“You remember how wet you were that night? Just imagine me licking up all your juices, sucking on your clit, sliding my tongue inside you.”

She whispers my name on a moan, shaking against me. I can only imagine what it will be like when I make her come.

“Gage…please…touch me.”

Fuck! I pull away before I give in to her request. Disappointment is written all over her face.

“I can’t, doll. I’ve already done way more than I should.”

“Please, it’s just you and me. Who’s going to know?”

“I will. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.” I lift her down from the counter and cradle her face in my hands. I swear she gets more beautiful each time I see her. “Not much longer, Raven. I’ll be so stuck to you that you’ll be begging me to give you a break.”

“Promise?”

I chuckle and run my fingers through her hair. “Promise. And I always keep my promises. Come on.”

I grab the plates with the bread and the bottles of water, and then we head back to the living room. She brings up Netflix and chooses a movie, La Bamba, then settles next to me on the couch, laying her head on my chest. Less than ten minutes in, biker Bob takes young Rosie’s virginity. How’s that for art imitating life? I just hope that will be the only similarity. I don’t want to hurt her.

We quietly watch the movie and eat monkey bread, and I don’t think I’ve been this relaxed or comfortable in a long time. No alcohol, no smoking, no whores – what I’ve become accustomed to – and I’m actually enjoying myself. That is until the kissing scene between Ritchie and Donna comes on and I become all too aware of her again. She shifts uncomfortably and peeks up at me, biting her bottom lip.

“Come here.”

She straddles my lap and as I look at her, the words of the song in the background resonate in my mind. You’re mine. She cradles my face and slowly runs her thumb across the stubble on my jaw.

“Tus ojos son hermosos.”

I have no idea what she said, but I like the way it sounded. I pull her to me and cover her lips with mine. She moans, parting them, and I slip my tongue inside. Fuck, she tastes good, and it’s not just the cinnamon and sugar, either. It’s her. She slides her fingers through my hair and rocks her hips against me. My whole body comes alive. She rocks faster and my dick begs to be released, to be lost inside her. I need to stop. If I don’t, I’m going to fuck her and damn the consequences to Hell. I break the kiss and lay my forehead on hers.

“I better go.”

“No, don’t stop.”

She presses her lips to mine, pulls on my bottom lip, then slides her tongue into my mouth. I instinctively latch on, sucking on it gently. Her fingers glide down my neck and a strange feeling runs through my body. I haven’t felt anything like this since I was a teenager. Teenager. Fuck.

“No, we have to stop.”

She groans and climbs off, and I jump up before I lose my nerve. I turn to her at the door.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

As I stare down at her, the need to fuck her threatens to overtake my better judgment. That’s not good. I need to have my faculties about me when dealing with her. She’s so young. I should be more careful. That reminds me. There’s a little matter we need to take care of before I even think about fucking her.

“I need you to see E.”

She looks up at me, brows furrowed in confusion.

“For what?”

“To get you on the pill.”

I have every intention of using condoms, but I can’t be too careful. I don’t want to get her knocked up. She blushes and averts her eyes.

“Oh, okay.”

No objection. God, I wish she was older and I’d found her sooner.

“Good. But just so you know, I’ll be using protection, too. I always do.”

She nods, still unable to meet my gaze. I kiss her forehead and close the door behind me, waiting until I hear the lock turn. I take a deep breath as I walk down the driveway. She’s mine. She’s finally mine.

CHAPTER 12 ***Raven***

My ringing phone wakes me from one of the best dreams I’ve had in a long time. I smile at the name flashing on the screen.

“Hello.”

“Did I wake you up?”

“Mm hmm. When you said you would call, I didn’t think it would be at the crack of dawn.”

“Sorry, didn’t sleep much last night. Had a lot of things on my mind.”

“Was I one of those things?”

“You were the main thing, doll.”

I giggle and roll over onto my back.

“Did you dream about me?” he asks.

“What if I said yes?”

“Then I’d ask what I was doing.”

Embarrassment floods my body, and I could bet I probably look like a beet right now. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Well, now you have to tell me.”

“You were…umm…between my legs.”

“And?” he prods.

“And you were…doing that thing.”

“What thing?”

“That you talked about last night.”

“What was I doing, Raven?”

His voice is gruff and his breaths come in hard puffs.

“You were licking me.”

“Where?”

“You know.”

Why do I suddenly feel so shy?

“Yes, but I want to hear you say it. Say ‘you were licking my pussy’.”

“Oh, God! I can’t.”

“You cuss like a sailor so I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s not the cursing. It’s the entire sentence.”

“Say it.”

Thevoice. I can’t help myself. “You were licking my pussy.” Ugh! I’m so humiliated. I want to crawl into a hole and die.

“Good girl.”

Humiliation exits stage left. ‘Good girl.’ Every time he says it, I feel the way I used to when I got a perfect score on a test. I want to hear it more often. “You’re going to turn me out.”

Despite my bravado, I’m not as experienced as he might think. I’ve had a few boyfriends but I haven’t had sex and I haven’t done much of anything else either.

“And you’re going to give me blue balls. I think my hand is going to become my best friend for the next six weeks.”

“You wanted to hear.”

“You don’t need to be scared, shy, or embarrassed with me. You can tell me anything.”

“Okay,” I agree.

“What are you doing today?”

“Nothing. It’s my day off.”

“I need to see you. Can I send for you later?” he asks eagerly.

“Yes. I want to see you, too.”

“I have some work to do, but I’ll call you when I have it all worked out.”

“Talk to you later.”

“Raven?”

“Hmm?”

“In your dream…did you come?”

Now his voice is more insistent, the huskiness returning.

“Yes.”

“Hard?”

“Very.”

“Jesus. I need another shower.”

I giggle as the image of him jerking off in the shower enters my mind. These six weeks need to hurry up and be over.

“Later, doll.”

“Bye.”

I roll out of bed and practically float to the bathroom. I can’t remember the last time I felt this good. It’s certainly the first time since I moved here. I hook up my phone to some speakers and put my music on shuffle. By mid-day, I’ve danced my way through breakfast, cleaning the house, and doing all my laundry. The best part of it all – no Lonnie. She hasn’t stumbled in yet. Whatever Gage did last night, it sure kept her busy. Since I’m feeling so inspired today, I grab my sketchbook and pencil and head out to the porch. I prop my feet up on the railing and set lead to paper. Not even thinking, I let my hand slide over the surface. I lose myself completely, stopping only when I realize that someone’s walking up the driveway. Christopher.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hi.”

He leans down to kiss me and I turn my head so he gets my cheek. He gives me a confused frown but sits next to me without a word. This is stupid. I feel so guilty. The weird part is I don’t feel guilty for what I’ve done. Chris is my boyfriend, yet I feel like I’m cheating on Gage.

“You drew that?”

I look down at the page. Holy shit. It’s a reaper. Not just any reaper but the one on Gage’s car. I didn’t even realize what I was doing. I swallow hard.