CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
AURYN
“Nice of you to show up. How did you manage to separate yourself from Ripley?” Rebel greeted me with a punch in the arm.
“Ow goddammit.” I rubbed my arm where he’d hit me, waiting for him to let his guard down before I hit him back. “Can you blame me for wanting to spend as much time with her as possible? It fucking sucked being in that facility. Not able to touch her. I’m making up for lost time.”
It had been over a week since Ripley and I both checked out of the facility.
We’d settled back into life on campus. Working on getting caught up on what we’d missed in our classes.
Spending every spare moment together. Whenever Athena started to get sick of us, we went to my place to give her a break.
Today Ripley was working on an important assignment while I joined the rest of the guys to handle a supply drop at the graveyard. Later I would meet Ripley at the mall. She wanted my opinion on a dress for graduation.
Casper nudged my arm to get my attention before signing, “I think it’s cute. Seeing you like this. I also think it’s about damn time you say the words out loud to all of us.”
I frowned, pretending not to know what he was talking about. “What words?”
“That you are love’s bitch,” he signed. “Go ahead. Say it.”
“Yes, Auryn,” Dom chimed in. “I’d also like to hear you say it.”
He stood close to Noah, their fingers tightly entwined. Even though Noah and his best friend Damon had been brought into our group under strained circumstances, I knew that Dom loved having him around all the time. Part of the business.
We all stood around the graveyard, waiting for our supplier to arrive. Since the church had burned down, we had no physical dwelling to occupy. With the weather being so nice it didn’t matter now.
Pressing my lips together, I made an annoyed sound. The guys joined in together, harassing and cajoling me. Enjoying my discomfort. The only one who didn’t hassle me was Damon. The only single member left of our group.
He sucked on a cigarette, rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness. “Holy shit, you guys are too much.”
When they wouldn’t let up, I flung both hands in the air and shouted, “All right, all right. I am love’s bitch. I admit it. Are you happy now?”
They took turns punching me while laughing their asses off. I had no choice but to grin and bear it. Eventually, this would blow over, and they would stop busting my balls about it. I really had brought this crap on myself.
“Where the hell are those guys?” Checking the time on my phone, I glanced down the road, seeking any sign of our suppliers’ approach. “I’m supposed to meet Ripley in less than an hour.”
“No worries. I’m sure they’ll be here any minute. They’re only a few minutes late.” Rebel perched on a headstone, having no concerns.
We were supposed to get a large pharmaceutical drop today. A batch of much-needed meds that several buyers were waiting on. We didn’t always gather as a full crew for stuff like this, but since we’d experienced too many incidents of people trying to rip us off, we’d been taking extra precautions.
As much as I loved being part of what we did here, I was antsy to get going. I had to laugh at myself. There had been a time when the thought of watching a woman try on dresses would have had me running. Now I couldn’t wait.
Finally, our suppliers showed up. A van rolled down the road, pulling into the graveyard. On the edge of town with little traffic, there was nobody around to witness the exchange.
Three men got out of the van and began to unload cases of pharmaceuticals. Dom, Stray, and I promptly moved them into a waiting van of our own. We would take them to a safe location for sorting before making arrangements to meet with buyers.
We were all on edge, ready for something to go wrong, only because it had happened in the past. Thankfully, the exchange was done without incident. Everyone left happy and in one piece.
I was the first to take off. The guys harassed me all the way to my car. Getting in and closing the door, I flipped them a middle finger through the window before gunning the engine.
It didn’t take long to get to the mall. Ripley was already there. I entered a store packed with dresses of all kinds, feeling completely out of my element. Ripley met me near the entry, taking my hand as she pulled me along to the back where the dressing rooms were located.
“I think I’ve narrowed it down to three. I’ll try them on, and you tell me which one you like best.” She pushed me down onto a chair outside the dressing rooms before disappearing into one of the small changing stalls.
The store wasn’t all that busy. A few other women entered and exited the changing rooms. I didn’t see another guy in the place. Pulling out my phone, I doom scrolled on social media until she emerged.
