I bark out a laugh. “Oh my God, you are such a stickler for the rules.” Not that that in any way surprises me. Growing up, Dev and I were the rule breakers and Ayd was the one constantly saving our asses. Not that I’m completely reckless. I’m not stupid, and I’d never deliberately flout the rules if it was something important, but Ayden is so serious about everything. Dev and I teased him relentlessly growing up. “We’re teenagers, Ayd, we’re supposed to disobey our parents, and Mom is no fool. She knows we’re dating now, so she’s practically expecting it, and we really shouldn’t disappoint her.”
His lips twitch, and he starts tickling me. “You have an answer for everything, missy.”
I shriek, squirming on his lap as he continues his onslaught. His eyes zone in on my lips, and his gaze darkens with lust. His mouth is on mine in a flash, and he kisses me deeply. Snaking my arms around his neck, I kiss him back with the same need, running my fingers through his hair and crushing my body to his. I feel him underneath me, hardening and lengthening, and it skyrockets my own arousal into orbit. I grind against him, feeling him right where I need him, moaning into his mouth.
“Lina.” His voice is thick with lust. “I want to stay with you tonight, but I don’t think we should have sex yet.”
I peer into his eyes. “You don’t want that with me?”
He grips my head firmly, his eyes blazing with sincerity. “Of course, I do, but it’s a big step and I want you to be sure.”
I nod, relaxing at his honesty. “I know, and when I asked you to stay, I wasn’t asking for that. I miss sleeping beside you.”
His features soften, and my heart melts at the adoring look in his eyes. He pecks my lips briefly. “Me too, and I’m glad we’re in agreement on this.”
“This feels very grown up,” I tell him later that night as we lie side by side in my bed.
He reels me in close, and I nuzzle against his bare chest. He’s wearing pajama pants and I’m in my comfy PJs and socks and it’s not in any way awkward as I thought it might be after our earlier chat. “This feels right.”
I look up at him, smiling. “It does. It really does.”
He kisses me softly, and I kiss him back, basking in the strength and warmth of his embrace. The kisses turn more heated, and he pulls me even closer to his body, and I can’t help moaning when his erection strains, pushing into my belly. My fingers trace circles on his chest while his tongue plunders my mouth. I straddle him, grabbing tufts of his hair and rocking my hips into his, kissing him over and over, need consuming my entire body. My lips leave his mouth, trailing along his jaw, nibbling on his ear, and my teeth graze his neck as I move lower. I pepper his chest with kisses, my tongue darting out to lick his nipples, and he emits a primal groan that has my core pulsing with need.
My fingers creep to the waistband of his pajama pants, hovering there. I lift my head up, looking at him. “I know we agreed no sex, but we can do other stuff, right?”
A vein throbs wildly in his neck as he licks his lips. “If you’re sure.”
I don’t take my eyes off him as my hand slips under his pants. “I’m sure.” He makes a strangled sound when my hand wraps around him, and I start pumping slowly, up and down, in a rhythmic motion. Still keeping my eyes on him, I tug his pants down, watching as he springs free. I kneel up, taking a moment to ogle his gorgeous body. “Ayd,” I whisper. “You are too beautiful for words.”
His eyes roll back in his head as I lean down, wrapping my mouth around him and taking him as deep as I can. I work him slowly at first, relishing every flick of my tongue, every taste of his smooth skin and the salty, sweaty scent of his arousal. Gripping the base of his cock, I pump up and down as my lips works faster and faster, my teeth lightly grazing his throbbing length. He starts thrusting more urgently into my mouth, and I squirm as my own need accelerates. I think I could come like this.
His breath is oozing out in exaggerated spurts, and his legs are spasming as I cup his balls and gently squeeze. He tries to pull away, but I clamp on, suctioning my mouth to the top of his cock while my hand continues stroking his length. “Lina, I’m going to …” He tries to pull out, but I stay locked on, and he spasms, crying out as his release emits in hot spurts into my mouth and down my throat. I stay with him until I’ve swallowed every last drop. When his body has stopped thrusting, I pull away, sitting up and eyeing him with a naughty glint in my eye.
