Damn. Busted.
“Vermont.”
“With who?”
“A friend.”
“Don’t you have finals next week?”
“Yeah, so?” I sound like a fucking little kid, but this is what happens when my dad does this sort of shit to me.
I revert.
“So I don’t think it’s wise that you’re out partying the weekend before finals,” he says, anger lacing his tone. “You can’t be a fuck-up during the important moments in your life, Crew. You have to straighten out sometime.”
I press my lips together to keep from saying something I’ll regret.
“You should go back to campus,” he continues. “Study for your finals and make sure your grades are in good shape. You’ve applied to colleges and I’m sure they’re watching you.”
I doubt that. Every single one of them will let me in if my family donates a building in our name or whatever the fuck.
“Right,” I tell him, just to get him off my back. “Okay.”
“Go home,” he asserts. “Tomorrow.”
“Will do.” That was always the plan.
“And keep out of trouble.”
“Always.”
He goes silent for a moment. I’m sure I’ve made him angry. “Are you being flippant with me? You should know better, son. I don’t like it when you give me attitude.”
“I’m agreeing with you. That’s all,” I say, my voice hollow.
Kind of like my heart.
“As long as you understand then. Good night.”
“Night,” I say to nothing.
He already ended the call.
Pocketing my phone, I go to the kitchenette and pull out the bottle of vodka from the fridge, then grab a glass from the cabinet. I pour a healthy amount into it and take a deep swig, swallowing hard before I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth.
Fuck, I need another.
Talking to my father always leaves me full of doubt, and I hate it. He goes from completely ignoring me to questioning every move I make, and I end up feeling like a complete fuck up.
I’m not. I’ve got my head on straight, and for the first time in my life, I know what I want.
Wren.
I’m falling for her. I’d do anything for her. Does she know that? Does she realize how important she is to me? I should tell her.
I should. Tonight.
I’ve had a couple of glasses by the time I hear Wren’s sweet voice calling from the loft.
“Crew? Where are you?”
Taking one last swallow directly from the bottle, I leave it on the counter and head up the stairs, pushing my father from my mind. My family. All of it.
I want to concentrate on Wren. No one else but her matters.
When I get to the top of the stairs, I come to a stop, watching Wren as she stands by the foot of the bed, wrapped in one of the hotel robes. Her hair is down, falling far past her shoulders, and her face is scrubbed clean save for a shiny red lip-gloss that’s been applied to her lips.
My dick stands at attention.
“Is that what you got at the store?” I tease her.
She glances down at herself, her mouth curved in a smile. “Not quite.”
“Show me what you got then.”
Wren returns her gaze to mine. “You really want to see?”
I nod.
She reaches for the front of her robe, toying with the cloth belt. “It might surprise you.”
“I love a good surprise.”
Her laughter is soft. Sexy as fuck. “I hope you like it.”
“Drop the robe and let me see, Birdy.”
With shaky fingers, she undoes the belt, the white terrycloth parting slightly, giving me a view of sexy legs, a flat stomach and plumped-up tits. She shrugs out of the robe completely, so it falls in a puddle around her feet, and I stare at her, all the air from my lungs sticking in my throat.
The bra she’s wearing is made of the palest, sheerest pink trimmed with red lace. I can see her nipples. The panties match, and I can see her pubic hair too. She may as well be naked, but fuck, she’s not.
She’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
“You like it?” Wren asks shyly.
Nodding, I start to approach, pausing when there’s still a few feet between us. It’s now or never. I want to pounce, and I assume she wants me to, considering what she’s wearing, but fuck.
I need to make sure.
“I love it.” The gentle curve of her stomach, that small indentation of her belly button…I want to stroke her there. With my tongue. “I’m afraid once I get my hands on you, I won’t be able to control myself.”
Something unfamiliar shimmers in her gaze, and she licks her lips. “That was the reaction I was hoping for.”
Her permission given, I go to her, settling my hands on her hips, toying with the thin lacy waistband of her panties. “You make me feel out of my fucking mind, Birdy.”
She tilts her head back, smiling up at me, though her eyes are wide. I see fear in them, and I want to banish that. Banish everything that scares her so she feels safe with me. “I like that you make me feel confident.”
I pull her into me, her body colliding with mine. “You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
Her eyes flare with heat.
“I can see you.” I cup her left tit, gently squeezing, making her eyelids waver. “Your nipples.” I place my hand over her pussy, the heat from her body radiating, coating my palm. “Your pussy. You wanted me to see you.”
She nods, her lips parted.
“And your mouth.” I touch the corner of her lips, pulling away to find faint red gloss coating my fingertips. “You remembered what I said.”
“I want to do something,” she whispers. “Will you let me?”
“Yes.” I don’t even hesitate.
Whatever she wants, I’ll give her.
Wren shifts away from me to go grab her phone off the nightstand, her ass cheeks jiggling as she walks. My dick surges against my jeans, and I reach between my legs, cupping myself. Trying to get comfortable.
“I want to take a photo,” she starts, and I lift my brows.
“You fucking serious?”
She seems mildly aggravated. “Let me finish. I want to take a photo of you. And then me. Us. Together.”
“That’s called photographic evidence, baby.”
Her smile is sassy as she approaches me. “I’m not scared. Okay, take off your sweater.”
