by C. M. Owens
He starts undoing his slacks, and shoves them down just enough to show me the part of his body…that is a lot bigger than I remember.
He’s definitely ready.
My eyes come up just as he leans back from the dresser, a condom wrapper in hand, and he tears it open with his teeth, his eyes never leaving mine.
My gaze drops when he starts rolling the condom on, and I bite my lip in anticipation.
His lips find mine again as he thrusts in, filling me instantly and taking away the ache. I garble out some sort of unintelligible praise that flows from my mouth to his.
Each thrust seems to hit a deep spot inside me, finding everything in just the right measure. Each drag of him as he pulls out is almost agonizing, but he soothes away the ache on each return.
His thumb moves between us, applying just the right amount of pressure where I need it, and I cry out when the very quick orgasm tears through me. But Maverick’s not done.
He drinks in my sounds, his hips not losing rhythm, as he drives in and out of me on a mission. When he breaks the kiss, his mouth lowers next to my ear.
“There’s one. I want two more from you,” he says in a tone that sounds like a threat and a promise.
Just his tone has me shivering against him, and my body tightening all over again, because Maverick Sterling is the master of sexy.
He coaxes another orgasm out of me in no time, and by the third orgasm, our bodies are starting to stick together because of all the heat we’re generating.
As if he was just waiting on that last one to blow me apart, he finally thrusts in one last time, pushing his mouth against the curve of my neck as he releases a guttural sound.
When his body goes still against mine, a lazy, very satisfied grin spreads over my lips.
He gives a full-body shudder as he kisses the side of my throat, and I loop my arms around his neck, holding him to me.
“Tell me that was the main event, because I don’t know if it can get any better,” I say all breathily.
A rumble of laughter shakes his body, and he grins as he kisses my neck again.
“Bet you’re wishing you’d stuck around for it now.”
“The thought is weighing heavily on my mind,” I concede.
Proud of himself, he raises his head, grinning lazily at me. As he pulls out and goes to the bathroom on shaky legs, I take in the very incredible view of his back—and his phenomenal ass.
His bathroom is a straight view, and I look away when he decides to piss with the door wide open. Maverick Sterling has zero shame, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
I drop back to the bed, a stupid, goofy grin on my face that I can’t wipe away, but seriously need to before he returns. I manage a respectable half smile by the time he wobbles back to the bed and collapses.
“See? We can be friends and still have sex,” he says, causing my smile to suddenly turn fake. “I’m a damn good friend.”
“Friend?” I ask.
Not sure why there’s suddenly a sour taste in my mouth. Did I think we’d lie around and talk for a few hours, and then magically be in the bubble like Rye and Brin have? I didn’t even want that until today, so I have zero clue as to why it’s suddenly an issue.
“Yeah,” he says, smiling up at me as he turns over, his arm around my waist. “I have to admit, having sex on my bed is definitely better than the guest bed.”
Everything suddenly feels less real. Our bubble is bursting with each new dose of reality.
“I imagine. It’s a great bed, after all,” I say, forcing the words out conversationally.
“You were fucking killing me in those shorts. I’ve been thinking about being inside you since I picked you up,” he goes on. “And that grease on you today was…making me consider getting some auto work done.”
As he wiggles his eyebrows, I continue to force a smile, feeling more and more like I normally do after sex, and less like the girl I was just moments ago.
“Hey, do you care if I borrow your phone to call mine? I think it fell out of my purse or something.”
He reaches over, grabbing his phone, and unlocks it before handing it to me.
“Who do you need to call? You can just use my phone.”
I shake my head. “I need to get home. I have a pile of dishes that won’t smell too fresh in the morning if I don’t do something with them tonight. So I’m just going to call for a cab or something.”
“I can drive you,” he says, his hand sliding down my leg. I shouldn’t flinch at his touch, but I do. I shouldn’t feel dirty, but I do.
