Compulsion: Magnetic Desires (11 page)

Supporting her with one hand against the wall, I slid my hand up under her shirt to knead one pert breast. The nipple hardened through the lace of her bra as she arched into my hand. "Sure, I’ll make you cum, but if you want me to fuck you the way you really need, you’re going to have to come home with me."

Whimpering, her breath quickening at my words, she clung to me while I slipped a finger into her panties and brushed it over her clit. She bounced in my arms, jumping from the contact before she settled. Her hips undulated with each slide of my fingers, becoming frantic the closer she got. Pushing inside her, I used my thumb on the sensitive nub, and sought out her mouth, capturing the moans that my fingers created. Her body froze then jerked around me as she let out a long low whimper. Head tilted back, her hair swaying against my arm and her cheeks flushed from her orgasm, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

"You want more, beautiful?" I pressed my lips to her hair when she rested her head on my shoulder.

Unwinding herself from me, she slid to the ground. "Do you think that’s a good idea?"

"I want to make you cum again. Several times, preferably." I reached for her, but she stepped away and started straightening out her skirt.

"We’re friends. I don’t understand what’s got into you." She failed miserably at taming her hair.

Capturing her hand, I tugged her into me. "You got into me, Clo, and I plan on getting into you."

"But, we’re friends." Her voice cracked as she said the word that had never quite encompassed our relationship.

I had her between the wall and me before she could catch a breath. Hands shaking, I wrestled with wanting to destroy her misconceptions and holding on to what we had. My chest tightened, every inch of my skin buzzing.
We're meant to be more than friends. You've always been the girl who holds my heart in her hands, and right now you don't even know you're squeezing the life out of it.
Even before the words tumbled from my mouth, I knew I would give a coward's answer, one that would barely graze the surface of how much I wanted her. "You need a fuck, and so do I. I can give you what you want."

Not giving her time to reject me, I had her mouth under mine before she could say a word. The way she clung to me, giving in to my demands, made it obvious how needy she still was. It wouldn’t take much to make her putty in my hands. "Promise you’ll go home with me, and I’ll let you go."

"We can’t do this. You’re my best friend." Breaking away, she shook her head.

It wasn’t the answer I wanted. My hand was under her skirt in a second, working her clit, her hips undulating against my touch. "Promise me," I growled. "Come home with me."

"I..." Eyes closed, she darted her tongue over her lips as her hips bucked against my hand.

"Say it with me. I promise..."

"I promise..." She moaned.

"...to go home with Orion."

"Oh fuck, Orion."

"Say it."

Her eyes flew open as I stroked her inner walls. "I promise to go home with you."

"Now that wasn’t so hard was it?" With a shit-eating grin, I let her straighten herself out a second time, but inside my heart still thumped wildly at how easily she could have turned away from me, could still tell me she'd never feel for me the way I felt for her. Skimming my fingers up her jaw to her ear, I smoothed out her wild hair before taking her hand and leading her back inside.

My gaze drifted, searching out the guy who had planned on taking my girl home. I wanted to see his face when he realized he didn't have a chance in hell of getting between her legs. Her rosy cheeks and the way her hair refused to smooth down made my chest swell. All of this girl was mine, even if she didn't realize it yet.

Birdie came up to me, and I stopped to talk to her as Clo stalked toward the bar.

"How did it go? Did you talk to her?"

Unbelievable. Even when she looked like I'd taken her out in the alley, that douchenozzle had the audacity to hit on her again. "We talked. Now excuse me while I go remove that dickhead's arm from my girl."

"Wonders will never cease," Birdie called out after me.

Glaring at Colt, who obviously still had some belief he had a chance with Clo, I pulled her away from him and tucked her into my chest. "You all right, babe? Is this man bothering you?"
She’s mine. Find someone else to fuck with.

She tensed in my arms, and I knew she would have words for me later. For now, I had the upper hand. Nothing and no one was going to get in my way.

Colt stared at me, and I straightened to my full height. "Shove off, man. Find someone else." I chuckled as he made his exit to the other side of the bar. He could’ve at least stood his ground, not that I would have given him a chance to get in the way of what I wanted.

