Keep It Safe

by Olivia Snow

“Giving you your keys.” He stepped closer to me.

  “Then give it to me.” I breathed out, realizing suddenly what I’d said. He grinned, stepping closer, and I stepped back bumping into the counter.

  “Is that what you want, Peaches? You want me to give it to you?”

  I let out a ragged breath, looking up at him while he stared down at my lips. He still had his hand open, my keys on his palm. Stop this! I grabbed my keys from him before walking out the room.

  “Goodnight, Mr. Gallagher.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Vanessa

  How u feelin sweetheart?

  I stared at the text on my phone for several minutes. How the hell did he get my number? I wondered if he’d done as he threatened and taken it from my father. I knew he would know what I was talking about, so I didn’t bother explaining when I texted him back.

  You didn’t.

  Oh. But I did.

  How?

  I broke into your daddy’s office while he was in the bathroom. He leaves his phone unlocked. Not very smart.

  I let out a frustrating scream. Why would he risk his job over that? My phone vibrated and I read the text.

  Damn I like the way you scream. Do it again.

  Oh, crude. He’s here? Oh, no, no, no, no…

  I scrambled off the couch, trying my best to pick up the mess around me. A bottle of Midol, two empty plates smeared with chocolate frosting from the cake Ava made me, video games scattered on the floor in front of the TV, two blankets, three pillows—one for my head, one for my legs and the last one to put in between my legs—and a heating pad. And that was just the mess in the living room. I was another mess entirely.

  “Come on, darlin’, open up.” Diesel knocked on the front door.

  I looked like crap and felt worse. I was bloated and sweaty, which would surely make him run for the hills. Even though I was attracted to him, having Diesel in my life would cause more problems for me, not to mention I was still feeling guilty about liking him, and still having feelings for Gabriel. Cautiously, I opened the door. Diesel stood with his arm against the doorframe, a sweet smile on his face.

  “Hi.” His voice was warm and deep; my stomach fluttered.

  “Hey.” I smiled back, suddenly glad I had opened the door. “Come in.” He stepped through and I noticed a brown bag in his hands. “What’s in the bag?”

  “Soup and ice cream.” He waltzed into the kitchen like he owned the place. “I love the shirt by the way.” I looked down, forgetting all about my Pokémon t-shirt. Dear Lord. I caught up to him as he was taking a carton of ice cream out the bag and then a large plastic container I assumed was the soup.

  “Why are you here?” I frowned, watching him make himself at home.

  “I figured with Ava workin’, you needed someone to take care of you.” He spoke softly almost like he was nervous.

  “Why would you care?” I asked because although he made it clear he was attracted to me physically, I wasn’t certain how he felt about me otherwise.

  “We’re friends, I take care of my friends.” He poured some awfully delicious smelling soup into two bowls.

  “I hardly know you.” Frowning, I cocked my hip, resting my hand.

  “But yet you let me in.” He smirked.

  “Because I didn’t want to be rude. You were standing right outside my door.”

  “Sit,” he demanded, placing the bowl and a spoon in front of a bar stool, completely ignoring my statement. My hunger took over so I gave in.

  “This is delicious,” I said with a mouthful of chicken, rice, and carrots.

  “Thank you, my momma says it always does the trick when it’s her time of the month.” My heart warmed by the way he said momma. Lordy, get a grip Vanessa. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.

  “What?”

  “Oh, nothing.” I took another spoonful.

  “Come on, what’s that goofy smile about?”

  “It’s cute.”

  “Yeah, I know it is, but what are you smiling about?” It took me a second to figure out he was referring to my smile. Pink stained my cheeks, making him chuckle.

  “It’s cute that you called her momma.”

  “Well, she is my momma. What else would I call her?”

  “I don’t know, mom, mother.” I shrugged.

  “What do you call yours?” He asked with a mouthful of soup.

  “Mother.”

  He grunted before swallowing his food. “What do you want your kids to call you?”

