Deeper

by Jennifer Michael

  Men beside me whistle through their teeth.

  I’m not proud of it, but I start to sweat.

  I’m on the other side of the glass again, but this time, she’s with another man.

  No. Fucking. Way.

  I’ll kill the both of them before she goes through with this. She’s in there to prove a point.

  Once she’s at his feet, she leans back and brings her fingers to her mouth. She licks and sucks the pointer and middle, and the fucker licks his lips. Her fingers move to her clit. Flashes of the night she chained me up and touched herself come to mind. Now, she’s putting on a show that I’m positive is for my benefit. Grinding her hips against her fingers. Pinching her nipples with a harsh twist. Letting out moans that are clearly forced. She doesn’t sound even a percentage as uninhibited as she is with me.

  My Little Bird can only fly with me.

  It’s a game of chicken.

  She’ll give first—of that, I’m positive.

  Her hands reach out to him, and I take a step forward. I remember the night I tried to break her and how wrong she proved me. His hand twists in the back of her hair, and he leans in.

  Fuck, I can’t take this chance.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  Four steps, and I bust into their room.

  Rylan doesn’t startle, but the man jumps from his seat.

  “Listen, I d-d-don’t know what’s g-g-going on here, but I don’t w-w-want in the middle of it,” he stutters so badly I can hardly understand him.

  He misses the shift in Rylan. Her moans become more authentic once I’m in the room. I don’t even have to touch her. The idea of me busting in to stop her alone is getting her excited. She continues to touch herself, as if nothing is happening between the two men in the room.

  “I will only say this once,” I begin without glancing his way. “Get the fuck out of this room, and don’t you ever think you can touch what’s mine again.”

  He edges to get away from me and out of the door.

  “She’s fucking mine. Do you hear me? Don’t come near her again, or I will fucking kill you.”

  He leaves, and I slam the door shut behind him, remembering to lock it.

  “Barbaric much?” Rylan taunts.

  “How far would you have taken that?” I pick her up by the middle and throw her to the bed.

  “As far as I needed to.”

  I pin her arm behind her back and bring my lips to her ear. “Don’t do that again. I won’t tolerate it.”

  She twists beneath me. “I’m not yours. You’ll tolerate whatever you get from me.”

  “You’re very disagreeable today. I’m going to fuck the disobedience out of you.” I pin her other hand behind her back. “You’re going to regret your actions.” I lift from the bed, leaving her there, and head toward Rylan’s bag of goodies she always brings to the club.

  She huffs but doesn’t speak. I find a pair of handcuffs and bring them back to her. She lies motionless on her stomach, allowing me to snap the cuffs into place without a single word. She puts up no resistance. I abruptly flip her over and stare her down.

  “You’re in trouble, Little Bird.” My body fills with greed.

  “Do your worst,” she taunts.

  “Believe me, I will.”

  She has no idea what she’s asking of me. But she will.

  I pull Rylan by her feet, so her ass is on the edge of the bed. I bend her knees, so her feet rest on the bed as well. I kneel before her with my hands on her inner thighs, spreading her so that her pussy is on full display to me. I don’t waste time. She needs to be taught a lesson.

  I devour her. I go at her hard.

  Licking.

  Sucking.

  Tasting.

  My mouth mercilessly toys with her clit. My fingers tease her entrance and slip inside. She withers and squirms against her restraints. A throaty gasp expels from her mouth in between incoherent ramblings of my name. She lets go and gives herself over to me.

  I stop.

  She huffs.

  I smirk. “Little Bird, you really didn’t think this through well, did you?”

  “Do not fucking play with me, Callen.”

  “But that’s exactly what you want. And what Rylan wants, she gets.”

  “Put your mouth back on me, or bring that other guy back in here to finish for you.”

  My fingers roam up her torso. She shivers under my touch.

  “You left the door unlocked, Rylan. You never had any intentions of going through with fucking that guy. You wanted me to stop you. You were baiting me. This is your game. So, don’t complain now when I’ve beaten you at it.”

  “Not locking the door was a regrettable mistake. It wasn’t on purpose.”

  “You’re lying,” I boast the truth.

  “You’re stalling. Now, fuck me, or find someone else who can.”

  “No one can touch you like I can. We both know that, Little Bird. After last night, I’m positive I’ve ruined you for life.”

  “I don’t want to talk about last night.”

  “You made that clear. But we will talk. Later. I have to teach you a lesson first. You need to learn that your sexual freedom doesn’t mean you get to call all the shots. A relationship—even one that’s purely carnal—is a two-way street. Both your pussy and your orgasm are in my hands for the rest of the night, and you just might not like how I clip your wings.”

  “You’re being dramatic.”

  I undo my belt and take off my pants. My shirt follows next. Rylan’s eyes narrow but trail down my chest. I pump my dick in my hand and stare down my prey. She can’t be broken, but she sure as fuck can be taught a hard lesson.

