by Emelia Blair
Well, not an airhead, I admit to myself guiltily. She’s extremely intelligent and quite sharp.
But when it comes to men she—The more I try to tell myself that she isn’t for me, the more men flock around her like hungry dogs.
I sat in my office day after day, finding excuses to walk around the corner and catch a glimpse of her, to glower at the men who flirted with her.
It took me three days to finally break and give in.
However, those three days had gone a long way in souring the relationship between me and this woman who was driving me crazy every time she smiled at a man who wasn’t me.
She’s breaking every rule I have set for myself, tearing down every wall I had built.
Now the only option left to me is to either tie her to myself now, or lose her.
And I had a feeling that if I stepped back now, I would lose her forever.
Reorganizing my life plans and the goals I had set for myself was easier than I had expected. In front of this innocent and bright woman, all of them crumbled at a touch. I could achieve them all at a different pace, at a different time, but I feared I would never find another Halley.
In my dark dismal world and my dull routine, she’s the one uncertain flickering light that makes it easier for me to smile. She scorns at my temper, ignores my scowls, and she makes me laugh. Her light is so pure and filled with love, that I can’t even fault myself for craving it.
I want her for myself.
I’d been expecting to have to do a lot of convincing, and maybe have her reject me a couple of times, but the incident with the detective had her turning to me and my own protective instincts had been ablaze, fury igniting in me at the very idea of someone trying to bully her.
However, what it resulted in had been beyond my expectations.
Now that I have her in my grasp, I’m not planning to let her go anywhere.
I hadn’t lied.
I didn’t know jack shit about dating or wooing a woman.
But I know how to seduce one.
And I plan to bring Halley to my bed and make sure she never wants to leave.
So, as I hold her to me and she fidgets nervously, betraying her innocence, her wavering frown, absolutely adorable, I pretend not to see any of it, just tightening my hold.
After a few seconds of squirming, she finally seems to realize I don’t intend to release her and she falls still in my arms.
My chin is resting on her left shoulder, and when she finally relaxes against me, I smile slightly till she says, “How long are you going to read the same page for?”
“I’m a slow reader.”
“Liar.” Standing like this, where she doesn’t have to see my face seems to have given her some of her confidence. “You read like an old woman, then.”
“Shut up, Halley,” I respond, pleasantly.
She grumbles and then she fidgets again, as if adjusting her position. “Hurry up.”
“Where do you want to go for pizza?”
She makes the mistake of turning her head to look at me and the close proximity makes her face turn red, and she immediately whirls her head back, stammering, to my amusement, “J-Jerry’s Joint, you know the one near our building.”
I want to continue teasing her but I have a feeling she won’t take it too well. “Come on,” I loosen my hold on her, and to my surprise she doesn’t move for a few seconds and I grin, “Or we could stay here and—”
She darts out of my arms. “Let’s go!”
The day’s unpleasant events are not forgotten but I force them to the back of my mind as we take the elevator to the underground garage.
As expected, one look at my bike has her backing off. “Oh, come on. I hate—”
“I know but I’ll drive slowly,” I coax her. “It’ll be like we aren’t even moving.”
She shoots me a disbelieving look. “Yeah, right. I remember the last time I sat on this death trap. You deliberately drove—”
Convincing her to get on the bike takes a tremendous amount of cajoling and promises. Even then, she grips me so tight it leaves me wondering whether there would be imprints of her arms on me when I wake up tomorrow.
Jerry’s Joint is one of those neighborhood hole-in-the-wall places, which is well lit but mostly empty. A distracted-looking waitress takes our order and once she leaves us be, I notice how quiet Halley is.
Making conversation isn’t my strong point but I want her to say something so I try, “So, uh…the weather is—”
My lame attempt is interrupted by the loud sound of her phone’s ringtone.
We both jump.
Halley looks at the number on the screen and her brow knits.
“What is it?”
She gives me an odd look before answering the phone. “Mr. Hale.”
Hale?
Who was Hale?
She’s not paying attention to me, her fingers tearing at the paper napkin on the table. “There were some issues with his phone. He’s not in the city at the…” She falls silent, listening to the person on the other end, and then, “I mean I guess so. When?”
The phone call takes a few more minutes where she’s agreeing to meet somebody tomorrow. When she closes the phone, she looks troubled.
“What is it?” I ask, frowning. “Is everything okay? Is Raymond—”
Halley puts the phone on the table, her hand lingering on it, and raises her head to meet my gaze. “That was my lawyer. Well, the family lawyer who was in charge of my mother’s will.”
This sounds like a personal issue and normally, I would step back, not wanting to interfere in other people’s affairs, but this isn’t just anyone and I plan to fully integrate myself into every aspect of this woman’s life. “What did he want?”
Halley’s fingers are now tapping restlessly on her phone. “He can’t get in touch with Uncle Raymond. Apparently, my mother left a safety deposit box that I was to get access to when I turned twenty-three. Mr. Hale wants me to get the key from him.”
“When did you turn twenty-three? I thought you said you were—?”
Halley blushes. “My birthday is next week.”
Point to note.
