I reached out and caught hold of Lucy’s wrist, tight enough to let her know that I wasn’t about to let her go anytime soon but not so tight that it would hurt her. Without a word to the two men sitting on the couches, I pulled her with me as I turned back toward the elevator.
My fingers were right over her pulse and I could feel how fast her heart was beating. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye as the elevator began to descend. She was pissed. Good. Let her be pissed.
As soon as the doors opened, she jerked her arm out of my hold and stormed off the elevator. I took my time exiting, watching her closely as I stepped out. Her hands were on her hips, her head tipped back as she glared at the ceiling. Her chest lifted and lowered rapidly, attesting to her rising anger.
The elevator doors quietly closed and it was like the trigger to set her off. “What the hell was that about?” she demanded, nostrils flaring and mouth tightening.
“What the hell are you doing here with some other guy, Lucy?” I countered. “You said you were going out with friends, plural. Not some guy I’ve never even met.”
“Are you insane?” Her voice rose as she took a step closer. “You’re just going to jump to conclusions, automatically assume I’m out on a date or something, and rip into me like I’m the bad guy here?”
“You’re out with another guy, Lucy.”
“I’m out with a friend, you asshat. Caleb is Kin’s stepbrother. He and his twin sister are in town for a little while, to spend the holiday with Kin. She couldn’t go out with them tonight because stupid Georgia got her grounded. I offered to take the twins out, but Angie couldn’t make it.” She gave me a disgusted look and turned away. “I wasn’t out doing something to be ashamed of, damn it.”
Some of my possessive jealousy began to simmer down and I started to see things a little more clearly. As the red haze slowly faded, I realized that I’d just messed up. More like fucked up, by the look on her face. She was upset and I’d caused it.
Fucking hell.
“Lucy…” I took a few steps closer, reaching out to touch her shoulders, but she turned around and my hand dropped to my side at the look in her eyes. I swallowed hard. “Sweetness—”
“Don’t you trust me? Have I done anything to make you think I would ever cheat on you?”
I didn’t know how to answer that. I’d never thought about it, never considered the possibility that something like this would ever occur. My jealousy had only reared its head a few times when I’d seen other guys trying to flirt with her and that had been before we’d moved things from friends to an actual relationship.
Raking both hands through my hair, I turned away from her, trying to figure out the jumble of emotions rocking through my body now that the jealousy that had infected my head was starting to dissipate.
“Harris?” Her voice was softer now, her anger seeming to have evaporated and now all I could hear was hurt. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” I told her without turning around. “I trust you.” As the words left my mouth I realized that they were the truth.
“So why did you act like that?” I heard her moving a moment before her hands touched my back. Some of the tension eased from my shoulders and my head slumped. “Talk to me, Harris. I can’t understand what’s wrong if you don’t tell me.”
“Tiny told me you were here with some guy and I saw you on my security feed sitting with him. You were laughing and he was eating you alive with his eyes.” I blew out a frustrated breath and turned to face her. Capturing her hands with one of my own, I placed them on my chest and wrapped my other arm around her waist, pulling her against me. “I’ve never been jealous before you, Lucy. Never. No one has ever meant enough to me to produce that kind of emotion. It’s new and kind of terrifying and I lost it.”
She melted against me, making my body instantly react to the feel of her soft pressed to my hard. “I love you, Harris. For me that means you are it. I don’t want anyone else. I would never—not ever—cheat on you. Not by going on a date with another guy, or kissing him, and especially not by actually having sex with him.”
I lowered my head until my forehead was pressed against hers. “I know that,” I breathed. “Doesn’t stop me from turning into a rage monster thinking about some other asshole looking at what is mine.”
A soft laugh escaped her lips and the rest of my tension faded completely. Only she could do this to me—make me so mental that I couldn’t see straight one minute and then turn me back into a human with just a touch and a musical little laugh. The way she made me feel, the control she had over my emotions like that, should have terrified me. Oddly enough it didn’t, though.
