Chapter Twenty-Six
Two
A month later…
“Where are your parents?”
Gemma bursts into laughter at my question. “Why? Looking to do something naughty?”
Fuck yeah.
Ever since we had sex for the first time a month ago, we’ve stolen moment after moment. The secret room at Hemingford Hall has been our main haven when we want to get lost in each other, but we’ve fucked twice in the back of my car.
Life is good.
Really good.
I can’t wait to get my own place so I can have her all the time.
The only problem is she still hasn’t met my dads. They have been busy with work. We’ve been tirelessly chipping away on our project, too. It’s all an excuse, though. I’m nervous for this meeting and the more I fall for Gemma, the more I worry about it going badly. But I’ll be put out of my misery soon enough as Dad chewed me out this morning before he went to work, telling me I better bring her by this weekend or else he was going to have a fit.
“Are they here?” I ask again, gaze roving down Gemma’s front, shoving away thoughts of my dads and how their meeting with her will go. “I need to know if I’m fucking you here or on the way to the workshop.”
She grabs my hand, hauling me into the house. “They’ll be back soon. You have to make it quick.”
Not needing to be told twice, I prowl toward my sexy girlfriend, yanking at my belt. She lifts up her black dress and shimmies her panties down her thighs before kicking them away. Then, with a coy smile, she bends over the back of the sofa.
Fuck me.
God, she’s hot.
I give her bare ass a quick smack that has her yelping and then shove my slacks and boxers down my legs. Our first time we used a condom, but since she’s on birth control and we’re both negative for STIs, we’ve resorted to going bare.
And holy shit does it feel good to be bare inside her.
“Pull out when you come,” she instructs, wriggling her ass at me. “I don’t want cum running out of me the whole event.”
I think knowing my cum is leaking out of her while we schmooze with other restoration enthusiasts sounds like a pretty fun idea. However, I’d probably never be able to get rid of my hard-on knowing that. Best we clean it up before we go. Definitely going to happen another time, though.
“Hurry,” she says, tone turning bossy.
I hate how every time we’re together has to be in a rush. One day, I’m going to spend hours laid up in bed with her, learning every curve and freckle.
“You don’t want me to feast on this first?” I ask, running a fingertip along her slit.
She shudders and lets out a mewl. “After the event. Just fuck me, Two. We don’t have time to argue.”
I swat her cute ass again because she deserves it.
“Fine. If you start crying, it’s not my fault. You asked for this.”
She flips me off over her shoulder and I crack a grin. Despite her only crying the first time we had sex, I’ve been endlessly teasing her about it. That’s another thing I love about this girl. I can give her shit and she gives it right back. We’re fun together.
Even though she wants it quick, I take the time to massage her clit. If she can orgasm before I stick my dick in her, she’ll be slicked and ready for the hard fucking she wants. Her whimpers and moans are the best sounds I’ve heard all day. The tip of my cock leaks with pre-cum, aching to be inside her. For all the practice we’ve had lately, I’m able to bring her quickly to orgasm. I don’t wait for her body to stop spasming before I grab hold of my dick, line it up, and then thrust deep inside her.
“Ahh!” she cries out, arching her back.
Gripping her hips, I pummel in and out of her, marveling at how fucking wonderful she feels. I’ll never get tired of this. Not ever. It doesn’t take long and I’m also tipped over the edge. With the patience of a saint, I pull out at the last second and paint her pretty ass with cum.
Too bad I can’t sit and stare at her marked bare ass all day.
“You look good all messy, Golden. It suits you.”
Little Miss Perfect is hot as fuck when she’s wrecked by me.
“Tanaka came by this morning,” Gemma says, staring ahead as we drive. “He skeeves me out so bad.”
I glance over at her briefly before turning my attention back on the road. “He comes over a lot.”
“Right? It’s weird.”
At one time, I’d given her crap about suspecting Tanaka, but even I’m a little unnerved that he seems to be visiting a lot lately.
“Maybe they’re just working hard trying to catch the stalker,” I offer with a shrug. “He’s the police chief after all.”
“Maybe. Turn there,” Gemma says, pointing to a road quickly coming up. “This place is at one of those fancy cabins on the east side of the lake. I’m starving. They said there’d be food, right?”
I nod as I turn and then take the winding, wooded roads that’ll bring us to our destination. We’re about twenty minutes early. Her parents came back home not even five minutes after we cleaned up from our living room romp. We’d made a mad dash out of there to avoid any questions and awkwardness over what we’d just done in their living room.
“That’s it.” Gemma points through the trees toward some twinkling lights. “Wow, this place is really nice.”
We pull up to a massive cabin with white string lights hung along the ceiling of the front porch that wraps around the side. There aren’t any other cars here yet.
“Should we wait until more people arrive?” I ask, glancing over at her. “I could think of a couple of things we could do to entertain ourselves.”
She snorts out a laugh. “You’re an insatiable horndog now, Tristan Sheridan. I created a monster.”
I roll my eyes at her using my full name. “Says the monster fucker who’s always ready to hop in the sack with me.”
“Touché.” She shakes her head. “Come on. We’ll leave early if it’s lame and find some dirt road to get freaky on.”
Before I get the luxury of imagining what that would entail, she’s already climbing out of the vehicle. I quickly stride over to her and thread our fingers together. It’s nice being able to parade my girlfriend around in public without worrying about who will find out.
