31. Anthony
CHAPTER 31
anthony
I glared at the dark ceiling as the soft thudding from Andy and Julie’s room started to intensify into pounding. I quickly sat up in bed. It was two in the fucking morning, and this was the third time they were going at it tonight. They were humping like rabid, horny animals. It was even more irritating that they were behaving as if they hadn’t slipped in a round in the middle of the day when they went to “reapply sunscreen” for forty conspicuous minutes.
“I’m going to cut off his fucking dick,” I muttered over the insistent pounding of their headboard against the wall at our heads.
Thankfully that was all we heard, and we didn’t have to deal with listening to any moans or groans of any disgusting sorts. But still, I wanted to cut off Andy’s dick and sleep without interruptions.
“I’m going to go out to the kitchen,” Shoua declared with a tired sigh. She quickly climbed out of bed, and I silently followed her out into the quiet hallway.
I was surprised that I could barely hear the couple in the room next to us, but that probably had to do with all the heavy doors this house had.
We made it to the kitchen, and Shoua made chamomile tea. A clock ticked quietly in the distance as we sat and drank. If we couldn’t fall asleep in our room, I wondered if we could fall asleep on the couches in the living room. We sat in comfortable silence for some time.
“I have a question,” Shoua whispered gently.
“Hm?” I hummed, glancing at her.
“Why are you so worried about taking over Hughes Developers Incorporation?” She blinked curiously at me.
My mouth became dry as I struggled to say the right words. Dread spread across my chest when I shuttered out, “What if I fuck up?”
“Who says you’ll fuck up?” Her brows creased together and she frowned.
“Me.”
She shook her head. “That’s because you don’t believe in yourself.”
“Well, of course not.” I let out a half-snort, half-laugh, trying to make it a joke. But Shoua didn’t smile.
“You should. Do you know how amazing you are? You brought in three million dollars to your dad’s company this past year, Anthony. You should be proud.”
I let out a sigh. “I wish I could be, but I could always do more. Greater. Better. I want to bring in more revenue, so my parents don’t have to worry about their retirement funds. My goals are lofty, grand, and to be honest, maybe even a bit excessive. And I’m going to work my ass off for it,” I said. “But I’m not ready to take my dad’s position yet. I still need to work harder under him to help him expand the company. I want us to one day make an annual income of ten, maybe even twenty, million dollars. But I want to do that with him. I don’t want to do it by myself. Him, as the leader, and me, as his worker. That’s what I want.”
“That’s so sweet of you to want so much for your parents,” said Shoua, softly.
I shook my head. “It’s great, but I think it’s really because I’m greedy. I always want more in the end with everything.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that kind of greed, ” Shoua countered, and I smiled softly at her.
Not with my greed with you , I thought as I sipped my tea.
“Your greed is to do better for the parents you love and to show you’re an outstanding leader with an amazing vision for the company, which you are. I hope you know that. You’ve always been more than enough, Anthony.” She leaned in and I could smell her peach-scented body wash.
Why did she always smell so good?
I closed some of the distance between us, leaving only a sliver of space between our bodies. “I don’t feel good enough, though.” I rested my face into the crook of my palm with a long sigh.
Shoua reached out to me and placed her hand over my heart. Her warm touch made my skin tingle for more—for her to rake her nails across my back and draw blood and quench my thirst for her. With her, I was insatiable. I wanted more, if not all , of her. Like I said, I’m a greedy man after all.
“You are for me,” she said softly, her eyes never leaving mine. Her hot breath fanned across my face, almost teasingly.
I licked my lips and smirked at the way she watched my tongue swipe across my bottom lip. “Yeah?” I said quietly.
She smiled gently and pulled away from me. “Let’s go out to the lake and dip our feet in the water,” she suggested. “It feels stuffy in here.”
We abandoned our warm teas and headed outside. The full moon hung in the dark sky surrounded by sparkling, little stars twinkling above us. Crickets chirped lightly. We took our seats at the start of the deck. We were too lazy to walk all the way out to the end of it, to the deep end, just to dip our feet into the cool, still water.
“Have you ever seen the way your dad looks at you and Andy? His eyes light up and he starts smiling this happy, proud grin. It’s the only smile he’s worn ever since we got here,” she said. “Your dad wants you to take over because you earned his trust. He didn’t just decide this on a whim because you’re his son and you should take over the business. He wants to give this to you because you worked your ass off for it. You deserve this.”
