Chapter 9 NORA #3
‘Not a very funny joke,’ he snarls, walking towards her like a predator approaching its prey. She gulps, her calves hitting the back of the lounge. She stumbles back onto the arm rest. ‘Your face is about as ugly as your personality.’
She gapes at him and I stifle a snort of laughter at that insult. He knew where to strike her. Two guys off in the corner get to their feet and Zayden swings the bat to rest across his shoulders, his eyes resting heavily on them.
‘Take one more step,’ he says, a smirk inching across his lips. ‘Please give me a reason to lay you out across the floor. I’ve had a pretty shit few days and would love to release some tension.’
Exchanging glances, they stay where they are. The coldness in his voice is unnerving. I’ve never seen this side of him before. It should not be sexy … but it is.
‘Get your things Nora,’ he says, voice firm, leaving no room to argue.
Pulling out my key, I quickly head to my room and throw as much as I can into my duffel bag. Returning to the living room, everyone is huddled against the lounge, silent and watching. I’m too anxious to fully enjoy this.
The door opens and we all look at it, watching as Riley walks inside. She has a bag slung over her shoulder and a laptop in hand. She’s a writer too – one of the things we have in common. She writes for the campus newsletter so is as attached to her laptop as I am. I’ve enjoyed reading her pieces.
‘Who are you?’ Zayden asks, completely unfriendly.
‘That’s Riley,’ I say when she says nothing, staring around the room. ‘She’s fine.’
Looking understandably confused, she returns everyone’s stares.
In a careless movement, she raises her hand to brush hair off her face and my eyes zero in on the familiar-looking bracelet that circles her wrist. I don’t get the chance to study it further as she disappears up the stairs quickly, and the sound of her door slamming shut rings through the small apartment.
I’m sure it’s just a trick of the light.
Emily and Steph are usually the only ones stealing my stuff.
‘That’s my speaker, too,’ I pipe up, pointing to the speaker, refocusing on the scene before me.
Zayden advances towards the lounge and Emily cowers away from him as he swipes the speaker from between her and Steph.
‘Where’s your key?’ He pointedly looks at Emily.
She hesitates.
‘Do you really want to fuck around and find out?’ he hisses.
Lower lip trembling, she shifts to the side and pulls out the card from her back pocket.
He snatches it out of her hand. Turning, he gestures to the door and I hightail it out of there.
Zayden trails behind me, slamming the door so hard, I wouldn’t be surprised if he cracked the wall.
He’s shaking by the time we get back to the car, with his jaw clenched so tight, it looks like his muscle might pop out of his cheek.
‘That makes me livid,’ he growls, tossing the bat into his back seat before slamming his hands against the side of his car.
‘Hey,’ I say softly, approaching him with caution.
Taking his hands into my own, I softly run the pad of my thumb across his bruised knuckles.
‘Thank you for coming back with me and getting my stuff. I couldn’t have done it without you.
We got everything we needed, and I’m hoping they learnt their lesson. ’
‘Girls can be so nasty,’ he bites out. ‘And for what?’
I shrug. ‘I have no idea. I honestly don’t know what I did to them to make them hate me so much. I don’t even know them.’
He sighs, squeezing my hands. ‘Sorry that I lost my temper. It’s something I’m working on.’
‘It’s fine. I appreciate you standing up for me. Thanks for letting me stay with you.’
‘Anytime.’
After one final squeeze, I release his hands and head over to the passenger side, climbing into his car. He drops in beside me, still looking tense as he starts the engine.
‘I recognise Emily and that other girl,’ he says. ‘They hang out with Avery.’
‘Oh?’ I say.
‘You know what that means?’ he asks.
‘What?’ I frown, not following.
‘They’re friends with Leasa.’ He exhales heavily, looking a little stressed. ‘Leasa made a comment about you to me a little while back when you and I had been sitting at a party together. We’d been sitting with Anya but she left for a bit and we talked for a while. Remember?’
‘Oh, yeah.’ I nod, recalling the night. One of the rare times I went out, after Cami forced me to. ‘On the lounge. I remember.’
‘Well, she saw us and said a few things to me. I bring this up because maybe they’re targeting you because they’re friends with her.’
‘Ah,’ I say, unsure of what to say.
‘So, if this is my fault, I’m very sorry.’
‘It’s not your fault at all. Leasa clearly has some issues she needs to work through.’
‘That she does,’ he agrees.
Silence falls between us for a moment and I try not to think too hard about what he just said. I never would have thought a girl that looked like Leasa would feel threatened by me, but I suppose anyone who gets close to Zayden is a threat in her eyes.
