by MV Ellis
I have the ominous feeling that the last sentence is the truest thing he’s ever said, and it fills my heart with a painfully sharp sense of dread that I just can’t seem to shake.
“Okay…so?” Zeph looks at me expectantly again.
I reach into my purse and retrieve a second handset, type in the access code, pull up the messages, and hand it to him.
“What am I looking at?” Confusion reigns supreme.
“It’s my mom’s phone. I’ve had it since the day of her disappearance. It’s switched on and charged twenty-four seven, and never more than a few feet away from me, even when I’m in class, mass, or the shower. Sadly, nobody has messaged her this entire time, including him.”
As realization dawns on his face, he releases a deep breath.
“That’s a big call.” He looks genuinely concerned for me, and my heart triple-jumps at the sight. He’s beyond beautiful at the best of times, but standing in the garden, in the radiant moonlight, looking like he may actually give a fuck, he’s... just beyond.
“I know. But it’s what my gut’s telling me, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way, it’s to trust my gut.”
“I hear ya. So what are you gonna do?”
“I guess I need to get the police involved, but Thunder said I’m welcome to hit up his dad anytime, and I think I’m going to take him up on his offer before I do anything else.”
“Oh did he, now?” There’s a small flicker of something in Zeph’s eyes as he listens. Anger? Irritation? Jealousy? I can’t quite tell, and as quickly as it appears, it’s gone. He blinks a few times, as though to reset himself.
“Bambi, this is heavy as fuck.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak, but even without my saying a word, the tears still start to flow again. Damn.
“Yep. That’s the shit show that is my life.”
“Hey, don’t.” My mind is still crowded with thoughts about my situation, so when his lips lightly brush mine, I genuinely don’t see it coming. So much so, that I jump when we make contact.
“Shhh…” he talks against my lips, and this time, when his tongue probes inside my mouth, it’s such a deliciously gentle exploration that it makes my head spin. But then, just as I’m settling in and enjoying the unexpected care he’s taking, it’s all over as abruptly as it started, and I feel like a total fool, as I so often do around Zeph.
“Uh...I’d better get back.” I motion toward the mansion with my head.
“No.”
“I mean—”
“I know what you mean, and I mean no. This way.” He jerks my hand in the opposite direction from the building.
“I don’t think—”
“It’s not a fucking invitation, it’s an instruction. Come on.”
Wow. As ever with him, I’m speechless. He tugs my hand again, but this time starts striding off toward the back of the garden. Given he’s holding onto me, I have to either pull away, or follow him. With my self-preservation instinct clearly at an all-time low, I go after him.
“Zeph, where are we—?”
“Shhhh. Just trust me.”
I swallow the laughter that bubbles in my throat. Trust the guy who’s out to get me, because he’s convinced I’m out to get him? Uh… okay.
When we get to the back of the expansive garden, I’m completely confused. There’s a tall, thick hedgerow growing up against the huge back wall, which is clearly cut out of the rocks surrounding the house. The whole property is sunk into said rock, but I don’t understand why we’re here—there’s nowhere to go.
“Wait there.”
He lets go of my hand and jogs away from me, toward the pool house, leaving me rooted to the spot and absolutely terrified. What if he’s going to get an ax to chop me into tiny pieces, then throw my remains in the dancing flames of the firepit?
If that’s the case, now would be a good time to run, but like that stupid girl in the horror movie that we all scream at, because she’s going to end up dead, I stand there like a dumb sitting duck, and wait for him to come back and murder me.
He returns moments later without an ax. Quite the opposite, in fact. He has a blanket and a couple of large cushions. Maybe he’s planning on smothering me to death, then rolling my body into the blanket before disposing of it, but I somehow doubt it.
“Come on.”
He walks over to the giant hedge, then disappears. What the hell?
“I said come with me.”
I follow his voice into the hedge, and only then notice a set of steep and ancient-looking stone stairs.
