Tangled (39 page)
Authors: Em Wolf
He drew
a heavy lungful of smoke before turning to her. She couldn’t place his
expression. Far from angry and yet a stone’s throw from anxious.
Unsettled
would be a better term for it.
But
why?
Dread
lapped her belly. “Talk to me,” she said, unable to completely iron out the
wrinkle of uncertainty from her voice.
Resolution
solidified his features. He chucked the butt into an empty flowerpot and swept toward
her, his gait quick, purposeful. Her knees almost gave out as he dragged her into
warm, strong arms. Tess sagged into his embrace, drinking in his scent as if
she’d gone weeks without it.
“No
you didn’t do anything wrong,” he said roughly.
“Then,
what is it?” She drew back just enough to look up.
Something
flickered behind his eyes. “It’s nothing. Having an off day.”
He
was lying. But snug as she was huddled against him, she let it slide. “You
didn’t have to take it out on me.” She puffed out her cheeks.
A
small smile tilted his mouth. “Sorry.”
“No,
I’m sorry. For being a grump last night.”
“And
then coming to bed smashed,
alkie
.” He tugged her
hair.
Tess
groaned. “Remind me never to try and out-drink Riley again.”
“That
makes two of us.” Adonis hesitated and seemed to have difficulty getting his
next statement. “Do you remember everything? From last night?”
She
frowned. “No, why? Did I do something stupid?”
His
face colored. “It was nothing. Forget about it. You were just half-passed out.”
Tess
wracked her brain but nothing offered itself. Had she tried to seduce him? It
wouldn’t be the first time. She had a bad habit of attempted seduction when
drunk, mostly because that was the only time she felt bold enough to initiate
the process.
“If you
would like to make a complaint for services not rendered, you’re going to have
to see my manager on the top floor,” Tess said brightly, affecting her best customer
representative voice and tried to extract herself to prep for the managerial
role.
Confusion
wrinkled his brow. “What?”
Maintaining
a chokehold on her bravado, she repeated the refrain.
“Is
that so?” Adrenaline spurted into her veins as he unbuttoned her jeans. Despite
her growing awareness that the sun hadn’t yet set, that someone could cut
through the backyard at any moment and see them, she couldn’t stop. The thrill
of getting caught, of being seen, did something to her. Heightened her senses. He’d
done this to her. Loosened her inhibitions. Made her into this wild, wanton
woman. “I’m sure there’s something we can do about that.”
“You’d
better. I’d hate to take my frustrations out on it again.” Teeth nibbled the
juncture of her shoulder as his fingers parted her, his thumb pinpointing her
clit with unerring precision. “I don’t want it to break.”
“Don’t
worry, s-sir. A-all of our products h-have thirty day, money back g-guarantee.”
A soft keening noise sounded in the back of her throat as he rolled his thumb.
“It’s
not about the money.” She squirmed as he inserted a finger and stroked her satiny
walls. “I’ve actually grown rather fond of it. I just want it returned to me in
perfect working condition.”
Tess
opened her mouth. Speech failed her as a second finger joined its companion.
To
hell with this.
She
whirled around and attacked him. He crushed her to his chest. The smoked flavor
of him buzzed in her head. His mouth was hot and wet and relentless.
This
wasn’t a lie. Whatever had been bothering him earlier, it wasn’t this. It could
never be this. His body spoke only truth.
And
the truth was she’d never felt this way before. Not with the guy she lost her
virginity to. Not with the string of anonymous faces or names that followed
thereafter.
Not
Cameron.
It
frightened her.
It
invigorated her.
She
felt small and helpless.
She
felt invincible.
Tess
hoped her hunger for him never slaked. Her hands slid beneath his shirt, danced
along the cascade of rigid abdominals. He grabbed her ass and lifted her up,
groaning into the cavern of her mouth as her hips rotated against him.
With
no small amount of effort, Tess pried herself out of his grasp and dropped to a
crouch. Leaving his button snapped, she unzipped his jeans before he could stop
her.
Adonis
hissed her name as she gently freed his erection. Searing and heavy as a steel
pipe, she squeezed and watched with no small amount of satisfaction as his eyes
rolled back. “Shouldn’t we continue this upstairs?” he ground out.
