by J. M. Adele
“Do you think it feels the same for you as it does for me?” I held him against my mouth as I spoke and he shuddered.
“I ha-ve no idea.”
“I think it is similar, but nevertheless different. We are built differently, after all.”
Indeed. I tightened my grip with a gentle pressure, unsure quite what to do next. Should I use my tongue, as he had? Why not try? I ran it from the tip to the base, taking in his taste. He blew out a breath as his hand relaxed and clenched. Retracing my path, I stopped to place another kiss on the end. His hand enclosed mine, showing me how to work up and down his shaft.
“Emmeline. Would you ...” His other hand caressed the back of my head. “Would you kiss it again. Please.” He kept his hand over mine until I secured a rhythm.
I bit my lip, nodding before lowering my mouth to him. I kissed and licked. He pushed gently on my head to encourage me further. I opened my mouth, taking him inside.
His hands disappeared and I heard them slap on the ground. “Holy Mary, mother of Jesus. Do not stop.”
I did not. Not until he pushed me away, curling forward as ecstasy gripped him in its hold. The evidence of his release covered his belly and legs. Before he could discourage me, I dipped my finger into a drop and touched it to my tongue. He tasted salty, and earthy.
His ribcage surged, eyelids peeled as he witnessed my taste test.
“I swear you will be the death of me.” He barked a laugh before flopping onto his back.
The declaration hit me in the chest. I closed my eyes, captured by something that did not want to release me until it had delivered its message. A vision of a woman giving birth entered my head. The man holding her hand had short dark hair and blue eyes. He wore a simple shirt without buttons and a ring on his finger. They were in a strange setting with contraptions I had never seen beside the bed. I was drawn to the pair. Like I knew who they were at their core. Unlike that of a friendship, it ran much deeper.
I witnessed a gush of blood coming from between her legs before Sebastian broke the spell. “We must be getting back.”
I opened my eyes, drawing in a lungful of air. What was that? I found myself clutching my belly as though it had been me in the throes of labour. Calm yourself. It was just a passing thought. An unwanted one, at that.
Raising my face to the sky, I took in the shapes created by the wispy clouds above. I wanted to stay here—with Sebastian. The fate that lay ahead for me was too wretched to bear.
Reluctantly, I gathered my chemise and drawers and began to dress. We had a little time together before the earl’s arrival. I would focus on that. And when the dreaded moment was upon us, I would leave. With or without Sebastian. “Would you mind?” I hooked the corset over my arms and held out the cord.
He took it, moving behind me. “I completely forgot. Marybeth came looking for you.”
My head snapped to the side, fixing him in my peripheral vision. “Has something happened?” Dread sank into my veins. Had she and Tobias been discovered? Had she let loose her tongue in an act of betrayal against me?
“She said your mother wished to check on you. She managed to divert her, but for how long, she was not certain.”
No doubt Mother would be showering me with more attention now that she had a vested interest in marrying me off. I was curious to know if there had been an exchange of money, or perhaps property in their endeavours. Did my father have an association with the East Indian Trading Company? I had heard him speak of them in passing as he’d read the newspaper. Was that how my fate had come to cross with Reginald Fortescue’s?
My mother and father had no business deciding my future. What an archaic idea it was. I was entirely capable of planning a life of my own choosing.
I would simply have to engineer it so that I never had to see the earl’s face. For to do so, would surely be the makings of a nightmare.
Ben
Rockhampton, Australia
6th of December, 2008
Stewart showed me through to his bedroom at his mum’s place. He’d decided to move all his stuff to his dad’s house. He didn’t want to split his life between two homes anymore and today was the day. I couldn’t blame him. I guessed that was one good thing about having a dead-shit father—I’d never had to do the switch.
His room looked like a laundromat, a sports locker, and a takeaway all threw up in there. It smelled of stale socks and week-old burger. Stewart let one rip, cocking his leg for theatrical effect. Or maybe spreading his cheeks helped the gas escape.
I added methane to the list of odours I could smell, curling my lip. “Could you not have done that outside? Or at least given me a warning?”
“You’re in my space now; enter at your own risk.”
I waved a hand in front of my face, but it made it worse. “Do you want me to help you or not? If you keep gassing me out, I’m gone.”
“I’ll warn you next time.” He turned the fan on. “I can’t hold it in or I’ll explode.”
How had this guy managed to get any women?
I searched for packing boxes. All I saw was a messy bedroom. Nothing was put away, or packed up. “What are we moving?”
“Everything but the furniture and the curtains.”
“You haven’t packed?”
“Nuh.”
“Why not? How are we supposed to move all your shit if it’s spread everywhere?”
“I thought you were gonna help me pack.”
“I said I’d help you move. You’ve gotta meet me halfway, mate.”
“I packed one box.” He pointed to a cardboard carton shoved in the corner next to his bed.
A shiny, gold trophy poked out the top. “You packed your trophies?”
“Chick magnets. The most important things go first.”
Right. I bet the next things he’d packed were condoms, his thongs, and maybe a stubby cooler.
“I’ve got the boxes under the bed.” Getting on his knees, he dove under the mattress to retrieve a stack of flattened cardboard cartons.
