29. Wildflower

29

Wildflower

Are You My Good Boy?

"I saw his entire ass, Everett."

Laughter roars from the other side of my phone. "Wait–" he breathes through a fit of chuckles. "Can you explain the logistics to me again? I'm having a hard time picturing it."

"Why do you want to be picturing it?"

He only laughs harder. "Dammit, Dal. Just explain to me what happened again."

I sigh. "I walked inside the house after dropping Lou off at her friend's and…" I wince at the memory. "I turned the corner into the dining room to find… Well, I'd rather not repeat it. The point is, I saw Leo's bare ass and heard sounds coming from my sister's mouth that I never want to think about again."

"No, but—" Everett wheezes. "What was the position?"

"Why are you asking this?" I damn near shout, tears beginning to sting my eyes as I fight to hold back my own laughter. "I am traumatized, and you're supposed to be comforting me!"

"You said they were in the dining room." Everett's choking on the other end of the line. "Why would they be fucking in the dining room? Like…were they on the floor? The table? A chair? I need to know the logistics of this, Dahlia. It helps me understand the level of severity."

I'm laughing in earnest now. "My sister was laying on the table and Leo was standing and…" I shake my head. "Please don't make me explain anything else. It was horrifying." I'll never get the images out of my head.

"And now you're sitting outside on the front porch?"

"I didn't know what to do!" I exclaim. "I had to get the fuck out of there."

"You could've gone upstairs." He's laughing at me again.

"I panicked. I don't even have my car keys. I think I threw them."

I stretch my legs out on the front steps of the house, leaning back on one arm as the other holds my phone against my ear. My first thought when I ran out of the house was to get in my car and go find Everett. I was hoping to see him tonight anyway, but once I was outside, I realized my keys were no longer in my hand. So, I sat down on the porch and called him instead.

There is no reason I should have to suffer through this alone.

Once Everett finally catches his breath, he asks, "Where did you throw your keys?"

"At Leo, I think."

He begins laughing again.

"I'm hanging up."

"No, no! Don't hang up, baby. I'm sorry."

I snort at him just as my phone dings. I see I have a text message from my sister letting me know I'm clear to come back inside the house. "Darby told me to come inside, but I'm scared."

He chuckles. "You'll be fine. At the very least, you've got to go get your keys so you can pick up Lou later."

"I don't, actually. She's staying over at her friend's house all night." A girl from school named Sofi. I've never been a huge fan of sleepovers, but the kids have been begging me for months. Sofi's parents are kinder to me than most others at Lou's school, and after letting her spend a handful of afternoons over at their house, I finally gave in.

"All night?" Everett asks.

"Yep," I hum, gathering up the courage to say what comes next—the whole reason I wanted to call him in the first place, really. "So, I was thinking—"

"Hey, Wildflower, I actually just pulled up to the bar. I'm meeting up with Ryan and Emilio to get a drink tonight. Can I call you later?"

Disappointment slams into my gut. My heart falls, and my stomach plummets to my feet. I swallow, attempting to sound unaffected. "Oh. Yeah. Sure. Have fun."

"I'll call you in a bit," he says again.

"Cool." I hang up.

Sea breeze, normally comforting and warm, blows across my arms, feeling prickly and cold. A sick feeling settles inside my stomach as I stand and head back inside. I softly open the front door, hoping my sister and Leo have retreated back to their bedroom and I can quietly sneak up to mine. Instead, I find them both standing in front of the staircase giving me awkward smiles.

Leo extends his hand toward me, my keychain hanging from his finger. "I believe these are yours. You hit me in the back of the head with them."

"Sorry," I murmur. "When you see a grown-ass man on top of your baby sister, the protective instincts kind of kick in."

The corner of his mouth tilts up. "The choking was consensual, Dahlia."

"I didn't see that." I shudder at the image it provides. "But thanks for letting me know."

