Seventeen

"Where is she?"Brooks searches the parking lot as we head toward the buses.

Stacy has a track meet today and it's a few hours away, so the school rented buses and hotel rooms for the team and anyone who wants to go and support them.

"Who, Marley? I don't know," I answer as I start to search the crowd of students.

"No. Stacy," he huffs, his tentacles looking like a rippling wave as he moves.

"Dude, it's been, what, three weeks since we've gotten here and you"re already obsessed with this girl." I chuckle.

I don't blame him, though. Turns out Stacy is his mate. She just doesn't know that yet, because of the same reasons I haven't told Marley. And the fact that Stacy has said she's not looking for anything more than just sex. My poor friend is so far gone for this girl, he's taking whatever he can get. I want to tell him to get to know her and then let her know about the mate thing, but I can't say shit until I do something about my situation first.

He shoots me a glare. "Says the man who's been stalking his mate for the same amount of time. You have no room to speak, man. You"re just as obsessed with Marley, if not probably more."

She's still avoiding me. These past three weeks have been hell seeing her everywhere, but being unable to touch her.

I've tried talking, but she ignores me. I tried getting her alone, but she turns around and walks away. I get that I hurt her, but this is getting a little bit too damn much.

"There she is!" he says, pointing one of his tentacles toward the last bus.

There she is, standing next to my mate. The two of them are talking. Marley tosses her head back and laughs, her whole body shaking.

It does something to my heart. And my cock. Fuck, the last thing I need right now is a boner. It's not easy hiding one when you have a dick my size.

I need to get my girl alone, to show her why she needs to be done being mad at me and give me a chance.

"You know how you've been dying for more alone time with Stacy?" The two of them have been just texting for the most part, hanging out when they can. They've gone on one date, and things got hot and heavy, but they couldn't find alone time because Marley, I guess, never leaves her room after school. I love my best friend, but I'm not leaving the room so he can fuck my girl"s best friend. I already told him that I'm not a big fan of the idea. The only reason I didn't make a big deal of it is the fact they turned out to be mates.

Which makes what I'm about to ask a bit of a surprise to him. And me.

"Yeah." He narrows his eyes, sounding suspicious.

"The girls are rooming together, and so are we."

"Yes."

"What if you room with Stacy, and I room with Marley?"

His brows jump. "I don't think they're likely to agree. I mean, maybe Stacy, but Marley is going to shut that down fast."

"That"s why we don't give them a choice." I grin, turning toward Sawyer, who joins us.

"Hey, guys. Are you two ready to go?" Sawyer asks then gives me a funny look. "Stop looking at me like that. What the hell do you want?"

"So, you know how you"re the track team"s equipment manager?" I grin.

"Yes. And stop smiling like that. It's creepy. Like I said, what do you want?"

"Brooks and I would love you forever if you could make it so that me and Marley were roomed together and Stacy and Brooks were roomed together. Do a bestie a solid, please! I'm dying, Sawyer, I need my mate and she won't give me the time of day. This way, she has to talk to me."

"And how can I win Stacy over, if we can't spend any time alone together," Brooks says. We both give her puppy dog eyes, sticking our lips out in a pout.

She looks between us and sighs. "Fine. Look, I'll try and see what I can do. But if the girls end up not comfortable with it, then we change back, understood?"

We both nod. "Thank you, bestie!" Brooks wraps his tentacles around Sawyer and squeezes.

"Careful there." I chuckle, finding Stacy watching us. Well, more like glaring at Sawyer. "Looks like someone is a little jealous."

Brooks lets Sawyer go and looks over at Stacy, who then shoots Brooks a glare before getting on the bus.

"You think so?" Brooks asks, sounding hopeful.

"Yeah, man." I laugh. "I think she likes you more than she's willing to admit. Maybe she's not used to relationships and the idea scares her?"

"Well, I'm in it for the long haul. I'll wait until she's ready. I'm not going to give up."

"That"s my man." I clap him on the back.

"You two are crazy and I'm going to leave. I gotta get on that bus," Sawyer says. "I'll let you know what"s going on when we get there."

She leaves, jogging toward the bus. "We better get on, too," Brooks says.

When we get on, Brooks slips into an empty seat, but I head back to a different empty one.

