Chapter 18
Briar
“Hey.”
I tear my gaze away from my friends to look at the man talking to me. He has dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, and an easy-going grin with adorable dimples on his cheeks.
“Hello,” I say in return. I tilt my head to the side, taking in his handsome face and down to his tasteful outfit.
Okay… He’s cute. Obviously not in the same league as Rurik, but still…
“Are you with the bride or groom?” Cute Stranger asks.
I chuckle, lifting my bridesmaid outfit. “Take a wild guess.”
I watch his cheeks turn pink, and he rolls his eyes at himself.
“Right,” He chuckles, “Sorry. Stupid question.”
“It’s okay,” I grin, feeling slightly lighter again.
“I’m Jamie,” Cute Stranger, aka Jamie, holds his hand out.
“Briar,” I shake his hand, slightly stunned that this man is still talking to me.
Look at this man as being friendly and gentlemanly.
Fuck, is this how Rurik should have been treating me this whole time? Why the fuck have I been letting his behavior slide to the point I’ve normalized his asshole ways when there are men like Jamie who are out there?
Jamie’s not your angel.
“Want to dance?” I blurt out, silencing my mind.
Jamie looks taken aback for a second before his face splits into a grin. “I was hoping one of us would ask.”
When Nat spots me and Jamie on the dance floor, her face lights up even more. She nudges Oscar and nods toward us, who looks in our direction with a surprised laugh.
“I apologize in advance if I step on your toes!” Jamie yells over the music.
“Don’t worry,” I yell back as he grabs my arms. “I’ll probably do the same anyway!”
So, I definitely won’t do the same. I know how to dance, thank you very much.
But Jamie seems to be having the time of his life dancing with me, and even though he moves like one of those flailing inflatable air figures you see outside of buildings advertising their place, he’s still kind of cute.
After five more songs, we need a quick break.
Jamie walks with me to the buffet and pours a glass of water for me.
“You’re gorgeous,” Jamie says, almost shyly.
“Aww,” I grin, playfully touching his arm. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”
Jamie laughs, taking a sip of his drink. “So, I was wondering… If it’s not too forward to ask. Would you be interested in grabbing coffee tomorrow morning? Or even the next day if you’re too hungover tomorrow.” He quickly adds with a chuckle.
I grin back. But a part of me felt… sad.
Jamie has been giving me the type of attention I’ve always wanted from someone. He’s kind, sweet, adorable, and respectful. He’s the type of man I’ve always thought I wanted in a man. I just wanted that man to be Rurik.
I clear my throat and nod, “Give me your phone. I’ll text myself so you can save my number, and I can have yours.”
He eagerly pulls his phone out and hands it over. I give it back to him as soon as I finish, our fingers brushing at the exchange.
Nothing.
I feel… nothing.
No excitement, no anger, no ecstasy, no anything.
Still, I continue grinning at him as he starts naming places we could check out together. Apparently, he”s a regular at Oscar’s gallery, and they’ve become friends. He doesn’t know Nat well, but he’s close to Oscar.
As I explain to him how I’m friends with them, my gaze casually wanders to the corner where a particular artist is painting another canvas.
But instead of focusing on the happy couple, he’s openly staring at me.
What the fuck is he staring at?
I raise a brow, and he shakes his head once. Glaring between me and Jamie, his glare deepening.
My eyes narrow at him as I mouth, “Fuck you, Rurik.”
As if he could read my lips, his eyes darken with impenetrable anger and… jealousy? No, that can’t be it. Rurik made his feelings clear.
“What do you think?”
My gaze snaps back to Jamie, who looks at me hopefully.
Oh, right.
I blink and nod enthusiastically. “Yeah! Whatever you think will be fun! Surprise me.”
Fuck, I feel like such a bitch. I should be paying attention to him instead.
Jamie beams and continues talking. I try my best to pay attention. I really fucking do. But the dickish asshole wouldn’t stop staring at me, and I can feel his eyes drilling holes into my skull.
