Claimed, p.23
Claimed, page 23
Leo, friendly as before, waved when he saw me and the smile on Sydney’s face dropped. She looked sunny and bright in a yellow dress, with her long brunette hair blowing in the breeze. Her bare arms were slender and delicate, as she pulled the sunglasses of her face as we approached each other.
“Hey man,” Leo said and stuck out his hand to me. I shook it and eyed Sydney from the corner of my eye.
“I hope you’re enjoying your stay in our humble little town,” Leo said and I nodded and smiled.
“You were great last night, Leo,” I said, because I had nothing else to say. I could sense that Sydney was standing by, growing more nervous by the second. While Leo was completely oblivious to the dynamics. I was surprised to even see her with him. They had both slept with other people the previous night, what were they doing together the very next morning? Were they on a date? Did they have some kind of open relationship that I wasn’t aware of?
“Thanks man, and Sydney here has graciously agreed to help me out with my record,” Leo said and beamed at her. Sydney looked nervous and she shook her head.
“Like I said, Leo, I can only try…or I don’t know…I’ll have to see,” she was fumbling with her words.
“You’ll think of something. I know you will,” Leo added and I could see that her cheeks were flushed.
“I can’t promise anything,” she added, looking up at him with her eyes narrowed.
“You don’t have to, I know you’ll be able to do something,” he continued and I felt an urge to tell him to shut up. It was so obvious that Sydney was under pressure, that Leo was cruelly pressuring her for his own benefit. He was aware of her attraction to him and he was willingly using that for his own gain.
“I’ll see you guys around?” he said and before Sydney could say anything else, he had bent forward to engulf her in a tight hug. I felt those pangs of jealousy again. Watching them hug, Leo’s muscular arms around Sydney’s petite small body…I wanted to punch him. But I could do nothing other than stand aside and watch.
Leo left in a hurry. He was pleased with himself and smiling as he walked away. Sydney was left by my side, watching after him.
“What was that about?” I asked her and Sydney shook her head when she looked back at me.
“He wants me to see if I can ruffle up some connections from my old contacts. He has a record that he wants someone to listen to,” she said, and I noticed that she was avoiding my eyes.
“And…?” I urged her on and she lifted her heavy lids slightly, and tucked in her dark strands of hair behind her ears.
“And I’m going to try and see what I can do,” she replied.
“Why?” I asked her bluntly and she jerked her head up to look at me. She glared at me for a few seconds, before looking away, to where Leo had disappeared out of sight.
“Because he’s my friend and I don’t mind,” she said with a shrug and when she looked at me again, her brows were crossed.
“You look like you do mind and he shouldn’t be making you do something you don’t want to do,” I told her and Sydney licked her lips slowly. It reminded me of how her mouth tasted in mine. Just the previous night, just a few hours ago I had her naked in my arms. I was sliding into her. I had her nipples in my mouth. I felt a movement in my pants and tried to control it, by saying something else to distract my mind.
“I’m serious, Sydney. Whatever your reasons are…probably you just don’t want to talk to your old contacts or whatever, you shouldn’t do it after how he’s been behaving with you,” I said in a stiff voice. She was glaring at me still, with her brows crossed. Like I was telling her to do the unthinkable.
“He’s a talented guy and I would hate for it all to go to waste,” she said after a few moments and I stuck my hands into the pockets of my pants.
“Well, I guess you’re free to do what you want. I was just giving you some friendly advice,” I said and she gulped and looked away from me.
“I want to help Leo, because I don’t want to see his talent going to waste and on the other hand…I don’t want to go back to that life,” she said and I noticed the way she was looking out at the sea. I wanted to reach out and touch her face, feel the softness of her skin on my fingers.
“Why? What happened in that life?” I asked her and she took in a deep breath.
“I was made a fool of,” she said flatly and when she turned to look at me again, her large brown eyes had become small and narrow. She was trying very hard to not cry.
Chapter 17
Sydney
I wasn’t sure what had come over me, why I suddenly felt hot tears pricking the back of my eyelids. It could have been something to do with Leo. Memories of James and my life back in San Fransisco had resurfaced. Or it could have had to do with Dane and how kind he was being to me.
We had started walking along the beach again. It had happened so naturally, that I didn’t question it. One moment we were on the promenade and I was trying to stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks and in the next moment we were on the beach and I was pouring my heart out to him.
“He was my boss, and I was his starry-eyed assistant,” I told him, while looking ahead. I couldn’t face Dane while I spoke about it. He seemed calm, and didn’t seem too inquisitive. He was sensitive and respectful towards what I was going through.
“And he was married?” he asked me and I nodded.
“A beautiful wife and three kids. He was twenty years older than me, but I didn’t care. James was charismatic, and handsome and very smooth. He floored me in just a few weeks,” I continued. There were gaps filled with silence in our conversation. I was speaking slowly, still surprised that I was blurting everything out to him. But now that I’d started, I couldn’t stop. I wanted to keep telling someone, I had the whole story pent up in me for so long, bursting to come out. I didn’t seem to care any more that Dane Forsyth was probably the last person I should have saying this to.
