Exposed: Book One of The Love Seekers Series

by Vickers, Maria

  And since we could not be together in person, our imaginations became very creative.

  For about a week after I returned to San Diego from the East Coast, we either couldn’t connect at the same time, or if we did, our conversations were fleeting and short lived. Not exactly a great start to our long distance relationship, but things eventually changed and we were finally able to speak for longer than five minutes at a time.

  Damn, merely thinking about the first time we were able to have a long conversation, got me hard. It was the first of many “special conversations.”

  I wasn’t even sure who initiated what that day. We were talking on video chat, and the next thing I knew, we were both taking off our shirts, lying back on our beds, and daring each other to take it further.

  She took me up on my dare first by removing her shorts. The sight of her purple panties with little skulls and crossbones on them, made my mouth water. I desired her, but it was more than that…I craved her.

  “Take yours off too.” Her sultry smile demanded I follow through with her request. She was a cheeky one.

  I did. Angling the computer so that she could still see me when I stood up, my fingers moved to the buttons of my jeans as I heard music start to play through my computer’s speakers. She had turned on the radio. Lifting a brow in question, I asked, “What are you doing?”

  “Mood music for my striptease.” She snickered. My girl was in a very good mood tonight, and I couldn’t blame her. I was too. Although it had only been a couple of weeks, it had been too long since we truly connected with each other, and on that particular night, we had all the time in the world.

  That said, her request made me chuckle. “Striptease?”

  “Yep.” Emphasis on the “P”. “Bow chicka bow bow.”

  I doubled over laughing. “What the hell have you been watching?”

  “It’s what happens in a lot of movies.” She giggled. That sound had the power to make everything melt away. I wanted to make her laugh and smile for as long as she let me. I didn’t need time or space to know this girl was the one and only one for me.

  “We seriously have to talk about your movie preferences later.”

  “Much later. Right now, strip.”

  “Just wait until we’re back in the same state.”

  “I can’t wait. I’d much rather have you here than on the computer.”

  “Me too, honey. Me too.”

  We both paused for a moment. “Well…?” She pressed.

  Laughing again, I shook my head, buy my hands returned to my fly. “All right! All right!”

  Somehow we both wound up naked in our own beds, wishing we were with each other instead of alone, directing each other over our virtual connection.

  “Grab your dick and squeeze. Move your hand up and down…not too fast. I want to draw this out.” My hand did as it was ordered. Wrapping it around the base of my cock, I squeezed it gently and started pumping my fist up and down, staying away from my sensitive head because I didn’t want to blow before I could make her come.

  My voice sounded throaty as I gave her a set of instructions to follow. “Lick your middle finger and trail it down to one of your nipples. Circle it. Yeah, just like that baby. Now pinch it.” Her soft moan almost made me come, but I let go of my dick before I embarrassed myself. If I couldn’t make her come first, I wanted to come together. I refused to be the first to fall over the edge. “Now move your hand lower, between your thighs. Spread your legs for me. Press on your clit and move your finger in a circle over it.” Her breath hitched. Fuck, I wanted to bury my cock deep inside her. Swallowing hard, I cleared my throat, and instructed, “Stick a couple fingers from your other hand inside your pussy. Imagine it’s me thrusting inside you.” She followed my directions to a T, and her soft moans were getting a little louder and higher pitched. Her head fell back and her eyes fluttered closed. Her fingers moved in and out on one hand as the others pinched and circled her clit, gradually getting faster. Her breathing became erratic, and I forgot all about my own pleasure as I watched her climb higher and higher. Lifting her hips to meet her thrusting fingers, she started to call out my name between moans.

  Almost unconsciously, my hand had returned to my dick and began pumping it hard and fast, moving over the head. Up, down, and over. Up, down, and over. My own breathing felt labored. I rushed toward my own orgasm. Grunting and groaning met my ears, and I realized that those noises were coming from me, not her.

