Citywide

by Santino Hassell

  “Can I see the rest of you?” she asked softly.

  Without pause, I ripped off my tank top, leaving only my chest binder, and kicked off my shorts, leaving only boxer briefs. I tossed the clothes to the side and looked at her again, smirking at the sight of her parted lips and hungry gaze.

  “Your body is so incredible.” Mere rolled onto her hands and knees with hair spilling over her shoulders. She crawled over to me like that, chest brushing against the bedding and bare ass in the air, and gently pressed her lips just beneath where my binder stopped on my midriff. After glancing up at me, she kissed over my abs. “Just like how I imagined.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Strong,” she whispered against my navel. “Lean and muscular.” She put her hands on me, dragging her fingernails down my sides, over my hips, and then massaged my thighs. “God, your thighs are so hot. You’re fucking perfect.”

  Mere was being so worshipful and adoring that my stomach flipped, then tightened into a knot. I grabbed the front of the tank top and dragged her up for a kiss. There was no hiding how hungry I was for her, the breathless moan I released as soon as her tongue was in my mouth, or the way my heart pounded out of my chest. And she just melted against me, arms draped over my shoulders as I explored her mouth. It went on until I had to rip away for a breath, and by then my body was raging. Hot and clenching with need, my own sex so fucking wet I was tempted to touch myself.

  Instead, I sat on the floor, my back against the side of the bed, and tilted my head back so I could look up at her.

  “Turn around and ride my face.”

  Mere’s cheeks went bright red, but she hurried into the position as her breathing once again picked up. Within seconds, she was on her hands and knees, and faced away with her slicked folds positioned over my face.

  From this angle, I could see everything. The hairless hood of her sex, the shiny pink of her labia and the glistening skin inside. The smell of her was what sent one of my hands into my own underwear while I clamped the other onto her thigh. I pressed my index finger to my clit just as I jerked her down so her pussy was against my open mouth.

  She tasted as perfect as I thought she would. Tangy and delicious, something I could survive on for a lifetime if I had a choice between it and anything else. I dragged my tongue between her lips, giving her a slow tease of what was to come, and rubbed myself faster when the tremors started in her thighs.

  “Fuck, Tonya.”

  Apparently, that was her new favorite phrase. She said it over and over as I worked on her, sucking her clit into my mouth, then tracing designs over it with my tongue. She writhed on me when I circled her clit with the tip, released a sound like a sob when I did it repeatedly, then clenched up when I opened my mouth over every exposed surface of wet flesh to suck again.

  Meredith dropped to her forearms, appearing unable to support herself on shaking hands. The sounds that came out of her made zero sense—a combination of wild cries and incomprehensible pleas. A few times she jolted away from me, but I yanked her back. I was too greedy to give her a break just yet.

  She started grinding her pussy against my mouth, zero shame as she rolled those hips and rode my face. The sound of me eating her filled the room again, and I rubbed my clit faster. If I’d thought ahead, planned this better, I’d have brought a clit stimulator to keep me company, something to buzz just right as I lapped her up. I hadn’t though, so I settled for my own fingers, and was already on the edge.

  “Lick my clit,” she pleaded. “Fuck, please. Please, baby.”

  I obeyed, mostly because I knew that tone. It was the same tone she’d had on that dressing room table, the precursor to her coming all over herself.

  Mere slipped down lower on the bed, her torso crushed in the messy sheets and her ass held up just enough to keep from smothering me. A high-pitched keen filled the room, and I jerked my fingers out of my underwear so I could have both hands on her. I slapped one ass cheek, then pulled them apart, licking her with the thick flat of my tongue before going for broke with another firm suck.

  She cried out sharply, saying my name over and over, and arched away from me. She came on my mouth and chin, and nearly went into convulsions when I shoved my tongue into her hole one last time for good measure.

  I drew away, licking my lips and smirking. She was fucking wrecked. Face pressed into the mattress, body heaving as she panted, and clutching at the wreckage of the bedding. Thinking she was done, I pulled myself on the bed beside her to finish on my own, but Mere looked at me through her hair.