*-*-*-*
It”s already past midnight, and the wedding is dwindling. To my relief, Rurik left hours ago, so I”m free to finally let loose without feeling someone staring at me.
“I’m heading out, lovers,” I announce, making my way to Nat and Oscar, giving them each a kiss on the cheek.
They both look exhausted but show no sign of stopping.
“Awww!” Nat complains, “Staaaay!” She sways, bumping into Oscar, who looks like he”s seconds from passing out.
I tease, “Bitch, I’m too old to be out partying past midnight.”
“Boooo!” Nat jokes, before noticing Jamie next to me. She blinks once, twice, and frowns. “Oh, wait. You’re not Rurik.”
I stiffen.
Jamie frowns with confusion, “Uh, no. I’m Jamie.”
“I’m Team Rurik,” She pouts.
“Okay, you’re drunk.” I mutter, “Good-bye! Congratulations!”
I pull Jamie away from them. He laughs, “Who’s Rurik?”
“Her book boyfriend,” I lie, pulling my phone out to use the ride-share app.
“Do you need a ride home?” Jamie asks.
I hesitate for a second before sighing. “Yeah, that would be amazing. Thank you!”
After 20 minutes of him talking about his favorite places to check out in New York and me just listening because I”m exhausted, we finally arrive in front of my apartment.
I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn to him, “Thank you for the ride.”
But he already unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car. I watch, stunned, as he runs around the car to my side. Before I can say anything, he opens the door and helps me.
What a fucking gentleman.
If I hadn’t been tired, I would have made some stupid joke by now and embarrassed him.
Jamie stuffs his hands in his pockets when we stop at my door. I pull out my keys but pause to look at him.
“Thank you for a wonderful night, Jamie.” And I mean it. He truly made my day enjoyable.
He smiles back, leaning closer. “It’s my pleasure, Briar.”
He leans closer again, and I freeze. He has that look on his face that screams, “Invite me in! Please!” and I’m just not in the mood for that. The last person I fooled around with fucked with my head, and I’m done.
“I’ll text you for that coffee date?” I force a hopeful grin.
His features drop in disappointment, but he quickly masks it with a smile. “Yes, please.”
Okay, I feel bad now.
Yes, I know, I don’t owe him shit, but I can’t just let him walk away with nothing, right? I should have been enjoying the wedding with my best friends and the man I was addicted to, but he was a dick. This man saved the night with his kindness.
I smile at him and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. I gave Oscar and Nat the same type of kiss before we left.
Jamie looks stunned for a second before he quickly grins. Looking dapper now, he turns around, only looking over to give me a small wave.
“Have a good night, Briar.”
“You too, Jamie,” I murmur, watching him return inside his car and drive off.
As soon as he disappears from my view, exhaustion comes crashing in. Sighing, I turn back to my door and jab my key in the lock.
As soon as I open the door, a large hand is on my lower back, forcing me inside.
“Did you have fun with Jamie, Briar?”
I whirl around and gasp. “Rurik? What the fuck are you doing here?”
But Rurik just calmly closes the door behind him, securing the lock. His gaze remains fixed on my face as he takes a deliberate step closer. His expression appears serene, almost tranquil. He seems genuinely pleased to see me return home, as if eager to hear about my day.
I would have fallen for that shit.
But his eyes give him away.
Behind that mask of calmness he’s wearing, a storm brews.
Giving him a quick once-over, I notice his rigid posture. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, showcasing the taut muscles in his forearms. His jaw clenches as though he”s grinding his teeth, and his eyes gleam with a wild intensity.
They”re so bright and piercing that I almost instinctively take a step back, unsettled by the intensity of his gaze. He seems on the brink of unraveling like a volcano primed to unleash chaos.
Fuck.
“Did you enjoy your time with Jamie?” He asks, another step closer to me.
I take a step back. “Why the hell do you care? Also, what the hell are you doing here?”
