Vibe

by Liza James

  Not with Aura right here in front of my face, she's my true addiction.

  "Wait," Aura's quiet voice speaks through the loud music in surprising confidence. "I want some."

  I look to her, raising my eyebrows in disbelief when I take the joint and hold it out to her. She fucking deserves a little relaxation as well. But she shakes her head, refusing to take it while she lifts a hand and wraps it around the back of my neck. Skilla is still standing here, still watching our exchange and all I want is for her to leave us the fuck alone.

  "Not like that," she whispers. "I want it from you."

  "Aura," I admonish, deliberately avoiding what I think she's actually asking of me.

  "Are you scared?" She taunts me in the one way she knows will get her what she fucking wants. Because I'm too stubborn to back down from a challenge.

  She's riding my nerves right now. Treading a thin line I shouldn't cross but fuck, I'm tempted too. I fucking want too. But I don't have to kiss her, I don't have to take it that far. I lean forward, lifting the lit joint and deliberately bringing it closer to her jaw line. I glance up and catch her eyes as they watch the movement, her face shifts away from the lit end only slightly. But that sick and twisted side of me shakes loose, the parts of me that love watching pleasure through pain.

  I want to hurt her, burn her flesh before making it better. "You want me to give it to you, Vibe Girl?"

  "Yes," she answers immediately. So fucking confident in what she thinks she wants.

  "Then I'll take something for myself first. Can you handle that?" I ask quietly, my eyes training in on the soft curve that sets at the back of her jaw.

  She pauses though, clearly unsure of what to say and I almost laugh. She isn't ready for this, isn't ready for the dark shit I actually enjoy. I move to step away from her, but I'm completely thrown off when her hand launches forward and grips my wrist tightly. She yanks my hand forward, the one holding the joint and presses it to her neck.

  Holy fuck. It's hot. The way she took control of it herself, giving me what she knew I wanted to fucking see.

  The tip blazes against her skin for a quick second before I pull it back. Her lips pull into a tight line while she hisses through the pain. Her chest rises as she breathes, her tits brushing against my own and making my nipples fucking hard. My heart thunders erratically, thrashing against my chest as my pussy becomes slick at the sight of her.

  "Fuck," I say quietly as I put the joint in my mouth and use my hand to twist her head to the side, examining the burn mark left on her creamy skin. It's red and discolored, clearly painful from the way her flesh is marked. "That's hot."

  I fucking love it. She's branded by me, in my fucking name and my dark desires.

  I lean forward and pull the joint from my mouth. The need is too fucking strong, too tempting while she's literally right in front of me. I let my tongue slip through my lips, coasting across her neck while I taste her wounded flesh. God, she's perfect. Every flavor of her bursts through me as if it's exactly what I've been hungry for.

  Starving for her.

  I hear her gasp of air and I feel her body relax in my hold. She melts into me and against the wall, her hand sliding up and around my neck while I continue kissing across her jaw.

  "Hurry the fuck up and let me take my goddamn joint," Skilla's annoyingly high voice pierces my ears and pulls me back from the haze I was slipping into. I lean back, intending on keeping my end of the bargain when I lift the joint back to my lips and inhale, careful not to release the breath until Aura's eyes drop to my lips and her mouth falls open.

  I pass the joint back to Skilla and shove her shoulder so that it's clear she needs to get the fuck away from us. I'm a bitch, I don't care. She's been hovering too long as it is.

  Leaning forward again, I let my fingers tangle in the strands of Aura's dark hair at the back of her head before I quickly grip her in a tight hold and pull her back slightly. I angle her mouth to align perfectly with my own, slowly inching forward until my lips barely brush against hers. Hardly at all, only the perfect tease of my very own drug, my personalized obsession.

  My other hand shifts to her ribcage as I splay my fingers across her waist. My palm slides upwards, my hand spread wide as I tightly grip her body and pull her against my own. I roll my body against hers while I release my breath, blowing the smoke directly into her mouth while she inhales.

