Chapter Twenty-Four
Danika
My favorite way to think is with a mop in my hand. By the time I finish organizing that overstuffed filing cabinet that is my brain, the floors are shining just the way Miss Hannigan likes it.
The rest of the day is spent studying, refusing to meet Nico and the happy couple for anatomy group study, and anxiously waiting for Arden to come home.
I thought a lot about what he said. And a lot about what he did. I even wrote down some of my ideas in my notebook. And by some, I mean I filled up five pages front and back.
As I was sitting on my bed writing up a storm, I glanced over toward that picture of grandma and me. What would she say about this whole situation? Would she be supportive of my feelings for Arden or would she tell me to cut and run?
You are very special, Danika. You are destined for greatness.
“Miss you, Grandma,” I say, smoothing out a corner that had folded over.
I looked down at my page and thought long and hard about the whole thing. Is defending my honor really a good enough reason to be violent? What if one day, he takes his anger out on me? It always starts as an “accident.” He didn’t mean it. It was a mistake.
That’s what my dad used to say for the first couple of years. Then it became more like, “that’s what you get” and “see what happens?”
But, with all that being said, Arden and I aren’t in a relationship, not a real one anyway.
We were on our way home last night with every intention to fuck each other’s brains out, not picking out wedding china.
Why am I thinking about this so hard? We aren’t signing a marriage license, we’re swapping bodily fluids. Nothing so serious about that.
I’ve had sex with plenty of men before. And enjoyed it. And having shared those kisses with Arden, I know he would give me a run for my money in the bedroom. So, why not just do that? Why not just give into the carnal desire of it all? It would be highly convenient, for both of us.
Horny? Head next door to your friendly neighborhood hook up buddy.
We can do that. We can give each other pleasure without attaching any relationship strings to do. I can do it. I just need to keep my head on straight. And remember…
Arden is the boy I’ve always wanted and the man I can never have.
I am so resolved in this decision that by the time Arden gets home, I’ve slipped on my favorite black lingerie set under my robe.
Arden’s keys jingle in the door and my heart drops to my ass. Oh my god, I’m about to lay myself out on a platter for my best friend’s brother. What if he’s still mad about before? What if he rejects me? What if he ignores me?
I have no time to really consider these questions because he enters the apartment and sees me standing right by the kitchen counter.
“Hi,” he says, his eyes wide in surprise.
I open my mouth to speak but decide to let my very expensive silk set speak for itself. Pulling the robe string, it opens, giving Arden a gorgeous display of the girls.
He looks at my body, then my eyes, then my body.
“Brat…” Dropping his keys on the counter, he steps toward me. “What is this?”
“I don’t see why we can’t enjoy the benefits of this pretend relationship,” I say, dropping the robe entirely. Arden pulls in a breath, his eyes not leaving mine but it seems a struggle.
“I thought we were going to talk.”
“We are,” I say, taking the step he’s afraid to take. Pressing our chests together, I look up at him. “Later.”
“Later?” Arden asks, ever so slowly wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Yes, Arden.” I look at his left eye, then his lips, then his right eye. “But first, I want you to fuck me.”
That’s all it takes for his self-control to shatter. He kisses me fiercely, unapologetically. Like a man starved who had been waiting for this for decades and now he gets to make a meal of it. Arden pushes me back until I’m against the counter and he lifts me so I’m sitting.
Opening my legs for him to stand between, I grip him to me as tightly as I can. We kiss like we were made for each other. His lips are soft against mine but firm in the way he commands me to open up. His tongue slides into my mouth and I welcome it against mine.
“We should really talk before,” he says breathlessly against my mouth. But he doesn’t stop. Instead, he pulls me impossibly closer, the warmth of his body radiating against me.
I nod against him, a giggle escaping my lips. He breathes it in, kissing me harder. Anything else I might’ve said disappeared into thin air. Our desire, his and mine, mixes until they combine.
His hands don’t hesitate as they roam my body. Like he’s been wanting this. Dreamed about it. Like he already knew the route he wanted to take, having mapped my body in his mind for years.
Reaching up and around, he grips the back of my bra at the clasp.
He looks into my eyes as if asking for permission and it seems like my answering moan gives him all the permission he needs.
He snaps the clasp open and I spill out.
