by Ashley Logan
“Maybe not with you,” I counter, trying to get my incessant need to know everything under control. Why am I even pushing?
“Vi didn’t know either,” he says, keeping his face blank and his tone neutral. Always calm under pressure.
“Vi didn’t know what?” I ask angrily, unable to keep myself from taking his bait.
“Who’s Kenny?” he says quietly, as if maybe wishing he hadn’t said it.
I glare at him. His face tightens with concern, but his eyes get wider in response to mine. If I could set him on fire with my eyes right now, I would. Ripping the blanket from around me, I storm straight out, slamming first his door and then mine behind me.
I pace the Bruno-shaped section of my floor, clenching my fists and kicking things away until there is no more Bruno, just a bare rug and all my stuff heaped against the walls.
“Scar?” he says quietly outside the door.
“Go away!”
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I knew it would upset you.”
I yank the door open, but it only goes so far, because of the bank of clothes behind it. “How do you know?”
“You tried to thump me in the middle of the night when you were dreaming. You called me Kenny.”
“Don’t you ever say that name to me again,” I warn, shutting the door in his face.
Curling up on my bed, I hug my pillow.
“Scarlett?”
“Just leave me alone!” I yell, hating him for destabilizing me with everything he’s doing. “Stay away from me!” I add, before the tears start. My voice drops to a whisper. “I want to be alone,” I repeat over and over, knowing I’m trying to convince myself now.
Stripping off my t-shirt, I stand in front of the mirror in my cotton panties, confronting myself. Mine is the scarred body of someone who invested too much in a man. Never again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BRUNO
Sitting outside Scar’s door, I regret my idiotic attempt to ward off her interrogation. When I mentioned Kenny, she looked ready to kill me. The fact that she didn’t actually attack me is the most unsettling part of the whole interaction. Normally she’d at least kick me in the shins, or slap me upside the head if I pissed her off, but this is so much worse. There is a quiet whimpering sound coming from her room and I feel like she might be beating herself up on the other side of the door, though I can’t imagine why.
Leaning my forehead against her door, I take a deep breath. “Scar, I’m sorry. I won’t ask about it, but I need to know you’re alright,” I say, keeping my voice as gentle as possible for fear my words will push her further from me. “Please open the door.”
There is a scuffling sound, followed by a loud sniff, an angry grunt and Scarlett blowing her nose. The door opens wide and Scarlett stares up at me, her green eyes rimmed in red.
“I’m not alright, Bruno. See?” she says, gesturing to herself. Fearing the worst, my gaze travels from her eyes, to her bared, perfect breasts, black panties and her long legs that would feel great wrapped around my waist. My eyes return to hers, not understanding.
“What are you talking about? You’re perfect.”
She laughs, but it’s cold and empty. “And you’re crazy. You can go now,” she says, nodding towards my door before starting to close hers.
Angry that she can’t see what I see, I stop her door from closing with my foot. Folding my arms, I stay right where I am and make no secret of my approval as my eyes take a long, slow tour of her body again. The thought of running my hands over every inch of her has my arms folding more tightly to keep them restrained.
Scarlett looks taken aback, but soon recovers herself. Crossing her own arms over her breasts, she stands her ground. “Get your foot out of my door before I make you.”
There’s the Scarlett I know and love.
“I can’t.”
She shakes her head and shoves me in the chest. “You can’t? That’s all you ever say!” she says, balling her fists. “I hate that you say and do things that make me melt and then make up shitty non-excuses why you can’t go further, hiding behind your walls of secrets. I don’t know why you’re making me feel these things for you and then shutting me down, but I’m not a toy and I won’t be played with,” she rages, prodding my chest with those damning fingers again.
Every time her fingers jab at me, my insides warm. Scarlett Warner is no pushover. She is a woman of strength, but sometimes lacks recognition of her true greatness. When I see her defending herself with such intensity, I know she feels it, even if she doesn’t realize what it is. The spark in her eyes is back as she unleashes her wrath upon me. Her near nakedness long forgotten, she is transformed into the beautiful, wild creature that only seems to reveal herself at the gym or on stage.