"Dude." Brooks shoots me a look over his shoulder.

"I'm sitting with Marley," I tell him.

"Does she know that?"

"Nope." I chuckle.

Luck just seems to be on my side, because by the time Marley gets on the bus, it's full. And the only empty seat is the one next to me.

She looks around, trying to find a place to sit, and when her eyes land on me and then the space, she pauses for a moment.

"Relax, Mar, I'm not going to bite," I tell her and reach out to grab her hand. "Sit."

She stumbles onto the bench with a gasp. "Don't manhandle me," she mutters, sitting up.

"Sorry, sometimes I forget my own strength. I'm used to being around other monsters."

"It's fine."

"So," I start as the bus pulls away. "How's Steve?"

"What?" She looks at me with furrowed brows.

"Steve. You know, your new bestie." The words sound as bitter as my soul is right now.

Seeing her working closely with that creep pissed me off. I fucking hated seeing him smile at her, flirt with her. She seemed to be all about the work, but Steve didn't take the hint. If anything, it made him work harder.

The whole time I was there, I was so distracted by what they were doing, that I hardly got anything done. Add in the fact that poor sweet Marie read the situation wrong, and I think she may have thought this was something more. Or maybe she's just always a very touchy person. Either way, when it was time to work on the assignment at the library again, I texted Marie and told her I couldn't make it. It was a lie, but I didn't want to have to sit through another few hours next to her. I didn't want her touching me and I didn't have the heart to let her down because my heart was already taken. Taken by someone who seems to want nothing to do with me.

And by the end of this trip, I plan on finding out why Marley is so damned determined not to have me in her life.

* * *

The bus ride was filled with silence. At least from the beautiful woman sitting next to me. She didn't speak one word to me the whole way. Anytime I asked a question, the stubborn little thing just shrugged her shoulders.

I didn't mind. The fact I got to sit next to her and smell her pomegranate scent the whole time was just fine by me. I just liked having her close. My hand did ache to reach out and touch her, though. But I kept my hands to myself.

When we pull up to the hotel, Marley is up and out of the seat, making her way to the front before anyone else.

"Well, that was nice while it lasted," I mutter to myself. Hopefully, it's not going to be the only time we get alone on this trip.

"Alright, everyone. Here are your room assignments and keys," the track coach says once she gets everyone checked into the hotel. "Remember, you are a guest here and you represent Coral Springs University. Be on your best behavior. It's late, and the track meet is early in the morning. I suggest just heading up to your room and getting some rest. See you all tomorrow."

The coach then proceeds to hand out the room keys, letting everyone know who is with who.

"You owe me," Sawyer mutters as she stands next to me. "I may have had to tell the coach a few things you might not be happy about."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact I told the coach you and Brooks were mated to the girls and asked her not to mention anything to the girls because they were not ready to tell anyone yet."

My eyes widen. "Shit."

"Yeah. So, you better hope this works out."

"Wait. What?" Marley gasps, catching my attention.

She looks at Stacy when the coach hands them their keys and walks away.

"What does she mean? There is no way I'm rooming with him." As if Marley can sense me watching her, she shoots a pissed off glare my way.

"Oh, come on, Mar. This could be fun," Stacy says then shoots a flirty grin over to Brooks. The man"s blue scales turn a shade of purple.

"Dude your blushing." I laugh.

"Fuck you. Am not."

The girls talk in hushed whispers, Marley more pissed off than anything but when they're done, she lets out an annoyed sigh and follows Stacy over to us.

"I know you had something to do with this," Marley growls.

It's fucking sexy. And there goes my dick again. But, I mean, this girl can just look my way and I'm rock hard.

"I have no idea what you mean," I say casually.

"That"s my cue to leave. See ya," Sawyer says and leaves us here to deal with the girls ourselves.

"So, roommates, huh?" Stacy says, grinning at Brooks. "I think I can get behind that."

"That makes one of us," Marley grumbles, looking away.

"Am I really that bad, Marley?" I ask her, honestly starting to get hurt with the way she's been treating me. I get that I made a mistake, but so did she. You don't see me pushing her away over it. Because she"s my mate, I love her and I'm over this pushing me away bullshit.

She stares at me for a long moment, the air between us crackling. How can she not feel this connection? It's in my soul, my veins, my blood.

