Give You Up (Dumas University Book 1)

by Ashlyn Mathews

She guards her heart with iron-clad walls, and it’ll take a strong and persistent son of a bitch to scale or break down her defenses. Syn wasn’t kidnapped and held for ransom, but she did lose a baby.

  “Syn?”

  “Yes?” She glances up at me from her spot resting on my shoulder.

  I reach down and smooth my finger over her brow. “I’m sorry about the baby you lost.”

  I am assuming the little boy I thought was Grady’s kid is Syn’s half-brother. But no way am I prying. In time or not at all, Syn will give me the truth. If it’s not at all, I have to be fine with that.

  “Thank you.” Turning her body into mine, she weaves her fingers in my damp hair—we made love nice and slow in the shower—and plants a kiss on the underside of my jaw.

  That part of me never came up before on my radar of places that turn me on, but now it’s one of my favorite places for Syn to kiss on me. Number one place is my mouth. Second is when she trails kisses down my core, lingering painstakingly on the ridges of my six-pack as I fist her hair in my hands, her warm breath and wet mouth enough for pre-cum to glisten on my cock. And my cock . . . yeah, B-man comes in at third.

  “Syn. Baby. I want you again.”

  “I want you too.” She gets on her back and strips off her shorts and tank top.

  I take my cue from Syn and ditch my clothes. With my arms alongside her head, I claim her mouth. She whimpers, and my dick is a thick rod made of steel.

  “Babe, the sex noises you make. They turn me the fuck on.”

  Showing her how much she affects me, I bring her hand low. She caresses my erection and strokes the satiny head.

  “Jesus, that feels good.” My back arches. My head tips back. A groan slips from me.

  Before I know what is happening, I’m shoved onto my back and her head is between my legs. Her small mouth wraps around my cock, and I see stars. Fucking see stars. Her mouth is wet. Tight. She goes up and down on my rod. Her saliva slicks my length. Her mouth sucks. Her cheeks hollow. Her hands slide under my ass cheeks.

  She is dominating. Taking what she wants. What she wants is my cock. I fist my fingers in her hair. Guide her up and down my cock. Encourage her with my dirty words.

  “Make me come, baby. Suck me off.”

  She slams her mouth down my length. Cups my balls. I grab the sides of her head, and lifting my hips, I fuck her with my mouth. Slow thrusts, in and out. Deep thrusts, in and out, and I am in heaven. Syn has no gag reflex.

  “I’m close, Syn. Let go now or I’ll come in your mouth.”

  She doesn’t let go. She sucks on my cock, and I come in her mouth. Out of breath and my body useless to me, my strength having also left through my cock when I came hard, I reach for her. She settles her body over mine. Her skin is smooth. She’s warm. But she’s been left wanting and unsatisfied. I’ll take care of that.

  I tuck my hands under her arms, and pulling her up, I seat her on my face. I lick up her slit. Mouth her pussy lips. Eat her out. She grinds on my face. I wrap my hand around my softened cock. Stroke up and down. Soon, B-man is rearing for more action. I lick her clit in time to me beating off.

  Syn begs me to fuck her with my dick. Uh-uh, babe. Not yet. Clamping my hands on her hips, I guide her over my face. Her flavor is sweet. Her scent, musky. I love her flavor. Dig the scent of her. I inhale a deeper breath and know the moment she comes. Her thighs tremble, a shudder passes through her, and she slicks my face with her juices.

  I aim to bring her down from her climax with slow and lingering licks along her slit, but the impatient little chit slides down my body, and grabbing my cock, she slides my length and thickness inside her wet pussy. I groan. Sling my arm over my eyes. Fucking her bareback is utter heaven on earth.

  “Baby, you have the tightest, wettest pussy.”

  “Only for you.”

  “And this is for you only.” I grasp her hand in mine and go low. Together we stroke my cock slicked with her juices as she goes up and down. She rides me hard. I bring my fingers to my mouth. Lick off her flavor. Ask for permission to play with her backdoor.

