The Pledge

by Laura Ward

  When my fingertips finally skimmed the hot, hard skin of his stomach, his muscles jumped in response. I pulled back to look at him. His jaw was clenched, and a vein in his neck throbbed as he gritted his teeth.

  “Sorry,” I whispered, withdrawing my hands. My already flushed face burned with embarrassment. I was moving too fast…doing this all wrong. He was probably used to girls with so much more experience. I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat as I sat back on my heels, twisting my fingers together. The thought of this ending—of not kissing him anymore—was torment.

  He reached over his head to pull off his shirt in one swift motion. Even that was ridiculously sexy. “You can touch me, Taren.” He placed my hand where it had been just moments before. “I want you to.” His eyes met mine, and the intensity stole my breath. “Please.”

  I thought I might burst into flames having my hands on him again. So many times I had thought about this when I was in high school, and now he was begging me to. I bit the inside of my lip, trying not to smile in triumph, as my fingers skimmed along the ridges of his stomach. My palms pressed against him, exploring the tight, hard muscles.

  Alec’s gaze held me captive, and desire smoldered deep inside as he watched me touch him. When I licked my bottom lip and pulled it between my teeth, he groaned. That sound, rumbling deep in his throat, went straight to my core. His muscles twitched under my fingers, and a feeling of power overtook me. My breaths were shallow, and my fingers trembled with excitement.

  In an entire year with Doug, I had never felt one second of what I felt right now. He never set my body on fire. He never made me feel desperate. I’d never known what it was like to really crave something until now. I craved Alec. I would never get enough of his lips or the way his eyes held mine when he said my name.

  Feeling bold, I placed my palms flat against Alec’s chest and pushed him back against the mattress. His eyes flared, and then he shot me a sexy smirk. I pressed my lips together, and moving on my hands and knees, I straddled him.

  Holy shit. I was straddling Alec Hart. Instead of ruining the moment and doing a victory dance, I let my eyes roam over his chest and face.

  “You’re so beautiful,” I told him. The urge to lick him was relentless. My body vibrated with energy and lust when I leaned forward and lightly licked his collarbone before placing a soft kiss on his chest.

  His body went rigid. He exhaled in a groan, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he searched my face where my lips were poised over his chest.

  “Taren.” His voice was low and rough, and his face strained. “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?”

  My racing heart tripped. Skipped a beat. I looked back down to his chest before he could see the vulnerability in my eyes. I’d come a long way in a year, and I knew I was pretty, but I never expected to be called gorgeous. By him. Was this even real?

  I bent to place kisses on his chest, ribs, biceps, and shoulders. With each touch of my lips to his skin, I wanted to leave a small piece of me. I wanted to mark him.

  Alec pulled me up to his mouth for another kiss, and my body lay flush against his. I moaned when our hips made contact, and Alec continued kissing me as he sat up so that I was straddling his lap. I moved my hips forward in gentle rocks, and I could feel him growing hard underneath me.

  Alec cupped my face with both hands and looked into my eyes, breathing hard. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

  My hips slid backward and forward, grinding against his lap. Instead of answering, my lips met his, urgent and fierce. He groaned again, and I wanted to capture every sound that echoed through his chest.

  It was too much and not enough. I wanted more. I had to have all of him. My hands ran over his arms and chest leaving trails on his skin. I felt frantic and out of control. I wanted him to touch me. I wasn’t ready to go all the way, but dear god if I didn’t feel his hands on my skin, I was going to shatter.

  “Touch me, Alec,” I whispered. “Please.”

  He ran his hands down the sides of my neck, but he was in no hurry. His pace was slow and agonizing. When his fingertips brushed my shoulders, I shivered, and he kissed me harder, trading needy sounds between our lips. His hands continued across my shoulder blades and over the swell of my chest, cupping me gently while his thumbs feathered over the center of my breasts.

  “Yes.” I closed my eyes, my words a whimper, as I tilted my head back.

  He leaned forward to kiss my neck, gently rubbing his thumbs across my pebbled nipples. His palms caressed the underside of my breasts through the fabric of my shirt. Tiny moans slipped out of my mouth and into his as I rocked into him.

