by Sky Corgan
When I wake the next day, my mom is fast asleep. Briefly, I think about stirring her to tell her about Gavin, but I know she worked a double shift and will probably have another one today. Her sleep is more important than anything I have going on in my life right now. Whether he likes it or not, Gavin is just going to have to wait for me to move in with him until my mom and I cross paths and have time for the conversation. I tell him as much via text, and I can feel his distrust radiating through the phone. He thinks I ran away from him. Knowing that hurts to a certain degree. I can't help but wonder if he's had several bad relationships that have made him this way. I want to show him that I'm not like all the others that came before me. That I'm here for him. Only him. But we have to jump over this hurdle first.
I go to work, feeling a bit stressed out and depressed. A dozen unpleasant thoughts run through my mind. What if Gavin gets tired of waiting for me and decides to cancel our contract? Will I still get the money for my virginity? Was everything he said about wanting more than just sex a lie? I want to bombard him with questions to ease my doubts, but I know he'd likely just ignore them. Besides, I don't want to sound clingy and desperate.
Robert, the guy who has been training me, is kind of a creeper. He's two years older than me but has the pox-marked face of a teenager. Two days ago, he asked if I wanted to hang out with him after work. I politely declined. He hasn't seemed to get the hint, insisting that we should hang out on Friday after work instead since we both conveniently have Saturday off.
It's Friday, and I had hoped he would have forgotten, but that's not the case. After we close up, he follows me outside, staying on my heels.
“Althea. Hey, wait up!” he calls to me as I try to walk away.
My entire body tenses from his voice, but I still stop. I know what's coming, and I really don't want to have to deal with it. I was hopeful when he hadn't mentioned anything all throughout our shift together. But I had noticed that he was getting way too close to me. We were practically touching as he stood by my side while I took customer's orders. He was making it look like he was micromanaging me, but I'm pretty sure he was just trying to peek down the front of my blouse.
“What's up?” I turn to him with obvious disinterest.
“I thought we were going to hang out tonight.” He rakes his fingers through his slick black hair. It looks oily, like tar on the street. I expect his hand to be greasy after touching it.
My eyes fall to his fingers for a fraction of a second before shooting back up to his face. “Yeah, I'm not really...feeling it tonight.”
“Oh, come on. A girl has to have fun sometimes.” He bumps his shoulder against mine flirtatiously. The invasion of my personal space makes bile shoot up my throat.
I'm about to lie and tell him that I have a boyfriend when I hear tires screeching not far away. The sound of an engine revving makes both of us jerk in the direction it's coming from. A white Porsche speeds up the street and cuts into the parking lot so tightly I worry it might flip. My heart thunders in my chest as it charges straight for us, swerving just enough to miss Robert. The tires scream in my ears, and the smell of burning rubber fills the air as it comes to a halt right beside us.
The door flies open, nearly hitting Robert, and Gavin steps out of the car looking all kinds of pissed off and menacing. It takes a few seconds for me to figure out what's going on. He was watching me from down the street. And he probably thinks...
“Get in the car,” he growls at me.
I have to defuse the situation before Gavin beats Robert's ass and I end up losing my job over it. I quickly obey, running around to the passenger's side. I point at Gavin awkwardly before opening the door to get in, speaking directly to Robert. “Sorry. I forgot that my boyfriend was coming to pick me up. You have fun doing whatever it is you're going to do tonight,” I say before slipping inside the car and praying to God I said enough to keep Gavin from lunging at him.
Gavin looks Robert up and down like he's no better than the dirt on his shoes. Then he snorts and gets back in the car. All the while, Robert is left standing there bewildered.
We peel out of the parking lot, and fear seeps into my gut as I watch Gavin wring his hands around the steering wheel.
“Who was that guy?” he demands, practically shouting.
“Calm down. He's just the guy who has been training me.”
“He tried to touch you,” he barks at me.
“He didn't try to touch me.” I lean away from him, trying to escape his booming voice which is nearly impossible in such a small space.
“I saw everything,” Gavin says as if he just witnessed me committing a crime.
“Well, I guess you didn't hear everything, because I clearly told him that you're my boyfriend.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Why were you watching me anyway?”
“Because you are mine. It's my right to keep track of what is mine,” he insists.
“So you were stalking me because you didn't think I would come back to you.” I spell out what's really going on.
“I wasn't stalking you.” He rolls his eyes.
“When someone sits outside of your work and watches you without you knowing about it, that's stalking.” I clarify the definition for him.
And then it hits me like a ton of bricks. After everything I've done to show Gavin that I want to be loyal to our contract, he still doesn't trust me at all.
CHAPTER EIGHT
GAVIN
She gives me the silent treatment the rest of the way home. To my home. Our home. She'll be lucky if I ever let her leave again. It's crystal clear to me now that allowing her to continue on with her life as normal was a mistake. There are predators all around who want a taste of her sweet peachy little cunt. But it's mine. She's mine.
