Loveless (8 page)

And I like that. Lord help me, I really do.

Swallowing, I force out a response, knowing that Sophie is watching our interaction with blatant interest. “Elijah, I’m sorry to break it to you, but anyone that tells you to go suck your own dick is hilarious.”

His mouth falls open.

Sophie practically guffaws. “Love her already!”

When we all turn and head up to the boulder, Elijah is right behind me, his heat penetrating my clothes. He leans down to whisper in my ear, “Keep that up and I’ll end up punishing you.”

“What kind of punishment?” I whisper back, chest racing. How am I supposed to climb anything when my lungs are already functioning at way below normal capacity?

He doesn’t answer, just walks around me with a small smirk on his face.

Bastard.

He begins the ascent first, easily finding the right hold, his body leaving the floor in a matter of seconds, every muscle in his arms and back flexing as he climbs.

Sexy, irresistible bastard.

Liquid heat rushes through me, heading straight for my pussy, leaving me pounding.

Correction: how am I supposed to climb with both malfunctioning lungs, and a swollen, throbbing clit?

“You coming girl?” Sophie smiles down at me, climbing as easily as Elijah is.

This was just a warm up for them. They both clearly have expertise at this.

And obviously, Sophie just caught me ogling her best friend.

Blushing, I find a spot and begin climbing, determined to not let myself get caught having anymore sexual fantasies about Elijah. Especially by his best friend. No doubt, Sophie will tell him just how far gone my hormones are, and that man’s ego is large enough without adding that to it.

Although, really, I should have refrained from coming all over his boxers on Monday if I really wanted to keep his ego in check.

We all climb three separate boulders, each one larger than the last. By the time we get to the second boulder, Elijah insists that I need to go first.

And that he has to be right behind me, watching out for my safety and all that.

I almost take complete offense, thinking he’s criticizing my climbing technique, but then Sophie coughs into her closed fist, something that sounds suspiciously like “
Bullshit
”.

He glares at Sophie before turning and throwing me a wink that I somehow feel all over my nipples. When he motions for me to go first, I find myself rushing to obey.

His stare is like a hot caress on my ass the whole way up, and I nearly lose my footing twice.

All bets are off when we get to the thirty-five foot wall. We’re all getting strapped into our harnesses, and Elijah smiles at both of us. “I hope you girls know the games are over. You’re going down.”

“Oh really?” I ask.

Sophie scowls at him. “You’re not more of a monkey than I am, bitch. We’ve proved this too many times.”

Elijah returns her glare with one of his own. “Listen, chimpanzee, I let you win all those times because I felt bad for you.”

We all line up in front of the wall.

“Hah, hah, hah. Keep lying to yourself. We all know that’s something you’re really good at. Right Paige?” Sophie raises her eyebrows in my direction.

“She hasn’t known me long enough, and even so, you’re full of shit, Sophie.”

I can’t help but laugh at the way they argue. It’s actually quite adorable. “I beg to differ, Eli.” I don’t even realize I used his nickname until his head flies in my direction and his expression tightens with lust. Hands shaking, I get into position, and go on as if nothing is wrong. As if my whole body isn’t on fire for him. “I realized day one that you’re delusional.”

“That’s it. I’m beating your ass to the top first. And after . . .” He leaves the comment hanging, either unaware of Sophie’s part-shocked part-delighted expression, or not caring that his friend heard him.

We begin climbing at the same time. This wall is more challenging than the ones before it, and I have a harder time finding a proper hold. Therefore, I’m forced to take my time, concentrate, even though I’m sure Elijah is probably beating me by now.

Nope. One look down shows me he’s right below me.

Eyes on my ass.

“Aren’t you trying to win?” I call down.

“I will. Don’t worry. Just enjoying the view first.”

Sophie is on my level, five feet across from me. She catches my stare out of the corner of her eye, and motions toward Elijah with her head, mouthing,
We have to win.

Yeah, we do.

A devilish impulse bubbles up. Biting back a giggle, I shift, lifting my leg high, trying to find just the right footing.

Found it.

I pause in my new position, just two seconds for effect, knowing that my  pants are stretched across my ass to the max.

A sharp intake of air comes from below me.

Smiling, I lift myself up, making sure my back arches just right—

“Motherfuck!”

Startled, I look down in time to see Elijah lose his hold and fly off the wall, sustained by nothing but the harness as it begins slowly easing him back down to the ground.

“Yes!” Sophie cries, making me realize that we’re still in competition.

