She knows exactly what the date January 13 means. I woke up that morning flooded with texts by her brothers attempting to make sense of what had happened. I didn’t care. I had received her message loud and crystal clear. I turned off my phone, drove down to San Diego, and spent two weeks staying with my former mentor, Jensen.
That day, though, nothing was going to numb the pain she’d caused. Nothing was going to distract me from it. I knew that, but in an attempt to chase the hurt, I pierced my cock. Pierced my tongue, too. Had Jensen start a rib piece—whatever body modifications I could imagine causing me the most amount of pain, whatever I could do to drown out her absence.
I thrust my cock an inch higher, finally resting that last bar over her bud. “Third one I had done on January thirteenth, too. Last year.”
She gasps, and her hands grip my waist, twisting in the fabric of my shirt as she flushes us closer together. She begins to move her hips in sync with mine, meeting me with each pump. Sparks fly up my spine, electricity humming between us like a living current.
“Why”—she pants between words—“didn’t you add a fourth one last month?”
I slide my hand from her neck, bracketing her jaw and brushing my thumb over her full bottom lip, her tongue flicking out in anticipation, briefly meeting my skin.
“Because you’re home now. Under my roof,” I rasp, slipping my finger into her mouth, and she moans, accepting it. “Where you fucking belong.”
Like a dam being demolished, Elena bursts. Head flying back, my name crawling out of her throat on a cry. Her body shakes uncontrollably, nails digging into my ribs as she loses herself. Despite not being inside her, I feel her release gushing over the base of my cock, dripping down my balls, her thighs clenching and quivering.
I fucking explode, my tip pulsing as cum spurts between her pussy, spilling onto her stomach. My forehead falls against hers, both hands twisting in her hair behind her head as my strength gives out. We become a mess of tangled limbs, broken tension, and sated sighs.
I couldn’t count how many times I’ve orgasmed over the last four years—whether by my hand or someone else’s, but what I do know is that none of them could compare to this feeling. Elena’s breath, her touch, her endless eyes. Being wrapped in her is a sensation beyond description, beyond language. Nothing I could chase—pride or lust or greed—would measure up to her.
She is the ultimate vice, and there is no escaping it.
No cleanse to rid me of the addiction, the habit, or the craving. I’m not sure I see a point in trying anymore. Maybe I don’t mind being infected; maybe I’ve only ever been meant to chase her anyway.
Deafening quiet blankets over us, the only sound our mingled breath and the drumming of our hearts. Elena’s hand snakes underneath the hem of my shirt, fingers tracing my back, gliding over my sweat-slicked skin. I tremble at her touch, savoring the moment before I know it’s no longer appropriate to be collapsed on top of her, and I have to pull away.
She sighs as I do, almost like she wishes I wouldn’t.
I sit back on my knees, unable to stop myself from running a finger through the release pooling on her stomach, gliding it across her skin and between the valley of her breasts.
Elena watches with rapt attention. “You made a mess of me.”
I bring two fingers to her mouth, nudging at her lips. She opens, allowing me to dip them inside as she licks my cum away. “Now you know how you make me feel all the time.”
Her eyes flare, but she doesn’t respond when I remove my fingers from her mouth, stepping off the bed and putting on my pants and underwear. She stays in place as I dart into her bathroom, wetting a cloth and returning to the bed, wiping my release from her stomach and between her slit.
“Did you get it out of your system, Augustus?” she asks as I toss the cloth in the hamper beside her bed. “Have you been reminded that I’m nothing more than flesh and bone?”
No. I’ve been reminded that you’re absolutely everything.
“Is the game over now?” she continues, crossing her legs and propping an arm behind her head as she watches me.
“Nah, baby,” I taunt as I reach for the door. “We’re just getting started.”
16
VICE
“RIBS” - LORDE
“Doyou think I could do this upside down?” Leo asks.
I drop my book, glancing at him from the other end of the couch. He’s got his feet against the wall, head dangling off the end of the sofa as “California Love” blows through the Bluetooth speaker on the desk in the corner. A blue glass bong sits in front of him, and his eyes are narrowed in deep concentration as he attempts to flick his lighter and stretch his neck so that his mouth can cover the pipe.
“I can’t fucking believe you’re about to be a dad,” Everett mutters from the chair across the room, offering Leo the same perplexed expression I know I have.
Miraculously, my brother gets his lips around the mouth of the bong while simultaneously lighting the bud, inhaling a perfect hit before using his free hand to push the bong away from his head and blow out a cloud of smoke.
“First of all, fuck you.” He points at Everett. “I’m going to be a great dad. And secondly, fuck you.” He swings his legs sideways, damn near taking me out in the process. I shove his shin out of my face and off the couch as he moves into a sitting position beside me. “You know I have actual fears. How dare you exploit them like that.”
