Consumed

by Moira McTark

  “You’re so wet,” he breathed against her neck, spreading her open and smearing the juice in brushing strokes until they were both coated in it. “Do you get this wet for every stiff dick that comes your way?”

  “Yes,” she hissed, trying to press her hips forward so that his fingers would enter her. “Every one. Inside me,” she demanded with a throaty plea. “Now.”

  Brian pushed his hand further, sliding two fingers to her hole, where he played teasingly at the edges with the tips of his fingers. He pressed them against the opening, circling the smooth cleft. “Now?”

  She yanked his button fly open and grabbed his cock with the grip of a vise. “Now.”

  Her hard stroke was incentive aplenty. He jammed into her, as deep as his fingers would allow, thrusting once, twice, and three times before releasing her.

  Amber crawled up, stopped a few steps shy of the top of the flight and without turning back to see him behind her, hooked her thumbs into the sides of her pants and shimmied them down her hips, exposing her naked ass. Brian stopped short and watched as she stepped out of the pants and pulled her tee-shirt off. With a scathing glance over her shoulder, she tossed the wet shirt at his face. Then she spread her legs a few feet apart, arched her back and bent forward planting her hands at the top step.

  Brian almost came on the spot. Her pussy was drenched in her cream and bent over as she was, her exposed hole dribbled with more. His chest was tight as he reached out and touched the glistening fissure.

  “Do you like it like this?” she asked him, without bothering to look.

  The way Amber rocked her ass back at him begged for him to fuck it. He jammed two fingers into her milky hole, making her groan and push back against him. He slid in and out of her and then lowered his mouth to the fleshy curve of her ass—God, he loved her ass—and bit, as he pressed a third finger inside of her. Her pussy clenched against his fingers. He had to have her.

  Brian leaned over her back, thrusting his fingers in for one last deep plunge, and growled into her ear, “Stand up. I’m going to fuck you so hard, you’ll need a mattress to land on.”

  He pulled out his fingers, coated in her juices, and snapped a single spank over her pulsing pussy.

  —

  Amber lay diagonally across the bed, her eyes open wide as she stared at the ceiling. Brian’s matted hair pressed against her hip where he had collapsed, face down in exhaustion. Their breath came ragged and harsh, sweat coated their used bodies. She looked down at his shoulders, red with scratches left from her viselike grip, rising and falling in quick repetition as he struggled to catch his breath. She almost reached out to sooth the enflamed skin, but stopped short, reminding herself that the night of sexual gratification had been nothing more than the culmination of overflowing hostilities and incredible sexual chemistry.

  God, he was so good in bed. Out of bed. On the stairs, the chair, the wall—Brian had slammed into her body against almost every surface the apartment offered. He was adventurous and uninhibited. Rough and soothing, all at once. Physically speaking, she’d never shared anything even close to the experience she had with him. Chills broke out over her body and her nipples pebbled as she thought about everything he’d done to her. He was the boy she’d ached for in her youth, couldn’t stand as a person, and couldn’t get enough of as a man. She wanted him to fill her again, surprise her with his touch. Looking at the clock, she saw it was after four a.m. She couldn’t fall asleep like this. She needed a shower.

  She rose quietly and walked into the bathroom. He was asleep in her bed. It was no good having him there. Between her legs—yes. Between her sheets, threatening to be there in the morning when she woke, possibly feeling the need to awkwardly explain the casual nature of what had happened between them—no way.

  The water warmed while she gingerly brushed the tangled knots from her hair and wiped away the traces of last night’s make-up. She hadn’t intended to come home with anyone. She wasn’t looking for it. She’d been looking for a little company, the conversation kind, but Danny had been busy and Brian had been an oaf. Though to be honest, it hadn’t taken more than one look at him before that first coil of desire twisted within her. No matter how infuriating, judgmental and rude he was, there was no denying that he was the most incredible lay she’d ever had. No harm, so long as she remembered that was all he was. So what if she’d finally felt that pull in her heart, the one she’d thought might be love. She’d been wrong. Love wasn’t one-sided and though Brian talked a good game, a game was all it was. Well, games were fun and she liked to play. At least that was what she told herself.

