Exposed

by Deborah Bladon

  I cry out as the intense sensations of his tongue overtake my senses. "Please, "I whisper again. "Don't stop."

  "Never," he purrs before pulling my swollen clitoris into his mouth. "I'll never stop."

  I can feel heat course through my body as I reach the edge. I plunge both hands into his hair, pushing his mouth onto me. My core clenches as I feel the rush of the orgasm through my body. I moan loudly. I can't see. I can't feel anything but this pleasure. How could it feel like so much and so amazing at the same time?

  He rests his head against my thigh as my hips settle back onto the couch. I'm spent. My body is glistening with the sweet moisture of sweat. I feel so alive. I feel so sensitive. I never knew an orgasm could be like that.

  "That was..." my voice trails as I feel the slightest pressure on my clit.

  "Just the beginning," he growls as he once again takes it between his teeth.

  I cry out loudly. It's already too much. It's all on fire. Every part of me is on fire. "I can't." My words are barely audible. "It's too much."

  "You're so fucking tight," he says hoarsely as one finger enters me. "Christ, I want to fuck you."

  I reach to pull his finger deeper into me and let out a guttural growl as another slides in next to it. He's aggressive as he pushes into me. I don't back down. I rock myself against his hand. I feel another wave rush through me the instant his tongue finds my clit again.

  "Oh, God." I cry out as I come again. This orgasm is even more intense than the last. I lash about beneath him trying to disengage my body from his but he bites at my clit, pulling it deftly between his lips, lapping up every last drop of my desire.

  I close my eyes as the sensations wash through me. This is what it's like. This is what I've been missing. How could I ever stop wanting him?

  Chapter 14

  "I don't know what to say." I lean forward trying to retrieve my panties from where they fell on the floor.

  He scoops them up before I have a chance to touch them. "These are mine. I'm going to sleep with them." He pushes them into the pocket of his pants and I smile. I don't want to think about how many other women's panties he likely has hidden around his apartment. This moment is mine and I won't let any thoughts that ruin that intrude on me.

  "I feel selfish," I whisper as I sit up and adjust the hem of my dress. I've never gone anywhere without panties before. I still feel so swollen and wet.

  "Because I didn't come?" He pulls his sweater back over his head.

  I nod in silence. I do feel selfish for that but I also feel a sense of relief. My dress is still on me. The scar is still a secret.

  "I will." He kisses me lightly on the forehead. "I can't wait to fuck you."

  "What happens after we do that?" I ask the question even though I know it sounds childish and territorial.

  "What happens after we make love?" He pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear.

  "Yes. Is this over then?" I gaze down as I ask the question.

  "I hope not."

  "You hope not?" I volley back at him. "You don't strike me as the type of man who does relationships." The moment the words leave my lips I think about the photograph. Maybe Coral was the only woman he was ever in a relationship with.

  "I don't." He stands and walks towards the kitchen.

  I sit up straight on the couch before reaching to put my shoes back on. I've offended him. He gave me the most pleasure I've ever experienced in my life and then I offended him. Smart, Sadie. You are so fucking smart.

  "Here's some water." He hands me a bottle of chilled water. "You look like you could use it."

  I smile as I push a few strands of hair that are sticking to my forehead aside. I take a long, heavy swallow of the water. It quenches my thirst but not my curiosity.

  "Are we just going to sleep together?" I blurt the question out. Can I possibly sound more juvenile?

  "What's going on, sunshine?" He reaches to take the bottle from my hand. "Where's your mind at?"

  I pull in a measured breath. "I told you before that I don't really do the just sex thing very well."

  "You want to be wined and dined and then fucked?" He takes a drink from the bottle and I marvel at the muscles in his neck. Is there any part of him that doesn't exude raw magnetism?

  "I like things to be in order." I breathe out a heavy sigh as my eyes dart around the room. "Everything in my world has its place. I just want to know where my place is in your world."

