Keep This Promise

by Willow Winters

  What I deserve. I like that. “Maybe it’s because you’re the most arrogant man I’ve ever met,” I murmur.

  “Confident,” he corrects, shifting away from my neck so he can meet my gaze once more. “Maybe you liked that I knew what I wanted and I went after it with no hesitation.”

  I frown at him. “What did you want?”

  His smile returns, cocksure and bright in the dimness of the dark room. “You, baby. You.”

  And then he’s kissing me again. Stealing all my words, stealing all my thoughts. Stealing away everything that is me, until all I can focus on is the glide of his tongue against mine, his big hands roaming my body, his erection brushing against my belly. He flips me around so my back is to his front and I feel him reach for one of the condoms that’s resting on the bedside table, I can only assume.

  The next thing I know his hand is on my breast, his warm, slightly rough palm rubbing my sensitive nipple. He’s kissing and nibbling my neck, his other hand is spreading my legs and then he’s inside me, taking me from behind, his thrusts slow and shallow, like he has all the time in the world.

  Oh God, and it feels so freaking unbelievably good. I close my eyes, my head falling back on his shoulder, the position arching my chest so my breast fills his hand. His other hand is at my hip, holding me in place as he takes me. Which is exactly what he’s doing—taking me. Fucking me gently—a term I never believed in before but that’s exactly what he’s doing.

  “Hot and wet,” he whispers against my neck. “I can feel you trying to suck me deep, baby. Already eager for this to be over?”

  I have zero control of my body. If I’m trying to suck him deep, I’m not aware of it. I readjust my hips, squirming against him and his fingers press into my flesh almost painfully.

  “Stop moving,” he grits through his teeth, his mouth right at my ear, his breath hot. “Relax. No need to rush it.”

  I calm my breathing, trying to do as he says. He’s right. There’s no need to rush. I savor the drag and pull of his cock sliding in and out of my body, how both of his hands are now on my chest, my breasts filling his palms, his mouth at my neck as he kisses me there.

  “You ever been fucked from behind?” he asks gruffly.

  “N-no.” I shake my head, suck in a harsh gasp when he slides his hand down to my stomach, his fingers splayed across my skin as he holds me in place.

  “It’s best just like this,” he murmurs, his husky voice lulling me into a trance. “Slow and easy, when you’re not in a big hurry. When you just want to feel each other. Enjoy each other.”

  I’m trembling at his words, at the shallow strokes of his cock. His hands are on my hips now, holding me. Unable to help myself, I wiggle against him, sending him deeper, and he groans, then sinks his teeth into the side of my neck. The pleasurable sting is like a direct link to my clit and I press my lips together to keep from crying out.

  “Bend forward,” he urges, one hand at the center of my back. I do as he says, moaning when that hand strokes down my back, coasting over my butt.

  It all feels so amazing, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to withstand this much longer.

  * * *

  Shep

  * * *

  The girl is trying to kill me. Her smooth as silk, pale as cream body is driving me out of my mind. I demanded she bend forward because I can see my cock disappear inside her body when she’s positioned like that and fuck, watching as I sink into her again and again is making me want to come.

  I clench my jaw and pray I can keep my shit together for at least a few more minutes. I’ve already come twice. You’d think it would be no big deal, that I’m already so wrung out I should be able to make this last as long as I want, right?

  But with Jade, it’s different. What do I know about slow, leisurely sex when I fuck a girl from behind? Every other chick I’ve fucked like this, I do it so I don’t have to look at her face. I’m just using her, plain and simple.

  Not with Jade. I’m getting off on the slowness. How I can feel her pussy grip my dick. The way she trembles in my arms when I push forward, her butt pressed against me as I completely surround her.

  It’s a totally new experience. Slow sex isn’t my style. This though…it’s like a fucking wonder. I’ve just had my eyes opened to a whole new world thanks to this girl.

  Unbelievable.

