“And what if I want to know how many guys you’ve been with? Is that off limits, too?” he asked.
I almost choked on my drink. “Why would you want to know that?”
“I dunno,” Scout said, sounding slightly less confident for the first time since I’d met him. “Isn’t that the kind of thing people talk about when they’re together?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been together with anyone.”
Scout stared at me in amazement. “Never?”
I met his eyes, and I knew we were talking about far more than just dating. “Never.”
“So, I’ll be the first guy you…“
“Yes,” I said, cutting him off.
Scout’s eyes sparkled and his mouth ticked up into a tiny smirk. “Let’s get our food to-go.”
22 Scout
I had been a patient man. I’d wanted to tear Nola’s clothes off and bury myself between her creamy thighs since the moment we met, but I refused to turn on the charm or ply her with a bunch of slick lines aimed at getting Nola out of her clothes because something in my gut told me she was worth so much more.
And I was right.
I drove down Highway 1 tearing toward my house, taking the turns a little too quickly, and speeding through yellow lights because I couldn’t contain myself any longer. Nola had never been with a guy. She had never allowed a man to taste the sweet nectar between her legs; I’d be the first, and that turned me the fuck on.
I’m surprised we didn’t end up in a car crash or on the evening news, cut down by my inability to wait another hour before I swam inside Nola and made her come over and over again. But we made it to my house in one piece, and before Nola and I even got through the door I already had my hands in her hair and my lips on her neck.
Nola giggled when I slid my arms around her waist and kissed her. “I can’t believe you actually made them wrap up our food. I was looking forward to eating those pancakes.”
“I’ll feed them to you,” I said, finding her mouth and covering it with mine. She tasted like pineapples and champagne, and I savored every last drop.
“I bet you say that to all your—“
I squeezed Nola’s breast through her blouse, causing a soft moan to escape from her throat and bringing her sentence to an end. I pinched one of her nipples while I nibbled her neck, using my tongue to trace the flesh between her earlobe and her collarbone.
“Scout…” she panted, causing my dick to grow even larger, “maybe we should….” She sharply inhaled when I slid my hand inside her bra, giving her nipple another squeeze. “Upstairs….let’s go up—“
Before Nola could finish her sentence, I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder caveman style, then hiked up to my bedroom and placed her on my bed to admire the view.
Her hair was big and wild, framing her head like a curly halo; Nola’s nipples were so erect, they looked like they were going to bust through the fabric of her shirt; and she gazed up at me all wide-eyed and wonderful—just like I imagined she would. I shook my head and wondered how a fuckup like me, ended up with such an amazing girl. I wouldn’t be able to explain if I tried, so I just stared at her in awe.
“What? What’s wrong?” Nola asked.
“Nothing at all, baby. You look…” I searched for the right words, something that could explain how lucky I felt in that moment to be with a girl like Nola, but I couldn’t quite put it into words. “You look fucking gorgeous.”
Her cheeks flushed pink and she bit her bottom lip, driving me even more insane.
“Don’t. Do. That. ” I growled. “Unless you don’t ever want to leave this bed again.”
Nola eyed me, and I stared back, hungry and mesmerized. Our little trance was broken when she started unbuttoning her blouse.
“Stop,” I said, my voice booming with excitement.
She looked at me, startled and perplexed. “Why?”
“Don’t you dare undo another button.”
“But…I thought we were going to…”
I walked to the foot of the bed, took off her sandals, and rubbed Nola’s feet. “We are, but…” I moved up the bed and straddled her legs. “That’s my job,” I said, toying with her blouse.
Nola bit her lip again, and I couldn’t help myself anymore. I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to me, sliding my tongue into her mouth. While I consumed her lips I moved my hands to her blouse, undoing the delicate clasps before slipping it down her arms and exposing Nola’s lacy red bra.
“Wow…this is sexy as hell, baby,” I whispered into her ear, fingering the fabric.
“Thanks,” she breathed into my neck, causing my dick to expand again.
I slid one strap over her shoulder and kissed her golden skin, then repeated the same motion on the other side. I unclasped Nola’s bra and tossed it to the floor, exposing her perfectly round breasts.
“Damn.” I bit my fist, before taking one of her nipples in my mouth and running my tongue over her stiff flesh.
Nola arched her back as another moan tumbled from her lips. “Ohmygod…” she gasped, “Scout, it feels…ohmygod…”
I blew on her areolas, then placed a warm kiss between Nola’s breasts before removing her pants and working my way down to the juncture of her thighs. I glanced up from between her legs and saw her resting on her elbows gawking at me while I planted my lips on her belly. When I ran a finger along her damp slit, Nola snapped her legs shut.
“Relax, baby. I won’t hurt you.” I gently nudged her legs apart again, but as soon as I touched the slick flesh between her thighs she clamped her legs together again. “Nola, I promise it’ll be fine, okay?”
“Okay…” she said, before laying back and training her eyes on the ceiling.
I waited for Nola to feel comfortable before I pushed her legs further apart and kissed her pussy, using my tongue to graze her skin. Nola’s head snapped up the second my mouth touched her warm flesh, and she looked like she’d suddenly been jolted awake.