‘I noticed something earlier,’ I say, casually changing the subject, wanting to fill the silence.
‘Hmm?’ he murmurs, glancing at me.
‘A new, shiny something in the garage.’
A relaxed grin forms on his handsome face. ‘Ah, yes. My new toy.’
‘It looks pretty cool.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah. I didn’t know you rode.’
‘I don’t do it as much as I used to, but I’m hoping to get back into it. It probably wasn’t a great idea, blowing my entire life savings on it, but I wanted it. So I got it.’
‘Well, if it makes you happy.’ I shrug. ‘You’re an adult. You can do whatever you want with your own money.’
‘Exactly.’
‘I used to go on the back of Patrick’s bike a lot. He was a guy my mum dated for many years. We used to do rides together. It was fun.’
‘So what you’re saying is, you’d go on the back of my bike?’ His mouth curves into a delicious looking smirk. ‘That would be hot. Just saying.’
Smirking back, I shrug. ‘I’d consider it.’ I look ahead, trying to keep my cool. ‘Maybe not when the roads are slippery.’
‘I’m going to hold you to that.’
‘I have a bit of a thing for bikers, you know,’ I tease, giving him a long side-eye.
‘Oh?’ he asks.
‘Yup.’
‘Interesting …’ he trails off.
‘Is it?’
‘It is.’
We exchange a heated look as he pulls into the driveway and slowly rolls into the garage. Damn, that is one sexy bike. It would look even sexier with Zayden on it.
I wasn’t lying. I really do have a thing for bikers.
Once inside, I kick off my shoes and place my bag down. Zayden enters the kitchen and pulls out a beer.
‘Want a drink?’ he offers. ‘We have a few different things in here. Cider?’
‘Cider would be great, thanks.’
Popping the lid off, he passes it to me. Our fingers brush and I glance down, feeling a strange tingling down my spine at his touch. There’s a fluttering sensation between my legs and I clamp my thighs together at the feel of it.
‘Up for a swim?’ he asks, eyes slowly travelling down my body, as if he can read my exact thoughts.
I gawk at him. ‘Right now?’
‘Yeah.’ He grins in amusement at my expression, before taking a hearty gulp of his drink.
‘It’s storming.’
‘Exactly. The perfect time to go.’
‘I don’t know if I even grabbed my swimmers,’ I say, gaze shifting to my bag, as if I stare at it hard enough it’ll let me see the contents inside. I was in such a rush, I can’t recall what’s even in there. Maybe this is a good excuse to wear an oversized shirt. I hate myself in swimmers.
‘Maybe you don’t need them.’
Slowly, I look back at him.
He removes his cap, his biceps bulging to the point where his t-shirt is stretched thinly around them.
My God, he is hot. Eyes locked on mine, he yanks his shirt over his head and tosses it onto the ground.
He towers over me, and with muscles like that, he makes me feel small, which is something I’ve not felt before.
‘Game?’ He smirks.
Gulping, I eye his rock-hard abs. Fire licks at my skin. I’m not this kind of girl. The daring type. The type to go to parties with footy boys. The type to go skinny dipping with my best friend’s brother. The type who has thoughts … dirty thoughts … about what I would love this man to do to me.
‘Come on,’ he says softly, taking his bottom lip between his teeth in a way that turns my core to liquid at the sight of it. ‘I don’t bite.’ His lips twitch. ‘Unless you ask.’
My body is on fire.
‘O-okay,’ I stammer.
And then Zayden proceeds to strip.
My eyes bulge out of my head as he steps out of every piece of clothing that he’s wearing – including his underwear.
He finishes his drink and casually walks to the fridge and withdraws another beer and cider.
Strolling past me without a care in the world, he disappears through the back door. I gape after him, heart thundering.
I scull the rest of my drink and follow him outside. Am I really about to do this?
It’s dark, which is comforting. I’m thankful that he doesn’t make a move to turn on any of the lights. He slips into the pool and disappears under the surface. With trembling hands, I slowly unbutton my shorts and slide them down my legs, jerking at the cool air on my exposed skin.
I’m a shaking mess as I remove the rest of my clothes. I edge closer to the side of the pool and inch my way into the water, hissing at the coolness, although it is warmer than I expected.
Zayden takes a breath as he emerges, facing me, a smile on his face. ‘Night swims are the best.’
‘Can’t say I do it very often,’ I reply, moving my hands through the water.
‘You’re missing out.’
‘So it seems.’
Tantalisingly slow, he treads water closer to me and my back hits the edge of the pool. His arms move to either side of me, caging me in. I feel the heat from his skin as he stands over the top of me. His eyes rake across my face, drifting slowly down my neck, landing on my breasts.