“And did you have an affair with him?” he asked gently and I licked my lips and nodded.
“For about seven months we were sleeping together. He even found me a nicer apartment to move into, and visited me a few nights a week. God! I’m so ashamed,” I said and covered my face with my hands.
“You shouldn’t be. He was just as much at fault, if not more. He was the one with the wife and a family,” Dane said and I sensed him looking at me. When I drew my hands away from my face, I saw that his dark eyes were narrowed and slightly bloodshot. Like he was angry at James for what he had done to me.
“And how did it end? What happened?” he asked, when I hadn’t said anything in some time.
“His wife caught us. We were too bold one afternoon and were having sex in his office. She walked in on us, and pushed me out of his office. She was screaming and mad, I had barely managed to put my clothes back on. Everyone in the office saw me, with my makeup smudged, half dressed and James’ wife yelling at me,” I continued and by now I couldn’t control the tears. They came gushing out, covering my cheeks and my hands with which I was trying to stop them.
Dane took me into his arms. We had stopped walking, and unconsciously, I buried my face into his shoulder. I hadn’t cried in so long…in years, and now my tears were uncontrollable.
“She shouldn’t have done that to you. It was her husband she should have been screaming at,” I heard him say. His voice was muffled because my hair was in the way. I looked up at him, and our eyes locked. His eyes were kind and gentle, and suddenly, I had never felt more safe before.
“But she did. She treated me like dirt. And the next day, James called me up to tell me to never return to his office. That he won’t be paying for my apartment and that he never wanted to see me again. He was behaving like I’d tricked him somehow,” I said and another volley of tears streamed out.
“He’s an asshole. I hope he gets what he deserves. He was the only one at fault here,” Dane continued to say and I shook my head.
“No, I knew what I was getting into. I enjoyed the thrill. I was having fun. I didn’t stop to think how I was hurting his family,” I said in a strained voice and Dane reached out to wipe the tears from my cheek with the back of his hand.
“Neither did he. And he didn’t own up to his own mistake. He didn’t apologize to you. He’s the one who should be blamed here, not you,” he said in a harsh voice and I buried my face in his shoulder again. It was like I never wanted to face the world again. All those memories had come rushing back, and I’d tried to keep them suppressed for so long.
“I was so embarrassed and angry and upset. I thought I was falling in love with him. I had started to hope that he might leave his wife. And then this happened, and I was left without a job and without a home. I didn’t know where to go, how to tell my parents…granny leaving me the B&B was the perfect excuse for me to move out of San Fransisco,” I said, my words all coming out in a rush and jumble. Dane nodded his head, like he understood everything exactly.
“Lets go back to the house, you need to sit down and drink some coffee. Or something stronger,” he said, taking my face in his hands. I threw him a weak smile and nodded. In that moment, in Dane’s arms, I would have agreed to anything.
Chapter 18
Dane
Back in the house, Sydney was still upset. She sat down at the kitchen table with her face enclosed in her hands. She had stopped crying by now, but her cheeks were still streaked with tears and she was barely talking. I hadn’t seen her like this. My impression of Sydney was of her being a confident, self sufficient young woman who had a strong head over her shoulders. Watching her crying and miserable made me mad. Mad at the man who had done this to her.
I made us two big mugs of coffee and sat down at the table with her. These were new emotions that I was experiencing. I was concerned for her, protective of her happiness. I wished I could destroy the man who had done this to her, but she had given me nothing except his first name.
“I understand why you wouldn’t want to get in touch with people from your old office now,” I said and pushed the mug of steaming coffee towards her. Sydney looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. Her eyelids were damp from her crying. I wanted to kiss her tears away. I had never experienced these feelings of tenderness before. Sydney sniffed and sipped some of her coffee.
“Yeah, it would be so embarrassing. I didn’t really have any friends in that office I could call in favors with. The only person I might be able to contact would be James, and he told me categorically that he never wanted to hear from me again,” she said and I drew my chair closer to her.
“Forget about what he told you to do or not to do. You shouldn’t be calling him, period. He disrespected you, treated you like shit,” I said in a voice that I didn’t even recognize. I was experiencing a burning urge to call the shitbag himself and give him a piece of my mind. I wanted to ruin his life for hurting Sydney. This woman I barely even knew. But all I knew was that she didn’t deserve this. She was a good person…a smart, talented, beautiful woman who deserved the best treatment from everyone else.
She sniffed again, to control her tears, and snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, you’re right…but Leo needs my help,” she said and I threw my head back in frustration. Leo again. He didn’t deserve her either. I knew he would hurt her too. He just seemed like the kind of guy who would use her and then throw her away.
“Sydney, listen to me…” I said and leaning towards her, I took her hand in mine. “You shouldn’t make that call, just for the sake of Leo. He’ll have other opportunities. He can go to LA or San Fransisco himself, try and get a break the way everyone else does. You shouldn’t be undermining your own pride and peace of mind for a guy like him,” I said and Sydney shot me a look.
“A guy like him? A guy like what? You think he’s not a nice guy because he had a one night stand with some woman from the bar?” she said, with her eyes narrowed at me. I could sense that she had now begun to channel her anger towards me. I shook my head.
