Her Shadows, His Secrets

This morning, my sister texted me incessantly, asking me to rethink my whole approach with Hanna, but I can’t. I won’t. My mind is made up, and it’s what I have to do. All alarms and whistles are going off, caution tape layering, and yet I ignore it all, because that insatiable hunger is the most prominent thing in my body.

Logic? Gone.

Sanity? Fucking questionable.

Desire? Bingo.

By the time I’ve ignored my raging hard-on and completed work for the day, it’s nearing six. Hopping in the shower, I hurry to get ready, picking jeans, brown boots, and a white V-neck shirt paired with a leather jacket. Styling my brown hair, I don’t spend more than a few seconds before I put on my cologne and grab the keys, heading out the door. I climb in my truck, make the five-minute drive to her place, and pull up to see the lights on upstairs and in the entryway. The rest of the house is dark. I swear if she isn’t ready and is trying to blow this night off, I might just convince her to do it with an angry fuck.

I hop out, leave the engine running, and head to the door. When I ring the bell, the dogs go wild. I can see her at the top of the stairs, and fuck me—she looks delectable. Tight jeans, distressed and hugging her body like a second skin. She wears some type of emerald-green shirt that clings to her chest, showcasing her beautiful breasts with the perfect amount of cleavage before fanning out below them. It perfectly outlines her hourglass frame.

She’s wearing brown boots up to her knees, and her dirty-blonde hair is curled and falling all around her. Her makeup is done, and the best way to describe it is she looks like she is ready for it to be smeared and running from a heady fuck. Damn, she looks so delicious.

I can sense her hesitation as she takes each step of the staircase. I don’t blame her. We are in every sense still pretty much strangers, and I propositioned her to be nothing but my toy. A fuck buddy. Finally opening the door, she looks up at me.

“I can’t believe I am actually giving you the time of day to explain whatever last night was.”

I smile. “Off to a great start, greens. Let’s go. Lock up.”

She steps out, grabbing her keys and bag. I watch her lock the door, then I take her hand and walk us toward the truck. I feel the slight bit of resistance and hesitation as she tries to pull her hand back from me, but I keep my grip firm. It’s best she starts to see how much I like control and establish exactly what I want out of this deal.

“Bold of you, taking my hand. I got it,” she says when I open the door and help her up.

“Didn’t say you didn’t have it.”

Rolling her eyes, she puts her seatbelt on, and I shut the door, rounding the front of the truck and climbing in.

“Where are we going?” she asks as we back out of the driveway.

“Dean’s. We can have some drinks and order some food.”

“Okay.” The tension coming from her is palpable.

“Greens, it’s fine. I’m not gonna fuck you right here, right now.”

“Lord. Are you always so crass? Does this sort of thing work on other women? You just saying ‘I’m man. Hear me roar. Let’s mate.’”

I laugh, actually tossing my head back. “Let’s mate?”

Leaning over, she slaps my arm with the back of her hand. “It’s true. You were barbaric last night. I’ve never seen or heard things like that before, except for in the novels I’ve read.”

I look over and catch the blush she tries to hide. “The novels you read? You read erotic novels?”

Snapping her eyes to me, she clicks her tongue. “You’re incorrigible. Brenda was right. You can be such an ass.”

“No, this is not as bad as I can get. I’m careless. I don’t really have any regard for people and how they feel,” I admit to her, pulling into the parking lot of Dean’s.

“I know. I wanted to slap you at dinner last night,” she mumbles.

Putting the truck in park, I lean in. “That was me being decent. I can be a lot worse, puppet. You’ll see.” It’s a warning. Foreshadowing what this will become. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m going soft, because I’m not. But if I want to start a sexual relationship with Hanna, I do need to respect her, have her trust me enough to let me in. I don’t need to love her, but to enter this type of relationship, you have to have trust and mutual respect. It’s a must.

“I’m gathering you have no regard for anyone but yourself, the exact person I’m trying to avoid. Having no humility is cruel. What a sad way to go through life.” Her answer leaves me speechless. Hanna is too kind, a soft heart and an even more encompassing soul. She couldn’t hurt a damn fly or be okay with making someone feel even the slightest bit of sadness.