by Fine, L. J.
“Sometimes when I touch myself, I think about you stroking your big fat cock, pre-cum leaking from the tip. Then your head falls back as you say my name and you come all over your stomach, abs rippling as you roll your hips up into your fist. Just that thought sets me off.” He was still fucking her with his fingers but she had to get the words out. The way he started thrusting against her hips told her he liked it too.
“Goddamn,” he breathed. “I’ll definitely do that for you someday if you promise to let me watch you make yourself come.”
“Yes,” she panted. “I promise.”
Just as his words and fingers were about to make her go over the edge, he pulled out and used both of his hands to lift her shirt over her head. She growled out her frustration and he laughed.
“Sorry, baby. Much as I’d like to tell you I took care of it earlier, I didn’t. We were too busy and I didn’t have enough time.”
“So you’ve been hard all day?” Why was that thought even more arousing? The fact that he had been uncomfortable and aching all day because he had been thinking about fucking her.
“Let’s just put it this way.” He slid her jeans and panties down her hips to pool around her ankles. “You’re lucky I didn’t jump you five minutes after you got to the bar.”
Oh, she so wouldn’t have minded that. But—she thought when he gruffly ordered her to brace her hands against the counter—this was good too.
At least it was until he pulled his body away from hers and the cool air of the room touched her overheated skin. She would have protested but the rumpling of cloth and the telltale sound of foil ripping mollified her. When he came back over her, the heat of his bare skin against hers felt decadent and she arched back into him.
His legs spread hers wider as he positioned the hot, broad tip of his cock at her opening and pushed inside, slow and steady, until he was seated to the hilt inside her. A rumbling growl that almost sounded like a purr vibrated through him, causing her inner muscles to pulse around him a few times.
“You’re playing with fire, baby,” he grunted as he started a shallow thrusting. “I wanna fuck you and if you keep that up, I won’t last.”
She wanted that too so she took pity and eased up on him. But mainly because his thrusts started getting harder, going deeper and she could only hold on. The pressure started to build up at that intense spot inside her that he knew so well and she pushed back on him, seeking more friction.
Taking her cue, he gripped her hips and began pounding into her and her head dropped forward. “Oh God, Tyler,” she sobbed.
Almost there, so close.
But then he pulled free from her to spin her around and lift her up onto the counter. She kicked her jeans and panties all the way off and wrapped her legs around his waist as he plunged home again. His mouth came down on hers in a kiss that was gentler than she would have expected in the moment. Languid and dirty, it had her running her fingers through his hair to pull him closer.
The wet sounds of their meeting flesh filled the room and her ears and she moaned into his mouth at the erotic music they made. He yanked her ass to the edge of the counter and spread her out wider, going deeper.
She had to rip her mouth away from him then. “Oh God, yeah, right there,” she gasped and he moved to hit that perfect spot harder. “Uh…fuck Tyler…don’t…I can’t…”
“Yeah you can, baby.” His thumb found her clit, adding just the right amount of pressure. “I’m right here so just let it go.” He slammed into her and rotated his hips and it set her off. The pleasure sparked behind her eyes as her whole body shook. The shock wave of her orgasm so intense it bordered on pain and her head fell back as she cried out.
His release was only a space behind hers and they rocked together until the storm passed and the tremors stopped.
At long last, he cupped her face in his hands and locked his gaze with hers.
“Jesus,” he whispered, kissing her lips softly. “You’re so beautiful, Mina.”
The way he looked at her then. The reverence and wonder that shone in his eyes tugged at her heartstrings. She didn’t know how the hell she was going to let him go when he inevitably got sick of her. She could feel herself getting way too attached but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
A low hiss and sizzle snapped her out of her haze. She jerked her head toward the timer on her oven to find that it had gone off eight minutes ago and she hadn’t even heard it.
