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October 31 - November 3, 2022
“A wise person once told me it’s better to laugh at the world. It’s a cruel place, and if you show weakness, they’ll eat you alive.” He let his arms fall to his sides. “Laugh and the world laughs with you. But if you cry–” He shook his head and breathed sharply through his teeth. “–The sharks will come circling. They can smell fear and sadness as well as they smell blood, and they feed off it. They fed off me once, but never again.”
“Stop panicking. I’m right here,” he muttered in a low, sultry voice, and I felt the warmth of his arms wrapping around my waist from behind. “I’m always here,” he whispered, and then I felt him pull me backwards.
“No one can hear us either. They’re too busy finding their way out of the maze. Having their own fun.” His voice was so close, his lips grazing the shell of my ear. “Their screams will mask our own.”
“I need to hear your words.” Colton’s gravelly voice whispered in my ear, “Do you trust me?” I leant back into him, my face turning to seek him out. “Yes.” He held me tighter and asked, “Do you want me?”
“I want you, Shelley Masters. I want to worship every gorgeous inch of you.”
“Do you want me to fuck you from behind?” he asked, stroking himself with his eyes hooded and his breaths slow and deep. I had to admit, that idea was so fucking tempting, but I shook my head. “I want to see your face when you come.” His head fell back, and he groaned. “Fuuuuck. How did I manage to find a girl so fucking perfect for me?” Then he snapped his head back, and that smile that used to spark the fire of fury inside me ignited me in a different way. I wanted to rock his world.
“I’ll do anything you want me to,” he rasped. “And when you’re crying, begging for more, I’m going to fuck your tight little pussy hard from behind and watch that sexy ass move for me. Do you want me to play in your asshole, Shelley? Work you with my fingers as I fuck you with my cock?”
“Hold on tight, baby. I’m about to fuck the soul right out of you, and make you come all over my cock.”
He clung to my hips, his fingers digging into my skin as he slammed into me, and as his piercings hit my G-spot at the most sublime angle, I felt my knees give way, and another orgasm was ripped out of me. “Fuck, that’s it. Milk my cock.” He
Will showed up at our door. When I opened it, he said, “Sorry I fucked up.” and thrust a pair of swimming armbands at me. The guy thought taking the piss out of the fact we can’t swim would win him points.”
invited him in, made him a coffee. Might’ve added some of mum’s laxatives, and funnily enough, he didn’t stay for very long.”
Colton was a social butterfly; I was a loner. Maybe that’s what made things interesting. We were different, but that difference was what fascinated us.
“I like to watch, and from what I saw in your bedroom, you like that too.” I nuzzled into her neck and gave her a delicate kiss, inhaling her like she was a fucking drug. “I want to watch us fucking and see your face when I make you come. I want to watch every sigh, every cry, every moan, all of it. I want to live it, breath it, see it, feel it. Tonight, all that exists is you and me, us, getting lost in each other. A fuck like no other. Like nothing we’ve ever experienced before.”
“Are you going to be my good girl and let me fuck you against this mirror in your heels?” I lifted my brow in question, and she gave a little giggle. I’d never heard her giggle before. My tough cookie wasn’t so tough, really. “Only if you fuck me good and hard,” she purred back, and I took my cue, pushing on her back to let her know she needed to bend forward.
“I love watching my cock slide into you,” I whispered, pulling out and then pushing back in slowly. “It’s so fucking sexy.” But when she reared back into me and moaned, “More. Faster,” I chuckled. “Always so needy. You like it rough, baby, don’t you.”
“Good girl,” I praised her, and she moaned. “Always for you.” I fucked her roughly against the mirror and she loved every minute of it. We both did. I knew she could take whatever I could give her. She was my girl in every sense of the word.
“Do you know how special you are?”
“I knew that despite all the pushbacks this would be worth it.”
“You’re leaving, aren’t you? Does he know?”
“You might think it’s better now, and I’d never want to interfere, but when he wakes up and sees you’ve bailed, will it be better?”
“It’s only a walk of shame if you let it be.” Liv sighed, and then stepping closer to me, she said quietly, “He is crazy about you. And he might not show it, but tomorrow, he’ll be devastated that you left. Take it from someone who’s been where you are. I know how you’re feeling.
“Shelley, if there’s a chance that what’s between you and Colton could be more than a one-night thing, then don’t leave. And in my opinion, I think… no, I know he wants more. Don’t turn your back on what could be the most amazing thing to ever happen to you. He might act like a joker to everyone else, but he’s an amazing guy, the best. He’ll always be there for you. He won’t ever let you down. He’s not made that way. None of these boys are. They’re one of a kind. Diamonds in the rough. And if you find a guy like that, you hold on for dear life. I know he’ll be holding on to you.”
