9. Arlo
“What’s going on in that beautiful brain of yours?”
Hailey stares after Hota even though he disappeared through the front entrance to his building several seconds ago, and we’ve pulled away from the curb. Slowly, her gaze slides to mine as she strums two fingers over her pretty lips.
“Did you have fun tonight?” The jovial aura that’d enveloped her all night slips into a more analytical disposition. I see it in the fire of her green eyes and the slight furrow between her brows.
“Are you evading my question?” There were plenty of questions that evaded answers tonight. Ones I don’t have the guts to move from my psyche to my mouth. If she is, I wouldn’t blame her.
Things shifted tonight in our relationship and my relationship with Hota. One part of me is elated at the development, while another stands on the precipice of great change with wobbly legs and quivering hands.
I sit in my usual spot at the back of the car while she remains where she was before we dropped Hota off—on the long bench where she sat beside him. Watching them together, rambling on like two long-lost friends, mended a part of my tattered heart I didn’t think could be made whole. In them, I saw a family, a home for my broken parts.
“Not at all.” She slips off the bench and crawls to me. Her eyes are locked on mine as she slowly moves closer and closer. My cock grows with each sway of her hips and dip of her shoulders. “I’m simply digging deeper.”
Hailey stops between my legs. Her gaze falls to my belt. “Will you let me?”
“Yes.” My voice sounds ragged to my ears.
Hell, the entire afternoon turned evening was a lesson in edging. First, merely having Hota in my presence with his promise to fuck Hailey cemented heating my blood. Then Hailey’s return. Then the two of them together. And then, Hota’s touch.
“Fuck yes, siren.” I shift my hips, giving her better access.
She unfastens my belt, unzips my pants, and frees my cock.
“So, did you?” Hailey’s pink lips hover over my weeping head. “Have fun?” Her tongue slicks over the tip, and she plunges me back to the base. She keeps me in the back of her throat, working me, swallowing me down as though our lives depend on it.
“Yes, fuck! Yes, I had fun tonight. So much fun.” I press my hips into the seat to keep from ramming just a little bit deeper.
Filthy sounds fill the small space. Her tight throat squeezes my cock. Usually, I’m the one demanding her orgasm. The singularity in her intent unleashes me. I don’t hold back. Needing to give her what she wants, I free my hips and fuck her throat.
Pressure builds. The flames of pleasure warm a path from my balls and lick their way up my spine, forcing a moan from my lips.
A satisfied hum rattles my balls as she swallows and then smiles.
“Good,” she says, sliding off me and sucking my reddening head.
“I should be telling you that.” I slip my hands into her hair and run my thumb over her bottom lip. Her tongue snakes out and caresses my pad. “Good fucking girl.”
“I’m all woman tonight.” She makes my cock disappear once more.
My hand binds her hair. “Yes, you are.” I shove my hips forward in time with the bob of her head. “You fuck me so good with your pretty, dirty mouth. I’ve watched it all night, wanting to be right here and so many other places.” My other hand tweaks her nipple.
She moans, vibrating around my slick cock. Once again, she slides off me, her eyes intent on mine. “How did it feel to touch Hota?”
I hesitate. I’m always honest with her. I just don’t know how truthful she wants me to be.
“Truly, I want to know it all.” She licks my pulsing head. “I trust you with all your truths.”
“Fuck, Hailey,” I cry as she chokes me down, adjusts her angle, then sucks me deep. “I don’t deserve you.”
Her retort is muffled and garbled by my cock.
“It was terrifying and exhilarating. His touch was like coming home to a place that hasn’t been mine for long but was the most perfect place for a moment.”
“That’s it.” She works me with her hand. “Come for me.” Her lips envelop me. She pulls me deep and slides me down her throat.
My balls go heavy and hot. My spine tingles.
“Siren, fuck. Just like that.” It only takes three shameless thrusts, and I give her what she demands. My vision goes dark for several beats, and my mind is blissfully quiet.
Hailey cleans me with her perfect mouth and tucks me away.
“I’m not done with you,” I warn.
“No, mister.” She climbs into my lap, bracketing her thighs with my hips and bracing my face in her hands. “I’m not done with you.”
“Who’s bossy now?”
“Me.” She smiles. “What if you could have more nights like tonight? What if they could be even better than tonight?”
