by Abby Gale
“Enjoy your day here. I’ll go take care of the music and set the volume up a little,” Moon hugs Eva and says once more. “I’m really so glad to see you here after everything you’ve done for all of us in The Sanctuary.”
Evangeline smiles and hugs her back.
These people love my girl, but she's so full of self-doubt she can't see that. I want to punch everyone in her neighborhood that makes her think she's unworthy of love. Starting with her parents.
With our beers in one hand, we walk around the crowd hand in hand and sit on the grass where we can see the bonfire. Some people are dancing while others chat and laugh with their friends. I watch Evangeline watch others. She has a content, calm look on her face I've never seen in her own neighborhood. She's always guarded there, even when she's alone; there's some veil around her, but here she's just herself.
“You like spending time here, with them, don’t you?” I ask.
She nods. “Being with them gives me hope.”
“Hope for what?”
“Happiness,” she says with a small smile.
We sit in silence for a while. Macarena, a song from my childhood plays and people, stands up to join the dance with its comical choreography I barely remember.
“Look at them,” Eva says, chuckling to the old woman who nails the dance figures. “These people have nothing I take for granted. They don't have designer clothes. Hell, they don't always have a roof over their heads or food in their stomachs, but they're happier than I've ever been. They're strong and know what's important in life so much better than we do.”
Jesus. This girl is perfect. If I didn’t know her, and believed what they say about her, I’d think she was a rich brat. But she can’t be further from that.
“You’d get along so well with my family,” I blurt out. “You’re a people person just like them. I’m the only who thinks people suck, though you’re changing my mind pretty fast.”
Her eyes widen, and a blush covers her cheeks. I can see she’s suppressing her smile.
“Wanna dance?” she changes the topic.
Chuckling, I nod. “Dancing with a pretty girl like you? I’d never miss it for the world.”
Just when we join the others, the tune changes something slow.
Grabbing her waist, I pull her body closer to me.
“It’s a sign,” I whisper in her ear, enjoying how her breath gets shallow.
“A sign for what?”
“That you should be in my arms,” I say and kiss her slowly.
Her body molds against mine like we’re two pieces of a puzzle. Her hands play with the hair at the end of my nape.
"Get a room, there are kids around here," I hear Moon's voice, and Eva separates our lips with a giggle.
“Bummer,” I chuckle and steal another chaste kiss before someone else taunts us.
“Seems like we should keep it PG.”
“This was fun,” I say as we lay on the grass watching the stars.
The music is low, and people are tipsy, but the chatter and laughter still surround us. As time passes, I understand more why Eva finds this place so comfortable. There's peace in here.
"I have to admit, when I first heard that you love coming to this side of the town, I was worried it's dangerous. But now I can see it was just my judgment."
"These people once lived the other side of the town. They're not here because they're drug addicts or something. Life happened, and it fucked them over in a way. Some got fired while they're neck deep in debt. Some lost their job to take care of a loved one with a health problem. Some trusted the wrong people," she defends with passion.
“How do you know?” I ask.
She shrugs. "Every night when I come here, they talk, and I listen. Everyone has a story to tell, but there's not always someone to listen."
“Do you share yours?”
She shakes her head. “They already have enough. They don't need my stupid drama.”
"It's not stupid drama, Evangeline. It's your life, and I understand you may not want to share with everyone, but I'm always here, okay? You're not alone. I'll always listen."
“Until you leave,” she whispers so softly, I almost miss it.
I have no intention of forgetting her when my time here is done. I know she’s it for me, and I want her with me as long as she wants me with her. But I don’t say it. Not yet. I know she won’t trust only words. But I’ll make her believe that I’m with her from now on. Until then, I pretend like I didn’t hear her.
21
Eva
I shudder and moan with pleasure when I find Elijah’s head between my legs the moment I open my eyes. His hands grip my ass, bringing me closer to him like he can’t get enough of my taste.
