So. Long.: Bad Boy Next Door (74 page)

He throws side eyes at me, his mouth hardening into a line
as he crosses his arms. Then he squints for a moment. Suddenly, his expression
lightens and his smile spreads. My heart does a little wiggle dance at him
standing there, gloriously naked, those dimples aimed at me. I do my best to
squash the feeling. It’s not good to feel that way when I need to focus on
getting the fuck outta here before he turns me to mush—again.

“I see what you’re up to, Lou. Nope. Not gonna happen.”

I run my fingertip over my bottom lip, looking him in the
eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just want to taste your cum.”

“You’ll get to taste my cum, but not until you bear down
over my mouth and come all over my fucking face. Then you can suck my cock,
lick my balls, swallow my cum—whatever the fuck you want—not before.”

In one swift motion, he rolls to the blanket, lying flat on
his back. He holds his hand out.

My shoulders droop. Shit. I’m fucked—in more ways than one.

I take his hand and he laces our fingers together. “Come
over here, Lover. I want to lick that magical pussy.”

I stand on my knees, walking to him. When I get close
enough, he grabs me around my waist and lifts me to straddle his face. My pussy
hovers above his chin. His hot breath over my clit sends a warm stream of
liquid straight to my entrance.

He massages my backside, running his fingers between my cheeks,
giving them a squeeze. “I love your ass. It’s about as perfect an ass as I’ve
ever seen, much less held in my two hands.”

I roll my eyes, running my fingers through his hair. “Just
do what you want, the wind’s picking up. We might get wet out here.”

His tongue darts out, sliding around my clit. “Oh, you’re
definitely
going to get wet. There’s a hundred percent chance of that, Loula Mae.”

The leaves above dance in the breeze while Buck sucks my
pussy and licks deep into my slit. He pulls me down onto his face, closing his
eyes and sliding his fingers in to tickle the tight little hole in the back.

When he tucks his chin and his tongue slips back to wet
that
place, it sends tingles through my pussy and up my back. I rise up a notch,
pulling away from his mouth.

Buck nips my clit. “What’s wrong, Lou? You don’t like ass
play?”

My chest and face heat. Ass play?

Damn. I’ve done a lot of things, but not
that
. Never
trusted a guy that much.

He slides his tongue along that spot again, another wave of
tingles shoots in all directions, and my pussy creams a little more. I swing my
leg over and sit on the blanket, my feet tucked under me.

He folds his hands behind his head, a satisfied grin taking
over his face. “Well, would you lookie here. Little Miss Pie Server hasn’t
given up her sugar bowl pie just yet.”

“If you’re referring to letting someone do me
back there
,”—I
smack his chest—“Stop it.”

He turns to his side and props up on one elbow, running his
hand over my knee. “I’m sorry, Lou. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

I straighten and lift my chin. “I’m not embarrassed.”

“No? You sure about that?” He sits up and runs the back of
his knuckles over my cheek. “I think I see a bit of a blush.”

I swipe his hand away. “Would you like to take tea and chat,
or shall we fuck?”

In less than a breath he moves over me, one palm cradling my
head as he lays me down. He slips his hand over my mound. His fingers slide
between my pussy lips, dipping inside. His mouth covers mine as he takes
control.

His skin warms mine, creating a shield from the cool air
stirring around us. His cock presses hard against my entrance. He pushes in,
but only thrusts deep a couple of times. Then he pulls out and moves south, his
lips leaving hot trails of wetness as he sucks first one breast, then the other.
I arch my back, holding them to his mouth.

He laves attention on my navel for a fraction of a second
before he continues to my clit. He suckles and licks until I pant and moan. He
strokes with the rough pads of his fingers until I’m frenzied and buck against
his mouth, the pressure in my lower region coiling tighter and tighter.

A cold splat lands on my left nipple.

Buck slurps at my slit as he slides two fingers deep into my
entrance.

A cold drop hits my arm.

Buck pulls against that spot at the bottom of my slit, the
one that makes me feel full, like he’s fucking me.