He props up on his elbows, looking at me with a stunned expression on his face. “Holy shit, Lina. Where the fuck did you learn to do that?” I open my mouth to speak, but he holds up one palm, stalling me. “Second thoughts, I don’t want to know.” He opens his arms. “Come here, sexy.”
I crawl up his body, snuggling into his side, draping one leg over his. He kisses me passionately, holding my face and keeping me pinned to his side. Then, our positions are reversed, and he’s got me flat on my back as his lips start worshiping me everywhere. “I want this off.” He tugs at my top and I sit up, slowly peeling it off. He stares at me, and my nipples harden under his attentive gaze. “You are so unbelievably gorgeous, Lina. My God.” Bending his head, he gently sucks one nipple into his mouth, and my head falls back as I whimper. My entire body is tingling and awash with sensation as he lavishes attention on my breasts, his hands roaming up and down my sides until I’m hot and aching all over. He lifts his head up. “I want to taste you too. Is that okay?”
“Please.” I don’t even recognize my own voice, dripping with lust and urgent need. He removes my pajama pants and strips me of my panties until I’m lying bare underneath him. “So fucking beautiful,” he murmurs, cupping me down there. My eyes shutter and my back arches off the bed. “Ayden, please. I’m already so close.”
He slips one finger inside me, and it glides in smoothly. “Fuck.” He adds another, and my strangled moan would be embarrassing if I actually cared. But all I care about right now is getting off. His lips join his fingers, and I almost buck off the bed. “Careful, baby.” With one hand on my hip, he holds me in place, his tongue working overtime to match the frantic pumping of his fingers.
I shatter explosively, screaming as the orgasm rips through me, igniting every nerve ending and every cell, flooding my body with blissful sensation. As I come down from my high, I open my eyes to find him watching me, a mix of joy and concern on his face. Tears prick my eyes, and his smile drops. “Hey.” He moves up the bed, curling around me from behind. “Did I hurt you?”
“God, no.” I swipe away the tears. “These are happy tears. I never thought we could have this and that it’d be so good, feel so right, and I just …” I love you. I think it but I can’t say it. Not yet. Not now. Now when I feel so conflicted. How can I feel like this with him when every part of me still mourns the loss of Devin? I’m so confused, and I can’t help feeling guilty for my thoughts, so I can’t tell him I love him, not until he owns my full heart.
“I know, baby,” he whispers, and his hot breath tickles my neck. “You don’t have to say it. I feel it too.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Another couple of weeks rolls by, and life moves on. I barely see Devin or Becky, and outside of school, ballet, work, and football practice, Ayden and I spend every spare minute with each other. My friends are already teasing me that we’ve become one of those couples who are constantly joined at the hip. If Mom knows Ayden is warming my bed again, she isn’t saying anything. While we still haven’t had sex, and we haven’t discussed it again, our make-out sessions are getting very hot and heavy, and I know it’s only a matter of time. And I feel ready to give that part of myself to him, so I’m thinking it might be time to reopen that particular topic of conversation.
Devin still occupies far too much of my headspace, and that little pang in my heart still aches for him, but I’m not moping any more, and I’m getting on with things, which is the way it should be. But I miss him like crazy, and I know Ayden must too, but we never tal
k about him—it’s as if he doesn’t exist.
After the bell rings on Friday, signaling the end of another school week, I join the throngs in the corridor and walk to my locker to collect my things before heading to Ayden’s football practice. I know the coach from the UI Hawkeyes will be here to check up on my guy, and I’m sure he’s nervous. Thank God, there was no permanent damage to his arm. I smile when I spot his tall blond head towering over everyone as he waits by my locker. He’s there every day after class ends without fail. I watch him watching my every step, and his gaze smolders as he drinks me in. I don’t think he’ll need much convincing to take our relationship to the next level.
