Always the One, page 21
part #1 of Always and Forever Series
“Kings, do you always leave the shower running when you’re done?” His smile is mischievous. He looks guilty, but pleased.
“It’s running because L is in there showering, where I left her to clean up.”
Ugh!
“Kings! My God! Boundaries, they exist! Learn them!” I sit up and toss the pillow from under my head straight at his smug face. I’m sure there is such a thing as too close to your brother. If so, sign us up for the too-personal-to-be-related Olympics, we’d win every round.
I hop out of bed, fully awake, the imagery I didn’t need in my head playing in the forefront.
“Have fun, horn dogs!” I yell over the shutting door. I make my way down the hall and knock on our door. I forgot my key last night in my rush to get to Kings. The door flings open and I’m pulled inside, almost losing consciousness when I’m thrown against the wall. Trey’s lips land on mine, completely animalistic and needy. His tongue is licking over my lips and then meeting mine, for a game of who can kiss harder. I moan into his mouth and reach down to grab his tight, firm ass. He is all man, and I’m all woman. I want him to take over my body and never relinquish the control back. Last night’s dream combined with my need to protect him from my mother’s harsh words, is making me want him bad.
“I don’t know what the fuck you are made of, but you’re goddamn addicting.” He pushes his hands up the back of my neck, gripping my hair and tugging it with enough force that it causes a pleasurable sensation to creep down my spine and land straight at my core.
“I was only gone for a night. You shouldn’t need me that much.” His teeth nip at my earlobe and he soothes it with the flick of his warm, wet tongue. Dang, I want to leave every night. Especially if this is how coming home will be.
“Haven’t I told you time and again that my need for you will never be sated? My need for you will always be insatiable.” As if my hot button was attached to the vibration in his voice, my body floods with arousal.
“I missed you too, baby.” That’s all I say, which he accepts. Those five words get me naked in a short minute. Moving to the bed, I slowly grind against him, trying to find steady friction. My core is aching to a point of pain. I want to be filled by him again.
“I want you to ride me, baby,” he murmurs in the crook of my shoulder, while his teeth graze up the column of my neck, like a razor. He pulls back and gives me his eyes. We come to a silent agreement with one look. He bites his lip and reaches down to his cock. He holds it to the center of my core and barely thrust his hips up into me. The head of him nudging between my opening.
“Ride it, baby.” I don’t need to be asked twice, just as eager to get him inside of me, as he is to be inside of me. I slowly take my time sliding down him, my knees spreading farther apart the deeper he goes. My head rolls back when I’m filled and fully seated on him. Once I’m comfortable with his fit, I grab his hands that are running up and down my burning thighs and place them on each of my hips.
“Help me ride you.”
“Fuck, you dirty girl.” I am dirty.
“Does that feel good, Trey?” I circle my hips in a slow, torturous rhythm and watch his head fall back into the plush pillow. His Adam’s apple moves tightly against his stretched skin and he moans.
“Yeah, baby, it feels fucking deadly.” I stop moving, willing him to look up at me. I’m enjoying this feeling of complete control.
“You’re too big, I need you to help me.” I bite my lip and thrust one time. I’m being a temptress, and I don’t care if he knows it. This is my man, and I’m claiming him. He complies, grabbing my hips, his thumbs gripping down as he lifts me and slams me down again, impaling me.
“Uh!” My moan is so loud, a mixture of pain and euphoria. Holy cow, this is raw. I love this side of him, where he loses control, smiling up at me in arousal. He continues to help me slide up and down his length, and I feel the nerves bundling tight in my stomach. I’m so close.
“Pinch your clit, baby.” Reaching down, I do what he says and pinch my clit, sensation hits me like an impact from a train. I moan and squeeze tightly around his cock.
“You’re squeezing me so fucking tight, like your pussy is hungry for me.”
I look down at him, his eyes are darker, the blue now a deeper shade, his pupils dilated. He thrusts up into me one more time and I feel the warmth of his cum shoot up in me. Just knowing he’s coming inside me bare, and with brutal thrusts, causes me to come again.
