Phoenix: The Beauty in Between (A Beautiful Series Companion Novel) (5 page)

His mouth moves
over mine as I do my best to respond, my inexperience causes me to
pause occasionally in a bid to catch up. As I close my eyes, my
head spins, but I focus on his mouth, and the press of his body
against mine, and just feel.

The sensations
rippling through me are amazing, the slick texture of his tongue
gliding over mine, the smoothness of his teeth as I run the tip of
my tongue over them, and the softness of his lips.

We start to
sway together again, locked at the lips as our hands start to roam.
I’m loving the feel of the fabric of his shirt under my fingertips,
and the firm build of his chest as it presses against my soft
one.

We stay like
this for, I don’t know how long, but eventually the music cuts out,
and the lights are turned on.

Abruptly, he
breaks away from me and starts calling out. My ears are buzzing in
the absence of the music. But when Tahlia appears, leaning up
against the guy she was dancing with, I realise he was calling to
her.

We all head out
to Jeff’s car, and I’m still feeling so wonderful that I don’t even
think about the guy getting in there with us. I don’t even think
about the fact that the house we arrive at, isn’t Tahlia’s house at
all.

Tahlia leads
the guy she’s with into a room as soon as we get inside, leaving
Jeff and I on our own.

“You still
feeling a little buzzed?” he asks, sitting down on the couch and
patting the seat next to him.

“A little,” I
reply as I lower myself to sit where he indicated. I’m still
smiling. My face hurts, but I can’t seem to stop.

“I should
probably apologise to you,” Jeff starts, creasing his brow as he
looks down at his hands, and twists the gold band that adorns his
thumb with his long fingers.

“Oh, really.
Why?”

“Because I
kissed you. A lot. I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why? Because
you’re older than me?”

“Well, yeah,
and I was supposed to be looking out for you, and Tahlia. I wasn’t
supposed to be hooking up with a beautiful girl who is almost half
my age.”

Blushing, I
shake my head, letting my curls fall over my face. “You’re not that
old.”

“I am, Paige.
In five years’ time, our age difference wouldn’t matter. But right
now, it seems quite vast, don’t you think?” I bounce one of my
shoulders as I chew my lip, listening. He rubs his hand over his
face and head, then leans against the back of the couch, looking up
at the ceiling. “God, I’d bet if your father had any idea what
happened tonight, he’d hunt me down and hang me.”

“I doubt that,”
I deadpan. “The man I thought was my father couldn’t care less what
I do. And I’ve never met my real one.”

“What about
your mother? Does she care?”

“No. She kicked
me out months ago.”

His brow
furrows as he sits forward again and looks at me. “Are you serious?
They just kicked you out?” I nod. “What for?”

“For being me,
I guess. I figure my mum had an affair, and I’m the result of it.
I’ve always been treated differently from my brother and sister. I
never felt wanted. Eventually, they just sent me away.” For some
reason, I feel comfortable with Jeff and tell him everything I’ve
been through so far. He sits quietly, listening to me as I
unload.

“That’s pretty
messed up. Where are you staying now?”

“On the couch
in Tahlia’s garage.”

“Are you
serious?! No, no, no. That’s not cool.”

“Well, what
else am I supposed to do? I don’t have any other family to stay
with, and I’ve stayed with every friend I can. I’m not entering the
system either. I don’t want to go into foster care, or a home, or
whatever-the-heck they do with girls my age.”

“Paige, you
have other options.”

“Oh yeah. Like
what?”

He shifts where
he sits and turns to face me, taking my hand into his before he
meets my eyes. “You might not want to hear this. But, a girl who is
good in bed, will never be wanting for a place to sleep.”

“What? No…I
don’t know about that,” I laugh, feeling slightly uncomfortable all
of a sudden. “I mean I have never…”

He closes his
other hand over mine and says, “I know. I can teach you if you’d
like.”

My heart thuds
solidly in my chest as I think about what it is he’s offering me.
“I’m just not sure that’s a good idea. I mean isn’t that kind of
like being a prostitute?” I practically whisper.

