Page 27 of A Lesson in Deceit
“I want to come inside that pretty pussy so that I’m dripping out of you.” His bed creaked from his rapid movements. “You take your pill today?”
“Yes, fuck. Please come inside of me.”
He squeezed my neck, slamming into me until I came again and he started to shudder right after me. Our breathing was like a steady melody in the silent room. River let out a relieved sigh, pulling out and leaning over so that he could kiss me. He broke our kiss to place small pecks all over my face that had me giggling until I batted him away.
In all his naked glory, he padded over to his dresser, throwing me a shirt.
“I brought my own clothes, you know.” I started to put on his shirt anyway.
He gave me a look of pure adoration, throwing on a pair of boxer briefs and walking over to his side table. He pulled out the silk pillowcase that he bought me for when I stayed over after having a very educational talk about my hair and its needs. I handed him one of his pillows and he slipped it on, tossing it back at me. “I prefer you in my clothes, especially after I’ve made you come.”
I rolled my eyes, getting on the floor to find my bag that I’d put up here before we watched the movie. I needed to pee and clean myself up before we went to bed. I pulled out a fresh pair of underwear, hesitating before I got to the door. I didn’t have that feeling that I did before. Whoever was at the door had moved on. If it had been who I thought—who I’d hoped—then maybe a conversation needed to be had.
12
Riley
Iwoke up early the next morning, the sun just peeking out. I slid out from under River’s arm, my legs a little sore. In the middle of the night, he’d rolled over, kissed me, and asked if he could make me come. That time was slow and with my hands held above my head, while he looked down at me in the dark.
I tiptoed out of the room, my stomach needing food. I’d only eaten nearly all the mini pretzels and most of the popcorn last night and I was in major need of something with substance. I heard gentle snoring coming from downstairs. Grayson was still here, happily snoozing away. That didn’t mean he wasn’t up last night, watching me get railed by my boyfriend. I pinched the bridge of my nose, making a mental note to find a way to gather enough courage to bring it up in a private conversation.
I let out a sigh before I turned to head down the stairs, when I heard a door open. I turned my head making eye contact with Asher. I swallowed, watching as he slowly closed his bedroom door. His eyes roamed over me, taking in his brother’s shirt and my less than put together exterior. There was a tiny glint in his eye that almost looked intrigued but as if practiced, his face went back to vague disinterest.
“Long night?” he asked, the tone in his voice telling me that he didn’t actually care.
“No, it was just fine. Thanks.”
One side of his mouth pulled into a smile. “I bet it was.”
“Excuse me?” My words came out in a harsh whisper.
“In case you need a reminder, I happen to live here too. When I come home at night and hear the tiny whimpers of my brother’s girlfriend coming from his bedroom, I think I can assume that the night was more than fine.” He stuck his tongue between his teeth, chuckling.
I stood there with my mouth open. “Y—You…you didn’t stand there and watch, did you?” Maybe it wasn’t Grayson there, maybe I had been wrong.
He licked his lips, whispering, “I came home later than I expected and I’m a respectful person, so I don’t like to make a lot of noise if I get in that late. I wasn’t expecting to walk by his room and immediately need to tune you out because as much as I’ve shared with my brother, I’m not really interested in hearing him make you come, Riley.”
I wanted to vomit over the fact that my boyfriend’s brother and professor used the wordcomein relation to me. “Oh, so it’s Riley now?”
He rolled up the sleeves of his button down, giving me another glimpse at his tattoos. “We aren’t at school, but if you’d prefer me to call you Miss Monroe from now on, then okay. That’s your choice.” He leaned his hip against the stair railing, getting closer to me. It made me very, very aware that I only had River’s shirt on and nothing else. “Or I could call you little liar, since you have yet to tell me what you were really doing yesterday.” His voice was lower now and I could hear my own sharp breathing with the silence that surrounded us, save for Grayson’s gentle snoring.
“I’m not a…”
“I’m not really interested and if I ever made it seem like I was, I apologize.” He placed a hand on his chest, his eyes narrowing at me. He moved around me to the stairs.
I curled my hand into fists, blowing out a few breaths. I threw my hair over my shoulder and turned to watch as he descended the steps. “Since we aren’t in school does that mean I can call you Asher or do I still have to call yousir?”
He stopped walking at the second to last stair, turning to look at me. I gave him a triumphant smile even though I was filled with so much anxiety from this little run in. “Or maybe I’ll just use Mr. St. James, since I have a feeling that if you had to choose between the other two, you like the latter far too much.” I scoffed taking the stairs two at a time, sailing past him.
13
Asher
I’d learned to control my magic pretty quickly when I was younger, primarily because falling asleep and entering into the dream dimension was not a fun place to be when you were ill-prepared. Oneiromancy wasn’t an everyday skill like River’s telepathic powers, but it did make me fascinating to almost everyone that my parents would show me off to.
They—mainly my father—would have these parties where he would invite their friends and have them be put in a deep sleep. He would then have me go in and manipulate their dreams. I would go into their minds and see what they saw. I would turn their dreams into nightmares if I wanted to, and you could see it on their faces. I was something my father marveled at, but despite all thegood jobsandexcellent workshe would throw my way, I still only tolerated the man. There was a time when his love was genuine, I think, but once I came into my powers…that love got twisted and I became a side show act.
I kept River close to me, even though he hated it. I didn’t have a terrible childhood, my father didn’t hit me or call me bad names, but I wasn’t about to have my brother go through the same performative bullshit I did. I made sure I maintained a solid hold on my powers, but I also wanted to dive into the worldof mental magic in a different way. I graduated with honors in mental magic from Mystic Riegan, then got my Master’s in Education from UC Berkeley. If I was going to help develop someone else’s powers, I was going to do it the right way.
