Falling for the Bully

by Sam Crescent

  They were both panting.

  He expected Aria to be pissed at him.

  She kissed him hard as he lowered her to the floor. “Let’s take this back to the bedroom. We’re so not done.”

  He was more than happy with that.

  Chapter Nine

  Sunday

  Max looked at the table. He’d gone out of his way to make the perfect dinner as he wanted tonight to be wonderful. Yes, it wasn’t the first night they’d spent together and had sex, but this was the first time Aria had come to his apartment. She’d also accepted his invitation willingly.

  He’d settled for a pair of jeans and a white shirt, which he’d spent some time ironing. He’d never used an iron in his life and could only guess the thing had belonged to Dale at some point. Max couldn’t remember purchasing one.

  Dinner was a pasta casserole with lots of chicken, tomatoes, and cheese. It wasn’t anything special, but he tried in the short time he had to impress Aria.

  The other night, being out with their friends, he’d watched the way Trey and June were together as well as Dale and Molly. How easy it was for them to touch each other, kiss, share their space, and he couldn’t do that with Aria. Not yet.

  She didn’t want anyone to know, and he was happy to go along with that, at least in the beginning, but now he wanted more, so much more.

  The knock at his door let him know Aria was here.

  Lighting the last of the candles, he made his way to the front door and opened it. She stood on his doorstep with a bag in hand.

  “Hey,” she said.

  He’d asked her to pack a bag, and seeing that she had, he took it from her, placing it down on the floor. “Let me take your jacket.”

  Hanging it up next to his own, he stared at it for a few seconds.

  No woman had ever put her jacket next to his. He’d always avoided it so it would save against any woman thinking they had a chance with him.

  Aria’s stayed right beside his, and he took her hand.

  “Something smells really good,” she said.

  “Chicken, tomatoes, pasta, and cheese.”

  “Sounds delicious.”

  “I got it off one of those food blog thingies,” Max said, walking her into his small dining room opposite his kitchen.

  “Oh, wow, this is so romantic, Max.”

  Like the jacket, it was what he was going for.

  Romance had never been his strong suit. He never had a need for it. When it came to Aria, he was having to show to her he was this kind of guy. She could trust him with her heart and he wouldn’t hurt her.

  Holding out a chair for her, he waited for her to sit down, leaning forward and breathing in the scent of her perfume. He couldn’t resist a kiss to her neck before pulling away. “You’re stunning and beautiful,” he said.

  “You’re full of compliments tonight.”

  “It’s the way you make me feel.” And again, there was another point. Aria made him fucking feel. He couldn’t hide from his feelings because they were all about her.

  He walked to the stove, opened the oven door, and, using the mitts, pulled out the casserole he’d spent most of the afternoon preparing.

  Closing the door, he turned each part of the oven off that he’d used before carrying it to the table.

  He’d used up all of his time on preparing dinner. He’d purchased dessert from the bakery. Aria probably made it, but he didn’t mind that and he was hoping she didn’t either.

  Stop being nervous.

  He wasn’t used to feeling like this around a woman. He wanted Aria to like what he’d created for her. Serving them both up a plate, he watched as Aria took a bite.

  “It’s quite nice.”

  He took a bite as well and was surprised to find it edible.

  Aria laughed. “You should see your face. You look shocked that it’s good.”

  “Would you believe me if I told you I am?”

  “Not at all,” she said. “Do you like to cook?”

  “Not often. I tend to order out. It makes life easier, and it’s a lot easier cleanup.”

  “I imagine working on building sites all day can make you quite tired.”

  “I don’t mind. I happen to enjoy doing stuff like that, so it’s not a huge deal. Working all day with food, do you get tired of it?”

  “I don’t cook a whole lot. Baking is completely different. I rarely eat anything sweet, unless you count ice cream. I’m a sucker for some chocolate mint chip ice cream.”

  “That’s my favorite,” he said.

  “It is?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How about that, Max, we have something in common.”

  “You better be careful now, Smith. You’re at risk of falling in love with me.” He winked at her.

  “You could totally fall in love with me,” Aria said. “Look at how sweet this is. I bet you do this for all the women to make them feel special.”

  “Yes, all of them.” He hadn’t done this for a single chick in his life. He didn’t care about anyone else, and the thing was, he wasn’t falling for Aria—he was in love with her.

  He’d been trying to deny it for so long. Between his guilt and loving her company, he’d fallen hard for her.

  When he saw her on those dating sites, it had hurt him. He’d felt physical pain at the thought of her being with anyone else, and his feelings for her also terrified him. How could he handle this part of himself? He didn’t understand, and the truth was, he didn’t know if he ever wanted to.

  “Are you okay?” Aria asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You look a little pale. Do I need to take you to the emergency room?”

  “No, we’re good.” He took a bite of his casserole and stared into her pretty eyes instead.

  “I kind of find this shocking how I’m sitting in Max Carter’s apartment, eating a casserole he made, enjoying his company.”

  “You are enjoying it?”

  “Yeah, I am. Shocked?”