Clo's elbow found my ribs. "I could have handled that myself."

"I know you could." Catching her chin with my fingers, I tilted her face so I could remind her of why I'd made sure he got the message. "How about we get a drink?"

Ordering tequila and beers, I pulled her between me and the bar and grazed the nape of her neck with my teeth. She shivered from my touch and leaned on the bar, subtly moving away from me. Only, the way she was leaning didn't take her further away. "Are you sure you want to lean on the bar like that?"

"What?" She glanced at me over her shoulder.

Sliding my fingers over one hip, I took her wrist in my other hand, darting my tongue over the pulse point. "Leaning like that puts that sexy ass of yours dangerously close to my crotch."

"Oh."

Still holding her wrist, I sprinkled salt over the moist spot I'd left with my tongue, and clamped her fingers around a slice of lemon. Picking up a shot glass, I tossed back the tequila before sliding my lips over her salted skin and sucked the lemon between her fingers.

"Why?" She trembled while I went through the ritual again, this time salting the length of my thumb as well.

Because I couldn't let you get away a second time.
"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this? You could have any girl." She darted glances around the room, but my gaze was on her. Not the girls, in barely there clothes, assets on display. That wasn't what I wanted.

"Let’s have a drink." I handed her a shot. "We’ll talk later."

"You don't have to take me home, Orion. I know you'd do anything for me, but this..."

I tipped my glass, and nibbled along her wrist. "This is what I want."

She tossed back the shot, and pressed my thumb to her lips, darting her tongue over the length of it and giving me a wicked preview of what that mouth of hers could do to my cock. Holy fucking blue balls. My gaze darted to the bathrooms. No, the alley had been dirty enough for a girl like Clo. As soon as I could, I'd take her home.

She peered up at me through thick eyelashes as she let go of my thumb and stuck the lemon between her teeth. With fumbling fingers, I swept her bangs from her eyes and whispered my lips over hers, afraid if I did much more I'd forget that I wanted to get her home before I sunk into her. "How about we dance?"

Tugging her onto the dance floor, I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly as we swayed. The music pulsated, the thump of the bass accompanying my heartbeat, and I gripped her ass to remind her she was mine tonight. We'd discuss every night after that. Her hands crept up my arms and over my shoulders before settling around my neck. So many times we'd danced together, and yet it had never been like this. Each move created points of contact that coursed over my skin, making it harder to fight the urge to hike her skirt up. How many times had I fantasized about taking her? Now that I was so close to the reality I couldn't think of anything else.

Twirling a strand of her hair around my finger, I dipped my face to her hair and breathed in that fading vanilla scent which made my mouth water. She could have smelled of lollipops or horse manure and I still wouldn’t have cared, but I loved her smell. It had always meant home to me, and I would never get enough. I caressed her lips with my own, and she opened beneath me, letting me slip my tongue into the soft recess of her mouth. My hands trembled from the intensity of my desire. Hemmed in by the crowd, we were the only two on the dance floor. The building could fall down around us and I wouldn’t notice.

It was all I could do not to take her right there, so I pulled her off the dance floor. "Let's find Birdie and get the fuck out of here."

Searching the crowd for my sister and not finding her had my heart thumping a completely different beat. Sure, she was an adult, but the whole reason I'd come here tonight was to keep an eye on her. Making my way through the crowd, Clo following behind, I darted glances at every dark corner but came up empty. Shit. Spinning around, I spotted the bouncer she'd been talking to earlier in the night and stalked over to him. "Hey, Oliver, have you seen Birdie?"

Oliver stared out over the dancers; his meaty arms crossed over his barrel chest. He spoke into the radio on his shoulder before turning to me. "She left."

"What do you mean she left?" Why hadn’t she told me she was going? "Was she okay?"

"Yes, I think so." He gave me a two-finger salute as he dived into the crowd to deal with a scuffle that had broken out.

I checked my phone. Of course, there was a text from Birdie. ‘Not feeling well. Going home.’

