CLAIMING ME: A Diamond In The Rough Novella Read online

“Even if it gets us some alone time?”

  She paused. “Is your father not home?”

  “Nah. Him and my stepmother are on yet another trip. Business or pleasure, I don’t really know. The point is, they’re not home. She’s probably racking up some credit card on shoes and he’s probably locked himself in a room making more money than he knows what to do with by bitching at people and scaring them into doing shit.”

  “What does your father actually do for a living?”

  “I just told you.”

  She giggled. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

  I tugged on her hands. “So are you coming or not?”

  And after a sheepish grin, she nodded.

  “Lead the way, handsome.”

  3

  Chapter Three

  We burst through the front doors of my father’s home, unable to keep our hands off one another. I kicked the door closed behind me, furiously grappling for more of Rae’s kisses. Her lips felt like a thousand butterfly wings against my skin. Her tongue tasted of sunshine and the gum she’d been chewing on. I gripped her hips, pulling her closer to me. And as she slid my leather jacket off my shoulders, I took liberties that should’ve waited until my bedroom.

  “Come here, gorgeous.”

  My growl made her groan, and it ignited something inside me. I whipped her around, pinning her to the door as I stripped her down. Her naked body, free for me to take in. Her curves, free for my hands to roam. Her thighs heated. Her cheeks flushed. She gasped every time my lips touched her skin, causing my girth to leak for her. She tore my shirt over my head. I pulled my belt out of its loops. And once we were clad in nothing but skin, I gripped the backs of her thighs.

  “Jump for me, beautiful.”

  She locked her legs around me and our mouths fell against one another again. My tongue fell to the back of her throat, teasing her and stroking her as I walked us up the steps. She shivered against me. Her puckered peaks pressed tightly against my muscles. Oh, how wonderful she felt. How warm and inviting her body became. My knees grew weak with every step up the stairs I took. Eager to get to my bedroom. Eager to get to my mattress.

  Eager to have her underneath me.

  “Clint. Oh.”

  We burst into my bedroom and fell to my mattress. She opened herself up for me, her legs parting to reveal to me those dew-dropped lips of hers. I kissed down her neck, raking my teeth against her pulse point. And as I fell to my knees, I tossed her legs over my shoulders.

  “Hold on to whatever you want.”

  Her hands gripped my hair and I dove between her legs. Her taste overwhelmed me. Her smell intoxicated me. I lapped up her slit, gathering her essence on the tip of my tongue. And with every swallow, she marked me on the inside. She bucked against my lips. Rolled against my stubble. I growled as she groaned. I grunted while she moaned. I wrapped my arms around her toned thighs, pulling her closer. Needing my body coated in her as sunshine battered through my windows.

  I wanted to drown myself in her.

  “Oh, Clint. Shit. Don’t stop. Right there. Right there. Left. Left. A little to the—yes!”

  Her body pulled taut and she quaked against me. My mouth covered the entirety of her pussy, drawing from her every droplet of juice she had for me. I slid my hands up her thighs. Over her hips. All the way up to her tits, where I massaged them to painful peaks. My tongue worked her, throwing her over the edge yet again as she choked out my name.

  “Oh—fu—Cli—nt.”

  I wanted to keep going. I wanted to keep tasting. I wanted to keep exploring. But she finally pushed me away. Her shaking body shook my mattress as I kissed the insides of her thighs. Nibbled on their dollops of excess playfully. My length ached for her. My body screamed to be inside her. But what I wanted was to cherish her. Spoil her.

  Make her feel amazing.

  I kissed both of her lower lips. I slowly kissed up her torso, playfully nibbling along my journey upward. She jumped and giggled, causing me to suck marks on the places where she was most sensitive. She darted beneath me. Told me ‘no’ and ‘stop’ while pulling me closer. I marked a trail with my lips. A trail that led straight to her mouth. A trail I’d memorize sooner rather than later.

  A trail that showed me exactly how to please this incredible girl.

  “Clint.”

