Consumed (4 page)

Adrian

My eyes are eating up the sight of Victoria’s body, elongated on the blanket. The setting sun’s light is casting on her shimmering skin and dress, encasing her in a lustrous glow.

It’s as if the sun is projecting her image, so I run my hand up her calf to reaffirm she’s real and here with me. It still amazes me that I love her.

It’s by far not because she isn’t loveable. It’s just been so long since my heart has made room for anyone other than family.

Victoria takes a bite of her salad and looks over the city. She’s attempting to distract herself from the passion swarming between us. I know since the desire I feel for her is trying to split apart my restraint, too.

“Tell me more about your family,” she says. “What is your mom like?”

My body stiffens. “What did your investigation tell you she was like?” Her smile disappears, and I instantly regret my reply. “I’m sorry, Victoria. I shouldn’t have said that.”

A crease forms on her forehead, and she sighs as she sets her salad and fork down onto the blanket.

“She struggled with her mental health during your upbringing. That’s all I know, and that doesn’t define someone, so I’m honestly interested in learning about her.”

“Denise’s mental illness does define her.” I’m gazing out over the city now, wishing I had simply changed the subject.

Victoria scoots on the blanket until she’s sitting directly next to me. Her hand laces with mine, and she stares at the hectic world with me. “Adrian, you’re a remarkable person, and I imagine you’re like her in some way. She must possess a good quality or two.”

A heaviness inhabits my chest and crowds out the safe comfort I was feeling. I might as well be dangling from this cliff we’re at the edge of, my nails digging into the side of the dirt.

I’m clinging to the strength that keeps my shit together, and I have to decide if loosening my hold will make me fall.

“Adrian. Adrian.” It registers that Victoria is saying my name as she pulls on my chin, forcing me to look at her. “I’m so sorry. Forget I brought her up.”

My body is shaking, so Victoria’s hand has been trembling in mine. She’s genuinely interested in learning more about my family and me. Once she knows my weaknesses, would she ever use them against me?

I don’t believe she would, and it’s likely why this conversation has gone as far as it has.

Victoria

Adrian doesn’t notice that his hand is squeezing mine hard. I feel shitty for bringing up his mother. I had no idea it would affect him this negatively.

He’s looking through me again, making a decision as to whether or not he wants to explore this topic with me. I won’t take offense if he isn’t ready yet. I completely get it.

“She’s witty and has an astounding memory. Simon has the same memory, and all my siblings have her wit.”

I smile at him, ready to combust with joy. He’s trusting me. After everything I had to keep from him, he trusts me enough to discuss something that brings him great pain.

“In case you had any doubt, you’re witty, too,” I say, “and it definitely turns me on.” My smile widens, and I’m relieved when he smirks.

“I guess I should thank her then.”

“Do you see her?”

Adrian’s eyes bolt from mine. “It’s been two years. Agatha, my sister, lives in New Jersey with her, and we share power of attorney over my mother.

“She ensures Denise is cared for properly, and my brothers and I pay all of Mom’s expenses.”

“Can I ask her diagnosis?”

“Schizophrenia.” Adrian gazes back at me. “It’s severe, Victoria. Theo says she is even paranoid of Agatha most of the time, and there isn’t another person on this planet she could count on to be there for her more than my sister.”

I smile again. “Are you close to your sister?”

“No, I haven’t seen her in two years, either. I’ve been angry with her for a long time now, so when I do see her, we only discuss our mother and her care. She relays a lot through Theo.”

While squeezing his fingers, I pull his chin back to me with my other hand. “I’m sorry. These are obviously difficult subjects for you to discuss, and I appreciate that you are opening up to me about them.”

“You’re genuine, Victoria. It makes me want to show you the real Adrian.”

My fingers trail down his chest, and I kiss him. Pulling his hand free from mine, he wraps it around my waist and brings me in against his side. I need to be physically closer to him, so I shift and straddle his lap. Groaning, he fists the blanket on each side of him.

I plunge my tongue back into his mouth, and roll my hips forward and back ever so slightly, rubbing against his cock that’s rapidly hardening beneath me.

“No, baby, we need to wait longer.”

“I’m fine. Please, Adrian.”

Grabbing me by the waist, he lifts me off of him.

“No. You just went back to work today, and you’re not overdoing it. I have something that might satisfy your craving.” He begins reaching for the picnic basket, but I grab his palm and cover my breast with it, squeezing over his hand.

“Dammit, Victoria, I said you need more time.” He yanks his hand free. “I think we should go.”

“No, I want to stay.”

I’m scowling as he throws stuff into the basket. Once everything is put away, he stands, so I do, too. The second I’m off the blanket, he’s folding it up.