“Last one up is a loser.” He starts taking the stairs two-by-two before I can reply. I hesitate a moment, then figure, what the hell? If he was going to off me, he probably would have done it by now.
At the top, I’m so winded I can barely stand, doubling over with my hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath. Fuck, I thought I was fitter than that.
Zeph clearly is, as while I’m trying to get enough air into my lungs so that I don’t die, he strides a little away from me to a patch of grass, and starts laying out the blanket and cushions.
“Where are we?” I’m still panting, but I have just enough breath to speak, so at least I know I’m not about to expire.
“Straighten up and have a proper look.”
I follow his instruction and stand tall.
“Oh shit. It’s beautiful.”
“It’s a private lookout point. It’s only accessible via the backroad behind the house, or those stairs, so nobody really knows it’s here. The road actually carries on higher and winds around further, then there’s a steeper drop on the other side. I drive up here sometimes when I don’t want to be found.
I can see why. The view is nothing short of epic. It’s breathtaking. The city lights twinkle at our feet like urban fireflies, and I wonder about the lives of the people below. Are they happy or sad? Have they loved, or lost? Are their lives beautifully whole, or a destroyed mess like mine?
I’m not letting down my guard completely, but I allow myself to relax… a little. This is a side of Zeph I’ve never seen, and never expected to see. In fact, it is a side I would never think even exists, which is why part of me is still waiting for the punchline: for his friends to come springing up the stairs and spray me with a hose, or strip me and leave me tied to a tree, or something equally evil.
It seems like exactly the kind of stunt Zeph would pull, roaring with laughter while I struggle. I hold my breath and wait, but, much to my relief, nobody joins us. We are completely and totally alone.
My heart races. I’m hot and clammy, breaking out into a cold sweat, even though there’s a nice light breeze blowing.
“So…” Zeph says, and glances at me with a wicked grin and a gleam in his eyes.
“So…” I grin, not sure where he’s going with this.
“Want a do-over?”
“I don’t know what you—”
“A chance to beat me at my own game and make me come first.”
After my epic loss the last time, I seriously doubt that’s possible.
I shake my head, but before the movement is complete, he closes the gap between us, pushing his lips to mine urgently this time, less like the gentle kiss in the garden earlier, and much more like the moves I’ve come to expect from him as standard.
The usual ferocity is there, but somehow now it feels like, instead of being locked in battle, fighting it out to see who’ll be the victor, we’re dancing together. This time push and pull is bringing us closer, rather than wrenching us apart.
Neither of us has closed our eyes yet, and as we pause to catch our breath, I gasp at the momentary flash of authenticity that flickers in his icy gaze. He leans in again, and I close my eyes and hold my breath as the spark in my belly starts to spread into a full-blown fire of lust.
My heart stops briefly, and I’m flooded with spontaneous desire. I’m scared to admit even to myself, how much I want him. I brush my fingers through his short-cropped hair
, pulling him closer to me, and in return, he devours me with kisses as if his life depends on it, and his thirst for me can’t be quenched by a million of them. I kiss him harder still, knowing that we will both still be thirsty for more.
He ropes his arms around my waist, and I snake my arms around his neck as he drags me down onto the chunky outdoor quilt he brought up with him.
He pulls away again. “Fair warning—I’m still playing to win, so prepare to lose just as epically as you did last time.”
With those words, he flips us quickly, so that he’s on top of me, and he has my hands pressed into the blanket, with his palms bearing down on mine. An instant surge of adrenaline sears through me as our hands touch.
Zeph shifts back a little so that his face is hovering over mine and we’re eye-to-eye, and for a long moment, neither of us moves, not even to blink. As I drink in the intensity of his icy-blue gaze, yet again, I can’t read him. I’ve never met someone as guarded as him. He’s the definition of a closed book, but when he blinks rapidly, breaking the spell, then lowers his lips to mine, stealing another brutal kiss, his intentions are clear.
