Page 41 of College-Virgin & Dark Bully Next-Door

I glower at her. “Don’t push. I’m giving you time. Give me … not this.”

She shrugs and strokes it again, just two fingers, which is fucking wicked, considering what she was doing with her fingers last night. I look away. “How can you stand that thing?”

“He’s so pretty! He’s a cobalt tarantula. Really mild, nice most of the time. The males are calmer than the females. I think he’s pretty great. He’s pissy when I clean his tank, but he’s never bitten me or anything. Easier to keep than a dog, too,” she says excitedly.

I look at the spider again. It doesn’t look as horrific as some. I swallow hard. I can’t pet it. No way. Never. She looks around. “Can you get me a Tupperware? I don’t know where I put mine. I might as well clean his tank out, too.”

I get one from the kitchen, and she gently sets him in it, no lid necessary. He just sits there like a prisoner while she cleans out the tank and goes over how to take care of a spider as if I’ll ever have one. Once it’s ‘clean,’ I guess, she mists it with a spray bottle, then picks the spider up gently. He scurries over her arm, and she sighs.

“Not now. You need to eat,” she scolds.

When the spider goes for her neck, I nearly slap it off, but she simply picks him up and sets him in his tank. He explores slowly, and she rolls her eyes before reaching into a thing I didn’t notice. She pulls out some worms and tweezers.

“He doesn’t like a new tank, so I always feed him after cleaning. Are you strong enough to drop a bug in with tweezers?”

“For someone who likes bugs, you’re mean to them.” I take the tweezers and grab one of the squirming gross things. It’ll be nice to watch it die. “I’m sure they tell their friends.”

“Their friends get eaten, too.” She bumps my hip with hers.

I drop the bug in, and we press close together to watch the tarantula grab it and disappear into its little hole. She secures the top of the tank carefully. She beams at me, a full smile, like when we were kids. Her eyes all squinted, teeth showing.

Fuck. My heart beats off rhythm, and I swallow hard. She’s not allowed to look at me like that, but I want to keep that smile on her face too. I grab her and throw her over my shoulder. She beats my back, reminding me I’m supposed to ask for permission before I manhandle her. Instead, I drop her on her bed and lay next to her.

She cringes away while trying to calm her breathing. She’s still assuming the worst in me. “You have tobegif you want me to fuck you, Sky. Trust me, after the spider thing, I’m not in the mood.”

She settles and tells me more about her day, then asks about mine. I talk about work a little but leave out the conversation between Tyler and me. We wiggle closer together until I see her shiver.

“Are you cold?”

“Just about always.”

I cuddle her close, rubbing her back. Sky stays still for a long moment, then nuzzles my neck. “Stupid space heater.”

I grin and rub down her back, stopping just above her ass. “It’s okay to like it.”

She hesitates, then wraps an arm around me. “This is new.”

“Bad?”

I feel her say no and kiss the top of her head. She lifts her head to look at me. “Don’t want to run screaming from the spider?”

“Running never crossed my mind.”

I stroke her cheek and brush my nose along hers. She swallows but doesn’t pull away. So I take the fucking incentive and kiss her like I’ve been thinking about kissing her since our first make-out session.

Her tongue moves against mine with less hesitation this time. She sucks my bottom lip, teases me with more, and just like that, my restraint snaps. I clutch her hair and devour her mouth, savoring her soft moan.

She presses closer and change angles. It’s shaping up to be a good fucking summer.

Chapter 12

Sky

Kissing Ashton is amazing. It’s almost obvious why girls fall under his spell because I’m convinced his mouth is magic. At least when he uses it like this. He strokes through my hair and along my neck, sending crackles of electricity across my skin that makes me sizzle with need.

Groaning, I pull my mouth away from him, trying for some control.

“This isn’t a date.”

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