“Wow,” Nola breathed. “What in the….wow…wow…ohmygod…” she said again and again as I nibbled and sucked and flicked my tongue, getting Nola even wetter than she already was. She writhed above me, arching her back, grabbing the sheets, and trying to inch away from my mouth but I wouldn’t let her go. I wanted to taste her when she came.
I’d slept with a lot of women before, but I rarely cared if they enjoyed it or not. Sure, they’d pant and coo and try to act like we were in a fucking porno, but as long as I got off, I couldn’t care less if she came too. But with Nola, things had to be different. I had to put her first and make sure she was satisfied before I even thought about myself. Of course, this was easier said than done. I was so fucking hard my dick could have probably knocked a hole in a brick wall, but I focused on getting Nola to her peak.
I slid a hand under her ass as my tongue dove deeper into her slickness. Nola started to tremble, so I licked a finger and slipped it inside her. She gasped at the sudden change in force and arched off the bed. I slowly worked my finger around her damp walls for a minute before inserting another finger. I wanted to look into her eyes, so I moved up to Nola’s side while I continued fingering her.
She looked amazing. Every so often Nola would look at me and my heart would double in size, then she’d shut her eyes and the cutest little grimace would cross her face as she was swept up in a new wave of pleasure. I smashed my lips against her and used my thumb to massage her clit, causing Nola to yell against my mouth.
“Scout…Scout—” she stammered my name making it sounds like the most important word in the entire world. “I’m…” Nola’s legs started to quake and she bit her lip trying to tamp down her scream, “I’m…”
“It’s okay, baby,” I whispered in her ear, continuing to stroke her with my fingers as her whole body convulsed. She was squeezing my neck so hard it felt like she was holding on for dear life. I knew she was coming, but she was still trying to fight the feeling. “Let it go, baby. It’s okay. Let it go.�
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Nola’s body jerked and she cried out again, loosening her grip on my neck. I covered her lips, eyes, collarbone, and face in kisses while she recovered. I was so hard, I wanted to dive inside and fuck her until we were both tired and raw, but I didn’t want to hurt Nola. I reminded myself she was my girl now, she wasn’t going anywhere, and we had time.
I propped myself up on my elbow and watched her. When Nola finally opened her eyes, she smiled up at me and I placed a peck on her nose.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah. That was, ” her cheeks turned red, “amazing.”
I smiled and kissed her again. “Good, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“But…”
“But what?”
“What about you?” she asked, tracing one of the tattoos on my arms and further stoking the fire I was trying to keep in check.
“What about me?”
“You didn’t get to, you know,” she said, pointing toward my bulge. “We didn’t have sex.”
“I know, but this was all about you, baby. I wanted to make sure you were taken care of first.”
“But…” she pulled me in for another kiss. “I thought this was all about us?”
“Yeah, but I wanted to make sure you were—“
Nola put a finger to my lips shutting me up. “Scout…” Before I could answer she slid her hand under my shirt and started taking it off.
I looked down at her. “You sure?”
Nola nodded and tugged on my pants. “It’s not fair.”
“What’s not, baby?”
“I’m naked and you have on all these clothes.”
I chuckled while she climbed on top of me and slid off my pants and boxers. Nola ran her hands up my legs, but paused when she got to a group of small scars right above my knee.
“Motorcycle accident?”
I swallowed. I didn’t know if I should tell the truth or make something up. I didn’t want to fuck up the mood by talking about my parents’ abuse, but I didn’t want to lie to Nola either.
“No…cigarette burns….from my parents.” I glanced down to see Nola’s reaction. Instead of being repulsed or turned off, she kissed them.
“Anymore?”
I pointed to old wounds on my legs, stomach, and chest and Nola marked each spot with her lips before making her way back to my mouth.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Scout.”
“It’s okay,” I said, trying not to cry like a fucking child.
“It’s not okay. What they did was wrong and totally not your fault.” She paused to kiss me again. “But you know what? You’re amazing. They tried to break you, Scout, and you’re freaking amazing!”
I didn’t know how to react to Nola’s words they were almost too much for me to handle. In my head I knew the way my parents treated me wasn’t my fault, but my heart was a different story. I’d spent so many years closed off and suspicious that love even existed, it was amazing we were here, together.
I sat up and Nola was in my lap. I kissed her hard, then rested my forehead against hers.
“Nola, I…” I hesitated, afraid to say the words to a woman for the very first time. “I…I’m glad I met you, baby. It’s like fate or something. Seriously. I never thought I could meet anybody like you. I mean, I never thought it was even possible for me to fall…” I stopped when Nola touched my face and I realized she’d wiped away a tear. “I love you, baby. I love you so damn much, Nola.”
She smiled so brightly I thought my heart stopped beating and I died. I mean, how else could I explain feeling so incredible?
Nola hugged me, and then whispered into my neck, “I love you too.”
I could have cried, well, more than I already had. Nola loved me. She loved me—not because I was rich or handsome or had a nice car or some other bullshit women normally liked about me. But she loved me, fucked up parents, scars and all. How the hell did I get so lucky?
“Um, Scout?” Nola said, knocking me out of my sappy thoughts.
