He shook his head, and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Nothing.”
“You’re a horrible liar.”
“Ah, my pride,” he joked, but he didn't really seem to be in the mood for anything.
Sighing, I sat up, reached over the couch, grabbed a napkin from the side table, and quickly scribbled a note on it before I handed it to him.
“One free rant?” he read.
“Yep, you get one free rant, about anything, for as long as you need, and when you’re done, I won’t say anything. We’ll just move on like it never even happened.”
He looked at me for a moment before reaching over to get another napkin off the table. He wrote on it and handed it right back.
“I’m not going to have anything to rant about within the next two days Levi.”
“That’s why there isn’t an expiration date on it. Even when were not together, you can call me up, and cash that in. If you don’t promise to use yours, I’m not going to use mine.”
“Fine.”
Did he always have to be so difficult?
He lifted his pinky.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“You have to do it, or I won’t believe you,” he said with a grin so wide, I just wanted to kiss and slap him at the same time.
Sighing, I locked my pinky with his. “Yeah, this definitely makes it legal and binding.”
“Can I cash this in yet?”
Closing my mouth, I waited.
“My ex-wife,” he stated, pausing as if to test my reaction to those two words.
I ignored the alarms going off my head for a moment, and tried my best to stay composed and to keep my poker face in place.
“My ex-wife has been driving me insane for the last few weeks,” he continued, and I noticed his grip on me tightened, just slightly. “We were only married for three years before I found out she had been having an affair with my business partner. I left them both to start my own practice.
“In the beginning it was fine. Neither of them bothered much with me, because apparently, they expected me to fail. Starting a new firm in this economy is almost impossible, but I was dedicated. I was going to come back and tear them both down.
“It’s taken me a few years, but I’ve finally managed to get back on top. The only thing is that I no longer give a shit about either of them. I want to be the best lawyer I can be, for myself, not them. Fuck them. The only problem is, the higher I get, the bigger a target my firm becomes.
“My ex-wife’s been trying to steal clients new and old. My former partner has friends in Capital Hill, you know, the financial fraud agency, and they keep trying to railroad me at every turn. I’ve been audited every other year since my first big case. There are days when I want to walk into his office with a bat, and do what I should have done the moment I found about their affair...”
I sat up more, wrapping my arms around his neck, but not saying anything.
“It’s like high school never ended with them, grown adults acting like fucking children! And the only way I can fight back is to avoid them both and keep winning cases. But that isn’t enough, I want to close off that chapter of my life completely.
“I want to forget about her. I met her once since the divorce, and you know what she told me? That I wasn’t man enough, that I was too good, too nice. And for months I racked my brains, trying to figure out what the fuck it meant to be ‘too good’.
“I’m sorry I don’t drive a Harley, or feel the need to start brawls to prove I have fucking balls. She hurt me, I got over it, and now, I just want to work in peace. I sound… pathetic, don’t I?” he groaned, dropping his head back.
“I know I said that I wouldn’t say anything, but can I amend the conditions of your voucher for just one statement?”
“Sure, why not?” he muttered half-heartedly, keeping his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
Sitting up on my knees, right between his thighs, I kissed his cheek. “Your ex-wife has to be the biggest damn fool in the state, and she’s probably kicking herself right now, which is why she’s trying so hard to reinsert herself into your life. But it’s her loss, my gain… at least for the next two days at any rate,” I said, as I gently sucked and kissed my way down his neck.
He pulled me back, forcing me to look him in the eyes. “Is that’s all you’re going to say?”
“What more needs to be said? You used your rant card and now we move on. So can I finish now?” I asked, as I resumed kissing his lips.
He breathed out deeply and allowed himself to relax, as I reached into his pants and grabbed on to his member. I could feel him hardening in my hands with each stroke.
“Sometimes I think to myself that you, that this, is all a dream,” he moaned, shifting under me.
“I’m one hundred percent real,” I assured him as I gently squeezed, a simple reminder that we were both real, that we were both here, and that this was really happening.
Reaching up, he pulled the shirt off of me, grasping both of my breasts with his hands and I shivered at his touch. He kept his eyes on me, as he kissed the both of them, licking around my nipples before gently taking them between his teeth. I winced, both in pleasure and pain.
“Levi… ah,” I moaned, as one of his hands slipped downwards from my breasts, and came to rest in-between my legs.
Letting go of him completely, I leaned back and rocked against his fingers.
“Damn… you. I… I… fuck I—”
“You what?” he grinned, as he slipped another finger into me.
He leaned back against the pillows, and watched me as I ground myself against his hand.
“You… ah…” I moaned, as he increased the pressure on my nipples.
“I, what? Come on baby, complete sentences please.”
“Fuck you.”
“You already are,” he grinned. “Or would you like me to stop…?”
And just like that, his hands froze, and I grunted in frustration, and crushed his lips against my own. My tongue slipped into his mouth, brushing against his, as tried to get him moving again. But instead, he pulled out, completely breaking away from my lips to lick his fingers.
