Zander
I’ve wanted to kiss Violet Meadows from the first moment I laid eyes on her.
And now that it’s finally happened all I can feel is…
Confusion.
To say she’s royally fucked up my plan would be putting it mildly.
Or has she?
I wanted her to want me…
No, more than want.
I want her to crave me so much she can’t think straight.
But the only way to do that…is to give her a taste.
A taste that will leave her wanting more.
Pulling her hand away from her face, I finish what she started.
Our kiss is turmoil and passion.
Hate and lust melded into an all-consuming fireball.
Violet kisses me like she’s starving for it and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because no one has ever touched her like this.
I should tell her all the dirty things I want to do to her body, all the ways I plan to worship that sweet pussy of hers, but I’d rather just show her.
Gripping the base of her neck, I utter one simple instruction, “Bend over.”
Shock crosses over her face, and for a moment I think she’s going to utter some bullshit about what a bad idea this is and blame the wine.
But while Violet is a liar...she’s never been a stupid girl.
And she wants this. Hell, her body is practically begging for it.
Her breaths are shaky as she positions herself over the arm of the couch with her plump little ass in the air.
I don’t waste any time tugging her sweatpants down her hips.
“You’re not wearing any panties,” I note, pressing my nose to where she’s slick and warm.
Heat licks over my skin and my balls draw tight as I inhale her heady scent.
“You have such a pretty pussy.”
Perfect actually. She’s bare, wet, and those lips of hers are so plump I could kiss and suck them all night.
I bet she tastes every bit as good as she looks.
Spreading her open with my fingers, I decide to find out.
She jumps and a noise of surprise escapes her the second my tongue comes in contact with her slickness.
Pulling back, I stroke my knuckle along her swollen lips, teasing her. “So sensitive.”
Hand clutching the couch cushion, she whimpers, “Please.”
My voice is low and rough. “Please what?”
I need to hear her acknowledge what we’re doing.
Turning her head over her shoulder, she looks at me down the length of her body. “Please don’t stop, Zander.”
I hum in satisfaction. “Good girl.”
With that, I turn my attention back to her pussy. Feasting on her like a man starved.
And I am.
I’ve had visions of Violet spread out for me like this—at my mercy— since I was sixteen years old.
A groan tears out of her as I suckle her swollen clit.
Fuck. I groan too because she tastes so fucking good I can’t stop myself.
And then there’s nothing but her little whimpers and the wet suck and glide of my mouth pleasuring her.
Reaching down, she grasps the back of my head. “Oh, God.” She shivers. “Oh my fucking God.”
I pump my fingers deep inside her and speed up my suction on her clit.
There’s a sharp intake of breath right before her body breaks out in a fit of jerks and shudders.
I grab her thighs, holding them steady as she writhes against my face and creams my tongue.
Breathless, she sags against the couch. “Jesus.”
Smirking, I stand up.
And then…
I walk the fuck out.
CHAPTER SIX
Thursday
Zander
Past…
“Question ten,” I utter, reading off the piece of paper Mrs. Griffin handed us at the beginning of eighth period. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
When we first got the assignment I thought it was a joke and a complete waste of time…
Until I got paired with Violet Meadows.
Suddenly the bullshit project requiring us to get to know a fellow classmate before graduation didn’t seem so bad.
Hell, we’ve been so wrapped up in talking to each other, we both decided to stay after class to finish up.
Bringing her pen to her mouth, Violet thinks about this for a moment.
I can’t help but notice she’s done this for the last five questions.
It occurs to me that chewing on her pen is her tell—the thing she does when she’s about to give a response she thinks the other person wants to hear.
Not one she actually feels.
“I’m not sure,” she says. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Violet.” Placing the paper down, I cut my gaze to hers. “Don’t bullshit me.”
Her mouth parts in surprise. “I’m not.”
After swiping my bookbag off the floor, I head for the door.
Before dying from breast cancer when I was fifteen, my mother used to call me the human lie detector.
She said I could smell a lie formulating in a person’s brain before it was ever uttered.
She wasn’t wrong.
“Baker,” she whispers right before I walk out. “I’ve always wanted to be a baker.”
To say I’m surprised would be an understatement. Not that being a baker isn’t a good profession. It’s just that Violet’s the captain of the cheerleading squad and I’ve never seen those girls eat anything more than salad.
“What’s your favorite thing to bake?”
“Birthday cakes.” Shaking her head, she grins into her hand. “I know, I know. It’s so cheesy. Scott is always making fun of me—”
“Scott’s an asshole,” I bark, returning to the table.
Her boyfriend has been the bane of my existence ever since I stepped foot into Summerville High.
I used to wonder what a beautiful, kind, sweet girl like Violet was doing with a douchebag like him, but it soon became clear when I realized he was the football team’s quarterback.
Hell, it would be strange if they weren’t an item.
