Falling For A Monster

by Delilah Hunt

  “Those are interesting ingredients,” she said, as he placed bottles of spices into the shopping cart. Most of them he’d never heard of or used before. He glanced at his phone, double-checking the ingredient list.

  “I know.” He pretended to ignore her curiosity. “I’m not telling you what I’m going to cook. You can quit fishing for info.”

  She let out an exaggerated sigh of annoyance. As they strolled down the aisle it was hard not to notice all the people around them. Couples walking together and talking. Like him and Larke. It all seemed so normal. Here, it was okay for them to pretend normalcy. He was a regular guy out with his girl. Sure, there were a few stares, which probably came because they seemed so mismatched. With him looking like a mean son of a bitch and Larke so damn sweet and friendly. But still, this was a feeling he wished they could have all the time. The two of them, no race bullshit in between. No pressure of fulfilling a role or having people he was starting to care less and less about, depend on him to lead them into a future he was beginning to despise.

  Back at the house, Chase’s nerves started to screw with him. Not because he was alone with her again. That he loved. His nerves were going insane because of guilt. His need to show her how sorry he was. Pay Larke back for everything she’d done for him. Asking him to stay at her place the other night because she remembered something he’d told her so long ago and cared. Thinking about him all the time, in ways no one else had ever done.

  Chase shook his head. And she’s supposed to be the enemy. Everything wrong with this country. Sub-human. “Fucking bullshit.”

  “Putting the drinks in the freezer’s bullshit?”

  Chase blinked, realizing he’d spoken out loud. Larke was standing by the refrigerator holding two plastic bottles in her hand and gaping at him.

  “No,” he said. He tried to recall what she’d said to him but drew a blank. “Did you say something?”

  “I wanted to know which drink I should put in the freezer so it gets cold really fast. Cola or the fruit punch?”

  “Both. They’ll fit.”

  She popped the bottles in to cool then turned to face him, her eyes filled with concern. “You zoned out, didn’t you? Is it anything you want to talk about?”

  “Not now,” he murmured. Chase closed his arms around her, desperate for the feel of her touch, like an anchor grounding him to the only reality he wanted. And she understood! Larke laid her head against his chest until the angry thoughts and frustration retreated into the darkest corners of his mind. That was the placed he hid all thoughts that had nothing to do with the here and now. Like his future with her. That took up the largest part of his mental hideaway, which he was closing off for the night. Nothing but the here and now with his girl for as long as they stayed tucked away by the lake.

  Holding her at arm’s length, he smiled. “All right. Go catch up on your book. Relax. Do whatever, as long as you stay out of the kitchen until I tell you to come.”

  “Or until the fire alarm goes off?” Her lips twitched.

  He narrowed his eyes, pretending anger. “You doubting me?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes!” Larke placed a hand on her hip. “I’m a little worried since you were looking at some of those spices, reading off the names like it was a foreign language or something.”

  “Real funny. All right, tell me when was the last time you cooked with cardamom, or whatever it’s called.”

  “Last week,” she shot back. Her lips twitched even more. “I’m lying. You’re right. I’ll leave you to cook while I watch something on my laptop in the bedroom.” Halfway across the room, she glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes twinkled playfully as she said, “If that alarm goes off, I’m grabbing my bag and your hand then we’re getting the hell out of here, okay?”

  “First alarm is a warning the food might be burnt. Second one, you can grab the bag.”

  She laughed. “Deal.”

  11

  Larke chewed on and swallowed her statement from earlier. Chase was actually a wonderful cook, which was surprising for a man who appeared so out of place inside a kitchen. Even though the alarm went off once, she’d yet to see or taste a burnt morsel of the cardamom and maple flavored salmon.

  The man seated across from her at the table was like an enigma wrapped in a puzzle then thrown into the middle of a maze. She was stuck right there inside with him. The two of them. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Larke watched as Chase stood and began clearing away the dishes, which she’d planned on doing. She pushed out of her chair, reached for a glass but couldn’t get her hand around it. He placed his hand atop hers, swiping the glass and thwarting her move.

  “I’ll do it,” he said abruptly. “You can relax.”

