by V. T. Do
I couldn’t be sure, and before I had the chance to check, he pulled away.
“Just give me fifteen minutes to work everything out, and we’ll be on our way, okay? And afterward, I’ll take you home with me.”
“Max is expecting me home,” I said. “I can’t spend the night.”
He ran his finger down the bridge of my nose, nodding. “I know. I just want to spend a little more time with you before I have to let you go.”
“Okay,” I said softly. There was nothing more to say. Somedays I felt there weren’t enough hours in the day for me to be with him. I just needed more time. More of him.
More of everything.
40
Mason
I didn’t even know if it was a good idea to bring her here.
Logan suggested going here after work this morning, and I didn’t know why I wanted to bring Olivia with me at the time, only that I did, and I didn’t want to take it back.
I knew both Logan and Gage were hesitant to meet her.
I knew they didn’t think I should be pursuing this relationship with her. They thought this was a temporary thing, that soon the novelty of dating someone so much younger than me would wear off, and I would have risked my relationship with Max for nothing.
But what they didn’t know or understood was that nothing I feel for Olivia was temporary. There was just something about her that I couldn’t get enough of. Something I couldn’t walk away from.
So, I decided on the whim that it would be a good idea to introduce her to Logan and Gage and hope I didn’t come to regret the decision by the end of the night.
Looking at her, it was obvious that she was nervous. It was in the way she tightened her hold on me. In the way she faltered in her steps as we crossed over the threshold of the bar, and even in the way her eyes flitted from one place to the next.
Olivia had always been shy, but I had never seen her this reserved.
It was unnerving how much I want to carry her up in my arms and run out of there. I wanted to protect her from everything, even from the uncertainty she must be feeling now.
“Okay?” I asked, once the door closed behind us.
“Yeah. Sorry. I’m just a little nervous.”
“Don’t be sorry. And don’t be nervous. They’re going to love you.”
And I might be biased, but I couldn’t imagine anyone meeting Olivia and not loving her.
She’d pulled me in since the very beginning.
She offered a small smile before her gaze moved to somewhere past my shoulder. I turned around to see what she was looking at and saw Logan and Gage already at the bar, beer bottles in hand.
And they weren’t alone.
Two other women were sitting with them, but I knew those women didn’t come to the bar with them. They were probably on the prowl and picked Logan and Gage as potential targets.
My eyes moved back to Olivia. I doubted she had ever done any of that. To go out with the purpose of finding someone to take home for the night. The way those women stood next to the guys spoke of their experience. They knew what they were doing, and what they wanted.
It was hot, and while I could admit to that, I found Olivia’s innocence to be just as alluring if not, more so. To know that I would be the one to teach her everything about the act of pleasure. To know that she belonged to me in ways those women would never belong to Logan or Gage. And I knew it made me sound like a bastard to say that, especially since I was far from being as innocent as Olivia.
I led her to them. Gage saw us first. His expression was blank as his eyes moved from me, then to Olivia, where it stayed.
I didn’t like him looking at her.
I didn’t know when I got so possessive, but I was when it came to her, and it took everything in me not to growl at him and haul Olivia closer to me, so every dick within a five-mile radius knew just who she belonged to.
When we were close, Logan noticed us. He smiled brightly, and it worked to put Olivia as ease. At least he was good at pretending to be okay with this.
“Guys, I want you to meet Olivia. Olivia, this is Logan Cross and Gage Walker.”
I pulled her up so that she was slightly in front and felt her relax marginally into me. I was glad they weren’t rude to her. I would probably pummel the two assholes to the ground if they were.
Logan was definitely more open, whereas Gage was closed-off, not knowing how to react to her yet.
Olivia held out her hand to Logan first. The memory of our first official meeting came to my mind, where she had grabbed hold of my hand with both hands.
It was cute.
I watched as Olivia shook Gage’s hands. He was so gentle about it, as if he was afraid she might break with even the slightest pressure.
I didn’t blame him. Olivia had this delicateness to her that made me want to both be careful with her and push her for more until everything that made her… her, was mine for the taking.
I shook away the greedy thought, and came back to reality. There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. Even when I saw the expectant looks on the other women’s faces, I stayed mute. I didn’t even know their names, so it wasn’t like I could introduce them, even if I wanted to.
They were both beautiful, both blondes, and both looked very similar to each other. Sisters or cousins perhaps.
The one closest to Logan nudged him in the shoulder, almost causing him to drop the beer bottle in his hand. He turned back to her and frowned.
“Who is this?” the woman asked with almost a purr in her voice. I felt Olivia tense beside me. It was obvious she was talking about me and either ignoring Olivia or dismissing her completely. I didn’t like that one bit. I frowned at Logan, silently telling him to take care of this mess.
He set his beer down and crossed his arms over his chest, looking more annoyed than anything.
The other woman made a show of checking me up and down. I ignored her and pulled Olivia closer to me until her whole back was plastered against my front.