I laughed at her sincerity, and she rolled her eyes at me with a smile. “Is there anyone in the company who you’d think would be a good fit to take over if you don’t?”
I thought for a moment. “There’s Paul. He’s always been my dad’s right-hand project manager. He had been with the company since the beginning and had seen it all with my dad, through thick and thin.”
“Isn’t he the same age as your dad?”
“He’s actually a few years older.” I laughed.
“Which means he’s going to be retiring before your dad. Anyone else you can think of?” she questioned.
“No . . .” I whispered. “Not really. I’d volunteer Andy since he’s good with numbers and finance, but he knows only the basics of being a general contractor and developer. And he’d probably kill me if I did.”
Shoua softly laughed a sweet jingle. “Exactly, which leaves only you.”
I tipped my head to the side, thinking about it. “Nah, I don’t know about that.”
She lightly nudged me in the side. “Anthony, stop.”
I smiled, scooting closer to her so we were sitting thigh to thigh. “Fine.”
“Now, repeat after me,” she said with a determined glint in her dark brown eyes. The dim moonlight made her eyes glitter like the stars. “I am more than enough.”
I hesitated for a second, then took a deep breath. “I am more than enough.”
She nodded approvingly with a growing smile. “I am capable.”
“I am capable,” I repeated, feeling my grin stretch wider to mirror hers.
“I deserve this opportunity to be a leader.”
“I deserve this opportunity to be a leader,” I said as my heart started beating a tad stronger. I blinked at how determined my voice was now.
“There you go.” She patted me on the shoulder.
I nodded slowly. “Now you.”
“Me?”
“Repeat after me,” I said, knocking my knee into hers. “I am worthy.”
“I am worthy,” she said with a laugh.
I laced my fingers through hers and brushed my thumb lightly over her knuckles. “I am the most beautiful woman to ever grace this earth.”
“I am beautiful,” she said simply.
I shook my head. “Say the whole thing, Shoua!”
“No, I already said I’m beautiful.”
“Fine,” I easily caved in. “Now say, ‘I am deserving of anything and everything wonderful under the sun.’”
“I am deserving,” she said as she nodded.
“Baby,” I mocked. “Why are you simplifying all the nice affirmations I have for you?”
Shoua let out the cutest laugh as she buried her face into my shoulder and then looked up at me with twinkling eyes. “You’re too much.” Her voice was lightly muffled.
I scoffed, feigning offense. “I am not. You know I only want nothing but the best for you. Right? It’s the least you deserve.”
She smiled gently, pulling away from me. “Of course. Feeling better about taking over the company?”
“A bit, but I can’t help but be scared,” I admitted in a low whisper. “I’m scared of disappointing everyone, but, most importantly . . . I’m scared of being a failure in front of my parents. I just . . . I just want to be a great son to them.”
“It’s pretty easy to be scared of things you’re unsure about, isn’t it?” she asked, glancing down at the dark lake. “Like jumping into this lake at night even though you’ve done it a dozen times during the day.”
“It’s easy to forget you can swim, Shoua,” I said softly. I glanced down at the abyss beneath us. “Especially if the only thing you can see is the darkness.”
She turned to me, beaming a rare mischievous smile. “Want to go for a quick swim?”
Before I could reply, she pulled out of my grasp and stood up. “Anthony, sometimes you just have to take the plunge.”
She quickly pulled off the big T-shirt she had on, revealing her luscious ample breasts in the moonlight, and tugged off her shorts. In a sexy, single motion, she pulled off her lavender panties with lace trimmings and then slipped into the water since we were on the shallow end of the lake.
“And you realize it’s not all that bad,” she said, standing in the water while completely nude. She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Coming in, gorgeous?”
I scrambled to tear off my clothes and slipped in after her. The cool water was pleasant against my heated skin as I ducked my head under the water for a moment. As I came up to the surface, I wrapped my arms around Shoua’s waist and startled her. She let out a yelp and laugh. I pulled her into a tight embrace with a shaky breath as I stood up tall.
“It’s not that scary, right?” she asked as she pushed my hair back.
