Текст книги "Stain"

Автор книги: Francette Phal

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

“Maddox…” I barely recognize the utterance of my own voice so thick with want. So desperate with need. The potency of the emotion rippling through me right now is astounding. “Please, I…”

There’s a sudden deafening boom off in the distance that shakes the building and rocks the unsteady foundation beneath us. The scaffold creaks in protest as it wobbles from side to side. We see the fire before we hear the screams. A roar of orange and bluish-white flames shoot up into the ceiling spreading quickly outward. Chaos ensues as the crowd stampedes in the direction of the nearest exit. Every single person is trying to squeeze out of the one entrance, causing a bottleneck effect.

“Come on!” He grabs ahold of my forearm and takes off into a run, pulling me behind him. We’re racing across the scaffold in the opposite direction that everyone else is going.

“Wait!” I dig in my heels, causing him to stop. “My friend, Mallory…she’s in the bathroom.” Looking behind me, my eyes widen in horror as I see the entire dance floor now engulfed in flames. “Oh, God…”

“We have to go!”

“But…”

“Now!” He gives a brutal tug of my arm causing me to stumble but I catch myself before I can fall and widen my strides to keep up with his longer ones.

Huge, black billows of smoke thicken all around us obstructing our path. But he keeps going, one foot in front of the other without missing a step, his grip is unrelentingly strong as he pulls me behind him. The air is stifling, so hot that every intake of breath scorches my nostrils with noxious fumes that bring tears to my eyes. It feels like we’ve been running forever and just when I think I can’t take another step, we come to an abrupt stop. He lets go of my hand as he steps forward to try the knob of the door in front of us. Nothing happens.

“Fuck! It’s jammed!” He swings an arm out. “Stay back,” he warns before he lifts one leg into a powerful front kick. It takes three more kicks with the same momentum before the door finally crashes open.

The instant we step outside, I take in great gulps of air with my open mouth. It feels like delicious agony as it skitters down my parched throat. A fit of coughs has me hunching over with both my hands on my knees so I can properly catch my breath.

“Cops are coming.” I straighten up to look at him through watery eyes and sure enough the wails of sirens can be heard off in the distance. I look in the direction it’s coming from and spy the red, blue, and white lights against the night’s background. I know it seems implausible that he should be here considering we were three towns away, but panic takes hold of me at the thought that Tim might be one of the officers in the squad car. “We need to go.” I can’t agree more. No matter how irrational my thinking, Tim could appear this far away from his jurisdiction, and I’d feel better not staying around to find out.

We make our way to the fire escape that’s located on the side of the building. He goes down first and I follow. It’s a pretty easy climb down until I find myself missing a step. Futilely, I reach for one of the metal rungs to steady my balance but I’m not fast enough. I only have time to hold my breath, squeeze my eyes shut, and tauten my body for the inevitable impact of the fall. Instead of the hard, unforgiving ground I expect, I land awkwardly in Maddox’s arms.

“You hurt?”

I shake my head, “No.” I hate he feels the need to set me down on my feet again. But I guess it’s necessary if we’re going to get out of here without getting caught. He reaches for my hand and interlocks our fingers before he takes off again pulling me behind him. In the dirt parking lot, everyone is getting in their cars and scattering. Just as we make a dash for his truck, I see Mallory. Henri is nowhere to be seen. I can’t immediately decide whether that’s a good thing or not but I know I would prefer seeing him with Mallory than the two guys she is currently sandwiched between.

Like before, I come to a sudden standstill, letting go of Maddox’s hand. He halts about a few feet away, mid-run, and turns to me with a frown.

“What’s up?”

“I see my friend,” I say, and then quickly turn away from him to call out to her. “Mallory!” I shout across the parking lot, cupping my hands around my mouth to amplify my voice. “Mallory!” I take a few running steps toward her and stop again. “Mallory!” She looks around for a bit and waves fanatically when she finally sees me. She’s smiling like an idiot as she races barefoot toward me. She looks terrible. Smeared makeup, mussed hair, and her dress is hiked up so far up her legs I can see the lacy material of her panties beneath.

