Eight
8
Salem
Twenty-One Years Ago
The attention we were drawing made this less enjoyable. Tyler Creets carrying my book bag and walking me out to the parking lot after school had been nice, until I realized that every set of eyes we passed, including the faculty and staff, seemed to be watching. It wasn’t me they were curious about. It was him. Tyler’s life was something they were all fascinated with and wanted to be a part of. He was new this year, and it was his first time attending an actual high school.
Since the age of five, Tyler had been a television star. He’d starred in two different hit series. The one he was widely known for had run for nine seasons. He had wanted to take a break from the screen and moved to live with his dad in Ocala. His mother was still in his house in Beverly Hills, but from what he’d told me over the past few days, he was burned out. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to that life.
His dad was an equine veterinarian, which was why he was in Ocala—since it was the horse capital of the world. His parents had divorced when he was seven. His dad had been against him being so young and on set all the time. It had caused fights because his mother was the one who had gotten him into that life to begin with.
He liked to talk about himself, and I listened. I did not like to talk about my life, so having someone not ask me anything was a relief.
“You sure I can’t take you home?” he asked me for the third time.
“Vanna, uh, Mrs. Bower is waiting on me. She had a doctor’s appointment today, but she said she’d be back to get me,” I explained.
This was her fifth doctor’s appointment this month. I had asked her if she was okay, and she’d assured me she was just behind on all her checkups. But five? That was a lot, wasn’t it?
“Maybe tomorrow then. You could ask her?”
I simply nodded. Tyler was attractive, but I felt as if he might like me more than I did him.
Scanning the parking lot, I looked for Vanna’s car. The familiar truck I found instead sent my stomach into a fit of flutters, even before I saw Rome leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes fixed on me. I hadn’t seen him in a week. I’d casually mentioned him not coming for dinner the other night, and Vanna had said he was busy with some new girl. That information had sent my mood spiraling.
He lifted his chin slightly at me, and I wanted to snatch my book bag off Tyler’s shoulder and sprint to the truck.
Thank you, Vanna!
“Do you know that guy?” Tyler asked.
I swung my gaze back to him, unable to stop smiling like an idiot.
“Yes. That’s Mrs. Bower’s son. She must have sent him to pick me up,” I explained.
Tyler frowned. “I could have taken you. I still can. Would she mind?”
I didn’t know, but I would mind. Nothing was going to stop me from having a chance to sit in Rome’s truck and have time with him.
“I’d feel bad. He came all this way. He works in Ocala. So, I don’t want to tell him he came for nothing.”
Tyler didn’t seem thrilled about it as he looked back at Rome. He continued to hold my bag as we walked over to Rome’s truck.
“He might have something else he needs to do,” Tyler suggested.
I scrambled to think of something to say to keep him from asking Rome if he could take me. I was sure Rome would take him up on it. Either I was imagining it or he had been going out of his way to avoid me since he’d brought me home on his bike two months ago. I’d tried to think of what I could have done, and I didn’t know.
We reached Rome, however, before I could think of an excuse to stop Tyler.
Rome didn’t appear to notice Tyler as he looked at me.
“Ready to go?” he asked, straightening to tower over Tyler.
I nodded my head. Yes, please.
“Hey, man,” Tyler said. “I can give her a ride if you have other things to do.”
I wanted to groan in protest.
“That’s not necessary,” Rome replied. “Give me her bag.”
Tyler reluctantly took it off his shoulder, then handed it over.
“Come on,” Rome told me, walking to the passenger side, then opening the door and tossing my bag inside.
Forgetting about Tyler, I hurried to climb in, giddy that I was getting to ride with him. Rome held out his hand to me, and I looked down at it, then up at him.
The corner of his mouth quirked. “Trying to help you, Angel Face.”
Oh. I really liked it when he called me that.
I placed my hand into his, and my entire body felt a rush of pleasure as his fingers closed around mine. It was warm and so much bigger than mine. I liked his hands. They were sexy.
“You gonna get in?”
The amusement in his tone snapped me out of my trance, and I blushed as I stepped up into the truck. When he let my hand go, I had to clasp mine together to keep from reaching out and grabbing his. I hadn’t wanted that to end so soon.
He closed my door and walked around the front of the truck. I inhaled his scent. I loved this.
My eyes met Tyler’s as he stood, watching me. I’d not thanked him for carrying my bag or even said bye. Raising my hand, I waved at him.
