by D. Laine
“Thea?” Collin pressed anxiously from beside me. In my periphery, I saw him withdraw his cell phone. “Is this the guy that attacked you? I don’t think I can—”
“No.” I put a calming hand on Collin’s shoulder. “It wasn’t him.”
Why I had never told anyone what Kyle had tried, I still didn’t know. While the majority of the students on campus despised his demeanor and cocky attitude, he had the full support of the students in the Greek system. I supposed I anticipated what the reaction would be if I told the truth. It probably wouldn’t have gone in my favor, so I’d kept my mouth shut.
But now, I made sure Collin understood when I nodded my head in Dylan’s direction. “He’s the one who helped me.”
Collin took a cautious step toward our cars—and Dylan. “If you say so. Are you going to be alright alone? I’ve got this history test tomorrow . . .”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured Collin with a smile. “Go ahead.”
After offering Dylan a timid nod, Collin scampered off toward his car. Dylan’s hand lifted to give him a distracted wave, but his eyes never wavered from me. I stopped in the center of the parking lot, maintaining the ten feet that separated us. Long after the taillights of Collin’s car disappeared, I still hadn’t moved.
“I think your can of mace would have done a better job at protecting you than that guy,” Dylan finally muttered.
“You don’t know him,” I fired. “Don’t make a snap judgment about someone you don’t know.”
My annoyance over his part in dropping the ball two nights ago—because that was how I saw it—grew at the sight of the grin on his lips.
“You made the same mistake when you judged me the first time we met,” I reminded him sternly.
“You’re right,” he finally admitted. “I made a snap judgment, but I wasn’t wrong about you.”
I narrowed the distance between us by several steps. “What? You said I was a librarian—”
“Sexy librarian,” he interjected with a carefree shrug. “I was half right.”
“You were—” I cut myself off with a scoff. “You are unbelievable!”
All I got for my frustration was another grin.
“Who do you think you are, anyway?” I continued. “You pop in whenever you want—”
“Usually, yeah.”
“—say whatever you want to say, regardless of accuracy or . . . or . . .”
“Manners? Politeness?” he offered softly when I struggled to find a word.
I pointed a finger at him. “You are the opposite of polite! You are the walking embodiment of the very thing I should avoid at all costs. You—what the hell are you grinning about now?”
He rubbed a hand over the scruff that lined his jaw, unsuccessfully trying to conceal his amusement. “You said should.”
I threw my hands up in the air, at a complete loss for why he found that word funny. “Should what? What does that even mean?”
His eyes held on to mine, effectively minimizing the distance between us with nothing but a look. “You said you should avoid me.”
“So?”
“Should. Not want, or will, or even plan to do.” His eyes narrowed on mine slightly. “That means you don’t really want to avoid me.”
I blew out a puff of air in annoyance. “Guess again. You missed your chance, and I . . . well, I dodged a bullet.”
I tightened my hold on the purse strap slung over my shoulder and marched toward my car. I didn’t let the fact that he was still propped against it stop me. He would move.
Or maybe he wouldn’t.
He stood as firm as a tree, completely unaffected by my attempts to jerk the door open. Short of spraying a can of mace in his face, I didn’t see that I had many options for making him move. Other than pleading.
I put on my best fake smile, and asked, “Will you please let me go?”
“Would it help if I apologized?”
“For what?” I glanced at him, and retreated a step once I realized how close we were standing.
He didn’t waver. “For what you’re so upset about.”
“You don’t know what I’m upset about,” I snapped.
“I have a pretty good idea . . .”
“You’re wrong. Again.” I jabbed a finger into his chest, and immediately regretted it. What was he made of? Stone?
Nope. Not stone. Just muscle. Pure, unbelievable muscle. The realization didn’t help my already flustered—and completely involuntary—response to him.
“That’s how I know you’re lying,” he murmured.
“What?” I backpedaled to put more distance between us. It still didn’t feel like enough.
“You still want me, Thea,” he declared softly. “I know it. You know it. Just admit it already.”
