A Brand New Ending

Chapter 47

Braeden



Her dark brown eyes. Her upturned smile whenever my body presses against her. The way she licks her lips after we've kissed. The feeling of her chest rising and falling beneath me. I feel something bounce off the side of my head, it pulling me from my Phoenix-induced daydream.

"What the f*ck?" I call out, trying to see who threw it.

"Jesus, man," I hear Elliot say. "You think you can pull yourself away from whatever wet dream you are having at the moment so we can finish this shit?"

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, my ever-growing hard on becoming apparent. Thank f*ck that I am sitting under a table.

"Yeah, sorry, man," I respond as I run my fingers through my hair. Elliot lets out a laugh.

"It's all good, must be nice to have p-ssy on the brain," he says seriously. "Is it that chick from the bar?"

I cringe just thinking about her. My life has changed so much since Phoenix walked into it.

"You want to hear an interesting story?" I say to Elliot, knowing I can confide in him.

~

"So, yeah," I say through winded breath.

"Holy shit, man," he responds with widening eyes. "Where the hell do you find time for shit like this?"

Running my hands through my hair again I let out a deep sigh.

"So, you fell for the mental patient? Does she even know who you are? What if she wakes up one day and thinks you kidnapped her ass." He laughs.

"Don't make me f*cking punch you, a*shole. I'm not above that."

"I don't know, dude, seems your girlfriend has to beat people up for you," he kids. "But he f*cking deserved it."

"That was one of the greatest yet terrifying moments of my life," I explain. "I wanted to kill him more that I could ever describe, but seeing that bottle break over his mother f*cking head was priceless. I've never been so proud of a person in my entire life."

"When do I get to meet this chick that now owns your balls?"

I shrug.

"I don't know if she's ready for your crazy ass," I grin.

"I am as sweet as f*cking candy." He laughs.

"Right," I say picking up my pencil again. "Can we just finish this shit so I can go home?"

We both fall silent, our attention back on our textbooks.

After a few more hours I've had my fill of this f*cking library and of Elliot. Slamming my textbook shut, I stuff it in my messenger back.

"I'm out," I say, clasping Elliot's hand in mine, shaking it. "I'll see you in class."

"Sounds good, dude," he says looking up. "Have a good time with your lady."

He gives me a wink before I walk out. When I step outside of the library, I notice the sun starting to set, the sky various shades of red and orange. Walking over to the bike rack I bend down, unlocking my bike lock. Pulling my bike from the rack I hop on it, I weave in and out of traffic, wanting nothing more than to wrap my arms around Phoenix. By the time I reach my father's house, I am winded and out of breath. The hills of San Francisco are not so kind to us bicyclists. Hoping off of it, I set it against the porch and pull open the front door. What greets my eyes causes me to stop and smile. My father and Phoenix are on the couch sitting side by side, coffee mugs in both their hands. A smile on both their faces. I remain still until Phoenix's eyes find mine, her smile widening even more.

"Hello, son," my father says.

"What are you two up to?" I ask as I set my book bag down in the foyer.

"We were just talking about Gone with the Wind," he explains.

"How was the library?" she asks, her voice soft and quiet.

"It was f*cking boring, Seraph," I breathe out.

Phoenix's body grows rigid as the words leave my throat. Walking over to couch I sit down on the other side of her.

"It's OK," I say grabbing her hand.

"I don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable," she mutters as she looks down at her hands.

"It's completely fine, Phoenix," I hear my father say. "I would be lying if I wasn't flattered that he chose what I called his mother. I think it is quite fitting," he explains.

My eyes snap up to him, my father is not usually one for the touchy-feely conversations.

"Thank you," I mouth to him.

I look back down at Phoenix, who is now looking back up at me.

"You ready to get out of here?" I ask, wrapping my fingers around hers. My father goes to get up from the couch, taking one last swig from his coffee cup.

"What are you two up to tonight?" he asks.

"I was thinking of taking Phoenix to my place, get out of this damn house for a while."

I hear my father mumble something into his cup but I don't catch it. I'm kind of glad about that. My father has never approved of my choice of living arrangements. I'm beginning to think I agree.

"Well, just make sure she's back by 11," he says as he walks away.

"Are you f*cking kidding me?" I blurt out.