  The air surrounding her was thick and warm, the shower ready. She stepped into the hot spray, closed her eyes, and bowed her head into the stream. She washed herself slowly, taking time to cleanse every spot he’d touched, every inch of her body. Washing her leg, she thought of the way his tongue had snaked up the length of it, ankle to apex, and the memory of it almost made her call him, invite him to join her for more play. No more tonight, though, or he would be there in the morning.

  She turned off the shower and reached for her towel. Rubbing it over her hair, she squeezed the water from the sodden mass and dried the rest of her body.

  What would she do when she went back out? What would she say to him? Polite conversation was pretty much out of the question at this point. Even the time for impolite conversation had passed. She didn’t want to trade barbs anymore. She knew where he stood. So where did that leave her? Hiding in her own bathroom indefinitely? No. She smoothed lotion into her legs in long sweeping circles, up over her hips and abdomen. Her arms and neck. She combed through her hair, keeping her eyes on the door. She was being ridiculous. If she didn’t want to sleep next to Brian, she could simply curl up on the couch for the rest of the night and maybe take off early, before he woke up.

  The knob felt cold in her grip as she turned it, eyes shut, and pulled the door open. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose.

  Brian wasn’t there. She’d been bracing herself for…what? She didn’t know. The bed was empty, the door of her room open to the rest of the silent apartment.

  She walked out to the living room, checking the hall bathroom and kitchen along the way. Nothing. He was gone. She went to the front door and saw that he had switched the lock to engage when he closed the door behind him. Thoughtful. She almost laughed. Throwing the deadbolt, she turned on the lights, wondering if he might have left a note…something. But, of course, there was nothing. She didn’t know why she kept searching for a sign that he’d considered their time together as more than the sex it was. There wasn’t going to be a tender note, promising thoughts of her until he saw her again. They had fulfilled a need in each other and that was the whole story.

  Flicking the lights off, she headed back to the bedroom. The air was still heavy with the musk of their play. She smiled, enjoying the fragrance but wishing she didn’t have to lie down on the sweaty sheets after she’d just gotten clean. She sat back on the bed, feeling the quilt under her. The bed was made, sheets and quilt pulled up to the pillows—once again at the head of the bed. Before he’d left, Brian must have pulled the sheets back on to the mattress and then…no. She felt under the quilt. Flannels covered the bed now. Her eyes now adjusted to the darkness, she realized he’d stripped the bed—the pile of sweaty sheets lay in the corner of the room—and changed the sheets while she’d showered. That was…sweet? Another strange contradiction was all she could think before sinking back into her fresh bed and falling asleep.

  Chapter Six

  After sleeping in until almost eleven, Amber started a load of wash, put on her sneakers and went out for a run. As a rule, she preferred to run in the early mornings, before the day got too hot and while the paths were still all but deserted. Now, she was faced with the Saturday morning crowd: families and couples, out picnicking at the lakefront, milling in and out of her way. She’d come out needing to clear her mind, but was finding it harder by the minute. Not
exactly the satisfaction she’d had in mind, but she put in her five miles nonetheless.

  Returning home, she was jumpy and irritable. Restless. She did some chores around the apartment and decided she’d head into the office and double-check some of the code on her project. She needed to get her head back into work.

  When she walked into the office, she was surprised to see the lights on and several computers booted up. She must not be the only one with a need to catch up. There wasn’t any reason to be concerned about safety in the office, the only people allowed access had to enter using a key card and knew the code for security. Whoever was here was supposed to be here.

  Walking briskly through the maze of cubes, she swung her laptop case off her shoulder and set it on her desk. The repetitive swish and clunk of the copier sounded from down the hall. She plugged the laptop into her network port and started to boot up while she headed to see who else was in and grab some coffee.