“Ugh. You are revolting, and I want nothing to do with you.”
“Bullshit.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” He inched closer, angling his head so that his eyes were level with mine—bright and green and sexy as hell. “I call bullshit.”
Whatever glaring response I was prepared to give was cut off by his mouth. His hard and unyielding hands framed my face, holding me still as he smashed his lips against mine. As much as I probably should have resisted, I didn’t. Because the jerk was right. I did want him.
When he parted my lips with his tongue, I opened up for him with a breathy moan. And when he pressed me against the cold hood of my car, I slipped my arms around his waist to hold him against me. Even with the layers of clothing between us, I felt how much he wanted me, and the thought only excited me more.
I grumbled my displeasure when his mouth suddenly pulled away from mine.
“About that whole ‘dodged a bullet’ thing . . .” He nipped at my earlobe, and my legs shook beneath me as his warm breath tickled my neck.
“I might have been wrong about that,” I breathed.
Definitely wrong, I concluded as my hands fanned the flat surface of his stomach. Even through his thick hoodie, I felt the firmness of muscle at my fingertips.
“Mmm.” He rocked his hips forward, pressing his hardness against me. “I was hoping you would say that.”
His head dipped lower, and his lips skimmed my neck. I threw my head back to give him what he wanted . . . and my eyes landed on the red light blinking from the roof of the restaurant. The one that indicated the security camera currently pointed at the parking lot.
I always wondered if the owner ever bothered to review the footage. Maybe he only did if there was a need to—a robbery, vandalism, attack. What were the chances I’d inadvertently star in a sex tape? It would probably be a really good one, but still . . .
I pushed at Dylan’s shoulders, and he grudgingly lifted his head.
“We’re on camera,” I told him.
His eyebrows shot up. “You like that kind of thing? I have to admit, I’m surprised—”
“No,” I laughed and nudged my chin toward the building behind him. “Security camera.”
“Okay.” For the first time since I met him, I clearly saw the thoughts that crossed his mind. He didn’t give a damn. That much was obvious.
“I’m not having sex on the hood of my car for my boss to watch, okay?”
His tongue flicked across his lips as they curved into a delicious grin. “We’re having sex, huh?”
“Oh, yeah.” My usual restraint was nonexistent—lost along with my morals. I shoved him back and dug the keys out of my purse. “Get in. We’re going to my place.”
He wasted no time in rounding the front of the car. I had the doors unlocked and Dylan sitting in the passenger seat of my tiny Metro in a matter of seconds. I’d always liked this car for its simplicity and low monthly payment, but found it to be too small for what I needed. Now, I appreciated the intimacy its cramped space encouraged.
Dylan was close enough that I felt the heat radiating off of him as I pulled out of the parking lot. His eyes were on me when I maneuvered into the street and pa
ssed the darkened entrance to the restaurant.
Feeling like a lamb in the sights of a hungry lion, my hands shook slightly as they gripped the steering wheel. I quickly turned the heat up, hoping that would help chase away the tremors that ripped through me.
But I wasn’t cold. My trembling was solely blamed on a bad case of jitters.
My quickly escalating anxiety over what I was about to do evaporated the moment he leaned across the console to place a warm hand on my thigh. His mouth quickly closed the distance between us and softly skimmed over the sliver of exposed skin on my shoulder.
“You can always change your mind,” he informed me gently.
“I know.” But I wasn’t going to.
Despite being nervous, I didn’t think I’d ever wanted something so badly in my life. I knew nothing about him, but God did I want to do this with him. For once in my life, I wanted to do something unexpected. Something selfish and greedy and all kinds of wrong.
“I, uh . . .” I sighed when he nibbled on the side of my neck, and my thought processes shut down. “I, um . . .”
With a chuckle, he lifted his head to stop his teasing.
“I’m on the pill.” I wasn’t completely irresponsible, and I figured he probably should know that, right? “But . . .”
I risked a glance in his direction, and found amused eyes staring back at me. “I got it covered.” His lips were on me again, and I felt the vibration from his chuckle against my skin. “Literally.”
