by Amy Starling
What did she want us to do about it? I knew the couple she was talking about, and from looking at them, they had serious problems – problems suited for a marriage counselor to solve, not an apartment manager.
“We'll tell them to quiet down,” Heather promised.
“You had better, or I'll have the police pay them a visit.”
Just great. Last thing we needed was the cops snooping around here. Then again, if these two were getting violent, maybe I should let the law handle it.
Heather hung up and showed me her puppy-dog eyes. “Can you go talk to 211? I'm super busy with all this paperwork, and Mrs. Mason doesn't sound like she can wait.”
“Fine, but you owe me.”
I raced upstairs before someone else could call and complain. As soon as I hit the second floor, the screaming echoed all the way down the hall. Something hit the wall with a loud, resounding thump.
I prayed that the two hadn't started throwing punches and banged on the door. The couple quieted.
“Now look what you did. I told you to shut the hell up, Craig.”
“You shut up, woman! You're the one who started in on me.”
I knocked again. At last, the woman – Diana was her name – came to the door with the phoniest smile I had ever witnessed.
“Oh, if it isn't Elle.” She said it loudly so her husband got the hint. “What brings you here today?”
Boy, did I ever suck at handling conflict. This was harder than telling Jayce to stop having such loud sex all the time.
Except now I knew why he was so loud. The memory of his hands on my body was one I'd never be able to forget.
“Um, I hate to bother you guys, but we received notice that you were being a little bit loud. If it's not too much trouble, could you keep it down in here?”
Craig appeared behind his wife. He looked me over with a scowl.
“Who was it? Who complained about us?”
I stepped back, fearful that he might attack me next. “It was an anonymous tip.”
“Right.” He grunted. “Tell you what. You want us to pipe down? Tell my witch of a wife to shut her trap!”
Uh-oh.
Diana gasped and pushed him, almost sending him flying backward over the coffee table. She had quite a lot of strength for such a tiny woman, but now was not the time to be impressed.
“How dare you!” She turned to me. “Let me ask you something, honey. What would you do if your loser husband stole money from you to play the lottery every single week?”
“Woman, don't you bring her into this.”
“I really shouldn't.” I raised my hands as if to shield myself from her. “It's not my place –”
She went on. “Every week he takes my hard-earned money and wastes it on the Mega Millions – which he's never won, by the way, and never will.”
“You don't know that. At least I've got a chance of making it all back.”
“Right, one chance in five billion.”
“What about you? You spend ridiculous amounts on your stupid nails all the time, and your hair too. I think that blonde dye has seeped into your brain. No wonder you're such a psycho.”
I hoped they'd forgotten I was there in the midst of their fight. No such luck.
“Do you hear the way he speaks to me? Borderline abuse, is what this is.”
Their next-door neighbor banged on the wall.
“Shut up in there, will ya?”
They did not shut up. Back and forth they went, asking me every few jabs what I thought about their “useless buffoon of a husband” and “a wife who complains about everything.” Not once did they stop long enough to hear my opinion – thankfully.
I watched the hateful display in shock and awe. Did all marriages end up like this at some point? I'd never really seen a couple that was truly happy. Heather and Zach were the closest pair, but they weren't married yet. Maybe they were smart not to get hitched.
My own family had been such a mess long ago. Mom flirted with every man she met while dad worked his hands to the bone trying to support us. I had no proof that mom cheated, but was pretty sure she'd been unfaithful from time to time.
The stress of it gave dad a heart attack, which he somehow survived. That was his wake-up call that he had to move on. I didn't blame him when the two divorced and he moved to California, far away from her as he could.
A teacup smashing into pieces against the wall got my attention. White shards of ceramic flew in all directions as the dark liquid seeped into the carpet. The bill for steam cleaning was already tallying up in my head.
“Don't you ever call me that again, asshole! I've had enough of you talking to me like one of your whore girlfriends!”
Craig gaped. “My girlfriends?”
“Oh, you know who I mean. I go off to work everyday and leave his butt alone in here. Says he's doing his job on the computer, but I know better.” She crossed her arms. “Elle, tell me the truth. You've seen other women coming in here while I'm gone. Haven't you?”
No, I hadn't.
Wait. Now that I thought about it, there had been a girl knocking on the door shortly after Diana left one morning. I'd only noticed it because I was up here to get rid of the dead mouse in Ms. Fielder's apartment.
I thought nothing of it. She could have been delivering mail, for all I knew.
“Well? Speak up if you know something.”
“Be quiet, damn you. This isn't her business.”
“Maybe not, but I deserve to know if my lazy spouse is screwing some bimbo on the side!”
I backed away, hoping to slip out unnoticed – and bumped into something behind me.
A hand rested on my shoulder. I knew at once who it was.
“What's going on in here?”
Jayce's booming voice silenced the arguing couple. They both stared at him with frightened eyes, like children who'd been caught doing something naughty.
I turned to face him and laughed weakly. “Oh, it's nothing. We just had a little noise complaint, and I was letting the Hartleys know.”