“Oh my gawd, Aylee!” She crashes into me with a giggle. She smells like smoke, bathroom, and sweat. It’s obvious she’s a little high. Nuzzling my neck, she grabs a tendril of my hair and rubs it between her index finger and thumb. “So soft. You have pretty, pretty hair, Aylee.”

I put my arm around her waist to keep her steady on her feet as she leans into me. “Where are your keys? I’m taking you home.”

She pulls away with a frown. “No…no, I’m not going home. There’s an after-party. I’m going to party with these guys.” She swings halfway around and points a thumb toward the two guys who’ve followed her. They’re older, of course. More late twenties, younger than the geriatric crowd Mallory is so fond of. Both long-haired and grungy-looking, with a myriad of tattoos decorating their skin; they look like the sort of guys you’d find at a dive bar that catered solely to the outlaws of a motorcycle gang. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what they want from her. Or maybe they already took it and were ready for more. Neither one of them look like they’re up to any good. “I know you don’t want to come, so I’ll catch you later, OK?”

I don’t see him approach. But I know instantly he’s close, standing directly behind me in fact.

“Eh, yo, Max, man, what’s up?” The one flanking Mallory right steps forward at the same time Maddox does. They do the customary handshake of open palm to palm and fist bump that every guy seemingly knows how to do. He’s next to me now but the way he’s positioned is more like he’s standing in front of me, outwardly blocking me from the two men.

“Not a damn thing.” He keeps his response short and clipped. It’s something I’ve noticed he does when he’s on edge about something. He doesn’t look away from the other two men but gives only the slightest incline of his head in my direction to indicate he’s talking to me, “We’re out of here.”

“Mallory, let’s go.” I hate coming out of the shadow of Maddox’s protection but I do so anyway to reach for Mallory’s arm.

“No!” she screams, pushing me away and stumbling backward. “I told you, I’m partying with these guys. I don’t need you to babysit me; I’m fine.”

I wish she wouldn’t make this difficult. “You can party with them some other time, right now you need to come home with me and sober up.”

“Damn it, Aylee, you’re totally fucking with my vibe right now. Listen, I know you can be a little slow sometimes so I’m going to say this really slowly. I’m. Fine. Leave. Me. Alone.”

“Mallory.”

“This your bitch, Max?” the other one asks with a lewd smirk. He pins me with his stare as he tosses a careless arm around Mallory’s shoulder. “If you’re so worried about your friend here, you’re more than welcome to come with us. I’m sure Max won’t mind sharing you. He’s done it before. What do ya say, Max? We sharing pussy?”

With complete ease, he slides a hand beneath my hair and grasps my nape, smoothly tucking me against his side. “Not hers.” His voice is quiet. Glacial. Those two little words are saturated with clear possession. “I’ll be seeing you.” Retaining his hold on me as we turn to walk away, he replaces his large hand with his arm.

Looking over my shoulder, I say, “But…Mallory.”

“Your friend’s a whore,” he says, bluntly. “She’s a fucking drive-thru, not much you can do for her, unless you want to join her?” He stops next to his truck and stares pointedly down at me. “You got fast food pussy you want to offer?”

My tongue darts out to nervously lick my bottom lip. “No,” I murmur, ducking my head as heat explodes in my cheeks. “Not to them.”

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!

Please let me have said those words in my head!

God, please!

When he tucks his fingers beneath my chin to slowly raise my head, I’m beyond mortified to see his expression, afraid I’ll find mocking laughter there. But when I look up at his face, there’s an intense, smoldering blaze in his hooded eyes. “If you’re offering up your pussy to me, be damn sure it comes with no emotional baggage.” Still holding onto my jaw, he angles my head slightly before leaning in to place his warm lips at the shell of my ear, “I’ll take your pussy, Aylee, gladly.” An eruption of shivers bursts along every inch of my skin as flames of heat lick between my thighs, liquefying my pulsating flesh. “But I don’t want your heart. You can keep that,” he adds.

I plummet from the height of burning desire and fall into a pit of cool despair. He’s so good at taking me from one spectrum of my emotions to another so quickly that I need to know how he gained this ability. When did I give him the power to hurt me?

