by Sophia Gray
I shook my head. “Nah. Not for a long time. The guys downstairs…they’re the closest thing I have now.”
“And you would do anything to help them, I know.”
I nodded. She was right. They were my family, and I would do anything to be with them when they needed me. I couldn’t blame her for going, even though it could have gotten her killed.
“You have to listen to me,” I said, and I turned to her. “Look at my face.” I wanted her to know how serious I was.
“Do not do that again. They will stop at nothing to get their hands on you. I don’t know why—maybe you saw more than you thought you did, or maybe you hurt their pride by getting away. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. They’re after you. Be careful and do not step foot out of here until this is all settled.”
Her eyes were wide, and I realized how intense I sounded. She looked terrified.
“I know I’m scaring you, but maybe that’s a good thing,” I added. “As long as it keeps you safe. Because if anything happened to you…” My words trailed off. All I could do was reach out and touch her face. I ran my fingers down her soft, smooth cheek. She turned her head slightly, planting a kiss on my palm. I stroked her full bottom lip with my thumb, and she trembled.
That was all it took. I needed her. I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. The look in her eyes told me she wanted what I wanted. She was as desperate for me as I was for her.
I took her in my arms and crushed my lips against hers. Just like earlier that morning in the office, things escalated quickly. One minute we were kissing, the next we were panting and clawing at each other. I couldn’t get her clothes off fast enough. I needed to touch all of her.
Erica raised her arms over her head, and I lifted the hoodie up and tossed it to the floor. Off came her t-shirt. I pulled her to me again, kissing her long, slim neck. She tilted her head back, sighing as I lowered her to the bed. Her hands pulled at my shirt, and I let her work it up my back and over my head. Her hands were like fire on me. Making me burn even hotter for her.
I ran the tips of my fingers all over her, exploring, soaking her in. She writhed beneath me, gasping, whimpering and begging for more. Her nipples had risen into little peaks under her bra, and I flicked my fingers over them before moving down her abdomen again. She arched her back, tensing the lower I went.
“Shh…” I whispered, kissing her. Then my tongue darted out to lick her lips. She tasted incredible, and my cock got even harder when her tongue touched mine. We kissed like that, tongues dancing, while I unbuttoned her jeans and she slid them down her legs.
She was so hot, the heat getting more intense the lower my hand went. It all radiated from her core, between her legs. I needed to be there. My cock ached to be inside her.
I cupped her mound, and she moaned louder than before. Her hips started grinding against me in a circular motion. She was already so wet, soaked through the cotton panties. I rubbed hard through the fabric and was shocked when she started convulsing and moaning louder and louder until she froze with a quiet little scream, then shuddered.
“Christ,” I whispered. Now my cock was painfully hard and straining to be free. I rolled away from her to pull off my jeans. She surprised me by rolling over with me, pushing the denim off my legs with her feet as she kissed her way down my neck and chest. All I could do was watch as her blonde head moved lower and lower.
Then she sat up, straddling me. She swung her head, pushing the long hair out of her face. Her hands slipped behind her, and I watched as she unhooked her black bra before letting it slide from her body. Her tits were just as perfect as I knew they would be, and they spilled out of the cups. My hands reached for them without my thinking about it, and Erica’s covered them as I fondled her.
Her eyes closed and she let out little whimpering cries, squeezing my hands to encourage me to be rougher with her. I was already excited to be in bed with her, but seeing this wild side to her personality only made everything I felt more intense. The rough, animal side of me roared inside, knowing it met its match. I took her by the shoulders and pulled her down, burying my face in her soft mounds.
“That’s right, baby,” she whispered. Her hips started rocking back and forth over me, and I was consumed with need for her. I had to be inside her and take her and make her scream the way I wanted to scream for her.
I couldn’t wait to pull off her panties. Instead, I pulled my aching cock out from the waistband of my shorts, pushed the crotch of her panties aside and skewered her. My hands were on her hips, and I slammed her onto me until I was balls deep.
She cried out, her eyes closed and head thrown back. She dragged her nails down my chest. I hadn’t even moved yet, and I felt the muscles of her hot, tight pussy gripping me even tighter.
“That’s right, baby,” I said, digging my fingers into her rounded little ass. “Come for me.” I lifted her up and down in quick, shallow little thrusts that pushed her over the edge into hysterical bliss. My eyes were on her face, the way her mouth widened as she screamed softly again.
I kept thrusting, this time deeper, stronger thrusts upward while I moved her hips downward. It was like heaven, the way she gripped me so tightly, so hot, so wet. Her tits bounced up and down, and when she cupped them and played with the nipples, I almost lost it. I had to close my eyes and push the orgasm back until the urge passed.
