by Ranae Rose
He came hard, reveling in the pressure her mouth exerted on the head of his dick as come rushed out of him and over her tongue. A small sound rose up from somewhere in her throat and spurred him on, adding another layer to his pleasure. Taking him deeper, she tightened her grip on his balls, rolling them against her palm. The bliss might’ve blinded him if he hadn’t had his eyes tightly shut. He couldn’t focus on anything else, not even the way she looked as she swallowed, her mouth tightening around his cock.
She kept her mouth on his dick until he pulled free, finally using his hold on her hair to guide her – away and out of his lap, where he could see her face.
Her lips were red and a little puffy, eyes bright. The golden flecks in her irises shone, flickering when she exhaled and blinked.
“That felt so damn good.”
Understatement of the century. If he could’ve gone back and relived the last minute of what she’d just done to him, he would’ve, over and over again until it killed him. There was just nothing else he’d rather do, ever, if given the choice. Except for maybe pushing her thighs wide apart and driving his still-stiff dick between them, fucking her until she made sounds of pleasure a lot louder than the one she’d made when he’d exploded in her mouth.
Color burnt bright pink across her cheekbones. Was she really blushing or was that just the natural effect of blood rushing to the surface of the skin, summoned there by arousal, by touching and being touched?
Unlike him, she was fully naked. He took advantage of that fact, slipping a hand between her legs and stroking the silky-soft lips of her pussy, testing for wetness.
He found it in spades; his fingertips slipped against her slick skin, and when he pulled them away, they shone.
She’d more or less melted against him when he’d touched her like that, a fact that eliminated the little bit of softness that’d set in after his orgasm. Growing harder by the second, he kicked his jeans and underwear all the way off, then pressed her down onto the bed, using his body to guide hers down.
She was so soft against him, so warm. Except for her nipples; those were hard as glass. He teased one with his fingertips, drawing the other into his mouth as he lay stretched beside her.
Arching against the mattress, she sighed, pressing her breast more firmly against his face. The soft flesh radiated heat that he could feel building up inside him too, readying his body for another climax. Still, ready or not, he’d thought of a good reason to defer.
Biting her nipple lightly before raising his head from her chest, he slid down the bed, down her body, settling between her legs and kneeling there.
Her pussy glistened. He added to that natural wetness when he pressed his open mouth against her flesh, tonguing the hard little bud her clit had become.
Her hips bucked against his face and his tongue slipped, delving into her entrance, into heat and pressure he couldn’t help imagining wrapped around his dick. The thought drove him as he lashed his tongue against her soft skin, aching to feel and hear her come.
In the peripheral field of his vision, he saw her hands clasp shut, forming fists around sections of rumpled sheet. Holding on hard to the bedclothes like that, she gasped.
It was a unique sound, both ragged and soft somehow. He knew what it meant, knew just what to do to cause her to make it again. Pressing a finger into her, he ran the tip up and down her inner wall, fucking her that way as he sucked her clit.
It worked. She writhed, grasping the sheet harder than ever, pulling on it as she gasped, again and again. The sound became a part of her breathing, a soundtrack that marked each second of her climax as he did everything he could to make it last.
His face was as wet as her pussy when he finally stopped, rising and grabbing his jeans, pulling a condom from a pocket and ripping open the package as quickly as he could. His fingers slipped and slid down the sides of his dick as he sheathed himself, so desperate to be inside her it hurt.
Moments later, he had his wish, and her pussy was wrenching tight around his shaft. Whether she was doing it on purpose or the tightening was involuntary, it felt mind-blowingly good. Not even having his dick sucked had felt as good as the sheer, simple pleasure of having her on her back beneath him. On top of her, he was on top of the world, lost in how perfect everything felt as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
She arched, just like she had when he’d eaten her pussy. This time, her body’s natural reaction pressed her breasts against his chest, rubbing her nipples against his skin. He could’ve come then and there, but he held out, fucking her steadily instead of giving in and finishing in a burst of frenzied pleasure.
Waiting got him exactly what he’d wanted: another gasp from her, another climax that made her pussy shrink fast and hard around his thrusting dick. The pressure was exquisite, and so was the sound of his name on her lips. He could’ve listened to that forever, but soon she was breathless, relapsing into silence as her orgasm faded and she unwrapped her legs from around him, like she’d couldn’t keep them up anymore.
That was it; he couldn’t wait any longer. If she wanted more after he came, he’d give it to her however she wanted – with his mouth or hands, with his cock, if she wanted, after it got hard again. Even now, he had a feeling that wouldn’t take long. Fuck, she drove him crazy. When she was beneath him, he didn’t know when to quit.
Sharp little bursts of pain heated his skin when she raked her nails down his back, then gripped his ass cheeks. Her nails settled into the cleft above his thighs as she clung to him, urging him to go harder.
He did exactly that, groaning as gratification crashed down on him, pulling him under the surface of another orgasm. Last time had felt good, but this was something different – and even better – altogether. They were chest-to-chest and hip-to-hip, bodies tangled together. Even their breath mingled as she gasped. Pleasure swept through him, white-hot, and it was like being struck by lightning: a few seconds of mounting sensation that erupted into something blindingly powerful and then left him feeling stricken, still charged with something he was in awe of.