  I settle both of my hands on her ass, squeezing and kneading her plump flesh. She groans at my touch and I grip her hips, holding her steady as I start to increase my strokes. The need already claws at me, scraping up my spine, settling just under my skin. I have no control when it comes to her. She makes me insane. I keep telling her that but I don’t think she believes me.

  She should. One minute between her legs and it’s like she’s all I want, all I can think about. I was already completely sucked in just spending time with her but now that I’ve actually had her? I don’t want to let her go, don’t want her out of my damn sight. I crave her constantly. It’s fucking nuts. With her, I’m insatiable.

  Completely and totally insatiable.

  I’d fully planned on relaxing tonight. Hang out with her, talk a little bit or watch a movie, maybe grab a snack considering I’m always hungry. I’d eventually get her into my bed, get her naked and fuck her. Then we could fall asleep in each other’s arms.

  Nope. Not even close. I practically jumped her in the garage. Dragged her up to my room, stripped her naked and barely got out of my shorts before I had my cock inside her and she was begging me to fuck her harder. We went another round right after that. She slowly undressed me, seemingly fascinated with unbuttoning my shirt, her shaky fingers fumbling with the buttons, brushing against my skin and making me fucking insane. I let her have her way with me, demanded that she be on top and that had been hot. Watching her move and sway, her breasts in my face, her hips working as she slid up and down my cock.

  She’d looked so smug afterward, so pretty and flustered yet confident—a look I haven’t really seen her wear when we’re involved sexually—I couldn’t resist her. I had to show her I could make her come as many times as possible. So I went down on her, licked that delicious little pussy until I had her writhing beneath my mouth and screaming my name.

  See? I can’t resist her. Like, ever. I’m a goner. I make fun of assholes that are like this with a girl. Now I’ve become one of those assholes.

  And I’m okay with it.

  “Shep,” she whispers, her soft voice echoing through my head, making me fumble. That’s another thing. I’m a smooth motherfucker with girls. But not with this one. She makes my hands shake and my brain scramble and sometimes I’m at a loss for words and that never happens.

  Ever.

  She whimpers my name again and I reach for the ends of her hair, lightly tugging on it so she lifts her head, bringing herself closer to me. “Yeah, baby?” I press my cheek to hers, inhale her addictive scent, closing my eyes as I lift my hips and give her an extra hard thrust.

  “I like it better when you’re closer,” she admits, reaching behind her so she can wrap her arms around my neck. The position gives me a great view of her tits, her perfect pink nipples and I stare down the length of her body, my eyes cataloging every freckle I can see.

  Still haven’t had a chance to count them all yet. Need to make more of an effort, but it’s so damn difficult. Every time I get her naked the last thing I’m thinking about is counting her freckles…

  “Nothing better than having you in my arms,” I murmur as my hands roam over her silky soft skin until I’m cupping her breasts, playing with her nipples. Damn, with her arms around me, her chest thrust out, my dick buried deep in her tight, wet warmth, I’m gonna blow. Soon. I thought this slow and easy stuff would be just that—slow and easy.

  But that’s not happening. Without thought I increase my pace, tightening my hands on her breasts, making her whimper. She tosses her head back, resting it on my shoulder and I lean down, pressing my mouth to her cheek. “You close?” I a
sk.

  She nods frantically, strands of red hair falling into my face. “Y-yes.”

  I should’ve known. She gets close and her voice starts to shake. Her entire body trembles and there’s a little hitch in her breath I find impossibly sexy. That I’m the one who can make the snarky, feisty Jade Frost fall apart like this, makes me feel like a fucking God.

  No girl has ever affected me like this.

  Ever.

  Chapter 23

  Shep

  * * *

  “So what’s it like?”

  I turn to glare at Gabe who’s watching me with a neutral smile on his face. I don’t like that smile. It looks suspicious. Reeks of suspicion actually. “What’s what like?”

  Monday morning, nine a.m. and we’re at the diner for breakfast as usual. It’s packed. As the semester winds down, there are less people on campus and more people…everywhere else.

  “Banging the same chick every night for over a week straight. Curious minds want to know.” Gabe shoves a piece of toast in his mouth and chews, his gaze never leaving mine.

