30. Lark
LARK
I told Wyatt everything. Almost .
Sitting across the table from me, he was fuming, desperately trying to rein in his temper, but it was there, simmering under the surface. He was pissed. Disappointed. Worried.
“A fucking fight. After everything I’ve talked to them about. How much I’ve stressed that eyes are always on you when you’re rising to the top. There’s always someone there waiting to cut you down, and they just handed it right to them!”
I kept my voice calm. “I really don’t think anyone outside of town is going to find out about it.”
“You think the most gossipy town in the Midwest is going to stay quiet about this? What if Kevin is drafted? You don’t think someone’s going to remember this and offer the story up to the highest bidder? Reporters would salivate over exclusive dirt on a rookie with as much talent as him.”
My brows pinched together. “I don’t think you’re giving your hometown enough credit. From what I’ve seen, they take care of their own here.”
“Exactly. They take care of their own. Townies . Kings and Sullivans but not hungry college kids whose dreams of a professional career are just as impacted by reputation as they are by actual skill. You don’t understand how this works, Lark.”
My frustration with his stubborn attitude bubbled over. My hands slapped on the table. “Why can’t you trust me on this? Come on, Wyatt. This doesn’t have to be a big deal. Royal gave me his word—”
Ah, fuck.
“Royal? Royal King?” Wyatt stood from the chair. “What does he have to do with this?”
I sighed. “It was Lucian King who Kevin and Michael got into it with. Apparently they made a crack about the day the boys were helping me with an audition tape on the beach. Teasing them and making fun of me. They came to my defense, but when Lucian made a crack about you , Michael lost it. He threw the first punch.”
“Wait a minute. Slow down. Audition tape?”
Sweat started to prickle in my hair. “I got a callback, and they are accepting a taped audition. Surprise!” My weak attempt at a joke landed flat.
A hard line formed between his eyebrows. “When are you leaving?”
My heart pounded. He wasn’t asking if I was leaving, but when. “I haven’t sent out the tape yet.”
He pinned me in place with his stare, the one that said, “Cut the shit.” I used to love that stare and get a kick out of pestering him a little bit, but I couldn’t bring myself to joke. I stalled by shifting in my seat and picking at a piece of invisible lint on my shoulder.
“Why not?” he finally ground out when I still hadn’t answered.
Because I’m in love with you and your daughter and I don’t know that I have the guts to leave.
“I don’t know.” It was all I could manage.
I wanted him to fight for me. To tell me that he was choosing me and that he wanted me to stay with him in Outtatowner. Somehow the quirky lakeside town had become a part of me. I was settled and grounded for the first time in my life, but it was nothing without Wyatt.
He pulled me from my thoughts. “And Royal?”
“I talked with him after the boys were arrested. He said he could talk with Lucian and get him to drop the charges. He did.”
Wyatt scoffed. “Just like that?” He shook his head. “Nothing comes from a King without strings.”
“I’m telling you, he just... agreed. I told him how damaging this could be and how silly it would be to ruin their futures over a little fight. It wasn’t a big deal. He kind of laughed and said that he’d been in plenty of stupid fights and that he’d talk with Lucian.”
“You should have talked to me first.” Visible tension rose in his shoulders and neck.
“I didn’t have time. It all happened really fast. Royal was right there at the station, and he talked with Lucian. I made the best call I could in the moment.”
“And now you’re indebted to Royal fucking King.”
I rolled my eyes. “You make him sound like some larger-than-life Mafia kingpin or something. It wasn’t that big of a deal. In fact, he was kind of... nice.”
Wyatt dismissed my statement with a disgusted sound and shake of his head. Heavy moments passed, tense and silent. My palms felt damp. I rubbed them together, looking around his farmhouse.
This night, this entire conversation, was too intense. Too close to a real relationship with its ups and downs. Every part of me craved that connection, but it was clear that the lines between personal assistant and girlfriend were blurred, and Wyatt wasn’t sure what to make of it either.
I stood and took a few steps toward the front door.
“Stop.” The hard, grumpy tone of his voice halted my feet. “Don’t go.”
I froze, my heart beating wildly.
“I owe you an apology.”
I glanced over my shoulder but didn’t turn back. “I get it. Tonight was... a lot. It’s fine. Everyone just needs a little time to cool off.”
Wyatt stood and took a step toward me. “It’s not fine. I was a dick. You didn’t deserve that.”
A tiny smile played on my lips. Wyatt’s arms wound around me as he pressed my back against him. His warm breath moved over my ear. “Can you forgive me for losing my cool and being a jerk?”
I lifted my shoulder and shot him a playful look. This I could control. When we were lost in each other, I knew exactly where I stood. “I dunno. I guess that depends on how you’d like to apologize.”
He grunted, low and deadly, as his hands moved down my sides and over my skirt. “What would you say if my apology included bending you over this table right now and showing you just how sorry I was.”
