by Olivia Snow
“I’ll go see if I can find anyone I know.” Mallory winked at me before turning around and disappearing into the house. Traitor.
I turned to Diesel and snapped, “So you do remember my name?”
He closed his eyes for a split second before saying, “You have a boyfriend.”
“I know that and so did you. That didn’t stop you from stealing my number from my dad and then coming over to my house to take care of me, which by the way was the sweetest thing anyone has done for me, then you blow me off for two days? You said we were friends, Diesel.” As I spoke, my voice gradually rose.
Diesel grabbed my elbow, directing me to the opposite side of the garage where we wouldn’t have an audience. The side of the house was surrounded by trees, making it much darker. The only way I was able to see Diesel was from the orange glimmer coming from the street lights. His eyes glowed in contrast and his dark blond hair looked lighter.
“I don’t want to be your friend,” he whispered, looking down at my lips. His words sank to the depths of my stomach.
“Oh. Oh! I…I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of that possibility. All right, I, uh…I should get back to the Mallory, I mean…party. I should get back to the party.” I felt the tears sting the backs of my eyes. Moving to get out of his grasp, he only tightened his fingers around my arm, gently pushing me against the brick wall.
“No, darlin’, you misunderstand. I don’t want to be your friend. I want to be more.” Diesel stepped closer, pressing his body against mine. It took all my strength not to melt in his arms.
“Oh,” I whispered.
“Yeah, oh.” Diesel buried his nose in my neck and inhaled. “Fuck, you smell good.”
My skin tightened and I shivered when his tongue darted out. Licking my neck, he planted a wet kiss before nipping at my skin. I gasped, feeling it all the way down to my toes.
“You like that?”
“I…I think so.”
“You think so? Well, I think we gotta see if you do or if you don’t.” He tilted my head, his finger on my chin, before he worked the other side of my neck. This time he moved lower, inches away from my cleavage, nipping and then biting down. I moaned, gripping his sides, my lower muscles tingling in a way I’d never felt before. “I think you do like that, baby. What do you think?”
“Mm-hmm.” I whimpered, feeling his smile against my skin.
“I want to kiss you so damn bad, Vanessa.” His face was inches away from my lips. When I was around him, all I thought about was him, and everything around us disappeared. He made me forget to think, and just feel, and right now I wanted his lips against mine. I wanted to forget everything else.
Moving slightly, I feathered my lips around his, coating them slightly with the wetness from my tongue. Diesel stilled before inhaling sharply; he let me dictate every move before he followed. His lips parted slightly, giving me access to the inside of his mouth and his soft tongue.
Taking his face between my hands, I deepened the kiss, groaning as he slammed my back against the wall, no longer letting me lead. We breathed rapidly as we kissed, and all I could do was feel his hard body against me, his soft lips and tongue against mine, and his rough hands gripping the backs of my thighs as he made his way up to my behind.
“Oh, fuck, is this lace?” he asked between kisses, feeling the lace boy-shorts I loved to wear. He didn’t give me time to answer before he was feeling me up again, gripping my cheeks. “Damn, it only covers half your ass.” He gripped the fabric before crashing his lips back on mine. With his body pressed against me, I could feel his erection on my lower stomach. I groaned out his name. The thought of it making contact with my body made me need him. He abruptly pulled away, gripping my face.
“What’s wrong, baby, did I hurt you? I was too rough, wasn’t I? Aw, shit, Van—”
“No, Diesel I…I feel something. I don’t know what it is. I feel like something’s building up inside me.” Diesel grinned, showing off his perfect teeth; he was being smug. “What? Don’t look at me like that. What is it?” I smacked his chest, and he laughed.
“You’ve never had an orgasm, have you?”
“Huh? What does that have to do with anything? And don’t laugh at me, jerk.” I huffed, pretending to walk away when I knew he was going to stop me.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you. Honest, I’m a little surprised is all.”