  After a few seconds of irritation at his shitty question, I realize the bastard is serious. He genuinely is curious. Because everyone knows Gabe hasn’t been with a girl beyond one day, let alone a week. Same with Tristan.

  Fine, same with me. But I’m a changed man, damn it. Thanks to Jade.

  Hmm, Jade. Thinking of her immediately has my dick twitching. The shape of her mouth and the way it stretches when she smiles. How the color of her lips is the same pale pink shade as her nipples. The taste of her nipples, the way she moans and writhes beneath me when I suck on them. How slick and wet she is every time I slip my fingers between her legs. Every time. Always wet, only for me. Drives me out of my fucking mind.

  Just thinking about her like this, with my friends in the middle of a very busy restaurant, is driving me out of my mind. I need to stop.

  So I do.

  Tristan is unusually quiet this morning, shoveling food in his mouth, his head bent as if he’s staring at his plate. He’s not very talkative. None of us have been. Hell, I’d considered skipping our traditional breakfast meeting and I never do that.

  When you have a warm, naked girl in your bed, you’re willing to skip just about anything to spend a few more minutes with her.

  “It’s…good,” I finally answer somewhat lamely. It’s beyond good but I don’t want to sound like a starry-eyed kid. What exactly does Gabe want to know? If it’s dirty details, forget it. That’s between Jade and me. We have plenty of dirty details. Lots of them. But those are ours and no one else’s.

  “Really? Good? That’s all you have to say?” Tristan lifts his head, his gaze zeroed in on mine. He looks tired. Skeptical. Irritated. I know this semester has been kicking his ass and he can’t wait for it to be over. We’ve all been ready to make our escape from this town these last few weeks, especially Tristan and I since we spent the entire last summer here.

  But now? For me? There’s no rush. I want to savor every moment with Jade before school’s done and she leaves. I don’t know what’s going to happen after we leave. And I’m almost afraid to ask.

  “Well, it’s definitely not bad,” I say irritably, pushing my plate away from me. My appetite is gone. I hate it when they corner me, question me, act like I’m crazy for wanting to spend time with Jade and not them. I think they’re just jealous.

  “Tell me what it’s like though,” Gabe urges, his expression…sincere. “You aren’t bored yet?”

  “Not even close,” I mutter, grabbing my cup of coffee and taking a big swig. It’s lukewarm at best and I put too much creamer in it so it tastes like absolute shit.

  “She must know some real magic tricks in the sack then, huh? Let’s not forget she has that amazing mouth…” Gabe’s voice drifts and when I send him a dirty look, he immediately appears contrite. “Sorry dude. You know what I’m talking about.”

  I know exactly what he’s talking about. Her mouth is the stuff of my every wicked dream. She knows how to use it too. But I don’t need to hear my best friend go on about Jade’s mouth like he wants to sample it.

  The mere thought of him only looking at her lips makes me want to rip his eyes out of his head. I’ve turned into a possessive caveman when it comes to Jade and that makes no fucking sense whatsoever.

  “Listen.” I lean forward and rest my elbows on the edge of the table, staring at the both of them like I mean business. Which I do. “Jade is…off limits. We don’t need to talk about her. Not like we do with other girls.”

  “You mean the ones we hook up with?” Tristan asks, both eyebrows raised.

  “Yeah. Those ones,” I say slowly, irritated that I even have to make this new rule. But hell, they don’t get it. Any other girl, I’d be talking about her, because I’d already be done with her. How good she was in bed—or how bad. What sort of kisser she was. Hell, sometimes we’d rate them, especially back in the early days when we were young and total shitheads.

  If I had to rate Jade now, she wouldn’t even register on the scale, she’s that good. But no way am I going to say that out loud. They wouldn’t get it. Hell, I barely get it. Why exactly has she become so important? What is it about her that makes her so different from the other girls I’ve been with? It’s like the minute I kissed her, touched her, everything changed. I want no one else. Need no one else.

