15. Dylan
CHAPTER 15
DYLAN
For two days, I was keeping a close eye on Mattie.
Closer than usual.
After that mess with Tucker, she had been off. Quiet and deep in her head. Not that I blamed her. That fucker was lucky that Bridges had followed me in just as her boss went to go look for her.
I still couldn’t believe what the asshole had tried to do. There was no missing the fact he had been half dressed, with his pants untied like he was ready to tear them off. If he had, I would have ripped off his dick and shoved it down his throat. Thankfully, we didn’t have to worry about him any longer. He had not only been suspended, but the dick was behind bars, waiting, since bail hadn’t been granted. It looked like Tucker’s past caught up to him. Just the thought of what he had wanted to do to my shortcake, what he had intended to do, made me see red.
For my girl’s sake, I didn’t let my mind wander down that path too much.
But for the last two days, something else had been going on. Hell, I’d expected her to be quiet, but it was something more. Something my gut kept yelling at me about. There were moments when she would look at me in a way she hadn’t done before. Almost like she was seeing me in a different light.
I’d asked her time and time again if she was okay, if we were okay, and she would just smile and say we were. Now I was in my bed waiting on pins and needles for her to text me. As if reading my mind from down the hall, my phone pinged.
My Shortcake: Hey, I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner? I’m just going to shower first, and we can go, if you would like to join me.
My nose flared. That obsessed possessive being inside of me rolled his neck. He had been harder and harder to temper down after what went down. She’d all but pushed me out of her dorm, telling me my roommates probably missed me with how I had been hovering over her. It still didn’t stop me from sneaking into her place last night while she was sleeping. I’d knelt by her bed for almost two hours.
Just watching her sleep.
Listening to her breathe.
Taking pictures of her resting and dreaming about me.
Me: Of course, baby. See you at six.
I hit Send and stayed lying on my bed.
The ceiling fan whirred above me as I counted to a hundred. Then again. I fought the need to get up and head over, to wait for her in the shower to watch her. Fuck, I missed her. We hadn’t slept together the night before, and I missed her. I missed holding her. Being in her space, having her eyes on me.
Still, I waited. Giving her time to get her things. I could see her, clear as day in my mind’s eye. Walking around her dorm, grabbing her things and getting ready to head down to the showers.
The clock couldn’t tick fast enough for me.
Especially when we weren’t together.
After giving her ten minutes, I got up and ran my fingers through my hair. Something inside me tried to stop me, to not go, but I couldn’t help it.
I missed her.
I hadn’t taken her since the incident, but I’d cuddled with her, and we had made out. But my dick was fucking addicted to the snug warmth of her body, and I ached. I should have just jerked off in my room. But I didn’t.
Instead, I grabbed the extra phone from where I kept all the pictures and videos I’d taken and made my way out of my place and down the hall. The entire time, a little voice told me to stop and go back, but I ignored it.
I glanced around the hall as I made my way towards the co-ed showers. They were empty, and I wasn’t surprised there wasn’t a single person out and about. People in this building were either at practice or hanging out somewhere, if they hadn’t gone home for the summer. Come a couple of weeks, the halls would be busy with people constantly coming and going at all hours.
Something I didn’t like to think about.
How the hell would I be able to sneak into her place when she finally had roommates? How the hell would I watch her shower? I breathed in as I carefully opened the door to the co-ed showers. That would be a problem for another day. I’d come up with different plans, but I couldn’t exactly roll them into motion just yet. My top choice would be for her to move into my dorm or for us to rent an off-campus apartment. I just worried that we were too new and too fresh for me to suggest living together. Would that scare her off? I shook the thought away, and relief washed over me as my dick started to harden beneath my gym shorts. The back shower, the one she preferred, was running.
And by the sound of the showers, we were in there alone.
Quietly, I walked over to the one and only stall being used. The air in the room was steamy. Almost like the water had been running for a while. Standing off to the side, I waited. My ears strained to hear her. To listen to the way the water sluiced down her curves. My body vibrated with unfurled need. The curtain was shut, not giving me a sliver of a peek. Every single one of my senses was on edge, every nerve ending on high alert. My heart felt like it was about to pound out of my chest. I needed to see her skin dripping wet and tinged with pink from the heat of the water more than I needed to fucking breathe. My hand rose, and I pushed the curtain slightly to the side. Not hard enough for her to notice but enough to where it would look like a natural movement.