  She tips forward, and taking my cue once again from Syn, I caress down her little hole. It puckers beneath my touch. She moans and writhes on my cock. I finger her hole. Her eyes close. I need more. Need to make her feel so good, she will keep me around for the sex after our three months is through.

  Holding on to her, I rise off the bed, tip forward, and get her on her back with me still balls deep inside her. Thank fuck for working out, for my steel abs, and for Syn’s tight pussy.

  Her inner walls cocoon my dick. Squeezes and lets go. Does it again the same time I slam my cock inside her. She digs her nails into my shoulders. Begs me to go deeper.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”

  “Not hurting. Feels so good, Taron. I need more. Please.”

  “Please what, Pixie Dust?”

  “Fuck me.”

  Grabbing her by the ankles, I spread her legs wide. Slam my dick inside her. Her tits bounce. The bed creaks. My balls tighten, and this is it. I am ready to blow my load.

  “Now, Taron. Oh, God, now.”

  A final thrust and I come.

  Did I mention making love to my girl bareback is heaven on earth?

  We clean up our mess, and with her in my arms, we fall asleep, not giving a care what tomorrow may bring.

  28

  Taron

  I sit at a table at Shades and sip on my lukewarm beer, my gaze fixed on Syn and the guys. Except her crew of four has expanded to six with the inclusion of the two douchebags who rolled into town like they own it.

  Don’t they realize Midnight accepting them as a part of his crew and welcoming them inside his place of business is all a show? Or at least, I think it is. Midnight wears his darker emotions on his sleeve where Riley is concerned, but is a closed book with everything else.

  I push the side button on my cell. The screen lights up. I check the time. Ten minutes to closing. The bar is emptying out. Thank fuck Syn isn’t closing.

  The ten minutes moving slow as molasses, I take more sips of my beer and think over the conversation we had on the way to me dropping her off for the start of her shift at Shades. She said her ex’s cousin Rhett saw an IG post of Syn with Midnight and Dare. Rhett DM’ed Midnight for a meeting. He wanted to propose a business idea. Midnight didn’t respond. Why would he? That guy has a huge following, and if he responded to every direct message, he wouldn’t get anything done.

  Douchebag cousin couldn’t get through to Midnight that way, so he took matters into his own hands and did something drastic and dumb. He got inked with the same tat as Dare, Midnight, and Syn, came to Washington, and slept with a girl who had also come up on Midnight’s feed. Anabelle. One of Dom’s servers.

  Shit, if that isn’t desperation, I don’t know what is.

  My eyes still on my girl chatting it up with her ex and Rhett, I slide my arm across the back of the booth, and down the rest of my drink. Syn hasn’t acknowledged me or looked my way, but I know she knows I’m here.

  There is this undeniable crackle of energy in the air. It’s the kind that sizzles, that doesn’t like being ignored. I shift my attention to Mohawk’s face and stare so hard, he stops laughing at something Syn says and locks his steely gaze on mine. The guy doesn’t look away. He smirks, and I calmly set my empty glass on the table before I do something I’ll regret, like hurl the thing at his damn head.

  The last customer leaves, and Mohawk raises a brow my direction. I wave to him, not shy with my middle finger. He slides his arm across Syn’s shoulders and pulls her close. She is tiny next to him. He beats me out by at least two inches. Bastard.

  Syn turns into him and looks up the same time he glances down at her. She opens her mouth. He coasts his thumb over the arch of her cheek, and I see red. The touch is intimate, and there is no need for another guy to touch my girl so intimately unless he is looking to get his face bashed in.

  I rise out of my seat, aiming to s
tomp on over and pull him off my woman, but Dare slides into the booth and blocks my path.

  “Get out of the damn way.”

  “Hold up, dude. Let her work her magic.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “She’s buttering them up, man.”

  “For what?”

  “For getting them to take their shirts off.”

  “What for?”

  “Are you kidding me right now?”

  “Do I look like I’m joking?” I growl.

  “She ran the plan by me. Shirt off. IG post. Tat.”

  It hits me what Syn is doing. Rhett has the same tat as them, but where? We decided not to tell Dare and Midnight about Natalie. The less people know about our plan of finding the guy, the less someone might say something, giving the guy in question the chance to scram. If he hasn’t done so already.

