Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (38 page)

“She is a challenge,” I said with a smile. “And I never back down from a challenge.”

Feeling much better, I turned and headed back towards the condo. When I walked in, she was curled up on the sofa. She didn’t see me right away, so I stood watching her. She hugged her knees tightly. The happiness that was on her face this morning had been replaced. There was sadness there now, and I knew I was the reason for it. She finally caught my movement and pulled the earbuds from her ears but said nothing when she looked at me.

“You must be hungry.
 I’ll fix dinner after a quick shower.” 

She said nothing. She merely looked at me momentarily before putting the headphones back in her ears.

Dinner was a quiet affair. She played with her food more than she ate it, and once I was done, she got up and cleared our plates. Walking up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist. She flinched but didn’t object.

“Intimacy,” I whispered into her hair.
 

I slid my hand under her shirt, stroking the soft skin of her abdomen.
 I felt the subtle changes in her breathing. I smiled; she was still weak to my touch even when angry with me. 

“Seth, I would just like to go to sleep.”
 

“I
’m not trying to have sex with you right now, Calida. I’m answering your question.”

“I didn
’t ask you anything.” 

My fingers splayed across her toned stomach, my thumb grazed the bottom curve of her breast.
 

“Yes, you did,”
 I replied, planting soft kisses along her neck. It was a very beautiful neck and my second favorite part of her body I enjoyed kissing. “At the beach. You asked why I wouldn’t kiss you.” 

Stepping back, I slowly turned her in my arms.
 I wanted to see those gorgeous green eyes of hers. I wanted to see the emotions in them as I gave her this little piece of me. 
You don’t have to explain yourself to her. 
Her gaze was trained on my chest as she chewed on her bottom lip. 

“Look at me.
 Please.” I waited until I had her complete attention before continuing.

Cupping her lovely face in my hands, I leaned down to partake in those luscious lips of hers. Their softness, the warmth, the taste of them called to me.
 It wasn’t a deep passionate kiss. I only wanted to feel her lips on mine. Resting my forehead on hers, I stroked her cheeks with my thumbs as I spoke. 

“For me, a kiss is not just a kiss.”
 Her eyes were wide with confusion, causing a smile to tug at the corner of my mouth. “It’s about intimacy, the connection you have with a person. It implies a level of comfort and personal knowledge of the person you share the kiss with.” I leaned down, placing a soft kiss just below her ear before continuing. “A kiss can be orgasmic in itself. When performed by two lovers, it can be more seductive, more meaningful, and exude more intensity than the act of sex. It can leave you breathless and wanting; desirous heat and passion can bleed into every fiber of your being when embraced so achingly close to someone sharing the same sensations.” 

Calida
’s pupils dilated, her breathing became shallow, and she shifted her stance, pressing her legs tighter together. She was aroused yet trying to fight it. I traced the outline of her lips with my thumb. They parted slightly, bringing another smile to my face. 

“So…” Her tongue darted out, licking her lips as she tried to gather her thoughts “…um, I…I don
’t…I wasn’t expecting that kind of an answer.”

“Before you, Calida, I hadn
’t kissed or had the desire to kiss anyone for a very, very long time. I take that very seriously. Do you understand that?”  Wordlessly, she nodded her head. “Good. Now keep your hands at your side. No touching, understand?”

“Yes,”
 she replied breathlessly.

I placed my hands on the counter on either side of her but kept our bodies separated.
 “I’m going to kiss you now.”

Her eyes grew wide before she shut them in anticipation.
 Slowly, I leaned forward, brushing my lips against hers. A soft sigh escaped her instantly. I gave small kisses at each corner of her mouth then my tongue slowly traced her bottom lip but didn’t take the invitation offered. Instead, I continued to run my tongue along her bottom lip before nipping at it gently then suckling the place I’d just bitten. Inch by inch, I worked my way from one side of her lip to the other. My attention then went to her upper lip to give it equal treatment. Starting in the center, my tongue went right then left, taking great care to give extraordinary attention to her very sexy mouth. Only after I felt her lips were properly tended to did I start to kiss her.

I kept it soft and tender, focusing only on the movement of my lips to hers.
 It was a dance, a slow, sensual dance. Keeping the pressure light, I moved my lips over hers, slowly making love to them, appreciating them. Calida let out a short moan then inched forward, her body craving more contact, but I kept the space between us. Finally, I slipped my tongue into her warm, welcoming mouth. I ran the tip of it across the roof of her mouth, stroking back and forth. A longer moan escaped her, and her breathing increased. My tongue then swirled around hers in a well-orchestrated waltz.

She arched her back, and her arms stiffened at her sides as she tried to resist the urge to touch me.
 As my tongue retreated, hers gave chase. I sucked on it gently as it entered my mouth. She moaned at the slow, tantalizing sensation of the in and out pull. Calida started squirming more, shifting her weight. I sucked harder and faster. The vibration of her moan against my lips told me she was close. I released her tongue then entered her mouth again to deepen the kiss. In and out my tongue moved between her lips, our mouths continued the dance. Her hands brushed against mine as she placed them on the counter to hold herself up.

I pulled back slightly, letting my tongue give one final caress on the roof of her mouth before easing out of the kiss.
 Quickly, I wrapped my arm around her waist to keep her upright while she rested her head on my shoulder. The only sounds that filled the kitchen were that of our ragged breathing.

