by Amanda Wylde
Just hearing him say that P word had scandalized me as much as it turned me on. His offer to stay and indulge his craving felt like a test. It's like he knows all too well his speaking to me like that, leering at me so sinfully, gets the ache between my legs going.
I almost hadn't turned to look at him flicking his tongue because I'd been afraid he might see through my resistance to him—know that I've been fantasizing about the things he would do to me if I let him. This sixteen-year-old!
His age is what I arm myself with when I argue with my dad that he is harmless and that I can more than handle him. What a joke. My dad, who obviously knows better, argued right back that Travis is not your typical sixteen-year-old. Boy did he nail that one.
I check on the boys in their room. Trevor is asleep and Trace is still playing video games. It's not that late yet, not even nine, but by the look of his sleepy eyelids, I'm pretty sure he'll be out soon too. I walk out the hallway and slow as I pass Travis's bedroom. I've only ever looked in from the hallway but have never actually been in it. Do I dare?
I glance around and then duck my head in. Like all the other times I've peeked in, I'm surprised it's so neat. As foul-mouthed and as much trouble as Travis has always been into, I expect his room to be just as messy as his life seems to be. For the first time ever, I take a few more steps in his room and glance around. To my surprise, there are a couple of books on his nightstand. There are book marks in several pages of the books, so he's obviously reading them—labeling them—and oddly this excites me. I walk over to get a closer look at what he's reading. I'm expecting some kind of porn or even explosive-making manuals.
"Moby Dick?" I whisper when I'm close enough to see the title. I tilt my head to see the spine on the one underneath. "A Farewell to Arms."
He's into classics. I would've never—
"Looking for something?"
I nearly jump out of my skin at the sound of Travis's voice. "I was just—"
"Snooping?" he says with an evil smirk.
While I'm glad he doesn't look mad, my face is on fire because he's absolutely right. I shake my head but have no answer for him, and I'm mortified. If I could run out, I would, but I can't because he takes a few steps closer to me and I'm frozen. I shiver when he gets so close I can feel the warmth of his body against mine. His warm breath near my face makes my trembling even more uncontrollable as he leans in and whispers in my ear. "I can smell your cherry."
His lips kiss my temple, and my entire body is on fire from just that. "Your skin is so soft, Cherry."
My body is one giant goose bump, and I'm incapable of moving or speaking as my breathing and heart rate accelerate. "My brothers are asleep," he whispers in my ear again, reducing me to a puddle once again. "I just came here to grab another joint, but I'd love nothing more than to kiss you."
Why am I not moving? Why am I barely able to breathe? And why does just the thought of him kissing me make me ache with anticipation? "Well"—his warm breath resonates off my neck as he chuckles against it— "that and to lick your sweet pussy. I promise you I'll stop there, but you'll love it. That's not a promise. That's a guarantee."
I'm scandalized again by the word, but I close my eyes, unable to say what I should. No way. My heart pounds because I can already tell he knows I'm considering something that should be so offensive, so scandalous. He knows it because he kisses my neck and I let him as a whimper escapes me. Not only am I allowing this, I'm enjoying it. So much.
He rushes away and closes his door then locks it. I'm still glued to the spot, my body still quivering from his kisses, and he's back in an instant, kissing my mouth now as it's never been kissed. My insides are going wild. My legs have lost all strength, and my mind is completely blown away by the skill of Travis's tongue—his touch. My father was absolutely right about him. This is no boy.
"We don't have a lot a time, and I'm dying to taste you down there," he says as he tugs my hand toward his bed.
My mind is screaming that at some point I have to say no. Say something. I haven't said a word since he first whispered in my ear. But I can't think of a single thing to say except
"Don't hurt me."
He freezes then stares in my eyes with those piercing eyes even as he starts to pull my shorts down my hips. "Never," he says with such conviction I believe him unequivocally.
It's only then that I realize Travis has a sort of spell on me. Does he know it? Has he always known it? I do everything he says to me as I'm told. "Lie back. Spread your legs. Relax. Enjoy this, Remi. I sure as shit will."
