by Ramona Gray
“My landlord is Allie Dickerson.”
“Oh shit.”
“Yeah.” She stood stiff in the circle of my arms. Lily had tormented Allie Dickerson in high school. She’d been from the wrong side of the tracks, and Lily and her bitch friends had made her life miserable.
“Why are you living here? Allie hates you.”
“It’s the only thing I can afford. Well, there were a few other places, but they refused to rent to me.”
Her voice didn’t break, and she didn’t sound sorry for herself. More resigned. She even gave me a small smile. “It was actually really nice of Allie to rent me this place. The way I treated her in high school, she should have just spit in my face and told me to eat shit and die.”
“You have to grovel for it?”
She shrugged. “Yes, but I deserve it. I’ve spent most of my life being a terrible person.”
“You weren’t terrible, just…”
She laughed. “Terrible really is the most fitting description. But I think I’ve learned my lesson. I hope I have anyway.” She fell silent for a moment. “I apologized to Allie for the way I treated her, and she agreed to rent me this place. But the apology didn’t cover repairs to broken windows or furnaces, apparently. I call her once a week or so, to grovel again and ask if she’ll get the furnace fixed and the window replaced. She says no problem and then I don’t hear from her until I call again.”
I swore under my breath. “How long you been without heat?”
“A couple months.”
“It’s just gonna get colder.”
“I know. I’m sure Allie will fix it before then and if not, I’m saving up my tips to get it fixed myself.”
I let her go and she followed me into the kitchen. “Hey, what are you doing?”
I had opened the cupboard closest to me. “You got any fucking food?”
She didn’t reply, and I opened another cupboard. It was just as bare as the first. My anger growing, I opened all the cupboards. The last one had a few cans of cat food and I gave her a look of disbelief. “Holy fuck, are you kidding me? You’re eating cat food?”
“What? Of course not. I just…”
“You just what?”
There was a loud meow and a cat wandered into the kitchen. He was an orange tabby with bright green eyes and scarred ears from fighting.
“You got a cat?”
She bent and stroked the cat’s fur when he rubbed up against her leg. “He was a stray. He was hungry and cold, so I let him in and he just never left.”
I rolled my eyes. “You can’t afford to feed yourself, but you’ll spend your money on a damn cat?”
“He’s my friend,” she said defensively. “I – I don’t have many friends.”
No, I supposed she didn’t.
“Get changed and let’s go.”
She blinked at me. “What?”
“Put on some warmer clothes and let’s go.” I gave her an impatient look.
“Go where?”
“Back to my place.”
“What? No, I can’t go to your house.”
“Why not? It’s not much, but it’s a hell of a lot better than this shithole.”
She looked around the trailer. “I – I can’t leave Greg.”
Jealousy flooded through me. “Who the fuck is Greg?”
She glanced at the cat and I burst out laughing. “You named him Greg?”
“He looked like a Greg to me. Anyway, I don’t want to leave him alone. It’s cold and he’ll be lonely without me.”
I decided if I told her that I was planning on never letting her stay another night in this dump, she’d freak the fuck out. Instead, I said, “Fine. Change your clothes, grab the damn cat and let’s go.”
“Jack, I really shouldn’t -”
“This is not a choice, Lily. Now hurry up. It’s late, I’m tired, and I’m freezing my nutsack off.”
Chapter Six
Lily
Jack’s house was nice. Cleaner than I expected for a man who lived on his own. Warm too – thank God. I hated imposing on him, but I was very grateful for a warm place to spend the night.
He never said it was for the night. He brought you here because he’s going to fuck you and then he’ll kick you out. He wants you for one thing and one thing only.
Yeah, I knew that. It’s why I had insisted on driving my car to Jack’s place when he tried to make me drive with him. I didn’t have enough money for a cab, and I didn’t relish the idea of walking home and carrying Greg in the dark and the cold. I had thrown my toothbrush in my purse though. It was already almost two in the morning. I figured maybe if I really drew out the sex, Jack might take pity on me and let me stay until he went to work. It would be nice to sleep somewhere warm for a change.
Nice. So now you’re fucking men for a warm place to sleep?
I didn’t even feel ashamed. The soup Jack had brought me meant I wasn’t hungry for the first time in a while. If he let me sleep over in his toasty-warm house, it’d be the best night I’d had in months.
Don’t forget you’re getting sex tonight. I bet he’s really good at fucking. He made you come twice. Twice! Did you even believe that was possible? How big do you think his dick is? Really big, right?
“You okay?”
“Yes, why?” I asked.
“You’re red.”
I bet I was. Just thinking about having sex with Jack was making me hot. Apparently prostituting myself out for a warm place to sleep didn’t affect my libido when it came to sex with my mechanic.
“You hungry or thirsty?”
I shook my head and watched as Greg finished eating the cat food I brought with us. He rubbed up against Jack’s leg and Jack leaned down and petted his blocky head. “He gonna shit all over my house or use the litter box you brought?”
“He’ll use the litter box.”
“Good. C’mon, time for bed.”