I wanted to kill that kid when I saw him flirting with Althea so blatantly. I had not a fucking clue what was going on. Had she been lying to me this entire time? I know she was really a virgin before I had her. Her blood was the proof. But she could have secretly had a boyfriend this entire time. Been planning to let me pop her cherry, take half of the money, then go on as if nothing had ever happened.
I was infuriated and hurt by the thought of betrayal. Whether this guy was really her boyfriend or not, he was going to get an ass beating just so I could release all the rage I felt inside. It couldn't be contained any longer, not when I was watching him touch my girl, feeling like an outsider looking in.
The only thing that saved him was Althea telling him I was her boyfriend. It was confirmation that all the worst things I had imagined were just that. Imagined. Whatever was going on between them, she didn't want it. At least, she was doing a damn good job of acting like she didn't. Maybe she just said that to spare him, but there's little reason for me to think she's lying. She just started this job, and I did see him walking around with her inside the restaurant, standing by her side while she took orders, or her standing next to him while he did it. He is definitely the one who has been training her.
I try to keep my voice calm as I park in front of my house and we get out of the car, despite knowing that anything I have to say is going to make another argument bloom. Althea is nothing if not every bit as stubborn as I am. “You will not be going back to The Glass Street Kitchen.”
Her little mouth falls open, and she gapes at me before her head juts back with attitude. “Excuse me?”
I take long strides to the front door, practically leaving her behind. “I allowed you to return to work. We saw how that turned out.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?” She follows me into the house. Even her footfalls sound angry.
“I can't let you be anywhere that another man will touch you.” I turn, towering over her. I try to caress her cheek to quell some of her heat, but she brushes my hand away.
“What are you going to do, Gavin? Lock me away from the rest of the world?” She glares up at me.
“If I have to. Are you hungry? I have meal prep in the refrigerator, or we could ord
er a pizza. I assume you like pizza.” I hope that offering her food will deflect her from arguing with me further.
Her lips twist in disgust over the situation, but she stays quiet long enough to decide she wants a pizza and allows me to call it in. I think the fight is over, but as soon as I hang up the phone, she's at me again.
“Have you always been this possessive?” she asks as she throws herself into the chair across from me in the living room despite my urging her to come sit on my lap.
“It's not about being possessive. I know how guys like that think.” I look across at her, not liking the distance between us. “Come here.”
“No.” She folds her arms over her chest and sinks into the seat as if anchoring herself there.
“Oh my God, you are the world's biggest brat.” I roll my eyes in exasperation, standing to cross the distance between us.
“Stay away from me.” She lifts a foot as if she means to kick me.
“Really?” I furrow my brow at her.
“You're being unreasonable.”
I sigh before grabbing hold of her foot. She struggles, but it's of little use when I'm holding her leg extended at its full length. I pull off the dingy sneaker she has on and drag my fingertips over her sole, causing her to squeal and practically fall off the chair. When her guard is down, I pounce, descending on her with all my tickling fury. In spite of her anger at me, she giggles and wiggles in my grasp, and my heart softens at the sight of seeing her smile, even if it's forced.
“Let me go,” she demands, and I listen when I feel she's had enough, kneeling next to her on the floor. “What's wrong with you?” She snorts at me, but I can tell that some of her anger has dissipated.
“Althea, I know you think I'm just trying to control you, but I also want you to be happy. Make no mistake about that,” I tell her sincerely.
She looks defeated, her eyes sweeping the room before coming back to me. “I don't want this to be my prison, Gavin.”
“I don't want it to be your prison either.”
“Then you have to learn to trust me,” she insists, her eyes burning into mine. “The world is full of men. You don't have to trust them. Just me. Just that I only want you.”
Hearing her say that causes a tightness in my chest. It's hard for me to believe that she could possibly want me when I feel like all I've caused her is misery. I don't want to let her go—it's not within my capacity to do so—but I can't help wondering if I should. Surely, she would be happier with someone else. Someone who didn't demand so much of her.
“I don't like the way he looked at you,” I mumble, knowing how pathetic it sounds.
She leans forward and caresses my cheek. The tenderness isn't deserved, but I bask in it anyway. “You were jealous,” she says as if just figuring it out.
“You are mine, Althea.” I place my hand on top of hers, leaning into her touch before turning to kiss her fingers.
“I want to know everything about you, Gavin. Did something happen to you that...” she hesitates. “Have you not had good relationships with women in the past?”
I pull myself off the floor, and she allows me to lead her by the hand back to the sofa, gently lowering herself onto my lap. This feels more natural. More intimate. She's opening herself to me. A gift. Her interest seems genuine, and so I feel compelled to give her what she wants, though my confession is somewhat embarrassing. “I...haven't really been in any relationships in the past. Nothing serious. Nothing like this.”
“Oh.” She seems surprised.
“I've always been too busy with work. Money and winning have driven me throughout my entire life. Love has never been important. It hasn't even been on my radar.
