Chapter 6

The entire ride home,Allison couldn't stop looking at her ring. Not because it was beautiful, although it was, or because she was easily distracted by anything sparkly, although she was, but because of what it represented.Todd would never leave her again. The giddy feeling she got every time she looked at the ring was like an adrenaline rush.

"I'm glad you like the ring so much," Todd said, grinning as he caught her looking at it again. "Although I hope you don't forget to pay attention to me, too."

She laughed. "It's going to take some getting used to," she said. "It's so sparkly and distracting after all."

"Am I going to have to tie your hands down to keep from looking at it tonight?" The amused tone of his voice said he didn't really mind, after all, he kept looking at it as well. It was a very public marker, she belonged to him, and he liked the way it felt to see it on her finger, to know that she'd agreed to be his.

"I'd be okay with that," she purred, snuggling against him.Deliberately, she turned her hand to the side, so she couldn't see the course of her distraction anymore as she nuzzled his shoulder with her face.

"Did you know I was going to propose?" he asked, sounding almost like a little boy. There was a strange hint of vulnerability about him. "Or was it a total surprise?"

"Mostly a total surprise. I did notice you seemed extra… mmm… lovey lately, but nothing happened, so I thought maybe I was imagining it, or it didn't mean anything."

"When did you notice?"

"A couple of weeks after the housewarming party, then the past few weeks, you got all extra lovey again."

"Ah… A couple of weeks after the house warming party was when I started planning how I was going to do it. I bought the ring a couple of weeks ago," he said a little smugly.

"Well, I had no idea it was going to be tonight, or you were going to do it at all," she said, smiling dreamily at him. "I did hope…"

The smug look on his face was adorable.

Anyone watching them try to walk up to the house would have been highly amused by the rushing, slowing pace as they did their best to get to the house as quickly as possible, but kept getting distracted by wandering hands and hungry kisses. Finally, Todd picked her up in his arms, one arm cradled behind her back, the other beneath her knees, and carried her the rest of the way as Allison laughed and did her best to keep her skirt from falling open.Flashing the neighborhood was a little too far, even for her exhibitionist side—especially since Todd had yet to return her underwear.

She knew he was strong but was still impressed when he carried her all the way up to the bedroom. Once they were in the house, she'd given up the fight to keep her legs and bottom covered, wrapping her arms around his neck, peppering his neck and jaw with kisses. Todd pushed through their bedroom door, finally lowering his mouth to hers as he let her legs drop. Wobbly, Allison leaned against him as they stripped each other almost frantically, the pathway to the bed littered with their clothing.

Tumbling onto the bed, Allison laughed and pushed him down, so she was on top.Rarely did Todd let her take control, but right now, he didn't seem to mind. Hands digging into her hair, he pulled the pins out as she straddled his body.His eyes were glowing as she pressed down on top of him, the long length of his dick digging into her slit.Moving her hips back and forth, she rubbed her juices all over the underside of his cock, watching as his pupils dilated, his hands clenching in her curls. He pulled her down for a searing kiss, demonstrating, even though he was beneath her, he could still take control anytime he wanted.

Leaning into the kiss, Allison lined up the head of his large erection with her pussy, pressing down so just the tip nudged into her as their tongues swirled together.They moaned into each other's mouths as he breached the entrance to her body.Moving her hips in a circular motion, she stirred the inner lips of her pussy with his hard-on, pressing down to occasionally take the very tip of him into her body.She teased and tantalized them both as one of Todd's hands drifted down from her hair to begin massaging her breast, igniting her passion.

Rocking back, she took a little more of his cock, taking the entire helmet into her pussy.Lifting his hips, Todd tried to push into her tight sheathe, but she rose with him, denying him farther entrance than she'd already given him. Breaking the kiss, Todd pulled her partially upright with the hand gripping her hair, making her arch her back as his hand tightened on her breast.

"You'd better figure out what you're doing," he growled, his fingertips pinching her swollen nipple and making her gasp with delight.

"I just want to pleasure you," she said, lowering her head to his chest. He allowed the movement, though he didn't loosen his grip on her hair, and to be completely honest, she didn't want him to—it made her feel wonderfully submissive. "Please let me pleasure you." Another sharp pinch to her nipple had her writhing.