  She takes it, with her eyes fixed on me and that newfound confidence shattering every preconceived idea I had of her. She's stronger than I first realized, even more powerful than I initially thought.

  "Get your asses over here and play fucking truth or dare with us," K's voice shouts out from behind me and catches our attention. We both look her way and realize she's standing at one of the lounge areas surrounded by several other dancers from the club and other unfamiliar faces.

  I step back, removing myself from the trance I seem to constantly fall into with Aura, and pull her with me. We both need some air, and distraction before things go too far and we can't take it back.

  But it's only when I turn around and we approach the group that I quickly notice Bethie and Hawk amongst the bodies playing Truth or Dare.

  She's too fucking much for me. Even when I know she wants my pain, my submission to her desires. It's when I'm slipping into her energy that I suddenly realize how badly I want to drown in it.

  I want the pain she inflicts, because it makes the pleasure so much sweeter.

  We walk towards the group and K steps towards us, wrapping her arms around Ruby and then tilting her head to the side to wink at me. Ruby keeps her hand laced through mine, pulling me alongside her until I realize both Hawk and Bethie are nestled together on one side of the couch.

  I halt for a moment, simply thrown off by the fact that they look so close. However, Bethie's entire body is tense with anger. I've known her long enough to recognize the harsh set to her jaw and stiff shoulders that refuse to relax. Her eyes dart around the room, her arms flinch while she jumps at different noises sounding around her. That's when I remember that she'd taken a pill earlier. The LSD that was offered to Hawk.

  His eyes are on me while his hand rests on Bethie's shoulder. He looks far too calm to be high on anything. He plans on driving home and has never been one to drink or take anything while he needs to stay sober.

  Bethie is definitely high however, her eyes are vacant, but I know she's aware. There's just something a little more off than I usually see with her. Part of me wants to make sure she's okay, but the other part of me senses Hawk's need to control the situation.

  Ruby takes a seat on the couch opposite them and pulls me down next to her. Everyone else sits and gets comfortable in the small space. Another girl rests on the other side of Hawk, she's chatting him up while he becomes falsely engrossed in conversation with her. He’s paying far too close attention to his surroundings to get distracted by a pretty girl. Bethie's eyes slowly trail across the room until they land on me, narrowing slightly before shifting quickly to the next person.

  "Truth or Dare, Calypso," K asks, her eyes directed to one of the dancers I've never met before. This girl’s hair is in long, tangled waves that twist into a messy braid. It falls down over her shoulder and lays against her upper arm. Countless colorful flowers adorn her head and for a moment, I'm lost in the sight of them. Wildflowers. A beautiful array of fragile memories.

  "Truth," she says innocently, but the way her lips twist into a smirk has me thinking she's anything but. She pulls her knees up to her chest as her eyes focus on K. Her hands play in the strands of her own braids. Her skin is covered in pink paint. Only pink, but the glitter that decorates her clothes creates a contrast that's captivating. She's practically a fairy sitting in the darkness. A beam of light that dances with the devil.

  "Are you into men or women?" K asks, leaning back against the couch and crossing her ankle over her knee.

  "Both?" she replies as a coy smile spreads across her face.

  "But do you
have a favorite?" K pushes, shifting so that she's leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

  The girl laughs, throwing her head back before meeting K's gaze once again. "Why don't you come over here and I'll show you exactly what I prefer?"

  "You're a fucking tease," K replies, but I don't miss the strange edge to her voice as she says it.

  "Why? Because I've never slept with you?"

  "You wouldn't be able to handle the way I'd fuck you anyway."

  "Truth or Dare," Calypso asks, directing her question towards K. The tension between them is escalating and I'm not sure whether it's sexual or anger-based frustration. But even as I listen to them, as I feel the shift in atmosphere, my body is slipping into it's own euphoric high. Everyone is passing the joint around, and I pause when it lands on me so that I can take another hit. I want this now, this fucking escape while I'm sitting next to Ruby. The most I can have with her is her fingers tangled through my own and while it isn't nearly enough, I'll take what I can fucking get right now.

