Trust

by Casey Diam

  “Paige,” I groaned. “I can’t—fuck—Paige.”

  My cock pulsed between her rosy lips, and I tried to keep my eyes open, but my attempt was futile as my body reacted to what she was doing to me. Inhaling, I tossed my head back and opened my eyes as I fought to hold on to some sense of reality when, in a sense, she was giving me what I’d been searching for my whole life. An escape from said reality. As she licked the last drop from my cock, I pulled her up to my mouth and kissed her senseless, and the taste of myself on her only made me want more.

  Settling my hands on her sides, I moved her body up until my face was between her breasts. I sucked and played with her nipples until she was panting and writhing above me. It would be so easy to slide my cock inside her—or not so much after finding out she was a virgin.

  I massaged her clit before spreading her legs on either side of my body, so I could be between her thighs as I rolled her beneath me. This would be where the fucking started, but this was different, and I shouldn’t be thinking about how my cock could be sliding between her slick folds. I groaned from the pure ecstasy of that thought. Inhaling and exhaling a slow breath, I reached down to tuck my dick back into my pants.

  I needed to be inside her, but I had to wait.

  As I pushed a finger into her waiting wetness, it slipped inside with ease. My cock pressed against her leg, needing some kind of friction or pressure for relief, and as I flicked my tongue over the peak of her breast, I plunged two fingers deep inside, causing her to moan and squirm beneath me.

  The more turned on she became, the more she opened up to me so that I was able to get in the tips of three fingers. But, with the tight fit and not wanting to hurt her, I went slow, going back and forth between two and three fingers, knowing she got more pleasure from two. But, if she wanted me to do the honor, then I had to stretch her a little. My cock wasn’t average, by any means, and it might be good for some, but it would be unfortunate for her.

  With that thought, sweat beaded on my forehead—and not from exhaustion. I’d never taken a girl’s virginity before. And Paige, I already cared too much about her to cause her that kind of pain.

  Kissing her succulent lips, I asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. It just feels uncomfortable. Like, it’s really tight down there.”

  “You’re telling me.” I smiled, nipping her bottom lip.

  “It’s going to hurt a lot, isn’t it?”

  She tightened around my three fingers, and I slipped them out.

  “Shh.” I kissed her, massaging her clit. “Don’t think about that right now.”

  I kissed down the valley of her mounds to her belly button, and by the time I reached her core, her hips were rising off the bed to meet me. I indulged, flattening my tongue against her pussy in massaging circles before sucking on the tasty lips. When I was sure her worries had subsided, I dipped my fingers inside again. She was so damn wet that I had to fight the throbbing ache in my pants, telling me to take her this second. Instead, I found a rhythm with my tongue. I sucked, working my fingers inside until her pussy clenched so tightly I couldn’t move my fingers, so I let my tongue continue a wicked caress until her legs came up, trapping me between her thighs.

  I stayed there, coaxing her down from her orgasm slowly, and when her whole body went lax, I crawled up her body and enclosed her in my arms. It took a bit for my everlasting erection to turn into a semi, but when it did, I got up, hit the lights, and slid under the sheets with Paige.

  A second later, I shrugged out of my T-shirt. “Here, put this on. If you don’t, I’ll be playing with your tits all night. And, honestly, my cock can’t handle it.”

  “Handle what?”

  “The torture it’s been going through since I laid eyes on you at that coffee shop. You have no fucking idea. It’s literally hard all the time.”

  She chuckled and snuggled back against me with my shirt on. “Caleb?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you for letting me stay after the mess I caused and for letting me sleep here with you. It means more than you’ll ever know.”

  ❧

  The cool morning air was soothing in comparison to the tornado building inside me. I was sitting in the park on a bench in front of the Charles River while I waited for Calvin to show up. It was around seven in the morning, so the walkways and cycling paths by the river were active with people exercising before work.

  I’d left the apartment and come straight here to avoid the risk of being followed from the hotel. Because that was the type of man my father was, and I was starting to feel a weird pull in my gut that I would be on his radar soon. He didn’t trust me, not like he trusted Brad.

  From time to time, my father would rotate his men around to pull security on his other men to confirm they were still being loyal to him. I knew this because I’d spotted one of his men on my college campus when I was eighteen and a few other times since then.

  My head jerked up, and I saw my best friend jogging toward me in all black running gear with neon-green sneakers.

  “Damn, dude, I barely recognized you with those shoes. What are those?”

  “My fitting-in shoes; that’s what they are.” Calvin grinned. “Take a look around. Plus, with my new salary, I can afford to treat myself.”

  “Oh, really? Well, sit down. I don’t like you towering over me like you’re the boss or something,” I joked.

  “Fuck you, asshole.”

  I shook my head, laughing. “And you wonder why you got fired from your last job, huh?”

  Calvin frowned and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Really? You had to go there?”

  “Yeah, well, this is turning out to be harder than I thought.”

  Calvin knew enough about my past to know my life was anything but normal, but I hadn’t given him the gory details of the things I’d witnessed. I’d die before hefting that kind of guilt on anyone else’s shoulder.

