Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

“ W hy did you say Jonathan’s an idiot?” I ask, dropping onto the edge of Hayes's bed. It’s late, but I don’t care. I need to keep talking, to make sense of this tangled knot of emotions twisting inside me. Someone here—probably Jonathan—is playing games, trying to mess with my head. Maybe he thinks he can scare me into leaving.

Hayes sits down next to me, his hand still resting on the small of my back. His touch sends a rush of warmth through me, igniting a spark that lingers just beneath my skin. “You know why he’s an idiot, Tori.”

My heart flutters at his words, a tiny thrill coursing through me. I want to hear him say it. “I know why I think he’s an idiot. But I want to hear why you think he’s one.”

He chuckles softly, shaking his head. “You’re gorgeous. Smart. Funny. Pretty fucking perfect, if you ask me.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, so perfect he put a ring on Marissa’s finger and now he’s trying to scare me out of this place with his little midnight knock-knock games.”

Hayes leans in closer, his face inches from mine. His gaze is so intense, it makes my knees weak. “Are you really scared?”

I shake my head and look away, unable to meet his eyes. He gently tilts my chin back toward him with his fingers, his touch soft but insistent. Being this close to him, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him, to taste him, to feel the heat of his body pressed against mine. I’ve never been close enough to any of his many girlfriends to ask, but I want to know. What kind of lover is he? What kind of sounds does he make when he loses control? What does his cum taste like.

“Jonathan was a jealous asshole who couldn’t deal with being with someone way out of his league,” Hayes says, his voice low and rough.

My pulse quickens, a frantic beat drumming wildly against my ribs.

“If you were mine,” he murmurs, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, “I’d worship the fucking ground you walk on.”

Suddenly, heavy footsteps clamor outside his bedroom door, thundering down the hallway. Someone’s running, pounding on each door as they pass. Hayes’s eyes dart to the door, a grin spreading across his face. “Same shit we used to do in college,” he says with a chuckle.

He’s right, it is.

October was always the month of pranks and jump scares between us.

Why am I being so jumpy then?

“I still hate you all for the clown thing,” I say, pushing myself up from the bed, needing to put some distance between us. The air between us is charged, too thick with unspoken words and lingering touches. How disastrous would it be if I ruined another friendship with sex?

“That was all Griffin’s idea.” He laughs, leaning back on his elbows. The memory of all of them dressed as clowns, waking us up in the middle of the night, fades as my gaze drifts to Hayes stretched out on the bed. He’s shirtless, his skin smooth and tanned, muscles rippling as he moves. He’s only wearing a baggy pair of light gray shorts, tented in the middle. A wicked thought flashes through my mind—what would he do if I climbed on top of him right now?

Hayes groans, breaking my thoughts. “You’re killing me with that look, Tori.”

“What look?” I say, behind fiery cheeks.

“The one that makes me wonder if we’re getting any sleep tonight.”

He’s definitely hitting on me, and for a brief second, I’m unsure how to respond. Do I want him? Oh, hell yes. But what if, after one taste, I want more? What if it becomes like it was with Jonathan—a whirlwind that leaves me craving something I can’t have?

Hayes shifts, his stomach muscles tightening as he pushes himself up to stand. My eyes follow the movement, shamelessly drinking in the sight of his body. I can’t tear my gaze away, and I swear the front of his shorts just grew tighter, doubling in size.

Well, hello there . Didn’t expect company.

“How pissed would you be if I said I really wanted to kiss you right now,” he says, stepping closer.

My gaze snaps up to meet his. Those gray eyes—so intense, framed by unfairly long lashes—have always had a way of making me lose common sense. “I think I’d be more pissed if you didn’t,” I reply, letting a slow smile curl my lips. “So, yeah, I really want you to kiss me too…”

“Is there a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence?” he asks, pausing, uncertainty flickering in his expression.

“No,” I say, my voice firm, as I step forward. It’s just a kiss. I don’t want to think right now—I can’t think. I just want to feel. I want his lips on mine, his hands on my skin, his weight pressing me down. His cock pushing inside me.

“Are you sure?” Hayes asks, his voice low, almost a growl.

“Yes,” I breathe, the word barely more than a whisper.

He moves closer, his body heat wrapping around me, drawing me in. “You know I really respect you and our friendship,” he says, his voice rough and husky, each word sending a tremor of need over my skin.

“I know,” I reply, my stomach tightening with anticipation. The air between us feels electric, charged with something I’ve never felt before.

