by Vivian Wood
She lowers her tray and shows us a selection of plastic ramekins, each filled with a different color of jello. Orange, blue, green, and purple.
Vi stops, flashing me a grin. “We’ll take four!”
She hands the waitress cash and receives one of each flavor. I take the red and orange jello from her, eyeing them suspiciously.
“I’ve never had one of these before.”
Vi holds up a little ramekin filled with purple goo, wiggling her eyebrows. “No time like the present.”
She opens her mouth and upends the contents into her mouth in one smooth motion. I shake my head and then copy her, emptying my red jello into my mouth.
Having to chew my liquor makes my eyes water. The taste of the vodka is much stronger than whatever cherry flavor they mixed in with it.
I swallow, looking at Vi with my face scrunched up. “That was vile.”
Vi wiggles her eyebrows and takes her second shot. She swallows and grins, her lips and tongue still stained with a hint of purple.
“Come on. Eat your other shot. Then we will get in line for the bar.”
Sucking in a breath, I take the second one. Like the first, the overwhelming flavor is that of vodka. Shivering, I stack my ramekins and follow Vi.
When we come to the end of the line — well, it’s less a line than a crowd waiting for drinks — we stop and look around. Everywhere I look, there is exposed skin, belonging to some towering dude with great abs or a bikini clad woman.
“Try to look available,” Vi whispers in my ear. “Who do you think is cute? Him?”
She points to a guy standing near us. He’s tall with a blond surfer vibe. And like everyone else here, he seems allergic to his own shirt. “He seems available.”
I scrunch my face up. “Do you want to go talk to him? I can hold your place in line.”
Vi gives me an odd look. “We don’t go talk to guys. Guys come to us. That’s like half of the reason why this pop up is so popular.”
My brows rise. “Oh? So you knew that this was…” I cast around for a second. “Basically just a big makeup party?”
“Duh!” Vi grins. “It’s time to find your summer hookup. When the weather gets cold, we’ll move on to more serious pursuits. But for now…”
She waves her hands with a giggle.
It’s hard not to be in a good mood around her. I smile and shake my head. “You’re terrible.”
A stunning brunette in a dark bikini and heels walks by, making eye contact with us for the briefest moment. Vi grips my arm. “She is so hot. What do you think? Did she give you a bisexual vibe at all?”
I squint, turning my head and watching the brunette walk away. “I don’t know. Is that… I mean, are you…”
Vi has already moved on, scoping a guy in front of us out. “Bi? Yes. I mainly date guys… but we’re just talking about summer flings here.”
I nod, silently digesting that. “I see.”
She elbows me. “What about that muscular Greek god over there?”
I glance over, seeing a Black guy with a shaved head and abs that seem to go on forever. “He’s very attractive,” I answer, shrugging a shoulder.
“I’m sensing a but.”
“No but. He is attractive. I’m just not really looking.”
The words are out of my mouth before I can even think about what they mean. Vi crooks an eyebrow, looking at me.
“What, you already found a hottie for the summer?”
I blush, hugging myself. “Not really. I mean… there is a guy…”
Vi squeals. “Tell me everything!”
I pause, my cheeks red. How much would Carter actually want me to tell Vi about him? Probably very little. Especially not that he’s our Cell Biology teacher.
I take a breath. “I’m not sure what to tell you. I mean, he’s made it clear that he doesn’t think we can work long term…”
“So there’s been a short term?” Her eyes widen. “And here I was, thinking that you spent all your time studying!”
My face is red as a beet. “Not all of the time, admittedly.”
“But he doesn’t think you two will work?”
I screw up my face, choosing my words carefully. “We have a ton in common… but on paper, we don’t seem like a good match.”
Vi arches a brow. “He’s worried about how you two will be perceived?”
I blow out a breath. “By pretty much everyone, yes. Our relationship crosses several boundaries. It’s pretty forbidden.”
She nods slowly. “He’s not your brother, right?”