“Shit!” She pushed him away and jumped down from the counter on wobbly legs. His low laughter filled her ears as she tugged on her oven mitts and pulled the pan out of the oven to rest on the stove. She shot a glare over her shoulder. “I hope you were in the mood for crispy chicken.”
Turing to face him, she was just in time to see him tugging his jeans up over his lean hips, zipping up but not bothering with the top button. He shrugged before coming forward to kiss her lips. “The burnt parts will give me sexy flashbacks.”
She pinched his side and he danced out of her reach with a scowl. But his eyes raked her body and it was then she realized that she was standing in the middle of her kitchen completely naked except for a pair of oven mitts. She felt her skin flush ten shades of red.
A slow smile spread his kiss-swollen lips. “Yeah, it was totally worth it.” He sauntered back to the island to grab his beer, but not before she saw him rubbing the patch of skin where she had gotten him.
Yeah, she thought with a smile. It totally was.
Chapter Ten
“So Adam thinks that his dog is deaf now,” Tyler said as he and Mina left the café.
Of course this random bit of information had absolutely nothing to do with what they had been talking about only a second before and it had her stopping short to utter a confused, “what?”
“Yeah, he called me last night all freaked out about it,” he said as he held the door open for her.
“Well, that could actually be kind of serious, Tyler. Why does he think that?”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “He said he thinks so because Captain Weenie keeps trying to run away and he won’t come back when he calls for him.”
“Wait.” She stopped walking to look up at him. “He named his dog CaptainWeenie?”
“Yup,” he said without missing a beat. “Anyway, so Adam keeps trying to sneak up on the poor thing and yell to see if the noise startles him. That’s his test to see if the Captain really is deaf.”
Clearing her throat to stop the laugh that was about to escape, Mina said, “Right. I’m sure Captain Weenie is just hard of hearing. I can’t imagine any other reason that dog might not come when he’s called.”
The corner of Tyler’s lips twitched as he gazed down at her and she couldn’t contain a small laugh. This had him snorting, which made her giggle, until they were both howling outright at Tyler’s ridiculous brother.
She was wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye when she heard someone calling her name.
At first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but the closer the woman speaking to her got, the more she just wished that was the case. The laughter died on her lips as dread ran down her body in icy spikes and her stomach churned.
“Mina? Oh my God, is that you?” The tall, leggy brunette coming toward her looked better suited for the runway than for the sidewalk outside the small bookstore.
Mina croaked a little before stammering, “What…what are you doing here?”
And more importantly, how had she found her?
“Oh Mina, still eloquent as ever I see.” She tilted her head, sending her long glossy hair to cascade over her shoulder then rolled her eyes in a forgotten move so familiar it dumped Mina right back into the skin she’d worn when she had last seen it.
“I’m sorry,” Mina said automatically before she could think better of it. This woman didn’t deserve the sentiment. “But really, what are you doing here?”
“My cousin Ruby actually lives here, can you believe it? Anyway, she just had
a baby so I was obliged to visit.” She waved that away and pursed her lips as though her cousin had the audacity to create new life without consulting her schedule first.
“Well, don’t you look just the same?” She raked her steel-blue gaze down Mina’s frame with a disdainful smirk on her lips. Then her hawk-like eyes caught sight of Tyler standing next to Mina, lighting up with sudden interest. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
No, she really didn’t want to, but there was no socially acceptable way of getting around it. So she gritted her teeth and made the briefest introduction possible. “Daisy, this is Tyler. Tyler, Daisy.”
Dark eyes narrowed.
“So you’re Daisy.” The interest in his tone, Mina knew, wasn’t the type of interest Daisy was used to or expecting. Still, it didn’t stop the self-satisfied smile that crept onto Daisy’s face.
“Oh of course Mina’s told you about me.” As if Mina had nothing better to do than go on and on about how wonderful Daisy was to everyone she came in contact with.
An evil little smirk touched Tyler’s lips.
