Craving Shannon (8 page)

Chad took her hand between both of his. “It’s okay,” he breathed.

“I heard every punch, every whack, every thud as her body was being tossed around the place…” She closed her eyes, threw her head back and counted to ten before continuing. “When the…noise…stopped…when I knew they were gone, I crept out from hiding, grabbed my wad of money and ran…”

Chad let out a heavy sigh and ran his left hand through his hair. “Shit…” he breathed. He squeezed her hand firmly between both of his and looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“It’s okay,” she replied, smiling sadly.

“Jesus, Shannon…” he mumbled. They sat in silence for many long moments while Chad absorbed the gruesome information she had just laid on him. After a while, he straightened his back and nodded once, as though having an internal conversation with himself. “Okay, so here’s what’s going to happen,” he began.  “You’ll stay here with me until we can find you a decent apartment. You’re not going back to that slum.”

“But how can I afford—

“My friend Alex, that you met last night, he’s a real estate agent. Mostly high end, but he knows people. I’ll have him make a few phone calls. He can probably get you a place within a few weeks. If we have him look for a place with a roommate, maybe…a nice young girl your age…” He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“I suppose…” she trailed off, not feeling very confident.

“You’re welcome to stay here in the meantime, until you get your first check. And we can always find stuff for you to do to get you more overtime.”

Shannon felt grateful tears well up. Never had she met someone so kind and decent. The man in front of her was a lifesaver. This time she let the tears flow as she tried to stammer out an appropriate
‘Thank you’
. One simply didn’t exist. She had no experience with the opposite sex, but a hunch told her that the feeling inside was more than a crush. It was possible that she’d just fallen in love.

He put his arms around her shoulders and she relaxed into his embrace, crying into his neck, letting the weeks of grief and torment ooze out through her sobs.

Then, as he rubbed circles into her back, Shannon made a terrible mistake.

Overwhelmed with relief, but also a deep sense of loneliness, not to mention a natural attraction to the older man that held her in his arms protectively, she turned her head and kissed the side of his mouth.

Instantly she felt his body stiffen and she realized her blunder. What the hell was she thinking? She’d never even kissed a boy her own age, let alone a man so much older. What did she think would happen? That he’d succumb to the pathetic attempts at seduction from an inexperienced girl, and if by chance he did, was she even prepared to follow through?

It didn’t matter though, because Chad pulled away from her slowly and stared into her eyes, an unmistakable look of agitation on his face.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” she stuttered, feeling her face flush red from humiliation and self-disgust.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he said firmly.  He let go of her shoulders and stood up, once again, running his hand through his hair.  “I’ll be back in a little while,” he announced without looking in her direction. He went into his bedroom and came back out fully dressed. He walked to the front door then disappeared behind it, not bothering to let her know where he was going or when he’d return.

She pulled both knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them then rocked back and forth on the couch, wishing she could just disappear.

She was a fool, an idiot to think a man of Chad’s caliber would ever want to kiss a girl like her.

“Turn your gaze to the floor and step the back foot forward so that the feet are parallel at the front of the mat. Keep the bind while you do this. Shift your weight into your free leg.”

Chad did as instructed, feeling his muscles stretch.

“Slowly bring yourself up to standing. When you feel steady, extend the left leg to a straight position. Bring your gaze over your opposite shoulder.”

Nothing felt better after a six mile run than some intense yoga.

Before long, he was on his back, concentrating on his breaths, on being present, or at least that was the idea, but he was having a hard time staying in the
now
. His mind kept jumping back to Shannon’s behavior earlier. It was hard enough trying to resist the girl, trying to overcome his intense desire for her, without her trying to kiss him. As it was, he’d spent the entire previous night writhing in his bed, aching at the thought that she was lying in the next room. With the most severe hard-on he’d ever had, his unrelenting imagination showed no mercy, flashing up images of him between her thighs. There was nothing left for him to do than to grab his cock and jerk off until he had meager relief.

Then, that morning, she walked into the kitchen wearing a t-shirt that barely covered her ass, one that was so thin that he was sure he’d seen her nipples through the flimsy material. Obviously the gods were having a laugh at his expense, making wagers on how long it would take for him to go insane. Could lust actually drive a man insane? He was sure he’d know the answer to that question before he found Shannon somewhere more appropriate to live.

On his way to the showers, he ran into Roland who convinced him to do a little weight training while he was at the gym.

There seemed to be no amount of physical effort that could clear his muddled mind. After bench-pressing his personal record, he still didn’t feel any better.

He hit the grocery store on the way back to his apartment. There was no point in starving the girl just because he didn’t want to face her.