“You gave me your address, remember?” Rurik says, another step.
Another step back. “That was before we made up some bullshit about us—”
His face is right in front of me, his breath fanning my skin as I stare up at him with wide eyes.
Holy shit… What the fuck?
“What—”
“Shut your fucking mouth, Briar.”
“How dare you—”
“I said,” He swoops down, his lips inches from mine. “Shut. Your. Fucking. Mouth.”
And then I died again.
Okay, I didn’t. I sometimes wish I did, though.
But right now?
No.
Because Rurik is the one kissing me again, he came to my apartment. He came to me.
Shouldn’t I be putting my foot down and telling him to fuck off? Shouldn’t I be telling him that he’s too late and that I’m fucking over him already?
Except… I’m not.
Oh god, I’m not over him. Not with the way he’s holding onto me, not with the way he’s devouring my mouth as if he wants to consume me, not with the way he’s pressing his warm body against mine on the wall.
I moan as he trails his mouth on my throat and sucks on my pulse.
“Rurik,” His name leaves my lips before I can stop it. “Oh my god.”
“I thought I was your angel,” He whispers harshly, his hot breath causing goosebumps.
“Fuck,” I groan, his hands squeezing my breasts.
“Was Jamie my replacement, Briar?” Rurik growls against my ear. “Did you call him angel when you danced in his arms?”
He pinches my nipples, and I feel like I am on fire. I lift my chin and capture his mouth with mine. Our tongues fight for control as the feelings of anger, hurt, and frustration from earlier today disappear when Rurik groans hungrily into my mouth.
He pulls away slightly so he could snarl, “Did you invite him over to fuck him? You ignored me all day at the wedding so that you can play with a new fuck buddy?”
“Are you jealous, angel?” I purr, licking his jaw. “Didn’t think anyone else wanted me?”
“You said you wanted to be mine, remember?” His eyes flare with a spark of anger and lust as he growls, “You’re mine, Briar. Fucking. Mine.”
He finds the zipper of my dress from the back and undoes it, roughly shoving my dress down my ankles. He grabs my breasts, squeezing them, as his mouth attacks my throat again. Sucking, biting, squeezing.
Holyfuckingshitballs.
I don’t know where this is all coming from, but… Fuck.
I groan at the sensation he’s giving me with just his hands and lips. Goosebumps scatters all over my skin, my breathing came out in uneven puffs of air, and fuck… I am so fucking wet.
“The sounds you make,” Rurik roughly says, swooping down to catch a nipple in his mouth. “They are mine.”
I throw my head back against the wall as the feeling of his tongue swirling around my sensitive nipple makes my toes curl.
He moves upward again, kissing and biting my chest, my pulse, my jaw, my cheeks, and back to devouring my mouth with a grunt.
“How sweet you fucking taste,” He breathes, his hands making their way to my hips. “They are mine.
His fingers brush against the burn scar on my back from childhood, causing me to stiffen. “Rurik—”
“These scars you think I don’t notice?” He interrupts me, caressing the scars with his thumb. “They are mine.”
He moves a hand behind my thigh and pulls, making me wrap a leg around his waist. I can feel his hard length straining against his pants as he starts to grind against me.
“Your tight cunt dripping and warm,” He grunts, kissing me again as he pulls my other leg up to wrap around him. I hook my ankles together, and he wraps his arms around my lower back and ass to hold me in place. “Also mine. You’re mine, Briar. Say it.”
I want to say I’m not his, that I’m no ones. I want to say we should stop because I know how this will end. I want to say he has boundaries in place, and being his isn’t part of it. I want to say so many things.
“Yours.” I sigh, wrapping my arms around him as I ground against his erection. I pull on his hair so his face could tilt upward, exposing his throat for me. I latch onto his Adam’s apple, kissing it tenderly. “I’m yours, Rurik. Just like you’re mine.”
Rurik makes a strangled sound as he looks down at me. His face flushing red, his eyes bright, and his lips swollen. “Where’s your bedroom, Briar?”