“What do you think?”
I glanced up to find Ripley standing there with her arms spread, turning in a slow circle. She wore a soft pink dress that fell to her ankles. I didn’t know much about fashion. The dress seemed pretty enough. I wasn’t really feeling it though.
“It’s nice,” I said. “What else have you got?”
“Wow, Auryn,” she said sarcastically. “Could you possibly contain your enthusiasm? You’re out of control.”
I chuckled, offering her an apologetic head tilt. “I said it was nice. I just don’t think it’s you.”
“Fair enough. Give me a minute.” She disappeared back into the changing room. The sound of material rustling about followed.
The next dress she emerged wearing fell to her knees. A bright yellow that made me blink furiously as I took it in. I was starting to think she was trolling me.
“Um, well, that’s certainly something, isn’t it?” I tried to find the words to accurately describe what I was feeling. “Please don’t tell me this is your favorite.”
Ripley playfully slapped my arm. “You’re impossible, you know that? You’re lucky this isn’t my favorite. I thought it was nice. I like the bright color.”
“Sure, I guess. Maybe if I was wearing sunglasses, I would like it too.” I flashed her an impish grin.
As I reached to grab her and pull her onto my lap, she managed to evade me. Darting back into the tiny room. I scanned the interior of the store, finding the saleslady on the other side, helping a woman. A filthy little thought began to formulate in my mind.
“Don’t tell me you hate this one too,” Ripley said as she opened the changing room door. “Otherwise, I’m going to think you’re messing with me.”
She stepped out wearing a red dress that hugged her body like a glove. Revealing just enough cleavage to make me want more. Enough thigh to make me think about running my hands up those perfect legs.
Rising from the chair, I backed her up into the changing room, closing the door behind us. “This is the one. It’s perfect.”
I dropped to my knees before her, sliding both hands down her body until I reached her creamy thighs. Pushing the skirt of the dress up to reveal the black underwear she wore. I pressed my face against her, breathing in her musky scent.
“Auryn, what are you doing? We’re going to get in trouble.” She made a half-hearted attempt at pushing me away.
“How much trouble can they give us? You’re going to drop a wad of cash on that dress. They’ll get over it.” I tugged her underwear aside, running my tongue along her slit. Circling her clit a few times. Teasing her with little flicks and licks.
Sucking in a breath, Ripley fisted a handful of my hair. Her voice was a hushed whisper. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
Maybe not, but that wasn’t about to stop me. I saw an opportunity to have a little fun, and I took it. Besides, she was my drug now, and I was in need of a hit.
The physical withdrawal from the cocaine hadn’t been as bad as I’d expected.
The mental shit was worse. Once I got home, I realized how often I reached for it.
That was a hard habit to break. I remained committed to seeing this through.
To getting to the point where I didn’t think about it anymore.
That may take months or even years. As long as I had this amazing woman to lose myself in, it would be a breeze.
She quickly grew wet as I licked her. Dipping my tongue inside her. Delving into her wetness.
As a woman entered the stall next to us, Ripley clamped a hand over her mouth. Her chest heaved with every breath. I loved the way she fought every moan that built up. Afraid of being caught.
Knowing how easily we could be discovered only made me more eager to make her come. To enjoy this illicit moment. I teased her with little licks and sucks on her clit before plunging my tongue inside her. Making her crazy with want before returning to her clit to finish her off.
Sucking it into my mouth while she pulled my hair. Working so hard to stay quiet. Her hips jerked against me, seeking more as I ravenously licked her. Sensing the rise of her orgasm, I went harder on her, going so far as to bite down. Just enough to make her gasp as she came.
I waited until every tremor had eased before standing up. “You should definitely buy this dress. Hell, I’ll buy this dress. Anything to fuck you in it after graduation.”
Ripley’s head fell back against the side of the changing room. Quietly she said, “I can’t believe you did that.”
“I don’t hear you complaining.” Flashing her a smug smile, I cracked open the door, making sure nobody saw me leave before slipping out.