When he pulled out, her nails raked his skin again, biting as she gave up her embrace, seemingly reluctant.
He knew the feeling; he didn’t really want to give up the mind-blowing closeness they’d found, either. Settling so close beside her that his cock rested against her hip, he laid a hand on one of her breasts.
She turned into him, her breath rushing across his lips.
It was an invitation he couldn’t resist. Covering her mouth with his, he relaxed into a kiss that put a seal on what they’d just done, committing it to a place in his memory he knew he’d revisit again and again.
Time stretched on after the kiss ended, and when she eventually stirred against him, slinging an arm over his side, he was halfway asleep.
He was so comfortable lying there with her draped halfway across him, leaving was the last thing he wanted to do. Moving was second to last. “I’ve got to head to Jed and Karen’s to pick up Emily,” he forced himself to say.
She nodded, her disheveled hair rippling against his shoulder. “Wish you didn’t have to go.”
She sounded like she meant it, and that made him happy and unhappy at the same time. She deserved more time, more devotion, from anyone lucky enough to wind up in her bed. He couldn’t give it to her though. Rising, he got dressed and left her alone, still naked and so beautiful it killed a part of him to leave her.
“Wish I didn’t have to go either,” he said, and did just that.
* * * * *
She heard him lock the door from the inside before he left. That should’ve pleased her, but safety aside, she hated the idea of a locked door between them.
Lying still where he’d left her, with the sheets still dented at her side where he’d been, she held onto the last moments of fading pleasure. For now, she still tingled where he’d touched her, still felt the heat of his body against hers. And she wanted those moments to last, because she knew she wouldn’t be reliving th
em in the future.
She felt guilty for staying silent and surrendering to the chemistry between them, but only a little. They’d both had a good time; she doubted he’d regret it much when she finally did tell him about her past, since they’d already done it several times before. What difference would one more incredible time make, in the long run?
She was going to lose him either way.
CHAPTER 10
11 Years Ago
It’d taken Arianna days to work up the courage to tell her mom that she was pregnant. She’d meant to do it as soon as she’d gotten home from school that day, but now it was going on six and her dad was due home from work in a few minutes. Time was running out.
“Mom, I have to tell you something.” Arianna’s pulse throbbed in her temples, giving her a headache as she cut a red pepper into thin slivers for the salad that would accompany the spaghetti she’d just finished preparing meatballs for.
“What is it?”
Arianna’s throat constricted, silencing her with a choking sensation. She fought to work past it, to speak. She had to tell her mom before her dad got home, because as agonizing as confessing at all was, telling her mother first would be the easiest option. If she told them both at the same time, they’d be able to team up against her. This way…
“What did you want to tell me?” her mother asked, stirring the pan of sauce and meat that simmered on the stove.
Arianna worked her stiff tongue loose, ignoring her dry mouth. “I’m pregnant.”
Her mother dropped the wooden spoon into the sauce pan, then turned a few seconds later, as if shock had delayed her reaction. “Are you sure?”
Arianna resisted the urge to shrink beneath her gaze. “Yeah.”
Her mother’s pale blue eyes grew wide, and little lines appeared around her mouth as it shrank into a thin line. “Are you and Cody having sex?” She spat out the question like she was accusing Arianna of an act of international terrorism.
“We were,” Arianna said, resisting the urge to add ‘obviously’. Every last fiber of her being was on edge, trying and failing to harden her heart in self-defense. She could imagine seeing the same angry look in her father’s eyes, knew she’d see it as soon as he got home and found out.
Her mother sucked in a breath, then hissed out Arianna’s name. “I knew we shouldn’t have let you spend so much time with that boy. I told your father…”
The sauce bubbled around the fallen spoon, but Arianna’s mother didn’t pay any attention. “How far along are you?” Her gaze zeroed in on Arianna’s mid-section, and a pang of agony sailed through her as she remembered Cody eyeing her the same way just days ago.
He hadn’t snapped out of his selfish stupor, hadn’t so much as held her hand since then. In fact, he’d only spoken to her twice, both times to urge her to choose an abortion.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, how long ago did you…”
Arianna clamped her mouth shut, tasting blood as she clipped the tip of her tongue. Every one of her mother’s questions felt like a red-hot needle, prodding deep and reminding her of Cody’s rejection.
“What are we going to do? Arianna, you’re only a sophomore in highschool. What were you thinking?”
Arianna didn’t say anything, didn’t admit that she hadn’t been thinking at all, she’d been feeling. Feeling like the center of someone’s universe for the first time in her life, feeling like there was someone who understood her, who wouldn’t want to exist without her. Of course, now she saw all that for the illusion it was. She didn’t need her mother waving a sauce-stained spoon to remind her that it’d all blown up in her face, to make her feel stupid.
The searing pain that’d burnt its way into every fiber of her being did a good enough job on its own.
