Anything for You Ch. 03

I clung to his waist when he drove into me again, my fingernails biting into his skin as I wondered how on earth he'd keep that promise. ""It's okay," I whispered. "It's not your fault this hurts. Everyone says the first time really—"

"Touch yourself."

"—sucks." I stared up at him as he stilled inside me. "I beg your pardon?" He couldn't mean...

It seemed he did. He was already prying my right hand from his back.

"No..." I breathed, mortified. "I can't—"

"Don't tell me you've never touched yourself, Sam. I know you have."

"But—" I didn't even want to contemplate how he knew. "Drew, Ican't—"

"What?" He grinned, pulling my hand down between us, separating my middle finger from the others. "You mean, you can't in front of me?" Watching my face, he pushed it down into my slippery folds and firmly started to caress me with it. "Yes you can—" his eyes closed briefly as I quaked "—see, you're doing it already. Now all you need to do is carry on—" he slid his hand from mine "—without me."

Oh God, that felt so much better, my inner muscles clenching round him as I stroked, heightening the sensation in a way I'd never known. And he could feel it too, I could see it in his gaze, his eyes clouding as he slowly resumed moving.

In and out, so very gentle, like he'd promised from the start, each languorous thrust building my desire. I could feel that delicious tension, a steadily tightening knot, like a purse string round my womb, drawing upwards.

"Good,so good," I whimpered, Drew smiling as he kissed me, my legs curling round his, trying to pull him deeper. "Needmore..."

"More?" I felt his smile widen, his movements still unhurried. "I think you'll find you've got most of me already."

"Drew!" I wailed, already hopelessly frustrated. And pulling out my hand, I slapped his butt cheek hard.

That got his attention.

"Ow!" he protested with a startled choke of laughter. "What wasthat?"

Oh crap. What the hell had I just done?

"You want more?" he said, still laughing, a wicked gleam now in his eyes. "Well, who'd have thought Sam Bloom would want it rough...?"

I screamed as he plunged forward, giving me everything and more, filling me, oh, so much deeper than before. Heat blossomed between my thighs, engulfing me in waves, the tension mounting as he drove in ever faster. Until I could concentrate on nothing but the feel of him inside me, our limbs so entangled, I couldn't tell which were his and which were mine.

And though I knew what must be coming, I'd never come like this, with no control, at the mercy of another. It was overwhelming, all-consuming, this rising need within me, that tight knot burgeoning to fifty times the size...

"Drew..." I heard the frightened voice, barely recognising it as my own. "Oh my God,Drew ... Oh holyfucking..."

He scooped me up and held me and I shattered in his arms, then with a deafening roar, he shuddered into me. And as I clung to him still trembling with him buried deep inside, I could feel his heart, racing against mine.

For the longest time, there was silence, my ragged gasps the only sound in the room. But as the seconds passed, I slowly became aware of Drew's warm breath against my hair, his skin slick with perspiration beneath my fingertips, his arms so protectively tight around me.

"Sam..."

I opened my eyes, fought for enough breath to laugh. "Still here."

His own choke of laughter rumbled in my ear. "Oh God, Sam."

"I know." I let my eyes drift closed again, my head slumping against his shoulder. "I'mso sorry..."

"What?" I felt him tense, the small movement making him flex inside me, setting off a fresh shower of erratic sparks. "You're sorry?"

"I hit you."

"What?" The word was shot through with wry amusement this time. "Sam, I barely felt it. Here's me, feeling as guilty as hell—I can't believe I lost control like that—"

"Guilty?" It was my turn to tense.

"—and you're worried about hitting me? I wanted to be so gentle with you—"

"Drew..." I pulled back, desperate to see his face. Was he kidding?

No, he wasn't...

"Are youcrazy? It was wonderful," I whispered, biting my lip at the inadequacy of the word. "Amazing.You were amazing. I had no idea—"

"Amazing?" He gave a disbelieving snort. "Sam—"

"Yes! I didn't know it was going to be like that. I didn't know—" How could I make him understand? "I didn't know I could feel like that..."

