After The Break

by Andrea Joan

  “Oh god—fuck, fuck, Sky,” I curse, releasing into her, reveling and shaking, the bite of her nails scratching down my back causing me to come even harder. I’m panting into her neck as her similar harsh breath teases my ear.

  “Wow,” she says shakily.

  I lift my head, chuckling, “Yeah, wow is a bit of an understatement, sweetheart.” I tuck her loose hair, which is now damp with sweat, behind her ears before kissing her gently. I just fucked her like a horny animal with my thumb in her ass; a soft kiss seems necessary at the moment.

  Her half-drugged, post-orgasm smile pleases me and I find myself just staring at her for a few seconds, not saying a thing.

  I’ve never been selfish when it comes to fucking women; I’ve always made sure they come at least once before I do—I’m a gentleman that way, but it’s been a long fucking time since actually seeing a girl get off has been enough to get me off.

  “You are going to be in soooo much trouble,” Sky taunts, breaking me from my trance.

  “Why? Is there a fucking cop outside the car or something?”

  “No. Worse. You’ve made a mess in Noah’s car. This is his baby, and you just defiled it.” She bites her lower lip like she’s trying to hold back a laugh. I pull my shirt off the ground and shift it under us at the same time I pull out. She shivers when I start to clean her up as best I can with it before tossing it back on the floor.

  “I’m pretty sure the defiling was a team effort, sweetheart.” I wink, tucking my cock back into my pants. She just rolls her eyes at me while attempting to sit up and fix herself.

  “Nope. No way.” She shakes her head. “No way am I taking any of the blame for this. Noah loves this car. It was his first big purchase. As far as I’m concerned, I turned you down and you ended up having your way with yourself in the back seat.”

  I can’t help but laugh as she rights herself, fixing her shirt, her hair, zipping back up her pants. “I can’t believe you’d throw me under the bus like that. I thought we had something here.” I pull her into my side, the perfect position so that we can now actually see the rest of the movie.

  “We do have something,” she replies, snuggling into the crook of my arm, wrapping her arm around my bare stomach. “But Noah and I had something first.”

  She must feel me tense at that comment—it’s a fucking reflex at this point—because she immediately launches into rambling Skylar.

  “I mean, we don’t have the same something that you and I have. We have a different something. Like the non-sexual type of something. We just came first. I mean, we just knew each other first. Obviously seeing as I only met you a few—“

  I kiss her. I kiss her because as cute as her running her mouth is, someone needs to save her from herself, and I’m always ready and willing to save Sky from any enemy, even if that enemy is her own mouth.

  “Relax, Sky. I’ll get the car detailed before I return it. Although I hardly think Noah will notice. It’s not like my dick is a firehose spraying cum everywhere. Most of what I released is in your cunt right now, where it belongs.”

  “Such a romantic.”

  “I try.”

  We relax into a comfortable silence as the movie continues to play. Well, not complete silence; Skylar and silence do not go hand in hand when watching a movie. The girl has a wealth of useless fucking knowledge when it comes to films. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to take her to one. It’s obvious she has a passion for movies that goes beyond just starring in them, and watching her enjoy her passion has almost become an obsession.

  I stroke her arm lazily as she stays cuddled up underneath my arm, absentmindedly tracing her fingers over my scars, and I wait patiently for that rise in her chest, that slight hitch in her breathing that tells me she’s about to talk again. I am still actually watching the movie. I’m not that much of a fucking creeper. When she starts rubbing her lip against her teeth, I know I’m in for it.

  “Can I ask you a question?” she asks.

  “I’m certain I can’t stop you.”

  “Probably true, but it is kind of super personal, so I don’t know if I should ask.”

  “Sky, I just had my finger in your ass and my tongue in your cunt. I’m pretty sure we passed super personal ten minutes ago.”

  “You did not just say that.”

  I chuckle and start playing with the ends of her hair. If she’s about to get personal I don’t want to fucking snap at her on accident. Touching her like this helps soothe me. “Just ask already. The suspense is killing me.”

