As I cried alone in the emergency room today, all I can think of is Simon (weird coping skill lmao)
Imagine sitting alone at the emergency room, quietly sobbing as they hook you up to a million machines. Sticky electrodes here. Heart monitor there. IV here. One thing after another.
âIs there anyone here with you today?â The nurse asks with nothing but kindness in here eyes. All you can do is shake your head and the tears fall harder.
Simon was at work. All week heâd been talking about how important today would be at work. A big visit from the high ups â every I dotted and t crossed. You couldnât bring yourself to call him and ruin it.
Little did you know, the nurse saw his emergency contact in your file and called him.
Simon picked up on the second ring and felt his whole world crumble when they said his birdie was lying in hospital bed, all alone, and sobbing.
Simon didnât give a damn about work. Not when you were all alone. Not when you needed him. He was out the door before the nurse finished the call.
Youâre lying there alone with only the sound of monitors beeping. Thereâs a knock at the door, you assume just another doctor. You assumed wrong.
There he is. The man you needed. Staring at you with watery eyes and a little bit of hurt.
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Yk what I think the scam of the center is? Digital tickets to concerts, movies, events, etc. What about my scrapbook? How am I supposed to document this? My confetti would be much more relevant glued around the ticket.
It all started when you told Simon you wished you could spend more time together.
Somehow it turned to a fight. You werenât even trying to fight when you told him this. You were just talking to him and expressing you missed him.
All he heard was that he wasnât good enough. That he wasnât trying. That he wasnât putting in effort. And Simon shut down even when thatâs not what you were saying.
Suddenly the phone calls stopped. The texts stopped. The visits stopped. Your attempts were ignored.
And there you sat. Confused. Hurt. Abandoned. All because you wished you could see him more, now you donât see him at all.
simon âghostâ riley who hates physical touch but learns to tolerate it because of you.
you come along into the group, a little strange, but none the less a great asset to the team. for some reason, simon had been the chosen one of your antics.
everyone was amused as you gravitated towards the grumpy old man. it looked quite hilarious seeing you stand behind the big fella, fingers softly grasping the back of his hoodie, and talking to the rest of the group like no big deal.
simonâs body felt tense everytime and he couldnât help it. not yet used to having someone that close, not used to someone touching him so innocently.
it was like being near him grounded you but it wasnât just being near that granted that, physically touching him in anyway you could sealed the deal.
at the beginning he was taken aback and furious about it, though he truly didnât know why, maybe it was just a reflection of all the horrible things done to him.
everyone was jumping into the humvee and of course you settle in right next to him, tax gear practically rubbing up against him, your thigh flush against his.
âfor fucksakeâkid, some space, yeah?â he grumbled out and the way your head turned and eyes widened a bit as you hesitantly pulled away made his cold heart actually chip away inside.
âyes, sir.â you sighed, moving along and obeying as you always did. but, your legs were bouncing and hands begging to twitch like the close contact was holding you together and being without was unwinding you in a way that could jeopardize everything.
his shoulders ended up relaxing and he sighed before grabbing the front of your tax vest and pulling you back against him. quiet snickers leaving johnny and kyleâs lips but they quickly shut up when simon shot daggers at them with his eyes.
his could practically feel your body release tension and your head fell back to rest against his shoulder. things went on like that for months and over time he acceptedâ welcomed it more like.
he was so used to having you near now that even a few minutes being apart made him angry. sometimes youâd sit beside him in the rec room, but not instantly gravitating towards him and he could feel his hands twitch and his own foot tapping waiting for you to just come over here.
âfuckinâ âell.â heâd grumble before sliding down the sofa and wrapping his arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest which made you giggle in return.
âsiii, ya miss me?â an eye winking at him with a playful grin on your face and he felt his chest get warm, his cold heart was melting and you were the fire blazing away the ice.
ââcourse, ya know it, puddinâ.â he muttered under the mask before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. you giggled again before nestling your head against his chest, closing your eyes as well for a nap.
at the beginning it was tolerating the little rookies antics but now it was more than loveâ it was an understanding and an unbreakable bond.
SIMON GHOST RILEY - voyeurism, size kink, haunted house
TAGS: f!reader. PIV. 18+ smut mdni. public-ish sex. multi orgasm. oral f!receiving. creampie. softish protective simon with tons of underlying feelings (my fav). reader is scared of her own shadow. dirty talk. history/lore thicker than a snicker. spooky themes. fwb. forced proximity.
SUMMARY: haunted houses are filled with screamsâŠthough simon makes sure yours are from pleasure.
