Chapter 5—Heather

I swore my head exploded. Darian James was kissing me! His muscular body was pressed to mine. His hands were on my ass, squeezing and pulling me closer. And his hard cock teased my pussy to the point I wanted to scream and cry for him to fuck me. I leaned into him, praying he wouldn’t stop. His tongue parted my lips and barely flickered over mine when he suddenly pulled away. In the next moment, he’d lifted me off the car and set me on my feet.

“Get your ass upstairs right now,” he demanded.

“What?” Tears sprung to my eyes. “Why?” My stomach dropped. He’d barely kissed me and hadn’t liked it. That was the only explanation as to why he was sending me away.

“Rick is here.”

It was only then I heard the distinct sound of a motorcycle. But that knowledge didn’t calm my nerves. I stared at Darian, waiting for more of an explanation.

“Shit. Of course he decides to come in early today.” He dragged a trembling hand through his hair. “Upstairs. Now.” He pointed toward the door. “Rick does not need to see you like that.” Darian’s gaze raked over my body, lingering on my breasts, and my nipples hardened in response. “I’ll be up in a few minutes, okay?”

Swallowing hard, I nodded. Then I headed up to the loft. My heart raced, and my hands shook. I’d kissed Darian. Kind of. But if we hadn’t been interrupted, we would have kissed, and probably a hell of a lot more. My head spun, and I felt slightly dizzy. Would I really have gone through with it? Would I have had sex with him? Or was I just caught up in the moment, swept away by the feel of his hands on me, by the rush of power knowing an older, experienced man wanted me?

I crossed the room and stood in front of the wall-length picture window that overlooked the backyard, which was mostly trees, but it was still a breathtaking view. My arms were still covered in goosebumps, and my lips tingled from his kiss. I’d been right about him—he knew how to talk dirty, and that only made me want him more. I couldn’t deny how my body reacted to him, or how many nights I’d fantasized about being with him. And clearly, he’d been doing the same, which only made my indecision worse. When I didn’t think I stood a chance, I was eager to give him my virginity, but now that I knew it was a possibility, I was terrified. Shit. He didn’t even know I was a virgin, and that was something I needed to tell him.

My phone buzzed on the coffee table, and I turned to glare at it. When had I turned it back on? Shaking my head, I picked it up, fully expecting to see my dad or Corrine’s name, but it was Jessa. Grinning, I accepted her call. “Hey!”

“It’s too damn early to be so happy.” She laughed.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and checked the time. It wasn’t even six a.m. yet. “Yeah, why are you calling me so early?” I flopped down on the couch.

“You left me a crazy frantic message, and you sounded really upset. This is the first I’ve had cell service. Stupid camping in the mountains,” she grumbled. “So, what’s going on? You okay?”

I took a deep breath. “I’m better than I was yesterday when I left you that message. I found out Corrine has been sleeping with my dad. They’re in love and planning to move in together.” There was an uncomfortably long pause. “Jessa?”

“Wow. Corrine and your dad?”

“Yeah. Fucked up, right?”

“Well…it’s unusual…”

Oh God. Please don’t tell me she’s going to side with Corrine on this. I couldn’t handle losing another friend. “But?”

“Isn’t it better that he’s with your best friend in the world as opposed to some stranger who could turn out to be a gold-digging, raging bitch that’s jealous of the attention your dad gives you and so she then tries to kill you and make it look like an accident?”

A burst of laughter escaped before I could stop it. “You watch too many movies.” I shook my head. “And yeah, I suppose you’ve got a point, but they lied to me, Jessa. For weeks. That’s unforgivable.”

“Is it?” She sighed. “Look, I get you’re upset.”

“And betrayed,” I added.

“That too. But it’s not like you’ve never had a crush on an older guy before. I distinctly remember you trying to devise a plan to get a certain hot English teacher to notice you.”

I laughed again. “I cannot believe you’re using that against me right now.” But Mr. Tate was smoking hot, and he wasn’t that much older than most of his students.

“And between us…I’ve always sorta thought Kalani’s dad was hot.”

“Mr. Callahan?” I cupped my hand over my mouth. “No way.” Were all of my friends secretly into older guys? Not that I had any room to talk after what just happened with Darian. “How do I trust either of them again?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It’s going to take time, but have you talked to them since you found out?”

“No.” I stood and paced back to the window. “I’m still too angry. I need a few more days to calm down.”

“That’s understandable.” There was a loud rustling followed by some voices. “Ugh. I have to go. I’ll be home in two days. We’ll get together then, okay?”

“Okay. Have fun camping.” I ended the call and scrolled through my text messages, debating whether I should reach out to Corrine. But before I could make up my mind, Darian entered the loft. My heart kickstarted at the sight of him, and my nerves zapped to life, as if my body could recognize his presence.

