Camp Paramore

by Wendy Lea Thomas

  I fidgeted nervously trying to control my breathing with his arms wrapped around me and pressed against his hard body.

  “How did you and Avery meet?” his warm breath said against my cheek.

  “Camp Jameson,” I said all breathy.

  He quirked his eyebrow and a slow grin spread across his face. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re a Kitten. I bet when you nicked Avery’s heart he didn’t know what hit him.” He narrowed his eyes into mine.

  “So, Aria, are there any fantasies that I can help you with? I’d love to have a toss with you and I can assure you, you won’t be dancing for a while afterwards. That’s a promise.”

  “Are you always this inappropriate?”

  “You didn’t answer the question,” he said in his British drawl.

  “I love Avery. I couldn’t imagine my world without him.”

  “That’s not what I asked you. What I want to know is if you are capable of giving in to the raw sexual tension that we are clearly feeling for each other. The kind of raw emotion that one person feels for another in a sultry moment before two souls burn until they are overtaken by pleasure and both achieve ecstasy.”

  “Are all Englishmen this long winded?”

  “No, my Luv. And you’re avoiding the question.”

  I sighed heavily, “What do you want from me, Dorian?” His smile widened.

  “I want you to come to me of your own free will,” his voice vibrated through me like a bass drum.

  I just stared at his lips as his words echoed through my head and shivers ran up my spine. Dear god, he was gorgeous.

  I broke away and headed towards the bar. Dorian followed behind me. “I need a drink,” I said to no one in particular.

  I nodded to Kim and she was quick to get me my usual for the night. I tried to cover my rapid breathing and I did everything I could not to make eye contact with Dorian even though he was only a few feet away from me with his eyes burning through me.

  The room was emptying now and it seemed that Avery had been gone forever.

  Dorian and I were among the few who were left. I could feel him watching me. He cleared his throat and I looked his way. Dammit. He was leaning against the bar with his arms crossed, smirking at me as if he wanted to devour me.

  “What?” I asked.

  He shook his head and grinned as he stepped closer. “I was just thinking of all the things I want to do to you. First on my list is to see what you taste like. I bet you’re as sweet as you look.” Oh, fuck.

  My eyes shifted to the right nervously as warm hands went around my waist. I smelled Avery’s cologne and knew it was him without looking. My body was still rigid from Dorian’s statement but I allowed myself to relax into Avery as I smiled up to him.

  “Ready to go?” he asked, reading how uncomfortable I was.

  “Yes,” I said promptly. Dorian stepped closer.

  “Until next time, Aria. Thank you for the lovely dance,” he said as his eyes twinkled with alluring flare.

  Avery said goodnight to Dorian in his professional manner and led me out the front door.

  “You still mad at me?” Avery asked. Elias handed him his car keys.

  My insides sizzled as I realized we hadn’t finished our fight tonight. I was still angry. He had hired Caitlyn and didn’t tell me.

  ∞

  CHAPTER 7

  THE CROW AND THE BUTTERFLY

  Friday Afternoon, October 19th – Weekend Three

  Two weeks had gone by and I was into a horrible routine of studying long hours into the night and getting very little sleep. It killed my energy level but I muddled through.

  On the weekends, I couldn’t wait to get to Avery’s but the time away on the weekends was making it hard for me to keep up with my studying. Nursing school required studying seven days a week and I was quickly falling behind.

  By the time Friday got here, I was so tired that I wasn’t sure how I was going to make the three-hour drive. I was glad when Colt said that Sara freed up her schedule and that he was going to drive both of us out to Avery’s this weekend. I barely remember making it onto the Pennsylvania I-80 when my fatigue got the better of me and I fell asleep in the back seat of Colt’s Jeep.

  I heard the blades of the helicopter whirring and opened my eyes. I rubbed away the kink in my neck from tilting my head against the window and tried to figure out where we’d stopped.

  “Time to wake up,” Colt teased. “Quick stop, then we’ll take you to Avery’s cabin.”

