So. Long.: Bad Boy Next Door (78 page)

He pulls back. “Relax, Lou. Just feel me loving you.”

I gasp for breath, trying to do what he asks, allowing
myself to relax at his mouth as he kisses and sucks and slides his tongue from
one end to the other, over my pussy and ass. His thumb thrusts into my entrance
as he tongues my backside, his other fingers tickling my clit.

My breath comes in little spurts as I try to focus on
sucking him, returning the loving strokes he lavishes on me. Then he licks that
hole with the flat of his tongue as he pushes my backside up a notch. His palm
wraps over my ass. His thumb presses that tight hole, his other still buried
deep within my folds. His tongue slides back and forth on my bud in rhythm with
his thumb as it fucks me.

The pressure is so deep and so tight, I—oh God, I could
just—

He licks that tight place, and then sucks my clit as he
presses deep, one thumb in each place, filling me until—oh—my—it’s too much. The
pressure in my core gathers momentum as his thumbs pump into my body at both
points, faster and deeper with each stroke, until I have to let his rock hard
cock out of my mouth just to breathe.

Little sounds I don’t even recognize come from my throat,
and
I bear down against his mouth where he sucks at my bud. The pace of
his thrusting thumbs increases as they crank tighter, the coil waiting to burst
open the flood gates.

My fingers twist in the sheets next to his hips as I lay
over him, my face next to his burgeoning erection, as I pant and crest the edge
of my orgasm. Buck’s hands and mouth take me to a place I’ve never been. The
fullness and stretching and the tickling of his tongue all culminate until I
arch against him, pressing my hips down, my body quivering under his touch.

Overwhelmed with him and all he’s doing to me, I cry out as
I’m taken down by the undertow of my orgasmic wave. He pulls his hands free,
gripping my ass as his mouth locks over my slit. He sucks, and his tongue
plunges deep as he laps up the hot juices from my dripping and pulsing pussy.
My hips pump against his face as my orgasm works itself out and my pussy
spasms. Finally, he kisses the inside of each thigh.

Suddenly, he flips me so I’m on my back and he’s over me,
his thick cock right above me. I reach for him, but he pulls away, standing at
the side of the bed.

He smiles down on me as he wipes my cream from his chin. “I
think you like having that sugar-bowl pie eaten. I think ass-play turns you
on.”

I throw my hands over my face as my ears heat. “Buck!”

He tweaks my nipple as his other hand teases my clit. “Babe,
there’s not a damned thing wrong with you enjoying anything I do for you. Fuck,
why should you be embarrassed that you liked it, when I enjoy doing it so
much?”

I peek between my fingers. He winks.

Still hiding, I say, “You do like it, don’t you? Your cock
got super hard when you—well, when you did that.”

“Hell, yeah it does. Your ass is sexy as fuck.”

I let my legs fall open. “You think so?”

He rubs his fingers deep into my still throbbing slit. “I
sure as hell do.”

His two longest fingers sink into my pussy, slowly setting
up a rhythm, as his other hand slides up and down his cock. “See, Lou? There’s
nothing we can’t do with one another, as long as we both like it.”

I pull my legs up so my knees are almost to my shoulders,
and my thighs push my tits together. My cunt pulses at his touch, while his
eyes hold my gaze. His dimples deepen as a small moan escapes me.

He grabs my hips and pulls my ass nearer to the edge of the
bed. His palm returns to the length of his erection. His fingers tighten around
it as he moves his hand up and down. He circles my clit with his other long
finger, sliding to dip into my slit after each rotation. He licks his lips and
then his teeth bite down on his bottom lip.

My body responds to his ministrations by sending more liquid
to my opening, slicking his finger when it swirls deep inside. He leans his
knees against the edge of the mattress. His hand moves over his cock as he
pleasures both of us. He glides his cock’s head across my pussy, the bead of
moisture at its tip mixing with my own cream as he pumps his finger deeper
within.

He pulls his hand away, and his dick takes its place.
Holding my hips, he thrusts hard, his body crashing into mine, until my breaths
come closer and closer together. He pushes me toward the middle of the bed as he
moves more fully over me.

He sets my calves to rest at his shoulders as he plunges
deep. His cock touches the inner most parts of me as he hits the place that
lifts me to the heights of sensation. The coil, wrapped so tightly within,
snaps and the flood rushes over me as I move so I can wrap my legs around him
and bring him closer.

I arch against him, my grasping hands on his ass, yanking
him deeper. “Harder. Harder.”

He slams against me, his bones rattling mine with the force.

His body melds with mine, that little boy grin on his face.
My heart remembers him with such clarity that it almost cuts. Every touch,
every word, every time he’d ever helped me, held me, and protected me, they all
led me to this place—with him.

Buck says he loves me, but I can’t put words to what I feel
for him. And I can’t let it rule my heart or I’ll be broken all over again.
Things are too garbled and fucked up for that. I have to steel myself to be
strong, even though I want nothing more than to cry out my love for him as,
once again, he takes me to the edge of paradise.

TWENTY-SIX

Lou’s green eyes search mine. They fill with tears, and she
rolls away.

I wrap my arm over her and pull her to my chest.

I kiss her behind her ear. “What’s wrong, Babe?”

“I still don’t understand. If you cared, why didn’t you ever
call? Or text? You were only a few hours away while I was stationed at
Miramar—why didn’t you come see me?”

I roll her over to face me. I slide my thumb along her
bottom lip, replacing my touch with my mouth. I taste her slowly, loving her
with all the emotion built up in my heart. When I pull away, I stare into her
eyes so she’ll see how much I mean what I’m about to say.

