by Amy Love
Beth closed her laptop and pushed it away, then ran a hand through her mass of blonde waves, thick and lustrous. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” After rubbing his weary eyes, Gryff cast a look to the nearest window. Rain drizzled down the pane, the bare branches on the tree just outside waving back and forth. “I’m not looking forward to walking to my car. Could have done with an umbrella.”
Gryff wasn’t a pussy, but this was the kind of shit he talked to Beth about. She was too soft for anything else. The weather. Classes. Her studies. Some days he found it mind-numbing, but at least she was gorgeous to look at. On top of that, she was the kind of girl who didn’t know she was gorgeous, and that made it all the better for him.
“Well,” Beth started, slowly packing her things into her book bag, “if you don’t want to walk all the way back to your car, you could always hang out at my dorm until the weather gets better.” When he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, surprised at the uncharacteristically bold invite, she gave a little shrug and turned her face away so that he couldn’t see her blush. “I have some beer…and we could put a pizza in the oven or something. I-If you’re hungry. I’m kind of hungry, so I figured you might be, too. We’ve been here forever it seems and—”
“That sounds great,” he said, careful to keep his voice from sounding too enthusiastic. He’d mostly answered to make her stop rambling, but the idea of pizza and beer on a rainy, shitty night wasn’t the worst thing in the world either. She’d been brave enough to invite him over, but he couldn’t be sure how long the act would last. Already her face was flushed, and while it gave him a little thrill to know he had so much power over her emotions, Gryff couldn’t help but wonder how tiring it would be to put up with her outside of their usual settings.
As they packed up their things, a light banter about the rain returning, Gryff decided he’d give himself an hour with her before he bailed. He could toss back a few beers in an hour. Eat half a pizza in less than that.
Yeah. He could do that.
One hour and then he was gone.
*****
She couldn’t believe she’d actually done it. Beth had been itching to invite Gryff back to her place for weeks now, ever since October rolled into November and her school stuff only got increasingly stressful. She’d never been so out-there with a man before. Hell, she was still a virgin after years of focus and a few failed dates. Nobody had ever held her attention for this long. No, correction. No one had ever been able to steal her attention from schoolwork for this long, and that had to mean something.
So, when Gryff had complained about walking all the way across campus in the rain, Beth’s mouth reacted before her brain had a chance to process the potential consequences. Suddenly they were on their way back to her dorm, rushing through the miserable weather to the residential building only five minutes from the library. Campus was dead tonight, everyone hiding indoors to avoid the storm, but Beth wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. Side-by-side they dashed around puddles and across the lawn, water splashing up and down at them from all sides. By the time they reached her building, both of them were drenched but smiling, and she led him in with a newfound, giddy confidence that took even her by surprise.
It faded somewhat by the time they reached her dorm. She’d been living in the same one every year, courtesy of the strings her father pulled for her. While there were simply rooms, single and shared, in her building, Beth had a private suite with a small kitchen-living room combo, a bathroom with a tiny shower stall, and a good-sized bedroom that allowed her to fit a desk and a bookshelf in, plus her roomy double bed. There were a lot of things about school life she could complain about, but her living quarters wasn’t one of them.
Once they were inside, Beth handed Gryff two towels, then scuttled into her room to change out of her soaked clothing. When she returned in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a fitted grey tee, she found Gryff rooting through her fridge—shirtless, still wearing his wet jeans, the towel wrapped around his neck.
“Uh…” What else was she supposed to say? The sight of his muscular back, toned and rippling with even the slightest movement, was enough to take her breath away. He straightened up, a can of beer in hand, and gently closed the door.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to root through your stuff. Just wanted to grab a beer,” he told her, and then he cracked the can open. She licked her lips as she watched him drink, and then she shook her head when his eyes met hers—obviously realizing she’d been staring.
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she rambled, hurrying into the kitchen and pulling the frozen pizza out of the freezer. “That’s what you’re here for, right?”
As she turned the oven to preheat and threw the pizza in during the silence that followed, Beth started to question whether or not bringing him here was a good idea. They’d already been chatting on and off for hours; this was the longest they’d ever spent together in a single day, and maybe she was pushing it. When she straightened up and placed her hands on her hips, Beth noted the way his gaze crawled slowly over her body from his position against the back of her loveseat. When it eventually reached her face, Gryff clenched his jaw briefly before looking away, then took a long swig of his beer.
Oh my god, he’s uncomfortable.
Nibbling her lower lip, Beth stood there, the heat of her oven warming her back, scrambling for something to say that would break the weird tension that had suddenly formed.
“I-If you want we could watch some TV,” she stammered, nodding to the flat screen mounted on the wall behind him. She didn’t watch much television, but it was nice to have background noise while she was knitting. “Or, uhm, I have some board games t—”
“Beth.”
She cringed, unable to believe that she’d just suggested board games to the sinfully sexy man standing across from her. However, she fell silent as soon as he said her name. There was something different in his voice just then, a darkness she hadn’t heard before. She waited, her lips slightly parted, unable to meet his eyes.