  “One hundred percent astounded. The guy I was back in high school, Aria. He doesn’t exist anymore.”

  “I’m starting to see that.”

  They finished their food, and he grabbed the two muffins he’d purchased, with a can of whipped cream.

  “You bought these today,” she said, giggling.

  “I’m not a miracle worker.” He put the muffin down, cut off the top, and squirted a whole lot of cream on top of the muffin before putting the top back in place. “Dessert is served.”

  “I know I shouldn’t, but I love that.”

  He took a bite of his own, tipping his head back to fill his mouth with cream.

  Aria laughed along with him. Cream had covered her nose, and he licked it off.

  “Eww, gross.”

  Putting some cream on her lips, he took possession of her mouth, licking it right off. At first, she started to laugh, but that changed to a gasp as he nipped at her lips before kissing her.

  She dropped the muffin she was holding, as did he, and deepened the kiss. Aria stood up, and he moved her back, walking toward the bedroom where he intended to take their night anyway.

  Tugging his shirt off his back, he threw it to the floor and did the same with her clothes, stripping her until they were both naked. Taking her lips again, he ran his hands down her body, cupping her ass, rubbing his cock against her stomach.

  “Wait,” she said, putting a hand on his chest. “There’s something I really want to try, and we’ve not gotten around to doing.”

  He loved to see the glint in her eye as she slowly sank down to her knees before him. Her hand wrapping around his cock as she stared up at him. Her eyes seemed bigger, and as she licked her lips, he couldn’t stop his groan.

  “You want to suck my cock?”

  “I do.”

  “Damn, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to last.”

  “I don’t know if I’m any good at this. I may be awful.”

  “Not possible.” He stroked
her cheek and watched her. She held his dick and pressed her tongue toward the tip, licking across the bulbous head.

  He didn’t want to look away or miss the way she sucked and licked at his cock. Her mouth was perfect, even better than he imagined and he gritted his teeth, his hands clenching into fists as she covered the head of his cock, sucking him in deep. When he hit the back of her throat, she pulled off his cock so only the tip remained, and she sucked him like a lollipop. He’d thought about her sucking on his length, but he was always determined to let her set the pace.

  Over and over, she bobbed her head.

  He couldn’t handle not touching her, so he sank his fingers into her hair, holding her in place as he rocked into her mouth.

  She was so perfect. So sweet.

  He was so close, and he didn’t want to finish in her mouth, and he pulled out of her.

  ****

  Aria was thrown to the bed, and Max followed her down. His lips at her feet, he pressed a kiss to each arch of her foot before trailing his lips up her body.

  He nibbled at her knee, and she couldn’t help but spread her legs wider for him, wanting him there, at her pussy.

  There was no rush to his ministrations; he took his time, doing the same to the other leg, kissing her, nibbling and biting at her tender flesh until he got to her pussy.

  Just as he was about to kiss her pussy, there was a knock at his door.

  They both paused, and she frowned.

  “How could it be?” she asked.

  “I have no idea. We can just ignore it.”

  He kissed her stomach and was about to touch her clit when the knock went again, this time a little more insistent.

  “Were you expecting company?” she asked.

  “Only you. Only ever you. Whoever the fuck this is, better have a good fucking reason.” He climbed off the bed, grabbing his jeans. “Don’t go anywhere, and don’t touch your pussy. I want to watch you come when I lick you.”

  She smiled, rolling onto her side, and listening for whoever it was at the door.

  Climbing off the bed, she moved toward the room, and her eyes went wide.

  Trey and Dale were in his sitting room. She took a quick step back, and slowly eased the door so that it was nearly closed. Keeping behind it, she waited, listening.

  “You want to hang out?” Max asked.

  “Yeah, you know. Molly and June have a thing. They called Aria, but she’s not picking up so they think she’s passed out, exhausted. We thought we’d hang out with you. You know, have some fun. Talk. We’ve not done that in a long time,” Trey said.

  “Not since we got married,” Dale said. “We know you’re the singleton of the group now, and we totally don’t care, but you’re still our bro. There’s a game on, and we got beer and snacks.”

  “Oh, yeah, sounds great. Only, I’m going to have an early night.”

  “You are?” Trey asked.

  There was no way of her sneaking out of here if they stayed to watch the game. This wasn’t what she had planned for a Sunday.

  “I was going to but, sure, why not? Set up in the living room. I’ll go and put a shirt on.”

  Aria stayed behind the door as he entered, closing it behind him.

  “Why can’t you send them away?” she asked.

  “They’re going to get suspicious if I do that. I always watch a game, so it looks off I was going to bed.”

  “Wait, you were willing to spend the time with me and not watch your game?”

  “Pretty much. I want to spend time with you. A game, I can catch the result later.” Max pulled on his shirt. “Look, they’re married men, so in a couple of hours, they’ll be gone.” He gripped the back of her neck, kissing her. “My laptop is in my top drawer. Watch whatever you want to.”

  “You need to put away all the stuff in the kitchen,” she said.

  “I will. Stay here. I won’t let any of them enter my room. Don’t get changed.”