He smirked as he regarded me. “How badly do you want it?”
“Mmmmmm,” I whined.
“Use your words,” he instructed.
That stupid smirk of his, and those damn green eyes— “I fucking hate you.”
“Wrong words,” he said, his tone cold and menacing.
He moved towards me then, faster than I ever saw him move. He was rough with me as he flipped me back onto couch, driving me downwards. I grabbed on to the armrest, bracing myself for his sexual fury.
He kissed my back, moving upwards until his lips barely brushed against the curve of my neck. “Since you can’t say what you want, I’m just going to have to take what I want. Don’t you dare move,” he warned.
He disappeared from behind me, and I remained on the couch, my knees locked, my knuckles white against the armrest, and my heart racing in anticipation of the pleasure that was to come, as adrenaline surged through my body. I was frozen in place. Unable to move, even if I wanted to.
He returned seconds later, and kissed his way down my spine. I shivered, but I still didn't move. I could feel him right behind me, his chest hovering over my back and I could feel the heat coming off his body in waves. I shivered once more, and my skin broke out into goose bumps. He pressed himself against my ass, and I felt myself tremble at the heat of it. I wanted to clamp my legs together; he had made me so wet, it was almost embarrassing.
“How badly do you want it?” he asked again, as he pressed the tip against my opening.
“If you have to ask—”
Slam.
“Fuck!” he hissed, tightening his hold on me, as he slid his shaft in all the way to the base. My mouth dropped open. There simply wasn’t enough words to describe the intensity of the pleasure I felt, and as he thrust into me, deeper and harder, I found that my hunger for him was
insatiable. I wanted more, I needed more.
“More—please,” I begged.
I knew the voice was mine, but it didn’t sound like me at all. Since when did I sound like such a porn star?
“Yes!” I shouted, wanting more, more, more…
I moaned, my cries echoing throughout the house as I felt my climax nearing. I dug my nails into the chair and threw my head back, screaming his name at the ceiling. My head was spinning, my vision was blurred, my toes curled, I was reaching heaven in the most beautiful way.
“Fuck, Thea,” he grunted, one hand on my hip the other on my shoulder as he fucked me harder.
“Yes. God yes!” He was amazing, he was fucking amazing.
“I can’t—”
“Not yet,” he demanded, but, I was seeing stars. Never in my life had I ever felt like this.
I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Levi!”
He gripped on tightly, burying himself in me over and over, until he stilled for a moment.
“Thea,” he grunted before rested on top of me.
My hair stuck to my face, and my breathing was short as I tried to regain my senses.
“Mmmm…. we’re definitely doing that again,” I slurred, still drunk from the sheer force of my orgasm.
“Definitely.”
LEVI
When she meant we were going to do it again, I didn’t think we would end up doing it three more times; in the shower, in her kitchen, and on her bed. Jesus, I was spent. Her sexual appetite was becoming voracious, and I was surprised that she could still move, and that I could see straight.
She rested against my chest, reading her what she called her ‘least favorite, favorite book’, The Great Gatsby. She was a little weird, but I liked it. Even without really knowing me, she still seemed to understand what I needed, and when I needed it.
I had been nervous to talk to her about my ex-wife, and I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, or do anything to kill our mood. But I had gotten yet another email from Odile, and I was just about ready to snap. I could only hope that she needed to use her rant slip soon so we could be on equal footing. I felt like I was depending on her way too much, and it had only been five days.
I blinked and brought my focus back to her. She had put her book down and was now staring at me.
“A penny for your thoughts?” I asked her.
She smiled; she had the most beautiful smile. “Only a penny, Mr. Black? What type of girl do you think I am?”
“You’re right, my apologies,” I said. “So, what’s the price for a slice of Thea Cunning’s thoughts?”
“One of your own,” she answered, her eyes studying my face intently.
“I have far too many of them,” I told her.
“So do I.”
“And here I figured you just said whatever came to your mind,” I teased.
I brushed her hair behind her ear.
“I do… sometimes.”
“What were you thinking about then?”
“Why the hell is he staring at me like that? Doesn’t he know what his eyes do to me… or, well, something of that nature,” she replied once again, far more honestly than I imagined. “And you?”
“That I depend way too much on you, and I wish it were the other way around.” I couldn’t lie to her for some reason.
“What do you mean? You haven’t depended on me for anything.”
She looked like she truly believed that. She had no idea how much of an impact she had on me.
Shaking my head, I looked to her book. “Why is The Great Gatsby your least favorite, favorite book? Is it because you hate Jay?”
“No! I hate Daisy,” she said, as she sat up angrily.
This was going to be amusing.
“You hate Daisy?”
“She’s an evil witch!”
“That’s a little harsh,” I laughed.
I enjoyed seeing her get so worked up.