“Don’t you smile at me like this is some kind of flirting game we’re playing!” she cries, making me focus on her words again. “I have walls too! And they’re too thick for you to dent with your false compliments and steamy kisses, so leave me alone. Just go away!”
My smile drops instantly and I fend off her fist before it can hit my shoulder. “My compliments aren’t false.”
She falters for a moment, before covering her breasts with one arm and some of her scars with the other, again hiding herself from the truth. “I said go.” Her voice has lost all its force. The phoenix has gone, replaced by the girl who hates her shell. “Just go.”
“I don’t want to.” My voice is husky and filled with hunger. At the sound of it, Scarlett’s arms drop from her breasts and she holds the door frame to steady herself, as if the idea of me wanting to be around her has thrown her off balance.
For a moment she just looks at me, her eyes searching mine. I look back, admiring her flushed cheeks and the shoulder length locks that have worked themselves loose from her ponytail during her rant and now frame her beautiful face. Her lips part slightly as her eyes become darker and I wonder if she is feeling the same pulsing heat that I can feel between us.
Once strong, she now seems so vulnerable.
“What do you want?” she asks with a trembling voice.
“You.”
Closing the gap between us, I wrap an arm around her, lifting her into her room and kicking the door closed. Spinning around, I press her against it with my hips and kiss her. Hard.
My lips become sweet and tangy as her lip balm becomes mine. I need more. Teasing the seam of her lips with my tongue, I ask for permission. Scarlett opens, welcoming me in with gentle strokes and a soft moan that makes my blood thrum. My hands weave into her hair, tugging lightly to tilt her face closer to mine.
A growl rumbles through my chest as she wraps her legs around me. My hands that have drawn and painted her curves, skim them now with the frantic realization of long lived desire. My touch becomes lighter as the texture beneath my fingers changes and Scarlett shivers against me, her mouth breaking from mine with a sigh.
“Bruno?”
“Mmm?” I ask, kissing along her jaw and down her neck, anxious for more as my fingers continue to stroke her sides. She’s so responsive, it’s unbelievable. With every trail my fingers trace, her body shudders in pleasure and her hips rock against me.
“What are we doing?” she whispers as her hands twist into the fabric of my hoodie, pulling me closer.
“You’re going to let me show you how beautiful you are,” I say, my hands grabbing her ass and holding her to me as I take her to her bed. Lowering her down, I stand back to remove my sweatshirt. When I look back down at her, she’s covering herself with her hands as she watches me, her teeth biting into her lower lip.
Sitting next to her, I shake my head and move her hands to my lips, kissing them before pinning them over her head. “Please don’t hide from me. I want to see all of you,” I whisper, lowering my mouth to her skin before she can argue. She gasps as I take one nipple into my mouth, rolling my tongue over it before nipping it between my teeth. Her back arches off the bed as she whimpers and I
smile against her skin.
“I’ve been wanting to make you moan for too long, Scar. I didn’t know if it was a good idea to let you know it, but right now, I don’t care. I don’t care about anything but making you cry out for more.”
My lips seek hers and she answers with an eager body. Running my fingertips over her sensitive scars, I travel back to her full, pristine breasts and circle her nipples, marveling at the differences in her skin, and loving both.
Leaving her sweet mouth, I taste her chin, her neck, and between her breasts. Each is more than a handful, even for my big hands, and I cup them, bringing them in to crowd my face as I kiss her chest. Breathing her in, I groan and take out my frenzied lust on one nipple as I work the other between my fingers.
The noises she makes drive me wild and I increase the intensity until her feet start pawing the bed beneath her, seeking traction as her hips buck into me. Her hands are already running over my hair and shoulders, trying to find something to hold on to. Releasing her nipples, I calm her body with soothing hands and return to her mouth. Keeping my lips on hers, I take my directions from every breath, gasp and movement as my fingers travel lower.