He rubs my quivering thigh as his face lowers in between my legs, but I don't feel anything. "Damn, you smell as hot as I thought you would, and it's as beautiful as I've always known it would be." It's like a bolt of lightning when I feel his tongue against my clit. "So fucking sweet," he says, soothing my trembling legs with his big hand. "Just relax," he says as my back arches involuntarily, and my body begins to tremble uncontrollably as he flicks and strokes my very private never-before-touched-by-anyone-but-me spot. Even I've never known how to touch it so if feels this good.
I start to moan and breathe heavily; my body squirms as I feel the climax building. Travis's hand comes over my mouth. "Bite on it if you have to. This gets better."
Again I do as I'm told and try but fail to keep my moaning to a minimum even as I bite down on his hand. My legs buck, locking and quivering against his head as I come and he continues to suck. Oh my God, that's the best feeling in the world. The best thing I've ever experienced and I can hardly stand it. If he had a spell on me before, I'll be completely addicted to him now.
He licks me a few more times before having mercy on me and stops touching that still sensitive clit. "Damn, you taste good, Cherry." He kisses my quivering skin one last time before moving up to kiss me on the lips. "Taste that?" he asks against my lips. "That's the taste of your sweet cherry."
He flinches then reaches in his pocket for his phone as I lie there still feeling the afterglow of such an unbelievable orgasm. He pulls his phone out and taps the screen. "Fuck!" he mutters. "Magic's in trouble." He stands then leans in and kisses me deeply.
"I'll try and get back before my mom does so I can do that again."
My heart thuds at the very thought. Again, I have no words, but I smile and that makes him smile. "I'll never get enough of that now, Cherry. So if you like it, be ready for it to happen all the time."
I'd just texted my dad that I'd probably end up spending the night since it’s past midnight and Ms. De Luca isn't home yet. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened. Most of the time I wake when she comes stumbling in around four in the morning. But, of course, both her and my dad insist I stay until later in the morning when it's light out and safer to walk home.
My heart speeds up when I hear a noise on the porch. I don't know how much more my heart can take tonight. Ever since he left me lying there in bed, breathless and still unable to believe I let him do to me what he did, it's all my mind can think of. The thought of just seeing him again makes my insides crazy. Let alone that he might do that to me again.
To my surprise, someone knocks. Travis either takes his keys or comes in through the window in the laundry room as he had the day he'd almost caught Chaz there. Remembering Chaz was supposed to have come by, I frown. Even a couple of weeks ago when we'd almost been caught, I'd been nervous about Ms. De Luca catching him here. After what happened today between Travis and me, it makes me even more nervous to have to be in the same room with him and Chaz.
Travis is unpredictable. I don't know if what happened today means anything to him. Is it just something he plans on doing but he’ll be okay seeing me around other guys still? Something about the severe way he looks at me tells me he won't. That things might even get ugly if he does. So this makes me even more nervous.
One peek through the door window confirms it’s Chaz. I open the door quickly and quietly so I don't wake Trace or Trevor.
"I thought you'd come by earlie
r," I say as soon as I open the door.
He smiles a bit too goofily. "I stopped at Drake’s party first," he says, walking right in. "Are we alone?"
"No," I say in a hushed voice, already feeling panicked because I can tell he's been drinking. "Trace and Trevor are asleep in their rooms. Keep it down. In fact, I don't even think you should be here. I'm not sure when Ms. De—"
His mouth on mine comes out of nowhere. The door closes behind me, and he pushes me against it. An instant cloak of anger and terror comes over me. "What are you doing?" I say, pushing him away and turning my face away from him.
"C'mon Remi," he says, taking my moving my face away as an invitation to suck my neck. "You wanted it last time, remember? Why waste time?"
The repugnant smell of sour liquor and cigarettes is overwhelming even before he sticks his tongue in my mouth. "Get off me!" I say, pushing at his chest with both hands, but I'm no match for his big body.