His tongue dips into my entry. His humming vibrates every bundle of nerves in my body. When he takes my clit in his mouth and sucks, I dive my hand into his hair and rock my hips against his face shamelessly, chasing my orgasm he so easily brings out of me.
Letting go my clit with a pop, he licks from my clit to my ass again and again until my legs quake and my throat get hoarse from all the moaning.
God. This man. He has a magic tongue.
When his lips wrap around the bundle of nerves he worked so great, I feel his fingers teasing my entrance. Wiggling my hips, I try to get him inside of me, but he chuckles.
“Elijah!” I groan with protest.
He keeps licking, sucking, and nipping my flesh, and I feel like I'm about to explode.
My toes curl, my back arches, my mouth opens to take some air into my lungs to prepare myself for the release he’ll deliver, but when he pushes two of his fingers inside me and curls them to rub the most sensitive place in my body, instead of walking off the cliff, I explode like a firework. Before I can even catch my breath, he's hovering over me, taking my breath away again with the sweetest but somehow the hottest kiss.
Our lips separate, and our eyes lock in a heated gaze as he slowly enters me.
Yes, he's given me an orgasm that rocks my world with his mouth and fingers, but this… feeling him inside me, filling me, it's an experience I wouldn't trade with anything. When he's inside me, he closes the cracks in my soul, making me whole.
"You, in my arms. Me, inside you. This is heaven on earth," he whispers, and he slowly moves inside me like we have all the time in the world. "And you're the angel made only for me," he adds with so much passion I pull his face to mine so I can kiss him with all the emotion he awakens in me.
We both find our releases at the same time, swallowing each other's moans of pleasure.
He falls over my body, burying his face into the crook of my neck with a satisfied hum.
When we come down from our highs, he kisses my neck and murmurs to my ear, “Good morning.”
“I can easily get used to waking up to this,” I whisper back with a big grin on my face.
“To what? Having my gorgeous body squashing you?”
I giggle. “Not complaining.”
But he still turns us over, so I'm sprawled over his chest.
I sigh in happiness as I listen to his heartbeat. I used to wake up with such melancholy surrounding me. The happiness and peace Elijah has brought to my life feels like a dream. It's not only the mind-blowing orgasms he gives me, but it's also how easily he makes me smile. Before him, I saw my life behind a gray filter. Everything was dull and lifeless. But after him, things have changed.
It's been almost a month since we finally gave into each other and let our hunger take control of our lives, but it's not only my body he gives pleasure. My soul is happier, lighter, freer. Every day he helps me overcome the fear of swimming. He replaces my pain with laughter and good memories in the pool that reminds me of nothing but pain. He bought me a cookbook, and we try to cook our dinner together every night, sometimes failing and sometimes creating something delicious. But every time, we have fun while trying it. He fills this house with warmth again, making it a home for me after so long.
I close my eyes and smile
. It's been a little more than a month since I met him, but he's already healed lifelong wounds I carried.
“Can't we ditch school?” he groans, bringing me out of my grateful thoughts.
Even though his roaming hands distract me, I shake my head. “Aren't you the one who should be responsible?”
“Are you calling me old?” he asks, pinching my ass.
“Ouch!” I cry out but cackle anyway. “You didn't tell me your age,” I murmur.
I feel his body tense up. I can’t understand his reaction, but before I can question it, he sighs. “I'm twenty-six.”
“God. And why the hell you didn't want to tell me that? You're not old.”
He smiles softly, but his smile is forced. It doesn't reach his eyes. His holds on my hip get tighter as he says, "I'm at the age my brother...left us."
My smile drops and I hug him tighter.
“Oh… it never leaves, does it? The pain?”
He kisses the crown on my head. “No. It’s always there… but it gets easier to carry it.”
I look at him, blinking away the tears. “Does it really?”
“Talk to me,” he whispers.
