Chapter 8 #3
They didn't know why I cherished even simple paper, and it was because I never had gifts to open.
My papa deposited cash into my bank account for events like my birthday.
My mama barely remembered I existed, except as the harbinger of her body's ruin.
The only time I got to open a real present was here, so I savored it.
I pulled the material away to reveal a car freshener.
"Oh, that smells nice," Lara praised, and Jenny's cheeks turned pink with pleasure.
"Thank you, Jen-Jen, I love it."
I pulled Lara's present toward us, and she ripped it where I wasn't able. She gulped as the jewelry box became visible.
"Ray." Her fingers worried the edge, reproach bleeding into her tone.
"Don't think about it," I urged.
There was a bundle of nerves in my chest, and my lungs burned as she cracked it open. And immediately slammed it shut. She put it on the table as if it burned her fingers.
"Absolutely not," she hissed in my ear.
I could turn that sound into a moan if she gave me five minutes.
Jenny snatched the box and let out an excited gasp, her eyes wide.
"Oh wow, this is beyond. Mom, look at this." She spun the box around to show Carol and Tony, who covered a choke behind a cough.
Wordlessly, I took the box back from Jenny and extracted the diamond necklace. It was a delicate silver chain circle, dotted with diamonds. It had something even more priceless nestled inside it. Something that would make Lara run for the hills, but made me feel better.
"You're not going to say no to my gift, are you? My fragile ego couldn't handle the rejection." I joked, but my insides twisted until she tilted her neck.
I dragged my fingers over her fluttering pulse. There was something right about the way it nestled at the base of her throat. Like I'd claimed her as mine.
Did I want that?
"I didn't get you anything." Her dark gaze glinted.
"Ah, volpe mia. This is more than enough." I tightened my fingers around her narrow waist.
"I insist." Lara brushed her lips against mine.
A tame tease, until she slid her tongue along my bottom lip and into my mouth. A brief swipe, enough to make my dick twitch. She pulled away too soon, and I fought the urge to chase her.
"Gross," Jenny protested, tossing a napkin at us.
The rest of the afternoon flew by, and Lara relaxed against my chest as Carol told her embarrassing stories about the awkward boy they invited into their home.
I flushed when they mentioned my not understanding how a microwave worked.
The bitter instant coffee I nursed was disgusting, but the company made it sweet, and when it was time to leave, I dragged my feet.
"Come back soon, you hear?" Carol rested her chin on Lara's shoulder and mouthed, don't mess this up.
I want to work on the Chevy next time, Tony signed, and I might have imagined the slight smile on his lips.
Sounds great. I signed back as Jenny wrapped her arms tight around my neck.
I rubbed my knuckles into her skull until she scrambled back with a lopsided smile.
Watching them get smaller in the rearview mirror never got easier. Lara balanced the necklace box on her bouncing knee, pinning me with an inscrutable look.
"Nobody knows about them, do they?"
"No, thanks for pretending to be my girlfriend." I winked, but the serious look on her face didn't fade.
"That's why you drove like a maniac out of the city."
I nodded, tightening my jaw. Lara was under my skin, and I wanted to keep her there. It felt right to show her these parts of myself.
"What do you want from me, Ray? This necklace? It's too much." Lara shook her head and fingered the pendant.
I pulled the car over at a rest area, creeping behind thick bushes to hide us. The road was deserted this afternoon, and the sun sank behind the hill. Muted pastels washed over me as I gathered myself.
"What if it's a promise?"
I brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek. Her eyelashes fluttered closed.
"Of what?"
"You said you can't get involved right now. Neither can I, but that doesn't mean we can't in the future."
"I shouldn't…" The tiniest whisper escaped her.
I brushed my lips over hers, wanting the taste of her. The gentle kiss I intended deepened as she tilted her head and opened her mouth. Lemon cake and cheap coffee.
"A promise." I swept my tongue past her lips this time.
"We shouldn't," Lara said but pressed closer.
That wasn't a no.
I didn't stop. My hand trailed over her breasts to notch on the curve of her hip. I swallowed her hungry sighs, emboldened by how she responded to me, considering her protestations.
