Vacancy, p.12
Vacancy, page 12
We hurried along until reaching a pair of double doors that had big black, block letters on them that read Broadcasting. I stopped and pulled out a set of keys from my jean skirt pocket before slotting one into the lock.
“You have a key?” Damien asked in interest.
“Yeah.” I nodded as I pulled the door open. “I work here. Being a journalism major, I got first dibs on one of the student employment positions. Actually, one of the articles I researched and wrote aired last week, but I haven’t gotten my face on a screen yet.”
“You will,” Damien said, sounding strangely certain of it.
I glanced up at him in surprise as we stepped over the threshold.
Damien shut the door behind us, casting us into immediate darkness. Campus lights from outside showed through the large windows, allowing us some visual aid, but the shadows on his face made him appear almost threatening as he lifted his hand to gently trace my jaw with a few of his knuckles. He was either preparing to strangle me or kiss me.
“This face was made for a screen,” he murmured.
I whimpered as desire raced through my system mixed with the thrill of possible peril.
I didn’t really know this guy. My friend was convinced he was dangerous, and yet I’d brought him here to this darkened place, alone. He could do anything he wanted to me.
So when he snagged my hips and lifted me, I gasped and gripped his shoulders, not sure of his intentions until he set me on a counter.
I sighed.
Stepping in close, he wedged his hips between my knees and cupped my cheek in his big hand. The muscles in his fingers alone were probably strong enough to crush my jaw.
But all he did was tilt my face up gently so his mouth could land on mine.
I kissed him back aggressively, turned on more by the precarious uncertainty, and the next thing I knew, I was gripping the cloth of his shirt. I tugged it above his abdomen and coasted my fingers over his navel.
It was barely a brush of flesh over flesh, but he groaned deep and long, shuddering under my touch. So I grew braver, spanning his abs with my palms and stroking him until I went up his shirt enough that he got the hint and ripped it off entirely for me.
Grinning out my pleasure, I put both hands to work again, sculpting my way over his chest, only to realize he had a horseshoe necklace, too, that had been hidden under his shirt. I reached up in awe to touch it.
In return, he slid a finger over the horseshoe I was wearing. Then he followed the chain up my clavicle until he reached my neck. From there, his entire hand palmed my throat as if he was planning to squeeze.
Our eyes locked, and my lips parted. He glanced down briefly at his fingers that cradled the vulnerable area, where he could no doubt feel the wild beat of my heart against his palm. But then he moved, plundering his digits into my hair and balling a gentle handful within his grip. His uneven breaths fell on my jaw as he tugged on my hair to angle my face up.
As he lowered his mouth to that very pulse point along my throat and sucked, I choked out a sob and gripped his shoulders.
His tongue licked over the spot, and then he started to kiss his way down to the strap of my shirt. There, teeth nipped, plucking at it before his fingers came up and he slid two underneath. As the backs of his knuckles burned my flesh, he slowly caressed his way up to the top of my shoulder.
Pausing, he glanced into my eyes before he curled his fingers around the strap and slid it off me. The built-in bra sagged in the front, and my breasts started to spill forward, escaping…until the tip of a hardened nipple caught on the cloth, keeping me from being fully exposed.
Damien dropped his gaze, and we both held our breaths as he gave one last tug. I arched, letting my head fall back as both breasts popped free. He growled and lifted his hands, testing their weight, cupping and lifting, before he simultaneously slipped both thumbs over each pert peak.
I sobbed and gripped the top button of his jeans, fumbling in my haste to break him free.
He groaned, the sound so guttural it didn’t even seem human.
But just as I got the button open and grasped his zipper, he rasped, “Wait. I need to taste these first.”
I shook my head, not understanding, only hearing him try to stop me, until he lowered his head and sucked a pearled tip between his teeth. I trembled, breathing hard and choppy.
“Damien…” I pleaded, stroking the back of his head.
