Page 44

ARELLA

“Oh, Trey,” I say through a moan.

His face is buried between my legs while his fingers work their magic inside me. The way he licks me with the perfect amount of pressure is sending me to the edge. It’s only been a few minutes, and I’m already about to burst.

My hands clench the back of his hair as I arch my head back against the blanket and let out a guttural moan. This is exactly how he pleasures me in my dreams, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m going to come,” I pant toward the branches above us.

Trey peeks his head up as his fingers keep moving inside me. “Not yet, baby.”

“What?” I open my eyes, just to gape at him. “Why?”

“Because I haven’t gotten my fill of you yet.”

“But I’m so close.”

“Not yet, babe. Hold it back.” His mouth dips to suck my clit again, and I writhe beneath him. The more the pleasure builds up inside me, the more I dig my fingernails into his shoulders.

I’ve imagined him doing this to me for weeks, and my imagination is nothing compared to the real thing. This man knows exactly how to touch me. He knows exactly where to put his fingers and exactly how hard to press. How many times have we done this for him to learn all that?

With his fingers still inside me, he pops up to take my nipple into his mouth. I shout his name toward the stars. My body tingles from head to toe, and I’m dripping wet. I feel it running down my butt cheeks.

I need to release. “Can I come now?”

“Not yet,” he says, then reburies his face between my thighs.

I clench my hands in the blanket. “But I want to come so bad.”

“Almost, baby. Just let me enjoy this a little longer.”

“Oh, god. I can’t hold it back any longer.”

His fingers rub little circles over my clit in a steady rhythm. “Keep holding it, babe.”

“Trey, please! I’m . . . Oh, god. I’m . . .”

“Okay, baby. Come for me.” He rubs me a little faster, using the same pressure.

I moan his name and feel the pleasure rising inside me until I finally jump over the edge. I scream out as ripples of bliss take me over. My legs shake. My hands tug at the blanket. I’m panting like my lungs are fighting for their next breath.

When I open my eyes, I’m disoriented. I can’t remember the last time I had such a powerful orgasm.

Trey stares at me with a look of satisfaction. Then he grips his hard cock and gives it a few strokes. “You ready for me again?”

Breathlessly, I nod.

Without another word, he pulls my legs over his shoulders, then plunges his cock back inside me. I let out a deep moan and arch my head back as he thrusts his thick erection in and out of me, over and over.

I’m still sensitive from my orgasm, so he feels even better this time. Our chests slide against each other as he grunts out his pleasure. I love being able to hear him like this. So raw and unfiltered.

“You feel amazing, baby,” he pants into my neck.

I’m veering off the blanket and into the grass, but I don’t care. I just don’t want him to stop.

Trey kisses the soft spot behind my ear, then peppers his lips down to my collarbone. His breath sends tingles down my spine as he keeps a steady rhythm thrusting into me.

He’s about to lean back when I seize the back of his hair and force him back down to me.

He doesn’t need me to ask before he returns his lips to my neck.

I arch my head the other way to give him more skin to play with, and he takes it as permission to suck a little harder.

I whimper from the pain that quickly turns into pleasure.

“Are you ready for more?” he asks into my collarbone.

“Mm-hmm.”

He pushes himself up, then grabs my hips to keep me securely against him. Then he relentlessly slams his dick into me.

In, out, in, out.

Harder, faster, harder, faster.

I scream out his name over and over as he arches his head back, taking all the pleasure he can get from me.

“Fuck, baby,” he growls. “ You make me wanna come so bad.”

“Come inside me, Trey. I want to feel you.”

“Can you take me harder?”

“Yes.”

With that, he positions my legs over his shoulders again and props himself up on his hands. Then he pulls his hips back and drives himself into me as hard as he can. His cock hits my back wall over and over until he groans to the stars and I feel him pulsate inside me again.

He cries out as he hammers every last drop of his orgasm into me. I wrap my legs around his back, making sure I get all of it.

Only once his cock stops throbbing does he slide out of me, then he falls onto his side, panting. I’m left in that dazed state again, feeling a large empty hole where his thick cock used to be.

He grabs me by the shoulders, wrenches me against his body, and breathes into my hair.

I melt into his chest, feeling more protected by him than I would if I was surrounded by an army.

With Trey, I feel peace. With Trey, I feel like I can be anything I want to be.

Like I can accomplish anything. Like I can?—

“Arella.” With a finger, he tilts my chin up until our eyes connect. “Will you come home with me?”

