Ravenous (novella)

by Eden Summers

  “Mmm,” she purred and ran both hands down the sides of his thighs, toward his ass, leaving a stinging trail with her nails. When she yawned, he knew it was time to get out of the bath, even though his cock protested the thought.

  “Do you have to work tomorrow?” He was determined to make the most of their time together. He didn’t care if they merely slept side by side. For once it would be nice to fall asleep with his arms filled with a woman he cared for.

  She shook her head, still stroking her nails up and down his legs. “Nope. I plan on sleeping all day.”

  He planned on sleeping all day too. With her. “Want someone to snuggle with?” He slid his fingers into her pussy and she exhaled in a pant, arching her back and clenching her internal muscles at the slight penetration. Christ. He was meant to be getting her into bed, only his cock had other plans and apparently it had more pull than his brain.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  Her back rubbed against his cock in a torturous rhythm. He ground against her and pushed deeper, harder, faster. She ran one hand around her back and grabbed his erection, squeezing and stroking his length.

  “Fuck.” He wanted to sink into her, to gaze into her eyes and taste her lips while he sunk to the hilt.

  Erin scooted forward and his fingers slid from her sheath. She lifted to her knees and turned to face him. What he wouldn’t give for a camera right now. Dark wisps of hair clung to her cheeks and neck, her eyes were bright with arousal. Her tongue lashed out to take a chaste lick of her lips and she shuffled forward to straddle his thighs. He glided his hands up her waist and cupped her breasts, moulding them perfectly in the palm of his hand. With her gaze focused on his, she grabbed his cock and guided it deep into her tight pussy.

  “Oh, holy–”

  Her mouth covered his, soft and sweet. She began riding him, her hips rising in slow, maddening movements while her mouth opened and her tongue lapped at his. Her hands ran through his hair, gripping the strands tight between her fingers. With a few lazy strokes he was at the brink of orgasm, mindless and unable to think.

  He leaned back to control himself, breaking the kiss. She continued to ride him, peering into his eyes while his hand slid between them to find her clit. His first stroke made her gasp, but her focus didn’t waver. She kept staring, working him with the emotion in her gaze. God, he loved her. And she felt so good, so tight, such delicious friction.

  “Shit. Stop.”

  She startled and stopped half way off his cock. “What’s wrong?”

  “I need to get a condom from my wallet.”

  One side of her lips lifted in a wicked grin. “Are you clean?”

  He frowned. It was a bit late for that, but…”Yeah. I’ve never ridden bareback before.”

  She leaned closer, kissed his lips and spoke against his mouth, “I’m on the Pill and don’t plan on stopping.”

  Yeah, he would definitely have a lot of trouble letting her go.

  He surged his hips forward with her next downward thrust and she moaned deep and low.

  “Why can’t I forget you, Erin? Why can’t I get you out of my mind?” He gripped the back of her head and pulled her close, clashing their lips together. He felt her fingers on his nipples, brushing the hardened flesh and he retaliated with a squeeze of her clit.

  God. He loved her. He loved her so much. He didn’t want to let her go. Didn’t want to leave her behind.

  “Are you close?” He needed to know how tight to put the leash around his dick, because it was about to run off on its own.

  “Yes,” she panted between licks of her tongue against his. “Yes. So close…please, Jesse.”

  His fingers clutched her hair tighter, pulling her head back so he could suck on the sensitive skin below her ear. He kept flicking her clit and enjoyed every time her body jolted against his. She bucked, writhing on top of him until her sweet voice cried out her release. And he was right behind her.

  “Erin,” he moaned, sucking harder on her neck as his balls tightened and he passed the point of no return. The bath water splashed over the rim while he thrashed into her, hitting hard with every pulse of release. When the sensation waned, Erin sank into him, resting her body against his heaving chest.

  He held her for what seemed like an eternity, his arms circling her waist while he tried to reign in his breathing. His heart beat hard with something other than exertion. The sensation was stronger, more consuming and he didn’t know how to relieve it.

  They cuddled in silence as the bath water lost its warmth. His sweat cooled, leaving him chilled and he ran his hands up Erin’s back, feeling a mass of goose bumps along her soft skin. It was time to make a move, physically and emotionally. He just wasn’t sure how he would achieve the latter. “Let’s get you to bed.”

  Chapter 7

  Erin awoke the next morning before Jesse. He still lay beside her, breathing heavily with his arm rested against her hip. Nothing had ever felt more perfect.

  He’d whispered words of love to her during the night as he brought her to release once more. She didn’t want to become optimistic, yet she couldn’t help thinking that maybe he wanted to turn their weekend of sex into something more. Maybe he’d had enough of the city. She knew he didn’t want to go back to farming but with the opening of her catering business, he could be pondering new opportunities locally. He could always find a job in a restaurant in Albury. The forty minute commute would probably be around the same as what he had in Sydney.

  She smiled at the possibilities. They could buy a cheap house, far cheaper than anything available in the city, and settle down. The image of a little boy with the devilish good looks of Jesse made tears well in her eyes.