  “I know. Shit! I had no idea it would be so hard to keep up with her.” Calvin took a seat at the other end of the green bench. “I’m pretty sure she saw me at least once in the first two days.”

  “What?”

  “Dude, she’s fucking quick, like she knows she’s under surveillance or something. But I’ve been careful since.”

  “She knows. I can tell.” I scratched my chin. “Besides, there’s no way she takes multiple trains for the fun of it.” That was why I needed to get whatever information my father had on her as soon as possible. “She isn’t their usual target, and I don’t know, but shit’s just not adding up, especially after what she revealed last night.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Nothing.” I let out a breath, thinking about her still being a virgin.

  It meant they hadn’t gotten their filthy hands on her, and she didn’t seem to be rich either. So, what the fuck did they want with her?

  “Dude, what?” Calvin asked, trying to get a read on where my head was.

  “She’s a loner,” I said because some things should remain between only her and me. “From the looks of it, she doesn’t like her parents or something to that effect.”

  “Have you fucked her?”

  A possessiveness streaked my heart, and I narrowed my eyes at Calvin.

  “I’m just saying, if you’ve already fucked, then it means she has daddy issues. You know, with the parents...”

  “You’re so fucking stereotypical. You have daddy issues.”

  “Yeah, but I’m a guy; it doesn’t affect me.”

  “Your sister, dummy.”

  Calvin grew solemn. “She’s fifteen. Fuck, if anyone touches her, they’re dead, I swear to God.”

  “Anyway, Paige isn’t like that, but I have a feeling everything will be in whatever file they have on her. I’m going to set up a hidden camera in my father’s office, but since I don’t know when my next pickup will be, I have to find some other excuse to get in, or he’ll suspect something and sweep the place.”

  “Fuck, man. I don�
�t know how you do it.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t have a choice, but if I could get into that vault and link everything together, it might be my way out. Have you been taking pictures of them watching her?” I needed all the evidence I could gather against my father. It would be my only way out. The only way I could be free of him, and the only way I could save Paige.

  “Not in the daytime. Ryan snapped a few for me the other day. I would stick out too much with all this muscle. Can you imagine anyone thinking I’m a photographer? I do have some shitty ones on my phone, though.”

  Taking his phone, I swiped through the pictures he had. Paige leaving in the morning for school. Her returning home at night. Picture of a man using a long-lens camera to capture her entering the coffee shop. Picture of one of the men leaving her apartment. Picture of her and me at the entrance of my apartment.

  “Really?”

  “What? I thought it was cute.”

  I scowled. “Calvin, this shit is serious, man. I know I don’t say much, but trust me, there’s a reason these guys work in teams and create a plan. They don’t fuck around, and I don’t want her to get hurt.”

  “I know.”

  “Anyway, I appreciate what you’ve done so far, but we can’t do this alone.”

  My chest tightened when I swiped to the picture of Paige talking to a UFC fighter outside of the gym. I’d watched his fights a time or two at the underground bar in Quincy with Calvin. But seeing her with him, I was reminded of the threat she’d made about sleeping with someone else before our agreement.

  Fuck, would she do that?

  I shook my head, gritting my teeth as I handed Calvin his phone.

  “I still have contact with the guys who got kicked out of the academy with me,” Calvin said.

  Calvin was an ex-Marine along with the three other guys I knew he was referring to. All four of them had been honorably discharged within months of each other after years of service. Two of them had gone on to apply to the FBI Academy, only things hadn’t turned out the way they’d hoped.

  “I’ll give them a call. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind helping out with the right pay.”

  “Cool. Send me an update later, and if it’s a go, we can find a place to meet and go over what I’m expecting. Right now, though, we need to head back to the apartment. Paige left for school, and I need you as a distraction.” I stood and ran my hand through my hair. “By the way, I have a new nickname—codename, if you will, KP.” I smiled at the thought of the cartoon Paige loved to watch. “If it’s too risky when I message you about her, I’ll use KP.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Paige

  Unease for the evening ahead had elevated around midday when I looked at my phone and found three texts from Caleb.

  Caleb: If you still want me to do what we discussed last night, let me know. I have something in mind.

  Caleb: I think...

  Caleb: What time do you get off work, and how early do you need to get to class or work tomorrow?

  Grinning and nervous, I typed out a quick answer, and a minute later, he responded.

  Caleb: Meet me downtown after work. The sooner, the better.

  I’d been so giddy and anxious after that I’d stopped by some shops before work to purchase something cute to wear, but I couldn’t find anything, so I’d bought a pair of denim shorts I could wear to Chelsey’s birthday party in the coming week. They were so short that I doubted I would ever wear them, but I needed some normal nineteen-year-old clothes besides my gym wear. Something Caleb would like, which was saying a lot. I’d never given a crap before because I couldn’t—and still shouldn’t. Anything that might draw attention to myself was never a good idea.

  The transparent doors to the gym swung open, and Roxie walked in with her favorite hot-pink duffel bag, her long black hair not yet in its usual ponytail or braid but curtaining her small, oval face. My smile for her was warmer than the one I plastered on my face for any one of our other gym members.

