Heavy: A Contemporary Romance (5 page)

All my focus was on my work…
and the girl watching from the sofa.

I couldn’t stop myself from glancing in her direction from time to time.

An hour into the session and neither California nor I had spoken a word, but somehow we’d fallen into a rhythm with one another.

A dangerous, flirtatious
rhythm.

It started
when I glanced in her direction and saw her staring at me, eyes hooded, lips parted. I heard the quick catch in her breath and she instantly looked away. Too late. Caught red-handed. Suddenly, the room felt very warm.

With her head turned towards the T
.V., I let my gaze drop slightly lower to the smooth skin on the side of her neck – a deliciously soft rectangle of skin framed by a delicate ear, a graceful jawbone, and the collar of her T-shirt.

When her hand came up and covered the area in question
and a low blush gently swept across the area where I’d imagined my tongue should be, I realized it was my turn to be caught staring. I quickly turned back to Max’s arm.

And
, that’s how it began.

My next glance
, a few minutes later, landed on her exposed shoulder that was on display through the wide neck hole of her oversized shirt. My lust-filled mind, fueled by the heat of both the room and her gaze, imagined touching her there.

Immediately her hand came up to
caress the spot I was looking at, as if it were my hands on her body and not her own.

Now it was
my
breath that caught in my throat.

I glanced up at Max, but he seemed oblivious to the fact there were others in the room with him
. The person on the other end of the phone was in the process of recounting what must be an amusing story, as Max gave a chuckle and asked them to tell him what happened next.

Whatever Max was on, because he was definitely on something, he was feeling no pain from my tattoo gun.

I concentrated on the tattoo for a full five minutes before I looked at California again. It was the longest five minutes of my life.

She looked at me expectantly,
quite obviously every bit as aroused as I was. Emboldened by her look, I allowed my eyes to run leisurely down her arm. Her hand, which was still resting on her shoulder, followed along the path set by my gaze, and I could see tiny goose bumps appearing everywhere her fingertips grazed her flesh.

I turned back to the tattoo, fidgeting a little in my chair as I felt a tightening at the front of my jeans
. Thank God I was slightly bent over and my lap was hidden from view.

I became hyper-aware
of the sounds in the room – California’s iPod playing softly, the low hum of my machine, the tinny voice of whomever Max was talking to, the dull beat of the music in the other room. I was especially aware of the sound of California breathing. She wasn’t loud, but the pace had increased ever so slightly and it fell into perfect sync with my own.

I paused
to remove the excess ink with a clean cloth. I was normally a fast worker, but this job felt like it was going in slow motion. I briefly closed my eyes in an attempt to calm my racing pulse. I already knew if I glanced at her again I was going to look at something I had no business looking at. I wouldn’t be able to control myself. This was completely out of character for me. I’d never reacted toward anyone in this way, not even Charity. Then again, I’d been sixteen, almost seventeen when I’d met Charity. Just a boy. That boy had had to grow up pretty fast soon after.

I couldn’t stop myself, and I’m not sure I really wanted to anyway
.

I looked at California.

Her dark blue eyes bore into me like hot water cutting ice. They told me she knew exactly where I wanted to look next—where I
had
to look next.

Cali

Every pore in my skin
was so turned on right now. There was no disguising the lust in his gaze and I’d never felt a desire like this
for
anyone. I’d never felt desire like this
from
anyone.

As his eyes began their oh-so-slow descent, I followed in
their wake with a trembling hand, thankful again that Max was facing in the opposite direction and couldn’t see me. If I was completely wasted, as I’d intended to be before Thatch interrupted me, I probably wouldn’t have cared if Max
had
seen.  Just another notch in my belt of shame.

Thatch’s eyes
came to rest on my breasts, as I knew they had to. My wrist brushed over the sensitive point of my right nipple, and I gave an involuntary gasp as the contact sent a jolt of searing heat to the damp ache between my legs.

Thatch’s lips parted slightly as he drank in the view of my hardened nipples through my T-shirt
. There was no way I could hide the effect his look was having on me, so why even try?

I tried to subtly rub my thighs together under the blanket to ease some of the slow
throbbing happening between them, but Thatch caught the movement and lowered his eyes to that spot.

Maybe I’d done it deliberately? Maybe I’d wanted his gaze to head f
arther south? After all, where he looked, my hand
had
to follow – and I was so aroused right now, I wanted to touch myself. I needed to touch myself.

I took a deep breath and slowly slid my hand down my stomach and under the blanket
. Thatch’s eyes widened for a second and then flashed to Max, who was still on the phone, before they locked back onto mine again.

The smoldering look Thatch gave me took my breath away
. Heat, desire, passion, and daring simmered in the hooded eyes watching my every move. His look gave me all the confidence I needed to do what I’d never done in front of anyone before. Hell, I hardly did this when alone thanks to the side effects of some of the anti-depressants I was on.

I slippe
d my hand into my panties. I rested my head back on the arm of the sofa and closed my eyes, imagining it was Thatch’s hand touching me instead of mine. That was all it took. The second my fingertips made contact with my drenched folds, I closed my eyes and came.

The mini-orgasm was fast and hard and sent a delicious but small shudder up through my body
. I gave a small gasp and felt my face flush – just as much from embarrassment as from release.

When I’d managed to control my breathing again
, I opened my eyes to see Thatch bent over Max’s arm again.