  Trying to remind herself not to become too excited, she inched off the bed, careful not to wake him. As she washed the evidence of their lovemaking off in the shower, she let her hand drift over the tender spots on her skin. Her neck ached below her ear and there was sure to be a bright red hickey. Her breasts and the folds of her sex were also tender from his exquisite ministrations.

  “Need a hand?”

  She startled at the sound and clutched at her heart. Jesse was leaning against the doorway in nothing but boxer shorts. His arms were folded across his muscular chest as his greedy gaze ran down her body.

  “You scared the shit outta me!”

  An unrepentant smirk tilted his lips so she slid across the door and flicked water at him. His growl reverberated through the small bathroom. In an instant she was up against the tile wall, his heavy frame leaning into her while his boxers became soaked from the shower spray.

  He kissed her hard, pulling her hips close with unyielding strength. His erection ground against her clit and her body tensed from the bite of pain.

  She broke away from his lips and leaned against the cold tile with a wince. “Jess, I’m sore.”

  His peered down at her with a frown. “I hurt you?”

  “No,” she shook her head, “it’s just…my body isn’t used to so much attention.”

  His face brightened with a smile and he brushed her forehead with his mouth. “I’m glad to hear it,” his expression sobered as he leaned back, “but I’m still sorry I hurt you.”

  Erin lifted her hands to cup his beautiful face. “I assure you it didn’t hurt at the time.”

  He stroked a wet lock of hair from her neck. “Let me clean you.”

  She wanted to sigh at his perfection, at the way his eyes spoke of ownership and protection. Instead she handed him the soap and moaned when his lathered hand glided over her breasts and down her stomach.

  “I could get used to this,” she murmured, clenching her thighs together to ward off her arousal.

  “Yeah, me too.” He kissed the side of her neck and continued to lather her body with delicate touches.

  She pressed her lips together and placed his comment into the optimistic box. Surely, he would’ve ignored her, or changed the subject if he didn’t plan on furthering their relationship. “Yeah, me to
o” spoke of longing and promises. Promises she wanted to cling to.

  “So how much attention have you been getting since I left?”

  Erin’s eyes widened at the question and the hint of chagrin in his tone.

  There were two choices. She could deflect his attention from her answer by gripping his hard cock in her hands. Or, she could be truthful and maybe make him jealous. Either way it was a winning situation. “A while back, I dated Adam Cooper for over ten months. And I had a fling last year with Dan Scott from the year above us in school. But apart from that, just casual dating really.”

  His hands ceased their luscious glide over her skin. She gazed up into his face and found him scrutinising her.

  “What?” she chuckled, “You can’t be jealous.”

  Jesse raised his eyebrows and went back to lathering her body while the muscles around his jaw ticked.

  “You certainly haven’t been a choir boy.” She poked him in the chest, then used her finger to lift his chin so he was looking her in the eye. “The last time your mum and I spoke she said how disappointed she was that you kept dating ‘easy women’.”

  He jabbed her in the ribs and a slow grin spread across his lips. “Like you can talk! Imagine what she’ll be saying about you when she finds out what we were doing in her kitchen.”

  Erin snorted and he grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close.

  “And you plan on telling her?”

  He shrugged his shoulders and the thick length of his erection pulsed against her belly. “I’ll store it away for the next time she brags about your innocence.” His fingers moved down her arm, to entwine with hers. They showered in silence, placing teasing kisses on one another until the scent of Erin’s arousal filled the air.

  “I think we better get out,” he whispered across her lips. “I’m not going to risk hurting you again today.”

  “Didn’t John Mellencamp write a song about making it hurt so good?”

  His teeth flashed. “Yeah, but I ain’t John Mellencamp. And the thought of hurting you makes my chest ache.”

  Erin closed her eyes and brushed her lips against his. Her chest ached too. It ached with the need to tell him she loved him. To hold him in her arms and beg him not to leave again.

  “Come on. Let me take you to the bakery for breakfast.”

  Erin wound down the electric window of Jesse’s flash sports car and smiled at the warm breeze that brushed her cheeks. The sun was already bright in the clear blue sky as they made their way back to his parents’ farm for a quick change of clothes.

  “Aren’t you too young for a midlife crisis?” She rested her cheek against the head support and watched his change in expression. Only seconds earlier he was smiling to himself, now he was shooting her a look of utter horror.

  “Excuse me?”

  “The car.” She beamed a smile at him. “Aren’t expensive cars like this an indication of a midlife crisis?”

  He chuckled, focusing his attention back on the road. “Sometimes, I suppose. They’re also a sign of a large bank account.”

  “Or a huge debt.”

  “That too.”

  He pressed his foot down on the accelerator and she gasped at the jolt of speed.

  “You’re such a child.”

  He laughed and slowed to pull into his parents’ property. “In the city my Monaro wouldn’t warrant a second glance. It just happens to be out of the ordinary for a backwards town like Holbrook.”

  Although she took offense to the “backwards” comment, he was right about it being out of place. She liked it though, with its new car smell and sporty feel. If her body wasn’t swollen in the most intimate places she would’ve loved to whisper naughty things in his ear so he would pull into a secluded back road.