“I can’t stop guys from looking, babe. Just know that I don’t see them. I see no one but you.” She shifted, turning her head a little to the left so that she could brush her lips over mine. “I know it’s hard, because I have to go through it every time some chick looks twice at you, but I know that you love me and I try to keep it from bothering me so much.”
“You definitely have nothing to be jealous of,” I promised her and tightened my arm around her waist. “I swear that on my life, Lucy. You are all I want, all I see, all I breathe.”
“That’s kind of romantic,” she teased as she softly kissed me again. “Better stop with all that mushy talk or I’m gonna expect it all the time.”
“Ah, Lu. I’d give you anything you ever wanted. Just say the words, sweetness.” I released her hands so that I could hold her with both hands, pulling her against me hard as I captured her lips.
She tasted so damn sweet. There should have been a warning label on her somewhere, telling me how addictive her taste was going to be. I couldn’t get enough of it, never wanted to get enough. I was a goddamn addict now and there was no way in hell I would ever go to rehab to kick that habit.
Even though there was a foot difference in our heights, she fit perfectly against me. Her softness molded against my hardened body as I kissed her hungrily. Soft fingertips stroked up over my neck as she combed them through my hair. I shuddered at that innocent touch, wanting more. Wanting her hands all over my aching body.
Without realizing I was doing it, my hands grasped hold of the little scrap of a skirt and pulled it up before cupping her perfect ass. She moaned as I squeezed her beautifully rounded cheeks roughly—fuck, she fit so perfectly in my hands—before lifting her an inch off the ground and letting my throbbing dick skim over the spot where I desperately wanted to be.
“Oh gods,” she whimpered, pulling her head back to catch her breath. “H-Harris.” My lips didn’t leave her, moving from her mouth to her jaw and then down her neck, trailing kisses all the way to the rapidly beating pulse at the base of her neck.
Whatever lotion she wore smelled so delicious it was drugging. If I could just hold on to this moment—bottle up her scent and taste—I would make a billion in less than a week. Every man alive would pay hundreds just to have her taste on his tongue, her scent invading his senses. And she was mine.
Lucy shifted against me as if she were trying to crawl into my body. I shifted my hold on her until I was lifting her higher. Her legs wrapped around my waist and locked into place.
Ah.
Fucking. Hell.
She was right where I wanted her most, with only a few layers of clothing between us. I could feel her heat and it was scalding. My dick developed a mind of its own and flexed against her sweet spot, making her toss her head back and me see stars. Nirvana. That was what this was. Pure, uninhibited, nirvana.
Her fingers tightened in my hair. “Sit down before we fall,” she urged.
No way was I going to fall when I had such precious cargo in my arms, but I turned quickly and dropped down in the first chair I came to, one of the chairs in front of my desk. She unlocked her legs so that she was more comfortable, shifting her hips against me. Grinding her hot pussy right into my quivering cock.
She gasped and lifted her head. Dark brown eyes were bright with a need that I knew onl
y I had ever made her feel. It was a powerful feeling, knowing that I was the only man alive to see her like this, that I was the only one to ever take her this far, give her this kind of pleasure. “That feels so good,” she moaned, grinding against me again. “Do you like this as much as I do?” she asked in a breathy tone that turned my already hard body into a raging inferno.
“I fucking love it, Lu.”
She rubbed herself against me again, kissing my neck, my chin, my lips. I was quickly losing focus. This shouldn’t be happening, not now. Not yet. As much as I needed to make her feel this good, I knew it was wrong. I’d promised myself that I was going to wait until after her birthday before we took things this far. She deserved so much more than a quick dry-hump before I had to send her home later.
“Sweetness…” I tried to fight through the fog of desire that she had made in my brain and find the will to end this. “We…” Her hips ground a little harder and she covered my mouth with her own. Her tongue grew bolder as her hips crushed against me and circled, finding the right rhythm that brought her the most pleasure.