My body stiffens. “What?”

“Come home with me, baby. Be mine again.”

Something in my chest locks up, and suddenly, I can’t breathe. His words sound like a question and a request all in one. Go home with him? Like, forever? “I... I can’t.”

“I promise I’ll love you and take good care of you. I’ll make sure that you’re happy. I’ll help you reach all your dreams and goals, and I’ll encourage you whenever you’re down. You’ll never have to doubt my love for you because I’ll show it to you every minute of the day.”

That all sounds wonderful. Any other woman would love to hear those words come out of a man’s mouth. But me, I want to hear them from my husband’s mouth. Don’t I?

Oh, god. My husband. Caleb. I forgot that he existed. It’s easy to do that whenever I’m with Trey. Under this tree, I forget about the rest of the world and all my troubles that come with it. Here, I’m safe and I feel wanted. Out there, I feel like something’s missing and?—

“We could have a family.” Trey clutches my face and plants his forehead against mine. “I want that more than anything, and I know you want it too. I’ll work hard to be a good father. I’ll take parenting classes and read lots of books. I’ll protect you and our babies like?—”

“Trey, stop.” Please.

“Arella, we belong together.”

“But...” The words get lost on their way out. I clear my throat and try again. “But I’m married.”

“Leave him,” he says like he’s been wanting to for weeks.

I sit up, feeling more naked than ever. “I... I can’t just leave him.”

“Why not? He doesn’t even appreciate you.”

Trey’s not wrong, but that doesn’t mean I should give up on Caleb. “What am I supposed to tell him?” Or Javina? Or my grandparents? My friends from work? They all love Caleb. I love Caleb... don’t I ?

“Tell him you’ve found someone who wants to love you right. The way you deserve to be loved.”

“I can’t do that. It’ll hurt him.” I stand to search the grass for my clothes. I find my panties first and put them on, ignoring how damp my inner thighs are. Then I pick up my bra and hook it on.

Trey slips into his boxers with a hard look on his face. “You weren’t ever supposed to marry him anyway. What happened to your memories only made you think you were in love with Caleb.”

Again, he’s not wrong, but that doesn’t mean Caleb and I haven’t built a life together. We love each other now, and we’re partners. I know it hasn’t looked that way recently, but it’s just a phase we’re working through. Isn’t it? “That doesn’t change that I still married him.”

“Only because you don’t remember being with me.”

“For reasons you refuse to tell me,” I snap and instantly regret it. I’m not angry at him. I’m angry at myself. At all these answers I don’t have.

Trey hands me my shirt, and I slip into it. Somehow, he’s able to keep his chill. In a gentle tone, he says, “I refuse to tell you because I can’t. But you remember me in your dreams. Maybe that means you can try to remember what happened to your memories.”

“Don’t you think that if I could remember, I would have by now?”

The air goes silent as we finish getting dressed.

I’m about to pick up my blanket when Trey takes my hands into his.

“Maybe being together will help trigger more memories for you. And even if it doesn’t, I don’t care.

I want to be with you whether you remember being with me or not.

We can leave the past in the past and start from here. ”

“But what about Caleb?” More guilt eats at me with each second I spend here, talking about my husband with the man who isn’t. “I can’t just leave him, Trey.”

He drops my hands and takes a step back, putting a whole arm’s length of distance between us. “Then why did you seduce me?”

“I...” That’s a good question. What was I thinking?

“If you didn’t want to be with me, then why did you allow me to make love to you?”

“I’m sorry. I got caught up in the moment, but now that my head is clear, I’m realizing I shouldn’t have done that.”

This isn’t like me. I’m not the type of person who does these types of things. Why did I tonight? Am I just frustrated about my relationship with Caleb feeling like a train wreck? Am I allowing his recent distance to dictate my actions?

Trey drags a palm through his hair, unintentionally showing me his veiny arm muscles. Those muscles were wrapped around me barely a minute ago as I moaned his name to the starry sky. How did I do all that and not once think about Caleb?

“I don’t understand,” Trey says with a huff. “If you don’t want to be with me, then why did you—was that a test? Did you just want to see if I’d do it?”

“Of course not.” I think. I’d like to say I’m a faithful woman, but if I can’t say that anymore, then am I the type to play mind games too?

“Is it because you haven’t had sex in a while and I was an easy target?”

“No.” I think. I’m not sure anymore.

“I don’t want to be used, Arella. I allowed someone to use me before, and I told myself I’d never allow that again.”