“Your father is going to be furious.” Her mother exhaled, loudly and slowly. “You’re not even halfway finished with highschool! You still have two and a half more years to go, not to mention college…”
Everything inside Arianna seemed to shrivel up. She resisted the urge to let her fingertips drift over her belly, to try to detect the unseen presence that was driving everyone away from her, creating distance that only harsh words could cross. Funny thing was, she couldn’t feel the baby at all. Not yet. But she felt everything else, felt everything crumbling around her. It would’ve been surreal, if it hadn’t been so devastating.
“You can’t undo a mistake like this,” her mother said, as if Arianna was incapable of grasping the gravity of her situation. “Why couldn’t you have just waited?”
Arianna said nothing. It wasn’t like she’d been blindsided by her mother’s reaction. Unlike when she’d confessed to Cody, she hadn’t been expecting anything like understanding. Problem was, she’d counted on having his support, at least, when she’d faced everyone else. Her and him against the world, only now…
It was just her, and without anyone to share her burden, the world was vast and dark. Love would’ve been a buffer against the harshness – other people’s judgments wouldn’t have mattered much if she’d had just one person to stand by her side. But love was something she’d gambled for and lost – she realized now that she’d never had it. Two blue lines had revealed her future to be one epic problem, and love wasn’t part of the equation.
* * * * *
“Wow,” Karen said, standing outside James’ booth with her hands on her hips. “She was cute. And I’m pretty sure she would’ve sold her soul for a date with you. Don’t you like brunettes?”
James turned away, putting his back to Karen and the dark-haired woman who’d just left his booth. “Uh, it wasn’t that.” Did he like brunettes?
Hell yes, he liked brunettes. But he’d hardly noticed the woman’s hair color, let alone anything else about her. Thoughts of his time alone with Arianna two days ago were still whirling through his mind, blinding him to distractions like the girl who’d just dropped half a dozen not-so-subtle hints concerning him – or certain parts of him, anyway.
He’d pierced the cartilage of her left ear. Then he’d given her care instructions, and hadn’t bothered to watch her leave. That was it.
“What was it then?” Karen leaned on the wall. “Are things going okay with your niece?”
“Yeah, they’re going all right. It’s just that I’m seeing someone.”
He turned around in time to see Karen’s auburn eyebrows fly up to her hairline. “Really? Who is she?”
She braced her chin on her palm, like she was settling in to hear a particularly juicy story.
“I met her here. Tattooed her several times.”
“How long have you been going out?”
“Just a couple weeks. Since she was a client, I didn’t want to freak her out by asking too soon, you know?”
Karen nodded. “So… Are things serious?”
James turned back to his booth, straightening a piece of art hanging on the wall – not that it needed it. “Haven’t been seeing each other that long.”
The half-answer felt uncomfortably like a lie. It was true that they’d only been going out for a matter of weeks, but he’d never felt more serious about anyone. Whether that was due more to his lack of meaningful relationships or more to the deep-seated attraction he felt for Arianna, it didn’t matter – he knew how he felt. What he had with Arianna was more than a fling.
In fact, the thought of them drifting amicably apart after a few nights together – or stolen afternoon hours – made him feel vaguely sick. The more of her he got, the more he wanted. And he knew in his bones that no matter how many fish there were in the sea, there were none that could replace her.
“Well, I was sure Jed was the one right away, on our first date,” Karen said. “Before then, actually, if I’m being totally honest. Sometimes you just know.”
A couple weeks ago, James would’ve thought that was bullshit – though he never would’ve said that out loud to Karen. Now, it didn’t seem so stupid.
“Sorry if I’m being nosy.�
�� Karen straightened to her full height. “It’s just that I was thinking you might like to bring a date to the wedding. You’re allowed a plus one, you know. So if you really like this girl… This is a prime opportunity to impress her with how handsome you’ll look in your tux. Just saying.”
“Yeah. I really like her.”
When he turned around again, Karen was grinning. “Great. I’ll put you down for two then.”
James didn’t argue. Truth was, he did ‘just know’ – knew that Arianna walking through the doors of Hot Ink was the best thing that’d happened to him since he’d walked through those same doors seven years ago.
* * * * *
Arianna reached under her bed and pulled out a heart-shaped box – a remnant of some long-ago Valentine’s Day. Her parents had given her the chocolates when she’d still been in high school; they’d done that for her and Selena every February 14th throughout their childhoods. It had been a sweet tradition, one that pre-dated the trouble that’d put a rift between her and her parents; maybe that was why she’d chosen the box to store some of her most treasured possessions in.
Her heart skipped a beat as she lifted the lid, just like it always did. She knew exactly how many photos were inside, all but one wrapped in lined paper bearing neat handwriting.
She kept the pictures carefully organized. The one on top had been taken inside a hospital, just minutes after she’d given birth. In it, she held her daughter close to her chest, wrapped in a receiving blanket. It was the only one of the photos that had been taken with her camera.
The second photo was wrapped in the letter it had come with, a piece of mail that had been postmarked on her baby’s first birthday. The rest had been sent the same way; every year, the couple who’d adopted Arianna’s child sent an update letter and new photo on her birthday.