"Fine. Whatever. It's one night and all we're doing is sleeping. You stay in your bed, I'll stay in mine. We wake up and go our own ways," she says, grabbing her bag and heading toward the elevator.

I follow, knowing damn well that is not how this night is going to end. I'll lock us in there and make her talk to me if I have to.

When we get to our room, Marley pushes the door open with a huff and walks in. I follow behind but almost nearly crash into her when she comes to a sudden stop.

"They must have given us the wrong room," she says.

"What makes you think that?" I ask her.

"Because. There's only one bed."

Leaning around her to peek around the corner, I grin, seeing that she's right. There's only a king-size bed in the center of the room.

"We need to go ask for a new room," she says, spinning around to face me. I look down at her, my whole body igniting at the look in her eyes as she stares up at me, clearly affected by the fact that we're hardly an inch apart.

"Or," I say, my voice becoming husky. "We don"t."

"We don"t?" she whispers.

"The bed is big enough for the both of us, Mar. We're just going to sleep, right?"

"Sleep," she says slowly, unblinking. "Yeah, sleep."

I can smell her arousal as it fills the room, making me swallow down a growl. My little mate isn't so unaffected by me as she tries to make me think. She wants me. I want her. She still loves me, I know she does. I just need her to stop fighting this.

* * *

This is torture, pure torture. Just as I'm pulling the blanket back to get ready for bed, Marley comes out of the bathroom dressed in a thin sleep shirt and sleep shorts.

I pause, my eyes eating her up. Fucking hell. My cock swells, pressing against my boxers. Marley lets out a little gasp and my eyes shoot from where I'm staring at her hard nipples pressing against her shirt up to her wide eyes.

"You okay?" I ask, my voice coming out husky.

"Ah." She clears her throat. "Your…" She points to my dick and I can't help but chuckle.

"Harder than stone? Yeah, baby, it's kind of hard not to be when you"re in the same room as me. And dressed like that? I didn't stand a chance."

I take the pinkness forming on her cheeks and the fact that she doesn't tell me to fuck off as a win.

"Oh," she whispers. "Sorry?"

"Don't be," I tell her, climbing into the bed. "I'm not."

She stands there, hesitating for a moment before she slowly joins me. The bed dips as she crawls under the blanket. I inhale deeply and hold back a groan as her pomegranate scent fills my nose. She always smells so damn good.

She turns the lights off, sending the room into darkness. We lay there, neither of us saying a word. My hand twitches, wanting to reach over and touch her, to feel her creamy soft skin, to kiss her pouty lips.

My mate is laying half-naked beside me and I'm starting to go out of my damn mind. I can't be the one to make the first move here. I've already tried so many times and she shot down each one.

"Lucius." Her soft whispering voice fills the silent room.

"Yeah?" I grunt.

"It's been weeks since school started. Why haven't you given up yet?"

"On what?" I ask, turning my head to the side. My eyes adjust to the dark, just enough to make out the side of her head.

She turns to face me. "On me."

We both stare at each other for a moment as I think about what to say next. I want to tell her because she's my mate and my heart won't let me. But it's not only that. She's so much more to me than just a mate.

"Because I want you, Marley. I have since the first time I laid eyes on you."

"But you left," she says so softly I almost didn't hear.

"I did." I sigh. "But I came back."

"Why did you?"

"Because of you. I love you."

A small whimper escapes her. "You do?"

"I do. And I know you love me too. I listened to your voice messages." I inch closer to her, our faces only a breath apart.

"That was weeks ago. Things change."

"No, they haven't. At least not that fast," I murmur, our breaths mingling together now. "I see the way you look at me. You want me. But you hate that you do."

"No I don't," she says with no conviction behind it.

"Really?" I tease. "You mean that you wouldn't be affected if I touched you right now?"

I can hear her swallow. "No."

"How about we test it out, see who's right?"

When she doesn't say anything, I decide to risk it and test the boundaries. I move so that my body hovers over hers. She sucks in a gasp but doesn't say a word. "I can smell you, Marley." My words come out thick with need. "I can smell how turned on you are. You can't hide your true feelings from a monster, baby."

"Luci." I think she meant to say my name as a protest, but it comes out more like a plea.

