Chapter Ten
Stryder
I saw the look of surprise on her pretty face as the tall, dark-haired guy said hello. Discreetly, I watched them from where I was standing, observing their body language and the expressions on their faces.
Everybody seemed to know the newcomer fairly well. I saw the ladies exchanging meaningful looks, which only meant one thing. This was probably Brad, the famous ex-boyfriend. I couldn’t help scowling as I watched him obviously flirt with Tasha. He was apparently still into her.
The other guys went to talk to him, and I was able to gather from the conversation that this guy had migrated to Canada with his family years ago. They introduced me in passing, so I had no choice but to nod in acknowledgement. I stepped back at once, though, not wanting to shake hands with him. He did not seem to mind because he was too engrossed with Tasha even with the others throwing questions at him.
I couldn’t deny the fact that I was greatly bothered, especially when he led Tasha far away from the group. They stood under a tree, with Tasha leaning her back on the trunk of a tree as he towered above her.
I certainly didn’t like it one bit. I had to do something.
“Looks like somebody’s jealous…” a female voice hissed in my ear, catching my attention. It was Jill, the redhead.
“Oh, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said coolly, focusing on this woman and trying not to pry my eyes away.
“I can tell how much you care about her,” Jill whispered, placing a hand on my arm. “But don’t worry, it’s our secret.”
I scoffed. “There are no secrets, Jill.”
“Okay then,” Jill drawled on, batting her eyelashes at me. She was the classic flirt, obviously. “So how about you and I make our own little secret?” she said suggestively, pulling me gently.
“I’m sorry, Jill,” was all I said in as polite a manner as I could muster. Deep inside, I was even more turned off. She reminded me of most of the cheerleaders I knew and most especially Eve.
It was sort of odd, though, that I wasn’t at all interested. I can still recall those many times when I would have preferred women like this. But I guess I’d just gotten sick and tired of them.
She glared at me and walked away to join the women. I sat down on a log and drank another beer as I glanced at Tasha from time to time. At one point, our eyes met. For a few seconds, we seemed to communicate in silence. I could tell that she wasn’t really that comfortable reuniting with this man. Nevertheless, she was giving him the time of the day (or rather, the night). That in itself was pissing me off.
She looked away and never turned back to me again. In fact, she even stepped closer toward Brad and they eventually began laughing and joking around, moving further away from the group.
For some reason, I felt so infuriated that I wanted to head over there and punch the guy in the nose. Of course, I didn’t do that. Instead, I made up some excuse about a headache brought on by the long drive and lack of sleep.
It caught Tasha’s attention. She went over to me quickly. “Are you okay?” she asked with a look of concern on her face. I was her guest, after all.
“Yeah, I just need to sleep this off,” I answered casually, smiling faintly. “I’ll see you in the morning, Tasha…” Then I forced myself to wave at the others and say, “Have fun, you guys! Nice meeting you all.”
As I trudged toward the house with a heavy feeling, it took all of my self-control not to look back. The noise and their laughter said it all, anyway. Tasha was probably glad to get rid of me so she could flirt and make out freely with her supposedly special ex-boyfriend.
I quietly made my way to the guest room and plopped on the bed with a huge sigh. Damn fuck. What the hell’s wrong with me?!
So many thoughts were running through my head that I couldn’t force myself to go to sleep. At times, the sound of chatter and laughter would get carried by the wind and into the window. It was driving me crazy.
I tossed and turned in bed, sweating some because of my stress. I sat up and took off my shirt, sitting steadily in the darkness, trying to figure out what was happening. This was totally unlike me.
I had lost track of time. All I knew was that it was suddenly very, very quiet. I couldn’t hear Tasha or her friends, anymore.
What I heard next, though, made me look up in utmost astonishment. The creaking of the door, followed by soft footsteps, made my heart race. I knew it was Tasha even before she entered the room barefoot. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol in her system, though I could tell that she wasn’t the least bit drunk or even tipsy. Her hair lay in tousled waves around her face and shoulders.
“I’m sorry, I heard you so I just thought I’d check on you before going to bed,” she said in an uncertain tone, her eyes bright and wide in the darkness of the room. I could make out her silhouette and the beautiful features of her face from the flimsy light streaming into the room from outside.
“Where are your friends?” I said, trying to sound like I didn’t really care.
“Some of them had to go someplace else,” she answered. “The others were just exhausted from a long day. I guess we’re all not as youthful and energetic as we once were.”
I nodded, wondering where Brad had gone and why she hadn’t come with him. I didn’t say anything, though.
She was just standing there in the middle of the room, giving me a curious look. Then suddenly, she said curtly, “Good night, Stryder.”
Without thinking, I stood up in one swift motion and strode to her, taking her in my arms and leaning forward to kiss her. She immediately kissed me back, the sexual tension between us was undeniable. Our lips pressed hard against each other, my tongue pushing through her mouth and eventually joining hers in erotic motion.
She wrapped her arms around my neck, her nails digging through my skin. I could hardly feel them as the sensation of immense desire engulfed my entire being. All I could think about was how much I wanted her and how badly I wanted her to be all mine.
Our kiss deepened, the heat spreading across my limbs and making me grow harder. I slid my hands beneath the skirt of her dress, stroking her wetness teasingly at first and then gliding inside the lacy underwear to finger the damp outer lips of her sensitive skin. I thrusted two fingers inside her while my other hand tugged on the sides. She let out a moan, encouraging me to pleasure her even more.
I reluctantly left her lips as I bent down to take off her underwear completely and pull her legs toward me. I pulled her with me until I was sitting on the edge of the bed with my face in front of her skirt. I lifted the hem to reveal her eager pussy, awaiting my erotic kisses. I made her beg and moan as she clawed at my back with intense pleasure.
She positioned herself closer, climbing on the bed so she was perched on her knees, her legs on either side of my face. I lowered myself to shove my tongue deeper into her, this time accompanying it with my fingers to level up the pleasure.
She almost couldn’t contain herself as she eventually lost it to the intense sensation of her climax, her hands gripping my hair tightly. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, but the way her body trembled revealed the force of satisfaction and passion she was experiencing.
I took off my clothes and entered her swiftly, groaning as I felt the strong indulgence and bliss of penetrating her fully. She was still trembling, but looked like she was climbing back to her climax fast.
I pushed harder and deeper, my eyes rolling up as the extreme sensation burst through my shaft and into her. I felt myself shaking a bit, too, my whole body turning rigid for a few seconds, the sexual fire inside me shooting up in fireworks.
We lay in bed, spent but satisfied. There were no words left to say and yet so many words left unspoken. Nobody made the first move. I couldn’t even remember falling asleep.