Chapter 17

~Nicki~

 

I breathe a sigh of relief as I skip out of the Psychology building. And yes, I mean, literally skip. I’m flying high on the knowledge that I’ve just handed in my final assignment for this semester. The next few weeks are gonna be a breeze.

“Yes!” I exclaim out loud.

“You’re in a good mood,” a familiar voice comes from behind me.

I spin around to see Axel walking out of the building towards me.

“Hey,” I greet him.

“Hey yourself. I take it you just handed in the assignment?”

“Yep. You?”

“Barely a second ago. What a load off.”

“Tell me about it,” I say.

He grins, clearly enjoying my carefree, upbeat mood. “May I?” he asks, moving closer.

I nod and he leans in and kisses me softly on my right cheek. His arms wrap around me and he gazes into my eyes with a faraway look of longing. “I want you, Nicki,” he breathes in my ear.

My defenses kick in and I start to pull away, but he holds fast. “Axel,” I protest.

“Relax. I’m not gonna do anything. But I want you to.”

“What?”

He traces my jawline with his thumb. He’s gentle for once. Different. What is this?

“After the other night I realized I’ve been too rough with you. I want to take my time with you.” He moves his thumb to my lips and brushes them ever so softly. “And I figured the best way to do that is to let you take the lead.”

Huh. Well this is a bit of a curveball. I really didn’t expect this. Take the lead? Maybe that’s the solution. Maybe I won’t freak out if I’m in control.

I look up at him and see that primal look I saw a few days ago at the frat house. It freaks me out. It seems so wild, so uncontrollable. But he just told me that he wants me to take control.

Ignoring the warning bells in my head, I grip his shirt and push him against the wall. To my surprise, he grunts. I look up at him in question.

“Just a little sore. Me and the guys were playing football a couple of days ago.”

“Aww,” I say, reaching under his shirt and tracing my fingers lightly over his naked chest. “Poor you. Do you want me to stop touching you?” I tease.

“Oh fuck, you’d better not. What you’re doing feels so damn good, babe.”

My hands still under his shirt, I stretch onto my tiptoes and plant my lips on his, kissing him hard, just like he always kisses me. He moans as my tongue plunges into his mouth. I lose myself to it, forcing away the warning still chiming in my head.

Our kiss becomes wild, ferocious. So much so that it takes me a moment to realize that his hands are on me. He breaks my grip on his chest as he slides both his hands down my body, from my neck, to my boobs, down to my stomach, until one is gripping my right hip and the other is between my legs, stroking me through my jeans. His touch is rough and frenzied but I force myself not to pull away.

He breaks our kiss and growls, “More?”

His eyes gesture to his hand between my legs.

“Yes,” I gasp.

He smirks and something I can’t place flashes in his eyes.

I feel his hand slip into my jeans, under my panties. A single finger delves between my pussy lips, rubbing up and down. Up and down.

“Oh, babe. You’re drenched,” he whispers in my ear.

I barely hear him. I’m so possessed by the feel of his finger stroking my bare pussy. I moan loudly and writhe against him.

“That’s right. Good girl. You want more?”

I look up at him through dazed eyes and all I can do is nod.

He thrusts his finger inside me suddenly. I scream and he clamps his hand over my mouth.

“Shh. Don’t make a sound, dirty girl. We’re in public. Anyone could see. But you don’t care, do you? You fucking love it. Love my hand inside your wet panties, finger fucking you senseless. Tell me how much you love it. Tell me, Nicki,” he whispers in my ear.

“I…yes,” I struggle to utter. I’m lost to the sensations he’s triggering in me. I can’t think. I can barely breathe. It’s so intense. I’m right on the edge. I know I’m gonna come soon. I whimper into his mouth as my breathing becomes ragged and uncontrollable.

He grabs my hand and presses it to his dick. “Unzip me,” he commands.

I hesitate and he steps up his assault on my pussy, zoning in on my clit. It drives me crazy—beyond crazy—and I find myself fumbling for his belt.

“Nicki!” someone yells from behind me.

