by Layla Frost
“Mrs. Giovanni,” I said, startled. “What’re you doing all the way out here?”
She pulled off her plastic hat to show rollers in her hair. “It’s important to take care of yourself. And sometimes that means letting others help.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
“You’re all alone,” she repeated.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re okay. Not fine. Not good.”
I gestured to the large table. “Do you want to join me for lunch?”
She shook her head. “You’ve got no family.”
“I never have.”
“You could, you just have to open your eyes and wake up. Always keep your eyes open.”
My breathing came in short bursts as everyone watched me. “I’ll never have a family.”
“I hate the noise. And you hate the loneliness. Admit it, Dahlia. Wake up and admit it.”
I shook my head frantically. “I’m happy.”
Mrs. Giovanni looked impatient. “You aren’t. Not ever. But you could be. Wake up, Dahlia.”
“No, I—”
“Wake up.”
“Really, I’m happy—”
“You could be,” a soft and distant voice said from my other side.
I turned, my eyes going wide as my heart hammered in my chest.
Dark brown hair fell in the way of pale green eyes.
“Mom?” I asked even though she was only my age.
“Stop hiding and have it all,” she whispered, gesturing to the rapidly filling table. The people banged on the heavy wooden top. “All you have to do is wake up, Dahlia.”
I started and bolted upright, my body covered in a thin layer of sweat. Looking around frantically, all I saw was my apartment. My alarm clock showed it was barely after two. My heart raced as I flopped back, trying to catch my breath.
I’d been sleeping fitfully since Theo had dropped me off earlier in the night. After that dream, I doubted I’d get any more rest.
When someone knocked, I yelped, nearly falling out of bed.
“Wake up, Dahlia,” I heard through the door, an echo of my dream. Only it wasn’t my mother or Mrs. Giovanni.
Rolling out of bed, I checked the peephole to be sure before throwing open the door. “Theo, what’re you—”
His mouth covered mine as he cupped my face and pulled me close. Fingers digging in, his tongue pushed into my mouth, twirling and teasing. He kicked the door closed behind him before walking me deeper into my apartment.
Not that there was far to go.
After only a few steps we were past the kitchenette counter. A few steps more and the back of my legs hit my bed.
His large hands spanned my hips, lifting me so my feet were completely off the ground. “Wrap your legs around me,” he said against my lips. When I encircled his waist, he put a knee on the mattress and lowered me onto my back. Breaking his kiss, he curved his hand over the top of my head, weaving his fingers into my hair. His other hand went to the bed by my shoulder, supporting him enough so I could breathe.
Or rather I would’ve been able to, had it not been for the look on his face.
Moonlight streamed in through the window behind us, giving me peeks of him in the darkness. His gaze was intense, his eyes searing. Lowering himself closer, his scratchy cheek slid against my smooth one until his mouth was by my ear. “Does this feel like I don’t want you, Dahlia?” he whispered, his voice harshly rough yet beautiful. He shifted, pushing his hardness against me. Grinding, only my thin sleep shorts and his jeans between us, I felt how much he wanted me. Long, thick inches pushed, causing an ache and emptiness to take over my body. Tension grew as he held me in place with the hand on top of my head and pushed again. “Does it?”
Shaking my head, I gasped as his zipper rubbed just right. My fingers went into his soft hair as I put pressure on his head.
His lips dropped back to mine, his hand leaving my head to go up my tee. He reached just under my breast, his thumb stroking between the two. Kissing down my neck, he nipped, licked, and sucked his way to my chest. Finally cupping my breast, his grip tightened, and his warm mouth covered my hard nipple over the fabric. Teeth biting and tongue flicking, the fabric grew wet. His thumb and finger replaced his mouth as he switched to my other nipple, rolling and tugging it gently.
With one last twirl of the tongue, Theo released my breasts. The cold air was a shock, tightening my nipples to near painful levels.