  And holy hell. That look. Half-deferential and half-accusatory. One hundred percent sexy.

  My smirk widened.

  Mere sat up, wobbling a little, and turned to me. I didn’t move, sitting with my back to the headboard and my legs once again sprawled in front of me, wondering what she would do.

  My girl didn’t disappoint.

  She straddled me, yanked my hair back so she could lick her own wetness from my face, and reached down to slide her finger over the top of my underwear. I was already on the cusp of an orgasm just from having had her pussy in my mouth. When she crooked her fingers up inside me and rapidly fucked them in and out as her thumb flicked over my clit, I stood no chance.

  I came with a hiss and a low swear, arching my back and closing my eyes as she kissed the base of my throat. My hips jerked up, stomach cramping from the force of it, and my toes curled in the sheet.

  Mere slipped her fingers out of me, but kept kissing me, both of us a mess of bodily fluids. I tangled my fingers in her hair, unable to pull away, and kissed her harder. Like if I could jam my tongue farther into her mouth, I’d be closer to having her out of my system.

  When she finally broke away to suck in a breath, and I leaned in to follow that mouth before it could go too far, it was clear that she wasn’t.

  I woke up covered in sweat and aching from hunger pains.

  It took me a minute to catalog everything that was going on in my bed. Sheets were a total mess beneath me, everything was damp, and there was a tall, beautiful blonde clinging to me. I was on my back, and she was tucked up against my side with one thigh thrown over my front and locked around one of my legs. Her hand was resting on my stomach, and her face was shoved against my neck. She was also completely naked. So was I for, that matter. I’d stripped down and removed my binder during round three.

  This was usually the part when I wondered what crack I’d smoked to allow another human being to sleep in my bed. It didn’t make me nervous, but it made me . . . uncomfortable. The idea of someone being this far in my space, of potentially waking up and catching me unaware, usually put me on edge. It wasn’t like I thought a hookup was going to knife me in my sleep, but I presented myself to people a certain way, and I couldn’t get myself back together if some random woke up before me. And I didn’t like that. The only people I trusted enough to catch me sleeping were the people in my squad.

  Except, Mere didn’t feel like a random. And she’d seen me in all stages of undress and ruin the night before. We’d fucked three times, then she’d fumbled in the dark for the bottle of water I’d snagged from the kitchen between rounds, and finally collapsed in exhaustion, snoring softly.

  I’d honestly expected to lie in the dark as she knocked out, but as soon as I’d closed my eyes, I’d been gone. My body hadn’t been that relaxed in a while. Even now, I felt rested. Disgustingly sticky and overheated, but rested. Peaceful.

  I lightly ran my hand along the side of her face, smoothing sweaty hair away, and cringed at the dark bruise on her neck. Anger heated my blood, and a red streak of protectiveness boiled it, as I traced the bruise.

  “Mmm.” Her eyes slid open, dark circles lining them. “Get up?”

  “Nah. Go back to bed.”

  “’Kay.”

  She dead-ass rolled over and went right back to snoring. Not even quiet this time. I snickered and got out of bed, stretching and cracking my back, before grabbing my towel with the intent to
go to the bathroom. I took one last look at her, the rounded globes of her ass, those ridiculously long legs, and had to force myself to leave the room instead of waking her up with my tongue.

  The shower helped to clear my head. We’d fucked. A lot. But that had all been an attempt to get each other out of our systems or some bullshit. It hadn’t worked, since I was getting turned on just thinking about the way she’d come all over my dick after I’d put on my harness, but that had been the purpose. Even if we’d—or at least I’d—failed.

  I dried off, trying to think about whether I’d wake Meredith to call the police department to update them on what she’d remembered, or do it myself, and returned to the room. She was still on her belly, face pressed into my pillow, and still snoring.