"Then pleasure me, Princess," his voice was low, filled with dark erotic promise. "But don't take too long."

The threat made her moan as she sucked his nipple hard into her mouth, nibbling on the small bud.He lifted his hips again, and this time, when she didn't impale herself, he didn't chastise her.Taking that as permission, Allison began to tease his nipples, rubbing her pussy all over the tip of his dick. It was exquisite torture, straining their nerves.His dick felt as if it would explode at any moment if he didn't get it inside her, yet he wanted to indulge her and was curious what she would do next.

After a few more torturous minutes, lavishing oral attention on his nipples, Allison sat back, her breasts bobbing slightly on her chest as she pressed down. They gasped with need and pleasure as the first few inches of his dick slid into her.Clenching her pussy, she enjoyed the feeling of him stretching out her tight hole. Still clenching hard, she pulled up and off again, teasing the tip of his dick with her wetness.Todd groaned, letting go of her hair, so she could do what she wanted—for now. Filling his hands with her luscious breasts, he squeezed them encouragingly as she moved on top of him.The snug tightness partially encasing his shaft was driving him crazy, and his balls ached with the need to bury himself in her wet tunnel.

She lowered herself again, just a few inches, maybe half an inch more than she had the first time. With a groan, he lifted his hips again, trying to shove into her, but she kept the same distance away.Gritting his teeth, he arched his back, his fingers finding her sensitive nipples, pinching them.Allison cried out as the delicious bite shot through her, from her turgid nipples straight to her pussy, as though he was transmitting his sexual frustration from his body to hers.

One last time, she lifted herself off of his dick, panting and crying out as he tugged on her nipples, not ordering her to come back down on him, but doing his best to give her ample motivation to lower herself.Allowing him to torture her breasts, shuddering with pain and delight, Allison hovered over him for a moment, suspended over his dick with just the tip inside her.She slammed down, crying out as he filled her completely, his length buried snugly in her pussy.Todd gasped, and his hips lifted of their own accord, pressing him even deeper into her body, and he had to concentrate on not immediately filling her with cum. With his hands on her breasts, he held her in place, trying to ignore her wriggling as her cunt grasped him like a vise and massaged.

Once he was under control, he released his death grip on her breasts, and she slumped on top of him. Half-hooded hazel eyes smiled down at him, enjoying the sense of power she was experiencing, loving how he quivered beneath her thighs, knowing he was on the edge of his control.She began to ride him with long slow strokes, lifting all the way to his tip before sinking back down again.It was a constant tug of war for him between his desire to cum in the intense, tight wetness of her pussy and the desire to have her bouncing on top of him for a little longer.

Although he yearned to change positions—to roll over, turn her onto her back, and spear her, satiating his lust in her while she cried out beneath him—he found he enjoyed giving her this semblance of power. He loved the way she looked, moving and arching, her hands splayed against his chest, her breasts bouncing in time with her ride.Biting his lip, he stifled a moan as he ran his hands up and down her sides. Allison could see just how much this slow lovemaking was teasing him.Her own pussy was burning with the need to take him harder and faster but was enjoying being in control too much to rush it.

Circling her hips, she lowered herself onto him and pulled herself up, using his dick to stir her insides as she did so.His body jerked at this strange new sensation. When she pressed against him, her circular motions ground her swollen clit and pussy lips against his groin, driving him wild.With a cry, he grasped her narrow waist, taking hold of her hourglass shape, trying to control her movements. Allison struggled a little, shushing him, and doing her best to continue her slow seduction, near torture for both. He was sure if he stopped concentrating, even for a moment, he would cum.The delicious sensations spreading through his body demanded release, and the only thing keeping him from cumming as she slowly fucked him was his own willpower.

Finally, Allison couldn't stand it any longer and began to rock harder, slamming her body up and down on him as he heaved and moaned beneath her.After three brutal thrusts, she ground her body down on his, her hips making those same circular motions, rubbing back and forth with her back arched. When he grasped her breasts, she thrust the soft mounds into his palms.Her nipples jutted out between her fingers as Todd's hands closed around the sensitive globes, his dick finally spewing forth frothy cum as he lost control.

