Seven (10 page)

After a few minutes of nonsense chit chat, I feel Casen’s hands start to wander. His fingers have made their way to my hips and slide further north just underneath my shirt. They gently graze over my bare skin. It’s like he knows all of my turn ons. The ministrations are so distracting, I hardly hear a thing that anyone is talking about anymore. It feels so good, so relaxing that I almost forget where I am.

His breath caresses my ear. “Do you like that?”

I nod and his touch gets gentler. Like his fingers are ghosting over me and I feel a shiver run up my spine. The music starts to play, and Casen stands up, requesting we dance together. I don’t hesitate because dancing is one of my favorite things to do.

The lights dim as he pulls me onto the large dance floor and immediately has my arms wrapped around his neck. Our foreheads touch and our noses are an inch apart. I close my eyes, letting the beat filter through my body. He returns his hands to my hips but this time both of them grip me. My hips sway without thinking and I’m immediately impressed with how well he can move. He pulls me in tighter and places a light kiss on my lips before turning me around. My head falls back against his chest and I open my eyes, finding Trinity and Reece just a few feet away from us.

He has her in the same position but she has no interest in looking anywhere but back towards him. My body stiffens. I want to warn her. To tell her to stay the hell away from Reece Craig. He is very bad news but when Casen’s lips find my bare shoulder, I lose any coherent thought in my head, and remind myself to talk to her before she does anything stupid, like leave with him.

“That was quite the little stunt you pulled at the fire station,” he rumbles in my ear before taking a nip at it.

Tilting my head to the side I find his eyes. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

His pupils dilate. “We could have been caught.”

My nipples harden at the thought. “That’s ok.”

He stares for a moment before bringing me back around. “Does that turn you on, Embyr? Thinking someone might catch you doing something dirty.”

The moment it leaves his lips I flash through all my sexual experiences since high school: the frat guys in the hot tub, the university’s football field, and the unlocked bathroom doors. I guess it does turn me on. I wonder if, for some sick and twisted reason, what happened in high school played any role in it.

Casen doesn’t wait for my answer before his hand crawls higher up my shirt, making sure it stays down and covers my breasts when he tugs down the cup of my bra. In an instant, my peaked nipple is between his fingertips, and a moan escapes between my lips. The pull of it thrills me. The pleasure of the pain is euphoric. Never have I felt this wonton or cared less if someone sees us.

I was screwing Patrick for a while and I never allowed him to bring me anywhere close to the brink of an orgasm but I know if Casen tried, even just a little bit, my body would come for him like a rocket.

“Six weeks, Embyr,” he tells me as he pulls the other cup of my bra down, giving the other breast some attention. “I noticed you six weeks ago, and I’ve craved you ever since.” He runs his hands down my stomach after covering my tits back up, hooking his thumbs into the waistband of my jeans, tugging me into him. I can feel his erection even through the denim. My body rolls, grinding against him, and I drag my lips across his. I’m on fire and keyed up, trying to keep myself from taking him into the bathroom stall. Before I can make good on my thoughts, I hear someone calling Casen’s name over the loud music.

Casen pulls away and we both look to find Ian standing next to us holding a phone up. “You’re phone keeps going off, man. It’s your sister.”

Ian hands the phone to Casen. “I’ll be right back. Why don’t you dance with Ian, so I don’t have to beat some guy’s ass if they try to make a move on you?” He walks away, not giving me the opportunity to tell him I don’t want Ian’s hands on me.

“I’m good,” I tell him. “I’ll just go sit down.”

Ian grabs just above my wrist and gently directs me into him. I look around for an out. Trinity is wrapped up in Reece. Casen is out of sight. I can’t even catch Damien’s eyes. He pulls me close and I relent but the feel of his skin touching mine causes me to shutter. I can feel my throat tightening up. I can’t believe this man has been inside me.

“Annie,” Ian breathes on my neck, dragging his hands down my sides. The garage is warm even though we are having a crisp fall day, and I shiver at his touch. Something feels off, but our date today was nothing but perfect.

After he picked me up, Ian took me to the roller skating rink and then for a quick bite to eat before bringing me to Reece’s garage where the PITCREW worked on their cars. Tonight would be the first race after three weeks off.

“I want to touch you,” he sweetly says breaking the barrier of the top of my jeans. “I want to make you feel good.”

My eyes rolled in the back of my head as unfamiliar feeling took over my body. His hands on me make me want them to touch me in places that I’ve never thought I wanted to be touched. “Ok,” I whisper and he doesn’t hesitate to unbutton my pants and weave his large fingers inside my panties. I gasp as a spark zips through my body at his contact. It feels incredible. I can’t believe one of the guys from the PITCREW not only asked me out but wants to touch me.

His fingers slide up and down and I grip the work bench behind me. “Does that feel good?” he asks.

I can only nod as the he takes it to a steadier pace. My knees feel weak and when his mouth crashes to me, his tongue seeking mine. I lose all control and my body freezes as the most incredible feeling takes over. I call out his name, muffled by the fusion of our mouths, and whimper as the last shockwave courses through my body.

He made me feel so good and with only the unbuttoning of my pants.

Ian pulls away, his brown eyes watching me as I come down from my high. “How was that?” he asks.

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Incredible.”

A smile lights up his face and he steps away from me. “Do you want to make me feel incredible, too?”

My body stiffens with his question. “I-I don’t know.”

He looks down, and I can see the bulge in his pants. “Annie, I would hate to lose my race tonight because of a case of blue balls.”