  "Truth," K answers with a challenging bite to her tone.

  "Are you obsessed with the idea of fucking me? Or watching me get fucked by someone else? Because I'd gladly entertain the second." Calypso sits back on her ass, letting her legs fall wide open and flashing us all a view. She's wearing tiny, thin bikini bottoms—pink as well—and ones that don't hide much when she spreads her legs. K's eyes drop momentarily before rising again. This time however, a scowl sits on her lips and her eyes darken into something dangerous.

  "Fuck you, Lyp."

  "Never." She snaps her legs shut and stands up without another word. Turning on her heel and walking away, she flips her braid over her shoulder so that it falls in one long, thick cord down the center of her paint splattered back.

  "My turn," Bethie's voice chirps out through the room and my eyes snap to her. My heart rate spikes, hammering in my chest while I anticipate what she's thinking. Her eyes dart around the room, as if she's trying to pick her target. But I'm surprised when I see them fall to Hawk and stay there. She shifts her body so that she's facing him, and I watch as his eyes narrow in suspicion of what she's about to do.

  What the hell would she dare him? But the thought still worries me, I don't want it to include Hawk and any of us. I don't want any of these people getting involved with him. His entire persona has struck a new chord with me, it's slowly unraveled the tightly knitted perspective that I held so dearly. The facade of a pleasantly ordinary life.

  Complacency should never be the standard. I refuse to settle on mediocrity.

  "I dare Aura to kiss Ruby." Bethie's eyes stay focused on Hawk’s. But his widen into an abyss of rage. His entire body stiffens at her words, his hands clench tightly at his thighs before he lifts one to tightly grip Bethie's shoulder. She hardly reacts though, even while I can see his fingers pressing into her bare flesh. It has to be the drugs, allowing her to somehow ignore the physical pain he may be inflicting.

  "No," I say immediately. Because I'm not fucking doing it. Not like this, not in front of all of these people. Ruby's fingers tighten around my own briefly before she releases my hand all together.

  "Yes, you have to. It's a dare," Bethie replies in a strangely calm tenor. "Hawk won't mind, will you?"

  "I don't care if Hawk minds or not, it's my fucking decision and I don't want to," I grind the words out while Hawk's jaw visibly ticks as he watches Bethie. Something is going on there, something deliberately awful.

  "Get your fucking ass over here," Ruby's dark voice resonates next to me. She leans against the couch and drapes her arms over the back.

  "What? No," I repeat myself, straightening my spine while my eyes implore hers. But her gaze has darkened, it's tempting and commanding in way that lingers in my bones.

  "Shut the fuck up and come here." This time, it's an order. Her dominant nature taking control and calling to my surrender. Her words have arousal bursting in my core, my panties already wet by the simple command. I falter, unsure of whether to give in or maintain my indifference.

  But she's quick and her back arm shoots forward until she's wrapped her fingers tightly around my throat and drags me forward. It's fucking aggressive, in a way that has me wishing I could rub my thighs together and douse some of the heated ache. The sting in my neck from the burn stings anew all over again, but it only adds to every sensation wracking through my body.

  I have no choice but to throw my leg across hers so that I'm straddling her. Her back is still pressed against the couch, everything in her body feels relaxed aside from the hold she keeps on me.

  God, she feels fucking good. I don't know what it is, but her touch and her voice, mixed with the high I'm already riding makes this nearly impossible to keep fighting. I can't keep doing it. Her legs are open beneath mine, forcing my own stance even farther apart across her lap. I raise up on my knees slightly, but even the mildest friction has me needy for more.

  I subtly arch my back as she controls the space between us by my neck. She pulls me forward, our lips only inches apart as I roll my body against hers. "Fuck," I whisper as I lose myself to the arousal whipping through my body. My desire for her is all consuming. It's an entirely new high, a new wave of adrenaline as I anticipate finally having her lips against my own. "I didn't want it to happen like this."

