by Rachel Shane
“Yeah, I was chosen to play violin at Carnegie Hall,” one girl said and then studied her nails as if she held the crowning achievement in the room. Her long black hair spilled over her shoulders and hid her face.
A boy with a tongue piercing crossed his arms. “I single-handedly raised funds to develop a new homeless shelter on Eerie Boulevard.” His eyes may as well have been loaded guns.
My throat started to close. I was back in the pageant world, where talents were traded like hot commodities. It was the one area of the competition I could never excel at by pure natural skill. I always did a dance routine, painstakingly practiced until I was competent, but not stellar. I felt the same way here.
Harrison must have noticed the way I shut down completely because he leaned toward me and lowered his voice to a faint whisper. “By the way, in regard to item number three on your list, have I mentioned how much I love giving lady head?”
My eyes widened and I spat out a sip of my diet coke, spraying directly onto violin girl’s dress. She scoffed and raked her hand over her chest before stomping away.
Harrison straightened and leaned toward the crowd, raising his voice. “I should probably confess that my crowning achievement is destroying the football season and a world famous singer’s career.”
Tongue-piercing lifted his middle finger to Harrison and left the circle.
“Also.” Harrison stepped into my line of vision, his voice back to a whisper, his eyes deadly serious. “I’m really good at it.”
My cheeks flamed as heat spread like a lightning bolt through my abdomen. I fanned my hand in front of my face. “Oh my God. You did not just say that.” I looked around frantically. “In public!”
He shrugged. “I thought you might like to know.”
I stalked away, putting one foot in front of the other to keep my steps even. Desire pulsed deep in my core. In order to distract myself, I stopped in front of the first group of guys I could find and laughed along with them at whatever they said even though I hadn’t heard a word.
They abruptly stopped and turned to me with furrowed brows.
“I agree,” I said, just to say something.
A guy with too much grease in his hair tilted his head. “You agree that women are always wrong?” He snorted a laugh. “Well, then.” He sauntered closer to me. “What are you doing later?”
Another hand rested on my lower back and guided me away, far away, out of the room entirely. “Those guys are assholes.”
“Who are they?” I asked as Harrison led me into the empty hallway. “Besides womanizers.”
He tested the first office knob he came to but it wouldn’t budge. “They’re from one of the Men Only secret societies.”
I stopped short. “Secret societies? At Throckmorton?” That seemed like the type of thing that belonged at ritzy Ivy League schools or movies starring Joshua Jackson.
“They have official fronts. I think those two were from the Key & Lock club and they supposedly promote ethics in privacy or some such bullshit.” He twisted another faculty office knob and this time the door swung open. “But don’t believe the hype. They’re harboring a secret society that’s way worse than any off campus fraternity.” Harrison pulled me inside the dark office.
“How so?”
“Oh, you know…” He shut the door and flipped the lock. His fingers trailed over my wrist and up my forearm, leaving a wake of tingles that felt amazing.
I released a breath. A sliver of moonlight shone through the window, illuminating a packed desk filled with a computer and a toppling tower of folders. “We need to get back.”
“The Awards portion of the ceremony doesn’t start for thirty minutes.” His hands braced on either side of my hips and he pressed his torso against mine. “I thought you might like to know that, too.”
His body heat radiated, engulfing me in a warm current. Our mouths were only an inch a part, his breath invading mine, but he stood still, waiting for me to make the next move. I’d been fighting against my feelings for him for so long but now that I was finally in his arms again, I wondered why I hadn’t surrendered a long time ago. Now that I actually knew him, I knew he wasn’t someone to hate. Erin was right. We wouldn’t last until the end of the ceremony.
I cupped the back of his neck and pulled his lips to mine. Our mouths connected in a kiss so fierce, it left me gasping for breath. His body came alive against mine and before I could stop myself, I reached between us and scrambled for his fly.
He gently circled my wrists with his fingers and placed my hands back at my sides. “No hands tonight. Only tongues.”
He dropped kisses down my jaw, swirling his tongue along my neck. Tingles spread from his touch and heat ignited in my chest. Laughter emanated from down the hall, but the blood pumping in my ears drowned it out fast.
Harrison revolved around my body, planting kisses everywhere: my shoulders, the back of my neck, the crook of my elbow, the V of my cleavage. Each one ripped a small moan from my throat. He trailed his tongue down my spine and when he reached the top of my dress stationed in the middle of my back, he bit down on the zipper. Using his teeth, he slid it all the way down down down to where it stopped just above my lacy black panties. He was certainly taking the no hands rule seriously.
His tongue swirled along the rim, tracing my bare lower back, and though it might have been against his made up rules, I gripped the desk in front of me to keep from falling apart at his touch. His mouth trailed up my sides, tickling me and making me giggle. We only had thirty minutes but he was taking his sweet time kissing up my arm until he reached my shoulder again. He tugged down my dress strap with his mouth, dragging his lips across my arm to remove it entirely. After he took off the other side, he rose again to seize my mouth with a few more hard, intense kisses.
