Seven (13 page)

I lean into the counter. “He did.”

Casen puts the popcorn into the microwave and I get a hint of arm porn. His muscles, flexing in a way that shoots pleasure through my body. “Well, I thought I would make up for it by coming to hang out with you.”

“Oh,” I sigh. “So, this is a pity popcorn and movie date.”

He shuts the microwave door and turns, pulling me by my hips into his. “Not a pity date, Embyr. This is an ‘I fucking owe Reece for ruining your girls’ night so I didn’t have to wait until Saturday’ date. It’s an ‘I couldn’t wait another moment to put my lips on you’ date.”

A whoosh of air rushes out of my lungs as Casen leans down, his lips brushing against mine. I feel his fingers trail up my body and find their home just underneath my ears.

“God, I love the way you kiss, Embyr,” he breathes into me. “I’m addicted.”

My teeth take his top lip between them and I pull, earning myself a growl. The part of me that thought I could find him as repulsive as Patrick or Reece is long gone. It’s replaced by my need to have him make me feel good again. To lose myself in and with somebody.

“Casen,” I whisper.

He reaches behind me, pulls me up by my thighs, and brings me into the living room. The ding of the microwave ignored. I’m surprised when he sets me on the couch and then sits way on the other side, detaching our bodies from one another. “What are you doing?”

“Remember that first night I talked to you, Embyr?” he asks, unbuttoning his jeans. “What I said would be fun to watch?”

I search that night and remember his words to me just outside the bathroom. I’m pretty sure I blush. “Wouldn’t it be more fun to let you do it?”

He lowers his zipper and pulls his cock out, gliding his hands up and over it. “I believe you said you would rather take care of it yourself. Now, pull those tiny shorts off.”

I hesitate, completely hypnotized by the motion of his stroke. Watching him is turning me on in a way I have never been turned on before.

“Off, Embyr. Now,” he commands and when my eyes meet his, I can see he isn’t playing.

For the past ten years, I have been the one in charge. Why I am letting someone, who I have despised since then, is beyond me. But, when you are this turned on, nothing else in the world matters. Just his kiss. Just his brief touch. His command is making me go against everything I started out to do. But, this is physical. I can allow myself to physically be in tune with him. As long as I don’t give him my heart, then I can make it out unscathed.

I lift my ass, not taking my eyes off of him, and pull my shorts down, dragging my panties along with them. When they hit my ankles, I push them aside.

He groans. “Spread those pretty legs of yours so I can see.”

I do as he says and before he can tell me to; I reach down and graze my clit. It’s swollen and the brief touch sends tremors through my body. I watch his hand stroke faster and he slides down the couch slightly. I follow his lead and, when I’m in a comfortable position, I bring my fingers back between my legs. I rub in circles, soft moans coming from between my lips.

“God, Embyr,” he hisses. “I can see how wet you are from here. Put a finger inside yourself.”

Leaving my thumb on my clit, I reach down and push my middle finger in as far as it will go, and feel my walls tighten. “Oh, Jesus,” I call out. My eyes close, and I forget all about Casen watching but imagine it’s his fingers making me shutter. I lift my hands up my stomach, reaching the bottom of my shirt and push it up. Once I reach my bra I lift it, exposing my breast and take a nipple between my fingers.

“Holy shit,” Casen calls out, his voice much closer.

I snap my eyes open, finding him lifted and hovering over me now. He’s working his cock into a frenzy as he watches where my finger disappears inside me. I add my pointer finger and start to ride them. The thrill of Casen standing over me, watching me, losing control over it all, sends a rush of wetness over my fingers, and I start to whimper.

“Are you close, baby, because I’m so fucking close.”

I nod. It’s all I can do. This is so erotic. My thumb presses down harder, my fingers reaching dipper, and my nipples feeling the pain of them being pinched.

“Lift up the other side of your shirt!” Casen barks out. “I want to see both tits.”

My hand leaves one breast to free the other and I give it the same treatment, roughly taking the nipple between my thumb and pointer finger. Louder and louder we get, calling each other’s names, looking into each other’s eyes, watching each other’s hands as they give us pleasure. It’s all too much and, without warning, I come, screaming out his name. My body bowing off of the couch, my fingers still firmly inside me. I look up to find Casen, stroking so fast, it looks almost painful.

“That was fucking hot, Embyr. Now, I’m going to come. Move your hands.”

I lift both hands up to my shirt, pulling it up as far as I can and watch as Casen loses all control. “Fuck!” he yells. “Fuck!” His speed picks up, if possible, and he leans down, his dick almost touching me. I stare as he comes all over my stomach. I lay here as he descends from his high, wiping the excess come on my stomach, and tucking himself in.

When his dick is safely back in place, he bends down, pulling me in for a scorching kiss. His tongue infused with mine. My hands reach up, pulling on the hair at the nape of his neck. I jump when I feel his fingers caressing my core, and moan with how amazing it feels. His touch is soft and gentle. He never stops kissing me as I come again, but this time, on his fingers.

I lay still as he gets up to get a warm wash cloth. When he comes back, a strange look is on his face, but he doesn’t say a word. He cleans the come off of me and I stand up, adjusting my clothes.

“Is something wrong?” I ask, once we grab the popcorn and settle into watching the movie.

He doesn’t say anything for, what feels like, five minutes and then turns to me. “I wasn’t snooping. I swear. I was grabbing a wash cloth from your linen closet and a box fell, spilling a wad of cash out of it.”