He catches my fall, his palms raised in prayer. I savor the touch of his skin on mine.
Arden kisses my lips once more before traveling down to my neck. He leaves beautifully sloppy kisses along my jaw, neck and collarbone. He keeps moving south as if traveling to a particular spot on my body. His lips hit my breast, and I roll my head back, my hair cascading onto the counter top.
Way too soon, his lips leave my body and I jolt up to see where he went. I’m met with a wash-board stomach and a chest that Adonis would be jealous of as Arden grips his shirt and pulls it over his head.
“You work out?” I ask, not even bothering to hide the breathlessness of my voice.
Arden chuckles, looking down at himself. “Nah, baby. This is all natural.”
I roll my eyes but Arden grips the back of my neck, not allowing me the overexaggerated movement. He pulls my face to within a centimeter of his.
“You gonna act like a brat even while I’m touching you here?
” Arden puts his hand on the part of me that’s been aching ever since he walked in the door.
Through the fabric, I’m clearly ready for him and anything he wants to give me.
He rubs the spot and I fight the urge to roll my head back again, well, not fight because Arden wouldn’t let me move my head anyway.
“Maybe,” I say, because this teasing is driving us both absolutely insane in the best way possible.
I want to take control, but I also love the way that Arden is playing with me.
Not just with his fingers but with his words.
The breathy way he’s panting. It’s like he’s about to burst just as much as I am.
Arden tips my head back so I’m looking up at him. “If you act like a brat, then you won’t get what you want.”
“You don’t know what I wa–” Before I can finish the thought, Arden drops to his knees, pulling the soaking fabric to the side. He takes a huge whiff and honestly, I could finish right then and there.
“Brats don’t get rewarded for bad behavior.
” He looks up at me from the incredibly vulnerable position.
From the words he’s saying, he seems to be in charge, but I know I’m truly the one calling the shots here.
If I said stop, Arden would be six feet away apologizing immediately.
It’s that safety and trust that I have in him that allows me to really lose control.
“Tell me what you want and maybe I’ll give it to you.” He nips at my right thigh, then my left. Each move brings him closer and closer to my center.
I groan, inching forward, bringing myself closer to his face. He breathes out a laugh and the sensation has me gripping the countertop for dear life.
“Words, Dani. Tell me.” He knows what I want but he’s making me say it. Smug bastard.
“Kiss me.”
He breathes against my core. “Where?”
I take a fistfull of his hair, pulling his gaze up to meet mine. “There. Now.” Arden’s smile is breathtaking as he takes the command in stride. He feels amazing and I can’t help but grip his hair tighter and tighter with every vibration of his tongue.
I’ll be honest, this isn’t what I envisioned happening when I had this idea. I thought he’d jump my bones in his bed or at the very least, the couch. But the fact that he couldn’t make it two steps into the apartment without devouring me is hot as hell.
Arden’s hands work their way up my body, grabbing and rubbing and gripping like a man reaching for a lifesaver. Within a few seconds, I’m losing my grip on reality as Arden works into me, faster and slower all at the same time.
He’s clearly experienced, but then again, I never claimed to be a virgin Mary either.
“Come on. Give it to me.” His breathy voice at my center sends me catapulting toward completion. “That’s right, baby. Give me all you got.” He grips me so tightly I'll surely have bruises tomorrow.
In the end, it’s Arden’s words that send me over the edge.
“Fuck, Arden, I—” Releasing his hair, I lean back on my elbows, my hair almost falling into the sink. But I couldn’t be bothered. The sound that escapes me can only be described as visceral. Arden continues working into me but the sensation is more than I can take. I push his head away.
As I catch my breath, Arden stands, taking me again by the neck and pulling my face to his. He kisses me hard and I’m gathering up the energy to continue when he releases me.
Arden takes a step back, grabbing my robe from the floor and holding it out to me.
“Ready to talk now?”
I think my jaw just dislocated from how fast it fell open. “Talk? Now? What about continuing what we started?”
“Oh, we’re finished.” He holds the robe out to me again and I grab it. Arden walks to the living room, sits on the couch and pats the cushion next to me in offering.
“You didn’t…did you?”
He chuckles. “No, Danika. I’m not fourteen years old. That’s all I wanted to do, for now.”