My eyelashes fluttered closed and I savored every fleeting second of his kiss before he dropped down again, trailing his lips over the tops of my breasts and skidding his tongue under the rim of my bra, barely reaching my nipples. I craved his touch there as they hardened to nubs, but he robbed me of the opportunity, moving downward to nudge my dress all the way to the floor with the tip of his chin.
He kissed up my leg and desire slammed into all points of contact as well as they places he hadn’t touched yet. He gathered the edge of my underwear in his teeth and glanced up at me, his eyes glowing in the moonlight. “This okay?”
I nodded.
With slow, melodic movements that dropped tingles all along my legs, he tugged my underwear all the way off. He drank in the sight of me, naked from the bottom half, the top still hidden from him.
Harrison swept his arm along the edge of the desk, knocking folders to the floor. Before I could even react, his arms wrapped around me and lifted me onto the desk, my legs dangling off the edge.
He planted one final kiss on my lips. “And this will check off number three.”
I gripped the edge, my body already hot and primed as he knelt in front of me and spread my legs open with his face. His warm breath coated my thighs, my toes curling in anticipation.
The first slow revolution of his tongue robbed a gasp from my throat. I’d always considered this more intimate than sex, mostly because I hadn’t done it, and I’d vowed to save this particular act for someone I really cared about. And the thing was…despite my best efforts, I’d fallen for Harrison. Hard.
He kept his tongue soft at first, making gentle sweeps along my folds. My breathing grew heavier with each one and tiny moans ricocheted from my mouth when his tongue dipped inside me. My body thrummed from all the nerve endings his tongue darted past. His mouth was a search and rescue probe, finding every crevasse hidden away, every secret part of me I’d never let anyone else see from this angle.
He taunted me by taking his sweet time working his way upward to where I really wanted him to lick. I thrust my hips toward him as persuasion and he let out a laugh that vibrated against me.
Just for that, he laved his tongue around every p
art of me except where I needed. Craved. The awards were going to start, people might realize we were missing, and he was having a fucking blast teasing me.
But holy hell it felt so amazing. He claim of being really good at this was legit.
“You are a cocktease,” I finally whispered, the words ripping from my throat.
He moved higher, his tongue uniting with the small nub that contained all my nerve endings. With the first orbit, I clamped down on my teeth. Sensation slammed into the spot. Gone were the gentle licks below, he now used the hard point of his tongue to flick against me back and forth in a dance set to the rhythm of our first illicit tryst. My back arched, my stomach pumped, and I bucked my hips against his mouth.
Pleasure built and built. Moans flew at high volume, uncontrollable. My fingernails dug into the edge of the table and I writhed.
He broke all established rules by surging his fingers inside me while his tongue continued to drive me insane above.
“Pretty sure this violates your no hands rule,” I managed to say between moans.
“I won’t tell if you won’t.” His muffled voice vibrated against me, a welcome complement to his tongue work.
Euphoria rocketed into me, multiplying exponentially in frissons of intensity that hit me in two places at once. His fingers curved inside me, blasting me to new heights. Fiery passion erupted until I couldn’t take it anymore.
Just as one of our phones started vibrating, I exploded. Pulsing contractions shot through me in undulating waves. I screamed, then clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle it.
Once my body stopped shuddering, he pulled away and rested his cheek against my thigh. “That means…” Moonlight captured his glistening face. “All that’s left is for me to be your boyfriend.” He raised a brow in question.
The heady sensation of coming down from a cloud scattered my thoughts even as a new form of elation took over me. Harrison was the second guy in the last few weeks to ask me out, but this time the word, “Yes,” flew from my mouth without hesitation.
PRO: I was Harrison’s girlfriend.
The phone vibrated once again.
Harrison pushed himself to his feet and lifted his phone from his pocket. “Shit.”
I hopped off the desk, feeling wobbly. “What?”
“The ceremony already started.” He stared at his phone in shock. “And I won.”
“Congrats,” I said. “Or maybe I mean whoops?”
“I have to get out there. People are looking for me.” He shrugged on his tuxedo jacket, then doubled back to kiss me on the forehead. “To be continued.”
SUNLIGHT GLITTERED THROUGH THE slatted blinds, drawing lines across Harrison’s naked body. His chest rose and fell, still in the throws of sleep. My eyes traced over the lean muscles of his legs, the shape of his ass as he faced away from me, curled inward. Every inch of his body was a masterpiece, and he knew how to manipulate all of it. A small smile seized my lips at the memories of last night.
Him accepting his award ten minutes too late, offering me a wink when I slipped into the room. My category being a complete wash but I wasn’t disappointed, I felt like I’d already won. The two of us sneaking out of the party quietly and retreating back to his room where I was ready for this new adventure in my old house. Reenacting the office tryst, this time with me returning the favor as well. We didn’t have sex, and I loved how we were following the rules, rounding the bases in order, something I’d never had a chance to do before.
He’d conked out after the second round, but I’d stayed awake, listening to his breathing, wondering how I had gotten so lucky to find something I never thought was possible. A guy who still respected me after everything I’d done. A guy who matched me, point for point. A guy with a family I wanted to be part of, replacing my own. A guy I was falling in love with.
A few weeks ago he was one of the main things that made my blood rage, but now he kept me calm and helped me gain control.
