I’ve given into her whole ‘this will only be sex’ bullshit, because honestly, I never thought she would be so bullheaded about it. I think I’m an okay guy. I still call my mom every Sunday to check in, and my little sisters say I would make the best boyfriend. Some crap about how being raised by women means that there is no way I can screw a relationship up.
Never, not once, in my thirty-two years have I craved a woman the way I crave Denise Roberts. She gets under my skin like no other. She walks into the room, and I want to be near her. If one of the guys talks to her, I want to gut them, skin them, and maybe even behead them. She laughs, not one of those fake as hell ones she always gives Izzy and Greg, but the soul expressing belly laugh that she only gives me when we are alone. I’m near her, and the only thing I want is to claim her, make her mine, and let everyone around us know.
It’s not for lack of trying that I haven’t been able to break down her walls. I can see past it all. The happiness that doesn’t touch her eyes. Those moments when we’re out as a group and she looks like her world has crashed. The times that she sees a happy couple strolling down the street, and immediately, her face is full of deep longing. I just don’t understand why. I can tell, deep down, that she wants someone to hold her hand through life, but damn if she’ll let anyone do it.
There isn’t even any doubt in my mind. She’s worth sticking this out for and finding the diamond hidden beneath all the dirt.
Now, here we are after two months of constant companionship, almost nightly sex, and just about everything else a ‘couple’ does without the label. I’ve tried. She knows where I stand, but she is firm. She wants all the exclusiveness without the title. To her, there will never be an ‘us,’ and if I’m not happy sharing her bed, then I can take a hike.
It’s those moments when I want to wring her fucking neck.
“Still chasing after the uncatchable, huh?” I look away from where Dee is standing with Izzy, her head thrown back in laughter, and her rich brown hair falling in curls down her back. Her jeans tightly hug her ass, begging for my hands, and her tits are about to burst through the thin material of her tee. Jesus, how pathetic am I?
“I’m not chasing.”
Maddox raises his brow. Yeah, I’m pretty sure he knows I’m full of shit. Even to my own ears, it sounds like a lie, because chasing is exactly what I’m doing.
“Right. And how’s that working out for you?” He takes a pull of his beer, glancing around the room before his dark eyes return to me.
I don’t say anything because really, what is there to say? I look around the room, trying to find a distraction. “What do you think about that?” I point my beer towards where Axel is sitting on the couch.
“Don’t know. Shit doesn’t make sense, though.” And with that, he gets up and moves over to the couch, turning his attention back to the game.
At least I’m not the only one in relationship limbo. Fuck, I sound like a damn chick. Relationship limbo? My sisters would have a field day with that one. Dee saunters back into the room and drops her fine ass right in my lap. It takes everything in me not to throw her down on the floor and claim what’s mine. Rip her clothes off and ram my dick so far into her warm, wet body that she won’t be able to walk for weeks. I grunt and try to adjust my erection, only to get a giggle from Dee when she realizes what she’s done to me.
“Need some help there, Big Boy?”
Her warm breath against my ear only causes me to get even harder. Painfully hard.
“Don’t tease me unless you want an audience when I fuck you.” My words come out harsher than I meant, and her eyes widen before filling with the same desire that’s coursing through my veins.
“Later, I promise.” She leans in and whispers, her lips against mine before laying her head against my shoulder, and turning her attention to the football game.
It’s moments like this that remind me why I’m fighting so hard to make this girl mine. She’s close; I can see it in her eyes when she looks at me. She looks at me like I’m sure I look at her. As if just being around each other makes the world a little easier. I sigh and pull her tighter against my arms, just enjoying the moment.
I’m not sure how much time has passed when the doorbell chimes. Dee and I have been so wrapped in our bubble with the lust turned up high that we’ve been pretty much ignoring everyone. Dee goes to get off my lap and answer the door but Izzy waves her off.
The events that follow will forever replay in my mind. Izzy had been gone for a few minutes before all hell breaks loose and complete chaos erupts around us. When we all make it to the porch, and see the state that Izzy is in it is like living a nightmare. Having someone attack her right under our noses doesn’t sit well with any of us, but amidst the insanity that follows, I can’t do anything but watch as my girl slips a little further away. By the time the ambulance arrives she has crawled so far into herself that I doubt I’ll ever get her to turn it back around.