  “Why’d she tell you but not me?”

  “Guess.” He looks at my hands on top of the table. They are balled, ready for a good pounding into Mohawk’s face.

  I grunt. “Point taken.”

  He rises out of the seat.

  “Where you going?”

  “To make us a drink. Midnight sent everyone home. It’s just us.”

  Now that I’m not deep in my hate fest, I look around. Dare is right. The closed sign is on and there is only the six of us inside Shades. Dare returns with a bottle of rum and two shot glasses. He sits, pours us the shots, and after a toast to Syn’s smarts, we down our shots and slam our glasses on the table.

  Smiling, I wipe my sleeve over my mouth. If those two scumbags shooting daggers at me with their eyes don’t know who I am and what I mean to Syn, they do now. Otherwise, I would not be keeping company with her best friend. And . . . that thought doesn’t piss me off. Maybe a girl and a guy can be friends without crossing the lines of their friend zone.

  “Dare, dude, get over here. You too, Taron. You’re our photographer, man.”

  We head on over. Midnight hands me his phone, then goes to stand by Dare. The two pose for the camera, flexing their arms and showing off their tats. Hunter goes behind Syn and pulls my girl to him with his arms hanging over her small shoulders. I relax my jaw. Relax my grip on Midnight’s phone. If I lose my shit now, there’ll be no chance of getting a look at where Rhett is tatted.

  I won’t disappoint Syn. Or have her pissed at me. She’s right. I need to learn to deal with my temper. If I don’t, I stand the chance of losing her. With as much progress as we’ve made, I’m not willing to take that risk.

  So, I tamp down my temper and wait. Rhett grabs the hem of his T-shirt, pulls his shirt over his head, and fuck me, he is not tatted along his ribs.

  I snap the shot and hand Midnight his phone. Syn and I are back to square one, and my win is bittersweet. Yeah, I’ll be spending more time with Syn, helping her find the douchebag who hurt Natalie. Except we have a different problem on our hands. I see the determination on Hunter’s face, and now that he’s found her, he won’t let Syn go without a fight.

  And a fight between me and her ex is a guarantee someone will lose Syn, and that someone is me. I don’t share, ever, and if Hunter doesn’t give Syn up, I will fuck him up to the point he’ll be drinking through a straw and not walking worth a damn without serious rehab.

  Needing to calm the hell down, I leave the bar without a word to Syn. She can thank me later for sparing her ex a much-needed beating.

  29

  Syn

  “I don’t know what to do, Dare.”

  “Why you telling me when you should be talking to Taron.”

  “You’re my friend. He’s—”

  “The guy who has a boner for you?”

  “Exactly.”

  Dare chuckles. I swat his shoulder. We are on his couch binge watching Naked and Afraid, one of Dare’s favorite reality shows, after finishing up our dinner of pizzas and cheese sticks. Taron is spending time with his roommates, Andy and Jordan. I sent him a copy of my calendar so that he knows the days and times we’re to spend time together as well as when I’ll be with Hunter and Rhett.

  “So he’s pissed at you. What’s the big deal? You told him to trust you, right?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Would you trust someone who tells you to trust them?”

  “Fuck no.”

  “Point made.” Crossing my arms, I slouch into the couch and watch two naked people meet for the first time. Awkward.

  “What’d he say exactly when you told him you would be spending time with Hunter and Rhett?”

  “He demanded to know for what reason.”

  “And?”

  I sigh. “That Midnight said so.”

  Dare laughs this insanely loud noise from deep within his core, and it puts me in a worse mood.

  “It’s not funny, Dare.”

  “Hell yeah it is. ’Cause Midnight says so,” he mimics me. “No wonder it went over like a load of bricks. You should’ve given a different reason.”

  “Like what?”

  He turns off the television, and looking me in the eye, he starts coaxing the truth from me. His patience and understanding are the reason I love him like a brother and why our friendship works without there being other feelings that can complicate a friendship between a guy and a girl.

  “Like the honest-to-God truth, B.”

  I have never told Dare about my life with Hunter and Rhett. All he knows is a guy hurt me because I’d hurt him first.

