The noises from next door stopped, but the silence that followed was even more unbearable.

I looked up at her, and she batted her eyelashes at me. She wanted me, too. That was clear and making this so much harder.

I started picking at the lint on my comforter to distract myself from the need building inside of me. It really wasn't working because my mind started going in a different direction. All I could think about was whether or not she was a virgin. Even though she was probably too old to have not had s.e.x, she gave off a vibe of purity and s.e.xual naivety. Maybe if she were a virgin, it would help convince little Jake down there that things couldn't go any further anyway, regardless of my holding back.

It was against my better judgment, but I said it anyway. "I bet that p.r.i.c.k ex-boyfriend of yours sucked in bed."

She looked shocked at my a.s.sertion. After a few seconds, she said, "Actually, he did...big-time."

Okay. Question answered.

My body went rigid as I sat up straighter. "So, you have had s.e.x."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She laughed nervously.

"See, now I've made you blush. I'm sorry. You just strike me as a certain kind of girl."

"What kind of girl is that?"

"It's nothing bad. Just...innocent...maybe a virgin." I looked up at the ceiling. What the f.u.c.k did I get myself into with this conversation? Just tell her the truth. "The kind of girl that guys like me are dying to corrupt."

She wasn't saying anything. The mood shifted again and grew even tenser. I backed away against the headboard to keep my distance because my willpower was dwindling fast.

Then, she cleared her throat. "Well, in answer to your question...yes, I have had s.e.x, but it was just with him."

"He was your only, and he sucked in bed? That's unfortunate."

"Yeah. It was unfortunate. I never even actually...you know...with him."

"You never what?" I asked. As I looked at her expression, what she meant suddenly dawned on me. My smile faded. Holy s.h.i.t. No. My voice went low in disbelief. "You never came? You never even had an o.r.g.a.s.m?"

She shook her head. "Not from another person."

Whatever reserve I had built up was destroyed in that moment as images of Nina touching herself flooded my brain. All of the blood in my body rushed straight to my d.i.c.k.

I started attacking the lint on my comforter again as if that were going to help. My d.i.c.k was completely hard now, and there was nowhere to run and nothing I could do. Either I was looking at her beautiful, wanting eyes, hard nipples or thinking about her getting herself off. It was a blue b.a.l.l.s trifecta.

My c.o.c.k twitched as I imagined her eyes closed, spread eagle, c.l.i.t glistening, pleasuring herself. What did she think about in that pretty little head of hers when she did it? I wanted it to be me. Why was I torturing myself, asking her these questions? Still, I wanted to hear more. If I couldn't touch her, I d.a.m.n well wanted material for later. I needed to hear more. So, I kept on with it.

"So, you come when you touch yourself..."

"Yeah," she simply said.

f.u.c.k.

I closed my eyes for a moment. It was impossible to believe that no guy had ever made her come. I hoped she knew that wasn't normal. "s.e.x doesn't count if he didn't make you come, Nina. You're basically still a virgin." I bit down on my lip ring in frustration. "He had s.e.x. You didn't."

What a d.a.m.n shame that no one had ever pleasured her. It made me angry, but in a twisted way, it invigorated me. I wanted nothing more than to be the first man to ever make her come...with my mouth, with my hands, with my c.o.c.k buried deep inside of her.

You have no idea what I would do to you, Nina, if it were that simple. What I might do to you anyway if you don't get the f.u.c.k out of here soon.

I continued to look at her, imagining all the different ways I would make her come if I could. Her cheeks were flush from this conversation alone, and I wondered what they'd look like if I reached over and kissed her senseless.

My body was experiencing a level of physical need that was completely foreign to me. I'd never wanted to f.u.c.k someone so badly.

I realized I was staring at her nipples again and had to do something. And G.o.d, I needed a cigarette. Trying to quit, I hadn't smoked one in weeks, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Having nowhere to run with a raging hard on was as desperate as it got for me. It was either move from this spot or pull her onto my lap. A change of position was much needed.

