I never stay the night when I hookup with a girl.

I never let her try to convince me to lie in bed and cuddle, never give into my exhausted state and relax with them afterwards.

And I have never, ever brought one of them up to my room. Ever.

Lina was the first.

She was the first girl I broke my no-cuddling rule for, the first girl I stayed with after having sex. And in all honesty, she is the first girl who made me feel so alive, so good during sex—and even better after.

I was riding on cloud nine forever after our little adventure last night. I swear, nothing could bring me down from it. I kept looking over at Lina, her beautiful, naked body sleeping peacefully beside mine and it made me content.

I was happy.

I never thought three months ago I'd be saying I was completely and utterly happy because of Lina Andrews, but I am.

She just gets me. Sexually, mentally, emotionally, she gets me. We're somehow always on the same wavelength, and it's scary at times, this overwhelming feeling that squeezes my heart when I look at her.

But I enjoy it, too.

So when I stirred awake to the feeling of her soft hands roaming my body, my body was already responding to her.

I somehow ended up facing the other side while I was asleep, so she was against my back. Her fingers traced over something tender on my back before her roaming hands circled around my waist, her finger messing with the hair I had on my lower stomach leading much, much lower.

My heart was already pounding and she was hardly touching me. She moves closer, her naked body pressing directly against mine. Goosebumps spread across my skin as she kisses my back.

"I didn't even realize I did that to you." She whispers. "I'm sorry."

It was still dark, the lamp in the room our only source of light. "It's okay. You marked me. Shows just how good you were feeling."

"I'm still feeling good," her voice drops seductively, as does her hand.

My breathing shudders as she grips my cock in her hand and starts to pump me slowly.

"Lina."

"Shh," she kisses behind my neck. "Let me make you feel good."

Her hand tightens around my dick as she starts moving quicker up and down my length, my dick starting to throb with the need to come for her.

"Your body reacts to me just like mine reacts to you." Lina breaths, her other hand gripping onto my shoulder. "You can't seem to stop wanting me just as much as I want you."

Her thumb flicks over my tip, my body shuddering. "I never denied that."

She kisses my neck again, moving faster up and down, her nails gently scraping underneath as she does, which feels so damn good.

She lifts her head, moving her lips to my ear. "I know. And it makes me so horny, baby. I like knowing just how much you want me," she digs her nails into my shoulder blades. "It's so fucking hot."

I wanted to see her—needed to see her. But my body was frozen, completely controlled by her touch. She moves quicker on my length, about ready to send me over.

"I can feel you pulsating," Lina moans. "Come, Hayden. Come for me, all over my hands."

Another thing I've never had? A girl telling me to come. And hot damn, that was the hottest thing she could've done. Because that's exactly what I did. I came, exploding all over the sheets and her small, soft hand.

Lina's hand disappears behind me, moaning as she, what I assume, brings my taste to her mouth.

I take a few moments to recover, my body reeling. Compared to anyone else I've been with? Lina is, by far, the best. Everything she does just feels so good, I can't get enough of it.

I turn to face her. The lamp is casting a soft glow on her skin, making her look angelic as she pops her finger out of her mouth. She turns her head towards me and smiles—not a fake, forced smile. Not a small, reserved smile. But a big, bright ass smile just for me.

I felt like my heart decided to leap into my throat at that moment, making it hard to breathe.

I clear my throat, my fingers tracing soft circles on her stomach.

"I've never been woken up like that before." I grin.

"Well, now I know how to get you up." She says, her voice sounding so carefree.

I loved hearing her so...content. Especially with me.

"Don't get my hopes up, sweetheart." I kiss her cheek.

"Don't underestimate me."

I grin, feeling the goosebumps on her skin as my fingers move lower, resting at her waistline. Her nipples, right in front of my face, hardened and it took so much willpower not to take her again.

Not yet.

"How are you feeling?" I ask first, looking at her carefully.

"What do you mean?"

I smirk, which makes realization spread across her face. Then she wiggles around a bit.

"I feel it a little bit now. I'm sure I'll be fine later."

"I didn't mean to be so rough," I say sincerely. "I'm sorry."

There was one instance where I let myself go during a hookup. I'd been seeing her for a couple weeks, we kept hooking up casually. But she told me more, and when I let go and gave into what I wanted the most, she broke it off a few days later. Said I was too much of an animal and she didn't want to be part of that anymore.