Her tone is uncertain as she continues, “He’s going on administrative leave in a few days, so he wants me to get this done tomorrow. Usually, Uncle Raymond handles all this. Maybe I should wait.”
“But it’s your safety deposit box.” I frown. “Your mother wanted you to open it.”
She looks torn. “I know. It’s just…” Her words trail off as if she doesn’t quite know how to express herself.
I lean forward in my seat. “Halley, when you thought for a moment that your mother might be alive, you were so excited or at least hopeful. Why does it sound like you want to have nothing to do with her now?”
The paper napkin is now in complete shreds.
I offer her mine to continue shredding.
She takes it without a moment’s hesitation and as her nimble fingers move over the paper, she meets my gaze. “That day I thought for sure that Mom may be alive, but if she is, why hasn’t she contacted me or tried to? It feels like I’m clinging onto the past when I should be moving forward. What if you’re right and this is just someone trying to get to me?”
Who would do that and what would be the point? I don’t voice my thoughts, instead choosing to say, “Obviously, I can’t tell you what to do, but if I were in your shoes, I think I would go even if just to see what she left for me or what was so important that it had to wait for so long.”
Halley looks away from me. “Well, I’ll be going tomorrow, so I guess I’ll find out.”
I purse my lips. “Do you want me to come with you?”
Something flickers in her eyes and she hesitates. “It won’t be weird for you?”
My lips twitch. “No more than it would be for you. Besides, we don’t have much workload for this week and we can rent a car to drive there.”
She doesn’t say anything, and I see a strange expression f
lit on her face, almost indecisiveness as if she wants to tell me something but doesn’t know how to. So, I wait for her to sort out her thoughts.
Her words are hesitant. “I have some other things to do in the city as well.”
When I raise my brow, waiting for her to continue, she adds, “I was thinking of getting in touch with the detective who had been in charge of my mother’s disappearance.” She doesn’t let me say anything, leaning forward in her seat as if trying to convince me, her tone eager. “The car was missing all this time and now, suddenly it shows up. That has to mean something, right? They’ll have to reopen the case!”
I can see the fragile hope in her eyes and I don’t want to crush it but I also don’t want her to be devastated later on, if it turns out that her mother truly isn’t alive. “Halley,” I say, quietly. “Have you thought this through? You’re bouncing around a lot.”
She releases a huge breath before admitting, “Not really. I’m playing it by the ear. I don’t want to build my hopes up, but if there is even the tiniest possibility…”
The desperation on her face makes me determined to see this through with her. “Alright. We’ll go talk to the detective. But you should tell Raymond. He might want to get involved as well.”
Halley shakes her head. “No. Not till I know something for sure. It’s bad enough that I’m so optimistic.”
Our food arrives and the topic changes to something more pleasant.
We’re on dessert when I ask, “So, not even a single relationship. But you said you would go to clubs and bars.” I find it curious that no one has ever hit on her.
Halley grins. “Uncle Raymond provided me pamphlet after pamphlet on safe sex right after he made me go through lists and lists of sexually transmitted diseases. It was awful. Mia had to sit through some of those sessions as well. We wanted to burn our eyeballs out afterwards.”
“I can’t imagine Raymond doing something like that.”
Halley snorts as she toys with her ice cream. “Best believe it. Uncle Raymond took protection to the next level. He was so overprotective. I remember there was this one party Mia and Cameron wanted to take me to and he insisted on driving us there and picking us up.” She rolls her eyes. “If there was a dad checklist on how to embarrass any kid, he checked all the points.”
When I give her a disbelieving look, she laughs. “He’s cooled off considerably ever since I moved out. When I told him that I was an adult and needed to live on my own, I swear he cried.”
Now, I’m starting to feel sorry for the man.
“It was only after I moved out, that I started going to clubs but even then, I was so busy with projects. So, I just went to have a good time and I usually went to the gay clubs. And Cameron and Mia always stuck with me.”
“I never did the club scene,” I tell her. “I was too busy with studies and then my jobs.”
“I knew you were boring when I met you.” Halley gives me a mischievous grin.
I smirk. “And yet here you are.”
Her cheeks turn red and she turns her nose up in the air. “I’m just taking pity on you.”
However, her lips are twitching and I’m glad to see her in such a good mood.
On the ride back to our building, she regales me with escapades of her childhood, a lot of which involve Raymond’s daughter, Suzie. To anyone listening, it sounds like a happy household but there is a wistfulness to Halley’s tone.
Since we both have to get up early, we go straight home.
I walk her to her apartment and at the doorway, Halley lingers, uncertainly, as if she wants something but doesn’t quite know how to ask for it.
I tuck my hands in my pockets and smirk. “Well?”
She purses her lips together as if to keep her words from escaping.
Nonchalantly, I study the wallpaper decorating the hallway. “I did want to kiss you goodnight but…” I eye her, drawling, “…you did say you were taking pity on me.”
Halley’s face turns red as she realizes that her own words were coming to taunt her. She makes a face, which is adorably pouty, and tries to say in a dignified manner, “Good. It’s not like I wanted you to—Mmph!”
