by G E Griffin
“You two should get a room,” laughed Calum, one of my rugby mates who was standing nearby watching us, “Oh wait, you’ve got one already. So what are you waiting for?”
There followed much ribald laughter and rude gesturing from the rugby crowd, because they all knew how much I’d been looking forward to tonight.
“Jamie, have you been talking about us to them?” Sera hissed at me, as she nodded her head in their direction.
“What? No, not really. They just know I'm crazy about you, that’s all,” I whispered soothingly into her ear, as I gestured at them behind her back to shut up. I didn’t want her scared off by them, not now, after all this time. And I ignored the looks that Chloe’s friend Poppy kept sending my way. She’d sent me some very suggestive texts, but I’d ignored them, knowing that Sera and I were finally about to fuck.
“I just hate the feeling that…well that they’ll all know….” she whispered.
“Ignore them. They don’t matter and they’re not important. You and me. That’s all that matters.”
“Yes. You and me, of course,” Sera smiled up at me. “Come on. Let’s go up to our room. Let’s do it.”
She leapt out of my arms, grabbed her drink from the table and hurriedly swallowed it down.
“Well, sure, I'm not going to argue with that suggestion,” I replied, rather bemused at her sudden impatience, as I followed her while finishing my drink too. Sera picked up her clutch bag, grabbed my hand and practically ran from the room dragging me along with her.
“Kiss me again,” she insisted when we got in the lift, as she started fumbling around, trying to undo my bow tie.
“Here, let me help you,” I smiled, as I slid my tie off for her, and quickly undid the top buttons of my dress shirt, before I started kissing her again. Then I ran my hand up her leg and under her dress, as Sera clumsily tried to untuck my shirt from my trousers.
We practically fell out of the lift as the doors opened, and stumbled along the corridor towards our room. I guess we were both pretty drunk at this point.
“Have you got the room key?” she giggled. “That would be quite funny, wouldn’t it? If we couldn’t get in our room, after all your plans and preparations.”
“The way I'm feeling right now, I’d just fuck you right here in the corridor,” I replied. “But luckily, I’ve got the key.”
I produced it from my pocket, and after a couple of attempts, managed to swipe it to open the door.
So this was it. Finally. We stepped inside, and I slammed the door shut with my foot.
I threw my jacket on the chair, and pulled my shirt off over my head, so I was standing there in just my trousers. I slipped my shoes and socks off too, as Sera watched me.
“It’s really happening this time,” I smiled, as I pulled her into my arms and kissed her again.
“I guess so,” she laughed nervously.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine, I promise.” I searched in vain for the zip of her dress. “Err…you might have to help me out here. This is kind of an unusual dress.”
Sera stared at me for a moment, before she took a deep breath, undid the zipper that was hidden at the side of her dress, and then let it fall to the floor, so that she was standing there in just her underwear. She was wearing a sexy black strapless corset with a black lacy thong, hold up stockings, and still wearing her high heeled red shoes.
“Sweet Jesus, Sera you look fantastic,” I groaned.
“Jamie, before we… I need to ask how you feel about me. I mean, am I just another notch on your bedpost? I know you’ve had lots of girls before me. Is this something special to you? Am I special to you?”
“How can you even ask that? Of course you’re special. Why do you think I've waited for you? I’m crazy about you.”
“You are?”
“Of course I am. Here, this is how crazy I am about you.” I took hold of her hand and placed it on the front of my trousers so she could feel for herself how much I wanted her.
Her eyes flew wide open as she looked up at me.
“Undo my trousers, see for yourself,” I urged, barely able to contain my excitement.
She slowly undid the fastening with shaking hands, slid the zip down, then let my trousers fall to the floor. I quickly stepped out of them so I was standing there in just my boxers, with my solid erection trying to spring free.
But before I got too carried away, I realised that Sera was still very nervous, despite the amount of alcohol she’d consumed, and remembering how she’d freaked out on me before, I decided I needed to get Sera to relax before we took things any further. I had to remember she was still an inexperienced virgin. Some foreplay was in order.
“Come and lie on the bed with me, let me get you in the mood,” I whispered, as I led her over to the bed, and encouraged her to lie down with me.
“Jamie, I’m not sure…” I covered her mouth with mine to silence her. As I started kissing her, I gently forced my tongue in her mouth, as I slowly edged my hand onto her breast, and gently squeezed it. I felt her tense up, but I didn’t stop.
‘Women respect a man who takes control; they like it, even if they say they don't.’
That’s what Liam had told me, and I was sure he was right. All Sera needed was a firm decisive hand to override her silly nerves and allow herself to let go. She needed me to take control to show her how good it could be if she just stopped fighting me. This had gone on long enough. I'd tried being patient with her for months, now it was time for a different approach. She’d virtually dragged me up here to the bedroom, so I knew she wanted us to have sex. All this token resistance amounted to was a case of last minute nerves that I could help settle with just a small amount of persuasion.
“Please, there’s no need to fight me, Babe,” I whispered, as I pinned her wrists above her head with one of my hands. She was so much smaller than me that I could easily overpower her as I eased myself between her legs to force them apart
“Jamie, this doesn’t feel right,” she started to say again.
