Promises

"I never meant to hurt him."

"You lied to him, continuously. You insisted on dating someone who treated you like shit, and you were perfectly content with having Rory on the sidelines to pick you up every time Devon knocked you down."

"It wasn't like that at all!" I was facing him fully, anger and pain filling me.

"That's exactly how it was, Victoria! Exactly! He has every right to be mad at you, to avoid you, and you sure as hell don't deserve his sympathy. He could have lost his job after attacking Devon the way he did. He could have made you go home and spend the night alone. He should have told you how stupid you were and said 'I told you so' a million times over, but do you think any of that crossed his mind for even a second? Most girls would give every inch of their heart to a guy willing to love them the way he can't help but love you, and you not only avoided it, but shoved your relationship with Devon in his face, whether you meant to or not. You've hurt him so much."

My shoulders literally sank into my chest. "I love Rory, Rich, but I never thought he could love me back, not in the same way. Any time he put his arms around me, I thought about him calling me 'kid', and didn't think he could ever. What should I do?"

Rich's face was light and loving. Any degree of anger that had shown there was gone completely. Despite his harsh reality check, he truly meant well and meant to help me. "That's up to you, but if he wants you to leave him alone, really wants you to, you're going to have to respect that." I nodded; understanding but deeply hoping that would not be the case. With a final reassuring smile, Rich turned to walk back towards the water. "Oh, one more thing." His knowing look was back. "My keys are in the ignition." I needed no more permission.

Completely forgetting about my sandals lying by the edge of the fire, I ran barefoot to Rich's car and got in, starting the engine and pulling away before I could give it any more thought. The path to Rory's house was difficult to remember in the dark, as he normally came to our house or we went out somewhere. I found it, though, quickly enough, and brought the car to a stop in the empty spot next to his own car in the parking lot. It wasn't until I pulled the key from the ignition that I started to think about what I was doing. I wasn't sure I would be able to handle it if he turned me out or showed anger towards me. I would have to take it though. Rich's words came to me, and I knew that if Rory had given up on me, I would have to let it be.

Opening the door, I stepped barefoot onto the cool blacktop, shifting my black dress back up under my arms, my bikini top peeking out from underneath it. My feet carried me toward the building and then to his door. I stood there, staring at the brass number, for a few minutes before I could bring myself to knock. "One second!" His voice came from inside, and I felt the strong pull to run away. Before I could consider it a true option, the door opened, and Rory was looking down at me. "Vikki?" Obvious surprise, on the verge of confusion, surrounded his words. It then traveled to his face. "Where are your shoes?"

"Oh. I forgot them at the beach."

He nodded, and an awkward silence followed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping I could talk to you, for just a little bit."

"I don't really think now is a good time. Maybe in the morning, at your house, when Rich's home." I couldn't understand what that meant, why Rich needed to be there. "You should go, Vikki."

Despite my promise to myself and Rich's words playing in my head, I couldn't give up that easily. "Just one minute, Rory, and then I'll leave you alone. I promise." Defeat was thick in my voice.

Even more defeat lay in his eyes. "One minute, but only because it's cold and I'm pretty sure you would just stand out there waiting if I said no." He stood back from the door, letting me in. I walked only a few feet into the living room, not inviting myself to sit down, or travel any further in. "What did you want to talk about?" He closed the door but did not move far from it.

"I wanted to apologize for everything stupid that I've done over the past year. You've been amazing all this time, and I've just been an ass."

"Vikki, just don't right now." He crossed to the other side of the room, moving further away from me. "You should go."

I was suddenly desperate. "Rory please! Whatever I need to do to fix this, please just tell me. I'll do anything, say anything."

"You don't need to do or say anything..."

"You're mad, Rory, I know you're mad at me. I know I've done stupid things."

"Stop, Vik, just stop. I can't do this right now." He stopped my words in my throat, and the pain in his eyes was impossible to miss. "I'm not mad at you."

"You've been avoiding me, how are you not mad? You barely talk to me, you don't look at me the same, and you literally ran away from me today."

"I'm not mad. I just can't deal with you. You should go."

Rich's words came to me. "You really want me to go?"