Drew gazed at me intently, almost as though he was waiting for me to start laughing and tell himI was kidding, that it had been awful. But as I stared at him, willing him to believe me, I saw the beginnings of a smile. "So let me get this straight."

My shoulders sagged with relief.

"You actually enjoyed that?"

I shook my head, feeling the corners of my mouth twitch as his smile began to widen. "No, of course not," I lied. "Did you?"

"Oh God, no." He shook his head fervently. "Fuck no, not at all..."

And groaning as his lips closed over mine, he pushed me back down to the bed.

"So..."

I smiled as he raised his head at last, dazed with drowsy pleasure. "Yeah, I know," I murmured happily. "Whatare we going to do now?"

"Well..."

"No." I rolled my eyes at his suggestive tone. "We'renot going to watch the pay per view porn."

"Spoilsport," he said with a sigh, now nuzzling at my neck. "Well, let's see, what else is there? Ooh, there's still the trouser press..."

"Drew!"

But the memory of our earlier conversation provided sudden inspiration...

"What?" he asked suspiciously when I sent him my most innocent smile. "You've got a better idea?"

"Yeah, maybe." And then I grinned, I couldn't help it. "I think it's time you ran me that Jacuzzi."

*

Rain. Was that what that noise was? Thundering over the rooftops, splattering on the window pane...

Close enough. Still heavy with sleep, I wasn't ready to open my eyes. There was a reason I didn't want to open my eyes, didn't want to wake up. And I couldn't let myself focus on what that reason might be, could I? Because then I'd have to wake up. Then I'd have to...

No, that wasn't rain. Something like it, though. Something I'd heard before.

I gave a shriek as something buzzed violently beside my head, my eyes shooting open as I turned to see what the hell it was. And then I gasped, for a moment not recognising anything around me. The curtains, the wallpaper, the table next to my pillow. The table across which Drew's phone was now moving, bouncing into the air a little each time it vibrated.

"Ohfuck..." I breathed, my heart still thudding as I sank back into the pillows, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

That wasn't rain, that was a shower. And if I could have been in any doubt as to who was currently in the shower—not that I was—all doubt would have been immediately quashed as its occupant burst into song...

I listened to the sound of Drew's voice as I lay slack-limbed in the bed, groaning softly, the small smile tugging at my lips threatening to morph into a full-on grin. But I couldn't let it do that. This was the morning after the night before. A morning I wasn't sure I was ready to face.

If, of course, it wasstill morning. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was now mid-afternoon given the time we'd finally gone to bed—well, gone to bed to sleep. Because sleeping really wasn't something we'd done much of.

In fact, I couldn't quite remember getting back into bed. I had a vague—very vague—recollection of Drew carrying me out of the bathroom, having wrapped me in an enormous bath towel when we eventually got out of the Jacuzzi.

Oh God. The Jacuzzi.

I moaned again, the dull ache between my legs intensifying as something low inside me contracted at the thought.This was the stuff I didn't want to remember—well, okay, maybe I did—I suspected I might treasure the memories until my dying day—but right now, it was way too embarrassing to recall.

Me straddled across Drew's lap, riding him, taking him so deep inside me as the water bubbled and fizzed around us. His hands on my hips, my breasts jiggling against his face, oh... The expression on his face, that look in his eyes as I soared from peak to glorious peak. The sound of his own pleasured groans ringing in my ears, echoing around that vast bathroom...

He'd called me insatiable.

"No-ooo..." I pulled the duvet over my head, cringing.

How the hell were we supposed to go back to being best friends afterthat?

Drew's mobile phone buzzed again, making me jump even harder this time. For God's sake...

Pushing back the duvet, I gingerly stretched out a hand and picked it up.Three messages. Someone was being pretty persistent. No change there then. Drew got ten times as many messages in a week as I did. But at this time, on a Saturday morning? Still, at least it wasn't as late as I thought it might be; it was only just after nine.

Whatwas Drew singing? I didn't recognise the song, though it sounded good. Still, Drew could makeTwinkle twinkle little star sound good, he had a fantastic voice. I'd always loved hearing him sing, not that I'd dream of flattering his ego by saying so. But though I listened hard, I could only catch the odd word. Actually, it sounded rather like he didn't know the words either. There was definitely something there that sounded likeda-di-dum...

