by Casey Diam
“You don’t know because it isn’t you.”
“What?”
“What did Chelsey say?”
“Nothing. Why would you—”
“If you don’t want to tell me something, then fine. You should know by now that I won’t force you to.” I removed my hand from her thigh. “Just don’t lie to me. It isn’t necessary.”
After a few minutes, she pulled my hand back over to her lap where she laced her fingers between mine. And, just like that, the frigid state she’d sent me into moments before tranquilized. As I slowed to a stop at a red light, I looked over at her, and our eyes locked, but we didn’t speak.
She and I were different. Not from each other, but from everyone else, and I was sure she knew that too, without me having to say it.
Bringing our interlocked hands to my lips, I kissed her small fingers, feeling the soft press of my lips on my own larger fingers.
“Ian is having a surprise birthday party for Chelsey,” she said.
“Ian?”
“Chelsey’s boyfriend.”
Oh, so I was right, and Ian was the bastard’s name. I looked back to the traffic light the same time it turned green. I wondered if Paige knew Ian had a thing for her. When I didn’t say anything further, she asked, “Would you... like to go with me?”
I nodded and smiled. “Sure. When is it?”
“Sunday night.”
“Okay. Are you two close? You and Chelsey.”
“In a way. She knows how weird and private I can be and still talks to me, so yeah, I guess she’s like my best friend. You two are the same age, by the way.” She glanced at me and then back to the road ahead. “Sometimes, I pretend she’s my big sister.”
A quiet moment passed, and she yawned as I reversed into a parking spot in the underground garage.
“What do you like to do for fun?”
“Before you? Go to the gym.”
“And now?” she asked.
I gave her a sly smile and licked my lips as the strong urge to be entangled with her in my bed hazed my vision. “I’ll show you.”
Her lips parted as her blue eyes darkened with desire. I’d never paid this much attention to other girls’ eyes before, but with her, it was hard not to. She’d given me the same look this morning in bed. A look that made me feel I had a certain power over her, but I knew it was only because she allowed me to have it, and damn if I wasn’t riveted by it.
I walked around the front bumper to her side as she got out of the car. And, when she pushed the door closed, I turned her around and crushed my lips to hers as I used my body to pin her against the car. Nothing else could satiate the need I had for her because, each bit she gave, the more I wanted, which was probably more than she was willing to give. As our breaths grew ragged, her lips and body melted against mine while her arms tightened around my waist, pulling me closer. Begging.
She needed more, too.
The next minute, we somehow made our way into my studio apartment, stripping each other bare as I backed her toward my bed. A hard device in her pocket caught my attention when I unbuttoned her jeans. My curiosity got the better of me, and I fished it out. A switchblade.
From my knees, I grinned up at her. “Should I be scared or pleased that you’re comfortable carrying around guns and knives?”
She looked to my hand and opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything as her brows furrowed. I set the knife on the floor and continued the removal of her pants, taking her emerald underwear with them. As my mouth and tongue flattened against her core, it was safe to say she’d forgotten about me finding her knife. Laying her out on the bed, I pressed her thighs to her stomach as I ate her perfect little cunt. And as my tongue played hide-and-seek with the bundle of nerves hidden between the plump lips of her pussy, my fingers dipped inside and massaged.
Fuck, I really did enjoy her like this. Her scent. Her taste. Everything that had to do with her.
Her pelvis rose off the bed and writhed against my mouth and tongue.
She loves it, too.
She might have been shy at first, but the sex-craved creature she became once turned on was so stimulating that I reached down, massaging the length of my aching cock.
I groaned—from her taste, from her desire, from my hand gripping and working the solid flesh between my thighs. “In case you were wondering, this is the answer to your question.”
When I peered up, the magnitude of her pleasure was written all over her face, and I was sure she had no idea what I was talking about.
“This is what I like to do for fun now,” I told her. “Lick and taste you.”
Using both my hands to spread her, I delved my tongue into her and fucked her with it, a little tease of what I wanted to do with my cock. As my tongue slid up to the sensitive heart of her sex, she let out a moan and became rigid as her body caved to my pleasure.
Sliding the condom from the torn wrapper, I slipped it over my shaft while easing up and over her gorgeous body. Her hands circled around my neck, and she pulled my lips down to hers, mouth eager as it connected with mine. I guided myself into her, relieved to find her more accepting than the first time a few nights ago, but I still went slow.
Her tightness around me was killing the endurance I’d built over the years, and fuck, I was the only one who’d ever been with her like this, been inside her like this. My head swelled with the thought.
“That’s weird.”
“What’s weird?” I asked, smiling down at her.
“It’s like you got bigger just now, inside.”
I chuckled, pressing a brief kiss on her lips. “I did because of how good you feel. How is it for you? Does it hurt?”
“No. It’s better than the first time.”
I inhaled as her muscles clamped down on me. “I want to hold out for you until you... but fuck, Paige.” My mouth opened, but I was at a loss for words as she wrapped her legs around me, causing me to sink deeper with a helpless groan.
I’d been cautious, scared of hurting her again, so I’d been holding back from being buried inside her like this.