I still. That’s Wesley’s money. I don’t dare put it in my bank account. Should anything have gone wrong with Patrick’s case, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t depositing large sums of cash. I have it hidden in different spots in my house.

“Okay.”

“Okay? Just okay?” He turns towards me. “It’s not safe to have that much cash just sitting around your house. Where is it from? Why haven’t you put it in the bank?”

I search for something . . .
anything
to say because this caught me off guard. “It’s Trinity’s. She must have forgotten it here. She keeps a lot of cash on hand to give to her sister. This way she doesn’t have to go to the bank and get it.”

He stares at me, most likely trying to decide if I am lying or not. I hope my poker face is good. It used to be in high school. Then another memory floods me. Casen watching as I was forced to pay for Reece’s lunch one day. He wasn’t concerned about my money then. Why the hell should he be concerned now?

He drops the subject and as we settle back into the movie. I get up to get a drink, returning only to take a seat on the other side of the couch. The side I had just gotten myself off on. The feelings I turned off before are now switched back on.

It’s Saturday morning and I find myself sitting on the same bench I was the last time I met Aria. She is more than thirty minutes late, and I seriously don’t have the patience for her today.

Casen has been very quiet the past few days. I know he had his shift yesterday, and I know he is usually done, by the latest, nine o’clock in the morning, but it’s close to noon and I haven’t heard from him today. I’m sure he didn’t believe my lie about the money, and I would have told it better had I not been caught off guard. He could have left after that and not stayed until well into the night. He kissed me good night and promised to call me today. I was surprised that I didn’t hear from him all day yesterday, but then I reel myself in; I’m not going to get attached to him.

Even though we haven’t had sex, I know that the chemistry between us is phenomenal. As long as I’m mentally guarded, I won’t have anything to worry about. It was sweet of him to come over after finding out my plans for the night had been ruined, but I convince myself that maybe he sees me as a challenge and he is slowly trying to wear me down.

I’m brought out of my thoughts by the loud laughter of children. The ones that currently live in the house I grew up in. It’s a little girl and boy. The boy looks to be older. When I was little, I was jealous because I wanted to have a sibling just like all the other kids on my street. I wished from a very early age that my mom and dad would have had a brother before me. I had always dreamed that I was meant for an older brother so bad. Then, in high school, I knew that if I had one, things wouldn’t have gotten as out of control as they did. I would have someone to protect me when all my friends shunned me.

“Embyr?” Aria calls. I look up and she is timidly standing ten feet away. She looks different. Defeated. Deflated.

“Aria.” I stand up and meet her halfway. She has unshed tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

She walks the rest of the way over and wraps her tiny arms around my waist and lets it all out. “Oh, Embyr.”

I hold her, uncomfortably, rubbing her back because it seems like the right thing to do. After a few minutes, she pulls back, sniffling. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

She reaches in her bag and pulls an envelope out before handing it to me. I scan its contents seeing it’s more than my share of the money. I shake my head in confusion, lifting my eyes to meet hers. “Aria, why didn’t you take your cut?”

“I . . . I can’t.” She sobs, her shoulders hunched. “I can’t do this anymore, Embyr.”

I pull her to the bench and we take a seat. “Why not? What’s going on?”

She sniffles, wiping her snot with her sleeve. “He loves me.”

I groan. Damn it. “He does not love you, Aria. He loves the idea of you.”

She shakes her head in disbelief. “I told him yesterday we had to stop. He was so hurt. He said he loves me. Told me that someone was blackmailing him. I didn’t tell him it was us, but he said he would pay off the world if it meant he could have me.”

Of course he did. She’s a young and hot piece of ass who is also very smart. Any man would be crazy to let something like that go. She threatened to leave him and he pulled out the very card he thought would get her to stay. He has paid all this money to have it be kept quiet and now she threatens to leave him? The “I would do, and am doing anything to keep you” card. It’s sick. He’s a sick man and he thinks she is stupid.

I was stupid in high school too. Believing everything I was told. Of course, you think you are in love when you are that young and naïve. I thought I loved Casen when I barely even knew him. I confused lust and like for love.

Then, I realize anything I say to Aria, right now, will be manipulation just like he is manipulating her. I could tell her he is lying. I could tell her that it’s just lust. I can sit here all day and eventually get her to agree to keep this going, but I don’t want to mess up her life any more than maybe I already have.

Damn it—what has gotten into me?

“Okay, Aria. Okay. You don’t have to do it anymore.” I pull her into me. I’m not worried about the money. I can collect it myself. I just thought I could help Aria out in the process. I know her family can’t afford to send her to college even with the scholarships she has received from an in state school.

“Aria!” Someone screams from the parking lot. “Aria!”

She jumps up, turning so fast I get a full mouth full of her hair when she hits me with it, and gasps. “Oh no!”

I follow the sound of the thunderous voice. I squint my eyes to find Wesley storming his way toward us. He looks murderous. I feel as though I can see steam coming from his nostrils. My body tenses. I’m not sure what is going to happen but I secretly can’t wait to find out.

I take a stand next to Aria, letting Wesley close the distance on us. People all around have stopped to watch the scene unfolding in front of them. Mothers hold their young children tight, scared, but not willing to walk away from the show.

“You!” he screams, pointing in Aria’s face. “You were behind it?”

She shakes her head no, denying anything to do with it. Her eyes well up with tears, sobs escaping her lips. His hands ball up at his sides. “Liar!” his voice grows much louder. “I watched you pick the money up I had just dropped off. I watched you count it and pocket it. You fucked me for money? Do you know what that makes you?”