It’s silly, and I realize this, but it’s just how things are. Can’t help how I feel.
“We had alcohol earlier. I’d rather Uber.”
He blows out a breath. “Fine, but I swear I’m sober.”
“Do you have some water? My throat is dry.”
He presses a kiss to the inside of my palm, a sweet gesture I’m tempted to misread, as he gets up and goes to grab me some water.
I take a few slow breaths.
My mother’s voice makes an untimely appearance in my mind. Pretty girls just get screwed.
Double pie moment.
Chapter 18
MAVERICK
“So tell me again what exactly happened,” Kode says, a secretive smile playing on his lips.
“I’m not giving you details if that’s what you’re angling for,” I tell him, rolling my eyes.
Weird as it sounds, breakfast tastes better than usual. I blame it on the fact I was left very fucking exhausted last night, yet oddly energized as well.
I can’t believe I asked her to spend the night. I’m still not sure if I’m disappointed or relieved that she had to go home. It’s hard to figure out what exactly I’m feeling around her, since it’s all so fucking new and confusing as hell.
The waitress drops off refills for our orange juices, and I look around the table at all my cousins who are staring at me with odd little smirks.
“Then you did what exactly to make her leave?” Dale asks me.
It’s just the five of us this morning, no women, since they’re having their own breakfast, making up for the lunch they missed last Saturday. I should mention they’re just a few tables away from us while having this breakfast, so it’s a little weird.
“I didn’t say anything to make her leave. I did the thing where I make her feel sexy afterwards, and I hinted that I wanted to see her again. If I’d had anything in particular to invite her to, I would have invited her.”
“Tria just texted me, asking you to get the lemon pie recipe from Salem when she’s talking to you again,” Kode says, staring at his phone, then looking up.
I glance over to the table of girls who are all giving me judgy little stares. Tria is staring at me, as if waiting to see what I’m about to say to Kode.
“I’m sorry, but what? Salem and I are on phenomenal terms,” I say as I look back at my dickheaded cousin, who looks like he doesn’t believe me.
“You did nothing to piss her off?” Dane asks me, leaning up on the table, a smirk on his lips.
“I’m telling you, she was very happy when she left. I fucked her in my actual bed. That’s a special thing.”
“Yeah, that’s not exactly a compliment to a girl,” Corbin says, clapping my shoulder.
“Any chance you made it sound like it was more casual than it was?” Dale hedges.
“It was casual. And I’m sure we’ll casually do it again. It’s not like we can do the relationship thing. Her mom would be pissed at her and cause problems for her and her brother. And I’d suck at being a boyfriend.”
“There it is,” Kode says, holding his hand out to Corbin who groans and hands him a twenty.
“What the actual hell is going on right now?” I ask as Dane mutters something under his breath and hands Kode a twenty as well.
Kode and Dale divide the money up between them.
“We said you told her it was casual and downplayed the whole thing,” Dale says, pointing be
tween him and Kode.
“I guessed that you fucked her in the guest room and told her you didn’t have sex in your bedroom because your bed is sacred,” Corbin confesses, looking anywhere but at me when I glare at him.
“I had money on you saying something stupid—which technically you did—but I meant more along the lines of telling her she was hot and it was fun. Or something like that.”
I did say those things. Not in those exact words, well…mostly those words.
What the hell is wrong with that?
“Someone want to tell me why you think I’ve fucked up?”
“Have you checked your phone this morning?” Dale asks me, causing me to dig my phone out of my pocket.
“Are you kidding? I barely woke up in enough time to throw on clothes and rush over here. Fortunately I took a shower before crashing last night,” I grumble.
Seventy-two texts?!
I pull up the first message, and I’ll admit I’m embarrassed by the shrill sound that escapes me when I drop my phone like it’s on fire. It bounces on the table, and I point at it.
“What the unholy hell is that shit?” I demand.
Dane picks it up and smirks. “Looks like a zombie unicorn fucking another zombie unicorn.”