  I blinked, trying to figure out why we stopped at Paramore first instead of Avery’s cabin. I begrudgingly got out of the backseat and looked up to see a helicopter landing on the backyard helipad.

  Colt had already made his way over to Travis who was tonight’s security guard at the double front doors when Travis’ radio squawked and a male’s voice announced Dorian Macallan’s arrival.

  Elias opened the doors for us and Sara pulled me through the front door, stopping briefly to give Travis a hug.

  “Where’s Maya?” she asked with a stack of wedding catalogs in her hands.

  “She’s down in the dungeon communal room,” he replied.

  Sara nodded and gushed with excitement as she entered the main doors. I couldn’t tell what she was more excited about, designing Maya’s wedding dress or staying another weekend at Paramore. I found her mood contagious as her grin bred the same in me.

  It was late morning and most of the Manor was quiet. The staff was sweeping, dusting, and getting ready for tonight’s event.

  Sara gushed over the Victorian décor, naming designers and speaking in designer language that was foreign to me. I laughed at her giddiness.

  “I don’t want to wait for Colt to catch up. He’s worse than a woman,” she said. Sara wore dark blue skintight jeans and a tight dark grey button-up shirt. She looked divine in her black-heeled boots.

  I nodded and we made our way to the elevator. I hadn’t been down to the dungeon yet. But Sara seemed to know the way.

  She guided me down the hall through the large dark wooden double doors. On the walls hung a large assortment of whips, chains, metallic pinwheels, shiny restraints, and handcuffs. The scent of black leather hung in the air as I lifted the chrome handcuffs off the wall for closer inspection just as Maya stepped out of the shadows.

  “Hands off, I just polished those,” Maya said.

  Sara giggled, broke from me, ran over to Maya, and engulfed her in a big hug.

  Maya was in old ratty jeans that had polish all over them but she still looked sexy, even with her dark hair sporting a pixie cut.

  I smiled and waved to Maya and we stood around chatting as if we hadn’t seen each other for years.

  Maya’s brown eyes were glowing as she talked about the wedding with Sara, who was clearly in her element.

  As my two friends went over the designs of Maya’s wedding dress, I smiled and got lost in the moment of their happiness.

  “Pardon me, ladies…Maya, I wanted to talk with you about changing my scene for tonight. I want to add both of my housegirls to it. The more the merrier,” Dorian’s British accent caressed me like silk.

  My eyes shifted towards him and his valiant smile rippled through me. Dorian’s gaze drew over my body as if he were wrapping himself around me. I stiffened when I realized I was in old ripped jeans and my father’s Air Force sweatshirt that was two sizes too big. My hair was pulled back in a ponytail and I wore just a touch of eyeliner. I was a mess.

  Dorian winked to me and my face reddened.

  “Aria,” he said seductively. “It’s good to see you again,” he said, as he walked over to me and gently raised my hand to his lips and kissed the back of my hand.

  I tried to control my breathing but I was sure he saw my quick intake of breath. He smirked, reveling in my discomfort. Bastard.

  “And who is your beautiful friend?” I glanced to see Sara not exactly excited about what she just witnessed. I introduced her.

  Sara was better at making s
mall talk so I fell into the silent background to let them get to know one another. Dorian was wearing dark designer jeans and a tight fitting Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt. Scrumptious.

  I was nervously playing with the cuffs of my sweatshirt when Sara said her goodbyes and led me up the back staircase to the first floor.

  Two housegirls seemed to be in a private conversation so Sara pulled me up one more flight of stairs to the second floor near the main party suites.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, but Sara ignored me for the moment as she hurried up another flight of stairs on a mission.

  She stopped before the double doors on the third floor, spun around and narrowed her eyes at me. “What the hell was that?”

  I raised my eyebrows at her. “What was what?” I replied, not following her conversation.

  “That,” she said pointing down the stairwell to where Dorian and Maya were. We had a bird’s eye view of the gorgeous staircase. It was dark wood lined with red plush carpet and a large area rug lay at the bottom. We could hear footsteps coming up the stairs so Sara pushed through the doors to the much quieter hallway.