  She sunk low in her chair as they approached the house. His mum would already have an idea of where Jesse spent last night and Erin didn’t want to cement her speculation. Mrs Hackett’s heart would break to see them together if nothing were to come of it.

  Ten minutes after he pulled to a stop, he was sinking back into the car dressed in charcoal three-quarter pants and a tan t-shirt. It wasn’t until they were halfway down the driveway that she slid back into the sitting position.

  “Mum said she was disappointed that you didn’t come in to say g’day.” He spoke with a smile on his face, but the words left a broken feeling in her chest.

  “You told her I was in the car?”

  Jesse shrugged. “Yeah, she asked where I’d been. I told her I spent the night at your place and we were going to the bakery for breakfast.”

  Erin swallowed through the sinking feeling in her stomach. “And did you think about how that would affect her?”

  He glanced back at her, this time with a frown, then returned his attention to the road. “How what would affect her?”

  She bit her tongue and focused out the window, not wanting to bring up the past.

  “How what would affect her, Erin?” His voice was gentle, coaxing.

  “Hearing about us.” She huffed and resisted throwing up her hands in exasperation. “When you left your mum was devastated, not only because her son had gone, but because of the way our relationship ended. Having her see us together again doesn’t send the right message.”

  Erin suffocated in the silence that ensued. He didn’t know what it felt like to be left behind. He was living the “better life”, drinking and socialising and moving on without them.

  The optimism she held earlier flittered away with each passing minute as they drove into town. When they reached the main street in Holbrook her curiosity grabbed hold of the reins.

  “Do you even plan on coming back?” Her throat constricted with every word until she was holding her breath, waiting for his reply.

  He remained silent until he pulled to the curb in front of the bakery and switched off the ignition. When he faced her his expression was bleak, the hard line of his lips and the sadness in his eyes speaking louder than words.

  “You don’t plan on coming back,” she whispered.

  “I don’t get a lot of time off and when I do I like to go someplace bett–”

  Wow, she hadn’t expected a brutal brush off. “Take me home, Jesse.” She’d heard enough. She couldn’t listen to the spiel again. You need to move to the city. More opportunities. Better lifestyle.

  “Let me finish.”

  She shot him a heated glare and tried not to let the fire in her eyes overcome her. “Take. Me. Home.”

  “Erin–”

  His hand hadn’t moved to the keys in the ignition. He had every intention of putting her through the same speech he broke her heart with eight years ago. And she had no one to blame but herself. He’d been clear about spending just the weekend together–to have great sex.

  Without a second glance, she grabbed her purse and got out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her.

  “Erin!”

  She strode down the street, ignoring his plea and the way locals stared. His car door slammed and his voice grew louder with another call, but she didn’t stop. When she reached the corner, she turned out of view and began running. She ran for what felt like hours, until her feet were sore. She ran until she reached her mailbox, her chest throbbing and her eyes stinging.

  Chapter 8

  Jesse stood beside his car and watched Erin leave. Every step she took away from him gave the acid in his veins more potency. He wanted to throttle her. If only she would’ve listened to everything he had to say before jumping to conclusions.

  He didn’t get a lot of time away from the restaurant and his parents travelled to see him often. There was no need for him to come back to Holbrook. But there was nothing stopping her from coming to Sydney, or going away on a holiday with him.

  Yet again she wasn’t willing to listen to reason–or see past her own selfishness.

  Sliding back into the car he slammed the door shut and gripped the steering wheel. He wrenched the keys in the ignition and revved the
engine.

  Go after her or go home?

  His palms began to sweat as he considered the options. He didn’t want to end things this way. She was the only reason he decided to hang around after his mother’s party. If there was no Erin, there was no point staying.

  Fuck.

  He had to go after her.

  Jerking the gearstick into drive, he put his foot down and took off with a screech. He drove down the main street, past the submarine tourist attraction and turned left. He needed the calm of open road and high speed. For a few minutes he sped out of town, until clarity started to seep in.

  If they sat down and discussed their options, he was sure they could work out a compromise. He’s just been thrown by her question and she’d been surprised by his answer. Or partial answer, anyway.

  When his blood pressure was at a bearable level he pulled over to the gravelled shoulder. He waited till the car behind him passed, then did a U-turn and headed back to Erin’s house. She was walking up the driveway and her back stiffened when he drove in beside her.

  He switched off the ignition and took a deep breath. “Erin, wait.”

  She paused, wrenched her handbag higher on her shoulder and stopped with her back to him.

  He got out of the car and walked toward her. “Are you going to give me a chance to explain or are you going to continue to walk off in a huff?”

  She glared at him over her shoulder and his chest constricted. Tears streaked her beautiful face, her light eyes glinting with anguish. “No need to explain. I know exactly what you’re going to say.”

  “You have no idea what I’m going to say. You’re just jumping to conclusions.”

  “Do you plan on moving back to Holbrook, Jesse?” She spat his name out, like the word was distasteful.

  “No, not at all, but–”

  “Well, then there’s nothing to discuss.”

  He ground his teeth together and took a deep breath through his nose, hoping to dilute his irritation. “So that’s it? You’re not even going to say goodbye?”