Buzz.

I squeaked again as his phone vibrated in my hand.Four messages now? I grimaced at the idea that someone might be trying to get hold of him urgently. Because if they were, that meant I was going to have to go and tell him. Which meant I was going to have to get out of bed.

"O-ohGod..."

Flinching as I swung my legs out to the floor, I indulged in a soft whimper of pain. What the hell...? I hurteverywhere. My arms, my back, my legs—ohfuck, my thighs. It felt like I'd been to the gym and done half a million squats. I hadn't been in this much discomfort since...

I squashed down the thought, not wanting to go anywhere near those dark days in the hospital seven years ago. Compared to that, this was nothing. And steeling myself, I reached down for one of the bathrobes on the floor, slinging it around my shoulders. Drew might have seen all of me last night but it was different now; it was morning.

As I staggered towards the bathroom, I heard the shower turn off. And as I got closer, I saw to my surprise that the door was ajar. I'd planned on knocking, on putting my hand round the door to pass him his phone and saying something chirpy and original, like "Morning!"—the kind of thing best friends say to each other all the time...

If I touched that door, it would only swing open wider and I might just see something I didn't want to see. Like Drew. Naked. Water droplets trickling down his skin.

"Hello?" Oh God, that sounded lame. "Drew?"

My breath caught as the door opened—and there he was. Not naked—well, not quite, a towel slung around his waist. Still enough to cause another painful twinge down there though.

"Hey." His face crumpled into a smile at the sight of me. "Morning, gorgeous."

Gorgeous. He called me that all the time, right? "Your phone," I said, finding it ridiculously difficult to get the words out. "Woke me up. You've got four messages."

He grinned apologetically, draping the towel he'd been using to dry his hair around his neck before he took it from me. "Really?"

"Yeah, four, you popular bastard." It was an inane conversation to be having but it was the best I could do. I didn't know where to look. I couldn't look at Drew.

I definitely couldn't look at the Jacuzzi.

"What's going on?" I went on, desperate to take things back to a more familiar footing. "You got a hot date tonight or something?"

He grimaced, his phone beeping as he scrolled through the messages. "Not exactly. Though I am supposed to be seeing someone—yeah." Oblivious to the unexpected effect his words were having on me, I watched another smile lighten his face as he read.

"Oh." In my whole life, I couldn't remember having to work so hard to get the sound of a single syllable so absolutely right. Somehow, I managed to infuse that 'oh' with just the right amount of idle curiosity, even though something inside me seemed to be dying. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone at the moment."

"New receptionist at work," Drew murmured, still smiling, still looking at his phone. Not, thank God, looking at me. "I took her out for a meal on Wednesday night. Nice girl, really pretty. I said maybe we could catch a movie tonight."

"Right."

What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I suddenly feel so sick?

"Though to be honest—" As Drew looked up, I straightened my features just in time, somehow even managing a smile as he smiled at me "—I might just have to blow her off." But before I quite recognised the rush of emotion surging within me as relief, he added with a conspiratorial grin, "I'm knackered. Any idea why?"

I shook my head, clinging to that smile, knowing I was expected to play the game. "No idea."

He laughed, reaching forward to ruffle my hair. As though I'd kept him up late playing tiddly winks or something. Behaving like the Drew I knew of old, like nothing had happened between us last night.

Behaving exactly like I'd asked him to.

"Well, I'm out tonight," I heard myself saying as he pressed the phone back into my hand and turned back to the sink. "Going out to dinner, actually."

"You?"

Drew sounded faintly surprised, but decidedly unfazed. If I'd been hoping for more of a reaction—and I realised immediately that's what I had been hoping for—this wasn't it.

"Yeah. Marco's in town, didn't I tell you?"

I knew I hadn't. And when Drew's gaze narrowed as it met my reflection in the mirror, I knewhe knew I hadn't. He reached for his razor, pushing the plug into the sink. "What's he doing here?"

It was a simple question, his tone even. If there'd been even a hint of jealousy there, I knew I would've heard it. "I'm not sure. Business, I think. Anyway, he wanted to take me out for my birthday."