Another, colder, drop of rain pelts my forehead.

I push my fingers through his hair. He looks up, his eyes
smiling as his tongue tickles my bud. My muscles clench, and he winks at me over
my mound and my tits. My nipples tighten to small points, poking straight to
the sky.

More rain comes down. It’s cool, and it feels amazing after
the heat and humidity of the last weeks. I lay back, close my eyes, and soak up
the feel of his mouth on me, his fingers jammed inside, thrusting as he brings
me closer to that moment of bliss.

Just as my body clamors for his touch, waiting for the next
stroke, the next lap of his tongue, the caress that will push me over the edge,
he pulls away.

My eyes fly open. “Where are you going?”

He reaches for me, pulling me to my feet. The cool rain
comes down harder.

“Do you want to go to my car?” I ask.

He swipes the water from his eyes and grabs me, pulling me
in for a kiss. He tastes of me as his tongue tangles with mine. My pussy
contracts, wishing it were getting more of his lavish attention.

He backs me to the giant magnolia tree at the edge of the
blanket. My ass barely touches the wet bark when he lets go. I grab his elbows,
steadying myself.

Buck’s solid, wet body slides along mine, his erection huge,
hot, and ready against my belly. “You want me to fuck you, Lou? I’m going to
fuck you so hard that every time you see a tree or it so much as clouds up,
you’re going to cream your fucking jeans just thinking about this.”

I wipe away the water sluicing down my face, my body humming
with desire for every word he promised just now.

His big hands span my waist as he turns me so my breasts rub
the semi-rough bark. Folding his hands over mine, he places them on the shoulder-height
branches and tightens my hold on them.

He kneels behind me, his hot mouth on my ass, as he kisses
my seam from my tailbone to that puckered hole, stopping for a moment to circle
it with the tip of his tongue, once again eliciting tingles to travel through
my pussy. Then he pushes my feet apart and licks my slit from clit to entrance,
wiggling his tongue between my labia.

Goosebumps cover my skin and little pin pricks follow the
rain’s path as it drips down my body. Buck moves from my pussy to my lower
back, trailing kisses higher as he smoothes up next to me, one big hand on my
hip, the other folded around me so his finger massages my clit.

His cock presses against my entrance, and he whispers, “You
ready to say it?”

“I’m not going to say it, Buck.” Over my shoulder, I stare
into his eyes. I can’t. Once I say it, it’s real. Missing him isn’t allowed
anymore.

He grins.

“You’ll say it eventually.” He rams his cock into me,
pushing me against the tree trunk.

The bark rasps against my nipples, scratching and rubbing as
he pushes with each thrust. His finger digs into my clit, rubbing circles over
it as he pulls out and slams into me again and again.

Doesn’t mean a thing. It’s just sex.

The rain drips through the leaves. The scent of magnolias
saturates the air. My breath puffs between my lips. My grip tenses on the tree
limbs with each stroke. Buck plows into me, his fingers clutching my hip.

The more my breasts chafe against the trunk, the more
heightened my senses become. His cock makes long strokes, cranking that coil
tighter within me. As I crest over the top of the wave, I moan.

Buck shoves me closer to the tree as he jerks his hips,
pushing his dick into my pussy. Each time he grunts, I answer in kind. He
continues to massage my nub as he drives into me from behind.

With a flash of pleasure that steals my breath, my body and
my mind crash over the precipice. My pussy clenches Buck’s erection as he
buries it within my folds.

My body can worship his. Doesn’t have to mean I love him.

He wraps my body with his strong arms as he yanks me down
onto his cock and holds me there, his hips thumping against me with his final
thrusts as he lets loose. “Fuck, Lou. Fuck. Damn.”

His hot cum shoots into my quivering body, filling me with
warmth I’ve never experienced as my pussy convulses around his flexing
erection. I shiver and lean my head back onto his shoulder.

I pry my fingers loose from the branches, surprised they
didn’t break off in my hands.