I scrunch my eyebrows unsure of what that means, but knowing that he wants me to give him the release he just gave me. “I’ve never done that before. I don’t know how to do it.”

Ian grabs my hand, leading me to a couch set up in the back. He leans down, pulling my unbuttoned pants around my knees. “Sit,” he commands. I do, only because I’m scared, but also wondering where this is going. He takes my shoes off my feet and my pants the rest of the way off of me. “I’ll show you how to do it,” he says, pushing me down across the couch and covers my body with his.

That night Ian showed me more than how to take the edge off of a man. He showed me how a boy can get a girl naked and manipulate her into giving her virginity up. At the time, I thought he was sweet and I remember his eyes watching me as he thrusted in and out. It had hurt but I kept quiet. I didn’t want him to tell his friends that I complained. When it was over, he took me home without another word and ignored me the next day at school. It wasn’t until a week later when I found out why he was so pushy about asking me out, and when I did, he never looked my way again.

But right now, he can’t seem to tear his evil eyes away from me, and I want to grab the nearest knife and cut him. I step away, looking at him in disgust. “Don’t touch me.”

His head shakes in confusion, and I don’t give him a chance to respond. I find my way back to the table, shooting Trinity a text that I’m leaving, and walk out of the door.

*****

Bang, bang, bang.

Bzzzz. Bzzz.

Bang, bang.

Bzzz.

For the past hour, since I arrived home, I’ve heard a chorus of banging on the door and my phone vibrating on the carpet. I’m sitting on the floor, against my couch, my eyes trained on the door. I’ve been ignoring Casen’s request that I open up, and refuse to answer when he or Trinity calls.

“I know you’re in there, Embyr. Answer your door,” Casen says. “Tell me why you left.”

My head falls into my hands as another text from Trinity comes in.

Why did I leave? That is the million dollar question. I just felt like something was off tonight. And, I sure as hell couldn’t let Ian keep his hands on me. Every stroke made me feel dirty, and not in the good way. But, what I don’t understand is why I could let Patrick fuck me for months and not shy away, but I’m letting Casen in, and I can’t be strong as steel when Ian touches me?

I silently pad over to my fridge and pull out some Coke before taking my bottle of Captain off the top of my cabinets. The knocking has stopped, but I continue to keep my drink making to minimal noise. Once my glass is filled, I walk back to my couch, curl my feet underneath me, and take a long, slow sip. The first of many to put me to sleep.

Brutal. That’s the only way to describe the workout I am giving myself this morning. Harsh and brutal. I can smell the alcohol I’m sweating out. I drank until I passed out last night. The last thing I remember is that it was close to midnight, and Casen still had not left my door.

I push my body to the limit. Hitting seven miles per hour on the treadmill. Any moment, my legs could give out on me but, in my mind—I need this. I haven’t felt anything in a very long time and last night, I felt too much.

I had nightmares about Ian last night; his brown hair falling onto his forehead as he pushes himself inside me; his vile hands, searching my body, holding on for purchase. I’ve had that dream before. Multiple times, but never once has it affected me the next morning as it did today. I feel like my resolve is weakening and I can’t figure out why.

“Whoa, Embyr. Slow down,” Trinity says, jumping onto the treadmill next to mine, and brings one arm over the other to stretch.

I keep up my pace and don’t look her way. She reached out numerous times last night, but I ignored each and every call. Every text. The image of her having her hands wrapped around Reece weren’t helping my mood, either.

When she is satisfied with her stretching she starts the machine and settles into a steady pace. All the while, I am still pushing my body beyond its limits. We don’t say a word for what feels like an hour but the countdown on my treadmill tells me it’s only been two minutes since she joined me.

“What happened, Em?” she asks when I have less than five minutes to go.

I huff and point to the time. “I couldn’t even talk about it right now, if I wanted to.”

She nods and continues on her five and a half mile per hour pace. When my time is up, I slow to three and a half miles per hour and grab the white towel hanging over the side. I wipe the sweat away and grab a long drink of water from my half full bottle, nearly emptying it.

“I don’t want to like him,” I finally tell her.

She slows her pace. “Why? Casen seems like a great guy.”

“He is; don’t get me wrong. But, falling for him is not something I can do. I just want it to be casual.” Pushing the speed down a few more notches, I start to roll my shoulders to release the tension.

“But you left when he was on his phone. Did his friend say something?”

I breathe out a loud sigh, inwardly cringing when a vision of Ian touching my body flashes through my mind. “He didn’t have to say anything,” I tell her, taking another swig, and adjusting my sports bra. “His hands were on me. They felt wrong, and gross, and grimy. He skeeved me out.”

“So, why did you leave? And, why didn’t you answer my calls? You just left me there with hot firefighters all to myself. Do you know how terrible that is?” She laughs.

I shake my head and shrug. “I’m sorry about that. I left because Casen was making me feel too much. As far as your calls . . . my phone was on vibrate.”

Trinity doesn’t respond, so I glance over and find a knowing look on her face. I huff. “What?”

“You didn’t want to feel anything, Embyr? You haven’t had a steady boyfriend since I’ve known you. Don’t you want to feel something besides your own fingers?” she says the last part at almost a whisper and chuckles.

Even though Trinity and I were roommates for a while, she has no idea what happened to me in my past or that I was fucking Patrick for months. When I say that I have no friends to lose if my plans go to shit, well that may have been a lie I was telling to myself. But, I have never let Trinity in enough to trust her with the real Embyr. If you asked her, she would say I’m sweet, I keep to myself, and I’m a prude.