I swallowed thickly as I gingerly cupped her face. My tongue was suddenly too thick and heavy, and I could barely mutter a single word. Because the only thing I could truly think of in that moment was how much I wanted to kiss her. I leaned in and was gone the moment my lips captured hers hungrily.
Fuck it .
I leaned in and was gone the moment my lips captured hers hungrily. With the swipe of my tongue over her bottom lip, she let out the sexiest half-sigh, half-moan. I pulled her lip into my mouth and sucked as she moaned again. I lifted her up and wrapped her legs around my waist under the water.
She rolled her beautiful body against mine for friction while I grabbed her ass to help guide her toward my cock, grazing and teasing me. She put her arms around my neck, pressing her breasts and curves against me. Blood immediately began pumping to my cock, and within what felt like only seconds, I was rock hard. I tugged away from the kiss and breathed hotly onto her lips.
“Anthony,” Shoua gasped, looking up at me.
“Last week you said we were a mistake,” I muttered.
“I did,” she whispered.
“Then,” I let out a wobbly exhale, “let me be the mistake you repeat again and again.”
Her eyes became unsure as a worried look touched her face. “Again and again,” she echoed softly.
“Let me be your mistake for this summer and the next and then the one after that. Please, ” I begged, leaning into the crook of her neck. I opened my mouth and scraped my teeth alongside the sensitive spot of her neck. She moaned softly while my cock jumped.
I pulled back so I could look her in the eyes. My heart ached painfully because Andy was right. I knew what I wanted, and I was too much of a coward to be honest with him. But I wanted to make it right with Shoua. Lust and desire were clouding our judgements right now and it was impossible to have this conversation without wanting to kiss her again.
I set her down, pulled out from her embrace, and walked back a few steps to put distance between us. There was hurt and rejection in her eyes as my face twisted in apprehension. I was going to ruin our friendship all because I could no longer be just her friend.
The truth was this: I had already fallen into a beautiful abyss that was all her . I leapt off that ledge long ago and I had been free falling all along. I had slowly fallen more and more in love with her over the past month; it was clear to me we could be so much more if we wanted to. Whether she was there to catch me, I was already hers. I was in love with Shoua.
“I-I’m sorry. I know I agreed to all of this, but I can’t—I can’t just be friends with you.” I gasped for her warmth as if it was my lifeline. “You said last week that we should just be friends and I agreed because I thought we could still be just friends. The truth is I can’t. I want more. I want so much more. I want to be yours. Not as a fake boyfriend. Not as your friend. I’m ravaged by greed, Shoua, and I want all of me to be yours . Only you.”
Her brows knitted as her eyes welled up with tears, and her face contorted in an unreadable, heart-wrenching emotion. The moonlight bounced off her tears, making her eyes look as if the entire universe was contained in them. My chest chest squeezed as my lungs closed in on me.
I’ve ruined our friendship.
“I think about you all the time. All the damn fucking time . Ever since your car accident last year, I have always thought about you. I thought it was because I was worried about you, which I was. But I kept thinking about you every moment I wasn’t near you—what you’re doing, what you’re saying, what you’re eating, what you’re drinking,” I whispered.
“You consumed every single thought of my mind for over a year, Shoua. And I still think of you every day. Ever since I asked you to be my fake girlfriend, I wake up every morning feeling like you are my girlfriend and . . . and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I-I—” I choked over the rasp of my voice.
“Anthony, what are you trying to say?” she croaked, her voice barely audible.
“Shoua, I’m in love with you,” I said softly. “I’ve always loved you, but I’m in love with you. Not as a friend, but as a man. I love you.”
“I—” she started with a hitched breath. “I’m in love with you .”
My heart started thundering in my ears so hard it might as well burst out of my chest. I took in an achingly short inhale before wheezing out, “Since when?”
“It all started off as a crush last year after my car accident. My feelings for you began to kill me more and more with each passing day the more I fell for you.” A soft sob escaped her lips. “I thought I could burn away all my feelings for you if we fake dated. If I could pretend you were mine for just a month, then maybe I’d be able to let all I felt for you go. It’s such a stupid assumption because I fell even more in love with you instead. I love you, Anthony.”
A wobbly smile touched her lips, and I smiled in return. I treaded through the water to her and reached out to wipe away her tears. Her body trembled as she let out another cry under my touch.