“That’s good,” he murmurs, his lips so close to my ear that his warm breath skims my skin. My eyes flutter shut as a shiver of pleasure ripples through me.

“Because for the rest of the night, it might not seem like it,” he warns, his voice a dark promise.

A sharp pulse of desire throbs between my thighs, and I squeeze my legs together, trying to ease the ache building inside me. I’m torn between wanting this and fearing the consequences. “I don’t want this to mess up our friendship, Hayes,” I manage to say, though my voice comes out higher than I intended, laced with a need I can’t hide.

He doesn’t answer with words. Instead, his finger slips under the waistband of my shorts, caressing the sensitive skin there, making my breath hitch. “The only thing that’s going to be messed up,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against my neck, “is the way you walk tomorrow.”

I’ve heard lines like this from so many men before—false bravado, empty promises designed to get me into bed. And once I’m there, it’s always the same story: a few seconds of fumbling, four or five thrusts, and then it’s over. They roll off me with sheepish grins and whispered apologies, promising it’ll be better next time. I hope this is different. I want Hayes to be different. I want him to erase every disappointing memory of the men I’ve wasted my time on. I want him to wipe them clean from my memory. I want him to yank my hair in his fists and quell the throbbing ache between my legs. Fill the tender, sore emptiness in my chest.

I want to say all these thoughts out loud, see how he responds. But I look up and our eyes meet and all rational thought gets scrambled and lost in the gaze.

Hayes inches closer, leans in. The air between us feels thick with anticipation, so heavy and dense I want to rip a hole into it to get some relief.

Then his hand is on my neck, hot and firm, sending a jolt of electricity racing through my chest. His other hand lifts from my waistband and hovers near the corner of my lips, his fingers trembling ever so slightly. He leans in even closer, almost imperceptibly, until our lips are just inches apart.

Everything around us blurs and fades away. Somewhere out in the hallway, there’s a faint thudding—muted footsteps that dissolve into the quiet hum of nothingness.

Time seems to stretch, each second an eternity as the ache between my legs builds to a nearly unbearable throb. His eyes stay locked on mine, both of us savoring the exquisite tension of this moment, knowing that this kiss—our first kiss—will be the point of no return. I suddenly have trouble swallowing.

His lips barely touch mine and my head tips back. It’s a brush of a kiss, a touch so soft and tentative I’m not even sure it’s real. A soft moan escapes though my lips. This tease of a kiss is killing me. I don’t want to beg for it—but he must feel it, my desperation—my aching need for his lips on mine, his hands on me. I don’t want to beg, but oh, God, please, please let him kiss me.

Then his mouth collides with mine so hard, it sends shockwaves through my body, filling all my senses. I forget everything I was just pleading for as I feel the heat from his body engulf me. I almost drown in it. Time stops. My heart stutters to a stop. Hayes is kissing me. I’m kissing Hayes back. His mouth so foreign, yet so familiar.

I never want this kiss to stop.

His tongue brushes mine and heat blooms across my collarbone. He’s so fucking delicious. A small tease of whatever lewdly expensive liquor he’d been drinking at dinner.

My panties grow uncomfortably damp.

He tugs his mouth back, gazing down at me. Hands, rough and strong, slide down my neck, over my shoulders, down my arms, and settle on the bare skin of my waist.

I move forward, laying my hands on his bare chest and walk him backward until the back of his legs hit the edge of the bed. He sits down hard and tilts his head up to look at me. I want to climb on top of him, drive him crazy, but his hands grip the back of my legs, keeping me in place. He slides them slowly, all the way up my thighs, cupping both cheeks of my bottom hard. His touch is rough, firm, hard. I almost forget to breathe.

He pulls me closer and my hands fall to his shoulders. He leans forward and presses a kiss to the small slice of bare skin just under the hem of my shirt. Another small kiss. A lick.

Hayes caresses my skin with feather-light strokes, trailing his fingertips over my ass, around my waist and up under my tank top to my breasts.

I yank my top over my head, toss it over my shoulder.

He lets go of my breasts and they bounce heavily and free. He draws his tongue over a nipple, blowing a slow breath over the puckered flesh, before taking it between his lips and sucking softly. “Do you like it gentle?” he breathes against me.

My panties are soaking wet now.

“Or rough?” he asks, raking his teeth over my nipple, then sucking it into his mouth hard, and flicking his tongue over its peak.

“All of the above,” I rasp.

Instantly he’s up, looming over me, and tossing my body face-first onto the mattress. I let a loud gasp and laugh. He smacks my ass and bends my knees until my ass is up in the air.