The image of Aiden flashes in my mind and makes me grin. “Definitely not.”
“Then who cares what people will think?” She lifts both her arms in the air. “Love is love.”
“Well, it’s not just me. He’s in the relationship too. And he has more to lose if this all goes south.”
She heaves a sigh. “I had a forbidden love once. Super hot, very secret. But the time came when we had to either tell everyone or stop seeing each other.” She stretches and pulls a face. “I told her I couldn’t see her anymore. Now I’m really regretting it and wondering what could have been.” She throws an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t be me.”
My lips twist. “What if we can just cruise for a while before anybody finds out about us?”
A humorless laugh leaves her lips. “You’ll be exposed. Sooner rather than later. And then that’s when you’ll make hasty, rash decisions. It’s better to be the one that tells the world your secret rather than letting them find out and make up their own minds about it.”
I nod slowly, digesting. “That’s a good point.”
Vi looks at me slyly. “You should call him.”
“I will.” My cheeks go pink.
“No, I mean now. You should call him and go to him and tell him you’re ready to hang your dirty laundry out.”
I give her a look. “And what about you? We’re hanging out!”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m going to find my summer fling tonight. I’ll be perfectly fine by myself. Watch.”
To prove it, she makes eye contact with the blond surfer in front of us and gives him a seductive smile. He turns around, looking intrigued.
“Hey, I’m Aaron…”
She winks at me and turns her attention to Aaron. “Hey, I’m Vi.”
I shake my head and grin, pushing my way through the crowd toward the stairs.
11
Eve
I cut him off with a kiss. Carter brings up his hand and cups my jaw, returning my kiss with a passion and a vigor that surprises me. I slide my hand around his neck and bury it in his short hair.
The entire time he’s touching me, my whole body is awakening. Tingling, flashing hot, aching. He finds the seam of my mouth. I open to him eagerly, unable to bridle my reaction. His tongue sweeps the inside of my mouth and dances with mine.
He tastes like the way I imagine the earth feels right after a rainstorm; fresh, sharp, wet, and clean. I moan into his mouth as he pushes me down onto the ground, his mouth leaving mine to trail kisses down my jaw.
He pauses for a second, his eyes finding mine. “I want you so badly, Eve. But I won’t make any promises about what the future holds—”
I kiss him again. “I don’t care. Take me if you want me,” I whisper against his lips. “I’m yours.”
He brushes my hair away from the column of my neck, kissing and nipping the sensitive skin he finds there, sucking at my pulse point. I slip my free hand around his back, beneath his jacket and shirt. Finding a hot, smooth expanse of skin there, I rake my nails delicately across his lower back.
He growls at me, moving his mouth down to explore my collarbone, the top of my breasts. His mouth is delightfully hot and wet. Unzipping my leather jacket, he kisses my breasts through my dark tank top, shaping them with his hands. I can feel the wet heat of his mouth even through the fabric.
“Fuck,” I murmur. “That feels so good.”
I toss my head back and bite my lip, mo
ving my hand around to feel the sharp lines of his hip and Adonis belt. He growls and pulls back, stripping off his jacket and pulling his shirt over his head.
My eyes widen. He is perfect, from his muscular arms and rippling abs to his clenched jaw and the sheer need in his eyes. It’s like someone has just given me a hit of something strong, and now I’m in free fall.
When he starts pulling off my leather jacket and hiking my shirt up, I groan and reach for the zipper on his fly. I unzip his jeans and get my hand inside, wrapping it around his long, thick, hot cock.
Carter groans and lets me work my hand up and down his length briefly. The skin of his cock feels velvety soft in my hand, hot and veiny. I bite my lip and watch his face, monitoring his reactions.
His eyes roll back in his skull for a minute, but soon he loses patience with my hand. He pushes me onto my back and tugs my shirt up over my head, kissing my newly bared breasts with such enthusiasm that I laugh a little, my head tipping back as I arch into his kisses. His tongue feels a little bit raspy on my nipples, as though he were part cat.