Yeah, I have sudden impulses to just...fuck. And fuck hard. I'm not sure why, it just stirs deep within me until I can't take it anymore.

And I sure as shit don't wanna scare Lina away because of it.

"You weren't rough, Hayden." Lina faces me, grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together. "I liked everything about last night. Every part of you."

"Are you sure? Cause I know I can get carried away and I don't wanna hurt you. Ever."

Lina smiles. "You don't hurt me, Hayden. When are you gonna get that?" She brings our hands down her body, parting her legs and letting me feel her heat dripping out of her. "I can't stop thinking about how good you made me feel."

This girl. She's gonna be my downfall.

And I don't even care.

"I just..." my words falter.

I don't want to be like what she's used to. I don't want her to feel like I'm taking something from her I shouldn't. I don't want her afraid of letting herself go anymore.

Lina grabs hold of my face. "I know. I know."

Same. Damn. Wavelength.

She pushes her lips against mine to comfort me, and I knew it was solely to comfort me, but when she pulled back, the noise that came from me was unrecognizable as I claimed her lips again.

I kissed her hard, for being so damn understanding and kind. For wanting me to feel better when it's her who should be comforted. For making me feel this damn alive because of her in the first place.

I climb on top of her, never breaking my assault on her lips. I kiss, nip and tug at those beautifully plump lips until she's panting and her lips are swollen. Then I kiss down her neck to her chest, repeating the same thing on her fucking perfect tits.

"Hayden," she moans, pushing her hips apart and accommodating me between her.

I run my hands up her thighs, tugging on her bud with my teeth as I wrap her legs around my waist. Lina grinds against me and I can feel her wet juices everywhere on my waist, dripping down my dick.

Oh I ached to be inside her. I needed to be inside her.

I hold onto her waist as I drag us up the bed, open the drawer and pull out a condom. I rip the foil and as Lina was sucking on my neck, I rolled it on. I laid her head gently on my pillows, looking at her.

Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her eyes wild and needy. Her lips were swollen and I can see my little...love bites forming on her chest and her neck.

I grin, kissing her lips as I thrust inside of her with one swift motion.

She gasped loud and hard, but I greedily sucked it up, kissing her lips. I can feel her walls clench against me, which makes me groan into her neck.

The feeling of how tight she is around my dick is sensational. I can't get enough of it.

Sweat is already coating both our skins as I work myself in and out of her, Lina arching her back, lifting her hips up. I don't know what she was trying, but I was able to push into her deeper, which had both of us moaning.

Lina pushes the damp hair that's clinging to my forehead off, staring deep into my damn soul. Our heavy breaths are mixing together as we stare at each other, slowing my pace down a bit to just hold her gaze.

"You're so pretty," Lina chuckles, one hand cupping my cheek. "Like, sometimes it hurts to look at you."

I kiss her lips, pushing into her slowly. Lina tightens her legs around me as I do so. "You're one to talk, baby. I can't stop looking at you, even when it hurts."

Lina blushes. In the middle of my dick currently being buried in her and both of us close to coming, she blushes. Because of something I said.

She wraps her hand around the back of my neck, bringing my mouth down to hers. I pick up my pace again, ready to give us what we both want. I dig my nails into her hips as she starts to thrust her hips against my own, causing the perfect collision of our bodies. An overwhelming sensation between us both.

"Hayden." She cries in warning.

"I'm right there with you, Lina," I grunt as I start to thrust sloppier, feeling all the pressure build up at the bottom of my spine.

She cries out as she comes, first. And the feel of her hot, sticky, addictive juices traveling down my dick send me spiraling, making me explode into the condom. I stay stilled in her, trying to keep as much body weight as I can off her.

But I can barely hold myself up.

So I slowly pull out of her, toss the condom out, and lay beside her, pulling her to my chest. Still collecting ourselves, I cover the bottom half of our bodies with the blanket, then look at Lina.

Her hair looks wild, everywhere behind her and sticking to her face. I smirk, pushing it off her and tucking it behind her ear. She grins at me, shaking her head.

"I never thought the sex would be this good."

I look down at her, jaw dropping. "I told you it'd be worth the wait, wouldn't it?"

She hums in content, moving half her body to lay on my chest. She places her palms under her chin, looking at me.

"What?"

"Nothing. You just have this glow," she smiles. "I think Brooks is right. You did need to get laid."

"Shut up." I pinch her ass, making her squeal. "I held out for something way better than anything anyone else could give me."

