by Anna Paige
“Just call me Pariah.” She teased. I loved that her spirits were lifting, even if only a little.
“Never. I’ve never actually addressed you by that name and I don’t intend to.”
She rolled her eyes, offering her other arm. “And the other question? How will we know we weren’t followed?”
“Because we’re going across the mountains to get there and there’s only one road out of Denson that leads that way. Clay already has several very large signs in the back of his truck announcing that the road is closed. He’s going to follow us out and place the signs for a minimum of two hours so we are sure no one is able to follow.”
“Is that legal? Can he really do that?” her brows shot up.
I lifted one shoulder. “Beats me. It was his and Spencer’s idea. If they didn’t think they could get away with it, they wouldn’t be doing it.”
Finished with her arms, I sat back and waited for her to get herself into a sitting position. She pulled the thin sheet against her bare chest as she sat up and slid down the bed so I could get to her back. It hadn’t escaped me that she still hadn’t agreed to leave Denson.
I waited in silence while she deliberated, knowing that she’d need to make the decision on her own but confident that we would be following my plan.
After a while, she sighed, leaning marginally into my touch as I smoothed the cool gel onto her tender skin. “Okay. I’ll go.”
“Thank you.” I told her, leaning in to kiss her head.
“When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow morning, if you’re up to it. I don’t want to push you if you need more time to heal.”
She shook her head, several of the crimson strands pulling loose from the clip that held them up and out of the way. I gently lifted them and tucked them back in as best I could with aloe coating my hands.
“I don’t need more time. I’m feeling a lot better already.”
I worked the gel down to her lower back. “Are you sure?”
“Considering that what you’re doing right now is kinda turning me on, I’d say I’m feeling better. Not well enough to actually do anything about it, but better than the shuddering, steaming mess I was yesterday.”
I stilled, hands pressed lightly to the curve of her spine. “Lauren… Um… I’m not really sure what to do with that information.”
“I wasn’t asking you to do anything with the information. It was just me making a statement.” She chuckled. “Sometimes I forget how easy it is to embarrass you.”
“I’m not embarrassed. Not at all. I’m just trying to process the fact that I’ve turned you on somehow and you have no outlet to help relieve the situation.”
She shrugged, still laughing. “I’ll just wait for you to go back downstairs and take care of it, no worries.”
“No fair. I want to watch.” I said, only half-joking.
She started to lay back and I scrambled to get out of her way, barely snagging the aloe bottle before it scraped her skin.
“Ask and you shall receive…” She tossed the sheet aside and parted her legs. “I’m not shy, you know that.”
My mouth went dry at the sight of her. Her skin was still a couple of shades pinker than usual but she seemed to be able to move without too much discomfort. Her recent dose of pain medication may have had something to do with that, though it was fairly mild. Something we’d procured from Miss Fay, it was stronger than ibuprofen but not crazy strong; just enough to make her comfortable.
Her hand trailed lightly over her full breasts, stopping to flick the tip of her hardened nipple ever so slightly.
My mouth watered and I found myself pulling my lip between my teeth, mimicking what I would like to be doing to that tight nipple. “You’re going to hurt yourself.” I forced myself to object. “Your skin is still too tender.”
“I think I can manage.” She pressed her thighs together in that very definitive way that women did when they were turned on. “The aloe has helped most of what the medicine didn’t. The only ache I feel right now is between my legs and I know just how to fix that.” She flicked the other nipple, giving off a little moan.
I nodded; too busy chewing my lip again to form actual words.
Her hand skimmed her abdomen, moving painfully slow. “You want me to touch myself?”
I could only stare, my cock pulsing in my jeans, hardening and pressing against the zipper as her fingertips brushed the top of her bare mound. If I encouraged this, was I an opportunist? I knew damn well she wasn’t ready, no matter what she asserted. And I knew she wasn’t really turned on, she was looking for control again. It was a pattern that I’d spotted early on. She craved it, needed it to balance the helplessness of the situation. If I tried to stop it, she’d think I didn’t want her which was so far from the truth it was laughable. I wanted her. I wanted all of her. In the end, I also knew I would give her what she needed.