  I push her back to the middle of the bed and straddle her hips, continuously stroking my cock. I lean forward and take her nipple into my mouth. She softens at my touch. My teeth scrape against her, and her posture tenses back up. My hand goes around her throat, and I squeeze. My lips meet hers, but she doesn’t kiss me back. My thumb presses harder into her windpipe. She grunts below me, and I get off on the wheezing sound. She’s helpless with her hands behind her back. I laugh against her lips, and she attempts to bite me. I’m too quick.

  “Hold on tight, Rylan.” I release her neck and bring my hand down to my cock, lining myself up with her entrance.

  She stops breathing as I slide into her, filling her completely.

  Then, I fuck.

  I fuck her hard and unapologetically.

  I take note of every sound that passes through her lips. I’m fueled by every tremble that takes over her body and every pulse from her cunt that squeezes my cock. And, just when she’s close, I stop. I pull out completely and stroke my dick, leaving her hanging but never losing sensation myself. Then, I do it again. When I’m inside her, I fuck her hard. So hard, she’s pounded into the mattress. I’m relentless and callous. I fuck her only for me. I wind her up but never let her fall.

  We fuck like this for a long time.

  She cries out and screams hateful words at me. The thump of her head hitting against the mattress in frustration matches the thrust of my hips. I get off on her lack of fulfillment. I gloat, having the upper hand. The tears I anticipated begin to leak from her eyes.

  Her voice sounds crazed when she speaks, “You’ve proven your point. Fuck, Callen. Please let me come.”

  I cage her in completely, a dark mass surrounding her body, and hold rigidly still. “Have we reached an understanding? I won’t cower to your demand, and that had better be crystal fucking clear to you. You won’t let another man touch you while you and I are fucking. I am the only person who can please you. We both know it. Don’t fight me on this.”

  “We’re clear. You win. Only you. Please, Callen. Please…I’m begging you.”

  “Hold tight, Little Bird.”

  She clenches down on her teeth as my hips push into her.

  “And we will talk, Rylan. Talk about last night. Talk about all of it.”

 
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

  She rises, and I pull out. Her face falls, and devastation consumes her.

  I pump into my fist and curse into the open room. A hysteric scream rips from her throat and puts me over the edge. I groan and finish with my own hand. My cum hits her thighs. She thrashes and kicks her legs. I lean down and very gently kiss her swollen clit.

  The bed dips as I rise to my feet. People scatter from the window when I look around the room, the first time I’ve taken my eyes off Rylan since I busted in. She’s hard to look away from, especially when she’s so vulnerable beneath me.

  “This isn’t funny! Callen, what the fuck do you think you’re doing? Let me finish.”

  “You can get off after we talk. I’ll come find you. Until then, don’t even think about releasing the tension yourself. This orgasm is mine, and you will wait for me to take it.”

  “You can’t be serious. Unlock me.”

  “Do you remember our first time in one of these rooms? The way you left me?”

  “Callen, no.”

  “Rylan, yes. The doorman will be around to unlock you soon. Sort whatever shit you need sorted and be ready to talk next time I see you. Good night, Rylan.”

  “Do not leave this room! Come back here and let me go!”

  I keep walking and ignore her pleas, leaving Rylan naked, restrained, and alone.

  I don’t look back.

  I don’t care who you are. Don’t fuck with me. It won’t end well for you.

  When I reach the door to the outside lounge, men who look like bouncers surround a tiny man with a balding head. The fucker who Rylan took into the room to piss me off hangs back behind them. The bouncers don’t stop me when I push past them, but the man they surround makes his point clear.

  “Mr. Bailer, we can’t ignore the clear threat you made against another member tonight. Utopia isn’t the place for you and your girlfriend. You’ve left us with no other choice but to terminate both your memberships. We take pride in running a safe club. You both won’t be welcomed back here.”

  I keep walking.

  Utopia might not welcome us back, but something tells me we don’t need the club anymore. Not after Rylan’s soul attached to mine the other night in Sebastian’s living room.

  Our darkness doesn’t belong here.

  Rylan

  Callen will come for his answers, and it’ll be time to confess my sins to the devil.

  Can he really see me as damned if he was the one who transgressed with me?

  I only hope my act of contrition comes in the form of multiple orgasms.

  I don’t linger on my sins long before I’m back to thinking about my own pleasure.

  It’s official. If hell exists, I have a front row seat for eternity.

  I can’t be saved, not after watching Sebastian die beside me and not after what I still have left to do.

  Every swallow. Every breath. Every movement.

  Each of these takes effort and strain. My body is hypersensitive.

  I’m beyond distracted. Preoccupied by lady blue balls and the looming conversation Callen has demanded.

  I’m at the coffee shop with Tatum, but my mind is with that dirty fucking asshole. I can’t believe the stunt he pulled. I can’t believe he left me like that. I can’t believe I listened and haven’t relieved the tension running through my veins since last night. My pussy aches to be taken care of. I was a sweaty, frantic mess when the doorman let me out, and I barely remember being banned from the club.

  “Rylan?” Tatum interrupts my Callen fantasies.

  I bring my attention back to her. “What?”

  “Are you listening to me?”

  “Sorry, Tatum.”

  “You daydreaming about Callen? Ready to admit you two are more than sex?”