We are not leaving like this. He’s sexually frustrated, and so am I. We slept next to each other the entire last week after I was injured, and I saw how crazy it drove him not to touch me.

Aside from his pain over his mom and sister, our date has been perfect, and I’m not letting something spoil that.

Opening the passenger door on the Roadster, Adrian gives me a stern look, signaling for me to get inside, but I don’t move.

“Victoria, get inside the car.”

“Not until you fuck me.”

His eyebrows lift. “You’re something else, and as appealing as that sounds, I’m not risking you ending up back in the hospital or worse.”

“I mean it,” I say.

Setting the basket in the seat, he shuts the door and goes around to the driver’s side. “Fine. You can stay here.”

He wouldn’t leave me here. Would he?

Once his door is shut, I stroll over to the driver’s side of the convertible. His eyes are narrowed and waiting to see what I’m going to do next.

Crossing my arms, I reach down and grab the bottom hem of my dress. I pull it over my head and toss it to the ground. His skin is turning red, and I’m not sure if it’s from anger or lust.

Hooded eyes rake over my body as I unclasp the lacy, nude bra I’m wearing. It hits the ground next, and his eyes travel across my breasts.

“You’re fucking beautiful, exciting, and so goddamn stubborn.”

I brandish a sly grin, confirming to be a stubborn-ass girl.

“Fine, but it’s happening right here in this near-perfect condition, expensive, classic car. Take it or leave it.”

I can only imagine the look on my face as he turns the tables on me and smirks. “That’s what I thought. Put your dress back on and get inside please.”

He had a breakthrough tonight, trusting me, so I need to work on my issues, too. Not taking my eyes off of his, I strip off my panties and stalk toward the car. His smirk vanishes as I open the driver’s side door.

Adrian

“Fuck, you’re always full of surprises.”

Victoria straddles my lap, her tongue thrusting into my mouth before I can protest. My hands slide around her waist and clutch her ass.

I release a growl into her sultry mouth to proclaim the desire building inside me. My hips lift as the need to grind against her becomes urgent, but she’s fucking not well. Pulling my mouth free, I press our foreheads together.

“Baby, I’m worried about you.”

“Adrian, I’m sitting up. There’s no pressure on my head. Please, I can’t wait any longer to feel you inside me.”

Her fingers glide down my chest before drifting under my t-shirt. “Please …” she says, kissing my neck. “Please, Adrian,” she whispers into my ear as her fingers roam along my stomach and unbutton my shorts.

Victoria’s impatient lips continue to convince me between breaths. My cock throbs as her hand slides into my shorts and grips it. Her deliberate strokes, and my name said desperately off her tongue coaxes me.

“
Christ
,” I say through a hiss. “There’s a condom in my wallet.” She adjusts her body enough for me to pull my shorts down. Reaching behind me, she frees my wallet and hands it to me.

After finding the condom, I toss my wallet to the passenger floor. She swipes the package from my fingers and in seconds, her digits are pushing the latex on.

Shit, this woman gets me so worked up. My fingers touch Victoria, and her soaked cunt is confirmation to every desperate word that has left her lips.

Damn, I want to fuck her, but I want to love her more, and that scares the shit out of me.

Grabbing my hand between her legs, she brings it up to her mouth. As she lowers herself onto me like a vice, she pushes my wet fingers between her cherry lips.

“Holy shit, baby, that’s hot.”

All my senses go into overdrive.

While I fill her to the hilt, her whimpers are infectious sounds to my ears. Her stimulating scent pervades my nose, and the image of this erotic moment is being branded in my mind.

Victoria’s tight pussy feels like ecstasy. Getting a taste is all that’s left, so I pull my fingers free from her mouth and plunge my tongue inside, lapping up the flavor of her addictive juices.

She pushes down onto me, and I meet her movements with upward thrusts, clutching her hips to assist in driving into her.

“Yes, fuck me hard,” she says in a breathless command as her fingers root in my hair. Moving a hand to the underside of her bouncing tit, I brace it and suck, pulling her stiff nipple out and releasing it.

I repeat this until her swollen, slick muscles clamp down on my cock, bringing us both to an orgasm. My head flies back against the seat, and I shove my hips upward while pushing down on her waist to bury myself deep.

Victoria strengthens her hold on my hair, and her moans echo against the small space as we ride out the pleasure. Our gasps for air are loud in the quiet of the night.

After falling against me, I hug her harder than I ever have. Although her tenacious personality will inevitably drive me crazy at times, it makes her thrilling. Victoria makes life exhilarating.