Youâve never cared much for Halloween.
And not in the bitter, old grandpa grumpy sense but more in the quiet âwhatâs the pointâ sort of way. Itâs the one night a year where people willingly play at fearâthey buy masks and paint their faces like deathâs just a costume, like evils something to be worn. You always thought that was funny. The rest of the year they ignore the real ghosts, the ones they keep tucked behind their ribs and work real hard to run from.
Unfortunately the rest of the base doesnât see it that way.
Laswell had signed everyone up for a âcommunity engagement initiative.â A local haunted houseâcharity event, team-building exercise, PR stunt, whatever you wanted to call it. The email had words like outreach and morale bolded for effect. You have no way out of these type of events unless youâre dead or dying (of which you contemplated both.)
But since youâre presently neither, come Friday night you find yourself shoulder to shoulder with civilians and soldiers alike, queued outside a repurposed fairground warehouse thatâs been dressed up like a haunted asylum.
And bloody hell, theyâd gone all out with it.
Searchlights sweep through the mist, carving silver streaks over the gravel lot. Fake blood glistens across painted plywood walls. Speakers crackle with pre-recorded distant screams. Hundreds and hundreds of civilians laugh and squeal nervously at every flickering bulb. The air smells like candied popcorn and fog machine chemicals, the sickly kind that stick to your clothes long after youâve left.
Itâs chaos. Families with kids, off-duty soldiers, base personnel in civviesâeveryone corralled into one long snaking line. Ten minutes of standing after endless photo ops and Soapâs practically bouncing on his heels ahead of you, clutching a cheap plastic glowstick someone handed him at the entrance.
âThis is bloody brilliant, innit? Bit oâfun fer once.â
Gaz just grins. âYouâre gonna scream first, Iâm calling it now.â
âMe? Please.â Soap sneers. âScotsman donnae get scared.â
Gaz jabs something back that you tune out while pulling your hood up higher, eyes tracking the crowd like youâre back on patrol. You feel like the grinch on Christmas. Every last fibre of your being is begging your legs to run.
You sigh. âThis is the dumbest PR stunt weâve ever agreed to.â
Price, standing beside you with arms crossed and patience thinning, hums his disappointment at that.
âItâs one night.â
You knew heâd say that. You also know it goes hand in hand with why heâs standing so damn close to youâhe knows youâll bolt the second you get the chance.
âOne night too many, Captain.â You shoot him a look. âDonât we have enough to be afraid of?â
The line moves forward.
âKeeps the civvies happy and makes us look human.â He says it softly, levelling you in a whisper. âItâs fake. Youâll be alright.â
You glance around at the chaos. âThatâs debatable.â
Price just shakes his head and lights a cigar.
Youâve never said it out loudânot that they havenât realized it by nowâbut Halloween just makes you uneasy. The noise, the chaos, the masks. Too many people pretending theyâre afraid when half of them wouldnât know real fear if it held a gun to their head (and yes, you realize how that sounds). Regardless, youâd rather be deployed in the middle of nowhere than packed in with civilians dressed as dollar store demons tripping over each other for the thrill of being chased.
Against it all, eventually you end up insideâswept forward with the crowd. The haunted warehouse asylum itself is a maze of thin plywood corridors and flickering bulbs leading to endless different rooms. Cold fog clings to your boots and somewhere in the dark a speaker hisses out another loop of distorted screaming and garbled groans.
The amount of people packed into these hallways is concerning in its own right, and itâs only moments before youâre deep inside the building.
Soapâs voice carries through the dark ahead of you as you reach a medical bay display. âOh, thatâs goodâthatâs bloody good! Did ye see the fake blood?â
You roll your eyes. âYou sound like youâre impressed by a high school art project.â
He laughs, and Gaz chimes in with a mock scream as something mechanical lunges from the shadows. You canât help the faint twitch of a smile, but that vanishes when the group behind you surges forwardâtoo fast, too many people at once. Someone screams, civilians start to shove, and before you can react youâre slammed sideways down a narrow hallway barely wide enough for one person.
You grit your teeth, but the crowd keeps shoving.
The walls close inâliteral plywood painted to look like rotting plaster but it feels tighter than it should. Every flash of strobe light slices the dark into disorienting fragments: a bloody handprint, a face behind mesh glass, a nurse mask with eyes that donât blink.
Someone screams too close to your ear and the sound knifes straight through your chest.
Itâs not fear, not really. Itâs the noise. The chaos. The false panic pressing in from all directions. Youâve lived through real versions of this, only those screams hadnât ended in laughter. Those walls hadnât been made of wood.