While his tongue lapped and stroked my breasts, he gripped my ass and jerked me abruptly to the edge of the counter.
I gasped and caught the side to steady myself while my other hand clutched his hair for dear life.
His thick fingers dipped between my thighs to find me wet and ready.
Damien lifted his face from my breasts, his eyes heavy-lidded and full of heat. Nostrils flaring as if he could smell my wetness, he reached for his own zipper and drew it down slowly.
Finally!
Charged heat buzzed over my flesh, rippling up the insides of my thighs, out the ends of my toes, and weighing down my breasts.
“Please tell me you have protection,” I asked, biting my lip in anticipation as I watched his hand lower his fly.
Damien glanced up in surprise. He looked so startled I was certain he was going to say no, and the disappointment was already blaring through me.
But then he nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I do.”
His hand fumbled as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. “One of my buddies makes sure I stay stocked.” He opened the wallet and started leafing through cards and cash until he struck gold. “Not just me,” he was quick to add as if he feared I may think that last comment was weird, which okay, I kind of did. “But all of us. His mom died from syphilis-induced cancer, so he’s a big proponent of safe sex and always makes sure we stay prepared, even if I take my condom out sometimes to make more room for—”
I cut him off mid-word by cupping his face in my hands gently.
He froze and looked up into my eyes.
“Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?” I asked.
Damien blinked once, then sent me a confused frown before shaking his head. “Not once in my life, no.”
I smiled, flattered that he’d saved all his words for me.
Then I tugged the condom package from his hand and ripped it open with my teeth.
“Closer,” I taunted, curling a finger to entice him.
His gaze heated, and he shifted in just enough for me to reach him.
I snagged his unzipped jeans and pushed the two sides out of my way eagerly before reaching into his underwear and pulling out—
“Oh, dear God. You’ve got to be kidding me.” My mouth dropped open the moment I pulled all of him free. All ten million and one feet of him. “Just how big are you?” I demanded, arching my eyebrows as if he’d deceived me somehow.
His lips quirked into a cocky, half smile. “Never measured.”
I snorted and let go of his heavy girth, already scooting backward away from him as I lifted a hand in protest. “You know… Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all. That thing could split me in half.”
Damien caught my thighs, stopping me.
I’d mostly been joking, but the look he sent me didn’t seem amused in the least. His stare was daunting, almost frightening. And my heart skipped a beat, hoping he didn’t try to hurt me. But then his mouth curved again, and his eyes went a little too confident as he rasped, “Trust me.”
And the wetness on my thighs doubled.
God, but when he wanted to be playful, he played in spades.
Still staring me straight in the eyes, he eased the condom from my fingers. Then he lowered his attention as he rolled it on. I glanced down as well and felt all the warmth drain from my face.
I honestly hadn’t been with anyone this big before. I was as curious and eager to experience him as I was worried. I mean, God, he was just more than necessary.
But then he wrapped his hand around the base and stepped close so he could align us, and I found my legs parting, needing it…craving it.
He eased his free hand around my hips and slid me forward another inch to the edge.
I gripped the sides to steady myself and began to pant, my vision dimming at the corners.
“Tell me if this hurts,” he murmured and barely pressed the tip against my swollen, sensitized lips.
I gripped his side and bit my lip, braced for it. But when he didn’t move, I glanced up to find him watching me and awaiting an answer with raised eyebrows.
“Really?” I rolled my eyes. “Of course, it doesn’t hurt yet.”
“Okay. Then… What about this?” He barely pressed in.
My body bowed, and my inner muscles cramped, seeking more, demanding more. “Nope. No pain.”
“And now?” he asked, pausing again, after maybe an inch.
“Motherfucker,” I warned, biting my fingers into his ribs. “Don’t play with me. Give me the whole fucking dick.”
With a chuckle, he shook his head. “Nope. Sorry, I’m on a roll now.” And he sank another inch deeper, making my thighs quiver, loving it, loving it, until, bam… He stopped.