  Alec pulled his lips from mine, and I wanted to cry out from the loss. Then he pressed them to my neck and sucked lightly. “Are you close, Taren?” His mouth moved against my skin as he said the words.

  What was he talking about? I couldn’t get closer to him than I was now. All I knew was that a force of nature wouldn’t be able to get me to stop moving against him like this. His erection rubbed against me, and everything deep inside tensed in anticipation.

  The doorknob rattled and then there was a loud knock. My eyes opened, and I slowed my movements as I looked toward the sound.

  “Well, at least you locked the door this time. Can I eat the rest of the donuts?” Caz’s voice was loud and unwelcome from the other side of the door.

  Was he coming in here?

  Alec turned my chin back toward him. “Eyes on me.” I felt his words right between my legs and loved how his simple demand was possessive and full of the same need I felt.

  “I’m going to take your silence as a yes.” Caz called before we heard him stomp off down the hall.

  Alec’s large hands were on my waist, coaxing my hips back into their rhythm. “Are you close, Taren?”

  I studied his face. His expression was tight and his chest heaved as he drew in air. He was the sexiest damn thing I had ever seen.

  “Close to what?” I managed to say.

  “This.” He captured my mouth with his. His hands slipped around to my ass, and he pulled me down to him as he pressed up against me. His erection was rubbing me in just the right way, and I moaned in response. His body mirrored mine with every dip and roll, our hips moving together in a rhythm that made my heart race to keep up.

  I took a few stuttering breaths before I stopped kissing him and buried my face against his neck. My words, a quiet, breathless, chant filled the space between us. “Oh god, oh god, oh god.” My body jerked, and my voice shook as his hips kept thrusting. Wave after wave of sensation flooded through me as sparks of bliss exploded through my body. I gripped his shoulders and held my breath, clinging to the pleasure until it faded. Finally, I collapsed against his hard chest.

  Alec held me tightly, and I was draped against him, loving the way our breaths came in deep, messy pulls.

  “Oh my. That was...amazing.” I scattered small lazy kisses along his shoulder blade.

  He lifted my chin to look at me, tucking a chunk of hair behind my ear. “Yeah, you are.”

  “That was a first for me.” I buried my face against his chest and wrapped my arms around his back. I wanted him to know. I just didn’t want to admit it while he was looking at me.

  Alec’s hands wrapped around my upper arms, and he pushed me back to put space between us so he could look at me. “Are you serious?” His forehead was wrinkled in confusion.

  I shrugged.

  He smirked and pulled me to him, kissing my forehead. “Well I’m glad I was your first.”

  Me too.

  The wait had been worth it. Alec Hart had given me my first orgasm. He...he...I froze as realization slammed into me. He hadn’t had one. Oh, crap.

  I peeked down and stared at his lap, at a very hard, very bulging, very large, and I was sure, very unsatisfied, erection. My face reddened. “Can I…” I blew out a breath. “I mean, would you like me to…” I wrung my hands together. “Or should I say how can I…?”

  Al
ec rested his hand on my clasped ones and rubbed his thumb along my skin. “I don’t want to rush you.”

  I quirked an eyebrow at him.

  “I’m fine.” He shifted uncomfortably, but he smiled. Then, he winked as if he knew an inside joke that I wasn’t privy to. “For now.”

  I cocked my head as the corners of my lips turned up. “For now?”

  He was right. We should take it slow. I glanced up at him and licked my lower lip. But not too slow.

  I smiled, a confident, albeit devilish, smile. “Want to study again tomorrow?”

  ***

  “So…I want details. Lay it on me.” Julie sat on the floor of my bedroom, carefully polishing her tiny toenails a bright, cherry red.

  “He’s quite possibly the sexiest guy on the planet.” Laying on my stomach, I rested my head on my crossed arms. I let every warm, delicious memory of the day before invade my thoughts.

  “So you hooked up?” Julie paused from her methodical stroking of the brush and looked up at me.