Thatch

I needed to finish this tattoo – fast
. Witnessing what I had just witnessed – all without touching – was an unbearable torture I’d never experienced before. It was fucking killing me.

I gave the tattoo a final wipe and motioned to Max that I was done
. He hung up the phone as I rummaged in my bag for the Vaseline and antiseptic. I was trying to look anywhere but at California. If I looked at her right now, I was in danger of losing my shit – right there in front of Max.

“Nice job, man,” Max said, taking a good look at his new tattoo
. “Come over and take a gander at this, Cali.”

I heard her get up from the sofa and felt the heat coming off her body as she stood over us
. I dared not look up; I didn’t think it would be possible to get any harder than I was right now, but I didn’t want to chance it.

“Oh, Max,” California whispered in a hoarse voice, “that’s perfect.”

I had successfully covered the ‘Tally’ tattoo with a picture of Max’s guitar. Despite my preoccupied mind, I’d managed to draw every detail as if it were a photograph. At least, that was what the top two-thirds of the picture looked like. The bottom of the guitar looked like melting liquid, with droplets of ink glimmering and separated from the base of the drawing. I’d created a 3D effect by using shadow around, and white inside, the deep black puddles. They looked real - like they were sitting on the surface of the skin - as if you could wipe the ink away with a cloth.

“You certainly have outdone
yourself with this one, Thatch. Thanks, man,” Max said clapping me on the back and getting up out of his chair. “Now I can’t decide,” he continued as he headed to the door, “whether to go rejoin the party or take a long hot shower. I’m feeling a little dirty after all the eye fucking that’s been going on in this room over the last hour and a half. For the sake of keeping my new tat away from water, I think I’ll head back to the party.” Max winked at us and left the room with a grin.

Neither one of us moved for what felt like ten minutes
. In reality, it could only have been a few seconds.

The next thing I knew
, California’s legs were tightly wrapped around my waist, her hands clutching my hair, her lips fused to mine. Tongues wrestling, teeth clashing, mouths wide – it was violent, and desperate, and urgent, and passionate, and I just couldn’t get enough. Holding her up by her ass, the sharp points of her nipples pressed tight to my chest, I turned and carried her over to the sofa to sit down.

As I lowered us slowly, she unhooked her legs and brought her knees down either side of my lap to straddle me
. With my hands no longer needed to support her, I couldn’t seem to stop them from touching her – everywhere I could. The small of her back, her hips, her thighs – none of it was enough. I needed to touch more of her skin.

As if she’d read my mind, California tugged my T-shirt over my head, momentarily separating our mouths
.

We stopped
. Her mouth inches from mine, our eyes locked, both of us trying to catch our breath.

We stayed like that, motionless and completely still, for at least a minute
. Then, California began to slowly and sensually move her hips, rubbing herself up and along my rock-hard erection she could no doubt feel underneath her.

It was all the go-ahead I needed
. Grabbing the collar of her T-shirt, I ripped it in two, causing her to gasp as she continued her hip movements. Free of the T-shirt, my hands had access to the curve of her hips and the soft skin of her stomach.

It still wasn’t enough.

For either of us.

With one hand
, I grabbed her behind the neck and pulled her in closer so I could run the flat of my tongue, starting from her cleavage all the way up to her chin, in one long, heavy lick. The other slipped under her bra to squeeze her breast, the peak instantly tightening against my palm.

California ran her fingernails down my chest and abdomen until she reached my belt buckle
. The chink of her undoing it suddenly sounded loud in the room and our upper halves separated, mouths open and panting; her midnight blue gaze locked onto mine.

Without breaking eye
contact, she slowly pulled the belt from my jeans; taking her time, it was the only movement between us. Once completely removed, she threw it behind her, hitting the coffee table with a loud clang.

It may as well have been a starting pistol, as the second it hit, our lips were fused once again, the level of desire and desperation definitely kicked up to a level of intensity I’d never experienced before.

Using her knees to support herself, she raised herself up as she undid my button-fly, which allowed me to lift my lower body so she could pull down my jeans and boxer briefs. At the same time, a hand on each of her hips, I tugged her panties down. She scooted them off by balancing on one knee and then the other.

She lowered herself back down onto my lap and her warm, wet, naked flesh touched mine for the first time.

It took every effort I possessed not to come right then and there. I closed my eyes, trying to regain some small modicum of control.

Grabbing tightly to my hair with one hand, she tilted my head back and licked along the edge of my jaw, nipping and biting until her lips closed
over mine again. She tasted of a delicious blend of cognac, caramel, and cream, and I completely devoured her. Nothing existed for me right at that moment except for that kiss. We wrenched our mouths apart, only when it became clear it was breathe or die.

My chest heaving, trying to fill my lungs with air again, I watched as she leaned back and opened the drawer to the coffee table
. It was filled with condoms. Thank God for rock stars and their wanton ways.

Apparently
, they’re not the only ones.

California handed
one to me and I quickly ripped it open using my teeth. She watched as I slid it over my length while she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the ground.

I’d thought her exquisite when I’d first seen her
. The word was not enough to justify how she looked now that she was hyper-aroused and sitting naked in my lap. I couldn’t stop the low groan that came from the back of my throat as I ran my gaze along the length of her exposed body.

She grabbed my
throat, her palm over my Adam’s apple, to hold my head still. Her other hand took hold of my now-sheathed member. She brought her face in close, our lips just brushing, her eyes looking straight into mine. Then, very slowly, she lowered herself down, giving a small gasp when she’d enveloped me completely.