An almost painful cramp of pleasure went through my belly. I took Jack’s hand and followed him up the stairs to the bedroom. I was feeling nervous and jittery as we entered the bedroom. “So, uh, this was your dad’s house?”
“Yeah. He left it to me in the will.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
He shrugged. “He was a drunk who didn’t give a shit about me. After ma died, he just gave up.”
“How old were you when your mom died?”
“Seventeen. She had cancer in her liver.”
Now there was sorrow in his eyes and I reached up and touched his jaw. “I’m very sorry.”
He didn’t shake off my touch like I thought he would. “It was a long time ago.”
We stood in awkward silence and I searched for something else to say. “Your room is nice.”
He snorted laughter. “Yeah, it’s real nice.”
“It is.” I wasn’t lying to him. It was big with a queen-sized bed and a master bathroom off it. There was a dresser against the far wall and a chair in the corner of the room. Again, pretty tidy for a bachelor. With a little imagination, it could be a great room.
“You just need to do a bit of decorating. You could paint the walls blue – that’s a good shade for a bedroom – and add some crown molding. The hardwood is in great shape and you could add a rug under the bed for warmth and some artwork to the walls. The room has a lot of potential.”
He laughed again. “You like decorating and shit like that?”
“I do,” I said. “I know everyone in town thinks I didn’t go to university after high school because I was just a spoiled little rich girl, but it isn’t true. I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do yet. After a couple of years of trying to figure it out, my dad suggested I try interior design. I was always redecorating my room. He said I was good at it and I enjoyed it. He was right, I do enjoy it, but I just hadn’t figured that out on my own yet. I decided to apply for an interior design school in New York. I got in but then my dad… well, you know.”
He nodded, and I was surprised to see
the sympathy in his eyes. Most people in this town figured me and my family got exactly what we deserved, and I couldn’t really argue with them. There were some sympathetic people, but I hadn’t expected Jack Williams to be one of them.
“Anyway, I didn’t have the money to go to the school after that, so I had to withdraw.”
“You and your mom really didn’t have any money of your own?”
His question tore open a painful wound that I thought had finally healed. I didn’t want to talk about my mother’s abandoment. It would make him feel even more sorry for me, and for some reason I didn’t want that from Jack. I didn’t need his sympathy. I was doing just fine on my own.
Bullshit. You’re barely getting by. You’re one minor crisis from being homeless. You’re having sex with Jack for a warm place to sleep.
I ignored my inner voice and forced myself to smile at him. “Hey, am I here to talk or to fuck?”
I cringed at how crude I was being, but hell, Jack probably didn’t care. He was crude and rough and…
Surprisingly sweet.
He pulled me into his embrace and rubbed my lower back. “Tell me, Princess.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I know. Tell me anyway.”
I sighed and stared over his shoulder at a spot on the wall. “My mother has some money – quite a lot of money actually – that they couldn’t take from us. I don’t know the specifics of why we got to keep it, but Dad called it our nest egg. I think he knew that someday he might get caught and so he made arrangements for us. Anyway, we lived off of it for a while but then she met Barry and he was rich.”
“How’d she meet him?”
“Online. They got married and she moved to San Diego to be with him.”
“Why didn’t you go with them?”
“Mom didn’t want me around. Barry is, uh, quite a bit younger than her. She said if I was around, it would be a constant reminder to him of how much older she is than him.”
“If your dad left you money, why the fuck are you living like this?”
“It’s in my mom’s name. She wants to keep the nest egg in case things don’t work out with Barry.”
He forced me to look at him. “Does she know you live like this?”
I pressed my lips together, feeling a weird shame. “She knows.”
“That selfish cunt,” Jack said.
“I never had a close relationship with her. She didn’t really want kids, she only had me because my dad wanted a kid.”
“She’s still your fucking mother.”
“I was an adult when my father went to prison. Technically, I wasn’t her responsibility anymore.”
“Your old man know she did this to you?”
“No, and it’s going to stay that way. He worships my mother, it was hard enough on him when she divorced him and married Barry. He doesn’t need to know about this.”
“How often do you see him?” He was still cupping my face and I couldn’t look away from his dark eyes.
“I haven’t seen him. He doesn’t want me to visit him in prison, doesn’t want me to see him that way. Even if he did, it’s not like I could afford to fly to California to see him. And I’m certainly not gonna try driving it with my shitheap of a car. I talk to him every couple of weeks and send him care packages.”
“You send him care packages.” He shook his head again. “You’re fucking starving, and you send your dad care packages, and feed a goddamn stray cat.”
For some reason, another surge of shame went through me. “Dad has it worse than me.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Jack said. “From what I’ve heard, he’s in a white-collar prison. He probably plays fucking golf every Tuesday. He has a warm place to sleep and three meals a day. Do you have that?”
I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let me go. “My life isn’t that bad.”
Not that bad? You offered to blow the man standing in front of you for car repairs, remember?
“It’s not that good,” Jack said.
God, I hated the way he was looking at me. It threw a bucket of cold water on my need for him and I squirmed out of his grip. “I have to go.”
“Why?” He took my hand and pulled me close again.
“Because I’m not here for your pity,” I snapped at him.