Hell, I’d cut my own heart from my chest if she asked.
Because I loved her too much not to.
She held my eye and gave a crooked smile as her fingers dipped lower, parting her labia and sliding over her swollen clit.
My tongue darted out involuntarily, trailing across my lower lip and catching her attention.
She stopped with one finger poised at her entrance, watching me. “What are you thinking?”
I couldn’t tell her the first thing I was thinking—that she was fighting for control again—so I went with the raging undercurrent of thought that I’d been trying to ignore. My voice was thick and gravelly, nearly a growl. “How much I want to eat you right now. How I want to bury my face in you and suck you dry.” And it was true. I wanted to taste her so bad I could barely breathe.
Her finger worked the opening of her pussy, rolling around and around the edge but never delving in. Her ass wiggled against the mattress, as if she were fighting the urge to thrust her hips up and take her finger inside.
“Fuck, Lauren. I want you on my tongue. Let me lick you, baby. I’ll be careful. Just let me taste you.”
She pulled her hand away and narrowed her gaze. “I thought you wanted to watch. Touching isn’t watching.” She glanced down at my tented pants. “Unless, of course, you’re touching yourself while you watch. I think that might be okay.”
I pressed the heel of my palm to my fly, desperate for relief. “I may be able to oblige you there, if that’s what you want. I think I like the idea of you watching my hand running up and down my cock while I think of you”
“While you watch me fucking myself with my fingers and wishing it was your cock.” she added, lazily dragging the tip of her finger up her slit.
I slid higher on the bed, taking a seat near her waist.
She clearly approved of the close proximity, nodding and giving a little wink. “Good idea. If you sit right there, you’ll get an up close view of me and I’ll be able to offer a helping hand… if the mood strikes.”
Our gazes locked and stayed locked as I stood and removed my clothes, littering the floor with the discarded items and moving to sit at the appointed place on the edge of the bed. I tucked my right leg under me and kept my left foot on the floor; clinging to the edge to be sure she had enough room without brushing against my rough skin.
She moved her gaze down the length of my torso, finally taking in the sight of my rigid erection with a sigh. “If only I wasn’t still hurting so much… I’d love to ride that thick, beautiful cock of yours for hours.”
My hand followed her lingering look, gripping hard and stroking up from root to head with slow, ball-tightening concentration. “And I’d love seeing those gorgeous, full breasts bouncing in my face while you did.”
She watched with rapt attention, one finger circling her hardened nipple. “Does that feel good? Are you gripping it hard?”
“Yes.” I ground out between clenched teeth. The sight of her watching me that way should have made me self-conscious, but it didn’t. It made me fucking hot and hard.
“Pump it faster, and
squeeze the tip so I can see the pre-cum beading on it.” She urged.
“Only if you start fucking that dripping wet hole with your hand.” I quirked a brow, challenging her just enough to get her hot, but not enough to make her feel dominated. “Gotta keep things even here.”
She grinned up at me as she plunged two fingers into her pussy, pumping them in time with the movements of my fist. A moan escaped me as I watched her fingers disappearing inside her glistening pink folds, and the site of her watching me stroke myself made me moan again.
“I love the noises you make, Brant. Are they because of what I’m doing or what you’re doing?”
“Both.” I growled. “Add another finger. Fill that pussy up for me, baby.”
She did, arching her back off the bed as she thrust all three fingers deep. “Oh God, Brant. It feels almost as good as your cock.” She settled and looked at my fist as I worked myself, running my palm over the head to collect the pre-cum as lubrication. “Yes, yes. Pump your cock. Imagine you’re pounding into me, fucking me so hard I scream.”