I long to pull her into my chest and tell her that nothing could top tonight. We both know that’s not exactly true, though, which is the terrifying part.
“Hailey.” I sigh.
“Answer my question,” she prods, pulling my face closer to hers.
“It would be more than I deserve when I already have more than I deserve,” I promise. It’s not a lie. Not in the least. “You opened up my world, Hailey. You are enough for me. More than enough.”
Her lips press to the tip of my nose. “I know I’m enough. I’m waiting for you to realize you’re enough too. Enough for Hota to love.”
A heavy groan leaves me, and with it, a bit of the fear. Hailey is mine, and I am hers. We’ll be okay no matter what. “I loved tonight. If we could have more nights like it, I’d cherish every moment. If they could be more, it would be fucking amazing.” I kiss her nose. “How does hearing all that make you feel?”
“Wonderful.” She beams.
“How? Why?” I bracket her face as she brackets mine, looking deep for the answers. “If you were to say another person was home for you…I don’t know how that would make me feel.”
“Yes, you do.” She nods just a little. “If I felt that way about Hota…”
She leaves it unsaid, but I know exactly what she’s saying. If she felt that way about Hota, it would be only fitting. It would flow with the laws of the universe. The way I see them, anyway.
“You two have a love that’s outlasted immense trauma, life changes, and years.” She pulls my hands from her face and holds them close to her heart. “Would I feel this way if it was anyone else? Probably not. It’s not some mild infatuation. It’s not some fleeting attraction. With Hota, it’s real love.” Her chin is up, and her smile wide. “I adore seeing you happy, Arlo. He makes you happy.”
My mouth moves to add that she makes me happy too, but she plows ahead.
“For some inexplicable reason, I love seeing Hota happy too.” Her slight shoulder bobs. Just one. And she grins. “Seeing you two love each other doesn’t diminish our love. It only multiplies it for me.”
She draws a deep breath and grabs my nape, threading her fingers through my hair. “When you brought me to Crave to show me how much and how unconditionally you loved me, you not only broke down the last of my walls but you also made me see the world in a whole new light. Forever, I was scared of love, of feeling, of opening myself up to hurt.”
Her head shakes. The tips of her lips rise.
“Loving you is the best feeling. You adore me completely. All my pretty parts and my ugly ones too. How can I not do the same for you?”
“You don’t have to do anything for me,” I swear.
Her cheek brushes against mine on one side, then the other before she rests her forehead against mine. “I know. Which makes me want to do it more.”
My mouth, which was so adamant about moving and making sounds a moment ago, hangs open uselessly.
She laughs. “Say something.”
Quickly, I tabulate the conversation. I love that she’s so open and willing to make me happy, but what about her? “I don’t want you to do this, whatever this is, just for me. Do you love Hota?”
“Love him?” She purses her swollen lips. “What I know of him, I love and want to know more. Right now, I think it’s your love reflecting off him that draws me in and the selfless and devilish person he is. Quite a conundrum.” She smiles. “I’m certain I can love him.”
“What about your walls?” I pull her to me now and tuck her under my chin. “As I recall, those bastards are high and fortified.”
“They’re rubble because of you,” she says against my chest.
“Seriously?” I lean her back to see her face.
“It was quite the invasion.” She smirks. “Only a couple of months since we met, and you all but moved me and Plink into your house.”
“Our house,” I correct. Her fingertips smooth over my mouth. “Say it.”
“Our house.” Her head shakes as though she can’t believe it.
“You still have your place if you ever want to leave me.”
“Never,” she hisses.
“Good.” I pull her in and kiss her mouth, loving my mark on her tongue.
When she sits back, her expression is pensive. I offer her my ear. “What about your walls?”
“You made me understand that loving is worth the risk.”
“But…?” she prods, as she does best.
“I hurt Hota deeply. I don’t know how he could ever forgive me.” The memories of that dark time cloud over the glorious day and the even more glorious love in my arms.
“You have to start by forgiving yourself.” She hugs me this time, wrapping her arms around my back and pulling me close. “You both have work to do. Hota needs to be more than just your guy. He needs to step into his own and stand up for what he wants. Something he hasn’t done in all the years you’ve known each other. He has to stand up for what he deserves.”
“What does he deserve?” I breathe.
“I told you once.” She leans in, and her lips brush my ear. “The best boy deserves everything.”