  She brushed his hand away. “I relaxed while you were cooking. Now you sit back while I clean up.” She grabbed the glass and jokingly said, “I need to burn off some calories from all the food, anyway.”

  “No, you don’t. Now give it to me. I told you, I’m doing this.” His tone was gruffer than usual, confusing her.

  She kept her hand around the glass, slowly shaking her head. “And I told you I’m helping. Like you helped me in my apartment.” She lowered her voice to offset the gruff tone he’d used with her. Larke disliked arguments. “That’s how these things usually work.”

  Chase drew his head up, eyes flickering with ice. “I ain’t a fucking kid. I know what helping is. You don’t have to explain it to me.”

  She flinched. Hurt by his reaction. She released the glass, folded her arms around her middle and took a step backward. “I can clearly see you’re not a child. That still doesn’t explain why you don’t want my help.” She stared at him and bit her inner cheek as a horrible thought struck her. Did Chase have some kind of hang up about black people touching his stuff? In a way that would make sense, but… No. She’d done more than touch his belongings. She’d used them. And there was also the kissing, her hands and lips touching his hard body.

  His low intake of breath told her he’d read the look on her face and knew what she was thinking, assuming. The glass in his hand hit the table without breaking. Shocked, Larke glanced upward to see him bearing down on her. “No,” grated, pointing a finger at her and shaking his head hard. “It is nothing like what you’re thinking.”

  “What I’m thinking?”

  “Yes,” he shouted. “What you’re goddamn thinking.” His eyes narrowed to slits. “Larke, I see the look on your face. I know you’re wondering if this is some kind of weird shit from me because you’re…” He stopped in mid-sentence. Took another deep breath, stepped away then came right back until he was blocking her space. Her head bumped his chest.

  “I don’t want your help. I don’t want you helping me because I don’t deserve it. Now do you get it?”

  Her eyes widened. The anger in his voice, anger directed at himself instead of her, nearly ripped her heart in two. Larke opened her mouth to reassure him that everything he’d said wasn’t true, but couldn’t. He was gazing at her, his eyes hazy as he spoke. So low she could barely hear him. But hear him she did. Every single word that made her heartbeat thunder.

  “I’m really sorry for screwing with your head. Making you afraid to go out and not enjoy life as you should have when you were a kid. I’m sorry that because of me you think you have to always be prepared for being left out in the cold. And I’m sorry for coming to you with my fucked up thoughts and beliefs. I’m trying, Larke. I’m really trying to fix them. Just hope you can keep being patient with me, like you’ve been so far.”

  The pain reflected in his eyes tore into her. Her legs wobbled and her entire body felt shaky, witnessing the man she cared so much about consumed with regret and feelings laid bare. It was too much. Larke sank back onto the chair and covered her mouth with her hand, attempting to keep her tears at bay. It was useless. One droplet after the other dampened her cheek.

  A harsh groan split from his throat. Chase knelt on the ground in front of h
er, sweeping his thumb against her cheek to wipe the tears. “Hey, come on. I didn’t say that to make you cry.”

  She sniffled. “I know you didn’t.”

  “I only wanted to show you how sorry I am. I didn’t know what else to do. That’s why I cooked. Thought you might find it special if I did the work instead of taking you out to eat somewhere.”

  “It was very special.” She wrapped her arm around his neck, wetting his skin with leftover tears. “Thank you.”

  He flashed her a lopsided grin, causing her pulse to race. “I also didn’t want you to lift a finger since this is all about me making it up to you.”

  Her blood warmed and her lower belly cinched. Chase’s deep raspy tone was turning her insides to mush. His eyes gazing into hers as if he knew exactly the effect he was having on her, made her folds slicken with moisture. “Can I lift a finger to touch you?” she asked dazed with arousal.

  Chase took her hand between his, stroking it against his lip. “That’s allowed. But only me. You can only touch me.”

  Larke licked her lips, a heady mixture of fear and desire leading her thoughts. “How much touching are we talking about? The kind where we go off to separate rooms, or…” She never finished. Chase’s hand was now gliding upward, beneath her dress, laying waste to any thoughts inside her head that didn’t center on the decadent feel of his rough fingers on her skin.

