Read TamingTai Online

Authors: Chloe Cole

TamingTai (5 page)

“Tai, oh God, it’s too much.”

She was tearing at his hair, holding him down one second,
trying to pull him up the next, but he hung on. Her clit was plump and firm,
and he pressed forward, wrapping his lips around it. He sucked. She screamed.
Her legs clenched as she ground her pussy against him now. His name was a chant
as she came, her clit pulsing in his mouth.

The moment the tremors stopped, he tore his mouth away and
stood. Her glassy gaze captured his, but he closed his eyes. He lifted her leg
and planted himself into the vee of her thighs. Clutching her hips in a
punishing grip, he thrust forward and up. His cock was full to bursting as her
body closed over him in a tight, wet embrace. The breath left his lungs in a whoosh.
Memories of the past coalesced with reality as he rocked into her, slow at
first, then harder…faster. He could almost hear the soft lapping of the water
at the edge of the lake. See the look of shocked wonder the first time she
came.

The sound of bodies slapping together grew louder, dragging
him back to reality, as he slammed into her. The clasp and release of her pussy
was a siren song for him to follow. She cried out, gasping his name. His balls
pulled tight as liquid snaked up the length of his cock. The orgasm hit him
hard, his vision blurring as hot streams of cum spurted into her. He rode her
hard to the end as his body jerked and bucked against hers.

She shuddered, the aftershocks of her climax an internal
caress. After a moment, she collapsed into him, spent, and he braced his
thighs, holding her upright. His heart thundered in his chest as he struggled
to catch his breath. Amazing. And exactly the reason why sex for him had been
scarce over the past ten years. Nothing else compared and after a while, he’d
just stopped chasing it. He wanted nothing more than to carry her to bed and
stay there all night. Hell, forever. But she was poison. Why did he
conveniently forget that every time he was within five feet of her? Time to get
back that oh-so-necessary distance before he lost himself forever. He buried
his face in her hair and took one last, long sniff, then pulled away, shutters
firmly in place.

He cleared his tight throat and rasped, “That was real nice,
doll.” With a pat on the ass, he stepped away, leaving her to cling to the
wall.

She pushed the hair from her eyes with an unsteady hand and
gave a tremulous smile, her breath still coming in pants.

He forced himself to ignore the sexy sounds, bending to
retrieve his t-shirt. Guilt made his voice even gruffer. “It was fun…catching
up with you.” He yanked his shirt over his head and made his way to the door.
“Have a nice life.”

The strangled cry nearly made his knees buckle but he
couldn’t stop now.
Save yourself
, every instinct screamed. He turned the
knob and opened the door.

“Tai,” she called on a broken sob.

He hadn’t even finished buttoning his fly over his
still-damp cock when he walked out the door. Don’t think, just move. One foot
in front of the other.

It wasn’t until he’d walked halfway back to the bus
that he realized his whole body was quaking. In spite of his best effort to
think of something—anything—else, he couldn’t get the expression on her face
off his mind. She’d looked…destroyed. Why did that make him want to comfort
her? To hold her and kiss her and tell her everything would be okay.

He ran a shaky hand through his hair and let out a
vicious string of curses. After what she’d put him through, now she was the
injured party? What right did she have to feel hurt? And still, she was hurt.
That much he knew for sure. The best actress in the world couldn’t have faked
the devastation she’d felt at his cold words and abrupt departure.

Maybe it was just shock and anger that she hadn’t
gotten what she wanted. Little-rich-girl syndrome. His lip curled as he
contemplated that possibility. It would certainly make his callous treatment of
her easier to swallow. But something about that explanation didn’t sit right.
There wasn’t even a hint of anger in her face. Just utter despair.

Acid churned in his gut as he approached the Man
Bus. The lights were on. Not what he’d been hoping for. That meant Gigi was
probably awake, ready to pounce. He climbed the steps, prepared to barrel in
and shoot down her questions sniper-style. But when he stepped through the door
to find her sitting on the couch, gazing at him expectantly through
concern-filled eyes, something in him cracked. He opened his mouth to speak and
but no words would come. She stood and silently held her arms out to him.

He stepped in and bent low, laying his head on her
shoulder, then sucked in a shuddering breath. “Jesus, I’m so fucked in the
head, Gi.”

