by M. F. Wild
Even though I’d managed to avoid talking to Paul, I knew we needed to sit down and hash things out if I had any chance of saving our friendship. Unlike the level-headed Reed, Paul was hurt and overly emotional about the fact that I’d slept with him. I’d given him time to process everything and hopefully understand once and for all that we couldn’t have a romantic future together.
Whether or not he had come to this realization on his own, I cared enough about keeping him in my life to make sure I gave him the right reasons to stay.
He was waiting at a table in the campus café when I arrived. I ordered a coffee and took the seat opposite his.
“Hi,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Hey.” He adjusted his glasses and kept his stare fixed on the tabletop between us.
“I’m sorry about everything, Paul.”
He lifted his gaze, his eyebrow arched. “You’re sorry?”
“I should have been more careful with our friendship. It makes me sick to think that I’ve jeopardized that.”
He winced, and sadness washed across his features. “Clare, I’m still your friend. I just wish I could be more.”
I nodded. “I know that now. I’m sorry if I misled you. I tried to be honest with you.”
“You were. You told me everything. I just couldn’t bring myself to believe it.”
I sighed, hating that I’d hurt my friend so much. “I want you to know that this isn’t about Eric. It’s not about me choosing him over you or anything like that.”
His lips tightened. “Sure feels that way.”
I reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it toward me. “I don’t compare everyone in my life to him and then decide how I feel. I really care about you, Paul. You’re my friend for reasons that have nothing to do with him and everything to do with the time we’ve shared together this year. We’ve gotten to know each other a lot. I respect you, and I love being around you. You make me laugh. You’re the best study buddy a girl could have.”
He met my small smile with one of his own.
“Promise me that we haven’t lost that,” I said, my voice a whisper.
He tightened his hold on my hand, threading our fingers together before leaning in and holding me with his warm green gaze. “Loving you doesn’t mean I can’t be your friend, Clare. It just means that I have to honor the boundaries you’ve set for our relationship. I respect that now. And if anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I came on strong, and I basically lied when I said that I could accept one night in your bed for what it was…one night. That was selfish of me.”
I took comfort in the warmth of his hand in mine. The muscles that once held tension in anticipation of this conversation began to relax. “I forgive you, okay?”
His smile broadened. “Good.”
“Friends?”
He nodded. His mouth softened and his gaze grew warm with affection. “Friends.”
* * *
“Where is Clare?” My mom didn’t bother hugging me when I stepped through the door. Instead she stared at me with wide-eyed concern.
“Hello to you too, Mom,” I muttered, though the same question had been on my mind over the four-hour drive back home. I’d partied with my pals all night, nursed a decent hangover the next morning, and by the time I got to Clare’s dorm later that day, both Lacey and she were gone.
She’d never given me a chance to officially invite her to stay with me back in Ridgeville for the holiday. I didn’t expect she’d say yes anyway. Things had been too shaky between us. Didn’t change the fact that I wasn’t going to go another day without her. I was done waiting.
“Did she dump you already?” My little brother piped up from his reclining posture on the couch where he was busy killing zombies on the latest video game.
My jaw tensed, and I fought the urge to rain hell on that little twerp. “No, she didn’t dump me. I’m going to see her right now.”
My mother nodded, but worry wrinkled her forehead. “And you’ll bring her back?”
“I’m not leaving there without her. I should be back for dinner.” I dropped my bags and turned for the door.
Fifteen minutes later, I was on the south side of town, a far cry from the manicured lawns and newly developed neighborhoods where my parents’ home was. When the economy tanked, many of the homes in this part of town went vacant. I drove slowly, scanning home after home for Clare’s house. I parked when I spotted the modest white ranch where Clare had grown up. The lawn was overgrown, and the vinyl siding was battered from years of weather.
I went to the front door and knocked. A steady murmur and the sound of voices filtered through the door, but no one answered. I knocked again, longer and louder, but still nothing. I was too amped, too goddamn determined to turn back now. I turned the knob and opened the door into a darkened living room. The television blared loudly with a college football game, and the light from the screen danced across the face of a man I guessed was Clare’s father. He lay motionless on the couch, and his stale odor hit my nostrils around the same time I realized he was completely passed out. A nearly empty handle of vodka was the centerpiece on a coffee table otherwise littered with empty frozen dinner containers and trash.
Something slammed farther into the house, and I followed the sound into the kitchen. Clare was at the counter, earbuds tucked into her ears, her hands moving feverishly over the surface—putting things away, tossing others in the nearby trash, and wiping a clean path as she went.
My heart wanted to leap at the sight of her, but instead it felt like it was breaking, knowing this is how she’d lived before she left for college. Good God…
I came up behind her, placing a hand gently at her back. She twisted with a scream before slapping her hand over her mouth.
“Eric, you scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry.”
Realization seemed to hit when her gaze darted around the messy kitchen and then back to me. “What are you doing here?”
“I had to see you. I promised my mom I was going to bring you home with me. You never gave me that chance.”