  Her heartbeat thumped against her chest, beating an arcane rhythm. Larke thanked God a thousand times over, that she was already seated, because surely her legs would’ve buckled and folded by now. Her breath hitched in the middle of her throat as his hand grazed higher, slipping inside her panties. His fierce gaze held her pinned.

  The world around her seemed to stop until the moment she held her breath for finally happened. Chase’s fingers on her pussy. Larke trembled and sucked in a deep breath. Heat flared to life, blazing inside her lower belly.

  He caressed two digits between her moist labia. His low, ragged groan intertwined with the soft gasp tumbling from the back of her throat. “Angel, you’re so wet for me.” His eyes glinted with surprise. “I barely touched you.”

  “I can’t help it,” she whimpered. “I get very wet when I think about you.” Another groan rumbled from his chest.

  Chase fondled and rubbed his thumb over her engorged clitoris, which throbbed heavily when his lips tilted into an almost boyish grin. Pressing her back to the chair for support, Larke sank her teeth into her bottom lip the moment he delved the tip of his index finger inside her pussy.

  “Feels really tight and warm.” His lids lowered, fixed on her exposed sex.

  She rolled her hips, undulating on the seat while vaguely registering him asking her, “Want more?”

  Chase added another finger without waiting for her sharp cry of, “Yes. P–please.” Larke whimpered and flinched at the invasion of his middle and index fingers pumping shallow strokes inside her. Over and over. With one hand cupping her waist, he held her firm, anchoring the ripples coursing through her body.

  Lips parted, she ground her bottom against the seat, wanting––waiting for something that seemed so close. With every thrust of his fingers, her body tensed, beads of pleasure careening through and enveloping every inch of her body. Larke moaned, spreading her thighs wider. She was about to come. And nothing like the mini orgasms she’d felt while pleasuring herself in bed at night.

  “Ohhh! Don’t stop.” She was begging, pleading while her hands gripped his massive shoulders for support.

  “Wasn’t planning to,” Chase grated. “Wanna see you come all over my fingers.”

  It didn’t take much else. Her entire body became undone, shuddering with waves of pleasure rippling down her spine, making her toes curl. Riding out the last of her orgasm Larke fluttered her lids open. She stroked his face with the back of her hand.

  A slow smile worked its way across her lips. “That was incredible.” Her body shivered again with remnants of ecstasy. “I made myself come sometimes but it was never as pleasurable. Not even close.”

  “I like hearing that,” he said throatily, withdrawing his soaked fingers from between her labia. Her stomach flipped as he raised his head. There was a knowing smile on his face. Larke glanced down, her cheeks suddenly burning. Oh. She’d yet to close her legs. She tried to bring them together. Couldn’t because Chase was holding them apart and shaking his head.

  “Hey,” he murmured in a hushed tone. “It’s okay, Larke. I won’t do anything. I only want to look at you spread real nice and wide for me.” His eyes softened. “Thinking about my cock sliding into you. All that heat.”

  Oh my God. A moan escaped from her lips. Chase brought his head up, brows arched. “Why’d you moan?”

  “Because of what you said.” She tried to catch her breath. “It turned me on.”

  He squeezed her thigh. “Are you getting wet again because I want to shove my dick really hard in your pussy over and over. ‘Till you can feel me all the way up near your belly.” He pushed her panties aside again to check her. Larke held her breath, knowing he would find her shamefully drenched with arousal even though minutes ago she’d come all over his fingers.

  “You know exactly what you’re doing to me when you say those things. When you talk to me like that.”

  His lips curved into a crooked grin that made her clit pulsate and swell. “I do,” he admitted quietly. “You’re so wet. Dripping with need. Begging for a cock from the way I see it.” His steel blue eyes grew dark. Fierce. “I think it’s high time you had a man between those beautiful thighs.” His smile faded as he brought her legs together, closing them. “Fact of the matter is, I’d like to be that man, Larke. I won’t push you into anything you’re not ready for. But you have to know, see how much I want you. If you’re feeling the way I do right now and from the look on your face, I think you are; then all you have to do is let me know that you want this too.” He brushed her cheek with his knuckle. “I’d be real gentle, with it being your first time and all. I know I don’t look it, but I got a lot of self-control when I need it.”