My father stops in his tracks, and slowly turns back to face us.

"Braeden, its ok…" Phoenix starts to say.

My father sets his coffee mug on the side table and I know I am about to get the wrath of Dr. Harris.

"I know I don't have to explain this to Phoenix because she knows not to question authority, but this is my house, and when someone is under my watch they will abide by my rules. I don't know where you get the sense of entitlement from, but as long as she is living here she will do what I say," he says sternly.

I look down at Phoenix, her eyes now down on her hands again, her body shaking ever so slightly. When I look back up my father's eyes are now closed, his breathing deep.

"Please, have her back by 11, she has a very busy day tomorrow," he repeats before pushing the kitchen door open and disappears from sight.

"Seraph?" I say wrapping my arm around her back. "You OK?"

She nods but doesn't say anything.

"You know he doesn't mean that, right?" I assure her. "You can do whatever you want. He just wants you safe."

When those words leave my mouth I feel like a complete jackass. If it wasn't for my father who knows where Phoenix would be.

"Let's go," I say as I pull her off the couch.

We both walk to the front door, I grab my book bag on the way out. Both of our eyes fall on my bike, my mind trying to figure out how she could ride with me.

"Let's just walk." I laugh.

A smile spreads across her face and I curl her under my arm, every moment of being around her is breathtaking. We walk a few blocks before I see the subway station approaching.

"Got your card?" I ask.

She reaches into her back pocket and pulls out her fare card, a large smile across her face. I hold out my hand, ushering her to the turnstile. She walks in front of me and I get a small glimpse of her ass in those jeans and I think a whimper leaves my throat.

She puts her card in the slot and enters through into the crowd of people on the other side, no signs of distress visible. I'm so f*cking proud of her. Putting my card in, I come up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, placing a kiss on her neck.

"I love you," I whisper.

She spins so that she is now facing me.

"I love you, too," she responds.

That is something I will never tire of hearing. She stands up on her toes, putting her lips on mine. This kiss is like no other, it's full of passion and lust, not the shy kiss I usually receive. Wrapping my hands into the fabric of her shirt I press against her harder. The whole world seems to stop, the people around us becoming nothing but blurs. The only thing that reaches my ears is the soft murmurs and moans leaving her throat and entering my mouth. But something pulls me back, the loudspeaker for the station calling our train's arrival.

"F*ck," I say as I pull my lips from hers.

"What is…" I hear her say but I grab her hand in mine and bolt for the stairs. I push through gobs of people, probably shoulder checking them a little harder than what is considered appropriate. I hear Phoenix laughing behind me, it causing me to smile. When we get to the bottom of the staircase I see the train pull up, its door opening to allow people to enter. I know I have very little time to get our asses on that train. Swinging Phoenix around so that she is now in front of me, we continue to push our way through.

"Push em," I call out to Phoenix.

She whips her head around and gives me a "no f*cking way" look. Tell her to touch strangers. That's smart a*shole. When we reach the doorway my grasp on her tightens, not even wanting to think about what would happen if she got separated from me. We finally get inside the train cabin, packed in like a bunch of f*cking sardines. I grab onto the bar above my head, Phoenix too short to grab it herself.

"Just hold onto me," I say as I lean down a kiss the top of her head.

She does as I tell her, both her delicate arms wrapping around my torso. Her head is now laid upon my chest.

"I can hear your heart beat," she says smiling.

"Well, I hope so, Seraph," I joke. "Cause if you didn't we'd have a cause for concern."

She looks up at me and shakes her head. When I look back up I see a man staring back at us, but his eyes are purely on Phoenix.

"You got a f*cking problem?" I blurt out, not liking how this a*shole is looking at her.

The guy shifts his eyes away from us and I calm down a little.

"Braeden…" she scolds.

"What?" I ask confused. "I don't like the way he was looking at you."

"He wasn't doing anything," she states.

"He didn't have to," I explain. "Believe me, I know what he was thinking."

"So, are you just going to hide me from the entire world?" she asks laughing.

"Yup," I say as I fumble with the zipper on my jacket before zipping her up in it with me.