  She pouted. “You’re behind the desk tonight?”

  I stood and leaned against the inner counter supporting the computer. “Yeah. Joey is out sick.”

  “Of course he is. He’s such a little bitch.” She scanned her membership card and laughed.

  “I won’t tell him you said that.”

  “Oh, please tell him. He’s been talking shit for a while now about being able to take me. Gosh, I long for the day to prove him wrong.” Roxie sounded like she was daydreaming, but the evil spark in her eyes matched the sinful smile on her lips. “Anyway, you can still come back there with us. Don’t you close the doors at ten?”

  “I do, but I have plans.”

  “Seriously?” Roxie said, shifting to the side as another one of the elite members scanned their card. “You never have plans.”

  “I know.” I blushed as I thought about Caleb.

  Her mouth hung open. “It’s a boy?” Walking backward, she winked. “Have fun.”

  “Thank you.” I smiled, my whole face heated by her insinuation.

  After ensuring all the equipment and free weights were cleaned and in place, I changed out of my work shirt and into a white T-shirt, rolling up the sleeves to make it seem somewhat fashionable. I didn’t know what his plans were, as he wouldn’t tell me, but he wanted me to meet him downtown with my overnight bag. And, at 10:15 p.m., it was too late for dinner. So, hoping my jeans and T-shirt wasn’t a dumb idea, I pulled the band from my hair and shook it out before moistening my lips with my favorite lip balm.

  The fifteen-minute metro ride into the city gave me time to ponder whether I was ready to give up my virginity to a guy I barely knew.

  What would Mom have said? My sisters?

  With my thumbs hooked inside the straps of my backpack, I walked from car to car to release the tension. Going toward the front, I pressed the open-door arrow to the next car, wishing I could talk to my sisters and my mom. My bottom lip trembled, but I forced down the lump forming in my throat and took a deep breath. My mouth stayed open, and I forgot to release the breath I’d inhaled when I saw a large, dark figure leaning against the pole in the middle of the car, beady eyes locked on mine. A shiver ran through my body. It was the same man who I’d seen walking on the sidewalk a short distance from my apartment the night I’d gotten out of Caleb’s car in the street. Mid-forties, clean-shaven, long-sleeved black shirt, and a black beanie on his head. I stood frozen but reminded myself to breathe again.

  Releasing my hands from my backpack, I rubbed my palms on the front of my jeans as I stepped into the car. The door shut behind me, and I jerked my head back. I should go back to the other side where I would feel safer, but my legs moved forward, not stopping until I was standing a few feet behind the man. It had to be a coincidence. He couldn’t be following me. It had been dark that night, and it could have been anyone. I wedged a finger inside my front pocket, touching the switch blade stashed inside. The feel of it within my grasp balanced me, reminding me I was stronger than I had been the night my family died.

  The train slowed to a stop, and as the doors behind me slid open, I contemplated getting out, but I needed to know. I needed to know I wasn’t being crazy. That I was being followed.

  My feet shook, more likely to run than wait this out.

  You’re being ridiculous, a sane voice counseled. Just leave. Go pack. You need to go.

  The door would close any second, so I needed to go, but go where? Caleb was waiting for me, and if this man was really following me, the last place I needed to go was home. As the door was about to close, he tilted his head back, as if to see if I had gotten out, but it was too late. I couldn’t get out now.

  The journey to the next stop was long and menacing, and all I could think about was getting off this train and running. With only two stops left, it wouldn’t take me long if I waited for the next train. My decision was made when the train halted and the doors opened.

  As I merged into the crowd getting off the train, I attempted to call C
aleb, but I had no signal underground. I started up the stairs leading to the exit and halted, moving off to the side. The next train would only be a few minutes. My eyes bulged as I saw the large, dark figure walking up the stairs. He’d gotten off, too. As the rest of the platform emptied, I looked around, my comfort waning as people disappeared. Too soon, I was the only one left standing in the eerie silence.

  I paced, trying to even out my breathing, and then stopped as I spotted a man sitting on one of the benches between the columns. The hood of his sweatshirt was drawn over his lowered head, and he was peering at the phone in his lap. Wheels squealed on the train tracks as another train drew near, and I took a breath, looking behind me as I listened to the voice automation of the train calling.

  My skin prickled with nerves, even after I boarded the train and got off at the correct stop. Immediately, I searched for Caleb on the platform, but I no longer knew how I felt about seeing him again.

  There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that they’d found me, which meant I had no choice but to leave.

  Caleb came up from behind me just as I turned around, and I almost jumped out of my skin.

  “Hey, we can take this train. Come on.”

  I let him guide me back into the train, hoping he hadn’t seen how jumpy I was. Although, all the crazy emotions I’d exhibited around him must seem like my normal behavior to him. He wore his hoodie tonight with a black backpack and a brown paper bag clutched in his hand.

  What does he have in his backpack? Ropes, pistols, body bags? And what’s up with the brown paper bag?

  I was scared to look into his eyes, scared he would see the fear in my own.

  One of his arms draped around my shoulders. “I thought you were coming off the orange line.”