I see your face again, it’s not going to be on the news because they found your body washed up on the shores of the bay. You’re fucking welcome.” After snatching his shoes off the ground, he stormed out of my room.

  “Sam, wait!” I followed after him, catching up just as he got to the front door—a cigarette already dangling from his lips.

  “Don’t,” he snapped. “I can’t deal with this. You’re not at all who I thought you were.”