The feel of him jerking inside her, knowing she had pushed him past his own limits, had Allison gasping with ecstasy as she rubbed her clit hard against his pubic bone. Feeling her own climax rising, she reached behind her to wrap her fingers around his balls. He was still gasping and moving, although he must have already been drained of his load of cum. She wanted to see if she could draw this out even more.

Kneading his balls gently, she tugged them away from his body. Her own body was starting to tighten as Todd thrashed beneath her and let out a primal cry as his sensitive cock hit overload.He was drained of his cum, yet the orgasmic feelings sweeping through his body continued at an incredible rate. Allison's pussy ground on top of him, the narrow passage gripping and clutching his mostly-hard dick as he spasmed inside of her.

Somehow, he had the presence of mind to slide one hand down from her breast to where their bodies were joined, finding her clit and pinching and rubbing it between his fingers and rapture exploded outward from the sensitive nub. It was her turn to thrash as her pussy heated and shuddered with an overwhelming climax as he took back control. The slight rocking of his hips thrust his mostly-erect penis back and forth, rubbing against her g-spot as she came for him.The continuous movement on his cock was almost painful, but he didn't let up until Allison slumped on top of him, his body still jerking with occasional aftershocks of the pleasure she'd heaped on him.

Carefully, he removed his hand from between their bodies, cradling her as she whimpered and slid to the side, leaving a streak of wetness across his thigh.After a few moments of heavy panting from both of them, he opened his eyes and looked at her, where her head was resting in the crook of his arm.

"Don't expect to get to do that too often," he said in a hoarse voice. "Even if it was amazing."

"You liked it," Allison said smugly.

"I like this, too," he said dryly as he grasped her by the back of the neck and pushed her head down toward his crotch, letting her know she wasn't quite done yet.Allison submitted gracefully, despite the fact she was tired.She wanted to please Todd, to show him how much she loved him. Which is why she'd taken control away from him for once.She'd known it wouldn't last—he liked being in control too much and she wanted him there—but giving him a bit of a fight for it was fun and so was the aftermath. She had to admit, she loved the way he took control when she started acting bratty.

The taste of sex filled her mouth as she licked him cleaned of their juices, taking his flaccid cock between her lips and sucking gently.For a few moments, he jerked and twitched as she worked him, even her gentle ministrations almost too much for his sensitive member after the extended orgasm she'd given him. Once he was clean, he pulled her back up, kissing her lips gently and tucking her into the crook of his arm before rolling onto his side and wrapping his other arm and one of his legs around her.

Happily, Allison snuggled into him, rubbing her face against the bristly hair on his chest.

This is how I'll sleep for the rest of my life.

It was where she belonged.

* * *

Unfortunately,it took less than two minutes the next morning for everything to go rapidly downhill.

Allison awoke refreshed. She stretched and felt a strange heaviness on her finger. Putting her hand out in front of her, she admired her ring. What a delightfully odd feeling to have that finger encircled. It really did make her hand feel heavier. The morning sunlight made it glitter as she thrust her hand into one of the spots where the sun was coming in through the curtains.

"Silly woman," Todd growled, right before his arm looped around her body and pulled her back down to the bed. Giggling, Allison turned to look at him, but his eyes were still closed as if he was asleep. He looked adorably tussled with his dark hair flopping all over the place, quite happy to stay right where he was. So, she poked him.With a grumble, he half-opened one eye to glare at her. "What?"

"Get up."

"Why?"

"I want to call people and tell them," she said, wriggling away from his heavy arm. "Diana's going to kill me for not calling her last night as it is. The only way I can possibly make it up to her is calling her first thing this morning." Todd groaned and rolled onto his back as Allison hopped up and pulled on her favorite robe, thesexy red cotton one, neatly covering everything with a very thin layer of cloth.A thought occurred to her that dimmed her glee, but only a little. "I wonder if I should call my parents."