Once inside the apartment, he knocked on the guest bedroom door and called her name.

“Yes?” she answered.

“There’s food out here if you’re interested,” he replied, trying to sound as composed as he could manage.

She opened the door and stood in the doorway with slumped shoulders, wearing a look of remorse. Her big eyes looked up at him from under her long lashes, a pink tint gracing her full cheeks.

Chad felt instantly sorry for her. She looked so sad, but also dejected. For a split second, he entertained the thought of taking her in his arms and kissing her to relieve the rejection in her eyes, to let her know that he’d refuse to kiss her not because he didn’t find her attractive, but because he would not have been able to stop at just that.  Thankfully, common sense kicked in just in time. Instead, he smiled warmly. “You okay?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Okay, good,” he replied. “I brought some sandwiches.”

They ate in almost complete silence, save for the TV droning in the background that, thankfully, made the uncomfortable situation somewhat bearable.

Chad couldn’t stand the atmosphere. He threw his napkin on top of the empty plate and stood up. He grabbed his heavy jacket and announced that he had a few things to take care of, that he’d be back later that evening.

With nowhere else to go, he made his way to McDermott’s.

Something inside, some logical part of him, knew that drinking from three in the afternoon until almost eleven at night was a huge mistake, but he didn’t really care. Where did doing the responsible thing ever get him anyway?  Why the fuck hadn’t he just kissed the girl back? Like Derek said, she was an adult. If she wanted to play grown up games then she was old enough to realize what she was playing with, or at least she should be.

He grabbed his jacket and stood up from the barstool. Underestimating his footing, he staggered to the side and fell into the empty stool next to the one he’d just vacated.

“You alright?” Kenny asked with obvious concern. “I could call you a cab.”

“I’m fine,” Chad lied. He knew he was drunk but didn’t care. He wanted to walk home. The cold air would help to sober him up.

“You sure?” Kenny asked. “You had a lot to drink.”

Chad waved his hand dismissively. “I’m fine, Buddy,” he tried to assure the man.

After a fifteen-minute walk home, he felt much more in control, the cold air having done its job.

He walked into a quiet apartment. Shannon must have been fast asleep by that time.

Chad took off his jacket and flung it over the loveseat then made his way toward his bedroom.

And that’s when he heard it!

The piercing scream echoed throughout the apartment.

He rushed into the guest room without knocking, eager to make sure Shannon was all right. She lay in bed, shaking and crying uncontrollably.

Chad rushed forth and lifted the girl up in his arms. He sat on the edge of the bed and cradled her on his lap.

She clung to his neck, sobbing.

“What happened?” he murmured, rocking her back and forth gently. He could feel her shaking her head against his shoulder.

“Tell me, Shannon,” he pleaded softly.

“Nightmare,” she breathed. “It’s always the same. It’s always the image of my mother…on the floor…dead…and so much blood…so much blood everywhere.”

“Shush,” he cooed gently into her ear. “Shush, Shannon, its okay.”

She pulled away from him and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. Through the dim light from the hallway, Chad could see the sadness in her green eyes. He stroked her cheek with his forefinger.

“I’m sorry about earlier today,” Shannon said, bowing her head shamefully.

“Don’t be,” he whispered. He put his finger under her chin then lifted her face. He stared at her for a long moment. “You’re so beautiful, Shannon,” he blurted out, breaking the silence. He hadn’t quite meant to say that out loud, but didn’t regret it. It was true, after all. There was no describing how incredibly beautiful she was to him.

Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were every bit as soft and lovely as he had imagined. He put his hand on her neck and deepened the kiss, taking her bottom lip between both of his. Yes…just as sensual as his imagination had conjured up.

Part of him kicked up a fuss, the more rational side pleaded with him to stop this before it got out of hand, before things crossed a threshold and couldn’t be undone.

And then, she moaned softly against his mouth, and he could no longer control himself.

He took her lips fully, pushing his tongue inside, lapping at her mouth, owning it. He fanned the fingers of both hands through her long, luscious hair and pulled her head closer, his mouth invading her roughly. He pulled away and let his tongue travel the length of her neck, nipping at the skin, reveling in the sounds of her soft moans, allowing them to coax him on. He pulled the neck of her t-shirt aside and licked her shoulder, grazing it with his teeth. She threw her head back and moaned louder.

He had lost every ounce of control.

His mouth was kissing and licking any piece of skin it came into contact with. Needing more of an area for his mouth to explore, he put both hands on the rim of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. He flung it forcefully to the floor.

There, in front of him, were the most beautiful breasts he’d ever seen, framed seductively by her loose mane.  Two perfect pink nipples peeked out from a veil of dark-brown hair. He stared at them, drinking them in with his eyes, savoring the sight, feeling his mouth water. He reached both hands toward them and ran both forefingers over the taunt little buds.

