“That’s it, I’m cancelling cable.” Ariana spoke out loud to herself in the empty living room, where she’d been gorging on salty junk food and flipping channels for at least an hour. “Three hundred plus channels, and not a damn thing on. What a waste of two hundred dollars a month.”
She hadn’t been able to sleep, plagued by thoughts of her father dying and Vince crashing out on some remote road where no one would find him and call for help this time. It didn’t help that she had downed a good two or three sodas and half a pot of coffee. Her body hummed with energy for which she had no outlet.
She heaved herself off the couch in a burst of responsibility and started throwing away empty bags of food, putting away half-empty ones, and tossing cans in the trash. She put her coffee cup in the sink and then thought better of it, grabbing her sponge and cleaner to wash it and the rest of the dishes that had built up in the sink over the last couple of days.
Earlier, Ariana had cracked. Her emotions finally got the best of her, and she’d shattered, just like the phone against the wall. But she’d recognized the signs and metaphorically picked herself up and dusted off. She’d tossed her phone, saving the SIM card, and headed to the store to get another one. It had cost a pretty penny, and she really couldn’t afford it, but she needed a phone in case her mother called, or the hospital.
Admit it, you just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss Vince’s call. She tossed the sponge back in the sink and dried her hands. She almost missed the call, not used to the new ringer. And with the television blasting in the background, she had to lunge to grab it by the time she realized someone was calling.
“Hello?” she answered, not even looking at the caller ID.
“Want some company?” Vince’s voice was gruff in her ear.
She blinked in surprise. She’d thought he would be gone for days, the way he’d talked. “Do I even get a ‘hi’ or anything?” she teased.
He laughed. “Hi. Want some company?”
Ariana laughed, too. “I don’t think ‘want’ is the right word. Considering I’ve been talking to myself, I think I might need someone else around for a couple of hours or so.”
“I’m on my way.” The line went dead, and Ariana jumped up, feeling the need to pick up her room once again. But she stopped as she heard a knock on the door, and she rushed over to throw it open.
She stared at Vince, stunned, and mirrored his smile. “That didn’t take long.”
He shrugged. “I had a gut feeling you’d say yes.” Before she could move or say anything, he took one big step toward her, and his mouth came down to devour her as he rotated so she hit the wall.
The caffeine buzz coupling with instant arousal, she crawled up his body until her legs wrapped around his waist, and she thrust her hips forward to press against the erection that was more than ready to ease her need. She kicked her foot out, and the door slammed closed. She moved her lips down Vince’s neck, nipping and kissing as she went, and Vince growled, “That was a nice trick.”
Ariana spoke with her lips against his skin. “Yeah, I’m nothing if not efficient and creative.”
She shut him up with another thrust of her hips, and his hands closed over the backs of her thighs. He carried her to the bedroom and fell with her onto the bed, but she was in no mood to let him take the aggressive position. With a violent shove, she pushed him off her and rolled on top of him, shoving his shirt up under his chin so she could kiss and lick his stomach and chest.
She made fast work of his fly, and when his erection sprung from it, she caught the tip of it in her mouth, running circles around him with her tongue. He moaned. “God, that feels good.”
She chuckled, and the vibration made Vince’s cock twitch. He let out a vile curse and put his hands on the back of her head, pushing her to take more of him in. She slide her lips down his shaft, to his base, and back up, and then she did it again. She kept at it until his fingers twisted in her mess of hair and dragged her back to his mouth, where he devoured her like a starving man.
He rolled Ariana onto her back and yanked at her loose house pants, baring her, and his kiss on her cleft made her shiver almost convulsively. He licked and sucked at her until she screamed with her orgasm, and in the midst of her wave of pleasure, Vince mounted her, thrusting deep inside her. She wrapped her ankles around his neck to lift her hips from the bed, and he pounded into her until she thought she might pass out from pure ecstasy.
When he came, it was hard and fast, and his face twisted into an expression of pain. She felt his body jerk inside her and reveled in it, and euphoria settled over her from the mutual release. He collapsed on top of her, and she slowly adjusted her breathing back to a rhythmic, even whisper. Somewhat recovered, she pushed at his shoulder, and Vince rolled to the side. It eased her chest to have his weight off, and she took a deep, satisfying breath. “Well, that was necessary.”
He chuckled beside her, a winded, tired sound. “Yes, it was.”
To Ariana’s chagrin, her earlier thoughts began to taunt her again, and she frowned to herself in the dark room. “Where were you earlier?”