But I hadn’t done enough to see her lovely body under the cascading water. I tried again, and this time, I frowned. “What the hell?” I rumbled. The shower was empty. I pulled the curtain all the way and looked around the dry area only to see her caddy there. My heart already pounding rose to my throat and lodged there when I turned around to see her standing behind me. That look in her eyes, the one that felt like she wasn’t sure who she was looking at, was back in her gaze.
“Mattie.”
“It was true,” she whispered.
“True?” I repeated. My voice sounded like gravel in my ears. My breathing was choppy as heat and sweat started to form at the back of my neck, and it had nothing to do with the rising temperature and humidity of the still running shower.
“Tucker said you’ve been watching me. Before the party.” That little fucking asshole. Shit, maybe Jason hadn’t been the only one to catch on to what I had been doing.
“Mattie––”
“How did you get a copy of my key?”
“I don––“
“Don’t lie to me,” she interrupted. Then she shocked the hell out of me. Her small, beautiful hand reached for mine, and our fingers tangled up together.
“If…” She swallowed hard, and her cute little chin rose until her blue eyes locked with mine. “If there is any chance for this, for you and me”––she pointed between us–– “to work, no more lies.”
“Mattie.” I said her name like a prayer. I was ready to fall to my knees and beg her to forgive me, to tell her I wouldn’t do it again, but I knew in the pit of my gut and at the base of my heart we would both know I was lying.
“How did you get a copy of my key?” Shit, shit, shit! Not only had that fucker told her, he’d known all of it.
There was no turning back now.
My mind ran wild with crazy ideas of how to fix things.
She knows. That fucking bastard told her. She’d known or suspected something for the last two days. She had been looking at me differently. It hadn’t been in my head. She had been looking at me as if she had never seen me before because she was looking at me through clearer eyes. I wanted to kidnap her. Carry her out of there, hide her away in my room, and tie her to my bed until she forgave me. Until she gave me a chance I sure as fuck didn’t deserve.
She knows.
The only thing that gave me any kind of sense of faith was the fact that she hadn’t called the cops on me. Fuck, she was holding my hand. If she had any kind of sense, she wouldn’t be touching me. She wouldn’t be looking at me like she still had faith in me.
And maybe that’s why I answered honestly. Who was I kidding? I was incapable of lying to her beautiful face.
“I took yours when you were in the shower,” I confessed. My tongue felt too thick for my mouth. She blinked, and something tightened inside of me tightened as the fear of losing her prickled through my whole body when she didn’t react. Her expression was clear of emotions.
“Do you have a black phone?” My jaw clenched at her question. Jesus Christ! That fucking asshole seemed to have been paying close attention. Damn. I nodded, and she licked her lips.
“Can I see it?” she asked just above a whisper. I am fucked. Fucking hell, I am so damn royally fucked.
“Mattie––“
“Show it to me,” she demanded sweetly.
With my free hand, I reached into the pocket of my gym shorts, pulled out the small older iPhone, and set it into her waiting palm. She looked up at me, and I spoke, answering the silent question without her needing to say a word.
“Eleven, zero, one.” Her eyes widened, and it was the first time she seemed to actually look surprised.
“My birthday,” she said softly. My head jerked stiffy with a nod.
I watched as she one-handedly unlocked my phone, noting that despite confirming what I had been up to, her hands were unusually steady. Her eyes rose to mine, almost as if asking daddy for permission. Jesus, I was a sick fuck if I thought there was any chance of her still seeing me that way. I nodded again then lost her eyes.
She scrolled through the folders on my phone as if she couldn’t hear my heart beat so hard it was ready to leap out of my chest. Like she couldn’t tell my entire body was vibrating on what felt like pins and needles. I forced myself not to blink while she scrolled through the endless images I’d taken of her. As she watched the videos I’d taken of her while she slept and worked.