I couldn't help but laugh a little when she flinched as I got up from the bed. She had no idea how close I just came to grabbing her face and kissing her, but instead, in a split decision, I practically ran to the window. As I opened it, the frosty air that blew inside the room calmed me down for like a millisecond. Then, I walked over to the drawer, fumbled for a cigarette and lit it, inhaling deeply. The smoke burned my throat as I sucked in again, hoping it would help me control myself.

"Why are you smoking? I thought you quit."

I shook my head. "I did. But I really needed one, and I need to keep my distance right now."

"Why?" she asked.

She wasn't gonna let it go. She knew I'd been trying to quit. If I was smoking all of a sudden, it was obvious that I was losing my s.h.i.t. I inhaled again and turned to look at her sweet face. Just wanting to open up to her, my heart clenched.

"You really want to know why I'm smoking?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Because it's keeping my mouth occupied and stopping me from doing something I shouldn't right now." I took another long drag. "You should probably go back to your room."

It was the right thing to say, the right thing to do. She needed to leave because I could only stand so much more of this. She had no idea what she'd be getting into with me, and it wouldn't be fair to spring it on her tonight. It was late, and we were both still a little drunk. Not the time to be having that discussion.

"You're smoking and telling me to leave because you want to kiss me?"

I couldn't help but laugh. As if I only wanted to "kiss" her. Yeah, that would be a start, but there was no end to the list of things I would to do to her, with her, show her for the first time. I dreamt of what that would be like so often while lying in my bed at night. Just kissing would never be an option with how I was feeling about this girl.

I inhaled deeply again and looked over at her. This time, her chest was heaving in antic.i.p.ation of my saying something, doing something. She even looked a little scared.

f.u.c.k it. Nina, you want the truth? I can't give you what I want to, but I can give you the truth.

"I wouldn't tell you to leave if I only wanted to kiss you, Nina. I'm telling you to leave because I want to taste you and make you come until you scream in every possible way imaginable. It was all I could think about all night long. It's why I couldn't sleep. But now that you just told me no man has ever done that...f.u.c.k. That's why I am smoking if you really want to know."

My heart raced.

What the f.u.c.k did I just say?

Her face turned bright red as she just stood there. As shocked as I was at myself for blurting it out, it felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted. I'd been dying to tell her for so long how much I wanted her. Absorbing my words, she stayed frozen at the edge of the bed. I put out my cigarette and stayed staring out the window to keep my distance.

I cleared my throat and repeated, "I really think you should go back to your room."

When it started to feel like Antarctica, I closed the window. Without the distraction of the cigarette, I had no choice but to turn to her and noticed her nipples were harder than before. I could now make out almost exactly what her b.r.e.a.s.t.s looked like naked. My eyes were glued, and I licked my lips, desperately wanting to taste them through the thin fabric of her shirt.

I didn't dare move when her gaze lowered to my crotch. Any doubt that remained about my need for her was now obsolete because I was fully erect. My breathing quickened as her eyes continued to stare down at me.

My heart nearly pounded through my chest when Nina stood up from the bed and walked slowly toward where I was standing. She smelled like sweet vanilla as she stopped just inches away from me. I wanted to devour her but instead held back and took in a long, deep breath, closing my eyes. My lips trembled because it was almost as if I could taste her as I inhaled. She was so close. So close, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Not until she knew the truth.

Her gla.s.sy eyes were staring up at me when I opened mine, and my chest tightened. She was so pretty. Her blonde hair was in a messy side ponytail that I wanted to roughly pull toward me. My eyes trailed down the length of her body slowly, stopping at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s again then down to her taut stomach and up again. The soft skin at the top of her chest glowed in the moonlight, and I yearned to touch it just for a second, to feel the warmth there.

Without thinking, I reached out and gripped her waist. All the control I had built up was immediately destroyed with the sharp intake of breath she let out the second my hand landed on her. It was a torturous indication of what it would be like to be with her. Her body was so responsive to me, even in those moments when we were just sitting next to each other. I knew without a doubt if given the opportunity, not only would I make her come, but I would make her lose all control. Oh, how I wanted to see Nina lose her mind when she came for me.