“It will, just relax. It’s going to feel wonderful, really good, if you just let me work my magic on you,” I smiled, as slipped my other hand in her little lacy thong to feel for her clit.
But she suddenly went wild and started thrashing about under me.
“No! No, Jamie, this isn’t right, it’s not you, you're not the one! Don’t touch me that way,” she screamed out.
“Sera! Stop it! Just try to relax. You're being really silly. After all this time, after the way you’ve been acting all evening, you know this is what you really want, so stop being like this.”
I pinned her down on the bed, but she tried to kick me off with her legs. Her actions made something inside me snap and I felt my temper flare. She was not going to do this to me again.
“For fuck’s sake, Sera, what is the matter with you? Do you want to remain a frigid virgin all your life? I’ve been patient with you for months and months. You told me you really wanted to be with me tonight, you told me you’re not a lesbian, and you’ve been leading me on all evening. Yet now you start acting like this? Enough is enough, because you really need sorting out, and I know you’re gonna love it and be begging for more once I’ve given you a really good fuck, just like all the other girls I’ve had. Do you know how many I've turned down while I've been waiting for you? Loads. Begging me to fuck them. So don’t mess with me anymore.”
As she struggled under me, and kicked, I tried to put my hand over her mouth to stop her from making too much noise, but she bit me and then screamed out.
“No! Jamie I said no! Stop it.”
When she bit me I recoiled instinctively and Sera cried out as my hand caught against her mouth.
And then there was a loud knock on the bedroom door.
“Hotel security. Is everything alright in there? There’ve been reports of someone screaming. Can you open up please, so that I can check there aren’t any problems?”
The distraction was enough for Sera to
break free from me, jump up and run for the door. As she opened it a little way, I saw the hotel security guy standing there taking in the scene, as Sera quickly grabbed her dress from the floor to hold it over herself.
“Is everything alright, Miss?” the security guy asked, as he eyed me suspiciously.
“I…err…I… was just about to leave. We’ve just had a bit of a misunderstanding,” she mumbled.
“Are you sure that’s all it was? Has this young man been acting in a threatening or inappropriate manner in any way? We can call the police if you wish,” the guy persisted.
“Like I said. It was a misunderstanding. I’m just leaving. No need to involve the police.” Sera quietly insisted, as she picked up her bag and shoes.
“If you’re sure, Miss,” he glared over at me.
“I’m so sorry, Jamie. I never meant for things to end this way.”
And then she was gone.
Chapter 16
Liam
The hurt look in Seraphina’s eyes when I’d told her friend I’d just been testing out whether she was gay or not when I’d kissed her made me feel like a total shit, but I told myself it was for the best. Of course I’d be lying if I tried to deny something inexplicable had happened between us, something I'd never experienced before, and I knew that whatever it was went far deeper than mere physical attraction. There had been an irresistibly powerful connection, a bond, some kind of link that had connected us on a deeper level.
But logically, nothing could come of it. She was my brother’s girlfriend. She was very young and very inexperienced. She’d had too much to drink. I’d had no right taking advantage of her in that way. It would be for the best if I cut off all communication with her, and just let her and Jamie figure things out between them. That’s what my head told me, so I listened to it, as I mulishly ignored what my heart was telling me. I’d never had to make that choice before, as my heart had never taken any kind of an active role in any of my previous dealings with women.
When I dropped Seraphina back home after our evening together at the club, I didn’t respond when she verbally lashed out at me with her sarcastic words, and then pronounced that she would be handing all her design work over to my team.
She was quitting, but that was okay, because she’d completed the hard part of the task. She’d come up with all the ideas and designs, and now all someone else had to do was finish them off. So all was well, wasn’t it? I’d got what I needed from her, and I could easily pay her a generous bonus if I wanted to assuage any feelings of guilt I might have.
So why did I feel so unsettled and restless and conflicted that night? Why was I unable to sleep, as I kept replaying that scene between us at the club over and over again in my head? Why couldn’t I shake the conviction that somehow, against all logic and sense, we were meant for each other? It was as if I’d spent my whole life up to now happily bumbling along in my ignorance, not realizing I was missing something until suddenly I unexpectedly found it.
Until I met Seraphina.
By the way she responded when I held her and kissed her, and by how hurt she was when I denied feeling anything between us, I thought it had to be the same for her. Seraphina had felt the same bond between us.
But I'd sabotaged it, and so whatever it was had finished before it had ever really got started.
Forget about her, it was for the best, I kept telling myself. But on Saturday, as I thought of Seraphina and Jamie in each other’s arms at the ball and then heading off to spend the night together, it was like a knife twisting in my heart, and it was all I could do not to head over there and tear them apart.
He is far more suitable for her than you, my head told me. But you know he is totally wrong for her, my heart told me.
I sat by myself in the kitchen, got out a bottle of whisky and a glass, and then just sat and looked at them. This was how I used to handle things when I was younger. I used to get drunk, very drunk indeed. Then I’d get into fights, which is why I have a scar at the corner of my mouth, a memento of a very nasty brawl that involved a broken bottle. Or if I didn’t get drunk, I used to go for exhilarating high speed rides on my motorbike. I’d acted pretty wild at times, but all that had had to change when my father died.