“Now that I’m yours, you can never let me go. I am yours, Shoua. All yours,” I said firmly.
I peppered kisses up her neck to her jawline before she grabbed my face with trembling hands. She pulled me into a heated kiss, sucking on my lips. I groaned, breaking our kiss.
“Make me yours tonight.” Her voice shook as she breathed hotly into my face.
We kissed briefly again before I trailed my tongue down her neck. I captured one of her nipples in my mouth, and she let out the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard—a sharp gasp. I hollowed my cheeks, sucking her nipple as deep into my mouth as I could, and she moaned loudly. She reached down to my aching cock and started.
I let out a shaky breath as my hand slipped down to rub circles on her clit. She arched her chest farther into my mouth. I gave this nipple one last hard suck before moving onto the other one. Her grip around my cock tightened and I hissed sharply as her breath hitched.
Shoua pulled away from the kiss and pressed her lips against my ear. “Fuck me, Anthony,” she whispered lowly, sending euphoric chills down my spine as she gave my cock one final last firm pump.
We clambered back onto the deck and rinsed off the lake water in the outdoor shower. Even in a lip-lock, I easily lifted her and wrapped her legs around my waist so we were chest to chest. I carried her back to our room—wet and completely bare—like we were the only people in this entire house. If someone woke up right then and there and came out to the hallway and saw us, I wouldn’t have cared.
The moment I closed our bedroom door, I swung around and pinned her against it. Our skin was still slick from the outdoor shower as I drew circles over her clit. She shuddered under my fingers as I continued to write out the letters of my name onto her bud. Her breath shook as I positioned myself in front of her slit, loving the way she tightly hung on to me. I slipped in easily and we shared a soft moan. I began thrusting long strokes into her as she made an array of moans, sighs, and whines.
“Anthony,” she babbled softly with each deep stroke.
I answered with a shaky murmur and intensified the rhythm of my thrusts. With each deep-seated pump into her, Shoua got louder and louder. At this point, we were bound to wake up the whole house; I knew I couldn’t continue to slam into her wet pussy in this position.
I carried her to the bed and released her despite not wanting to. I climbed on and slapped her sexy ass. She let out a hitched groan and rolled her eyes.
“Come put that sweet pussy on my face, cowgirl,” I demanded. “I’ve been craving it every single day since I first got a taste of it.”
I quickly laid down and motioned her to come to me. She did as I commanded, climbing over me with her thick, luscious thighs on both sides of my face. I smiled as I locked eyes with her, and then I kissed and licked the inside of her thighs, causing her breath to hitch.
“You better hang onto that headboard, baby. You’re going to need it with this tongue in that pussy,” I said.
“You talk so nasty,” she scolded with a beautiful smile. “And I thought you’d whisper sweet nothings into my ear as you ram your big cock into me.”
I chuckled. “Don’t be so upset, baby. I can do both.”
I stuck out my tongue and lewdly flattened it, signaling I was ready to savor her. She positioned herself on my face as I grabbed her hips. We both moaned as I kissed her pussy. Her sweet nectar overflowed into my mouth. I hummed. She screamed softly.
In a withering mess, she grabbed the headboard and rolled her hips along my tongue. I devoured her while slowly stroking my stiff shaft.
She was mine.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
I swirled my tongue over her folds and sucked in her clit, making her moan. She looked down at me with wide, lustful eyes, and covered her mouth with her hand. I chuckled and she withered again with a hushed wail.
“Oh my God,” I heard her babble.
I sucked again and drew out the longest sigh from her. My tongue lapped over her folds, and I slipped deep into her to taste her honeyed sweetness. Shoua’s moans got more labored and louder. She grabbed my hair with one hand and continued to hold on to the headboard for dear life with the other. I groaned at the sharp tug on my scalp.
Her hips began to roll at a feverish speed, my tongue remaining on her clit and folds. I slurped as she let out a hushed moan. She was close to coming, and her thighs were quivering around my face. Her moans were becoming nothing but hitched breaths. She came violently; her legs clamped around my head tightly and she tugged at my hair.
After eating my share of her sweet pussy, I pulled away and smiled. With a sharp slap to her ass, I said, “Ride me, cowgirl. I want to see the way you ride this bull.”