  Her hands no longer moved at a steady pace. They were jerky, trying to push her over the edge as quickly as possible. If I listened closely, I could hear the sounds of the wetness as her fingers fucked her pussy. I couldn’t take my eyes off of my screen. She had situated the computer at the end of the bed and I could see everything. I didn’t want to miss a detail.

  And suddenly, her hips lifted slightly off of the bed, her legs stiffened, and her toes curled as she screamed, “Bryan!” Her orgasm claimed her, and watching her shatter, sent me over the edge as well. My dick erupted, splattering my stomach and chest. Fuck! That had been intense.

  Neither one of us spoke for several minutes. The only thing that could be heard was our labored, erratic breathing as we tried to come down from our highs.

  Since that night, we’d repeated that event several times, and now in less than 24 hours we’d be together again. My anticipation grew, as did the need to feel Emma in my arms. I wanted her warmth, her body…her. I needed her, only her.

  One of the only downsides about my relationship with Emma: Rayne. To hell with my sister. I had hoped Rayne’s attitude toward Emma would’ve changed over the last two months, but it hadn’t. If anything, it had gotten worse. An hour ago, my sister had the audacity to ask me to break up with Emma. What the hell? I refused to give into my sister’s selfish request. I wasn’t sure what Rayne’s problem was, but she needed to get over it quickly. Emma was staying.

  Chapter 39

  Emma

  Finally! Not including video messaging or pictures sent back and forth, I hadn’t seen Bryan in two months and six days.

  Mel stood beside me at the airport, waiting for Bryan with me. She kept teasing me, telling me I was a combination of cute and pathetic all rolled into one. Maybe I was, but didn’t care. I wanted him to arrive so I could wrap my arms around him. Besides she had no room to talk, because when it came to Luke, Mel acted the exact same way.

  Didn’t the plane land already? What was taking so long?

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” sneered a newcomer behind me.

  I recognized that voice. I crossed my fingers, hoping I was wrong, but seeing Mel’s glare, my hopes were dashed. Rayne showed up even though Bryan had specifically asked her not to come. Up until this point, Lady Luck favored me. When we arrived, we pulled into the very last handicap spot, which happened to be right in front of the very doors Bryan agreed to meet me. We hit zero traffic, and had gotten to the airport early. But it looked like my luck had finally run out.

  “I think the question is, what the fuck are you doing here? Bryan told you Emma was going to pick him up.” The way Mel’s lips curled into a snarl, made her appear as if she was about to embrace her feral animal side and attack. Since the wedding, the two friends had been at odds—something I felt responsible for.

  “Then why are you here, Miss…oh sorry, Mrs. High and Mighty?”

  “Emma needed a ride and I was available. So, get lost.”

  Talking in a baby voice, Rayne said, “Awe. Does she need you to wipe her ass as well as speak for her? Such a good mommy.”

  “Enough!” I growled. Slowly, I spun around to confront Bryan’s sister. “Leave. Bryan doesn’t want you here.”

  Her glare could melt paint off a house. “Trying to separate us? Trying to take my brother away from me?”

  “I would never do something like that. Now, back off and go home. He’ll see you later.”

  “You aren’t worth his time or energy. You’re just a broken down nobody. You really th
ink he wants someone like you when he can have someone who’s actually pretty, whole, and isn’t pathetic enough to use a walker? Am I right boys?” Rayne snarled, drawing my attention to the others with her.

  I immediately recognized the shorter of the two men, the one leering at me: Allen. Fuck! I never expected to see him again, and now all of the sudden he was with Rayne. How? Why? What the hell was going on?

  The other man, I now recognized as Allen’s brother, Paul, chastised Rayne. “Stop it. Let’s just go, and we’ll catch up with Bryan later.” His face appeared slightly red, almost as if Rayne’s behavior embarrassed him. I was so confused. Why were they here? Why were they with her?