  My name was nothing but a whisper. As she pulled me down to her lips, I felt myself become one with her. Her legs wrapped around me, trapping me between her thighs. I felt her rocking against me, coating me with her juicy heat. I felt the animal inside me rearing its head. Growling, ready to be let out of its cage.

  And when her nails curled into my skin, the lock on the cage popped.

  “You’re mine.”

  I flipped her over and lifted her hips into the air, bringing her ass close to me as I slid deep against her walls. I gripped her hair, wrapping it around my knuckles and pushing her cheek into the mattress. My comforter muffled her wails as I thrust into her, feeling her walls tighten and expand to make room for my intrusion.

  I snarled. “That’s it. Just like that.”

  My thrusting became pounding. Her ass jiggled for my viewing pleasure. I held her up, keeping her face pinned to the mattress as her walls caved in around me. Her whimpers hit my ears. She pressed her hands into my bed. She bucked against me, begging for more friction like the good little girl she was. It robbed me of my breath. How tight she was for me. How warm and amazing her body had become to me. A heady sensation filled my body, making me feel as if I were flying.

  I ascended to some sort of heavenly plain as her walls caved around me.

  “I’m coming! I’m coming! I’m coming!”

  I tugged on her hair, lifting her face out of the mattress. Those two words filled my room as she chanted them over and over again. I stuffed her body full of me. I felt every part of her dripping over my thighs. I pulled out and flipped her back over, spreading her legs as I hovered over her. The wolf in me reared its head. I felt my eyes widen as I gazed down upon my prey. With her voluptuous breasts bouncing against her chest and her legs spread wide for me, she looked like the perfect meal.

  Rae.

  My Rae.

  Spread for me and ready for the taking.

  I gripped myself and slid back inside her. I tossed her legs over my shoulders and folded her in half. Her eyes rolled back. Her hands wrapped around my wrists. And as she lay there, pinned underneath me, she quickly came again.

  “Clint!”

  And again.

  “Fuck!”

  And then, yet again.

  “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.”

  Her voice grew hoarse as her legs slid from my shoulders. My balls hung low, aching for the release they’d been begging for. My face fell to the crook of Rae’s neck. I felt her sweating and trembling. The heat of her body pulled sweat to my brow as my hands found hers. I intertwined our fingers, resting my tuckered muscles against her body. I pinned her hands above her head, opening her up even further to my assault.

  But instead, my hips moved slowly.

  My body rocked gently.

  And as we rolled in tandem, I couldn't take my eyes off hers.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  “Clint.”

  “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “I can’t—I’m so tired. Clint, I—”

  I kissed her lips. “Just lay there and let me handle it.”

  I gazed into her brown pools of exhaustion and grinned. I grunted as her walls clamped around me, pulling me quickly to my own end. I kept my strokes soft, feeling her languidly wrap her legs around me. Her eyes fluttered closed and I nuzzled her, silently begging her to open them.

  “Let me see you, Rae.”

  Her eyes fell back open and my heart skipped a beat. I knew I was getting myself in deep with this girl. I mean, I’d never felt this way. Sex had never felt this way before. And I didn’t want to stop.

  I wanted to keep going until she couldn't
take it any longer.

  Time blurred, our bodies entangled around each other. We rolled around with her legs straddling me before I flipped her back over. We drenched ourselves in sweat. The entire room smelled like us. And as I held her to my body with my back against the headboard, I thrust quickly against her.

  “I’m close. Rae. I just—”

  “Come with me. Please, Clint. Don’t hold back.”

  My eyes rolled back and my legs locked. Her walls quivered around me, coaxing me to my high as my heart raced. Rae bit into my shoulder, muffling her cries of pleasure as we unraveled together. Clinging to one another, with her nails raking down my arms.

  “Fuck, Rae.”

  She collapsed against me and the pumping of my cock finally stopped. I held her close to me, gasping for air as she shook and shivered. I stroked my hands up and down her back, kissing her shoulder as her lips fell against my pulse point. She kissed me, tiredly. Over and over again.