My sister snickers, though her cheeks are bright with a blush. "I'm sorry. We assumed you'd be going to meet up with Everett after you dropped Lou off, and I guess we thought we'd have the house to ourselves for longer."

"Well," I step around them, maintaining a wide berth, "I'm not meeting up with Everett. Sorry about ruining whatever else you two had planned." I really need to get back to apartment hunting . "I'm going to bed."

I don't miss the frown they both give me, but I don't give them the chance to push as I begin bounding up the stairs. Once I'm inside my room with the door shut behind me, I sigh against it. I hadn't told Everett about Lou's sleepover plans earlier because I wasn't sure I was going to follow through with allowing her to do it, and I didn't want to disappoint him.

I suppose I don't have any real reason to be upset with him; he had no idea I'd end up child-free for the evening. But it has been three weeks now since we've had any sort of hook-up, over six months since either of us have had sex—not since the night we met in that bar. I guess I expected him to drop everything for me, and there is no reason for me to hold him to that expectation. It just stings when I know I would've done it for him.

Not just because of the sex, but because I've been dreaming about what it'd feel like to fall asleep in his arms since the day I met him, especially since we began our nightly video calls back in November. I fall asleep to his face nearly every night, and I've wanted nothing more than to know what it'd feel like to drift off on his chest, heartbeat steady against my ear.

Disappointment and rejection coat my throat, and when I swallow, it feels as if all that emotion is stuck inside. I push past the choking sensation, breathing away the thickness and the heavy sting of tears behind my eyes. I refuse to cry over something like this.

Inhaling deeply, I step off the door and set my phone down on my nightstand before entering the bathroom. I decide I'm going to do a face mask, order chinese food, and binge watch some awful horror movies or something. Yep. That's what I'm going to do.

I'm halfway through washing my face when I hear an incessant pounding that sounds like it's coming from downstairs. I turn off the faucet and dry my cheeks with a towel before tip-toeing back into my bedroom and quietly open my door, just enough to hear the commotion.

Irrationally, when I hear any kind of pounding on my door, I assume it's my father. I know that can't be true. I know it doesn't make sense, but the cowardice in me doesn't want to risk it. So I wait, hoping Leo will answer instead. I can't see downstairs, but a moment later, I hear the front door creak, and two male voices begin speaking in hushed tones.

The door shuts, and the lock clicks. Two sets of laughter ring throughout the house before I hear Leo shout, "C'mon, Honeysuckle! Let's go take a walk down to the pier. I have a feeling this house is about to get real loud tonight."

Now, it's the stomping of footsteps up the staircase that has me backing away from my door. It flies open just as the back of my knees hit my bed, and suddenly, he's standing in front of me. He leans against the frame casually, his broad chest and thick arms taking up the entirety of the space around him. Muscles flex beneath his shirt, threatening to rip it to shreds. My eyes rake up his chest, snagging on his neck, watching his throat bob as he swallows. The tattoos on his skin seem to dance with the movement. As I find his eyes, I realize he's doing the same thing to me.

My skin pricks beneath his gaze, now aware that all I have on is a t-shirt. His fingers flex, fist clenching at his side, like he's fighting to stay still.

Like he wants to grab me.

"I thought you were meeting your friends," I say.

Everett cocks his head. "You honestly think I'm going to find out that I can get you all alone tonight and choose to spend my evening drinking shitty beer with a bunch of assholes in a dive bar instead?"

I pick at my nails, pretending to be unbothered. "I mean… That's what you said you were doing."

"I was fucking with you, Dahlia." He crosses his arms. "I had already been sitting in the bar parking lot when you called. I pushed you off the phone because I didn't want to talk and drive, and it had become imperative that I get my ass over here as quickly as possible."

I roll my eyes, glancing up to find a playful look in his. My instinct is to block out my feelings and pretend I don't care, pretend it doesn't matter to me if he's here or not. But I'm so goddamn sick of pretending. I spend my whole life pretending. Pretending I don't fear I'm a bad mother. Pretending I don't feel lonely. Pretending I'm not head over heels for the man standing in front of me.

