Chapter 5 Austin #2
The heat hit me hard—fast and furious and fucked. My hips shifted, the ache turning sharp as I dragged a palm down the front of my boxers. I didn’t mean to. I probably shouldn’t have, but I did it anyway.
I shut my eyes, letting the image flood in—her body against mine, the hitch of her breath, the way her fingers had gripped my shoulders like she needed something to hold on to or she’d fall apart.
My cock was already hard, straining against fabric, and I fumbled with the waistband like a goddamn rookie. I pushed my underwear down just far enough to wrap my hand around myself and squeeze.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Every gasp I remembered from that night came rushing back—hers, mine. How quickly and intensely we’d found a rhythm. The way we moved like we knew each other already, like it was the last time we’d ever be touched.
My hand stroked slow, firm, and greedy. I bit my lip to keep quiet, to keep it buried deep. The sounds through the wall kept coming—soft, uneven. Maybe she didn’t know I was this close. Maybe she did.
I wanted to believe she was thinking about me.
I imagined her fingers between her thighs. Her breath catching. Her head tipped back.
I fucked into my hand with that image lodged so deep it ached. No teasing. No pretense. Just need, raw and ragged and sharp.
My back arched. My jaw clenched.
“Fuck, Selene,” I whispered.
When her intake of breath was sharp, followed by a shudder of her orgasm, my release hit hard—violent, like it had been waiting since the forest.
I spilled over my stomach, panting hard, hand trembling where it still held my cock.
For a second everything was too quiet.
Then I laughed—quiet and bitter.
I reached for a tissue and wiped myself off, the heat of shame creeping up the back of my neck. It didn’t belong to her. This secret. This wanting.
It was mine to carry. Mine to bury.
I rolled onto my side, staring at the wall between us.
“I just needed to get you out of my system,” I murmured to the void, but even I knew that was a fucking lie.
I should’ve felt better, or emptier, but the ache wasn’t in my dick—it was in my fucking chest.
I woke up early the next morning and did what any rational, emotionally balanced man with a guilty conscience would do in my situation.
I brought gifts.
I ordered two drinks from the café downtown—one hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles for Winnie and one oat milk vanilla latte for Selene. It was a guess, but it felt right. Then I wrote a note on a bright-yellow Post-it and stuck it to the side of the cup.
If it helps, I was possessed too.
—The Demon
It was risky—letting her know not only that I could hear her conversations through the wall, but that I also remembered.
I left the drinks on her porch after knocking twice, then retreated back to my door and slipped inside like a man who absolutely hadn’t been eavesdropping like a creep the night before.
But I waited.
Not long after, I heard the front door creak open, followed by a moment of silence. Then Winnie’s giggle. “Mama! Did a demon bring us coffee?”
“He left a note,” Selene murmured, and I could picture her squinting at it like she wanted to roll her eyes—but smiled instead.
I grinned into my mug and let the heat warm my palms. I couldn’t pinpoint why Selene had such a hold on me.
But possessed or not—I could make one hell of a neighbor.
The sun was starting to dip by the time I stepped into the backyard. The light hit everything sideways, slanting through the trees with that late-summer gold that made even overgrown grass look romantic.
I’d intentionally left the gate between our halves of the yard open. It seemed to stick a little, so I’d wedged it with a rock to keep it from swinging shut.
An opening.
I wasn’t expecting to see Selene outside, but there she was—bent over slightly, gently teasing a dandelion crown from Winnie’s hair while trying to keep her from dumping an entire bottle of bubble solution on the lawn.
“One more puddle and we’re officially hosting a fairy water party.” Selene laughed, but I could tell she was half exhausted.
Winnie skipped across the lawn, twirling into my yard, leaving Selene to stand alone in the light. Her slim shoulders were drawn tight to her ears like they didn’t know how to relax. Selene tipped her face toward the sagging sun and exhaled.
When she turned, she spotted me before I could pretend I wasn’t staring.
“Oh,” she said, brushing her hair from her face. “Hello.”
I tucked a hand into the pocket of my jeans. “Hi.”
The muscles in Selene’s neck worked as she swallowed. She pointed toward the open gate. “You might want to keep that closed. Winnie’s known to wander over to your side. I keep telling her to stay out of your space.”
I took a few steps closer, slow and deliberate. “Winnie’s fine. I opened it so she could have more space. You too.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Me?”
“Yeah,” I said, leaning one hand on the fence post. “You can wander in anytime you feel like it.”
She blinked. Then she rolled her eyes so hard I half expected her pupils to file a complaint, but she smiled.
It was small, but the smile was enough.
Selene’s frustrated exhale was quiet. “You’re impossible.”
I nodded. “I can be.”
She crossed her arms, but her voice was lighter than it had been all week. “About the coffee . . .”
My eyes narrowed, genuine curiosity getting the best of me. “Did I get your order right?”
“No.” Her voice was all business, and a hearty laugh escaped me. I liked the challenge.
Selene bit her bottom lip, then let it go. “It was funny. The note.”
I relaxed into my stance. “I meant what I said too. I was . . . enchanted.”
Her eyes flicked up to meet mine, and for a split second everything got quiet.
Really quiet.
“Well . . . don’t read into it,” she said, her tone flat but her voice softer. “That night. It was nothing.”
I chuckled and grinned. “Okay.”
Her brows furrowed. “I mean it.”
“I believe you.” I leaned in slightly, just enough for my voice to drop. “But I still remember every second of it, and that was not nothing.”
She inhaled, sharp and shallow.
“Okay, well, I should go.” Her words ran fast, like they were chasing her heartbeat. “Winnie needs a bath.”
Selene turned toward her yard when insanity took hold of me. “Oh, hey,” I called out, and she turned, shading her eyes from the sun. “Brody was right. I could help you out before and after school. It wouldn’t be a problem. So if you ever change your mind about needing help . . .”
“I won’t.” Her chin lifted, muscles tense.
My grin spread wide. “I know.”
She turned, calling out for Winnie, who was now chasing a butterfly into my side of the yard. The little girl bounded over and took her mother’s hand, dandelions still tangled in her curls.
Selene led her back inside, and I watched the door shut behind them.
The chain-link creaked, the sun dipped low, and I leaned back against the fence like it could steady me.
This pull between us?
I had a feeling it was just getting started.