by Golden Angel
Yesterday had been too soon, but today she'd felt mostly ready. And then he hadn't been there.
Now he was standing in front of her, well leaning really, all scruffy and red-eyed, and still achingly attractive. He looked like he had the hangover from hell, but even that couldn't stop the sex appeal. How did he do that?!
He stumbled forward and Maria immediately scooted to catch him. Scruffy blonde hair covered his jawline, slightly darker on the underside, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him.
"Gotcha."
The wicked twinkle in his eye made her scowl. Had he stumbled on purpose? But when he stepped forward again, she could feel that he was still unbalanced.
"Are you still drunk?" she asked as she shifted her pool bag to allow her to grab his arm more securely, taking some of his weight. Good grief he was heavy - and it wasn't like she was a dainty girl.
"God, I hope not," he said, ruefully. "If this isn't my hangover, then I don't want to know what is."
Maria couldn't stop herself from giggling a bit as she helped him maneuver towards the stairs. His movements were a bit lurching, and he swayed a bit, but even if she hadn't shown up he would have been able to make it on his own. Still, he didn't relinquish his hold on her. Heck, he practically had her leaning on him a bit. She didn't know if he was just using his situation to touch her, but if he was, she didn't really feel like complaining.
It felt nice to be tucked under his arm, next to all that hard muscle. He smelled faintly of beer, coffee and pine. Not a terrible combination really. They went up the stairs slowly, while she savored the feel of having him partially wrapped around her. Who knew if this would happen again?
When they got to his door, he fumbled with his keys, using just one hand rather than letting her go. Maria stayed quiet, although a small voice in her head was whispering that she should leave now. But she wanted to know what his apartment looked like on the inside. She wanted to know how far into it he would take her. Would he let her all the way back into his bedroom or would she barely make it inside the front door like last time?
Trepidation crept through her - just like she'd wanted to know about Stronghold. Curiosity killed the cat...
Then his door was opening and they were heading inside.
Definitely bachelor digs. His main room was almost Spartan: couch, easy chair, giant television and a dinged-up looking coffee table. Although there was a giant bookshelf, overflowing with books along one wall. Not too surprising since he was an English teacher. She only got a glimpse of the kitchen and the small eating area as he pulled her down the hall, enough to see that they were clean and mostly bare.
The hallway was narrow and Rick stumbled into the wall a bit.
"Careful," she said, pulling him back up. He groaned.
"I just want to get in bed."
"I'll bet. Where'd you sleep last night?"
"Jared's couch." He waved his hand expressively. “Too drunk to drive last night.”
It was weird to be having such a normal conversation with him, considering how the last time they'd been together had ended. Weird and a relief. Maybe it was better that their first run-in with each other was like this, completely different from the routine they'd established. Made things easier in some ways since neither of them had any expectations of how an interaction like this was supposed to go.
His room was all dark blues and light browns, with beige walls and wooden furniture.
"Nice," she said, looking around as he stumbled towards the bed, nearly taking her down with him. "Whoops! I said be careful."
Rick just gave her a lazy smile as he took the last few steps and threw himself down, stomach first onto the bed. His hand trailed down her arm, until his fingers wrapped around her wrist, keeping her in place. The dark blue of his comforter made his eyes look even bluer in the sunlight that was trickling in his window. Apparently he didn't have curtains, the only thing covering the window were the standard slotted blinds that came with the apartment.
"I am being careful," Rick said, his lazy smile becoming somewhat more wicked as he rolled onto his back, trying to pull her down onto the bed with him.
"Stop that!" Maria said, feeling a bit flustered, not to mention more than a little turned on. Definitely not fair, right now. "Are you sure you're not still drunk?"
"If I was, would you get on top of me, little tease?" The sparkle in his eye said that he was definitely feeling better now that he was lying down. Maria rolled her eyes, trying to keep an answering smile off her face. Like he needed any encouragement right now. Even if the return to playful flirting between them was making her heart flutter inside of her chest. This was more than flirting, this was playing with fire, now that she knew what his kinks were. It didn't feel like he was pushing her, it just felt like his inhibitions were lowered and he was giving her the opportunity to take a step forward with him. Just a baby step.
But once she took that step, would she be able to step back?
"You want to be hungover and crushed? I'm not actually little in case you hadn't noticed," she said, one knee braced against the side of the bed to keep herself anchored, as she tried to tug her wrist free. Granted, she didn't try very hard. She wanted to find out where this was going to go.
Which accounted for her inability to actually resist when his gaze hardened and she suddenly was yanked forward, pulled over his body so that her ass was high in the air.
SMACK!
"OW! What the hell, Rick?"
Sensation and shock thrummed through her. Had he seriously just spanked her?
"You are little compared to me, my little tease," he said, his voice hard and uncompromising. He actually sounded pissed! As if she needed to hear the tone of his voice to know that - her left butt cheek still stung where he'd spanked her. "And you aren't going to crush me. Don't you dare talk about yourself like that."
SMACK!
Heat, sting, and a strange thrill of excitement spurted as his hand came down on the other side of her butt, giving it a throbbing bit of hurt to match its partner. And then she was pulled around so that she was lying on top of him, looking down into his eyes. Icy blue eyes that glared fiercely up at her, waiting for her to protest.