“Yeah, I’ve heard about you. Daisy the Twat.” He cocked his head to the side and gave her an once-over. “I gotta say now that I see you? You’re clearly self-deluded ’cause you’re not nearly as hot as I know you think you are.”
Daisy’s pretty mouth dropped open for a few satisfying seconds before she snapped it closed in outrage. But before she could say a word, Tyler shrugged, and then turned to Mina as though Daisy no longer stood there. “I gotta get back to the bar, baby. But I’ll see you tonight?”
When Mina nodded, almost as speechless as Daisy seemed to be, he cupped her face in his hands and bent down to kiss her like it was his job. He tilted her head back to get a better angle as he conquered her mouth, and when he pulled back, she felt dazed and maybe even a little weak-kneed.
“See you later,” he murmured against her lips before giving her another quick kiss. And with that he turned and walked to his car, again ignoring Daisy as though she didn’t exist.
Mina fell just a little bit more in love with him as she watched him walk away.
“Who was that asshole?” Daisy snapped and brought Mina’s attention back to her.
“That was my boyfriend,” she said using the b-word just to rub it into Daisy’s face, even if it wasn’t quite true. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call him an asshole.”
Daisy raised an eyebrow and let out an unladylike snort. “Yeah, I guess we’ll see how long that lasts.”
Mina scowled but just being in Daisy’s presence again caused her to revert to some of her old, timid behavior. This visit was so unexpected that all of the scathing things she had fantasized she would say if she ever saw Daisy again went right out of her head. Instead all she could do was stand there and let Daisy’s huge personality steamroll right over her.
“But seriously, how strange to run into you after all this time. And here of all places,” she said with a saccharine-sweet smile, Tyler’s insults apparently forgotten. On the surface anyway. Mina knew her well enough to know that her blood would be boiling over what he’d said for a few days. But ever the good actress, she didn’t let it show. “Whatever are you doing here?”
This was an opportunity. She could say that she and Tyler were visiting too and indeed what a strange coincidence that would be. This disastrous reunion could still be salvaged. Daisy never had to know that Mina was a permanent resident here.
Just as she opened her mouth to make up some story Cindy, a middle-aged coworker of hers, walked out of the store. “Hey, have a good afternoon, Mina. I’ll see you on the early shift tomorrow, right?”
Frozen, Mina could only nod. Cindy smiled and ambled away, unaware of what she had just done.
“Oh my God, don’t tell me you work here?” That deviant light that Mina had had nightmares about lit up Daisy’s eyes and she could practically see the wheels turning in her calculating stare.
Shit. She had to tell her the truth now.
“Yes, Daisy, I work here.” Didn’t mean she had to elaborate.
“Thatcher, Doug and I had wondered what happened to you and where you went after you dropped out our sophomore year. Doug tried to find you for the longest time, you know.” Her perfect features turned reproachful.
Yeah right. As though Mina should feel contrite for dodging his efforts to find her. That bastard was lucky evading him was all she did. She didn’t even know why he wanted to find her so badly. After what happened between them she would have thought that he would be glad she fell off the face of the Earth. No witnesses to incriminate him. Besides, he had never cared for her. He and Daisy had only ever torn her down.
“Well, looks like you’ve found me.” Mina’s anger over the entire situation, for all the years that Daisy kept her under thumb, finally started to surface and make itself known. She didn’t owe Daisy a damn thing and wouldn’t get into details about where she had been for the last few years. If she kept in touch with Doug, Daisy more than likely knew where she’d been anyway up until now, though it wasn’t any of her business.
Hoping for a swift end to their conversation and for Daisy to move along and leave her alone, Mina turned to walk into the store.
Unfortunately Daisy didn’t get the hint. Or, probably more accurately, she did but didn’t care. Never one to just be dismissed by anyone, she ignored Mina’s subtle clues and followed after her.
“It really has been too long since I’ve seen you. You were like a sister to me growing up.” The overload of syrupy sweetness in Daisy’s voice, along with the feigned sincerity, almost made Mina gag. “What happened to us that you just ran away, Mina?”
