by J. C. Allen
“Come on, Eve. It’ll be okay,” she spoke softly.
“Am I stupid to believe anything could come from this?” I whimpered.
Why am I so desperate…
Because anyone who’s not desperate in this spot has probably already given up on life.
“Not at all,” she said. “Just think—”
I looked at her as the sound of Derek’s motorcycle came from out front. I hated that it was so obvious and so loud—this really would have to be the last time we hung out before his operation. This was just getting too obvious and risky.
“Your Prince Charming is here,” Crystal smirked.
I blushed and nodded, starting to stand.
“You want to come down and meet him,” I said. “Might as well, since I’m not gonna let him come by here again.”
Crystal shook her head. Probably for the best, honestly—we didn’t need eyes on all of us meeting some man on a bike in broad daylight.
“Nah. One look at me and he’d leave your ass and carry me off into the sunset, and I wouldn’t want to put you through that.”
I stared at her. I could tell this was not the full story.
She, like me before Derek had fully revealed himself to me, was probably sick of men to the point of quitting sex forever.
“You just don’t want to deal with a man right now, do you?”
“No,” she said. “Quite frankly, if it owns a dick I’d sooner hit it with a hammer. I need me some dick-free hours every afternoon. Shit would be like a full-moon to a werewolf—turn me into a crazed dick-wolf. Then I’d go off, all snarly and crazed, and be ripping dicks of ballsacks off all the villagers and such.”
She paused and then brightened, a jarring switch for the topic but so very typical of Crystal.
“Hey!” she said “That’d make a great story for one of them books you’re always reading, wouldn’t it?”
I was laughing too hard to answer, mostly out of relief to have some tension broken from the insanity of what the last 12 hours or so had brought me. Finally, regaining myself, I stood straight and outstretched my arms.
“How do I look?”
“Lovely,” Crystal smiled. “Go have your perfect day—I doubt it’ll be your last—and be ready to tell me everything. I’m going to need some decent sock-drawer lover fuel.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled.
“Sure. Right. Thanks for the encouragement and honesty, Crystal.”
I moved to the door, leaving our crummy apartment, feeling with every step that my old self, the real Eve, was coming back. Let’s just hope she’s come back for good now. That she can be out of her shell just long enough to have the strength when she has to go back into her shell.
Stepping out, I saw that Derek leaned against the motorcycle, wearing a similar outfit that just clung to his body the way I wanted to. I blushed at the thought but then agreed that that was what I wanted. If this was, indeed, the last night before I had to leave him, well…
I didn’t want tonight to end with just a kiss, and I hoped that Derek would feel the same. Who am I kidding. He’ll be the same way.
So much for being confused about what sex means to you, huh?
Yep. And I don’t care one bit now that he’s here.
As I walked the pathway down to the street, I could see Derek’s eyes on me. His gaze on me made me feel desired in a way I never was and likely never would be by any John—or any man, period. It was possessive, and I liked it.
The raw need thrumming from that stare called to me and I wanted to answer. As I finally made my way to his bike, I stood in front of him, offering him a bashful smile.
“So, you gonna just stare?” I said. “Not that I mind, of course.”
He smirked and shook his head.
“Hard not to stare.”
He looked like he had something to say—as if something had happened from the night before. My stomach dropped as I feared the worst.
“I…”
Shit.
“I missed you.”
Oh, shit, I have to stop thinking this drmaatically.
I looked up, feeling both elation and shock at the honesty in his words. He looked down at me, need flooding his gaze as he moved his hands to my shoulders. I allowed the touch…
A part of me, though, worried that one of Rock’s lackeys would be around, or, worse yet, Rock himself. While he didn’t have a tendency to come around his employees’ homes…
Well, he’d done as much the night before, hadn’t he?
At least he’s probably asleep right now.
“You okay?” he asked in a whisper, once again supporting my mind-reader theories and keying on my worry of being spied on.
“I-I am…” I said, looking back up to him, not wanting to ruin this moment. “I’m just…”
He paused then and looked around, then actually glanced up at one of the second floor windows. It didn’t belong to mine and Crystal’s apartment, but he would have had no way of knowing that.
Moreover, I realized, he might not have thought it did. Then, nodding, he started towards his motorcycle, starting to reach into his pocket as he did.
“What are you…”
“Get on,” he said in a gruff, loud voice; practically ordering me. As he said it, he pulled out his wallet and yanked out a hundred dollar bill. I felt like the air had gotten punched out of my chest at the sight.
“I said get on!” he growled, this time louder.
But then he winked at me.
And suddenly it made sense.
Oh. Yeah… this is necessary… he doesn’t mean it…
If anybody was watching—whether it be Rock or one of his lackeys—then what they’d see would be a man pulling up to Crystal’s and my place, having me come out to him, and then paying me to ride off with him.
Supposedly to do whatever he wanted.
Of course, if it was the same lackey, then he’d notice it was the same guy. And things would be getting bad. But…
Just enjoy the moment. Like Crystal said.
