Crave Me

  After dinner we walked around, holding hands, talking about nothing in particular, just laughing and enjoying each other’s company. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. The last few had been pretty shitty, spending them by myself.

  We passed my favorite art gallery, the one that had always caught my eye. The glass windows displayed the room full of different artists. Everything from sculptures to abstract paintings, to sketches and photography.

  “Come on.” She nodded toward the door, leading the way inside.

  “You want to buy some art, baby?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Is that right? Mine not good enough anymore?”

  She shrugged, grinning at me as we made our way to one of the other rooms.

  “Way to crush a man's dream. You going to kick me in the balls next?" I said, holding my heart, forging hurt.

  “There’s actually this really hot new artist that I have been dying to show you.”

  “The fuck?” I breathed out.

  “Briggs,” the owner walked over to us, interrupting our conversation. “Is this him?” he asked, looking only at me.

  She beamed.

  “Austin, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Rafael.”

  We shook hands.

  “I told Briggs I had been dying to meet the man behind the sketches she showed me. They make a great addition to my collection,” he informed, catching me completely off guard.

  “Excuse me?”

  Briggs cleared her throat, stepping in between us.

  “I’m going to go give him his present now. We will be right back.”

  Rafael nodded in understanding.

  “Baby, what’s going—”

  “Close your eyes.”

  I arched an eyebrow, cocking my head to the side.

  “Don’t you trust me?” She smiled, blowing me a kiss.

  I caught it in the air and placed it near my heart.

  “With my life,” I simply stated, closing my eyes.

  It didn’t take long to walk through the small crowd, reaching our destination.

  “Keep them closed, okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She let go of my hand and turned my body in the direction she wanted me to face. Standing behind me, she placed her hands over my eyes.

  “Happy birthday, Austin,” she murmured into my ear, taking her hands away.

  I blinked my eyes open, trying to get rid of the haze. I stood face to face with the picture I drew of Briggs the day she told me about the meaning of her first tattoo. Except, it didn’t have the date written over her clavicle bone anymore, it had been replaced with…

  Daisy.

  Briggs

  I had wanted to tell him what my name was for the last four months. I was just waiting for the right time. When he told me about his dream of going to art school and it not being possible, I immediately got an idea for his birthday that was coming up.

  There were very few people in New York that my uncle didn’t know. When I asked him if he could pull a few strings and get me a meeting with the owner of the art gallery, the same one that Austin had been eyeing for several months, I was expecting an interrogation of why from my uncle.

  He didn’t.

  He hung up, and an hour later he texted me the date and time.

  Austin turned around to face me with a look I had never seen before. He smiled at me, and it melted my heart. His fingers found my cheeks, brushing them lightly up and down. I leaned into his embrace, loving the feeling of his warm hands on me with the familiar, comforting smell of cigarettes.

  He brought my lips close to his, softly kissing me a few times and murmured, “Nice to finally meet you, Daisy.”

  His bright blue eyes weren't telling me what he wanted to say like they normally do. I waited on pins and needles.

  “Daisy, I’m in—”

  “Daisy,” I heard a voice call out, pulling my attention from Austin.

  I grimaced, recognizing the voice immediately. My heart fucking dropped. Austin frowned, taking in my sudden change. My face paled like I had just seen a ghost. And in a way I had, the reaction from hearing a voice, a voice that I thought no longer existed. Austin followed the voice from behind me.

  My two worlds were about to collide.

  “Daisy, is that you?” he added, coming closer.

  I shut my eyes, needing a minute to gather my emotions that were running wild. Taking over, wreaking havoc on my soul. I opened my eyes to gaze into my future, Austin, with a concerned expression on his handsome face.

  Taking a deep breath, I turned to peer into my past and said,

  “Esteban.”

  Chapter 20

  Briggs

  I nervously coaxed, unsure of what to say or what to do.

  He looked older. No longer the man I remembered from five years ago. His once blue, familiar, warm eyes were cold and dark. Sad even.

  “Wow… you look. Different,” he laughed.

  I looked down at myself. “Yeah, you could say that. I’m glad to see you… alive,” I blurted.

  I never knew what happened to him after my uncle’s men dragged his bloody body from my room. The last time I saw him was my fifteenth birthday. I never gathered enough courage to ask my uncle what happened to him after that tragic night. To be honest, I didn’t think he would ever tell me the truth anyway.

  Austin stepped beside me. His questions and confusion were radiating off of him and searing into my skin.

  I reached over and held his hand, trying to ease his answers.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend here?” Esteban asked, nodding toward Austin.

  “Right. Esteban this is my umm…” I frowned not sure how to introduce him. I could feel Austin’s stare burning a hole in the side of my face. Waiting to hear how I would respond.

  “Umm… Austin. This is Austin,” I stated, tightening my hold on his hand to reassure him.

  “I’m Esteban.” He reached out his hand and Austin shook it. “I used to be Daisy’s bodyguard.”

  Austin nodded, unsure of how to proceed with the man that knew my real name.