He kisses my temple as his touch smoothes over my breasts
and my belly, brushing off the bits of bark and leaves stuck to my wet skin. “I
think I got you a little dirty.”

He’s done more than get me dirty.

He’s invaded my every sense and infiltrated my defenses with
one precision attack after another. He’s run his campaign like a war he intends
to win.

But what exactly is his endgame?

He turns me around, pressing me against the tree, his body
cooled from the rain, his tongue hot on my lips. Then he kisses both of my
eyes, down my cheek, and across to my ear.

He whispers, “I still love you, Lou. I never stopped.”

I push him away, snatching my dress from the ground. Shaking
off the leaves that have fallen on it, I glare at him.

“No. You aren’t allowed to do that now. To
say
that.
Not after all this time. Not after I wanted you to say it so badly for so long,
but you packed up and left instead.”

I yank the dress over my head, tying the straps behind my
neck as I stalk away. I have to get out of here before my heart changes my
mind.

NINETEEN

I throw myself backward on the wet blanket as Lou walks
away. It’s hard to believe I laid my heart out there like that and she just
tossed it back in my face.

Fuck.

I never thought showing someone you love them could be so
damned hard.

There was a time when it was easy between us. Lou used to
follow me wherever I went. Whatever I came up with, she’d go along with—even if
we both knew it was gonna land us in hot water.

The trees sway in the breeze even as thick humidity rises
now that the sun’s come out again.

How often did we lay under these very trees, talking and
dreaming about what our futures would hold? So many times Lou talked about our
lives. Since that first summer I moved in with Nan and Pops, when Lou and I
became friends, she always talked about the future as if we’d be fixtures in
each other’s lives. Shit. I did too.

A memory of Lou and me stuffing a jar full of small things
we thought we’d want to see later comes to mind. I sit up and pull the edge of
the blanket away from the base of the magnolia tree. Sifting through the mud, I
work my fingers deep until they hit the jar I’m looking for. I pull it from the
ground and wipe the mud from our time capsule’s sides. It’s surprising the
glass held up and didn’t get entwined in the roots too much to get out of the
ground without much effort.

I think we must’ve buried this thing the second, maybe the
third, summer we were friends. I must’ve been ten or eleven. I grip the lid,
but it won’t budge. I get to my feet, toss it to the middle of the quilt, and
wrap it up.

* * *

I step under the hot spray and scrub the mud from my hands.
Holding the shower head, I allow it to drain over my hair. The water flows over
my face.

There has to be a way to make Lou remember the way she felt
about me. Maybe the time capsule is the key to bringing Lou back to what we
used to mean to each other—how she trusted me back then and the way were
together, so in tune with one another.

She never said it—hell, I never said it before today either—but
she must’ve cared about me to still be so upset that I left. Maybe she even
loved me—a little, anyway. I just have to get her to remember what that felt
like.

How do I get her back to that place?

A cold draft washes over the top of the shower curtain.
“Pops? I’ll be out in a minute.”

The curtain swishes back, the rings screeching along the
ancient rod. I blink the water from my eyes as I turn.

Though she’s fuzzy for a moment, it doesn’t take seeing clearly
to know that blonde hair.

“Hey, Buck. Miss me?”

“What the fuck, Arianne? How’d you get in, and where are the
Thugs? What do you think you’re doing? ”

“Getting in the shower, hoping to get a little clean while
we get a little dirty.”

I shake my head. “Oh, hell no! Out. Get the fuck out.”

Her hands slide over my pecs. “Buck, don’t be that way. Just
make love to me. I’ve missed you.”

I push the curtain aside, stepping onto the tile floor,
missing the rug. My foot slides out from under me. My arms wave. I almost catch
myself on the counter, but I lose my bid for balance. A sharp pain explodes at
the back of my head, sending a white flash before my eyes.

* * *

My heart has moved to my brain. It beats inside my skull.

How does that happen?

I reach for the sore spot where the throb seems to
originate.