"What if—what if," I muttered into her neck, my cock thickening in my pants.
My thoughts raced on how to prolong this moment. An illicit make-out in a car, like teenagers. All the girls I'd been with were looking for something from me. Wealth, prestige, or protection.
I coveted her. Not just her body, but something more passionate, more brutal. A collar, a brand. Something to trap her with me always.
"What if I'm still your girlfriend for the car ride?" Lara pulled back, breathless.
It wasn't a no.
I could work with that. Her gaze searched mine, reflecting the sunset behind me. She grabbed my hand and placed it between her legs. Her thighs trembled as I grazed the apex.
"Yeah?" I slanted my lips over hers again. "Is this mine?" I cupped her pussy, groaning at the heat that emanated.
Lara rocked her hips against my fingers, her panties damp. I slid my hand over her smooth mound to find her clit.
"Fuck, yes. Just once."
This won't be once.
I sank my fingers inside her soaked channel with a husky chuckle. She angled her hips to give me more access. Lara wanted to feel good? I'd show her what Raimondo could do with his fingers.
"Relax, volpe mia, and let your man fuck you." She arched her back as I lost myself in the warm grip of her body.
Her soft pants filled the darkening car. The sun set, and Lara rose. Her body coiled under my touch. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and her eyes closed tight.
"I wanna hear you," I growled.
She licked her lower lip and whined as my thumb brushed her clit.
"We can't." Her smile was a playful slant.
"My parents are inside, and you know they don't approve of you.
You're such a bad influence on me, Ray. You're a college dropout, and I'm on a scholarship.
" She tugged the front of her dress down, revealing a purple lace scalloped bra.
"I've already let you get to second base when I promised I wouldn't—ugh—but your fingers feel too good, and I can't say no. "
Role-play? My cock turned to steel.
"Oh, fuck yeah, you wanna play with your bad boy?"
Her soft whisper and sultry wink sent a shiver down my spine, and I leaned over to suck on the swell of her breasts, never letting up the rhythm of my fingers. My cock strained like steel, and I cupped it in my free hand. Did Lara like piercings?
"That's right, widen your legs for me."
Lara's thighs shuddered, and her breath escaped her in a pant.
"I'm going to mark these pretty tits as mine," I continued and sucked a hickey into her skin.
"Make me come, Ray, quick, before we get caught, and I get grounded."
"I'll just sneak in through your bedroom window." I kissed her hard, letting my tongue tangle messily with hers.
Our breaths became frantic, fevered, as I thrust my fingers deeper.
Lara let out a loud moan and slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes hazy with lust. My heart thundered in my chest. I wanted to sink deep inside her.
But this was better, the restraint, the illicit fantasy of being caught.
A car crawled past us, and I covered Lara's chest. Her legs were as wide as they could go, and her dress had ridden up.
"Quick, I think someone is coming. I can't get caught with you again," she moaned and writhed in the seat.
My head spun from the picture she painted for us.
She stiffened, and her pussy clenched around my fingers.
Wetness covered me as Lara let out a long, low moan.
Her head slammed back on the chair, and she shuddered through the final shivers of her orgasm.
I pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. The diamonds glistened at her throat, and I pressed a kiss to it as well.
"Have you ever tasted yourself?" I asked, bringing my hand to hover at her mouth.
"I-I've never done that before." But her gaze twinkled as her tongue flicked out, and she laved at my fingers, cleaning them up with a groan.
"You've never thought about me at nighttime, in your bedroom? Slid your hand inside your panties?"
Her tongue worked my digits clean, and my cock twitched at her attentions. I wondered how I was going to get through the drive home. She let them slip from her swollen lips.
"I'm too innocent for that."She widened her eyes.
The heated lust in her gaze slayed me. I plucked at the pendant on her neck.
"This is not a one-time thing, you hear me? Somehow, we're going to make this work."
I wanted her to promise me. Laced with enough lust to give me what I wanted, but she only pressed her lips to mine. This one tasted too final.
"Thank you, Ray. I needed this."
It was a consolation prize. But I took it.
Lara didn't know that I always got what I wanted, and I wanted her.