***

Holy fuck, this man just gave me an orgasm through a kiss
. 
I didn’t even think that was possible, but he just made love to my mouth. No hands, just his mouth.
 
Who knew a kiss could do that?

“That…should be illegal,”
 I panted. 

Seth chuckled softly as he tightened his arm around me.
 He held me, stroking my back, not pushing for more even though I could feel his erection pressing against me. 

“That gave a whole new meaning to the term oral sex.
 I don’t think I’ll ever look at kissing the same after that.” Pulling back a little so I could see his face, I smiled brightly. “You’ve ruined me.” 

Seth smiled back at me then kissed my forehead.
 I thought about his answer to my question and the implications of his feelings for me within those words

“I wasn
’t trying to make you jealous today,” I said quietly, resting my head against his chest.

“I know.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking up at him.

 
He smiled but said nothing. I snuggled back against his chest, feeling secure and wanted, maybe even a little special in his arms.

Chapter 31

When we pulled up to the house, I was happy to see Mitch’s car. I couldn’t wait to hear all about Macy’s trip. I’d never been to Vegas, so I was anxious to know if it was as fun and exciting as she thought it would be. Mitch was walking out of the door as we walked through the gate.

“Hey, Mitch.
 How…” I stopped when I saw he looked very pissed. I don’t think I’d ever seen him without a smile on his face. This couldn’t be good.

“Hey, Lee,” he said, giving me a stiff smile.
 “Hey, Seth.”

“Um, how was your weekend?”
 I almost didn’t want to ask, but I did anyway. 

He sighed, and his face fell a little. “It could have been better.
 I’ve gotta get going. I’ll see ya later.”

“Okay, bye,” I said to his retreating back.

“Trouble in paradise?” Seth asked after Mitch pulled off.

“Sounds like it,”
 I replied sadly, not knowing what state I was going to find my friend in. Seth circled his arms around me, pulling me into a kiss.

“Kissing you goodbye now.”
 He winked at me before opening the door. 

Macy was in the kitchen, and I heard the banging of the pots.
 She was really mad; she baked when she was angry or upset. Baking was the only real thing she did in the kitchen since she was a worse cook than I was. It was a tradition started with her mother when she was younger and would throw tantrums.

“This is bad,”
 I whispered to Seth. 

“I
’ll put your bag away; you go talk to your friend. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before heading into my room. 

 
I took a deep breath then walked into the kitchen. “Hey,” I said slowly.

“We don
’t have any flour, Lee. I need flour,” she replied, sounding frantic. 

I walked over to the cabinet and pulled out the flour and chocolate chips for her.
 I sat them on the counter and watched as she started measuring out her ingredients. It wasn’t until she started whisking furiously that she started to talk.

“I thought he understood.
 He was supposed to understand not to push things. We were having a perfectly great time until he ruined it! 
He
ruined it then got mad at me. It’s not my fault! He knew from the beginning, but he’s mad at me. The nerve!” 

She continued to whisk the cookie dough, talking mostly to herself and not really to me.
 Finally, she sat the bowl down and looked at me. I walked over to give her a hug.

“What happened, Macy?”

“Oh, Lee. He was so mad. He’s never been that mad at me. I messed up I think, but he knew…”

“You aren
’t making sense, Mace. Let’s go sit, and you can start at the beginning.”

“Yeah, okay,” she agreed, walking out of the kitchen.
 

I turned the oven off because I figured this might take a while.
 She was sitting on the couch with her knees pulled to her chest. The last time she was this worked up over something was senior year of high school. 

“Okay, Macy.
 Tell me what’s going on. I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”

“That
’s because you are a forever optimist and a hopeless romantic.”

“
Whatever, now spill it,” I replied, rolling my eyes at her.

“Yesterday, we went to see the Cirque du Soleil show, and afterwards, we headed to dinner.
 Well, the couple a few tables over from us got engaged. The whole cheesy ring in the dessert proposal. Anyway, I told him how you made the unthinkable comment that I would come back married. He proceeded to ask why it was so unthinkable, and it snowballed from there.”

“Oh, Macy,” I sighed.
 

I didn
’t have to be there to guess how that conversation went. One would think Macy came from a broken home with the commitment issues she had, but she didn’t. Her parents were still very much in love and had no problems showing that love. 

“Exactly.
 The rest of dinner was strained. I could tell he was upset, but I thought it would blow over. When we got to the room, I started trying to make out with him. He stopped me and said he wanted to talk. Talk! He turned me down for sex to talk!” She laid her head on my shoulder, sighing heavily. “He told me he loved me, Lee.”

“Macy, that
’s a good thing.” 

“Not when I couldn
’t say it back.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” 

We sat there quietly.
 I rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her while thinking of something to say that would make this better. 

“We barely talked the rest of the night or on the flight home.
 We had just gotten here when you arrived. He’s mad. He said he’s thirty-three and had no plans to be a bachelor forever. Then he left.” 

She got up and headed to the kitchen.
 

“Macy, did you tell him how you felt at all?” I asked, leaning against the frame.

“He knew from the beginning.”

“That was months ago. Things change.
 Do you see him still as just a bed buddy?”

“No.”

“Do you view this as an open relationship?”

“Hell no!”

I watched as she scooped the dough onto the cookie sheet. She had a great guy who was crazy about her, admitted he loved her, and she was here baking cookies, mad at him for it.