“Good.” My attempt at playing cool I’m sure is an epic failure, but I maintain my composure. “It’s not something I’d offer you anyway.”

Curiosity bleeds into his unerring stare before the corner of his mouth lifts into a half smirk. “Let’s keep it that way.”

Chapter 16

Maddox

I read her like a book. She thinks she’s hiding her emotions, but they play across her beautiful face like a silent movie. I have to admire her for trying, though, even if her large, expressive eyes make it impossible for her. But honestly, this is the way it’s going to be. I’m stupid enough to think about going a few rounds in the sheets with her. And I’ll even find someone to complete the trio, but I can’t have this turn into anything that resembles a relationship.

Inside my truck, I can’t keep my eyes off of her. It’s like I’m seeing her for the first time and my brain and dick don’t quite know how to cope. I know she’s pretty, beautiful even, in that helplessly sweet and innocent way that calls to a guy’s protective instinct. It makes you want to wrap her in your arms and fight monsters for her. But right now she’s the furthest thing from vulnerable or sweet and innocent. Right now, she’s sexy as fuck. Aylee in that outfit is appealing to a far more baser, darker part of my instincts that wants her on her knees in front of me, jacking me off until I spray my cum all over her stunningly beautiful face. Mark her, claim her, right down to the most animalistic level.

The skirt, the top, and those goddamn thigh-high socks, they’re all a working visual for my dick. The only thing keeping my hand from slipping beneath her skirt is knowing if I touch her, I know for damn sure I’m not going to be able to stop until she’s bouncing on my dick.

“Watch out!”

“Fuck!” I stomp on the brake, and quick reflexes are the only things keeping us from ramming into the car in front of us. There’s no impact, but our bodies lean forward from the abrupt deceleration of the truck, only to slam us back into our seats when we come to a dead stop.

“You all right?”

She nods, and her eyes are wide with fear when she looks at me and all I want to do is grab her face and kiss the hell out of her plump, dark red lips.

“I’m okay.” Like a shark with the scent of blood, I track the path of that little pink tongue as it darts across her lips and disappears inside her mouth. What I wouldn’t give to taste it. Taste her. “How about you? Are you all right?” she questions.

Far from it. I want to pull you across the armrest of my truck, slide your panties aside, and ease you down on my rock-hard dick. I want inside that tight pussy, right the fuck now.

I clear my throat. “I’m good.” Bullshit. I shift around my seat, and slip a hand around my package to adjust myself. Willpower and stubbornness are the only things keeping my foot on the gas as I continue our drive.

She doesn’t even realize how lucky she is right now. If I wasn’t driving, I’d be on her so fast she wouldn’t even know what hit her until I was deep inside her cunt.

“Those guys with Mallory…are they friends of yours?” I hear her ask and I have to pull my head out of the nice little fantasy I have her starring in just to concentrate on what she’s saying. She’s talking about Tek and Blay. Those two are the furthest thing from friends. Fact is, they aren’t supposed to be in this part of town. Only reason why Dro put up with them in his territory is because he is working on a deal with Deacon, their boss. Dro had asked me to cover this rave tonight, push as much SKY as I could. But then, because he’d also advised me to do nothing except keep an eye on them, I spent the better part of the night pissed as fuck watching these guys sell their second-rate shit in our territory.

And then I saw her. Highly impossible considering the dance floor was teeming with an orgy of overstimulated, oversexed teenagers, but I knew down to an instinctual level that it was her. I know her walk. I’m not sure when I memorized it but somehow I knew the girl walking up the staircase with the short, fluid strides and the subtlest sway to her hips was Aylee. I’d followed to be doubly sure. I’m glad I did. I hadn’t been talking out of my ass about wanting to throw that high-as-fuck asshole who’d thought he could lay his hands on her off the platform’s railing. It would’ve been pretty damn awesome to see his skull crack on the concrete floor. Lucky for him, she was there.

“I don’t have friends.”

“Oh.”

That soft little sound does something to me and the next thing I know I’m explaining why the fuck I don’t have a buddy to shoot the breeze with. “I’m not very good with people. Friendships, dating, that’s all pointless to me. People generally hold my interest only as long as they remain useful to me. Once you’ve served your purpose, you don’t exist to me anymore.”