She
took a second to reflect on the irony before challenging him with a sly smile.
“Then I guess I better make this quick.”
Saffron-hued
eyes glowed with a febrile light, one that promised all kinds of retribution.
She
clamped her thighs together to unsuccessfully staunch her aching sex. This
wasn’t about her.
“That’s
what I thought.”
_______________
“Are
you actually going to call me this time?”
Cameron
cupped her face, his fingers feathering her cheekbones. “I said I would, didn’t
I?”
He
felt the fight visibly melt from her. The girl (Monica/Marissa?) sighed. “You
said that last time.”
He
smiled. “Second time’s a charm.”
She
blinked out the trance, her smoky eyes solidifying into flint. “It’s our third
time,” Monica/Marissa said flatly.
He
feigned a wince. “Right, third.” He drew her to him and kissed her until her lips
became malleable, soft again. “Forgive me?”
“I
suppose I don’t have a choice,” the platinum blonde sighed and with one last
parting kiss, sashayed out of his room, bypassing Lance on the way.
He
whistled low. “Nice bro. Marissa?”
“Something
like
that.” Cameron rolled off the bed and exhumed a
24-pack from under his bed. “Beer?”
“Who
can say no to free booze?”
“Wait,
shit. It’s empty.” He tossed the deflated cardboard aside and went to his
closet.
Lance
tactfully disregarded the clink of empty bottles as he delved through his
things. “So what happened to Ashley?”
“The
cold fish? I let that one go. I have more fun jacking off with rock salt.”
“Good,
asshole. You deserve a bad lay every once in a while.”
“Hater.”
There was more rattling of bottles. “Found it.” Lance glanced up in time to see
a can hurtling at him.
He
caught it midair and took a seat at the desk. “Thanks.”
“Not
a problem.” Cameron emerged with an armload of beer and tossed them on the
unmade bed. He popped the tab and guzzled its contents for a solid ten seconds.
“Slow
down man. It’s not a fucking keg stand.”
“Life
is a fucking keg stand. It’s all about how much you can take without choking
under pressure.”
“That’s
what she said.” They shared a grin.
“How’d
the date with Jade go?”
“Not
bad.” Their relationship had reached a plateau since last semester. She was the
one who proposed they spend more time together, just being, instead of fighting
and fucking. He loved her. He would always love her, but he was starting to
wonder if they’d be better off as friends than lovers.
Lance
took a swig before saying, “She made it a double.”
“Oh?
With who?”
He circled
the can’s rim with his thumb and forefinger. “Tess and Adonis.”
Cameron
didn’t blink. But then he’d always had a first-rate poker face. “Really? How
was that?”
“It was
chill. I invited them to the party Saturday.” Lance glanced up. “You guys are
cool, right? Considering you’ve gotten laid more times in the past three weeks
than I have my entire freshman year.”
Cameron’s
mouth angled upward. “You mad bro?”
“Fuck
you.” He hesitated. “But, Tess and Adonis-”
“They
can do what they want. I don’t care,” he said dismissively.
Relief
freed the tension from his shoulders. Lance eased back in the chair. “Sweet.
Besides this place will be packed. I doubt you’ll run into either of them. And
we’ll be so smashed, you won’t give a shit anyway.”
“That’s
the plan.” Cameron raised the beer to his lips. “How is she?”
“She’s…good,”
Lance said, omitting the bulk of his findings. He was surprised as anybody when
he found the two had gotten together over break.
Loyalties
split, he’d gone into the date with mixed emotions.
On
the one hand, he thought it was fucked up that Tess ditched Cameron, the guy she
had supposedly been in love with for years, for his pothead best friend.
But
Lance wasn’t one for judging.
Far
from the perfect couple, they spent most of the evening taking subtle jabs at
one another. Without rancor or animosity, Lance grew to understand that it was
merely their form of foreplay. Although they hadn’t been all over one another,
their eyes burned for one another.
By the end of dinner, it felt like they’d
been together for years. They were both funny as hell and kept him and Jade in
stitches. He actually suggested they go out again.