“I achieved most of my dreams at a relatively young age. I have a good career as a defense attorney, more money than I know what to do with. I've traveled the world, owned exotic cars, bought this place.” My eyes circle our surroundings. “It's only one of several properties I own. But they're all empty inside,” my voice trails off as I bear the weight of my own loneliness. “There are few things left to want in life...but this.” I pat her hand.
“This?” She looks at me in confusion.
“I didn't want a conventional relationship. I didn't want a conventional woman. Everything about my life has been extraordinary. And you are extraordinary, too.” I pet over her fingers, and she blushes, pushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.
“There's nothing extraordinary about me.” Sadness creeps into her tone. “I'm...”
“Amazing.” I finish the sentence before she's able to replace the word with a less deserving adjective. It's quite clear that she doesn't see herself as I do. “There were...dozens of girls on that website that I looked through before I found you.”
“Really?” She glances up at me shyly.
“Really.”
“And what made you pick me?”
I smile softly, thinking back to the first time I saw her picture. “I picked you because you seemed real. There was a rare vulnerability about you that I found...desirable.” My cock swells to life as images of her pictures made flesh flash through my mind. All the things we did together on our bed last night. The uptick of her breathing when she was in the throes of pleasure. The way her tight little cunt squeezed around me when I entered her. She's heaven on Earth for me; I just have to make her see it. Make her see that I could never allow another man to take her from me.
“Am I all that you hoped I would be?” she asks meekly. “I mean, I know you said it yesterday. But now, I feel like all I do is cause you stress and problems. I wasn't a very smart purchase.”
I cup her chin, forcing her to look at me. “You were the best purchase I've ever made.”
She melts in my grasp, and as she leans forward to kiss my lips, I realize that we're the same. Both filled with insecurities, but both wanting the same thing. Just to be loved.
CHAPTER NINE
ALTHEA
Jealousy. That's what made Gavin rush in like a madman. At first, I just thought he was being some possessive stalker, but he's made it apparent in his own strange way that he does care about me. That I'm more to him than just some business transaction.
I have a hard time keeping a satisfied grin from my face when I think of it that way. We could have something real.
With his sweet words about me being the best purchase he's ever made, my arousal is at its full height. I want to make him happy. I want to be everything he has ever dreamt of. I have to prove to him that I'm as extraordinary as he thinks I am.
“Well, if we're both extraordinary people, then we should do extraordinary things together,” I purr against the stubble on his cheek, slowly grinding down on him.
His pupils dilate when I pull back and look at him, crawling off of his lap and sliding a hand down the front of my body. He opens his mouth as if to speak, but no words come out. The suspicious expression he's giving me hurts a little, but I know just how to earn his trust.
My fingertips graze the front of my shorts before touching the heat between my legs. The fabric presses to my folds. These shorts are so damn tight, I'm sure he can see them. What he can't see is my clit swelling with desire for him, but he'll discover that soon enough.
I do a little strip tease for him, shimmying out of my shorts and exposing the blue cotton panties beneath. I then pull up my shirt so he can see the flat of my stomach. My other hand returns to teasing over my folds. With less thick material in the way, my body is beginning to feel sensitive. Just thinking about having him inside of me again has my pussy watering. I'm still a bit sore and not sure if I'm ready to take him into me again yet, but I want this too badly to wait.
His eyes follow my hand as I slide it down the front of my underwear, barely grazing my pussy lips before pulling it back out and using both hands to round the globes of my ass. My movements come naturally knowing that he's watching me. It's as if wanting to please him has set me on erotic autopilot. I just hope that I look as sexy as he makes me feel.
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I turn to the side, giving him a better view of my ass. My nipples are beading inside my bra. A quick glance down shows them on display beneath the material. A readjustment of my gaze shows me that I'm not the only one with swelling body parts.
I kneel between Gavin's splayed legs, looking into his eyes and licking my lips as my hand finds his erection. It bulges crudely beneath his slacks and seems to grow thicker from my touch.
Going straight for it would be exactly what he expects, though. And I want to tease. I want to get him so riled up that his balls ache for me. So instead of immediately pulling his dick out to pleasure him, I move up to unbutton his shirt, starting from the bottom. He watches me work. Realizing that this is all about him, he relaxes against the sofa, allowing me to do my thing.
I kiss every inch of exposed flesh, watching his abs flex from the feathery touch of my lips. He has a nice tight six-pack that extends down into the front of his pants. I admired it when he was naked last night, but the lighting wasn't as good as it is now. He must spend a lot of time working out to keep so fit.
His tie is in my way, but I don't want to take it off. I bite it with my teeth and try to playfully fling it out of the way, but it just falls back down and smacks me in the face. Gavin chuckles, which makes me blush in embarrassment. But he quickly comes to my aid, grabbing it and tossing it back over his shoulder.
“That didn't work out how I had planned,” I grumble while I fidget with another button.
“Sometimes things don't, but that's not always a bad thing.”
I sense a hidden meaning behind his words, but I don't bother taking the time to process it, keeping my focus on the task at hand.