On The Rebound (Steinbeck U #1) - L.A. Cotton Page 0,15
sickly sweet shooters.
“I tried to turn over and go back to sleep, Zach, I did, but....”
“Come on.” I stepped aside to let her enter, my stomach growling as the smell of tomato and garlic hit my senses.
“I got your favorite.” She placed the box down on the kitchen counter.
“Extra sausage?”
“Extra sausage.”
We worked seamlessly together, her getting plates and napkins while I cracked open two beers and joined her on the couch. “Want to talk about it?”
“Nope.” Vic helped herself to a slice of pizza and took a big bite. “See what’s on the TV,” she mumbled.
I grabbed the remote and began flicking, settling on some action movie.
“Oh, good choice. I like this one, the guy is a snack.”
“A snack?” I snorted.
“Yeah, you know, he’s tasty.”
“I know what a snack is, Vic. I just don’t think I’ve ever heard you say it.”
“I miss sex,” she blurted out, slapping a hand over her mouth. “Oh God,” it came out garbled.
“Relax,” I chuckled. “It’s been what... five months?”
“Five months, three weeks, and six days.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, because what the hell was I supposed to say in this situation?
“Yeah, me too.”
“You can still get yourself off, right?”
“Zach!” Her cheeks burned.
“It’s just sex, Vic. We all do it.” Not as much as I liked right now, but it wasn’t for lack of offers.
“I have options... yes.” And by options, I hoped she meant a battery-operated toy. “But it isn’t the same. I miss the intimacy. I miss feeling a guy’s lips on my skin. I miss kissing... God, I miss kissing.” Sadness filled her eyes and I braced myself for the tears. It didn’t happen a lot anymore, but she still had her moments. Usually when a bottle of vodka was involved.
“You don’t have to stay with him, Vic. You know that, right? The likelihood is he’ll never—”
“Don’t, please. Just don’t.” Her eyes shuttered and the first tear fell.
I took the pizza box from her lap and placed it on the coffee table, pulling her into my side. “You’re a good person, Vic.”
Her arm went around my waist, but fell short, her hand splaying on my stomach.
“Vic,” I warned. This was dangerous. Her tight little body pressed against mine, her fingers stroking precariously close to my dick.
“Don’t you want to feel something, Zach? Something beside the constant anger and frustration and pain?” She gazed up at me with big, sad eyes.
“And tomorrow when everything looks a little brighter? What then, Vic?”
Her lip wobbled. “It can be our secret.”
Because that’s what I was worth to her.
A dirty little secret.
My spine went rigid as I snagged her wrist, moving it away from my stomach. “We should watch the movie.”
“Y- yeah.” She sat up and put some space between us. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s all good.” I gave her a tight smile. “Besides, I don’t really blame you. I am quite the snack.”
“Jerk.”
Some of the tension seeped away as I smirked, and our strained laughter filled the room. Just like that we forgot all about the moment my brother’s girl tried to seduce me.
And I tried to tell myself, I hadn’t almost let her.
Vic stayed. I didn’t have a guest room and I’d offered to take the couch, but she promised to keep her hands to herself. So here we were, in my bed. It wasn’t the first time she’d stayed over, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Victoria was in Chi Delta Kappa. Their house was always loud and busy. I understood her need for some quiet.
She snored gently, curled in a ball, facing away from me, as I lay on my back, with one arm tucked behind my head, staring up at the ceiling. It would have been so easy to fuck her. To sink deep inside her and let sex carry us away to another place. But she was Declan’s. He’d been there first. No matter how much I wanted to get back at him, at my parents, it was pretty sick by anyone’s standards.
I wasn’t just anyone though.
I harbored a darkness inside me that sometimes scared me. Usually, I kept it in check. I had to. But sometimes, it pushed to the surface... like when I’d seen Calli at the party and again at Muds.
There had been another time too. A time that I gave in and let it consume me.
Did she remember?
Did she remember how it had felt when I’d fucked her against that wall in the abandoned house?