by Tate James
The doorbell rang again, then another time in quick succession, and I groaned.
"Fucking hell," I muttered, "I have to get that. It's my Chinese delivery. I’d forgotten Seph was going out for dinner tonight and ordered for her."
Lucas pulled back far enough to give me a puzzled look, his lips puffy from kissing me already. "Are you hungry?"
I grinned. "Not really, but he won't go away without being paid. Trust me, he's a stubborn old goat."
Lucas stared at me a moment, like he was trying to work out if I was serious or not, then gave a quick nod. "I'll get it," he told me, rising up from the bed, "you stay right there."
A laugh slipped past my lips as he raced out of my bedroom, but I was stunned enough not to argue until it was too late. He was already opening my front door, paying Linoel, the delivery man, and running—actually running—back through to my bedroom.
It was stupid. He should have had better sense than to answer my door. I bet he hadn't even checked the video feed before opening it... Someone could have easily shot him, just like that. Then again, Lucas easily had the worst sense of danger in anyone I'd ever met, so it shouldn't have been surprising.
"You shouldn't have done that," I told him as he kicked my bedroom door shut behind him. He wasn't carrying the food, so he must have dropped it on the kitchen counter on his way past.
He gave a small shrug. "No big deal. I made almost four grand in tips this week."
I groaned and flopped back onto my mattress, my hands covering my face. "That's not what I meant," I replied, my voice muffled by my hands.
The mattress dipped as he knelt on it, then his warm hands slipped under my tank top, raising it up so he could kiss my stomach.
"I know," he murmured, sounding serious, "but if your Chinese delivery guy wanted to commit murder, I'd rather he shoot me than you."
Oh dear god. Who even was Lucas Wildeboer?
I moved my hands away from my face so I could look down at him, and he just smirked as he kissed my stomach and teased the waistband of my yoga pants.
"Fucking hell," I whispered, "you're still in your school uniform, Lucas."
His brows hitched. "That's easily fixed."
Oh yeah, Lucas was a stripper in his spare time. It really shouldn't have surprised me how effortlessly he shed his clothes all the way down to a pair of tight black boxer briefs that deliciously outlined his huge erection.
"Better?" he asked with a wicked grin.
"Much," I murmured, trying really fucking hard not to drool. It was easy to see how I'd accepted him as twenty-one when he was near naked. Lucas had the body of a man, not a boy.
He took that as the permission it was intended as, returning his mouth to mine as he helped relieve me of my own clothes. After my panties hit the floor, Lucas gripped me by the waist and slid me further up the bed, then grinned as he lay between my spread legs with one of my thighs resting on his broad shoulder.
"This is such a bad idea," I whispered as his long fingers stroked the length of my throbbing pussy.
Lucas's response was to slide two fingers inside me, then stroke along my inner walls as he dragged them back like he was summoning a fucking genie or something.
"Holy Christ," I groaned as he stroked a spot that made my body quake.
He grinned wider at my response, then tentatively lowered his face to my cunt. It took him all of about three seconds to find my clit, then my whole world exploded into stars and rainbows and shit.
Between his fingers and his mouth, he delivered, hands down, the best oral sex I'd ever experienced. I came twice before literally begging him to fuck me properly.
He shifted our positions, rising up to his knees and lifting my ass up off the bed to meet his hard cock, which already glistened with precum as he lined us up. As soaking as I already was, it only took one firm thrust for him to fill me completely, and he let out a low moan. His teeth gripped his lower lip, and his eyes squeezed tight shut for a breath, then a delirious smile creased his face as his long lashes flicked open once more.
"You feel incredible," he whispered in a husky voice before swiping his tongue over his lower lip and moaning. "And taste incredible. I'm so fucking addicted to you, Hayden."
I had nothing to say back to that because, quite truthfully... the feeling was mutual. So instead of replying out loud, I hooked my arms up around his neck and pulled myself up to sitting, straddling him with his dick impaling me in the best possible way.
Our lips met smoothly, like he was already living inside my brain, and he let me push him back onto the mattress. I wanted to return the favor and blow his fucking mind with my mouth, but first... first I needed to get off on his dick. Just once.
