Page 47 of Invisible Scars
I wake, gasping for air, my body drenched in cold sweat. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth, and a dull ache pulses through my thigh.
“Fuck.” I run my shaking fingers through my hair before picking up my phone. 2317 hours. Calling Andrew this late at night is off the table. I could always call Micah, but he’d tell Milly and my brothers, and they’d tell Nona. I don’t want to put her through that again.
I close my eyes and force another deep inhale, this time through my nose and exhale through my mouth. Forcing myself up, I stuff the sweat-soaked sheets into the laundry machine before scrubbing my skin raw under a hot stream of water. The lingering scent of death hits me full force when I return to my room. Even though I know it’s all in my head, I can’t help but shudder as I make my way to the windows.
My pulse races, lungs struggling to expand as I suck in the fresh night air.I need to get out of here.
After yanking on the closest clothes I can find, I rush to my Jeep, feeling instantly relieved when I rev the motor.
I drive around for a while, clearing my head. When I finally stop, I look around me and realize I’m at Effie’s house. I close my eyes, telling myself to turn around and go back home. Instead, I take out my phone and dial.
“Someone better be dead, Jonah,” Effie’s irritated voice greets me. Though it sounds absurd, her annoyance is my calming factor. Her unrelenting fire draws my attention, pulling my focus away from everything else until it’s centered on her. I’m willing to burn alive in her flames if it means another moment where she’s the center of my universe.
“You sound wide awake. Are you painting?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”
“First night back home after a week. Can’t be easy.”
“I’m just happy Calgary’s out of the hospital,” she says. “He spent most of the day sleeping next to me.”
“Lucky him.”
Effie laughs softly, and I hear a brush plop into water. “Everything okay, Joe?”
“Depends if you’ll let me in or not.”
There’s a long silence from the other end of the line, then the light on Effie’s porch turns on, and I see her face peeking out the window. A few seconds later, the garage door lifts.
Relief washes over me, followed by anticipation when I exit my car. The door opens, and Effie’s standing there with her hair in a loose ponytail wearing a black cotton romper with paint stains that smear over her arms.
I hurry my step and circle her waist, pulling her in for a deep kiss. Effie opens to me without hesitation, fingers curling in my hair as her body tips into mine. We move together through the house, clothes falling off as we go until we trip over something on the floor.
We tumble down, our mouths still fused, and I cradle Effie’s head with one hand while stopping my fall with the other. I land gently on top of her and rock into her neediest parts.
Effie’s mouth leaves mine with a needy wail, and I take a nipple between my lips, wasting no time in kissing down her body.
My mouth trails a path of heated kisses down her neck, nipping and sucking on her sensitive skin, eliciting soft moans from her lips while my hands explore her curves, tracing the contours of her body with a possessive touch. With each caress, Effie arches beneath me, pressing herself against my hungry mouth.
I continue my descent, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses along the valley between her breasts, savoring the taste of her skin. When I finally reach the apex of her thighs, I find her already slick with desire. The scent of her arousal envelopes me, heightening my hunger.
I lift Effie’s knees to my shoulders and press my mouth to her, kissing her deep. Effie’s breath hitches with a whimper. With a smooth motion, I flip us over so she’s straddling my head and go to work on her pussy.
I tease her with gentle strokes of my tongue, relishing the way her body quivers above me. Effie’s moans grow louder, more desperate, as I flick and swirl my tongue with practiced precision. Her hips buck against my mouth, palms flat on my chest as she gives me every sweet, needy whimper.
Consumed by the intoxicating taste and feel of her, I lose myself in the rhythm of her body. Every gasp, every cry sends a jolt of desire straight to my cock. I want to drown in her pleasure.
Effie’s moans reach a crescendo, her body trembling with every lick and swirl. I increase the pressure of my tongue, my fingers finding her swollen clit and circling it in a way I know will tip her over the edge. Her cries of release fill the room.
I sit up, sliding Effie to my lap and ravishing her mouth as I align myself to her opening. I’m lost, so desperately lost in my desire for her. Nothing in the world matters except coming together in the most basic, primal way.
At the first inch of penetration, we both gasp. Effie’s eyes lock onto mine, swirling with want—for now, for beyond now, for a future I can’t give her. A future I never wanted to crave. She tries to push down, but I hold her still.
“Slowly,” I say in a gruff voice. “I want you to feel every inch of me.”
“Jonah…” My name breaks off her pouty lips with a contended murmur, and she lowers herself at a torturous pace. I clench my jaw, fighting the urge to move as I’m overwhelmed by the sensation of her slick, wet warmth engulfing me.
When I’m seated deep, I hold Effie still, taking her chin and bringing her gaze to mine.