"Remi," he says, pulling away just slightly. "You wanted me last time."
"I did not!" I say, punching his chest. "I let you kiss me, but you weren't drunk and—"
His mouth is on mine again, and he slips his hand into the front of my shorts, making me scream in his mouth. "Shhh!" he says, grabbing a fistful of my hair and pushing my head against the door. "We can do this nicely and quietly, or we can do it however I have to."
There's a sudden fire in his eyes, one I've never seen before, and it terrifies me. He tugs at my hair even harder and it stings. "I've seen the way Travis looks at you. You've been sleeping over at his house for years. You're no fucking virgin, so stop acting like one."
His hand moves down lower in my shorts, going under my panties and between my legs. The drunken lust in his eyes when his fingers touch me there—the very place that had been in heaven when Travis touched it earlier—is even more terrifying. His fingers try to push into me even as I squeeze my legs together and start to cry.
"Please stop," I say, feeling beyond pathetic, but too terrified to fight him. "Don't do this, Chaz. I'm begging you."
"I like hearing you beg," he says, jamming his knee between my legs and pushing them apart. "Open your fucking legs."
"Get off me!" I scream, hoping to wake Trace and Trevor.
He only pushes me harder against the door, clearly not caring about the noise he's causing, because the entire door rattles behind me. Tula barks from the boys’ room, but the door is closed. I just pray she wakes them. Chaz pulls me away from the door and toward the sofa when the front door flies open.
Travis bursts through the door just as Chaz pulls his hand out of my shorts. He takes one look at my wretched face and doesn't even have to ask. What happens next is gruesome. As happy as I am that he got there right when he did, I'm even more relieved that his friends are still with him. If it wasn't for them, Travis might kill Chaz.
His beating of Chaz alone is a frightening eye opener of just what a dangerous guy Travis really is. Chaz is a senior and a football player with a good build, but Travis's fists are lethal. Not even the splattering of Chaz's blood slows his fists. I watch in horror and at the same time awe at the power in those fists.
When it's all over and Travis's friends drag Chaz outside to safety, I know it's only Travis's concern for me that keeps him from running out there and continuing the beating. Between Travis's two friends, they'd barely been able to pull him off Chaz, and it was only when he saw his brothers at the hallway doorway that he stopped fighting his friends.
After getting his brothers back to bed, he rushes out into the living room where I stand still in a daze. "Don't go out there," I say when I see him. "They put him in his car. He's leaving."
Travis glances out the front window then at me; the fury I saw in his eyes earlier softens some when our eyes meet. "Has he ever done anything like that to you before?"
"Never," I say, shaking my head, feeling my face crumble now that it's all sinking in.
To my surprise, Travis rushes to me and hugs me. I fall into his body, trembling as he wraps his arms around me tightly.
"Did he hurt you?"
The strain in his urgent but whispered words makes me pull away to look at him. His deep green eyes are still feral like when his friends struggled to get him off of Chaz. He'd kicked Chaz's face even as they pulled him away, and he cursed and threatened to kill him if he ever saw him anywhere near me again. The spattered blood on his face and neck make him appear even more savage.
"No."
I lie, afraid of what he might do if I mention my still aching scalp from where Chaz pulled my hair. I wasn't sure if Chaz was gone yet, and I didn't dare tell Travis the truth and have him run out there again. His eyes widen as if he'd just read my mind. "Tell me the truth, Remi. Don't lie to me please. Did he hurt you?"
"No," I say again, shaking my head with a sniffle, yet my stupid head has the presence of mind to be disappointed he didn't call me Cherry. "He was rough, pushing me against the door and stuff, but he didn't hit me or anything."
Travis puts his hands on either of my shoulders, leaning in closer to my face. "Listen to me, okay," he says, unnerving me the way his eyes dig into mine. "I want you to go to the cops."
I shake my head adamantly before he goes on. "No, they'll arrest you."
