Exposed: An Anthology

by Brooke Cumberland

  Momentarily distracted by her foot game, I realized Declan and Leah were sitting across from us, staring.

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” I shouted, which caused Clare to laugh.

  “You haven’t been introduced. Leah, this is Declan James. Declan, this is Leah Morgan. And this,” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, “is my Clare.”

  Everyone said their “nice to meet you’s” and “how do you dos” and we ordered a round of drinks.

  The conversation was nice and everyone seemed to be having a good time when Clare mischievously looked over at me and then Declan and said, “Tell me something about Logan that I don’t know.”

  I groaned, shifting uncomfortably in the booth, which caused a wave of laughter across the table.

  Declan smirked at Clare’s request and I swear I heard Leah swoon. Seriously, the dude isn’t that good looking, is he? I looked over at Clare, and she was staring at me. Okay. Good. My friend could keep his balls tonight.

  Remaining quiet, he didn’t say anything right away. He seemed to be pondering or plotting...I couldn’t tell. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of shit he could tell her. He was obviously enjoying this moment.

  “Logan was always the good boy growing up,” he said, looking at me, his smirk turning into a full grin.

  Well that’s not too bad.

  “Until I took over. Do you remember those few weeks between our junior and senior year, Logan?”

  Shit.

  “Declan,” I warned.

  The girls’ eyes went wide with curiosity, egging him on. I gave him the evil death stare, but he just shrugged and continued.

  “I hated Logan with a passion. He was the most uptight, boring kid I ever met. And that’s saying something when you hang out with rich people all day long. Luckily, since both of us were in boarding school, we didn’t see much of each other past grade school. That summer though, our paths crossed at this uppity social function held at one of our parent’s friend’s estates. It was the same old shit. Everyone was dressed in formal wear, parading around, talking about how they were taking over the world. I opted out of the party and went to go find my own entertainment.”

  “You mean you fucked one of the waitresses in a closet?” I interrupted

  “Yup, far more entertaining,” he grinned, his hazel eyes full of dark mischief.

  “Anyway, as I’m leaving, I see Logan; all dressed up in his monkey wear, talking to his parents’ friends, trying to impress a father who didn’t even know he existed.”

  Clare’s hand found mine under the table at the mention of my father and I appreciated the support. But what I really wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder and get the hell out of there. I didn’t want to talk about my past. I fucked up, couldn’t we just move on?

  “We hadn’t seen each other in years and the differences between us were as clear as day. He’d taken the path most righteous, and I’d taken, let’s just say, an entirely different fucking path. I headed out the door and was about to start my bike, when I heard someone running up to me from behind. I turned around, expecting my father and another speech about responsibility, but it was Logan. Why did you follow me, Logan?”

  I just shook my head and sighed before answering.

  “Because I wanted to know how it felt to break the rules for once.”

  “You wanted to live, Logan. And I showed you, right?” he asked.

  “No, Declan, you showed me what it was like to drink, fuck, and party. You gave me exactly what I wanted - a summer of debauchery. But it wasn’t living.”

  This conversation had really taken a nosedive.

  “Well, you can only give a man the tools,” he shrugged, before adding “but the rest is up to him. He kept coming back, though. Every time his life went to shit he’d come back to his buddy Declan and I’d show him how to live again. When was the last time, Logan?” he asked, clearly knowing exactly when the last time was.

  “I think we’ve had enough of this conversation,” I said, the threatening tone clear in my voice.

  “Okay. Oh! One more thing!” Declan shouted, that cocky smile still plastered all over his face. I almost stood up and decked him right there.

  “He snores in his sleep,” he added, obviously trying to lighten the mood, and I felt myself relax for the first time since we sat down. I knew the conversation wasn’t over and Clare would ask about my time with Declan. But I didn’t want to talk about it in a bar, with our friends present.

  The conversation lightened from there but I only half listened to Leah explain her job and Declan talk about his upcoming project. I was unable to move on from the previous conversation.

  I spent those few weeks with Declan in high school doing everything and anything I wanted to, and I had gotten away with all of it. My father didn’t notice a damn thing. I’d been working my ass off to please him for years, doing everything he wanted, and then I went on a three week bender and he didn’t even notice. I should have thrown in the towel right then, told him to fuck off, and gone off and found my own life. But, I couldn’t. I was too damn scared to go up against my father. Turns out it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was painless, because he didn’t care.

  “Clare, how about a round of pool?” I suddenly asked, needing to pull myself out of the funk I was currently swimming in.

  “Pool?” she asked as she finished off the drink she’d been nursing.

  “Oh, it’s okay. I’ll teach you if you can’t play. Come on, it will be fun.” I stood and grabbed her hand. She threw Leah a mischievous grin over her shoulder, and we headed for the pool tables.

  “Do you play a lot?” she asked me, suddenly looking very nervous.

  I grinned. This was going to be fun. I’d never taught a woman how to play pool before.

  “Not a ton anymore, but I use to be fairly good in college,” I admitted.

  “And you’ll go easy on me?”

  “Of course,” I promised, grabbing a pool cue and heading toward an empty table.

  “I’ll go first and break so you can see how it’s done. Okay?”

