Blackout: A Romance Anthology

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  Wherever he’s going takes us back toward Vegas, so at least I know we’re heading closer to Vegas instead of farther away. When we drive past the Welcome to Las Vegas sign that normally shines proudly in the distance, my stomach aches with anxiety.

  I remember passing this sign on the way into town a few days ago and seeing every bright light shining in the distance. Now, I would never know anything was out there. I could be staring out to a vast desert and wouldn’t know any different.

  My heart stings at the thought of my sister and friends still down there. I say a quick prayer again, hoping they’re safe and that their night has turned out to be just as adventurous as mine.

  We pass a huge rock on the road that says Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and tingles of anxiety, nervousness, and excitement twirl in my belly. I’ve heard about this place and how amazing it is, but to be here at night, alone, with someone I barely know …

  I’m not sure what to think.

  I know I should be smart and think about these situations before I put myself in them, but at the same time, what else was I to do tonight?

  I hate that I keep having these internal battles with myself at every turn.

  I take a deep breath and convince myself that, if he really wanted to hurt me, he would have done it already. And, if I do end up missing, he introduced me to his friend … and that would be serial killer mistake number one.

  I completely forgot to send my sister a text earlier, and when I notice my phone signal is working, I send her a text, telling her where I am and whom I’m with. Even though I’m pretty positive Jason isn’t a serial killer, this way, she’ll know I’m safe whenever service does come back on there, and someone will know I’m out here.

  “This place has the most amazing sunrise,” he says, like he knows of my inner struggles fighting it out in my head.

  Sunrise. Of course that’s why he brought me here, I tell myself to stop thinking about what’s the worst thing that could happen and try to focus on the best thing that could happen.

  Jason.

  What an enigma this guy has been. But what an amazing night we’ve had. That kiss. My God, that kiss.

  Just thinking about it sends chills up my spine and down low to where I’m dying to feel him.

  It’s like he’s reading my freaking mind because he turns to wink at me, and I swear, I feel my panties turn wet instantly. No man has ever affected me this way.

  His hand grips mine again. “I have a blanket in the back. We can sit on the bed of the truck to watch the sun rise.”

  I flip my phone to see the time. “What times does the sun rise?” I show him what time it is now. “I think we’re a little early.” I giggle nervously.

  “Maybe we can pick up where we started at the bar.”

  He licks his lips, and I swear, my lady bits just swooned.

  How is that even possible?

  I squeeze my legs together, and he does the same to my hand, as if he saw exactly what I just did. I don’t dare look at him. I know my face is beet red, and there’s no way I can hide it, even in the darkness that surrounds us.

  I’ve never had a one-night stand. I’ve never even slept with someone on the first date. Yet here I am, wishing he would pull over on the side of the freeway so that I could straddle his lap right now.

  What is going on with me tonight?

  I look out the window to pure nothingness, trying to calm the lust racing through me.

  He parks and reaches behind his seat, grabbing a blanket and opening his door. “You coming?” he asks.

  I open my door, trying my hardest not to jump the guy’s bones right here and now. I need to slow my emotions down and get to know him a little better first. We still have all night.

  He opens the bed to his truck, laying down the blanket, and holds out his hand. “Here, I’ll help you get up.”

  I place my palm into his, sending electricity zinging exactly to the spot I’ve been trying to calm for the past ten minutes.

  Seeing that his truck is higher than my waist, Jason lets go and instead wraps his fingers around my waist. We stare eye-to-eye.

  I move my hands to rest on top of his. Heat travels up my body, warming every inch of me.

  “On three?” he asks, holding my waist tighter.

  I’m still stuck on the lava filling my belly to answer. His smile is more than knowing, and I have to close my eyes to hide the embarrassment now filling me.

  “One, two,” he whispers once he comes closer to me.

  On three, he lifts me up, placing me on the back of the truck before hopping up himself.

  I pause, tucking my hair behind my shoulder, unsure of what’s coming next.

  He gets comfortable, and stares off into space as he says, “Believe it or not, I was afraid of the dark until I was about ten years old. I thought the boogeyman was under my bed. I used to sleep on my brother’s bedroom floor because his bed frame broke, so his mattress was directly on the floor.”

  I smile at his honesty. He seems like such a genuine guy, and at every turn, I believe that more.

  He continues, “To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the night. It’s when your thoughts run wild, and the worst always seems to happen in the dark.”

  I turn my head in question. “Then, how do you love the sunrise? You have to be in the dark before you can enjoy it.”

  “Yeah. I enjoy the dawn of a new day. It makes me think that, no matter what happened in the past, there’s a possibility of something new. There was a time in my life when I didn’t sleep very well, so I’d get up to watch the sunrise. I guess I never really stopped. That sounds so corny, I know.”

  “No, it’s romantic. I like it.”

  He looks off in the distance before looking into my eyes. “I don’t care for the dark, but chasing the dawn with you has been the most fun I’ve had in a while. It almost makes me not want to see the light of day.”

  “Worried your carriage will turn into a pumpkin?” I grin.

  He runs his fingers alongside mine. “Something like that.”

  We sit in silence for a few breaths before he asks, “Do you live in downtown LA?”