  “Mommy,” I said without hesitating, and the thought made me feel all gooey and warm inside.

  Diesel smiled. Before taking the spoon to his mouth he stopped short. “Cute, I like it.”

  My heart warmed again with a different kind of heat.

  Chapter Twenty

  Vanessa

  “I know the point is to collect as many as you can, but why are you runnin’ around in circles fightin’ them but not collectin’ them?” His voice was tinged with disappointment.

  “I’m training, I need to level up so I can continue to fight higher level Pokémons. That way I’ll be able to collect them.”

  “Oh,” he said, making me smile.

  After we finished eating, he wanted to know what I did for fun so I showed him the living room. It was self-explanatory. He laughed and made fun of me, but it was all in a sweet teasing way. He said he couldn’t believe such a hot chick would be interested in playing video games, and I told him there were all different types of girl gamers just like there were boy gamers. And when he asked why I got started I answered him honestly.

  “Because sometimes you just want to say, ‘fuck you, reality’. You know?” I didn’t have to look to know he was staring at me.

  “Yeah, darlin’. So, is this the only game you play?” He was giving me an out, and that made me want to hug him.

  “I like shooting games too.”

  “Well, damn, I’ll have to take you huntin’ one day.”

  “You hunt?” Of course he does. This time I did turn to look at him because the thought of Diesel shooting and hunting made my stomach clench in all sorts of delicious ways.

  The phrase humina, humina came to mind.

  “Baby, I’m from Oklahoma, of course I hunt.”

  I laughed, turning my head back to the screen.

  “Time for ice cream?” he asked.

  “Oooh, please.” I paused the game, but before I could get up Diesel beat me to it.

  “No, I’ll get it, you sit still.” He bent over, placing a kiss on the top of my head, and I closed my eyes feeling the delightful touch of his lips on my skin. It seemed as if he was meant to do it, like he had been kissing my forehead for years. Almost as if he was thinking the same thing, Diesel straightened abruptly and appeared somewhat awkward for a moment.

  “Be right back.”

  I smiled tightly, sensing the change in energy.

  “Okay.” I nodded. It seemed to take longer than it should to put ice cream in a bowl.

  Diesel handed it to me, but he didn’t sit back down. “I, uh, I’m gonna get goin’”

  I couldn’t stop the disappointment from playing out on my face. “Oh, okay, um, thanks for everything.” I wondered why he was leaving so abruptly, and then I remembered I had a boyfriend.

  “Sure thing, I’ll see you later. Feel better.” He turned, not giving me a chance to say goodbye. I wasn’t sure what had just happened but whatever it was made me cry.

  ***

  I awoke as the front door opened. Ava quietly tiptoed over to turn off the TV.

  “Hey,” I said, my voice laced with sleepiness.

  “Hey, how are you feeling?” Ava slumped onto the couch next to me while I sat up.

  “Worse,” I replied, feeling tears creeping up.

  “What are you doing, Van?” I knew exactly what she was referring to. Diesel.

  “I don’t know.”

  “It’s hard to fight off what you want, isn’t it?” />
  Looking down at my knitted fingers, I was beginning to understand her struggle with wanting and not wanting Gabriel. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

  “I know you’re with Stellen because of your parents, but don’t be that girl. Don’t play with their hearts.”

  I grunted, remembering the way Diesel had left. “You won’t have to worry about that, Diesel isn’t coming around anymore.” My chest constricted at the thought.

  “Yeah, we’ll see.” Ava did her grunt-chuckle.

  “Why do you say that? Do you know something?”

  “All right, I’m betraying his trust because it’s hoes over bros, right?”

  I laughed. “Right.”

  “He just realized what he feels for you is more than physical attraction, and it scared him shitless because he hasn’t know you very long. He wasn’t looking for something serious at this point in his life. Not to mention you have a boyfriend…”

  My face hurt, my smile was so big. “He said that?”

  “More or less.”

