Mara pov
It's been one week of living with Zander Cross and the man had perfected the art of avoidance.
He was physically present in the apartment, but emotionally? He might as well have been on another planet.
There were no more heated looks, no more filthy promises whispered in that rough voice and no more thumb brushing my lip while he told me all the ways he wanted to make me scream.
There was nothing and it was getting infuriating.
I should have been relieved and grateful that he was maintaining boundaries. Instead, I was frustrated and…a little hurt.
Attending my college classes provided a distraction.
I was walking across campus toward the parking lot where Zander insisted on picking me up when I saw him.
Tyler, my cheating ex.
My stomach dropped and annoyance creeped inside me.
When he spotted me, he walked towards me, an apologetic smile on his face.
"Mara, Can we talk?"
I should have kept walking and ignored him completely.
Instead, I stopped and crossed my arms. "What do you want, Tyler?" I asked even when I knew there was nothing good I was gonna hear from him.
"I want to explain." He stepped closer and I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "What you saw... it wasn't what it looked like."
"Really? Because it looked like you were f*****g another man in our bed."
Tyler flinched at the bluntness of my words.
"I was confused. I didn't mean…”
"Didn't mean what? To waste a year of my life? To let me think there was something wrong with me because you couldn't get hard unless you were thinking about d**k?" I countered, not giving him time to breath.
"But I love you," he said desperately. "I made a mistake. We can work through this…” I didn't let him finish. Just thinking about it was disgusting enough.
"You are gay, Tyler and I have a p***y. We definitely can't reason together.”
His expression hardened. "So that's it? You're just going to give up?"
"Give up?" I stared at him with disbelief.
"You gave up when you decided your gym buddy was better than me.”
Tyler’s apologetic expression suddenly twisted to something ugly.
“ Stop being such a b***h, Mara. Aren’t you staying with another man now? What? You think I didn't know?” Tyler sneered.
My blood ran cold upon realising that he has been watching me?
"That's none of your business." I fired back. Who did he think he was to lecture me about morals when he was the first to…
"It is when you are already f*****g someone else and trying to make me look like the bad guy." Tyler stepped closer, his hand shooting out to grab my arm. "We were together for a year and you replaced me in a week? Tell me Mara, who is the real cheater here?"
I tried to jerk away but his grip tightened. "Let go of me." I cried.
"Not until you admit…"
"She said let go."
The voice came from behind me, unmistakably Zander's.
"Who the f**k are you?" Tyler demanded, trying to sound brave and failing.
"I'm the guy who is going to break your hand if you don't remove it from her arm.” His voice was low but the threat carried weight.
Tyler let go like I had burned him.
Zander's hand found the small of my back, possessive and warm. "This the ex?" He asked, eyeing Tyler with apparent disgust.
"Yeah," I said quietly.
"The one who couldn't f**k you properly?" The bluntness in his words made me cringe. Tyler glared at me hatefully.
“ Then why is he here trying to assault you if he can't satisfy you? Does he think his words can give you an orgasm? ” Zander pressed, clearly aiming at humiliating Tyler.
Tyler's face went from red to purple. "f**k you and f**k her too. She is probably already spreading her legs for you anyway. That didn't take long, did it Mara? One week and you're already whoring yourself out?"
The words hit like a slap and something ugly and reckless triggered inside me.
"You're right," I said, my voice steady and cold. "I am f*****g him and you know what? He knows exactly what to do with my p***y. He knows how to drill it until I'm sore and begging him to stop. He makes me grasp for air and leaves me voiceless and sexually satisfied in ways you never could.” I spat and Tyler's mouth fell open.
"You see him? He gets me wet without even trying," I continued, the lies flowing easier now.
"All I need from him is one look and I'm dripping for him.
That's something you could never accomplish.So yeah, I am f*****g him and I will gladly tell you that it is the best decision I ever made."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Tyler's face twisted with humiliation and rage. "You're a slut," he spat. "A f*****g slut who…"
He didn't get to finish when Zander's fist connected with his jaw, sending him stumbling backwards.
"Call her that again and I'll put you in the f*****g hospital. Understand?"
Tyler nodded frantically.
"Good." Zander released him with a shove. "Now get the f**k out of here before I change my mind."
Tyler practically ran, disappearing into the parking lot.
I stood there, heart racing.
"You okay?" Zander asked, his voice gentler now.
"I'm fine."
"Mara…"
"I said I'm fine." I turned and walked toward his bike, leaving him to follow.
The ride home was silent and tense.
I could feel it building…the storm brewing between us and the words I had said that I couldn't take back.
***
Zander pov
I lasted exactly thirty seconds after we walked through the door.
"What the f**k was that?" I demanded, cornering her in the entryway.
Mara spun to face me, her eyes flashing. "What was what?"
Good, she was playing dumb now?
"That bullshit you fed your ex. About me f*****g you, making you wet and leaving you sore." I stepped closer, crowding her against the door. "Care to explain?"
"I was getting back at him for cheating," Mara said defiantly. "He needed to hear…"
"That you are spreading your legs for me?" I cut her off. "That I'm drilling into your virgin p***y and making you scream? Is that what he needed to hear?"
I watched as her breath hitched. "It's not true…"
"Isn't it?" I braced my hands on either side of her head, caging her in. "You've been walking around this apartment for a week in those tiny shorts, those tank tops with no bra and bending over in front of me like you're begging me to lose control."
I threw the accusations.
God knows how I managed a freaking week without turning my fantasies to a reality.
"You have." My voice dropped lower. "Every morning, every night, you're there. Tempting me. Testing me. Pushing my buttons until all I can think about is driving my c**k into that tight virgin cunt and f*****g you until you can't remember your own name."
Her pupils dilated, her lips parting with a gasp.
"Is that what you want, Mara? You want me to stop fighting this? Want me to take what you've been offering?"
"I don't know what you're…” She started but I cut her off.
"Liar." I leaned in, my lips brushing her ear. "Your body knows and I can see your n*****s hard through that shirt.
I can smell how wet you are. You've been dying for me to touch you, haven't you?"
"Zander…”
"Answer me, damn it!” I roared, my self control melting to nothing.
"Yes," Mara breathed.
That admission had something inside me snapping.
I grabbed her hips and spun her around, pressing her front against the door.
My hand slid up her thigh, under her skirt and I groaned when I felt the damp lace of her panties.
"f**k, you're soaked." I pressed against her from behind, letting her feel how hard I was. "Is this what you've been wanting? My hands on you and my fingers inside you?"
I hooked my fingers in the waistband of her panties and yanked, tearing the flimsy fabric and letting it fall to the floor.
“ Do you want me to touch you? To make you come?"
Mara nodded frantically, her forehead pressed against the door.
"Use your words, Princess."
"Touch me," she gasped. "Please, Zander, I need…"
My hand cracked against her ass, the sound echoing in the entryway. She cried out, jerking forward.
"That's for lying to your ex about us fucking." I said before delivering another spank.
"That's for walking around half-naked and testing my control."
"I'm sorry…"
"No you're not." I soothed the reddened flesh with my palm before delivering another sharp slap. "You wanted this. Wanted to push me until I broke."
I spread her ass cheeks, exposing her glistening p***y to my gaze.
"Look at you, so wet and needy. I bet you've been touching yourself in that shower, haven't you? You have been fingering this pretty cunt while thinking about me?"