  He sips more of the water as he nods slowly at me. "I get it. You want us to define what this is so that there are no misunderstood expectations?"

  "Yes." I adjust myself on the couch. "Or at least an expectation of what we want from one another."

  "That's fair." He places the bottle down in his lap. "You smart girls like to plan everything, don't you?"

  His comment, although playful, stings. It's the second time he's brought up my intelligence. I'm not sure if he views it as a positive thing or a negative thing.

  "Will we see other people?" I throw the question at him. It seems like a good launching point.

  "See other people?" he repeats it back as if he's mulling it over. "As in fuck other people? Are you asking if you can fuck other men while we're sleeping together?"

  I wasn't asking that but his assumption is telling. "Sure," I counter. "Can I sleep with other guys while we're sleeping together?"

  "No. Absolutely not." His voice is stern, there's no compromise in the tone.

  "So you won't be sleeping with other women either?" I clench my hands together in anticipation of his answer.

  "After that..." He motions to the couch. "I don't want anyone but you. How can I fuck anyone else when I've tasted you?"

  I'm stunned by his bold response. I immediately feel the heat return between my thighs. He really wants me.

  "I don't do long term." The words hit me like a bullet from the distance that I couldn’t have seen coming. "I want you while I can have you."

  I scan his face looking for any hint about how long that might be. "Until I go back to school?" I offer.

  His face brightens as if I've given him a key to a locked door. "That works for me."

  "So we're fuck buddies until September?" I want the words to sound light but they feel heavy and emotionally weighted when they leave my lips.

  "You're mine for the summer." He leans in closer. "Don't let another man touch any of this."

  I nod as I once again feel his soft lips engulf mine in a heated kiss.

  Chapter 15

  "What I would give to have a man like that go down on me." Alexa fans herself in the lounge chair next to me.

  "I didn't even know it could feel that good," I say, a broad smile covering my mouth.

  "I told you he wouldn't care about the scar." She points to my chest. It's near one hundred degrees out and even though she's wearing a tiny, pink bikini, I've covered my one-piece suit with a t-shirt.

  "I haven't told him about it yet," I grimace as I take a long sip of iced tea.

  "What?" she barks as she swings her legs over the chair so she's sitting straight up. "You agreed to be his fuck toy for the next two months and you didn't show him the scar?"

  "No." I hang my head. "My dress stayed on the other night and after that I just didn't think it was the time to talk about it."

  "Sadie," she scolds me. "That's not fair."

  "I know," I mumble. "I just wanted the feeling to last. I've never felt like that before."

  "You need to tell him today." She reaches past me to pull my smartphone off the grass. "Call him and tell him need to see him."

  "He's out of town." I juggle my phone between my palms. "He's in Denver until tomorrow."

  "Denver? You're not serious?" She bolts to her feet, running to her backpack to pull out her laptop. "He's going to get washed away."

  I chuckle at how dramatic she is sometimes. "What are you talking about?"

  "There's a downpour there." She flips open the cover of her computer and taps on a few buttons.
"Look at this."

  I take the computer from her hands and watch a news video detailing a massive rainstorm in Denver. There are power outages, threatened mudslides and cars floating down the middle of city streets.

  "What the hell?" I shake my head not just at the frantic sight of the damage Mother Nature can do but also at the fact that Alexa knew more about a breaking news story than I did.

  "He's probably going to be stranded there for days." She leans back on her chair with a sigh. "You should call him and make sure he's okay."

  I hesitate at the idea. Hunter and I may have agreed to be lovers for the next eight weeks but we're not officially dating. I don't think it's my place to call him up in the middle of the day when he's away on business.

  "Do it, Sadie." She nods at my phone. "Guys love it when we worry about them."

  I stare at my phone before thumbing through my contact list to his number. "Give me a minute," I say to Alexa as I step off the chair and onto the grass. "I'm just going to call from inside."

