Chapter 7

7

Dmitri

“ S o, you know your way around already,” I say.

All of Leah’s stuff has either been crammed into my garage or is stacked in boxes in my living room. It’s not a big place, so the difference is pretty obvious. There are a few houses like mine in the neighborhood. They were built in the seventies and eighties, smashed in between the larger, more established homes. They have tiny square footage and they were made for a single resident, maybe a couple. This style of home is popular in San Esteban because it’s a college town, but it’s inconvenient for two people who aren’t a couple.

And now it’s just Leah and me in my small house, facing each other.

It was awkward as fuck working alongside Danica, but now she’s gone. Leah and I don’t have her as a buffer between us.

I don’t know how to act or what to say.

It’s early evening, with light filtering through the windows and glinting off my hand-me-down coffee table. Most of this furniture came from my parents when they moved to Fair Heights. The coffee table, the dining set, the dark gray couch, the TV that’s way too big for this room.

When I steal a glance at Leah, I notice the light makes her brown hair shine with golden streaks.

“Chill, Dmitri,” she says with a smile and sparkling blue eyes. “I gave you a BJ, not a broken leg. You can stop panicking, you’re not going to get hurt.”

I’m already hurting. As soon as the word “BJ” left her mouth, my dick stiffened with hope.

To hide the awkwardness, I turn around and grab a slice of room-temperature pizza from the box on my coffee table.

“I’m beat.” She stretches and yawns to emphasize the point. I try not to look at how her long-sleeved T-shirt rides up on her stomach. “Let’s finish up the pizza and watch a movie. I’ll unpack everything tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” I throw myself onto my usual side of the couch.

When Leah and Danica come over, I always sit here. Leah sits in the opposite corner of the couch. Danica curls up in the recliner I took from our parents’ place when they moved.

“Beer?” Leah asks.

“Yeah, there’s some in the fridge. Bring me one?”

“Sure.”

My place is small, so it takes her two seconds to retrieve our drinks. She grabs the last slice of pizza and plops down on the couch in her usual spot.

“What do you want to watch?” I grab the remote and pull up my streaming service.

“Funny, fast-paced, maybe a little violent?” She takes a big swig from her beer bottle.

“I got just the thing.” I select a show that came up in my recommendations a couple weeks ago. It had looked perfect for Leah, so I decided to wait to watch it until she and Danica came over again.

And here she is. But without my sister.

“Hey.” She wipes the grease from her hands with a paper napkin and tosses it into the empty pizza box. The movie is starting, but it’s the boring opening shots. “I know you didn’t want me here. I promise I’ll start looking for an apartment, first thing tomorrow.”

“There’s no rush.” God help me, there should be. I am thinking some very perverted thoughts about seeing her naked.

“How come you were always so nice to me? I never deserved that. Danica and I were total brats to you.” She stares at me, belief and trust shining in her beautiful eyes. Her lashes look impossibly long right now, as the sunlight quickly fades outside. The blue of her irises darkens behind them.

I force myself to look away and laugh, remembering some of their harmless pranks. “When you two childproofed my dresser drawers, I swore we’d be enemies forever.”

“But you didn’t hold a grudge.”

“Over a silly prank? Nah.” I have to minimize the way she’s making me sound, like I’m a good guy who never had any ill will or bad intentions. I crave her admiration, her belief. But I don’t deserve it.

She offers me a sweet smile and makes a hmm sound before turning back to watch the movie.

It’s no wonder she’s so popular with the students she tutors. She has this uncanny way of making a person think they’re worthy, that they’re inherently good.

Even if they’re inherently bad.

It’s probably why she’s attracted so many asshole boyfriends who could never deserve her.

We eat our pizza and drink our beer, laughing at the movie and looking over to see the other’s reaction. It’s just like old times.

Except now I know what she looks like naked. I know what she looks like when she comes.

I push those things from my mind. They aren’t helpful right now.

The hard work of packing and hauling her furniture and belongings catches up to me. I struggle to stay awake, but I fail.

Next thing I know, the room is dark. The sun’s gone down, the movie’s over.

Leah is snuggled up against me. She smells sweet and a little sweaty from all the work we did today. But she isn’t gross—she’s gorgeous.

Her hand is on my chest. One of her legs is thrown over both of mine. It looks like I stretched out while I slept, and so she stretched out alongside me.

My cock feels harder than a tire iron in my jeans. Fuck. If she wakes up, she’s going to feel it.

So what if she feels it? a nasty little voice in my head says. Three nights ago, she had it in her mouth .

Yeah, I gotta get up. I scoot to the side. Leah gives a soft moan of protest and rocks her hips, rubbing herself against me. The heat of her pussy seeps through our clothes—I can feel it against my thigh.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I try again to move.

“Oh,” she says in soft surprise, her eyes opening. “How did we—crap, sorry, Dmitri. I didn’t mean to tackle you in my sleep.”

But she doesn’t move away. I stare at her lips, wanting to kiss her mouth. I know how I’d do it, too, controlling the angle of her head, restraining her arms with one hand so I can explore her with the other. After watching her touch herself, I know how she’d want to be touched. I could shove a hand into her jeans, yank those panties aside?—

I pull back, shaking my head. I can’t do this. Shouldn’t do this. Can’t, shouldn’t, won’t—doesn’t matter.

It’s not happening.

Leah’s pupils are dilated, her lips parted. She looks just as surprised by this as I am.

“Sorry.” She scrambles off me and hurries to stand next to the couch.

I reach out to grab her when she starts to lose her balance.

She steadies and gives me a smile, tugging her hand away. “I should get some sleep.”