"I don't mean tonight," he says quickly. "But tomorrow you have to. My friends are witnesses that I was only defending you, if that fucker tries to press charges. Guys like that don't force themselves on girls one time. He'll do it again. Maybe not to you unless he has a death wish, but he will to someone else. I can guarantee it."
I nod; though the very thought of having to tell my parents makes me cringe. I know they'll be upset that I invited Chaz over and that it wasn't the first time. I finally saw a side of Travis I've always known was there: a sweet and tender side he hides from the world but I've seen when he talks and interacts with his brothers. And after tonight, I'll likely never get the chance to be around him again because I know my parents will never again let me babysit for Ms. De Luca. I'm not sure what makes me more emotional—that or what just happened.
"You should clean up," I say with a wince, looking down at his bloodied knuckles.
He lifts his knuckles, and that sweet concerned way he's been looking at me goes hard. "I better never run into that guy again."
"Trust me, Travis," I say, touching his arm. "He'll likely run if he ever sees you coming from here on. That beating you gave him—"
"Wasn't enough," he says, staring in my eyes with a purpose. "And he deserved it."
"He did," I agree immediately then close my eyes. "I'm just so glad you got here when you did."
The touch to my hair has me opening my eyes. His eyes are on my hair and his jaw clenches. "Did he grab you by the hair?"
I shake my head, but I know it isn't convincing enough because I can't help pinching my brows as the emotion takes over. I'd made sure my hair was perfectly curled and done before coming here tonight. I wanted to look good for Travis. I'm certain it’s frazzled now after Chaz put his hands in it. The memory of his fingers between my legs is too much, and my face crumbles.
"That motherfuck—"
"Travis," I say, squeezing his arm and shaking my head. "Please, don't do anything else to him. I can guarantee you he's gonna be hurting for days if not longer. I don't want you getting in trouble. He didn't hurt me," I lie. "I promise you. It's just all sinking in now."
Travis hugs me again, and I let him, falling into his big arms. We stand there in each other's arms for a moment silently. It's never felt so good to be held in my life. It's like I belong in his arms. It's at that moment that I realize there is so much more to Travis, and suddenly, I want to know everything about him.
Finally, we begin to pull apart. "Sit down," he says, motioning to the sofa I've sat on most of the night. "I'll get you water," he says, starting toward the kitchen. "We might have some juice."
"Water's fine."
I hear the water run for a while, and I imagine he's washing the
blood off. The very thought makes me shiver. What if Travis hadn't gotten here when he did? I shake my head, not wanting to think about it.
Travis returns with a glass of ice water, hands it to me, and then takes a seat next to me. To my surprise, he gently tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. This is what I mean about the side of Travis I've never seen, but strangely, I've always known it's there. I've always known he's very protective of his brothers. Despite everything that's happened tonight, seeing this side of him makes me smile.
"Thank you, Travis," I say softly.
"For what? The water or for beating Chaz to a pulp? Because that was all my pleasure."
I actually chuckle at that. "For both and for having such perfect timing." I shake my head. "If you hadn't gotten here when you did and he would've—"
"He'd be dead the moment I got my hands on him," Travis says, reaching for my hand and slipping his hand in it. "I guarantee it, so let's not even think about it." He squeezes my hand then gently lifts my chin with the other. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yes." I smile, and in spite of what's happened tonight, I can't help but be distracted when he licks his lips.
For the first time since he burst in tonight, that familiar smirk is back, the one that's so much more like him than the sweet side I've been witnessing in the past moments I've spent with him. "I like when you stare at me that way."
Chapter 3
My eyes dart up to Travis's as I realize he caught me staring at his lips. I feel my face warm, especially because he smiles even bigger and that sinful gleam in his eyes warms my insides.
"You do that a lot." He licks his lips again, and my eyes are instantly on them. Travis laughs. "I swear if it weren't for what you've just been through I wouldn't be able to stop kissing you."
Suddenly his lips on mine again are all I can think of, and it's all I can do to keep myself from begging him to kiss me again. So I say something else instead because he's still staring at me in that way that always makes my insides tremble. "I've never been kissed the way you kiss me."