Violet blinks, appearing all kinds of uncomfortable. “Sometimes he can be.” She clears her throat, changing the subject. “So, Zander. What do you want to be when you grow up?”
That’s an easy one.
“Detective.” I hold her gaze. “For the special victims unit.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s…I never would have expected that.”
Not surprising. Given I’m about 145lbs soaking wet and clumsy as hell, I certainly don’t seem like the type.
However, there’s something about Violet that makes me want to open up and be honest with her.
“Back when my mom was sick and going through her chemo treatments we used to watch a bunch of detective shows together to pass the time.” I shrug. “She told me I’d make an awesome one because of my need to always want to protect those who aren’t able to protect themselves.”
Protect women from pieces of shit like my father who like to beat and rape them.
I’m not sure what to make of the look on her face. “I’m sorry about your mom, Zander.” She reaches for my hand, and it feels like a live wire connecting our bodies. We both jolt at the touch, but neither of us put a stop to the contact. If anything, she squeezes harder. “If you really want to be a detective, I think you should go for it.” A small smile unfurls. “I think you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Jesus.
It’s not so much her words, it’s the genuine look in her eye when she says them.
She’s the first person to look past my glasses, acne, and skinny frame…and see something more.
If anyone would have told me I’d be sitting in an empty classroom, having such a personal discussion with the head cheerleader and prom queen while she’s looking at me like I strung up the moon…I’d say
they were on drugs.
But this thing…what I feel happening between us right now.
It’s real.
So fucking real.
And I don’t ever want it to go away.
For reasons I can’t fathom, the girl is like a balm to all my internal scars
As if she was put on this planet just for me and me alone.
“It’s funny.”
A crease forms between her brows. “What is?”
I cup her cheek with my free hand. “You’re so much more than just a pretty face, Violet Mead—”
“What the fuck is going on here?” someone who sounds a lot like her boyfriend bellows from the door.
Violet quickly releases my hand. “Scott…hey.”
“Don’t hey me, Violet. What the fuck is this?”
“Nothing.” She grabs her purse off the desk and stands. “We were working on an assignment.”
He turns his angry eyes on me. “You better not be hitting on my girlfriend, you ugly dipshit.” He curls a possessive arm around her waist, tugging her to him. “She’s mine.”
I want to point out that she didn’t seem like his a few seconds ago, but Violet’s a big girl and is perfectly capable of telling him that herself.
But she doesn’t.
“Baby, relax.” Angling her body towards him, she runs her hand along his jaw. “Come on, let’s go grab something to eat.”
Almost instantly, Scott’s irritation dissipates.
But not before closing the distance between their bodies and kissing her.
Something strong and ugly rolls in my chest.
It’s obvious whatever spark I thought we had between us never existed.
Chest coiling, I watch as he takes her hand—the same hand that was holding mine just a short moment ago—and leads her out the classroom.
They’re almost out the door when she cocks her head, her gaze colliding with mine briefly…before she’s gone for good.
I’m halfway to my house when I hear footsteps behind me.
I stop, and sure enough, so do the footsteps.
An ominous sensation pulls at my gut.
One that gets worse when I turn around and see Scott…with a bat in his hand.
Motherfucker.
The first swing to my ribs brings to my knees.
The second has me seeing stars and crying out in pain as I curl up into a ball on the pavement. “Wh—”
“You can thank Violet,” Scott sneers.
Huh? That doesn’t make any sense to me.
However, I can’t speak because he attacks my legs this time.
A cracking, throbbing sensation pulsates through me. The pain is so intense—so excruciating—it robs me of breath.
“Violet?” I croak out, because I have to know what the fuck he meant.
Reaching down, he snatches a fistful of my hair.
“This is our thing.” A sharp punch to my face sends a bolt of rage spiraling through me. Unfortunately, I’m in no position to unleash it on him. “She flirts with guys and then I catch them together and beat the shit out of them to show them who she belongs to.” An evil, malicious smile spreads across his face. “Makes her all wet and horny.”
My rage quickly turns to revulsion.
It doesn’t sound like the Violet I know, but who’s to say I really know her to begin with?
Maybe it was all a ruse.
Violet lies to others...who’s to say she’d never lie to me?
I don’t want to believe it, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.
She’s the gorgeous head cheerleader dating the star quarterback…and I’m just a nobody.
Scott positions the bat over his head once more. “Flirt with her again and I’ll kill you.”
The metal cracking against my skull is the last thing I feel before everything goes dark.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Thursday
Violet
“Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”
Did that really happen last night, or am I going crazy?
I slap my hands over my face to smother the stupid grin I woke up with this morning. I shouldn’t be grinning. Not when Zander just abruptly walked out on me and I’m still trying to make sense of what happened. Does he regret it? Is that why he left? Or is there a more reasonable explanation… like he had to work early this morning?