“It’s okay,” she said, her darkened eyes also drawing me in.
I realized she wasn’t only distracting me, but she was also taking everything.
“I might not know the nitty-gritty of sex yet, Caleb, but I’m sure it shouldn’t be tormenting. Just come already.” She smiled, brushing a finger over my lip. “I want this to be good for you, too. You don’t have to hold out for me. I’m already satisfied.”
I closed my eyes, pressing my forehead against hers and forcing control, but two long, smooth strokes were all it took for her to shatter me.
Fucking. Two.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Paige
My heart thumping, I looked around the kitchen island to the many distorted faces before my eyes. I was on my fifth red cup of beer at the party and second shot. The way I was drinking, you’d think it was my birthday, not Chelsey’s.
She placed an arm around my shoulders. “Come on. Have another for me. Just one more, I promise.”
I inhaled, lifting the shot glass and swallowing the contents the same time Chelsey did. Then I blew out a breath to soothe the harsh burning in my throat and on my tongue. A few students cheered over the blaring music as I inhaled another breath.
The apartment was packed, and though I had come here feeling exposed in those little jeans shorts I’d bought, all that had passed. I just felt... I giggled. I feel good. Happy. So relaxed.
Staggering through the crowd to the bathroom, I waited in line with the other two girls by the door.
“It’s going to be a while,” said the girl in front of me with long, braided extensions caught on top of her head. “I heard Miller is in there with some girl.”
“Oh,” I said, having no idea who Miller was, but my nipples tightened at the thought of Caleb and me doing something so wayward.
But he hadn’t shown. Not a call, a text, nothing.
A low
moan carried through the closed door, and I bit my lip, folding my arms across my chest. Breathing in and out. Wow, I was so turned on that I could feel the need rising—or was it lowering?
A hand circled my wrist, and my heart punched my rib cage.
Caleb. When I turned, it was Ian who was standing there.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he dragged me behind him, broad shoulders blocking my view.
He stopped and used a key to open a door. “There’s another bathroom,” he said, closing the door behind us. He released my hand and touched my chin like he had in the alley. “You look pretty tonight.”
“Thanks. Um, where’s the bathroom?” I stumbled backward, feeling defenseless and unsafe. One of the reasons I didn’t like drinking. The other was that it made my symptoms worse. Like panic when there was no need to panic.
He pointed to the left where a door was cracked open, the lights off, and I sighed, hurrying to relieve my full bladder. I clumsily washed my hands, and once more, I knew I shouldn’t be at this party like this. I was too drunk.
When I exited the bathroom, Ian was still standing in the room, and as he walked toward me, I stopped.
What is he doing?
“I’ve been thinking about you for some time now. I know you and Chelsey are close, but I can’t help it. I want you.”
“What?”
“Come on. Don’t pretend like you don’t feel it, too,” he coerced.
Was he insane? When had I ever given him the impression that I felt anything for him? Unless he’s six foot two with dark, sexy bedroom eyes and a mouthwatering body—shit, focus.
“Felt what? I’ve never—”
“Yeah, you do. But because I’m with Chelsey you’re acting like you don’t. I’ll break up with her for you, Paige. Just admit it. You want me.”
What the fuck?
“I don’t want you.”
As I shifted to go around him, he dragged me against him and pressed his lips to mine.
Asshole!
As my mind registered what was happening and I was about to react, a female squeaked, “Oh my God!”
Ian released me, and I saw Chelsey and one of her girlfriends staring at me and Ian, and what I saw in both their eyes broke my heart. Accusation.
Chelsey’s eyebrows crinkled, and her lips trembled as she inhaled. “How could you?”
“Chelsey, I didn’t—”
“No, you don’t get to play dumb anymore. I should have known. How long?”
How long?
My heart split in two, and the words I wanted to say evaded me, becoming a mist over the thickened air.
How can she think I would ever consider being with Ian?
“That was why you were always covering for him when I thought he was cheating on me—because it was you.” Her last words came out as a whisper.
“I’m not with Ian,” I snapped.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” She laughed bitterly. “You’re with Caleb, right? Or is that what you wanted me to believe, so I wouldn’t find out what you two were doing behind my back?” She folded her arms over her chest, but I could see the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Here I was, thinking you were this innocent girl, when you were sleeping with two guys at the same time. Did you know that, Ian? There’s someone else. Or is that the kind of girl you like?”
“Ian, tell her,” I begged. “I didn’t do anything.”
He sauntered toward Chelsey. “It’s nothing, Chels. Just a mistake. She’s had too much to drink, and—”
With a sharp inhale at the impending lie, I darted toward the door. The tall brunette standing next to Chelsey brought both her arms up and shoved me with so much force that I fell back onto the floor. Too much alcohol.
The last time I’d felt this vulnerable, I was fifteen.
“Leah, what the fuck?” Ian growled.
“What? You wanna protect the whore now?” Leah retorted.
“I’m not a whore,” I slurred, rising to my feet, allowing the adrenaline flowing through my veins to sober me. Staring pointedly at Leah, I continued, “I just want to leave, and if you try to stop me again, if you so much as touch me again, you’re going to regret it.”
