5. Auden
AJeep pulls up beside me and the window rolls down to reveal Storm, still shirtless, and laughing. “Get in the car,” he says.
“Nope.”
He stops the car. “Oh, c’mon. Never slept with someone two minutes after meeting them?”
I place my hands on my hips and blink rapidly from the falling water. “Nope.”
Why did I walk out? No, why did he run after me if he knew this was nothing more than a one-time thing? Why am I overthinking it if I don’t care?
“Get in the car, Auden. I’m not finished with you yet,” he says. I don’t move and narrow my eyes at him, which makes him laugh. “Second I saw you walk into Creed’s, I knew I wanted to taste you.” He licks his lips. “You’re my angel.”
“Should I be flattered?”
“Yes.” He scans me. “You’re freezing, yeah? And I need a shower. Why not save the environment and shower together?”
This makes me laugh. He’s right in a way. We already saw each other naked, we already slept together. Why not share a shower and save some water?
I am freezing, I’m shaking, actually. And sitting in a car in this weather until someone shows up isn’t the smartest idea. I can change my clothes, yes, but what good will that do if the heating in the car doesn’t work?
That smile. Why does he have to have a beautiful smile? Better yet, why the fuck does he have to be beautiful?
I stupidly let my feet do the talking. Did a comment about the environment seriously get me to agree with this? I walked out, and yet I’m in his passenger seat and turning on the heater. A fool for punishment with a gorgeous green-eyed man.
He’s in nothing but a pair of white and blue striped boxers, worker boots, and that necklace with the circular pendant around his neck. Confidence. He oozes so much of it.
A smirk spreads to his lips as he turns the Jeep around, speeding down the dark road and parking at the back of the bar, but neither of us moves when he kills the engine. The glass windows surrounding us already starting to fog up. This is a bad idea. This town is already changing me. In twenty-four hours, all my common sense has undone itself.
“Guessing you do this often?” I break the silence. “Screwing girls you barely know.”
“Perks of working in a bar, half the girls are already drunk and willing to do whatever I want.”
“Lucky you,” I say, deeply regretting letting myself sleep with him. “I don’t do this.”
“Sex?”
I shake my head. “Sleep with random people.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
I side-glance him and sigh, looking up at the yellow light above the back door. He follows my gaze and moves his hand closer to mine, our pinkies grazing each other. “You feel it, too?” he asks, swallowing hard.
I don’t respond, but I know exactly what he’s talking about. That draw. The pull. I feel it, too. That ache in the pit of my stomach, a longing I didn’t know existed. A thirst only he can quench…but he doesn’t need to know that. Come tomorrow, I’ll never see him again.
He takes my hand, reading the room, and waggles his eyebrows. “Wanna get drunk?”
“No.” I open the door and let myself out, looking back at him staring at me for several seconds before he follows.
The rain falls on us as he searches for the key to the backdoor. I watch as water trickles down his chest, escaping to the rim of his boxers, and opens it for me with a grin. I step in and he follows me back to his apartment, his gaze on my ass scorching my skin.
Great. I’m back in here and I don’t want to be in here. He doesn’t make me think clearly and I always think clearly. That’s how I got a scholarship at Princeton. That’s why I already have a beautiful bank account from endless savings at odd jobs I worked at every summer. I’m supposed to start a job next week that Sean got for me. I never decide on a whim. My life is planned out to the last second. Except for tonight. Storm is changing me and doesn’t even know it.
“Your dad texted back,” he says, shaking himself out of a shiver. “Called triple-A. They’ll be here in the morning.” He hands me his phone and I read over the text.
I clear my throat, being sure to delete the calls I made as well as the text. The fewer ties I have to him, the better, no? “Guess I’m stuck here until morning.”
“I’m sure we can keep busy.”
Don’t wink, ugh. He winks. Why did he wink? Now I want him to do it again. Don’t do it again!
“You said something about a shower?” Why did I say that?
He nods, holding his hand out. “I did.” I rummage through my purse and place my phone in his hand, making my way to his washroom again. He laughs, and I hope, puts it back on the charger.
I toss my jean jacket back in the dryer when he enters and leans on the doorframe as if waiting for me to undress. Is it crazy that I want him to watch me?
I point at his dryer. “This okay?” I ask, fixing the strap on my tank top.
“Mhm,” he hums and folds his arms.
I smirk, shut the door on him, and continue to undress. He laughs on the other side of it and taps his finger on the door, waiting for me to answer. I don’t. I want to stand in the shower and bask in hot water until my skin prunes…but I also want him to come in here and make me squeal until morning comes.