‘I haven’t stopped thinking about this beautiful body of yours since the moment I saw it in my bathroom,’ he murmurs, and goosebumps erupt across my skin. ‘I hope that’s okay for me to say.’
My heart is thundering, and I try to stay calm as I meet his eyes. ‘Definitely okay to say.’
‘We didn’t exactly discuss the rules of this fake relationship,’ he says slowly. ‘I’d like to clarify what I can and can’t do, because I really want to fucking touch you.’
Oh sweet heaven.
‘I think that it would be okay, if you did,’ I murmur softly. ‘Hands-on research for my next novel.’
‘Where do you want me to touch you?’ he asks. My eyes widen impossibly more. ‘If you can’t use your words, show me.’
Rolling my lips inwards, I slowly raise my hands, running my fingers across the hard muscles of his bicep. He shivers slightly at my touch, encouraging me to keep going. Grabbing his hands, I move them so that they enclose my breasts. He exhales, gripping them, eliciting a moan from me.
‘Just as good as I expected,’ he groans. His finger skates over my piercing and I gasp at the feel of it. ‘It’s so fucking sexy that you have these. So unexpected.’
‘It was a dare,’ I whisper. ‘Scored a hundred bucks from it.’
‘Amazing,’ he breathes.
Massaging my boobs, he takes his time, feeling and cupping them. I’m breathing heavily – embarrassingly so – but I have no control over it.
‘Anywhere else?’ he questions.
My lips part, and we stare at each other for a long moment.
Then, I move his hand down my stomach, around the back of me. His fingers bite into the soft skin of my ass, and I love the way it feels.
‘Damn,’ he murmurs, squeezing it. ‘More than a handful.’
I release a quiet laugh. ‘You can say that again.’
Suddenly, he hoists me up and my legs automatically wrap around his waist, water splashing up our chests.
‘Anywhere else, Vixen?’ he whispers, and heat ebbs through me at the use of my pseudonym. It sounds utterly intoxicating coming from his lips. Like a secret only the two of us know.
‘Maybe here, Biker Boy?’ I ask, moving his hand to the front of me and between my thighs. Zayden’s fingers ghost across my skin and slip across my entrance. He groans softly and my hips buck when he presses against my clit.
‘I sure do like you calling me that,’ he grunts.
Moving my mouth to his ear, I run my tongue across his earlobe. ‘Biker Boy.’
Groaning again, he pushes a finger into me and I gasp at the sensation.
He pushes it in deep, curling it so that it hits a spot I didn’t even know existed.
A moan leaves me and I tilt my head back, leaning heavily against the tiled edge.
He moves his finger expertly in and out of me, and my legs tighten.
He lifts me upwards and sits me on the edge of the pool. He parts my legs and dives towards me, sliding a tongue right down the centre of me.
‘Oh God,’ I whisper, leaning back onto my elbows, head tilted so far back, it almost connects with the cement.
Rain drips down the both of us as he continues to lick all over me. His tongue is wet and warm against my clit as he circles it. I squirm underneath his hold, never having experienced anything like this before.
With his mouth still sucking on me, he inserts a finger again, and the combination of the two rips a sound from me that I’ve never heard come out of my mouth before. Within seconds, an unfamiliar sensation wells up inside me.
I cry out as what I think is my first ever orgasm crashes through me. It’s like a tingling rush throughout my entire body that leaves my legs trembling. It was so sudden and so overwhelming. A wild sensation that I’m already craving to feel again.
Reeling back, he drags his tongue around his lips, smirking at me.
‘I’ve never orgasmed before,’ I admit in a hushed whisper.
He blinks at me, surprise etched on his face. ‘What?’
‘Seriously.’
‘I’m honoured to be the first.’
A contented smile lights up my face and he tugs me closer to him, pulling me into the water. We both go under and I giggle, bubbles erupting from my mouth. Emerging, I’ve barely caught my breath when his hands frame my face and his mouth is on mine.
His lips are perfect. My hands circle over his shoulders as the kiss deepens, making me throb all over. Thunder rumbles loudly around us and we breathlessly part as a bolt of lightning strikes through the sky, lighting up everything around us momentarily.
‘I don’t know about you, but this is the best fake relationship I’ve ever had.’ He grins, handsome smile lines appearing around the corners of his mouth.
Slipping my fingers through his wet hair, I press my forehead to his.
‘Top three, for sure.’
He lets out a laugh, lightly pinching my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing my gaze to his.
‘I better work on being number one then,’ he murmurs, before slamming his mouth back against mine.