“Paige, your phone,” Ian said.
It must have fallen out of my pocket when I fell. But, as I reached for it, Chelsey snatched it out of my hand.
“Oh, look who’s calling,” she said, a sneer on her face as she turned the phone so that I could see Caleb’s name lighting up the screen. “I wonder how he would take you making out with someone else’s boyfriend.”
“Chelsey, stop,” I warned, but she answered anyway.
My heart constricted, and I shook my head because, even though Caleb hadn’t shown up tonight, he was still the closest person to me right now, and I didn’t want him to leave me. I couldn’t lose him now, not while I was losing the one other person I cared about. The one person I’d thought was my friend.
“Hey, Caleb. It’s Chelsey. Guess who I just caught making out with my boyfriend in my bedroom? Did you know they had a thing going on behind closed doors? Because I sure as hell didn’t.”
Whatever Caleb said to Chelsey caused her mouth to fall open, and as she huffed, “Asshole,” she threw the phone at Ian and stomped off to the bathroom with Leah.
“He wants to talk to you, Ian. You know what? Maybe you two can share. But you’d both better be gone when I get out of this bathroom.”
The door slammed behind them, leaving me alone in the room with Ian again, but as I looked to Ian’s face, I could tell he wasn’t pleased with whatever Caleb was telling him either.
I reached out for the phone, and it wasn’t until Ian said, “Fuck you,” into the receiver that he handed me the phone, which I hung up.
“You’re a fucking coward,” I told Ian, “and don’t you ever touch me again.”
“Sorry,” he grumbled, “but I didn’t realize you were dating some stupid punk now. You deserve better than that.”
“Are you kidding me?” Chelsey roared, flying out of the bathroom and choosing Ian as her target. She beat her hands into his chest over and over. “Leave! You’re such a piece of—”
Grabbing the doorknob, I yanked the door open because I could almost taste blood as Leah walked toward me, and if she touched me again, there was no telling what I would do.
I didn’t push, but if pushed, I would push back, and not even I knew the extent of darkness that dwelled inside me. I’d kept it inside a well all these years for a reason. This kind of darkness belonged to the people who had killed my family, not anyone else.
I exited the apartment unit and walked down the stairs, and it wasn’t until I was three flights down that I realized I’d left my backpack inside the apartment. When I started back up the stairs, my cell phone rang again. Pausing, I stared at Caleb’s name on the screen.
“Are you going to answer that?”
I spun around and looked down the stairs to find Caleb climbing up in a three-piece suit and a skinny black tie. My heart fluttered, even as I frowned, jerking my head from side to side.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t need you judging me, too,” I said, biting my bottom lip as it trembled. “And why are you here now? It’s too late. You stood me up.”
Deep in my heart, I blamed him for what had happened. If he had been here, I wouldn’t have drunk that much. If he had been here, Ian wouldn’t have done that.
“Something came up, and I’d left my phone at the hotel. It was dead, and I charged it on my way here.” He reached me and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry.”
Burying my head in his chest, I told him, “I drank too much, and I feel helpless and stupid. I hate it. I hate drinking. I don’t even know where my backpack is. Please help me find it. You’re the only one I have now.”
“Okay, come on.” He gripped my waist and lifted me. “Wrap your legs around me.”
I locked my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck. “What are you do
ing?”
“Carrying you,” he responded, starting upward on the steps.
“Why?”
“Because you deserve it after the night you’ve had.”
“But I don’t. Chelsey told you what—”
“She blamed you, and I already put her in her place.”
I recalled how pissed Chelsey had been before handing the phone to Ian. “But you don’t know what happened.”
“I don’t need to know what happened in order to put two and two together. You have no idea how pissed I was when she answered your phone to tell me all that shit.”
I smiled and hugged him tighter, the ache in my chest easing.
“Quick question, where’s the bathroom in the apartment?” he asked, setting me down at the door.
“The first door down the hall on the right side of the living room, but there’s probably a line.”
“Great. Wait for me by this door when we get inside.” He rubbed a thumb over my lips as if to remove any remnants of Ian. “I’ll find your backpack and bring it to you.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Caleb
Chelsey’s apartment reeked of stale beer and sweaty people. Wrinkling my nose, I made my way around the wasted college kids in search of Paige’s backpack.
None of my guys had been watching her tonight because they told me she’d been careful in getting here. She hadn’t been followed. And with her location unknown to my father’s men, I’d figured she would be safe since she was with the last person I’d thought I’d need to rescue her from.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I need to have a look in here. Can you excuse me for a second?”
The blonde sitting on the ottoman in the living room rose, and I lifted the fabric top of it because, knowing Paige, she would have tucked her backpack somewhere safe when she first entered the apartment. But it wasn’t there or in any of the cupboards in the kitchen. And I didn’t think I would find it, until I was walking back across the living room and I spotted it tucked beneath someone’s head on the couch.
It didn’t feel like a weapon was inside, but the way she carried that thing around, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was hiding in there somewhere.
