by Iris Taylor
Is that supposed to be a threat? Well, she should know by now I don't back down easily. I replied with a forced smile and a wave, and waved at Jessica and Noah too, both of whom were looking at me intently. Weirdos. Don't they know they all backstab each other?
"What did she mean, honey?" My mom asked, looking confused.
I mustered the sincerest smile I could manage. "Oh, she had to be away from school for a while. We’ve got some catching up to do,” I replied with a dismissive wave of my hand. “Now, tell me, what are your next plans with Julian?”
My mom’s eyes brightened immediately. “Well, we have yet to have that discussion, but this is what I think...”
I listened, trying my best to give her my full attention, but my thoughts wandered towards Adrienne and what she had planned for me. Knowing her, it would be completely out of the blue and underhanded. She wouldn’t play fair. I had to be on full alert. I also had to warn Simon and the girls, just in case.
Chapter Eighteen
“Hi. I missed you.” Victor’s whispered admission tugged at the corners of my heart.
“I think I kinda missed you too.”
He had texted me to say he wanted to swing by after football practice to see me, and I told him he could pick me up after work instead. It was closing time, and nightfall had settled in, bringing with it a cool breeze. I shivered and pulled my thin sweater around me to try and keep warm. Victor pulled me close, and a tremble ran through me that was completely unrelated to the cold.
“Not better?” he asked, looking at me with concern. I wanted him to pull me even closer. I snuggled against his warmth, and he tucked me under his arm. His hard, toned chest bumped against me, and I swallowed. This guy’s gonna end me.
“Better.” I whispered back.
“Wanna go somewhere instead of heading straight home?”
I nodded.
He opened the passenger door to his black BMW – I had only been in it once before, the guy changed cars the way people changed their outfits – and I climbed in, glad to be out of the cold.
We drove around for a while, and when we passed by a pizza place we decided to drop by. After ordering myself a hot drink and agreeing on a four-cheese pizza with jalapenos on my half, he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.
“How was work?” he asked.
“Same old, same old. It was quiet today so I got most of English done.”
“When don’t you get work done?” he joked. His eyes grew somber. “That co-worker of yours. I see him looking at you a lot.”
I blinked. I hadn’t noticed, but knowing he had asked me out, I wasn’t going to say I was surprised. That didn’t mean I wanted Victor to know about it, since it wasn’t a big deal. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
His eyes narrowed. “Really. I think he likes you. Not that that’s anything out of the ordinary. You’re a really beautiful girl, inside and out. I...just don’t like that he’s doing that.”
Cue in the jealous...boyfriend? What are we anyway?
I smacked him in the arm. “Nothing for you to worry about. I’m not interested.”
He let go of a long-suffering sigh. “I’m glad to hear that. I think he needs to know it too.”
He sounded so forlorn that I turned and gave him a peck on the tip of his nose, which he promptly turned into a kiss on the lips. His lips were soft, and revealed how much he missed me. I was surprised to see his eyes close, and watching him enjoy kissing me, this gorgeous god who now appeared truly vulnerable, brought out a deep shudder from my very core. His grip around me tightened, and I had to remember where we were.
”Victor...” I didn’t want to pull away, but neither did I want to make out like this in public.
He let go of me, his eyes still shut, insanely long eyelashes concealing his deep grey eyes. “Later,” he said, the word holding much promise.
“Okay,” I whispered back. It was hard to enjoy my piping hot pizza knowing what was to come but I managed to anyway. Jalapenos were my favorite, and combined with all that cheese, I was in food heaven. Hot cocoa turned to be a bit too much despite how cold I had initially felt, especially sitting next to Victor, our sides touching, and with my hot, hot pizza.
Once I was done, he took a napkin and proceeded to wipe my lips with it, making me self-conscious. “Let me do it,” he said, moving my fingers away. I stayed still, and watched as he carefully and meticulously wiped my mouth for me. I could feel my cheeks turning red, wondering how much of a mess I had made.