Right. Well, that was a start. “Got a Sharpie?”
“What for?”
“To write on the boxes so you know what’s in them. Haven’t you done this before?”
“Not on my own. That’s why you’re here.”
“Please tell me you’ve got tape.”
“Uh ...”
For fuck’s sake. I turned tail and went looking for a sensible person who would know where to find what we needed. Any other member of this household would’ve fit that description, but there was one in particular who I wanted to see.
Her room was across the hall so I didn’t have to go far. I rapped my knuckles on the wood.
“Come in,” she called out.
Stretched out on the bed with a book in her hand and the stereo playing in the background, she stole my breath. “Hi.” She sat up, crossing her legs, yoga style.
There was a lot of leg showing. A lot of smooth, pale skin exposed by loose cotton shorts. And when she crossed her legs like that, I got a peek at pale pink knickers.
I emptied my lungs and thought of her brother. It was the quickest way to deflate my rising erection. “Hi. Can I ask you something?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Why is your brother so clueless?”
She snorted. “Because he’s had women running around after him his whole life. If we hadn’t done anything to compensate for his lack of initiative, he might actually be a capable human being.”
“I doubt it.”
“Oh, me too.”
“We need some packing tape and a permanent marker. You wouldn’t happen to know where we could find those, would you?”
“Yes. Follow me.” She jumped up, pulling her shorts down at the back before padding off through the house.
She could pull the fabric down all she liked; they’d never cover much more than just below the crease of her cheek. If she bent over, I’d be able to spy the fleshy part of her bum. Damn. My mouth watered, thinking of what
it would be like to bend her over. The sway of her hips put me in a trance until we reached the kitchen and she looked over her shoulder. I snapped out of it, raising my eyes and catching her amused grin.
“The junk drawer.” She pulled it open. “It’s like a treasure trove. I found scissors in here when I was a kid and gave myself a God-awful haircut. They took all the sharp things out after that, but we should be able to find tape and a marker.”
“Did they take photos?”
“Yep. And I found them when I was twelve and tore them up. I never did find the negatives though.”
I bet she was still cute.
I stepped up behind her, reaching over her shoulder to retrieve a roll of tape. Her body would fit mine just right. I could tuck her under my chin and cocoon her in my arms. Being this close had my body humming and my mind singularly focused on her.
Andy leaned into me, closing the small space between us with a sigh. Grabbing a thick, black marker, she read the label, “Whiteboard marker,” before tossing it back. After a minute of rifling through the assortment, she found what she wanted. “Here ya go. Anything else you need?” Her question hitched a ride on thin breath.
I dropped a kiss in her hair and hooked an arm around her waist. “Time alone with you.”
“When?” she whispered, eyeing me over her shoulder.
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
My hand retreated, sliding across her belly to grip her hip. “I’ll pick you up at six.” I imagined my fingers roaming to the hem of her shorts, but it was too soon for that. We’d only just started dating. But damn, in my brain I’d had her in ten different ways already. I needed her to know it wasn’t just a physical attraction for me. This was so much more.
“Okay.” She did a little hop on the balls of her feet, her face beaming.
“Okay.” I spun the roll of tape on my finger, my lip quirked. “Have you got a gas mask hiding somewhere? I could use one of those, too.”
“Sorry, no.”
“Damn. I’ll just have to hold my breath.” Reluctantly, I stepped away, giving her room to move. “I gotta go help trumpet bum, but I’ll see you later.”
“Yep.”
I winked and took the items back to Stewart’s room. He’d piled his clothes onto the bed and was rummaging around in his cupboard for something.
“Looking for a suitcase?”
“A suitcase. Good idea. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because it’s a good idea.” I raised my brows, flaring my eyes. “I got tape and a marker pen.” I put the items on his tallboy and grabbed one of the flattened boxes. After folding it into its 3D shape, I ripped off a bit of tape and stuck the bottom together.
“Found it.” He pulled out a bong from the back of the top shelf. “This is going in with the trophies.”
I forgot about the bong. Condoms, thongs, stubbie cooler, trophies—AKA chick magnets—and a bong. “What about your stick mag collection? Found that yet?”
“I’ve got them stashed in my car, all ready to go.”
“Are the bull’s balls in with your trophies?”
He scoffed. “Of course.” Yanking a suitcase from the bottom shelf, he unzipped it and started tossing in his clothes.
My eye twitched at his idea of packing. I turned away and went to clear off his desk.
“I heard you took my sister to a movie.” He threw a pair of shorts at me.
Here we go. “Yeah.” I chucked them back.
“What the hell took you so long? You’ve been making eyes at each other for years.”
“I didn’t realise you’d noticed.”
“Mate, we all noticed.”
Is that right? I hadn’t noticed—how had they? “And you’re okay with it?”
“I never want to hear the details of your sex life.” He shook his head, cringing. “You never dished any details on Kelly anyway, so no loss there. If I hear you spilling private info on my sister to anyone else, I will thump you.”
I would thump myself. “Can we talk about something else?”
“I’m serious, mate. Don’t fuck her over.”