I open my legs and urge him to lie between them, guiding him with only my feet. He reaches between us and unzips my jeans, pushing them down a little.
He groans with frustration when he realizes that it’s impossible for him to touch me like that. He rolls us both over so that I’m on top, then starts pushing my jeans down.
“Get these off,” he orders. “Panties, too.”
I’m only to happy to oblige him. It’s the work of half a minute to strip myself completely. When I return to his embrace, I find him looking at me like I’m a prize fucking mare.
“God, you’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, running his hands down both my sides.
I blush bright pink. “Thank you,” I whisper. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
Carter pulls me back down to kiss me. I push down his jeans, anxious to have him inside of me. His cock touches the inside of my thigh and we both groan.
God, this needs to happen right fucking now.
Reaching down, I grab his cock and position the blunt head to press against my pussy lips. I’m more than ready for him, wet with excitement.
“Hey,” he whispers, looking into my eyes. I pause, biting my lip. He moves his hand up to my face, pushing back a strand of hair that is caught against the wetness of my lips. “Go slowly for me, princess. I’m close enough already and I’m not even inside of you.”
I lean down, kissing him gently. At the same time, I push myself down ever so slowly, impaling myself on his cock. The fingers of one of his hands slip into my hair and knot there.
He grunts as my pussy stretches to take his whole cock. He free hand wanders down to my breasts, shaping them and pinching a nipple. Then his hand pushes me back and meanders down to my pussy, his fingers finding my clit.
“Fuck!” bursts from my lips. My pussy feels so incredibly full; his fingers tap out a rhythm against my clit that makes me writhe.
And then he starts to bounce my whole body up and down on his cock. I look up at the sky, my mouth opening, sensation blossoming. It flows from my pussy up to my tits. My whole body tightens.
Carter stops suddenly, making me hit him with my balled up fists. “Don’t stop!”
He growls and uses all his strength to flip our positions, his weight settling against my in my core. “Be good for a minute, princess.”
He starts to withdraw and plunge back inside my pussy, moving so slowly that I could scream. I writhe underneath him, needing more. “Faster, Carter. Please.”
He picks up my legs and puts them over his shoulders, moving faster just like I begged him to. My hand slips up around the nape of his neck into his hair.
I close my eyes, the sensations driving me ever closer toward the edge. “Carter, yes…” I whisper. “God, that’s it. Right there. Don’t stop…”
He kisses me, a breathless affair. And then he starts fucking me with short, staccato movements, jackhammering his cock into my pussy.
“Oh god,” I breathe. I make noises but I’m not sure what I say. I am only aware of the friction between our bodies, of the spring deep inside of me that tightens and tightens, slowly, bit by bit, until I burst.
I come without warning, shaking, screaming, gripping Carter with my legs. Inside I’m falling off the edge of a precipice into a canyon of sensation, crashing toward the shore like a tsunami.
Carter stiffens and cries out something I don’t understand in Danish, pumping into my body, his semen feeling hot as enters my pussy in long lashes.
“Fuck, princess,” he mumbles, slowing at last. “Christ.”
A note of laughter bubbles to my lips. I’m high, I think; high on him. Carter leans down and kisses my lips so passionately and forcefully that I lose my breath all over again.
When he pulls out of my pussy and lies down beside me, he’s still struggling to breathe.
12
Carter
As I drive to Port Angeles, I can’t seem to focus on anything but Eve. I keep picturing her naked, spread out across the bed, freshly fucked. The way she pinned me with those wide green eyes and brushed back a lock of her hair that was scattered over her face…
Thank you, Carter. You make me feel like the richest person in the whole entire world.
Even in the climate controlled car, I get actual chills every time her statement drifts through my head. Eve has the face of an angel, a body to tempt Satan, and on top of all that, her temperament is just pure honeyed gold.
Too bad she’s my student.