He snorted then, squirting shaving gel into his palm. "Yeah, I bet he did."

"What?"

His eyes met mine in the mirror again. "You wanna watch yourself with that one, kiddo," he said darkly. "He'll have you on your back with your legs in the air faster than you can say buongiorno."

"Drew!"

He laughed. "I'm serious. Sam—he's had more women than I've had hot dinners. He pretty much told me that himself, last time he was here, remember? He's a sexual predator. Just watch yourself, okay?" He winked. "Now that you're a sexually-enlightened woman an' all. He'll be able to smell it on you. In fact, fuck—" Still laughing, he leaned towards me and took a deep sniff. "I can smell it on you. You'd better take a shower."

"Drew!" I reeled backwards, my elbow colliding painfully with the doorframe. "Bastard."

He grinned, slathering the gel over his face now. "Five minutes, gorgeous, okay? Why don't you go and order us some breakfast while you're waiting? The full works, yeah? Eggs, bacon, sausage? I reckon we could both use a Full English this morning."

I slid away from the door, resisting the urge to slam it closed. And as I padded back across the room, the urge to cry became almost overwhelming.

So Drew was going to have no problem reverting our relationship to its previous status. There'd been no awkwardness, no loaded silences, just the usual light-hearted banter. No, it appeared that things would go back to being exactly the way they were, the way I'd made him promise they would have to be.

I'd got everything I asked for—so why did I feel like this? Like I'd been given the moon—only for it to fall from my hands and roll away?

Sinking on the bed, I started to reach for the menu then realised his phone was still weighing heavy in my palm.

The twenty-first century equivalent of not listening at doors lest you hear something you don't want to hear must be reading text messages not intended for your eyes.

But though I knew I shouldn't do it, that no good could come of it, I still found myself opening his message inbox. And scrolling to the first message, from somebody calledAngie, I started reading the words that had made him smile.

Hi there big boy. Really enjoyed the other nite. Looking 4ward to seeing u tonite. Bring those magic fingers with you ok? xxx

I closed my eyes, but those words were still there, imprinted on my eyelids.

Bring those magic fingers with you.

So I wasn't the first girl this week to have had the benefit of those. The realisation brought me back down to earth with a jolt.

A jolt I really needed...

"You stupid..." I whispered then stopped, unable to think of a noun that described just how stupid I felt. What the hell had I been thinking? As if anything couldever develop between me and Drew.

Because if we were supposed to be a couple, wouldn't we already be a couple? He'd known me since I was eight years old, for heaven's sake. We'd had seventeen years to get it together and until last night, we hadn't so much as kissed, save the occasional affectionate peck on the cheek.

So of course he was still dating; he'd probably still go out tonight. Carry on playing the field, in the same way he had for years. Of course, at some point, he'd settle down, like Alice kept on suggesting. There'd be a wedding—but I wouldn't be his bride. No, most likely, he'd pick me as his Best Man...

I looked down at the phone and quickly clicked out of the inbox then reached across and put it back on the bedside table. And by the time Drew emerged, breakfast was ordered and I'd packed most of my things back in my overnight bag.

"Sam?" He touched my upper arm as I passed him on my way to the bathroom, concern etched across his face. "Are we...? You know. Okay?"

I nodded, smiling brightly. "Of course we are," I said, rising up on my toes to kiss his cheek. "See..." I glared at him meaningfully. "I can even look you straight in the eye."

He laughed, nodding slowly. "So—everything's still the same?"

"Yep, just the same. I—um—" I motioned over his shoulder. "I'd better go and have that shower, right?" I added, trying to force an even wider smile. When he smiled back, I escaped into the bathroom and closed the door.

And only then, as I slid down the tiles to the floor, did I allow hot tears to fall, my body shaking with soundless sobs.

Because I'd lied—nothing could ever be the same. Drew had been right all along.

Nothing stays the same for ever...

*

Poor old Sam. I promise things will get a lot better for her. Eventually... :)

Thank you, so very much, for all your votes and comments on this story so far. I'll be writing the rest just as soon as I can, okay? But I do have another exam to study for right now.

Back ASAP, I swear...

Lily

-x-