  “What should I do, Ava?”

  “Van, I think you know what you should do, but I don’t think you’re going to do it.”

  Because if I did what I wanted to do that could jeopardize Diesel’s job, not to mention my mother would kill me if she ever found out.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ava

  After being in so much pain yesterday, Vanessa asked if I could take her to Planned Parenthood for some birth control once I dropped Aidan off at school. I told her I would be happy to.

  The day went on as usual and before I knew it, it was time for my shift at Blush. At the end of the night I sat in my new SUV rummaging through my purse, making sure I had everything before I left. My purse felt a little lighter than usual and I realized my wallet was missing. Thinking back to the last time I had used it, I remembered earlier today when Aidan had asked if he could look through my wallet. He was recreating credit cards and IDs with construction paper and needed a reference.

  Shit. I needed to go get it. I wouldn’t be watching Aidan until Monday; his grandparents were taking him for a long weekend again. I had access to the house since Mr. Gallagher had given me a spare key, and the code to the security alarm. I could go in and out without being noticed.

  I had no other choice, so I drove the short six minutes to the house. It was dark like I expected. He was asleep. I turned and unlocked the front door, stepping inside and waiting for the beep of the alarm alerting me I only had thirty seconds to input the code. It was silent. Odd.

  I startled at the sound of his deep voice.

  “You’re breaking into my fucking house now?” He was shirtless in a pair of white linen pajama bottoms, his forearm resting against the arch that separated the kitchen and the living room.

  “It’s not technically breaking in if you have a key and the security code.”

  “What is this incessant need you have to constantly mouth off?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “What’s your constant need to be a dick?”

  Mr. Gallagher growled, and holy mother of pearl was it hot.

  “I’m sorry I woke you, I left my wallet here earlier and I thought I could come in unnoticed. My intention wasn’t to disturb you, sir,” I added, trying to defuse the growing heat between us. I wanted to keep playing this game with him, which seemed to be some form of disturbing foreplay, but on the other hand I wanted to run. “I’ll just grab it and get out of your way.”

  I practically ran into Aidan’s room, searching for my wallet. Aidan had left it sprawled out on his desk, my ID and credit cards scattered on the hard surface. With trembling fingers, I placed them back in their appropriate spots inside my wallet. Taking a moment to gather myself, I calmed down before stepping out into Dark Smolder’s presence.

  I didn’t make it too far because he was standing in the hallway blocking my way out. His eyes said it all and I wondered what mine were telling him. My resolve was disappearing by each passing second while he stared at me. I could tell he wanted to devour me, and I didn’t know if I would want to stop him if he tried.

  “Why?” I asked, my chest rising and falling in anticipation.

  The professor took a step closer, breaking the distance between us.

  “I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you.” He trailed his fingertip across my collarbone, down my arm.

  I sucked in a deep breath, my insides squeezing, the flutter between my legs reignited. This was a one-time fuck, that’s all he wanted, and that was all I could give him. Maybe if I did this with him it would break the hold he had on me. Maxwell dropped his mouth lingering just outside the shell of my ear I could feel his warm breath against my skin.

  “I can’t wait to taste you, Peaches.”

  Oh, Jesus. I dropped my bag and keys on the floor, then brought my hands to the small patch of hair he had peppered on his chest. I’d never been with a man with this much hair; his chest wasn’t exactly hairy, but with his beard and chest it was more than I was accustomed to. He pulled it off well.

  “I’ve wanted you too.” I spoke shyly; the sensation was new to me.

  He lowered his lips and grazed the sensitive skin behind my ear before placing a small wet kiss on my neck. Then he planted his palms against the wall above my head, caging me in, before he looked me straight in the eye. I had to look up to make direct eye contact.

  “I’m going to fuck you. And after I’ve fucked you out of my system we will go back to our normal routine, understood? Nothing needs to change.”