  Knowing her footsteps were muted by the industrial grade carpet, she offered a “hello” in warning as she approached the corner. The shuffling of papers ceased and a freckled head popped around the partition just as she was about to turn.

  “Amber! Awesome. Here to get a little work done in the peace and quiet?”

  She smiled politely. “Yeah, Eric. Looks like great minds think alike. I’m surprised to see you here, actually. Isn’t it enough that they displace you weeks at a time, without making you work Saturdays as well?”

  Eric’s smile faltered. He started to reach for her hand, but seemed to think better of it, ultimately stuffing it into his pocket.

  “Look, I’m actually here now because I was hoping you wouldn’t be.”

  Amber felt her cheeks redden. But he quickly went on.

  “No, not because of us. I miss you, no doubt about it, but that makes me want to see you—not hide from you. I’m here because of some problems we’ve found on the Spanex project. They asked if I’d check some of your work. I’m sorry, babe. Didn’t think I’d find anything and didn’t want you to have to know about it.”

  He brushed his hair back from his face and shrugged sheepishly.

  “I…I’m sorry they put you in this position, Eric. I don’t know what to say. You didn’t find anything else, did you?”

  “Nothing really worth reporting.” He licked his lips and shook his head. “A few little things, but they were easy to fix so I went ahead and made the corrections. I wouldn’t have even mentioned it to you, but here you are.”

  The job meant so much to Amber, she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want someone acting as a safety net to keep her from making mistakes. She didn’t want to make them at all. It was humiliating.

  As though reading her thoughts, Eric went on, “I’m serious, Amber. You do great work. This little stuff is nothing to beat yourself up about. Just some code errors. I’m good at finding them, that’s all.” He reached out and pulled her into a quick hug and then let her go.

  “Remember the JAX project? That time we were here until midnight?”

  “Sure, that was intense. A lot was riding on getting done on time. It was exciting.”

  “I know, I remember how excited you were,” Eric said in a low voice.

  Amber looked up at him and knew exactly what he was talking about. They’d caught a cab together after they finished, and he’d walked her back to her apartment. The rush of completion and success had gone to her head and they’d ended up falling into bed. Somehow the relationship had gone from there. Until he’d been promoted and left for New York. And she’d realized she simply didn’t care that much.

  “Yeah, it was a thrill. Eric, I’m here for the same reason you are. I’m trying to make sure there aren’t any other mistakes. I need to get back on track—”

  “Amber, I told you, I just checked the work myself. You don’t need to worry about it. Maybe we could get out of here and do something fun.”

  She shifted uncomfortably for a moment. There was really no temptation to go with him, but she still cared about his feelings.

  “Just the same, I’d feel better checking the work myself. I planned to come in today, my head’s in the work, and since I’m here, I might as well make the most of it. But thank you for the offer.” She started to turn back, forgetting about the coffee, but Eric’s deep sigh and shaking head stopped her. “What?”

  “Amber, just go home. They asked me to check the work. If you go back, I have to do it again. It won’t be like this forever, but for now, they don’t want you to be the last person to have access to something before it goes out. Obviously they value your work and they don’t want to lose you. They just can’t risk… I’ve been here for hours, I’m asking you not to go into the files, because then I’ll have to be here all night.”

  The color drained from her face and her stomach plummeted at his words. She was barely able to agree before she had to spin away, hoping the tears wouldn’t spill in front of an audience. Eric didn’t need to see that. She hurried back to her cube, shut down her computer and left.

  —

  She didn’t know what she was looking for. Not true. She was looking for Brian. But she didn’t know what she was expecting. It was after ten and the day had been a bust. Throwing herself into work wasn’t an option, and she was trying hard not to think about it. There was nothing she could do until Monday when she had a meeting scheduled with the director. Spending time with girlfriends hadn’t appealed to her, either. The last thing she wanted was to get into a discussion about what had happened with Brian. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way she felt when he touched her. The way she felt when his eyes lost that hard guarded quality and opened up to her—the way they had been the first night. That look in his eyes never lasted though.