Chapter 32
Blake
* * *
Zeph quickly bundles both of my hands into one of his and squeezes them together hard. I wince a little, although it’s not an altogether painful feeling, just a little uncomfortable.
“Roll over.” As ever, his voice is a low growl.
“What?”
“You heard me. I said roll over. I want to fuck you from behind.”
“No.” The word is out of my mouth before I have time to properly consider the implications of what I’m saying.
Suddenly it’s his turn to fall deaf. “What did you say?”
“You heard me just fine. I said no.” I study him cautiously. He’s someone who likes to get his own way, and doesn’t take kindly to people refusing him what he wants. Well screw him—figuratively, and literally—I’m not about to bow over and cave in to his every demand, like seemingly the entire rest of the world. “I want to see the look in your eyes when I win.”
I’m not just saying that because I love throwing his words back in his face, though there is definitely an element of that at play. It’s also true.
Although he’s very good at hiding his thoughts and emotions, from what little I’ve seen, when the mask does slip, as it did earlier, it’s his eyes that do all the talking. They’re his tell for sure, so I figure if I can see them, I have a better chance of knowing what’s going on with him, and of winning his stupid challenge.
To emphasize my point, I try to wrench my hands free from his grasp while he’s distracted. Of course, with Zeph, nothing’s that simple. He tightens his grip, and now it does hurt a little.
“Whoa, not so fast, Bambi. From the front or from behind, I’m running this show, not you. Remember that.” We’ll see.
I keep my thoughts to myself, and my eyes locked on his when I arch my back and thrust my hips up to meet his as he straddles me.
“Oh, that’s how we’re playing it is it?” I don’t answer. At least, not in words, anyway, instead thrusting into him again.
I smile wryly as his erection rams against me, and his body jolts with arousal. The small groan that slips from his lips fires me up even more, and this time I grind into him in a slow circular motion. As he picks up my rhythm, and his eyes start to drift closed, I have an idea.
“First one to close their eyes or look away is a loser.” After a fleeting moment of indecision where his eyelids float at half-mast, Zeph’s eyes shoot open. Yes! If it’s one thing he’s quick to tell the world, it’s that he grabs a challenge with both hands. He doesn’t look pleased, however. In fact, he looks pissed. Really pissed.
“Have it your way, but don’t say you weren’t told.”
Told what? I have no idea, but I don’t really care, I need to concentrate on the matter at hand. Not that I can use my hands right now.
As if on cue Zeph uses his free hand to hoist my short skirt up to my hips, revealing my lace panties. As he reaches down to pull them aside I act quickly, doing my best to squeeze my thighs together, trapping his fingers. There’s no way I’m falling for that again.
Confusion flickers across Zeph’s face momentarily.
“Oh, you wanna skip the appetizers and go right to the mains? You in some kind of hurry? Somewhere else to be, or someone else to be with?” He narrows his eyes, suspicion written clear in his strong features.
Of course, it’s nothing like that at all. I just know that if I’m going to be in with a chance of evening the score between us, I can’t let him work me over with his hands. That’s the way to surefire defeat. Saying nothing, I wait for Zeph to make his next move.
“Okay, have it your way.” He finally frees my hands, reaching down for his fly, instead.
When he releases his dick a few moments later, I wonder if I’ve made the right decision. It’s not like I don’t want him. I do. I just want to beat him even more.
With my hands now free, I reach down to push my cropped tee up, and then pull at the cups of my bra. Zeph’s sharp intake of breath brings a smile to my face as I lick the tip of each thumb and forefinger.
I’m playing with fire as I circle my nipples with my wet fingers, before tweaking them hard, but if I didn’t like life on the edge, I wouldn’t be on the top of a cliff with Zephyr Cross.
As my body warms to my touch, I keep my eyes on Zeph, gauging his response to my every move. He reaches for his dick, then clamps his teeth down on the base of his bottom lip until it blanches, and as he pumps his hand rapidly back and forth, I know I’m on the right track.
