by J. M. Walker
“Luna.” His brows narrowed.
“No,” I snapped. “What’s wrong with me that you’re holding back? It can’t be the age thing because I’m only a couple years younger than you. Is it because I don’t have a career path set out? Or I just work with my mom at the tattoo shop? Is it because I don’t know what I want out of life? Tell me, Zach. Tell me something.”
“We can’t be together,” Zach said, but even though the words left his mouth, I could see the inner turmoil in his deep brown eyes.
“You’re lying,” I murmured.
“Fuck.” He raked a hand through his dark hair. “I’m not good enough for you.”
I stared at him, my eyes roaming over his face. The anger rushing through me just a moment before, simmered as I watched the man before me crumble with the emotions weighing him down.
“Hey,” I said gently, snaking my arms around his neck. I pulled him against me. “You are good enough, Zach. You are more than good enough.”
His rigid body relaxed at my words.
“Meet me in my bedroom,” I whispered, looking up at him through hooded eyes.
His eyes darkened even more in the shadows of the night. “When?”
I thought a moment. “Ten minutes.” It would give us either enough time to cool down or make things worse. I was betting on the latter.
“Alright, Moonbeam,” he said, his voice rough. He pinched my chin, leaning down until he was eye level with me. “Ten minutes and then you’re fucking mine.”
My breath caught.
“Let’s go before people start looking for us.” He placed a soft peck on my mouth. “I meant what I said.”
“Ten minutes and then I’m…I’m yours.”
“Yeah, Moonbeam.” He released me. Just when I thought he was going to walk away, he reached out to cup my face. “Thank you.”
Those two words had been so quiet, I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly.
When he turned around and re-joined the party, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding.
I couldn’t believe I had made out with Zach like I did. I also couldn’t believe that I took initiative and put his hand between my legs. I was never like this before with other guys. Not that I had many lining up at my door or anything, but with Zach I felt comfortable. Knowing he needed control, I was surprised when he let me take it as far as I did. But he was right, I didn’t want to continue this beside the house. In the dark. No. I wanted to see him. All of him.
Taking a deep breath, I slipped out from beside the house and found Zach sitting on one of the patio chairs. He caught my gaze, his dark eyes roaming down the length of me.
I glanced down at myself, elated that I looked presentable. But I was sure that my hair was a mess. My body heated, remembering how he had his hands running through it just moments before.
“Luna.”
My head snapped up, finding Zach still staring my way. “What?”
“Come here.”
I smiled at the rough demand and headed toward him. “Ten minutes, Zach. I told you that.”
“Ten minutes until what?” Ashton asked as he walked by us with a tiny little blonde on his arm.
I recognized her from previous parties. “Nothing,” I told him.
He looked between Zach and me, and then back down at his date. “Let’s go find your friend.”
She giggled, running her hand up Ashton’s arm. “Okay.”
They walked away, leaving me alone once again with the man who stole the very breath from my lungs every damn time he was near.
“Luna,” Zach repeated, my name falling from his lips like melted honey.
When I took a step toward him, a couple of guys staggered toward me. They bumped into me, forcing me back until gentle but firm arms wrapped around me.
“Watch where the hell you’re going,” Zach snapped, his voice laced with venom.
The guys muttered an apology and went into the house.
“Hey,” I said gently. “It’s fine.”
“The fuck it is,” Zach growled, tightening his hold on me. He moved back to the chair, keeping his arm around me and pulling me onto his lap.
My body buzzed at being this close to him again. As much as I liked it, I knew that he wasn’t ready to let whatever this was between us be known publicly.
“You can let me go now,” I said, squirming in his lap.
He grew beneath me, becoming harder as the seconds ticked by. “You need to stop doing that, Moonbeam.”
“Doing what?” My cheeks burned. I knew I had gotten a reaction out of him beside the house but feeling him pressed up against me, gave me a sense of power I had never felt before. “Sorry,” I muttered anyway.
“Don’t be sorry.” His mouth brushed along the shell of my ear. “I’m a man and I have a beautiful woman’s ass on my lap.”
“You put me here. It’s not my fault you’re...” I swallowed hard. “Reacting to it.”
“I’m not reacting, Moonbeam.” He pulled me flush against him. “I’m fucking hard.”
“Zach,” I breathed, shivering against him. “We’re not alone and I told you ten minutes. It hasn’t been ten minutes yet. We shouldn’t be doing this here.”
“No, we shouldn’t but it didn’t stop you a moment ago when I almost fucked you against the side of the house. So, you’re into exhibitionism but not voyeurism. Good to know.”
I shook my head. “Wait. What?”
Zach chuckled. The sound was deep and rich, promising endless hours of pleasure. “Say it, Luna,” he demanded, his voice husky. “Tell me how I’m reacting to you.”
“I…Y-You`re…”
“I’m what?” His grip on me tightened. “Say it.”
“You’re hard,” I whispered.
His dark eyes flicked to mine. Something shone behind them, but I couldn’t make out what it was.
Just as I was about to ask what the hell he was doing, a large shadow loomed over us.