“That’s not what I said,” I told her, but she wasn’t done.
“And I don’t need to remind you, that’s exactly what we did last night too. It doesn’t say anything about his character,” she continued and I sat away from her. To give her some space to breathe.
“So, you’re going to do this for Leo because you like him? Are you with him? Are you in love with him?” I asked her in a harsh voice of my own. I couldn’t be sure where all of this was coming from. She didn’t need to answer me.
“I’m not with him and no, I’m not in love with him!” she snapped and stood up from her chair.
“Then why? Why do you want to do this for him?” I said and stood up from the chair too.
“I don’t know…” she said.
“Just admit it, Sydney. You have feelings for him. You slept with me last night because you were jealous of the girl he was having sex with. I was your rebound for the night and now that Leo is giving you his attention again, you want to do him favors,” I thundered and Sydney gritted her teeth at me.
“I’m weak! Is that what you’re trying to say to me?” she was yelling too. “That I don’t know how to control my emotions around the men I’m attracted to. Is that what you’re saying?” she said and I clenched my jaw. I wasn’t sure any more of what I was trying to say. All I knew was that I didn’t want her to call her ex in San Fransisco and I didn’t want her to do any favors for Leo either. I knew I had no authority over her. She was just a one night stand and I knew her only for a little over a day.
“You’re putting words in my mouth,” I said finally and we continued to glare at each other. She was eyeing me, my lips, my face, and my gaze swung to her breasts, her neck, her bare arms…
“You should just say what you want then, Dane. Tell me what you think of me,” she said and lifted her chin up challengingly. I looked at her, my mouth slightly open as I realized I was entranced by her. I had never met a woman like her before in my life.
I stepped towards Sydney, and she craned her neck to look up at me. I didn’t have the words to tell her what I thought of her, so I was going to show her. Sydney was staring up at me, her eyes wide and focused on my face.
I lowered my face to kiss her, and gently bit her lower lip and she flung her arms around my neck and drew me closer to herself.
Chapter 19
Sydney
Dane’s kiss was soft and I allowed his tongue in between my mouth. He held me by my waist as I swung in his arms. I was dizzy and giddy with having his lips on mine again. I hadn’t expected this to happen, it wasn’t planned…which made it even more exciting. I could already feel myself getting wet between my legs as he kissed me.
Within a few moments, he pulled away from me and we were both panting. I hadn’t realized that we had been kissing for several minutes now. With one hand on my belly, he gave me a gentle push and I felt my butt press against the edge of the kitchen table.
Dane had his eyes locked on me, and without waiting for me to respond; he placed his hands on the stringy straps of my dress and pulled them down over my arms. My breasts popped out, I wasn’t wearing a bra and Dane lunged forward to take one of them in his mouth.
I was supporting myself by gripping the edge of the table, as I arched my back, throwing my head backwards while he sucked on my nipples. My legs were parting of their own accord, making space for Dane to fit himself between my thighs. His mouth on my breasts, licking and gently sucking on my nipples was too much to bear. I had started moaning. Then his hands fumbled with the skirt of my dress, hurriedly pushing it up so that his hand could seek out the wetness between my legs.
I gasped when he found it and with his forefinger and thumb, through the thin material of my panty, he began to stroke me. I wanted to feel his body, and I quickly undid the buttons on his shirt. My hands were shaking as I pulled his shirt apart and ran my hand down the chiseled structure of his torso. He was as tight and strong as a marble statue, and I couldn’t stop my fingers from lingering on his washboard abs, his flat belly…Dane caught my wrist suddenly and I gasped again. He was guiding my hand down his pants.
I could feel the warmth emanating from his crotch. Under his pants, through his boxers; I touched his cock. It was big and throbbing and ready and I stroked him. Just like he was stroking me again. When he finally pulled his mouth away from my nipple, I sank back on the table.
I didn’t have the energy to keep sitting up. Dane adjusted me, pushing me up so that my legs dangled off the side of the table now. He was standing there, still between my knees, and I watched as he undid his belt and pulled down his pants. His cock was facing me again. Ram rod straight and big and I could feel the knots in my belly tightening again. I wanted him inside me. His stroking had made me wetter, ready for him and Dane grabbed my knees.
With our eyes locked and my lips quivering, Dane parted my legs further and then balanced them off his shoulders. His face was between my thighs, his dark eyes were focused on my swollen nipples. His mouth was parted and some of his chestnut hair had fallen over his eyes. Neither of us were saying anything, we both knew just how good it was going to feel any minute now…the moment he thrust himself in.
Dane was teasing me. He grabbed his cock with a hand and drew it closer to me. The tip grazed my wet swollen core and I moved my hips. My hands reached out for his chest, his heart was beating fast. He grinned, like he was enjoying watching me grow more desperate by the second.
“Tell me you want me,” he said in a low guttural growl.
“I want you inside me, Dane,” I begged him and he thrust himself into me. I felt his cock slide in, expanding me, pushing against the sensitive wet flesh of my core and I arched my back and pressed my eyes close. Having Dane inside me made me stop thinking. I could think of nothing else but having him there.