I drive the rest of the way to the mansion, alternately struck by dreamy reminiscence and irritable knowledge of reality. When my car tires finally crunch that familiar sounding gravel, I know I’m home. I can just make out the house through the overgrown trees on both sides on the driveway.
It is three stories high, painted a dull gray color, and extremely old-fashioned looking. It is missing most of the shutters and the paint is peeling. And either I’m crazy, or the whole entire house is leaning distinctly left.
I pull in between my mother’s elegant black Mercedes and a small silver Mercedes convertible. Odd. I didn’t think anyone else would be here.
As I jog up the front steps of the mansion and pull open the front door, I see no signs of life inside. The fire-scarred grand staircase directly ahead has been repaired with certain big blocks of steps replaced. It hasn’t been finished yet so it looks a bit garish right now, stark new oak wood standing out from charred wood that withstood the fire.
Everything is quiet.
“Hello?” I call out.
There is a pause, and then a voice calls back. “We are in the library, darling.”
My mother. Making my way around the staircase, I wonder who the other half of the we is. Did she have a design consultation or something?
I trundle down the hallway, stepping into what used to be the library. Now it’s just a void, a few crumbling bookcases along one wall and scorch marks that touch both floors of the room and lick at the windows above.
In the center of it are my mother, her glossy dark skin standing out against her white couture dress. The young brunette standing with her turns, her lips turning up as she sees me.
“Eve,” I say, surprised.
My mother cocks her head and holds out her hands to me. “Carter! Come here.”
I flush and hurry to kiss my mother on her cheek. She’s wearing an intricate head wrap that towers above her head, but she’s still petite next to me.
“Hello, darling. I hope you’ve brought your mother good news.” She arches a brow.
I slide a glance toward Eve, narrowing my gaze. “Nothing in particular, mother.”
My mother shoots me a dissatisfied look. “Well, let us not dally here in all this soot. I was just showing Eve here what we are facing in the renovations. A nasty business.”
She whirls and walks past me, expecting us to follow. Eve gives me that same smile. She looks like the cat who ate the damn canary and
now wants more.
I step into Eve’s way, blocking her exit for a moment. “What are you doing here?” I whisper.
Eve lifts a shoulder and doesn’t stop smiling for a second. “Relax, Carter. I’m not going to tell your mommy what you’ve been up to at school.” She glances over my shoulder and drops her voice a register. “I’m just here to figure out what makes you tick. And after spending five minutes with your mother… I can see why you’re worried about getting caught with me. I do not seem like somebody your mother would like at all.”
I open my mouth to respond, to tell Eve that no one would pass my mother’s muster. But my mother’s shout cuts in first.
“Carter!” my mother’s voice rings through the house. “Are you going to leave me waiting forever?”
I move out of Eve’s way, shaking my head. “Be careful,” I warn her over my shoulder. “My mother is insanely smart. If she even picks up on the vibe that you might vaguely not hate me…”
Eve chuckles behind my shoulder as I navigate the narrow hall. “It’s cool. I got it. I promise.”
Her words form a knot of worry in the pit of my stomach. I lead the way out of the house through the back way. My mother is standing beneath a large white tent, a pleased little smirk playing on her lips.
I stride down to where my mother has a table laid for two. Starched linen, crystal glasses, undoubtedly expensive china, and gleaming silverware. There are two fully decked out servants wearing tuxedoes with tails… my mother’s style, to a t.
I cast a glance back at Eve, who comes up quietly behind me. “Mother, will you have one of your men set the table for three?”
My mother gives me a hard smile, crossing her arms. “Whatever for, darling?”
I glower at her. “For Eve, Mom.”
“You can’t be serious,” my mother says. A haughty little laugh leaves her lips. “I see now. You brought this silly white girl out here to see if she passes my inspection. You had to know that she would not.”
I turn to Eve. “Would you mind leaving my mother and me? We need to talk about appropriate conversational topics.”