For a moment, I wondered if it was my imagination or if her breathing actually changed. Her lips parted and her eyes turned dreamy. Almost like she was turned on. Is she turned on? By the things I’ve done? Hope stirred hard inside me.
The front door to the co-ed showers opened, and her eyes connected with mine. Before I could ask her what she wanted to do, she pulled me into the shower that was still running and shut the curtain behind her.
“Sit,” she ordered, and my hand itched to spank her petty little ass, to tell her she wasn’t in charge, but I had to give her this. I sat down on the bench next her things, and she continued to go through my phone. When eyes rose and met mine, she looked almost confused.
“Why?” she finally asked in a hushed tone, breaking the deafening silence between us.
“Why?” I repeated, reaching for her, needing to have her closer to me even if it meant this would be the last time. Never. She’s ours , the voice in my head growled fiercely. Forever!
“Why me? Why… why all this, Dylan?” she asked quietly.
Her eyes searched mine, and I couldn’t help myself. I stood and walked towards her. Matching her step for step until her back touched the tiled wall and my body pressed against hers. My hands gripped her hips to keep her in place.
It was so fucking wrong.
I should have given her space, explained things clearly, calmly. But I couldn’t get myself to calm down. To breathe, much less think straight, without having her close to me.
“That’s daddy to you,” I growled. She bit down on her bottom lip.
That’s when it hit me.
She set me up.
My sweet little walking, breathing temptation knew exactly what she had been doing. Set me up to catch me red-handed. My eye twitched as I took in the sight of her.
I had no idea how the hell I’d missed it.
She wasn’t dressed in regular clothes or like she had been ready to do some kind of stakeout. No. My sweet little shortcake was wearing that sexy robe and flip-flops. Like she had been dressed and ready to go straight into the shower. “Dyl––“
“What did I say?” Her eyes bounced to the shut curtain and her lips parted. I felt her pretty little nipples tighten against my chest. “Say it. They won’t hear you,” I drawled in a low tone.
“Daddy.” Her eyes hooded as I tucked my thigh between her legs.
“Good girl,” I praised. I leaned down, hovering my forehead over hers but not pressing them together. “One look at you, and I was a goner, Mattie. I’m not bullshitting here, either. You walked in, and it was like a fucking arrow shot right through me. I scooted down in hopes you would sit next to me. And, fucking hell, you could have tipped me over when you did.”
“Daddy.”
“I fell in love fast and hard, and I won’t lie. I tried to fight it,” I confessed. “I tried to save you from me.” I wasn’t able to hide the tortured tone in my voice. “Something came alive inside of me. Something that wanted you any way he could have you. I couldn’t stop. After finals—“ My voice cracked, and it was her who pressed her forehead to mine, wordlessly encouraging me to keep talking.
“After finals, I tried to put space between us. I wanted you too damn much, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t know if I had it in me to claim you.” Her eyes hooded at the use of the word, and even if she didn’t know it, her body pressed closer, like she enjoyed the idea of me doing just that.
Claim her. Own her. Breed her! the thing in me shouted, and as if needing to confirm she wanted just that, her hips rolled against my thigh. I knew by the wet warmth that she was naked under her terrycloth robe.
“I started following you. Then“—my Adam’s apple bobbed—“then, by accident, I saw you. In the hall when I went for a walk. Seeing you there coming out of your dorm, heading to the shower, snapped something inside me. Before I knew it, I was standing outside your shower peeking through the curtain to look at you.”
“But you did?” she asked, licking her lips, leaving them glossy and inviting.
“I did.” I nodded. “And I kept doing it. Every damn day, I would tell myself I wouldn’t, but being away from you was fucking killing me. I even took things,” I admitted.
I knew I was making my case worse, but fuck, I couldn’t help it. I needed her to know. I needed her to see the thing inside me that wouldn’t be sated.
“What kind of things?” My nose flared.
“Your panties. I stole a couple of pairs.” Her eyes widened but not with disgust. No. My girl liked this. A lot.
“What did you do with them?” she asked hoarsely.