I can hear her giggle from underneath my jacket, it makes me f*cking grin ear to ear. I swear to f*cking god, Phoenix's laugh could brighten anyone's darkest day. When I look back up I realize we have quite the audience. After a few more seconds I unzip it, Phoenix's head poking back out.

"If you didn't smell so good I would have to punish you for that," she smirks.

"And what that might entail?" I ask, suddenly curious.

I can see the blush start to creep up her face and I absolutely love it. The apprehensive sexual side of her is trying to break through. After a few more minutes, our stop comes and we filter off the train and up into the night air, now completely dark. We walk down the busy streets hand in hand just talking about random things, Phoenix's fear of working at the hospital, my schooling. When we get about a block from my apartment, Phoenix stops dead in her tracks. I start to panic at what it could be but my eyes find what she is staring at.

"Do you draw?" I ask as I watch her stare into the front window of the art shop.

She just shrugs.

"I guess so, just kind of doodling here and there."

I stare at her for a while, the admiration for the art before her apparent in her eyes. After few minutes we continue on, waiting at a street corner for the light to change. I spot something out of the corner of my eyes and I try my best to cover her body with mine before it gets to her, the wave of water soaking my entire back.

I look down at her, her hair is soaked, my protection not serving much purpose. I try to gauge her reaction, but then she opens her mouth and a roar of laughter leaves her throat. I match her and peel myself off, our clothes slightly sticking to each other.

"I tried," I admit through laughter.

The light finally changes, I grab Phoenix's hand in mine, and we hastily make it to the rest of the way to my apartment, the cold wind whipping through our waterlogged clothes. By the time we reach my front door we are both exhausted, but then something shifts inside of me. The need for her mouth to be on mine becomes an obsession. I watch Phoenix's chest rise and fall, my eyes finding her bottom lip gently tucked between her teeth. Her eyes then find mine, the look in them telling me she is feeling the electricity running between our bodies. Taking a step forward I press her up against the door frame, my hips pinning her. Once I press my lips to hers I feel my need being filled but, yet, I feel like I can't get close enough. Phoenix's hands find their way into my wet hair, her fingertips gently tugging on the strands. My left hand comes out between our bodies and I find the bottom line of her shirt, slowly peeling the fabric away from her soaked skin. I hear her gasp, making me smile against her lips.

Kissing her makes me feel like a teenager again, everything is so innocent. Every touch feels as though it's the first time every time. I don't think I will ever not need it. I crave it like a vampire hungers after blood. I would cease to exist without it. My fingertips continue to travel north, finding the line of her bra. I go to slip my fingers underneath it but suddenly both our bodies fly forward, my body crashing on top of her.

"F*ck," I scream out.

Once I get my bearings, I look up, seeing Bret standing over us, a grin on his face.

"What the f*ck?" I say to him, as I reach my hand out to pull Phoenix up from the floor.

"What?" he says, a dumbfounded look on his face. "How was I supposed to know you were making out with some f*cking random chick on our front door?"

I huff, and then notice that Phoenix is staring at Bret, a mixture of hatred and fright. Bret eyes her with a look of shock on his face.

"Whoa! You're sleeping with suicide girl?" he blurts out.

A surge of anger rushes through my body and I have to hold back from wanting to bounce his f*cking head off the opposing wall.

"Shut the f*ck up," I spit out as I grab Phoenix's arm, leading her into my bedroom. After a second I hear the front door shut, happy that he chose to leave. Walking over to my closest I pull out a towel, handing it to Phoenix, a smile back on her face.

"Thanks," she says taking it for me.

"Sorry about that, he can be….a f*cking a*shole," I say, finding no way to make it more eloquent.

"It's OK," she says softly. "It's only true what he said about me."

I take a step towards her, grabbing the towel from her.

"I never want to hear that out of your mouth again," I whisper between us. "Do you understand me?"

She looks up at me from underneath her eyelashes and nods. Opening up the towel I put it in her hair, massaging it gently.

"You know what Rain calls him?" she asks.

I almost forget that Phoenix must already know him.

"What?" I ask suddenly curious.

"The devil," she says just above a whisper.

A laugh escapes my throat.

"Fitting," I admit.

Phoenix slowly takes the towel from my hands and starts to move around the room and I suddenly become embarrassed by its current state.

"I should have cleaned it a little more," I say as I run my fingers through the air.