Chapter Six

 

Christa rubbed a hand over her gritty eyes and looked at the
clock. Nine a.m. She’d finally managed to fall asleep at six after a four-hour
crying jag followed by a call to room service for two bowls of ice cream.

She closed her eyes when the phone buzzed. Her heart took a
dive as she snatched it up.

“H-hello?”

“Sorry to disturb you, Ms. Reilly. You have a visitor who
insists you’re expecting her. A Miss Somerville?”

She shook her head, nonplussed. “I don’t know a Mi—”

A loud voice called into the phone “It’s Gigi!”

The clerk cleared his throat. “Yes, well. Gigi, then.”

“Send her up.”

She tried to work up the energy to splash some water on her
face and brush her teeth, but instead lay there staring at the ceiling.

The knock at the door startled her a few minutes later, and
she rose to answer it.

“Come on in,” she said with a wary nod.

“What the hell are you trying to pull?” Gigi snarled without
preamble, stepping in and closing the door behind her with a snap.

Christa stared down at the shorter woman and struggled to
find some composure. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about right
now.”

“Really? Tai came home in the middle of the night looking
like he’d just left a funeral. You’re telling me you didn’t have a hand in
that?” Her ivory cheeks were sporting two spots of angry color, but her eyes
just looked sad.

Christa ran a hair through her hair, suddenly more tired
than she’d ever been in her life. “It’s complicated.”

“No, it’s actually really simple. You need to stop. He told
you to stay away and you pushed and you pushed. You got what you wanted. He
came here last night. Congratulations. You fucked him up real good. Again. Now
do us all a favor and go back to where you came from.”

Gigi turned and had her hand on the door before Christa
could speak past the lump in her throat.

“I love him. I’ve always loved him.”

Gigi let out a snort. “Yeah, well, from what I hear, you’re
shitty at it.”

That did it. The dam broke and the tears she’d thought she
cried out came back with a vengeance.

“Come on, stop that.” Gigi’s voice was still hard, but she’d
stopped yelling and the hand on the doorknob hesitated.

“I’m sorry. I know he’s your f-friend. I never meant to hurt
him. Not now and not then. It’s not what you think.”

Gigi stepped back in the room and folded her arms over her
chest. “Okay, explain it to me then, because I just don’t get it. I mean, sure,
you’re pretty. But what was so great about you that an amazing guy like Tai
would get into a fight with a guy you were two-timing him with? If you couldn’t
make up your mind between them, he should’ve just dumped your ass. You don’t
seem like that much of a prize to me.”

Laughter broke through the tears, bubbling unbidden from her
lips. “Is that what he told you? They had a fight over me?”

Gigi raised a dubious brow. “You’re telling me they didn’t?”

“Oh no, they did. After Pierce tried to rape me, they
definitely got into a fight. I just wouldn’t have worded it exactly the way Tai
did.”

Gigi’s face grew pale and she leaned hard against the door.
“Rape?” she whispered.

God, she hated that word. That she’d almost been a
statistic. “Apparently Tai didn’t tell you the whole story.”

“No. No he didn’t. I’d really like to hear it now, but if
it’s too hard to talk about, I understand.” Sympathy had softened her
expression—she’d lost most of her bluster.

“I haven’t told this story out loud since…well, ever.” She
marveled at that even as she said it. Her parents couldn’t wait to sweep it all
under the rug, as if it had never happened. After a while, it hadn’t seemed
like all that bad of a plan. Now she wondered.

She poked around and realized it was long past time. “I want
to tell you. And there was no rape. Tai didn’t let that happen.”

“Oh this sounds like a doozy. Maybe we should sit.” Gigi
motioned toward the kitchenette and Christa led the way. She set a kettle on
the stove and they sat, facing one another. Gigi’s eyes had lost most of their
fire. Confusion clouded her pretty features as she waited patiently.

Christa took a steadying breath and blew it out in a rush.
“Where to start? Well, Tai and I met in our sophomore year of high school. He
transferred in from Longley, a public school a couple towns over. His mom
worked three jobs for almost five years to save the money to send him to
Westerbrook High. God, he hated it,” she said with a short laugh. “Thought the
guys were douchebags and girls were snobby.