“I want to see how wet you are for me,” he says, as he slips my undies off, until they pool around my knees.

His hands grip at the back of my thighs, spreading me wide. I close my eyes and revel in the lewd, lascivious feeling as his tongue slides over me. Licking and sucking, biting, and sliding inside me. He doesn’t slow down either, he devours me with his mouth from behind, giving me full hard thrusts with his tongue, my breasts bouncing against the bed from the constant motion.

Then he’s gone. Cold air hits where the warmth has left, and I groan out in frustration.

“Do you know how long, how often I’ve thought of you like this?”

“No,” I cry, waiting, trembling and poised on my hands and knees, anticipating what Hayes will do to me next.

“Turn around, I want to see your face.”

I scramble to flip over.

“Spread yourself open for me.”

I do as he says because the way he’s looking at me is so fucking addictive.

Slowly he brings a finger to me, gently sliding it over my wet flesh. I throw my head back, panting. “Hayes, oh God, please. Keep going.”

“I want to be inside you,” he murmurs.

“I want your cock inside me,” I encourage him. I want it right now.

“Birth control pills?”

“Yes,” I reply.

“Because I want in bare. Nothing between us.”

“I’ve…I’ve never done that before,” I whisper.

“Me neither.”

Again, outside the bedroom, heavy, booming footsteps thunder down the hallway. Then someone’s pounding at the door.

He sighs. The hammering on the door continues. “If you don’t want anyone to know you’re in here with me, get in the bathroom.” He rubs a hand over the back of his head, but his heated gaze is still focused on my pussy.

“Do not open that door. You can’t leave me like this!” I plead. My body’s on fire.

He lifts his gaze to meet mine. “You know they won’t stop. I’ll get rid of them.” He takes my hand and helps me up off the bed. Then he trails his fingers up my back until he’s gripping the back of my neck. We walk two steps, maybe three, and then his mouth is on mine. His tongue swirling around mine. Maybe he changed his mind and is ignoring whoever’s at the door.

He walks me backward, not breaking the kiss, until my back is against the icy-cold tile of the bathroom wall. His hands cup my face as he pulls away. “I’ll be right back,” he whispers before he steps out and closes the door behind him.

I clench my thighs together to ease the sharp throbbing ache that nestles there.

“Jonathan. What the fuck, man. It’s late,” I hear him say.

“Bro, it’s only eleven,” Jonathan responds. “We’re all still downstairs having drinks by the fireplace.”

I lower the lid of the toilet bowl quietly and sit down. Through the thick door, their voices are a bit muffled, but I can still make out what’s being said.

“Okay. Maybe I’ll come down in a bit.”

“Look,” Jonathan says, “I just wanted to talk to you about what you thought you might have heard between me and Tori.”

“What I thought I heard?” Hayes’s tone gets lower. “I know exactly what I heard and you were being an asshole to her. She has no clue why one minute you were with her and the next minute you’re fucking engaged to Marissa.”

“You know why.”

I move from my seat and crouch next to the door, my heart pounding wildly.

“It doesn’t matter what I know, it matters that Tori doesn’t.”

“Hayes, it’s just all messed up.”

“Jonathan, it’s whatever, just keep me out of it. And leave Tori alone. She’s over you, you’re the one going out of your way to bring shit up.”

The springs of the bed creak like someone just sat down. Jonathan says something too low for me to hear. I hold my breath, straining to catch the syllables or cadence of the words, but they’re just too quiet.

“Give me a minute, okay?” I hear Hayes’s voice close to the door. It opens slowly and he slips inside quick.

“What’s he saying? Why is he still here?” I whisper-demand.

Hayes’s hand is over my mouth, and my head thuds back against the wall. I let out a surprised muffled cry. His free hand slips between my thighs, and he works two fingers inside me in a steady, slow rhythm. Slow and deep, in and out. I whimper against his hand from the slippery, wet sounds every time he drives his fingers inside me.

“Do you love him?” he asks, adding a third finger.

I shake my head vigorously.

“Are you over him?” His fingers move faster, his thumb pushing against my clit.

I nod.

“I’m going to fuck him from your mind. You understand me?”

I moan and nod. Nod and moan. Oh God, he’s going to make me come standing up in the bathroom with Jonathan in the next room. God, I hope he can hear.

“Shhh.” He chuckles. “If you make a sound, I won’t let you come,” he says, pulling his hand away from my mouth.

“Hayes,” I whisper, “harder. More.”