  “Don’t play dumb with me. You know damn well there was enough heat between you two to light the room on fire. What was happening down there, Aria?”

  “He may have suggested he wanted me the first time we met…but I blew him off,” I added.

  “I’m sorry, but he clearly did not get the message. He’s a hungry crow chasing after an innocent butterfly,” she insisted.

  “Really? I hadn’t noticed.” I brushed the bangs out of my eyes. Shit. I didn’t need this right now. Lack of sleep was making me wibbly-wobbly.

  Sara’s inquisition was broken by the sounds of the door opening behind us. I straightened my shoulders as Dorian made his way towards us.

  “Ladies,” he trilled.

  Sara smiled politely as he passed by us. His eyes lingered on mine for a moment too long followed by Sara’s who had locked onto mine with daggers.

  We stood in silence with Sara glaring at me while I fixated on Dorian as he made his way to the end of the hall.

  Two blonde housegirls, who looked like twins, were bouncing on their toes waiting outside his door as he approached.

  “Good timing, girls. I need to blow off some steam before tonight.” Dorian opened the door and ushered the women in, but as he stepped through the door, his eyes glanced back to mine with enough heat to melt the inner walls of my honey pot, and then he disappeared into his room.

  “Does Avery know about this?” Sara asked.

  “I don’t think so,” I replied huffing out a breath.

  “Good, because if he’d seen the way Dorian just looked at you, he’d shoot you both.”

  ∞

  CHAPTER 8

  COME FLY WITH ME

  Saturday Evening, October 20th – Weekend Three

  I was on edge tonight. I wasn’t sure if it was that I felt uncomfortable around all this wealth and fame or if it was Dorian and how his eyes always penetrated me.

  My thoughts cleared quickly as Avery, Colt, Sara, and I made our way through the front door of the Manor. It was a 1920s theme party and the women were all in flapper dresses that favored silver and black with muted accents while the men wore crisp ironed shirts and pinstriped suits with non-pleated black pants.

  Colt had already pulled Sara to the bar that Avery had converted into an old-world style motif with a claw footed copper tub holding champagne on ice. The room was draped in red velvet with ornate gold moldings as soft gold lighting poured from sparkling chandeliers.

  The fireplace crackled and popped next to a large sitting area with black leather couches. Oversized Renaissance paintings by Francisco De Goya and Paul Cezanne were lusciously spaced around the room. Jazz music played by a soft-shouldered piano player with slicked hair filled the room. Avery had outdone himself.

  Avery excused himself to go deal with another problem while I stood off to the side watching and distancing myself from everyone. I knew nothing about these people. My mother was a manager for a large bank in Cleveland and my father was in the military. We had money for a rainy day but we were never this kind of rich. This crowd worked on a completely new level that I knew nothing about. Avery never flaunted his wealth in front of me. Yes, I flew on his jet and sailed on his yacht, but he wasn’t pretentious about it. I could literally feel the pretentiousness of these people as it emanated through the ballroom.

  When I looked around at the lavish décor, it was clear that Avery’s world was magical, and very intimidating. Even with my designer dress I wore to fit in – I honestly didn’t know if I ever would. What was wrong with me tonight? These people breathed money and I breathed student loans. Why wasn’t tuition free? If someone wanted to better themselves in life they should be able to.

  I looked around the massive room where an older man bragged to his friend about how he just bought out an entire Main Street of a small town. He was one of those people that just screamed punch-me-in-the-face.

  The man next to him claimed to have bought a small private estate, and they had the audacity to compare it to Avery’s multimillion-dollar mansion that they were standing in. The walls should fall in on them. These people were arrogant and not genuine at all. How did Avery put up with this every day?

  Faking laughter and faking smiles, it was exhausting. I didn’t have anything in common with these people.

  “You look lost in thought.”

  My eyes shifted to find Ethan’s breathtaking smile and his beautiful brown eyes looking down at me. He was always in good spirits and genuine. Finally, someone I could talk to.

