by Pamela Ann
He was testing me. I sort of guessed it, just to see if I really was going to pull through my bullshit. Well, I wasn’t one to back down.
“Have you done this before?” I asked as I unbuckled my seatbelt and slowly started to shift in my seat, facing him with my left hand on the edge of his headrest, gripping the soft leather, while my right was splayed on the dashboard, all set and ready.
“Maybe a few times.”
No wonder. “With Edith or Tiffany?”
“One of each.”
He said a few times. Who the heck was the other nameless woman? “No accidents?” I raised my brow as I started to knee the seat and slowly shift towards him.
His eyes never left me. “Not in the way you’re implying.”
And what was that exactly? I wanted to know, but didn’t ask because I might not like the answer.
The car felt crammed, but I managed to move above him, hovering, without accidentally elbowing his face or kneeing his crotch. Both of my hands were planted on each sides of the headrest. My hair fell forward, blanketing us, while I looked down on his face. His face lifted towards mine, watching every move.
His smell. His body heat. His hot breath. Those eyes that seemed to take in everything I did all at once, this close to him… made me yearn for the things I shouldn’t be wanting. Needing.
“Grey,” I whispered, cautiously lowering myself down on his lap when he jolted me with his protest.
“Don’t. Move,” he gritted out with ragged breaths. His eyes closed. He was breathing deeply, nostrils flaring as if he was trying to concentrate on something while looking dangerously intense.
I was stuck midway, not knowing what to do. Should I get off him or continue to freeze? His sudden spurts of bipolar were grating on me.
“I don’t think I can do this with you tonight, Liv,” he spoke, eyes still shut.
“But you said—” I started to protest, but he snapped those mesmerizing eyes at me, seizing me alive.
“I know, but I can’t think straight and you’re not even on me.” His eyes dropped on my lips before he bit down on his bottom one. “All I can see is fucking you this way.”
This was the real Greyson. The almost decent human being he had been covering up with was now peeling its scales.
“Keep seeing it ‘cause you’ll never feel or know what’ll be like,” I grunted out as I haphazardly got off him and went back to my seat.
Why did he have to ruin the night like that? Everyone knew he was an animal, but for once, could he at least act with decency? His blatantness was offensive.
He remained quiet as he gunned down the engine until we hit a stoplight before glancing at me with sharp eyes. “It’ll be better for the both of us if we stop pretending that we don’t want each other.”
Even if he was right, I would never admit to it. Instead, I snorted, looking away, staring at the passing scenery.
“Admit it. It’s killing you that you want me.”
One night of playfulness and he thought he could say things like this to me? Arrogant SOB! “After tonight, let’s pretend that this never happened. I just want to forget about this nightmare.”
“You’re good at forgetting things, I know.”
Oh, we’re back at that, huh? “What the fuck does that mean, Greyson?” I screeched, ready to knock him down from my simmering anger.
“Nothing,” he nonchalantly replied.
Oh yeah, he was now playing stupid? I think not. “Don’t you nothing me when you have something to say!”
His nostrils flared, looking like he had something to say, but instead, all I heard from him was a loud groan before he drove off. Viciously furious.
Silently, we stared at the road ahead. Even though he was driving more than the speed limit, which in normal circumstances I would have had a severe panic attack. At the moment, I didn’t care; I was fuming about our confusing exchange. How did things go from one thing to the other? It was hot and cold in a drop of a hat. We were more unpredictable than a toddler’s tantrum.
We were now driving into the canyons. The lampposts were severe and far in between, so he had to switch his high beams on. The canyons usually gave me a dizzy spell from the swift and sharp turns, and how the cars usually run unusually fast, but compared to how this guy was driving, he looked like he took his driving way too seriously. Each time he switched gears, I noticed that he pressed his lips together.
The engine started to have the muffled sound as the car started to slow down just as the large clearing started to appear a quarter mile away. From afar, I could see his friends parked and lined on the right side of the road, and I supposed the ones on the opposite side were the competition.
