Page 23 of Sleeping with the Frenemy
“Replacements.” I lowered my arm. “My father equates emotion with weakness. He said if I wanted to wear a ‘charm bracelet,’ as he called it, I could see myself to the door. When I tried to leave, he…” I cleared my throat. “Things got physical. The bracelet broke.” Even as I said it, I recognized that I was rationalizing the abuse. It had taken my therapist a long time to help me understand the pattern. The bracelet didn’t just break. My father broke it.
“The beads aren’t silver,” I said. “They’re steel, which gets harder when you heat and hammer it.”
Victoria’s lips parted, but she stayed silent.
Which was just as well. After she heard the last of what I had to say, she probably wouldn’t speak to me again.
I dragged in a breath. “There’s something else you should know. The last time my father hit me, I hit back. One minute I was on the ground like usual, the next I was standing over him.”
Her brows pulled together. “Of course you hit back, Chase. Anyone would have.”
“You don’t understand. I liked hitting him. It felt good seeing him hurt. I felt good for having done it. And if I can do it once, what’s to stop me from doing it again? I have his genes.” I took another deep breath, and then said the part destined to slam the door shut on any future I had with her. “Even knowing I’m probably a monster in the making, I couldn’t bring myself to stay away from you. The best thing I could have done is leave you alone, and I couldn’t even do that. I tried. I gave it a go. I told myself I’d come to Virginville, do my job, and go without bothering you. But I failed.”
“I’m glad.” She stepped forward and laid a hand against my cheek, and something fierce flashed in her eyes as she said, “You’ve said your part. Now listen to mine. You are not your father, Chase Valenti. You might share his blood, but you do not share his faults, you hear me?”
“I hear you,” I murmured, my heart racing at her touch and the intensity in her gaze. Heat crept up my nape, and my cock stirred—an interesting reaction, given the weighty topic of our conversation.
Then again, it didn’t take much for my cock to get hard around Victoria. Not when her mahogany hair was streaming over her shoulders and her firm tits pressed against her plain gray T-shirt.
“I hate what happened to you,” she said. “I’m so grateful you got help. It takes a strong person to overcome what you have.” A soft, sad smile touched her mouth, and she whispered, “A man of steel.”
I rubbed a thumb across her bottom lip. “Don’t cry. I can’t bear it.” Her breath fluttered over my fingers, her pink lips impossibly soft. Damn near irresistible. Like other lips of hers I wanted to kiss. I’d gotten a good look at her pussy stretched around my cock earlier, and I hadn’t stopped thinking about running my tongue up and down her plump labia and pouting clit.
As if she read my thoughts, the emotion in her eyes shifted, the blue depths firing with unmistakable desire.
She touched the tip of her tongue to my thumb, making my dick go rock hard. Voice low, she said, “Then do something to make me happy.”
It was all the invitation I needed. I backed her to the bed and took her down, already pulling at her shirt. The last of the evening light poured through the windows, turning the red highlights in her hair to flame. I made short work of her clothes, stopping only to admire her sleek body in nothing but a matching push-up bra and panties.
“Black,” I murmured, hooking a finger under the bit of lace around her hip. “It seems you follow my orders, after all.” I looked up long enough to catch her pursed lips before I nudged the fabric covering her pussy aside and slipped two fingers inside her.
Instantly, she arched her back and moaned, her sex clenching.
“Christ, you’re even wetter than before,” I said, pumping in and out. Savoring the way her pussy sucked at my hand. I pressed my thumb against her clit.
“Chase,” she gasped, throwing her head back and thrusting her tits toward the ceiling. She fisted the blankets at her sides, her body straining. Her breasts trembled above the black cups. Waning sunlight made her pale skin glow like it was lit from within.
Fucking gorgeous.
I pulled her panties off and tossed them aside, then spread her thighs wide.
And, swear to God, I almost lost it right there. She was pink and glistening and perfect, with slick, swollen lips coated in cream. I went straight for her clit, closing my mouth around the hard nub and sucking hard until her moans filled the air and her thighs trembled around my head.
I couldn’t get enough of her taste. Salt and candy. Heaven on my tongue. I hummed low in my throat as I suckled her, vibrating all around the hard point of her desire.
She gave a strangled cry, her thighs convulsing.
I gave her a final suck, then let my lips hover over her bare mound. “What next, Vicky? I’m yours to command.” I blew gently on her clit, and she shuddered, her breaths coming in rapid pants that made my balls ache with need. “Look at me and tell me what you want.”
She lifted her head, her eyes narrowed with unconcealed lust. “M-More. Please.”
I moved up her body and crushed my mouth to hers, sucking at her tongue the way I had her needy little clit. My towel had come loose, and I yanked it off. Still kissing her, I guided her hand to my shaft, letting her feel how hard I was for her.
She curled her fingers around it and squeezed, letting out a sexy squeal that made me even harder.
I moved my mouth to her jaw and whispered, “Do you want my mouth on your pussy again?”
“Yes,” she gasped.
