CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
1346 Words
Never play with fire unless you’re looking to get burnt.
CAMERON
One minute he’s feeling his way towards me and my overflowing bath and the next minute, Earl Salvatore in all his dark, olive skinned beauty, is falling.
He grabs for the handrail to support himself but because his eyes are closed he misses it.
And before I can say jack, he’s in the tub beside me…with me.
A very, very naked me.
I squeal, my shock giving way really quickly to fury. "Earl! What the...?!”
The words die in my throat.
As Earl falls into the tub, his body slides against mine, sending ice cold shivers down my spine.
The warm water envelops us, creating a sense of intimacy that makes my heart race. I try to push him away, but my hands slip on his wet skin, and for a moment, we're tangled together.
"Earl, get off me!" I exclaim, but my voice is barely audible over the sound of the running water.
I try to wriggle free, but Earl's body is too close, his chest pressed against mine.
He opens his eyes, water dripping from his hair and down into his face.
His eyes lock onto mine, his gaze burning with intensity.
“Oh good, now we're both going to drown.” I splutter, trying in vain to put some distance between us in the small wet space.
"Oh I’m sorry" He snaps, glaring at me and trying to shake the water out of his face. “Whose brilliant idea was it for me to close my eyes again?"
“W…well …” I start, stuttering . “Well you could have opened it when you felt yourself slipping.” I finally manage to throw back in accusation and he snorts.
“I’ll remember that when next you ask me to do something for you.”
His words trail off as our faces draw closer. I can feel the tension between us building, like a spark waiting to ignite. The water around us seems to vibrate with electricity.
For a moment, we just stare at each other, our lips inches apart.
I can feel Earl's warm breath on my skin, which immediately sends my pulse beating erratically and blood rushing to my head until I start to feel dizzy with the madness of it.
My heart is racing, and I can't seem to catch my breath.
The last time we were this close, there was loud music all around us and minutes later, I was in his room and his hands were everywhere.
“Earl I…” My throat won’t open past a squeak.
I don’t know what I want to say, but I can feel my own breathing becoming faster.
His eyes drop from my face, to the top of my breasts skimming the surface of the water.
“Cameron.” He whispers, his breath hot against my ear.
I don’t even realize that I’m doing it, that we’re drifting closer until I feel the tip of my n****e brush against his chest.
Earl's lids droop, his lips parting slightly as he exhales softly.
Beneath the water, I can feel his hands sliding past my knee and up my thigh.
There is a voice screaming in my head but I can barely hear it over the running water and the sound of my own heart beating in my chest.
The air between us is all but crackling with a tension that’s making it harder and harder for me to remember how to breathe.
Against the hardness of his chest my n*****s are turning to sensitive little pebbles and when I move and they drag against his skin, I almost cry out at the jolt of sensation that shoots down my belly and straight between my legs.
Earl’s mouth parts above mine, one more inch and our lips are going to touch.
I can feel the heat emanating from his body, drawing me in like a magnet despite the now cold water all around us.
My eyes flutter closed.
This is it. I am about to do something stupid again yet I can’t seem to bring myself to stop, to push him away.
But just as our lips are about to meet, I feel him reach behind my head and push at a button hidden beneath the base of the tap.
The water cuts off with a quiet plop.
The sudden silence jolts back to reality, and my eyes fly open.
Suddenly the moment is gone and I remember, shame turning my checks a blazing red, exactly who I am supposed to be.
Who he is.
I place my hand on his chest to push him away, my heart still racing.
"No, Earl," I whisper.
I want to sound firm and in control but my voice is betraying me. I shake my head. "This isn't happening."
Earl's half open eyes find mine, a look of pure naked desire flashing across his face.
But then, a sly smile spreads across his lips.
"Oh, I think it is, Cameron," he whispers, his voice dripping with liquid lust. "I think it's just beginning."
He moves closer, until his body is inches from mine once again.
Against my back and between my shoulder blades, the tub’s ceramic is cold and hard.
Nowhere to run. Nowhere to go
"Earl, stop," I whimper, my voice barely audible. If I wasn’t in this bath, my knees would have been too weak to hold me up.
Earl's smile grows wider. "You can't resist me, Cameron," he whispers, his breath burning against my neck. "I know you want me."
The cheek of this bastard.
I try to push him away again, but my hands are weak.
Earl's body is too close, his heat too enticing.
For a moment, we just stare at each other again, the tension between us building.
Then, Earl lowers his head and the bottom of his lip brushes against mine.
It is barely a kiss.
It is barely even touching.
Yet it sends a bolt of lightning down my spine all the same.
I gasp, my heart racing.
Then suddenly he’s kissing me.
Actually, deliberately kissing me.
Earl's lips are soft, gentle, but demanding. He pulls my lower lip into his mouth, swipes the roughness of his tongue against it.
Water sloushes out the tub and onto the floor.
"No, Earl," I whisper in between kisses, trying to sound firm, trying to remind my brain to keep working. "The contract.” He slips his hands down my back and I shiver. “You promised me" I say and in response he flicks my n****e with his thumb.
I moan against his tongue, my back arching into him.
But just as I'm about to give in, I see in my head the day Ted came to take me from juvie.
All the years I spent suffering before then.
All the pain.
All because men like Earl Salvatore took my parents away from me.
I place both my hands hard against his shoulders and Earl lets me push him away.
His gaze finds mine and his eyes are so dark, they are almost a different shade of blue.
I swallow hard, shaking my head, my chest rising and falling. “We had a deal.”
Something flashes across Earl’s face and it happens so quickly that I cannot be certain I did not imagine it, yet when it is gone, so is all the heat in his eyes.
And in its place all that is left is a chilling coldness. He gazes down at me, his long lashes sweeping down to hide his eyes.
And then, he nods and moves away from me.
I swallow again, and watch him step out of the tub and onto the flooded floor, his pants completely soaked.
Then suddenly he leans over, both his hands gripping the tub on either side of me, forcing me to shrink backwards once more.
"Okay, Cameron, I’ll play ball." he whispers. "But this, this isn't over."
And then he’s gone before I can say another word.
- Writer