Without a word, he stalked toward me. I stood, frozen, with my back against the window. And then he was in front of me, his body so large and hard compared to mine. I looked up at him, unsure what to say. In the garage, I’d been confident and seductive. Sexy. But now I felt small and insecure, my inexperience like a prison I couldn’t escape. He took my face into his hands and caressed my cheeks with his thumbs. My eyes fluttered closed.

“I shouldn’t do this, but fuck. I need a taste, Heather. Just one.” And then his lips brushed over mine once, twice, three times, before his tongue swept across my bottom lip, parting them.

Snapping out of whatever daze I’d been in, I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned his kiss, our tongues dueling for dominance. I didn’t stand a chance of taking control of this kiss, and I was totally fine with that. I arched into him, and he groaned, the sound reverberating through my body. God, Darian knew how to use his tongue. His lips were so soft and warm, and his kiss was a series of perfectly timed licks and nips and breathless moans. He made me forget why I’d been having second thoughts about this.

I gently scraped my fingernails across the back of his neck, and he nipped at my lip before breaking the kiss. I whimpered in protest as I fought to catch my breath. Holy hell. I’d never been kissed like that before, and I’d be surprised if my lips weren’t swollen. He took a step back. Then another. He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and looked at me with so much want it floored me.

“That’s it,” he said, shaking his head.

“What?”

“That kiss. That’s it. Nothing else will ever happen between us.”

And there were his stupid boundaries again, snapping into place without warning. I didn’t know if I should be upset or pissed. How could he kiss me like that then deny us anything more? I pushed off the window and crossed my arms. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Everything about this is wrong, Heather.”

“Except how good it feels.” There was no way he could deny that.

He scowled. “You’re only nineteen.”

“So? You’re only thirty-eight. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Probably nothing.” He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well, the age means nothing to me.”

He raised a brow as if he didn’t believe me. “Really? Then why are you so pissed about your father and Corrine?”

I narrowed my eyes and balled my hands into fists. “I told you why. Their age difference has nothing to do with it.” Why couldn’t he understand that? It was the lies and the betrayal I had issues with. “And what do they have to do with what’s going on here?”

“Everything!” He threw his hands in the air. “You showed up here in tears because of their relationship, and you’re pretty righteous up there on your high horse about how they lied to you and betrayed you and how you lost your best friend over this.”

“My high horse?” My voice was tight with anger. “Why are you suddenly being such an asshole? I thought you understood.” My throat burned with the effort of holding back my tears.

He flinched. “I do understand. But I don’t get why you’re so damn eager to do the same thing to them. You really want to do this to your father? To Nathan?”

All the fight left me. I didn’t have a quick comeback to that. He was right. Nathan was one of my closest friends. Knowing how I felt about Corrine and my dad, could I do the same thing to Nathan? It would crush him. And even though I was angry with my father, could I destroy his friendship, and business relationship, with Darian? My shoulders slumped, and I smoothed my hands over my hair. “You’re right.”

“I am?” He sounded genuinely shocked.

I nodded a little too hard. Although I wasn’t a hundred-percent sure I agreed with him, I needed to take back a bit of control. I wasn’t going to let him be the only one to make this decision, because that would suck, and I refused to let him know how much his words hurt.

“Okay. Good.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “This really is for the best.”

“I agree.” My voice trembled.

“There’s too many people who will get hurt if we allow this to happen.”

“I know,” I whispered. I was agreeing with him. Why wouldn’t he drop it? I didn’t want to stand there and listen to him give me every reason under the sun why this was wrong. I knew why it was wrong. I wanted him to tell me why it was right. “Can I stay here a couple more days? My friend Jessa won’t be home for another two days, and I don’t really want to go home yet.”

“You can stay here as long as you want.” He gave me a sympathetic smile, but I didn’t return it.

“Thanks.” I crossed my arms over my chest again, suddenly feeling way too exposed.

“Now that we’ve got this settled, I need to get back down to the garage.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. Then he left.

The click of the door closing made me jump, and then the tears I’d been fighting broke free. I wiped them away hastily, angry with myself for being so stupid. It was one kiss. So what if he jerked off thinking about me? That didn’t mean anything, and I was silly for thinking otherwise. With a deep breath, I headed upstairs to get dressed. I had no idea what I’d do all day, but hopefully I wouldn’t have to face Darian again until later. And I’d gotten my wish. I didn’t have to face Darian again that day because he didn’t come home until after I was asleep, and he’d left before I woke up the following morning. By the time the sun set on Wednesday, I felt like a caged animal. I was so bored! Thankfully, Jessa would be home tomorrow, and then I could get the hell out of here.