“Damien!” I shrieked, slapping his arm. “It doesn’t fucking hurt!”
He growled with arousal and looked into my eyes, only to gnash his teeth and mutter, “Fuck,” in a tight voice just before he pushed deep. As far as he could go.
I shouted out my surprise, and my body started to contract, already coming around him.
“Oh God. Oh God.”
“Oaklynn,” he gritted out, his voice strained as he stroked me through my orgasm.
“Oh…my…God,” was the only response I could give before my words turned to gibberish.
Gripping my hair and kissing the top of my head when I leaned my face in to shudder against his chest, he continued to pump into me, his hips never slowing.
Plunge, withdraw, plunge, withdraw. He couldn’t seem to stop once he’d started.
As soon as I rode through the last crest of pleasure and slumped against him, he groaned and gripped my hips, then he picked up his pace, turning aggressive and rough, nearing his own peak. I held on to the side of his arm and tightened my inner muscles to help him along.
A second later, he jerked and cursed out a sound of surprise, then he drilled into me deeply, his cock pulsing hotly as he clutched me hard, releasing himself. I slid my hand up to run it gently over his hair as his big, hard body quivered almost vulnerably.
It was the most intimate moment of the entire night for me—him seeking me to physically hold him through his orgasm. And the moment he finished, he rested his cheek on my shoulder and nuzzled closer as if needing my warmth and affection.
I kissed his jaw, unable to help myself, and he blindly lifted his hand to cup my cheek.
“How about now?” he slurred, his breath fanning over my neck. “Did that hurt?”
I snickered and slugged his arm for the lame joke. “Funny.”
With a chuckle, he lifted his face. “You started it.”
But the languid, affectionate warmth in his whiskey eyes made my chest burn because fuck…
I didn’t want this to end. I didn’t want a one-time-only, casual hookup from this guy.
I wanted to keep him.
13
DAMIEN
When Oaklynn didn’t respond to my teasing, merely gaped into my eyes as if she’d just realized something dooming, I touched her hip in worry. “What’s wrong?”
I could actually hear her swallow before she managed to send me a jerky shake of the head. “N-nothing.” She glanced down, only to add, “I think my thighs are beginning to cramp in this position, though.”
“Oh! Shit. Sorry.”
I eased from heaven and immediately turned away to find a trashcan in the dark to dispose of my condom. Spotting a box of tissues on a nearby desk, I snagged it and returned to Oaklynn, offering her a handful before taking some for myself.
We took care of our own cleanup for the next few seconds, then put our clothes back in order.
When I pulled her panties from my pocket and handed them to her, she seemed startled. “Thanks. I thought I’d lost them in the trees.”
“I was tempted to keep them,” I confessed.
Oaklynn paused from sliding them on and met my gaze before handing them back. “There. A memento,” she offered with a slight shrug.
I took them from her fingers and gazed into her eyes as I repocketed them. “Thanks.”
“Well…” she said, her voice not quite steady as she smoothed her hands over her skirt, then her hair. “That was…”
I lifted my gaze to her face and watched her expression turn unnerved as she searched for the right word. Then she looked up at me and finished with, “Nice. That was really nice. Thank you.”
Nice?
And to top it off, she patted the side of my arm in dismissal.
Arching one eyebrow in amusement over her attempt to keep this casual after the way we’d totally just rocked each other’s worlds, I nodded politely and couldn’t help but torture her, just a little.
“Think it helped?” I asked.
She blinked blankly. “Helped?”
I felt my lips twitch but managed to keep myself from grinning. “You know… With schoolwork. Classes. You not wanting to do anything to ruin this hard-earned opportunity you have at Haverick. Fucking all the horny out of your system in one night so you can focus on your grades again.”
“Oh!” Eyes flaring with recollection, she started to nod before actually answering, “Yeah, oh, yeah. I think this helped tons to get my concentration back on the right track. For sure.”
