by Blake, Remy
His palms hold me spread open wide. His fingertips dig into the soft flesh of my inner thighs, marking me as his. Swirling his tongue around my entrance one final time, he straightens up and scoops me from the table. He carries me to the living room, placing me on the couch.
“Turn over,” he commands, shoving his shorts and boxer briefs down in one fell swoop. Kneeling on the cushion, I grip the back of the couch, arching my back.
“Oh fuck. I may have found a new religion.” His hands reverently caress my curves. “I’ll happily worship this ass and go to hell for it.” He slaps his palm against one cheek and then rubs away the sting. “This is going to be hard and fast,” he warns. His cock butts up against my entrance and his hands slide outward to grip my hips. He shoves into me with one powerful thrust. There’s no hesitation or starting slow. His hips piston, driving into me over and over as he takes me roughly just like he said he would.
His fingers dig into my skin, leaving bruises to match the ones on my back. I’m not sure why, but the thought of him leaving marks on me turns me on even more.
“Jesus. Your pussy…” He exhales a harsh breath. “Gonna come.” He pulls out, painting my ass with his orgasm. “Goddamn, your ass covered in my come—that’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He slides one finger through the wetness and slips between my ass cheeks to tease the tight ring no one’s ever penetrated before. “I want in here too. Not tonight, but soon.”
I don’t have the strength to disagree and I don’t want to. I have to bite my tongue to keep from shouting yes to all of it. Yes, to anything he wants to do with my body.
15
Harper
There’s a knock at the door, and since the only person I’m expecting is sitting on the futon in my office, I’m a little perplexed by who it could be.
Connor’s head whips up from the practice test he’s taking. “Expecting someone?”
I shake my head at him. I’m not even supposed to be here. We changed the tutoring session from Friday, to a night earlier. Grateful we’re not tangled up in one another like every other time we’re alone together, I head for the door.
“Who is it?” I call out.
“It’s me,” says the person on the other side of the door. The voice is vaguely familiar, and when I finally open up and see Cruz in front of me, I know why.
The surprised shriek that leaves my mouth could most definitely be heard from across the country. Leaping into his arms, tears begin to fall down my face; the excitement and shock too much for me to process.
“Oh my God. I can’t believe you’re here.”
Refusing to let him go, I hug him tight, trying to calm myself down.
When I finally unlatch myself from him, his eyes dart to something behind me.
Connor.
Cruz looks between us, his questioning gaze settling on me. “Tu Alumno?”
“I’m Connor,” he pipes in, clearly understanding the question.
“And yes,” I quickly follow. “He is my student.”
I turn around to a very confused, and very pissed off Connor. “Connor,” I say pointing to him and then back at Cruz. “This is my older brother, Cruz. Cruz this is Connor.”
Cruz leans over me and gives Connor a firm handshake.
“Do you want me to come back another time?” Cruz asks.
I turn my head back around to Connor. “Of course not, we were just finishing up, weren’t we Connor?”
“We were?”
“Yes. We can pick this stuff up on our next tutoring lesson.”
Trying to break the tension, I pick up Cruz’s travel bag. “Come on in. Get out of the doorway.”
Connor sulks back to my desk and packs up his things at glacial speed. I know he’s annoyed we’ve had to cut short our time together, but my brother is here. My brother. I smile at that thought alone and push Connor’s feelings to the back of my mind.
When Connor finally leaves, the hurt at his dismissal obvious for anyone to see, Cruz’s inquisition begins.
“And you tried to tell me you would never get involved with a student.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lie. Wanting to avoid Cruz’s gaze at all costs, I begin to pack up my office for the night.
“You’re a bad liar at the best of times, but I don’t even know why you bother trying to lie to me.”
I let out a loud sigh and look over to him. “Can we just not talk about it right now? I’d rather cause a fuss about you being here in D.C. with me.”
He smiles proudly. “I pulled off a great surprise, right?”
“You and everyone else. I just spoke to Ma the other day and she didn’t say a word.”
“I actually didn’t tell her till this morning. I couldn’t run the risk of her spilling.”
“Good move.” Our mother doesn’t do it intentionally, but if you ever have a secret, she is the last person you should tell. “How long are you staying?”
It’s ridiculous that whatever answer he gives won’t be long enough, but I try to leave my pessimistic attitude here in my office, and enjoy whatever amount of time I have with Cruz.
“I leave on Sunday. Figured you could show me your new neighborhood.”
“I don’t know much of this area,” I answer honestly. Most of my time recently has been spent on my back with Connor. I don’t really think that’s something Cruz wants to hear. “But there’s a few people I could introduce you to. We could go out to dinner with them maybe?”
He throws an arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple. “I’m good with whatever, Harps. I’m just happy to see you.”
I wrap my arm around his torso as we walk out of my building and into the cold night. “Thank you for coming, Cruz. I didn’t realize how much I needed this till I saw you standing in that doorway.”
More tears threaten to spill at the thought of him going home. I give him a long squeeze and tell myself to focus on the good stuff. “Let’s go and see my shoebox of an apartment. We can order in and catch up.”