“Hey, sexy.” He draws me into his arms, immediately meshing his mouth with mine. The kiss turns scorching hot straightaway, and we’re devouring one another. Delicious tingles skip around my body, and I grab fistfuls of his hair, moaning against his mouth, forgetting about the outside world as his kiss pulls me deeper and deeper into our own little universe. Ayden is an incredible kisser, and the excitement of being able to kiss him at will hasn’t faded. He grinds his pelvis into mine, and I gasp into his mouth, feeling how much he wants me. To know he desires me for all the right reasons, and he doesn’t deny me anything, makes me unbelievably happy.
Everything with Ayden is just easy-breezy.
Without breaking the kiss, he moves us around the corner so we have a little more privacy. He runs his hands up my side, casually brushing the side of my breast as his mouth continues to worship mine. My fingers dig into his hips, and I hold him tighter against me as we continue to eat one another.
Without warning, he’s ripped off me, and I stand there, blinking, confused, dazed, watching as Devin shoves Ayden up against the wall. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Dev demands, his nostrils flaring.
“What I do with my girlfriend is none of your business.” Ayden pushes him off.
“You were practically dry humping her in front of everyone. Show some respect.”
Ayden throws back his head, fake laughing. “Oh my God, this is priceless. You think you can lecture me on respect? What a fucking joke.”
A heated flush travels up my chest as I notice the growing crowd of gossip-hungry bystanders. I step toward the boys. “We’re not getting into this in front of everyone again.”
“Back up, Ange,” Devin says, his eyes darting to my swollen mouth. “This is between Ayden and me.” Emotion burns red-hot in his eyes as he stares at me. Ayden growls, and Devin whips his head around, shoving Ayden again. His eyes narrow to slits as he puts his face all up in Ayden’s. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing?” He glares at his former best friend. “You planned this all along. That’s why you told me to do it. You wanted her all to yourself, and I’m the fool because I didn’t see it.” Devin slams his fist into the locker right by Ayden’s head, and I jump.
“Stop talking crap,” Ayden snaps. “If you want to blame someone, point the finger at yourself. Your inability to keep your dick in your pants is the reason you lost her, and trying to pin this on me is pathetic. I love her and I’m taking care of her, and that includes keeping her away from you and that skank you call a girlfriend.”
“Fuck you, man. She was mine, and you knew it, but you took her anyway.”
“Not my fault you didn’t stake your claim when you had the chance.”
“You know why I didn’t! You’re a fucking asshole.” Devin thrusts his fist into Ayden’s face, and I scream. Ayden charges Devin, pushing him across the corridor as people scurry out of his path, slamming his back into the wall of lockers. The metal rattles and shakes as they trade blows, punching and swinging and knocking the shit out of one another.
Mariah sidles up to me, hooking her arm in mine. Cody sends me an apologetic look. “Do something,” I beg him. “Please.”
Devin’s head jerks back and blood sprays from his mouth. Ayden punches him full force in the stomach, and Devin tumbles to the ground. Ayden jumps on top of him, landing blow after blow, and I watch in horrified shock as Cody and Josh try to haul him off.
A loud, shrill whistle erupts in the corridor, and the crowd disperses, leaving room for Coach Arnold and Principal Wells to make their way through.
“Go home,” the principal shouts, flapping her hands about as she gestures to the nosy bystanders. “The final bell has rung, and there’s nothing to see here.”
Coach drags Ayden up by the scruff of his neck, shaking his head in disappointment. Blood seeps out of his nose, and the top of his shirt is torn and bloody. Cody helps Devin to his feet, and I gasp. His nose has doubled in size, and blood gushes out of it, dripping over the cut in his lip and the bruising along his jawline. His cheekbones are swollen, and one eye is half-closed and puffy. He looks worse than he does after an official fight, and I can’t believe Ayden did that to him. He’s like he lost all control.
“In my office. Now.” The principal is furious as she stomps in the direction of her office.
Coach has a firm grip on Ayden’s elbow as he steers him after the principal. “Can you take Lina home,” Ayd calls out to Cody, deliberately not looking at me.
“Sure, man.”
Devin rips a strip off the end of his shirt, shoving it into his nostrils in an attempt to stop the bleeding, and then he hobbles down the corridor after the others, completely ignoring me too. Mariah tugs on my arm. “Come on, let’s go.”
