“I’m fine,” I call out. “What are you doing here?”
I watch as he looks behind him, my gaze travels over to his car only to see Charlie standing at his passenger side. She lifts her hand, giving me a wave.
“Charlie.” He grins. “I wanted to tell you today, but I was afraid you’d be upset about me dating your friend.”
Clearing my throat, I try not to laugh. Upset at him? Not at all. Feeling I should warn Charlie that he’s creepy? Totally.
“No, not at all. Hey, I should get going,” I call out.
He takes a step back. “See you tomorrow at work.” He grins as his eyes focus on me.
He doesn’t blink, just holds my gaze and that completely shivery disturbing feeling washes over me again. There is just something not right about him. I look over to Charlie and wish that I could tell her to run, but I can’t.
Leaving Headlights as quickly as possible, I glance in my rearview mirror and watch as Mark holds the door open for Charlie. She sinks down into his car and my stomach twists at the sight. I hate it and I decide that I’m going to call her tomorrow on my lunch break. I will not be able to go on with my day if I think that she’s somehow unsafe. I need to warn her.
Keeping my gaze shifting between my rearview mirror and in front of me, I can’t shake the feeling of being watched, still. It seems like every shift at Headlights, I can feel eyes on me during work and hours afterward.
Granted, I know that men are watching me on that stage, that they watch me walk around the room and flirt with them. But it’s not that, it’s as if I’m being secretly watched and that’s what’s bothering me.
It’s definitely not the blatant stares of the customers at the club, it’s darker, more sinister. I can feel it down in my bones.
Pulling into Louis’ drive, I let out a sigh. I see the cars of his trainer, chef and sparring partner parked to the side. I wonder when I’m finally going to meet them.
I’m not home often, only to sleep and change for work, and I’ve yet to run into them the past few days that they’ve all been living here.
I wanted to ask Louis for an introduction earlier tonight, but we were a little busy and then I was almost late for work. Shifting my car into park, I can’t help but bite my bottom lip just thinking about our evening in the kitchen all over again.
Opening the door, I unfold from the car and close it softly, being careful not to slam it. Somehow noises are ten times louder out here in the country than in town. Making my way inside, I tiptoe through the house until I arrive at Louis’ bedroom.
Gently closing the door behind me, I lock it before slipping into the bathroom to shower the glitter and oil from my body. Starting the shower, I quickly strip while it warms up, which only takes a second thanks to Louis’ awesome tankless water heater.
Closing my eyes as the water washes over me, I jump when I feel a warm strong body behind me. A hand slides around my waist as lips touch the side of my neck.
Turning around, I lift my arms and tilt my head back to look into Louis’ eyes as the warm water splashes against my back. “What are you doing up? I didn’t wake you, did I?”
His lips turn up into a smirk and he shakes his head once. “Rolled over, you weren’t there, so I checked the time and heard the water start. Missed you,” he rasps as his hands grab ahold of my ass and squeeze my cheeks.
Humming, I wonder if we can do this again. Shifting my legs, I lick my bottom lip and he chuckles as he picks me up by my ass. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I moan as he presses my back against the warm tile of the shower at the same time his cock presses against my center.
“Louie,” I sigh.
His lips travel my neck, licking and nipping my skin. Rolling my hips, I silently beg for him to come inside of me, to fill me the way that he did only hours ago on his kitchen island. Thankfully, he doesn’t disappoint or make me wait too long.
Shifting his hips, I whimper as he buries himself deep inside of me in one stroke. “Touch yourself, this is going to be hard and fast,” he growls against my neck.
One of his hands is wrapped around my ass, the other presses against the tile next to my head. Moving one of my hands from his shoulder, I slip it between us and touch my clit.
“Oh, God,” I moan as his hips roll at the same time my fingers begin to move.
My back arches and without a word, we both focus on one thing and one thing only—pleasure. My fingers move in even firm strokes at the same time his hips thrust in hard, quick strokes. It’s absolutely perfect and I come within minutes. It’s the fastest I’ve ever reached a climax in my life.
Louis thrusts a few more times before he buries himself completely inside of me and lets out a long groan against my neck. His hips lazily move as the water continues to wash over us. I let out a sigh, my eyelids growing heavier with each passing moment.
“Let’s get in bed, baby,” he rasps against my neck.
LOUIS
Wrapping Tulip in my arms, I tug her back against my front and slip my thigh between hers. She’s deliciously naked and I know in a few hours when it’s time for me to get up, I’ll need her all over again. It seems as though my desire for her is never fucking satisfied.
Something has been bothering me this evening though. I’ve told her a bit about my family, but I know absolutely nothing about hers. I don’t even know if they’re living or dead.
“You haven’t told me about your parents, Tullie.”
Her body tightens in my arms, but I flex my arms around her, silently giving her my support. There’s a long pause and I think that she’s going to ignore my question or try and brush it off, but she doesn’t.
“They passed away when I was sixteen,” she whispers.
Touching my mouth to the back of her neck, I taste her. “Where did you live?”
Clearing her throat, she takes a deep breath before she continues. “I lived with Joey’s family. His parents took me in. They didn’t have to, but they did anyway. We had rules, it wasn’t a free for all, but I definitely owe them a lot.”
“Which is why you took care of Joey for as long as you did and put up with as much as you did over the years,” I guess.
“Yeah,” she breathes.
“How’d they die, baby?”
I wait, knowing that it could take her some time to gather her thoughts, her emotions, and her words. It always takes me a while to come up with the words when I talk about my own father.
I can sympathize with her, because I’ve lost my dad, but I can’t imagine what it would be like to be left completely alone in the world the way that she was, and at such a young age.
“My mother cheated on my dad,” she begins. Then she surprises me and rolls over in my arms. Her blue, tear-filled eyes meet mine before she continues. “It was a one-time thing. But town rumors wouldn’t stop. He heard them everywhere. He started to get paranoid, controlling, and they both started drinking really heavily. Then, they both started using. They became toxic not only to one another, but to me too.”
My heart breaks for her, for the woman she is now and for the sixteen-year-old girl she was. She doesn’t stop telling her story though, she continues. Her eyes are no longer filled with tears, but the way that she’s staring off into space, I know that she’s not here with me right now. She’s back there, witnessing it all over again and I’m suddenly really fucking sorry that I asked her.