“Ride it out, baby, use my cock.” I do exactly that, taking my pleasure from him.
Minutes pass and I’m still catching my breath, lying sweaty against each other while we let reality find us in our euphoric state.
“I dreamed about my prom night last night.” He’s stroking my hair; the rhythm is smooth and very calming.
“You did? What did you dream about, beautiful?” I cast my gaze on his sated look, he looks relaxed, unfazed, and uninterested in anything but him and me.
“I just remember how amazing you were to me back then. I mean you’re still amazing but you were so kind, you took care of me. So many times.” I lay my head back down on his chest, on the spot he has warranted as mine.
“You’re my girl, you always have been. Didn’t I tell you the day of graduation that I would always be the one there for you?” He sure did. I reward his memory with a kiss to his chest, just above his heart.
“You sure did, handsome. Won my heart before I even knew I was in the game.”
“That’s how I work, baby. How’s Kings? I was worried about him last night.” The fact that he not only took care of my best friend last night but he’s worried about Kingston too, is a double whammy.
“He was pretty torn up. He loves her, Trey, like love, loves her.”
“I know and she’s so far gone, too.” I lean back up and rub his strong shoulders. His hands are caressing up my thighs, stopping to let his thumbs graze over my lower stomach. I’m not sure what his obsession with my stomach is, but anytime we make love he will touch it repeatedly.
“They both need serious help.” I draw my name across his chest with the stroke of my finger while he lifts his hand to my hair, moving it out of my face.
“She went back this morning, and I knew they were gonna hook up and act like nothing happened. I’m right, huh?” He lifts his chin and I hang my head.
“Yep.” Trey was right, they have a physical relationship, something they both need. Kings needs it to feel close and Lana needs it to keep him distant from her, emotionally, now that is some true fuckery.
“Well, best we can do is be there for them while they figure their shit out, right?”
“Right,” I agree.
Lifting off the bed, Trey keeps me in his arms. “We need to get ready, it’s snowboarding time!”
“Yes!” I holler excitedly.
“Dork.”
I am his dork and he freaking loves me.
“BABE! I SWEAR IF you don’t stop doing that, I’m gonna come over there and smack that ass.” I laugh and swerve the board I’m snapped into and hit him with ice. I caught on fast with snowboarding. Skiing, not so much. But I love the adrenaline-induced rush that comes with snowboarding. Gliding across the cloud of snow and being in complete control. You have to know your body and the way it moves in order to control the ride. I wasn’t sure of my body back then, now I feel powerful, like a prowess. Trey made me a woman, a confident woman. The way our bodies move together in sync has taught me so much already in the past few short days.
My thoughts run away with me, drawing me back in when I hear Trey’s voice echoing in my ears.
“Babe!” I turn my head to the direction of his voice and he looks mad at me, I’m talking furious and boiling mad. My once there smile is now replaced with a coy smirk; I like the cat and mouse game.
“And that’s how you know, she done gone fucked up!” Kingston chimes in, with his signature Kingstonisms. Trey unsnaps himself from his board and makes his way over to me. He’s mad, though I’m not sure entirely why. I know I was being playful, maybe dangerously so, considering I could have lost control, biffed it, and hit a tree. But I wasn’t doing it with that intent.
“Shut up, don’t get involved,” Lana says, silencing Kings.
“Trey Adams, what are you doing?” Charles is stationed near the rest of our group, watching this entire debacle play out.
“My girl wants to play with fire, she’s going to get burned.” Heat immediately floods to my core when I realize he isn’t really mad, he’s turned on by my teasing, he likes the cat and mouse game, too. I’m still convinced this is the honeymoon stage, we can’t always be this drawn to each other, strapped down by passion. I mean we made love in the shower and teased each other with foreplay while we got ready. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to finish, because Evan called to get some information about our new shipment. Maybe I should have ignored the call and instead finished him off, but he jumped from the bed and got ready in a heated rush, not saying too much until we got to the snowboarding lodge. Once there he finally started to talk and have a good time. He really doesn’t like Evan, and I hate that. Evan is nice, he just wants to help me, shouldn’t my boyfriend be happy for me, instead of jealous?