I was about to make a snarky remark when I saw how the other women were dressed in their short shorts that looked like underwear and bikini tops. Were these the same people who were at the house party earlier? ‘Cause from the looks of it, they sure as hell didn’t bother putting any clothing on. I supposed this was the drag racing for you—skimpy clad women, fast cars, bunch of men who would do anything to get their need for speed and belonging to crew where apparently one for all and all for one existed.
My newfound bubble of curiosity amongst these people and this new world I was introduced to was squashed after I saw Grey shake his head towards Jet. In the blink of an eye, he just picked up his speed and zoomed out of there, using the engine’s full capacity.
“Greyson! What in the world are you doing, you idiot!” I yelled at him when he made a quick turn towards an off beaten path, but he was unflinching.
I would’ve kept on yelling until his ears fell off his head, but the darkness that enveloped us started to frighten me, nor did it help that he turned off the headlights with only the moon and stars to light our way. This was the fucking canyon for crying out loud. There were thousands of coyotes around, willing to eat anything that had a heartbeat, and not to mention the poisonous snakes and spiders that lurked in this area; it sent me into a major panic. I was at his mercy and goodness; I hoped he wasn’t going to do anything stupid because I would raise Hell and the entire Purgatory if he did.
My right hand gripped the side of my seat, hoping the sharp turns would end soon before we ended up rolling down the mountain and crashing to our deaths.
Picturing that very deadly scene in my head, I closed my eyes and started to concentrate on quietly singing a song. My heart rate had never been this active before; it felt like I was gunning for the Olympics.
I swear, the second he parks this car I will chew his brains out! I was thinking and plotting of all the ways I could murder him in his sleep when the car suddenly stopped. It took me awhile to register this because one moment it was going ninety or maybe a hundred and then it just immediately came to a screeching halt.
My temper skyrocketed when he killed the engine and walked out of the car and into the darkness.
What is he up to now? “God damn you, Greyson!” I muttered, about to follow him out.
Chapter 13
Grey
Overreacting wasn’t instilled in me, but when it came to Olivia, she somehow planted that seed and it would sprout whenever she felt like pissing on me. Was this how it felt like to want something you couldn’t have?
I kept telling myself that all I wanted was a taste of what she could offer, even for one night, then I would stop obsessing about having her… but she was making it a battle. I mean, what woman would give mix signals? One moment she would look at me with that certain look and then the next, she would react as if I was toxic.
Her on-and-off personality was getting to me, and the more this sexual frustration kept going, the more I hankered for it. Why wouldn’t she put out anyway? Most men she dated had bragged about how good she was. So if she could tolerate men with an IQ of a fish, why wouldn’t she just give in already?
My embarrassing display of a tantrum shocked me, but it couldn’t be helped. I was getting too caught up with wanting her that she was all I could think about.
So I had to drive off and back out of the race, driving off to a place where I liked to think and get things into perspective.
I only strolled a few feet away from the car because I didn’t want to leave her too far away. I supposed the need to breathe and think properly without having my thoughts get stifled by the new obsession was in order. I already knew that she was bound to drive me crazy. This interactive mental foreplay was expected. So the question remained, where the hell did I go from here? Do I keep pursuing her, knowing that she was never going to give in, or do I abandon all hopes of making this fantasy real for a night of good fucking?
“Greyson Edwards! Get your stupid ass back here! Let’s settle this once and for all,” Olivia yelled from behind.
She sure sounded angry, that was for sure. I scuffed my foot in the dirt, contemplating if I should let her wait for a good minute or two. However, when she yelled again, screaming expletives at me, I bowed down and grudgingly started to walk towards her.
It was dark with the moonlight as our beam of light around here, but she looked even more delicious all riled up as she leaned against the hood of the car, glaring at me.
“Let it all out—all the cobwebs, all that anger and hate you have for me. Air it out in the open.”