Her face fell. I drew my fingertips down her cheek and brushed my lips over hers before she could say no.
“Eric.” Her voice was a breathless whisper. “We need to talk.”
“Take me to your room.”
Her gaze fluttered up to mine, but she only hesitated a moment before taking my hand and leading me to the back of the house. Unlike the rest of what I’d seen, Clare’s room was immaculate. Neat and organized and very much a girl’s room. Light lavender paint, pictures on the walls, and a white lacy duvet covering her twin bed. I moved slowly around the room, taking in the details. The area above her small writing desk was decorated with awards from her academic achievements at Ridgeville High.
“You did all this on your own.” I glanced back at her, not because I needed her to agree, but because I wanted her to know I understood. One look at this place, and I could see plain as day that she’d had virtually no support. Least of all from the poor excuse of a human holding down the couch right now.
She nodded with a swallow. “Pretty much.”
I glanced back to the wall, as proud of her as I ever had been. Then, tucked in the corner of the mirror was a newspaper clipping highlighting the championship we’d won the night Travis and I had her in Coach’s office. Travis was beside me, smiling right along with the rest of the team as we celebrated our win.
“I’ll never forget that night,” she said quietly.
I turned and went to her, no longer willing to keep any distance between us. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pinned her against me.
She gazed up at me, her cool blue eyes ravaging my heart. “I had dreamed of you so many nights. Right here. And then, like a dream, you came true.”
I wove my fingers through her hair, in awe of everything about her right now. “And I failed you.”
She shook her head. “You were everything I dreamed, and so much more.”
“You gave me everything,” I whispered.
She nodded.
“Do you regret it?”
I waited not so patiently for her answer. God, if she regretted what I put us through it would gut me beyond repair.
“I don’t regret a minute of it. But things have to change, Eric. This has been an intense year. Being with you…it’s all-consuming. I’ve loved you longer than you’ve even known my name. And because I have, I gave you all my trust from day one.”
“Tell me how I can earn it back. I’ll give you anything. Anything, Clare…”
“If there’s only room for two of us in this relationship, we have to leave jealousy and lies at the door. You have to promise me that.”
“I promise,” I murmured. “I fucked up. I couldn’t stomach the thought of you being with that guy.”
“I wasn’t with him.”
I frowned and then released the tension as the truth hit me. All the sordid imaginings of him fucking her had become nightmares for me. Now they disappeared knowing that she hadn’t spent the weekend in his bed.
“You didn’t see him?”
“I did, but we decided that we were better off as friends. I talked to Paul too. He knows friendship has to be enough, otherwise we can’t have anything.”
I exhaled heavily. “So it’s just us.”
She didn’t answer. She only lifted against me and pressed her mouth to mine. The smallest gesture released the animal in me that had craved her body for days. I kissed her deeply and possessively as I pushed her down to the bed.
I stripped her down quickly. I spread her legs and stared at the beautiful wet petals of her pussy.
“Goddamn, you’re so beautiful.”
My mouth watered at the prospect of tasting her arousal, but my cock was ready to burst if I didn’t get inside her. She bit her lip and bowed off the bed slightly. I growled and took the space between her thighs, not wasting another precious second getting inside her.
She gasped when our bodies joined with a hard jolt. I froze there, deeply embedded in her. Suddenly I was breathless with the singular pleasure of being nestled inside her perfect pussy.
“Clare…look at me.”
She opened her eyes to half-mast.
“Every time I’m here…” I thrust gently. “I remember how you felt the first time. So perfect. So welcoming of everything I wanted to give you.”
I began slow and steady drives that brought us together.
“And I knew from that moment no one would ever make me feel that way. I knew you were special. That together, we were special.”
Her lip trembled when she said my name. I drove harder, intent on banishing her tears. Her tight pussy added the perfect friction over my cock. I wanted to fuck her hard and come harder, but I was too enraptured with the gift of having her in my arms again. I held her stare, desperate to witness her pleasure, needing her to recognize how much I loved her in this moment.
However long we made love wasn’t long enough. I could have existed on the brink of ecstasy with her forever, but as her climax overtook her, my control slipped. I swallowed her cries, moaning against her sweet mouth through my own release. My lips never left hers in a kiss that simultaneously soothed us through the aftershocks and sparked a new wave of desire.
Then I was hard again, fucking her, loving her…staking claim to the body I’d grown to worship, losing myself inside the only girl I’d ever loved.
Epilogue
Clare
I had lost all control. I knew it.
But sometimes old habits were just too hard to break, some desires too overwhelming to deny. After all, it was Eric’s fault for turning me into this person, for giving me a taste of my deepest fantasies. I’d thought I had tamed them when we became exclusive, but I’d been very wrong.
Ridgeville’s new head football coach drove me insane with desire. From the time I woke up, until the time I went to bed, he consumed my every thought. My body craved him in a way I couldn’t explain.
Tonight, I was treading on dangerous territory, risking so much. But no matter how much was at stake, I wasn’t backing out.