  “Look at you all grown up now,” he said, turning back to me. Gesturing up and down my body, his eyes wandering to my chest and staying there a little too long for my liking.

  Austin twitched beside me. I could see his expression changing. The hold he had on my hand increased a little too hard. I turned slightly toward him to cover up my cleavage.

  “How long has it been now?” Esteban asked, cocking his head to the side, looking only at me now.

  “Umm…” I looked up at Austin. “Five years, right?”

  “Too long. I’m glad to see you’re okay.”

  We stood there in awkward silence. Austin wouldn’t look at me, but he had no problem staring at Esteban.

  “Well, I will let you two get back to your evening. It was nice to see you again, Daisy,” Esteban acknowledged, leaning in and kissing my cheek.

  I nervously smiled.

  “Take care, Austin,” he added with a nod.

  Esteban looked at me one more time with an expression I couldn’t quite place before he turned and left.

  I glanced at Austin who was still intently looking at Esteban.

  “Austin—”

  “Not here.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Not. Here,” he gritted out.

  We walked back toward Rafael and Austin thanked him for the opportunity to show off his art in his gallery. Rafael told him it was a pleasure and that he had my number and would call as soon as any of his pieces sold.

  We took a cab back to my apartment. Austin still hadn’t said a word to me, but I knew he was bothered by the handful of cigarettes he smoked on the ride back.

  The door closed behind me as we walked into my apartment.

  “Austin, I—”

  He immediately turned around, stepping in front of me, causing my back to hit the door from the
impact of his built frame that suddenly loomed over mine. I winced from the sting. He glared at me with a predatory regard, caging me with his arms. Our faces a few inches apart and our bodies maybe a foot.

  Both our chests heaved profusely.

  Our emotions running wild.

  His eyes were dark and daunting with an intense, crazed stare as he looked me up and down. It was the first time I had ever felt him in that way. The first time I had ever seen him lose his cool. The man in front of me wasn’t the Austin that I knew, the one that I’d spent over a year with.

  The one I had fallen head over heels in love with but hadn’t voiced my feelings yet.

  The man in front of me thrilled me and excited me in ways I never thought possible.

  I had nowhere to go.

  I could barely move.

  But my body felt on fire.

  “What are—”

  He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, causing me to stop what I was going to ask. He moved his face a little closer, barely a centimeter setting us apart now. I was engulfed in nothing but the dominance that he displayed over me in that minute, and I swear he could smell my arousal from it.

  I was at his mercy.

  Exactly where he wanted me.

  “So, tell me, Daisy? What the fuck was that back there?”

  I lowered my eyebrows, overwhelmed and confused by his question. He had never spoken to me that way. It was then that I realized I had also never pissed him off. He suddenly seemed taller, looming over me, ready to snap.

  “What are you talking about?” I shook my head in confusion.

  Was he angry at me for taking his sketches or about the unexpected visitor?

  There was a hint of sadness that passed through his eyes that made me question what he was really asking me.

  “He was my bodyguard,” I stated out of pure impulse.

  “A bodyguard doesn’t look at your tits like that. He also doesn’t look at you like he knows you. In. And. out.”

  My breathing hitched, my eyes widened.

  “How old is he, Daisy? Because five years ago, you were fucking fifteen.”

  “It’s not what you think," I pleaded.

  “Is that right?” He breathed out against my lips. “Tell me what I think then?”

  There wasn’t an inch of me that didn’t ache for him, that didn’t want him. I craved his touch now more than ever before. I licked my lips needing the moisture to soothe the burn of his mere words and breath against my mouth. His eyes followed the simple gesture of my tongue.

  “I think you’re reading too much into it. Men look at me all the time. It’s never bothered you before. Hell, you’re my bodyguard and you look at my tits and know me in and out, too,” I argued.

  He pulled back a little, narrowing his eyes at me.

  “First, watch your fucking tone. That's different and you know it. Second, it doesn't bother me now. What’s pissing me the fuck off, baby… is that you stumble around not knowing how to fucking introduce me.”

  “That’s not fair. You can’t—”

  “I can’t? Tell me, Briggs, what can’t I fucking do?”

  “I was just as caught off guard back there as you were.”

  “Was that before or after he called you Daisy? Seeing as it’s taken me over a goddamn year to learn that bit of information.”

  He roughly smacked my ass, causing me to yelp, and not giving me a chance to answer. He picked me up off my feet as if I weighed nothing and wrapped my legs around his waist. Carrying me into the bedroom where he laid me down on the bed, hovering his huge frame over mine.

  My dress was off of me before I even saw it coming, my bra and panties within seconds right after.

  The heels stayed on.

  He had seen me naked several times, but it was the first time I felt so fucking exposed to him.

  In a way I never had before.

  Maybe it was the predatory look on his face.

  Maybe it was the fact that I had just seen another side to him.

  Or maybe it was just because I knew I was going to touch him, feel him, and see him in ways I hadn’t yet.

  “You’re so goddamn beautiful,” he praised with a sincere tone, standing above me at the edge of the bed.

  Taking in every last inch of my body as if it was the first time he was really looking at me.