"Thank fuck." I shoved my hand through my hair, and let out a breath.

"She's okay?" Clo twined her fingers with mine and leaned into my side.

"Yeah. How about we get out of here?" When she nodded, I pulled her outside, leaving the crowd behind.

Side by side in the backseat of the cab, Clo murmured against my arm, "Are we really going to do this?"

Twisting toward her, I slid my hands around her waist and lifted her onto my lap. "We're going to do this, and then we're going to do it again and again as many times as it takes to have you satisfied."

Tendrils of her hair brushed against my face while she dipped her mouth to mine. "That sounds like a lot of sex for one night."

I let the kiss linger, a murmur of lips against lips. "Don't think you've got the stamina to keep up?"

"It's not that." Her hand settled between us, palming my cock through my jeans. "This is just a fuck, Orion. Don't think you have to treat me special because I'm your friend. Tomorrow we can go back to being friends."

When she rocked on my lap, I should have been completely lost to her, but her words settled in my gut, leaving me uncertain. "You never wonder?"

"Wonder what?" She gazed at me, her body still.

I could almost feel the boundaries breaking as I pushed against them, as if it were a tangible thing. One step in the wrong direction and I'd fall and never stop falling. Not if telling her I wanted more than one night, or one lifetime with her would mean she pushed me away. Damn fucking friend zone. The idea of not having her as a friend was almost enough to keep me from trying for more.

"I
almost blew it. Thinking back, it’s funny how scared I was to let her know how much I wanted her. I knew I had to tell her I loved her. She was fragile, and I had already kept one secret from her. I wanted to turn that night into every night of my fucking life." He grins as he glances at his watch. "It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. I knew that, but if she’d found out later I’m sure it would have been harder on both of us."

April 2011

The cab driver pulled up out front of my house, and I handed him my credit card. While he sorted the bill, I turned to her. I didn’t want to say what I needed to. I didn’t want to give her a choice, but the truth was, this night would break our friendship. We would either be lovers or I would lose her, and I wasn’t willing to spend the rest of my life without her in it. "Should I get him to drop you at your house?"

"What?" She gazed at me, her eyebrows drawn together.

I got out of the cab and turned to her as she scooted over in the seat. Blocking the door, I tried a different tactic. "You can go home if you want to, you don’t need to come in."

"What the hell, Orion?" she said. "If you were going to send me home, then why the hell did you lead me on all night?"

"It’s not that." I let her out of the cab, realizing I might be doing what she accused me of. With no other option but to explain my reasons, I kept distance between us as we made our way up the driveway. This was the moment I'd waited almost a decade for, and my heart skipped frantically. What I wouldn't give for a crystal ball right now, just to know what her reaction would be. Not that it mattered if she told me she didn't want to be with me. Oh hell, yes it did, but I would deal with it. For her, I would deal with anything.

"So what is it?" she asked, moving closer.

My confession would be brutal and honest, and my stomach roiled at knowing this could be the last time things would be easy between us for a long while.
Get it together. You don’t have a choice.
"I’ve waited... a long time for you, but I don’t want to push you."

"You’ve waited?" She pursed her lips.

Did she not know what I was trying to say? "Fuck, Clo... "I kicked at the brickwork. If I was going to confess my love for her, my need, then I was damn well going to make sure she understood. Grasping her chin with my fingers, I held her focus. "I’ve been there for you for seven years. Don’t tell me you’ve never noticed how I feel for you?"

"Seven years?" She squinted and I wondered if she was about to burst into tears.

"From the first time I saw you," I said, making sure she understood every word of my confession.

"You... have feelings for me? You could have anyone."

"None of them are you." It was a simple answer. Straightforward, and unshakable in its logic, the only answer I had.

"I’m not right for you, Orion. I’m too broken." Her shoulders slumped as the cab drove away.

"You’re not broken, babe. Just a little messed up."

"What if I can’t offer you what you want? What if I can only offer tonight?" she whispered shakily, her voice underlining her inner turmoil.