  She blows out a breath. “Okay, well, I understand the tattoos on your forearms for the most part.” I tense, wondering where this is going, willing myself to stay calm. “But the one on your back, the evil looking angel demon thing. What’s that one about?”

  Okay, that’s not so bad. Her description of it is, but I can at least gloss over the answer without getting too deep. I can’t blame her for asking, that’s for sure; you can’t get a fucking tattoo like that and not expect questions.

  “That angel-demon thing is Abaddon. In Hebrew he’s an angel of destruction and ruin. He’s considered the angel of the bottomless pit.”

  “Damn, that’s bleak, Liam. Is that how you see yourself? Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing tattoo. Scary and dark and beautiful, just like you, actually. But you can’t believe that about yourself, right?”

  “You did not just call me beautiful.”

  “I did, deal with it.” She smirks. “But seriously, why this Abandon guy?”

  “It’s Abaddon, and I guess”—I can’t believe I’m about to admit this to her—“I guess, yeah, it’s because that’s how I see myself. It reminds me of what I’m capable of, reminds me that I destroy.”

  “I don’t think you destroy.”

  “No offense, but I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.” I feel like an asshole, what else is new.

  “We must be soulmates then because I, too, am like Ababbon, at least if you ask Carl.”

  “It’s Abaddon,” I correct, even though I think she’s probably just fucking with me, trying to be cute. Which she is. “And what the hell are you talking about?”

  She shrugs, eyes trained on the movie screen. “Carl always accuses me of the destruction of our family. Which, to be honest, I’ve always kind of understood. I think that’s why I let him get away with so much.”

  What the hell? “What do you mean he accuses you of destroying your family? That makes no sense. I thought you said your mom killed herself.”

  “She did, but only because I was born.”

  “Again, what the fuck are you talking about?” I sit up slightly, taking her with me.

  “I told you this already, on the plane, remember?”

  “I remember you said she was sick. Then she got pregnant, stopped taking her meds, and got more sick. What part of any of that is your fault?”

  “Listen, I’m not completely delusional. I know it’s not all my fault. But let’s be real, Liam. If she hadn’t gotten pregnant with me, or maybe even if I had been a better child, less rambunctious so she could have handled me easier, she wouldn’t have gotten so sick. Maybe she would have stayed on her meds.”

  “Sky, baby, you were a child. For fuck’s sake, she died when you were six.”

  “Yeah, but she hated me. It had to have been something I was doing wrong in some way. Even Carl said—”

  “Stop. Sky, your mom was sick. That had nothing to do with you. She was sick before you, and she would have been sick after you without the proper treatment. And let me tell you something else. I don’t give two fucks what Carl said. The guy is nothing but a controlling, manipulative prick.”

  She looks at me, her eyes clearly questioning what I’ve said, taking it all in as a few more tears trail down her cheek. But then she smiles, and I swear that smile, as small as it is, hits my fucking heart.

  “Carl really is a prick, isn’t he?”

  “He is legitimately the worst. The only good thing he ev
er did, as far as I can tell, is dump his sperm into your mom to create you.”

  “That’s so…weird. Sweet but weird.”

  “Seriously, Sky. How someone as amazing as you came from the DNA of those two is a damn miracle.” I kiss the top of her head as she relaxes onto my bare chest, the movie still playing in the background, but since forgotten by us both. The condensation from the windows starts to evaporate, and before it disappears entirely, she quietly says something in a tone so unlike her.

  “Never forget that I am made from their DNA, Liam. They are a part of me as much as I am a part of them.”

  I hold her tightly in my arms, to comfort her, to assure her of what I know to be true. “From what I’ve seen so far, you’re not even close. Now let’s stop with all this and enjoy the movie, yeah?”

  “SO YOU GET TO watch him do this every day?”

  “Yep.”