“Get your fucking hands off my daughter.”
Luna
I JUMPED, FALLING OUT of Zach’s lap and landing hard on my ass. A sharp slice of pain traveled up my spine. I winced, breathing through it. That was going to leave one hell of a bruise tomorrow.
Zach grabbed my arm, helping me to my feet. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern apparent on his face.
“I’m fine.” I smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
“What the hell did I just say?”
“Dad,” I snapped. “He saved me from getting trampled.” As much as I didn’t want to, I pulled myself from Zach’s grip and glared up at my dad. “You don’t have to be rude.” And this was clearly one of the reasons why Zach wanted nothing to do with me.
Dad frowned, his brows narrowing in the center. He looked over my head.
“Don’t look at him.” I punched him in the arm. “Look at me.”
My dad met my gaze, his face softening. “You have your mother’s fire,” he said gently.
My anger with him simmered. Knowing he wasn’t talking about my stepmom but my birth mother instead, I let out a soft sigh.
“I promise he was being a gentleman.” Unless you counted the things we did beside the house and what Zach had said to me. I cleared my throat.
“A couple of guys were drunk and stumbled into her,” Zach explained from behind me.
Dad crossed his arms over his chest. “That true?” he asked me.
I nodded.
A dark shadow passed over his face but before I could question it, my stepmom came up beside us. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” My dad looked over my head once again. “How’s work going?”
I followed his gaze.
Zach’s stiff body relaxed a touch. “Good. It’s taking a while to get the hang of things. I don’t think my dad actually wants to retire yet.”
Much to my surprise, my dad chuckled. “Probably not. He likes having something he can control.”
Zach smirked. “He does.”
&nb
sp; Dad nodded once, staring at Zach. Questions hid behind his dark eyes, but he never asked them. He never demanded to know what was going on between us. But I knew in time that he would. My father had a temper on him. He had used the excuse that it was because he was Italian, but the real reason was because he had experienced things no one should ever have to go through. I was thankful that he was retired from the navy but unfortunately for most of our fathers, those demons still followed them long after retirement.
Mom said something quietly to my dad, pulling his attention away from us.
“Luna.”
I looked up at Zach.
He took a chance, reached his hand out, and brushed his finger along mine. “I should go.”
“Really?” I looked back at my dad. “Is it because of him?”
“It’s because of many things, Moonbeam, but right now it’s because it’s not our time.”
I turned back around. Was he right? Could there be a reason that we were interrupted? Was it fate? Did I even believe in fate?
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, pulling away from me.
“You leaving?” Dad asked, wrapping his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“I am.” Zach stared him down, waiting. For what, I wasn’t sure but the powerplay between them sent a shiver down my spine.
Dad raised an eyebrow, a slow smirk spreading on his face. “Have a good night, Zach.”
“Thank you. You as well.” Zach turned back to me. “Call me later.”
I nodded, watching him leave the backyard and head into the house.
“Did you really have to do that?” I demanded once I was alone with my father.
My dad only grunted.
“What are you even doing here?” I asked. “I thought you guys left.”
“Your brother’s friend got a little too drunk,” Dad explained. “So, he asked me to drive them back to his place.”
“Oh.” I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself, missing Zach’s warm touch.
A soft material slid over my shoulders.
I jumped, finding Vince Junior smiling down at me. “Thank you,” I said, pulling the sweatshirt off my shoulders and slipping it on over my head instead.
“Always.” Vince turned to me when our parents were out of earshot. “I saw Zach and Dad having a silent showdown. I thought for sure Dad was going to do some kung fu shit and kick his ass.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I think it surprised Dad though.”
“What did?” I asked my brother.
“When Zach never looked away. You know that look Dad gets when he’s pissed or trying to be intimidating. Zach never backed down. I’m sure that impressed Dad.”
“You think so?”
Vince shrugged. “I know it sure as hell impressed me.”
I sighed, wishing I could go back to the moment where it was just Zach and I in the dark corners beside the house.
“You got this, sis.” Vince kissed my cheek. “I promise.”
“Just like you do?” I threw back at him, knowing he had a crush on Gigi and didn’t do a damn thing about it.
He met my stare. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” And with that, he walked over to the twins. Even though he was only nineteen and couldn’t drink legally yet, everyone treated him like he could. No one looked at him as just a teen or my little brother.
“Luna?” Gigi came up beside me. “Everything good?”
I took a deep breath, wanting to go inside and curl up with a glass of wine and a good book. “Yeah.”
“I saw your brother.”
My ears perked up at that. “Oh? Did you talk to him finally?”
Gigi rolled her eyes. “I always talk to him but…”
It’s never alone , I wanted to add.
“Anyway, just came to make sure you were good. I saw that your parents stopped by. Vinny’s friend couldn’t handle his alcohol it seemed.” Gigi glanced around the backyard. “I really need to be more careful about who I invite.”
I quietly excused myself and headed back into the house. My name was called, I waved but I didn’t stop until I reached my bedroom.
Tonight held so many new revelations, I wasn’t sure what to do with them.