“Okay, fine. I haven’t. Happy?” I crossed my arms over my chest. Diesel’s grin disappeared as he pressed against me once again.
“Would you like one?” All the air in my lungs escaped me as my chest rose to meet his.
“How?” My words come out in a stutter. Licking my lips, I instinctively looked at his. “I’m still a virgin.”
“I kind of gathered that, sweetheart, and as much as I would like to be deep inside of you, this isn’t the right place or time to do that.” Diesel kissed my neck, making his way back up to my lips.
“Then how?” My voice dropped to a husky tone.
“Would you rather I tell you or show you?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded, hoping he knew what I wanted. Diesel angled his body so only my side was pressed against him, and he whispered. “Spread your legs a little, baby.” His words made me quiver. I bit down on my bottom lip to hold back the moan that was forming.
Diesel moved his hand slowly from my face to the valley in between my breasts, then to my stomach, and finally to the hem of my skirt. He looked down at me before lifting my skirt, as if he was asking for permission. I gave him a small nod, my breath hitching as he lifted the fabric. I flinched when his hand made contact with my panties.
“You’re fucking soaked.” His voice was hoarse, full of approval.
“Is that a good thing?” My words were barely coherent.
“Oh, baby, that’s a very good thing.” He pushed my panties to the side and I held my breath for a moment. The pad of his thumb rubbed my nub, and I lost it, moaning out loud. The feeling was nothing like I had ever experienced before. It was a pleasure I never imagined.
“Diesel.” I whimpered.
“I know, baby. I’ll make it feel real good.” He continued to rub me with his thumb, and then I felt him insert a finger inside of me. He mumbled something, but I wasn’t sure what he said because I was lost in the sensation of his body against mine, his thumb over my clit, and his finger pumping inside of me. I was sure I was losing control. I felt frantic, wild, and reckless. I wanted him naked, me naked while he pumped inside of me, but not with his finger.
“Diesel,” I begged.
“I know, baby.” He answered like he knew what I wanted, what I was feeling, and when he inserted another finger inside me, I broke out into moans while I whimpered his name, trying not to be too loud since we were only around the corner of a house. Diesel moved to bite down on my neck, and I knew what was building was an orgasm. I was going to come, and hell if it didn’t feel like I was going to combust. I grasped the sides of his arms, digging my nails in.
“Diesel,” I whispered again as my muscles clenched, I let go and once I did, I had my first ever orgasm. Our chests rose rapidly, and I took a moment or two to catch my breath. Slowly, Diesel removed his hand from my panties and held them up to his lips.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice a breathy whisper.
“Tasting you.” He groaned, sucking my wetness off his fingers.
“Is that supposed to turn me on?” Because it does.
“Aw, shit, baby. Don’t talk like that, or I’ll say forget this self-restraint bullshit and take you against this damn wall.”
“What if I want you to?” I gripped his belt buckle, forcing him back against me.
“Fuck, Vanessa, don’t tell me that.” He groaned, resting his forehead against mine.
“Why, Diesel? Don’t you want me?” My audacity, I justified, was coming from the orgasm he had just given me.
“Of course I fucking want you, I’ve wanted you since the first time I
saw you, but I’m not taking you against this wall. When I make you mine, it’ll be on a bed while I slowly peel off your clothes, when I can cherish and devour this perfect body of yours because that’s what you deserve, Vanessa. Not a quick fuck against a wall, you deserve to be made love to.”
My heart tugged even though getting fingered outside against a wall was very, uh, unromantic. Having him say things like that made me trust him and want him even more. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeated. “I want to dance with you.” He took my hand and we began walking toward the inside of the house. Which reminded me of the initial thought I’d had when I first saw him.
“Wait, why are you here?” I pulled him back.
“I was invited.” He tightened his hold on my hand.
“By who?”
Diesel slowed down and turned around to look at me. “The girl I was playing beer pong with.”