“Stewart, I respect her too much to play her like that. I don’t do games. You know I don’t. Maybe you should thump yourself because the way you treat women is like you’ve forgotten that they’re somebody’s daughter or sister. Think about that, huh?”
He looked stunned. His throat jumped as he swallowed. “Don’t screw with my head like that.”
“You need to pull your head in.”
He groaned. “Always with the lectures. I would’ve asked Lee to help me, but he’s too busy being pussy-whipped.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Larissa had him on a leash. “He has his own shit to deal with. Are we done with the big brother talk now?”
“Yeah, we’re done.”
“Good.”
“Thanks for helping me today.”
“You’re welcome.”
One good thing about Stewart was—he didn’t dwell. If he had an issue with you, he aired it and then it was done. And he loved his sister, despite all the insults he plied her with. That alone made him okay in my book.
_____
We took two hours to pack and did a couple of trips back and forth before he was finally all moved in at his dad’s. Almost all moved in. After his earlier trumpeting, he’d forgotten the box of trophies stashed in the corner. I offered to get it. Any excuse for another glimpse at his sister.
I knocked on the door and Stewart’s mum answered. “You’re early.”
“Early?”
“For your date.” Her eyes dropped to my sweaty shirt and baggy shorts.
“Um, no. Stewart forgot a box.”
“I’m not surprised. Come on in.”
“Thanks, Mrs Furnville.” I stepped over the threshold.
“Call me Mary.”
I didn’t think I could. I’d been calling her Mrs Furnville for years. “Okay.”
Walking to Stewart’s room, I went in search of the ‘chick magnets’. I found the box. The fucking bong sat on top. How was I going to walk out of here with that in full view? The box didn’t have a lid.
After shooting across the hallway, I tapped on Andy’s door. “Andy.”
I caught sight of her head wrapped in a towel through the narrow crack as she answered my knock. “You’re early.”
“No, I came to get the last box, but I have a problem.”
The barrier swung open as she let me in before shutting it again. I spun to face her and froze. She was fresh out of the shower, standing in her underwear. My jaw dropped. Holy fuck.
“What? You’ve seen me in my togs. This is basically the same.”
“It’s not even close. And I haven’t seen you in togs for over two years. You look a lot different now.”
“Not that much.”
A fuck-load, actually. Her tits were even bigger than I’d thought. My cock sprang to attention. There was no stopping it. “Could you get dressed?” My pulse punched out a backbeat to our exchange.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” She sounded like she’d just downed a shot of whiskey.
“I think that’s pretty obvious.” I dropped my eyes to my tented shorts before peering at her through my lashes.
Her gaze fixed on my crotch as she bit the corner of her lip. Arms, once hanging loose, were now reaching for me.
I hopped back. “What are you doing?”
She snapped them back, folding them across her middle. “I—sorry.” Her wounded expression had me wanting to punch myself.
“What were you going to do?”
“I wasn’t thinking. Sorry.” Her arms tightened as she turned her head away.
I reached for her, unfolding her limbs. Opening her defences. “What were you going to do,” I said again softly. “Were you going to touch ... me?”
“Yes.”
My cock got painfully hard and I groaned. I pulled her hands up and placed them flat on my stomach. “Do what you want
, babe. But only if you’re doing it for you. I’m yours.”
She blinked at me, sucking in that plump bottom lip before lowering her eyes. Her fingers flexed on the spot, not moving just yet. I could almost see the dirty thoughts flooding her mind. I bet her knickers were wet. Her chest heaved as she balanced on the edge of good girl versus naughty girl. I’d take both versions. Whichever side she chose, she needed to be kissed.
I bowed my head, hovering my lips over hers, waiting for her silent consent. She angled her head and captured my mouth with hers. Her minty breath mixed with mine. Her kiss lit a network of fuses throughout my body, tiny bonfires flaming to life. I fought to keep my fists clenched by my sides. I wasn’t going to push her too far. She hadn’t asked me to paw her. She wanted to paw me. But I had to keep control. I hadn’t forgotten that her mother was just down the hallway, expecting me to leave any second. And Andy and I were still new. Maybe this was too much too soon.
Her palms moved south and I jolted at the contact. Dragging in some air through my nose, I parted my mouth, my tongue searching for hers. She eagerly welcomed me in, tangling her flesh with mine. Leaning forward, she aligned our bodies, her hands wrapping around my wrists and pulling my arms behind her. With a surge, I lifted her off her toes, holding her flush against me. My arousal pressed into the juncture between her thighs. I hadn’t intended it, but once I was there, she pushed against me in what I understood was a silent request for more. Our kiss went deeper than I’d known kisses could go. With Andy it was different. Because she meant more to me than any other girl. I couldn’t think about the reason behind that just yet. I could barely think at all. She’d turned me into a slave to my senses.
Andy broke the kiss, chest surging as she seemingly fought for breath. I let her feet slide to the floor while I tried to calm my hyped system. Undoing me further, she ran her fingers along my hard bulge. “It’s harder than I thought it would be.”
I laughed and it jerked under her touch. “He’s not fully there yet. I’m kinda restricted here.” She looked at me with a glint in her eye. “No, I’m not taking him out. Jesus, Andy. I came in here to borrow a towel. What are you doing to me?”