“That’s sad,” she remarks softly, with only compassion in her voice, but her tender brand of empathy chafes at my chest like sandpaper.

“That’s me.”

Chapter 17

Aylee

“Am I taking you home?” he asks, with visible tension in his clenched jaw. There’s a dark expression on his face that goes beyond simple brooding. Silently, I wonder if I did or said anything wrong.

“No,” the answer comes too quick. I hate how desperate I am right now for even the smallest sliver of his time and attention. “I’m supposed to be sleeping over at Mallory’s tonight.”

Nothing and then, “He let you off your chain?” The question drips with so much disdain, it burns like acid. There’s no reading his expression when he briefly turns to me. He’s completely closed off.

I don’t pretend not to know who he’s talking about. He saw the bruise on my cheek. He may not be the school type, but that certainly doesn’t mean he is stupid. He knows what’s happening. He knows Tim hurt me. Except he has no idea to what extent. And I want to keep it that way.

I hesitate for a small fraction of a second before throwing caution to the wind and setting my hand on his thigh. He visibly jerks, his thigh muscle tensing beneath my hand like my touch hurt him. When I make to pull back, his hand falls on mine like an anvil. His grip is so tight I’m afraid he might break my fingers.

“Maddox.” The whimper of his name instantly loosens his grip.

Taking his eyes momentarily off the road, he looks at me with sincerity. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs. He keeps my hand buried beneath the warm weight of his own.

We drive in silence going to a destination only he knows. It doesn’t matter where he’s taking me or where we end up. As long as I’m not going home. I’m content being in his truck. I’m content having my hand sandwiched between his palm and thigh. I’m content simply orbiting around him, basking in the lure of his presence. Bliss I’ve seldom known is in this moment.

Roughly forty-five minutes later, we pull up to an old, misshapen wire fence. Just beyond the fence are rows upon rows of massive steel, rectangular containers that stand maybe about forty to fifty feet high. It’s the sort of cargo containers you’d find attached to the back of semitrucks on the interstate.

Looking away from the lot, I ask, “What are we doing here?” He cuts the engine and pulls the key out of the ignition.

Wordlessly, he opens the driver’s side door and hops out. “Getting you a good grade.”

Ignoring that little voice in my head telling me this probably isn’t a good idea, I jump out of the truck, close the door behind me, and run to join him a few feet away from the eight-foot high fence. “You’re not actually thinking of going over that…right?”

He’s running before I even get the last word out. Jumping onto the fence, it squeaks and trembles when he lands on it. He straddles it at the top for a second before swinging both legs on one side and leaping off without the slightest hesitation. He lands on the other side effortlessly.

“It’s your turn,” he casually says, like jumping a fence is a common, leisure activity.

Trepidation twists my insides as I shake my head. “There’s no way I’m jumping this fence.”

“You’re going to have to if you’re going to see what I want to show you.”

Curiosity mixed with a good dose of skepticism prompts me to ask, “What is it?”

He laughs. “Get your ass over here and you’ll see it.”

I bite on my lower lip, completely uneasy now. “I don’t think…”

“Stop thinking,” he snaps, but then a little gentler he says, “I won’t let you fall.” I catch his eyes peering at me through the holes of the fence. It’s that pointed, magnifying stare that seems able to observe me down to the molecular level. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you,” he utters with such unshakable certainty I’d be stupid not to believe him.

Even with all the trust I choose to put in him, the panicked, adventure-less part of me is still screaming, “What the hell are you doing?” as I begin to scale the fence. I ignore it as best as I can, focusing solely on Maddox waiting for me on the other side. It’s no easy task making it to the top especially with the skirt and the partially-heeled bootees I’m wearing.

At the top, I look down at him. “Ready?”

He nods, planting his feet firmly. “Jump.”

Eyes clenched shut, and with a small choked scream on my lips, I jump. He catches me in a princess-carry hold as I land in his arms with an ‘oomph’ sound. My skirt folds upward revealing far too much of my thighs and my hair is in disarray around my face. I’m sure I look terrible as I quickly reach out a hand to smooth down my skirt.