I picked up the pace even more, squeezing, pulling, feeling that tingling at the base of my spine that signaled an impending orgasm. “I’m close. Come with me, baby. Make that pussy shudder around your fingers the way I want it clenching my cock.”
She thrust her fingers hard and fast, making a surprisingly erotic slapping sound as she did. I pumped harder, faster, rocking my hips off the bed and thrusting into my hand at a frantic pace. I could feel the orgasm building, my balls drawing up, my heart pounding in my ears.
“Brant, I’m coming…” her breathless voice calling my name sent me over the edge. Before the first spurt cleared the tip of my dick, Lauren was there, turned on her side, taking my cock in her mouth and pushing my hand away. She took me deep, moaning out her own orgasm as she still worked herself with her other hand and wrapped the free one around my jerking cock.
Fuck!
She licked and sucked and swallowed everything I gave her and even after the last drop was spilled down her pretty throat, she kept right on lapping at my dick, kissing the sensitive head with full, open-mouthed abandon that felt fucking amazing.
Eventually, she leaned back, licking her lips and moaning long and low. “God, I love how you taste. You’re the one who needs to be sucked dry, you know that?”
She removed her fingers from her dripping pussy and I caught her wrist before she could stop me, careful not to squeeze too hard, I lifted her hand to my lips and plunged her fingers into my mouth, sucking each one clean before moving onto the next. I even gave her palm a few licks because it most assuredly had been pressed against her clit while she worked herself over. “Agree to disagree? Because you have the sweetest pussy I’ve ever tasted. And as soon as I know I won’t hurt you, I’m fucking it with my tongue until you come all over my face.”
She quirked a brow. “We’ll see.”
I gave the back of her hand a soft kiss. “You’re damn right we will.”
•••
By that night, Lauren was up and moving around, wearing some of my softest boxer briefs and a thin white t-shirt as she puttered around the house, not able to sit still. She helped me in the kitchen, making snacks for the drive and going through the fridge to get rid of anything that would spoil in our absence.
We watched a little TV but Lauren had a hard time getting comfortable on the couch. Even with her feet propped on the coffee table and her knees bent, the backs of her legs rubbed the fabric and it hurt. It wasn’t the softest upholstery to begin with, so Lauren gave up and went back to pacing.
I arched a brow at her and suggested that what we’d done earlier only exacerbated the problem. She just brushed me off, saying I was full of shit and asserting that even if it had contributed to her surge in discomfort, it hadn’t hurt at the time and was well worth the consequences.
It had been phenomenal, but I still hated to see her hurting.
Truth was, the anxiety was getting to her. She’d been so distracted by her injuries that the reality hadn’t set in until today. She was scared. It didn’t take a genius to see that. The way she paced and constantly looked out the windows, checking locks that she’d already checked ten times.
I couldn’t get her out of Denson fast enough for my liking. If I could, I would have packed her up then and there but I needed to give her at least until the morning. She still hissed when she moved certain ways and sitting for long periods wasn’t exactly pleasant, judging by the pinched expression on her face. The aloe and pain relievers helped but not as much as I would have liked.
If I wasn’t so concerned about her safety, and her frame of mind, I would have waited a few more days. As it was, she was a nervous wreck and Isaac was still out there somewhere, lurking like a goddamned cockroach in the shadows.
Not being able to hold her was fucking killing me. I could see how much she needed a caring touch—and no, not that kind—but I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. It was frustrating as hell. A trivial thing, something that we usually did without thinking… and now it was all I wanted. Just to hug her, hold her against my chest and reassure her.
Fucking hell. The next few days were going to be brutal.
•••
The next morning, I cooked Lauren a quick breakfast and helped her with the aloe—nothing sexual this time as we were both focused on the trip. When that was done, she slipped on some cotton capris and a thin shirt despite the still-tender areas. Thankfully, her legs seemed to have gotten a little better and she assured me that she would be okay to travel.