  "Sure thing," she says as she lies back down to soak in more rays.

  I close the patio door behind me before I press the call button. I take in a heavy breath as I wait for him to answer.

  "Hunter Reynolds," he says into the phone.

  "Hey, it's me."

  He doesn't respond right away. Instead I hear muted footsteps and the distinctive click of a door closing shut.

  "Sunshine. What a surprise." His voice is barely more than a whisper now. I push the button to increase the volume of the call.

  "Am I interrupting you?"

  "I was just in a meeting." He doesn't offer more than that. "I'm happy you called. What do you need?"

  He's rushing our call and I want to believe it's because he's in the middle of a consultation with a new restaurateur. My heart is telling me that's not it at all.

  "I was hoping we could see each other tomorrow night if you're still coming back then." I don't want to sound needy but Alexa is right, I have to tell him about the scar before this goes any further.

  "I'll be there." I can sense the smile on his face.

  "Your flight is still a go? There isn't a weather delay?"

  "Nope," he says quickly. "It's a beautiful day here."

  My heart drops in my chest. "The sun is shining?" I ask the question carefully not wanting him to detect anything unusual in my voice.

  "Not a cloud in the sky," he retorts. "I've got to get back to the meeting. I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow night."

  "Sure," I say faintly before the line goes dead.

  Chapter 16

  "I missed you." He brushes his lips against mine.

  I retreat quickly from the kiss as I pull the door closed behind me. "How was your trip?"

  "Boring." He laughs as he takes my hand in his to walk towards his car.

  "Your flight back was good?" My thoughts have been so scattered since our phone conversation yesterday that I don't know what to say. We're not in a relationship. We had sex once. I don't have a right to question him about Denver, do I? How can I possibly ask him what's going on when I haven't been completely candid with him either?

  "Great. I slept most of the way so I'm full of energy." He runs his lips across my neck.

  He wants to make love tonight. He wants to help me feel pleasure and all I can think about is who he was giving that same pleasure to last night.

  "I need to tell you something." I pull back from his kiss. I can't think straight if he's so close to me. He looks so inviting, dressed in a grey suit and black dress shirt. I hadn't planned on the evening lasting long so my jeans and blue short sleeved sweater seem out of place.

  "Let's go to my place and we can talk." He opens the door to his car and I silently slide into the passenger seat.

  I wait for him to sit next to me before I speak again. "We can't make love tonight."

  "We can't?" He reaches for my hand, cradling it in his before he brings it to his lips. "That's fine, sunshine."

  I feel deflated as he drops my hand onto my lap. Of course he doesn't care if we make love. He fucked someone else last night in some unnamed city. He was likely with her when I called him. Why is this so upsetting to me? What did I expect from this? He owes me nothing. Nothing. As the car races away from the curb in front of my parent's home I wish that I had confided in Alexa about my call to him yesterday. Why had I pretended everything was good? She would have known what I should say to him.

  He sings along to the radio as he pilots the car through the crowded streets of the city. "Do you want to pick up some dinner before we get to my place or should we order in?"

  "I'm not hungry." I don't volunteer why.

  "That works for me." His gaze doesn't break from the road. "We'll be at my place in five."

  My heart is pounding. He has no idea what's about to happen. I don't know if I should bring up my scar first or the fact that I know he wasn't in Denver. Do I even have a right to mention Denver? Why did I agree to be his fuck buddy? My heart is already invested. I'm supposed to protect this heart at all costs.

  I follow him silently from the garage into the lobby of his condo. He presses the call button for the elevator as he thumbs through his phone. "Did you work today?" The question surprises me.

  "I had a day off today." I answer snappily

  "Did you do something fun?" He drops the phone into his jacket pocket before his gaze meets mine.

  "Not really." I shrug my shoulders. "I hung out with Alexa. That's all."

  "That girl is a handful, isn't she?" He laughs as he places his hand on my back urging me into the elevator.

