Page 24 of Pretty Girls Never Lie (St. Mary’s)

The pleasure chokes my dick, and I grip her tightly to hold her steady. She grabs onto my wrist and stares into my eyes. Her blue eyes are dazed, and when I slide into her, they close altogether. “Don’t stop.” Her breathy words are dangerous.

“This is fucking…” I can’t speak. Her tight little cunt clenches me, and it’s already the best sex I’ve ever had. My fingers dig into her soft flesh, and I kiss her long and hard. I’m eating up her orgasm and practically choking on her hot tongue. Her legs fall swiftly to the wet tile when I pull myself out of her and grip my dick. Ropes of cum blend in with the water against her belly, and I’m still gripping myself when she peers up at me through her thick eyelashes. I slap my hands against the wall beside her head, and we watch as my cum slips down her stomach and onto the wet floor.

My thumb rubs over her swollen bottom lip like it has a mind of its own, and even though it feels too intimateto speak, I still have the ability to say something that stuns us both. “Remember when I said I’m becoming obsessed with you?”

She nods.

“That just sealed the deal.”

Isla looks away like she’s just as perplexed as I am. Her voice is low and muffled from the shower. “I think you’re just obsessed with protecting me. Making up for what happened in the past.”

I grab onto her wrist when she reaches for my shampoo. Her chin lifts, but she doesn’t meet my eye.

“Look at me,” I demand.

She sighs but does as I say.

“I am obsessed with protecting you.”

Her chin quivers but only for a second.

“But I’m obsessed with watching you too. And thinking about you. And being in the same room as you.” Confusion masks her fear, and I push her hand down by her side so I can grab the shampoo instead. I have no idea what I’m doing. It just feelsrightfor the first time in my life instead of forced. “I’m obsessed with touching you, and I think I’m about to become obsessed with taking care of you too.” I squirt some shampoo onto my hand.

“Brantley.”

“Just accept it, Isla. Because the way I see it…” My hands are in her hair, and she sighs wistfully. “I’m not giving you a choice.”

Isla’s blonde hair covers half her face, and I itch to move the strands away so I can see her better, but I need her asleep, so I keep still.

My phone is on my chest, and it vibrates with an incoming text from the group chat I started.

Gemma- If your “friend” were to want custody of a sibling because of extreme circumstances, like no other family members, etc., they could apply. But there are stipulations they have to follow–a stable home, a job, those types of things. They would have to show the court that they are capable of providing for their younger sibling.

Isaiah- What friend?

I click out of the group with Isaiah and Gemma and start a new one with only Isaiah and Cade. I repeatedly told them how foolish they were to care for someone after knowing the lengths our fathers will go to in order to ruin our lives, but from where I’m sitting, with a fucking angel sleeping beside me, I think I’m beginning to understand.

I’m not going to pretend like I know what love is, but whatever I’m feeling is strong enough to persuade me that my future doesn’t have to look so bleak, and that some things are worth the risk. Like her.

Me- I get it now.

Cade- Get what?

It takes Isaiah a few minutes to respond, but when he does, he’s right.

Isaiah- He understands what it feels like to care for someone.

I turn my screen off and slowly crawl out of bed. Isla stirs for a second, but when she turns to her side, she pulls the blanket up higher on her face and falls back into her slumber.

I peer out the window and see a small-framed body leaving the school, walking up to the headmaster’s house. I caught on to our newest counselor’s field trips shortly after I started to follow Isla. The only difference tonight is that Isla is staying put instead of sneaking away like her old social worker.

I lean against the window and wait.

She’ll be back, but instead of rushing to her room in the other wing of this school, she’ll be pleasantly surprised when she sees me waiting for her, and even more when I tell her what she's going to do for Isla.

Or for me.

FIFTEEN

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