It was clear to me he’d come here with another girl he’d probably already slept with, or was going to have sex with. Which made me feel cheap, and then I remembered I had a boyfriend, which made me even feel worse. This wasn’t like me. I am not that girl. Pulling my hand out of his, I hugged myself before speaking.
“I have to find Mallory, I’m not feeling too well.” I stepped away from him.
“Vanessa, no, wait. It’s not like what you’re thinking. I just needed a distraction. I need something to do other than think about you all day.” He curled his hand around my arm to stop me.
“You mean someone to do.” I yanked my arm free.
“You have a boyfriend, what am I supposed to do, Vanessa?”
“I know, okay? You sure love to remind me. I know I have a boyfriend.” I covered my face, frustrated. I was ashamed I had just let Diesel do that to me, while Stellen was still in the picture.
“I want to be with you, and it sure as hell seems like you want to be with me. So, cut that chump loose so we can be together.”
“It’s not that easy, Diesel. You don’t understand.” I sighed, my hands falling to my sides.
Diesel appeared defeated. “Fuck. Give me a call when it gets easy.”
Diesel walked away, and worse yet, I let him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ava
There was a massive mountain of clothes on my bed. I had spent the last forty minutes trying to figure out what to wear.
It was just one night of sex. One night of mind blowing, soul shattering, manic fucking. Ugh, what did I get myself into?
Looking into the body length mirror that hung in my closet door, I glared at my body, noticing an angry hickey on my left tit. Oh, tonight at Blush was going to be fun. Christian wasn’t going to let me live this down; he knew how I hated being marked. But now that Max had done it, it felt good—great. Like I belonged to him.
Shaking my head, I pushed away those thoughts. We had both agreed nothing would change between us. He was still my boss, except now the thought of seeing him again made me weak at the knees and nervous.
After the last time we had sex, he finally wore himself out and crashed. When I heard his deep breathing, I quietly slipped out. I ended up getting home at five-thirty in the morning. After returning in the first place to get my wallet back, and ending up in his bed, I forgot my phone. Now I needed to go back again, hence my indecisiveness in clothing.
I jumped into the shower instead, since it was where I did most of my difficult thinking. Now under the steaming water, I processed the fact that Maxwell was legally married, separated, but still married. He didn’t mention he was in the process of getting a divorce, all he said was that they were separated.
If they’d been separated for so long, why not get a divorce? Unless one of them still hoped for the possibility of getting back together. That makes me sick.
What if that was what he hoped for? No, it was okay this was a one-time thing. It wasn’t going to turn into an actual relationship. Plus, he was ten years older than me, and we had nothing in common. Right, I can do this.
I am Ava Veneziano, damn it. I made guys go gaga for me, not the other way around. Right. Okay, okay, I got this. Yeah, I got this.
Marching out the shower, I threw on my sleeveless black romper and black booties, not even bothering to dry my hair before I grabbed my keys and purse and drove with determination. But all that went to shit when I parked outside of his house. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Relax, go inside and get it over with.
This time, I didn’t let myself in, I rang the doorbell and waited patiently. Sooner than I would have wanted, he opened the door in a rush and walked away, leaving it open. Okkaaaay?
The inside of the house looked so different now that we had christened the bathroom, hallway, and his bedroom. I wondered how many others he’d done that to. Jealousy turned my stomach. Closing the door behind me, I made my way to the kitchen where I could hear him making a ruckus.
“Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Gallagher, but I…uh, I left my cell phone here last night.”
He grunted and I noticed the beard covered muscles around his jaw clench; he was washing dishes and the only thing I could see was the side of his rugged, gorgeous face. He didn’t answer me, just kept washing or thrashing the dishes around.
“Okay, I’ll go find it and get out of your way.” I quickly headed back down the hallway where I had dropped my stuff after he’d kissed me. That thought alone made me needy for him once again.
His bed was unmade, the smell of sex still lingering in the air. My phone was on the nightstand opposite the door. Once I grabbed it, it started ringing; it was Dr. Parker.