She leaned her hands on my chest and started riding, grinding her clit into me. She knew what she wanted and rode me like a cowgirl on a bronco. I thrusted and bucked beneath her, our bodies coming together in a wet slapping sound. It was wild, loud, ecstatic. I gave myself over to it, losing myself in her.
She came again, her hands tightening as her pussy did. It was harder for me to hold on, but I wanted to make her pleasure lasted as long as I could. It was agony watching her come and not letting myself go, too, but I knew it would be worthwhile when did I release what I was holding back.
She fell over on top of me, worn out from her effort. I rolled us over, still inside her, and started moving slowly.
I leaned on one elbow and used my free hand to brush the sweaty hair from her face. She looked up at me, and something in her eyes sparked something deeper in me. It wasn’t passion—I didn’t think I could feel any more passionate without imploding. It was a feeling I had never known, like a closeness. It was unnerving. I wanted to look away, but her eyes held mine.
I still moved slowly, going in and out inch by inch. I felt every bit of her, and my hand traveled over her sweat-slick skin as I rocked us both. Her legs tightened around my waist, and I caressed her thigh, then ran my hand up her side until I cupped her tit. I squeezed it roughly, the way she liked, then dipped my head lower to take the nipple in my mouth. She arched beneath me, her little cries of pleasure getting louder.
I went faster. I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I had to take her, consume her. I had to make her scream my name. My balls slapped her ass as I rode her harder, and we both grunted with every slap. She gripped my ass and pulled me further inside, wanting more. “Yes!” she whispered, over and over.
She quickened underneath me. Her thrusts were faster, her grunts louder. She raked my back with her nails and I roared in response, the pain and pleasure mixing in a haze of sensation. She cried out and stiffened, and I felt her muscles clamp down around me as she came. “Vince!” she screamed, then bit into the muscle of my shoulder as she shuddered.
I couldn’t hold back anymore. I pumped into her, listening to her screaming into my shoulder as the pleasure got bigger and bigger until I had to let go. I slammed home once more before I started to explode. I came so hard I thought it would kill me. I was dizzy and breathless and nearly in pain by the time I finished, and I collapsed on top of her.
For a long time I lay that way, stretched out with my face in the pillow. I couldn’t move. The best I could do was make sure I didn’t crush her.
Our bodies were both slick with sweat, our breath coming in heaving gasps. It had never been that intense before. Fo
r a second I thought I might be having a heart attack. I forced myself to calm down and breathe deeply. Was sex always supposed to be like that? I was afraid I might die next time.
It wasn’t just physically intense either, though that was what first got my attention since I could hardly breathe. It was the way I felt inside that was so different. A lot of women had seen me naked, but I had never made love to any of them. Erica and I made love. It was like my first time all over again, only this time it was incredible.
I pushed myself up on my arms so I could look down at her face. I needed to know if she felt the same way. What I saw was beyond words. Her eyes filled with tears, but she was smiling softly. I kissed her, gently brushing my lips against hers. She sighed and returned the light pressure.
I had never felt so completely connected to another person in my life. It was like being wide open to her, and she could see everything inside me. And she was still smiling. She didn’t want to run away. She stroked the back of my neck with her slim fingers, and I felt her heartbeat gradually slow down.
If I hadn’t already been prepared to die for her, I was then. I would have done anything to protect her. She was mine, completely. No one else’s. My woman. Nobody took what was mine.
Shit. There was no going back now.
Chapter Fifteen
Erica
I couldn’t say the act itself was unexpected. I’d felt it coming ever since we kissed—maybe before then. I knew it was only a matter of time before we slept together. The pull he had on me was too strong. Our chemistry was too strong. It was inevitable.
I just didn’t know it would be the way it was. My whole body was still tingling. The occasional tremble would go through me. I was on fire, maybe not as bright a fire as had burned when we were going at it, but the embers were still glowing.
What the hell?
When I started thinking clearly, my face burned hotter than the surface of the sun. “Oh, no,” I whispered. We were flat on our backs, side by side.
“What? You okay?”
I turned my head to look at him. His hair was disheveled. His face had a look of complete bafflement. So he felt the same way I did.
“Do you think everybody heard us?” I wanted to die just thinking about it. How would I face any of them? I’d never, ever been as loud before as I was with Vince—and I’d been trying to hold back, too.
He considered it for a second, then snorted. “I don’t know. Maybe. But it’s not like nobody here has ever had sex in the middle of the day. I mean, we’re all together a lot of the time. There are bedrooms here for a reason—not primarily for sleeping.”
I didn’t feel much better, but the grin on his face told me there was nothing to worry about. I had to play it cool. If we were going to be together, this would happen again. I’d have to get used to it.
The thought chilled me to the bone, out of surprise rather than fear. Was I really thinking that way now? That we might be together in the future? One good lay and all of a sudden I was practically planning the wedding.