  My breaths pick up speed, rapidly falling in and out of my mouth while my breasts brush against hers. My nipples are hard. Pebbled peaks that graze her own in an awful fucking distraction. My eyes fall to the action and I lean forward again, watching our tits as I grind against her body. Shit, I forgot hers are pierced, and I can see the little barbells strain against the tight fabric of her top along with her hard nipples.

  I want to taste them, savor her skin and her flesh. Slide my tongue along her own pussy while she comes against my face.

  For a moment, I can't even believe I have that thought. But then I remind myself of who I am now, how independent I've become, the identity I'm not fucking ashamed of. And then I let those thoughts run rampant. I let the idea of fucking Ruby course through my mind and fill my vision.

  Suddenly, she shifts one of her legs so that it rests between mine. She's giving me something to get off on, something to fuck in front of everyone else. She grips my jaw with both hands and twists my face to the side so that she can speak against my ear. She releases one hand as it falls to my ass, gripping it tightly and dragging my pussy forward so that I grind against her thigh.

  "Do it," she whispers. Her tongue slides out and trails along the shell of my ear. "Fuck me right here, in front of everyone. I want all of them to see you come because of me."

  "Give me your name," I ask for it again, because I need it. I want that piece of her.

  "No," she says firmly, and her hand pulls back to smack against my ass. I groan out in both pain and pleasure, surprised that she would do that while we’re in front of everyone. I slide forward again, relishing in the friction against my pussy, the way my body is on fire at her touch.

  She grips the back of my neck and pulls my face to hers again, her lips barely brush against my own but it's enough to draw my tongue out and trailing across her lower lip. This time, she's the one letting the quietest moan slip out of her mouth. One only I can hear, but fuck, it's indescribable. I'm high on so many things, my body sensitive to every touch, every sound, every subtle movement and the wetness that coats my thighs.

  "I'm afraid of doing this with you," Ruby's quiet voice breathes against my skin. Her words run across my tongue and flow through my blood as a confession.

  Something I would have never expected to hear from her.

  My eyes narrow in confusion as I pull back just slightly. But she keeps her hold firm as she drags me close again, refusing to let me out of this moment with her. "Why?" I ask quietly, wishing we were fucking alone and away from this party.

  "Because," she starts, but pauses before continuing. Her voice drops even lower, barely audible to even myself while I'm this close. "I
think I'd lose myself to you. Get lost in every ounce of your energy. I want to devour you as much as I know you'd consume me."

  Her eyes rise to meet mine as she watches my reaction. Hearing her words, her truth, is what destroys me. Because I want it too, and I'm afraid as well. But I can't get enough of her, I don't think I'll ever get enough.

  I lose the fight, letting go completely as I dive forward and take her mouth with my own. My hands slip into her hair and my fingers tighten around the strands. Her hands crash around my face, holding me still by my jaw while her tongue slips out and traces the seam of my lips. She forces me open, slipping inside while she explores me. I can't help it, I fucking moan against her mouth and she swallows every sound I make.

  Her taste is magnetic. It's a drug all on it's own and it was designed specifically for me. Cherries and fucking chocolate, a sweet and bitter blend of my own temptation. She's hot and cold, delicious and destructive. Everything I could ever want and it's everything I was taught was wrong.

  Her leg shifts up so that I'm pushed even harder against her chest, trapped between her thigh and against her frame. I roll forward again, letting all the desire, all of the need work through me and out of my limbs. I want to drown in this—in her.

  She's quick to take control over our kiss, her mouth clashing against mine as we become desperate for each other. Her hand grips my hip again as she forces me to move, to continue getting off on her touch and her body.

  "I dared you to kiss her, not fuck her while we all watch," Bethie's voice shouts out from beside me. It shakes with obvious anger while I pull away from Ruby. I force my heart to still, my breaths to slow down as I turn to face her. Hawk is something different, something disturbingly calm and collected as he sits next to Bethie. His hands rest on his thighs and his breaths are paced evenly. It's as if he isn't affected in the slightest by what I did, and I know for a fact that can't be true.