The sudden interruption and the irate tone jolts me back to reality. I pull Axel’s hand out of my panties and spin around hastily.

It’s Mitch. He’s standing there, his arms folded across his chest. He looks pissed. But not at me. No, he’s shooting daggers at Axel.

“I’ll take you back to your apartment,” he says, holding out his hand to me.

“We’re kinda in the middle of something here, Mitch. She’ll head home when she feels like it. She doesn’t need a fucking bodyguard,” Axel tells him.

“From what I’m seeing, it looks like she does, asshole.” Mitch steps forward and grabs my hand. “Let’s go.” As he pulls me away, Axel takes a threatening step towards him.

“What are you doing?” I ask him as I see a dangerous, menacing look flash in his eyes.

His eyes lock with mine for a moment. And then he steps back. “Nothing. I’ll see you later, babe. Come by around eight. The frat house is throwing a party tonight.”

Before I can answer, he takes off without looking back.

“You okay?” Mitch asks, studying me worriedly.

“I…uh…yeah,” I murmur. Oh my God. I completely lost control then with Axel. The way he touched me, his words. I couldn’t think. What the hell was I doing? I just let him finger me in public up against the psychology building. “Shit. What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing,” Mitch says.

I didn’t realize I’d actually said that out loud. I can feel my cheeks burning from embarrassment. Oh, this is awful.

“He was manipulating you, Nicki.”

I scoff. “Yeah, right.”

“He was. Sensory overload?”

Sensory overload? Yes, that’s exactly what it felt like. Was Axel really manipulating me, or is Mitch exaggerating? I mean, he didn’t force himself on me. He left the decision in my hands.

I mull it over for the rest of our journey back to the apartment. I’m barely even aware of getting in the cab, or of it pulling up outside our building.

“Nicki, you okay?” Mitch asks from beside me as we walk down the corridor towards our apartments.

“What?”

“You’ve been out of it since we left campus. Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself defensively. “Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. I’m fine.” My gaze falls to the bag in his hand. It’s from the campus pharmacy. “You’re sick?”

He shakes his head. “John. He hasn’t been feeling well.”

I peer into the bag. “Anti-inflammatory medication….gauze…disinfectant.” My eyes snap to his. “What the hell is going on?”

“The gauze and disinfectant is for me. I scraped my leg.”

“Really?” I press, completely unconvinced.

“Yeah. It’s a long story. Involves a threesome and my bedside table.” His eyes bore into mine and I know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to unnerve me by talking about his sex life.

I fold my arms across my chest. “And the anti-inflammatory stuff? That’s for John?”

“Yeah. He’s got some sort of flu. They’re for his throat. It’s all swollen and stuff.”

“That’s why he hasn’t returned my texts for a couple of days?”

“Yeah. He’s been out. Dead to the world.”

“Well, I want to see him. You guys should’ve called me. I have a lot of experience with taking care of John when he’s sick.”

I make a move to their apartment door behind him, but he blocks my path. “I wouldn’t, Nicki. He’s contagious and it’s pretty fucking gross, to tell you the truth.”

“Mitch, I want to make sure he’s okay.”

“No. He just needs rest. He’ll be fine in a few more days. I’ll tell him you were asking after him.”

It’s clear that no matter what I say, Mitch isn’t going to let me in. I step back and let out a frustrated breath. “Does he have a girl in there? Is that what this is really about?”

“No. Fuck no. I can’t remember the last time he had a girl in there. He’s going through a goddamn dry spell right now.”

Really? He hasn’t slept with anyone else? “Oh. Okay.” I guess he is sick then. “Well, if he does need me, I’m right down the hall. Anything. Tell him I said that. Okay?”

He smiles kindly. “Of course. I absolutely will.”

Reluctantly, I start to walk away.

“Axel is dangerous, Nicki!” Mitch calls out.

I spin around. “What?”

“He’s dangerous. Stay away.”

Before I can respond, he walks into his apartment. I hear the door lock.

What the hell was that all about?

It takes me barely a second to realize.

Mitch knows!

Shit, he knows about the stuff that happened with me and John. Dammit!