49
THEA
Sweat drips down my forehead and I’m out of breath. My heart pounds painfully and my legs ache. My ankle is mostly better, but today, it’s hurting more than usual. I throw my elbow back, connecting with his jaw. His grip around my waist loosens a little and I turn, wrenching myself free.
What’s next? Fuck.I can’t remember as I stand there, frozen.
He recovers and doesn’t waste a second. His hand is around my throat, squeezing too tightly and restricting my breathing. I’m panicking as I think of a way to escape. My hands flail wildly, reaching for his face, although they’re too short.
My lungs sting as each breath gets harder to take. Spots dance in my vision. “Fail.” Wesley lets go and walks away. I gasp, filling my lungs with as much air as possible while falling forward to brace myself on my knees. “Eyes, groin, throat,” he reminds me for the hundredth time.
I raise my head to look at him. He’s casually taking a long pull of water from a gallon jug. He’s being mean. I know why—he’s frustrated that I’m not retaining what he’s taught me and he’s scared that he won’t always be there to rescue me.
Wes didn’t tell me those things, however, I see it in his face.
I’ll be doing good, working through the motions, and I’ll even see pride shine in his eyes. Then, I’ll forget a crucial step and concern flashes over his face. I get it, but he doesn’t have to be such a dick.
“That wasn’t a fail. I was doing good. I’ve got most of the moves down,” I croak out, my voice hoarse from his grip.
He narrows his eyes at me. “It’s a fail when you’re not hitting me with all of your strength. It’s a fail when you forget a move. It’s a fail if you can’t escape me.”
I huff at his rigid rules. It earns me a glare as he stalks over to me. I can’t help admiring his powerful body as he comes closer. He’s wearing a long sleeve black compression top that clings to every crevice of his muscled body. And the gray sweatpants he’s chosen leave little to the imagination. I force those lustful thoughts away.
Wes doesn’t stop until we’re chest to chest.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I justify.
He doesn’t care about my excuses. “You could never hurt me, not really. I want you to give me your all. Pretend I’m an attacker. Pretend I’m going to kill you.” The words make me recoil. “Maybe I’ve been too lenient with you.” He runs a hand through his messy hair.
“That’s too lenient? I was seeing spots!” Now I’m getting pissed. Wesley’s been nothing but brutal during our mandatory self-defense lessons the last few days. “Maybe your expectations are too high,” I throw back at him. “Or maybe you’re a bad teacher.”
I hate the words as soon as they leave my mouth. However, he’s hurting my feelings with no remorse and I need to bite back. I miss the sweet, doting Wes who took care of me after the attack.
This Wesley is too rough. And not in the way I like.
He bends down, swallowing my chin and jaw in his grip. “My expectations are high. My expectation is for you to fight like you want to live and right now, I’m not buying it.” He lets go with a push and I stumble back. Wes turns and starts walking towards the door. “You know, you were right that night.”
“Yeah, what about?” I ask spitefully, daggering my gaze into his back.
“It was your fault. You put us in danger.” His words don’t even come out harshly, just matter-of-factly.
That’s what does me in. At least if he was bitter or angry, I could understand where he’s coming from.
My feet are moving before I can think. I’m charging towards him, a scream ripping from my already aching lungs and throat. I throw my entire side, shoulder first, into his back. He’s so fucking massive I don’t expect him to do anything more than stumble and swat me away like an annoying pest.
Instead, we’re both flying forward as he hits the ground. Satisfaction swells in my chest as I’m sprawled out over his back. I guess I’m stronger than I thought.
I’ve caught him off guard and I need to capitalize on it.
I let my legs fall on either side of him and grip him tightly with my thighs. One of my hands slides through his hair and I grab a fistful, pulling up to expose his neck. I hook my other arm around it, resting his throat in the crook of my elbow. Then, I squeeze like my life depends on it.
Wesley bucks against me, so I press my knees into his ribs as hard as I can. A gurgle comes from his throat, but I don’t let up—that’s what he wants. He wants me to feel bad and go easy on him so that I prove him right.
I crush his neck harder in response.
Leaning down, I get close to his ear and angle his head so that he can’t throw it back into my face. “Am I hurting you enough now?” I don’t wait for an answer. Something takes over me and I’m biting down on his shoulder.
The first time I bit him, I’d been worried about leaving a mark or making him bleed, but right now, that’s all I want. I’m an animal needing to tear him apart. I half expect him to throw me off or to flip his body so that he’s on top of me, but he doesn’t.
He groans instead. Jesus.
I can’t deny that my body is responding to this as well, although I don’t want to give in that easily. “Am I giving it my all? Does this look like I want to live?” I lift my mouth momentarily to speak the words before burying my teeth in him again. Wesley doesn’t answer—his stubbornness infuriates me. “Answer me,” I growl against his neck.
His neck bobs against the inside of my elbow and he finally pushes out a raspy, “Yes.”
I’m only partially satisfied. He’s awakened something inside of me that needs to be explored. Wes claimed me in the woods, rough and primal. Now it’s my turn.
“Turn the fuck over. Don’t try anything stupid,” I command him.
Pushing up slightly, I test him. He doesn’t try to overpower me, so I loosen my thighs and the grip on his hair, then unhook my arm from around his neck.
I stand and pull down my workout shorts, unashamed and needy.
Wes finishes turning over. He’s propped up on his elbows and sees me naked from the waist down. His eyes widen and his teeth rake over his bottom lip. His cock is already tenting his sweats. That’s enough to bring me to my knees.