But
Lance doubted Cameron wanted to the gory details.
“I’m
happy for her. For them both.” He sounded sincere.
Lance
grinned. “Saint fucking Cameron. Most guys would’ve decorated their room with
fist-sized holes.”
“I’m
not most guys
.”
“Thank
God for that.” Suitably appeased, Lance chugged the rest of the beer and tossed
the can into the wastebasket. “Alright man. I’ve
gotta
shower and finish up this anthropology paper.”
“You
sure you don’t want to help me finish these off?”
“Nah,
I’m good.” Lance cuffed his shoulder. “Deuces bro.”
Cameron
waited until he was out of sight to drop the affable front.
So
the happy couple was still together. He was surprised Adonis had kept his act
together this long.
It
wouldn’t last forever.
Cameron
knew exactly how that farce of relationship began and inevitably how it would
end. History had a habit of folding over on itself.
After all he’d done for the ungrateful
fuck, this was what he got in return. He finished off the rest of the beer
angrily and crushed the can before digging out another.
Cleaning up after his
clusterfucks
,
ensuring his dumb ass didn’t flunk out, making excuses for his foul mouth.
He’d put up with a lot of his shit over
the years, and for what? To have what was his snatched out from under his nose?
Not fucking likely.
Eventually, he would drop the ball.
It would only be a matter of time.
Chapter
23
“Stop fiddling with it!” Jade slapped her
hand away.
“But it hurts.”
“Such is the price of looking good. Suck
it up.”
Tess sulked in disgruntled silence as
Jade applied the finishing touches to her hairdo. After hours of washing, blow
drying, flat ironing, and sitting still while her friend used her head as pin
cushion, Tess wanted to bow out of going to the party.
She was exhausted. Her ass hurt. Her neck
was sore.
It had probably been Jade’s evil plan all
along. Still testing the waters of their redefined friendship, there was a
measure of reserve that kept them from fully bridging the distance. Neither
wanted to be hurt again.
“Voila.” She kissed her fingertips. “I am
a fucking a genius.”
“More like mad scientist.”
“You say that now. Turn around.” Always
one for histrionics, Jade hadn’t let her watch her progress, but suffer in the
dark.
Shooting her a look that relayed how much
she didn’t appreciate being kept from her reflection, Tess rotated in the
vanity stool.
Her mouth parted.
She looked…hot.
Really hot.
Jade had fashioned her hair into a sexed
up chignon. Random strands had been loosely twisted and pinned back, her hair a
textured, tousled look. It would have smacked of couture had it not been for
the wreath of fake money fanned around her low-hanging bun.
“J, this is amazing.”
“I know,” she said smugly, humility
be
damned. “Who knew greed could look so good.”
Tess stood up, wobbling on gelatinous
legs rendered numb from lack of circulation. The dark pinstripe suit fit her
body like a second skin. The altered jacket and blouse ensemble cut off just
below her navel, its three buttons narrowly keeping her breasts from falling out.
Jade wanted to undo the top button, but Tess immediately killed the idea. All
that stood between her breasts and freedom was air and opportunity. No need to
tempt fate.
She stared dourly at Jade’s outfit. At
least hers offered more protection against the elements. Opting to go as pride,
Jade wore a sleeveless black midi dress. The stretchy, black knit material
clung to the delicate curves of her body. Sheer mesh plunged below her
neckline, offering a teasing view of cleavage. A gaudy tiara crowned her head
and a beauty pageant sash hung diagonally off one shoulder.
Tess tugged at the pencil skirt and
grimaced as it sprung up nearly to her ass cheeks. “I feel like I’m going to
pop out of this thing.”
“I’m sure Adonis will be more than happy
to tuck everything back in,” she said innocently.
“If he doesn’t maul me first.” Not that
she would protest. Tess donned her black-framed eyeglasses and hooked the
Bluetooth headset she’d borrowed from a classmate over her right ear. She
stepped back and surveyed the finished product. Not bad for a sexy Wall Street
yuppie.
Jade picked up the curling iron and
bumped the ends of her hair. “He’s changed.”
“How so?”