“Come here,” Gryff ordered, and his tone left no room for argument. Something stirred within her, a pulse of excitement that radiated out from her core to the tips of her toes and fingers. Without a word, she found her feet shifting toward him, and suddenly she was standing a foot away, fidgeting with her fingernails.
Gryff eased into a standing position, balancing his beer can on the back of the couch. Towering over her, his presence was quite overwhelming, and Beth drew in a shaky breath, her gaze slowly climbing up to meet his.
Which was pretty darn difficult, given his broad chest was right there, begging for her touch. Her hands balled into fists, and Beth stuck them behind her back to keep from doing something embarrassing.
But it was Gryff who touched her first. Reaching out suddenly, he pushed her damp hair back over her shoulders, then trailed a lone finger down her face, along the curve of her jaw, stopping finally under her chin. Another shaky breath slipped out as he tilted her head back and kissed her. As soon as their lips touched, it was as if she was on fire. Her whole body seemed to flush, her cheeks prickling, as his mouth easily fit over hers. At his prompting, she parted her lips, letting his tongue delve inside her mouth. She’d been kissed before, of course, but never like this. Never in a way that felt almost…masterful.
A soft whimper slipped out as the kiss grew harder, heavier, the weight of things unsaid bearing down on her. Just as her knees were about to give in, her senses swamped by Gryff’s very being, he ducked down and hoisted her up, easily wrapping her legs around his waist. Finally she gave herself permission to touch him—now that she was all but straddling him—and her hands smoothed over his hard chest, his nipples becoming erect when her fingers grazed them. He groaned, a sound she felt between her legs. In a few long strides, he had them on the other side of the loveseat. Gryff deposited her onto the plush cushions a little gracelessly, and then he went for her pajama bottoms.
“Fuck,” he hissed, a finger rubbing over her clit. She twitched as a jolt of pleasure shot through her. “You’re so wet.”
And all because he’d kissed her. Would he think it was pathetic—or a compliment? If she had more confidence in her sexual prowess—or lack thereof—she might have purred something sensual back.
It’s all for you, big boy.
Beth, however, lacked a sexual vocabulary in general, and instead offered a breathy groan in response, her back arching up as he continued to rub her, easily working her into a frenzy without actually touching her. He had her on the crest of an orgasm without even removing her underwear, a noticeable bulge in his pants as he watched her writhe on the couch.
Just because she was a virgin didn’t mean she’d never had an orgasm. In fact, she had a vibrator in her bedside table drawer that she even used occasionally. Rarely these days, given the sheer volume of schoolwork she had to get through, but she knew the telltale signs of an orgasm. The tight build throughout her body. The heat rising. Her skin prickling.
And then the break. The crashing of a wave. Gryff slipped his fingers under her underwear, stroking her faster, fingers running along her wet slit and up to circle her clit.
“Oh, god,” she cried, gripping the couch cushion as she rode out the pleasure, her shyness forgotten for one blissful moment. When she finally came back to Earth, she noticed Gryff watching her, mouth quirked in a smirk. His eyes were hungry, darkened with lust, with need. She’d never seen that look in a man before, but she knew she was desperate for more.
Her heaving breaths came to a soft pause when Gryff ran his hands over her quivering thighs then gripped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up. Rather than taking it off, he merely pulled it over her head and tucked the bottom behind her neck, leaving her shoulders and arms still covered. He then trailed his fingers over her stomach, which twitched at the touch, and paused at her bra. Head cocked to the side, as if considering her ample C-cups, he pushed the cups aside but left the bra in place, exposing her luscious mounds and pebbled nipples.
He gave a rumble of approval, a guttural sound that vibrated in his broad chest, and then leaned down to wrap his lips around a nipple. Beth cried out and arched beneath him, thrown by the mingling of pain and pleasure, his teeth grazing the sensitive bud briefly before moving on to the other one. Gryff then cupped both breasts in his hands, kneading and massaging, her legs splayed out before him, before reaching into the back pocket of his jeans and retrieving his wallet. She bit her lip, momentarily confused, and then she let out a shaky breath when he retrieved a condom.
Condom in hand, Gryff raised a curious eyebrow at her, and when she gave a frantic nod, desperate for more, he ripped the packet open and quickly undid his jeans with one hand. She could have helped, but she was almost too nervous to move at that point. Some of her heady pleasure faded when she realized that she was finally going to lose her virginity. It wasn’t exactly how she imagined it would be, but for some reason, Gryff was the man she envisioned being with.
His cock was huge—to her eyes, anyway. And she didn’t exactly have many others in her memory bank to which she could compare it. Somehow it would fit, she knew, but she couldn’t help but swallow an intimidated whimper as he rolled the condom on and crawled over her. Poised at her entrance, his head nudged against her slick folds, her body reacted by tilting her hips up for him, her ankles locking behind his back.