  “Okay, I won’t.”

  Max left his bedroom, closing it.

  So, she was trapped in a guy’s bedroom. Moving to the bed, she sat down and stared around his room. This was odd to her, really odd.

  Grabbing his laptop out of his top drawer, she flicked it open, and saw it open on a video of a guy building a crib. It was kind of cool to see, and she wondered why Max was watching it.

  Minimizing the window, she began to search for books she could read.

  She was bored.

  Checking the time, she saw they’d only been there half an hour. There was no use finding a book because Max didn’t have an account, nor did he have the app to read.

  Closing the laptop, she lay down and closed her eyes, but sleep was not coming to her. Her body was on fire, and in the other room, she could hear them all laughing and joking.

  This wasn’t how she imagined her Sunday night, not with how dirty Max had described it in her ear.

  After two hours, Max entered the bedroom. “We’ve got a problem.”

  “We have?”

  “Dale and Trey are staying the night. They’ve already camped out in the living room, making beds for themselves.”

  “How am I supposed to get out?” she asked.

  “You’re going to have to be late for work.” He closed the door, moving toward her. “This is not what I had planned.”

  “Do you think your friends know about us, which is why they’re behaving like this?”

  “I don’t have a clue, but once I find out, I can deal with it.” He knelt on the bed, kissing her hard. “Are you mad at me?”

  “For being a good friend? No. I’m not mad at you. Your friends adore you, and they want to spend time with you. I get it.” She pulled him in close, kissing his lips.

  “I’ll be right back. Hold that thought.”

  She groaned as she flopped back on the bed.

  Max was laughing as she left the room. Climbing beneath his blanket, she watched the door, and a couple of minutes later, he returned with some water.

  “I figure you’d want something to drink.” He handed her the water, and she took it, drinking half of the bottle.

  “Thanks.”

  He pulled his clothes off and joined her in the bed.

  “I don’t think we should,” she said. “In case they hear.”

  “They don’t know you’re here. I want to.”

  “I know, I do, too, but they’re in the next room. It kind of kills the mood.”

  Max kissed her shoulder. “You didn’t watch any porn, did you?”

  “Nope, I didn’t.”

  “Well, can I just hold you then?”

  “Hold me?”

  “You know, sleep with you in my arms.”

  She didn’t like how her heart flipped at his suggestions. Pressing her lips together to stop herself from smiling, she nodded. “I’d like that.”

  Lying down next to her, Max wrapped his arms around her. His lips against her neck, and he kissed her a few times.

  She was turned on, but the idea of his friends being in the next room dampened her need.

  “I wonder if we were to ever have kids, if this is how it would feel?”

  “You’re thinking about kids?”

  “Why not? It could happen. You never know. Do you want kids?”

  “Someday, I do. When I’m ready. I don’t think I’m ready to be a mom yet.”

  “I’m not ready to be a dad.” He kissed her lips and pulled her a little closer to his body. “Goodnight, Aria.”

  She said the same back to him, and stared across the room. Being in his arms felt so right. Thinking about him being a date, it scared her with how happy the very idea made her.

  This thing she was having with Max was messing with her head, and she needed to get her senses together before something progressed. She couldn’t risk falling in love with this guy.

  Chapter Ten

  Max didn’t know how it was possible, but for the next five days, his friends in one way or another interfered with his plans
for Aria. If it wasn’t down to an emergency that required his attention, one of them stopped by. He’d come to the conclusion his place was cursed, so he was sneaking into Aria’s.

  She closed and locked the front door.

  He held his cell phone up for her to see. “You see this. I’ve completely turned it off. There is no way they can get to me here. They don’t know where I am. They don’t have a clue what I’m doing.” He cupped her face and pressed her back against the wall. “And tonight I’m going to fuck you all night long. Your pussy needs to be ready for a pounding.”

  He’d not been able to have sex with her in over five days, but they had shared his bed every single night. There was no one he could talk to. Not Dale or Trey. Not anyone. Not even June or Molly about what it meant for him and his feelings for this woman.

  Aria was … everything.

  He didn’t know how it happened, only that waking up with her next to him, and falling asleep with her in his arms, wasn’t a nightmare. It didn’t scare him.

  He wanted her to be there, to make love to her.

  Seeing her pretty smile every single morning was in essence a dream come true, and he wanted more, so much more. He’d spent so much time around Trey, June, and their little one, as well as Dale and Molly’s family, and he’d had the time to watch them all together. To witness their own little families, and now, he wanted one as well.

  Aria pushed his jacket off his body, and without breaking from the kiss, he walked her back to her room.

  Stripping her naked, he didn’t waste any time. Cupping her tits together, he ran his thumb across each mounded nipple, working her body at the same time he pushed her to the bed.

  Sliding a hand down between her thighs, he stroked her pussy, finding her wet for him already.

  “Tell me you want me,” he said.

  “I want you, Max. Please.”

  He didn’t need to wait. Gripping his cock, he aligned the tip to her entrance and slammed in hard and deep. As he did, seated to the hilt within her, the doorbell went.

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Max said.