Exposed: An Anthology

by Brooke Cumberland

  “Okay, that sounds good.” I smiled, trying to break down his wall.

  “I thought we could have a party in the next two weeks? Just a small one with some of my friends. That way I can introduce you to some people.”

  “That would be great.” Will Noah be there? I wanted to ask him but resisted.

  “I think I’m going to go shower. Feel free to help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen. You have a private bathroom through that door.”

  “Are you going to bed?” I bit my lip, not wanting the day to be done already.

  “No, I was thinking of watching a movie after my shower.” He frowned. “And after I make a few calls.”

  “Can I watch the movie with you?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Sure.” He paused. “If you don’t mind watching it in my room.”

  “That’s no problem.” I smiled up at him happily.

  “Okay. Good.” He smiled back at me and rubbed his forehead. “I’m glad you’re here, Lucky.”

  “Thanks. I’m glad as well.” I watched him walk out the door and I lay back on the bed as he closed the door. I closed my eyes and took a big deep breath. The room smelled of tangerines and honey. I took another deep breath and stretched on the bed. I opened my eyes and looked around at the room again. It was beautiful and I was happy to be here. I jumped up and opened my suitcase, trying to decide what to change into after the shower. I wanted to make sure I looked cute and sexy, but not wanton. I didn’t want him to know that I was going out of my way to look attractive to him. I was disappointed that he hadn’t tried harder to keep me in his room. I wanted him to seduce me. I wanted him to want me so badly that he couldn’t keep his hands off of me. Sometimes I felt as if that was how he felt, but other times, I felt as if he couldn’t be bothered at all. I decided to wear a pair of gym shorts and a tank top—relaxed, casual, and slightly sexy, if Leeza was to be believed. I was just about to go into the bathroom when my phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, Lucky, it’s Braydon. I just wanted to make sure you made it to the best coast all right?”

  “Ha ha, I did make it to the west coast just fine, thanks.”

  “I’m glad Zane wasn’t a completely ass to you then.”

  “Oh. No, he was fine.” I paused. “Sorry about last night.”

  “What’s to be sorry about? You had a few drinks. You were fine. Zane, on the other hand, was a psycho stalker.”

  “He was just worried about me.”

  “Why? He barely knows you,” Braydon scoffed.

  “Well, he knew my car broke down, and I guess—”

  “Your car broke down?”

  “Oh, yeah, I didn’t tell you? I thought I told you on our date?”

  “I think you said something about your car. But you’re only now telling me he just happened to be there when your car broke down.”

  “Well, it was after the party, and I guess he left around the same time,” I said defensively.

  “Lucky, I want you to be careful.” Braydon’s voice was low. “I know you don’t really know me. But please be careful with Zane. He’s not right in the head, and I think he has something against me.”

  “What?” I was starting to get annoyed at Braydon.

  “I know this may be hard to believe, but I think he has it out for me. Maybe he’s jealous or something. But he is really not right in the head.”

  “Braydon, why would you say that?”

  “Look, I don’t know him that well. We don’t really hang in the same circles. But his brother Noah and I were pretty tight. I think—”

  “Hey, where is Noah now?” I interrupted him, hoping to get some information on the infamous Noah Beaumont.

  “Zane hasn’t told you?” Braydon’s voice was slow and deliberate.

  “No, and I haven’t wanted to intrude. Did they have a falling out or something?”

  Braydon sighed and took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t want to say much, but Noah and Zane fell out. And Noah kind of left Zane behind. He wanted to make something of himself. He wanted to be a new person. Zane is so insular. He was all about it being him and Noah against the world, but Noah wanted more than that.”

  “Oh, wow, so they did have a falling out.”

  “Yeah.” Braydon cleared his throat. “Look, Lucky, I want you to stay safe, okay? I’m going to try and fly down to L.A. this week.”

  “Wait, where is Noah now?”