Pretending I'm not afraid he's going to grow tired of me and walk away too.

I don't have the strength to pretend anymore, so I let him see all the vulnerability I'm used to hiding. I wear it plain as day on my face. "It made me feel like you didn't want me."

Everett's shoulders drop, jaw going slack, brows knitting at the center of his forehead. Deep brown eyes fill with worry and regret. "Dahlia." He takes half a step into my room before stopping himself, and I realize it's because I haven't invited him in yet. "I'm desperate for you. I don't just want you. I fucking crave you." He shakes his head. "I'm so sorry. I was just… I thought…"

He was just playing around. He thought I'd find it funny.

I think if I wasn't so damaged, I probably would have. Everett makes me want to be playful and confident. He makes me want to be wild and have fun. I let my insecurities get in the way of that, because in the six months I've known this man, he's never done anything but show up for me time and time again. Remind me how badly he wants me. Look at me the way he is right now, everything he feels written across those brown eyes.

He makes me wild and playful. He makes me want to believe that I'm all the things he thinks I am, that I'm confident, desirable, and worthy, and I hate that I doubted him—doubted myself.

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, I guess you're just going to have to prove to me how desperate you are, then," I say, sitting back on the foot of my bed and crossing my arms. "What would you do for a whole night alone with me?"

"I'd do anything." He hesitantly steps into my room, pulling my door shut behind him, but he keeps himself pressed against it. "Anything you want, Wildflower."

I lean back on my forearms, and my shirt hikes up high enough to reveal the orange panties I'm wearing. I rub my legs together, drawing his attention there. "Would you beg?"

"Beg?" He huffs a laugh. "I'd fucking crawl."

I smirk.

Everett's jaw drops, snapping shut as he slowly lifts a brow. "That's what you want, Wildflower? Do you want me on my knees, pleading for another taste of that pussy?"

My breath hitches as I watch him slowly—so fucking slowly—slide down the length of my bedroom door until he hits his knees. "I'm entranced by you, Dahlia." He falls forward, bracing his weight on his arms. "Allured." He begins crawling at a glacial pace across the floor. "Obsessed."

Desperation and pride and subservience reflect on his face as he moves toward me. This man—masculine and strong—is crawling for me, at my mercy. It awakes something inside me, something I think may have been dormant my entire life. I never knew someone could crave another the way Everett appears to crave me, the way I know I crave him. I've never known a desire like this. I've never been desired like this.

My heart pounds erratically against my chest. Electric heat sparks in my blood and flows through my body, settling in my core. Part of me wants to meet him on the floor and show him how much I need him too, but something else—something I've never felt before—likes the control I have over him, the power he lends to me.

Just as Everett reaches my feet, I pull them up onto my bed and sit up. "You know, because you convinced me you weren't coming over tonight…." I smile to myself as I decide what I want to do next. "I decided to play with my toys instead."

I keep my eyes on Everett, watching as his darken. He stays at the foot of my bed, studying me intently as I lean back and reach into the drawer of my nightstand, pulling out my vibrator. It's thick, long, and bright pink. "But maybe if you're lucky, I'll let you watch."

I crawl across my mattress, matching his earlier stride. His tongue snakes out to trace his bottom lip, breathing growing heavier as he takes me in. When I reach the end of my bed, I come to my knees again. Setting my toy down beside me, I slowly lift my t-shirt over my head and let it fall to the floor in front of him.

Where I used to fear this level of exposure, I now revel in it. All because of him.

Towering over him in nothing but my panties, his gaze lingers on my body, eyes glued to my bare skin. I can see the outline of his cock through his joggers, massive and hard. The heaving of his chest and the quick, desperate breaths filtering through his parted lips make me feel powerful, playful and wild.

