53. Thea
53
Thea
3 years ago
S un-burnt grass tickled my ankles as I slipped through the trees. Despite the late hour, it was still hotter than hell out here, the humid air coating my skin in a light sheen of sweat. I plucked my thin cotton tee away from my chest, wishing I’d worn a slip dress instead.
Dar stood waiting for me when I entered the chapel. Shirtless, golden skin gleaming in the moonlight. He crossed the room in a few strides, pulling me into his arms.
I chewed my lip nervously, tasting salt and the faint metallic tang of blood from where Torrance had caught me with his fist earlier. A deep purple bruise stained my cheek. Dar’s eyes narrowed in anger when he saw it.
“That bastard. He—”
“Forget him.” I sighed. “He doesn’t matter.” I pressed closer, not wanting to get into another discussion about my shitty life. There was nothing either of us could do to make things better. Dar wasn’t strong enough to take my father on and I… well, I had Verity to think of.
Dar closed his eyes for a moment, a small vein throbbing in his jaw, then he nodded. “Fine. We won’t talk about it.”
“I don’t want to talk, Dar. Not tonight.” My hands rested on his chest, enjoying the feel of his muscles and warm skin. The thump of his heart as it quickened at my sultry words.
He chuckled. “What do you want then?” When he looked down at me with heat in his eyes, I shivered with need.
“Help me forget.” The time I spent with Dar was a release from the stress of being my father’s daughter. A blunt tool he used against his enemies. His secret weapon.
Dario stepped back and sat down on a bench, pulling me into his lap. When his mouth found mine, I melted into him, pushing all thoughts of Torrance and my father aside. Our kiss deepened as the passion between us burst into life.
“I want you so much,” he groaned when we finally broke apart. My lips were swollen, bruised, and every inch of my body burned with need.
It was dangerous being here. Every time I sneaked away from the house, I half-expected Torrance to catch me. Haul me back and lock me in the basement as a punishment. But he never did.
One day, though, our luck would run out. Dar’s father might be useful to Dad, but it wouldn’t stop my father from punishing me. He didn’t want me to have friends. And he definitely wouldn’t be happy if he knew what Dario Peretti and I got up to in this forgotten chapel.
“Touch me, Dar,” I begged, desperate to feel his hands and mouth on me.
“Are you sure?” Both of us were breathing heavily, and I could feel him, hard between my thighs.
“Yes. Please!” He slid my thin cotton top down to reveal my breasts. “Fuck, Thea. You’re so beautiful.”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.” He cupped my breasts and then bent his head to suckle one. I whimpered at the feel of his hot, wet mouth on my aching nipple.
“More, I need more!” I demanded, rubbing myself on his thick erection, desperate to ease the pressure between my thighs. With each hot caress, I edged closer to oblivion. So close.
When his fingers slipped inside my shorts and brushed my clit, I gasped.
“ Cara , you’re so wet,” he marveled, pulling away from my breast. “Does this feel good?”
“Yes.” His touch was a little hesitant. Neither of us were experienced but we’d been experimenting a lot lately, the attraction between us to powerful too ignore. “Right there!” I gasped when he found my clit again. “Don’t stop!”
The pressure built, the pleasure almost unbearable. Then the damn burst and I fell apart, shuddering as the waves of pleasure washed over me. When my orgasm faded, he pulled his fingers from my underwear and licked them.
“You taste so sweet.”
“Really?” I cringed a little. Letting him taste me like that seemed kind of dirty.
“Yeah,” he assured me while shifting uncomfortably, reminding me he hadn’t come. I felt bad for him.
“Shall I…?” When I reached down to touch him, he caught my wrist and shook his head.
“No, not yet. I’ll be fine. Just give me a moment.” He lifted me up and set me down on the floor before adjusting himself. I tried not to look but failed miserably.
“Next time?” He grinned before pulling me into his arms and holding me tight.
“Maybe. But you don’t have to, Thea.” I looked up to find him staring at me, a conflicted expression on his face. “You never have to do anything, cara. I’m happy to be your friend. I don’t expect more than that.”
My heart melted in my chest. Dar meant everything to me. If things were different, if I was a different girl, I could picture us being together forever. Like in the books I read sometimes.
“But I want to. I want you to be my first, Dar.”
He froze. “ Cara , I want that. You’d be my first, too.” I’d never asked him if there were other girlfriends. Mostly because I didn’t want to know. But realizing I was the only one made me feel warm inside.
“If you’re my first and I’m yours, we’ll never forget each other.”
He rested his forehead on mine. “I could never forget you, Thea.” Then he reached out and brushed the hair away from my cheek. “You’re mine. Always and forever.”
The sound of dogs barking in the distance jolted me from my little bubble of happiness. This was bad. If the guards had begun patrolling the woods, there was a chance they would head in this direction. Dad and Torrance had no idea Dario and I were friends, and I didn’t want them to find out.
“We need to go. You need to leave!”
He grabbed my hand and tugged me to the doorway. We shared one last lingering kiss, and then I watched as he vanished, swallowed up by the shadows.
By the time I climbed back into my bedroom, the heat of his touch had faded, leaving nothing but a lingering sense of disquiet. A note in Torrance’s scratchy handwriting left on my pillow told me to be ready to leave at 6 AM.
Knowing Torrance had been in my room while I’d been gone cemented the realization my relationship with Dario was doomed.
The pain of a future without Dar was almost too much to bear. I didn’t want to lose him. Dar and Verity were the only good things in my life.
Without them, I had nothing.