  “I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” And with that, Braydon hung up and I was no closer to knowing where Noah was. I sat looking at my phone and wondered what could have come between Zane and his brother. It seemed like they were as tight as two brothers could have been. Maybe Zane didn’t like Braydon because Noah stole his friendship. Someone who was as emotionally insecure as Zane probably found it pretty hard to trust anyone. All of a sudden, I realized that I wanted to fix Zane. I wanted to be the one to let him see that not all relationships ended badly, that not all love was selfish and hurtful. Even if it cost me my heart. Zane was like no other man I had met before. On the surface, he seemed cocky, bossy, and uncaring, but I was starting to get to know the real him, and he was a really good guy. The sort of guy who could win my heart forever. He was the type of guy a girl took a chance on, and that was exactly what I was going to do.

  Chapter 10

  “Hey, can I come in?” I knocked on the door and opened it slightly so I could be sure Zane knew I was there.

  “Hey, come in.” Zane was lying on top of his bed in a pair of black gym shorts and another grey T-shirt. His hair was still damp from his shower and he looked cleanly shaved.

  “Thanks. Are you still on for a movie?”

  “Am I ever.” He ushered me into the room and slapped the empty space next to him on the bed. “Have a seat.”

  “Thanks.” I climbed onto the bed next to him, feeling slightly self-conscious.

  “Do you like your room?” Zane leaned against the headboard and stared at me.

  “It’s really nice. Really feminine,” I answered, hoping he would provide some insight to the room.

  “I’m glad you like it.” He nodded and smiled. I held my breath as he looked me up and down slowly. My toes curled when he raised a single eyebrow and grinned mischievously at me. “Nice pajamas.”

  “I don’t have PJs.” I blushed. “So I generally sleep in shorts and a T-shirt.”

  “I approve.” He grinned. “Though I don’t mind if you take the T-shirt off.”

  “You what?”

  “I said, I don’t mind if you want to get naked.” He laughed and ran his hand down my back.

  “Is that how you talk to all the girls, Zane Beaumont?” I shook his hand off of me. “It seems to me that you’re a lot more uncouth than I thought.”

  “Why? Did you think I was a smooth operator?”

  I stared at him for a second. “Well, I certainly didn’t think you were a ‘girl, let’s get these clothes off of you’ kind of guy. I assumed you had a little more finesse.”

  “I’m just a regular old Don Juan in your eyes, aren’t I?”

  “I wouldn’t say that.” I laughed. “You can’t seem to keep them past a week.”

  “Why, you—” He burst out laughing and pulled me up towards him. “You’re my regular little comedienne, aren’t you, Lucky?”

  I felt a warm shot of happiness inflame my body at his use of the word “my.” It held a connation of closeness that I wanted to have with him. “Is that your way of letting me know you want me to tell you a joke?” I peeked up at his face and rolled my eyes. “You could just ask, you know.”

  “You know what I want to know?” He grinned at me and I leaned back into him, my back fitting into his arms comfortably.

  “Why the sky is blue?”

  “It’s not blue right now. But perhaps you can tell me why it’s black.”

  “Because there is no sun right now.”

  “Where is the sun?”

  “Is this what you wanted to know
? This is your last question. I will answer no more.”

  “Oh, Genie, how you tease me.” He laughed and I grinned at him, trying to ignore the warmth emanating from his chest.

  “One question.”

  “Or can I change that to one wish?”

  “Hmm, I don’t know …”

  “What did you think of me when you met me in Lou’s?” Zane’s face was suddenly serious as he interrupted me. “I want to know how you knew you could trust me.”

  “How do you know I trust you?”

  “You accepted this job. You’re here with me now. You—”

  “Okay, okay. I trust you.” I laughed and paused, twisting to look at him. “I don’t know why I trust you.”

  “Gee, thanks.” He pouted.

  “No, I don’t mean it like that. I mean, I was your waitress, we were never really friends. And honestly, I never really had a great impression of you. We used to talk about you in the restaurant. Every Friday, we would roll our eyes when you walked in with a different girl. But inside, secretly, I was happy. I was happy to see you again, because you were always nice, always friendly, and always left big tips.”

  “And you thought I was hot, huh?” He wiggled his eyebrows and I punched him in the stomach. “Ow.” He rubbed his stomach and groaned.