“Oh, baby girl, I’ll show you exactly what I did with them.” She trembled in my arms, and I was done waiting. My hands skated from her hips to the front of her robe, and I pulled on the thin belt that held it shut.
“I love you, Mattie. I love you more than I thought was possible. I live and breathe for you, only you.”
“Dyl––“
“Do you know why Coach followed me into the trainers’ room?” I asked, my voice unrecognizable in my ears.
“Why?” She pressed harder into me, her hips moving back and forth against me. Only the thin material of my gym shorts separated us.
“I saw you head towards the locker room, and I ran off the field. I followed you in and ignored everyone shouting for me to get back to practice.” My breathing felt unsteady. My body shook with uncontainable need. “The idea of that dick being alone with you, of anyone being alone with you, made me see red.” I shook my head. “If I had walked in without Coach and your boss, I would have killed him. Not for only touching you but for breathing the same air as you.”
“Daddy,” she whimpered. That soft little daddy snapped the last bit of my control. I pulled the belt open, and my eyes feasted on the sight in front of me.
“Fuck,” I cursed before our eyes connected again. “Tell me to stop now. I don’t know if?—“
“Don’t,” she cut me off, shaking her head, nuzzling her nose against mine. “Don’t stop, please, Dylan.” Her hands rose to my face, and I closed my eyes. I trembled at her touch. “Please look at me, baby,” she urged softly, so damn sweetly it made my heart turn over inside my chest.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I cursed, and she held my face tighter.
“Please.” That one word from her lips had my eyes opening and looking into the prettiest blue gaze to ever exist. Into the eyes of my forever.
“I love you, too, Dylan,” she said with an unshakable confidence. Her stare never wavered from mine. Everything ceased to exist for me in that moment. It was just her and me and the fucking future we would have.
“I don’t deserve you,” I rasped, and the thing inside me groaned. Stop trying to talk her out of this, he complained.
“You do. I fell in love with you, too. Maybe not that first moment, but I knew before the semester was over that all I could think about was you.”
“You really think you can be okay with how I’ve followed you? Watched you? Crossed boundaries?” I needed to shut the fuck up, but the tiny sliver of common decency inside me grabbed hold. I needed her to be sure. After this, after her telling me she loved me, there would be no going back. Not now. Not ever.
“I think with us, maybe there aren’t supposed to be any boundaries. Maybe that’s how we’re supposed to be? Because if I’m being honest, once I started thinking about Tucker’s accusations about what you had done“—her words clung to the wet air around us—“I liked the idea of you wanting me that much.”
“Mattie,” I growled, pressing my lips against hers before forcing myself to pull back.
She started to speak, and what she said undid me. It let the primal animal, demon-like thing inside of me loose in a way I knew I wouldn’t exist without a part of him inside of me.
“I was awake when you walked into my room last night,” she confessed, and my dick turned into granite. My balls drew up.
“You knew?” I panted, letting my hands skim her bare flesh. “You knew I snuck into your room and let me watch you?” I couldn’t catch my breath.
“Yes,” she confirmed, and it felt like fucking brain exploded.
Yes? She’d known I was there last night!
She pretended to sleep. I swallowed hard. That piece of information did it. I lifted her up, pressing her back against the tiled wall, but this space wouldn’t do. Fuck no. I stepped back, holding her in my arms, and walked us right into the shower. Cold water pelted down on us, but it didn’t cut the need flowing through our veins. It didn’t dampen the heat on our overheated skin, either.
I pressed her back against the tiled shower and looked at her. The material of her robe quickly became soaked through, so the thin cottony fabric clung to the side of her tits and curves.
“Fucking hell, little girl. You knew,” I rasped.
“I did.” She nodded. Our lips crashed. Deep and wet. Hungry. No. Starving. We devoured one another before I pulled away just enough to speak.
“You love me?” I groaned when I felt her smile.
“With all my heart.” She had no idea what her words were doing to me. Breaking me, shattering me into a million pieces only to come back together stronger and belonging to her and her alone.
“Fuck,” I groaned, holding her against the wall with one arm.
Breed her! Claim her! Own her! the voice in my head chanted on repeat. I used my other hand to pull my shorts down to my thighs. My dick sprung out and bobbed between us.