“Wasn’t so hard, was it?” he asks with that patented half smirk that weakens my knees and sends the butterflies in my stomach fluttering.

“It was, actually,” I begin, wanting to protest and wrap my arms around his neck when he sets me down on my feet. “But you made it easy.”

He only takes my hand in response and pulls me after him as he trudges across the dimly lit lot. When we stop in the towering shadow of one of the steel containers, he lets my hand go and reaches for the chipped, yellow rung of the container’s ladder.

With a groan, I ask, “More climbing?”

He chuckles. “It’s the last of it.”

He goes up first and I follow behind. When he reaches the top, he holds a hand down to help me up the rest of the way. On the roof of the container, our footsteps echo against the steel as he leads and I trail after him. It’s cooler up here as the night air whistles past our ears; it skims along my bare skin and leaves behind goose bumps. When he comes to a stop at the center edge of the container, I stand next to him with my arms tightly folded across my chest.

Turning my head at his sudden movement, I see him pull his sweater over his head. The white shirt he has on beneath rolls up a bit revealing an enticing glimpse of his tattoo-covered washboard abs and the top of his jeans riding low on his hips. Warmth floods my cheeks when I look up to find his left eyebrow cocked up and a smug grin on his face. “Still not looking, huh? Come here.” We each take a step forward at the same time. I duck my head as he smoothly sweeps the sweater on me.

Scrunching my nose at the laughter in his voice, I slip one arm and then the other inside the sleeves as he holds out each for me. “It’s not nice to tease,” I say, quietly drowning in his sweater. Still hot from his body, it’s like having his arms around me, and the scent of his cologne becomes the only fragrance in the world I want to smell. All the time.

Sweeping a tendril of hair near my mouth behind my ear, he reaches for the front of his sweater to tug me forward. He lowers his head down slightly and whispers, “But I’m so good at it.”

Licking my lips and blinking up at him, I add, “I don’t know what to do when you say things like that to me.” It’s terrible how I can’t seem to stop blurting out stupid and embarrassing things like this when he’s so close to me. His nearness is my kryptonite.

“Lick your lips for me.” It’s an unexpected request that my body instantly follows. My tongue flicks across my lips, subconsciously biting at the inside flesh when his eyes fixate on my mouth.

He takes my face in his hands and tilts my head up. “Do it again. Slower.”

“Maddox…”

“Shhh,” he soothes, before he commands, “do it.”

I feel so silly tracing my tongue slowly across my top and bottom lip. But I do as he says. “Happy?”

His eyes are darker now, his breaths a little sharper, labored, and I blink fast and silently gasp at the straining bulge pressing into me. The thought of being disgusted or afraid doesn’t even cross my mind once. In fact, it’s all I can do to keep myself from leaning a little closer, desperate to feel just a little more of that impressive length. Heat boils my blood and warms my entire body, the evidence of my own desire blooming in my cheeks and panting breath.

“Not nearly,” he answers. With a sharp exhale that fans against my face, he abruptly releases me like I’ve repulsed him.

He swaggers to the edge of the container and drops down to his haunches before taking a seat, his long legs dangling over the edge.

With cooling passion, I stand there for a long while after going back and forth on whether I should follow him. But with everything in my body pulling me to him like a magnet, there’s really no other choice for me.

With as much ladylike grace as I can muster, I come to knees-first beside him, then settle down to a sitting position making sure to tuck my skirt around my thighs before following his lead in letting my legs dangle over the edge. “Why are you so angry? Did I make you angry?”

He shrugs. “I’m always angry. Can’t remember a day I haven’t felt like destroying something. Or someone. It’s always there, just beneath the surface. Sometimes I can control it. Other times…I don’t want to.” I take in his softly-worded confession and let it permeate my bones. Silently, I listen to him, both enjoying the gruffness of his voice and the idea of being someone he trusts enough to talk to. I feel so incredibly touched right now. More than words can even say.