Part of her rejoiced in the idea she finally had a reason to reach out to them, one that forwarded her own agenda, but another part of her was fearful of their reaction. What if they rejected her again? Did she really want to call them when by all rights, they should have contacted her by now? Graduation was less than a month away, and she still hadn't heard from them.

"No need to," Todd replied as he lifted his arm to cover a yawn, doing his own early morning stretch. Although ten a.m. wasn't exactly truly early morning anymore, they'd had quite a night."They're expecting us for dinner tonight."

She had just located Diana's number in her phone, but her finger froze above the little green icon that would initiate the call.

"Excuse me?"

With a smugly proud look on his face, Todd slid his hands behind his head, relaxing back on the bed. "They're expecting us for dinner tonight. Once I met your father and explained where I'm working and what my goals for my career are, he was happy to give his blessing for me to ask you to marry me."

It felt as though her ears were ringing.Something cold and hard settled in the pit of her stomach, weighing her down and simultaneously making her feel like other things might come hurling up. Closing her eyes, Allison stood with her fists clenched, trying to get a hold on herself.

"Allison?"

The absolute fury in her eyes when she opened them turned them almost golden. Heat rose in her cheeks as she stared at her newly-minted fiancé, who was starting to look a little wary. Good! He should!

"You went and talked to my parents?" she asked quietly.

"Your dad, yes. A couple days ago," Todd said, giving a small sigh of exasperation. "This rift between you has gone on for too long, and it's completely unnecessary. The whole reason I went away last year was so I could put myself in a position where your parents would approve of me."

"That's not the point!" Allison snapped. Hurtling into movement, she opened her drawer and pulled out her underwear. If it was possible to put underwear on angrily, she personified the maneuver. "I don't care if they approve of you!"

"Well, I care," Todd snapped back. "How would you like it if my mom didn't approve of you?"

"It's not the same." She tugged a shirt over her head so hard, she almost ripped it."She wouldn't cut you off from her life just because she didn't approve. My parents care more about giving their approval than they care about whether or not I'm happy. How am I supposed to know if they really love me if they're only talking to me again because I'm with a man they approve of?"

"Of course, they love you!" Todd threw his hands in the air as he got up from the bed, gloriously naked and angry.For once, she found herself less than appreciative of the view, mostly because she had no desire to be distracted from her justifiable fury.

"Well, they don't act like it!" Tears sparked in her eyes as the rejection and hurt she'd managed to keep clamped down deep inside surged, and she angrily turned her head away as she pulled on her jeans."The whole point of not talking to them was I wanted to know they loved me enough to accept my decisions, to let me live my life by my choices because that's what made me happy. Now, you've gone and undermined all of that." To both of their horror, tears started to spill down her cheeks. Todd looked stricken as he moved toward her, holding out his hands pleadingly.

Deep down, she realized, given the chance, she probably would have called her parents. If not today, then probably sometime this weekend. But that didn't excuse completely taking the choice away from her.

"Allison, Princess, please... it's not a bad thing, they know the truth. Someone had to speak up first, and I thought it would be easiest for everyone if it was me. They love you, they just didn't know how to approach you, and I didn't mind approaching them."

"Well, learning might have been good for them!" She slapped his hands away and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Todd's voice got a little higher, a measure of his desperation to fix things. "Allison, I did this to make things right, for all of us, not to make them worse!"

"Too bad. I'm going to Diana's." Allison whirled around when she heard him moving toward her again, glaring at him through her tears. "Don't follow me." Turning back around, she hurried out the door in a whirl of self-righteous anger and betrayal.

Todd vented his own feelings by kicking the dresser.

* * *

By two p.m.,Todd was Chad's, pacing the floorboards as Allison's step-cousin watched him sympathetically. When Allison had first left the house, Todd's instinct had been to chase her down and ignore the order not to follow her.It was in his general make-up to fix things immediately and not let them fester, but he'd learned Allison wasn't the kind of girl who played games. She said what she wanted, and if she said she didn't want him to follow her, it wasn't girl code for "follow me and change my mind," unlike some women he'd had relationships with in the past.So, he had to respect that right now she wanted space—even if it was driving him up the wall.