"Everett," I draw, pulling his attention back to my face while I pick up my toy. "I think I need to get this nice and wet. It'll slide into my tight, hot little pussy so much easier that way." I smile as I watch his eyes flutter at my words, eyes near-black with lust.

He's so lost in me right now, so pliant and willing to give me whatever I want. The way he looks at me makes me feel…beautiful, like I can take pleasure without shame, like I can bloom without wilting.

I run the bright pink toy through my palm, inching closer to the edge of the bed. With my free hand, I reach down and grasp his chin. I try to express my intention with my eyes, but the look in his tells me I can do anything I want.

"Open up for me, baby."

" Fuck ." His jaw drops immediately.

"Are you my good boy?"

He frantically nods, sticking out his tongue as I slide the toy between his lips. I come alive beneath his gaze, sensation flooding through my core as I move my vibrator in and out of his mouth. He suctions his lips around it, bobbing his head in rhythm with my thrusts. The heat in his eyes radiates all across my flesh.

"You're good at that, aren't you?" I ask.

He hums around the cock in his mouth.

I allow him to continue sucking on it for a few more moments before I pull it away. I fall back on my bed, and he immediately moves to follow, but I stop him with a foot on his chest. "No, no." I click my tongue. "You're still in trouble." I settle back against my pillows, lifting my legs as I pull my underwear off and kick them in Everett's direction. "So, I'm going to make myself come, and while I do, you can beg me to let you make me come again when I'm finished."

"Fucking hell." Everett watches me intensely, chest heaving and jaw dropped as I slowly spread my legs and run my vibrator through my soaked center.

"Take your shirt off," I demand as I flick the switch on the toy. I start with a low vibration, circling my clit slowly, though the vibrator is doing much less for me right now than Everett is. Crossing his arms, he grabs the hem of his tee and pulls it off his head. Suddenly, I'm greeted with cut muscle, tanned skin, and all those fucking tattoos. "You're being so good for me."

He bites his lip, nodding rapidly while he watches me play with myself from the foot of my bed, still on his knees. I press the button twice, upping the level of intensity as I slowly slip the toy inside me. It fills me, pressure building in my stomach. The vibrating sends flutters to my clit, but it's Everett's hungry gaze that radiates sensation all throughout my body, lighting me on fire.

"Fuck," he groans, head falling back and eyes falling shut. "I swear to God, I'm going to punish you for this torment later."

I laugh breathlessly. I don't doubt he will. I know the man prefers to be the one in control, and he's relenting that power to me for my own satisfaction, which only makes me want him more. My toes curl as I start to pump inside myself faster. "Eyes on me," I command.

"Fuck me," he growls, head snapping down to meet my gaze again. "Dammit, Dahlia. Please. Let me touch you." He sits up, stretching over my bed to get a closer look, though his knees remain on the floor. "I'm being such a good boy for you, baby. I deserve my reward."

Those words send heat shooting through my spine. Pleasure coils in my core, drawing tight. I feel myself rapidly climbing toward that peak. "Keep telling me what you deserve."

He nods, licking his lips. "I'll make you feel so good if you let me, Wildflower. I'll worship that perfect body." He's panting as I move faster, pleasure sparking through my veins. My eyes are fighting to remain open and fixed on him. I'm so fucking close. "I'll make you see stars. Send you straight to heaven." He swallows thickly, moving closer. Mouth hovering over my ankle, he presses a soft kiss there. "I'll claim that pussy like it's mine, because we both know you belong to me."

With those words, my orgasm slams into me unexpectedly. Everything goes taut, and suddenly, I'm exploding, crying out for him as I'm swept up in the wave of my release. My back bows off the bed, and I ride it out before pulling my vibrator from between my legs and tossing it aside. Just as I open my eyes, before I've even had the chance to catch my breath, Everett's shooting across the bed and coming over top of me, like his own band just snapped.

He falls between my legs, and I know he can feel my wetness through his sweatpants, the way I can feel his hardness pressing against my stomach. His weight settles over me like a blanket, and I look up to find those amber eyes staring blazing through me. "You gonna let me make you feel good, Wildflower?"