He stirred, twisting around in the sheets. One eye popped open and when he spotted me awake, he pulled me to him. It felt amazing to press my skin against his again and wrap myself in his embrace.
“So it wasn’t all a dream,” he murmured, dropping a delicate kiss on the edges of my lips.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “Maybe you should pinch me.”
“How about something more gentle?” His fingertips trailed whisper-soft down my arm, dropping tingles all the way.
His heart pumped a rhythm beneath my cheek that rested on his chest. I glided my own fingers along the sharp ridge of his collarbone. I wanted to explore all the places on his body I hadn’t lingered on last night. All the ones that weren’t obvious.
He tilted my face to his and kissed me. A soft kiss. Not the hungry kind that seized us last night.
But then his phone started vibrating.
Harrison growled into the crook of my neck, then leaned over me to grab it from his desk.
Except it wasn’t his iPhone that was vibrating.
He scrambled out of bed and skidded to his desk drawer where he pulled out an opened burner phone. He fumbled it to his ear. “Hey, can I call you back in five?” he said, sounding a little frantic, a little desperate. After listening for a beat, he set the phone down and rushed to his bureau.
“Who was that?” I watched him open his drawer and slip on a pair of boxers, robbing me of the nice view of his morning wood.
“Nothing, it’s for a story.” He shrugged on sweatpants.
I lifted the blanket to cover my exposed chest and squinted at him. I knew all the stories he was assigned to. He’d already written everything except the Awards coverage from last night. “Which one?”
“I’ll let you know if this lead pans out.” He threw on a t-shirt and tossed me a key he swiped off a high shelf. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere. Unless you wanted to check out the file cabinet in the closet?” He wriggled his eyebrows before slipping out of the room. His footsteps grew fainter as he descended the stairs.
That was strange. Since when did he keep story ideas from me? The cold metal key weighed down my palm and I shuffled to his closet. I sank to my knees, like I had done the first night here, like I had done last night as he stood in front of me nude. I inserted the key into the lock. My heart thrashed even though he clearly wanted me to see whatever he’d secured away in here. I braced myself for more burner phones.
A laugh escaped as I yanked open the drawer and saw his little joke. Condoms. Boxes of them.
I was just settling back into his bed when a text beeped from my phone. Matt’s number.
My stomach flipped but I scrolled to the message: Hey…I think I just got the dirt you need.
My whole body froze. He was still helping me? And more importantly…he got dirt on Harrison?
Another text: Can we meet? I’m on campus but have to leave for the venue by 9 to set up for a circus event.
I glanced at the clock. It was almost eight thirty. My fingers trembled as I typed out my response. Not a commitment, just a question. Where are you?
His response was instantaneous. Out House.
Blood whooshed in my ears. The timing of his text was a little too coincidental. So am I. I shrugged into my dress. I’d hoped to avoid the walk of shame by having Harrison give me a ride home, but it was clear he was hiding something. We’d shared so much, had been intimate as hell, and yet he was keeping a secret worse than sleeping with Genevieve. Otherwise he would have already told me what it was.
I had to know. I’m coming downstairs, I texted.
Rushing down the steps, I smacked into Harrison on the stairwell. Air flew from my lungs. His mouth parted, hand dropping onto my shoulder to steady me. “Hey, where are you going?”
“I have to…” I sidestepped around him. “Erin,” I said fast. “She needs me.”
The smile fell from his face. “Is it because of the condoms?” he asked, clearly not believing me. “We don’t have to. No pressure, seriously. We’ll take thing
s slow.” He lowered his voice. “I was just trying to make you laugh.”
“Not that.” My lungs felt like they might burst, or maybe that was just me. “Who was on the phone?” I squeaked out, the words fighting their way passed my pressed lips.
His whole body shifted and he let out a big sigh. “That’s why?” He pinched the bridge of his nose where it met his eyebrows. “It was one of my usual sources. I promise, it’s really nothing. Boring even.”
I crossed my arms. “Name the source.”
He stiffened. “I can’t.”
“Then I can’t stay.” I scrambled down the steps, my heart ramming.
Harrison didn’t follow.
By the time I reached Matt waiting in the foyer, I was biting my cheek to stave off tears. He looked equally as grave. “I don’t really want to show you this because I really like it here and don’t want them to get in trouble. But you set me up with Amber. I owe you.” Matt handed me his phone, which was cued up to a video. Headphones dangled from the device like limp snakes.
“When did you get this?” I gripped the phone tight in my hands as if it was a grenade that might explode. So much for controlling my anger.
“I took it a few minutes ago.”
My eyes squeezed shut. That was the answer I was afraid of.
I pushed open the front door to biting cold wind and shoved the earbuds into my ears. It felt wrong to watch what could be the downfall of Out House while I stood inside as it crashed to the ground. Frothy gray skies hung above me, providing the perfect lighting to see the screen. I took a deep, strangled breath, and pressed play.
On the screen, a crack in the living room doors where we used to hold Chapter meetings framed Harrison as he paced, burner phone pressed to his ear. He was nodding his head at whatever the person on the other line was saying, and I imagined Matt scrambling to record the convo after eavesdropping on whatever came before this.