Chapter 23 Octavia #2
“Crazy thing is, he’d asked me to marry him right before pushing me.
” I huffed a laugh, still remembering that idiot on one knee, acting like I was his world, his precious lady.
“When he asked, I told him I needed to think about it, and that clearly didn’t sit well with him.
He didn’t like that I didn’t immediately say yes to him.
That same day, I packed my shit, took the ring, and sold it at a pawnshop.
” I reached outside the hot tub and picked up the can of sparkling water again.
“I am glad you escaped that,” Javier said. “You were smart to leave. You do not deserve that.”
We both went quiet for a handful of seconds. I took a deep gulp of fizzy water.
“Have you noticed the way I sometimes gasp or get startled when you randomly show up?” I asked.
He nodded. “I have noticed and have always wanted to ask why that was.”
“Even though this was years ago, I remember Luther popping up, stomping around, slamming cabinets, and shouting—not that you do any of that,” I added rapidly. “But whenever he’d come around, I always had my guard up. I always felt on edge, you know? Like I would get in trouble just for breathing.
“Sometimes he’d just pop up in the living room after taking a nap or playing his video games.
He’d just show up without saying a word.
I would be reading or focused on something, with my back to him, so I wouldn’t notice him at first, but when I did and gasped loudly or had a jump scare, he’d crack a smile.
Almost like he wanted to see me scared. Like he was glad to have that kind of power over me.
It’s different when it’s done as a prank, right?
To kind of scare someone just to be funny.
I did it with Davina all the time. But there was something about Luther’s smile that was sinister.
It just wasn’t right.” I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.
“He was toxic . . . and I thought I had escaped that, but then he showed up here.”
“Wow. I am sorry, Octavia.” Javier’s whole face softened.
“Officer Amara said you should file a restraining order on him if you are worried he will hurt you again. I agree with her. I will file one as well. I do not want him anywhere near my family or my property. I will also speak with my manager and see if there is a way he can blacklist him from the stadium. You will just have to provide me his full name.”
“Luther Hall,” I said. He could take his name and report it to the FBI, for all I cared. “And I’ll file one for sure.”
“Okay. Good.” He gave me a soft smile. “From now on, I promise not to come around unannounced,” he assured me. “Especially if you are busy with something. I will let you know I am there.”
A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. “You don’t have to do all that.”
“Yes, I do.” He moved closer to me, a concerned wrinkle forming between his eyebrows. “I want you to feel safe here, Octavia. I want you to feel like you belong. I will do everything I can to make sure of that.”
My eyes burned with tears, but I bit them back. I’d cried enough today. No more tears.
Instead, I moved closer to him, until my breasts were almost touching his midsection. He looked down at me, pink lips parting as he lifted a hand to cup my cheek.
“You deserve to be protected,” he murmured.
“I usually find a way to protect myself. I’ve learned not to wait around expecting to be saved.”
“I am glad that you do . . .” He lowered his head, and his mouth inched closer to mine. “But it is okay to allow others to try. To help.”
“Others like who?” I asked, breathless. I eyed his mouth as he examined mine. Our faces came closer, drifted apart, then moved closer again. His warm breath ran across my damp chest.
“Someone who cares about you,” he rasped. “Someone like me.”
With those words, I felt like a goner. But when he curled his hand around the back of my neck and brought his lips to mine, it obliterated me to sweet, delicious pieces.
He consumed me, stepping forward until my back pressed to the nearest edge. A moan rose up my throat, and I lifted my arms to drape them over his broad shoulders. He took that as his chance to pick me up in his arms, but our lips never parted.
He clutched my ass in his hands, and a hungry groan vibrated through him. Our tongues collided, our moans entwining. Then he snatched his mouth away.
“Should I stop?” he panted.
“No.” I needed this distraction more than anything. I kissed him first this time, slipping my tongue into his mouth, briefly tasting him before retracting. “I want you to take care of me right now,” I said on his mouth.
“Okay.” His breathing grew ragged as he released me so he could remove his boxers. He slapped them onto the edge of the hot tub while I rushed to take my bottoms off.
When I reached behind my neck to untie the strap of my top and remove it, freeing my breasts, his eyes seemed to spark. He scanned my curves with fascination before giving his head a shake.
“It does not make sense,” he mumbled.
I paused. “What doesn’t?”
“How fucking sexy you are.”
I couldn’t help my smile.
Once again, he collected me in his arms just to lift me up. I closed my legs around him, and he reached down to grip himself, angling the tip at my center.
When he thrust into me, I released a sharp gasp.
“Qué rica. You are so good.” His groan was primal and deep, as if he’d been waiting years just to feel me again. It’d only been one day since, but for some reason it felt like forever.
Our lips meshed, and he pumped into me, groaning ferociously while I whimpered and moaned into his mouth.
“Fuck. Your pussy is so wet,” he panted, stroking faster. He clutched a fistful of my locs to tip my head back, pressing hot, wet kisses on my throat.
“That feels amazing,” I breathed as the water sloshed.
“?Sí?” His breath ran over the crook of my neck. “How much did you think about doing this again, hmm?”