I don't even answer. I simply grab the nape of his neck, fingers twisting in his hair, and haul his mouth to mine. He moans. I swallow it. His tongue slides against me, teasing and coaxing twin noises from my lips. I run my hands along his bare chest, feeling the muscles in his back move as he reaches up to grab my headboard. I savor the warmth of his skin, how smooth it is against the tips of my fingers, the way it elicits flames on mine wherever we touch.

He moves along my jaw and down my neck, lips dragging against my flesh and leaving fire in their wake. "Have I proven what a good boy I am, baby?" He bites into my collarbone, and I inhale sharply at the sting. "Are you going to let me fuck you now?"

He presses his hips into mine, hard length flush against my center. "Please," I whimper.

My hands continue their descent down his back, dipping into the waistband of his sweats and pulling hard. He laughs against my neck, pulling away and standing from the bed. His eyes don't leave mine as he slips them off, along with his underwear. Suddenly, Everett Ramos is standing in front of me completely naked, all broad muscle, smooth, tattooed skin, and the proud length of his hard cock. I feel my cheeks heating as I take him in, but I can't look away.

"You're beautiful," I whisper.

"Fuck," he groans. "Let me take control now, Wildflower. Can I do that?"

I nod, and it's all he needs before pouncing back on me.

All of his skin aligns with mine, absolutely nothing between us now. It has never been like this before, and my mind catalogs every place we touch. His hand comes behind my head, lifting it so he can press his mouth to mine. Our noses graze and our lips clash, my hands holding his arms as his chest presses against my breasts, his cock against my low belly. Our thighs and legs and toes align. My entire body is on fire. Nothing has ever felt this way before.

"I need you," I whimper.

He nods against me. "I know, baby. I know. I need you so bad." He pulls back, looking down at me with those soft, brown eyes. An infinity of intimacy sparkles in his gaze. He brushes his thumb along my skin and smiles. "I've got condoms in my wallet."

He moves to get off me, but I squeeze his forearm, holding him steady. "I have an IUD," I say quietly. My mind is screaming at me. I've never done something like this before, but some baser instinct knows I won't be satisfied unless there is nothing in between us at all. "And I'm in the clear."

His eyes go wide, and he swallows thickly. "I'm clear too."

"You have to pull out, though," I add, hoping he doesn't press.

"I won't do anything you don't want me to do, Dahlia," he rasps. "Do you understand?"

I nod.

He shakes his head. "Tell me you understand. I need to hear you say it. Do you want me to grab a condom?"

"I understand. If you do something I don't like, I'll say so." I squeeze his arm again. "I don't want to use a condom, but I understand if you do. If you don't, then I want you to come anywhere you'd like…except inside me."

He flicks a brow. "That gives me a lot of options, Dahlia."

"Maybe you can try all of them and decide which you like best."

"God-fucking-dammit." His head falls against my chest. "You're perfect. I swear, you're perfect for me." He pulls back, sitting on his knees and fisting his length in one hand. "I've never fucked without a condom before. Never really wanted to."

I open my mouth to backtrack everything I said before, thinking I've gone too far, but he continues before I have the chance, "Until I met you. Since that first night, Dahlia, I've dreamed about it. What it'd be like to fuck you raw, to feel you come all over my cock."

My jaw snaps shut, a sound of need erupting from my throat. That seems to be all he needs as he swipes his length through my center. His head flicks against my clit, and a moan falls from my mouth.

Leaning forward, he grabs the back of my neck and pulls me up. "I want you to watch me enter you for the first time bare, Wildflower. I want you to see what we look like joined together." Keeping one arm braced on the mattress beside me, he knots his fingers in my hair, pressing our foreheads together. My nails dig into his arms and we both look down to where his cock notches at my entrance.