"All I really remember is a pain. I was just a kid. I didn't even realize what was happening at first. I didn't even think kids can die. Death was something that only happens to the elderly people in my mind," I say. The words rush out of my mouth, finally finding an escape after I kept them inside for so long. "I couldn't accept I'd never see him again." He rubs my back in a calming way. "And then, my parents kinda checked off. Like someone flicked a button inside them, and they resigned from being my parents. They blamed me."
“Evangeline… it wasn’t your fault. You needed supervision at that age, you were a kid,” he tells me softly but without leaving room for argument.
“I try to believe that, really, I do, but I just can’t. The guilt keeps eating me inside.”
“Then, I’ll try to convince you much harder. And your parents will see they’re at fault for how they acted on their pain. You just need to tell them how they made you feel and they just need to hear you out.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
He kisses my temple. “No one should have to deal with such pain alone. And… you’re not alone anymore.”
He squeezes me and lifts my chin up to kiss me. At first, it's tainted with sorrow, but as our lips dance in the familiar way they found in the last couple of days, I feel my mood lighten.
“Thank you,” I breathe out.
“So… we have to go to school?” he finally asks with a grin.
“You're the teacher. You have to. But maybe I can ditch,” I tease.
"No, Miss Faye. You definitely can't. If I suffer high school, I need something to make it worth it, and that, pretty young lady, is you."
Shaking my head, I smile and sit up. My naked body is in full display in front of his eyes. And like he can't help it, he reaches to caress my breasts, my sides, and my thighs.
"You're too irresistible for my sanity," he growls and captures my nipple between his teeth.
"Mr. Richards!" I reprimand him playfully, and he looks up at me devilishly while continuing his assault on my breasts.
I bite my lip and giggle. “I'm boning my teacher.”
He comes up and kisses me. Before lifting me in his arms to carry me to the bathroom, he smirks and says, “You're a bad, bad girl, Evangeline Faye. And all mine.”
School was bearable today. Dragged, but tolerable. Maybe my mood was bright. The latter seems like a better option. Cause if there is one thing about Madison High it’s the fact that not one day can pass without a drama or shit in here. You'd expect these kids to be well mannered. You'd be wrong.
But I heard none of the whispers or giggles today. I lifted my chin high and smiled as I passed everyone. Made them wonder why I'm not hurrying my steps.
And finally, the waited hour has come.
Here, in front of me, Elijah stands with all the glory of his sexy self. I still feel sensitive where he bit my skin, where he pushed inside me hard and swiftly.
Not seeing him before the class was a challenge, but seeing him so close to me without touching him is the definition of sweet torture.
I keep my hands to myself, but I can't say the same for my eyes. My gaze eats him up, my eyes roam every inch of his body. I've been pressing my thighs together during the class to suppress the need, but it only intensifies. Usually, I listen and note every word he utters in the class, but today I do nothing but eyefuck him.
And I'm not the only one.
Elijah seems extra preoccupied today. He talks fast and keeps running his fingers through his hair like he's frustrated. To be honest, I'm not helping the situation when I'm sitting right in front of him and spreading my thighs to show him my panties… or the lack of them.
He curses and tries to mask it with coughing when his eyes land on me. After giving me a look that burns me right on the spot, he tries to continue explaining the strengths and weaknesses of different narratives in writing.
Try is the key word here, though.
His eyes keep turning to me with a heated gaze. He trails off in the middle of sentences and bites his lip after doing a quick sweep through my body. And I don't care if anyone notices. I should. But every time he looks at me, my body sets on fire I lose all sense to think of anything but him.
When I spread my legs even wider, I feel how wet I am. Closing my eyes, I bite my lip to stop the shiver running down my spine with the air hitting my moist flesh. I'm sure I'm leaving my wetness on my chair.
“You know what? Let's end today's class early.”
I open my eyes with Elijah's words. He rubs the heel of his palms on his eyes to try to gain his control. I smile when I see him behind his desk. I'm sure he's trying to hide the erection with the desk.