My hands gripped her ass hard and even as I did it I knew it would leave bruises on her. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to let her go as I helped her find her way toward the end of that orgasmic rainbow she was chasing as she rubbed against me. I’d make this up to her later, I promised myself. I’d make the first time we made love so much better than this. She needed this moment just as much as I needed to give it to her.
“H-Harris,” she moaned. “I love you, Harris.”
“Fuck, I love you, too.” I thrust up against her, watching her face as pleasure clouded her eyes and she whimpered. “Let go, sweetness. Let go for me.”
“Harris…” she cried in the next instant, her body beginning to shudder with the force of her approaching release. Her back arched as she pressed down against me one last time and I could feel her pussy clenching even through our clothes.
I gritted my teeth, trying to hold on to the last remnants of my control as I buried my face in her chest. My balls were too heavy, too tight. I was close, so damn close. Not even when I was a teenager, exploring the world of sex for the first time, had I been so ready to explode in my shorts. The feel of this girl—the one I knew I would spend the rest of my life loving—against me like this for the first time wiped out every other sexual encounter I’d ever had before.
With a breathy little moan, Lucy lifted her head and brushed her lips tenderly over mine. Her slight weight shifted just enough to the left and her pussy angled perfectly, pressing the right amount of pressure and heat, acting like the detonator that triggered the end for me. My body jerked as the first shot of white-hot release shot out of my cock. Her arms wrapped around me, holding on as I let myself go.
--
It was a long while before either of us stirred afterward. I held Lucy against me, lovingly rubbing little circles on the soft skin just under her shirt. Her arms were around my neck, her fingers stroking over my hair in a way that told me she didn’t realize she was doing it.
With the returning of reality, my self-hate began to settle in. This was not how things were meant to happen. I should never have touched her, not yet. I was such a creep, such a selfish bastard. Lucy deserved more than this, better. She was worth so much more than a quickie hump in my office after our first fight as a couple.
Lifting her head, she traced her silky soft fingers over my forehead. “Hey,” she murmured. “What’s wrong?”
“I promised myself that I wasn’t going to take things this far until after you turned eighteen. I feel like I’ve disrespected you and what we have.” I blew out a long sigh. “You’ve told me more than once that you weren’t ready for this, yet I’m already seducing you.”
She sat back, shifting her hips over my still sensitive cock. We both sucked in harsh breaths as I felt how wet she was. My cock decided it was ready to play again and hardened. Licking her kiss-swollen lips, Lucy angled her hips until she wasn’t directly on top of my dick. “I said I wasn’t ready for sex and we haven’t had sex. This was just foreplay. Really, really, good foreplay.” She cupped my face in both hands, refusing to let me break our locked gazes. “Nothing that just happened disrespected me in any way. You’re my boyfriend, Harris. You’re allowed to have a little fun with me.”
“You’re seventeen, Lu.”
“Yeah, I know. But only for a few more weeks. Stop worrying. You didn’t break any laws. It’s okay to touch me, I swear.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips over mine in a slow, soft kiss that was over way too soon. Putting her hands on my chest, she pushed away, getting to her feet. “Promise me you won’t ever hold back. That we can have more of this before my birthday.”
“Lu…”
“Promise me, or I’m not going to come back until after January second. I won’t take any of your calls and I’ll completely delete you from my phone.” She crossed her arms over her chest, giving me that look that told me she was determined.
Knowing how stubborn she could be, I believed her when she threatened not to come back until after her birthday. It was the second part of her threat that had me sweating, however. I would be okay if she didn’t come to First Bass again until after New Year’s, but not getting to talk to her wasn’t something I could deal with.
“You drive a hard bargain, sweetness.” I stood and wrapped my arms around her long enough to steal another kiss. Stepping back, I grimaced down at the wetness on my jeans. I couldn’t believe she had actually made me go off in my damn jeans. That was definitely a first for me.