Tracing the edge of her panties, I run my hand over the top, so she knows what’s coming. Her hips rise to meet me and her mouth opens to me more. I run my fingers down the damp material between her legs before I slip my hand inside. I moan into her mouth when I find her hot, and wet, and completely bare apart from a thin strip of soft hair on her mound. Scarlett swallows my moan and emits one of her own as her hips rock toward the light pressure I’m supplying to her clit. I increase it and she breathes a needy sigh against my lips. I’m delighted to find my dick straining against her side, hard at the thought of burying himself between her thighs, but I don’t trust him for a second and focus on Scarlett squirming impatiently under my touch as she breathes my name again. I don’t answer with words.
Nuzzling against her, I can’t help but rumble my approval at the scent of her skin. I take her nipple into my mouth again, suckling harder as I rub my thumb in heavier circles over her sensitive bundle of nerves. Her thighs squeeze around my hand, locking me in as she winds tighter.
“Too soon,” she cries as she fights against her release. “I don’t want to come yet!”
“What are you waiting for?” I ask, tugging her ear with my teeth. “The sooner you let go, the sooner I’ll make you come again,” I promise, slipping a finger inside her fiery depths for the first time.
With that, Scarlett crumbles. Crying out, her body convulses against me as she grips the finger inside her in ecstasy. Holding her fast as she rides her orgasm, I take in everything from her toes to her gorgeously distracted face; the flutter of her lashes against her flushed cheeks, the curl of her lips and the lift of her brows. The rise of her chest with each desperate breath brings her nipples tantalizingly closer and I can’t help myself. Licking one, I blow cool air across it and am rewarded with another whimper as she clamps around my finger again in a series of small aftershocks.
“I love the way your toes curl and your legs hug my hand as if you never want it to leave,” I whisper, stroking her breast with the tip of my nose. “I want to be in between those legs next time you cry out like that.”
“I want you there,” she replies, her hands running down my body, seeking. I stiffen, knowing my unreliable dick’s initial attempt at an erection has shrunk to a semi.
“You okay?” she asks, before reaching the waistband of my boxers.
“Yeah. Course,” I say, collecting her hands in mine and pressing them to my mouth before she gets majorly disappointed. “I was just talking about something different to you, I think.”
Scarlett’s green eyes look up at me in confusion, making me smile. I run my tongue suggestively through the gap between her hands and she gasps, her rosy cheeks becoming even pinker.
“But-”
“But nothing,” I say, my eyes feasting on her as I press the shining finger that’s been inside her to my lips. Her expression is shocked and then mortified as I suck her wetness from it. Covering her face, she hides from anything else I might do and I wonder why she’s so nervous.
“You taste good, Scar. Hasn’t anyone tasted you before?”
Keeping her face hidden, she shakes her head.
“What?! Those greedy... You deserve better, Scar.” Pulling off her panties in one motion, I smile at the sight of the dark blond strip that leads to her shiny, pink folds.
Scarlett crosses her legs, hiding again. Running my hands up and down her tense thighs, I spin her around so her legs fall over the edge of the bed. Climbing on top of her, I nudge my way under her arms and plant kisses on her cheek as I whisper in her ear.
“I won’t rush you, Scarlett. You can let me in when you’re ready.” Her body relaxes a little beneath me and I circle the shell of her ear with my nose as I plant sweet kisses against her skin. She shivers beneath me as her body reignites. I kindle the flame, kissing down her neck and nuzzling into her breasts. Wanting to feel their full weight against my face, I pull Scarlett up to sitting.
Dazed, she sits on the edge of the bed as I kneel before her. As a consequence, her legs open to stabilize herself and I lean between them, kneading her breasts with my hands as I bed into them with my face. Scarlett’s arms wrap around my neck and she pulls herself hard against me, almost smothering me with her tits. I would happily die from it and I sigh into them as my hands run over her back.