“I’m going to take you, shortcake. It’s going to be hard and rough, and I’m going to leave a thick creamy surprise inside of you,” I promised filthily, and by the look on her face, she didn’t mind whatsoever.
“Daddy,” she whispered, driving me crazy.
“I’m going to mark this pretty little neck, too.” My nose skimmed up and down the graceful line of her neck. “Leave it so anyone who dares to look at you knows you’re taken.” I thrust inside of her the second I lined myself up with her entrance, and she gasped a little too loudly.
“You’re going to have to be quiet,” I roughly rasped. “Daddy’s a jealous asshole, baby girl,” I rumbled against her mouth before my lips slammed against hers.
I swallowed every moan and whimper while my hips worked in and out of her body. The wet, tight clenching of her muscles felt too damn good. She was my very own heaven. I knew in my heart and soul I could never get enough of Mattie. I was a greedy bastard; all I wanted was a million lifetimes to spend with her and then some.
The water pelting down over us was nowhere close enough to cool us down. I used her like my very own little fuck doll. Leaving her mouth, I sucked on her neck. An overwhelming need to see my mark on her skin drove through me as I bounced her on my dick. I looked at her, and my pretty Mattie pressed her lips together, trying to stifle her sounds. For me. For her daddy. Fuck, she was perfection.
“Such a good girl for me,” I rasped, needing to praise her. She clenched her muscles around my length, and my head dipped back with how damn good it felt. “Such a good girl. Mine. You’re all mine,” I panted, and my eyes connected with hers just in time to see her nod.
I kissed her again, loving the way she whimpered against my lips. All too quickly, I could feel it. Her perfect little cunt started to tighten around me, pulling me even deeper, if that could be believed, and I couldn’t hold back my own release. Almost simultaneously, we crashed over the edge of bliss and came together. Ribbon after ribbon shot through me and deep inside her waiting pussy as our foreheads pressed together. My head dropped to her shoulder as I tried to catch my breath. My sweet girl stroked the back of my neck, pressing me closer into her while her pussy kept milking my cock.
“Goddamn,” I rasped quietly and felt her body shake with gentle giggles. A dreamy look stayed on her pretty blue gaze.
“That was…” she started to say and then giggled again.
“It was,” I confirmed. We didn’t need to finish that sentence. We both knew how amazing it had been. I kissed her cheek, then the tip of her nose, then the other side of her face.
“I love you, Mattie,” I said, unable to stop saying the words that meant everything yet didn’t feel like enough.
“I love you, Dylan.” Jesus. She was going to unman me with how fucking sweet she was. And I couldn’t wait for a lifetime of that sugary goodness.
“Tell me you’re mine.”
“Only if that means you’re mine.” That‘s my sweet, sassy shortcake.
“Oh, baby, I am yours. Completely. This thing between us? It’s forever. A game changer. You get what I’m saying?” I was worried I was pushing her too far, but being Mattie, she was perfect for me. The most beautiful smile painted on her face, and her eyes were sweet and kind when her hands reached up and cupped my face.
“I’m yours. All yours.”
“Fuck yeah, you are!” I kissed her softly before carefully slipping out of her body. There was a softness in her eyes that made my cock want to wake back up.
I reached behind us and turned the water off. Shrugging the soaked robe off her body, I toweled her down, helping her with her clothes before righting my dripping shorts and tucking my dick back inside of them.
“What about you?” she asked. I was shirtless, and my gym shorts were soaked through.
“It’ll be fine.” I winked, taking her caddy and wet clothes with one hand and tangling our fingers with the other. “We’re going to my place,” I announced, and she didn’t argue. Thankfully, no one was in the hallway, not that I would have cared if anyone saw me dripping wet.
We walked in, and I was thankful none of my roommates were home. Wordlessly, in the most comfortable silence, I led her to my bedroom and straight to my bed.
Because having her in my space knowing she knew everything and still loved me, still wanted me in her life, only added to the need inside of me. Needless to say, it was hours before I ordered pizza and we had dinner only to stay up all night lost in one another.
And fuck me, it was a great way to get lost.