  I jumped into his arms for a hug and he growled in my ear and squeezed me to him.

  “Where’s Avery?” Ethan asked, setting me back on my feet. He was wearing a dark grey pinstriped suit with matching vest, a black long sleeved shirt, and white tie.

  “He left me on a drifting raft with a bunch of sharks swimming around me to see if I’d survive.”

  “Nice,” he chuckled. “You’re staying afloat so far,” he said, eyeing my black short flapper dress sparkling in the golden light.

  “They haven’t smelled my blood yet,” I said.

  “Why, are you on your period?” he quizzed playfully.

  “Nice! You asshole,” I laughed.

  “These people aren’t that bad. Most of them are putting up a false front. It’s what they do when they’re nervous.” I raised an eyebrow up at him.

  “Spoiled rich kid, remember,” he stated.

  “Ah, I see you’re one of them. This is part of the master plan. Send the friendly shark in to break down her defenses then they’ll attack and fuck me all at once, gang-bang style.”

  Ethan stepped forward and closed the gap between us. “I wouldn’t attack you. I’d wait for you to come to me and then I’d kiss every inch of your body until you begged me to bury my manhood deep inside you.”

  I sucked in a breath as he gleamed at me. “What is it with men always wanting me to come to them of my own free will?”

  “It’s an aphrodisiac having a woman come to you of her own free will,” he said, moving us to a darkened private little alcove. His eyes were fiery as he reached out and moved my hand over his thick member that was at full attention under my grasp. I squeezed the front of his pants playfully, watching his eyes glaze and lips purse.

  “Don’t start something you can’t finish, Aria,” Ethan breathed. I felt Ethan harden further and his eyes grew darker.

  Maybe I was caught up in the moment and feeling mischievous, but I continued to stroke him through his pants a few more times until his breath hitched. I stroked him more. His face strained and then he cursed.

  He removed my hand and then recomposed himself while breathing rapidly and trying to smooth out the growing damp spot on his dress pants. His eyes held mine like we now shared a secret and he shook his head.

  “God, I missed you,” he said as he leaned in and kissed my forehead.

  �
�I knew that would get your attention,” I winked at him. “You better go clean up.”

  “I will in a minute, first tell me why the hell are you standing here all by yourself when you could be enjoying another one of Avery’s fantastic parties?”

  He was having trouble forming a coherent thought at that moment. Then he reached out to a server passing by and removed two glasses off a silver tray.

  Ethan handed me a whiskey and I closed my hand around the cold glass. “Down this, shake off your grumpy mood, and go socialize, Dammit. We all miss you,” he said.

  We downed the shots together and I immediately relaxed as it burned down my throat.

  He studied me. “Classes going that bad, huh?”

  “Yes. How’d you know?”

  “Lucky guess,” he replied. “So, why didn’t you transfer to Penn this semester?”

  “Because I have to do things the hard way. It makes life so much more enjoyable,” I chided.

  “Been there, done that.” He shrugged then led me toward the bar to refill my drink. He ordered another round and I studied Ethan. He looked happy and carefree.

  “Are you almost ready for the bar exam?”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Not even close. I’ve been partying too much. But I’ll buckle down. I needed to chill a bit first. I wanted to start with a fresh perspective.” I nodded, knowing all to well that once you’re burned out the mind can’t absorb anything.

  A tall, beautiful, dark skinned African American woman walked by and gripped Ethan by the vest. Her tongue pushed into his mouth and Ethan looked at me. I shrugged as he pulled away for a moment to speak.

  “Aria, this is Kelly Diamond. She’ll be staying with us this weekend.”

  “Hi, Aria. Nice to meet you, but I’m stealing this handsome man here. My schedule only allows me to come to Paramore a couple times a year.” Kelly was a model. I had seen her on television but she was even more stunning in person. I suddenly felt very short.

  “I need to go back to my room first,” he said to her then looked to me and winked. “See you later, Aria,” Ethan said, stepping away with Kelly just as Wren took his place, scooped me up in his usual bear hug, and spun me around.