He leaned into me once he was done and gave me another kiss on the lips. “Ready? Let’s go.”
After footing the bill, he placed his arms around my shoulders and steered me towards his car and into the passenger’s seat. Is this what it feels like to be really dating him? I felt well taken care of. It was a warm feeling I could get used to.
“Are we heading straight home?” He asked. I nodded. It was pretty late. I checked my phone for messages and saw that my mom had sent me one earlier in the night.
Will be over at Julian’s for the night. Hope that’s ok. Brody’s leaving tomorrow – shall we all have a quick lunch together?
I quickly sent a reply. No worries, I’ll see you then.
It wasn’t often that my mom left me alone at home overnight – only once or twice since Sam was out of the picture. Looking at Victor’s side profile, I shivered in anticipation. “Yes, send me home.”
THE HOUSE WAS DARK, lit only by the light on the front door porch and another in the hallway in the back of the house.
“Nobody home?” Victor asked, an eyebrow raised. He had walked me into the house, and I had to admit it brought me some comfort knowing he was there.
I shook my head. “Mom’s over at Julian’s.” I felt a smile coming on and my eyes lit up in mischief. “We can have a slumber party.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt stupid. Who on earth says that anyway? A kid, that’s who.
Judging from Victor’s hardened eyes, however, he didn’t share the same thoughts about me. I gulped as he slowly walked towards me, his eyelids hooded. “Slumber party, huh?”
He dropped kisses down my face and onto my neck, sending delightful tingles down my spine. He had found an erogenous zone I hadn’t known existed for me. My arms went round him, savoring the hard muscles that flexed under my touch. When I grabbed his head to keep him suckling on that sweet spot on my neck, he groaned. Grabbing me by my butt, he lifted me off the ground and walked us over to the couch. I shook my head. “My room,” I whispered. I wanted to create new memories there, ones that did not cause me nightmares whenever I closed my eyes.
He groaned again. “You’re gonna be the death of me.”
He walked us up the stairs like I weighed nothing, feasting on my lips the entire time. My senses were assailed by his addictive scent and his kisses. When we reached my room, he paused. “Bed,” I told him breathlessly. I had no confusion as to what I wanted tonight. It was time.
He dropped me gently onto the bed and looked down at me, his eyes roving down my body. “You’re so beautiful.”
“So are you.”
He shook his head. “Only on the outside.”
I didn’t want to dwell on that. I knew he wanted to change. That was all that mattered to me.
I pulled on his arm until he was supporting his weight on top of me as I lay down. “I want more,” I said in my most commanding voice.
His eyebrows lifted and he trailed a finger down the side of my face towards my neck. I held my breath as he used his finger to pull down the hemline of my shirt so that part of my chest was exposed to his gaze. His lips soon followed, and I gasped. Little nibbles and licks over and over on the tender skin, until I became impatient. “More.”
He lifted my shirt and I suddenly lost my bravado. I had a lacy white bra on, and I suddenly felt unsure about myself. Until I saw his eyes darken, and felt his hard length against my thigh. Oh.
He swooped down and began attacking me wit
h gusto. His tongue lapped over my breast, inching closer and closer towards my nipple until I was breathless. “Please,” I begged.
He latched onto a hardened nipple and I gasped at the sensation. The repeated hungry laps of his tongue nearly drove me out of my mind. The other side begged to be given attention to, and he sensed this and traced circle on the other side with his tongue. I was in pure heaven, if heaven consisted of me being half-dazed, unaware of anything except that this delicious feeling must, without a doubt, continue.
"Cara..."
I loved the rough, throaty sound of his voice. He was as affected by my touch as I was by his. I summoned enough nerve to pull off his shirt, and basked in the feeling of his defined abs against my skin. The guy was pure perfection, no doubt. There was an eagle tattooed to his left shoulder, its wings extending onto his pecs and upper arms. I gulped. I loved tattoos on a guy, and he wasn’t just any guy.
“Are you sure about this?”