Returning his mouth to mine, he arched his back to increase the torturous pressure between my legs. I began to rock my hips, needing to ease the ache. Groaning, the kiss ended as he went onto his knees. Before I knew what was happening, my shorts were flying through the air with his shirt following after it.
“What’re you doing?” I asked, my voice a breathy wheeze as I tried to cover myself.
“Showing you.” Without another word, his shoulders went between my thighs, keeping them apart. He gripped my wrists and held them at my sides, giving him access. Licking to my clit, his tongue swirled around it. His touch was light. A gentle suction. A graze of his teeth.
When he released my wrists, my hand went back to his hair, holding him to me. I heard his zipper, felt the bed move as he shifted. My breath caught as I waited, tense with anticipation, want, and a hint of nerves.
Theo didn’t pull away, though. Instead, he hooked my leg over his shoulder and put his hand under my ass, lifting it off the bed slightly. His mouth covered me more fully, using the change of position to increase pressure as he licked. His tongue twisted and twirled, pushing as deep inside me as it could.
Prying my eyes open, I looked down at him. Enough light streamed in to let me see him in the shadows, his arm moving at a steady pace.
Although I couldn’t see for sure, I could guess at what he was doing. The mental picture combined with the rapid flicks of his tongue on my clit were enough to send me over the edge, my body tightening and pulsing. My mind blanked, my lips curling into a small smile as I cried out. Seeking more. Feeling so empty.
When my muscles loosened, Theo lowered my leg from his shoulder so I was flat on the bed. He eased the pressure on my clit, going back to light and teasing. “This is what you do to me,” he said between leisurely strokes of his tongue. “After I see you. After I dream of you. Cazzo, after I think about you.”
He started to shift, already tucking himself away.
“Don’t,” I bit out. Even though I was beginning to wonder who I was, I said it again. “Don’t stop. Any of it.”
He groaned, his mouth buzzing against my clit. His finger stroked through my wetness, sliding in and curling to rub.
Rapidly, so much so that my breathing turned to short, uneven bursts, the tension built. I curved my shoulders and head to the side, wanting a better view of Theo.
Theo.
The same guy I’ve been out with multiple times over the past month. Mature and sophisticated, intimidating and collected.
Only now he’s no controlled gentleman.
Twisting and stretching out, he changed his position in a way that didn’t look entirely comfortable, but gave me the best view the lack of light would allow. His pants were undone and pulled down enough to free himself. Much longer and thicker than I’d thought, his fist worked up the length of his cock. His steady strokes grew uneven with my eyes on him, his low grunts vibrating against my clit as he sucked. Adding another finger, faster and faster, he rubbed inside me until I couldn’t take it anymore.
Couldn’t take any of it.
Instead of the gentle orgasm I was used to, the sweet sigh and release, my body tightened as though the smallest breeze would break me. A guttural moan pushed out, the high-pitched gasp that followed seeming to echo through my small apartment. My hips rocked uncontrollably as I sought it.
Only when I heard his groan, felt it at the same time as something warm hit my thigh and stomach, did I shatter, a silent scream on my lips.
With one last lick, Theo’s head fell ba
ck, his breathing almost as quick as mine. His finger still lazily moved in me for a minute before he removed it, leaving me sore but happy.
After tucking himself away, though his pants stayed undone, he got up and gave me the first clear view of his back I’d had.
“Do you have a tattoo?” I asked, still sounding winded.
“Yeah, did you not notice it earlier?”
I shook my head as I thought about it. “I was facing away from you a lot, or you were on the ice cream floatie. And then you either had Kat or a towel draped over you.” The ink took up most of his back, but the darkness made it hard to see. “What is it?”
“Family crest. Every man in my family has one. It’s a big deal when we turn eighteen.” He grabbed a café napkin off my counter, running it under water. Climbing back onto the bed, his eyes focused between my legs as he wiped me off. When I would’ve covered myself, his gaze travelled up until it met mine. “To answer your earlier question, I’m here to do that. To show you how badly I want you.”
