Page 48 of Lorcan's Obsession

Stefan: FU too Loki. It's a bloody hangar. You could have gone into my office or any other building with a shut door. Now it's a matter of public record and we want the juice.

Brad: My boy! So fckn proud of you! Public masturbation? That's a first in the group. You are a trendsetter—an influencer.

Keaton: You could have bought a hotel if a room wasn't enough. LOL. Then do it in the hallways, lobby, laundry room, garage…

Ashton: Did she cum hard frm fingers only?

I rubbed my temples in exasperation. I was not winning today.

Me: Are you all done? And no, it was not public masturbation. Stefan the lurker saw what he shouldn’t have.

Stefan: I beg to differ. Live porn is better than recorded.

Me: Stefan even if you are right, it was too late to get a closed room by the time she pounced on me.

Brad: Hold on a fucking minute. You mean to say the woman was the initiator and mastermind of all this?

Me: If you want to put it that way, then yes.

Brad: Holy hell. I take back all my earlier compliments. All of them. You are no fucking hero of mine. She is. And I want her. What's your D.E.T.? I’m calling dibs on pole two position.

I rolled my eyes and groaned at Brad’s inquiry about the "Dumping Estimate time." I had no intention of letting Tristen go. Especially since she kept surprising me at every turn.

Me: She is off limits.

Brad: Tell that to yourself and after you are done, hand her over.

Me: I like her. Please, back the fuck off!

Brad: Butter my ass and call me your biscuit. Did you just use 'please' for the first time in your life?

Keaton: Dang! I thought falling that fast was only in reality TV. Even dogs need more time for training and taming.

Ashton: Crystal won’t like news about you kinda having a gf. She thinks you will marry her coz of the fam business ties.

Me: Ashton, have you lost your mind? I’ve never wanted anything to do with her.

The conversation had taken a different and irritating turn. I inhaled a lungful of the chilly morning air and ran a frustrated hand through my wind-blown hair.

Tristen’s dazzling smile as she walked back simmered the irk that was gnawing at me. I dropped Stefan a quick line cautioning him to "act cool" when we met again. I pulled my girl in for a hug before capturing her lips for a quick kiss.

“All good?” I asked.

“Everything is perfect. Thank you.”

“Ready for paragliding?”

“Yes. I’m ready for that, and everything else you have planned for me tonight.”

It was hard to miss Tristen’s intimation as she practically moaned "everything" and bit her lower lip after she was done. My resolve weakened a notch. We were sharing one bed tonight and the no-sex rule was still in effect. If I made it to goddamn sunrise without calling medics for blue balls, I’d consider myself a saint.

19

MEMORIES

The views of the Riviera were breathtaking, but the red and white parachute buoying over Lake Geneva captured all my attention. Way up there, Lorcan looked powerful, unstoppable, indomitable, reining the harnesses with so much skill he looked like he was one with the wind.

Watching him, I felt strangely peaceful. This trip, his effort to ensure my comfort, it was having an effect on me. Here in the snow-capped mountains, the wall of ice around my heart just might have been starting to melt. I would never have dared to come home, nor do something as risky as skydiving. But this man, he’d made me feel brave enough to take that risk and left me feeling alive. I wish I hadn’t confined myself to a life of emotional solitude.

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