Anyway, if he wants to be playful then I’m going to keep up with my antics. I wait until he is almost an arm’s length from me, his eyes on me like a predator. Just before he gets to me, I jump and twist my board. It takes off down the hill, and I look back to see everyone cheering and Trey running for his board.
Crap! He’s going to chase me, well, snowboard after me.
Whatever, I know he’s going to catch me, I’m good, but Trey used to snowboard every year. I’ve only been out a grand total of three times today. I swerve around the couple in front of me, trying to stay close to the outer area lined with trees. I’m almost to the bottom of the hill, thinking I may just get away from him in time, when I can no longer hear his voice over the whip of the air and the whooshing sound the snow makes when going fast. Taking a quick glance back to see what our distance is, a sharp pain hits me hard against the back of my head. My body comes to a complete stop, and I’m pushed by blunt force flat on my face, landing forward in the cold snow. I’m not a huge profanity user, but fuck me, that hurt.
“Shayla!” Trey’s voice is muffled by the snow that my head is pretty much covered in, sheer panic echoing around me. Slowly, I start hearing every other word. This can’t be good. I try my best to flip over and bring my eyes into focus but the excruciating pain coming from the back of my head weakens me, making everything fade to black.
Trey
I WATCH IT HAPPEN, everything in slow motion, jolts of panic electrifying my body. Seeing her wipe out and then black out is a double-edged sword.
We’re on our way to the ER now, Shayla coming in and out of consciousness, watching her lying there helpless and hurt is eating me alive. Not having any control over what happens to her is gutting me to the core. The EMTs have her attached to a breathing mask, the crowded ambulance of busybodies poking and prodding at her spikes my anxiety. Why the fuck don’t they tell me what’s going on?
I about ended the life of the paramedic who told me I couldn’t ride with her. To fucking hell I won’t. Watching her hit that branch did something in my chest—made my protective instincts rise from the dark hollows of my chest, ready to walk through fire, dodge all bullets coming toward her, stopping any danger that threatens to harm her.
We rush through the hospital doors, my hand gripping her limp one, squeezing it as hard as I can. When the gurney pushes through the two-way doors, it’s all like a scene from a movie.
One of the nurses with short, brown hair, her face expressing concern, places her hand on my chest. “Sir, we’re going to take it from here, I’m sure she is fine, but you need to stay here.” Her tone is so unaffected it enrages me.
“Fine?” I say with a sharp edge to my growl. The nurse gulps, looking taken aback by the roughness in my tone.
“She could have a fucking paper cut, and I wouldn’t react any less than what I am now.”
“Sir, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m just doing my job.” I don’t care that I look like a psycho loose from his room. That’s my girl in there and this nurse saying she’s fine is damn near insulting. Since when did ‘fine’ mean unconsciousness with a goose egg on the back of your head?
“No, your job is to deliver the news from the doctor that will make this all better. Come find me when you want to do that.”
“Son!” I stop, not turning to face my father. He’s angry, his command tight. My father doesn’t yell at me much, so when he does I don’t dare challenge him back. The nurse has had enough of our shit and silently makes her exit, back around the check-in desk. Getting the courage to face my dad, I turn. His face is red, and I know I’m about to get a verbal ass whooping if there ever was one.
“Sit your ass down, we’re gonna have a little chat.”
“Dad.” I rarely call him this unless he’s mad at me. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little—”
“Worked the hell up, yeah, I know. Still doesn’t mean you need to disrespect that nice lady.” I know he’s right; she didn’t deserve my outburst.
“You’re right, I’ll apologize.” Searching the room, I look behind the counter to see if she’s there. When I see she isn’t, I make a mental note to find her later.
“Now. What the hell was all that?”
