by Shayne Ford
“Shut up,” I hiss under my breath.
Filled with guests, the dinner table sits not far from us.
A soft laughter rocks his chest. I can’t help but grin.
Pulling close to him, I start fingering his chest.
“Don’t you fucking dare to pull a joke like this in front of them,” I say, still smiling. “I’m a fucking editor, but what I really do is making money. They don’t need to know how or how much.”
His fingers travel to my face, lightly running across my cheekbone, his eyes gleaming with a smile.
“You can’t even call them family.”
“No, I can’t. I no longer consider them my family. Other than of course, the social obligations.”
Smoothly, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug. He glances over my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“They looked at us, so I thought we should play our roles,” he murmurs in my ear.
My skin gets scorchingly hot from his touch.
“Who’s they?” I ask with a quivering voice.
“For one... The women. They look at us. And then, there’s an older couple, glaring. I imagine they are your parents, and then...”
He pauses.
“Yes?”
“There’s a man who can’t take his eyes off you. My competition, I suspect,” he says, entertained.
“What’s so amusing?”
“He has no fucking idea who you really are,” he says, tearing away.
His expression changes again, and I brace myself for anything.
“We need to go. Ready, darling?” he asks with a different voice as he shifts back into his character.
He takes my hand and walks me toward the table.
“Oh, by the way...”
He stops again, and I almost break a heel, swaying on my feet as I come to a swift halt.
“Where did we meet?” he asks.
“A bar. We’re both avid readers and love motorcycles,” I say, pulling the answer out of my ass.
“Are we?” he asks, smiling pleasantly surprised.
9
SENNA
Thank God, it’s a public place with a lot of guests, and plenty of spots to hide.
The first hour, I struggle a lot.
I drink more than I normally would, just to be able to socialize, face Nick’s questions, and pretend I’m not bothered by the success Jaden’s having with the ladies.
My father rolls his gaze over me as if I’m nothing while my mother is still keen to give me a piece of her mind after all these years.
It doesn’t surprise me that she takes a jab at Jaden. No, no. Of course, not. As expected, she decries my lack of common sense and berates me for hooking up with a writer.
Luckily, after a few more hours of torment, the party finally draws to an end. Nick gives me a good night kiss and smoothly pulls away. Minutes later, I find myself scanning the small groups of people, searching for Jaden.
I spot him not far from me, a beautiful blonde wrapped around him. His hand rests on the small of her back, almost touching her ass as she submissively tips her face and flashes a smile, offering a sample of her cleavage.
Something rubs me the wrong way.
I empty another glass of wine before I totter on the rug of petals all the way to the bungalow. A shower and some time alone would be in order, to clear my head.
I peel off my dress, and take off my heels, abandoning them in the bedroom before I waddle to the bathroom. Moments later, I walk out, skip the couch and sink into his bed, butt naked.
Sprawled on my stomach, I fall asleep.
Hours later, a scent of smoke and flowers tickles my nostrils, a soft breeze rolling onto my body. Eyes closed, I run my hand over the sheets. He’s not here. He’s probably off in one of the other bungalows, fucking that woman.
To hell with him.
I shouldn’t care. Why would I care? I never gave a fuck. I never had to give a fuck. That’s the beauty of it all. Once you lose everything, you lose it all. The good and the bad.
I lost my innocence, and I almost lost my mind. And I definitely lost my family. That would’ve happened anyway, I suspect. The family. Yeah... That was bound to happen.
The good thing is, I’ve been numbed for so long, I never had to care for another human being again.
So why the hell would I care now?
More smoke wafts through the air, prompting my awareness to kick in rapidly. I flip my eyes open.
“What the fuck?” I mumble, bolting upright.
Fumbling around, I’m looking for a sheet to cover myself.
Sunk into a chair, he rests his ankle on his knee, quietly observing me as he brings the cigarette to his lips.
A sly smile narrows his eyes as he slowly takes a drag.
My gaze dips to his bare chest before sliding to the crumpled sheet sitting on his lap. Roving over his washboard abs, my eyes trail the muscular V pointing to his groin. His jeans hardly cover his crotch.
I flick my eyes up.
Holding my gaze, he tips his chin up, breathes out a soft stream of smoke and lets the sheet drop on the floor, a mischievous grin reaching his eyes.
He’s such a piece of work. Well, two can play this game, I muse as the sleep fog starts vanishing from my head.
Folding my legs under me, I lean forward and part my thighs, propping myself on my hands. His eyes roll down, sweeping my chest and lingering on my sex.
There, jerk.
He purses his lips, his cigarette slowly making the trip back to his mouth. His lips crease into a smile around the filtered end while teasingly, he runs his hand up on his cock.
The game is certainly on.
Without tearing my gaze away from him, I tilt my head back and arch my back, pushing my mounds forward while raising my arms and combing my fingers through my hair.
His gaze drifts down on me.
Unhurriedly, he takes me in from my lips to my breasts and the slick spot between my legs.
Smirking, he cocks his head to the side, and brings his cigarette to his lips again, casually taking another drag.