  Perfect, we were on the same page. “Yes, Professor,” I whispered, no longer looking at his eyes, but at his deliciously inviting lips. We stared at each other, amplifying the heavy air. His gaze scanned every curve of my body, touching me without any physical contact. I was finding it hard to breathe. “Aren’t you going to fuck me, Professor?” I asked, glancing at him.

  “Jesus.” He hissed, gripping my waist before he turned me around.

  I was stunned, but so turned on by being handled this way, something I never thought I would enjoy. Maxwell’s erection dug into my ass making me whimper as he pressed closer. He ran his hands along my sides and up to my breasts. He gripped them with force, pushing his hands up along with my tits, kneading them as I moaned.

  “Your body is incredible, you know that?”

  I turned my head and his lips crashed against mine; he squeezed my breasts tighter, releasing them as he gently gripped my neck, deepening the kiss as our tongues collided in desperate hunger. I was lost in his smell, his touch and the primordial sounds he was making.

  He turned me back around as I wrapped my arms around his neck, tugging him closer until we melted together. He moved his hands down to my ass and squeezed, then groaned against my lips, gripping tighter. Suddenly I was airborne as Maxwell lifted me off the floor effortlessly and I wrapped my legs around his muscular waist while he pushed through his bedroom door and gently laid me on the bed.

  We stopped again to gaze at each other. His expression was barely visible by the small glimmer of light coming through his window. He wanted me, that I could tell, but there was another emotion, something he was trying to hide. Maxwell shook whatever he was thinking away before frantically kissing me again, our teeth colliding, tongues clashing, lips pulling as we kissed.

  I pulled his pajama bottoms with my feet; he had nothing else underneath. Standing, he took off his pants completely, backing away into the darkness. I thought it was a shame the lights were off because I couldn’t thoroughly enjoy his naked perfection, but before I could finish my thought he flicked on the light. I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the brightness.

  “I want to see your naked body,” he said.

  My gaze went directly to his brown eyes that were almost black; he looked possessed, but in the most delicious way. I scanned his rumpled hair and his beard down to his red swollen lips. His defined muscular chest rose as he let me explore his body with my eyes. As my stare wandered past his ches
t down his abs to the deep V chiseled out on his sides, I saw the monster between his legs. My eyes widened and I swallowed slowly.

  “Um, hell no.” I sat up.

  “What?” He stepped closer to me, and I lifted my hand to stop him.

  “No, that thing is not going to fit. Absolutely not.”

  The professor grinned. “Seriously, Ava?”

  “I want to be able to walk tomorrow.” I was a little out of breath; he was in front of me, lowering himself, ignoring my objection as he lifted my shirt off my body.

  “You’re aware that I’ve had sex with other women, right?”

  “Yeah, the kid kinda gave it away.”

  He chuckled. “All were able to walk the next day, I assure you. Sore, but could walk nonetheless.”

  He bent down, taking off my flats before he unbuckled my pants and pulled them off.

  I’m not sure why, but I slowly backed away from him until I hit the headboard. The professor stood in all his naked glory, then bowed slightly, gripping my ankles to pull me to him. When I was exactly where he wanted me, he hovered over my almost naked body.

  “I promise to go gentle at first. I’ll ease in slowly, until you’re dripping wet, then I’ll fuck you as hard as I’ve wanted to since the first time I saw you.”

  My breath hitched. Holy shit.

  “Come on, Peaches, let me make you feel good.”

  I was panting, wondering if I should do this. I mean, he was my boss, and there was a possibility things might get weird between us. I’d hate to leave Aidan; the little punk had gotten under my skin. As if he saw the battle playing out in my eyes, Maxwell kissed my neck, and I completely lost all capacity for thought.

  My reason was thrown out the window. One second I was in my bra and underwear and the next I was completely naked. Gripping my breast, he took a nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. I looked down to see my skin being pulled in and out of his mouth as he suckled while palming my other breast. His touch was rough, but it was as if he knew when it was too much and when it was just perfect; I loved it.