“Our cousin is meeting us here. She should arrive any minute now,” the woman said. As if she had done the math and it made sense in her mind. Three of them and three of us.
I opened my mouth to correct her, but Gage beat me to it.
“That sound great. You ladies have a good night.”
He stood and Logan followed. I grabbed Olivia’s hand and led her to a wide table nearby, keeping her close to me. A look back told me the two women were sending daggers our way.
Or, specifically, at Olivia.
I glowered at them. They quickly averted their eyes.
A haggard-looking waitress showed up at our table not long after. She had tired blue eyes, light brown hair and looked to be in her mid-thirties. Her nametag read April, and she was smiling at us.
“Welcome, folks. What can I get you all to drink?”
Logan held up his beer. Some IPA brand, it looked like. “How about another one of these?”
She nodded and moved to Gage. “Same,” he said.
“I’ll have whatever they’re having,” I said. Since I drove Olivia here, I didn’t plan on hitting the hard liquor.
She turned to Olivia then, her eyebrows raised in skepticism. I didn’t blame her. Olivia didn’t look old enough to order alcohol. Olivia wasn’t old enough to order alcohol. I didn’t think it would be a problem meeting in a bar, though. It wasn’t like Olivia was a big drinker. But perhaps I should have suggested somewhere else.
“Just a Coke for me.”
The waitress looked like she wanted to say something but changed her mind at the last minute, which was good because I didn’t know how I would react if she made Olivia feel even more uncomfortable than she was already feeling now.
And I hated that she felt that way. This was supposed to be a relaxed gathering, but she didn’t feel like she could put her guard down. I knew a lot of it had to do with her insecurities due to her age, but I should have done something else. Something different.
Perha
ps I should have introduced her to them alone before throwing her to the wolves.
This was all on me. But it was too late to back out now, even if all I really wanted to do was carry her out of there.
She watched our waitress leave before moving her eyes back, flittering a little nervously between one man and the next before settling them on me and holding. I grabbed her hand from underneath the table, raising it to my lips and kissing the delicate skin there.
She relaxed a little in her chair.
Gage cleared his throat. “So, Olivia. Mason tells me you’re a student at the University of Chicago?”
Olivia pulled away from me a bit and turned to give Gage her attention. “Yes. It’s my first year there.”
His smile was almost soft when he said, “I know.”
“What are you majoring in?” Logan asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know yet.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “You still have time.”
Olivia can choose whatever she wanted to do. She had to know Max and I would support her, no matter what. But I knew Olivia worried about being dependent on Max for longer than she deemed necessary.
But that was because she didn’t know about the trust fund Max set up for her when she was six. She would have access to it once she turned twenty-five. Though the funds weren’t excessive by any means, it was more than enough for her to live off on for years to come. And even if she didn’t have the trust, I would happily take care of her for the rest of our lives if she’d let me.
My hand tightened around her with the thought.
I wanted to take care of her.
The waitress took that time to come back with our drinks. We waited until she left to pick up where we left off.
“Did you guys all meet at school?” she asked.
Gage shook his head. “No, I didn’t go to the University of Chicago like these two.”
“Where did you go to school?”
“Brown University.”
Olivia nodded, obviously impressed. “What made you decide to come to Chicago?”
A mask shadowed over Gage’s eyes. I knew him coming here had to do with a past he didn’t talk much about. I only knew a little about his sister’s suicide: that it happened right here in Chicago, in the huge house his sister shared with her husband in the suburbs.
“To be closer to family,” he answered vaguely. His sister had been the only family he had here. His family was from Indiana, where his parents still resided in. I didn’t say anything to that, but Logan met my eyes from across the table.
Olivia nodded, but didn’t comment on it. She probably picked up on his mood.
The rest of the night was… pleasant enough.
I was sure Olivia enjoyed herself, and Logan and Gage were nice to her.
As I drove us back to my house, I couldn’t help but think of the conversation Gage had with me while Olivia was in the bathroom and Logan was ordering more beers at the bar.
It was more of a warning, really. Telling me everything I had already thought about when I decided to pursue this relationship with Olivia.
“She’s young.”
I shot him a look. “I know that. I don’t need you to state the obvious.”
He shrugged. “I’m just saying. And she’s Max’s ward. I don’t know your brother very well, but I know he’s protective of her. And I can see why.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked sharply.
He raised his hands up and moved back a little. “Nothing bad. It’s just, she’s very different from the women we usually associate ourselves with. Hell, she’s probably different than the girls her age. Walking around with those big innocent eyes. And being beautiful doesn’t help her one bit. Might as well put a bullseye on her back.”
“She’s not a target. Or a victim,” I said through gritted teeth. It was taking everything in me not to sock him.
“I’m not saying that you are moving in on her because of it. I’m saying when a girl walks around looking like that, it raises all our protective instincts, because we want nothing more than to keep her safe. Max is one of them. And he’s not going to like what you’re doing with her.”
“What I am doing with her is none of your goddamn business.”