“Good,” I breathed. Or panted. It was hard to tell at this point.
I quickly flicked the defrost button to chase away the fog that clung to the windows.
“Just so you know,” he murmured near my ear, “I do get checked regularly.”
“Okay.” The fact that he had sex often enough that he found it necessary to get checked on a regular basis should have forced me to hit the brakes and kick him out of the car. But I didn’t.
If anything, I went faster.
When I reached the entrance to the apartment complex, I pulled in fast enough to squeal the tires. Dylan’s hand clenched on my thigh as another laugh rumbled through him.
“In a hurry, sweetheart?”
My answer was to throw the car into park the moment I pulled into my spot in front of the apartment I shared with Vivian. As far as I knew, she was at a study group tonight. The apartment was empty, waiting for us. But yes, I was in a hurry, and no, I couldn’t wait.
I turned to Dylan, bringing our mouths together. At the same time, both of his hands slipped around my waist to pull me toward him. I slid easily across the console, coming to a rest in his lap.
A bright street light shined over my shoulder, illuminating us in the passenger seat of the car as we kissed, but I didn’t care who saw, or what they saw at this point. I wasn’t usually this girl, but there was something about Dylan that lowered my moral compass. I had one thing on my mind as I hastily pushed the door open.
“Inside,” I ordered breathlessly.
Dylan slipped out from beneath me with an eager grunt. I snatched my purse from where it had fallen on the floorboard of the car and snatched my keys from the ignition. Dylan was already waiting by the door when I turned.
His chest pressed against my back while I fumbled over selecting the correct key. His fingers skimmed over the waistband of my pants and his mouth slid over the sweet spot where my neck met my shoulder. My knees nearly gave out.
“Need some help?” He supported me with one hand on my waist, but didn’t let up on his relentless teasing.
“I got it,” I breathed.
I loved the way I fit into him. The way he towered over me, like he was my shelter from the world’s harshness. I wanted to melt into him and never come out. But not as badly as I wanted to take him inside.
I finally found the key, slipped it into the lock, and pushed the door open. With his weight against me, we burst through the entrance, forcing the door to hit the wall with a thunderous bang. I spun in his arms, meeting his lips for another hungry kiss while he kicked the door shut behind him. His momentum propelled me backwards across the floor until my back hit the small bar that separated the foyer from the kitchen.
I ripped the hoodie over his head, and smiled at the flash of toned stomach that I glimpsed when his T-shirt drifted up. He chucked the shirt somewhere behind him a second later, and I got my second look at a bare-chested Dylan. He looked even more impressive than I remembered. My fingers grazed the ridges of chiseled muscle in front of me, and a moan rumbled from deep in his chest.
His arms tightened around my waist and he hoisted me into the air. He set me down on the edge of the counter and pressed between my legs.
Desperation and impatience dictated our every move. We couldn’t get my jacket off fast enough. There was a wildness in his eyes when he finally yanked me free and tossed it to the floor behind him. His hands drifted under the fringes of my uniform, stroking my sensitive skin, as he wedged his hips between my knees. In that brief moment before his lips found mine again, I saw a flash of color and movement in my periphery.
His mouth partially muffled my startled squeal. Regardless, my alarm didn’t go unnoticed by him. His back immediately stiffened and he spun around to face the source of my surprise.
Staring at us from the living room were the wide-eyed, dropped-jaw faces of Vivian and two girls I vaguely recognized. Currently, all three had books opened on the coffee table. One tapped a pen to her mouth as her eyes devoured Dylan. Vivian sat back with a huff, and folded her arms across her chest. I was tempted to ask her what she was doing here, but I didn’t care to hear her answer.
Not when Dylan turned to peer over his shoulder at me. As far as I was concerned, their presence changed nothing but the location of where this was going to go down. I slid wordlessly from the counter and took his hand in mine.