I shuck her arm off. “I’m not leaving without Ayd.”
Cody crosses his arms. “Ange, you heard him. He wants you to go home.”
I plant my hands on my hips. “I don’t care. He doesn’t make decisions for me. I’m staying and that’s that.”
I stalk off, dropping into a seat outside the principal’s office to wait it out.
Shouts and the sound of arguing trickle from the room, and I know the guys are in deep shit for this. Principal Wells has a strict no-violence policy, and there will be hell to pay for sure.
About ten minutes later, the sounds of approaching footsteps prompt me to straighten up in my seat. My eyes pop wide as Mr. Morgan appears in my line of sight. He’s wearing dirty khaki work pants and a white shirt that’s smeared with grease. His handsome face is drawn in a hard grimace, and his fists are clenched at his sides. He stops in front of the door, glancing down at me. Recognition dawns on his face. “It’s Angelina, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
An amused smile curves up the corners of his mouth. “I haven’t seen you in years.” His green eyes, so similar to Devin’s, roam up and down my body, and I squirm in my seat as my palms grow sweaty. “Look at you.” His eyes narrow and darken, and he pins me in place with a look that sends chills creeping up my spine. “All grown up.” His gaze darts to my chest, and, instinctively, I bring my bag against my body, hugging it to my chest.
The door swings open, and the principal looks from Devin’s dad to me, frowning. “Mr. Morgan. Were you planning on joining us?”
Racing footsteps approach. “Stop looking at her!” Devin yells at his dad.
Mr. Morgan slants a venomous look at his son. “Shut your mouth. You’re in no position to make demands.”
“If everyone can just calm down,” the principal says, stepping aside. “Please come in, Mr. Morgan. We’re just waiting on Mr. and Mrs. Carter to arrive.”
“Won’t that be fun,” Devin’s dad drawls, turning to look at me one final time. Without invitation, he takes my hand, bringing it to his mouth and planting a sloppy kiss on my skin. I shudder, my mouth turns dry, and my stomach lurches unpleasantly. “What a pleasure it was to meet you again. I look forward to our next encounter.” The grin he gives me is predatory in the extreme, and a rush of unease settles over me.
Devin yanks his father into the room by the elbow, shooting me a panicked look. “I’m sorry,” he mouths.
The principal eyes me with concern. “It’s time
you went home, Ms. Ward.”
“I’m waiting for Ayden, and he’s my ride.”
“Mr. Carter won’t be finished for some time. I strongly suggest you make alternative arrangements.”
I risk a peek into the room, and my eyes lock on Ayden’s. He’s hunched over in his seat, looking like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I’m waiting for my boyfriend.”
Mr. Morgan leans back in his chair, crossing his feet at the ankles and sneering at Devin. Devin stares straight ahead as if he’s looking at nothing.
The clickety-click of heels tapping off the tiled floor alerts us to the arrival of the Carters. “Honey,” Mrs. Carter says, placing her hand on my shoulder. “You should go home.”
I have a sudden urge to bare my teeth and snarl. What’s up with everyone thinking they know what’s best for me? Biting back my frustration, I smile at Ayden’s mom. “I’m waiting for Ayd.”
Finally, everyone leaves me alone, and the door shuts as the meeting resumes. Coach storms out a short while later, shaking his head and looking at his watch. He doesn’t say a word to me as he runs down the corridor. Fifteen minutes later, the door opens and Ayden steps out. I stand up, and he takes my hand. “Let’s get out of here.” He hurries me along the corridor before the others make an appearance.
We don’t speak for ages, not until we’re coasting on the highway, going the opposite direction to home. “Where are we going?”
“I don’t know, but I just need to drive around for a while till I cool down.”
“What happened?”
“We’ve both been suspended for a week.”
“Shit.”
“Dad is fuming, and Coach is pissed at me too especially because he had to ban me from practice tonight.” He slams the steering wheel in frustration, accidentally pressing the horn. “Fuccckkk!”
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