  As my girth stayed sheathed within her body.

  I could really get used to something like this.

  And as those words fluttered across my hazy mind, I slid us down to the mattress, guiding her off to the side. I pulled her close to me, amazed that she let me manipulate her body.

  Never had someone trusted me so much. Never had someone collapsed against me like that. Like a foundation they needed. Like the strength they required. Her lips fell against my ear as we wiggled underneath the covers, and the panting of her breath filled my body with electricity.

  Oh, yeah. I could really get used to this.

  Then Rae kissed the shell of my ear before she drew in a steady breath.

  4

  Chapter Four

  “You don’t need to keep throwing punches, you know.”

  Rae’s voice wafted against my ear and I closed my eyes. Usually, something like this was nothing but a hookup. A way to pass the time when I didn’t want to be in school. But as I held her close to my side, I stroked my fingertips up and down her back. I felt her leg sliding between mine. I felt her arm wrapping around my body, holding me close to her luscious curves.

  It made me want to open up to her.

  “I know. I know I don’t. They just rile me up so bad.”

  Rae kissed my cheek. “I know they do. They rile everyone up. You used to pull that kind of shit, too. But you’re not in this alone anymore. You’ve got me. You don’t need to keep fighting your way through shit. Not if you don’t want to.”

  I shrugged. “Fighting’s all I know.”

  “It doesn't have to be, though. Clint, you’re smart.”

  I snickered. “You’re delusional.”

  She sat up. “No, really. You’re smart. Deep down beneath all that insecurity and all that nonsense you hold up to the world, you’re intelligent. Driven. Capable. Independent. You have all the tools necessary for someone to really make something of themselves. You just have to stop relying on your anger to take the steering wheel.”

  I grinned. “Are you trying to give me a pep talk?”

  She shook her head, staying serious. “No. I’m not. I’m trying to get you to see your worth. Because something tells me you’ve never seen that before.”

  “Rae, you don’t have to expend this kind of energy. Just come back here. Lay down with me.”

  “Not until you look me in my eyes and let me know you’ve really heard my words.”

  I rolled my eyes, but followed her command anyway. And the second our eyes connected, I felt paralyzed by fear. Her eyes were gorgeous. Filled with determination and care. I’d never had anyone in my life who gave enough of a shit to say these things to me. So, naturally, it scared the hell out of me. All sorts of things ran through my head. She slowly came back down to my body, pressing those glorious tits of hers against my chest. And as she smiled softly at me, I saw a horrifying image.

  Rae continuously skipping classes with me. Finding her solace beneath my body as her grades continued to slip. I saw us riding my bike after I purchased her a leather jacket to keep her body safe. Riding away from school and off into the sunset. It was a picture that should have made me smile. A sentiment that should’ve made my heart skip a beat.

  But I was paralyzed by an idea that rushed through my head. A voice, as stark as my father’s, that chastised me for what I’d just made Rae do.

  You’ll drag her down with your endless bullshit.

  I sighed. “I’m no good and you know it.”

  Rae kissed my lips. “Hush now. Hush that nonsense.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve always known this. It isn’t anything new. My father’s told me enough times—”

  “Your father’s a shithead whose word shouldn't be taken even with the grain of salt most people’s word is.”

  “I don’t deserve a girl like you.”

  “I don’t give a damn what you deserve. This is about what I want as much as it is about what you want.”

  I felt myself shutting down. I pulled my eyes away from her and stared at the ceiling. I unraveled my arm from her and locked my hands together, then slid them underneath the back of my head. I wanted to sink into that mattress and drown myself in the covers. Anything to get her out of my bed and away from me. Holy fuck, I’d made her skip class. Rae. The girl who always studied. Who always aced her tests. The girl who could fucking nap through her classes and still pass them.

  I’d made her skip class.

  Because you’re a piece of shit influence, Clint.

  Rae lay down beside me. “I’m not going anywhere, Clinton.”

  I scooted away from her, but didn’t say anything.