"Tell me no, Marley, and I'll roll over and go to sleep." Even though it would be so damn painful if she doesn't want this, I won't force her. "Because I'm desperate for you, baby. I want to taste you so fucking bad."

"Do it." Her words came out in a rush. "Fuck, please, do it."

The growl that leaves me is anything but human. All the control I've had watching her, waiting for her, starts to crumble.

I move down the bed, positioning myself between her legs. "I'm going to eat this pretty little pussy, Marley," I growl. "I'm going to make you scream my name as you fucking drown me in your release."

"Holy shit," she breathes out. "You got a dirty mouth, don't you."

"Oh, baby, you haven't seen anything yet." I chuckle, grabbing her shorts and yanking them off her body. I have her knees bent and her legs spread in record time. "Lucius," she whines as my mouth hovers over her drenched pussy. I want to bury my face in her, but I need her to ask for it first.

"Beg for me, baby. Beg for my tongue."

"Please," she whimpers. "Please, Lucius, I need you."

And that snaps any resolve I had left. With a growl, I lick up her pussy, a slow sensual stroke, making sure I get a good taste of her sweet cunt. She gasps loudly as she arches into my touch, her hands diving into my hair. As much as I'd love to spend hours tasting her, I have other things I want to do to her.

"Oh god," she cries out when I suck her clit into my mouth. Bringing my hand up, I slip two fingers into her pussy and slowly pump them in and out as I suck and lick on her clit. I need my girl wet if she's even going to have a chance to fit me inside her.

I take my time, slowly teasing her as I savor every moment. She squirms under me, trying to grind her pussy against my mouth, eager for more. I can tell she wants to cum, but not yet. She's so damn wet, but I need just a little bit more.

Every time her walls start to quiver around my fingers, I remove them, making her cry out in frustration at not being able to find her release.

"Lucius, please," she moans. "I'm so close. Please let me cum."

"Is that all you want, Baby Girl?" I ask her. "To cum? Or do you want more."

"More," she breathes out. "So much more."

"Good girl," I growl before diving in for more.

She screams my name as I give up on going slow and start to feast on her pussy like a starving man. One hand has a death grip on my hair while the other one caresses my right ear. My eyes roll back as a gush of pre-cum soaks my boxers. She needs to cum so I can be inside her. I've never wanted anything more in my life than to make her shatter around my cock.

When Marley cums, I have to quickly cover her mouth as she screams my name, not wanting people in the other rooms to know what we're doing in here. Her cries of pleasure are only for my fucking ears.

She cums hard, her back arches off the bed. So hard, she squirts, soaking me really fucking good.

"Holy shit," she gasps out. "Oh my god. What was that? Did I piss myself?"

"No." I chuckle, moving to sit up on my knees. "You squirted."

"I did?" she asks, sounding a little insecure.

"You did. And it was one of the hottest things I've ever seen."

Not that I've seen much seeing how I seem to have forgotten the fact that I'm a virgin and I'm about to have sex for the first time.

That doesn't worry me, what worries me is that this is Marley's first time also. And while I know she's used toys before, I don't think any of them were as big as me.

"You"re so fucking beautiful, Marley," I murmur as I take her in. Laying there, legs spread, her face flushed, hair messy. So fucking sexy.

She reaches down, grabs the bottom of her shirt, and pulls it off. My cock twitches as I groan, and lean down to suck a nipple into my mouth.

"Luci," she moans, holding my head to her chest. "I need more."

"Are you sure?" I ask before swirling my tongue around her nipple. "I'm big, Marley. I don't… I don't want to hurt you."

"We'll take it slow."

She grabs my face and pulls me to her, demanding a kiss that I give willingly. We both moan, lips parting and tongues tangling together.

It's a little awkward getting my boxers off, but with some effort, I don't have to break the kiss to free my cock, settling between her legs again.

Pulling apart, we're both breathing heavily. "We take it slow," I repeat and she nods.

Licking my lips, I look down between us and grasp my dripping cock, placing it against her entrance.

"Fuck," I hiss rubbing my tip against her pussy. "You"re so fucking wet."

And that"s how I need her as I press my head into her. She gasps and my eyes fly to hers. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She nods. "It's just a bit of a stretch."