  “Spread your legs for me, baby.”

  I did, running my hands down my thighs and slowly parting them. Opening them in a V with my knees bent outward. He made a noise that came from the back of his throat, adding fuel to the flames burning inside me. Pulling me to the edge of the mattress by my legs, he got on his knees.

  My pussy throbbed.

  He kissed and licked his way down my thigh. Grinning when my pussy was directly in front of his face.

  He inhaled my scent, softly kissing around my folds.

  “Everything about you is fucking addicting. From your smile, to your smell, to your sinful fucking body. Especially…” He licked at my opening, pushing his tongue into my pussy. “Your goddamn taste,” he growled, pushing it in again.

  My head fell back as he fucked me with his tongue.

  No one had ever made me feel worshipped like Austin could. The closeness of his mouth to my most private area was a feeling that had me grabbing the sheets in a frenzy, and he had barely even started touching me.

  I expected him to be rough, but he was being gentle, taking his time to devour me, making me wet for him.

  “Oh God,” I whimpered in pleasure.

  He licked me one last time and then stopped, peering up at me with hooded eyes.

  “Tell me what you want. Beg me for it,” he huskily urged.

  “Please…” I responded on edge.

  He always did this to me. Making me beg to come.

  “Please… what, baby?”

  “Please make me come.”

  He growled and returned to lapping at my pussy, eating me like I was his favorite fucking meal. Making me go crazy with passion and desire.

  Feelings that only he could ever produce.

  I screamed out in ecstasy and it made him suck my clit harder, side-to-side, forcefully, urgently. Austin knew my body better than I did. Within seconds he was making me come, hard. I shook the entire time as he let me ride out my orgasm against his lips, releasing me with a pop. My legs fell forward from weakness, still shaking when he dove forward, attacking my mouth.

  I tasted every last bit of myself that was still all over his lips, with one hand at the back of my neck keeping me close to him exactly where he wanted me. I moaned, moving my hips to get him to give me what I’d wanted for so damn long. I could feel him smiling at the recognition of my subtle request.

  He suddenly grabbed a fistful of my hair, and I yelped at the sudden intrusion on my scalp.

  “I’m only going to say this one time. You’re fucking mine. Do you understand me? Mine. Briggs… Daisy… every last inch of you belongs to me.”

  Austin

  I hated the way that fucker was looking at her. With longing, lust, like he knew her. Like he really knew her.

  “Yes,” she panted, affected by my words as much as my touch.

  I kissed her long and deep one last time.

  “I want to fuck you raw,” I whispered against her ear. “I want to feel all of you, Daisy. Nothing between us. I’ve never done that with anyone.”

  “Then it’s a good thing I’m on the pill because I want that more than anything.”

  Her delicate hands moved to my belt, undoing it. She unbuttoned my slacks and slid them down with my boxers. My hard cock jutted out. Her eyes immediately widened, taking my dick in for the first time.

  “You’re pierced?” she asked, completely caught off guard.

  I chuckled, taking in the expression on her face that still hadn’t left the piercing through the head of my cock. I moved to lie on top of her, caging her in with my arms around her face. Gripping the back of her neck not wanting to lose ou
r connection.

  We both wanted to get lost in the moment.

  Lost in each other.

  The love that lived in our souls.

  The only place she ever existed.

  “Could that piercing get lost inside me? Because that would really—”

  “The only thing that’s going to get lost inside you is my cock, and it’s going to feel fucking amazing for you.”

  “Oh… other girls have liked it then?” she asked in a sad voice.

  “No, baby. I got this done for you,” I rasped, kissing her.

  She beamed, closing her eyes.

  “Don’t close your eyes. I want to look into your eyes as I make love to you.”

  She immediately opened them and I tightened the grip at the back of her neck. Angling my cock into her opening with my other hand.

  I slowly thrust inside her, our foreheads rested on each other, our mouths parted open. She was so fucking wet and felt so fucking good.

  “Oh my God,” she moaned when I was balls deep inside her.

  I stopped, just wanting a moment to peer into her eyes. They had so many emotions that I couldn’t even begin to describe. Her arms went around my neck as I slowly thrust in and out of her, making me feel whole and complete for the first time in my life.

  My place was right beside her.

  It’s where I belonged.

  “Fuck, you feel good,” I groaned, thrusting harder. “You’re so fucking tight.”

  I grabbed her leg, angling it higher. It was much deeper that way, my piercing hitting her g-spot effortlessly and her pussy tightened around my shaft, which earned her a growl. I never once let up on holding the back of her neck.

  I continued to move at a hard and fast pace that had her weakening beneath me. Making love to her in way I never had with anyone else. It wasn’t just about the movements or touches, it was about the feelings and emotions that came along with finally fucking being inside her. Feeling every last inch of her wrapped around me, our bodies tangled together on the white sheets.

  I cherished every sound, touch, expression that radiated off of her. We kissed, savoring the new sensation of our skin-on-skin contact. She moved her hips forward as I thrust in. Our bodies moved in sync with one another as we made slow and passionate love.