He smiled then and held up his hand to wave back.
Rome’s door opened, and my attention was immediately drawn back to him. He even made getting in his truck look hot. My skin was warm, and it had nothing to do with the weather, especially since it was cool today, feeling more like late fall.
His gaze swung over to meet mine when he was behind the wheel.
“I almost feel sorry for him,” Rome said.
“Who?”
He smirked and shook his head, then started the truck. “The TV star who is drooling all over you while you barely notice his existence.”
I frowned. “I notice him.”
Rome raised his eyebrows as he glanced at me, and then he went back to paying attention to his backing up. “No, you don’t, or you didn’t just now. But I reckon his ego is big enough to handle it. I imagine you’re his first real challenge when it comes to females.”
I blew out a breath and stared back at the parking lot as we pulled away. “I didn’t encourage him. He has just been very attentive. He likes to talk to me,” I said.
Rome chuckled, keeping his eyes on the road. “Oh, he likes more than talking to you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
He cut his eyes at me and then scanned them down my body before looking back at the road. “You make his dick hard.”
The deep timbre in his voice made me shiver. I didn’t know what to say to that exactly. But I had questions. I bit my bottom lip, debating on asking.
“How do you know that?” I blurted.
The hand he had on the steering wheel tightened. “I just do.”
That wasn’t good enough. My eyes dropped down to his crotch, and I sucked in a breath at the hard length that I could see pressing against his jeans. It looked big. I didn’t look at guys there normally. Were they all that size?
“Fuck, Salem,” he growled.
My eyes flew back up to his face.
His jaw jutted out, and he looked rigid. “Stop looking at my dick.”
I licked my lips nervously. “It’s hard.” My words came out in a whisper.
A tight laugh came from his lips. “Yeah.”
“W-why?”
He ran his free hand through his hair. “Jesus,” he muttered, then looked at me. “You’re sixteen. You know why cocks get hard.”
I nodded. “Yes, but…” I paused, not sure how to say this. “But I thought…you had to…want something for it to get like that.”
Another chuckle that held little humor. “Just because you’re too young for me to touch doesn’t mean I don’t think about it. And then you wear shit like that, and”—he shook his head—“my thoughts go there.”
A shiver ran through me. Rome had thought about touching me? Where? How? A tingle between my legs made me shift in my seat.
“Your hard nipples are poking through that tight top, Angel Face,” he drawled.
My breath quickened, and my body flushed.
“Does the thought turn you on—my dick getting hard from me thinking about the things I want to do to you?”
Oh God. I was getting achy now, and I wanted him to keep talking.
“Wh-what do you want to do to me?”
“Shit that I’m not going to. You’re too young.”
I wanted him to. I could feel an actual pulse between my legs. I uncrossed and recrossed my legs, trying to get some relief.
“Stop.” His word sounded like a snarl.
“What?”
“Stop squirming,” he said through his clenched teeth.
My chest was rising so hard and fast that I was afraid he could hear me. “I was…I…okay.”
We sat in silence for the rest of the drive, and I continued to get more worked up. Imagining him doing things to me. Thinking about him touching me. How his hand would look between my legs.
“Is your pussy wet?” he asked in a gravelly voice.
“Yes,” I admitted.
He pulled into the driveway and put the truck in park. I watched him as he stared straight out the window. His throat worked as he swallowed.
“I want to see you touch it.”
My breathing hitched. “It?”
He couldn’t mean what I thought he did.
He turned his head, and there was a dark gleam in his eyes. “Your pussy. Just for a minute. Slip your hand down your pants and touch it.”
Oh God…
It wasn’t that I hadn’t ever done that. I had. It was just…doing it in front of him would be difficult. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I also couldn’t tell him no.
When I uncrossed my legs, his nostrils flared, and his eyes dropped to stare at where he wanted me to touch. Biting down on my bottom lip, I slid my hand under the waist of my leggings. His mouth slightly opened, and his chest stopped moving, as if he was holding his breath.
Slowly, I slipped my hand beneath my panties and opened my legs some more while my fingers found my very wet slit. The moment I touched my clit, I let out a moan, unable to stop myself.
“Fuuuck, Angel Face,” he said. “Open those pretty thighs more and sink a finger inside your cunt.”
I was close. His hand moved, and my eyes dropped to see him squeeze his erection through his jeans. Another whimper came from me. I wanted to touch it.