"Baby, it's just the tip," I groan out a chuckle.

"Keep going." Her determination to take my cock is so fucking hot.

Adjusting myself so that I can lean on my left arm as I bring my right hand down, playing with her clit. "That's it, baby," I tell her as she whimpers and moans. "You"re doing so fucking good."

I'm going slow, so damn slow as I work her over, making her feel good, distracting her from the pain she must feel.

Because as I watch my cock press inside her, I know it's a stretch.

"You"re taking me so well, baby. Such a good girl. Keep going. Just a little more." I know there"s no way in hell I'll ever be able to fit fully inside her. And I don't need to. As long as there's enough to make her feel good, I know I'm already in heaven.

She's so wet, so tight, it's really damn hard not to blow my load right now.

"Fuck, you"re so big," she whimpers.

"Just a little more," I murmur. "You can take it, baby, just a little more."

"Oh god," she cries out. "I'm close."

"Already?" I grin down at her.

She shoots me an adorable glare. "Fuck you."

"I think it's me who"s fucking you." I chuckle and shut her sexy mouth up with mine.

She moans into my mouth as I pull back just a little and thrust back in.

Knowing I can't fit any more of me inside her, I keep doing that. Little thrusts. Slow at first, but as she moans my name, her nails clawing down my back as she begs for more, I pick up my pace, always mindful not to push more in than she can handle.

"Yes. Oh fuck. Yes. God, your fucking monster dick is so damn big, but it feels so fucking good."

I bite my lower lip, trying to hold back my laugh. She sounds dick drunk and I do a little fist pump inside my head, my chest swelling with pride that I'm doing this, I'm making her feel good. With time, we can build up to other things. Maybe she might be able to take more of my cock than she is right now.

I look down, watching myself slide in and out of her. Mine. She's mine. My girl. My mate. My everything.

My head is swimming with all these feelings. Like if I lose her, I just might very well die. Dramatic as it may seem, there's just something about it, I can't describe. Is this how mates feel when they're together? Or is it just a me and Marley thing? Whatever it is, it's pure ecstasy.

It doesn't take long before Marley is sobbing in pleasure, her hands roaming my body, not knowing how to handle all these feelings that are rushing through her body.

"You"re so close, baby. I can feel you strangling my cock. Cum for me."

"Fuck!" she sobs out and I swallow her cries of pleasure, kissing her as I fuck her through her orgasm.

Unable to hold back anymore, I follow her over the edge. I grunt against her lips as my body locks up. My cock jerks, sending an insane amount of cum deep inside her.

"Fuck," I growl as wave after wave hits me. There's so much cum that it's already leaking out onto the bed. I can't stop, the orgasm seems like it's never ending.

For a moment, I feel a little embarrassed because unless Marley has watched monster porn, she wouldn't know sex with a monster is nothing like sex with a human. Not just bigger cocks, but bigger releases.

But by the way she moans my name, her pussy gripping me again as another orgasm shudders through her, I don't think she exactly hates it.

Eventually, my balls empty themselves and I slowly pull out of her. I watch as my cum gushes out of her and the sight has me ready to go for round two.

"Wow," she breathes out. She moves to get up on her elbows and looks down. "That"s a lot."

"Yeah." I scratch the back of my head. I know we've done things before, and there was a lot of release then too. Nothing like this. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be." She smiles softly. "I ah, I think it's hot."

"You do?" I can't help but grin.

"Shut up," she huffs and looks away.

"Stay here." I get off the bed and kiss her forehead. Going to the bathroom, I grab a washcloth, getting it wet with warm water before grinning at myself like a damn fool and heading back out there. I clean her up the best I can. She tells me she's going to go shower and as she does, I strip the bed and grab some fresh sheets from the closet.

By the time I'm done making the bed, Marley is out of the shower and back into night clothes.

We climb into bed but this time Marley moves a little bit closer. "Marley."

"Yes?"

"Can I… just hold you?" I don't know what this means for us, and it's too late to talk anymore about it tonight. But if she's going to go back to avoiding me after this, I at least want this moment with her.

"Okay," she whispers and I pull her onto my chest. Wrapping my arms around her, I drift off to sleep, wishing that every night could be like this. I plan on doing whatever I can to make this our reality.