If only it was that easy.
“Sorry about that!” Derek said over the roar of the engine as we rode through the city. “I figured I’d play the part, but you know it was all acting!”
“You should get an Oscar!,” I shouted back. “Can I give you your money back as your reward?”
Derek’s shoulders rolled with laughter and he shook his head. Fortunately, we’d come to a red light that he had to stop at, so we slowed down just a bit.
“You’re paying for this date, I don’t think you’re going to want to do that.”
“Oh, am I?” I said. “I don’t even yet know where we’re going! That’s a bold claim!”
“Oh, let me tell,” he said, perhaps not so coincidentally timing it with the revving of the engine as we blazed ahead. “We’re going to an amazing history museum! And then we might even get food if we have time!”
I bit my lip at that, confused. There was just one problem with Derek’s plan.
As far as I could tell, there was no museum in this city. Not a history museum, at least. There was a smaller, more local art gallery that called itself a museum, but nothing that anyone would be so bold as to call itself historic. So…
Maybe he meant history museum as a metaphor?
“It’s outside the city. I thought maybe you’d like to get out of this place for a bit, right?”
My eyes widened at the prospect of actually putting the entire city behind us. My secure hold on his waist tightened as it evolved into a full hug.
“That sounds incredible!” I cried out, once again shouting, but not because of the motorcycle’s engine.
If this was, in fact, the last time that we were going to hang out for a few days, then I was glad that it really was like a fantasy—not just because I was with a fantastic man, but because I was leaving hell for some fantasy-like world.
Corny? Maybe. But it also felt very real, this fantasy.
And then, just like that, we
were there.
Derek hopped off the bike and extended his hand, inviting me off. I tried to do so gracefully, hoping he would not see me grimacing in pain, but he was too keen of an eye, and I saw as much in his facial expression.
“You OK?”
It wasn’t a question unsure of the answer. I tried not to lie, but especially with Derek, I saw no reason to.
“I got kicked for being late,” I said. “I’m sure the bruises are bad. I—”
“Who,” he growled.
“Not here,” I said, calming the rising beast by putting my hands on his arms. Oh, I knew he was ready to kill everyone in the building if it meant getting to my assailant. But this was not the place—mostly because the guy who had hit me had less than a one in a million chance of being here. “He was by the corner waiting for me. He—”
“I’ll come kill him,” Derek said.
It sounded like a promise. I didn’t want to say do it, but…
“Just… let’s worry about enjoying today, OK?” I said, begging him not to go all Hulk on me and sulk and rage in the museum. “Look, I have to be honest with you. I want to be with you, and I will be once you rescue me. But Rock is getting suspicious. I left my phone in my room because he started tracking it. So if I had brought it with me, he would have followed us here and killed us both.”
“Motherfucker…”
“I know. He knows one of us is with a Savior, between Crystal and I, I mean. I’m pretty sure he knows it’s you, but… my point is, you come over here more than you have to, and there’ll be a trap laid.”
“Fuckin a!”
Mercifully, Derek had the good sense to keep his voice down so close to the library, especially with kids nearby. The last thing I needed was attention from people who thought they were being good citizens but really just creating trouble for the two of us.
“Let’s enjoy today, OK? Besides,” I said, placing my hand on his chest. “Since I won’t see you again for a few days…”
I let the thought trail as my hand slowly worked its way down his stomach. I wasn’t about to fuck him in public, but let’s just say it was my goal to make sure he had an idea of what—and who—was to come.
He got a smirk on his face—which at least told me he wasn’t hung up on what I’d said, at least not for now—and grabbed my hand gently.
“Let me tell you something, dear,” he said.
He leaned down towards my ear. What I at first assumed would be a whispered line instead wound up being a light nip at my earlobe.
I gasped and shuddered, feeling the tip of his tongue trace the apparently very sensitive skin at the base of my ear before casually straightening and offering an innocent smile as a finale. I stared blankly, my mind devoid of anything other than wild fantasies about the man before me, and I tried to tell myself that the tickle in my lower belly was just hunger.
It wasn’t.
I could bullshit others, but I sure as hell couldn’t bullshit myself.
I hadn’t even known that I could find something like that pleasurable. But Derek, apparently, knew just how to touch me despite us having only known each other for a week. Then again, this is now, what date four? If you count Waffle House? Date five? More than most people do in a month for sure.
He smirked in satisfaction, probably reading my thoughts.
I groaned and shook my head, looking up at him.
“That wasn’t fair!” I declared once my brain had finished rebooting. “I just used my words! I didn’t do anything—”
“All’s fair in love and war, babe,” he jabbed, still grinning. “You bring a knife, I’m bringing a gun for your heart.”
My breath caught and I nearly swooned.
The “L”-word had already made an appearance… and he’d called me “babe.” That meant something, right?
All my thoughts offered up then, though, was “love” and “babe.” That, and that thing he’d just done to my ear.
Damn! That had been nice.