Now that was unbelievable, so much so that she could only spin around to face her former friend and gape incredulously. Mina wanted to punch the self-satisfied smile gracing Daisy’s lips right off. Instead, she snapped her jaw shut and narrowed her eyes as she took a page from Tyler’s book and got up in Daisy’s face. “You know exactly what happened, you cold-hearted bitch, so stop acting like an innocent little idiot. Now why don’t you stop pretending you ever gave a shit about me and get the fuck out of my store.”
The wide-eyed look on Daisy’s face filled Mina with a modicum of satisfaction but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Daisy needed to feel the kind of pain that she had inflicted on Mina for years. But you could only experience the intensity of such a thing if you were capable of human emotion and Daisy was far from human.
Just then Chloe rounded the corner and spotted them. It was obvious from the way she paused in her stride that she could tell that something was very wrong with this situation and Mina had never been so grateful to have a real friend in her corner than at that moment.
“Mina, everything okay?” Chloe stepped forward, concern written all over her features.
Daisy once again regained her composure and that insidious smirk returned to her face.
“Well, Mina, I won’t keep you. I know you’re busy and have a lot of work to do.” She gave a derisive laugh. “Doug will be so interested to know where you’ve disappeared to. The four of us will definitely have to get together soon and catch up.”
Mina recognized it for the threat it was, and for the first time in months, white-hot fear slithered down her spine. But she refused to let it show and be the source of anymore of Daisy’s enjoyment. So instead she straightened her spine and said, “Looks like you still have yet to get a life. But do what you want, Daisy, because it sure as shit doesn’t affect me.”
With that she turned her back on her, no longer caring if Daisy decided to take the hint and leave or stood there until the end of the world. Mina was done with this conversation.
Based on Chloe’s next question, though, Daisy must have sauntered off. “Who was that self-important bitch?”
“Just some stupid girl I used to know.” Mina’s hands shook with a combination of fear and anger as she walked to the back of the store. She knew more questions were c
oming, so she headed Chloe off and said, “If it’s all right with you, I need a minute outside. Would you mind covering for me?”
The concern never left Chloe’s face but she nodded. “No, sweetie, I don’t mind. Go ahead.”
It was like she had tunnel vision as she made a beeline straight for the break room and out the back door. Once outside, she braced her hands against the railing of the back alley walkway and took in much-needed gulps of fresh air, trying to concentrate on slowing her heart rate. There was no way Daisy wasn’t going to tell Doug where she was. If Mina had ever had any hopes that the two of them hadn’t kept in touch, they had been eviscerated by Daisy’s parting comment. The only question now was what to do about it.
It wasn’t that long ago when the answer would have been simple. Pick up and find another town. In the past, she had never formed any attachments, so it had been easy to just leave. But now? Here? There were people who genuinely seemed to care about her. She couldn’t just leave them behind without any explanation. Especially not Tyler. He deserved better than that.
Daisy’s threats weren’t hollow and Mina knew that if she didn’t run, Doug would find her and there would be a reckoning. But this time she wasn’t without support. Maybe she could finally stand up to them. Maybe this time it would be okay.
But it would be nasty when Doug found her. It had taken him years to finally stop searching. Back then she had been so scared that he wouldn’t ever give up. So she moved from place to place until the messages finally stopped.
For the longest time, it had seemed like no matter where she went or how often she changed her phone number, he had the uncanny ability to find her. He would start by calling her, and at first the messages would be soft and pleading. But when she didn’t answer him, he would get angrier and more obscene.
Then, after a few weeks, he would start sending things to her home. Flowers and love letters. But the tone of the messages was always off, disquieting, with an underlying feeling that he was mocking her. So then she would move and be in a new place for a few months when the process would start all over again. Until her latest move. She had lost him when she had come here and it had been such a relief. Lord knew she had suffered enough because of him.