  She nodded, a wry smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. I gathered up all the balls, took my first hit, and scattered balls everywhere. Two stripes landed in the pockets. Not bad for my first turn.

  “Okay, so now I’m stripes and you’re solids. It’s your turn. Grab a pool cue behind you,” I instructed. She turned, grabbed a pool cue from the rack and joined me at the table.

  “Like this?” she asked, her mouth now so close to mine I could feel her breath.

  “Yep. Take a shot.” I whispered.

  “Huh?”

  “Your turn, Clare. It’s your turn.” I chuckled.

  “Oh! Right.”

  She took a slow walk around the pool table, looking at every ball, almost like she was surveying every option and angle, like a seasoned pro might do. She finally took her shot, sending two solid balls into the corner pocket.

  She looked up at me, smiling sweetly, “Beginner’s luck, I guess.”

  What the fuck?

  She moved to the other side of the table, took another shot and sank two more.

  Walking up to me, she smiled again, then bent over, giving me a nice view of her ass, sinking one more ball. As she turned around, I pounced, pinning her to the table between my arms.

  “I think I’ve been hustled,” I purred in her ear.

  She giggled, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me, which made me wish we were anywhere but a crowded bar. She pulled back and I saw the mischief in her eyes. She giggled again and that’s when I realized.

  Clare was kind of drunk.

  “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. You looked so eager to teach me,” she laughed, swaying in my arms.

  “How in the world are you so good at pool?” I asked.

  “Ethan. It was how we met,” she explained, her mood light and happy.

  “Leah and I were at this dive bar near campus and we were attempting to play a game of pool. We were
already half drunk on beer we’d bought with our fake IDs. Some guys came over asking if they could join us and we said sure. One guy became particularly interested in me, asking if I needed help with my game. He was drunk and smelled God awful. He tried doing that thing guys do where they lean you over the pool table showing you how to aim.”

  I was so glad I didn’t try that.

  “Anyway, Leah had found a guy she was really into and they were busy making out in the back. I could not get Mr. Grabby Hands to take a hint. Our game was over and it was just me and him standing there alone. Just when I thought I’d have to go hide in the bathroom for the rest of the night, someone spun me around and kissed me. I mean, seriously kissed me. I pulled back, stunned, wondering who I’d just kissed...and there was Ethan. I’d seen him around campus, but never talked to him. He wrapped his arm around me, and looked over at the guy and said ‘Hey, thanks for looking after my girl, man!’ He walked me home, and that was the beginning.”

  I tried not to flinch hearing her talk about Ethan kissing her, but it wasn’t easy.

  She shrugged, continuing, “Turns out he was there playing pool with his roommates and saw me across the room and just had to help. We went back to that bar all the time and he taught me to play.”

  “He was a good teacher, because you’re kicking my ass,” I confessed. I was glad she was able to tell me something about Ethan without sadness, even if my male pride was slightly wounded. It meant that she was healing, and that gave me hope.

  “Well, I haven’t given you much of a chance,” she admitted.

  We agreed to start over. This time at least I knew what I was up against. We played a few games and she still kicked my ass, but I did manage to win one. Just as we were finishing up, I saw Declan and Leah headed for our table.

  “Hey guys, I think we’re gonna head out.”

  “We?” I asked. That was a surprise. Well, not on Declan’s part I guess. He had eyes for Leah all night.

  “Yeah. Leah said there’s this old cemetery around here that dates back to the Civil War. I want to sneak in and see it. It might be a great location for us to do a night shoot.”

  “That’s the weirdest and creepiest thing I’ve ever heard,” I told him.

  I really didn’t know what to say. Should I say no, and try and defend Leah’s honor for Clare? Would she get mad if she found out they slept together? I knew Declan. If she left with him, they’d end up in bed together.

  I looked over at Clare, and she was just shaking her head, grinning, looking completely unsurprised. Apparently, I had nothing to worry about.

  “Hey Logan, I’m assuming you can get Clare home?” Leah asked, her face full of humor and mischief.

  “I can absolutely do that,” I answered quickly, glancing over at Clare as she smiled and bit into her lip.

  She looked sexy as hell.

  Shit, she still looked drunk.

  A smiling Leah gave Clare a little wave and walked off with Declan, who gave me the male equivalent – the head nod. Pulling his baseball cap tight, he lowered his head, wrapped an arm around Leah’s waist, and disappeared into the crowd.

  As my eyes returned to Clare, I saw her walk over to the back wall and put away our pool cues. She circled back around to me, slowly and seductively, her eyes filled with desire.

  Oh God, hadn’t I been tempted enough in the last month? Now I had to fend off my drunken girlfriend, all in the name of honor. Being a gentleman sucked ass.

  “Maddie’s at my Mom’s,” she said, pausing to run a finger down my chest, as her eyes bored into mine.

  “All. Night,” she punctuated each word, making her wicked intentions clear.

  Yes.

  All gentlemanly thoughts rushed out of my head and were replaced by two words.

  Fuck yes.

  My entire body screamed yes as it came to full attention. I pulled her by the arm, dragging us out of the bar as fast as humanly possible. Once outside, I quickly walked us to my car in the parking lot, grateful I had a space toward the back in a low lit area. Bad for thievery. Good for what I have planned.