The thoughts in my head were driving me wild, and my fingers began to gently caress her waist. The longer my hand lingered, the more I lost focus on reality and when I realized my nails were digging into her, I pulled back and growled through my teeth, "f.u.c.k."

What was I thinking touching her? One more second, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to stop myself from taking what I had no right to.

She was breathing heavily and almost looked scared, like she wanted to say something but was holding back. I couldn't blame her. She was the Little Red Riding Hood in this situation and I was the Big Bad Wolf with a big bad b.o.n.e.r.

For f.u.c.k's sake, say something, Jake.

Before I had a chance to, Nina blurted out, "I want to know what you do when you go to Boston every weekend."

s.h.i.t.

s.h.i.t.

s.h.i.t.

Should I just tell her the truth?

Think!

I blinked repeatedly to buy myself some time. The truth. Yeah, right. Could you imagine? "Nina, I'm actually married, but it's okay. There's a good explanation. I'm telling you this right now with a stiff w.i.l.l.y because..."

f.u.c.k no! I couldn't tell her now. Not like this.

So, instead, I just blurted out, "It's complicated, Nina."

I felt like an absolute p.r.i.c.k. Imagine what she was thinking about my leading her on, trying to kick her out, touching her and now feeding her this bull.

Nina just stood there and looked at me then glanced out the window, looking lost and defeated. She was going to give up on me, and I couldn't blame her.

Looking utterly disappointed, she shook her head and let out a frustrated sigh. "Good night, Jake."

Game over. Well played, d.i.c.khead.

I swallowed as she backed away. Feeling helpless, I let her go, knowing I wouldn't get any sleep tonight. My mind screamed, "I think I might be falling in love with you." But I said nothing as she walked away and slammed the door.

No paper bat could fix this s.h.i.t.

CHAPTER 11.

Present Skylar stood up from the couch to stretch. "I need a break. This story is giving me lady blue b.a.l.l.s."

"Seriously! Even I'm getting lady blue b.a.l.l.s," Mitch joked as he got up and rubbed her shoulders. "You want to watch the baby, Jake, so Skylar and I can have a few minutes alone to take care of this?"

"Imagine how it was for me, man...living through it."

A loud knock prompted me to jump out of my seat. I flew to the door only to be crushed to find it was my sister and brother-in-law standing there with a bunch of bags.

"c.r.a.p. I thought you were Nina. You didn't get my text?"

The smell of marinara sauce wafted in the air as they both pushed past me.

"What message?"

"I texted you that the party's off."

"What? Allison looked down at her phone. "I never got it."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "I'll put the food in the kitchen."

Checking my messages, I scrolled down and noticed I'd mistakenly texted Albert from work instead of Allison. Showing her the screen, I said, "Well, that explains why you never responded."

Allison took off her coat and hung it up. She walked over to hug Skylar and Mitch who were standing to greet her. My sister took the baby in her arms and conversed with them for a bit before walking back over to me.

She pulled me aside. "What the h.e.l.l is going on?"

Over the next few minutes, I rehashed everything that happened last night from the Ivy visit to Nina walking out this morning.

"Geez...I'm sorry. That really sucks. I hope she comes home soon...for your sanity." She rubbed my arm. "Let me fill Cedric in on what's going on. Be right back."

Allison went into the kitchen then returned and sat next to Skylar who was nursing the baby again on the couch.

Cedric was carrying a bottle of Cabernet and two gla.s.ses when he reentered the living room. He grabbed one of the dining room chairs to join us. "All the food's put away. We have enough to feed an army, so if anyone's hungry, it'll just need to be reheated."

He opened the wine, poured two gla.s.ses and handed one to my sister. "Can I get anyone else a gla.s.s?"

Mitch lifted his Heineken. "I'm good with beer."

Cedric took a sip and looked over at Allison. "Seeing Skylar feeding the baby reminds me of the good old days."

Skylar turned to Allison. "This little guy is attached to my b.o.o.bs."

Mitch winked. "Now, she's got two Mitch's she has to pry off her t.i.ts."

Everyone laughed, and Skylar looked over at my sister. "I don't know how you did it with twins. You nursed them both at once?"