“Thing was, the more aloof and angsty he got, the more those
snobby girls wanted him. I was no different. He was so beautiful, and so sweet
and strong. The first time we met I was in the lunch line and realized I’d
forgotten my lunch money. I was so embarrassed, standing at the register with
my food and no cash to pay for it. Before I could set it down, Tai walked up
from the back of the line and paid for mine. I was tongue-tied just looking at
him close up and didn’t even say thank you. Wasn’t until later I realized that
he’d given me his lunch money for the day and didn’t get to eat.”

“That’s Tai for you.” Gigi nodded with a sad half-smile.

“Anyway, I knew I had to thank him somehow so I made this
mix tape for him. Silly songs from a girl with a crush, you know? Songs from
Grease
and the
Dirty Dancing
soundtrack, a bunch of corny eighties and nineties
songs that I loved. I gave it to him one day after school. At first he was
standoffish, but we ended up sitting on the stone wall in front of the
gymnasium for hours. By the time it started getting dark, I was more than
halfway in love with him.”

She cleared her clogged throat. “But I had a boyfriend, sort
of. Pierce Ridell. He was more like a family friend. The Ridells were very
influential, and our parents had made it no secret they wanted us to marry some
day. I wasn’t a big risk taker back then, and there was no chance my parents
would ever let me date Tai, so we kept things platonic for a long time. He was
the best friend I ever had and neither of us wanted to give the other up
entirely, but it was torture being together and not
being
together. For
us both.”

“Did you love Pierce too?”

“Never. But I was young and wanted my father’s approval so
badly. It wasn’t until a year later that I realized that I wanted Tai more. I
decided to pull the trigger. I told Pierce we were through. The plan was to
wait a month or so, then let my parents know I wanted to be with Tai, no matter
the consequences. In the meantime, we would meet on the sly. It was the best
time of my life, in spite of the sneaking around. Each time we got a little
closer, a little more intimate, waiting for the time where we could be
boyfriend and girlfriend for real. On one of those occasions, we both lost
control and we made love.”

Gigi leaned forward in her seat, her face rapt. “That’s so romantic.”

Christa shook her head. “It was, but it was also the
beginning of the end. I was stupid and so overwhelmed with love for him, I
thought I’d explode if I didn’t tell someone. So I told my best girlfriend what
happened. A week later, the whole school knew. A week after that, so did my
parents. I was banned from seeing Tai and if I disobeyed they were going to
pull me from Westerbrook altogether.”

Gigi gasped, her eyes wide as saucers. “Those bastards!” She
slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, that’s your family. I was totally
out of line.”

Christa let out a soft laugh. “Maybe, but it’s true. They
were bastards then and still are. Anyway, they also forced Pierce and me into
social situations together at every turn, trying to get me to fall in line and
commit to him. On one of these occasions, we’d all gone to a Fourth of July
party at the country club. I got a terrible headache, which happened a lot back
then. I was depressed and miserable and just wanted to get out of there. They
insisted that Pierce drive me home. Instead, he brought me to the lake where
Tai and I had made love.”

The kettle whistled and Gigi sucked in a breath. “Good
timing, I feel like I need to get up and move around a little to get through
this next part. I’ll make you a cup, sit.”

“Thanks.”

Gigi stood and began bustling around the suite’s small
kitchenette, clearly taking comfort in the mundane task. “Keep talking,” she
urged.

Christa wrapped her arms around herself to ward the sudden
chill away.
Say it fast. Just the words, don’t think about it.
“Pierce
parked the car. I told him I didn’t want to be there, that I wanted him to take
me home immediately. He refused. I was distraught, but still had no inkling I
was in any danger. There were other cars there, although they were parked a
long distance away. And Pierce had never shown any physical aggression toward
me in the past. So when he grabbed my hair,” she swallowed hard, “and tore open
my blouse, I was in complete shock.”

“Fucker.”

Christa sent Gigi a grateful smile. In spite of their rocky
start, she already felt a connection with the woman.

She pressed forward, anxious to get to the end. “At first, I
was too shocked to even fight back. Then I screamed, but we were too far away
for anyone else in the other cars to hear me and Pierce didn’t let me scream
for long. He slapped me in the mouth. Hard. Today, after a boatload of
self-defense classes, I like to think I’d have had a fighting chance. But then?
I was toast. I started to beg and he just kept shouting at me. ‘You’re going to
give me what you gave that lowlife motherfucker. You think he’s better than me?
He’s nothing.’”