  “Get in the back,” I demanded.

  “We’re not going to your place?” she asked, opening the back door and slipping inside.

  Joining her, I closed the door, “If I take you home with me Clare, I’m going to fuck you. Repeatedly,” I said, taking a deep breath, “But you’re drunk.”

  Clare’s confusion quickly turned to shock, letting out a small gasp hearing my bold words, but it was quickly replaced with something else entirely. Desire. “You wouldn’t be taking advantage of me. I know what I’m doing,” she assured me with a shy smile.

  “Oh, I’m not worried about that. I know you want it,” I replied with a wolfish grin, as I ran my hand up her lush thigh.

  “I just want you to remember it. All of it. In vivid, technicolor clarity. And that can only be achieved if you’re sober. When you and I come together for the first time, I want you to remember every touch,” I ran my hand up her arm and down her back, causing her to shiver. “Every moan.”

  She did just that as I leaned into her body, slowly kissing her neck and tugging on her earlobe with my teeth.

  “Every wave of pleasure,” I ran my thumb over her nipple through her shirt, and gently tugged, causing her to gasp.

  “So what are we doing in the back of the car?” she whispered breathlessly.

  “Making the best of the situation.”

  Clare

  And with those words, he pulled me to his body, capturing my mouth in a soul-searing kiss.

  “Straddle me,” he demanded.

  I didn’t hesitate, placing my knees on either side of his firm body. Raking my hand through his hair, I pulled and weaved my fingers through the thick strands, eliciting a low growl to rumble from his throat.

  His hands were everywhere, roaming up my thighs, on my ass, and under my shirt. Finding my breasts, he gently rubbed my nipples through the fabric of my lace bra, causing a friction that put my body on edge. With one hand, he undid the tie at my neck holding my shirt, letting it slide down to my waist. Logan’s eyes were on fire as they looked me over.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

  Without warning, Logan pulled the lace cups of my strapless bra down, and his mouth was on me, sucking on my nipple, causing me to scream out.

  “Oh God!” I cried, as he rolled my nipple with his tongue, letting it graze across his teeth, gently biting down, which caused me to nearly explode. With his other hand, he kept my body still and pinned to him, so he could start the torture all over again.

  Snaking around to the front of my body, and under my skirt, his hand left my breast to cup my core.

  “Do you want me to make you come, Clare?” he growled.

  “Yes, God, yes,” I begged.

  Answering my plea, he slid my thong aside, spreading me wide with his long fingers.

  “Shit, you’re dripping wet,” he said as he ran a finger lazily over my drenched clit before finally sinking it deep inside me.

  A deep sensual moan erupted from me as he added one more, slowly moving them in and out of my body, making me ache.

  “God, you’re so fucking tight. Ride me, Clare.”

  Following his orders, I placed my hands on his shoulders, rising up and sliding back down again on his stationary hand.

  “That’s it,” he said, “fuck my fingers.”

  He added one more, thumbing my clit at the same time.

  “Faster,” he commanded, his voice growing rougher by the second.

  That tightness deep in my belly began to build and I could feel my body soaring higher. With his thumb, he flicked my clit, and that was all it took. I come unglued, crying out in pleasure.

  “Oh God!” I screamed, the orgasm claiming me until I was unable to hold myself up and I collapsed into Logan’s arms.

  “Holy fuck. That was the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen,” Logan said.

  “I think I almost passed out.” I
giggled against his chest, feeling my buzz from the many drinks I had consumed returning.

  I felt a smile tug at his lips against my forehead, and he kissed me, running his hands through my hair.

  “We better get going. It’s almost Last Call. This parking lot is going to be flooded in a few minutes, and I don’t want anyone seeing that look on your face but me.”

  I giggled again. How much did I have to drink? Hadn’t I read something in Cosmo once about orgasms actually making you feel more drunk because of the adrenaline or something? Or maybe I made that up.

  “Don’t we, um, need to take care of you?” I asked sheepishly, lifting my head so I could look into his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes.

  “Clare, I’m holding on by a string here. Offer me something like that, and I’m going to have you naked in this back seat in five seconds,” I nodded, still giggling and he rolled his eyes.

  We adjusted ourselves and got in the front just as the crowd from the bar descended. Wow, he wasn’t kidding.

  And oh my God, I had just got freaky in a parking lot!

  He drove me home, holding my hand as we talked about Leah and Declan leaving the bar together.

  “Do you think they hooked up?” I asked.

  “Well, Declan isn’t known for being subtle, and he had his eye on Leah from the minute we walked in that bar. What about her?”

  “Leah hasn’t really been with anyone since her breakup, so I wonder if she’ll take her own advice,” I said, looking out the window as we merged on to the interstate.

  “What advice?” he asked.

  “Oh. Well, when I first met you, and ah, noticed you…”

  I looked at him; his eyes glittered with unheard laughter. Smug bastard.

  “She said it was time I go out and have some fun, of the male variety. She said I didn’t have to date, just have some fun.”

  His eyebrows drew together, and he frowned before shaking his head. “That’s terrible advice.”