Chapter 123

Lily’s POV

The hallway outside the English classroom feels too small, the air thick with the sting of Alison’s flirting, her sexy voice and brazen touch still burning in my mind. Crew’s arm is around me, his warmth a tether, but my heart is a storm, jealousy and insecurity churning like a tempest.

I think of Alison’s golden hair, her plunging blazer, the way she leaned into Crew, her hand grazing his arm, her lips teasing—“Maybe you could help me study sometime”—replay in my head, each word like a dagger. She’s everything I’m not: bold, sexy, experienced, a wildfire who knows how to make men burn.

I’m just Lily, shy and inexperienced, my virginity only recently given to Crew in that snowy Vermont suite, my body still learning to match his hunger. The memory of her ignoring me, her eyes locked on him, makes my stomach twist, and worse, I saw it—Crew’s smirk, his guarded “Maybe,” like he was entertaining her, like she still has a hold on him.

We’re alone now, tucked into a quiet corner near the stairwell, the school’s shortened Monday buzzing faintly around us.

Crew’s hand is on my waist, my necklace—my grandmother’s heirloom, now his—glinting at his throat, a symbol of his claim that both thrills and terrifies me. But Alison’s shadow looms, her sexual confidence a mirror to my fears, and I can’t hold it in. My voice trembles, soft but urgent. “Crew, can we talk?”

His eyes, dark and intense, meet mine, sensing my unease. “What’s wrong, Lil?” His thumb brushes my hip, grounding but not enough to quiet the chaos in my chest.

I swallow, my cheeks burning, my father’s threats—“I’ll kill you if you’re with a boy”—a distant echo compared to this raw, gnawing insecurity. “It’s… Alison,” I whisper, my voice breaking, my eyes dropping to the floor. “The way she was with you, flirting, touching you. She’s so… sexy, so experienced. I saw how you looked at her, how you didn’t shut her down. I feel like I can’t compete.” Tears prick, and I hate myself for it, for being this vulnerable, for fearing he might want her fire over my softness.

Crew’s hand tightens, pulling me closer, his body like a wall against my doubts. “Lil, look at me,” he growls, his voice low, commanding. I lift my eyes, meeting his gaze, fierce and unyielding. “You think I was entertaining her? Fuck that. She’s nothing to me. You’re everything.” His words are sparking, but my insecurity clings, Alison’s curves, her confidence, a taunt I can’t shake.

“She’s… more than me,” I murmur, my voice shaking, my hands fisting his jacket. “She knows how to… do things. She’s had you before, hasn’t she? I’m just… new, clumsy. What if you want that again? Her experience, her… sexiness?” My core aches, remembering Vermont—his fingers inside me, his lips on my pussy, my orgasms, his to claim—but Alison’s boldness makes me doubt, makes me fear I’m not enough.

Crew’s eyes blaze, his hand sliding to my neck, his thumb grazing my pulse, sending heat pulsing through me. “You think she’s sexier? Fuck, Lil, you’re wrong,” he says, his voice rough, raw. “You in that pink lingerie, spreading your legs, touching yourself for me? Hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Alison’s got nothing on you.” His lips hover near mine, his breath hot, and my panties dampen, my body responding despite the turmoil. “She’s my past, a mistake. You’re my now, my future. I don’t want her. I want you—your softness, your trust, the way you give yourself to me.”

His words melt me, but the image of Alison’s hand on him, her sultry purr, lingers. “You didn’t stop her,” I whisper, my voice small, tears spilling. “You smirked, said ‘Maybe.’ It felt like… you liked it.” My heart cracks, my father’s voice—“You’re nothing, a slut”—merging with my fear that Crew might crave her fire, her experience, over me.

He growls, his hand cupping my face, forcing my eyes to his. “I was shutting her down, Lil. That smirk? It was me brushing her off. I said ‘Maybe’ to get her to fuck off without making a scene. You think I’d let her touch what’s mine?” His voice drops, possessive, my necklace glinting, and my pussy clenches, his claim a fire that burns away doubt. “You’re mine, Lily. No one else gets me—not Alison, not anyone. I’d kill for you, fight for you, fuck you until you know it.”

My breath catches, desire flooding me, my body trembling under his intensity. I think of Vermont—his tongue on my clit, my moans loud, his cock hard against me—and I want him now, want to erase Alison’s shadow. “I’m scared,” I admit, my voice raw. “She’s so confident, so… sexual. I’m still learning, Crew. What if I’m not enough?”

He kisses me, hard, his tongue thrusting, claiming, his hands gripping my hips, pulling me against his erection, straining through his jeans. I moan, my core throbbing, my panties soaked, his hunger drowning my fears. “You’re more than enough,” he murmurs against my lips, his voice a growl.

“Every time you come for me, every shy smile, every fucking touch—it’s you I crave. Alison’s a ghost, Lil. She can’t touch us.” His hand slips under my skirt, brushing my thigh, and I gasp, my body arching, desperate for more.

“But she wants you,” I whisper, my voice trembling, jealousy flaring even as his touch ignites me. “She’s not shy like me. She knows how to… please you.”

“Fuck what she wants,” he snaps, his fingers teasing higher, touching my panties, my wetness coating from his skin. “You please me, Lil. Your pussy, your moans, the way you beg for my fingers—that’s what I want. Not her.” His lips crash into mine again, his kiss fierce, possessive, and I melt, my insecurities fading, Alison’s flirting a distant echo against his vow.

The bell rings, the hallway is stirring, but we’re locked in our bubble, his hand still teasing, my body his. “You’re mine,” he growls, my necklace a reminder, his love a shield against my father’s threats, Alison’s seduction, my own doubts. I nod, breathless, my heart his, my body aching for him to prove it, to fuck me until Alison’s nothing, until I’m all he sees.

We pull apart, but his eyes promise more—later, in secret, he’ll claim me again, and I’ll let him, my jealousy, a spark that fuels our fire, our love, a risk I’ll take, no matter the cost.