Filed to story: Swallow Me Whole (Sadie & Ashton) Book Free
Glancing up at the sky, I mentally bargain with the clouds threatening on the horizon. They can spew rain all they want if they’ll just hold off for a few hours. Because I have a plan, and it involves Sadie on my bike, her hair rioting around us as she clings to my waist. It’s been years since she’s been on the back of my bike. She hasn’t come near it since her father screamed at me for ‘risking her life on that deathtrap’ during our senior year of high school.
If there’s one thing I know about Sadie, it’s that she rarely stands up to Joseph Sawyer. She possesses a strong urge to please people; the trait is inherent in the fiber of her being. Some might see her as a pushover, a doormat. A weakling.
I think she’s stronger than fuck—she’s strong enough to put other people before herself time and again. She might have a potty mouth and the sexiest rack you’ll ever see, but underneath the veneer, she’s pure sweetness.
And holy hell, do I want a taste.
Her apartment complex is dead quiet. It’s just past ten in the morning on a Sunday, and most people are sleeping in. Mandy has already left for work, which is in my favor as that means Sadie is alone. We’ve never had to hide spending time together before, but I feel the need to do it now.
Agreeing to give Sadie the sexual experience she wants is akin to opening a can of worms, and I don’t need Mandy lecturing me on how I’m going to hurt her best friend in the process. People in this town might know me as a heart breaker, but the last heart I want to shatter is Sadie’s.
I try turning the knob, but it’s locked, so I rap on the door to her apartment. Several seconds pass, and I’m about to knock again when I hear footsteps. The deadbolt switches over, and she answers, rubbing sleep from her eyes as her hair frames her face in adorable dishevelment. Her skin is free of makeup, bringing out her freckles. I know she hates them, but I’ve always secretly loved those tiny spots dusting her porcelain skin.
“Get dressed,” I say, my tone leaving no room for argument.
Sadie blinks several times then raises her brows. “Aren’t you bossy this morning.”
“You’re gonna see my bossy side a lot more, so you might as well just accept it.”
She opens her door, gesturing for me to come inside, and I give her a teasing grin. “Besides, you know you love it, Sawyer.”
The truth in that statement flushes her cheeks. “The jury’s still out on that.” She heads into the kitchen and picks up the carafe of coffee I’m guessing Mandy made before she left, because Sadie obviously just fell out of bed.
“Want a cup?” she asks.
“No, thanks. I already had my daily dose.” More like three, considering I barely slept last night.
She pulls down a mug that says
Redheads Do It Better. As she prepares her coffee, I lean against the counter and cross my arms, quietly watching her. Hell, I’ve watched her for years, but now it’s different.
Now I know what it’s like to have her mouth on me. I know what her throaty moans sound like when she’s about to come. I’m getting hard just thinking about it.
Raising the mug to her lips, she trains her jade eyes on me and takes a cautious sip. “So, I’m guessing you’ve got something up your sleeve for today?”
“Thought we could go for a ride.”
“What?” Her eyes widen, and she lowers the mug. “Seriously? You brought your bike?”
“I did,” I say, biting back a smile at her excitement. “Think I can get you on the back of it without getting my ass chewed out this time?”
“Heck, yeah. What my dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
I want to argue that point with her, since she’s a grown-ass woman living on her own, but I let it go. For now. If I ever get the chance to call her mine, that’s one thing that will have to change. She should have the freedom to make her own choices.
Outside the bedroom, anyway.
While she finishes her coffee and gets dressed, I scroll through social media, biding my time. Corinne messaged me, demanding an explanation for running out on her the other night. Eventually, I’ll have to deal with her, but today is not that day.
Today is all about Sadie.
Sometime later, she returns dressed in jeans and a black and white flannel shirt. Her wild hair is tamed into a ponytail.
Pocketing my phone, I cross the few feet separating us and pull the tie from her locks.
“Why’d you do that?” She reaches for the black band, but I slip it onto my wrist before she can steal it back.
“I love your hair.”
“It’s a disaster. I don’t want to know what it’ll look like after the wind whips the shit out of it.”
“Mmm, sexy as fuck,” I say, wrapping her thick mane around my fist. “That’s how it’ll look.” I think she’s going to fight my hold, but she doesn’t. Her startled gaze locks on mine, and her mouth parts, releasing a quick breath.
“Have you always thought of me like that?” Nerves shake the question off her tongue.
Tightening my grip on her hair, I lean closer until we’re breathing the same air. “I’ve had dirty thoughts about you long before you decided to get a taste of me.”
“Did these thoughts happen before or after you fucked every woman within a fifty mile radius?”
“Better watch it, Sawyer. That sounds a lot like jealousy.”
“Sounds like a question to me.” She jerks her head back, and I let her hair slip from my fist. “Are you taking me for a ride, or are we going to stand here all day flirting with disaster?”
A smile twitches at the corners of my mouth. She’s sassy today, that attitude a shield for the defenses hiding behind it. We’re barely two days into this arrangement, and already, I’m rattling her composure.
No kissing. No sex.
If she thinks those rules will protect us from changing the foundation of our friendship, she’s delusional. Things are already shifting—she set the inevitable into motion when she crawled under that table two nights ago and unzipped me.
Sadie
Riding on the back of Ashton’s bike again is exhilarating. A sense of freedom overcomes me as we fly down the two-lane highway. On either side of us, trees whiz past in a mural of burnt oranges, bright yellows, and flaming reds. The further we get away from Douglas Falls, the more beautiful the scenery. A hint of rain is in the air, and if Oregon had a signature scent, it would be the freshness of rainfall.
The skies can open and pour on us for all I care because I feel alive. My long hair whips around my face despite the helmet Ash made me wear, and though it’ll be a tangled mess by the time we arrive wherever he’s taking me, I’m not bothered by the wind in my hair. I’m more interested in our destination.
He wouldn’t tell me. It’s a surprise, he said with that smirk-like grin of his.
As the road curves, Ash leans with it. And I lean with him, my hands clasped tightly over his abdomen, my thighs warm against him. I’d be lying if I said being so close like this isn’t affecting me. I grow hot between my legs, and it’s not just from the heat of his body. I rest my head against his back and close my eyes, enjoying the thrilling sensation of flying.
Several minutes later, the bike slows, and I pop my lids open to find we’re pulling into the parking lot of a diner. It’s an out-of-the-way place I’ve never been to before, and plenty of miles from Douglas Falls. No chance of running into anyone we know here.
He parks the bike then helps me off, and as we head toward the entrance, Ashton takes my hand in his. The place doesn’t look like much from the outside, with its grimy windows and fading brown paint, but once we cross through the doors, my mouth waters at the wafting aroma of pancakes and bacon hitting my nostrils. The interior of the restaurant has been updated. I like the rustic feel, with the wood flooring and knobby oak tables and benches. We pass by a sign instructing customers to seat themselves, and Ash leads me to a booth in the back.
“Have you been here before?” I ask, sliding in across from him. The privacy of the booth isn’t lost on me.
“A few times. The crew stopped here for lunch over the summer when we were working in the area.”
“Do you like your job?”
“Sure,” he says, taking off his jacket. “Better than being trapped inside all day long.”