  “I’m ready to admit that man has fried my brain.” I cool down with my iced coffee.

  “I don’t think it’s your brain being affected by him that you have to worry about, Rylan.”

  “You’re right. It’s my lady parts that are most affected by that man.”

  I give Tatum a crude gesture. She just shakes her head at me, well accustomed to my antics.

  “I think the organ you should be concerned about is a bit higher.” Her hand covers her heart.

  “I think you’re a bit meddlesome.”

  “Sure am! Who is that?” She changes the subject and points to the picture on my lit up phone’s wallpaper. “In the photo with you. You look so young.”

  “That’s Aria. I talked about her a few times in anger management.”

  “I remember.” Tatum’s lips press firmly together.

  “What? What do you want to say?”

  Tatum has never been one to hold her tongue.

  “You’ve just sort of given off the vibe that there aren’t many people in your life, and I wonder about your friendship with her. From that picture, it looks like you two have been friends most of your lives.”

  “We have been.”

  “And?”

  I stare at the picture of Aria that prompted this conversation. She’s kissing my cheek, and I’m making a silly face. We’re probably about nine or ten in the photo. My mind is now effectively taken off Callen, his orgasm denial, and our impending talk.

  “Things with Aria are difficult to explain.”

  Tatum eyes me, probably wondering how far she should push. “Where is she? I can’t imagine that two people that close drifted apart.”

  “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

  “Fair enough.” Tatum drops the conversation and breezily enters another.

  One I’m not listening to. Words I can’t help but tune out float through the air.

  My sour mood twists in another direction.

  My friendship with Aria was strong, despite the distance, right up until it was gone.

  I write letters to her, telling her about my life and the moments I want to share with her, because I can’t let that connection go. I often check the mail for a return letter that will never come. Wishful thinking. Aria will never forgive me for the things I’ve done.

  Rylan

  Eighteen Years Old

  “Are you sure you won’t come?” Aria asks me with tears in her eyes.

  “You’ll do great. You’re going to have so much fun.” I avoid answering her question.

  I can’t go with her, not even for a little while. After Mom’s death, I was in a space mentally where I was riddled with guilt and swallowed by mortality. I still am, if I’m honest.

  Each day, as Aria excitedly checked the mail, I was decidedly checked out. I put on the face that was expected, but none of it really hit home until the letter actually came—that big envelope from a prestigious university.

  That was almost two months ago, and now, today is the day. Two weeks after graduation. Aria is leaving me.

  “I’ll call you every day,” Aria promises.

  “School comes first, brainiac.” I force a smile.

  “This coming from the girl who slept through most of her high school classes.” She puts the last piece of her luggage into the back of her parents’ car.

  “I never said I lead by example.”

  Aria was accepted into her top choice school. She’s always been destined for more than our town can offer. For most of our lives, we talked about following each other to college, but when she got her acceptance letter, things changed.

  I need to let her go. I’m a poor girl, headed to community college, with a trunkful of damaged baggage, and Aria is heading to the Ivy League. She’ll be in a dorm and surrounded by people who will push her toward greatness. She’ll be busy with classes and schoolwork. I can’t follow her. I’ll only hold her back because she’ll worry about me instead of focusing on her new life.

  We also talked about me going with her just to help get her settled in, but I can’t do it. I’m selfish. I can’t see my best friend off on her new adventure because I’m afraid I won’t be able to get through it without revealin
g how torn apart I really am.

  “What if my roommate doesn’t like me? What if she doesn’t like the same stuff as we do? What if I hate it there?”

  Aria looks to me for the push that she needs to leave me behind. I have to give it to her even if I don’t want to.

  “No one in the history of life has ever not liked you. If she doesn’t, then you need to stab her in the heart with a stake because she’s a vampire.” I motion the action with a dramatic flair.

  She laughs at me while wiping the tears from her cheeks.

  “If she doesn’t like the same things as we do, then maybe you’ll find new things you like. And you won’t hate it there, but if you do, it’s only four years. Then, we can go wherever you want. Together.”

  How can I go about my life without Aria by my side?

  I swallow hard and take my own advice. It’s only four years.

  “I love you almost as much as tacos.” The edges of her mouth tip up, producing a smile.

  I wrap my arms around her neck. I can’t hold her long or hard enough, not in this moment.

  “I love you almost as much as ice cream,” I say back, controlling the shake to my voice.

  Aria gets into the back of her parents’ car, and I stay behind, watching her drive off. An intense feeling overtakes me, like I’ve lost one of my limbs.

  She’s my family, my best friend, and my rock. Opposites attract. That’s the saying or whatever. It’s true, but in this case, opposites are being pushed in opposing directions. Maybe I’m being dramatic, but it seems like life is taking my soul mate away from me. That is what she is, hopefully always will be…my soul mate. It exists outside of romantic relationships. Sometimes, two people, lovers or friends, click in a way that can’t even be explained.

  But timing, opportunity, circumstance can be a bitch. All these things factor in.

  Aria is destined for more than what I can give her. She’s growing while I am chained to my past.

  Our friendship is strong; we’ll survive this, despite the distance.

  Won’t we?