  Noah and I are sitting on the steps leading to the gym, sharing a bag of gummy bears and doing what can only be described as gawking at a shirtless, sweaty, muscular Liam pounding away on the heavy bag. In about two minutes he’ll switch to the speed bag, and then five minutes after that he’ll go to the weight bench. That part is my favorite.

  “Man, I need to start coming home more often. Do you think he knows he has an audience?”

  “I doubt it.” We’re sitting high enough on the steps that I don’t think he’s noticed us, and Eminem, which I’ve learned is his favorite music to work out to, happens to be blasting through the speakers so I don’t think he even heard us come down. Not to mention that when Liam works out, he always seems to zone out.

  “He wouldn’t say anything even if he did. He’s being all pouty right now.”

  Noah sticks his hand in the bag of gummy bears I’m holding and grabs another handful, popping one into his mouth. “Why, did you not ‘squeeze your pussy’ around his cock hard enough this morning?”

  “Oh my god, Noah!” I slap him on the shoulder, causing him to choke slightly. “Can’t you just forget that happened?”

  “Skylar, it just happened yesterday. How could I possibly forget that? I got an eye and earful.”

  “Well, maybe you should have knocked first, ass!”

  “How was I supposed to know I needed to knock on the garage door in my own house? What, I should have just anticipated that hot bartender would have you bent over the hood of the Lotus? You didn’t even tell me you two were banging. Although I wasn’t surprised.”

  We’ve been together a few weeks now. We’ve played, talked, fought, been on dates, and most definitely fucked. I even, somehow, let him talk me into running with him in the mornings. I’m still totally confused as to how that happened.

  Needless to say, my thighs are still sore as hell and I can barely make it a mile without collapsing to the ground, dramatically of course, because I’ve come to find out that he can actually run while carrying me on his back. Now that part is fun. For me anyway.

  “What has his tighty-whities all in a twist this morning?” Noah asks.

  “He doesn’t wear tighty-whities.”

  “Boxers or briefs?”

  “Commando.”

  “Damn that’s hot.” His eyes roll dramatically as he tosses back another gummy bear.

  “Tell me about it. He says it cuts down on laundry. Anyway, he’s mad that I told him I think it’s best he doesn’t come to the meeting with Steve today.”

  When I sprung on Liam last night that I was meeting with Jeff and our attorneys to discuss a settlement offer over an issue Liam was not even aware of, it pretty much turned into World War III. He accused me of withholding information from him, claimed I was being too secretive about my life, and that meant I didn’t trust him. Then, like a ten-year-old shouting “I know you are but what am I,” I threw it in his face that he still keeps some pretty big parts of his life from me too. But it all went nuclear when I told him I planned on going to the meeting alone. For the first time since he got here, we slept separately last night and he hasn’t said a word to me all morning.

  “Shit,” he curses under his breath, running his hand through his hair. It hadn’t really occurred to me that Noah would be upset by this too. “That’s today? Is Jeff going to be there with his attorney too?”

  “Yep. We’re going to try and get this thing settled. I just want it to be over with so it’s not constantly hanging over my head anymore. I want to move on from it, even if it costs me a chunk of money.”

  Once I have this wrapped up, I only have one more loose end I need to tie up, but something tells me firing Carl is going to be a lot more difficult than that.

  “And you’re not bringing Liam…why? You two are together, right? Hell, you hired him to be your bodyguard. Maybe you should bring him along for protection.”

  “I’ll be at an attorney’s office, Noah. It’s not like Jeff will do anything to me there. Let’s not be dramatic. Besides, you’re supposed to side with me on this. You’re my friend.”

  “That’s right, I’m your friend. I want what’s best for you, Skylar, what keeps you safe. Jeff is a creep and a total ass. It doesn’t hurt for you to have someone like Liam sitting in your corner, intimidating the hell out of him. Did you ever think that maybe Liam needs to be there for you?”

  No. “I just don’t want to burden him. He isn’t used to this life, you know? Every day it seems I have more drama and shit going on than the last. Between the media and Carl and people accosting me the second I walk out the door, it just gets to be too much. Especially for someone that has never dealt with it before. I mean, Jesus, we couldn’t even go on a date without being bothered. If Liam goes to this meeting, I’m afraid he’ll get fed up and decide that he’s had enough.”