I’d had to grow up – fast. I’d had to look after my little brother because there was no one else and he was reliant on me. So I learnt to control my wildness by channelling all that energy into making the family business a success. It was my way of making sense of having to drop out of university and giving up the life I’d expected to lead. It was hard, very hard, but I did it. But I'd always been glad that my brother hadn’t had to miss out on things. I’d never regretted making sure he’d always had everything he needed and wanted. Until now. For the first time, I wanted something that he had.
Seraphina.
In the end I didn’t indulge in the bottle of whiskey. I decided there was no point in revisiting that scene. Instead I went for a long swim and a very punishing work out. Then once again I considered the option of seeing if any of my old partners were free for a good fuck to take my mind off things. But I ruled out that option as I knew it wouldn’t solve my dilemma. They weren’t who I wanted anymore. They hadn't been since the moment I'd laid eyes on Seraphina. I could only hope that once she got her place on the exchange program and moved away, Jamie and I could both forget about her and get on with our lives. I just had to keep myself busy, and pray that Jamie would knuckle down and do well in his finals.
That evening I worked at my laptop for a few hours to keep myself busy, but when my mobile rang at around eleven, I quickly answered it when I saw it was Jamie calling.
“What’s up?”
“Liam, I’ve messed up…badly,” he mumbled into the phone. It sounded as if he had been drinking.
“What do you mean - what’s happened? Are you alright?”
“It’s Sera. I don’t know where she is. She ran off…”
He had my full attention now, as alarm bells rang in my head.
“What do you mean, she ran off? What happened?”
“I just… it all… she got upset… now they’re talking about getting the police…” he rambled.
“Jamie, listen to me. Calm down and start explaining, because right now you’re not making a lot of sense. Where did Sera go? Is she alright?”
“I don’t know, I keep telling you. She freaked out on me again, and I was so frustrated…”
“What the hell did you do to her?” I felt my worry and anger building, as I waited for him to elaborate.
“Nothing. I was just trying to calm her down, that’s all. She shouldn’t have bitten me, and then I wouldn’t have reacted the way I did…”
“Why the fuck did she bite you?”
“I did like you told me, Liam. You know, about how women respect a man who takes control; how they like it, even if they say they don't. I knew it was just nerves when she tried to stop me, she didn’t mean what she said, so I took control, but then she bit my hand.”
“You didn’t…you didn’t rape her did you?” The words came out as a whisper, as I closed my eyes in dread.
“No! Of course not.”
“Then why is there talk about getting the police involved?”
“Someone reported hearing screams to the hotel security, so they got involved,” he admitted.
“She was screaming at you to stop? But you carried on and ignored her?”
“It sounds worse than it is. It wasn’t that bad.”
“So why did she run out on you?”
“She just overreacted and panicked I guess. It wasn’t my fault, she’d been coming on to me all evening, and she virtually dragged me up to the bedroom, then she suddenly froze up on me again. How was I supposed to keep up? Sera is one weird girl, I’m telling you, Liam. I’m done with her. You were right. She might be really hot, but she’s way too much trouble.”
“Have you any idea where she went?”
“I'm guessing she headed back to the house
. The other guys are both away at the moment, so she knows it’ll be empty. Look Liam, I’m worried, because I know she told the security guy not to call the police, but what if she changes her mind and decides to get them involved after all? Nothing actually happened, but you know how these things get blown up. What should I do?”
“You sound as if you’ve had quite a bit to drink, so just stay put there at the hotel. I’ll see if I can track Seraphina down to make sure she’s okay, and find out exactly what’s going on. Has she got her mobile with her? Did she have enough money for a taxi?”
“How the hell should I know? When you find her, just make sure she isn’t going to report me to the police, that’s the main thing, because I didn’t actually do anything to her.”
~*~
As soon as I finished the call with Jamie, I tried ringing Seraphina’s mobile, but she didn’t answer. So I sent a text message, hoping that she would see it and respond.
Where are you? I heard what happened. Please let me know you’re safe. Call me back as soon as you get this. Liam.
I grabbed my jacket and headed out to my car, calling her number again as I walked out, but she still didn’t answer. I sent another quick text before driving off.
I’m concerned for your welfare. Just let me know you’re safe. Please call me back. Liam.
But there was no response, and I felt a horrid sick feeling in my stomach. I couldn’t bear to think of Seraphina all alone and frightened and vulnerable. I had to find her. I felt this fierce overwhelming need to protect her, and I hated to think how my brother had treated her. I couldn’t help thinking that I was at least partly to blame, because I’d virtually pushed her into his arms, hadn't I?
Luckily the traffic was fairly light at that time of the evening, so I got over to the student house quite quickly, and wasted no time in letting myself in.
“Seraphina? Are you here?” I called out, but there was no one downstairs.
I made my way upstairs, thinking that if she wasn’t here, the only other place I could think she might have gone was to her friend Abbey, but I had no idea where she lived. As I climbed the second set of stairs to the attic room, I saw a crack of light coming from under her door. So unless she’d gone out and left the light on, surely that meant she was in her room?