“Wyatt Sullivan,” I hissed, a blush staining my cheeks. “There’s a house full of people.”
His fingers teased my exposed thighs, dragging higher and higher, dipping beneath my skirt. “Then you’ll have to work extra hard at keeping quiet.”
A thrill danced through me. “If you’re doing it right, I shouldn’t be able to keep quiet.”
His teeth nipped the base of my neck. “Exactly.”
I bit down on my lip and tried to listen for any sign of the boys or Penny. Through the ceiling I could hear the low drone of their television and no sign that Penny was awake.
My heavy breaths rattled through me as I considered just how desperately I needed to connect with Wyatt. To use my body to show him all the pent-up feelings I was too afraid to voice.
As Wyatt continued to kiss my neck, I gathered my skirt in my hands. Wyatt was just as impatient because he dropped to his knees and used his strong arms to bend me at the waist. With one hand pinning me in place, my chest pressed flat against the wooden table.
I could feel his face close to my pussy and then the drag of his teeth across the line where my thigh met my ass.
I let out a small, desperate whimper.
“Quiet now.” Wyatt’s teeth clamped down on my inner thigh, and I pressed my lips together to keep from moaning. His tongue darted out to smooth over my skin, and his strong fingers flex over my lower back.
His hand left my back, trusting that I’d stay in place while he explored my body. Both hands trailed up the back of my thighs as his mouth teased and sampled. Finally— finally —his hands looped into the top of my damp thong and yank the fabric down.
Hard.
A strangled sound escaped my throat, and I clamped a hand over my mouth. My hips tipped backward, urging him to put his mouth on me. Begging for it.
His large hands gripped my butt as he spread me open. Wyatt dragged the flat of his tongue through my pussy with an aching slowness. Every nerve ending was on fire, and my body arched and pleaded for more.
I could feel the rattle of his own groan as he spread me wider and devoured me. My knees wanted to buckle. I shifted my weight, pushing my pussy into his face.
“Yes,” he growled into me. “More.”
My hips swiveled, and I lost all sense of time and space after his mouth found my clit. Wyatt was so good, sucking and lapping up every part of me. I wanted to float away.
But not before I felt him inside me.
“Wyatt, please,” I whispered and pleaded. “I want to come on your cock.”
My dirty, wanton words had him pulling back with a sexy groan. “Jesus.”
He stood and gripped my hips, then pressed his erection to my exposed pussy.
“I like hearing you beg.”
I swiveled my hips and ground into him.
The sound of his zipper sent waves of anticipation racing through me. In one aggressive move, Wyatt’s thick cock pushed into me. A startled cry threatened to escape me when his hand clamped down over my mouth.
He continued to fuck me with hard thrusts. His hand pressed over my mouth as he banged me against the table with every brutal drive of his hips.
“You’re so fucking wet for me.”
My eyes squeezed together as I reveled in the harsh way he took me, his hand keeping me quiet.
Exhilarated. Grateful. Stretched.
With Wyatt I was free. It wasn’t wrong to like being fucked hard or that his grumpy attitude was a total turn-on. My ears were acutely aware of any noises, and outside of the wet, sloppy sounds of our bodies coming together, the farmhouse was silent.
I pushed my hips into him, soaking up every sensation that rolled through me.
My legs started to quiver. My pussy tightened, and it was Wyatt who stifled a quiet groan. His spare hand left my hip and dove under my skirt to move down over the bundle of nerves between my legs.
His other hand moved over my mouth, and his fingers pushed past my lips. I brazenly sucked on them while he fucked me from behind and teased my clit.
The thought of it all—the reckless, delicious reality of getting thoroughly fucked in his kitchen—sent an orgasm tearing through me. I tucked my forehead against the table, doing everything I could to stay silent as the waves of pleasure crashed over me.
Two hands gripped my hips, and Wyatt pumped into me. His cock swelled, and with one final push, as deep as he could go, he came.
The stillness of the kitchen blanketed us. Only our low pants filled the silence. His hands were gentle as they caressed my lower back and over my hips.
“I don’t think I can move,” I whispered. My unsteady legs shook beneath me. “Do you think we were quiet enough?”
His touch was gentle as he slipped my thong back up my legs and smoothed my skirt back in place.
He kissed me on the ass before chuckling softly. “I think we’re okay. You were a good girl, but you bit the shit out of my finger.”
I turned to face him and smiled, gripping his hand. I brought his finger to my mouth and held his gaze, then kissed the side of it before swirling my tongue around it and sucking.
I had never been so bold, so openly sexual with anyone, and it was delightfully sinful. Wyatt grabbed the back of my neck and pulled my mouth to his.
After he kissed me breathless, he warned, “From now on, no more favors and promises to any other man but me.”