“I have to get back to Caleb,” she murmured and I tensed. Was she really going to leave me after what had just happened? To go spend time with another guy? Fuck, I need a drink. “Will you come with me? He’s a nice guy, Harris. You’d like him if you would just give him a chance.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Just let me clean up and we can go.”
Her smile was worth having to go back up there and hang out with a guy I wanted to punch in the face. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
I took her hand and pulled her toward my private bathroom. “You need to do clean up, too. I have extra clothes I can change in to, but you’re going to be uncomfortable if you don’t do something about those wet panties…” My voice faded into nothing as I realized what I’d said and my body reacted to the mental picture I’d just put in my head. I’d made her wet, soaked her panties with her need for me. Fuck, that was amazing.
“Okay, just give me a few minutes. Good thing you have a hand drier in there.” She giggled and stepped into the bathroom.
Unable to stop myself, I lowered my head and gave her a quick, hard kiss. “I love you, Lu.”
Chapter 9
Lucy
“Happy birthday to you,” came the deep voice of my dad as my bedroom door opened with a slight bang. He was balancing a dish with a homemade cake in one hand that had two candles on top—one of which was shaped like a one and the other like an eight.
I had known it was coming even before I’d fallen asleep the night before. It always happened, so I didn’t know why I was startled awake with it. They always scared the life out of me.
As he entered the room, my twin little brothers were right behind him, singing along. Mom was the last in the room and I sat up in my bed as she came around to the left side of my bed to press a kiss to my cheek while the others sang their hearts out to “Happy Birthday”.
“Make a wish, Lu,” Dad urged when the song was over.
Knowing it meant a lot to him that I make a wish, I closed my eyes and wished for the one thing I wanted more than anything in the world: for him not to go all ape-shit when I told him about my relationship with Harris later. Opening my eyes, I blew out the two purple and glitter candles to the cheers of Luca and Lyric.
Setting the dish with my cake on the nightstand—the one Mom always insisted on making even though they had a ridiculously big one for my party every year—Dad sat on the edge of my bed and reached
for my mom’s hand before taking mine. I swallowed hard, sensing that whatever he was about to say was going to make me ugly-cry.
“Your mom and I want to tell you how proud we are of you, Lucy. I know at times it’s been crazy being our daughter, but we love you so damn much, baby.” He lowered his lashes, hiding his ever-changing eyes from me and I knew that he was fighting tears of his own. “I know you have plans with your friends today, but we wanted to tell you…” He broke off, his jaw clenching.
Mom squeezed his hand and took up where he’d left off. “We just want to say that we’re glad you’ve decided to finish this last semester of high school instead of taking the early acceptance at Georgetown. It was your decision to make, and we would have supported you no matter what you had chosen to do, but we’re glad we get to keep you for a little longer.”
I blinked back my tears and lowered my gaze to my comforter. I didn’t know if they realized it or not, but I’d been selfish in my decision not to take the early admittance to Georgetown. If I’d taken it, then that would have meant leaving my friends to finish out the last semester of high school. That hadn’t been the reason, though. Two months ago, when I’d gotten that letter saying that I’d been accepted into the spring semester of Georgetown’s English program, it had only taken me about two minutes to decide if I was going to take it or not.
There was no way I was going to go move almost the entire length of the country away from Harris. We hadn’t even been dating when I’d gotten the letter, but I’d known I wouldn’t have been able to handle that kind of distance between us. Now that we were so close, when I knew that he loved me just as much as I loved him, there would have been no way I could have left. It didn’t matter how prestigious of an honor it had been to get into such an elite program as it was, or how much work I’d put into the essay I’d written.
Georgetown wasn’t going to be the school I chose in the fall, either. I would move into my own apartment in the city this summer and when the fall semester started up, I would go to UCLA. It hadn’t been my first choice in schools or even my third, but I didn’t feel like I was making a bad decision in staying closer to home.
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