  “Nah, I keep on thinking of moving closer, but my family is in Torrance. I like living so close to the beach, too, and how it’s a slower pace there.”

  “You live in Torrance?” he asks, surprised.

  I nod. “Yep, have all my life. Are you familiar with it?”

  He looks off in the distance, inhaling a deep breath before letting it out and pausing. When he faces me, he drops his head as he says, “Yeah, I’ve gotten to know it pretty well lately.”

  The words Medical Center flash in my head. The Torrance Memorial Medical Center is there. That’s probably where the visitor sticker is from.

  I let him take in our topic of conversation, waiting to see if he wants to talk about it or change the subject like he seemed to be doing earlier when it got heavy.

  He doesn’t.

  He doesn’t say anything.

  I place my left hand on his knee, deciding to go for it. “Is that where that visitor sticker was from? The Torrance Memorial Medical Center?”

  He nods.

  “Is it your brother?”

  He nods again.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  He shrugs, and we sit in silence some more, giving him time to process.

  “I can see that place from my house,” I say, trying to guide him into the conversation.

  “I spend a lot of time there.” He sighs, rubbing his thumb alongside mine, lost in a stare at it.

  “Is that why you left Vegas?”

  He nods again.

  “Do you have any other family in LA?”

  “Nope,” he says matter-of-factly.

  He meets my eyes, and I try to encourage him to continue. I reach my right hand over, letting him know I’m here if he needs to talk.

  “Our parents passed when I was a senior in high school. Car accident.”

/>   My heart sinks. I can’t even imagine losing a parent, let alone both so suddenly like that.

  “I was eighteen, so they allowed my seventeen-year-old brother to stay with me since my parents left us enough to survive on until I could graduate and figure out our next step.” He pauses, and I squeeze his hand tighter, leaning my head on his shoulder, trying to show him I care.

  “I had already gotten into Stanford”—he points to his sweatshirt that I’m wearing—“and I was able to place my education on hold until my brother graduated. He then got into Stanford, too, so we moved to Palo Alto and attended college together.” He smiles at the memory. “We had some good times.” He laughs to himself.

  The happiness in his laugh lifts my spirits in this otherwise heavy conversation.

  “After graduation, we moved to Vegas for a job. He started off just not feeling well, but no one could figure out why. Medical bills were piling up, and our employer didn’t offer insurance. He found a job in LA that did, so he moved, and I stayed in Vegas. He didn’t even make it to open enrollment with the new job when they found out he had GI cancer.”

  “Oh, Jason, I’m so sorry.”

  He purses his lips, slightly nodding his head, inhaling another breath. “Torrance Memorial has a clinical study he was able to get into, but it’s progressed so fast, and without insurance, we’re trying to stay afloat.”

  I grip my hand tighter on his, knowing there’s nothing I can say that would make it better. Health insurance sucks. I’ve heard too many horror stories of people getting slaughtered with bills. And what are they to do? Let their family die? That’s a question no one should have to answer.

  “So, you moved to help him?”

  He nods again. “If this job goes well, I’ll be able to help him. Meanwhile, I’m doing odd jobs here and there, trying to raise as much money as I can, as fast as I can.”

  “What is it you do?”

  His muscles tighten ever so slightly before loosening like it never happened. If I wasn’t holding him or lying on his shoulder, I would have missed it.

  “Both my brother and I are computer programmers.”

  “You were right in heaven in Palo Alto then?” I chuckle under my breath.

  He lets out a breathy laugh. “We fit in perfectly.”

  “But you didn’t want to stay?”

  “We got an opportunity. Or what we thought was an opportunity. Some things aren’t always what they seem, you know?”

  I want to laugh out loud, but I hold back. His words could never be truer than right now. This whole night, him, me sitting here. Everything about this time has been more than it seemed.

  “I’m sure it’s hard to be with him when he’s sick. Then, this trip was, what, your opportunity to help you breathe for a second?” I ask, lifting my head to look at him.

  “I guess you can say that.”

  I place my head back down, and he lowers his to touch mine. We sit in silence for a few breaths.

  “What are the odds that I meet someone who lives in Torrance while I’m in Las Vegas?” I think out loud.

  He sits up straight, placing his hand on my face and guiding me to look at him. “You have no idea how odd it is that I met you tonight.”

  His lips slowly caress mine, not asking for permission to enter or pulling away. It’s more … breathing me in. Holding me there in his trance.

  I sigh against him, and it’s like all his resolve has disappeared. He’s a different man, and there’s no doubt what he wants.

  His lips part as he reaches around me, picking me up with ease and swinging me around his lap.

  I’d yelp in surprise if I had the chance, but he doesn’t wait. He’s needy, he’s intense, and, holy shit, it’s so fucking hot.

  I’ve never felt so desired in my life.

  His touch is urgent, like every inch he covers on my body is giving him what he needs to heal.

  And I want to be that for him and more.

  His hands run up my sides, lifting my sweatshirt. I pull away, only long enough to allow him to remove it completely, showing I don’t have a bra on underneath.

  The growl that escapes his mouth is so manly, but when he wraps his arms around my back and yanks my body down by my shoulders, pushing his groin up against me, I know just how manly he is.