“Gryff—”
He kissed her just as he pushed in, groaning into her mouth the deeper he sunk. Her body tightened around the intrusion, a sharp pain blooming in her abdomen. Tears sprung to her eyes, but she blinked them back as she simply tried to get her bearings together. The pain was immense at first, but it eased slowly, very slowly, as he started to move. Swallowing hard, she wrapped her arms around his neck, hoping it would all just feel better soon.
His lips covered her neck in harsh kisses as he thrust into her, but when his gaze met hers, he came to an abrupt halt, frowning, and Beth wiped a hand under her eye.
“Are you okay?” He sat up, using his arm to prop his body upright. “Am I hurting you?”
She nodded a little too enthusiastically. “I’m fine. I just…I mean, I’ve never done this before, so I guess everything is okay—”
He swore loudly and pulled out of her, his expression a strange mix of hardness and concern. “You’re a virgin?”
For a moment, she couldn’t find the will to respond; she could only picture him running for the hills. After all, men his age probably didn’t want silly, inexperienced virgins. The longer she took to reply, the more his face softened, and finally, Gryff reached out to touch her face, a finger under her chin, as he murmured, “I would have done things differently if I’d known. I’m sorry. That must have hurt.”
Her nod was slower this time, as if the gravity of the situation was coming back to her. “It did a little.”
“I’m sorry. Let me make it better.” His whispered words made her heart soar, her stomach do a little excited somersault. Forgoing his previous “almost” manhandling of her, Gryff kissed her gently, handled her slowly, and slipped back into her only when he’d all but worked her up to another earthshattering orgasm. This time, things were different. The pain was still there, of course, and she knew it wouldn’t disappear entirely. But the pain was less, the pleasure more, and she soon found herself rocking her hips in time with his, rising and falling to meet his thrusts, her arms wrapped snugly around his thick shoulders. The ripple of muscle down his back was enough to make her come on the spot—but she didn’t, of course. In fact, she couldn’t come again until he pulled out and used his fingers on her, coaxing her to a sweet climax by rubbing her clit. As she came back down, he filled her one last time, pumping in and out of her until his body stilled and trembled, then relaxed.
She realized then that he must have finished, too, and Beth stroked his back as his breathing quieted, noting the way his skin flushed and his gaze seemed momentarily unfocused. Clearing his throat, Gryff sat up abruptly and ran a hand through his hair. Then he gently eased out of her, gripping his still impressive cock, even half-flaccid, and darted off to the bathroom after throwing her a quick, sexy smile.
When she heard the water running, she reached down to feel between her legs. Sore. Definitely sore, and she would probably be sore for a few days, but there was no blood. Only an ache that was almost pleasant. It would probably get even better—every sex article said that the first time was usually the worst.
As she lay there, she couldn’t imagine it being better, but the very idea made her body hum with excitement.
“Is something burning?” She jolted out of her dreamy state at the sound of Gryff’s voice, sitting up hurriedly and fixing her bra and shirt. He stood in the doorway to her tiny bathroom, toweling himself off with one of her fluffy towels. “Do you smell that?”
“The pizza!”
They both rushed to the oven, Beth yanking the door open and Gryff grabbing her animal-print oven mitts to pull the charring pizza out of the oven. They both fanned away the smoke, staring at what would have been a great evening snack in dismay.
“Want to order in?” he asked after a brief pause, and Beth couldn’t help but smile.
In that moment, despite everything going on in her chaotic and stressful life, she’d never been happier.
Chapter 6
Over the course of a single night, Gryff had lost four more Steel Phoenixes. Four brothers. Four friends. Four coworkers. The club had been hit during a delivery again, and although they’d taken out one of their attackers, there was no way to make up for the loss of four good guys who were just doing their job. When Gryff had heard about the incident, he’d punched a hole in his apartment’s wall, adding to the line he’d cultivated since he started wo
rking this gig. In a way, their deaths were on him. His leads weren’t panning out. He’d been loitering around that fucking college campus for almost three months now, chasing fruitless ventures and winding up with nothing.
The only good thing to come out of his time on campus was Beth, and more specifically, what was between her legs. He hadn’t meant to fuck her the night he went to her apartment, but at the time, it had been clear that she was uncomfortable with him there and didn’t know what to do with him once he walked through the front door. Meek. Timid. The perfect creature for a guy like Gryff, whose tastes ran a little darker than the standard vanilla, to mold to fit his needs. They’d screwed a few more times since then in the two weeks that followed, usually at night after hours of “studying”—and while he was ashamed to say it, he used her body to get out some of his frustrations.
If he’d known she was a virgin, he wouldn’t have touched her at all. Virgins required delicate handling, and she had no idea what she was actually getting into by spreading her legs for Gryff, but the deed was done now. He’d had her. Tasted her. Claimed her. That shy thing was his to play with now…his to use to distract himself from his failings. And he intended to make good use of her. Hell, he’d earned the use of her, all those weeks of listening to her talk about her classes and the weather when all he wanted were those gorgeous lips wrapped around his dick.