Arching under my hands, Scarlett thrusts her sex against my chest with a delicious low moan. Spurred on, I draw one nipple into firm suction as I clamp down on the other with finger and thumb. Again she grinds against me, but finds no traction for the pressure she’s seeking. She’s made my chest slick with her juices and I love it. I don’t want to wait any longer.
Scooping my arms under her knees, I lift her legs over my shoulders and bury my face in her heat, sucking her clit into my mouth. She cries out and her hands grip the bedsheets as my tongue runs the length of her slit, darting into her sweet depths. Unable to contain my enjoyment as her thighs grip me and pull me in closer, I grab her ass and help her, wishing my tongue was longer. I return my attention to her clit and she involuntarily rubs into me as it swells with her arousal. I groan and the vibration sends her backwards. Still gripping the sheets, she can no longer keep herself upright.
Coating my fingers in her juices, I slide one, then two fingers inside her. She slams against them as if she’s been waiting for them forever and can’t get enough. Her thighs are so tight around my head I can barely move and I can feel her tightening around my fingers. Flicking her clit with my tongue, I look up her body, watching as she bites her lip and unravels.
Stunning.
As she starts to ease, her clenched fists begin to relax their hold on the sheets, but grip it again as I pump my fingers into her, hitting her just right. Blasting a hot breath over her clit, I suck it into my mouth. She builds again quickly, leaving me humming in satisfaction as she crests again. Calling out my name, she falls to pieces in my arms.
She lies trembling as I tenderly kiss her gorgeous snatch, before crawling up her body, kissing every perfect imperfection along the way.
“I have been dreaming of that for quite some time, but never once did it live up to the reality,” I say between kisses as I work my way to her face. “I think you are the most responsive and stunning creature I’ve ever been privileged enough to kiss,”
“You’re a very good kisser,” she says breathlessly, laughing a little as I curl myself around her, pressing my lips to her soft hair before leaning my forehead against it. She snuggles in closer to my body and sighs with what I hope is contentment.
We lie in silence as our breathing slowly returns to normal, and I begin to get nervous about the consequences of my actions.
“Bruno?”
I tense at her tone. She’s going to want answers and I won’t know how to respond. “Yeah?”
She doesn’t say anything. Kissi
ng her head, I relax again.
“You kiss me as if you love me,” she whispers, as if scared it might be true.
“Yeah,” I whisper back, sighing internally. “But I know you don’t want it, so don’t worry about it.”
Scarlett stiffens. Turning her face to mine, she stares at me. I smile sadly and kiss her nose. “It’s okay Scar.”
“Okay?” she says, her eyes searching mine for answers only she has. “Is that why you won’t let me reciprocate?” she asks, her hand suddenly on my dick, giving me cause for alarm.
She frowns, a whole new set of worries becoming apparent on her face. Jumping up, she straddles me in all her naked glory. “Why are you doing and saying these things, if I don’t even turn you on?” she demands, panic in her eyes as she looks down at herself. Leaping off me, she grabs her robe, pulling it on to cover herself.
Raising my hands in protest, I wince, knowing what I had intended her to feel about herself has now swung to the opposite pole. “Scarlett, please. You turn me on in ways I can’t even describe.”
“Liar!” She ties her robe tightly and holds it closed at the top to keep as much of herself hidden as she can. Tears roll down her cheeks and she brushes them aside as she focuses her glare on me.
Reaching for her, my guts twist as she recoils from my hand. “Don’t cry, Scar. I love you, I don’t want you to hurt because of a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?” she says, looking at me with disgust. “Did I misunderstand that you made me vulnerable and then abandoned me?”
Where did that come from?
“I’m right here. I didn’t abandon you!”
“Oh?” she says, picking up a shoe and firing it at my head, narrowly missing. “What would you call making someone believe you enough to expose their vulnerabilities and then revealing that you held no such interest in them? It’s a scam. What do you gain?”
“Nothing. I just wanted you to know how beautiful you are!”