He drops his mouth to my breast and sucks a nipple into his mouth. His fingers drive even faster, harder. Heat pulses through my veins. I can’t stop my hips from rising to meet his thrusts. I ride his hand, my muscles coiling tighter and tighter. I’m so, so close. I’m panting and my legs are trembling. I grab hold of the sink for support.

A small cry escapes past my lips and Hayes is gone, standing up breathing heavily, slapping his hand at my breasts. “You made a noise.” He smiles, backing up a step toward the door.

“Don’t you dare leave, Hayes,” I whisper-yell.

He’s out the door before I can say anything else. There’s a short, muffled conversation and then the bathroom door swings open and Hayes is lifting me over his shoulder and carrying me toward the bed.

I’m ravenous when my feet hit the floor. “How’d you get rid of him?” I ask, reaching for the waistband of his shorts.

“I told him you were in the bathroom waiting for me to fuck him out of your head.”

I jerk his shorts down his thighs to reveal his rock-hard, gorgeous cock, its head glistening with pre-cum.

I wet my hand with a long slow lick of my tongue and wrap my hand around him and gently squeeze. His cock has weight, it’s heavy, engorged, pulsing. “What are you waiting for then?”

He smiles wickedly. “Show me what that mouth can do first. Get on your knees.”

I lower myself in front of him, still slowly pumping my hand up and down his shaft.

“Open your mouth. Take in my cock.”

I direct his cock to my lips and slide my mouth over him, rubbing my tongue against the thick warm ridge of the underside. Hayes draws in a quick sharp breath through his teeth.

“Look at how beautiful you are with a cock in your mouth,” he says low.

I tilt my head back to look up at him, take him deep down my throat. I suck hard, hollow out my cheeks and slide over him again and again, until he steps away panting and me breathless.

Hayes wraps his arms around me, pulling me up, pressing my breasts against his bare chest, and walks me backward toward the bed, his thick cock prodding into my stomach.

“Tell me what you want, Tor,” he says, nipping at my lips.

“Everything,” I breathe

“Everything?”

“Absolutely everything.”

“You sure you’re ready for that?” Our eyes meet, and I try to hold his gaze, but it’s too much, too intense.

He doesn’t give me a chance to answer. He dives onto the bed with me underneath him, pressing the back of my legs over his shoulders, and buries himself inside me with a low raspy moan.

“Fuck, you’re so thick,” I whimper.

Slowly he slides all the way out and back in deep again. Once, twice, three times. Sweet, sweet torture.

“I’ll try not to break you,” he teases.

And then he’s moving. Hard rhythmic thrusts.

I wrap my legs around his waist and drown in the building pressure. A pinprick of pleasure blooms out across my inner thighs. My breathing comes faster, louder. “I’m so close,” I whisper.

Hayes locks his eyes with mine. Warmth spreads across my chest. This connection between us. This jumble of nerves and pleasure and need. He slows his strokes, grinding his hips in a circular motion against my clit.

The sharp bite of pleasure grows.

It teeters on the edge, just out of reach.

He’s teasing me, pulling out my climax in long, slow thrusts.

And.

Then.

He.

Stops.

He stands up, grips me by the hips, and flips me onto my stomach.

“Spread those gorgeous legs for me,” he grunts.

I open my legs.

“Ass up, closer to me. Face in the sheets.”

Immediately I get in position.

He sinks his cock into me and both of us groan loud. Then I hear him spit and feel his cool saliva land and pool at my back entrance. His hips move and his cock plunges in and out of me in hard steady thrusts. His fingers circle through his saliva and push inside me without warning. The pressure is almost too much.

I fist the sheets and cry out with every glorious thrust. His fingers move as he fucks me, pressing down, keeping time with his cock.

He reaches forward, pulls at my hair, and my back arches up. His hand releases my hair, wraps around the front of my throat, and squeezes. I can’t move in this position. All I can do it take the fucking. The grip on my throat, the pounding of my body, over and over. His heavy grunts behind me. His cock and fingers plowing into me.

Pleasure coils. It blooms into a spiraling surge of bliss and then utter undiluted euphoria. I’ve never had an orgasm feel like this. I can’t control it and I can’t stop it. It explodes through my body like a supernova, and all I could do is cry out his name. “Hayes, Hayes, Hayes.”

His body stiffens, his breath catches in his throat. He rocks into me once, twice, three more times until his body shudders and he makes the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard.

“Don’t clean up,” he says as he lies down next to me. “I want my cum inside you and dripping down your thighs when we’re sitting at breakfast tomorrow.”