  After throwing on a jersey and fresh shorts, I padded down the hall in my bare feet. I found Angel and Victor in the living room watching ESPN. They were both so tall that the room felt dwarfed with the added bulk of Victor’s muscular tattooed body, but I just jerked my chin at him instead of glaring.

  “There’s food,” Angel said without looking up from the TV. “Victor got egg sandwiches from the bodega.”

  “Nice. Thanks.”

  “Got one for your girl too,” Victor said in that low rumble. “I’m sure she’s starving.”

  Realistically, I knew they’d heard us fucking. There was no way they hadn’t. The apartment wasn’t that big, and Meredith was loud. And her loudness had made me get loud, even when I’d described a number of filthy things in increasingly filthy ways. But I’d forgotten Victor was here. Angel had no leg to stand on about sex noise. Back when he and Stephanie had been screwing on the regular, I’d pretty much heard every thrust. The time she’d first pegged him was ingrained in my brain.

  “I’m sure she’ll be hungry once she wakes up,” I said.

  Victor stared at me, I stared back, and Angel watched ESPN.

  “I feel like I should shake your hand,” Victor said, going for a smile. “Or buy you a cigar.”

  I snorted. “I’m not talking about this with you.”

  “You don’t have to. I’m just saying. Damn. She must have been really—”

  “Shut up, Victor,” Angel said, still scowling at whatever was flashing at him from the giant television. “Before you piss us off.”

  “My bad.”

  I didn’t know what was more shocking. His compliance, or the fact that he complied without a sneer. Whatever had happened in Chicago had changed him. A lot.

  I found the egg sandwiches in the kitchen, grabbed two and more water, and returned to my room without any additional convo. Meredith was still asleep, so I ate my sandwich and called the number, filling them in on the knowledge that her attacker had both targeted her and called her a queerphobic slur, and the fact that she was bruised enough to probably warrant a doctor’s visit.

  The cop told me the case would be assigned to an investigator today, and that Mere should expect a call if they needed her. It sounded a little too dismissive for me, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether they’d be making a bigger deal of this if it had been Ashton Townsend who’d been attacked.

  Protectiveness reared up again. Where the hell was it coming from? Just yesterday, I’d been annoyed by her presence. Not just annoyed. I’d been infuriated by the constant reminder that this grown-ass woman was going to sulk and pout every time we saw each other just because I hadn’t treated her like a queen. I’d hated the entitlement. The expectation that I’d worship her. And the notion that she’d seen me as something to check off her sexual bucket list had gotten me hot in all the wrong ways.

  But now . . .

  I didn’t know. I didn’t know why there was a but now, but there was.

  I sat on the edge of the bed next to her and shook her shoulder.

  “Hey. Wake up.”

  She moaned again. It sounded so close to one of her little sex sounds that my body reacted to it. Damn, she had me acting like a lust-crazed teenager. My mouth pulled to the side as I walked my fingers up her spine.

  “Meredith. Wake up before I shove my fingers in your ass.”

  Her lips curled up in a wicked smile. “Is that supposed to scare me? I love anal.”

  “Of course you do.”

  Her eyes slit open. “Was that judgment?”

  “No. A complete lack of surprise.”

  “Hmmm.” Mere eyeballed me for a minute before she rolled onto her back. She was completely unselfconscious about her nudity. “You should get one of those double penetration deals for your harness. I’d lose my fucking mind.”

  Christ, this woman woke up with filth on the brain. Heat spread through me at the mental image she’d put in my head.

  “I thought we were out of each other’s systems,” I said, shifting on the bed. “We tried pretty hard to make that happen last night.”

  That cupid’s bow mouth turned down, and the wings of her brows snapped together. “You’re not serious, are you?”

  “Was that not the purpose?”

  The sheets crumpled in her fists and that flush climbed her skin. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, looking hurt and mortified.

  “Can I use your shower? I’ll go after that. I’m not riding the train to Manhattan smelling like sex.”

  I frowned. “Meredith.”

  “What?” Her voice was sharp as she fussed with her hair, trying to tie it back in a tangled knot. “Whatever, I’ll just call a Lyft.”