Their excited whispers followed us down my private hallway. A smug smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I pushed open the door to my bedroom. I could only imagine the boost Dylan’s ego was getting from their praises. To answer one of the whispered questions I heard: No, I wasn’t willing to share him.
He shut the door behind him as I kicked off my shoes on my way toward the stereo on the other side of the room. Once the lyrics of the X Ambassador’s newest hit poured from the speakers, I turned around.
My gaze landed on Dylan’s shoes where they lay in a messy pile on the floor. My eyes drifted up, over the jeans that hung loosely from his hips. A flash of red poked just above the waistband, and I briefly wondered if he was a boxer or briefs man. My gaze travelled up, taking in his chiseled stomach, solid chest, broad shoulders, and thick arms. One corner of his mouth curved up, forcing my focus to shift higher. I found his eyes on me—wild and hungry.
“That’s not going to help.” His voice was low and thick.
“What?”
His chin tipped toward the stereo behind me. “Turn it up as loud as you want, they’re still going to hear you scream my name.”
Heat flooded between my thighs, making me squirm. My God, I was ready to burst and he hadn’t even touched me yet.
“Is that a promise?”
He responded with a devilish grin. His eyes followed me as I approached him. He sucked in a sharp breath when my fingers curled around his ribcage. His head tipped toward me, and I brushed my lips against his.
“Might be presumptious of me to assume, but you have, uh . . .” He trailed off when I angled lower, skimming his stubbly jaw and neck. “Um . . .” He tried again, then gave up with a sigh when I pressed my lips to his warm chest.
Glancing up at him, and finding his eyes closed and his mouth slightly parted, I asked, “You aren’t seriously trying to ask me if I’m a virgin, are you?”
He licked his lips and opened one eye to peer down at me. “Of course not?”
I coyly flicked open the button on his jeans. Beneath my hand, his erection strained against the constricting denim. I knew appearances were sometimes misleading
. . . but damn. Something told me that, with Dylan, what I saw was exactly what I would get.
I tugged on the zipper as I lowered to my knees in front of him. His pants dropped to the floor, and there was no hiding what he was packing in those tight boxer briefs. Unable to resist, I palmed him through the strained material. “What do you think, Dylan?”
I certainly wasn’t a virgin, but I had only been with two guys. Neither had looked or felt like Dylan did beneath my hand. Despite the spark of uncertainty I felt gnawing away at my gut, I remembered that I knew what to do. I could handle Dylan.
My fingers slipped inside the elastic of his briefs. I gave a tug, and he sprang free. My lips immediately slid over his swollen tip.
Dylan’s hand slapped the dresser beside him with a throaty moan. “Yeah,” he grunted. “You definitely know what you’re doing.”
His words encouraged me, and his moans gave me the confidence I needed to push my boundaries. Sure, I had done this before—a few times when Kyle had insisted—but I didn’t think I had ever enjoyed it as much as I did now.
That pleasure shot to my core and settled between my legs as pure liquid heat. The pressure there built as I tasted and teased Dylan. It was nearly unbearable by the time his arms looped my shoulders and pulled me to an abrupt stand.
I wobbled under the weight of his heated gaze. I needed his hands on me. I needed him to touch me. Now.
His eyes held me captive as he tugged my blouse over my head. His long fingers made quick work of the buttons on my thin trouser pants. They hung from my hips as he guided me back to the edge of the mattress. My eyes remained fixed on his as I sank into the cool sheets.
He stood above me, devouring me in the soft light pouring through the window. Most nights, I hated that light. I usually shut the blinds to sleep. Now, I was grateful that it allowed me the opportunity to watch him as he stripped me completely bare. Never before had I seen such raw desire visible in a man’s eyes, and I basked in the glory of knowing that it was all for me.
Once I was completely naked, he leaned over me to capture my mouth with a deep kiss. Then he slid down, teasing and tasting every inch of skin I had to offer him. As he moved down, his warm hands slipped up my sides to cup my breasts. His thumbs stroked my tightened nipples before he took one into his mouth. His teeth grazed the sensitive skin and I nearly bucked off the bed.