He lets me go gently, letting me pull him down the hallway. As soon as he sees my bed, he immediately scoops me in his arms and dumps me on top. I don’t even have time to say anything because his huge body is already covering mine.
Hands are everywhere, clothes torn and thrown left and right as we continue to latch on to one another. Our lips were glue together, and our hands explore everything we could reach.
“Fuck, Briar,” Rurik groans when my hands reach between us, and I wrap my hands around his thick, hard dick.
“It’s so good to see you again, Rurik’s dick,” I tease, stroking him up and down as precum leaks on my belly.
He releases a choked laugh, dropping his forehead against mine. “Briar,” His intoxicating breath giving me much-needed air.
I wrap my legs around his waist and shift my entire body weight until I’m straddling him, eliciting a look of wide-eyed surprise from him.
Ugh, he’s so fucking sexy.
And I am so fucking wet.
Who needs foreplay when he can just slip right inside me now because of how ready I am?
“Briar,” He starts as I continue to grind against him. He draws a rough breath and groans, “Fuck me.”
I lean down to kiss his jaw as I tease, “You ready to give me your virginity, angel?”
He thrusts his hips, and I fight the moan, wanting to escape my lips. I grab his wrists and pin them on either side of his face.
“Damn it, Briar!” Rurik growls, eyes blazing with exasperation.
“Tell me what you want, Rurik,” I whisper against his ear, nibbling on his earlobe.
He shudders deliciously, making me grin silently.
“Fuck you, Briar. Fuck… You.” He groans as I squeeze and stroke his dick with my hand again.
I made a tsk sound. “Say something more creative than that, angel.” I pout, leaning back to stare at him.
Lust, annoyance, frustration, and desire filter his features as he stares at me. He swallows hard, and I quickly kiss the lump on his throat.
“Fuck me, Briar,” Rurik whispers as I kiss his jaw.
“Say something else,” I whisper back, stroking him up and down.
“I want to be inside you.”
“Something else.”
“I want to see your tight pussy swallow my cock.”
“Something else, angel.”
“I want to thrust inside you and feel your pussy clench tightly around my cock as I fuck you hard and slow.”
“Something. Else.”
“I want to fill your tight little pussy with my cum. I want to watch it drip down your inner thighs. Then I want to lick it back into your pussy, and keep it in there.”
What the… Oh.
Why, hello there, new kink.
“As you wish, Rurik.” I purr, stroking him a few more times before finally slowly lowering myself onto his dick.
As I slowly adjust to the feeling of him fully seething inside me, I watch his face. His face expresses different types of emotions at once.
Trepidation, bliss, and yearning mix before his eyes close, surrendering to the overall pleasure as I lift my hips until the tip of his cock edges just outside of my pussy, before going down again.
“Oh, fuck,” Rurik groans deeply, his hands on my hips and squeezing them. “You’re so tight, Briar.”
I move up and down, my hips rocking against his until we both find a rhythm we both love.
Fuck.
I am so fucked.
Literally and figuratively.
I’m not blind. I know how big he is. But holy shit, it’s different when he’s inside me.
But it’s not just about fucking him, though. This feels different… Like nothing I’ve ever felt before with my previous partners. I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to enjoy the ride.
My legs are beginning to feel shaky because I have to force myself to slow down so my body can accept this huge dick piercing inside me, and sweat is already starting to form on my body.
I lean down and kiss him as he groans against my mouth.
“You feel so good,” I murmur, loving the feeling of his hands on my back and ass.
He just groans back, biting on my lips and licking the sting away with the tip of his tongue. He moans as I pick up the pace, and he meets my hips, thrusts with thrusts.
He wraps his arms around my waist and back and flips us over suddenly. I gasp, feeling his delicious weight on top of me again.
“Fuck,” Rurik groans, driving his hips into me, thrusting more wildly as he leans against his arms on either side of my face, caging me in. His lips meet mine as he continues to pound into me.