I nodded. I wanted this, and now. His eyes took on a predatory look. In an instant, my shirt was off, and next to go were my jeans, until I was left in my underwear.
“Goddamn.” He took his lower lip between his teeth as he eyed me. “You’re perfect.” I reached out to pull him back towards me, eager to have a feel of him as well. He didn’t need much encouragement. After showering me with more kisses on my shoulders, chest and down to my belly, he pulled away and looked at me with hooded eyes. “Ready?”
With a nod, he slipped out a packet from his jeans pocket and I watched as he tore it open. I tugged down his jeans and threw them onto the floor, mesmerized by the size of him. He was going to hurt me with it, no doubt. I just hoped the pain would be over quickly. He caught me eyeing him and handed me the condom. “Would you like to...?”
I gingerly took it and proceeded to shyly pull down his boxers. He was large. He helped me put it on, perhaps realizing it was my first time doing it. My hands were shaking, and he took them in his own and kissed them gently. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you take the lead.” His eyes shone with a sincerity I had never known in any of the previous people who took me as their own. He knew. He knew how my past inevitably screwed me up, screwed up my future.
He flipped us around so that his back was to the bed, and he lay down and waited. I hesitated a mere fraction of a second before straddling him and feeling his hardness against my folds. I wanted more and rubbed against him, letting instinct take over. Soon, we were a writhing union of ravenous bodies, my breast in his mouth and his hands on my back. I let go of him long enough to shed my last pieces of clothing that now proved to be an unwanted barrier between us. His boxers were long gone.
I sunk myself onto him and gasped at the sudden hugeness that entered my slick folds. It was phenomenal – the feeling of his warm shaft in me, and I pushed myself up onto my knees to force more of him in. I chanced a look at his face – he was watching me raptly, his thumb drawing circles on my thigh, and with another bounce on him I could see the pleasure on his face. Soon I had all of him inside me, and I paused to adjust to his size. It didn’t hurt, not at all, and I wanted more. “Victor. Please.”
I must have sounded desperate, because he took one look at me and held me by the waist to hold me in place as he pistoned into me. My cries bounced off the walls, and I was glad no one was home, because there was no way I could stop myself from vocalizing the sudden rapture I was experiencing. I tossed my head back and cried out when he took both my breasts in his hands and squeezed. Oh god.
He was pushing me towards the edge of a cliff, one I had no familiarity with, and soon I was a shuddering, shaking mess. The feeling was out of this world, a powerful rush that took me out of my body for a good, long while. When the last of my orgasm subsided, he sat up and hugged me. “You okay?”
I nodded, my eyes closed, still shaken.
He turned me over so that I was on my back and hooked my ankles onto his shoulders. “Tell me if this is okay.”
I guess my cries more than answered him, and with every stroke I was again pushed towards my blissful release. He responded with growls of his own and after a particularly hard thrust, he let out a sharp cry and collapsed next to me.
We lay together, side by side, until our breathing grew even, my fingers laced in his, my mind blissfully void of any thought. I was drifting off when I heard him whisper in my ear, “Thank you for letting me in again.”
Chapter Nineteen
I woke up to the feeling of being enveloped by a solid, warm body. My fuzzy brain told me it was a weekend...and I had had a long night...doing what? Why was I sore down below? Oh. The flashbacks made me tingle all over. Victor had woken me up again with kisses and a caress that turned into something more. He had been gentle the third time round, leaving me shuddering in the aftershocks after.
I knew I had something scheduled for today. Something relatively early. Lunch with mom and Julian because Brody's leaving. I bolted upright, only to find a muscular arm tugging me back into bed.
“Where you goin’?” Victor mumbled, his sleep-clogged voice penetrating through my cloud of confusion. Crap crap crap...what time is it?
A glance at the clock on my nightstand told me I had thirty minutes to get ready. Where was lunch again? I prayed it wasn’t at home. I strained my ears but could only hear silence. Was my door locked? Looking down I realized the state of undress I was in. Did we leave any clothes outside? I swung my legs off the bed. Undies outside would not do.
