Brazen Ivy, page 11
I’d told him I wanted to do everything, but did I mean it? The heat of the moment could get a gal agreeing to a lot of things. I’d shut myself off to any backdoor possibilities after my last boyfriend and how he made me feel. When I registered for college, I’d left that self-loathing woman I used to be in the past. Graham challenged me to rethink that decision. Rethink for another day. Now I required sleep.
My breath hissed as I wiggled on the mattress, attempting to get comfortable. While perfectly fine for getting it on, this bed did nothing for my back. A laugh almost escaped. I could be stretched out on a giant hotel duvet instead of camping in a tent. But then I wouldn’t have this man’s heartbeat beneath my ear lulling me to sleep. As my eyes drifted shut, and I snuggled into his chest, I knew I’d made the right decision.
Chapter 8
Life at the cabin with my guys felt like stolen moments of happiness. As though the time never belonged to me and shouldn’t be mine. I hated how self-doubt reared its destructive suggestions when I perched on the precipice of my most content. I lived with wonderful men now. Each one different, and yet all of them cared for me. I’d fallen a little in love with every one of them, which scared me even more. How could I love four men at the same time?
The real question I should ask myself is, how could I not? Everything I thought I knew about love and friendship and relationships we’d set ablaze. Burned beyond recognition. What I shared with Elliott, Julio, Graham and Archer felt right and yet...few would understand. And fewer would accept. How could they? I barely comprehended my life. The me at the beginning of summer wouldn’t recognize the me of the moment.
But each man fulfilled a need in me, and my love paved over the cracks and filled the gaps in their lives. We just seemed to fit. Lost puzzle pieces snapped together at last.
And yet...
I couldn’t stop imagining how something would sour this wonderful little world we’d built together. In my life experience, chance always spoiled the good, and this summer was great. Fate must be tempted to ruin it. I sighed.
“You need to get out of here,” said a male voice behind me.
I spun around from staring into the refrigerator to find Elliott leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen, compelling sexy and at ease.
“You going to take me out of here?” I challenged.
He lifted a brow. Elliott preferred to control, he also enjoyed a little sass from time to time. We hadn’t spent any alone time since that morning the others had found us in the kitchen. Although he’d been around plenty, always encouraging my studying, looking over my math. He’d guided me toward Julio, and then Graham.
Elliott was the first man in the house I’d met. The first I’d grown to have feelings for, and I missed him.
“There’s some food trucks in town,” he said. “If we leave now, we should catch them.”
“I’m game,” I told him, and raced to my room to change clothes and brush on mascara. I’d follow Elliott anywhere tonight, but the choice of different food trucks ramped up the excitement. I don’t know why, maybe it’s the spontaneity of it all.
Half an hour later, Elliott parked in an overflow lot in downtown Harkins. The small town hosted different kinds of fun things during the summer, from family picnics and movie nights in the park to this food truck roundup. Elliott opted for a burger and fries while I stood in line for the treat of fried tacos.
“I can’t believe you ordered that,” Elliott said as we spread our meals out on a picnic table. The setting sun shone rays of orange, red and purple as a country band played on the town bandstand.
I pointed toward the taco truck. “Their line was twice as long as the others. I had to find out what the fuss was about. Believe me when I say this, you can batter and deep fry anything, and it’s automatically ten times better. How could I pass this up?”
Elliott laughed. “I’ll take your word for it. How come you don’t fry stuff at the cabin?”
“I’ve been warming you guys up before I get really wild on you,” I said with a wink.
“Feel like getting wilder tonight?”
My heart skipped a beat and my core warmed. Elliott’s ideas left me weak and satisfied in ways I’d never imagined. “How wild are we talking?”
A wicked gleam lit his eyes. “Dancing wild. Wet and wild. All the way wild.”
“Hmm, sounds intriguing,” I said.
“There’s a club on the edge of town where the music is pumping and plenty of shadows for some fun.”
I hadn’t let loose in a club since the weekend before my first college class. Losing myself in the mood and growing hot under the flashing lights intrigued me. Letting the rhythm and heavy beat dash my worries, as I danced for this mysterious man sealed the deal. He wanted wild? Hell yeah, I’ll show him wild.