  “Yes. I thought you were cute.” I laughed. “Why? What did you think of me?”

  “I thought you were the cutest thing.” He laughed. “Every week, I told myself to take my date to a different restaurant, but every week I ended up at Lou’s.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I wanted to see your sweet smile, your non-judging eyes.” He laughed.

  I frowned. “What’s so funny? “Maybe I wanted to see your sexy little walk as well.”

  “What sexy walk?”

  “The one where you swing your hips.”

  “I do not swing my hips,” I protested.

  “Yes, you do. And then you stop at the table and ask what I want to drink and your eyes tease me with other possibilities.”

  “What other possibilities?”

  “These.” He turned towards me and I felt his lips come crushing down on mine.

  I kissed him back and squirmed against him as I felt his hands on my butt, squeezing my ass cheeks. I found my hands working themselves up his T-shirt and my fingers traced the lines of his six-pack. Wow, what perfection. Zane pulled back from me slightly and pulled his T-shirt off and flung it across the room. His eyes bore into mine in silent challenge and I pulled my T-shirt off as well and flung it across the room, allowing it to join his on the floor.

  Zane’s eyes left my face and fell to my scantily covered breasts. My half-cup pink lace bra was very sheer and I knew if he looked closely, he could see my nipples. I saw a vein in his neck throbbing and I was pretty sure he noticed. I ran my fingers back over his chest and across his nipples and then moved my hands up to his handsome face. I inched closer to him and brought his lips down to mine, kissing him with gusto and pushing my tongue into his mouth. All reason left my head as I tasted the minty sweetness of his toothpaste against my tongue. I took his tongue into my mouth and sucked on it slowly. He groaned before grabbing me and pulling me closer to him. I felt his hands on my back, undoing my bra, and as he unclasped it, I wondered for a moment what I was doing here. A very small part of me was screaming out that I was throwing out everything I had stood for in the last year. That I was wasting time with Zane because I already knew that he wasn’t looking for anything serious. But the other side of me—the side that wanted to be right—told me to just go ahead with everything. This was the side that had been fantasizing about being with Zane for the last three months. This was the side that believed that he was a complex, strong, and passionate man, and that somewhere inside, there was a little boy just looking to be loved. The voice was telling me that just maybe, I could make Zane see that there was nothing wrong with love. That to have loved and lost was much better than to never have loved at all. It was a long shot, but I knew it was a chance I was willing to take. Zane Beaumont was in my blood. I knew that I couldn’t go on without giving this relationship, or whatever it was, a chance—even if that meant throwing out the rules. Zane was a man for whom the rules were made to be broken.

  “Is this okay?” he whispered as he pulled off my bra, and I nodded. A glint appeared in his eyes and he pushed me back on the bed. His mouth lowered to my breast and I felt his teeth on my nipple, sucking and nibbling hungrily. I groaned as he released a flood of desire in my body and my hands clung to his head, running through his hair and down to his back as he made me wet with desire for him. He switched his mouth to my other breast and licked around my nipple gently before biting down softly on it.

  “Oww!” I yelped out at the pain of his bite.

  “Shh.” He put a finger to my lips and grinned up at me. He then kissed the valley between my breasts as his fingers played with my nipples and he kissed down my body, stopping at my belly button and sticking his tongue in for a few seconds. My body was on fire at his touch and I stilled as he continued his kissing down my stomach, and to my shorts. My legs widened involuntarily at his touch and I felt his mouth on my sweet spot over my shorts. Before I knew it, he had reached up and pulled my shorts and panties down and I was lying on the bed naked. I felt slightly self-conscious lying there in all my glory, but that feeling was gone in seconds as I felt his tongue in between my legs. Zane knew exactly what he was doing because I felt my whole body trembling as he worked magic with his tongue. He was quickly bringing me to a climax, and if I hadn’t been enjoying myself so much, I would have been slightly embarrassed at how quickly I was going to come. As soon as Zane stuck his tongue into me, I felt my body trembling and my wetness intensified. That didn’t stop Zane though, it seemed to excite him even more. He lapped up my juices with his tongue as he slid it in and out of me, bringing me to another climax. My body shuddered and I moaned as I came again, and when my body stopped quaking, Zane kissed his way back up my body, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

  “Who knew I was such a good lover?” He laughed as I looked up at him with lazy eyes.