  “No matter how much you pull away, I’m always going to be there.”

  She pressed herself against me again, but I moved. We continued that little dance until I was against the edge of my massive bed. And when she propped herself against me, she tucked her head underneath my chin. She pressed her ear against my heart. She wrapped herself around me, seducing me with her softness and her heat as I tried to steel myself against her.

  Then she whispered, “This feels good, doesn’t it? Right?”

  I sighed. “Sure.”

  “So why would we want to give this up? Why would you want to give this up?”

  Because I’m no good for you. “Because what’s done is done.”

  “Not a cuddle-after-sex kinda guy?”

  And when she giggled, my heart leapt with joy.

  I’d never get used to that sound. I’d never get used to how nice it sounded. How easygoing it made me feel. I slowly unlocked my hands against my better judgment and let my arm drape around her. Softly. Tenderly. Foreignly. I’d never felt this way about a girl before. No one had ever been more than a hookup. More than someone to fuck and dump. But Rae was different. I mean, she’d always been different. But now? She was truly different.

  A game-changer.

  And one I found myself not taking lightly.

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  Her voice pierced through my inner roll and I cleared my throat.

  “Just thinking.”

  She kissed my chest. “About…?”

  I shrugged. “Stuff.”

  “And things?”

  “And other things.”

  She kissed my chest again. “Sexy things?”

  I quirked an eyebrow. “Wait, are you thinking about sexy things?”

  She grinned up and me and I wrapped my arms around her.

  “Come here, you dirty little girl.”

  I pulled her up to me and pressed kisses all along her face. She laughed out loud, filling my room with the sweetest sound I’d ever heard as I rolled her over. I pinned her beneath me, her legs spreading as I kissed her up and down her neck. Her cheeks. Across her forehead as she tried shoving me away.

  “Clint! That tickles! Cut it out!”

  “But you taste so good, Rae.”

  “Clint! Mercy! Uncle! I give, I give, I give!”

  My forehead fell against hers and she cupped my cheeks
. I lay there, pressed against her curves that poured into the slats of my body. I breathed the air she afforded me. My eyes danced between hers. And as I sank deeper into her softness, I felt my heart stop in my chest. Butterflies took off in my stomach. I felt my iron-clad bones softening toward this girl. This awkward bookworm I’d teased and tortured all through high school.

  How the fuck did I pull this off?

  I dropped my lips to hers, kissing her softly. Things were moving fast—very, very fast between the two of us. But it didn’t feel wrong. That was the kicker. It should’ve felt wrong. The girl I’d bullied suddenly wanting to straddle my body. The girl I’d tortured suddenly wanting to help me through school. The girl whose life I’d made a living nightmare suddenly wanting to be on the back of my bike. It should’ve been wrong. Everything pointed to it being wrong.

  But, as she slowly rolled me over, only one word came to my mind.

  Perfect.

  I slid my tongue across the roof of her mouth. I slid my hands up and down her back, listening as the birds chirped outside. The afternoon sun streamed through the curtains of my room. And Rae? Well, she made the softest little sounds that made my cock come alive again. I parted my legs, feeling her slide between them. I sucked on her lower lip as her heart hammered against mine. Our lips fell away and her cheek pressed against my shoulder, her body seeking its home against mine.

  Home.

  Is this what home feels like?

  “How much longer do we have?”

  Rae’s voice pierced my thoughts. Again.

  “As long as you want.”

  She nodded. “Just making sure you didn’t have anything going on.”

  I have nothing without you. “Nah, I’m good.”

  Then she nestled into me. Leaving her mark upon my thoughts—and my heart.

  What the hell had this girl done to me?

  5

  Chapter Five

  Two Weeks Later

  I heard the loud sports car pull into the driveway and groaned. Dad and Cecilia were back from whatever trip they’d been on. I heard the front door slam open and I rolled my eyes. Even after two weeks of lounging around in the sun and working, Dad could find a way to come in and be an absolute sourpuss asshole.