  She was looking for a new fantasy to live out and lose herself in. Something to take her breath away when she remembered it later. She wanted more of Brian’s singular focus. That was what she was looking for.

  She walked into the bar dressed in jeans and a black tank top. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders. The floor was crowded with the usual Saturday night rush and Amber had to elbow her way through to find the bar. Danny Riley looked up from the corner where he was pouring drinks and, seeing her, waved her over. “Amber, I tried calling you today. I heard what happened here last night. Do you see any of those guys now? Daisy wasn’t sure who was involved, but whoever they are, I’m not interested in their business. That’s for damn sure. I’m glad Brian was here to take care of it and see you home okay. How’s it going with you two?”

  It was hard not to let the bitterness gurgle out with a snide comment, so she kept her answer brief. “I’m fine. Last night was an unfortunate accident I’d just as soon forget. And nothing is going on with Brian. I was actually just looking to see if he was here, to…thank him. I take it you haven’t seen him.”

  “No. Sorry, not tonight. Nothing going on with you guys?”

  His expression conveyed his disbelief.

  “No.”

  “Well, too bad. I would have thought you two a good match. You certainly looked good together last week. Daisy’ll be happy to hear it. I probably owe the poor girl an apology for shutting her down when she came in here raving about him.”

  Amber’s stomach tightened at the mention of another woman’s interest in Brian. It was crazy. She knew it. He wasn’t hers. But she still took a long sideways look to the pretty girl behind the bar, dressed in a tight miniskirt and barely-there halter. “She’s pulling out all the stops tonight.”

  Danny smiled. She hadn’t done a very good job covering the catty tone in her voice.

  “Suppose she is.”

  “I’m sorry. I know she’s sweet. And,” she paused, seeing the look Danny was giving the barmaid, “I can tell she’s got your attention.”

  The look of embarrassment that crossed his face was quickly masked when he returned to pouring drinks. “Yeah, but she works for me. Office romances. I don’t have to tell you.”

&nbs
p; “No, definitely not.”

  Danny’s company was nice, but his time was limited. Amber had come to the bar for one reason, to find Brian, and he wasn’t there. She stepped off the stool.

  “I’m going home. Not up for much conversation after all tonight.” With a quick nod goodbye, Danny moved down the bar to take orders.

  Amber walked home in a funk. It was silly really, wanting to find him again. For crying out loud, he’d had her bent over every piece of furniture in the apartment last night. Hadn’t she gotten enough? With a heavy sigh, she knew the answer was a resounding no. She felt like an addict. He was bad for her, but she wanted more of him just the same.

  Every step of the path back to her apartment brought her another memory of his touch and by the time she’d gotten to the stairs, she could feel her juices pooling between her legs. What had he done to her? At the top of the flight her nipples were pebble hard, rubbing in torturous friction against her shirt. She slipped one hand up under her shirt and pinched the tight bud. Pleasure pulsed in a shot from her core and a fresh wave of moisture seeped from her depths. Damn it, why hadn’t he been at the bar?

  Rounding the corner, she stopped short. His huge frame leaned against the wall next to her apartment. He looked over at her, his expression dark. She felt another gush of wet heat at the mere sight of him.

  “Are you alone?” he asked in a low voice, taking a menacing step to her. He reached for her breast and cupped it over her shirt in his wide palm. Circling in to the nipple, which pointed out hard against the fabric, he brushed the tip lightly and then pinched it hard. “Or is there someone you need to get rid of?”

  Her inner walls contracted hard as she moaned. “There’s no one.”

  Moving her hand over his own, intertwining their fingers, she encouraged him to do more. To pinch harder, to pull and squeeze. She shuddered under his touch, chilled under his glare.