She shuddered, remembering. “It was like a demon had taken
over his body. Spittle was flying from his mouth, he was literally vibrating
with rage. One minute, I was pinned beneath him, the next, the door flew open
and I was free.”

“Tai,” Gigi said softly.

“Yeah. I guess he’d been going to the lake a lot since we’d
been apart. He was there, sitting on the dock, and saw us pull up. He was
walking back to his car to leave and heard what he thought was a scream.” She
met the other woman’s eyes. “Do you know how many people would’ve walked away?
After what I’d put him through? For all he knew, we were just joking around, or
worse, it was the good kind of scream. Not Tai though. He dragged Pierce out of
the car by his shirt, onto the ground. I’d never seen him so furious. Pierce
got to his feet pretty quick, but not for long. He lunged at Tai and Tai laid
him out with a snap kick to the jaw. It was over in less than ten seconds.”

“So not exactly a fight then. More like an old-school
ass-whooping.”

“That’s exactly what it was. We left Pierce on the ground
groaning and Tai brought me home. I was a wreck, shaking and crying. He was so
sweet and gentle to me. Walked me to the door, then left. The next time I saw
him was two nights ago.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Gigi demanded. “Why didn’t you go
see him? And I still don’t get why the hell he got arrested.”

“Pierce ended up with a broken jaw. Tai was a black belt in
Shotokan Karate. According to the law, he assaulted Pierce with a deadly
weapon, using his expertise to maim him with forethought and malice.”

“He was trying to hurt you. Not to mention he came at Tai
first. That’s total bullshit.” Gigi’s expressive eyes snapped with anger as she
handed Christa a steaming cup of tea.

“Total,” she confirmed with a nod. “I was a minor and my
parents wouldn’t allow me to go and testify, but I did have to give a statement
to the police explaining what happened. What I don’t get is why they didn’t
seem to take my statement into account at all.”

“What happened to Pierce?”

“My parents insisted that the issues with Pierce should be
settled privately, in a civilized manner. In the end, they laid the blame on
Tai. If he hadn’t treated me like ‘one of his ghetto sluts’, Pierce would have
known I wasn’t that type of girl and he wouldn’t have tried to ‘seduce’ me. No
matter what I said, they refused to believe that he was actually prepared to
rape me, which hurt even more. His family was very influential, mine was in
denial, and no charges were ever filed. In fact, my parents still summer in the
Hamptons with the Ridells.”

She paused to take a sip of tea to wash the bitterness from
her tongue before continuing. “My father told me Tai was sentenced to six
months in a juvenile detention center. I begged to visit or at least know where
he was so I could send letters. They refused. When I was able to sneak away a
few weeks later, I tried to see his mother, but when I went to the apartment
there was already a new tenant there. There was nothing to do but wait. I
figured when Tai got released, he would contact me. But six months came and
went and he never did.”

Gigi looked away, staring off into space for a long moment
before she met Christa’s gaze again. “Two years,” she said flatly.

“What?” Christa stared at the other woman’s stark face.

“They lied to you. It wasn’t six months. He did two years in
a medium-security penitentiary for that kick.”

Christa’s stomach lurched. “Th—that can’t be right. He was a
minor. And a first-time offender,” she protested. A bout of dizziness assailed
her and she set down her mug and bent low, putting her head between her knees.
Two years. Exactly the length of time Mitch said Tai had been off the grid.

“He was tried as an adult.” Gigi’s voice was low and
soothing, but her words slammed into Christa like bricks. “I’m sorry to be the
one to tell you. I thought you should know.”

A gentle hand rubbed her back. “I appreciate it.” She
couldn’t hear the sound of her own voice through the rush of blood in her ears.

Two years. In a real jail. Hot tears sprang to her eyes as
she thought of the boy she knew. Alone. In the dark. Behind bars. He’d lost two
years of his life because of her and she was following him around like some
spoiled brat asking for his forgiveness? No wonder he hated her.

Other books

Wrecked by Walker, Shiloh
A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron
Audrey Hepburn by Barry Paris
Love Storm by Houston, Ruth
So Many Reasons Why by Missy Johnson
The Girl From Nowhere by Christopher Finch