“Why are you here?”
“You know why.”
“Say it, Princess.”
I sighed angrily. “You want the truth? I’m here because I’m hoping after you fuck me, you’ll let me stay the goddamn night. It’ll be nice to have a warm place to sleep where I don’t have to wake up at every little sound because I’m afraid someone is breaking in to rape me.”
He squeezed my hand and I gave him a warning look. “Don’t. Don’t feel sorry for me or look at me like I’m a destitute loser. I’m not! Forget what I just said. I’m doing fine on my own and I don’t need your help or anyone else’s in this stupid fucking town!”
I tried to yank away from him and pounded him on the back when he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly.
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” I shouted.
“I don’t.”
“You do, and I don’t want that. Please, I just want to go back home.”
“I can’t let you go back there, Princess. It isn’t safe.”
I wanted to argue but I didn’t have the energy. I was angry and confused and weirdly horny again.
“I don’t want to talk anymore. Are we going to have sex or not?” I asked.
“We are.” Jack’s low voice rumbled in my ear as his big hands rubbed my back. “But not because I feel sorry for you. Just the opposite. I want to fuck you because you’re strong and brave and tough as fucking nails. I want you, Lily.”
I shivered all over when he said my name. He pressed his growing erection against me and I wanted to rub against him like a cat.
“Do you want to fuck me?” He asked.
“You know I do,” I whispered.
“Yeah, I do.” His voice was smug.
I leaned back and scowled at him. He laughed and kissed the tip of my nose. “C’mon, Ice Queen, let’s fuck.”
I bit my bottom lip. I didn’t know how I could have forgotten that I was bad in bed, but the nickname did a fine job of reminding me. Suddenly self-conscious, I said, “Jack, listen, I…”
Shit. How did one tell a potential new sex partner that they sucked in bed? I didn’t want to tell him, but it’s not like he wasn’t going to find out. He should have the chance to back out if he wanted.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m called the Ice Queen for a reason,” I said.
“I’ve heard the rumours.”
“They’re not rumours.” My face was turning beet red, but I continued on lamely. “I’m…well, I’m terrible at sex. I’m, uh, too stiff and uptight. I can’t come during sex.”
He studied me silently and I chewed at my bottom lip. “If you’ve changed your mind, I get it, but would it be okay if I crashed on your couch tonight? It’s late and I’m tired.”
He released the clip that held my hair up and then wound his fingers through the strands, holding me still. “Princess, you’ve already cum on my fingers and my face. I fully intend on getting this hat trick. You’re gonna cum all over my cock tonight, I promise.”
Chapter Seven
Jack
I almost laughed at the look on Lily’s face. I pushed down the urge and pulled her even closer until every inch of her body was pressed against mine. “You don’t suck in bed, Lily.”
“I do,” she said. “Just because you made me come twice, doesn’t mean I’m good in bed, okay? I don’t know how to move properly or… look, I want to have sex with you, but I also thought it was only fair to warn you that I’m bad at it. Now you know.”
This time I did laugh. “Yeah, now I know.”
She flushed but I wasn’t sure if it was because of embarrassment or because I had slipped my hands into her jeans and was kneading her ass.
>
“Stop worrying about it,” I said. “It’s time to get you naked, Princess.”
I pulled my hands out of her jeans and grabbed the hem of her t-shirt. “Arms up.”
She raised her arms and I pulled her t-shirt off before making quick work of the rest of her clothing. When she was naked, I gave her an appreciative look. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” she said. I could tell she wanted to cover her tits with her arms and I cupped both before she could.
“You’ve got the prettiest tits.” I bent my head and sucked on her right nipple. She moaned and arched her back and I grinned up at her. “You like that, Princess?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Undress me.”
She pulled my t-shirt over my head and added it to the pile of clothing. She studied my chest and stomach before giving me a shy look. “You have a really great body.”
“You haven’t even seen the best part yet,” I said.
She rolled her eyes and I laughed and gave her a tap on the ass. “Keep going.”
She unbuckled my belt – Christ, just the brush of her knuckles against my stomach made my cock twitch – and unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans. She tugged my pants and my underwear down and I grinned again when my cock popped out and the flush rose in her cheeks. Without speaking, she crouched in front of me and pulled my jeans, socks and underwear off. I gripped my cock and rubbed it slowly. When she tried to stand, I placed my other hand on her shoulder. She stared at my cock and I stroked her soft dark hair.
“You want a taste, Princess?”
“Yes.”
“You sucked a dick before?”
“A few times.” She glanced up at me. “I lied in your office earlier. I’m not good at it either.”
I smoothed her hair back, the anxiety in her gaze making my gut twist. “You don’t have to be good at it. Just enthusiastic.”
That made her smile and I rubbed her cheekbone with my thumb. “Open up.”
She opened her mouth and I guided my cock past her lips and into her hot, wet mouth. I groaned and used every fucking last bit of my willpower not to shove my cock down her throat as deep as I could. I fed her more as she licked tentatively at the head of it. She made a muffled noise and tried to pull back and I cupped the back of her delicate skull.