I cover her lips with mine before she’s even finished speaking as a tremor goes through her body accompanied by a soft sigh. It is so delicious. I pin her against her door with my body, one hand entwining in her hair in a firm grip to keep her in place, the other settling on her waist.
Once again, her inexperience shines through, but this time she is making an effort and it pleases me. When her lips move against mine, almost clumsily, my cock hardens and I get more aggressive.
I nip at her lower lip, tugging at it till she lets out a small cry. Then I soothe it by sucking on it. Her hair is silky and soft. I tug on it, pulling her head back, almost forcefully, and to my delight, she whimpers but lets me.
My mouth lands on her jaw and places small bites along the sharp line of it, pressing open mouthed kisses along her bare neck. She trembles in my hold and I press her even harder against the wall till there is not even an inch of space between us. I can feel every line, every curve of her small frame, and I want nothing more than to take this inside where I can just bend her over the first surface and take her till she becomes a wild, helpless little thing under me, scratching and screaming my name.
The very thought has me sucking on her neck harshly, determined to leave my mark on her, so every man that comes across her, knows she’s taken.
Halley’s breathing is heavy, short harsh pants as I use my mouth to drive her to distraction. Her nails are digging into my shoulders as she holds on to me. When her soft pink lips part to drag in some much needed air, I can’t resist any longer and I slam my mouth down on hers, forcing my tongue into her mouth.
Her soft cries are turning me on and the static electricity between us, the way my skin tingles wherever hers brushes along it…. it is too much and I devour her mouth. She tastes like chocolate cake and vanilla icing as I lick the inside of her mouth, feeling her nipples tighten against my chest through the barrier of clothes.
What would it be like to have them in my mouth, hard, as I suck on them, making her mewl under me?
She’s shaking now and I have to release knowing she’s completely overwhelmed now. Looking down at her flushed face and her unfocused eyes, I brush a strand of red hair from her face, tenderly.
How does she manage to keep drawing me into her like this?
One taste of her and I’m addicted.
Is this how it’s supposed to be?
I want to take our relationship slow, at a pace easy for her. But the more time I spend around her and the more I touch her, the more harder it is to rein in my own desires.
And she doesn’t exactly make it easy for me with her breathy sighs and her big eyes when she looks at me, her lips parted, and swollen. How am I supposed to resist that?
I try to step back but her hands tighten in my shirt and she’s pulling me back.
This time it’s her kissing me. It’s a sweet kiss, innocent in its exploration, which makes it all the more hotter. I want nothing more than to start ripping her clothes off and devour her one bite at a time, using only my mouth on that delectable body of hers to make her come over and over again.
My hand tightens in her hair, painfully so, and when her nipples harden even more, I find it intriguing. “Enough, Halley,” I tell her, a hint of command in my tone.
She reluctantly stops.
So obedient.
The thought stirs my blood and I make a mental note to explore this when I finally have her naked before me. I rub my thumb over her soft cheek, wonderingly. “We have to get up early tomorrow. Go inside.”
She clearly doesn’t want to, but after a moment of internal conflict, she finally gives in.
I watch, regretfully, as the door closes behind me with a click.
Just a little more patience.
I prefer my bike to a car any day.
However, in this case, drivin
g all the way to Chesapeake City, a car is the best option, especially considering there are two of us.
Halley sleeps half the way, bags under her eyes, and I wonder why she has so much trouble sleeping. Of course when I ask her, her answer doesn’t exactly surprise me; I have my suspicions.
“Nightmares,” she mumbles before stretching her arms over her head and yawning. Snuggling into her seat, a cross of a sullen and sleepy expression on her face, she mutters, “It’s the same damn thing each time. I could just write a motion picture on it at this point.”
I chuckle. “Why don’t you tell me about it? We still have a while to go.”
Expecting something amusing, my smile slowly drops as she begins describing it, her words painting something that even makes me shudder. It does shock me that it’s the same dream every time. Do nightmares work that way?
I’ve had the occasional bad dream but never on repeat like a broken record.
“Did you ever talk to anyone?” I ask, my eyes on the road.
“Aside from Aunt Ange, nobody. When I first came there, she would listen to it, and after some time, she told me to start writing down the details.”
“Then what happened?”
“Nothing,” she replies, her tone a bit sad. “It helped me get it out of my system, I guess. And after a while, the nightmares ceased—well, not exactly, they became more infrequent. Lately, it’s just been bad. Maybe I should start writing them down again,” she murmurs the last part to herself.
I do find it odd but I choose not to say anything.
When she plugs in her phone to play some music, the atmosphere lightens up and I have to spend the rest of the car ride listening to her belt out the songs one after the other to my amusement.
“Come on, Jace.” She nudges me. “I know you know this one!”
“No.” I try to save myself. “I’m a terrible singer and I really don’t—”
“Oh, come on!” She coaxes, laughter in her eyes. “I’m no Celine Dion—what are you, shy?”
“No!” I glare at her.
“So, sing it with me.” She bares her teeth in a grin. “Unless, of course, cluck, cluck.” She makes the sound of a chicken, her hands making makeshift wings.