  Of me.

  My biggest fear is that Liam will finally recognize my life is too much trouble to deal with. It’s why we’ve barely gone out, not that I was a huge social butterfly before. In fact, homebody and proud should be tattooed on my forehead. The few times we actually left the house to shop or grab food, there always seemed to be fans begging for pictures or paparazzi stealing them. And with every encounter, I could see what little patience Liam possessed to begin with starting to wane. Even the unanswered and ignored phone calls Carl bombarded me with throughout this last week seemed to test his sanity.

  I really need to find my lady balls and fire Carl already.

  See, Liam wasn’t lying when he said he had a quick temper, and I know he’s capable of violence; the protective streak in him is one to be rivaled. While I love it in so many ways, I fear it, too. Not for my sake. but for his. Because, I too, am protective of him, and if he gets in trouble because of me, I will never forgive myself.

  “Baby girl, you hired Liam for a job. You can’t forget that just because you two are boning now, otherwise you may make him feel like a paid escort. Not to mention, that if you two are in a relationship, you need to trust that he can handle whatever your life throws at you. That he will help you shoulder that burden because, Skylar, you need to let someone help you.”

  “Noah—”

  “Oh look, he’s going to the weight bench. Damn, I could watch this channel all day.”

  So could I.

  “Look, go talk to him. Let him do what you brought him here to do.” Noah knows about the scars, has even seen them, obviously, and also knows that Liam has not yet told me about them. But there is one thing Noah doesn’t know.

  “I told him about my mom.”

  “Like, that you have one?”

  “No, jackass. I told him about my mom.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yep.”

  “You actually have let him in then. Skylar, I mean, shit.”

  Based on the shaking of his head and the running of his hand through his hair, I’m guessing that is not a positive for Noah.

  “What?” I ask him.

  “Listen, just be careful. I know I said let him in a little, and I meant that, it’s just…fuck.”

  “What? Just spit it
out, Noah.”

  “No one knows the real story about your mom aside from Carl and me. And you only told me because you were incredibly wasted.” The public knows that my mom died when I was young. Public records and all. But what they don’t know is that she committed suicide. It was a tidbit Carl was actually able to cover up. He was friends with someone in the police department, and in a small town it isn’t hard to fudge the paperwork a little. It was ruled an accidental drowning and left at that. “Winter doesn’t even know the truth. When I say let him in a little, I mean just that. A little. Just until you know him better, understand his motives more. The more he proves he’s trustworthy, the more you can let him in.”

  “I’m not stupid, Noah. I know. I trust him, okay?”

  “Okay, Morningstar. If you say it, then I trust it. As fun as this show is, I have to go. Gotta go meet with my business manager and then Erik and I are having lunch. Catch ya later, lover.” He kisses me on the cheek before he stands to leave. “I’m taking these with me,” he says, snatching the bag of gummy bears from my hand.

  Jerk. With a deep inhale, I make my way over to the weight bench. He knows I’m standing right in front of him. There’s no possible way he can’t, seeing as the bench is inclined. I just stand there, watching as he presses the bar up and down, up and down. I can tell that with each breath he expels he is counting the reps in his head.

  “Are you just going to continue to pretend I’m not here?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest. I even make it a point to fold them under my breasts so they plump up a little. Yes, I know it’s a cheap trick, but I’m trying to get the guy’s attention, and I know my boobs are his weakness.

  Silence. Lift. Silence.

  Fine. He wants to play this game, I can play too.

  I walk closer to the weight bench and throw my leg over, straddling him as he continues to lift the weights above his head. The small tortured groan and slight shift of his hips is the only acknowledgment I get from him. That and the feel of his growing erection against my ass. I can’t help the smirk that teases my lips, knowing that I’m affecting him this way, but damn if he isn’t stubborn, continuing to spare me even a glance.