I crawl between his legs, my fingers curl into his waistband, pulling off his pants and boxers—freeing him. My tongue darts out, wetting my lips. I slide him into my mouth until he hits the back of my throat. But I’m not here for his pleasure. I’m here for mine—this is my reward for besting him.
I lock eyes with him as I get him slick for me.
Wesley’s head falls back and the break in eye contact makes something else catch my attention. Standing in the doorway, I see Damian leaning up against the frame, watching us. He’s not just watching—his hand is running over his pants, he’s fucking hard.
Wesley hasn’t noticed him and this sends a rush of arousal straight to my core.
I pull my mouth from Wes and straddle him, lifting myself and guiding him right to my entrance. He slides in easily, filling every inch of me. His hands grip my hips as he tries to take charge, but I stop him.
“No,” I say forcefully. Leaning forward, I steady myself with one hand on his chest while the other grabs his chin. “You’re not in control. Do you understand me?” Wesley nods.
This is what I like about him. He’ll let me have the power, sometimes. Damian won’t let up his control and that’s usually fine, but right now, I need to call the shots.
Pushing myself back up, I slide my fingers beneath the hem of his shirt, tugging it upwards. “Off,” I demand. He pulls it the rest of the way over his head and arms. I plant my hands back on his tan chest, sinking my nails into him.
“Fuck, I need to be mean to you more often,” Wesley grits out, arching his hips into me.
I’ve held back long enough.
Rocking against him, I build up a slow, steady rhythm—sliding him out so that his tip is barely inside of me before thrusting him back in. Over and over, I tease us both, controlling our pleasure. I can feel him slowly getting impatient. He wants more. He wants me wild.
Looking back up at the doorway, I see Damian has his cock out, stroking it at a similar leisurely pace. The sight of him getting off to us sends a surge of excitement through me. I move faster against Wes, keeping my eyes on Damian.
I want nothing more than to watch him come as I ride his brother’s cock. The idea alone pushes me closer to my climax. Wesley moans beneath me, his grip is bruising and I’m crying out as I teeter on the line of pain and pleasure.
In the distance, I hear the faint sound of Damian trying to hold back his own moans. Wesley hears it too and his head turns in the direction. I reach down to stop him.
“Eyes on me.” I only release his chin when he seems content with obeying me. There’s something so much better about just Damian and me knowing that he’s here watching.
I see Damian’s jaw clench, he’s getting close. I know how to get him there—I relinquish my control over Wesley. Wrapping my hands beneath his arms and over his shoulders, I pull him upwards so that we’re chest to chest. He holds me so tightly I think he might crush me. Using the leverage of his hold, he drives his cock deep inside me mercilessly.
Three strokes…four strokes…Fuck. “I’m coming!” I scream it repeatedly until my words are breathless pants. I stare at Damian over Wesley’s shoulder just in time to see his whole body tense as he comes.
Wesley’s still fucking me, hard and fast. He follows closely after Damian—gripping me painfully as he spills inside of me, his cock twitching with each aftershock of his release.
I bury my head in his neck, closing my eyes for a moment. When I glance up, Damian’s gone and I’m left more confused than ever.
“Everything looks perfect,” Cassie coos as she glances around at the transformed waiting area. The chairs have been rearranged to accommodate a rectangular table with glasses of champagne and finger foods. “T minus twenty minutes!”
Just enough time for me to down a bottle of water and get something in my stomach—today’s going to be a long one.
We’ve been at the studio since seven, prepping everything for the Halos and Horns event. I was worried about promoting and getting sign ups with such short notice, but I was pleasantly surprised that we filled up quickly.
As of last night, we still had people calling to see if they could come.
“Anything else I can do for you ladies?” Anthony asks, wiping sweat from his brow. He’s been helping us with everything from hanging curtains to building prop racks.
Cass pops up on her tiptoes and kisses him on the cheek. “I think we’re all good. Thank you so much, babe.” He wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her in close for a hug before grabbing his tools and heading out.
“Thank you for doing this. It really means a lot that you’ve been enthusiastic about this idea.” I give her an appreciative smile and she meets it with one of her own.
“Thea, this was a great idea. You don’t have to thank me. I’m really excited about this and I honestly can’t wait to do more events like this with you.”
Warmth fills my heart. I hate we went through our rough patch, although it seems like things are better than ever.
For the first time in weeks, I feel like everything will be alright. All the shitty things I’ve gone through won’t hold me down. The truck, being denied for the property, the flooding, being sick, all the issues with Gavin—those won”t be the reasons I don’t succeed.
I determine that.
I see the first person standing outside of the studio doors, waiting for us to open. My stomach flutters in excitement and nervousness. We’ve planned all of this in theory, but we anticipate the execution won’t go exactly the way we want, so we’re prepared for this as much as we can be.
The women who have signed up for the event have chosen a side—Halos or Horns.
They will bring the lingerie that fits the theme of their shoot. Cassie will handle the halos, the women who want angelic, whimsical photos. I’ll photograph the horns, the women who want dark, sultry photos.
They’ll get a mini book with a few images from the shoot, just enough to get them interested in what I offer and to show them that what I do isn’t evil or immoral—I mean, unless that’s the type of shoot they’re going for.
My photography is empowering. By the time they leave the studio, they’ll feel beautiful and strong.
“Are you ready?” Cassie asks.
I give her a nod and she unlocks the door, welcoming in the few that have gathered so far.