“Who the hell would send that ungodly thing?” I growl.
“Some guy named Jack.”
I don’t remember a Jack.
Damn cloud.
“Want to see the half-unicorn half-spider creature on this next one getting it on with a centaur?” Kode asks as he takes my phone away from Dane and holds it up.
Another embarrassing sound comes out of me, and they all laugh as I clear my throat.
Corbin plucks the phone away from him, taking his turn. “Or how about two dudes with unicorn horns stuck to their heads and a lot of leather?” Corbin asks, shaking his head and shuddering.
“You should probably check your Twitter account,” Kode tells me with a smirk.
I stab the button to clear away the weird fucking image when I pick my phone up, and pull up my Twitter. Then curse.
@MavSterling: Send me the dirtiest/sexiest/creepiest unicorn pics you have if you know my number. It’s what FRIENDS do. #ILikeDirtyPonyPlay
Damn woman. I thought she liked the idea of being friends. Though in hindsight, it does sound like I basically asked her to be friends with benefits. Pretty sure that was really stupid to say directly after having sex.
I hate my life sometimes.
The guys all burst out laughing, probably seeing the resignation in my features.
I also want to kill my mother. Again.
@MommaQueenVictoria: @MavSterling you still like playing with ponies? #MyBabyWantsAUnicorn
And Ethan’s mother. Again, who gave the mothers Twitter access?
@ArleneMommaBear: @MavSterling I already have a scrapbook for that. I can bring it to you. I have pics with you and ponies.
@EthanNolesIDGAF: @ArleneMommaBear that’s not what pony play is. And @MavSterling needs 2 find a new fetish. #Neigh
@BellaHasABigBun: @MavSterling I had no idea you’d reached this level of debauchery. But here’s a pic of two naughty ppl in unicorn cosplay for ya. ;)
“Do I want to know what pony play is?” Dale asks.
“No,” the rest of us all say in unison.
I really regret talking so many people into finally getting on Twitter. Really, really regret it.
Though, it wasn’t me who got the damn moms on there.
Fucking Salem. No wonder that little shrimp brother of hers is such an asshole. And I can’t believe I fell for the same damn con twice. My phone is never getting borrowed again, damn it.
“Oh, I think I’m a little sick now,” Dale says, his phone gripped tightly in his hands as I put my own phone away, vibrating with a little more fury than I care to admit. “This is why I don’t Google shit. You get pony play images stuck in your head. I’ll never be right again.”
“In that case, don’t look up pineapple porn,” I say through a tight smile, trying to pretend like I didn’t just have to delete that messed up tweet from my account.
“Why would you even be looking up something like that?” Kode asks me, brow furrowed.
“The same reason someone looks up blue waffle—someone else told them not to. I need to go,” I tell them as I stand and toss down some cash for the bill.
“Roses are always… Never mind. They never work,” Dane says, batting his hand.
“Fuck you very much, but this is just a simple miscommunication. Clearly I insulted her. I’ll get it fixed, and you jackasses can kiss my ass.”
They all try not to laugh at my back as I walk toward the door. Just as I reach the exit, some guy sitting at a nearby table neighs—fucking neighs—at me. When I turn to glare at him, he makes some other horse noise and winks at me before licking his lips and biting down on the spoon handle like it’s a bit.
With every ounce of dignity I can muster, I pretend to not notice my cousins nearly bursting at the seams with their barely-contained laughter, straighten my sleeves, and walk out.
I’m not buying Salem roses. I’m fucking strangling her.
Yep.
Right now, as a matter of fact.
Chapter 19
SALEM
My eyes fall on a leggy, sexy girl as she talks animatedly to Rye, though she doesn’t look too happy. He seems dismissive of her, even nodding toward one of the other guys to come help him out.
One thing I respect about him is that he literally doesn’t pay any other girl attention—in that way—because he’s truly devoted to Brin. I’ve never witnessed that before on such a level.
