Strife: Part Two (The Strife Series Book 2) Read Free

mind undressing Alexis the rest of the way. Not just undressing her, but doing everything that my body is craving.
    I picture parting her perfect thighs and licking between her soft pink folds until she's squirming beneath me in ecstasy. Watching her toes curl as I drive her to orgasm. I try to imagine what it would be like to press my cock at her entryway, how tight her body would hug me. If her back would arch off of the bed. My hands on her ribs, her breasts, exploring her curves. My mouth waters to think of what her lips would feel like against mine, the bite of pain of her fingernails digging into my back as I pump into her again and again and again and again until...
    “Holy fuck,” I gasp, bracing myself against the counter as I shoot stream after stream of cum onto it. My climax hits me hard and fast, and while it's good, it's nowhere near as good as the real thing.
    This is a necessary evil, though. Was a necessary evil to keep myself grounded. A man can only take so much temptation.
    I stand there for several moments, catching my breath, an image of Alexis on all fours on the bed burned into my mind. Hopefully, I can pass out within the next thirty minutes before these intense urges resurface. It's been a few weeks since I last had sex, and the need for it is pretty strong, especially when presented with such a gorgeous offering.
    She's paid to sleep with you. Remember that. It will keep the lust at bay.
    I make sure that's firmly seated in my mind before I dare to return to the bedroom. It must have looked strange, me leaving so quickly, but I know my own limits, and she was pushing them to the max.
    Thankfully, when I get back to the bedroom, Alexis is already lying down, facing away from me. I crawl into bed beside her and turn off the light. Despite the darkness, though, I can't seem to sleep. My mind is infatuated with her, wondering how her life ever came to be like this and why she's in my bed instead of at home with her family or in the bed of someone who loves her.
    I stare at the ceiling for what feels like hours, worrying over stupid things. Whether or not she's cold. What she thinks of me. If she wishes that I would have let her go back to the party.
    The bed shifts beside me, and I feel her shimmy under the covers. I sigh in relief, now a lot less concerned about whether or not being practically naked on top of the covers is uncomfortable for her.
    “Alexis,” I say her name softly, feeling a bit guilty for keeping her up.
    “Yes, Brodie.”
    “Tell me something about yourself. Anything.” I completely expect her to shut down. To my surprise, though, she speaks.
    “I didn't grow up around here. I was born and raised in northern Pennsylvania.”
    “You're a long way from home. What made you come here?”
    “It's hard to explain.”
    “You don't have to if you don't want to.” I tilt my head slightly towards her, giving her the opportunity to escape my questioning.
    She sighs, and I feel her roll over. In the darkness, I can make out her silhouette gazing up at the ceiling. “I was adopted, but I think my mom wanted a pet, not a child. Once she realized how much work was involved in having me around, she didn't want me anymore.”
    “I'm sorry to hear that.” I frown. While I may have grown up in poverty, at least I had a loving family.
    “My parents kicked me out of the house the day after I graduated from high school. They gave me seven hundred dollars, and my mother told me she never wanted to see me again, that I would be a nuisance to them no longer.
    “I took that seven hundred dollars and bought a bus ticket to California. I used some of it to sublet an apartment, and now I'm here.” Her voice sounds hollow, but I can tell that it's filled with pain.
    “Jesus," I whisper. "I had no idea.”
    “Of course, you didn't.” She turns to me, and I can faintly see her smiling. “You're a good man, Brodie Grant. Thank you for tonight. I'm sorry I wasn't better for you.”
    My heart is