  Oh Heaven. Was Chase pleading with her to let him be her first? Her heart thundered and her pussy clenched, throbbing like never before. There was no need to plead! She wanted, craved him inside her. Her body shivered with anticipation.

  Recalling his order from earlier, Larke asked, “If I’m only allowed to touch you, does that mean you’ll remove my clothes?”

  He gazed at her then dropped his head to her lap, groaning loud. “Yes! I’ll take off your clothes, do everything. Spread your legs myself as long as I get to fuck you.”

  She nodded despite his rough tone making her insides melt with desire. When Chase lifted her in his arms and strode across the house toward the bedroom, Larke tried to keep her composure, hard as it was. She could feel his rough fingers against her skin, teasing. He grasped the braids off her back, holding them to her head while dotting kisses to her nape. Cool air caressed her skin the second he unzipped her dress and skimmed the length of her back as the dress pooled at her feet.

  He’s serving me.

  As much as it broke her heart that he felt the need to do this, Larke reveled in the new sensation. Chase undressing her––preparing her to take his cock deep inside her body. Standing half naked in her bra and panties, Larke sucked in a breath at the feel of his hands, cupping her breasts through her bra, lightly squeezing and weighing them. “Good thing I have large hands,” he rasped beside her ear.

  She swallowed hard, biting her lip as he unhooked the bra. Her breasts felt heavy and aching, with the tips pebble hard, straining towards him.

  Her panties were the next to go. Chase kneeled in front of her, slid his strong hands up her thighs then with aching slowness peeled the undergarment down her legs. She stepped out of them. For the first time in her life, Larke stood completely naked in front of a man. Nude and aching with desire that only he could satisfy.

  She looked at Chase, her eyes fixated on the sight of him risin
g to stand in front her. His gaze feasted on her. He made no qualms, blatantly perusing every inch of her naked body. Finally, he pinned his focus to hers and asked, his voice thick and husky. “Were those birth control pills I saw in your bathroom the other night?”

  She nodded, feeling silly that he knew she was a virgin on the pill. “I’ve been taking them to help with period pains and my skin.”

  He gave a single nod, his heated gaze indicating he was more than satisfied with her answer. “The thing is, I can leave you here for a minute and go grab some condoms from my truck or you can trust me when I tell you I’m clean. I don’t shoot up like some of the guys I know and you can believe me when I say I’ve never gone at it with a chick without using protection. I can swear on my own life. You’re the only girl I wanna get real close to like that.” His nostrils flared as his gaze shifted to her sex. “Wanna come really deep inside you, angel. I want you to be the first, only girl to take my seed.”

  Only me. Skin to skin. Larke whimpered, as his words sent shockwaves of titillating pleasure coursing through her. She wanted it all. Would take it all. His penis pumping inside her pussy, filling her to the brim with his semen. God. What that must feel like! Quivering with lust and anticipation she whispered, “I trust you.”

  Chase nodded and eased out of his clothes. Larke viewed him, rapt with fascination despite having already seen him in nothing but his boxers the night he’d spent at her place. She’d also seen naked men on television before but this… This was Chase. Hers. And she couldn’t get enough of his ripped masculine frame. All corded muscles to her soft curves. Her gaze drifted downward. Larke stopped and almost swallowed her tongue at the sight of his shaft, breathtakingly thick and long. The glistening crown was red and wide…bobbing toward her.

  Gorgeous. Was it even normal to consider a penis a thing of beauty? She didn’t know, didn’t care. Unconsciously she dabbed her tongue to her lips, wondering what the swollen head would taste like inside her mouth. Shaking herself, Larke inhaled deep. The ache between her legs was paramount, growing by the second. She tried to catch her breath, suddenly recalling the mild discomfort when Chase had first plunged his two fingers, thrusting inside her pussy. A tiny wave of panic seized her. She swallowed hard, looked up at his face then back down. There was only one thought inside her head. His massive, gorgeous cock was going to hurt her like nothing else.