I loaded her suitcase into the truck, stowing it in the back seat along with my stuff and a smaller bag of hers, but she stopped me when I tried to put the last piece of luggage into the back seat.
“Can I have that one up front with me?” Her voice was low, small-sounding to my ears.
“Baby girl, you can have them all up there if you want.” I motioned for her to climb in and waited for her to get comfortable before handing her the smallish messenger bag she wanted to hang onto. I’d seen her tuck a picture of Teach into it as she was packing her things to come stay at the cabin, so I understood why she wanted it nearby. She could have anything she wanted if it gave her a measure of comfort.
I climbed into the driver’s seat and watched as she struggled with the seatbelt, trying to keep it from pinching her tender skin.
“Hang on.” I held up a finger, reaching into the back seat and rummaging around until I found what I sought. I held it up triumphantly. “Here you go, try this.”
She took the teddy bear from my hand, smiling. “And where did you get this?” She asked as she stuffed it between the seatbelt and her chest.
“Not me. Ali.” I laughed at how cute she looked with the teddy bear head sticking out of the seatbelt like it was riding in her lap. “She said to tell you he’s a guard bear and he’ll help look after you.”
“So she doubts your abilities and decided to call in reinforcements?”
I blew out a sigh, feigning annoyance. “Guess so. Sisters are the worst.”
She rubbed a hand over the bear’s head. “Nah. Yours seem to be pretty awesome.”
I smiled over at her, warmed by the expression on her face. She seemed touched that Ali thought of her. “Yeah, sometimes Ali and Talia are pretty great.” I put the truck in gear and gave the cabin a cursory glance. “You ready for this, gorgeous?”
She nodded, still petting the bear. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
•••
When we were nearing our destination, several hours and a couple hundred miles later, I decided it was time to clue her in. “So, this friend who’s letting us use his house…”
Lauren had been staring out the window for miles, just taking in the scenery. Now, she snapped to attention at the hesitation in my voice. “Yeah?”
“Well…”
“Oh, shit. Is it really some chick? Like an ex-girlfriend or something?” She frowned adorably. “Not that I’d be jealous or an
ything. I mean, we’re just friends so…”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Um… no. Not an ex-girlfriend and if anyone will end up being jealous, my money is on me.”
Her brows scrunched together. “Huh?”
“So, don’t freak out or anything but my friend…”
“Spit it out, Weirdo, before I throw my bear at you!”
“It’s Kade Edenfield.”
She froze, mouth agape and brows suddenly shooting up in a hilariously cartoonish way. I hated turning my attention back to the road but kind of had to if I wanted to keep the truck between the ditches.
“Bullshit!” she gasped, and I saw her hand fly to her mouth. “You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”
“Nope. Kade is a friend and his place is the safest I could think of, so I called him.” I risked a glance in her direction and was greeted with narrowed, suspicious blue eyes.
“You just picked up the phone and called Kade Edenfield?” Her tone was incredulous.
“Yeah. I debated using a carrier pigeon but decided the phone was faster,” I teased.
Not a good idea.
Her voice was deadly when she said, “Don’t joke right now. I’m pretty sure you’re fucking with me and teasing me only adds insult to injury.”
I raised my right hand. “I swear, Lauren. I’m not fucking with you. I waited to tell you so you wouldn’t be freaked out but I couldn’t very well wait until he opened the door to spring it on you, now could I? I waited until we were close but not so close that you wouldn’t have time to process the information.”
“Kade. Fucking. Edenfield?” Her voice was thin, squeaky.
“You’re not going to go all fangirl and try to hump his leg, are you? Because that could get really uncomfortable.”
She cocked a brow, grinning so wide I could see every tooth in her mouth. “For who?”
“Me.” I gave her a look. “I’m sure he’s used to it but I’m not.”
She opened her mouth, I could see the witty comeback flashing in her eyes, and then she just stopped. Her mouth snapped shut and before I knew it, her hand shot out and she pinched the shit out of my bicep.