Okay, fine. Maybe twice.
His hand found my breast as I rode him, cupping and squeezing it, then he did one of those panty-melting ab curls to suck my nipple into his mouth.
His teeth scraped over my sensitive flesh, and his other hand gripped my hip hard, urging me to go faster, to fuck him harder. It was maddening in the best possible way, and before long I was screaming as I came again. This time, though, I got the satisfaction of seeing his jaw clench and his eyes close while my cunt pulsed and tightened around his dick.
"Hayden, oh my fuck," Lucas groaned, his breath coming in short gasps. "You're gonna make me come any second..."
"Good." Laughing, I climbed off him and ran my hands down his unbelievable body until I gripped his slick cock. "Come in my mouth."
At his sharp inhale, I closed my lips around his tip, tasting my own pleasure as I sucked him. His fingers threaded into my hair, encouraging me to take him deeper, and I obliged. To a point. The rest of him could remain in my hand because even with no gag reflex, I wasn't a damn snake.
Small moans and whispered curses fell from his lips as I sucked him off, and it was only a matter of moments before his body jerked and tensed, then his hot seed spurted down my throat.
I waited until his grip on my hair relaxed, then wiped my mouth on the back of my hand before collapsing on the mattress beside him, breathing heavily.
We lay there in near silence for a bit, then he rolled onto his side to face me and cupped my face with one calloused hand. He didn't speak, though, just stared at me while his thumb stroked a gentle path over my cheek, then traced the outline of my lips.
It was such a featherlight caress; I let my eyes close and breathed out all my stress on a long exhale. He’d been more right than he even knew when he’d said I needed someone like him. Someone separate from everything else.
A lighthouse in the wild storm that was my life.
22
"Dare! You here? I'm home!" Seph's voice jerked me awake, and I sat up with a panicked gasp. I hadn't meant to fall asleep and certainly not all curled up naked in Lucas's embrace.
My eyes flew to my bedroom door as I remembered that we definitely hadn't locked it and my sister had no sense of personal space.
Fuck.
"Lucas," I hissed, shaking him awake.
He blinked up at me, all sleepy and gorgeous, and a euphoric smile crossed his face when he saw me. It was the kind of smile that made my pulse race and my chest tighten. The sort of look that said he was already falling way too damn hard for a fuckup like me.
"Sorry, I fell asleep," he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.
"Yeah," I whispered, "me too. But Seph just got home, and you need to hide. Like, right fucking now." I slid out of bed as I spoke, hunting my floor for some underwear. I tossed his boxers at him as he scrambled out the other side, then I pointed at my walk-in closet.
"Dare!" Seph called out again. "Why is there untouched Chinese on the counter?"
The handle on my bedroom door twisted, and I gathered up Lucas's school uniform and threw it into the closet with him at lightning speed, then pulled the door shut and tossed a robe on.
"What..." Seph frowned at me, her eyes suspicious as I belted my robe and tried to slow my breathing. "What are you doing?"
"Me?" I replied
, folding my arms under my breasts defensively. "What are you doing? You know closed doors generally mean someone wants privacy, don't you? What if I was asleep?"
She wrinkled her nose. "Your light was on; I could see it under the door when I came in. What were you doing?" Her gaze traveled over me, then snapped to the bed, and she gasped dramatically.
"Oh my god!" she squealed. "You had a guy over! No fucking wonder you wanted me to go to Aunt Demi's so bad!"
I looked at the bed, cringing inwardly at the way both sides of the blanket had been tossed back. "No, I didn't," I lied. "I just didn't make my bed this morning."
Seph scoffed a laugh. "Bullshit, you always make your bed. Oh wow. And you got all shitty at me for inviting Lucas over to study while you've had random dudes here fucking your brains out? Holy shit, look at that sex hair, Dare!" She grinned wide, and I ran a self-conscious hand over my wild curls.
Yep, a quick glance in my dresser mirror told me just how obvious I looked. Not only did I have sex hair, as accused, I also had a mark on the side of my throat where Lucas had sucked at my skin there and my lips were all red and puffy from his stubble.