I shift in the seat, and the separation of my thigh to the leather makes an obscene noise. We both laugh, and like her whimpers, her giggle does funny things to my heart.

“Thank you,” she whispers in my ear.

Turning my face toward her, I kiss her cheek.

“No, thank you. That felt incredible.”

“Yes, it did feel incredible, but I meant thank you for having patience with me.”

Lifting her head, I cradle her face. “Don’t thank me for being with you, and that’s essentially what you’re doing. You’re bringing me back to life, Victoria. I should be thanking you.”

It’s almost dark, but her green eyes and sparkling grin are spotlighting her happiness, and I hope like hell she can feel mine, too.

Victoria

Adrian opens the car door. “Climb out, and we’ll have dessert on the blanket.”

I do as he says, and while I put my clothing back on, I watch him dispose of the condom and pull his shorts back up.

Adrian turns the headlights on for light, and after we spread the blanket out again, he sits down with a silver cardboard box he has retrieved from the picnic basket.

“Sit across my lap again. I like to see your face.” His fit legs are stretched out as he smiles up at me. I straddle his thighs, leaving a little room between us. He holds the glossy box up for me to take it.

Upon opening the lid, I find four chocolate covered strawberries, one at each corner. In the center of them is what looks like a truffle, wrapped in shiny, red foil. From the placement of the treats in the box, it’s obvious there is another layer.

I slightly lift the paper between, to take a peek, and there are six chocolate truffles, free of wrapping, sitting in the bottom. Each is decorated differently, pleasing to the eye, and the sweet scent that hits my nose has me licking my lips.

“Yum,” I say before I pick up a strawberry and hold it to Adrian’s mouth. “You first.”

He takes a bite, and pink juice falls onto his cream t-shirt. We’re both giggling as we try to keep more of it from dripping. “Oh, no, it’s going to stain your shirt.”

“Then I will have a pleasant reminder of this night every time I put it on,” he says.

I sigh. “I don’t get how you’ve stayed single until now.”

Adrian brushes wayward brown strands of hair from my face. “It’s simple, Victoria. I hadn’t met you.”

Feeling vulnerable, I fool with the contents of the box.

“I think we should see what is so special about this one.” I hold up the round truffle encased in red foil. “It’s the only one wrapped.”

“I agree,” he says with a grin. A slip of paper, similar to those found in fortune cookies, is tucked around the decadent dark chocolate.

I pull it free and hold it in front of my face where the lights from the car can illuminate it.

Her psyche, authentic and unbridled, flourishes beneath a pure outer beauty. She is as nonpareil as the love I longingly possess for her.

The value of receiving her guarded love in return would be an immeasurable gift.

My hand covers my mouth as the magnitude of the words I’ve read pummel my bearings.

“Oh, Adrian, you have to read what this says.” I turn it around and hold it up to his face. Fingers wrap around mine and bring them to his mouth to kiss.

“I don’t need to read them. I wrote them for you, Victoria.”

Oh, no. Tears flood my eyes. What’s happening to me? I don’t cry, yet I’ve wanted to on more than one occasion since meeting Adrian. Mammoth tears begin to fall to my cheeks.

His fingers are promptly brushing them aside. “My pearl, don’t cry. I wrote it with the hope it would make you happy. I love you.”

Firmly, he cradles my face in his hands as my tears continue to pour. “God, I had no idea I could even feel a love this powerful, Victoria, and it’s OK if you don’t feel it back. I don’t deserve it yet, but one day … one day I hope to be great enough for your love.”

“Dammit, stop already, you stupidly happy man. I can’t stop crying.”

He’s grinning now, probably recalling the texts he frequently sends to remind me that he’s stupidly happy. I’m not quite sure what he means by stupid, but they read adoringly.

After setting the box of desserts on the blanket, my arms sling around his neck. He falls backward, and I envelop his body with mine, covering his face with kisses.

“I already love you, too, Adrian Cassano, so you better deserve it.” His smile falters, and now, his eyes look watery. Two fingers skim across my cheek.

“Do you remember the time in my bathroom when you told me to promise that no matter what the future held, I’d trust that time between us was real?”

“Yes.”

“Promise me, Victoria. Promise me you will always believe I loved you at this moment.”

Tears rain again. “I promise. Now, stop with all the sweetness. I think you just softened my shell.”

He gives me a heart-stirring grin. “I’m going to do more than soften it. I’m breaking it down, Juice Box.”

He pulls me to him snugly, and we kiss. It’s heated in no time, the passion we possess becoming the conductor of our hands and mouths.

They’re playing a sensual song of love and lust until I’m calling an intermission to find another condom in his wallet.