“Oh please! First of all, she marries a man she doesn’t love because he’s rich. But I can forgive that, because, you know, it’s the 1900s, women’s suffrage is just starting to kick in. In fact, I felt bad for her because it was as though her parents were pushing her into it. But then she drank the Kool-Aid.”
“The Kool-Aid?” I asked.
“Yes, the golden Kool-Aid of the rich and fabulous. The next time we meet her, Jay’s back, and she’s all like, ‘let me forget about my husband and child, and go party at my former lover’s house all the damn day.’ ”
“But she truly loved him,” I said, realizing in that moment that I was now defending fictional characters.
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Even if he’s your true love, you’re still married to another man. You either run away with him, or you stay away from him. You don’t keep having an affair under your husband’s nose. And what type of person meets her long awaited, true love and doesn’t ask a few questions first? She just jumps onto his private boat, and parties around in his house.”
“Gatsby is the one that called her there, why didn’t he sweep her away?”
“Any man willing to take the rap for murder would have gladly run away with her. But nope, Daisy didn’t want to just have her cake and eat it too, she wanted the bloody pastry chef as well!” she said, with a huff.
She was all worked up now, and she hopped onto her knees, waving the book in front of me.
“And the absolute worst part of it all is the fact that she didn't even have the decency to go to his funeral. She just ran away to live her perfect little life with her husband. She is a horrible, terrible human being, and I wish she would have gotten run over by a yellow buggy!”
I laughed. The look on her face, the passion and rage pouring out her, it was too funny.
“Damn it! Why’d you bring up this book? Now I look crazy,” she groaned, hiding her face under the sheets.
Instead of remedying the situation, it only made me laugh more.
“Stop laughing at me! It’s not my fault. Us English Lit majors tend to be a little weird about books, okay?”
“Thea,” I said, trying my best to stop laughing as I reached for her.
But she turned away. Wrapping my arm around her, I held her through the sheets.
“I’m not laughing because I think you’re weird… though you are for the record, but just a little bit.” She smacked me before I could continue. “I’m laughing because you’re amazing, and I couldn’t help but wonder if you can get this passionate over a fictional story how you must you be with real people. You have a big heart, I can tell by the way you love your books.”
She uncovered herself trying not to smile. “Nice save.”
“I try,” I said. “Now, read to me.”
I handed the book back to her.
Once again, she wrapped herself around me, placing her head on my chest, and started from her least favorite, favorite part.
There were only two days left…
I don’t think I can let her go.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
P R E S E N T
THEA
Thea May Cunning
Age: 23
Height: 5’9 ½
Race: African American
Undergraduates: Princeton
Family:
Mother: Margaret “The Shark” Cunning.
Sister: High School student
“What the hell?” I exclaimed, as I walked into class and saw my information written on the board. I could tell by the handwriting that this was Levi’s doing.
I’m going to kill him the moment he walks through the doors. I promised myself.
“He can’t do this, that’s my personal information,” I protested.
“Actually he can,” Atticus said as he leaned in behind me. “Or did you not read the paper he had us all sign our names on, on the first day of class?”
“What?”
“Wow,” he shook his head at me, showing me a photo of the document on his phone. “I always have a copy of ever
ything I sign my name on. The last line says…”
“I hereby allow Professor Black to use any and all information given to him by myself, for teaching purposes,” I finished reading.
I hadn’t been paying attention that day because I was just getting over the shock of finding out I had slept with my professor for an entire week, and now, it seemed that it had come back to bite me in the ass.
“And you want to be a lawyer,” Atticus said disapprovingly. “My guess is that he got that information from your initial application. Good thing you didn’t put your weight down, aye?”
I had written my weight down on the application… fortunately for me, he opted to not include that modicum of information.
Ignoring him, I turned back to the board, wondering how the hell he could possibly use this information, and what lesson he planned to teach us with this.
“Good, you’re all here,” Levi said, making an entrance.
He looked stunning, dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a white button down shirt, and a vest in place of his usual jacket… and to make matters worse, he had those glasses on again.
He’s trying to kill me.
“Thea May Cunning,” he said aloud.
I sat up in my seat, staring at him with all the fury I could muster, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at the rest of the students. “As most of you may have already heard, every year I choose one person to personally mold. And right now, Thea May Cunning is at the top of the list.
“So, what does that mean for the rest of you? It means that she is now the new public enemy number one. Everything on that board is what you’ll need to know about her, to kick her off the top of the list. Her name will remain on the board until someone displaces her. And consider yourselves lucky, because the first person who gets their name on my board, never stays up there for long.”
I now understood what it felt like to be a gazelle surrounded by a coalition of cheetahs. I could almost sense their salivary glands awakening.
Levi Black, you are such a fucking sadist.
“Do you hear that? It’s the sounds of people sharpening their knives,” Atticus whispered from behind me and I fought the urge to turn around and slap him with my notebook.