I remove my snow jacket, putting it on the empty chair next to me. I’m sweating, the feel of claustrophobia consuming me. “I just lost myself after seeing her get hurt, Dad, that shit knocked her out cold.”
“Son, she is fine, probably a concussion and that sucks, but something else is happening right now, with you, and I need you to tell me exactly what that is.” Reading me like a damn book, he peers at me, searching me for an explanation.
“I love her, Dad. Fuck, I love her.”
“Well, no shit, son.” I see Kathy walk in with Kings and Lana, carrying Styrofoam cups. Kings hands me one, patting me on the shoulder. Taking a drag of the warm coffee, I wait until he is back with Kathy and Lana, giving us some privacy.
“She’ll be okay. I promise.”
“No, Dad, you don’t get it.” I pause. “I’m in love with her and everything in me is screaming, telling me I’m going to lose her.” He furrows his eyebrows, not picking up what I’m putting down. He would be confused because he doesn’t know all the shit going on in our relationship. My dad knows I can be a tad jealous, maybe even more possessive, but he hasn’t seen me like this over anyone before.
“There’s this guy, Evan, and he’s investing in the girls’s boutique. He’s a smug bastard and, Dad, I know he wants her.” I point my finger in the direction they took Shayla a few moments ago. “He has another agenda that doesn’t involve the fucking investment. What if she realizes he can love her without any insecurities? What if he plays Mr. Perfect, pinning me the loser with mommy issues and she goes running into his willing arms.”
“Oh boy.” He shakes his head, putting his calloused hand on my neck and squeezing. He gets it; he knows what my mother did to me. “She’s not your mother, son. She’s not going to give up on you that easy. Do you ever see the way she stares into your eyes? Do you think she notices the other men looking at her? Yesterday at the bar, men stared like dogs, but her eyes were zoned in on you. That girl isn’t going anywhere.”
“How do you know that, Dad?” My hair probably looks a mess, my hands running through it over and over again.
“Trey. How many years has it been that she could’ve had someone else?”
“That has nothing to do with me. She was being selective, waiting for a good one. My girl is smart,” I defend her, my dad looking at me like I should have just had an epiphany.
“Yeah, she did wait for the best thing to come along. She waited for you.”
Holy shit, I’m an idiot, he’s fucking right, Shayla is not a dumb woman, she’s also very independent, she wouldn’t date me unless she was absolutely sure of me. I needed to be worthy of her, and I know she wouldn’t have taken me if I wasn’t.
“Yeah, you’re right, she did, I guess I’m just a grown man who needs to work out his naïve issues.”
We all have issues, Trey, and the first thing we have to do to fix them is admit we do and learn to make changes.” He pats my back and I sit in silence a little longer, processing everything he just said. This man is a genius and I swear he has taught me some of the greatest life lessons. He was both the perfect dad and mother.
“Thanks for talking some sense into me, Pops.” Laughing at my omission, I lean my back against the chair and rest my head along the wall behind me.
“I’m an intelligent man, I tell ya.” We share a smile, my dad talking me down from the ledge once again.
I look around the hospital and take in my group’s attire; we really look out of place in our snow gear. Not only do I notice our attire, but I also see four influential individuals in my life. These people are here not only to make sure I keep from losing all sanity, but also they’re here for Shayla. I’m so fucking lucky to have these people in my life, damaged goods or not, they still love and support me. Shayla is my ultimate blessing above all, that’s why I live in constant fear of losing her to something bigger, something better. How many women can make a man’s life so much better like she can? With Shay, colors are more vibrant, smells more potent, and taste—oh fuck—taste filled with more sustenance.
Every day she’s in my life, she tries her hardest to love me to her fullest and help me forget the vague and small part of my past that was catastrophic to the future I’m now living.
“Mr. Adams?” My father and I both stand straight. Shayla’s doctor is tall, with small glasses sitting on the bridge of his wide nose. He looks to be sixty or older, which helps to ease my nerves a bit. Doctors today seem younger than the next one, this guy looks like he knows what he’s doing, meaning Shay’s in good hands. I hope.