As he climbed back out of bed, I pulled the sheet over me as I watched him move.
He padded across my tiny apartment to the garbage. When he came back, his pants were back in place and buttoned. Seeing him without a shirt on for the second time that day reminded me how tremendously built he really was.
It was impossible to forget how much taller than me he was since over a foot difference was hard to miss. But there was a thickness in his body, including the definition in his muscles, that could be semi-hidden under clothes. He wasn’t bulky like a bodybuilder, one chest press away from hulking out of his clothes, but he was far from lanky.
“You shouldn’t look at me like that,” he warned, stretching next to me. He leaned on his elbow, his fingers twisting my hair as he looked down at me.
“Like what?”
“Like you like what you see.” He bent his head, biting my bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth before releasing it. “Like you want me inside you.”
The sated feeling I’d had just moments ago disappeared, the want and need taking over again. I was momentarily distracted as he moved one of my pillows over. “Are you staying?”
“Is that a problem?”
I shook my head. “I’m just used to sleeping alone, so I’m not sure if I move around.”
Or snore.
Or snore and drool and talk in my sleep.
Theo muttered something to himself I couldn’t catch. Before I could say anything, he asked, “Why’d you try to end things tonight?”
The question caught me off-guard. “You kept holding me back today, and you haven’t tried to take things further.”
Sitting up, the moonlight streaming in hit half his face. The eye I could see was piercing as his voice lowered, an erotically harsh tone to it. “Have you been fucked by a man, Dahlia? Not a fumbling kid. Not a selfish fuckboy. Not a finger, tongue, or plastic cock?”
“No one,” I admitted.
No one real, at least. And it’s silicone based.
By the time I was old enough to want to have sex, I’d moved around too much to form any sort of connection. On the rare occasion I was at a place for any extended length, I’d spent the entire time secluding myself from almost everyone. I wouldn’t have had sex anyway since an accidental teenage pregnancy or a getting caught would’ve gone against my survival plan of blending in.
As an adult, my schedule nor my personality were conducive of a relationship. I’d entertained the idea of getting together with someone to just scratch the mutual itch, but it never panned out that way. Plus, I was very capable of scratching the itch all on my own.
Anyway, I preferred to keep to myself. I worked. I came home. Same thing, day after day. And I was happy with it. If not happy, then content.
Things with Theo were different.
I was different.
Theo’s eyes flashed at my words. “I was so fucking hard tonight, I didn’t trust myself to have you any closer and not lose control.” He softened his voice. “But I don’t think that’s all there is. What else are you hiding in those big green eyes, gattina?”
Stalling as I tried to find the right words, I asked, “What does that mean?”
“Little cat.” His thumb rubbed the top of my cheek. “Your eyes remind me of a cat’s. Big and inquisitive, taking in more than people suspect.”
It’s disconcerting how much he sees.
“And the other one? I’m assuming it’s a swear word.”
“Cazzo?” At my nod, he said, “Fuck.”
“I was right,” I said through a yawn.
Theo moved, dropping onto his back and pulling me closer so my head rested on his chest. “I’m selfish, and I want you. But I’m not going to fuck this up because you don’t trust me,” he started. When I tried to sit, he put pressure on my head to keep me in place. “You don’t trust what this is. You will.”
“And until then?”
“I keep doing what I do after I see you.”
I shifted so I could see him. “Why are you so okay with waiting?”
His whole expression went intense as he opened his mouth. Closing it, he paused for a moment, his features softening as his lips curved up. “Because it’ll be worth it.”
With nothing left to say, but plenty to think about, I put my head back down. Listening to the steady beat of his heart, I fell into a dreamless sleep.
Theo
Because I’ve got the rest of our lives to be inside that tight, sweet pussy.
The words, like her taste, had been at the tip of my tongue. I’d caught myself, not willing to give her any reason to run.
I was right; she didn’t trust us. She’d been pulling away, returning the car and sharing even less the more time we spent together.