Lina smiles, then starts running her fingers up and down my side—just for comfort, probably—but my body jerked, which made her stop.

Then an evil smile spread across her face.

"I'm sorry," she sits up. "Is the Hayden West...ticklish?"

"Absolutely not."

"Oh, but I think you are." She grins, trying to reach my side.

I pull away from her, scooting down the bed. "Stop," I laugh. "I mean it."

"Oh hell no," she kept coming. "I just hit the jackpot. You're ticklish and nobody knows?"

She lunges for me again, successfully managing to wiggle her little fingers on my sides, making it hard to control my laughter as I try to squirm free from her touch.

"Stop fighting it so much." She chuckles, throwing her leg over my body to anchor me down.

But then...she's straddling me.

She's naked, and she's straddling me.

And looking up, seeing her big tits staring down at me, then her lusty blue ones once she's realized the same thing I did, it was a beautiful sight.

"Well," I start. "This is quite the predicament."

Lina leans down, her lips hovering over mine. "For you, or for me?"

And the little brat manages to still tickle my sides, which made me growl as I flip her over, pressing her down on the bed.

"You like to stir trouble."

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Her hands press against me and with surprising force, she has me pinned back on the bed. "Punish me?"

I turn rock hard already again.

It's like I can't even control it with her.

I mean, it doesn't help that I can feel her wetness coming directly from her pussy to my stomach, since she's straddling me. Nor does it help that her big breasts are bouncing in my face.

But she's testing waters. And I'm willing to play.

"Is that what you like, Lina?" I caress her thighs. "You wanna push me to that point?"

"Maybe."

"You want me to bend you over my knee and spank your tight little ass, huh?"

Lina opened her mouth to say something, and I wish to all things that I could've heard what she was gonna say, but rapid knocking at my door made us both freeze.

"Hayden? Hayden, please wake up."

Lina mouthed a profanity as she pushed herself off me and rolled off the bed, grabbing the sheets to cover her body and running into the bathroom.

"Hang on, ma," I call out. "I'm coming."

I slip on my boxers and my shirt I found on the floor, then open the door.

"I need you to come check outside, please. I thought I heard something by my window fall, but I wanna be certain before calling the cops or—"

"Okay," I shut the door behind me. "It's okay, come on."

There have been instances where my mom hears noises that freak her out and she thinks someone's trying to break in. So she calls the cops and they can't ever find a trace of anyone.

I think it's part of her trauma she's just never dealt with. And because she can't go check herself, and doesn't want the police frowning upon her again, she asks me to make sure.

And I do, of course. I check all around the house, especially by her window. I check all the windows of the house and the doors. Then I double check inside the main floor, just for her piece of mind.

"It's okay. Nothings out there."

Mom sighs in relief once I lock the door behind me. "Thank God. I'm sorry to bother you, I—"

I just hug her. She sighs, hugging me back. "It's fine, mom. Don't apologize."

When I pull back, she presses her hand to my face and smiles. "Okay. Try to get some rest, okay? Sorry to—"

"It's fine," I kiss her temple. "Night."

She calls out her good nights as I bring myself all the way back up to my room. I open the door, Lina nowhere in sight. I shut it, looking around.

"Lina?"

Quietly, the closet door opens. Lina emerges, looking around before stepping out. She ditched the sheets for a hoodie of mine—black, simple. But it was entirely too big for her body and it swallowed her whole, stopping at her knees. Her arms were lost in that thing.

"That was close," I joke.

Lina doesn't even smile. She blinks, pointing to the door. "Your mom. Is she...is she okay? I heard her say something about the cops and I got worried."

I sigh, cause I know this is gonna be a long, complicated story that I didn't wanna burden her with. But when her eyes are just staring at me like that, begging me for answers, I can't refuse even if I wanted to.

I never thought I'd say this, but it's time she learns the truth about my past. No matter how much it hurts.

A/N

This book has hit 12k reads. 12k! That's literally insane! You guys... your reads, votes and comments seriously make my day and encourage doubting writers such as myself to continue pushing forward. I can't believe all the love Hayden and Lina are receiving, and I'm so grateful for each one of you. Thank you for making writing fun and enjoyable 🧡

I sincerely appreciate you guys. I hope you continue to fall in love with their story as much as i do. And i hope, even with my inconsistencies, it'll be worth it. Much love to you all<3

— bri 🧡