Fuck’s sake. Good planning, Hayden.
"Who was he, huh?" Seph teased, flopping down on the end of my bed—in a section where the blankets weren't disturbed—and smirking at me. "Just some guy? Nah, you wouldn't have brought him here; you're too anal about people being in your space. The only guy I've ever seen inside our home is—" She cut herself off with another gasp. "You're totally fucking Zed! I knew it! You guys are so freaking obvious."
I glared. "I'm not fucking Zed, Seph. Jesus, you need to let that go." To distract myself from her intense stare, I grabbed my black jeans from earlier and found my panties on the floor where they'd been tossed, then pulled them on.
"Uh-huh, sure," she replied with a laugh. "If not him, then who? Don't tell me it was Cass. Actually do. Please tell me it was Cass; you guys are like fated mates or some shit. You're perfect for each other."
"Seph, what's your sudden interest in my sex life?" I exclaimed, my cheeks heating. Her mention of Cass just resurfaced all the hurt of him saying he wasn't attracted to me... that I was too young for him. It reminded me of how he'd rejected me the first time I made a move and how he'd shut down when I'd transformed back into Hades after he'd kissed me. Cass had pissed me right off.
She just shrugged, oblivious or unconcerned with my attitude. "What? You won't let me have a sex life; obviously, I need to be unnaturally interested in yours. So? Was it Cass? Pretty sure he's been in love with you for like... ever."
"It wasn't Cass," I snapped at her. I found my bra on the far side of my bed and shed my robe to put it on. Then I pulled on a black tank top and parked my hands on my hips. "Can you get out of my bedroom now? You're probably lying in a wet patch anyway."
I smirked at how fast she shot off my bed, and she gave me the middle finger.
"If it wasn't Cass, then I'm sticking by my first guess. Oh. Wait. Was it both of them? That'd be hot as hell. I mean, don't get me wrong, those two are practically dead, they're so old, but, like, so are you, so whatever. Get it, girl." She shot me a saucy wink, making her way for my door as I seethed.
"I'm twenty-three, you little shit!" I threw a pillow at her, which she caught with a cackle. "And you've been spending too much damn time with Madison Kate! She's a bad influence on you."
"Maybe you should spend more time with her," Seph shot back. "She's living the reverse harem dream, Dare. You could learn a few things."
"Out!" I shouted, but she was already through my doorway and making her way to her own room.
I marched over to pull my door shut, and she blew a kiss over her shoulder at me. "Demi and Stace send their love, by the way!" she called out. "Don't forget to put that food in the fridge."
Rolling my eyes, I flipped her off, but she was already closing her bedroom door. I waited a beat, just in case she re-emerged for something, but when I heard her TV turn on, I released the breath I was holding.
With my heart racing, I closed my door and flipped the lock before crossing over to my closet to let Lucas out. He immediately clasped my waist, capturing my mouth with his and kissing me until I lost track of whose air I was breathing.
"Cass and Zed are fucking idiots," he told me in a rough voice when we broke apart, both our chests heaving.
I snorted a laugh. "No, my sister is a fucking idiot. A bored idiot who spends too much time fantasizing relationships that don't exist." Or... at the very least she'd overexaggerated the relationships that did exist. Cass and I were over before we’d even begun, and Zed was just a friend.
"Come on," I whispered, peeling his hands off my waist before I became tempted to drag him back to bed. "I need to get you out of here before Seph finds out."
Guilt clenched my gut at that prospect, and I shook my head to try and clear those uncomfortable feelings. It didn't work, though. If my sister found out I was fucking the boy she liked, it was going to result in World War III.
Not an option. Not even close to being an option.
With Lucas's hand in mine, I led the way silently through the apartment, holding my breath as we passed close to Seph's bedroom door. I grabbed a pair of flat boots from near the door and ushered Lucas out into the hall while I held the door open.
Just in time, too. Seph's door opened a second later, and she gave me a sly grin.
"Heading out for round two, huh?" She shot me a wink, then grabbed a box of cold Chinese from the counter. "Have fun, you bitch!"