The fact she hadn’t been with anyone else meant it wasn’t just me she was keeping back. It also meant I’d be the first one getting in. Into her head, her soul, her.
My cock hardened, pushing against my jeans painfully. Inhaling, I looked around in a half-ass attempt to not think about how easily it’d be to roll her onto her back and slide into perfection.
I’d guessed her apartment was small, but I hadn’t realized it was as tiny as it was. There were three doors, including the front one. Since her bed was in the middle of the living room, I was guessing one of them wasn’t leading to a massive bedroom.
She worked two jobs, both of them long hours, and her whole place was smaller than my office. It didn’t sit right with me for multiple reasons. I was selfish. I wanted more time with her, and that wasn’t going to happen if we were working around our schedules. Seeing where she lived, I knew she wasn’t going to just leave her job on her own. She needed the money.
The other problem, the one that ate at me, was she was happy. She worked so hard to struggle, but she seemed happy with her life. It made me wonder what she’d already been through that made working eighteen hours a day to live in a shoebox seem like the good life.
Quickly, I pulled my phone from my pocket and set an alarm for an hour. I rolled Dahlia onto her side and curved my body around her small one.
She made a small noise in her sleep before pushing back into me and sighing.
Smiling, I closed my eyes and shut out everything else.
Chapter Eight
Cheesehead Mothership
Dahlia
Things needed to change.
More than a week had passed since I’d seen Theo for any real amount of time. And even though he was the one who owned his own company, it’d been my work schedule that’d mostly gotten in the way.
After he’d spent the night, I’d woken to an empty bed with a note from him. Since he said he’d left at five, I was glad he hadn’t woken me to say bye. I’d worked my Weggies shift, but used my break to return his text making brunch plans for the following morning. I’d had to break them, but set plans for dinner the next day.
I’d had to cancel them, too, plus a few more. Other people not showing up, jerk Bill’s order f
orm mistake, and jerk Bill being an even bigger jerk because he’d messed up, suddenly became my problem.
I wanted to quit.
And, as I stood and listened to Bill lecturing me about artichokes facing the same direction, my mature resignation was on the tip of my tongue.
Just say it. Say, ‘Cazzo you, I quit.’
I don’t think that’s the correct use of the word, but he doesn’t know Italian.
“Are you listening?” Bill asked, his face redder than usual.
Unfortunately, my rent and responsibilities wouldn’t care that I had to quit because he was awful, so I forced a smile. “Of course. I’ll put them all stem forward.”
He nodded, his chest puffed out as he strutted away. I could almost see the power circling his head.
Checking the time on my phone, I saw it was already the end of my shift. I opened a waiting message from Theo.
Theo: Call when you’re out.
Looking around, I hurriedly typed out a reply.
Me: It won’t be for a while. Artichoke emergency. Lives could’ve been lost. Thank goodness the jerk is making me stay late to fix it.
I began unloading all the artichokes I’d just finished stocking for the morning. I was willing to bet Bill had watched and waited until I was almost done before saying anything.
My phone vibrated in my pocket but Bill was lurking around, monitoring my extremely difficult task.
After I finished, I swept up the area, bringing any boxes and garbage where they needed to be. I grabbed my hoodie from my locker and checked my phone.
Theo: So leave. It’ll give me more time with you.
Me: I’m done. Artichoke crisis resolved. Do you think it’d be in bad taste for me to throw myself a hero party?
Theo: Come outside, I’ll give you something better.
A tremor ran through me at his innuendo loaded response. We hadn’t had time to have a repeat performance of the night he’d slept over. I was getting impatient.
Impatient and antsy and built up and needy.
Hustling through the store, the doors slid open just as Bill called my name.
I ignored him. Just kept walking, increasing my pace slightly as I stepped into the warm air. When I saw Theo standing next to his car, I sped up more. “Get me out of here before he tries to make me sort the ears of corn by number of kernels.”