“I can’t explain it. He’s still a snarky
little fuck. But he’s not as,” she cut herself off, frowning. “He’s lost that
self-destructive edge, you know what I mean?”
“You figured all that out in one dinner?”
Tess grinned, impressed by her percipience.
“It was kind of hard to miss.” Jade
caught her gaze in the mirror. “He cares about you a lot.”
“I know,” she said softly.
“You love him.”
The import of the word tweaked a distant
memory, but the details were fuzzy, out of focus. “Yeah, I do,” she flushed. “More
than I thought possible.”
Jade snatched her up in a bear tight hug.
“Bullshit aside, I’m happy for you. Honestly.”
Laughing, Tess returned the hug twofold,
grateful that she had her friend back. “Thank you.”
Jade pulled away, her smile shark-like.
“Now, let’s go teach these frat boys a few things about deadly sins.”
“After you, Pride.”
_________________
Riley groaned when they walked into the
house. “Holy shite, lassies. I might have to bring the baseball bat with us
tonight.”
“Hey
Mikey
, I
think he likes it.” Tess kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry papa bear, we’ll be all
right.”
“Not looking like that,” he grumbled, as
if peeved by the attention they were bound to attract.
Jade wrinkled her nose. “Riley, let me fix
your outfit. You looked like you just crawled out of a dumpster. Is that a
pizza crust sticking out of your pocket?”
Tess laughed. Food stains and spilled
drink patched his ratty sweats. He wore a Burger King crown on top of his head
and a Joe’s Crab Shack bib around his neck. A bucket of KFC chicken tucked
under his arm completed his gluttonous getup.
“How can guys get away this look and
still be attractive.” She tilted his crown so it sat at a swaggering angle.
“I’m going to see if Adonis is ready.”
Tess left the kitchen, smiling as Jade adamantly
pleaded with Riley to make adjustments to his wardrobe.
Walking up stairs in a pencil skirt
definitely wasn’t the easiest of tasks. “To hell with it.” She hiked up the
skirt and scaled the steps two-by-two.
The scent of smoldering firewood greeted
her as she pushed open Adonis’s door. Bathed in the low, halogen light of his
desk lamp, he bent over a slab of ply, his hand steady as the needle moved surely
across the wood.
Though she’d seen him work countless
times before, it never failed to fascinate her. Hair falling over his forehead,
the tip of his tongue peeked cutely from the corner of his mouth. He moved with
an economy of motion that made her acutely aware of his control, his intensity.
Biting her lip to fend off a grin, Tess
set down her briefcase slash purse and snuck up behind him.
Set in warm flesh-colored tones, a
familiar sailboat canted thirty degrees mid-pitch, its tiger-mauled hull
cradled by frothy waves.
Warmth funneling through her, Tess waited
until he switched his tools off to slide her arms around his neck.
“I was wondering when you were going to
announce your presence,” he murmured.
She kissed his nape. “How’d you know?”
“I could smell you.”
Tess released him, scowling. The hell?
She’d showered an hour ago. Before she could conduct an armpit sniff-test, he
spun in the chair. His pupils dilated as his gaze ingested her outfit from head
to toe.
The golden hue of his eyes darkened to burnt
amber. “Fuck, Tess.”
She nervously strummed her jacket’s
buttons. “Is that a good fuck or bad fuck?”
He shot her a primal look that plainly
said,
What
the fuck do you think?
“Are you ready?”
“Ready to fuck you?” he growled, slowly
rising to a stand. “Hell yes.”
Heat dragged its fingers down her belly. “This
outfit is staying on until I’ve at least made an appearance at the party.” She
backed away.
For every pace she spaced between them,
he swallowed it with one of his own. “I’m fine with that. In fact, I insist.”
Her back collided against the wall.
“Adonis.” She meant to put up a strong resistance, but watching him stalk
toward her like a wolf cornering its prey made her sex ache with anticipation.
Fractured by half-light, his face was a
silhouetted composition of raw beauty and dark, ferine shadows. The long-sleeved
white Henley conformed to his muscles and set off his bronzed skin.
Her body tightened as he poured himself
into the empty gap separating them and almost cried out when he stopped inches
from her. He braced a hand above her head. He chose neither to draw her towards
him nor to move in for the kill.