“I was hoping you’d give us more information about the narrative voice and how to use them for our advantage, Mr. Richards,” I say innocently.
His eyes darken. A smirk plays on his lips.
“I’ll teach you that, Miss Faye. But I guess it’ll be better to talk on it when you all do your own research first.”
I nod innocently even though my gaze roams over his body with the hunger I feel. “Okay. If you say so, sir…”
He clears his throat and takes his eyes away from me to talk to the class.
"Your homework is to research about narratives in writing so we can talk about it tomorrow. Also, I want you to write something at home." His words come out rapidly. "You'll write about a perfect day. It can be a memory or a day you imagine. I want you to create the perfect day you can spend and send it to my email address on the board. Understood?" Before waiting for anyone's answer, he adds, "Class dismissed."
Like everyone sees his hurry, the class empties pretty quickly. When the last student leaves the class, I'm already on my feet and making my way to him. But seems like it's not fast enough for him. Because he stalks toward me, grabs my face and crushes our lips together in an urgent kiss. His body backs me to the wall, and he sucks and bites my lip like he wants to eat me whole.
His rough kiss makes me dizzy I can't even remember my own name as I surrender to his hunger and reply with my own.
“You’ll make me lose my mind,” he says between kisses.
“I’ve already lost mine,” I pant, pressing myself against him. My fingers dig into his shoulders as his lips move to my neck.
“I fucking missed you!” he growls, bringing our bodies even closer. His teeth graze the skin on my neck, sucking and licking the same place I’m sure a hickey will form up. I don’t care. All I care about, all I want is to feel him inside me.
“Take me home,” I pant. “Let's go home so you can show me how much.”
His eyes darken, and for a second I thought he was gonna throw me over his shoulder and carry me away, but instead, he leans back a little. His hand moves from my face to my breasts, groping. I arch my back, needing more. Wanting more.
; His touch moves down until his hand dips between my legs.
“Elijah,” I breathe out, warning and desire fighting in me. I eye the classroom door and sigh in relief when I see it’s closed, but what if someone opens it and sees us? We should go home. I should insist him to take me home, but the moment his hand makes contact with my pussy I forget everything.
"I can't fucking wait until home," he growls, and his finger slips inside me.
A moan escapes from my throat, and he quickly covers my mouth with his own. My orgasm comes so fast so hard, my breath hitches in my throat. I can only shake and surrender to my pleasure ripping through me.
I don’t come to my senses until he grabs my ass and lifts me in his arms. His cock teases my entrance. Our mouths separate only for him to cover my mouth with his palm as he pushes into me with one swift move that rocks my world.
Screaming into his palm, I shudder with the intense pleasure.
I wrap my arms and legs around him tighter. That’s all I can do. That and accepting his punishingly hard and fast rhythm that brings me a pleasure I didn’t even know existed.
My muffled moans and his grunts fill the air. I don’t know if anyone would hear us, see us.
“Fuck, baby,” Elijah groans. His head rests into the crook of my neck as he thrusts even harder than before. I feel him get bigger inside me and I know his release is as close as mine.
"Evangeline," he grits out with desperation, and that's my undoing.
I quiver in his hold with my orgasm. Before I can catch my breath, he joins me in the blissful pleasure. Shaking and panting in my arms.
22
Elijah
I'm working on my novel in the school library as my thoughts keep jumping back to the image of Eva coming undone in my classroom yesterday. That damn image replaying in my head is the reason why I can no longer work from my office without sporting a raging hard-on the entire time. Damn, I can’t even get inside the classroom without thinking about the way we fucked on almost every surface like a man and woman possessed. I tried writing in teacher’s room, but the teachers in there are nosy as fuck. The youngest one even was ten years older than me at least, but they gossiped and giggled like a teenage girl all the time, getting on my nerves as I tried to make words flow.