I didn't answer her, just exited the apartment and closed the door firmly behind me. The locks engaged, giving a small bleep and blinking to show they were active, then I hurried along the hall to where Lucas waited at the elevator.
"That was close," he murmured with a laugh.
I shook my head, my eyes still on my front door as I prayed Seph wouldn't open it. "Too close."
The elevator arrived, and I let out a long sigh of relief when the doors slid closed once more. This was way too much tension for having just woken up. My nerves were all kinds of frayed, like they hadn't been in a long, long time.
"Hayden," Lucas murmured, turning to me and cupping my face in his hand. He tilted my face up to meet his gaze, then gave a small smile. "You're so short without heels on; it's freaking adorable."
I let out a shocked laugh. "You did not just call me adorable. Do you have any idea how many people I've killed, Lucas?"
His smile faded, and he shook his head. "I don't. But you're still adorable to me. I'm sorry I fell asleep; that was too risky."
Goddamn, he knew exactly what to say to wiggle past all my defenses.
"Equally my fault," I admitted with regret. His thumb brushed over my lips again, just like he'd done before I fell asleep, but this time I nipped him with my teeth. "Come on, I'll drive you home."
The elevator had just reached the parking level, and I let him link his fingers through mine as we walked past my modest collection of cars.
"You okay on my bike?" I asked him, stopping beside my Fat Bob. I grabbed a spare helmet from the shelf behind the parking space and held it out to him.
Lucas's brows hitched, but he took the helmet from me. "I've actually never been on a motorcycle before, but yeah, I'm game."
I gave a soft laugh as I pulled my own helmet on and swung my leg over Bob, then kicked the engine over. "I kinda like being your first, then."
He chuckled and slid onto the seat behind me. "Good. That was my first time giving head too. I hope it was okay."
I almost swallowed my damn tongue, then recovered by nodding firmly. "Uh, what? I mean, yep. Yes, you... yeah you nailed that." Then I grinned like a damn idiot as I drove out into the night with his hot body draped around me.
The drive to his house was over way too soon, and he reluctantly climbed off the back of my bike when I stopped at the end of his driveway.
"So... uh, I'll text you?" He said it as a question this time, and I got the impression
he was actually asking permission, like he was checking if his one chance had run its course already.
I took his helmet back and clipped it onto a strap for the trip home, then screwed my face up as I thought. I should tell him no. He’d asked for one chance, and he’d gotten it... Trouble was, he hadn't asked for one night. He’d asked for a chance to prove he was what I needed in my life. Trouble was, he'd done that.
No matter how badly I wanted to live in denial, I had to admit that he'd proved his point. Sure, we’d mostly fucked. But those few things he had said, they'd all struck a nerve. His persistence had paid off before we'd even gotten naked tonight.
"Sure," I finally conceded. "But no one finds out, understood?"
He jerked a quick nod, a wide grin on his lips. "Understood."
"And we're not dating."
His grin deepened. "I promise I won't get jealous next time Zed marks his territory by putting an arm around you. I'm not asking to be your one and only, Hayden; I just want you... in whatever way you're willing to give."
I shook my head in disbelief. "You're something else, Lucas Wildeboer."
His eyes widened in shock at my use of his real name, and I gave a soft chuckle.
"Good night, Lucas."
He ran a hand over the back of his neck, his smile pure joy. "Sweet dreams, Hayden."
I bit the inside of my cheek as I drove away, trying so damn hard to wipe the echoing smile from my own face. It was no use, though. That goddamn lying teenage stripper was worming his way straight into my life... and my heart. And I wasn't even mad about it.
Until I sensed someone watching me again, then I just felt sick with anxiety thinking I'd slapped a target on Lucas's back.
23
The sun was well up in the sky by the time I dragged my ass out of bed the next day. I'd been awake until dawn, worrying that Lucas might be in the firing line of whoever was attacking my power structure. Ultimately, though, I'd decided they were probably just watching me, like they had been all week.
I hadn't kissed Lucas outside his house, and we'd only exchanged a couple of words. Even then, I hadn't noticed a tail until I was on my way home, so there was every chance they hadn't even seen me drop Lucas off. Hopefully.