  “Paul? Allen? What the hell are you guys doing here?” Bryan questioned. Apparently, while I had been otherwise occupied, he’d made it through the gate, and I’d missed his arrival. But it didn’t matter right now. Allen was there. I stood there frozen, unable to say or do anything. My nightmare had come to life and haunted me.

  Stepping past me, he greeted the two men and his sister before whipping around and sweeping me up in his arms. “God, Em, I missed you.” My voice spurned me, refusing to work. Noticing, I sagged against him like a limp ragdoll—it wasn’t only my voice that did not work—he carefully set me down, and his gaze swept over me. “Em?”

  Allen laughed. “That’s where I recognized this bitch from!”

  My eyes stung with tears, but I forbade any drops to fall. No more tears would be cried because of my ex—if you could call him that. I hated him, and I hated myself for my reaction.

  “I’d watch it if I were you, Allen,” Bryan warned without taking his eyes off me.

  “Oh that’s right. You stuck up for her that day too.” He guffawed.

  That day? Stuck up for me?

  “What are you talking about? Rayne, why the fuck are you even here? I told you I’d see you later.”

  “Our cousins come all this way to see you and welcome you home, and that’s how you want to act?” His sister sneered. Her attitude reeked of animosity and loathing for me. This went beyond someone who feared someone that was different. What had I done to her?

  Wait. Did she say cousins?

  Bryan glanced over his shoulder, meeting her glare for glare. “Considering I arranged for Emma to pick me up, and informed you I’d see you later tonight, yeah, I’ll act this way. Secondly, I didn’t know they were coming into town. Now I suggest you check your fucking attitude at the door, or else!”

  “What? You going to choose her over family?”

  “Every fucking minute of every fucking day. I told you, I love her.”

  Rayne sucked in her breath. She hadn’t expected that answer.

  “I see the bitch managed to do to you what she couldn’t do to me.” Allen’s amusement about the situation made me physically ill. Bile swished in my stomach, rising up into my throat, burning it with acid.

  Bryan’s fingers dug into my waist where he still held me. He hung onto his temper by a thread, but I could tell he was ready to punch Allen. “What the fuck are you talking about?” he demanded.

  “She’s wrapped you around her little finger. This bitch tried to do that to me too, but it didn’t work. After I fucked her, I tried to throw her out of my house, but you came in and took her away for me.”

  I gasped. Could it be true? I knew Paul had been there, but I never knew who the other man had been. As distraught as I was that day, I had zero clues as to his identity

  His eyes searched mine. “Is he telling the truth? Were you with him?”

  Was that the part he wanted to focus on? Did this mean if I admitted I had been, Bryan would leave me? My throat felt tight, my gaze dropping to my feet. “Yes.”

  “Paul, did you know?” Bryan demanded.

  “No one even told me you were dating anyone new. Your sister here told us that you’d need a ride home, and that we should surprise you,” Paul answered, looking decidedly even more uncomfortable than he had previously.

  Bryan’s head bobbed up and down. “I see. Nice of her to do that for me.” His was voice filled with sarcasm. His eyes never left me as he called out, “Mel?”

  “Yeah?” My friend responded with an unsure tremble in her voice. Her tone told me, she had her guard up, ready to strike if required.

  “You drive her here today?”

  “Yeah. Her battery died, and she asked me to pick her up so she wouldn’t be late.”

  “Where’d you park?”

  “Just outside in handicap.”

  “Paul, can you grab my bag? Mel, grab her walker.” His orders given, Bryan swept me up in his arms. I squeaked in surprise. His lips tickled my ear when he whispered, “I’d save you again and again if you needed me to. You are what matters to me. I. Love. You.”

  I’d been afraid. Afraid that now that he realized who I was—regardless of the fact I’d been clueless myself—he would leave me. Afraid that if his sister really pushed, he would walk away. Afraid that others’ opinions might influence him. Afraid that if he knew about what happened that day, he would think less of me, pity me, turn away from me, or feel ashamed of me. Some of those fears still lingered, but with that one action and a few whispered words, he calmed some of them like the sun banishing the darkness.

