Page 39 of Here With Me (Paloma's Edge 2)

“I’m about to bust,” he gasped.

Hot semen spurted down my throat and he eyed me with a sleepy grin. “Damn, Mariska. That felt better than a fucking trip to Disneyland.” He pulled me down on top of him and I felt a blush rise over my cheeks.

“I’d have to say that your work downstairs doesn’t compare to a trip to Disneyland.”

I turned to my side to see Hunter’s face.

He slid two fingers inside me and hissed. He filled me and then pulled out, until I grabbed his head and clenched around him. As he began his torturous strokes between my cleft, he grazed his fingers across my nipples. With Hunter’s warm, wet touch licking each of my hardened tips, he slipped a longer finger inside me, filling me in a new explicable way. Whimpering, I came apart in his hands. A low, deep satisfied groan came out of his throat before his tongue collided with mine in a devouring kiss and orgasm.

I got up from my bed and put the light on in the room after we’d cuddled. I didn’t know how long I’d been in his arms, but it was perfect. I felt safe and great and, while I may have wished that I’d done things differently in the future, the fact was that, in this moment, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d pondered if he had a condom in his wallet tonight, because he’d said he didn’t have one when he’d been in this room with me previously. As much as I craved him, and felt so connected with him, I felt like I had to see if he would feel that it’d be all right for me to give all of myself to him. He didn’t seem to understand that what was worse than him not wanting me, was if he wished he hadn’t done anything with me. I knew that he wanted to be inside me too, but he continued to have a hang up about me giving myself to him entirely.

My eyes adjusted to the harsh bright light and focused on Hunter sprawled out on my bed in all his naked glory. It was a good thing I went down on him in the dark tonight because I would’ve just stood there, staring at him. The tattoos on his chest were dark symbols that seemed like they meant something important because of the details they had. The only tattoo I recognized was the Greek symbol for strength on his upper thigh. It was actually beautiful and very fitting. Mom and Dad had said that tattoos were for people who thought they were individuals and wanted to make a statement that they didn’t abide by the “universal” customs of society, but I’d secretly thought it was wonderful when someone got a tattoo. It was permanent and a way to embrace one’s body, but I hadn’t told them that. They would have said that Beth was influencing me to like tattoos and it would’ve been nearly impossible for me to see Beth outside of school. The chiseled muscles and planes of his body were like the dream of a nude art class. He reminded me of a male Greek statue and his tattoos only made his body more riveting.

Hunter

MARISKA SAT DOWN BESIDE me after she put on her robe. She slid her eyes all over my body, repeatedly. There’s nothing sexier than having her all to myself, naked and filled with unabashed lust for me. I didn’t deny that my blood was pumping through my body, making me feel like she caressed my entire body with a feather while I remained motionless. My breath hitched as my cock twitched against her belly button. She spread her fingers over my chest, tracing over one of my tattoos, the most important one on my body, right on my heart: M.L. It was the smallest one I had, but that didn’t make it any less significant.

“Whose M.L.?” Mariska asked softly.

“Marion Lovell, my Nana,” I answered and a slight smile tugged the corner of her lips. “She’s deceased.”

She laid down beside me and touched her lips on Nana’s tattoo. That act of compassion made me want to tell her everything. Other girls had asked about the initials and I hadn’t answered. They’d assumed it was for some old lover, but I didn’t talk about such an important woman to just anybody. The first person whom had taught me that it was more than okay for me to like art and have appreciation for all sorts of hobbies was Marion Lovell. That it was okay for me to not be like Chase.

Mariska didn’t ask any other questions, and it amazed me that she understood that I needed the silence. It’d been years since Nana’s passing, but that didn’t mean that her physical absence in my life didn’t make me feel a little empty at times. There was so much about life and the world that I didn’t know how to properly cope with. There weren’t enough shelves to house all of the self-help and coaching books about healthy coping skills. I’d read enough of them when I’d been at my worst and the most lost. Now, I just dealt with each situation as it came, and found out how well I put those tips and voices of advice into practice.

“It was my first tattoo. When I’d completed my apprenticeship at the tattoo shop, my supervisor personally offered to give me any tattoo I wanted. I’d chosen to have M.L. written in cursive.”

“I think you chose right, Hunter.” She dipped her head again and kissed Nana’s tattoo again. When she raised her head and leaned on her elbow, she frowned at me. “Did I do something wrong?”

As I sat up, she stood. “It’s late. Annette’s with Riley right now and I wanna go home so she can leave.”

Mariska gathered her hair in a scrunchie. “Are you going to sleep with her?” she asked in a suspiciously calm tone.

“The only thing that will happen between Annette and I will be strictly business from here on out. I am going to talk to her tonight. That’s the other reason why I want to go home.” I titled up her chin when I got to my feet. “If she didn’t have a good rapport with Riley, I’d get someone else. Riley needs stability.” Mariska gave me a quick nod and an embarrassed expression flickered across her face. “Thanks for asking me about her. I can’t read minds. Sometimes, I think I get you, but I wanna know what you’re thinking.”

She settled her hands on my chest and I sighed at her touch. I leaned down and, from the half-smirk planted on the edge of her lips, I learned that she was addicted to my touch like I was to hers.

“Give Riley a kiss for me,” Mariska said after I’d gotten dressed and she walked me downstairs without looking like she cared what anyone thought of her kissing me goodnight while she was in her tie dye robe.

***

ON SUNDAY MORNING, CHASE called me and asked if he could come to my house. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him or Beth in a couple of days. Besides work and school, I saw Mariska every chance I had. I’d thought about reaching out to them. Being alone with Mariska was a lot of fun, but I still wanted to spend time with Beth and Chase. If it weren’t for Beth, I wouldn’t have Chase or Mariska. I’d just have work and school.

Chase and I gave each other a half hug when he stepped into my house. Riley came out of her little house Mariska had bought for her. Chase grinned and petted her before we went into the kitchen. She didn’t think he paid her enough attention, so she positioned herself on her back and made noises that were a mixture of whimpers and sharp barks.

“Have you been seeing Hunter and Mariska more than me?” Chase asked Riley—in a mocking tone that was without question intended for me as he ran his fingers on the sides of her face, to her satisfaction. He stood up and went to the sink to wash his hands. It was a good thing I’d had some sleep last night, so that I was prepared for whatever he was going to say.

I started brewing the rich coffee that Chase and I liked. “We like each other’s company,” I said casually and Chase quirked his eyebrow at me.

“Beth told me that she thought something was going on between you guys. That when she and Riley came into the house that night they slept over here, you two were red as a tomato.”

“Damn. Beth didn’t let on that she suspected a thing.”

“Yeah, that’s ‘cause you guys are used to seeing each other all red faced and shit.” He shook his hand and I poured the coffee into his mug. “But she can tell a normal flush from how she said you and Mariska had looked.”

I put a little a cream into my black coffee and came around the counter to sit next to him on my stool. “Let Beth know that I am not looking anywhere else,” I told him before he started fishing.

“I will.” He started to gulp down his coffee, and when he set his cup down, he asked, “You think Mariska would be cool if we hung out here or at my apartment next weekend?”

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