Like she was dumb enough to do that.
His hard gaze softened, just slightly, and his hands settled on her back, one of them sliding up to her neck and pulling her down. Barely breathing, totally unable to think much less react, Maria sank against him as their lips met. Gently. So very gently... as if he was afraid she was delicate glass that might break.
No man had ever treated her like that before. Like she was something fragile, something to be cared for and cherished. Pressed against his large, hard body, she suddenly really did feel kind of little. It was a bit unnerving.
The grip on the back of her neck tightened slightly and he opened his lips, his tongue pressing forward into her mouth and Maria shuddered. Scruffy hair rasped against her chin as he kissed her, deeply but tenderly, cradling her against him. With the placement of his hand, holding her head, she couldn't have moved away if she wanted to, and she realized that the way he was completely in control - even though she was on top - was making her incredibly wet.
Normally she didn't get down on herself about her body, but being on top wasn't her favorite position just because she really did worry that the guy beneath her was thinking about how much she weighed on top of him. With Rick, she didn't have the brain space to worry about that, it was all taken up with how hot and hard he was against her, wondering what he was going to do next, wondering if she was crazy, and being amazed at how dainty and feminine he made her feel.
This time when he pulled away, he smacked the side of her butt again, but much more playfully. His light blue eyes were darker, with lust, as he gazed up at her, examining her expression.
Sighing, he released her, and she felt a sharp slice of disappointment at the loss.
"You should go," he said, and she could hear the reluctance in his v
oice, which made her feel a little better. "I need to sleep, and if you stay here that's not going to happen. I don't know if you're ready for that yet."
Maria bit her lip. She wanted to say that she was ready, she really did - heck the smacks he'd given her ass had been exciting, not terrifying or painful... but she couldn't possibly be thinking straight with all these hormones running through her right now.
"Okay... I'll um... I'll see you later." Her voice sounded uncertain, almost as if she was asking a question.
Giving her another lazy smile, Rick lifted his hips just enough that she could feel his erection pressing into her. She gasped.
"Definitely."
Pulling herself off him, Maria couldn't help the giddy smile that bloomed when he grabbed her hand and kissed it before releasing it again, his eyes already closing. He was sprawled out across the comforter, erection pressing at the front of his jeans, and obviously horny, but he was letting her go. Telling her to go, in fact.
Strangely, it didn't make her feel rejected at all, it just made her feel like she really could trust him, as if he'd mended a bit of the breach he'd created Saturday night.
And maybe that was the scariest part of all.
Chapter 11
Alone in her own apartment, Maria stripped out of her cover-up and bathing suit, looking at herself in the mirror. Big and curvy. But for just a short period of time this morning, she'd felt petite and dainty. Because Rick had handled her like she was.
And man, had she liked being handled. Her nipples were still hard. Giving them a little pinch she shivered.
Yeah... after being on top of Rick, after kissing him, she was definitely taking her waterproof vibrator in the shower with her. How could she not? Hell, if she was a dude, she'd have an erection the size of Mount Everest and blue balls to match. Part of her was cursing her cowardliness when it came to what Rick wanted. But it wasn't anything like... well, like anything she'd done before. It wasn't just the concept the scared her, she realized, but she was also scared of disappointing him. Of trying it out and somehow not getting it 'right' for him. Would he lose interest in her? Even if he did, would he ditch her, or would he feel obligated to try and date her anyway? Neither idea seemed very appealing.
None of which managed to cool her libido, because right now all she could think about was what had just happened. Which had been hot, hot, hot.
Opening the door to her bathroom, neon blue vibrator in hand, she paused. It had also been their first kiss. And he'd chosen now to do it? Then again, if his plan was to seduce her into giving his kinks a try, that was not a bad tactic at all. Her defenses had definitely been lowered. She didn't kid herself; if he'd wanted to roll her on her back and fuck her senseless, maybe even do some of the kinky shit - she wouldn't have stopped him.
Regretted it later, maybe, but she wouldn't have stopped him. She had the feeling he knew it too, and that’s why he’d stopped himself. Dammit, why did he have to be so perfect? Sometimes she thought it would be easier if she could just dislike him. Then she wouldn’t have to deal with all these new and frightening ideas, all these new sensations and desires, but he was so freaking thoughtful and sweet. So freaking gentlemanly.
She turned the water to near scalding, because her skin always felt kind of damp and icky after being in the pool. Scrub off first, her hands lingering over her breasts and thighs, teasing her nipples with the body wash and slick caresses, not that she really needed any extra stimulation to make herself hornier, but it felt good. Teasing. That was probably how Rick would do it, right?
His friends said he liked to have control over a woman's orgasm. That he liked to tease and withhold. Well, that's basically what she was doing to herself right now. Teasing... playing with herself. Building up the anticipation even more.
Icy blue eyes flashed through her mind as she picked up the vibrator; icy and heated at the same time, challenging and gentle. She moaned as she ran the buzzing toy over her hard nipples, the water from the shower sluicing down her back, over her shoulders, and flowing past her breasts, adding an extra kind of stimulation that wasn't exactly sexual but was definitely pleasurable.