  Just her.

  Worse? I have no idea if she feels the same way. The uncertainty kills me and I don’t know how to deal with it. I’ve never had to deal with it and that’s my problem. She makes me straight up crazy. In both the worst and best possible ways.

  “So you get serious about a chick and you’re suddenly no fun.” Gabe shakes his head, his disappointment palpable. “That sucks, bro.”

  “Never thought I’d see this day happen,” Tristan adds as he balls up his napkin and tosses it on top of his empty plate. “I just lost my appetite.”

  I decide not to remind him that he’d already eaten all his food. “What, are you in mourning now? Give me a break. You are both assholes.”

  “This is college,” Tristan says, stressing the last word. “The land of opportunity. Not a time for you to get serious about some young chick. Dude, she’s a freshman, barely out of high school! The girl doesn’t know shit. She hasn’t even lived. What do you think will happen when you bring her home to mom and dad, huh? Your mom is gonna chew her up and spit her back out in seconds.”

  I push the worry out of my head that Tristan’s words bring. He has a point. But I don’t care what my parents think and it’s not like I’m bringing her to meet them. I’m not that serious about Jade, not yet. It’s only been about a month. Granted, the best month of my life but still.

  “Screw all this Shep’s got a girlfriend talk,” Gabe says irritably. “We have more pressing matters to discuss.”

  “Like what?” I ask.

  “Like when are we going to close down the house? Business is slow. Attendance is down. The semester’s almost finished and there’s no point in stringing this out.” Gabe nods once. “I vote we shut her down right now.”

  “Without one last weekend blowout event? Hell no.” Tristan shakes his head. “We’ll shut it down after Saturday. Let’s organize something, put together an end of the season event or whatever.”

  “End of the season?” I send him a look. “I didn’t realize gambling had a season.”

  Tristan shrugs. “It does when your clientele are college students. “

  “Do we have enough time to organize an event?” Gabe asks.

  “Absolutely. I’ll get started on the deets today. Trust me. It’ll be awesome. But we’ll all have to work Saturday night. Even you, Mister I’m in a Real Relationship,” Gabe says, pointing at me.

  Great. I was hoping to spend Saturday night with Jade. Maybe I could convince her to come. She hates that place—and I guess I can’t blame her—but I’d like her with me that night.

  “I’ll be there,” I reassure the both o
f them. I’m not about to shirk my responsibilities, though I know they both believe I’ll blow them off first chance I get. Not with this though. The house is business. I don’t do it for the money but we’re so caught up in it now, no way can I abandon it. It’s a project that took on a life of its own and I’m one-third responsible for it.

  My phone buzzes and I pull it out of my pocket, eager to see if it’s Jade.

  Imagine my disappointment when I realize it’s Mom.

  What are your plans this weekend?

  My heart starts to thump erratically and not in a good way. Why the hell is she asking me that?

  Don’t tell me you’re coming to see me.

  Gabe and Tristan are talking big plans for Saturday night. Free beer (need to put a limit on that). Special two-for-one deals (that needs a limit too). All sorts of special crap to draw people in before we shut down.

  My phone buzzes again.

  That’s exactly what I was going to tell you. Only for one night though. Your father has business in Los Angeles this weekend. Thought we’d drop by and see you for dinner Saturday.

  Fucking great.

  “My parents are coming this weekend,” I mutter to no one in particular, still staring at the screen of my phone.

  “Get out,” Tristan says. “Why?”

  I lift my head and glare at him. “Not joking. Mom just texted me. They’ll be here Saturday night. They want to have dinner.”

  “But you have plans,” Gabe points out.

  Plans for the illegal gambling house I run with them that my parents know nothing about. If they found out, they’d fucking flip.

  “I can work the later shift. No way will she let me skip out on dinner,” I say grimly.

  “That fucking sucks,” Gabe says. “Maybe you should take your girl. Get that whole scenario out of the way.”

  Say the fuck what? Why does Gabe keep talking about my parents and Jade? Like I’d want to subject Jade to them anyway.