  “Yes, and it was amazing. Earth shattering. Life changing. I didn’t know it was supposed to be like that.” I shook my head and grinned.

  Julie paused, her brush suspended in the air. “What? Hooking up?”

  “Yeah.” I buried my face and muffled my words. “And orgasms.” A flush of embarrassment heated my cheeks.

  “The hell? What do you mean you never knew? Did Pickle the Dickle not know how to ring your lady bell?” Julie’s voice rose in volume.

  Lifting my head, I laughed. “Ring my lady bell?”

  “Orgasm. Pickle never got you there?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. My bell was never rung. Now I think I’m addicted.”

  “It’s about time. It’s like getting a hug from the good Lord above. Not that I’ve hugged the Lord, but I imagine it would feel pretty darn great. And a good orgasm feels fucking fantastic, so I’m just saying.”

  I stared at her in silence. She was so…weird.

  “So what’s the problem? What aren’t you telling me? My best friend radar is shooting glitter bomb warnings at me.” Blowing on her toes, she screwed the cap back onto her polish and then straightened her legs in front of her. “I’m not leaving. I need proper drying time before my top coat. You can’t get rid of me so keep talking.” Her grin was both impish and prim. She was winning this one.

  “Okay, okay. He’s gorgeous. His body did things to me that I will never forget, and he’s sweet. He’s also paying his own way through college, so totally responsible and hard working.”

  “Sounds kind of perfect, T. What’s the problem then? Does he make a terrible O face? I dated a guy who did that, and I dumped him in a New York minute. The look on his face scarred me for life.” Julie’s expression was so serious that I couldn’t keep from laughing.

  “No.” I giggled and sat up on my bed. “My only hesitation is that he totally humiliated me in high school. Talk about scarred for life.” My laughter faded, and I hugged my pillow to my chest.

  Julie pressed her lips together and nodded for me to continue.

  “After he embarrassed me, the rest of my senior year was miserable. The bullying got worse, if that was possible. Almost every day someone would tease me about that night and remind me what a loser I was.”

  “Pecker heads. Seriously, T, what I wouldn’t give to go tell them all to go fuck a duck.” I would have paid anything to see her tell my worst attackers to go fuck a duck.

  “Thanks, Jules. I love you, too.” I smiled. “But seriously. What if he changes his mind and rejects me again? I really like him and that would destroy me. I feel more for him after two days than I felt with Pickles in a whole year.”

  “T, sometimes you’ve got to take the leap. You’re awesome, and if he can’t see that, he doesn’t deserve you. If he is stupid enough to break your heart again, so help me God, I will ruin him.” She got up off the floor and sat next to me.

  “Your nails, Jules. Be careful.” Julie took her beautifying rituals seriously. She’d be in a funk for hours if she smudged her perfect piggies.

  “Yeah, well…you’re worth it.” Julie wrapped her arms around my shoulders and hugged me tightly. “I mean it. You’re worth it.”

  ***

  “Wait up, Denton.” Doug jogged after me. I zipped up Alec’s sweatshirt, the one I had conveniently forgotten to return to him a few days ago, and turned to face my ex.

  “I can’t talk. I’ve got a class in ten minutes.” I bounced on the balls of my feet, desperate to avoid a conversation with Doug.

  “Really? We dated for a year, and you can’t give me five fucking minutes?” Doug scowled. I wanted to remind him that after finding him sucking face with another girl I didn’t owe him jack shit. Instead, I shrugged, hoping that listening would get this over more quickly.

  “What is it?” I kept my hands in the pockets of the sweatshirt so I wouldn’t be tempted to punch him in his cheating face.

  “Are you really breaking up with me just because of one dance?” He paced back and forth in front of me and ran his hands through his hair.

  “First off, I don’t think it was just that one dance. And by the way, it wasn’t just a dance. You were humping her on the dance floor and shoving your tongue down her throat.” I glared at him. “My sisters have been telling me for months that they’ve seen you flirting with girls. I’m not surprised you took it to the next level. You’ve never had the best judgment…especially when you’re drinking.” I raised an eyebrow at him, and he rolled his eyes.

