Before Hadley (13 page)

“Who said I wouldn’t want to finish?”

Fuck me.

She gripped the hem of her top and peeled it over her head.

My lips parted as I stared at the lacy pink bra molded perfectly to her ample chest.
Shit
. My eyes jumped to her eyes. I needed to remember this was Hadley. The girl who’d just drawn my mother. She wasn’t like the others. She was the one girl who made me feel things I wasn’t used to feeling. And I wasn’t going to blow it.

She stared down at me, meeting my eyes like she wasn’t straddling me without a top on in her big empty house. I don’t know why I expected her to be nervous, but there was a confidence in her eyes as she took the opportunity to convince me she’d forgiven me. “I believe this was your request by the train.”

A deep guttural groan rumbled in the deep recesses of my gut. “Look. I’m in no way a saint who has any kind of restraint. So please don’t make this hard on me.”

She lifted a brow. “Hard?”

I laughed. “Yeah. I just want you to see that you’re different. I want you to see I’m not here for one thing.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Are you serious?”

I swallowed back what I really wanted to say. Especially since we were all alone with no chance of interruptions.

She assessed my features, searching for any indication that I was bluffing. When she found none, she huffed her frustration and reached for her shirt. It was fucking adorable.

I clasped my hand over hers, stopping her from grabbing hold of the shirt. “There is no way in hell you’re putting that back on. I want to look at you.”

As if a cold front swept in, her cheeks flushed. “Well then look.” Even with her cheeks glowing, her voice remained confident. “And if you feel your restraint slipping, just go with it. I promise not to complain.”

I laughed as I yanked her toward me, our mouths colliding fiercely. Hadley’s hands slipped under my shirt, trailing over my bare chest as our tongues melded together. Her smooth hands explored my body. I imagined them wrapped around another part of me and I grew harder.

How long could I do this with her?
Just
this? How long could I—

Hadley moved her body—make that her hips. Grinding slowly on the bulge in my jeans as she kissed me, her hands braced on my chest.

I deepened the kiss, threading my fingers in her hair and tugging back just enough for her to groan into my mouth. The vibration rocked through me, coursing through my body as she continued to rub up on me. I was hard as a rock and pretty sure if I didn’t lose my jeans soon, I was going to do some serious damage to my favorite body part.

I released my hands from her hair and skimmed them over her neck and shoulders, lightly brushing the sides of her bra with my thumbs as I continued down. She hummed against my lips as I moved over the bare skin on her sides before gripping her hips. The ones that were still circling my hard on. Good God she was amazing. I coasted my hands over the tops of her thighs, sliding them slowly between her legs.

She gasped into my mouth. We both knew all I had to do was slip my fingers under her shorts. Shift in just the right angle to feel her wet panties. Insert a couple fingers to hear her scream my name. The voice in my head told me I couldn’t do it. Told me if I went any further, I wouldn’t be able to stop. Instead of relieving her need, I reached for my fly and unbuttoned my jeans.

Hadley pulled away from my mouth, her lips swollen and eyes glazed. Her soft panting and flushed cheeks told me she was close. “Change your mind?”

I reached for my zipper. Her anxious eyes followed my fingers as I drew it down. There was no disguising my tented boxers. Hadley slipped her right hand out from under my shirt and placed it on my dick.
Sweet Jesus.
Her hand moved slowly over my boxers, experimenting with the pressure that made me hiss. She tightened her grip, increasing the speed. The pressure of her hand and the friction of my boxers tainted my vision with black spots. My head fell back as I moaned my appreciation. Every part of me wanted to beg her to slip her hand underneath my boxers and put her hand—better yet her mouth—directly on me.

Hold up.

This wasn’t about me. For once. I wanted it to be about Hadley.

I grabbed hold of her hand, stopping it from moving. Given the surprise on her face, I wasn’t the only one feeling needy.

“Do you trust me?” I asked.

Hadley

Captivated by the wild look in Caynan’s eyes, I nodded.

“Lay down,” he requested, his voice insanely raspy.

My pulse throbbed in every part of my body, especially the spot between my legs. I couldn’t believe I’d been brave enough to shed my shirt and make the first move—especially after being distant for the past week.

But how far was I willing to go? Was I ready for whatever he had in mind?

My sudden apprehension wasn’t enough to stop me. I climbed off Caynan’s lap. He slid down to the end of the sofa and waited for me to lie down. Once my back hit the sofa, he pushed himself to his knees at my feet. “If I do anything you’re not comfortable with, you need to tell me.”

I nodded, expecting him to cover me with his body. Maybe strip down so I wasn’t the only one missing clothing. But instead, he reached for the button on my shorts and slowly peeled them down my legs, revealing the cute pink panties that matched my bra.

Caynan’s tongue shot out, sweeping along his bottom lip as his eyes roamed over my body. My eyes were riveted on his, awaiting his next move. He gripped my knees and spread them gently. My skin prickled with anticipation. He leaned down, his lips pressing against my inner thigh. I gasped as he kissed a path up my skin. He was so close to my core. So close to the incessant throbbing mere inches away. My heart rate accelerated as he switched to the other thigh, kissing a similar path up my skin, but not quite reaching my center.

“I trust you,” I whispered, urging him on.

His lips continued their assault, alternating between my thighs as his right hand slid up my leg, stopping when it reached the bottom of my panties. His thumb brushed softly over the strip of fabric between my legs. I closed my eyes, enjoying every glorious sensation. Caynan’s thumb didn’t stay there long. It swept underneath the damp fabric, gliding over my wet skin. Tremors rippled through me as I chewed on my bottom lip, stopping myself from moaning shamelessly.