“You mean you can try and feed me, so I’m too full to get the details on your boy toy.”
I pretend to look shocked. “I would never.”
“Yeah, yeah. Nice try.”
* * *
The apartment looks even smaller with Cruz’s large frame inside it, but it also feels a lot more like home. When we arrive home, he jumps in the shower first while I order us some pizza. When he’s finished, I leave cash on the coffee table, tell him to be nice to the delivery man, and take my turn to freshen up.
When I walk back into the living room, the smell of pepperoni pizza makes my stomach growl. Relaxed and bundled up in layers of clothes, I tuck myself into the corner of the couch while Cruz divvies up the pizza on to two separate plates.
“I see you found the plates okay,” I state.
“There were like four cupboards to choose from, the odds were in my favor.”
He sits back on the single couch and puts his sock covered feet on the table. I raise an eyebrow up at him.
“Relax,” he draws out. “You’re not eating off the table and my socks and feet are clean.”
“If this were my actual house, I would kick your ass.”
He winks. “I guess we’ll wait and see what happens.”
“So, how’s work these days?” I ask him, wanting to catch up on everything and everyone. “Business good?”
“Yeah,” he nods enthusiastically. “Good enough that I think we’ll all be able to spare a few days every now and then to visit you.”
“Each of you?” I ask eagerly.
“Yeah. Everyone wants to see you, and that way it will make next year a little easier,” he adds. “Hopefully anyway.”
My four brothers own their own construction company. If anyone thought they were just close in age, they were wrong. Whoever coined the term living in each other's pockets was one hundred percent talking about the Martínez boys. Cruz, Ceaser, Will, and Manuel do everything together. So much so, tha
t opening a business seemed like a no-brainer. I was different in every way, yet they never let it be an issue. I was their blood, and nothing mattered to them more than that.
“I can’t wait for Christmas, though,” I exclaim. “It’s fucking freezing here, and being home for a solid two weeks is the perfect Christmas present.”
“You still refuse to stay with Mom and Julius when you get home?” he asks.
“You know I’m civil to that man, but I am not staying there.”
“Harper it was so long ago.”
Our father died in a car accident when I was five years old. I remember it being a rough time for everyone, but I didn’t really understand what loss and grief was until I was older and I could look back at the memories and put the pieces of the puzzle together.
When my mom was trying to get back on her feet, my dad’s best friend, Julius, stepped in to help. Next thing I knew, he was moving in, and helping Mama raise us.
I didn’t care that they were together, but he was so different to my dad, it made it difficult to be in the same space as him. He would hit my brothers when they did something wrong, and scream at me whenever he could. It was chaos and mayhem, and I resented my mother for letting him turn our house into that. It didn’t stop till we were well in our teens. And now that we’re all moved out, and he and Mama are alone, it’s all cool and calm, and we play happy family. Even though my brothers think I’m overreacting, they’ve thankfully stopped trying to get me to change my mind.
“I don’t care,” I remind Cruz. “I can never forget it, and he and Mom are just going to have to deal with it.”
“Fine,” he huffs. “I don’t want to waste time going over this anyway. It comes up at least three times a year and I think we’ve already hit our quota.”
“Good,” I pout.
Cruz opens the second pizza box and we both go in for more slices. “I don’t know what I’m doing eating so much, it’s just going to give me an upset stomach when I go to bed.”
“Lucky you sleep alone then, huh?” He smirks.
Walked right into that one.
“For the record, I do sleep alone.” He eyes me suspiciously. “Okay fine. I sleep alone if I’m here.”
“So, he doesn’t come over.”
“God no.” I'm horrified by the thought alone. “Do you know how many department members float around here.”
“Is it serious? I mean, I don’t feel like I need to state the obvious here, but I thought there was a look-but-don’t-touch rule.”
“There is. Well there was,” I clarify. “But it just kind of happened.”
“He seemed pretty pissed off when you kicked him out earlier.”
“I didn’t kick him out,” I shout.
He swallows the pizza in his mouth. “Yeah, you did.”
“Well,” I shrug. “What did he expect? That I was going to introduce him as my boyfriend or my lover, or worry about his feelings when my older brother, who I haven’t seen for almost six months, is standing in my doorway?”
“Hey, hey,” he rises off his seat and comes and sits next to me. He puts a hand on my thigh, giving it a quick squeeze. “It’s okay. If you don’t want it to be a big deal, then it doesn’t have to be.”
“It is a big deal, Cruz.” I lean my head on his shoulder. “I’ve been telling myself over and over it’s just a casual thing, but I’m not that girl. I mean, he doesn’t know that, but I know. I don’t just fuck anyone and everyone. I don’t do casual.”
He sticks his fingers in his ears and starts singing at the top of his voice. “La. La. La. La”
I burst out laughing and reach for his wrists, dragging his hands away from his face.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I forgot I’m not allowed to say the word fuck when talking about S-E-X.”
“Ugh.” He shivers. “It’s not any better when you spell the word.”