  My God, the hardness seeping through his jeans and my sweatpants makes my body burn with desire.

  I reach behind him, yanking his shirt up over his head.

  When our skin touches—bare on bare—his hands run over my back, pushing me more into him.

  Our kisses are so slow, so intense. He has this rushing need with his body, but with his mouth, he’s taking his time.

  I grind my hips against him, dying to feel that bulge again. He obliges by pushing up, swinging his hips in a circular motion underneath me.

  My head drops back in ecstasy as a deep moan falls from my mouth.

  His lips find my neck as my hands roam over his shoulders. I’m barely able to hold off as my hips find a movement all their own.

  “I dreamt about you last night,” he says through kisses. “I’ve never wanted anyone this bad.”

  His words drench my pussy. I felt his desire, but hearing him say it does me in.

  “Tell me you have a condom,” is all I respond with.

  The growl that escapes him gets my heart rate going even more.

  His lips don’t leave mine as he slightly lifts his hips, reaching in his back pocket and pulling out his wallet, lifting it up to show me he’s prepared.

  That final hesitation I had completely flies out the window. There is nothing that will keep me from having this man.

  “Gemma,” he says breathlessly, and I’m totally done for.

  I straddle his waist more, tightly holding on to his shoulders. He wraps his strong arm around my body while pushing back with his other hand, so we’re further back in the truck.

  The bed is covered in a dark liner, and when he lies back against it, I place my hands on either side of him, feeling the textured plastic under my touch. The fact that we’re in his truck, outside, should stop me, but it doesn’t.

  It fuels me more.

  If I’m going to sleep with this guy, this fast, this way, it might as well be in the back of his truck during a blackout, under the Vegas stars.

  He flips me over, holding on to my head to make sure I don’t slam it against the truck.

  For a brief moment, our eyes lock, and I see everything there is to know about him staring right back at me. His sincerity, his hurt for his brother, his kindness for not being able to leave me by myself tonight.

  He’s genuine, and my heart pangs when I think this might just be one night between us. I hope it’s not.

  He removes his glasses, and I reach my hand up to cup his face, smiling slightly. Slowly, he leans down again, kissing me with more meaning.

  Before, we both were in a hurry, trying to devour each other. Now that we know what’s going on and neither of us is going to stop this from happening, he takes his time.

  When he runs his fingers down my neck, over my breasts, and down my curves, it makes me moan. I lift my chest off the bed of the truck, hoping he’ll embrace them in his hands, kneading them and filling my need at the same time.

  The grin that covers his handsome face makes me smile. I’ve never felt one hundred percent comfortable with a man while naked, yet, with him, it’s not even a concern. I want his hands, his mouth on every part of me.

  His fingers tuck into the sweatpants I’m wearing, and he slowly slides them down my legs. He looks a little upset to see I have panties on. I think he was hoping I was bare, just like my chest was.

  Leaning down, he kisses his way over my neck, sucking on each nipple as his fingers roam over my pussy. Feeling his soft touch through the thin cotton drives me wild.

  He tucks them under the fabric, running up the slits, feeling the moisture, proving I’m ready for him.

  For more.

  For this.
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br />   I reach to him, unbuttoning his jeans and sliding down the zipper. When I feel just how thick he is, my entire body shakes.

  The softness of his cock engulfs my senses as I run my hand down the length of him. If I thought his groan was sexy before, it has nothing on what just left him now.

  I guide my feet up his legs, using them to help me pull his pants down the rest of the way.

  He grabs the condom, covering himself before lowering down to kiss me again.

  A greediness grips my soul, and I wrap my legs around him, bringing him down to me, not wanting to wait another second.

  As he slides inside me, my entire body goes lax. My head drops back, and my arms fall to the sides. I’m so wet with desire that he’s able to slide in with a beautiful pressure filling me to the brim.

  A gasp escapes him while he’s tucked in my neck, sending chills all over my body. I know he feels it, too.

  This is what sex should be, and I’ve been missing out my entire life. I’ve enjoyed sex, but being this turned on and then having sex is something I’ve never experienced.

  It’s intense.

  It’s amazing.

  It’s real.

  When he pulls back and pushes back in, I have to hold my breath, praying my body won’t defy me and come right now. I don’t want to. I want this to last; I want him to last.

  He picks up his rhythm, allowing me to focus on him and get past that first initial rush of the oncoming orgasm.

  Slightly lifting my head, he places his hands under me, holding my head like a pillow as he kisses my lips. When his movements match his kisses, that deep desire starts again down low, and this time, I know I can’t stop it.

  With each thrust, it intensifies.

  Slowly.

  Intensely.

  Fully.

  I don’t want to come yet, but I’m dying for the release.

  The battle in my mind fights the urge in my body, and before I can stop it, my hips start to dance, rubbing against him while he keeps his rhythm.

  The sensation starts low, creeping higher and higher, until I tightly grip my arms around his body, holding on for dear life as my walls clench and my pussy spasms against him.

  He pauses, giving me my moment, and then thrusts a few more times until he finds his own release, grunting while he kisses me into oblivion.