“I know it’s not. But I consider you one of my closest friends. I’m trying to look out for you. And I would hate that this relationship you’re pursuing might ruin your relationship with your brother. A man you look up to.”
“I’m not pursuing this relationship. I’m all the way in. I can’t walk away now, and honestly, I don’t want to.”
He shrugged, but I knew it wasn’t because he didn’t care. It was because he didn’t understand. Perhaps one day, he might. One day, he’ll meet someone who will bring him to his knees, and he’ll find himself doing anything for her.
“Is she worth it?” he asked.
I didn’t hesitate. I knew the answer already. “Yes.”
41
Olivia
I followed Mason inside his apartment and blushed about ten shades of red when I walked past the kitchen island, memories of what we did the last time I was here coming back to me in full force.
I tried to forget about what I heard at the bar: Gage’s warning to Mason. I tried to just enjoy being here with him, yet the thoughts persisted.
I knew things could have been worse. Both of his friends weren’t outright rude to me, and I could even consider some of the moments at the bar to have gone well. But still, it hurt to hear Gage voicing all of my concerns out loud. I didn’t stay and listen in on all of them. I walked to the bar once I heard Gage discussing my age and Max’s protectiveness. I went to Logan and asked if he could order me another Coke, even though I didn’t want one.
I had been thinking about nothing other than Logan and Mason’s conversation the entire night. My insecurities came out, and I wondered whether it would be the very thing to end Mason and me. If Mason listened, he could decide one day that this relationship was more trouble than it was worth.
I shook out of my somber thoughts when Mason led me over to the couch and held me tightly in his arms.
We made out like teenagers first, and it was a bittersweet reminder that I was still a teenager, but I didn’t feel like one with Mason. I felt like a woman in possession of her own sexuality. I pulled on his shirt until it was off and on the floor. I moved back to take him in.
God, he was beautiful.
His pecs were hard and smattered with dark hair, and his nipples were a soft brown color I wanted to explore with my tongue. I ran my hands up and down his abs, loving the way the muscles clenched from my touch, and when I moved forward and placed a small kiss on his chest, right where his heart was, he let out a stuttering breath. He wrapped his strong arms around me, holding me close for one, two, three brief seconds, before letting go and pushing me back until I laid on the couch and he was hovering above me.
He grabbed the hem of my shirt, rolling it up until the fabric was scrunched up to my collarbones, before unbuttoning my jeans and pulling them off of me, leaving me exposed, save for the tiny piece of scrap that was my underwear.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful. Do you know that?”
I smiled and nodded. If I was beautiful, it was because of the way he looked at me.
He moved his hand down to my panties and pushed them to the side, exposing my drenched pussy lips to his gaze. He moved his thumbs softly in a small circle over my opening, and I arched my back, wanting more of him.
“Mason, please,” I pleaded. I needed more.
“Shh, I got you,” he said as he entered two fingers inside of me. I automatically clenched around him, and Mason let out a small groan. “You want this rough, don’t you?”
Perhaps I did.
I didn’t think I was one of those girls who liked it rough, but I did with Mason.
I clenched around him even more, feeling myself getting more aroused, just from his words.
I watched him as he
moved his finger in and out of me, a slow, soft and torturous pace at first, before picking up momentum. Soon, I could hear the slick sound my pussy made each time he entered me, and I arched my back, moving my hips along the movements he set.
I could come just like this.
My toes curled from the pleasure, and Mason quickened his pace. The friction was almost too much to bear, and I could feel my arousal leaking out of my pussy and down to the inside of my thigh.
“Mason!” I shouted, when his movement grew more forceful. I grabbed his wrist and tried to stop him, or at the very least, slow him down, but he didn’t cease his movements, and my fingernails dug into his skin there.
“This cunt is mine,” he said, his voice gruff and his eyes dark. “It’s mine to please, mine to love, and mine use. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
I nodded, and more wetness gushes out of me from his words. The slippery sound of it every time Mason moved back inside of me was my undoing.
I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
I came on a loud shout, and Mason watched me, his mouth open in a low pant, as if he was getting worked up just from the sight of me alone.
He pulled his fingers out and I sucked in a sharp breath, still to damn sensitive there.
And sure enough, when I moved my eyes to his pants, I could see his cock tenting. I licked my suddenly dry lips, and without taking my eyes off of him, I moved my hands down to his belt and undid it.
He didn’t say anything as I worked to rid him of his pants. I pushed them down, along with his boxer briefs, far enough that his cock sprang free, hard and angry looking.
I had never seen another man’s cock before. Not even in videos. I knew Lizzie sometimes watched porn, but I was always a little gun-shy about looking it up.
Mason stilled while I took him in completely. He was beautiful.
And I was fascinated.
I wanted to explore this part of his body with my hands… with my tongue.
The urge to take him in my mouth was sudden, but how did I go about telling him this was what I wanted without fumbling over words like a naïve little virgin, even if that was what I was?