“Good.” I stepped closer and ran my hand slowly up and down the side of her arm. “I’m glad I could assist.”
Her lashes fluttered as she glanced at my hand on her flesh, then she tipped her face up to meet my gaze. “Yes, sir, you definitely did.”
“Because if once wasn’t enough,” I added. “I’d feel obligated to try again and again—as many times as it took, and in as many places and positions you needed—to finally get everything out of your system.”
I could see it in her eyes; she was half a breath from folding like a deck of cards and telling me she’d changed her mind about this being a one-time deal.
I almost had her right where I wanted her.
Until yelling from outside caught our attention. Together, we turned toward the window and then frowned questioningly at each other before we hurried over to peer out onto the courtyard below.
“Ah, hell,” I groaned when I caught sight of the drunkard stumbling along and bumping into shit, yelling at the girl following him before she screamed back that he was a complete asshole and whirled away to race off.
Oaklynn pointed. “Um… Isn’t that your friend?”
I groaned and shook my head to deny it, only to reluctantly mutter, “Yes.” When Parker tried to sit on a bench only to miss it and land on the ground, I sighed. “I should probably…”
I glanced over to send Oaklynn an apologetic wince, and she immediately waved me away. “Yeah, no. Of course. It’s totally fine. You should go; take care of him. That’s what I’d do for my bestie, Jaylani.”
I nodded but still hesitated, feeling weird about just leaving her after what we’d done. Which was why I hated casual shit. I didn’t know the rules, and now I felt awkward. Did I offer to call again? Tell her it’d been fun, now have a nice life? Loved being inside you; too bad you don’t want me there again.
Nothing felt worse than awkward, I-don’t-know-what-to-do-now moments. After glancing around the darkened newsroom, I returned my reluctant attention to her. “Are you sure you’re—?”
She smiled, and her dimples slayed me. “This ain’t my first rodeo, partner. I can get myself home just fine.”
I nodded and opened my mouth instinctively, wanting to tell her something that led to future meetings. But shit, would we see each other again? It was likely since I was her landlord and all, but would it be uncomfortable now?
Since I was obviously floundering, Oaklynn took control of the moment and grabbed my elbow before pulling me into a warm hug. “I had a good time,” she admitted into my ear before kissing my cheek. “Thanks for tonight. I really needed this.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
I turned my nose into her hair and breathed in her peach scent one last time before letting go and pulling away. “Bye,” I said softly, looking into her eyes with the hope that this wasn’t our last encounter.
She smiled softly and waved back. “Bye.”
Huffing out a breath, I turned away and hurried from the darkened newsroom.
After jogging down the hall, then some stairs, and finally pushing my way outside, I was able to find Parker immediately.
He was still sitting on the ground next to the bench he’d fallen off of with his arm draped over the seat as he sang Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night.”
“Ohrley?” I called as I strolled over.
He broke off singing to glance around wildly before spotting me.
Then he grinned big and lifted his arm, waving with his flask. “Hey! It’s Damien!” he cheered. “There you are again.” He started to stand, only to sway dizzily as soon as he made it to his feet.
When he frowned in confusion, as if he couldn’t figure out why he was tottering, I rushed the last few steps to grip his shoulder and steady him. “Let me help you home.”
Parker took my help without question, and as soon as he was stable, he hugged me. “Thanks, man.” But when he started to pull away again, he paused and sniffed at me. “Dude, you smell like peaches.”
God, please don’t remind me.
A zing went through my system. But I ignored it.
Taking his arm, I started to lead him in the direction that I’d parked my truck. “Come on. I’m this way.”
“Okay.” Bobbing his head, he followed me trustingly, only to nudge my arm. “Hey. Where’s the crazy tenant?”
“She’s not crazy, and we said goodnight already,” I alluded as Parker slung an arm over my shoulders and bumped into me as we stumbled along.