He slowly slides inside me, and I watch his length disappear between my legs little by little, stretching me open and filling me up until I'm deliciously aching with him inside. Once he's fully seated and I feel him hit my most inner walls, a rough moan flies from my mouth, and he catches it with his own, tongue slipping between my lips as he leans forward, both of us falling onto the mattress. His hand stays behind my head, softening my landing. His other arm stays braced on the headboard, keeping his weight off me.

Everett begins moving in and out of me in perfect rhythm. I hook my legs around his back and lift my hips to meet his thrusts. " Estas tan mojada. Tan estrecha. Eres perfecta, cari?o, " he rasps against my lips. " Todo lo que siempre he querido. Te necesito para siempre. Dime que eres mía. Por favor. Mía, cari?o. Sé mía. "

His words send sparks across my skin. Fireworks explode behind my closed eyes, a flood of heat spreading to my core. I feel myself tightening around him as he continues pumping deep inside me, that pressure building at my center. " Mierda. Me estás matando. "

"What are you saying?" I moan, desperate to understand him.

He shakes his head against my mouth. "I don't know. I can't…" I lift my hips, meeting his thrust again. "Fuck. I can't think straight. It's too good, Dal. It's too." Thrust. "Fucking." Thrust. "Good."

My nails dig into his back as my body tenses and trembles, rapidly climbing toward that peak. Everett sits up, towering above me, though he doesn't stop moving. Gripping my hips hard enough to bruise, he slams into me again. My moans grow louder, more urgent, as his soft palms run down my thighs, hooking beneath my knees and pushing my legs forward, forcing his cock even deeper.

"Everett," I cry. He's so deep, I can hardly breathe, as if his being is buried inside my soul. I don't think I'll ever get him out. I know this is something I'll never feel with someone else. I could die from this, from his movement and his breath and his cock hitting all the places that make me lose my mind.

I feel myself nearing that edge, and when he places my legs on his shoulders, folding me in half, I begin free-falling into bliss. I throw my head back on my pillows, eyes screwed shut, stars dancing behind my lids. Suddenly, it's the pad of his thumb I feel on my clit, rubbing tight circles. That's all it takes to send me spiraling, body tightening, that pressure in my core ready to burst.

"Fuck, Dal," he groans. "Fuck. Fuck. I can feel you, baby. I can feel it."

I can't form coherent words; all I can do is scream. I think something like Everett and coming and Jesus-fucking-Christ is flying from my mouth, but I'm not sure. An orgasm rushes through me, and I get the faint sense of emptiness, but I'm too far gone to tell, my climax already flooding my senses. Suddenly, I feel something wet and soft at my entrance, and I cry out as my body bows off the bed. Heat licks up my spine, and I'm shattering beneath him, all over him.

I open my eyes to find Everett's face between my legs, tongue inside me, lapping up my release, causing another orgasm to crash over me, filling his mouth and soaking my sheets.

"Everett. Fuck. Everett." My hands tangle in his hair, and I'm too far gone to stop myself from grinding on his tongue as I ride out the remnants of my climax.

Once I'm entirely spent and too sensitive to handle the sensation of his mouth on me, I push his head away with my hand, and he sits up on his knees. He swipes a thumb across his lips, revealing a wicked grin where my release still drips off his chin. "If I stayed inside you while you were coming like that, I was going to come too." He gives me a playful shrug. "Plus, I couldn't resist getting another taste."

My eyes roll back, and that fluttering sensation spreads throughout my core again. "Why didn't you want to come?" I find myself asking.

That wicked grin turns devilish. "Because I haven't punished you yet." Before I can even comprehend his words, he's gripping my hips and flipping me over so I'm on my stomach. "Lift that ass in the air, baby." I comply immediately, and one broad hand lands between my shoulder blades, pressing my face into my pillows.

He grabs both of my arms, pinning my wrists behind my back. Placing my hands palm down on each side of my ass, Everett roughly demands, "Spread it for me, Dahlia."