  "She can be." I feel protective of my best friend. I don't need this man that I barely know to make judgment calls about her. He's in no position to do that.

  "I'll get the door." He steps off the elevator before me and pushes the key to his door into the lock. I watch as he enters a security code into the panel on the wall before he turns the handle. "After you."

  Chapter 17

  I walk into the room and soak in the beauty once again. It's such an elegant space and I'm envious that he gets to live here alone. My home is usually the dorms but during breaks I always stay at my parents' house. I often don't feel like I belong anywhere.

  "I bought you something while I was away." He throws his suit jacket over the back of the couch as he fumbles in his overnight bag. "You're going to love it."

  I stand in silence watching him gleefully rummage through the bag. His hand darts back out with a rectangular box covered in silver paper in its clutches. He holds it out and I stand frozen staring at it.

  "Open it." He pushes it at me and I reluctantly take it.

  I rip the corner of the paper from its place revealing a grey box.

  "You can use it when you go back to school." He's standing right next to me now. I can feel his eyes boring a hole through my hands willing me to open the box.

  I do and I'm caught off guard by the sight of a beautiful silver pen. "It's so nice," I whisper.

  "It's engraved with your name." He reaches to pull it from the box and his arm brushes against mine. I feel regret course through me. I wanted this to be uncomplicated. I wanted this to work, even if it was just for the summer.

  "I can't accept this." I push it back at him. "You shouldn't have gotten this for me."

  "Why?" I can see pain cover his expression. "I saw it in the hotel gift shop and I thought you'd like it."

  "In the hotel gift shop in Denver?" I spit the question at him. I know it sounds sharp, but I don't care.

  "Yes." He bows his head staring at the box and tattered paper in his hands.

  "You weren't in Denver," I seethe. "You lied."

  He pulls his gaze slowly up to meet mine. I can see the vein in his neck pulsing. The joy that was on his face when he picked me up is now veiled by something darker. He's angry. I've never seen him livid but I recognize it within his eyes.

  "You didn't just call me a liar, did you?" He drops the box onto the hardwood
floor and the pen bounces out. "Who do you think you are?"

  "Nobody," I volley back.

  "What does that mean?" His voice is vibrating. He's trying to calm it. I can hear it within the tone.

  "I'm nobody to you." I push my finger against his unyielding chest. "You weren't in Denver. You lied for whatever reason to me about that."

  "Why would I do that?" He pushes back against me, catching my hand within his.

  "You already broke our agreement." I spit at him. "You went somewhere to fuck someone else."

  "You're kidding?"

  I pull my hand back and cross my arms on my chest. "I don't care what you do or who you do it with," I lie. "I just don't want to waste my time being part of some booty posse."

  "A booty posse?" He arches his brow. "What the hell is that?"

  "You travel a lot." I stand my ground. "You must have a different woman in every city that you screw when you're there."

  "You've got no right questioning what I do." He points his index finger directly at me. "This wasn't supposed to be serious. What's gotten into you?"

  "Whatever," I shout at him as I take a step towards the door. "You told me I couldn't sleep with anyone else and then you hop on a plane to go fuck someone less than forty eight hours later."

  "You're acting like a child." He steps in my path. "Go fuck someone else if you want to, Sadie. I don't give a shit."

  His words sting. I knew that's how he felt but when I hear the words roll of his tongue, I wince in pain. "I can't. It's not like that for me."

  "You keep saying that." His voice is louder now. His anger is coursing to the surface. "You sure as hell weren't a prude when you were sprawled out on my couch the other night letting me eat you."

  I feel like he's punched me in the stomach. He has no idea who I am. He thinks I'm just like the others. He thinks I just have random sex like him.

  "I'm not like you," I say tightly. "I don't do those things."

  "What things?" he barks. "You don't fuck? You don't enjoy yourself?"

  "I don't." I want to hold it together but I'm racing towards lashing out. "I can't."