When I pushed a finger inside me, I made another sound, and his mouth fell open more as his chest began to rise and fall fast.
“Good girl,” he praised me.
My body started to tremble. “Rome.” I cried out his name, and the climax that had been building hit me. It was stronger than the ones I’d given myself before, and for a moment, I was lost in the pleasure. I jerked against my fingers and finally slid them out, suddenly realizing what I’d just done in front of him.
“Let me taste them.” His voice was a husky whisper.
I dropped my eyes to my wet fingers, then back at him. Was he talking about my fingers?
“Put your fingers in my mouth,” he said a little louder, reaching for my wrist and bringing my fingers to his lips.
I gasped as he pulled two of them into his mouth and sucked. A deep hum came from his chest, and his arm moved back and forth. Tearing my eyes off the sight of him tasting me, I saw him rubbing himself through his jeans—hard.
He released my fingers, and my gaze went back to his face.
“You keep looking, and I’m gonna have to pull it out before it breaks my goddamn zipper.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Yes what?” he asked, still rubbing it.
“Pull it out.”
He closed his eyes and hissed, “Jesus.”
“I want to see it.”
His hands went to his button, and he began to unfasten his jeans as I watched. Lifting his hips, he tugged them down, along with his boxer briefs. My eyes widened at the sight of it. That was much larger than I’d imagined it would be. In both length and girth.
Jesus. How did that fit inside of a vagina?
I heard him chuckle, and my eyes swung up to see him watching me.
“I’m gonna assume by the look on your face that the others you’ve seen weren’t this big.”
I shook my head. “I’ve not seen…” I trailed off, and my gaze dropped back to see his hand wrapped around it, stroking it.
Oh wow. That was hot.
“Salem.” He said my name, but I didn’t want to take my eyes off what he was doing.
“Yes?” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Look at me.”
Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. I loved looking at him, but right now, the part I wanted to look at was his thick, veiny penis. Why was its head purple? Forcing my eyes off it, I met his gaze.
“Are you a virgin?” he asked, the words a raspy sound.
I nodded. Was that surprising? I was only sixteen. I knew a lot of girls had started losing their virginity in junior high, but I lived a different life than they did. There was no dating or chance to lose anything. When Spencer had tried to kiss me, I’d jerked back, startled, because, for starters, I didn’t know how to kiss. I hadn’t known him well enough to trust him with that knowledge either.
Rome groaned and closed his eyes, then laid his head back against the window behind him. “Have you done this at least?” he asked.
I couldn’t just nod with his eyes closed. “No.”
He blew out a breath and opened his eyes, then turned his head to look at me. “What have you done?”
I licked my lips. Why did we have to talk about this? I wanted to go back to what we had been doing.
“Nothing.” Admitting that was hard, but I felt as if I could trust Rome. I didn’t think he’d laugh or make fun of me.
“Fuck.” He looked almost pained.
His hand stopped moving, and I panicked.
“No! Don’t stop. Please,” I begged.
“I shouldn’t be doing this. You’re too young and unexperienced.”
“I don’t want to be. I just didn’t have time for boys or anything really when I lived with my dad. It wasn’t allowed. It’s all new to me, this dating thing.” My words came out rushed.
“You’ve sure dated a lot of guys since school started.” His words sounded bitter. “Are you saying none of them tried to do more than kiss you?”
“I didn’t date any of them seriously, and only one tried to kiss me, but I…I didn’t trust him. To…to be my first.” I knew my face was blood red.
“Wait.” He narrowed his eyes. “You’ve not even kissed a guy?”
I shook my head. “No.” The word was so quiet that it was almost inaudible. “I never…I didn’t trust anyone. I don’t know what to do or anything, and, well…” I shrugged.
He closed his eyes again and sighed. “Why is this making my fucking dick harder?”
I dropped my gaze back to his penis to see his hand moving up and down it again. He wasn’t going to stop.
“I shouldn’t be doing this,” he groaned. “But, dammit, with you looking at it like that, I can’t stop.”
His breathing got heavier, and his hand began to pump faster. “Fuck.”
The first shot of semen that came out hit the steering wheel, making me jump. I mean, I had known it did that, but I hadn’t realized that much would come out. Rome let out something between a roar and a moan, and when I looked back at his face to find his gaze on me, I knew I’d never see anything that could compare to him in that moment.