"That entire side of the family is crazy, you know. I still can't understand why my dad married into it." Chad shook his head with a dramatic sigh. "Just give her time to calm down. She's much more reasonable when she calms down."

"And do you think talking to Diana will calm her down or just rile her up even more?" Todd asked with a sardonic look, which made Chad hesitate. While he didn't hold anything against Diana after their run of dating ended, he knew the little Asian was a bit of a spit-fire, and Todd wasn't always her favorite person. On the other hand, if Allison wouldn't be swayed by her parents, why would she be swayed by her friend? Todd paced, rubbing his hand through his hair over and over again in his agitation.

"It's as if she wants them to prove they love her enough to do what she wants. And they're on the other side, waiting for her to prove she loves them enough to do what they want."

"I'm a little more sympathetic to Allison's side on that," admitted Chad.

"Well, of course. Her parents were completely unreasonable, but they don't think they were.The best solution would seem to be, she chooses a guy she wants to be with, then he makes him into someone they would approve of." Stopping, he stood in front of Chad, throwing his arms out to either side in complete exasperation. "Hello, that would be me!" Growling, he tossed his hands up and resumed wearing a path in the floor of Chad's apartment.

Although they'd been frat brothers, he actually hadn't been particularly close to Chad until Allison. They'd gotten along okay, but it was her entrance into Todd's life that had really cinched their friendship.Especially since Allison had become much closer to Chad as a result.While Chad couldn't really be termed Todd's closest male friend, he was a friend Todd trusted and would have insight none of Todd's other friends would into the situation. Which is how he'd ended up over here after pacing his own house for three hours, waiting for Allison to come home. Other than replying to his query about whether she'd made it safely to Diana's, Allison hadn't responded to a single one of his text messages or picked up any of his calls.

Eventually, he hadn't been able to stand waiting around the house for her with no support of his own, so he'd called Chad.Thankfully, the other man hadn't had any plans for the afternoon and been more than willing to be a sounding board.He liked Allison and Todd, thought they were a great couple, and wanted them to work things out. Even better would be if Allison could work things out with her family because it would make the family dinners and gatherings a lot less fraught with tension.For whatever reason, his step-mother kept prodding delightedly at Allison's absence, which made Allison's parents extremely defensive, and everyone ended up miserable. He'd skip out on the dinners, but his father begged him to be there, so he would have someone to talk to. Bringing Allison back into the family fold, especially if she brought Todd along with her, would make that aspect of Chad's life considerably easier.

"The problem is, we're both right," Todd said, finally collapsing on the couch with a sigh.His legs were tired from pacing, and his energy seemed to have deserted him. The image of Allison's face, hazel eyes large with betrayal, kept looming in his mind. That wasn't how he'd wanted to make her feel. Yes, he'd known she'd be upset about him talking to her parents, but he hadn't realized she'd be quite this upset, or he never would have done it… probably… maybe.

Okay, he wasn't sure if that was true. Part of his make-up was he wanted to fix things. He'd seen how depressed Allison had been, the past few weeks, although she didn't say it was because of her parents. She talked a lot about graduation, and he'd quickly realized how much it bothered her to think she might reach that major milestone, still estranged from her parents.

On top of that, he didn't want to marry Allison with this separation between her parents hanging over his head. He had worked too hard and hated knowing how bereft she was about their estrangement.That wasn't the way to start a new life together.Maybe he should have waited, but he'd wanted to ask her to marry him when they'd moved in together.Several months later, he'd realized she was no closer to making up with her parents than she had been at that point—further away, actually.

So, he had done what came naturally to him and decided to fix things to make Allison happy. It was pretty much his number one goal in life.Even if she wasn't particularly happy with him right now, he wasn't convinced he'd done the wrong thing.

"She'll forgive you," Chad reassured him, patting his shoulder and handing him a beer. "Eventually."

Todd grunted. Eventually being the operative word. If he needed any proof of how long Allison could hold a grudge, he only had to look at the detente between her and her family.

On the other hand, unlike her parents, he wasn't willing to let her shut him out—although she might not like his methods of making sure she didn't, he thought darkly.