Our groans and moans meld together, resonating throughout my bedroom like a seductive symphony of grunts, gasps, Oh my god’s, and Oh fuck’s.
“I’m so close,” He whispers shakily against my lips.
He reaches between us, feeling around as he watches my face. When his finger brushes against the sensitive spot, I gasp, and my eyes close.
His finger stops, “Open your eyes, Briar. I want to see you come with your eyes on me.”
“God, Rurik,” I whimper, pulling his face to me as I devour him. “I thought you’ve never done this before?”
His fingers continue to rub my clit in circles, and I pull away to look at him.
“You did your research,” My tease morphs into a long moan, and I can feel the tingle begin to spread. “Oh my god, Rurik… Holy shit, wait, I’m going to… Oh my god!”
The pressure building between my legs burst, and sweet tingles of pleasure spread all over my legs, down to my curled toes, and up to my core.
The whole time, Rurik stares at me. His eyes are wide, and his lips parting. “Beautiful,” He simply murmurs. He lifts his finger to his lips and licks it. “Fucking beautiful.” He rocks to his heels, grabbing onto my waist as he proceeds to pound into me.
“Damn it, Briar,” Rurik says, his thrusts now long and hard. “You drive me crazy with your constant annoying self. You come in here, barging into my life as if you had the right to, fucking up with everything I… Oh, fuck. I’m going to come.”
“Come inside me, Rurik.” I whisper, “I want to feel your hot come shoot inside me.”
“Holy fuck.” He gasps as his thrusts turn so wild that I have to reach over to the headboard to hold on. He releases a drawn-out groan, his thrusts slowing down as he comes inside me.
He shudders and leans down, capturing my lips with his hungrily. His kisses slowly turn gentler as I feel him soften inside me.
Fuck.
I can’t believe I actually came.
I mean, okay. I’ve come plenty. But I’ve always faked it during sex. I had to finish myself off whenever my partner showered or fell asleep.
But Rurik the Virgin Angel?
Holy shit.
What the fuck was that?
He pulls away, and I reluctantly let him go. I watch as he shifts so he can lay beside me, his gaze taking in my naked body.
“Congratulations on getting laid for the first time, Rurik.” I tease, kissing his shoulder.
He rolls his eyes, a small smile on his lips. “I shouldn’t have told you that in the first place. Now, you’re not going to shut up about it.”
I shrug, glad he’s not running away yet. “Knowing I’m the one to take it is doing weird things to my brain, angel.”
Rurik makes a strangled sound before sighing. He leans his head against the headboard, looking at me. I sit up, adjusting my pillows to use as a cushion for my elbows as I lay on my side to face him. I look up at him and grin.
But his attention zeroes in on my shoulder.
He frowns, gently touching the bandage as if he just realized it’s there. “What happened here?”
Oh.
Fuck.
I forgot about that. “Oh, it’s nothing. I cut myself during work.”
His eyes narrow. “Work?”
“Yup.”
“And what do you do for work?”
I hesitate. I don’t know if Nat and Mr. Rogers trust Rurik enough for me to tell them what I am. “You know. Stuff.”
Before he can say something else, I blurt out, “Want to have a shower?”
Rurik frowns, “Sure. Oh, wait. Do you mean together? I’d rather not.”
“That’s okay!” I say, secretly glad he said that. I’m also not comfortable showering with other people. Not right now. “There are clean towels inside the cabinet.”
Rurik just nods, turning around and getting off the bed.
I stare at his beautiful ass as he bends down to pick up his clothes off the floor.
Awww, Rurik has a dimple on his left butt cheek. That’s cute!
He may have heard my mournful sigh, because he turns around and glares. I just grin innocently back.
“Sorry, I just got distracted by how beautifully sexy you are.”
To make a point, I make a show of checking him out from top to bottom. When I meet his gaze, I’m taken aback to see the hunger radiating off of them.
Before I can say anything, he drops his clothes and pounces on me.