Tossing the blankets aside, I indulge this insanity even further by padding across the floor to my window. It just so happens that my bedroom window faces his, and I have a direct view of his driveway from here. I know because I peeked out through the blinds last night. But when I try to do the same this morning, I suck in a sharp breath.
Zander isn’t at work.
He’s in his driveway, washing his truck, and he’s completely shirtless. And I’m not imagining that he’s packed on a shit load of muscle. I can see every hard line on his body from here. The sunlight glinting off his tatted frame makes him look every bit the god he truly is. I’m still busy ogling him when he turns his head to the side and catches me. Or at least, I think he does.
I jump back with a screech and pace my floor. Did he see me through the blinds? Is that even possible?
Oh my God, I’m acting like I’m still a hormonal teenager. I need to get a grip. I need to be an adult and bite the bullet and just go over to his house and discuss this like a rational person. That’s my intention when I spend the next hour showering and shaving my legs and flat-ironing my hair and agonizing over the perfect perfume.
As it turns out, it’s all for nothing. Because when I finally do work up the courage to go talk to him, I stop short in my driveway. His truck is gone, and so is he.
I sigh and shake my head. This is ridiculous. I’m not this girl. I don’t chase after guys. They’ve always chased after me. It’s always been so easy because I never really had to think about it. Opportunities presented themself, like Scott, and I took them. But Zander is different. Zander is the secret crush I harbored all throughout high school, even while I dated Scott. I was too blinded by my reputation to see what was right in front of me. He’s the one I should have been with all along.
It’s a sobering thought, and it hits me like a slap across the face. So many of my choices have led me to the life I always thought I wanted. The glam and the staged moments of perfection. But I never knew what perfection was until I felt Zander’s lips on mine last night. His hard body caging me in, protecting me, worshipping me.
I want that again, and I don’t care if it means I have to make a fool of myself. As soon as I get a chance, I’m going to lay it all out for Zander. I’m not letting him get away this time.
“Violet?”
I blink out at the street, startled back to reality when I see Scott has pulled up to the curb. He parks his truck like an asshole and squints at me through the open window before jumping out.
“What are you doing here?” I demand. “I told you to leave me alone.”
“Violet, come on… don’t be like that.”
“Be like what?” I glare as he takes a couple steps toward me as if he still has that right.
“A bitch,” he spits out. “You’ve blocked my number. You won’t answer my emails. I’ve been patient, but I’m done fucking waiting. You and I need to talk.”
“We have nothing left to talk about.” I point a trembling hand at his truck. “Now please leave before I call the cops.”
“The cops?” He chuckles as if I’d never dare to do that.
“Yes.” I stand my ground and fish my phone out of my pocket. But before I can get the keypad up, Scott is right in front of me, wrapping his fingers around my arm in a punishing grip.
“Put that phone back now,” he sneers.
“Scott, what the hell are you doing?” I try to push him back, but it’s like pushing against a tank.
He pinches my face between his fingers and tries to kiss me, and when I turn away, he yanks me by the hair toward the house. “No more fighting, Violet. Yo
u’re going to get this shit out of your system once and for all. Now we’re going inside, and you’re going to play nice.”
“Fuck you!” I thrust my hands into his chest, but it does nothing. His grip on my hair leaves me no choice but to follow as he drags me along into the house. “I’ll scream!”
“Go ahead,” he snickers. “I like it when you scream.”
“Is there a fucking problem here?”
Both of our heads whip to the side, and the breath leaves my lungs on a gasp when I see Zander standing there. When did he get here? His truck isn’t in the drive, and I have no idea where he came from. But regardless, I’ve never been so happy to see him in my entire life.
Scott releases me and glares at my savior. “This is a personal matter. It’s none of your business.”
“It’s my business if you’re trespassing and Violet doesn’t want you here.”
“Who is this guy?” Scott pins me with his gaze. “Does he know you?”
Zander seems amused that Scott doesn’t seem to recognize him from high school. But all I can think about is getting Scott out of my life once and for all.
“Yeah, I know him.” I walk over to Zander and tuck myself against his side. “He’s my boyfriend. And he’s also a detective, who just happens to live next door. So you might want to think about that next time you try to pay me a visit.”
Scott’s face mottles with red while he studies us, and a shit eating grin splits across Zander’s face. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s taunting him as he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me against him, gently tilting my chin up to kiss him.
“It’s alright, baby. I’ve got you.”
I sigh into him and somewhere in the space of those few stolen moments, Scott disappears. But before I can get too comfortable, Zander untangles himself from my body, his expression morphing into frustration.
“Um…thank you for doing that. I really appreciate it. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along—”
“I have to get back to work,” he says abruptly.
I don’t get a chance to ask him if we can talk later because he’s already walking away. Again.
Tales of Darkness & Sin: An Anthology Page 5