She turns around to face me, a smile enveloping her lips.

"I like it, Braeden, it feels very…you," she says.

"So, I'm dark and I smell?" I ask.

Dropping the towel she makes her way back over to me, our bodies pressed together once again.

"No," her velvet voice rings out. "Warm and safe."

I wouldn't normally call those words extremely sexy, but coming from Phoenix they might as well be verbal porn.

"I think I need to go take a shower," I utter, partly because I need to cool down my skin that is now on fire, and because my wet jeans are starting to chafe.

"Feel free to change into anything you want," I say.

"OK," she says shyly.

"I'll be back in a jiffy." I place a kiss on her nose.

Walking into the bathroom I peel off my wet clothes, throwing them in the pile in a corner. Reaching into the shower I turn on the faucet, the hot steam filling the room after a minute or so. I step into the shower, the water bouncing off my shoulder blades, the grime from the dirty water leaving my skin. Grabbing my body wash I squirt some into my palm, doing the usual routine, but when I get to my lower regions it begs for some attention. Knowing that this can be done fast I wrap my hands around it, letting the body wash encase it…my hand gently gliding down its length. Just after a few pumps I can feel it's at its maximum hardness. When I close my eyes, nothing but Phoenix floods my mind.

I pump harder until I hear a gasp reach my ears, it pulling me out of my state of bliss. Snapping open my eyes I see Phoenix's peeking inside the shower curtain, her body wrapped in a towel.

"I'm so…sorry," she says as she tries to flee but I catch her wrist just in time.

Pushing open the curtain more I get a full view of her, her delicate ivory skin barely covered by the towel. She turns back around, her face a color of red I've never seen before.

"Come in," I say tugging on her arm gently.

She continues to stare at me, but not at my face. I let out a laugh. I don't know whether to be embarrassed or flattered. Dropping her hand from mine she reaches up and starts to unravel the towel from under her arm. I can't do anything but watch. It drops to the floor in a pile at her feet, all of her exposed.

"God, you are so f*cking beautiful," I declare, holding my hand out to her.

She takes it delicately and I lead her into the shower. She looks incredibly nervous so I place my hand on the side of her face.

"It's me, Seraph," I assure her.

I want to bring her into my chest but there is something in the way. She looks back down at it.

"Have you ever, um…masturbated?" I ask her, already knowing the answer to that.

She shakes her head.

"Do you want to feel good, Phoenix? Do you want me to show you how?"

She gnaws on her bottom lip and I pull her into to me, tucking myself in between us, silently telling it to behave itself. I walk us under the water so that she can get clean first. Pushing her hair to one side I expose the skin of her neck. I lean down pressing my lips to it, my need for her being fulfilled again. I hear her moan, the muscles in her neck and shoulders relaxing. Reaching out, I cover Phoenix's hand with mine. Bringing it close to her center I put our hands between her lips, her own fingertips grazing her herself. I can feel myself harden and I'm not even the one touching her. A moan leaves her mouth and she drops her head back so that it is resting on my chest. I move our hands in a circular motion and watch Phoenix's chest start to rise and fall rapidly.

"Holy shit," she breathes out, her back arching away from me.

"Does that feel good?" I whisper in to her ear.

I see her head nod fast, her mouth now open.

Picking up the pace even more I feel her body start to vibrate, so I bring my other arm down against her torso, pinning her against me even more, to make sure she doesn't fall. Putting my lips back to her neck, I plant numerous kisses, keeping my hand on hers as we circle her, but then move her fingers downward.

"Put a finger inside you," I say into her ear.

I feel her fingers shift under mine until she inserts a finger and I hear her take a sharp breath. I instantly become jealous, wanting nothing more than for my fingers to be giving her pleasure. But this is about Phoenix, not about me.

"Now curl your finger in a 'come hither' motion," I tell her and I know she has listened when a loud moan leaves her throat.

"That's your G-spot," I explain to her, wanting her to explore every part of her anatomy.

I replace my finger on her as she pumps in and out, it only a matter of seconds before her orgasm cripples her and I feel her slump over in my arms. With a smile on my face I lean down, placing a kiss between her shoulder blades. We stand still for a moment, allowing her to regroup before she turns back around to face me.