His glare was so withering that they refused to look him in the eye. I couldn't, either. When he got mad, Jayce could be downright scary.
His temper worried me almost as much as his desire to bed every girl in Waco. Just another reason why I was a fool for letting myself want him, I guess.
“Your neighbors can hear you all the way down the hall.”
Craig swallowed hard. “We're very sorry, really. It won't happen again.”
“Like hell it won't,” Diana spat. “Jayce, tell him to straighten up. If he keeps gambling away our money, we'll be lucky to pay next month's rent.”
He didn't budge. “Then you'll have to find someplace else to live, I suppose.”
Idiot! What was he doing – trying to piss our tenants off?
“Your marital problems are your own. Nobody else who lives here wants to hear them. And one more thing – don't you ever drag Elle into your nonsense again.”
Diana flushed with shame. Craig stammered one lame excuse after the next.
I was annoyed at Jayce for being rude, but he did take charge of the situation with such ease. When he spoke, people listened. I suddenly respected him just a little bit more for it.
Wait a minute. Me, respect him?
“If we get one more complaint, I'll be forced to call the police. Especially if violence is involved.”
“We're not –”
He stared at the smashed cup on the floor. Craig quickly shut his mouth.
Jayce took me gently by the arm and led me toward the door. I followed in silence, too baffled to resist.
“Hold on a minute,” Diana cried. “What about those girls? I know there's somebody else, Craig. I found a pair of slutty pink panties in the laundry. I would never wear something so degrading.”
Jayce whipped around, teeth bared like a dog about to attack. She shrank back and said nothing more.
“If you don't love each other, then maybe you should split up. At
least the rest of us would finally get some peace and quiet.”
Oh, hell no.
So much for that respect. Knew it was too good to last.
Jayce yanked me out into the hall and slammed the door behind him. Soon as it shut, the screaming began again.
I glared at him. “What were you thinking? You had things under control, and then you literally told them to get divorced?”
He shrugged. “But you don't agree with me? Better that than them killing each other.”
“It's not our business what they fight about so long as they stop bothering the other residents.”
“They'd just do it again. We get complaints about their noise all the damn time. Now, they know we're serious.”
“But couldn't you have been just a bit more... diplomatic?”
“That's the trouble with you, Pink. You're too nice. You let people walk all over you, all the while stressing yourself about what they think.” He firmly turned me around so I faced him. “You own this place. You're in charge. You gotta start acting like it.”
My body responded eagerly to his alpha-male attitude. Rarely did I see him like this, since he was too busy goofing around or hitting on some woman.
Finally, he showed a hint of responsibility. A glimmer of hope that maybe he wasn't a lost cause.
“I don't think I need to take business advice from you. What did you come up here for, anyway?”
“We need to talk.”
Crap.
“I'm working, Jayce. And you should be too – unless you want David to snatch this place up from us.”
His jaw set. “That's kind of what I need to talk about.”
My stomach turned as I led him to my apartment, where we could speak in peace. Come to think of it, I'd been feeling kind of queasy a lot lately. Hoped I wasn't coming down with the flu. If I did fall ill, this place was in trouble. No way would Jayce pick up the slack for me.
Inside, I pretended to be busy checking email. Jayce stood behind me, his hands on my shoulders.
“You've been acting weird lately. Avoiding me. I want to know what's wrong.”
I tensed. What was wrong? I'd given my virginity to a man who thought sex was just fun and games. He said nothing would change after, but he lied.
How could I ever see him the same way again?
“Everything's fine.”
“Bullshit.” He knelt and kissed my neck. “We had a good time, didn't we? I want that again.”
So did I, but... I also wanted more than that.
More than a fling. I needed commitment. Love.
Things that Jayce couldn't give. Things he didn't know how to give.
Still, I didn't stop his lips from trailing my collarbone. I trembled, enjoying it way too much. My mind rebelled. My body remembered and longed for the pleasure he so readily gave.
“We can't do this.”
“Why not? Nothing to stop us.”
It had been two long weeks since that night. He hadn't pursued me in all that time. I knew what it meant – he was out chasing other girls, as always.
To him, sex was just a physical act. Didn't matter who he did it with. And that hurt.
“You loved it,” he whispered. “Admit it. I made you come so hard that you cried, Pink. You were crying.”
“You're embarrassing me.”
He lifted me into his lap. His diamond-hard cock rubbed against my slit and I shook with desire, suddenly wishing the annoying clothes between our flesh were gone.
I tried to avoid his searing gaze. His eyes were so beautiful, I couldn't resist.
“I need to fuck you, Elle.”
“How romantic. Thought you said we had to talk.”
He grinned. “We can talk after. Or during. Gotta warn you, though – a lot of filthy things are gonna fly out of my mouth.”
“Jayce...”
He shut me up with a kiss, this one even more ravenous than the first we had shared. When our lips met, I realized how badly I'd missed it. How much I'd missed him.
My resolve melted away as the heat rose between our bodies. Without thinking, I put my arms around his neck and let slip a quiet groan.