  God, Taron never hurt me when we were together. He did everything possible to keep me safe. Hunter did the opposite. He teased out my wilder side, getting me in over my head with partying, drinking, and smoking the occasional bud. It was Hunter who paid for my face piercings. I paid for my own bling after ditching the ones he gifted me when I told him I was pregnant with his baby.

  “What truth?”

  “That you and this Hunter dude have history.”

  “You know this how?”

  “The way you look at one another. There are unspoken words, things left unsaid.”

  “Pfft. As if.”

  “You sassing me, B? ’Cause I am being completely honest with you, and my honesty radar is telling you to clear the air up fast between you and Hunter. Get your closure, then get out of Dodge. Don’t be risking poking the slumbering bear.”

  “I am not poking Hunter.”

  “I meant the meaner of the two.”

  “I’m not poking Taron either.”

  “Sure, keep telling yourself there’s nothing going on, Syn. I see the way he looks at you. He’s had a taste of you and won’t give up on your sweet and spicy, B.”

  Sweet and spicy? I smile. This guy.

  “Talk to them. Decide who gets your time now and who will stick around for the longer term.”

  “How come you’re so wise about my life but are a shit show with yours?”

  “I care about your life more than I do mine.”

  What he says is so sweet, I throw myself into his arms and plant a kiss smack dab on his mouth. Surprised, he opens his mouth. I do too. He’s trying to speak, but his tongue is inside my mouth. I push him away the same time he grabs on to me. We fall back, and I land on top of him.

  Dare looks up at me with wide eyes. I must have the same expression. We break out in laughter.

  “Awkward.”

  “Holy fuck, yeah, it was.”

  “You didn’t feel anything, right?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like the burning need to rip off my clothes and shove more than your tongue inside my mouth?”

  “Syn, the dirty words you say.”

  “Well?”

  “Did you?”

  “I asked first, Dare.”

  “Nothing except for how warm your mouth is. How sweet you taste. I could go for seconds, B.”

  “I . . . That’s not funny,” I sputter. “Or true. Take back the words.”

  “Why when I’m speaking the tr
uth?”

  “Dare.” God, this cannot be happening.

  “Just kidding.” He waggles his brows. “Shit, Syn, you should’ve seen the look on your face. It was like someone died or something.”

  “Or something. Don’t ever tease me like that again. I mean it.”

  His face gets all serious. “You’re right. I’m sorry, B. I love you like a sister. Nothing more. We’re good as friends.”

  Thank goodness. I climb off his body, and upright again, I shove a few of those huge couch pillows between us. Dare gets rid of them, making a mess on the floor as he tosses them haphazardly. I grab the nearest one and lop it at him. He smacks it aside, and soon, we are on like Donkey Kong, having ourselves a pillow fight.

  Laughing and out of breath, I fall back onto the couch. Dare sits next to me and stretches out his long legs.

  “Well, are you?” He glances sidelong at me.

  “Am I what?”

  “Will you talk to the guys who have boners for you?”

  He can be so crass.

  “Let me check my calendar.” I pick my phone off the coffee table and find my calendar app. “I see Taron tomorrow for our sex ed class, then meeting up with Cindy for lunch. We’ll ‘accidentally’ bump into Hank at the cafeteria and have lunch with him.”

  Dare gestures with his hand for me to move along. I glare at him for hurrying me through tomorrow’s schedule.

  “Practice with Taron. I’ve made a mental list of the guys who don’t like him.”

  “What you planning on doing with that intel?”

  “I haven’t decided.” I set my phone back on the table. “Do you have ideas? If so, please feel free to share.” I smirk. “I wouldn’t want to reinvent the wheel.”

  Dare has working knowledge of melding teams that don’t work well together.

  “I say offer up half a day of paintballing. Put them disloyal jerks on Taron’s team.”

  “Great idea, but what if Taron sucks at paintball? The guys will hate his guts more if he’s the reason they lost.”

  “How about we practice with Nerf guns?” Mischievous gleam in his eyes. “You can up the ante with a bet to make sure Taron does everything possible to win.”