Am I going crazy? Is this gorgeous specimen turning me into this vixen that rarely comes out?
As soon as he hears the shower turn on, he steps into the washroom and starts the dryer for me. I needed heat before I chipped a tooth from all my chattering.
My back faces him when he enters the shower, and I look over my shoulder. I love the way he looks at me. Like I’m something he can’t have, as if touching me will be a mortal sin.
I look away from him, closing my eyes as the water washes over me. It doesn’t take long for him to excite. I can feel him on my backside as his lips press on my shoulder.
A growl rumbles through him. “You mind? I’m all for conserving water.”
I giggle, biting my lip again as he kisses the side of my neck. “I’m all for it, too.”
He steps out of the shower and returns, a condom already wrapped around him. This is happening, isn’t it? He slides his hands down my back and grips my hips. The way he squeezes my ass sends tingles rippling through me. I press my hands on the tiled wall and push into him.
Again. I let this happen.
He takes me from behind and doesn’t hold back.
I like that he moans. Not many men do.
He’s rough and quick, pulsing as deep as he can, pulling out and coming back in. I can feel all of him at this angle. Goddamn, my knees are about to give out.
With one last thrust, he roughly squeezes my ass and pushes as deep as he can, letting out this guttural moan that makes me want to scream. Fuck, why am I so attracted to this mysterious man?
“How many girls have you fucked like this?” I ask, his thrusting has slowed to a nice soft pace until he stops.
“Not enough.” He snickers. “We usually never get this far.”
“Bed or couch type of lays?”
He turns me by the hips and threads his fingers in my wet hair. “Couch. Always my couch,”
He kisses my cheek, my ear, my neck, and nibbles my shoulder.
I chuckle. “Guess I’m the lucky one, huh?”
“You’re the prettiest girl that this town has probably ever had. I’d be an idiot not to see if I could make my way in at least once,” he admits, kissing me softly.
“Twice,” I say against his lips.
His voice rises and he closes one eye while arching his other eyebrow. “Three times?”
I laugh and make the water warmer. My hair is cold from the rain that it stings when I submerge it. A chill like sand rolling along my skin spreads through me and all Storm does is watch. He leans on the tilted wall and watches as I warm up. That chain around his neck is backward so I fix it for him, spreading a smile on his face.
Fixing his necklace is like this annoying tick I’ve picked up. I hope he doesn’t mind.
I adore how he watches me. It makes my skin crawl in the sexiest kind of way.
“My angel,” he whispers, stepping into the water with me. “Tell me I’ll see this beautiful face in the morning.”
I nod, knowing this isn’t the case. I’m out of here as soon as the day breaks. “I’ll be here.”
We screw once more, in his bed, before he passes out and leaves me naked and vulnerable beside him. I wonder if I should stay like him. Sleeping naked or if I should put something on. I’m tempted to sleep on the couch. I’d like to slip out early in the morning without waking him.
He’s on his stomach facing away from me so I’m able to sneak out of bed. I take a t-shirt off the floor and sniff it. Citrus and cigarettes. It’s becoming a smell I see myself getting obsessed with.
I tiptoe to the washroom, take my dry clothes out, and fold them. I could put them on and prepare myself to jet in the morning, but I don’t. Something at the back of my mind telling me not to.
I bring the pile with me as I snag my phone from the kitchen and set the pile of clothes on the coffee table in the living room. I wonder if I should leave. I can if I wanted, just hang out in the bar until morning breaks, but the only thing stopping me from leaving is the rain outside.
I’m about to head back to bed when the power goes out. Being in the middle of nowhere without power is utterly petrifying. My breathing shakes but I have no idea where I’m facing or where the fuck I put my phone. Rustling comes from his bedroom and I’m hoping he woke up to shine a light on me, but he doesn’t. His snores move through the apartment and I’m left in this fear that something is watching me. I hate paranoia. I hate scary movies. I hate my overactive imagination. I hate this fucking place.
It takes a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and I find my phone, then the couch, letting my comfort take hold as my feet travel back to his bed. Lightening claps, lightening up his room enough for me to see his face. His mouth is open, soft snores leaving him with his back to me. I can’t help myself, I smile when I get in bed with him and pull the covers over us, kissing his cheek. Tonight was out of the ordinary for me. But it was beautiful, there’s no denying that.
He grunts, draping an arm over me and pulling me close to him. I’ll sleep for a few hours and wake up before he does. I’ll walk to my car and remember this night for all that it was. I’ll try to forget this handsome face, but I know myself enough to know he’ll always be so deeply connected to my soul. There will be no forgetting him for the rest of my days.