Well, I thought, two can play at that game. You think you’ve brought a gun? I’ve brought a fucking bazooka.
I grinned, sauntering off down the hall to the main exhibit, making a show of wiggling my hips as I walked. Though I wasn’t about to go crediting the shitty path my life had taken for anything good, I had learned how to shake my ass in a way that had actually been enough to make a first-time John finish”in his pants. When I heard the sharp gasp of “goddamn” from behind me as I worked the display, I knew I hadn’t lost my touch.
To Derek’s credit, he hadn’t finished in his pants, at least.
I smirked, deciding that this was just the beginning of getting back at him. He had only seen the opening salvo—he had no idea what was to come.
I began to make subtle moves to tease him. A simple brush against his thigh to pressing my chest up against his arm. I smirked as I saw just how tense he’d become from my teasing. I swore I had him close to just picking me up and fucking me in the nearest bathroom—or, if I kept it up, just wherever we happened to be in the moment. This, I decided, was fun.
And that’s how the Erotic War at the Museum of History began.
As we worked our way through the exhibits, occasionally taking time to appreciate what was on display in between our little warfare, we’d do whatever we could to make the other shiver.
A subtle-yet-effective brushing of hand-to-whatever here, or an accidental dropping of this flyer or that brochure to “accidentally” expose more cleavage than one might naturally like there…
The best part was, I couldn’t wait until our tactics became “dirty.” Oh, heavens, what would happen when we broke the rules of engagement and became a little too engaged with each other?
It was, after all, as Derek put it, all fair. I mean, one of us had to win—I suppose maybe there could be two winners here…
But damnit, he’d unlocked my competitive side, and I was not going to crack. I was not going to lose.
Because this was, yes, it was love… but this was war as well.
“This is fun for you, huh?”
I turned to Derek just in time to see him adjusting his pants, probably assuming he was being subtle but being anything but.
Let’s just say if women were as overt as men were, I would be showing much, much more than him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I teased innocently. “I’m just here to take in the art exhibits, nothing more.
“Then it makes sense that you wouldn’t know that your left nipple slipped out of your top about two ‘oops, dropped my ticket’-bend overs ago and has been exposed ever since?”
I gasped and moved to cover myself, working to tuck everything back. Oh, God, that was a dirty move—indecent exposure in public! Just what I—
I quickly realized that everything was already where it was meant to be.
“What are you—”
But the words never finished—fortunately, for a damn good reason.
Derek pinned me to one of the empty room’s support pillars and slammed his lips against mine in a surprise attack of a kiss that had me ready to surrender and become his loyal prisoner. I gasped at the sensation of his lips and arched back into him, enjoying the feeling. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he continued to kiss me. I struggled to maintain my grip on him, maintain a semblance of control.
I was lost the moment his lips touched mine. I had no sense of location anymore. Whether we were back in his bedroom or still in the museum, I had no idea.
And I really didn’t care.
I shivered, arching against him, begging for him to control me. All at once, I lost control. I forgot who I was, what I was doing, why I was doing anything…everything became a blur and the only thing I knew was how much I wanted his kiss and tongue to continue probing me.
How desperate I was to feel this connection that I only had with this man. Derek must’ve understood too as he was just as fervent with his kiss, just as passionate about not letting me go.
And then, the sounds of footsteps coming closer brought me back to the present.
All at once I knew who I was, what I was doing, and most especially where I was—and it was not Derek’s bedroom. We moved apart, catching our breath while struggling not to make it obvious what we were doing. A group of teenagers passed us, the boys all grinning at Derek while the girls rolled their eyes. I would’ve been embarrassed had I not seen the look Derek was giving me. His eyes were filled with desire and need as if he hadn’t even noticed the teenagers.
“Wow,” I gasped. “You, uhh… damn.”
He grinned at me and nodded.
“This mean I win?”
Please. But, yeah, that was quite something.
“The battle, at least,” I offered. “But the war shall wage on.”
“Perfect,” he grinned. “I would hate for you to surrender so quickly.”
“Never,” I said. “In fact, let’s go to the next exhibit. Show me what you got, Derek Knight.”
He smirked in the kind of way that told me immediately he considered me his. And you know what?
I more than craved that feeling. I needed that feeling, especially coming from someone who cherished me for me, not for being paid sex.
“Probably a good idea.”
Our war continued on for what felt like a full hour, and by the time we got through the tour, there was little doubt that I had completely given up on being chaste until he rescued me. As far as my body was concerned, he’d rescued me for about a quarter of a day, and that was good enough for me. I was ready to jump him on his bike and see what kind of freaky shit he’d pull me into.
As we left, I said as much.
“You don’t need to keep me waiting any longer, do you?” I said, placing my hand on his ass.
Doing his best to once more adjust his pants without making it obvious that he was adjusting his pants, he seemed quick to agree.
“Alright, yeah, sure, let’s let’s go.”
I just laughed at how nervous he sounded. His hormones must have had complete and utter control of him right now.