She slid the vibrator down her stomach, teasing herself by making herself wait... not that she really had that much self-control, but it helped when she imagined that it was Rick. After all, he didn't just go in straight for the kill, did he? Even their flirtations had been like that. Lots of teasing. Lots of hot looks and little touches, and not much else. When he'd pressed her up against the wall, he'd never kissed her. Never given her the satisfaction even though he must have felt her pushing against him, yearning for it.
And that extra waiting had always just made her hotter.
Whimpering as she slid the vibrator around her slick folds, never letting it rest against her clit for more than a second or two, Maria turned so that her back was against the wall and water was sluicing down her front. Pounding droplets onto her sensitive skin, and for the first time she wished she had a detachable shower head because she was willing to be it would feel amazing against her pussy. Amazing, but without giving her enough stimulation to cum too quickly.
Which was how Rick would like it.
But Maria didn't have that kind of patience anymore. Her breath was already coming fast and hard as she used her left hand to splay open her pussy lips and finally drag the vibrator directly across her swollen clit, again... and again... sensation burst inside of her and she moaned, body arching as an incredibly intense orgasm shuddered through her.
"FUCK!"
The vibrations seemed to pierce her, overwhelming her, and she pulled the vibrator away as she panted for breath. Her pussy clenched emptily, hungrily, as the pulses of pleasure continued, even without direct stimulation. Closing her eyes, she clenched her jaw and let her body shudder out the last trickles of pleasure, picture Rick's gorgeously scruffy face and piercing blue eyes in her mind as she did so.
******
Work was stupidly busy for a Monday, only because two of her servers had called out sick and Maria had made the executive decision not to call anyone else in to cover them. After all, Mondays weren't exactly the busiest day of the week, especially for lunches, and they usually ended up sending at least one person home anyway. Of course, since she didn't have the extra coverage, this Monday had ended up being the exception to the rule. That meant that she spent her time on the floor, lending the servers who were there a helping hand, jumping in as a food runner when the expo line became backed up, and clearing off tables alongside the busboys.
As did everyone else. That was one thing about working in a restaurant, everyone had to pitch in to every job when they got slammed, or it wouldn't work. Occasionally a new server to Murphy's would make the mistake of saying "that's not my job." They usually got fired on the spot or at the end of that shift. That kind of attitude wasn't acceptable - for any job, really, as far as Maria was concerned. It always astounded her that some servers thought busing tables was somehow beneath them. If the table wasn't bused, they didn't get a new one, and if they didn't get a new one, they didn't make money. So it wasn't even logical.
Fortunately, no one like that was currently working at Murphy's, so the shift went as smoothly as possible even though there were some stressful moments.
"Bye Maria! Thanks for the help!" Juliet, one of their servers, waved at Maria on her way out of the door. She was grinning. Mostly because Juliet liked being super busy. Normally she hated working Monday lunches because they were so slow.
"Bye, see you tomorrow," Maria said, waving back.
By the time Maria finally left, she was relieved. She liked being busy too, rather than being slow and bored, but she didn't thrive on stressful shifts the way Juliet did. Less busy today would have been better.
Checking her phone, she saw that she had a missed call and a text from Jackie. Her sister didn't like to leave voicemails.
Call me! =)
Putting the phone back in her purse, Maria got herself home and poured hersel
f a glass of wine before settling in on the couch and took the phone back out again. It was hard to relax when she knew that Rick was right downstairs; she had to fight the urge to go knock on his door.
Instead, Maria picked up her phone, pulled up Jackie's number under her contacts and swiped to call.
"Well helloooo darling, you took your time calling me back!"
Maria rolled her eyes. "I was at work, dumbass, what's up?"
"What are you doing this Saturday? Are you working in the evening?"
"Nope, I'm free." Hopefully a statement she wouldn't regret. But she knew it didn't really matter what Jackie wanted, her sister would talk her into it no matter what.
"Good! We need a sister night. It's been too long since we've all gotten together."
"Just sisters at this one?" Maria asked, trying to keep the wistfulness out of her voice. The last time it had been a 'sister' night, all of them had brought their significant others. Which was great for them, and they'd all made sure to include Maria, but it just wasn't the same with the guys there. For one, it was hard to gossip about them when they were present. There was always a difference in dynamic when men and women were in one place together and when it was just women, whether they were sisters or not.
"Just sisters at this one, I promise," Jackie said, cheerfully cajoling. "You know you're going to say yes anyway, so just say yes. You're the only one I haven't talked to; Ava and Lara are both in."
"Well then yes, of course, you nag," Maria said, laughing. She didn't doubt her other sisters were in, when Jackie decided to organize something she could be unstoppable. Maria was the only one who was ever able to reign her in to any degree, usually by pulling the older sister card, and in this case she didn't really want to. Sure she'd been thinking recently about how nice it would be to have some female friends that weren't her sisters, but that didn't mean she wanted to replace them. She just wanted to have friends outside her family to talk to, like she had with Rick's female friends at Stronghold.