  The combination of her taut back, the bruises, and the hurt in her voice prompted me to grab her hand and tug her back to the bed. I expected her to resist, to sulk and stomp and storm out dramatically, but she didn’t. She let me pull her down to the bed beside me, and looked at me with apprehension.

  “I said we’d tried to get each other out of our systems. Not that it worked.”

  Relief slumped her shoulders. She groaned and threw herself back onto the bed, covering her face with her hands. “Holy fuck, T. You’ve totally bewitched me. I’m not even kidding. I’m like . . . a mess when it comes to you.”

  Instead of answering, I shoved her sandwich at her. She peeked up at me, then sat up to eat, still naked.

  “I know you don’t want to hear it,” she said around a mouthful of bread, egg, and cheese, “but this isn’t just a sexual fixation. The idea of you dismissing me again made me feel like bursting into tears. It was ridiculous. I’m so sprung.”

  She was watching me closely as she waited for a—likely negative—response. I didn’t rise to the occasion. Instead, I traced the bruises on her arms. They were shaped like handprints and fingertips.

  “Do you think I’m weird?” she pressed. “Because I like you so much?”

  “Yeah.”

  Mere glared at me. “Well, I think you’re weird for not liking me. I’m attractive, smart, I smell good—”

  I snorted.

  “I’m a good kisser, I’m amazing in bed, and I have my own job and house. Also, I’m already friends with a bunch of your friends. I’m such a good catch.”

  “Are you done campaigning?”

  “No. Not until you tell me why you don’t like me.”

  She looked so serious and determined, that I couldn’t help another fond smile. She scowled in response, and I leaned in to brush our lips together. Mere immediately hummed and parted her lips for some tongue, and I wasn’t strong enough to deny her, although I ended it after only a moment.

  “You want honesty?” I asked against her lips.

  “Yes. Brutalize me.”

  Shaking my head, I sat back on the bed. “Fine. I’ve wanted to fuck you since the QFindr cruise. I thought you were gorgeous and sexy, and I loved that you didn’t follow the dress code at those stupid dinners.” Mere’s brows flew up, but I kept talking. “Usually I’m fine without sex for long periods of time, but I went home and found a blonde chick to screw just to satisfy my craving for you.”

  “I—” She shook her head slowly, seeming to have trouble coming to grips with th
is information. “Did it work?”

  “Hell no. Not until I got you on that table at the photoshoot, months later. And right after, you pulled that bullshit about bragging to your friends about fucking the Marine.”

  Mere’s face reddened. “I was just being dumb. I didn’t know what to say.”

  “You always have something to say.”

  “But not to you! I was a disaster, and you were calm and cool and wouldn’t even speak to me.”

  “Because you’re not my type,” I countered. “You just seemed like some spoiled rich white girl who had nothing in common with me.”

  Her face was starting to resemble a cherry. “Is that not still the case?”

  “Maybe it is, but at least I got to see other sides of you.” Pausing, I thought back to the night before and even this morning. “You’re way stronger than I assumed you were, brave enough to go through some shit like that and be honest about how scared you were. How you didn’t want to be alone. You may think that made you look weak, but I seriously can’t stand people who have too much pride to ask for help.” She was still giving me that skeptical little pout, so I chucked her chin. “Put it to you like this, ma—I like that you say what you mean. I think you’re smart and funny. You don’t give a shit about what other people think. You made me smile, for fuck’s sake, so, yeah, safe to say I like you better now than I did twenty-four hours ago.”

  Mere pulled the sheet up to her chest, staring at me from the mess of her tangled hair.

  “But if you go back to all of that taunting and cocky shit, and making it obvious that you expect people to fall for you, I’m out.” I jerked my head at the door. “I don’t do well with entitlement or spoiled people. Or people hitting on me just to prove they can fuck the tough Marine. Because believe it or not—people acting like I’m some alpha soldier conquest fantasy pisses me off more than anything else. And it happens every time I get with someone.”