“Fuck,
you’re wet,” he whispered, as his thumb continued to move, now in a long delicious path from the back of my folds to the front, circling the nub that pounded at the peak—a heartbeat of its own. The pad of his thumb was rough and focused on the pleasure it was bringing me as he circled the spot over and over again. Then his finger disappeared from my skin.

I whimpered at the loss, but just as quickly it reemerged, sliding all the way down my seam before making its way back to the peak again where he repeated the same glorious torture. Over and over again.

“Pull them down,” I said, shocked by my boldness.

Caynan’s head lifted from between my thighs, his eyes meeting mine. “You sure?”

I nodded.

“Tell me you know you’re not like other girls to me.”

I nodded. “I know.” And even if I didn’t know that for absolute certain, there wasn’t a chance in hell he wasn’t finishing what he started.

His eyes stayed on mine as he slipped his pinkies into the sides of my panties and peeled them down my legs.

I didn’t look away. My cheeks didn’t pink. My palms didn’t dampen. For some reason, I was at ease. I was completely on board with everything that was happening. It felt right.

Without warning, Caynan lowered his head, burying his face between my legs.

Oh. My. God.

I grabbed the sofa cushions at my sides. I’d never had a guy go down there before. Not like that.

His tongue touched exactly where I ached for it. I nearly screamed out at the pleasure, but bit back down on my bottom lip to stifle it. Caynan mirrored the pulsing already happening there with steady pressure as he lapped away at it. Over and over again.
Good Lord.
He was relentless. Flicking. Swirling. Sucking.

My eyes crossed and my body arched off the sofa. He held my hips, stopping them from bucking him off me. I whimpered as he abandoned the nub. But like his thumb moments before, he licked a trail down the wet seam of my body. I couldn’t be embarrassed by the intimate action when it felt so good. So. Damn. Good. He licked back up to the top, hitting the throbbing spot.

Flick…Swirl…Suck.

My legs began to quiver. “Oh my God,” I breathed.

Flick…Swirl…Suck.

He hummed into my wet skin, causing sensations to bubble up. With one last hard suck, heat shot to the center of my core. My body splintered into pieces as I half whimpered, half moaned at the pleasure rushing through me. But that didn’t stop Caynan. He milked my body for all it had until I’d nearly crushed his head with my thighs.

I didn’t open my eyes as my chest heaved and I gulped in a lungful of air. I felt the cushions beneath me shift as he moved, but my limp body was incapable of movement. “Where did you learn to do that?” My heavy eyelids split apart. “Wait. I don’t want to know.”

He laughed as he held my panties at my feet and slipped them back on me. “Was it okay?”

“Okay?” I scoffed at the ridiculousness of his question. “Seriously?”

Before he could respond with some smug comment, his phone vibrated in his pocket. His face sobered, his eyes looking torn whether he should answer it or not.

“Go, ahead,” I urged.

He pulled it out and checked the screen. “Fuck,” he growled through clenched teeth.

“What’s wrong?”

His eyes stayed on the screen. “My dad. He needs me home.” His eyes lifted to me. “I’m sorry.”

As much as I didn’t want him to leave, especially after what just happened between us, I didn’t want to be that girl. He’d promised me I wasn’t like other girls. I had no reason not to believe that. “No worries. We’ll just pick this up another time.”

Surprised, he lifted his brows as he leaned down toward my face. “Oh, yeah?”

“Oh, hell yeah.” With my taste still on his tongue, he closed the distance between us and made sure I knew how sorry he was for bailing.

Caynan

My father sat at the kitchen table when I walked in. He looked less wasted than he had earlier, but he didn’t say a word, just tossed a manila envelope toward me on the table.

“What’s this?”

“Apparently, our meeting went well.
Really
well.” He nodded toward the envelope. “Open it.”

I picked it up and flipped open the flap, pulling out an eight by ten colored picture of a gun. A very elaborate gun. More like a pistol.

“It’s a Colt Walker. It went for over a million dollars at an auction.”

I studied the picture of the old gun. “So?”

“So, we get it. We get twenty percent of street value.”

“Where is it?”

“The address is inside.”

I reached inside the envelope, pulling out a torn piece of paper. I stared down at the address scribbled across it. Every part of my body froze.

Fuuuuuuck.

* * *

I flashed one of my many fake IDs at the bouncer at the bar two towns over. I walked inside, sliding down onto one of the few empty bar stools around the four-sided bar. The bartender approached, her black biker tank top leaving very little to the imagination.

“What can I get ya?” she asked.

“One of everything.”

She laughed. “That bad?”

“Times ten.” I tunneled my fingers through my hair.

“How about I surprise you?”

“I’m not a big fan of surprises.”

“Then I’m guessing you haven’t been properly surprised.” She winked, before turning and strutting her ass over to the rows of liquor bottles on the illuminated shelves.

No. I’d been surprised all right. That night. By Hadley—sweet Hadley—who’d allowed me to do things I wasn’t sure she’d let me do to her.
And
by my fucking father who’d dropped the bomb of all bombs. Twenty percent of one million dollars was no chump change, so telling him I wouldn’t get the pistol wasn’t an option.

It seemed like every time he got into my head, it was a reality check urging me to distance myself from Hadley. We were from completely different worlds. My life was one big lie. Hers held so many possibilities. My future would take me to another rich town. Hers would take her off to college then a career in art. It had been my brilliant plan to let her in. Now I’d never be able to look her in the eyes again.

But how could I push her away when I saw how much it hurt her last time? That was easy. I was selfish. And selfishly I wanted her. I wanted to see her smile and laugh and fall apart with my face between her legs like earlier that night. Selfishly, I wanted to know I was the cause of every bit of her pleasure.

The bartender walked over, lining three shots in front of me. Without a word, I opened my mouth, downing one after another. I needed the liquor to work its magic. I needed it to carry me into utter oblivion.