When he turns and walks away, the other guy blocks the girl, stopping her from following Rye into the office. I turn away from the massive window overhead. It’s meant to be viewed from there not from here.
But when I see Brin, I can’t help but ask, “Who’s that chick?”
Brin apparently didn’t go to the breakfast, since she got here as early as I did. She rolls her eyes after flicking them up to where the girl is flinging her arms, pushing the guy away from him.
“Leah. Long story short, she’s mad that Rye gave you this job, when she recently became a certified mechanic. She sort of hates me and is blaming it on me that she missed this opportunity. Honestly, she was probably going to try and sue for discrimination when he didn’t hire her, so I’m very glad you happen to have a vagina. Helps thwart that.”
Glad my vagina is doing something right these days.
“Why does she hate you?” I can’t help but ask, because Brin is freaking nice as hell to everyone.
“Because I got Rye,” she says with a shrug, and I exhale in understanding.
“Got it.”
“She’s on my nerves because this is the fourth time she’s stopped by since Wrench turned in his notice. Girls like her can’t understand why he’s with someone like me. This is just her way of trying to get closer to him.”
“You’re beaut—”
“Don’t lie or sugarcoat it,” she interrupts, giving me a pointed stare. “You didn’t think I was with him immediately either when you came in for the interview. I’m cute—not sexy like you and her. And Rye is…hot as hell. I’m not even going to pretend he’s not. But he’s also mine, and for some reason, he thinks I’m hot. That’s all that matters.”
I give her a brittle smile. “You have all the most important qualities that no one overlooks. And what someone views as sexy changes as they get to know someone. You’re smart. You’re fun. You’re fucking amazing—”
“Are you secretly a lesbian? Because I don’t swing that way, but my friend Maggie does. She’s in a serious relationship, but she has tons of gay friends,” she says, interrupting me with a serious expression, but then grins.
I roll my eyes. “What I’m saying, is that the overtly sexy girls just get fucked. If you’re simply too pretty, that’s all you’re seen as—just pretty. Nothing else.”
She stud
ies me for a moment, probably thinking I’m a pretty girl asking for some sympathy. I’m not usually so whiny. It’s irking me. I’m way better than this, damn it.
“You okay? You seem a little off today,” she finally says, probably reading between the lines.
“Just tired. Had a lot of pie moments lately.”
Her confusion is evident when her face scrunches up. “Pie moments?”
“Just something I say when I’m to the point of wanting to hurt someone.”
She grins. “When I’m to that point, I usually do something terrible to Rye. Then we have incredibly hot sex to fight it out. Try it. It works wonders.”
I snort derisively. “My vagina is officially on lockdown.”
“See? I knew something happened. What’d Maverick do? He’s never brought a girl around and been all over her the way he is with you, but since he’s a novice, he’s—”
“It’s not what you think,” I say tightly, not wanting to discuss this at work. “He and I just had a major miscommunication. I zigged and he zagged, and we missed the mark completely. No big deal. But for the first time since I was eighteen, I was really naïve and wanted more than I’m allowed to have. I’m usually not that girl. I just need to get my head on right and remember my role.”
She nods like she understands, though I can tell she doesn’t understand at all.
“I blame you, just so you know,” I go on, and then walk off to start tinkering on the old Mustang 5.0 they brought in this morning that seems to be running hot.
“Me?” she asks, chasing after me. “What’d I do?”
“You have so many moments. I just wanted one of my own moments.”
“Moments?” she asks, confused.
I face her and roll my eyes. “You know. That moment when you feel like you’re in the center of the universe, and everything is aligned just right. You’re in this enchanted bubble where nothing can touch you. There’s nothing you can do but smile and laugh and just be happy, because everything is perfect. Everything is just like it’s supposed to be. I almost had one of those moments. Almost. Mine missed the mark by one harsh burst of reality. Just a slip on my part. I won’t let it happen again.”