Shannon gasped. The sound hit his groin at full speed, causing an unbearable pain.

“How does that feel, Shannon?” he asked in a throaty voice.

“Good…good,” she moaned.

He took both nipples between his thumbs and forefingers and began kneading them, pinching and twisting. Shannon let out a little scream that just egged him on further.

“Has anyone ever touched you this way before?” he questioned.

“No,” she cried, thrusting her breasts forward to meet his touch.

Still playing with her nipples, he leaned back in and took control of her mouth again, sucking on her lips, ramming his tongue into her mouth, a need like he’d never experienced before surging through his body, invading his bones.

He had never wanted anything so badly in his life. He wanted to rip the innocence from her and bend her to his every dirty whim.

He pulled away from her and looked down at her luscious tits like a man possessed. He bent his head and took her left nipple between his lips, pulling it into his mouth. Her loud gasp sent shock waves through his cock, tormenting him.

And then his fingers reached down and caressed her sweet thighs, pushed into the place where they met.

He let his mouth skim back to her neck and kissed a trail up to her ear. “Spread your legs for me,” he whispered.

She obeyed. She moved her thighs apart while her behind rested on his lap. He spread his
own
legs and readjusted her so that she was sitting on his right leg only, her knees resting up against his left.

He looked down at her white, cotton panties that blended in with her milky white skin so that they were barely noticeable. He ran his hand up the inside of her left thigh and let his forefinger travel over the soft material.

Shannon stiffened and sucked in a deep breath.

“Do you like that, Sweet Shannon?” he murmured.

She nodded vigorously.

He let his finger caress her panties gently, back and forth, while she became unglued. She rocked her hips, gently at first, but then sped up the motion.

“Ah, yes, you do like that, don’t you?” he breathed.

Suddenly, he felt dampness through the material. She was moaning wildly by this point, and Chad supposed he should put her out of her misery, but something about being the first man to touch her this way was feeding his ego, making him a little too cocky. He refused to remove the panties until he witnessed just how wet he could make them. “You’re wet, Shannon. Can you feel it?”

“Um, hum,” she moaned.

“Has anyone ever made you wet before?” he asked, looking into her face as her eyes rolled up into her head.

“N…no,” she stuttered.

“That’s good, Sweet Girl. I like being the first.” He continued the slow strokes, empowered by her reaction. “I want to make you soaking wet, Shannon. I want you even wetter than this. Can you give me more?”

She nodded and bit into her lip.

He could feel it,  the evidence of her desire for him building,  fresh and new, a foreign feeling to her, no doubt making it that much more potent. He couldn’t remember ever having a woman want him so badly. The thought was intoxicating, overwhelming. 

When he was convinced that her panties were thoroughly soaked, he reached up to the waistband and pulled them down to her hips, then on down passed her knees to her ankles.

He placed his right hand underneath her beautiful behind and lifted her up slightly so that his left hand could get better access to her most private part.

His hand made its way between her secret folds, four fingers gliding up her slickness and petting her vigorously.

Shannon muffled a screamed which only made Chad pet her even harder.

“Does that feel good, Sweet Shannon?” he asked. “I want to make you feel so good.”

“Oh, god yes!” she cried.

He pushed the first two fingers of his right hand, the hand that was resting under her bottom, inside her, and continued rubbing her clit with his left.

Shannon’s body was rocking out of control, her head swaying back and forth as she whimpered and cried.

Chad was convinced he’d never seen anything so erotic and beautiful in his life, and probably never would again. He sat mesmerized by the way her body reacted to his touch, how she let loose and let the ecstasy take her completely.

“I want to give you your first orgasm,” he moaned into her ear. “I want you to cum hard for me, Shannon. Will you do that for me? Will you let yourself go, let yourself explode for me?”

“Y…y…yes,” she screamed. “Yes…please.”

“That’s it,” he coaxed. “That’s it, just let yourself go. Let yourself cum hard.”

She was bucking her hips like someone possessed, her hair flying in all directions.

“You’re so amazing,” Chad breathed. “You’re so beautiful and amazing.”

The louder she screamed, the harder Chad worked her. The fingers of his left hand flicked at her clit rapidly while the ones on the right moved in and out of her at almost the same pace.

Then, after many long minutes, Chad felt her stiffen beneath him, felt her muscles tense and knew that she had reached the summit. “That’s it, Sweet Girl, that’s it!” he encouraged.  

She opened her mouth as though to scream but no noise came forth. Instead, she placed her head on his shoulder and bit into his flesh.