“Take my bed,” I say. “I’m comfortable on the couch.”

More that I don’t want to get up, because if I move, I’ll tackle her, bend her over, and fuck her until she’s hoarse with pleasure.

She chews her lip. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah. Just for tonight. After this, the couch is yours.”

“Understood,” she says with a nod. “Hey, I have a favor to ask.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“My car is still back at the apartment complex. Do you think you could drive me there tomorrow so I don’t have to pay for a ride?”

“Yeah.” My throat feels rough. “I’ll take you to your car tomorrow. You can help me get Vincent’s truck back to him at the same time.”

“Thanks.” She hesitates. “Do you…do you want a blanket and pillow? From your bed?”

“Nope, I’m perfectly comfortable.” Other than the raging hard-on threatening to tear my pants apart.

“Okay. Goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight.”

Wide awake, I listen to her brush her teeth. The faint light from the bathroom goes off and she walks across the hall to my bedroom.

Leah’s getting into my bed. Like a complete idiot, I’m out here on the motherfucking couch. We already crossed the line once. What’s the harm in crossing it again?

Those were extenuating circumstances.

The extenuating circumstances were named Gage Jannik.

And he’s bad fucking news. Keeps himself a mystery. He’s a voyeur, but he likes to call the shots if the other night is anything to go by. I know enough about his past to know he should be kept far, far away from Leah.

Once the sound of Leah rustling under the blankets stops, I wait a full five minutes, counting to sixty five times. She’s settled. Thank fucking god.

I can’t wait anymore. I stand and pull off my jeans, dropping them to the floor. My shirt follows. Then I lie back on the couch, shove down my boxers, and take my angry dick in my hand.

It’s not going to take much, and fuck, I don’t need to savor this. Leah’s scent swirls around me, her name is in my throat, her sleepy voice echoing in my mind.

Four tight jacks up and down my cock, then I’m erupting over my bare stomach.

I hope she finds another place soon.

I hope she stays here forever.

Taunting me. Torturing me.

Leah

Dmitri’s room is small, dominated by the queen-sized bed and the dresser he had when he lived with his parents—the very one Danica and I outfitted with childproof drawer latches. I smile at the memory. He seems to think he doesn’t deserve my praise, but he had the patience of a saint whenever Danica and I got up to our shenanigans.

His laptop is sitting on the dresser next to a framed photo of him and Danica playing at the beach. An ornate mirror hangs on the wall, clashing with the muted grays and browns of his bedspread, curtains, and area rug. It’s probably a family heirloom.

He’s a tough guy—a bouncer, a protector. But he’s also a sentimental softie.

I hear him moving in the living room, so I grab a pillow and blanket for him. It doesn’t feel right to leave him out there on the couch with nothing.

I stop as soon as I reach the hall. He’s lying down, eyes closed, with his hand rapidly stroking his dick.

Hot. It’s so hot all of a sudden. I think the house is on fire. Of course he doesn’t want a blanket.

I hold still, unable to look away.

He comes quickly, white fluid spurting onto his chiseled stomach as he groans quietly.

If he finds me watching him…I don’t know how he’ll react. This living situation is already weird enough. I have to get myself into the bedroom.

One step back, another one. Thankfully, the doorway is close by, and I duck inside, holding my breath.

No sound comes from the living room. I gently set the blanket and pillow by the door and tiptoe back to Dmitri’s bed.

Dmitri’s bed. I am lying in it wearing a pair of sleep shorts and a T-shirt, no bra. I just watched him jerk off, and three nights ago I had that beautifully thick cock thrusting into my mouth.

It’s too much. I feel feverish, out of control.

My hand is in my panties before I even realize what I’m doing.

I close my eyes, envisioning his big hand working himself over. Those thick fingers could help me out now—mine aren’t long or thick enough, the angle isn’t right. Since I can’t finger myself the way I want, I focus on my clit and use my other hand to caress my breasts beneath my shirt.

This is frustrating. He’s right out there in the living room. He could help me. If he really wanted to, he could be in here, the bed dipping under his weight as he climbs next to me, nudges my thighs apart with his, and slides home to fill me in the way only he can.

“Please,” I whisper. “Please please please.”

While Dmitri fucks me, Gage would want to watch. He’d stand over the bed, orchestrating everything in that low, rich voice of his. Fuck her harder. Faster. No, slow down. Don’t let her come. Make her beg .

“Please,” I whine.

Watch her face. Good. Leah, be a good girl and get on your knees. Suck my cock while he punishes that wet cunt .

I’m so fucking close. I can’t stand it anymore, I have to let myself come.

But then footsteps sound in the hall. I freeze, one hand in my panties and the other under my shirt.

Maybe he’s just going to the bathroom. Yeah, because he needs to clean off the bucket of come he let loose over his abs. Sure enough, I hear the sink running, and the sound of him brushing his teeth.

The bathroom door opens and his footsteps pause near the bedroom. I peek over at him through half-closed eyes like, no, of course I wasn’t getting myself off in your bed, Dmitri, you’re one of my closest friends, I would never .

“Leah,” he says, his voice husky. “You awake?”

“Yeah?” Guilty guilty guilty, I sound so freaking guilty.

“Is this blanket and pillow for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Everything okay?”

I wince. “Everything’s great.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

He walks away, and I stare at the ceiling.

Holy shit.

Dmitri

I do believe that little girl was playing with herself in my bed.

I lie awake on the couch for a long fucking time, hoping to hear more. Either she’s in there having stealth orgasms, or she gave up.

I hope it’s the orgasms.

I wish she’d let me watch.