Well, maybe hate was not an accurate word to describe what I was feeling towards her, not anymore. She was Olivia, the perfect concoction. And I was Greyson, the perfect imperfection. I knew men like me never got women like Olivia. Bad guys never did. I also knew she was right, but a large part of me wanted to prove her wrong. As for the rest, it was purely raw attraction.
“It’s been a rough day. I guess we could call it a night and go back home.”
“Talk to me, Grey!”
“What the hell for, Olivia? So you can rub it in my face that you’re too good for me? I get it. I shouldn’t have asked you to give me a fair shot in the first place because I know I won’t get it—not with you.” The truth stung, even though it shouldn’t. “Never with you.”
“I never said I was too good for you, Grey.”
She might as well have. “No, not directly, but you sure as fuck made sure I understood where you belong.”
She frowned, bracing herself before glancing away, taking deep breaths. “Where are we?”
My head snapped to the opposite side, feeling as empty as the darkness that surrounded us. “All the way up top, on a decent sized plateau.”
“It’s beautiful up here,” she observed.
It was. “Yeah,” I agreed.
This was the closest I could get to the stars. Not only that, but it was also peaceful. From afar, the Pacific Ocean glittered in the great distance. Each time I came here, no one ever was around. So I made this little piece of land my own, my sanctuary.
“Arguing with you won’t solve anything. Let’s just drop this whole thing and forget about it,” I told her. Might as well. I thought we could have fun, and at the same time, maybe get a chance to know each other better since we’d be living in the same roof, technically. That was wishful thinking. It was never going to happen with our heads butting in every turn.
“Right, ‘cause I could just easily forget that you tried to get into my pants.”
Her barbed comment made me look at her face. We were inches apart and not to mention, in the dark, but even then, she still looked beautiful. Could she really blame me—any man for that matter—to want her this badly? She was feisty and vivacious… and I liked pretty much anything that was attached and associated with her. Even her crazy mean attitude.
“I’m sure you could, Liv. Let’s go.” I offered my hand for her to take so I could guide her back inside the car, but she was reluctant, staring at my hand like it was made out of poison ivy.
Licking her lips, slowly meeting my gaze, she whispered, “I never said I was immune to your advances.”
Mixed signals—she was the queen of it—and it was fucking with my mind. Again and again. One heated look from her and my tense body revved up, hot blood circuited all over me, directing to the one place that always got me going where Olivia was concerned. Down south.
This was inevitable… and her come hither looks were affecting me greatly. I was going to bite… and I hoped that she would have enough sense to stop me because I was too far in to back out the second I touched her. Closing the gap in between us, we were barely grazing each other’s skin, but I felt her everywhere. My skin prickled, aware of each breath, each pounding heartbeat, each gasp, each sigh. I heard it all.
Bending my head down, I placed my face against the side of her head, smelling her like a bloodhound, as if her smell was my survival. Gently pressing against her body, she was half leaning, partially sitting on the hood. One hand was cupping her cheek while the other was holding her hip, making sure that she had nowhere to go.
“You’re so fucking sexy…” I murmured, getting lost at the feeling of being this close to getting what I wanted. “Give me a taste of your lips, Liv,” I begged, kissing her cheek with a gentleness that I hadn’t used with anyone before. Her skin felt like silk and I wanted more, so much more.
“Don’t. You. Dare. Kiss. Me.”
“It’s only a kiss,” I whispered against her skin. With my hand still cradling her cheek, I left tiny whisper kisses against it, slowly leading me towards where her lips called upon me to devour.
“Why? So you can show me what those skanks taste like? No, thanks!” Her breathing hitched. She sounded shaky, unsure.
Her words didn’t do anything to me. In fact, her body was speaking to me, slowly ebbing away its defenses to let me in and take over. “I just want one, Olivia” I nipped her skin, making her body sag a bit before her hand pressed against my chest, nails almost scratching. “Give me just one…” Pushing my hips against hers, she let out a sharp moan before she uttered the word no. When her legs gave out and parted to cradle me in between her groin, I pushed and ground into her excruciatingly. Her heat cast a spell on me, and fuck was I in a state of need.