“Don’t forget to lock it,” she instructs. “I’m leaving my purse so I don’t have to keep up with it.”
When we reach the porch of the cabin, I skim my gaze over the chalkboard sign welcoming the guests of the workshop. Gemma knocks on the front door, sneaking a cute smile my way.
The door opens and we’re greeted by the scent of savory foods. Dr. Skeller beams at us and sweeps his hand inside.
“Come in, Mr. Sheridan, Miss Park. The other guests aren’t here yet, but please help yourselves to the delicious spread we had catered in for the event.” Dr. Skeller closes the door behind us and shows us to a long buffet table covered in everything from cubed cheeses, olives, and pickles to trays of chicken breasts in some sort of cream sauce. “Can I offer you both something to drink?”
“Wine?” I say jokingly.
Dr. Skeller smirks. “Nice try. This is a PMU sanctioned event. How about some sweet iced tea instead?”
We both nod and he strides off to fetch our drinks.
“This isn’t awkward or anything,” I mutter under my breath. “The back seat of my car would have been a lot more fun.”
Gemma playfully smacks my arm. “Be nice. This will be fun.” She walks over to the chairs lined up in front of a makeshift podium with a microphone. “I wonder who the speakers will be.”
I don’t recall from the invite seeing any. Maybe it’s just for Dr. Skeller to be all official and greet everyone or something.
Dr. Skeller returns with our iced teas. We thank him and accept our drinks.
“Feel free to make a plate while you’re waiting for the other guests to arrive,” Dr. Skeller instructs. “There should be twenty-two guests in total.”
As we part from Dr. Skeller to check out the food table, Gemma nudges me with an elbow. “Don’t eat like an animal.”
“I never eat like an animal.”
Her neatly plucked eyebrow hikes high up her forehead as she gapes at me in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”
I stare at her, unblinking.
“Oh my God. You are serious. Two, babe, you’re messier than a toddler. Hate to break it to you.”
Shrugging, I pile up my plate with just about everything. Gemma is more selective. By the time we eat the food and help ourselves to more iced tea, it’s time for the event to begin.
Yawning, I flick my gaze down to my watch. “This is going to be boring, isn’t it?”
“Hush,” she admonishes, but her eyes are slightly hooded.
We’re both about to fall our asses asleep.
“Where is everyone?” I ask Dr. Skeller when he strides back into the room, a wide smile on his face.
“Should be here any minute,” he assures me. Then, to Gemma, he gives her a tender look. “Has your stalker bothered you anymore?”
She tenses at the mention of him. “Just the usual daily reminder that he’s around.”
Dr. Skeller nods in sympathy with pinched eyebrows. “Your father and Police Chief Tanaka will get to the bottom of it. I have faith in them.”
“Do you know Tanaka well?” Gemma asks, grimacing as she mentions his name. “Does he strike you as peculiar?”
Dr. Skeller frowns, studying her intently. “He does. Why? What are you thinking?”
“Nothing,” Gemma lies and then gulps down her tea. “Just a weird guy.”
“Hmm,” Dr. Skeller hums. “Perhaps keep an eye on him and don’t allow yourself to ever be alone with him.”
She nods emphatically. “Don’t worry. He creeps me out so bad.”
I yawn again. “What time will everyone be here? Do you have coffee? The caffeine in this tea isn’t cutting it.”
Dr. Skeller beams at me.
Talk about creepy.
I blink several times and realize they’ve been talking, but I totally nodded off. Gemma glowers at me like I’m embarrassing her. Hell, I’m embarrassing myself.
With the heel of my palm, I rub at one eye, trying to shake the tiredness out of my bones.
What the hell?
I feel loopy and tired as fuck.
Alarm bells start ringing, but my brain can’t seem to comprehend why. Gemma stands shakily and Dr. Skeller grabs her arm to keep her from falling.
“I, uh, need to use the restroom,” Gemma utters. “Can you point me in the right direction?”
Dr. Skeller shows her to the restroom and then strides back over to me. The room tilts from side to side and my stomach roils.
Am I getting sick?
I think I need to call my dads.
Something’s wrong.
I hear a loud thud come from the bathroom. Gemma. Without consideration, I burst to my feet. The room spins and then I stumble several steps, tripping over my feet that feel weighted down. Like an ancient tree that’s been hacked through with a chainsaw, I crash to the ground, smacking my cheek hard on the wood floor.
Numbness slides through my veins and the exhaustion washes over me like a warm wave, claiming me in spotty darkness.
Don’t go to sleep, Two.
Don’t.
Something’s really, really wrong.
Despite barely clinging to consciousness, I try to move my hand down to my pocket to retrieve my phone. I don’t get very far. My fingers twitch against the hardwood and a small, defeated grunt escapes me.
I’m roused by hands patting me down and then my phone is pulled from my pocket.
Yes, I need that.
Give it to me, please.
“You won’t be needing this,” the deep, sinister voice croons. He also manages to find my keys and gives them a jingling shake. “Or these. Just go to sleep. Let the medicine do its job. No need to fight it. This battle is over, young man, and you have lost.”
I know what this means.
I know I have to fight back.
And yet, blackness finishes cloaking me in her abysmal darkness.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Finally, nothing.