"You should go." He started to walk away again, heading further into the apartment toward his bedroom.

"Rory wait!" Before I could stop myself, I ran forward toward him, grabbing him by the elbow. "Please don't walk away from me. You can't tell me you're not mad if you're walking away from me right now."

He pulled himself from my grasp. "I'm not mad."

I grabbed him once again, promising myself that this would be my last attempt. "Then what is going on?"

With no warning, he grabbed my shoulders and spun me around with him, bracing me against the wall gently. "I can't deal with this right now." His words were soft with an air of defeat.

Our bodies were too close together, making it hard to think, hard to breathe. His green eyes gazed deeply into mine. He braced himself against the wall. My heart refused to slow. "Can't deal with what?"

"You." My heart dropped. "I can't think straight when you're around."

It was the last thing I expected him to say, and his warm breath on my cheek only made his words more intoxicating. "What, what are you talking about?" I had forgotten how to breathe.

"I don't trust myself with you. Vikki, I..." His hand dropped to my face, cradling my cheek. "I can't stop thinking about you."

"Why is that bad?"

He looked frustrated with himself. "Your boyfriend attacked you last week and a couple hours later I had you in my bed, and I don't think I can control myself around you!"

"Then stop trying."

"You just don't get it."

"What don't I get? Explain it to me!"

He stepped closer, closing all space between us. My heart was out of control in my chest as I looked straight into his eyes. "I want you, Vik."

"Then take me." The words were barely out of my mouth before his lips connected solidly with mine. There was desperation behind his kiss, as if it were his last chance. His fingers laced behind my head, holding me against him. I parted my lips and welcomed an even deeper kiss, reaching my hands out to grab onto his arms, the nearest part of him I could reach. Unlike the time before, there was no trace of shyness in his kiss. His tongue slipped past my lips and ran along my own, sending a surge of electricity through my body. I wanted him. I needed him.

His free hand began to explore my body through the cotton of my dress, down my side, across my spine, over my stomach. My breath came heavy against his mouth; I couldn't get enough. Just as my own hands began to explore his firm body, he grabbed it, intertwining my fingers with his own. His lips dropped to my neck, the small stubble scratching gently. "Rory," I pulled on his hand, stepping slightly to the side and taking him with me.

He followed blindly for a few steps, lips not leaving my body, until he realized where my path was leading: backwards toward his bedroom. "Vikki." He breathed the word heavily against my jaw. "I don't think I can handle that kind of temptation."

"I'm counting on it." Together, we stumbled backwards through the doorway from the force of his kiss. We were in the hall, only a few steps from his room. His tongue danced across my lips, his fingertips brushing the sensitive skin on my neck. No longer needing my encouragement, he guided me to his room, never allowing an inch of his body to stray from mine.

The back of my knees hit his mattress, almost throwing me off balance, but he held me too solidly against him. I began to lower myself to the edge of his bed, bringing him with me.

For a moment, I was afraid he might protest, pull away and tell me to go home, or tell me it wasn't right. Not only did he continue kissing me, he grabbed me around the waist, lifting me and sliding me further back on the bed. The room was soon filled with the sound of our heavy breathing. I was on my back within seconds, his weight hovering above me as he kept himself propped up on one elbow.

His free hand continued to explore me above my clothing, still with that hint of desperation. Even so, the second he neared the places I wanted him to go, he would pull back and slide his hand elsewhere. One of his legs slid in between mine as I laid my hands on his lower back.

Our kissing intensified, our tongues mixing together. A small groan escaped his lips when my hands slid under his shirt and onto his bare skin. His hand gripped me tighter as I pushed upward, trying to work his shirt off.

Only allowing our contact to break for the smallest fraction of a second, he leaned his weight away from me and pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it behind him, not wasting a second before coming back to my lips. More of his weight dropped down on me, and I savored every inch of bare skin.

As it had a week ago, his hand found my knee and began sliding upward to the bottom of my already heightened dress. His fingers set my skin on fire, and I moaned into his mouth, trying to pull him closer to me. The moan seemed to set him off even more; his bottom half rubbed against me slowly yet firmly, the bulge that had formed in his trunks grazing through the thin fabric of my bikini. He pushed the dress up further, baring my stomach and uncovering my bikini top. Finally, he pulled it off over my head; dropping it to the side and leaning back to look at me.