We both playfully glare at each other before taking off, climbing as fast as we can.

I win. But barely. My hand touches the top less than a second before Sophie’s does.

“Damn it!”

“Hah!” I can’t believe I won!

Elijah waits for us on the ground. The stare he gives me, those eyes ablaze, warns me. He isn’t going to let what I did slide.

An adrenaline rush hits, leaving me light-headed. With his arms crossed and that powerful neck tilted back to look up at me, he seems more than a little dangerous as he waits for my feet to touch the ground.

I should be on guard.

I should try to land a little farther away from him.

Magnetized by my need for him, I let my body land right next to his on the mat.

Elijah wastes no time, sweeping my foot out from under me. I crash on the mat with a gasp, and then he’s there, crouched above me, one of his large hands wrapped around the front of my harness, his fingers so close to my hard nipples.

“Did you think that was funny baby?” he asks in a smooth voice, sizing me up.

Like a man about to attack.

I barely stop myself from arching toward him, reminding myself that we’re in public.

That his best friend just landed on the mat and is smiling at our exchange like the birth of baby Jesus is taking place right before her eyes.

“Uh, no?” I ask, hoping he’ll buy my answer.

Those firm, thick lips curl into that mischievous smile of his, and he leand a breath closer, the scent of his cologne surrounding  me. “You cheated, Paige.”

“I—I’m sorry?” Fuck. Forget the people. Don’t care. I raise my hands to pull him on top of me. Just one little kiss. One deep, little kiss.

“Oh, baby. You will be.” He yanks me up by the harness, forcing me to stand on unsteady legs.

“So . . . “ Sophie sidles up to us, the very picture of innocence. “I’m assuming Paige is coming out with us after this, right? I reserved our area for 7:30pm.”

Elijah seems to snap out of it, his expression becoming shuttered, his body tensing.

I open my mouth to back out.

Sophie grabs me, urging me back toward the wall. “You know what, Eli? You don’t have a choice in the matter. She’s coming with me. You don’t like it, you can go home.”

“I wasn’t going to say no, stupid!”

I laugh, refusing to analyze the odd relief I feel at his reply.

Sophie winks at me.

“And you would really dump me for her? Where the fuck is the loyalty?”

Sophie and I laugh together.

That earns me a light spank that makes me gasp again, and considering he did it right in front of Sophie, I have to wonder: Is he this openly flirtatious with all the girls he fucks in front of his friend? Is that why he seems not to care?

Oddly frustrated, I push the thought to the back of my mind and focus on beating his ass again. Without cheating this time.

ten

Elijah

I have a problem on my hands.

A huge one.

Sophie not only has a name now. She has a face, an age, place of employment.

She’ll have Paige’s entire biographical account by the end of the night if she has her way.

And based on the fact that my testosterone levels are through the roof, every instinct demanding that I bend Paige over and show her not to fuck with me, my impulse control is shot. Non-existent. I’ve been too blatant in my desire for Paige, and Sophie watched the whole time, cataloging every little weakness.

Sophie now knows who my “fuck-buddy” is.

I’m never going to hear the end of this.

Considering Sophie’s track record, mom will know about this by the end of the weekend. She’ll be planning a wedding by the beginning of the next.

Fuck my life.

I should’ve put up more of a fight, not let Paige hang with us. Odd thing is . . . I saw her expression when she thought I was shutting her down and I couldn’t do it.

Even weirder, I
wanted
to hang out and rock-climb with her. I haven’t met a lot of girls that are into the sport, and it was a surprise to see that she’s actually good at it. I haven’t had so much fun in a while.

Not that I’ll admit that to Sophie. She’ll either kill me, or run to my mother that much faster. 

The magnitude of my problem really hit home, though, when both girls left to the locker rooms to get ready, talking and giggling like old friends the whole time.

Paige might be cool with things ending between us once we have sex.

Sophie on the other hand? The woman is going to kill me. Now that she and Paige have warmed up to each other, nothing will stop Sophie from being friends with her, which means I’m stuck.

Stuck seeing Paige at work once it’s over.

Stuck seeing her around because my best friend is a bloody traitor that decided to forget our connection in favor of estrogen-loyalty.

I go into the locker rooms and shower, changing into my outfit for the night—dark blue jeans, another white t-shirt, and my black boots. Since I’m a guy, I’m ready to go twenty minutes before the girls are, and I have no choice but to wait for them at the entrance to the gym.

They emerge from the locker room, still talking like old friends.

But that isn’t what I notice first. Oh hell no.