  “I haven’t had sex in over a year,” I muttered with a smile.

  “But we haven’t even had sex yet.” He laughed and kissed me.

  “Oh, yeah.” I laughed and rolled him onto his back.

  It was my turn now. I kissed down his chest, playing with his nipples and licking his abs. His stomach was rock hard, and I wondered how often he worked out. Zane’s body stilled as I reached his shorts and put my hand inside to feel his manhood before I got him naked. I grinned at his moan as my fingers encircled his hard member, and I felt myself getting wet again, imagining him inside of me. He felt long and thick, and he was obviously as horny as I was. I ran my fingers up and down his girth, and he groaned as my finger movement was confined by his shorts.

  “Lucky,” he muttered at me through eyes filled with lust.

  “Did you have another question, Zane?” I grinned at him as my hand stilled on him.

  He pulled me back up the bed roughly before yanking his shorts off and throwing them across the room. He then pushed me down into the bed and rolled over on top of me, his eyes were glazed and I could feel his heart beating fast.

  “You don’t know how badly I want you,” he groaned as he leaned down and kissed me. I felt his hand part my legs and he ran his fingers through my sweet spot, making sure I was still wet.

  “Ooh,” I moaned, unable to say anything else. I put my arms around him and wrapped my legs around him, bringing him closer to me. Our naked bodies were now crushed against each other and I could feel the tip of his cock rubbing against me. I opened my legs wider, urging him to enter me, but instead, he just continued to rub against me, his hands squeezing my breasts as we kissed. I groaned and wiggled underneath him, and he grabbed my arms and held me still.

  “Hold on.” I saw him reach over to his nightstand and grab a condom wrapper. I closed my eyes as he unwrapped
it and put it on.

  “Open your eyes.” His voice commanded me and I looked up to see him staring down at me. “I want to see the expression in your beautiful brown eyes when I enter you and make you come.”

  I gazed up at him and felt him push his way inside of me. He moved slowly at first, and I felt the entire length of him squeeze into me, feelings of lust, pleasure, and delight enveloped me, and I cried out as he filled me up. He grinned as I yelped with pleasure and our eyes remained linked. He continued to hold me down but increased his pace, going faster and faster and deeper and deeper than I had ever known was possible before.

  “Oh, Zane!” I screamed out as he took me to the brink of one of the most intense orgasms I had ever had in my life.

  “Fuck, Lucky, I’m going to come,” he grunted as he slammed into me. He released my arms, and I ran my nails up and down his back and shuddered as I climaxed. Zane collapsed on top of me and kissed my neck. I held him tightly against me and he rolled on to his side, with his arm draped over my waist.

  “You’re so beautiful, Lucky Starr Morgan.” He traced his fingers from my waist back up to my breast and then to my chin.

  “I can’t believe you saw my driver’s license,” I groaned as he said my full name. “That’s so embarrassing.”

  “You have to tell me why your parents named you Lucky.” He smiled at me and leaned in to kiss my lips.

  “I told you at the party, remember?” I laughed and then froze at my mistake. “Or maybe not.”

  “Argh, I’m guessing that was Braydon.” He frowned and his eyes darkened.

  “Yeah.” I bit my lip, hoping I hadn’t ruined the mood. “I hope that—”

  Zane’s lips crushed down on mine and I kissed him back, happily satiated. I giggled as I felt his hands reach in between my legs again. “Zane,” I moaned as he played with me.

  “Lucky.” He laughed and licked my lips, bringing his hand back up and caressing my hair. “Ready for that movie?”

  I nodded, eyes drooping as he pulled me towards him. He rolled over slightly and pushed the covers down and then pulled the sheets back up over us. “Come.” He pulled me into the nook of his arm and I settled next to him, feeling warm and loved. “I thought we could watch a French comedy. It’s an old favorite of mine.”