“I’ve missed you every day, Lou. Every. Single. Day. But we
were young, and I didn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.
All I could offer was a struggle to make ends meet. I talked it over with Pops
and Nan. After hashing it out, over and over, I realized it wouldn’t have been
fair to you.”

She draws in a shaky breath. “What about later?”

“By the time I was making enough to support us both, you
were a Marine. Nan and Pops kept me posted on what you were up to. It seemed
like you were happy. I didn’t want to fuck that up for you. But I always hoped
we’d get another try.”

Her eyes well with tears. “Life doesn’t give a lot of second
chances, Buck.”

“But, Lou—
you
could give us a second chance. Couldn’t
you?”

I pull out of Buck’s arms, sitting up and rubbing my chest
as though that will calm the ache settling behind my sternum. “If only it were
so easy.”

The backs of his knuckles brush my shoulder. “It could be.”

Buck’s aqua-marine eyes soften as he leans to me, kissing
the place his fingers just grazed.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes. “If it were
possible to go back a few months, maybe it would be. But things are complicated
now. You have to consider the baby. That’s a big thing.”

He flops backward, his hands covering his face. “I’m telling
you. There’s just no way. It’s not my kid. The only person I’ve been with
without protection is you, and that was just the other day at the fort.”

I let out a little huff. “You and I used a condom that first
time, and I ended up pregnant. So, it can happen.”

“Well, it didn’t.”

I climb out of the bed, wrapping in my thin robe. “You need
to at least entertain the possibility that it’s yours. And if it is, do you
really want your kid growing up with only one parent? I mean, c’mon, Buck. Look
at us. Is that what you want for your child?”

I turn to the dresser, dragging my brush through the ends of
my hair, moving up in sections, taming my curls.

Buck steps behind me, catching my gaze in the reflection of
the mirror.

He wraps his arms around me. “Even
if
it’s my kid,
which it’s
not
, it’s not like I’m with Arianne. You and I can still have
a life.”

His strong hands rest at my waist, the veins showing along
his corded arms.

“I don’t know, Buck. I’m not sure how I’d feel about getting
in the middle of a family. You should really consider working things out with
your baby’s mother.” My chest tightens with the pain my words cause me.

He clenches his jaw, letting his breath seep between his
teeth and tight lips. “Are you being difficult on purpose? Do you not
want
to be with me? If you don’t, it’s fine, just say so. I thought you did. Maybe I
was wrong.”

I turn in his arms. “Of course I want to be with you. But,
this isn’t about me. No one wanted me when I was a kid. It breaks my heart to
think you wouldn’t do everything you can to be with your child all the time, to
be there for every scraped knee, soccer trophy, and broken heart. Because
that’s the Buck
I
know—the one who looked out for me all my life. He’d
want that.”

He sets his jaw. “I’ll tell you what:
If
this baby
turns out to be mine, even though it
won’t
, I promise I’ll do my best to
be the dad you and I never had. To do right. But I want you in my life. This
won’t be the first kid to live with parents who aren’t together. Especially in
Hollywood.”

The look on his face is so hopeful. But even if that’s
enough for him, I don’t know if I can be a party to that. It just seems wrong.

“The conference call with Razor Wire went great—except for
one thing. They want to move up the production dates. Six days. They want me
there in six fucking days.” I wipe the perspiration from my forehead as I tromp
through the trees on my way home from Lou’s.

Bob answers. “Well, you have to make it happen, short notice
or not.”

“Can they really do that? The contract says things aren’t
supposed to start for another three weeks.”

“Razor Wire Entertainment is one of the largest production
companies in the business. If you fuck them—hell, even if they just perceive
that they’ve been fucked, they could black-ball your ass.”

“You think they’d do that?”

“I hate to break it to you, kid, but there’s another Buck
Wylder just waiting to jump into your role with only a moment’s notice. A shit
ton of young
almost superstars
will make it work. And you could end up
making movies where the lead role is portraying a kindergarten teacher or a
nanny. That’s not exactly where you want your career going…is it?”

Buck went back to his Nan’s yesterday. Twenty-four hours,
almost exactly, that I haven’t laid eyes on him, even though he’s just next
door. I can’t help but admit that I miss him.

He’s texted a couple of times, but he’s busy finishing up
filming the segments they need for Celebrity Homecoming. That must mean he’ll
be heading to California soon. I swallow the sour taste that thought sends to
the back of my throat.

No. It’s good that he’s going home. He needs to deal with
this Arianne-slash-baby situation. And I have shit to finish for Aunt Delores
so I can move forward with my life. No idea what that will look like, but I
need to figure it out.

At least one positive thing will come of him heading west:
the paparazzi will probably follow him and leave the rest of us peons in peace.

A brisk knock sounds at the front door. Well, it can’t be
someone with a camera, because Thug Three would have shooed them away.

I wrench the handle, opening the door.

My smile falters. “Oh, it’s
you
.”

Trudi Perky-Pants frowns. “Well, nice to see you, too.”

“What do you want, Terrier?”

“You know, you could be nicer. You might like me if you give
me a chance.”

I take in her designer duds and her spiky, wonderfully
straight hair, shaking my head. “Doubtful.”

“Well, wait until you hear what I have to say. Then decide.
Until then, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, but only because
Buck’s so taken with you, and I like him.”

I clasp my hands and hold them up by my ear, as if hugging
myself. “Gee, that just makes me want to grab your hand so we can skip through
the wildflowers and be besties forever and ever.”

Terrier—I mean Trudi—glares. “Fine, be that way.”