  We waited patiently beside Mel’s red four-door truck for her to unlock it. Hearing the click of the lock, Paul opened the door for him, and Bryan carefully placed me in the backseat, kissing my forehead before he turned around. Paul had already thrown Bryan’s bag into the bed of the pickup, along with my walker that Mel had pushed out of the terminal.

  I noticed the crazed look in Bryan’s eye. Something was about to happen, but what?

  “Thanks, Paul.” Bryan clasped him on the shoulder, and when Allen approached him from behind, Bryan spun around and punched him in the stomach, forcing his cousin to double over and groan in pain. Lifting his knee, Bryan caught Allen in the face and sent him flying backwards where he crashed onto the pavement. “Maybe she does have me wrapped, however, it doesn’t look like you’ve done any growing up at all. I thought we taught you a lesson that day, but I guess you didn’t learn shit. If you ever say anything about Emma, look at her funny, or do anything that makes her feel uncomfortable, I will skin you alive right before I stab you in the heart. You won’t even get a chance to explain.” His gaze shifted to Rayne, who stood near where Allen landed. “And you…I’ve already said this once, but I’ll repeat myself one more time, back the fuck off. If you don’t want to accept Emma, that’s fine, but we’re a package deal now. I’m not saying you have to like her, but you will respect her and treat her decently. If you can’t do that, I have nothing more to say to you. Paul, I’ll call you later. I need to get Em home. Mel, let’s go.” With that, he jumped into the backseat with me, wrapped his arms around me, pulled me tightly to him, and spared not one more word or a second of his time for the people he left behind.

  Chapter 40

  Bryan

  Emma and I had met in the past? Emma, my Emma was the girl I helped save? My head swam with the myriad of thoughts that assaulted me. I remembered that day very well, but I also remembered a different girl. Not necessarily as far as her appearance went, since I had never gotten a really good look at her physically, however, her whole countenance had changed. Emma, for the most part, acted confident and self-assured, and when she didn’t feel it, she faked it with the best of them. The girl from my memory trembled, didn’t speak, and flinched whenever Paul or I said or did anything. In other words, the girl I rescued that day had been a frightened soul that my younger cousin took advantage of, but given what we had walked in on that day, I understood why she acted skittish.

  I had been visiting family in Texas, forced there by my parents with the expectations, my aunt and uncle would be able convince me not to join the Navy. It wasn’t a secret that as soon as I got my degree, I planned on joining.

  After I had been there for about two weeks, Paul suggested we find his brother and do something toge
ther. Allen had made himself scarce since my arrival, and I only had one more week before I left. If I’d had my way, I would’ve left Allen alone. He and I never really got along with each other, even as children, and I didn’t care about spending any quality family time with him. But I went along with the plan because Paul wanted it. Unlike Allen, Paul and I got along fantastically, still did even though we only found time to talk occasionally.

  Pulling up to the small house outside of the city limits that Allen had been crashing at with some of his friends, the first thing I noticed was more than ten cars were parked around the house. Some in the yard, some in the driveway. It was a rural house, so the cars parked haphazardly did not surprise me, but the sheer number did for some reason. As we stepped into the house without knocking, we heard a crowd of people. It sounded like an angry mob. I remembered looking at him right before we rushed toward the bedroom, broke through the crowd, and found their victim. We did what we could to get her out of there as soon as possible.

  After we dropped her off, I never thought I’d ever see her again; and I certainly never expected her to be the girl I eventually fell in love with. I wouldn’t say that I never thought about that girl or what happened to her, I had. I’d always hoped she healed and moved on to a better life without my horrible cousin. It felt fulfilling to find out what became of that scared girl. On the other hand, it filled in that missing piece about Emma, and some of her self-esteem issues. Given the crowd that day, and what they were saying, it would have stayed with almost anyone, including me.