His scent deluged her, a dizzying
combination of something sulfuric hot, distinctly woodsy, and uncompromisingly masculine.
Tess needed him to do something. Anything.
“I didn’t know you owned anything white,”
she heard herself say.
“I didn’t know you owned heels,” he purred.
“I don’t. They’re Jade’s.”
“I’m buying them from her.”
“Why?”
“After tonight, I don’t think she’ll want
them back.”
“Somebody’s feeling confident,” Tess
replied, short of breath.
His mouth answered for him. He controlled
the kiss, ignoring her attempts to speed things up. His tongue made maddeningly
slow, savoring sweeps, as if they had all the time in the world.
He dodged her attempts to touch him.
Reading her confusion, his lips grazed her ear. “If you touch me, neither of us
is going to that party.”
Tess smiled coyly. “What party?”
His breath hitched. Just as his hand glided
up her skirt, Jade’s voice bellowed from downstairs. “Adonis, don’t you dare
put a finger on her! Both of you get down here so we can take shots and go!”
Adonis broke away with a snarl. “What the
fuck is she, a psychic
cockblock
?”
“Only when it comes to her art,” she
giggled. “Come on. Jade has spoken.”
He rested his head against her shoulder.
“Do we have to?”
“Yes, we do.” She rubbed his nape. “I
didn’t almost break my neck in these walking across campus for nothing.”
He fell quiet. “He’ll be there.”
She retreated to peer at him curiously. The
additional three inches put them nearly at eye-level. “Is that why you don’t
want to go? Because of Cameron?”
He made a noise of disgust.
Tess caressed his face. “The worst that
could happen is you two get into a fist fight, in which I will referee but
secretly be in your corner.”
His mouth curled. “Oh really?”
“Really. I’ll even rub Vaseline on your
face when he isn’t looking.” Tess winked conspiratorially.
He yanked her into his
arms,
his exhale puffing out against her neck. “What would I do without you?”
She nuzzled his chin. “You’ll never
know.”
___________________
Five minutes into the party and Adonis
already wanted to leave.
The frat house was a cesspool breeding
ground of horny sloths cum frat brothers and lusty, affirmation-seeking chicks in
underwear. Or whatever the fuck passed as dresses nowadays. They may as well parade
around naked for all the clothing they weren’t wearing.
Crimson light glowing from the wall
sconces inundated the frat house in an intimate glow, amplifying the
hormone-saturated atmosphere. All it would take was a bold flash of
titties
to induce a feeding frenzy among the males. He’d
seen better mating rituals on the nature channel for fuck’s sake.
“Hey, Jade and I are going to use the
bathroom.” Something must have slipped into his expression because she nibbled
the crest of his ear. “Don’t worry. Lance is showing us the way. He won’t leave
us alone.”
Some of the tension seeped from him. “Fine,”
he grouched.
She kissed him. “I’ll be quick.”
Adonis watched her walk way.
More specifically the hypnotic sway of her hips.
The skirt
hugged the round shapeliness of her ass.
She would definitely be keeping that on
with the heels later on tonight.
He wasn’t the only one who’d noticed her
sensual departure.
Jealousy stabbed through him like a
red-hot poker at the perverts panting after his girl.
He balled his fists to prevent himself
from doing something stupid. Like tearing out their balls and cramming them
down their throats.
Chew on that assholes.
Adonis had never had to deal with this
kind of shit before. Normally when he attended parties with girls he was
sleeping with, he’d drop their happy
asses
off and go
get baked somewhere. He didn’t believe in keeping leashes on pussy and expected
the same courtesy in return.
That was then.
This was now.
And now he wanted to handcuff Tess to him
and growl at anyone who so much as looked in her direction. Why the hell did
she have to look like a centerfold piece for Maxim magazine? Who was she trying
to impress?
She already had him: hook, line, and
sinker.
“C’mon Adonis. At least act like you’re
having a good time,” Riley smirked.
“This is your idea of a good time?”
Riley shrugged and drank from his can of
Nattie
. “When in Rome.”
Maybe Adonis should’ve taken those shots before they left.