“I gotta go! Brody’s leaving today.”
A quick glance at Victor told me it was the wrong thing to say. His jaw was clenched.
"We have a family lunch scheduled." He rolled over onto his other side, letting me go, his face away from me. Was he sulking? Was he the kind to cuddle after?
”You wanna come?”
In an instant he turned and nodded. His face perked up a bit. “I’ll go home and come back to pick you up. Where’s lunch going to be?”
After telling him I would text him once I had the details sorted, he pulled me back into bed with him to hug me close. I took a deep whiff of him, loving his heavenly scent. Who would have known Victor Grey was a cuddler? I almost laughed out loud except that I now probably had twenty minutes left to get ready.
After sending him to the front door – no one was home, and we hadn’t left any embarrassing pieces of clothing outside of my bedroom – I quickly ran back upstairs to shower. After picking out a pretty pink knee-length dress I checked my phone for messages. The one from my mom told me we were going to go and meet at Julian’s house for lunch. I had never been there and asked for the address, informing her that I was also planning to bring Victor along.
Victor arrived with a fresh crisp white Henley and khaki slacks and I allowed myself to ogle him openly. “What shower gel do you use?” I asked as I entered his BMW. He smiled as he pointed to his cheek to ask for a kiss. I gave him a quick peck and he turned to hold my chin and kiss me properly, tongue included.
“You’ll have to come over and find out yourself,” he teased. My heart jumped at his words.
“Okay,” I whispered, trying to slow my heartbeat down.
He took my hand and after looking at Julian’s address, drove us there, still holding my hand pretty much most of the way.
“Did I tell you Julian proposed to my mom?” I proceeded to update him about it. “I haven’t yet heard from my mom about what happens after, but I’m so happy for her. Julian’s such a great guy.”
The house was in a good neighborhood, and looked pretty decent and well-cared for given that Julian lived mostly alone.
My mother welcomed Victor with a big smile on her face, obviously relieved to see that we were back on good terms again. More than good terms, I thought, then ducked my head when my pink cheeks threatened to reveal my dirty thoughts. Julian, too, had a big smile, and gave me a warm hug, a slightly more pronounced show of emotion than I was used to seeing from him.
Once he let go of me, he held my mom's hand, and that's
when I saw it. A sparkling white diamond set in a white gold band, with smaller white stones on either side. Simple yet beautiful, it was the perfect ring for my mom. I squealed, I couldn't help it.
"It's so gorgeous!"
My mother's eyes shone as she showed it off to Victor and I and Julian beamed at my approval. Brody came and smiled at me, nodding towards our parents. He seemed approving of his father’s move, which made me happy. After giving Victor a bro hug, they soon settled in the living room and started to talk about football. I tuned them out and helped my mom set the table. Lunch was a satisfyingly simple affair and soon our bellies were full of honey sesame chicken, rice and salad – Julian and my mom had cooked – which we later rounded off with the delectable raspberry cheesecake Victor had managed to get from home, something I was going to ask him about later. I guess it was one of the perks of being the owner of Cherie’s – free flow dessert. Eyeing his yummy physique, I wondered how he stayed fit if he had that sort of food at home. And how I got so lucky.
“You look happy,” my mom remarked, a smile on her face as she caught me looking at Victor. If it had been any other person, I would have downplayed my response, but my mom deserved to know how I felt at that moment. I gave her a big smile and whispered, “I am, ma, I really am. I think things are finally falling into place.”
Adrienne and her vengeful words came back to me but I shook it off. I would deal with that later.
“JULIAN AND YOUR MOM suit each other,” Victor remarked as he drove me back home, his hand on the wheel. His other hand had found mine and was rubbing circles into my palm, making a soothing rhythm. It was early afternoon and I wanted to get started on my homework. I was cutting it close, barely a week ahead with my classes.
I laughed at his words. “Yeah? How so?”
“They both have this sort of calmness about them. Like they’re at peace with everyone and everything.” He looked at me and smiled. “Does that sound crazy?”