I wonder if I can get my jaw off the floor in time before either of the girls notice.

Paige is wearing a tiny, tight white dress, with a
V
so fucking deep, I instantly know she isn’t wearing a bra under there. She took off the ponytail from earlier and her hair is falling over one shoulder in thick, perfect waves. On her feet, she has the cutest pair of black flats that show off just how small her feet are.

Her baby blue eyes are highlighted by black liner, and the same deep-cherry lipstick she wore on Monday adorns her lips.

Fuck. Me.

My erection springs to full-size, punching at the fly of my jeans. My hands itch to get inside the
v
of that dress.

Sophie’s sneaky little eyes slither in my direction. Oh, but she looks so fucking pleased with herself.

So proud.

It’s her fault. While the entire outfit obviously can’t be—Paige confessed that she planned to go out with her cousin after this—something
has
to be Sophie’s fault!

Actually, all of it is. All of it! Paige wouldn’t be here, dressed like that in front of me, so sexy and yet so out of reach, if it hadn’t been for Sophie’s fucking meddling.

“Elijah, you okay? You’re looking a little . . . red.”

And now she’s giving me false concern.

Gritting my teeth, I hold the door open for both ladies, refusing to look at Paige again.

Except that, she stops right before me, and out of the corner of my eye, I see her head move, her stare going up the length of my body.

Eating me up alive.

My cock kicks inside my jeans, a warning I don’t miss.

Sophie sure as hell doesn’t. Gasping, she clasps a hand over her eyes. “I’m blind!”

Paige remains somehow oblivious to the scene playing out before her, her eyes on my chest now, eyeing my pecs like she wants a taste.

Lord have mercy, the woman is eye-fucking me, hard, right here, in front of everyone.

And I fucking love it. Can’t get enough.

“Paige,” I croak, silently begging her to have pity, to stop staring at me with that wild hunger I’ve barely gotten a taste of.

“I’ve never seen you in a t-shirt before today.” Her eyes drop down—widen. “Or . . . or the jeans . . . Oh God . . .”

My dick pulsates three times, each one harder than the last, clearly loving her eyes on it.

“Alright, that’s it. I’m calling it,” Sophie says from behind her hands. “You two need to get a room. Stat.”

Paige gives that little shocked gasp of hers, her cheeks turning pink, and I can’t hold back my smile at the sight.

She’s sexy, cute, and I can’t wait to get my hands on her. I’m almost tempted to take Sophie’s advice, but with the way I feel right now? Nah. My beast keeps slamming against the cage, growling in the girl’s direction, snapping its teeth. I get my hands on her, somewhere private, and the night won’t end without my dick as deep as it can go inside her.

Turning, I make room for both girls to walk past me, making sure to keep my dick angled away from my best friend.

“Much obliged,” Sophie murmurs on her way out, fighting to hold back her laughter.

Paige exits after her, head ducked, her hair hiding her face. No doubt still embarrassed.

My eyes fall to her ass.

There’s no expletive, no religious reference powerful enough, to properly convey what’s happening inside me at the sight of her ass in that tight dress.

She’s my karma, a tiny voice in the back of my head points out. The punishment for anything and everything I’ve ever done wrong in my life.

To look at that ass all night and not have it in my hands again?

Hell. Fucking. No.

I might not be able to get my dick inside her, yet, but by the end of the night, some part of me will be.

And that juicy ass will be in the palm of my hand the whole time.

“I actually work around here,” Sophie says as we begin walking toward the parking lot. “So I left my car here earlier. We’ll take it to Royale. We’ll also be able to leave the gym bags in it, so no worries about that.”

Paige softly thanks Sophie, but I don’t really pay attention to that. All I see in my mind is Paige bent over, that luscious ass in the air while I suck on her clit, giving her my mouth right before giving her my cock.

Shit. Walking with a hard-on is a special type of torture. The type that a female could never properly understand.

It’s going to be a long ass night.

. . .

Royale is our favorite hangout spot. The entire bar is one large open floor plan, with a round bar all the way at the back. The decor is 1920’s theater glitzy, with hardwood floors, gold couches, Greco-Roman statues, and red trimming with gold accents.

Sophie and I come here almost every weekend, so the owners know us already, and they always make sure to leave the back section open for us. It’s nothing more than an alcove by the bar, partly covered by the gold wall and red curtain. Two gold couches, a small gold table, and one gold and black bar stool sit inside it.

I make myself comfortable on the couch up against the wall. Or as comfortable as a man on the verge of coming in his pants can be.