I sank further into the bed, knowing that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t just because of the sex. The connection we had was too strong to be denied—I could try to pretend it wasn’t there, but to what purpose? I’d been trying already, and look where that got me. Not that I was complaining.
We were supposed to be together. It sounded ridiculous, but that didn’t make it any less true. It was Fate that made Vince ride down the street at the very moment I needed him. How else could I describe it? If it had been any other member of the club, I would have been grateful to them for helping but I wouldn’t be in bed with them. It wasn’t attachment due to what we’d been through. The attachment was there the minute I looked at him.
I wondered what he was thinking about all this, and I pulled the sheets protectively around my body. I felt very vulnerable all of a sudden. What if this meant nothing to him? He’d had so many women. I couldn’t be that special.
Then, he turned to me and smiled. His hand found mine, and he covered it. I couldn’t help warming at his touch, and hoping that this meant more to him than the average nooner.
“Why are you so far away?” he asked, tugging my hand to pull me closer. I giggled and allowed him to gather me up in his arms. He held me close to him, tight. I dared to hope that he was doing it because he cared about me.
He smelled vaguely of sweat and sex, and musk that was his own. I breathed deep, loving every bit of him. His body was so warm and inviting. I couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t get close enough or touch enough. I snaked one leg over his, pulling him closer, and held him tight with my arm while nuzzling his neck.
“Whoa, girl,” he whispered, laughing softly. “I need a minute to recover. You girls are ready way faster than we are, which is so unfair. Even if I could go right away, I don’t know if I would. I thought you were gonna kill me for a minute there.”
I laughed against his skin, then bit him playfully. “Same here,” I murmured. I eased up on him, loosening my grip and leaning my head on his shoulder.
I had to get something off my chest. It had been weighing on me since the night before, and after Vince saved me again, it was almost crushing me. “I’m sorry for all of this.”
“You’re what?” He pulled away, looking down at me with a frown.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help feeling like so much of this is my fault.”
“It’s not. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they have some weird obsession with you. That’s not your fault either. The Wolves have always been a little crazy. I can’t explain why they do what they do. Maybe it’s pride. You got away, and that’s not sitting well. I don’t know.”
“I wish I hadn’t gone out last night,” I muttered, idly stroking Vince’s chest. “I really do.”
“But then, we wouldn’t be here right now.”
He wasn’t kidding. I could tell from the tone of his voice. “That’s true. You have a way of looking at things. I wouldn’t expect it.”
His handsome face shifted into a smirk. “What do you mean?”
Something that had teased at the edges of my brain since our first conversation bubbled back to the surface. “Can I ask you something personal?”
“Well, I’m naked in bed with you. How much more personal does it get?”
I snickered. “For real. Do you mind? I’m curious about something.”
“Go ahead.”
“How come you’re always trying to hide how smart you are?”
He laughed and avoided my eyes. “Who said I’m doing that?”
“Come on. You’re very intelligent. It’s obvious. Give yourself a little credit.”
He shrugged, and I could tell he was trying to brush it off. Then something stopped him. Maybe it was the look in my eyes when he finally got the nerve to look at me again.
“You know, I’ve spent so much time playing it down, it’s like a habit.”
“Why do you do it?”
He shrugged. “A lot of reasons. The people in the club and the people who hang out with us…they’re not big on book smarts. They sorta resent people with educations, either because they don’t have the smarts, or they didn’t have the money to get one for themselves.”
“So it wasn’t smarts that held you back. Was it money?”
He nodded. “Partly. I was on track to graduate at the top of my class until halfway through my junior year of high school.”
I gasped softly. “Stop playing!”
He chuckled and glared playfully at me. “What, that’s such a big surprise?”
I smacked his chest with the palm of my hand, not missing the way the muscle beneath his skin didn’t yield even a little bit. “No, no. I mean…what happened that year that stopped you?”
He stopped being playful, and it took a while before he spoke again. I gave him time. I hoped I hadn’t pushed too far.
“See, my dad died when I was ten,” he began.
I held up a hand. “Oh, God. I didn’t m
ean to pry. Please, you don’t have to go on if you don’t want to.”
“But I do want to.” He looked very serious. “I do. I never told anybody the full story.”
“And you’re sure you want me to be the one you tell the story to?”
He shrugged. “Unless you don’t wanna hear it.” I sensed that despite his nonchalance, he wanted very much for me to listen. I told him I wanted to hear anything he had to say and leaned the side of my face on his chest as he spoke.
“When I was ten, my dad died. He was working at a factory, one of the last factories in the neighborhood. My mom always said that even if it shut down as the others had, it was all right. She never liked him working there. He was a smart guy, he could do anything he wanted to. That was what she said anyway. But then he was killed on the job. One of the machines malfunctioned, and when he went to see the problem, he touched it and got electrocuted.”