“Whatever,” I scoff. “I don’t give you this much shit when you talk about your relationships.”
“That’s you. And this is me. It is non-negotiable.”
“Fine.” Silence floats between us, allowing thoughts of Connor to easily seep into my mind. I know I like him. The more time I spend with him, that fact becomes irrefutable. But do I want more? Especially when I know how hard it will be to have it?
“Stop thinking so hard,” Cruz interrupts. “If he’s the guy that makes you happy, then that’s fine. Just don’t be surprised if you have to pick between him and the job.”
16
Connor
After the callous way Harper dismissed me last night, I can barely look at her today. Okay, that’s a lie. I can’t help but look at her, but I’m certainly not happy about it. And I can tell she’s noticed by the way her eyes keep flicking in my direction. She looks concerned and not as focused on what she’s teaching as she usually is.
I’m not sure why I was so bothered by her telling me our tutoring session was over. We’re only supposed to be having crazy, hot sex, not a lifetime commitment, or any commitment at all. She doesn’t owe me anything, but just the same, it hurt when she cast me aside.
My thoughts are a jumbled mess of annoyance and anger. And I can’t keep my mind on the lesson. I’ve been doing better in this class and now today is a total wash. I might as well have slept in. The sleep would have been more beneficial than sitting here doodling on a piece of paper.
Harper dismisses the class. When I rise, she calls my name, waylaying me. Shit. Slinging my backpack over a shoulder, I slowly walk to the front of the classroom. By the time I get there the rest of the students have exited the room and the door is closed once more.
“What’s up?” I question with an obvious chip on my shoulder.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you. It was pretty clear you didn’t hear a word of the lesson today.”
“I’m fine. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My shoulders rise up in a careless shrug.
“Connor. Don’t do this.”
“Do what? Answer your questions?”
“You know that’s not what I mean. Tell me what’s bothering you. I can’t help if I don’t know.”
“I didn’t ask for your help. What makes you think I need or want it?”
She touches my arm. “I care about you. Please tell me what’s wrong.” It’s the sincere expression on her face combined with her gentle touch that weakens my resolve to stay mad.
“I didn’t like the way you dismissed me last night, as if I don’t matter to you at all.”
“That’s not what happened. My brother, who I haven’t seen in months, is in town and I was excited about spending time with him.”
“I know you were and that’s not the problem at all.”
“It sounds like it is.”
“No, I’m upset about the way you pretty much kicked me out of my tutoring session. I get it, I’m just sex to you. But we were actually working on schoolwork and I do care about my grade.”
She rubs a finger between her brows and looks at me. “I’m sorry. I never should’ve ended our time early. You’re right. Your grade should’ve taken precedence over me seeing my brother. I have a job to do and I need to do it to the best of my abilities.”
“Look, I probably wouldn’t have been half as bent out of shape over it if we weren’t fucking too. It felt more personal to me than it should’ve. And maybe this is a good reminder that we’re both getting in over our heads. We should stop before we sink any deeper.”
She shakes her head. “No. I don’t want to stop being with you. Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know what I want,” I toss out. But that’s not true. It’s a bald-faced lie. Ending us is the last thing I want to do, but I don’t like not having control. And last night she made me feel like I had no say in what happened. And really, I didn’t. She took it completely out of my hands.
“Okay.” She nods slowly, sinking down into her chair. “I’ll see you tomorrow night for our study session.” She avoids looking
at me. Now I feel like an asshole. She’s hurt and that makes me feel worse than her dismissing me.
I rake my hair back with my hand and drop my backpack on the floor. Squatting down in front of her, I stare up into her brown eyes. “I don’t want to stop being with you. Even though I know this could end badly, and probably will, it’s worth the risk. I know we’re just sex, but it’s fucking phenomenal sex and I enjoy your company. I’m not ready to walk away, but if you are, I understand.”
She cups my cheek with her hand. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings last night. It wasn’t my intention at all. I guess I got so caught up in seeing Cruz that it momentarily eclipsed everything else.”
“You love your brother. I get it. And I should’ve been more understanding of that.” I take her hand from my face and press a kiss on her palm before rising to my full height.
Harper stands. “I’d really like it if you’d come out with us tonight. He wants to officially meet you.”
“You told him about us?”
“He figured it out for himself. I guess he saw the looks that were bouncing between us.”
“Sure, I’ll meet you guys. Where do you want to go?”
“That’s the thing. I’m not great with this area. Why don’t you pick a place where we won’t have to worry about bumping into people we know?”
“I can do that. I’ll text you the details.” Picking up my backpack, I tug the strap up over my shoulder and walk toward the door. I pause about halfway there and turn. “Wear something sexy for me.”
She smiles. “I’ll see what I can do.”
* * *
Glancing at the platinum Rolex on my arm, I scan the crowd near the door for a sign of Harper or Cruz. Shit. Did she change her mind? Maybe she thought about how much easier it would be if we stopped seeing each other. If she did, I’ll have no one to blame for putting the idea in her head but myself.