I do as she says, whipping it off over my head and letting it drop. Her appreciative gaze skims over my shoulders. My pecs. Dips down to my stomach. All that wide-eyed wonder as she takes me in makes me want to rip off my jeans and show her what she really wants to see.
“Okay, hold still.” She takes a few steps toward me, her mouth close to my left pec. Pursing her lips, she leans in and presses a long, sticky kiss to my skin before pulling away.
Then she snaps a photo of the mark she left.
“Trying to brand me?”
“Making a memory with you.” She kisses me again, in a different spot, yet close enough to the first one. She takes a photo of that as well, then checks it out, her brows furrowed in concentration as she studies the image.
“How did it turn out?”
“I need darker lipstick, I think.” She holds the phone out to me.
I check out the photo. “You do. I can see it, but not very well.”
“I’ll wear a darker one next time,” she murmurs, her voice loaded with promise.
“You want to do this again?”
“There are lots of things I want to do with you.” I see the emotion shining in her eyes, and I realize this is my moment. I need to be open with this girl, and tell her how I feel.
“I want to do a lot of things with you too.” I pull her into my arms, just holding her. “You know I care about you, right?”
She blinks up at me. “You do?”
“Well, yeah. I—don’t do relationships. Not normally. My parents…” My voice drifts and she waits patiently for me to continue. “They aren’t the best example. There wasn’t a lot of love in my house growing up. Just money.”
Always money.
“We’re not our parents,” she murmurs, and I wonder if she’s thinking of her own.
“Yeah, but they influence us, and how we act. My dad was—is—such a controlling prick. He’s not a nice person.” That’s putting it mildly.
“You are though.” When I start to argue she shakes her head, and I go quiet. “You are. You’re sweet and kind. With me.”
“That’s because I like you.” Those words don’t seem big enough for how I really feel about Wren. It’s more than like. Or care. It’s…
I don’t want to put a label on it. Not yet.
“Then I guess I should feel honored.” She laughs, the sound soft.
Sexy.
I don’t answer her. Instead, I kiss her until she’s out of breath, my tongue doing a thorough search of her delectable mouth. Fuck, I can’t get enough of her. This feeling is so overwhelming, it almost fucking hurts.
Even worse? The thought of losing her. That’s downright unbearable to even imagine.
When she pulls away, she smiles, thrusting her phone in between us and taking a photo of me.
“What the fuck, Birdy?”
She’s already opening up the photo, smiling. “Your lips are covered in gloss.”
When she shows me the photo on her phone, all I see is a lust-filled idiot who’s left in a daze by the girl who just kissed him. “I look stupid.”
“More like stupid hot.” She tosses the phone on the bed, smiling up at me. “Thank you for indulging me and my little project.”
“Are you done?”
“I think so,” she says shyly.
“Good.” I lean in closer, stealing a kiss. Then another. “Because now it’s my turn.”
WREN
I shiverwhen he grabs hold of my butt and hauls me up, then tosses me onto the bed as if I weigh nothing. I land with a bounce on the mattress, bracing my hands on it, so I won’t tip over, my knees bent. He stands at the foot of the bed, his gaze only for me, and I position myself in a more provocative pose, clamping my knees together before I slowly part them.
His gaze grows hot as he stares at the spot between my legs, and I can feel my panties grow damper and damper the longer he looks.
“You are a bad girl,” he murmurs. “I knew I could bring it out in you.”
I spread my legs as far as they can go, my feet planted firmly on the bed. “You like it?”
“I fucking love it.” His gaze turns molten. “Slip your hand in your panties.”
Shock courses through me. “Really?” I squeak.
He nods. “Show me what you like.”
“But…you won’t be able to see where I’m touching myself.” I can’t even believe I said that. Or that I’m contemplating actually doing it.
“I like the idea of watching you touch yourself, your hand busy beneath the panties. And I can see. The fabric is sheer.”
Oh. That’s right.
Taking a deep breath, I rest my hand against my stomach, right above the top of my panties. I trace the thin band with my index finger, sliding it back and forth. The way he watches me, the way I’m teasing myself, already has my breathing coming faster. My heart pumping harder.
“Do it, Wren,” he demands, and my fingers slip beneath the thin fabric, sliding through my pubic hair. Going deeper, until I brush my clit.
I hiss in a breath, closing my eyes.
“Look at me,” he says, and I flash my eyes open once more, held captive by him. “Start stroking.”
I do as he says, sliding my fingers up and down, nice and slow, gathering up all the wetness. A whimper leaves me when I flick my clit, and then I’m sliding back down, teasing my entrance, my middle finger pushing inside, just barely.
“Are you fucking yourself with your fingers?” he asks, his voice rough.
“Not really.”
“Do you want to?”
“I’d rather it was your fingers,” I admit, the need to be truthful overwhelming any bit of embarrassment I might feel at making the confession.
My touch feels good, especially with the way he’s watching me.
But it would feel even better if it was his hand between my legs. His fingers stroking me.
“Fuck, you’re hot.” He shakes his head, like he can’t believe it. “I need you to beg.”
I frown. “Beg?”
He nods. “Beg for my fingers, Birdy. Tell me how much you want me.”
“I want you so bad,” I whimper, all the shame I’ve ever experienced when it comes to this boy leaving me so rapidly, I feel weak. “Please, Crew. Touch me.”