“I guess I’m just not comfortable putting myself out there,”
Shelley had tried to bail, but I understood why. She had self-preservation down to a tee and she was a hard nut to crack, but I enjoyed getting her to open up. The sweetest things are always hardest to work for, and I loved a challenge. Besides, she was the only woman I wanted, and that was something that had never happened to me before. I never thought I’d be a one-woman man, but even the thought of talking to another girl made me nauseous. I guess Adam and Devon were right; when the one finally comes along, you know.
“Fine,” she replied, forwarding the message from her phone to mine. “But his final breath? That’s all mine.” “I wouldn’t have it any other way, baby.”
“Our first kill together,” he mused. “I’ve never had a partner in crime before.” “You work with four other men.” I reminded him.
“What are you doing?” I hissed as he began kissing my neck. “You’re tense. I’m trying to help you.” “I’m not tense, I’m preparing myself,” I said, trying to sound serious but stifling a giggle at the way he was nuzzling into me. He moved his lips from my neck to my ear, nibbling as he said, “You are tense, I can feel it in your shoulders. You need to relax. Being on your guard is one thing but being uptight will only stress you out more.”
“You’re so ready for me.” He moaned and grabbed the backs of my thighs as he hoisted me up against the wall. “Then fuck me,” I commanded, and the way he growled, I knew I was in for a hard, fast ride. He lined his cock up and thrust into me, and I cried out at being filled so hard and fast. “That’s it, baby,” he said, banging his hips into me as he pounded me against the wall. “Ride my cock. Use me. I want to feel you come hard for me.”
“Fuck, yes. That’s it,” he cried. “Look at you, my beautiful girl, coming so hard for me. You’re stunning.” His words made me cling to him tighter, and then I heard him groan as he found his release too, his dick throbbing and pulsing inside me.
“He was timid, weak, broken down by his father and the burden of what they did in that house. When I met him, I told him he needed to be stronger, to fight back. And he did. It wasn’t overnight. He had to find and build that strength, but don’t you see, Shelley? He overcame the obstacles thrown at him. He came out the other end a better man.
One with a heart that’s open and full of love, and the other that’s closed off and scared, frightened to feel the power of what it’s like to love unconditionally. Please don’t live like that, Shelley. I know I’m an old romantic with an unhealthy obsession with poetry, but I want all the happiness in the world for you. You deserve this. You both do. I’m not saying it won’t be hard. You’ll have days when he’ll drive you crazy. You’ll drive him crazy. Hell, I’m your mother and I find you infuriating most of the time. But putting that all to one side, you have to focus on the good times, the
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“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I can promise you one thing–” He closed his eyes, then when he opened them, I saw the genuine, loving side of Colton he rarely showed anyone else. “–I’m in this for the long haul. No games. No bullshit. If we argue, and we will argue… you’re a bomb and I’m the detonator, and that’s never going to change, but when we fight, there’s only three things you need to do; either kiss me, fuck me, or fight back, but you can’t walk away. I’m going nowhere and neither are you.”
“We don’t hide from the fireworks, we embrace them. If it gets tough, we can’t run, we have to stay and work it out. Because building something together is worth it, right?” He waited for me to reply and then, when my speechless, dumbass just stood there open-mouthed, he added, “We’re worth fighting for, aren’t we?”
It was water. I hated water and I couldn’t swim.
I lay her on her side in the recovery position, unsure what to do at first, but then I rolled her onto her back and gave her mouth to mouth. “Come on, Shelley,” I begged between puffs. “Don’t you fucking leave me.”
“I swear to God, if you don’t fucking breathe, I’ll–” My heart stilled in my chest as her body twisted and convulsed, and then the most glorious noise I’d ever heard filled the air… she was coughing. I rolled her onto her side to let her cough up the water, and I rubbed her back, thanking God and anyone else who’d heard my pleas for bringing her back to me. “You’re okay,” I repeated over and over. “It’s going to be all right. You’re okay. I’ve got you.” Her eyes slowly opened, and I couldn’t stop my tears from falling.
“I swear to God, you’re a guardian angel. Our guardian angel. Everything you’ve done for my family… I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
“I know it’s all so new, but I hope that one day, you’ll see me as someone you can turn to. I might be Shelley’s mum, but I’d like to be that someone for you.” And all of a sudden, years of pain I’d kept locked away began to seep into my pores, bringing fresh tears to my eyes.
Grace smiled, and touching my face again, she said, “You’re both welcome to stay. My home is your home.”
The third lesson I taught myself was that friends are the family you choose for yourself, which still rang true.
It was time to be the man my father never was. A man she deserved. The man I deserved. It was time to start living for her and for me.
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” She rested her head on my chest. “And have I told you that I love you more?”
‘Property of Shelley King’ tattooed on him.
He placed his forehead against mine. “We don’t have to rush into anything. We can take everything at your pace, but I didn’t want to go another day without making it official. I want everyone to know you’re mine. Always. And I’m yours.”