Jeff laughs.
“No – I’m not going to teach you to charge money. I’m just saying
that if you’re good in bed and know how to please a man, there is
no way you’ll ever have to sleep on an old couch, in a dirty garage
again.” He reaches forward and touches my face gently with the back
of his hand.

“You’re so
beautiful Paige. You should have seen the way other men were
watching you tonight. It made me feel like I had to have you. You
have a quality that draws men in, and I’d love to be the man who
teaches you how to use this gorgeous body of yours to your benefit.
A woman like you could use her beauty to have the world at her
feet.” He chews on his lip as his eyes travel up and down my body.
The expression on his face seems as though it hurts for him to look
at me and not touch me.

Strangely, I
don’t want to run. I want him to touch me. I want him to teach me.
I’m tired of sleeping on a couch. I’m tired of sleeping in a
garage. I’m tired of silently begging, tired of feeling dependent
on others. I’m tired of being a burden.

I don’t know if
it’s the drugs in my system, or if I just don’t want to feel like a
kid anymore, but something makes me move towards him. I want him.
Badly.

My breathing
becomes shaky as I close the distance between us, and pause just
for a moment before my lips connect with his. I touch them against
his, lightly at first, testing to see if he really does want me, or
if it’s all talk. Even after all he’s done and said tonight, I
still feel unsure of his attraction towards me. I’ve never really
felt as beautiful as he’s saying I am.

However, my
worries go unfounded. I’m rewarded with a primal growl as his arms
wrap around me, and he pulls me to him, deepening the kiss as I
climb on to his lap.

Exploring his
mouth with mine, I rock my body against his, marvelling in the
sensation of him beneath me as my senses come alive.

A slight bout
of nerves starts to bounce around inside my body when I feel the
hardness between his legs as it presses against me. I don’t have
much time to dwell on it though, because with one swift movement,
he lifts me up and carries me to the bedroom, dropping me on the
bed and holding himself above me.

His kisses
start to make their way along my jaw line and down my neck, while
his hand starts to knead my breasts. Sensations I’ve never felt
before begin to shoot through my body, zinging between my legs like
some sort of electrical charge, and I feel as though I’m in a state
of pure ecstasy.

Jeff slides
down the bed slightly and lifts my top, kissing me softly next to
my bellybutton before rimming it with his tongue. As his fingers
skirt the edge of my waistband, I suck in my breath, feeling unsure
of what will come next.

“I want you to
stay with me for a while Paige,” he murmurs as his fingers work to
get the button of my jeans undone. “I want to teach you something
new every night. I want to teach you every pleasure I can think
of.” He undoes my zip and slides my jeans down my legs, revealing
my white cotton panties. The burst of cool air against my skin
causes my flesh to prickle with goose bumps. “When I’m finished
with you, you will be an absolute master. No man will be able to
resist you.”

I gasp as he
pulls my panties back slightly and kisses, just above my mound, his
fingers teasing me as they trace the elastic that runs around my
legs. He hooks his fingers into the waistband and pulls them down,
dropping them to the floor and revealing me completely, giving me
nowhere to hide.

I feel a
mixture of nerves and desire as he sits back and studies me. “Open
your legs for me,” he commands. I close my eyes, suddenly a little
unsure of myself. “It’s ok. We can stop whenever you want to.
Tonight will be all about you. I want to look at you. I want to
taste you. I want to show you the best part about being a
woman.”

“The best
part?”

“Yes. When your
legs are wrapped around a man’s head, and your hips are bucking
wildly because you can’t take it anymore.”

My stomach
jumps up as my heart thuds loudly against my chest. “I’m
scared.”

“Don’t be. Just
relax,” he coos, his voice so soft and gentle, that I find myself
letting out a slow steady breath before doing what he asked and
opening my legs for him to see me. “That is one very nice pussy,”
he growls, rubbing his hands gently up and down my legs. “Hmmm. I’m
going to kiss it now Paige. Ok?”

“Ok,” I
whisper, the sound barely making its way over my lips.

When I feel his
breath, warm between my legs, I jolt involuntarily. The
anticipation of his touch is just too much.

“Have you ever
touched yourself?”

“No,” I gasp,
as his tongue darts out and touches me lightly, right on a very
sensitive spot that makes me quiver.