Cool hands pull at my arm. “No. No. Don’t touch it. That’ll
just make it hurt worse.”

Nan comes into focus.

“He waking up?” Pops leans around her, his forehead
wrinkled.

“I think so, call a nurse.”

My eyes are sticky and my lids heavy, or maybe it’s the over
bright lights that make me want to keep them closed.

I force them open anyway. “What happened?”

Nan looks to Pops.

He takes her place, patting my hand. “You took a fall in the
bathroom. Good thing Arianne was there.”

Nan lets out a loud huff.

I grip the bed’s side rail. “Arianne?”

“Yes. She said you two were…” He leans down, stage-whispering
as though he thinks he’s quiet enough that Nan won’t hear. “…showering
together.”

“Aw, hell. That’s right.” What the fuck is wrong with that
woman?

A growl sounds from behind Pops. He turns as Lou yanks aside
the curtain that surrounds the treatment space.

“Christ! Does she know what happened?” I ask.

Pops turns back to me. “Now she does.”

“Shit. Damn. Fucking hell.”

Voices rise and monitors scream somewhere close by as I sit
up, yanking the little monitor off the end of my finger. I rattle the side
rail, but it won’t budge.

Nan smacks Pops’ arm. “You moron, now look what you’ve done.
You never could whisper worth a damn.”

“Calm down, Son. You took quite a bash to the head.” He puts
a hand on my chest, trying to push me back.

“Thanks, but I’m fine.” I pull myself to the end of the bed
and stand, untangling my legs from the sheet as I go.

The room sways a bit, but I wait it out. When it steadies, I
go after Lou.

I stride past the abandoned nurses’ station. Everyone seems
to be attending someone in distress on the other side of the emergency room. I
leave them to their business and continue into the waiting area.

Three people in the emergency room, all of them armed with
cameras. Fuck. They’ve found me. Paparazzi waste no time snapping pictures for
whatever magazine they’ll sell them to.

Fuck them. I have more important things to take care of.

I scan the room for Lou. Maybe she’s sitting behind a ficus
tree.

The sliding doors swish open to my left. The cold air from
the vent just over the door kicks on to combat the heat from outside. It rushes
over me—not just my arms.

Ah, hell’s bells.

This fucking day just keeps getting better.

I prop my hands on my hips. Naked hips. Naked hips that live
just above my bared cock and ass.

I smile for the cameras. At this point, that’s about all I
can do.

I yank open the door leading into triage. Nan and Pops stand
by the counter. Nan, looking a bit frazzled, holds out a pair of my shorts.

I jerk my shoulders back just a notch as I take them from
her. “Might’ve been good to put these on first, huh?”

Pops lets out a guffaw, slapping his thigh.

I pull the shorts on and take off again in search of Lou.

Where the hell did she go?

* * *

Lou is nowhere to be found. She’s not answering her fucking
phone and she won’t return my texts. I swear, I could throttle Arianne.

Fucking stalker. Sneaking into people’s houses. Showing up
in their showers.

And my god damned head is pounding like a mother fucker.
This is almost as bad as some of the concussions I got back in my stuntman
days.

I pop another pain pill the ER doc prescribed and knock on
Delores’s door. It takes a minute, but Delores opens it.

She scowls. “You can just carry your ass home. You made my
girl cry. Again.”

“Again?”

“Well, it’s been a while. I haven’t seen her this upset
since you left the first time.”

My ribs clamp down on my lungs. “This was a
misunderstanding, Delores. Is she home?”

“She went for a walk. And she left her phone here. So,
please, for the love of sweet Jesus, stop calling and texting or whatever
you’re doing that keeps making it go off. If I have to hear that thing announce
asshole calling
one more time, I’m going to have to flush it.”

Asshole? Really?

“If she comes home, please tell her she has to call me.”

Delores narrows her eyes. “I don’t know. I’m not sure that
super dick you have is worth all this heartache you’re putting her through.”

“I promise I’m going to fix this.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see about that.” She slams the door.

Fuck. I have to find Lou.