Paige sits in the sofa chair to my right and Sophie takes the seat next to me, ordering us a round of drinks right away.

She chats away happily, easy going,
relaxed
,
and it starts to piss me off. 

I want Sophie gone, I realize, which is sad but true.I want Paige all to myself. Don’t want to have to control the wild urges beating through me.

Our drinks arrive. I pound mine back without hesitation, hoping that the alcohol will help me relax.

It doesn’t.

Two more drinks don’t either.

The girls continue to talk, but for the life of me, I can’t focus on what’s being said. I just stare straight ahead, one arm braced along the back of the couch, eyes frozen on the bar.

My entire focus frozen on one girl.

She’s so close I can smell her. Oranges. Sweet, fucking oranges.

Will her pussy be as sweet?

I’m obsessing about it, I know. Ever since I decided that she’ll be the one I finally get to let loose with, all I think about is eating her out, tasting her orgasm. Giving her so many of them with my tongue that she’ll
beg
me for my cock.

“Eli, you okay man?” Sophie asks.

“Yeah,” Paige says in a small voice. “You seem angry.”

She thinks I’m mad because she’s here.

Without looking at her, I reach for her hand, caressing her without thinking.

My whole world pounds with hunger. I feel like nothing more than an animal. Violence thrums through my veins.

And yet, I’m aware that I can’t stand to hear her even a little bit sad. Something that would freak me out if my  mental capacity would have been at maximum.

It isn’t. Just the feel of her skin in my hand ratchets my demon higher, setting off a vibration inside me that I can’t fight.

“Ugh. You’re being a bore. I’m going to see if Jordan is around. Maybe he’ll flirt with me and entertain me.” Sophie finishes her drink and leaves our area.

She isn’t really mad. I know her too well. She considers Jordan nothing more than an acquaintance, at most. She didn’t leaves because she was annoyed or because she wanted to see him.

She left to give us some privacy.

I fucking love her for that.

“Elijah.” Paige tugs on my hand. “I’m sorry I came. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I want you here.”

“What?”

“Yeah,” I rasp, turning my  head slowly and finally looking at her, sitting on that gold chair. In her tight white dress. All that hair curled over one shoulder. Big, blue eyes highlighted with eyeliner, sexy as fuck and yet so vulnerable. Lips calling to me. “And I want you on my lap more.”

“What?” she repeats, her expression melting, that hunger surfacing.

I shift in my seat, spreading my legs, letting her see what’s doing between them. Namely, all eight inches of pain I’m dealing with. I tug on her hand. “Come here, baby.”

Her eyes lock on my erection, fixated. Swear to God, no woman has ever looked at my dick like that—like she’ll die without it. “But . . . we’re in public.”

“No one’s going to see. Come here. I can’t wait anymore, girl.”

She bites her lip, and I all but yank her to her feet, maneuvering her so she can sit sideways on my lap. I bit my lip and groan as soon as that plump ass settles over my cock. My hips rock into her.

Her eyelids flutter.

I nuzzle her cheek, flicking her jaw with my tongue, working my way up to her ear and biting down on it. “Kiss me, Paige. I’ve been waiting all fucking week for it.”

She gives a choked little cry that makes me smile, and turns to give it to me, covering my lips with her own.

I hum into the kiss, tilting my head back, opening for her, letting her tongue in.

A week of tension bursts inside me at the first feel of her tongue.

Paige moans, a straight-up, hungry sound, tilting her head and taking more of me.

Yes
. I can’t wait to hear her coming again. It was the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.

Her arms come around my neck and she slides across my lap, getting nice and close, all pressed against me like she wants our clothes gone as bad as I do. I pant like a madman into our kiss, letting her set the pace, loving how she plays with my tongue.

“You need to come, don’t you baby?”

She nods, pulling me back in for more, and I fucking love how she always controls me, demanding without shame.

I remember her violently pulling on my tie to bring me back to her mouth and almost come right there.

Rolling my hips, I rub my erection into her, cupping her ass with one hand. “I do, too, Paige.” I wrap my free hand around her thigh, going higher. “All I do is fuck myself thinking about you, and it’s not enough. I can’t stop wanting it.”

She trembles beneath my hands, her eyes glittering in the lights of the bar. “You . . . you do?”

“Oh yeah, baby.” I move my hand higher, going between her legs, watching her the whole time.

Feeling something else pounding in me, something beneath the hunger, something even more powerful.

Legs quivering, she leans back against my arm, giving me access, letting my hand in between her legs.