After grabbing a napkin to wipe my hands, I pushed my plate aside. “Ready when you are.”
We walked hand in hand away from the park, pausing only to throw away our trash and Elliott left a twenty-dollar bill in the band’s tip jar. Harkins was a small town, so once we’d returned to the car, the trip to the club only took five minutes. But what a difference a five-minute drive made. Cars and motorcycles filled the parking lot, and couples leaned against trucks locked in sensual embraces.
“Leave your bra here,” he instructed, as he cut the engine.
My heart rate kicked up. I reached behind my back and unsnapped the band. Shadows engulfed the interior of the car, but still couldn’t miss his direct gaze on my tits. With his full attention, I pulled out first strap, and then the other. I tugged and my bra popped free of my shirt. I tucked it against his lap. “I’d say that’s a good idea.”
“Then leave your panties, too.”
I hiked up my hips, looped my knuckles around the delicate strap of my G-string and slipped the soft scrap of lace down my thighs. Out of nowhere, his rough, calloused fingers gripped the fabric, sliding my panties to my ankles. His skin grazing mine heated my blood.
I hadn’t expected the place to be packed, but with so few clubs in this rural part of Arkansas, the bar must attract everyone over the age of twenty-one in a fifty-mile radius. We traipsed through the parking lot toward the entrance, dodging cars and lip-locked couples. Each step reminded me only a thin cotton cami and a too short denim skirt barred his lingering gaze of my hungry body. Seldom did I go without a bra, so my nipples tightened from friction.
The lights were low, and the music loud. The bar smelled of beer and hung heavy with expectation and unresolved lust. Or maybe that was only me. Elliott paid our cover charge, and we aimed for the area cordoned off for dancing.
“You want a drink?” he shouted.
“I just want to dance.”
Elliott found us an open spot on the flashing dance floor. I closed my eyes and let the aura take me over. Take my inhibitions. Take away my cares. Take me. I swayed my hips and shimmied my shoulders to the throbbing beat. My eyes fluttered wide, and my gaze met Elliott’s heavy-lidded blue eyes. He clocked my every move. His lips parted slightly, and I thrilled knowing my moves left his breathless. I wasn’t even attempting to be seductive.
Watch me now.
I lifted my arms high in abandon. The pulsing lights above my head bathed me in alternating swaths of yellow and red. I lost myself in the music. In the moment. In the man. Beckoning him with my fingertips, I staged a body roll, my motions smooth and fluid from my head to my hips. With a toss of my hair, I spun and popped my booty.
The flash and strobe of the lights caught the heat blazing in his eyes as he leaned toward me. “You’ve got admirers.”
My stomach tightened. I’d been so into performing racy moves for my guy; I’d missed how several men now aimed their attention my way. I studied Elliott’s face for a moment, searching for signs of irritation or jealousy. I braced myself for his anger. My ex yelled at me anytime guys glanced my direction, accusing me of being a cheap tease and trying to draw another man’s gaze to irritate him. I’d grown embarrassed of my curves, ashamed of attracting notice. But Elliott danced beside me relaxed and composed as heat and excitement built in his gaze.
“Show ’em what you got.”
My mouth parted in shock. Stunned joy pushed away my anxiety. Elliott relished other men finding me attractive. He drew power from their desire. Like the night when he’d pleasured me in front of our roommates. I snapped my mouth together. I didn’t care why Elliott got off on others wanting me, but I reveled in it, too. Tonight I’m savoring our shared predilections.
A collection of guys encircled me and how they followed my every move spurred me on to be bolder. Sexier. If my growing group of admirers sought down and dirty, I’d show them down and filthy. I rotated my hips in a grinding circle and arched my back so my tits thrust forward. That year I tended bar at the strip joint taught me more than a few moves. With a quick pivot on the balls of my feet, I whipped around, my hair flying in the air.