“It woke me up, it kept ringing.” His deep voice vibrated against my chest; Max stood at the end of his bed across from me.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I don’t usually get this many calls.”
He stayed quiet for a long moment, a venomous expression in his eyes. Which made him even hotter. I was lost in thought when he finally spoke again.
“Why did you leave?”
The question perplexed me. “We…we both agreed it was a one-time thing. Or did I hear you wrong?”
Still glaring, he crossed his arms over his chest. “No, you heard me correctly.”
I wouldn’t let him see my disappointment. “All right then.” Smiling tightly, I moved around him, but before I could get too far, he grabbed my elbow, holding me still. My breathing became labored.
“Who the fuck is Charles?” He growled, his mouth inches away from the side of my face, and I gasped in surprise.
“He’s a friend.”
“Are you sleeping with him?”
“That’s none of your business.” Now I was getting pissed; I had been excited—nervous—but still excited about seeing him, and he was being a total dick.
“The fuck it isn’t, we had unprotected sex last night. I think I have a right know who you’re having sex with.”
“No, all right? I’m not having sex with him or anyone else for that matter.” Yanking my arm from his grip, I backed away, still facing him.
“What about the bartender?”
“Who, Christian? No, he’s my boss.” I couldn’t believe he was asking me this.
“But you have, haven’t you?”
“Now that is none of your business. Why are you so angry with me? You told me all you wanted was to fuck me out of your system. Staying the night wasn’t part of the deal. Are you mad at me because I didn’t stay?”
His anger started to melt from his face and he suddenly appeared disappointed in himself. “Shit.” He sauntered toward me, and he took my face in his enormous hands. Max lowered his mouth, only breaths away from mine. “I’m sorry, Peaches, but after what we did last night, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you go.”
“Wait, what does that mean?” I gulped.
“It means I want to be able to have you when I want you.” He feathered his lips above mine, and I fought the urge to tackle him.
“Just sex?”
He smiled, showcasing his white teeth.
“No, baby, not just sex.”
“So, like…dating? What about Aidan?” I was trying by best to have a conversation with him, but the way he kept looking at my lips it was making it hard to do.
“Yes, like dating, exclusively dating. And nothing will change with Aidan, we’re adults. We can separate our working relationship with our personal one, right?”
By now he had me pressed against the wall, and he was running one hand along my stomach to the edge of my shorts.
“Mm-hmm…” I whimpered, swallowing hard as he touched the edge of my panties. He ran his fingers along my wet folds, and I hissed while he groaned. Suddenly pulling out, he took his fingers and spread my juices across my bottom lip, sucking in a sharp breath when I licked it off.
“I’m going to take you now, Peaches.”
“Whatever you say, Professor.”
He gripped either side of my collar, popping the buttons off all the way down. “You drive me crazy.” His chest rose up and down as he stared at my breasts.
“Back at ya.” Taking his face in my hands, I crashed his lips onto mine, causing him to groan. Frantically, he unbuckled his jeans without breaking our kiss. Setting himself free, he gripped the fabric between my legs and pushed it aside.
I was ready for him. Max gripped my hips and pushed me up against the wall; I wrapped my legs around his waist. Easily this time, he pressed inside of me and I gasped.
“You feel so good, why do you feel so good?” He grunted.
“Oh, fuck, Max.” He pushed in further, making me moan his name again.
“Jesus, Ava, don’t curse or I’ll come faster than I’d like to.”
I bit down on my bottom lip. “Really? That’s you’re thing, swearing?”
“Baby, anything you do is my thing, especially when it’s dirty.” I giggled and he added, “That was cute, you should do that more often.”
“What?”
“Your giggle.” He kissed my neck.
“Don’t go getting all sappy while your cock is inside of me.” I didn’t want to go there with him. Sure, we were officially dating, but I still didn’t want to go down that route, where it lead to deeper feelings, talking and eventually…love.