We fall quiet for a beat before he looks over at me and continues. “Me and you? We’re not that different.” He sighs. “And it freaks me the fuck out. I feel like I have to protect you. There’s something about you being fucked with that pisses me off. Just like it does with my brother. He used to get picked on a lot. Especially by this one kid. As you’ve probably been able to tell, Noah isn’t very confrontational so he really wouldn’t do much about it. His approach is to ignore it and pray like hell it’ll go away eventually.” The hint of disdain in his voice is offset by his clear exasperation of his brother.

“So what happened with the kid? Did he end up leaving Noah alone?”

He lets out a dry, humorless chuckle. “I cornered the guy in the bathroom, smashed his face in a few times against the sinks, and because he liked to call Noah a ‘fudge packer,’ I thought it’d be nice if he knew what that actually felt like. So I rammed a plunger handle up his ass.” When he turns to look at me, it’s with a dark, menacing look that instantly chills my blood. “Do you want to know how I felt after I did that?”

“Tell me,” I answer quietly.

“Incredibly satisfied.” I don’t find any hint of regret on his face, and I don’t know why I’m not more unnerved by that. The unexpected caress of his hand curving around to the inside of my upper right thigh squeezes my fluttering heart to my throat. As I stare unblinkingly down at that all-too-masculine, tattooed hand gliding ever so gently over the beginning of my reddish pink scar tissue, my first instinct is to flinch and pull away. “Sort of like how I imagine you feel when you do this?” Everything in me is fighting to stand up and run. Run and hide. Run and cry. Run and cut.

“Aylee.” His voice grounds me. Snatches me from the atmosphere of my floating mind and tethers me to his unmovable force. “You’re shaking.”

I am. The furious tremble in my legs is embarrassing. “I’m sorry.”

“Look at me.” And my eyes drift up to his face. “You need to stop apologizing for shit that’s not your fault.”

Nodding, my eyes drift away. If I open my mouth now, I’m sure I’ll do one of two things: cry uncontrollably or spill my secrets. Neither scenario is allowed. I’m not nearly ready to push him away with all my baggage. The silence that falls between us vibrates with words I cannot say. And we stay like that for a few minutes.

“Look up.”

My body was created to follow his directives. I can’t help it. Looking up, I find a midnight sky speckled with glittering stars. There’s so many of them my eyes bounce around to take them all in. Without the interference of light pollution, they sparkle so brilliantly, stretching as far and wide as the eye could see. “It’s breathtaking.” I look at him. “How did you find this place?”

“Got my ways.” At his flippant reply, my eyes travel back to the sky. From my peripheral I see him recline backward as he raises his arms to pillow his head.

I sigh. “I wish I had our project package and a camera. This would’ve been a great image to capture.”

“It’s not like we can’t come back.”

“We?” I can’t help the dose of happiness. “So, you’re doing the project with me? I thought you said it’s a waste of time?”

He has his phone in front of him so he doesn’t immediately answer as he furiously types away. It’s illogical that I should become jealous of a phone and even more absurd for me to be jealous of whoever it is that has stolen his attention. Looking back up at the stars, it’s difficult finding any sort of beauty there when my thoughts are so preoccupied with such ugly feelings. Silently, I work myself into an unnecessary mess and only notice he’s come to his feet when I feel the weight of his hand on my shoulder. He removes that hand and holds it out for me to take. In one swift move, he pulls me to my feet.

“You haven’t bored me so far.” He reaches out for a tendril of my hair and mindlessly toys with it between his fingers. “So I’m guessing for now you’re worth my time.”

He’s hot and cold. And I shouldn’t find his arrogance so sexy. I shouldn’t find myself doting on his every word. I shouldn’t be so eager to pant at his feet for a morsel of his affection. I shouldn’t want anything to do with him. And yet, here I am reveling in his attention, while silently, fiendishly waiting, wanting for an opportunity to experience a little bit of his sin.

“You should wear your hair down more often. I like it.”

Swallowing hard, I say, “I will, but only if you pose for me.”

His mouth twitches. “I’m a bad influence on you. But all right, I’ll pose for you.”

I can’t help it. I beam at him. “Really? You’ll do it?”

He lances me with silver eyes as a roguish grin draws both corners of his sensual mouth upward. “Yeah, I’ll do it.”