Watching Zach stand up to my father, even if no words were said, sent a rush of excitement through me.
Dad might not have had everything to do with this, but I knew he was one of the main reasons why Zach held back.
I had to make my dad see that I was an adult and that I was no longer his little girl before it was too late, and I lost Zach forever.
***
(Zach)
Staring Stone down was something I never thought I would do. He was a large scary fucker, but I refused to let him stand in the way of what I was trying to work toward. Even though I knew that I didn’t deserve Luna, I couldn’t help but touch her, kiss her, hold her. She had gotten under my skin years ago. It was like she burrowed herself into the marrow of my bones and refused to leave.
I knew Luna had believed the rumors. How could she not when I never denied them myself?
When I told her that there was no date and that I hadn’t had sex in over a year, it was like something shifted between us. I could see the relief flood her eyes.
Yeah, sweet girl, I am all yours.
Truth was, I had trouble getting it up in the beginning. The nightmares from my past had become so frequent and overwhelming, that they’d appear in my waking thoughts. Until Luna, my body had a hard time reacting. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. I had used sex as a way to numb the pain, but it got to the point that it didn’t work. I could hear my stepmother’s voice over and over in my head, telling me that I wasn’t good enough. It got to the point, I could never finish, so I gave up and stopped having sex. Instead, I worked out. A lot.
I needed to tell Luna this. I needed to explain everything and tell her that it had only ever been her, but fear was a bitch and it stopped those words from leaving my mouth.
I blew out a slow breath and gripped the steering wheel tight in my hands. I shouldn’t have left, but I knew that if I would have stayed like I wanted to, I would have ended up spending the night balls deep in Luna. She wasn’t ready. She said she was. She acted like she was. But she wasn’t. I knew, because I wasn’t ready either. I didn’t want to hurt her, but our friendship meant more to me than sex.
Even after realizing she had a crush on me, I never acted on it. As much as I wanted to, something always held me back. Her father. Me. My past.
Stone didn’t think I was good enough for his daughter. Well, neither did I.
But I could still feel the heat between her legs. The way her pussy clenched around my finger. Her moans on my tongue as I kissed her.
My dick lengthened, pushing against the fly of my jeans. Fuck me. Just the thought of her had me wanting to beg like a bitch in heat. I wasn’t used to this. This want. This incessant need where I couldn’t do anything else but have Luna at my side.
I was like a caged animal. I craved her virginity and as much as that made me sound like a fucking caveman, I was determined to get it.
My hands white knuckled the steering wheel. Thoughts of Luna sucking me off while I was driving, rushed through my mind.
My cock lengthened even more, pushing against the fly of my pants.
As soon as I pulled up to my parents’ place, I sent up a prayer that the lights were off. Either they were out, or they had retired for the night. When I drove into the garage and saw that it was empty, I breathed out a sigh of relief.
My parents were out, enjoying the marriage their love had created. I knew because when I was a kid, I had accidentally stumbled upon some toys they had collected over the years. After the abuse I had endured by the hands of my stepmother, I thought my dad was going to beat me for invading his privacy. But he only sat me down and explained in not so much detail, what the items were. It was only when I got older that he told me about the BDSM lifestyle.
“Isn�
��t this like a no-no for you to be telling me about your sex life?” I should have been grossed out, but I wasn’t. I was intrigued. Not with my parents’ private life but by how open Coby...my dad was. How no matter what he and my mom had gone through, they talked about it. I had learned very quickly that communication was key.
“Maybe it’s not the norm for me to be telling you.” Dad shrugged. “But I don’t give a shit. You and I both know that life isn’t normal. I would also rather you learn from me than the Internet.”
Made sense. “So why now?”
“You’re eighteen.” And I wasn’t a virgin went unsaid. Meaning, I fucked an actual woman and not...I swallowed hard, nightmares from my past trying to take over.
“Listen to me, Son.” My dad placed a gentle hand on my arm. “Whatever you do, whatever you’re into, just please make sure it’s consensual. If it’s men or women, I don’t give a shit, as long as you have their consent.”
I laughed. “Are you trying to tell me that you wouldn’t care if I was gay?”
“I wouldn’t.” He sat back in his leather recliner. “As long as you’re treated well, I couldn’t give a shit.”
I smiled, my heart warming even more for the man I had looked up to for as long as I could remember. “I’m not gay but thank you.”
He nodded once. “I just want you happy, Zach.” He pointed at me. “And please remember, communication is key.”
And somehow, I had forgotten that. There was no way I could tell Luna how I felt. Even though I knew she would return the same feelings for me, she deserved someone not so…broken.
“Ten minutes.”
My dick leaked at the memory of Luna begging me earlier in the night. How she told me to meet her in her room in ten minutes. And how her father ruined the chance for me to be with her. To be with the woman I had wanted for what felt like my whole life. I knew she would be good for me but at the same time, would I be good for her?
“Communication, Zach. Remember it.”
Some people would probably frown on the fact that my parents were open with me. But I didn’t care. It only made me curious and want to explore.