“A lot.” And I did. I was tempted to get an orgasm in this morning with Rosie while fantasizing about him but thought better of it.
“I thought about you all night, Octavia.” He brought his mouth to the shell of my ear. “I thought about being inside of you again. Seeing your face when you come.” He leaned back so our eyes could connect. “You are so fucking beautiful.”
“Ugh.” I gripped his face in my hands. “Why do you always know the right things to say?”
I kissed him deep, and he gradually slid me up and down the length of him. No longer was he restraining himself. His groans were ravenous while my moans flew into the air, creating their own rhythm.
He stumbled a bit, and the backs of his legs bumped against one of the built-in hot tub seats. When he dropped, I went down with him, our bodies still joined.
“Ride me.” His voice was a deep, commanding growl. I began to work my hips, lifting up and down, then rotating in circles as he focused on me.
He felt so big, so insanely good. Every time I rocked backward, I could feel him hitting my G-spot, triggering the pressure. Every time I rocked forward, my clit grazed against his pelvis, sending sparks of pleasure straight to my core. If we kept going at this rate, I’d surely detonate.
I bit my bottom lip, and he gripped my face between his fingers. “Do not hold back,” he rumbled. “I am yours tonight, so use me if you need to. Come all over me. I do not care. I just want to see you satisfy yourself.”
“You can’t talk like that,” I breathed, his words fueling me, causing me to ride him faster.
“No? Do you not like it?”
“I love it,” I moaned.
He held my ass and tipped his head back, allowing me to take complete charge.
“Carajo. Your pussy feels so good wrapped around me.”
“Javier . . .”
“?Sí, amor?”
“I’m about to . . .”
“About to what, mi amor?”
“I’m . . . oh my God . . .” I tightened my arms around his neck and dropped my face into the crook of his neck, but he snapped me right back into place.
“I told you I want to see you,” he said.
A cry escaped me as I threw my head back, pulsating and clenching around him. He groaned as I continued chasing my high, still needing more, wanting all of him.
“Shit,” he cursed, tensing beneath me. “I’m about to come, Octavia. You are riding me too good.”
“So don’t hold back,” I whispered on his lips.
He was so close. I could tell by the cords bulging on his neck and the fire in his eyes.
The way his dick pulsated inside me, as if it suddenly had a life of its own.
It didn’t help that I was grinding on top of him, dragging him closer to climax.
He palmed my ass tighter in his large hands as my lips fell down on his.
Before I knew it, he was swearing into my mouth, and his body tensed.
He pushed me upward just enough that he could pull out, then squeezed his eyes shut as he shuddered with his release, cursing in Spanish and groaning in between.
“Oh, fuck.” He held on to me, twitching while I settled on his right thigh and delicately kissed his cheek. After several seconds, he asked, “We are getting out of hand, no?”
I busted out laughing as he looked up at me with a lazy grin. “Maybe just a teensy bit. Also don’t worry. I’m protected.”
He gave a swift nod. “Do you think we should stop doing this?”
“I don’t think we have to stop.”
“Okay. Because I am enjoying this.”
“Well, as long as nothing gets too serious, we should be okay, right?”
His brows puckered. “What do you mean?”
“I mean . . .” I climbed off his lap and searched for my top, floating on the other side of the hot tub.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is if we can keep our feelings out of it, we should be okay.
I don’t want you to think I’m leading you on, for you to expect something deeper from me that I may not be able to give you . . .”
He was quiet for a bit. “Because you no longer trust being with anyone? Because of him?”
“You could say that.”
He let those words marinate. “Well, I guess we are on the same page, then.” He collected his shorts and provided me a half smile. “After Eloise, I do not wish to be deep with anyone else either.”
“So . . . I guess we can agree on that, right? Just letting this be for fun?” I tied my top into a small bow behind my neck, but I didn’t miss the way Javier locked onto my face, as if searching for a tell—a sign that I might have been joking.
But I wasn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, this time with Javier was exciting.
Honestly, my whole life at that moment felt sort of like a fever dream.
Waking up in a beautiful guesthouse. A dream job, taking care of a lovely kid.
Using the pool and hot tub and attending free professional basketball games courtside.
Traveling to different states and staying in luxury hotels here and there.
It was nice . . . but he had to admit that no matter what either of us wanted, this wouldn’t last.
One day Aleesa would grow up.
He’d most likely find someone who wanted something true and deep with him—someone who was 100 percent willing to commit. I wished I had it in me to promise myself to someone again, but I didn’t see that happening anytime soon, and I didn’t want any pressure about it.
Plus, I could never live up to Javier’s wife. Based on all the photos of them I saw around the house, it was clear he loved her. He had a whole child with her. I could never top that.
“Right,” he finally said after some time. “We will just have fun, then. No worries.” The smile he put on barely reached his eyes. He proceeded to climb out of the hot tub to pick up his shirt. “I am going to take another shower. Have a good night, Octavia.”
He turned away before I could respond and walked to the door so fast that I didn’t even get a chance to say good night back.
Watching him go with that slight slump in his shoulders and his head bowed did weird things to my chest. Made it feel heavy and empty all at once . . .
And it hit me after a few minutes that I might have officially hurt Javier’s feelings for the first time.