We carry on that way until the strain is showing in Zeph’s face. A vein at his temple throbs hard, and his brows are knitted together in concentration, while he stares down at me.
He hasn’t looked away yet, but the one place that’s devoid of emotion is his eyes. Arousal is screaming out from every pore in his body, but his eyes are a blank canvas. How the hell is that even possible?
I don’t have time to think about it anymore, as Zeph rears up on his knees, pulling my legs up with him, so that they’re flush against his chest, with one of my ankles pointing toward each of his shoulders. I’m certain he can see the desire written loud and clear in my eyes, and as he pushes my panties aside and thrusts inside me, it’s a challenge to keep them open.
I bite down on the inside of my lip so hard I’m not shocked by the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. I silently recite times tables in my head, fighting my impending orgasm with every fiber of my being. I just need to be strong for a little while longer.
Zeph, on the other hand, seems to have almost forgotten our bet, because he ups the pace, anchoring me to him by my ankles, allowing him to control our movements. I arch my back, taking him deeper and struggling to try to regulate my breathing.
He picks up more speed again, and as I circle my hips in rapid arcs around him I stare into his eyes, searching for something from him. As ever, there’s nothing, but just as I’m about to call it quits, the vibe changes.
Zeph stills completely for a moment, gritting his teeth. It’s then that I see it. It’s so fleeting that I almost miss it, but it’s there. And brief though it is, the rare flicker of raw emotion still counts.
He comes loudly and angrily, his earlier frown replaced by a tight scowl. I’m not sure how it’s possible to experience the pleasure that’s clearly tearing through his body and be so pissed off at the same time, but I’m learning that with Zeph Cross, anything is possible.
I don’t have time to ponder it any further, as I’m overtaken by my own overwhelming climax. Reasonable, rational thought is no longer an option. Nor is keeping my eyes open. I surrender to the pleasure flooding my senses, safe in the knowledge that I won the orgasm war, even if I lost the battle to maintain eye contact..
On the walk back to the property, we stroll in silence, but our hands are at our sides and every so often Zeph’s lightly brushes up again
st mine. I glance over at him, but he’s staring straight ahead. I use the opportunity to admire his perfect profile, but then, as though feeling the weight of my stare, he turns toward me.
He graces me with a minimal glance, and though the physical gap between us widens, the sexual tension remains, even after we just scratched that itch in epic style. How does that even work? Nothing between the two of us makes any kind of real sense to me.
As soon as we get close to the pool, Lennon and Jagger duck out of the pool house and jog toward Zeph. They’re shirtless, and I briefly wonder what they’ve been doing in there, and if they were in there when he went to get the blanket and cushions earlier. Not that it really matters; it’s just idle curiosity.
Even if it did matter, soon I’m too distracted by the sight of them to care. Although not exactly my type as such, they really are breathtakingly attractive, to the point where I can barely look their way. What in God’s name is with this group of guys? Between Zeph and the sexy twins, I can hardly focus enough to put one foot in front of the other as we approach the house.
To save myself the embarrassment of tripping, or some other equally inevitable humiliation, like having Zeph suddenly blank me or insult me in front of the others, I veer off to the left, severing myself from Zeph abruptly, instead of continuing on the path we were on.
I walk through the grass to get to the paving around the perimeter of the enormous infinity pool. I take a moment by the edge, mesmerized by the hypnotizing ripples scrolling across its inviting aquamarine depths. Suddenly I can’t think of anything more appealing than a refreshing dip, but since I don’t have my bikini with me, and I’m not the type to skinnydip, it’s not going to happen.
Instead, I make do with being lulled by the instant calm that watching the sparklingly lit water brings. It’s the most relaxed and happy I’ve felt for weeks.
It’s so effective at soothing me that the commotion on the other side of the garden takes a few moments to register. But then suddenly I’m aware of raised voices. One in particular, in fact.