“Yes, baby?”
“I think it’s time.”
“Time for what?”
“To consummate this relationship,” she said, giggling. “Unless you changed your mind, that is.”
I flipped her over and claimed my spot on top, then crashed my lips into hers.
“What do you think?”
“I think you were right,” she said, tracing my lips with her finger. “We’re not leaving this bed for the foreseeable future.”
“What about your paper?”
“It can wait, but this,” she touched my dick, which seemed to grow even bigger, “will not.”
I kissed her hard, thrusting my tongue into her mouth. “You’re goddamned right.”
Being with Nola made me feel like I had died and gone straight to heaven, it was that fucking mind-blowing and I never wanted it to end.
23 Nola
It was all a dream. Scout and me, zooming down the coast in his Mustang and then tumbling into the house to make love for hours. It just didn’t seem real, or possible, or even probable for a girl who was once so scared to give herself away to a man. Either it was all a dream or I’d somehow been transported into a movie, because things like this just didn’t happen in real life. Or so I thought.
The sunlight outside Scout’s massive windows had long since dimmed by the time I’d finally recovered from our marathon sex session. There was no other way to describe it. After he kissed me down there and made me come for what felt like years, Scout plunged into me, stroking me gently at first until I begged him to go deeper, harder, faster.
Please, please, please. I moaned over and over again, until Scout had no choice but to give me what I craved—and ohmygod—I wasn’t ready for the sensations he ignited all over my body. I was so hot, so completely ablaze, it felt like I would catch fire every time he entered me. As a matter of fact, I waited—and begged—for it to happen.
I surprised myself; my voice so urgent and wanton, asking Scout to fuck me—yes, fuck me—like I’d done it a million times before, like this wasn’t the first time I’d ever uttered the words. And he gladly obliged, molding me into sensuous positions that always made me feel him in a new and surprising way. By the time we were done, my whole body hummed his praises, and all we could do was collapse into a deep and wondrous sleep.
God knows I didn’t want to get up and pull away from the warmth of Scout’s arms, but I had work to do. No matter how good it felt to press myself into his hard body, my essay for Professor St. James’ class wouldn’t write itself.
I tiptoed to the closet, pulled on one of Scout’s t-shirts, then grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs, no need to disturb us both. I set up my laptop and notebook on the breakfast bar and got to work, Googling information about the intersection of feminism and popular culture. After about an hour, my stomach started to growl and I remembered that I hadn’t eaten all day. Scout had the folks at Malibu Farm wrap up our food, so we didn’t get a chance to actually eat. I guess we were too busy consuming each other’s bodies to care about our appetites. But as I sat there trying to concentrate on my research, my belly suddenly had other plans.
I rummaged through the fridge looking for my uneaten breakfast, but spotted it on the floor near the front door, still in the monogramed bag. My food had been sitting there for hours, but I hoped it was still good enough to eat. When I opened the box and took a whiff, I knew it was a lost cause.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Scout chuckled, grabbing the bag out of my hand and taking it to the trash. He had pulled on a pair of basketball shorts that sat so low on his hips that I got damp just looking at him. Sexy. Scout Clayborne was so damn sexy I thought I might go up in flames once again.
“Hungry?”
“What gave it away?” I swallowed, trying not to let my eyes drop to his manhood again.
“The fact that you even considered eating those rancid pancakes was a huge clue.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled.
“Well, maybe if you had something other than Muscle Milk in your fridge, I wouldn’t have to chance it.” I shook my head and sucked my teeth. “My boyfriend is such a jock.”
Scout grabbed my t-shirt, tugging me closer. “Say that again.”
“What? You’re a big ol’ jock who loves working out and chugging nasty protein shakes?” I teased.
“Nope,” he kissed me on the lips, “the other part.”
I stared up at him, confused. “About being my boyfriend?”
He nodded, but didn’t say a word. Scout’s face was unreadable, so like most inexperienced girls I started to freak the hell out. I mean, even though Scout said he loved me he had never actually said he was my boyfriend, or anything other than my friend. And while I’d never been in a relationship before, I’d overheard enough conversations to know that sometimes men got spooked when the women they were dating pressed for a label. I suddenly had the sinking feeling I’d blurted out the wrong thing.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I said, trying to backtrack. “What I meant was—“
Scout covered my mouth with his, causing me to swallow the rest of my words. His tongue slipped past my lips, and his hands tugged on the waistband of my panties, but he didn’t try to touch the aching spot between my thighs. When he pulled away, I was both exhilarated by his kiss and annoyed he didn’t take it further.
“Say it again,” he demanded, staring into my eyes.
“You’re my boyfriend,” I said, my legs still wobbly from our kiss.
“And do you know what that means?”
I shook my head no.
“It means you’re mine, Nola.” He tipped my chin up and placed a peck on my lips. “And I’m yours.” Scout’s brown eyes looked so intense I knew he was serious. I was so transfixed by his words, Scout could have told me the moon was purple and I would have believed him.
“We belong to each other,” he said, his fingers still caressing my face. “Nothing and nobody can come between us, okay? Not our friends, our families, nobody. You understand?”
I nodded, completely turned on by his declaration.
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