“Hot damn,” a man mumbled to himself, but loud enough for me to hear and because I felt brave and cheeky, I winked at him. I strutted away from him in the way I’d witnessed the performers at the strip club execute hundreds of times. I know what these men needed. The toe touch. I paused on the dance floor; my legs braced apart and caressed the curve of my hip. A rush of heat swelled inside me. Every man watching me would happily replace my hands with theirs. I smacked my palms on my thighs, slid then down my legs, popping my booty for one beat. Two. Then rounded my shoulders, straightening my spine. It’s a tease not a please. Always leave them wanting more. I slapped my ass with a provocative spank.
The music pumped and throbbed and I coasted deeper into the rhythm unburdening myself of every thought, every burden. Only dance. Simply feel. Wholly experience. A fleeting stroke here. A momentary pat there, spurred on by the men and their uninhibited responses. I ground my hips against an imaginary cock and stroked my palms along my sides, my fingertips moving closer to cupping my breasts with each pass. A flirty invitation. Look, but not touch.
Elliott’s strong hands gripped me from behind. He dragged me against the solid wall of his chest. His potent heat penetrated through the thin denim of my skirt. My racy performance turned him on. This dynamic man enjoyed watching me dance for him. For all of them.
His head dipped, and he sucked my earlobe between his teeth. “You like having their eyes on you.” My body stilled, and I stiffened in alarm. Maybe I’d misunderstood his earlier signals.
Elliott patted my thigh, his fingertips drawing soothing patterns on my bare skin. “Easy there, Ivy. I’m thrilled an exhibitionist lurks inside you. Feel how much I dig people watching you.”
I rocked my hips backwards, and I’m rewarded with the line of his erection nudging against my cheeks. My breath catches and I remember the exquisite intensity of Graham’s unconstrained touch there. Would Elliott explore me there? Slide his cock inside me? Wet warmth flooded between my thighs and my knees grew shaky.
“Lick your lips,” Elliott ordered, his arm around me became a band so I won’t stumble or fall.
My tongue darted out, and I followed his instructions.
“Good, now thrust your beautiful tits out. Let them see you jiggle as you gyrate.”
I arched my back, and the hard tips of my breasts poked the cotton of my shirt. No man witnessing my twists and bends would wonder if I wore a bra or not. They’d know I’d left it behind.
“Dance like no one is watching you. Don’t think about them or me. Show ’em what true body freedom means.”
I twirled my arms, lifting them slowly above my head. My eyelids fluttered shut, but instead of sensing the men around me, wondering at their thoughts, I shook off my inhibitions and fears. I flowed with an unbridled desire, drifting to a place spontaneous and free. I’m no longer dancing, but sailing and riding emotion and sensation. Longing. Absorbing. Thirsting. Embracing. Craving.
Elliott’s hands grazed my waist, his fingers twisted into my shirt. As I ground my ass against him, Elliott inched up the fabric, dragging it along my heated skin and exposing my midriff. As air brushed over my bare skin, my head lolled back with a moan.
“Do you sense how much they want you? How much they want to touch you? Ache to see more of you?” he asked.
My eyelids fluttered open. A few more men had joined the loose semi-circle surrounding us. They watched me dance with faces tight with desire and growing bulges in their pants.
“Do you want them to watch, Ivy?”
I nodded without thought, wrapped up in a shroud of forceful male lust, and the headiness of performing for these men. I’d sloshed drinks at the topless bar for over a year. I never experienced the urge to fling off my clothes and slink provocatively for the hundreds who’d passed through the club. Even after I’d spotted the tips the strippers traipsed out with night after night. But now, with Elliott’s encouragement, and power and sensuality coursing through my veins, I required more.
Elliott’s fingers teased the skin he’d bared. “You want to be mericless?”
“Yes,” I told him, my breath coming out as a sensuous sigh.
“Touch yourself. Cup your breasts.”
My hands trembled, and my nipples already hardened to tight little points at his suggestion. The song changed, and the music slowed. The beat still pounded like a drum, but the track shifted to the erotic. Like a heartbeat. A pulse. Carnal and life-giving.
I flattened the thin T-shirt against my flushed skin as I traced my areolas.