“You should. It
will help you know your body. Men want to please a woman, Paige.
Just as much as they want to be pleased themselves. This,” he says
as he kisses the sensitive spot again, “is your clit, and if I suck
on it, and swirl my tongue around it, it gets harder and more
sensitive. See?” He demonstrates, and I writhe beneath him, gasping
for air as he shows me sensations I never knew I was capable of
experiencing. “Relax,” he whispers. “This is going to be fun.”

“Ohhh!” I call
out as he sucks more firmly on my clit, sliding his tongue up and
down so it enters me for a moment, before sliding it back up and
circling my clit once more.

The rhythm
causes a sensation to start building between my legs. It travels up
into my stomach and sends tendrils of ecstasy swirling through my
body, all the way to my fingertips and down to my toes.

As the pressure
builds between my legs, I find myself calling out more and more. My
hands clench against the sheets on the bed, needing something,
anything to grab on to as the feeling takes over me.

My ragged
breathing causes my throat to go dry. I move my tongue around my
mouth and try to swallow. I don’t know what to do with this
pressure, it’s more than I can handle right now – it feels amazing,
but at the same time it’s scaring me. I don’t know what’s going to
happen.

“Jeff,” I gasp.
“I feel… oh god!” I yell as the pressure seems to explode out of
me. Colours flash before my eyes as my body jars in spasm. He grips
onto my thighs and drives his tongue inside me, moaning into me as
I continue to gasp and cry out, until I can’t take it anymore and
start pushing on his head. “It’s too much. I’m sorry. You need to
stop.”

Lifting himself
up, he wipes him mouth slightly and moves up the bed, so his body
is covering mine while he takes his weight on his hands.

“You taste
amazing,” he whispers, before dipping his head to gently kiss me. I
can taste myself in his mouth. It's something I thought would be
strange to do, but it’s not as bad as I was expecting.

When he breaks
away, I can’t help but ask, “Um, is there something I need to do
for you now?”

He chuckles as
he pushes himself up from the bed. “No, not tonight. Having you
come in my mouth was all I needed tonight.”

Once again, I
blush. Having him talk the way he does is both intimidating and a
turn on. There’s something about the way he looks at me that makes
me want to be around him. I guess he makes me feel wanted – seen.
It’s something that has been very lacking, and I didn’t realise how
badly I wanted to feel something, until now…

“So, Jeff tells
me you’re staying with him for a while. Sick of the old couch are
you?” Tahlia asks me the next morning, after she’s waved goodbye to
the guy, she took to bed last night, at the door.

I shrug and
press my lips together. Feeling as though I must seem a little
ungrateful when Tahlia and her family have been nothing but
welcoming to me.

“I don’t have
to stay. I can come back if you want.”

She moves
closer and sits beside me on the couch, tucking her legs beneath
her as she leans her head against the back of it facing me.

“Don’t be
silly. I’d take the offer of a bed over that uncomfortable thing
any day. I’ll miss you though. I’ve kind of gotten used to having
you around every day.”

The corner of
my mouth turns up in a slight smile. “Yeah, we’ve had fun, haven’t
we?”

“The best. But
don’t worry, we’ll still see each other heaps. It just won’t be
every day.”

Nodding my
head, I sigh contentedly as I sit back against the couch. Quietly,
I contemplate my life right now as I watch Jeff walk from the
bedroom to the kitchen. The private grin he gives me starts my
heart beating wildly in my chest.

In my mind, l
can actually see a way out of this state of homelessness that I’ve
found myself in. I can feel a sense of hope start to blossom inside
me - a hope that I might have some sort of normal future after
all.

Tahlia leans in
close and whispers in my ear. “Don’t get too attached OK? Have your
fun and move on.”

“What are you
two whispering about?” Jeff asks as he wanders into the lounge room
carrying a mug of coffee for each of us.

“I was just
telling her to watch out for the likes of you. You’re a known
heartbreaker,” Tahlia informs him.

He laughs as he
sets the mugs on the side tables and takes the single seat to my
right.

“I’m not going
to break her heart Tahlia, because I’m never going to lie to her.
Paige will always know where she stands with me. I give you my word
on that.”