His eyes moved up and down, taking in every inch of my exposed skin. Slowly, a blush that made no sense started to creep into my cheeks as I wondered how I looked to him. Devon and I were usually in the back seat of his car, and he never did anything more than grope at my naked body never really had an opportunity to see me completely naked.

Riley's eyes locked onto mine, and he smiled that sexy crooked smile. "Wow."

"You've seen me like this before." I reasoned, if for no other purpose than to keep myself calm. He had seen me in a bikini a number of times through the years. He had thrown me around in the water wearing nothing more than this only a few hours earlier.

His fingers brushed over my ribs and down my stomach, stopping right at the edge of my bottoms, sending a shiver through my body. "Not like this," he breathed, "never like this." His lips were on my neck, small stubble scratching even more, but I loved the feeling. Even more shivers came when his tongue tickled the sensitive skin. Slowly, the kisses moved downward.

The muscles in my stomach tightened sharply as my breathing grew shallower. When the kisses landed in between my breasts, he looked up at me. Our eyes locked and did not break.

His fingers slid underneath the fabric covering my chest, pulling the cup to the side. The cool air struck my exposed nipples, but his touch warmed it immediately as he caught it in his fingers, kneading it gently. My hips ground against him, both of his legs now between mine. His other hand moved along my skin, over my side and along my back until he came to the small string keeping my top on. At the same time his kisses worked their way to my right breast, his fingers pulled free the knot.

Warm lips entrapped my breast as he flicked his tongue over my nipple, sucking on it gently. I moaned shallowly in my throat, running my hands through his hair. His tongue worked back and forth, moving in perfectly sized circles over my skin. Slipping my top fully off, he used his free hand to massage my other bare breast.

He worked a few more circles before giving a final suck and moving his kisses over, replacing hand with lips and lips with hand. Working the same pattern around my left nipple. It was all I could do to stop myself from digging my fingers into his head, reveling in the new sensation. His eyes never broke from mine. After a short time, he continued downward again.

My stomach shook more as he moved closer to my belly button, running his hands along my sides. Finally, his lips were directly above the thin fabric of my bikini, kissing from hip bone to hip bone. I let out an ecstatic whimper and ran my hand through his hair, our eyes still locked. His fingers slid inward until they met, and then back outward again, hooking around the thin strings at the side of my bottoms, beginning to pull them undone.

Just as the fabric pulled away and he dropped it to the floor, I began getting nervous. "Rory," I breathed through my panting. He was kissing my inner thigh, working his way up. It was a sensation I had never felt before. That was where I stopped him. "You don't have to."

He looked up at me, first in confusion and then understanding. "You've never felt this before, have you?" I shook my head with some embarrassment. As I had said before, Devon was never too concerned with my pleasure. "You smell so good." He was even closer then. He blew gently against my pussy, leaving me gasping quietly. With the single act, he had me desperate for him to keep going. With no further warning, his tongue split apart my pussy lips and he licked slowly, all the way up.

I almost screamed from the sensation, gripping onto his hair with one hand and a fistful of blankets with the other. Three more times he ran his tongue all the way up, each time causing a low moan to form in my throat. "Mm, I've wanted to do that for so long, Vik." His tongue flicked against me again. He was looking up at me, and it was the most amazing sight I had ever witnessed. Quickly, his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me in place, while the hand of his other arm moved closer to his body. His tongue flicked my sensitive clit over and over again. As he licked, his other hand moved upward. He slid his middle finger inside of me.

"Oh God! Mm." The feeling was intense and like nothing else. I shoved the heel of my hand against my lips, muffling my moan as best I could. Slowly, he started to work his finger in and out while keeping his lips wrapped around my clit. "Be careful." My moans tried to grow, but I reined them in, doing everything I could to keep from yelling out completely. My back began to arch, pushing me closer to him. His arm around my waist kept me from moving too far. Then he felt it.