“That’s it.” The stranger’s voice calling to me should have shocked me, but with Elliott beside me, leading me, the hunger lacing the man’s words only made me hotter. I knew I was safe to explore this new unknown side of my sexuality. Just as Elliott took charge that night in the cabin when I danced and stripped for my roommates, he took charge now.
Oh, if only Casey saw me now! She’d always encouraged me to strip and I’m about to execute the perfect drop it low move she’d shown me. That step earned me a few hollers from the more enthusiastic in the crowd and I shimmied up, deep in the groove.
Elliott shoved my top the rest of the way up, exposing my breasts and the men shouted their appreciation. I fed off their tension as the heat rose. I flipped my hair, rolled my body and bent and ground my hips.
“What the fuck? You wanna get me shut down?” Angry words sliced through my daze. A bouncer shouldered a path through the throng, dispersing them into the shadows. He glared at Elliott. “Take it outside.”
Elliott grabbed my wrist. We bolted, my tits bouncing as I followed him through a side door that led to an empty hall smelling of beer, pine cleaner and the musty scent of cardboard boxes. Darkness shrouded us but I still heard the muted pump of the music. He shoved me against the wall at the same moment his hand sunk between my legs.
“I knew I’d find you wet,” he husked.
A harsh breath hissed through the tiny hallway. Had men followed us here, hoping to catch Elliott giving it to me? Then I heard the click of his belt buckle and ting of his zipper releasing. The pads of his fingers grazed my clit and I no longer cared if strangers caught us or not.
Elliott hiked my leg around his hip and tunneled inside me in one long thrust. My toes curled in my boots from the bite of his invasion and the shock of pleasure. My slick walls gripped his length, and I tilted my hips to take in more of his shaft.
I couldn’t call back my whimper as he pulled away from me, the tip of him barely breaching my entrance. “Tell me how much you like having men watch you,” he demanded
I licked the lobe of his ear then angled my lips so anyone who’d followed us into the hallway heard me loud and clear. “I loved it.”
He rewarded me with a hard thrust of his cock. “Now tell me how you love to make men want you.”
I nibbled along the column of his throat. “I want them to think of me when they jerk off tonight.”
Elliott’s chest rumbled as I admitted my deepest secret. “Oh, they will, and they’ll be thinking how damn lucky I am to be the one fucking your sweet pussy,” he drew away from me, and I wanted to scream. I’d teased and acted the stripper to torment the men staring at me, but I’d only ramped up my need to a fever pitch. I craved Elliott. His girth stretching my channel. The urgent way he slammed into me. How this man knew to give me what I needed before I did. Or even understood.
“You want to come in front of an audience, don’t you?” he asked, his suggestion sent tendrils of excitement down my spine.
His taunting words confirmed my suspicion we’d attracted an audience even now, deep in the dark. I began to tremble. “Give it to me now, Elliott. Make me come.”
“Ah, fuck, Ivy. I could never deny you anything. Hang on.”
I gripped his shoulders and pressed my face into the crook of his shoulder, drawing in his delicious sandalwood scent. He hammered into me, hitting my G-spot just right with the tip of his cock. My muscles clamped around his erection as my core quaked.
“Hell, Ivy, I won’t last long when you squeeze me like that.”
“Too late.” My body shook and convulsed as a fierce orgasm hit me. I buried my face into his shoulder to muffle my scream. Elliott lost his tight control and pumped into me hard, sending my senses on a spiral of ecstasy. I felt his groan rather than heard it, his ass clenched and he drove into me a final time.
My body quivered with aftershocks when he tugged his cock from between my legs. “Wait,” I cried, sounding more like a beggar. Tremors still rocked through me. I hated being robbed of a single one.
“Can’t,” he said, I knew he was right to be cautious. Between the bouncer and any men who may hover nearby, we’d worn out our welcome. My leg dropped, and Elliott smoothed my denim skirt in place, hiding my pussy, giving me a quick pat. I faltered in place and laughed at my shakiness. Yeah, the man had fucked me so hard I wobbled.
Elliott kissed my temple. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.” He gripped my hand in his and aimed for the emergency exit and we escaped into the night.
Chapter 9