This was a horrible, dumb idea. Had I no self-respect? Was I seriously going to let him seduce me?
I pulled away for a breath. “I don't think I can.”
His hand slid under my shirt and he tweaked my nipple between his rough fingers. Oh God, what was it about his hands that felt so damn magical?
“Sure you can. Just get naked for me and I'll take care of the rest.”
He pulled at my pants. I hesitated. Maybe letting him have me wasn't that bad...
Then I thought of him hitting on other women afterward. Of him screwing them in the bed where he'd taken my innocence. It made me sad.
I couldn't share him with anybody else. I wanted him all to myself. And unless he could promise me that...
Who was I kidding? To him, “monogamous” was a foreign word and a concept he didn't understand.
“I can't get you off my mind, Pink.”
He tried to unbutton my jeans. I allowed it, against all logic.
“You can't?”
“Nope. That night was incredible, and if you deny that, then you're lying.”
His lips brushed my stomach. I trembled, knowing I should shoot him down but powerless to do so.
Off came my pants. He smiled at my black and green polka-dot underwear – or maybe he was smiling at how crazily wet I was.
“Yeah, it was good. Excellent.” I silently moaned as he nuzzled my slit through the fabric. Fuck me, what a tease he was. “But I don't think we should do it again.”
“Why the hell wouldn't you repeat something so amazing? If it feels good, do it. That's my motto.”
“I'm scared, Jayce.”
His hazel eyes, now sparkling almost green, lifted to mine. He peeled my drenched underwear away but left them on, exposing my bare mound to him.
More kisses covered my thighs until I was on the verge of losing my mind. Now he had me, and he knew it.
“What are you scared of?”
I brushed the messy hair out of his eyes. “Of you. Of getting attached.”
“Is that so?”
He spread my lower lips and slid one finger inside me. This was nothing compared to the beast tenting his pants. I could have it, something so much bigger and more fulfilling, if only I dared ask for it.
“Sex isn't just physical to me. You know that. I want it to mean something.”
Another finger. Deeper, nice and slow. I shut my eyes. It was just too much.
“Mm. And does this mean something to you?”
I looked again. He was watching me.
“Yes.”
He laughed softly. Not mocking, just... surprised, I thought. Had any woman ever told him that before? Hundreds, probably.
“You think I'm a selfish ass, don't you? That I don't care about anyone but myself.”
“That would be the impression you give everyone.”
His lips returned to my pussy. One hot breath almost had me on the edge. Please, please don't stop...
“Let me prove otherwise, then. This is all for you, Pink. I ask for nothing in return.”
His tongue slivered across my clit before I could say a word. So good. How could he be so damn good, as if he already knew every inch of my body?
“That's what I'm talking about.” He growled. “Show me how bad you need this. Tell me. I'll give you everything.”
He buried a third finger in me. It was a relief, but not enough. I wanted his cock, too.
I needed his cock.
This was different from our first time together. This time, he wasn't in a hurry to reach the main event. Making love to me with his mouth was all that mattered to him. This pleasure, this satisfaction, was just for me, he said.
That wasn't the Jayce I knew. He had always been selfish, caring only for his own needs.
This side of him, I liked. A lot.
If only I could
have him all for myself...
Each lash of his tongue made me gasp; every twist of his fingers carried me closer to release.
I held my breath, not wanting yet to reach that final peak. It approached too soon, with startling speed.
His fingers curled in me, massaging my inner walls deep and rough. An intense, blissful warmth spread through my entire body.
Too much. I couldn't hold back any longer.
“God, Jayce. Just... Keep doing...”
Heaven. This was it.
I never wanted to leave.
I couldn't tell where one orgasm ended and the next began. He had me coming for so hard and so long that I saw brilliant flashes of color behind closed eyelids. Was my soul still even in my body? Felt like I was floating, drifting away, as this man worshiped me in a way I knew nobody else ever could.
Finally, I collapsed in his arms, laughing and crying at the same time. It didn't embarrass me anymore. Neither did it when he kissed me, and I could taste myself on his lips.
It was very hot. Very naughty.
I wanted him to do every filthy thing to me that he could think of. Even if I was just a plaything, a novelty for him to use until he got bored.
I accepted that. I knew he'd never commit. Didn't matter.
I'd spent years waiting for the right man, waiting because I knew then, sex would be special.
Well, it was special. Maybe not in the way I had planned, but still.
Jayce would move on eventually, as he did. Until then, I'd take from him every ounce of pleasure he offered.
He carried me to the couch and sat with me across his lap. His hard cock pressed into me, tempting me with the possibility of round two.
I thought for sure he'd beg for sex, but he didn't. He had been honest. What just happened, the ecstasy he gave, really was all for me.
Our eyes met, and he smiled. There was something different about him. Something new.
“See? I told you. I'm not totally selfish.”
“Why would you do this for me? It isn't like you.”
“Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought.”
He stroked my hair, waiting patiently as I caught my breath. Across the room, my phone rang in the jeans we'd left crumpled on the floor. I ignored it.