Too quickly, he pulled away, but moved up toward me. His finger stopped moving inside me, but remained inside nonetheless. He put his lips again my ear. "You never? It's ok don't be quiet," he whispered in a breathy voice, giving me a wanting shiver. His finger began to move slowly, working its way out, "I don't care whose listening." -- then back in -- "...I want to hear every..." -- slowly -- "...last..." -- kisses moving him downward again -- "...breath..." -- his finger sliding in and out -- "...moan..." -- arm securing me around the waist -- "...beg..." -- my fingers dug into the blankets -- "...everything." His lips clasped back down on my clit, making me call out loudly, exactly as he'd wanted.

My abs drew in. His finger inside my pussy curled giving a whole new feeling as he massaged an entirely new place. My legs started to shake. His tongue moved frantically against me. "Rory," I managed weakly between moans. "Uh... yes...Rory!" Still he sucked, licked and fingered. I didn't know this sensations, like my insides were about to erupt. "Oh... oh... Rory." In and out. In and out. Every movement left me moaning and bucking against him. My insides were tightening.

As if on instinct, he quickened his pace, sucking my clit in between his lips and flicking his tongue over it with more speed. His finger slammed in and out of me.

Then, right as it was about to become unbearable, my toes curled up against the mattress and I felt a release more amazing than anything I could have imagined. He didn't lose speed until the wave passed. His tongue slowed and then stopped as he slipped his finger out. Dark spots came in front of my eyes, and I thought I might pass out.

The bed shifted as Rory moved up next to me. I tried to look at him, but I couldn't see clearly. I was trying desperately to catch my breath. "Vik?" He, too, was panting, but his concern showed through. "You okay?" I nodded slightly, still trying to come down. "Come here." He pulled me against his bare chest.

"That was... that..." I gathered as deep a breath as I could manage. "Oh my God." Rory had just given me my first orgasm, and nothing could have made me happier. Adjusting myself, I looked up at him. "That was more than I ever imagined it would be."

I leaned forward to kiss him, but he pushed me back a little. "You might now want to," he chuckled. "I love how you taste, but you might not like it that much." Regardless of his warning, I kissed him solidly, running my tongue over his lips which were coated in my juices. It wasn't a wonderful taste, but there was sweetness to it, and at that point, I would do anything to keep myself close to him.

"You are amazing." Our kissing sped up slightly. My hands slid down over his perfectly toned chest and across his tight, muscular stomach. Undoing the string of his trunks with a single flick, I pulled on the flap to loosen the hold of the fabric. His breathing sped up and he pulled me closer.

I pushed my hand underneath the band of his trunks until his warm, hard cock was wrapped in my fingers. For a moment, he was unable to kiss me as his mouth dropped open in a moan. "Oh... mmm..." I stroked him beneath his thin bit of clothing lightly and pulled him back into the kiss; he was rock hard. Releasing my grip, I hooked my fingers inside his shorts and started pushing downward. Without hesitation, and without breaking away from my lips, he reached a hand down and helped me to push before kicking them to the floor. Again, I wrapped my hand around the soft skin of his cock.

I leaned toward him, pushing him to his back and started snaking downward, stopping the kiss and planting my lips instead on his solid chest. Gentle kisses moving downward until I left one right above his belly button. "Hold on," He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back upwards. With one hand on the small of my back and the other behind my neck, he kissed me softly. "I want this to be about you." Just as I had done to him, he was pushing me backwards until I was flat on the mattress.

He kissed me on the neck again as his fingers brushed from his lips to my hips, sending shock waves through me. "Will you make love to me, Rory?" I blurted.

"Is that what you want?" He spoke straight into my ear, barely lifting his lips from me.

"Yes," it was the complete truth. The mattress shifted slightly as he moved his legs in between mine again. His kisses on my neck became a little more intense.

"Are you sure?" He teased, rubbing his body against mine.

I needed him. "Yes," was all I could moan.

His tongue flicked against my ear lightly. "You want me?"

"God, yes!"

A small chuckle crossed his lips, but then he asked seriously, "Do you want me to wear a condom."

"No." His was still kissing and gently biting me. I moaned softly. "I want to feel all of you." The kiss moved to my lips as his hand wound through my hair. With his other hand, he started to aim his cock toward me, teasing me gently with it until I was moaning and arching my back toward him.