As I rounded the corner, I set my eyes on my prize and adjusted my scandalously short skirt until it was barely covering my ass. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside the open threshold and knocked on the doorframe. As reality set in, a wave of panic surged through me. Even if I wanted to, it was too late to back out now.
“Excuse me, Coach? I was wondering if you had a minute.”
The handsome new coach sitting at his desk let out an audible gasp. His eyes instantly darkened with desire as he scanned every inch of my body. I trembled when his gaze locked again with mine. The intensity in his stare was beyond exhilarating.
Goddamn, this man was fierce.
Slowly, the corners of his perfect mouth lifted, rewarding me with a heart-stopping grin. “Of course, Clare. Come on in.”
I stepped in and shut the door behind me. Making my way across the room, I twisted my hips provocatively with every step toward him. Once I reached the edge of the desk, I stuck my hand out, purposefully knocking his playbook off onto the floor.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” I blinked my eyes at him. “Here, let me get that for you.” I took my time, slowly bending over to give him a good view of my bare ass.
“Goddamn.” He shifted in his chair.
I placed the book back on his desk with a smirk before dropping to my knees in front of him. I ran my hands up his legs until I felt his erection beneath my fingertips.
Staring up into his soft brown eyes, my breath caught.
God, my husband was a gorgeous man.
Since the day he and I had made our relationship exclusive four years ago, we hadn’t been able to keep our hands off each other. Even though our sex life was beyond incredible, we still liked to play out our fantasies on each other, from time to time. Just last week, I was a very naughty nurse.
“You look stressed.” I pouted my lip out. “Maybe I can help you out with that.”
I tugged at his buckle and unfastened his jeans with ease. His beautiful thick cock sprang out, causing my pussy to ache beneath my skirt. Puckering my lips, I released a mouthful of saliva over his length, working the moisture down over his shaft.
“Clare, what are you doing?” He panted through every word.
“What I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’m about to fuck the coach.”
Through hooded eyes, I studied his face as I took him into my mouth.
He groaned when I took him deeper, sliding his hands into my hair.
I locked my lips in place, creating a tight vacuum around him. Relaxing the back of my throat, I began moving my head up and down.
“God, yes, baby. Suck me just like that.”
Tightening my hold around the base of his cock, I pressed my tongue against the sensitive part of his shaft, watching as his head fell back from the sensation. I loved having this kind of control over my husband. When the salty taste of his pre-come hit my tongue, I released him from my mouth. Keeping my eyes locked to his, I reached for him, jerking his tie as I urged him to stand with me.
“Do you have any idea what will happen if we get caught?”
I bit my lip and nodded slowly. Having his cock inside my body was well worth the risks.
In one swift move of his arm, Eric cleared his desk, sending papers and books flying across the room. Grabbing me by the waist, he hoisted me up onto the desk, pressing his hand against my chest to urge me backward. I was drenched for him, aching for him. I didn’t care how he took me.
Eric slid his hands beneath my thighs, teasing the top of his dick at my soaked opening. He looked down at me, pinning me with those dangerous dark eyes.
“Tell me what you want, Clare.”
“Fuck me, Coach,” I writhed beneath him. “I want you to fuck me until I can’t breathe.”
In one forceful thrust forward, he plunged his cock inside me, pushing through the tight, wet li
ps of my cunt, not stopping until his mind-blowing length had hit my cervix. He didn’t give my body time to adjust before he pulled out and thrust back into me, this time with even more force than before. I let out a strangled cry as I arched against the desk, welcoming his aggressive pace. The sounds of our loud moans reverberating off the office walls triggered the first powerful orgasm.
“Yes, Eric. Yes!” I shouted, throwing my head back against the desk.
Cursing, he pulled out of me, flipping me over onto my stomach.
Lifting up my skirt, he delivered two hard blows across my backside. “Get on your knees, baby.”
I gave him a wicked grin, positioning my body on all fours. Eric let out a growl when I pushed my ass up into the air, taunting him.
Grabbing both my wrists, he plunged into me, tugging my arms with each slide of his cock. “Jesus Christ! That sweet little cunt is tight.”
“Give it to me, Coach.”
“Fuck, Clare. So. Good.” He gritted out through each thrust.
“I’m coming. Oh, God. Yes! Yes!” I shuddered against him, feeling the rush of my orgasm rise and fade.
Eric collapsed against me, his cock still pulsing inside me. Panting, he eased himself out, staggering backward until he fell into the leather chair beside his desk.
“You’re going to kill me one day, you know that, right?”
I lowered myself back onto the floor and adjusted my skirt. “At least I’d make it fun for you before you died,” I teased, earning a chuckle from him. “Besides, don’t you feel better after that?”
“Much better.” He motioned for me to come to him. I climbed into his lap, straddling him. Placing his hands on my bottom, he squeezed my ass, spreading apart my cheeks. I caught the fiery look that blazed through his eyes. He moved me against him, causing me to gasp at the feel of his hard cock against my swollen clit. His stamina still amazed me.