We were both breathing so heavily, staring at each other, wide-eyed, knowing that if I stepped any further there was no taking anything back. “Your words tell me to stop—but your body is telling me to keep going.” I questioned her eyes, seeking her truth and not the lies she kept spouting at me. “So which should I believe? The mouth that’s telling me to go to Hell, or this body that’s panting for me, soaking my jeans with wetness?”
Her lips quivered. She was about to say something to reject me, but I pushed my hardness against her heat, evoking a deep moan from her. She wanted me, but her mind was telling her not to go through with it. The body was a power tool to use; it would never lie to me.
“You want this inside you, don’t you?” I pressed harder, thrusting as if fucking while holding her hip as I cupped her cheek with my other hand. Then I whispered into her ear, “This will feel so good in you, Liv. Just say yes and this will be all yours. All night—for as long as you want.” My heart was racing, my cock was enraged, and my need was profound.
She sobbed, moaning my name as she closed her eyes, hating the feeling of what I was doing to her, and yet, she couldn’t resist it. She couldn’t bring herself to stop me; not yet anyway. This dry fucking was working its way into her. Slowly.
Chapter 14
Liv
Right now, I was wishing that I held some extraordinary super power, one where I could easily push him off without much effort on my part. My body was succumbing to him, but my mind reeled off, knowing that if I did, I would regret it; every second of it.
Liam…
Liam would kill me if I went through with this. Yes, we had agreed to date other people, but the agreement was to only engage socially and maybe slightly in the physical sense, not to full-on have sex with them. Well, it had been me who had made sure of that.
“Please—” I sobbed, knowing how my body would chastise me afterwards. “Stop,” I begged again.
Grey was panting so hard, and for the life of me, I couldn’t look straig
ht into his eyes. I knew that, if I did, I would be lost in them, and I needed some sort of direction; a how-to map to snap some sense into this curling need that was taking over my body.
My fingers were digging into his skin through his shirt, needing him to stop, yet, at the same time, I wanted him to keep going, to see where this foreplay could lead us to. That would be too risky, though. Too much was at stake for me. Even though my body was tempting me to go through with this, I doubted I could ever forgive myself if I actually did allow it.
Grey kept teasing for another minute then he stopped, heaving on my neck as if he’d run a marathon. Silence surrounded us except for the loud thumping of our hearts hammering against our chests. For a second, I let myself think about what it would be like in his arms.
From his personality, I knew he’d be a volatile lover. Intense. Consuming. And one taste wouldn’t be enough. He would be addictive; I knew that. Even if I hadn’t done much with him—well, not in that sense—a part of me had always looked for him; was always aware of his presence when he was around. It was startling to admit this to myself, but it was the bare truth, sinking slowly into me.
“Are you okay?” he rasped out, still breathing down on my neck.
I hadn’t resumed the demeanor of my old self because he was still holding me. I trembled, thinking that he sounded like he cared. It was the last thing we needed; caring for each other. That direction wasn’t an option.
Instead of uttering my reply, I nodded, hoping he’d get the hint; that he needed to let off me so I could think, so I could breathe, so I could be myself again. When he was this close to me, it made things extra difficult to process any brain function.
Was I okay? He’d asked and I might’ve nodded that I was, but truthfully, if I looked deep down, was I really?
No. I fucking wasn’t. In fact, every day was getting worse. Every day that passed my hate for him was starting to disappear. What troubled me more was how attracted I was to him, and how much I just wanted to submit and give in the moment those tiger eyes hypnotized me. Fighting this curling, gnawing need by the day was becoming an obsession, however what if the day came that I didn’t have any fight left to tell him to stop? What happened then? Would he really go through with it? God, I hoped not. I hoped that maybe this was a game to him, and the second I would succumb, he’d laugh it off and tell me that he was just playing mind games. If that ever happened, I would be greatly offended, and with no pride to speak of, but at least my body and heart would remain intact.