  “Taren, trust me. It was just a dance. I gave you a year and my letters. That’s a big commitment. I can’t believe you’re just over us, like it was nothing.” Doug stopped pacing and stood in front of me.

  “What you and I had wasn’t nothing, but it also wasn’t love. You wouldn’t have cheated on me if it was.”

  Doug frowned at me. “Taren…”

  I held up both of my hands, palms facing him as I cut him off. “What you and I always were was friends. Let’s stay that way. Friends?”

  He hesitated and then sighed. “Okay, Denton. We’ll try this your way, but I know you’re gonna miss me. You’ll be asking me to take you home by the end of the month.” He winked.

  Clearly his cocky attitude hadn’t been affected by our breakup. I opened my mouth to argue, but stopped. I’d give him the last word. His pride was damaged, and I knew what that felt like.

  There was only one guy I wanted and he wasn’t named after a vegetable. His nickname might even be god, based on the number of times I called it out when we were together.

  Chapter Eighteen

  ALEC

  I propped my head up on my hand so that I could look at Taren. She was lying next to me on my bed—her shirt tossed on the floor, her long blonde hair a beautiful mess of tangles, and her lips still marked with the touch of mine.

  “I love kissing you. I could kiss you forever.” Taren reached up to run her fingers lightly down my arm. I noticed that she touched me a lot, like I was a piece of art her body had to memorize.

  “We’ve got a pretty good start on forever. I don’t think we’ve been out of this bed in hours.” I nipped at her shoulder, and she giggled.

  As soon as my bedroom door had been shut and locked, our study session had turned into a frantic kiss-fest. Our books lay forgotten on the floor, our need to study falling victim to our need for one another. Later on, when I was up all night doing the work I had neglected, life would suck. Right now, I didn’t care.

  I leaned down to kiss Taren again, and her mouth immediately parted. Her tongue twisted with mine as if we’d been kissing each other our entire lives. The slick warmth of her mouth was like fucking heaven.

  When I moved my lips from hers, she let out an adorable growl of frustration until they touched her neck and she realized my kisses were heading to where my hands were tracing the edges of her bra. She arched up into me, and her head pressed into my pillow as she closed her eyes.

  The way she placed her
trust in me made me wild with the urge to protect her, to keep her innocence all to myself. That need to keep her safe was in constant battle with my darker side—the side that needed to claim her. I wanted to own every sexy sound that ever came out of her mouth.

  I reached around her back until my fingers found the clasp of her bra, and when her eyes opened, I thought that she’d tell me to stop. Instead, her lips lifted into a shy smile. The clasp snapped open under my fingertips, and her eyes closed again. She reached up to the back of my head to pull my face into her skin.

  My nose ran along the lacy edge of her bra where I could smell her perfume and Taren sighed. My thumbs slowly eased the fabric up until it was draped across her collarbone. Nothing but my heavy breaths were between my lips and the smooth skin of her breasts. Hunger gnawed at me. She was so beautiful I wanted to savor every inch of her skin with my tongue. I wanted to devour her.

  I leaned down and kissed the curves of Taren’s perfect chest, stealing a glance up at her face to see her reaction. I wondered if she’d stop me. I hoped not. I wanted her to trust me.

  We were taking things slow, but I was going to make sure that when we were apart, she’d still feel the echoes of where my mouth and hands had been. I wanted her to ache for me.

  “Don’t stop.” She threaded her fingers into my hair and pulled me into her until my lips touched her again.

  “You’re so damn sweet. I can’t get enough of you.” My voice was rough against her skin, and my body was rigid as I held myself over her. I licked her nipple with a flick of my tongue before drawing it fully into my mouth. She pressed up into me as if she couldn’t bear for any part of her body to not touch me.

  “God, yes…” She let out a thankful groan when I settled my weight between her legs, rolling my hips into hers. “I need you.” She pleaded, trying to press our bodies closer together.

  She didn’t need to beg. The taste of her kisses, the smell of her skin, every soft and exquisite curve—I could never get enough of her. I would give her whatever she needed.