Lips curled into a wolfish grin, he blows the smoke to the side.
“You’re more beautiful than I imagined,” he says, the words wrapped into his smoky voice turning me to mush.
The spike of pleasure blasting through my senses lasts only a second before I suddenly remember.
Wait a minute.
My head resumes its natural position as my hands clasp my hips.
“Where were you?” I ask with a stern voice, the magic of the moment completely shattered.
His eyebrows shoot up, his eyes twinkling with amusement and disbelief.
“Where was I?”
“Yeah. Where were you? Were you with that woman?”
A soft laughter falls from his lips.
“Are you jealous?”
“I’m not jealous,” I mutter, annoyed. “Seriously... Where were you?”
“On the beach.”
“Fucking?”
His palms shoot up in the air. I just gave him another reason to grin ear to ear.
“Why do you care?” he asks.
“I don’t care... I just wanted to know where you were.”
I slip off the bed and strut to him. He runs his eyes on me as I stand, tall and naked in front of him.
“You’re a fine piece of ass, Senna.”
“And you’re such a gentleman,” I say, turning my back to him.
“I am. I gave you some space...” he says, his voice echoing behind my back.
I pivot to him, and his gaze drops below my waist, his legs pulling open while his hand smoothly brushes the bulge pushing against his pants.
“What do you mean?” I ask, having a hard time to focus.
He raises his eyes from my slit, a playful smile arching his lips.
“You and your boyfriend,” he mutters.
“What boyfriend?” I blurt out.
Quirking hi
s lips, he winks at me, flashing a knowing smile.
“He is not my boyfriend.”
“Then why did you fuck him?” he asks.
Surprisingly, I notice a slight edge in his voice.
“I didn’t... What the hell? I don’t need to tell you anything,” I bark, irritated.
I start looking for a robe when two strong arms coming from behind whip around me, and crash my back into his chest.
I writhe against him. He locks me even harder.
“Let me go, Jaden,” I shout.
“I’m not, and you fucking know it,” he says, no longer amused, or smiling, a dark, raw edge spearing through his voice.
He tosses me in the bed, all his weight sliding on top of me. We sink into the mattress. It all happens so fast I don’t have time to fight him back. He grabs my wrists, pulls them up above my head and straddles my chest.
Long strips of fabric make it out of his pocket and wrap around my wrists, tying me to the bed posters. He slides off me. I start kicking my legs. Unfazed, he grabs them one by one, and ties them to the posters as well, spreading them open.
He jumps off the bed and runs a hand through his hair, taking me in for a mere second. Butt naked, legs open, squirming like a mad woman, my eyes spitting fire.
Smiling, he takes a step back and pivots toward the door.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I thunder as he turns his back to me, heading to the exit.
“I’m going fucking,” he says defiantly.
“Don’t you fucking dare. Jaden? Jaden fucking Taylor! Are you fucking crazy?”
The old stairs whimper under his feet, my questions floating in the air unanswered.
“Jaden!!” I shout one more time, oblivious to the fact that someone other than him could actually hear me and come checking on me.
Several minutes pass by.
I wiggle my fingers and try to grab the ends of the ties. They’re tucked in so that I can’t reach them. I jerk my wrists, trying to loosen them at least. No such luck. I attempt to pull my legs out, and my muscles get sore from trying.
Eventually, I give up and whip my head to the side, my eyes training on the nightstand clock.
A full hour ticks by before I hear a sound of heavy footsteps trailing to the bungalow and someone enters the cottage through the back door.
I truly hope it’s him.
“Jaden?”
The floor squeaks again, near me this time, startling me.
A knife slips onto the nightstand, the metallic sound sending chills to my bones. I run my eyes on him. He wears the same jeans, a strand of fabric wrapped around his hand.
He turns his back to me.
Again.
“Jaden? That’s not how you’re supposed to––”
“I do whatever the hell I want.”
His voice sounds angry, seriously angry this time, prompting me to tug at my ties again.
He pivots to me, his eyes throwing daggers.
“Stay still, Senna.”
“That’s not... Let me go. For fuck’s sake, Jaden! Don’t make me scream.”
He bends over me, his hand wrapping around my neck pinning me to the mattress. His beautiful face is only inches away from me, yet all I see is darkness.
“Scream all the fuck you want,” he says with a low, strained voice, barely containing his fury. “I don’t care. I can’t wait to enjoy the spectacle. Respectable physician’s daughter found tied to the bed, legs spread, pussy wet, waiting to be roughed up.”
His words scream at me, stirring pain and anger in the deepest corners of my heart.
“You fucking asshole!”
His hand clasps my jaw, his eyes pulling into a straight line.
“Watch your fucking words, or I’ll have you gagged,” he growls through clenched teeth.
His knees slide on either side of me, my body crushed under his weight. The glint of a blade catches my eye, before the tip of the knife brushes strands of hair away from my face, and traces the side of my neck, with scary precision pressing on my carotid.
My pulse splits beneath the metal.
I freeze.
“Jaden?” I call him softly.
My voice falters as I search his eyes. He’s as dark as they come and this no longer feels like a game.
Fear runs through my blood.
“Why are you looking for trouble?” he asks.
“I’m not.”
“I think you do,” he says.
“I don’t want to.”
“Then why?”
A few moments of silence slip away before a curtain of tears veils my eyes.
“I don’t have an answer,” I say with a strained voice.
He studies me for a moment before the blade finally moves away.
I breathe out a sigh of relief.
“Is that good enough for you?” he asks.
I nod fast. A couple of times.
“Does it turn you on?”
I shake my head side to side.
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t know where you stop.”
“Or if I stop,” he mutters.
“Yes...”
My voice trails off.
He slides the knife back onto the nightstand, dismounts me and lets his jeans fall to the floor. My gaze roams over his groin as he wraps his fist around his hard-on.
He climbs on the bed and straddles my chest again his upwardly curved cock jutting in the air, inches away from my mouth.
He pushes a pillow under my head.
“You’re fucked up,” I mumble, shifting under him.
“And it seemingly works,” he says, a faint smile creeping up his face.
I search his eyes for a moment.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, baby,” he mutters.
“Don’t you fucking ‘baby me’,” I retort, regaining my composure. “I don’t need to suck your dick after you fucked someone else.”
His smile drops from his lips in a split second, so fast I don’t even have enough time to regret my words before his hand wraps around my neck again and he leans closer to me. His jaw tenses, his eyes turning dark.
“Let me make something clear to you. You don’t get to tell me what I do,” he rumbles, pissed, and I have no idea whether he’s acting or not.
He pulls upright and starts stroking his cock with one hand while tightening his grip on my neck with the other. The more he does it, the more heat swirls between my legs.
My lips start parting. He throws me a quick glance and shifts his position just as I feel my sex throbbing.
He moves closer to my mouth, sweeps the tip of his cock with his thumb and slips it right between my lips.
The bead of pre-cum spreads over my taste buds, turning me on so badly. My lips mold and close around his thumb as my tongue begins to swirl around it. I start sucking on it, relishing the heat lapping at my core.
“I didn’t fuck anyone,” he finally says with a softer voice,
My ears perk up as I’m still unsure whether he actually said it.
Smoothly, he removes his thumb from my lips and slides his cock into my mouth. My eyes water as he hits my throat. He tucks the second pillow behind my back, lifting my head, and then he reaches above me and cuts the ties.
I bring my hands to him so eager to touch him. His hands rest on the headboard as he finally grants me some control. I run my fingers on his hardness, anxious to feel his pulsing shaft.
I stroke him with my hand and wrap my lips around his girth, my mouth watering on his erection. Sensually, he rolls his hips.
He pulls away, and I slip my hand between my legs. Swiftly, he grabs my wrists and pulls my hands above my head.
“No touching. Okay?”
I nod.
He peels his hands away from mine and slides down, his hot breath trailing my folds. His fingers gently part my nether lips, his mouth connecting with my throbbing flesh.
Oh my God!
He presses his mouth on me, ton
gue kissing and licking my clit. A thick, wet roll of tongue sets a quake between my thighs.
“Jaden...” I murmur, gasping with pleasure.
He smoothly slides his fingers into me while sucking on my clit. Coordinating his movements, he hits every spot of throbbing pleasure with maximum precision.
I arch and press my crotch against his mouth, dripping with arousal. My hands slip into his hair as more pleasure flares through me.
I close my eyes, indulging.
He takes me right to the peak, and I stay high for a few good moments, arching and shaking, moaning and groaning, my flesh pulsing incessantly. Slowly, I scale down, whimpering and clenching my thighs.
He pulls up and props on his arms, a smile tugging at his lips. Swiftly, he sets himself between my legs, his rock-hard cock pushing against my hot, wet entrance.
He brings his lips closer to me while filling me to the brim.
A crying moan tears off my lips.
“Shh...” he says, his fingers coming to my face.
He keeps moving, entering me with paced motions that let me feel him all the way.
I start to tremble beneath him.
“You want it hard?” he asks softly.
I slowly shake my head.
“Not this time.”
He leans on me, my arms curling around him, my fingers learning every line and scar. I slide my hand down his back and fan my fingers on his butt, my lips pressing on his shoulder.
“Jaden,” I call him softly as he waves his body on top of mine, his fingers tangling in my hair.
He does it again, and again, the pulse between my legs growing faster and stronger.
“I’m coming… baby,” I murmur, the word slipping out without much thought.
He pushes up a little and holding me against his body, starts slamming me. He rams me hard as pleasure spikes through both of us. Groans roll off his lips–– the most erotic sound I’ve ever heard.
Shuddering with pleasure, he closes his eyes, the lust, and power coursing through his veins.
Moments later, he crashes at my side, his hand palming his groin. He lies still for a second before he swiftly pulls away and strolls into the bathroom.
Silence fills the rooms, followed by the sound of running water.
I take a long breath, and roll to my side, glancing out the window. The sky lights up at the horizon.
Minutes later, the water stops, and the bathroom door opens and closes. I expect him to come back to me. Instead, his footsteps ring out on the porch.