âChrist,â you mutter under your breath. âThis is hell.â
You shoulder through the crush of bodies, half-blinded by the pulsing lights. The sound system wheezes static and fake chainsaws. Someone bumps your shoulder hard enough to make you stumble. You canât even tell whoâs who anymoreâcivilians, soldiers, everyone melting together in masks and sweat and noise.
âSoap?â Nothing. Just the distorted echo of laughter ahead. âGaz?â
You push forward again, but the crowdâs momentum swings the other way and now youâre swept back down another narrow corridor. The smell of latex and fog fluid is thick enough to choke on and the plywood under your boots is stickier than it should be.
You try to call for Price, but another shriek drowns it out.
Then, suddenly, a body slams yoursâsolid and fucking hard. You twist, ready to swing, but a gloved hand snaps out, catching your wrist before it lands.
âEasy.â The voice comes low, steady, almost a growl.
You look up, half-ready to curse, and there he is. The world steadies, or maybe it just stops spinning long enough for you to realize who it is.
Ghost.
The breath you didnât realize youâd been holding slips out between your teeth. Even through the dim red light and drifting fog, youâd know that shape anywhereâbroad shoulders, black hoodie, the skull mask catching off handed glints from the strobe. Heâs supposed to blend in with the crowd, but somehow he never does. Heâs too still, too real in a place made of cardboard fear.
You exhale hard. âI almost punched you in the face.â
He huffs. âYouâd have broken your hand.â
Typical. Even here, surrounded by hell and screaming strangers, heâs wholly unbothered. And somehow his mask is the only thing in this entire hellhole that looks remotely realâall the fake blood and plastic chains canât compete with that blackened skull staring down at you.
âYouâve got a death wish dressing like that in here,â you mutter, jerking your arm free.
His eyes flick over you. âYou look like youâve already met it.â
Someone in a clown mask blurs by, dragging a hatchet and shrieking into your face. You flinch on instinct while Ghost doesnât even twitch. Just stands solid beside you as another wave of bodies slams through the corridor.
Youâre shoved forward, chest colliding with the hard plate of his vest and the air leaves your lungs in a grunt.
âShit, Ghost. Move,â you mutter, pushing backâthough thereâs nowhere to go. âYouâre crushing me.â
âTryinâ,â he says, and you can hear the smirk in it. âNot my fault youâre magnetized.â
You glare up at him, but someone crashes into your back, throwing you forward again. This time his arm snakes around your waist, holding you steady as the crowd surges past.
You force yourself not to melt at his hand placement. Right where it shouldnât be but always ends up.
âEnough of that,â he mutters, shifting you to his side so the crowd hits him instead of you. âWeâre gettinâ out before youâre trampled.â
Red light pulses overhead like a failing heartbeat. The sound system spits another scream, followed by a metallic screech that drills straight into your skull. Ghost waits for an opening, eyes scanning the crowd for any break he can slip you through.
Youâre done pretending itâs fun.
âChrist,â you whisper, half to yourself, half into the fabric of his vest. âNever doing this again.â
Youâre sure he solemnizes with that as he leans close enough for his breath to graze your ear. âYou hate this.â
âNot exactly a secret.â
âDidnât think youâd show.â
âDidnât have a choice. You didnât either.â
He hums low in his chest, a sound you feel before you hear. âAye. Price said âmandatory engagement.â Yâknow how that goes.â
âMore like mandatory trauma,â you mutter.
He almost laughs. Almost. âSounds about right.â
Another shove from behind, another reflexive step forward. You plant your hands on his chest to keep balance, but he catches one wrist and angles his body so the next surge hits him instead.
âCâmon,â he says, scanning the chaos. âThis way.â
He doesnât wait for you to question him. His hand slides down to the small of your back, guidingâno, herdingâyou through the surge of people. Every few steps his hand presses harder, steering you clear of jump scares and panicking teens.
Then he shifts so heâs leading, and shoots you a look.
âStay close,â he says.
âI am close.â
âCloser, then.â
You pause, thinking that maybe heâs joking. He isnât.
âYouâre serious.â
âWouldnât hurt.â
You hate that your stomach flips at that. Hate that it feels too familiarâthat after all this time, after all the near misses and years pretending like the two of you are merely cordialâhe still knows how to pull the breath right out of you without trying.
You stumble into a mirrored corridor. Long, narrow, flooded with red. The glass walls fracture his reflection into a dozen Ghosts, all of them tall and broad and big, just watching you move.
âBloody hell,â you murmur, eyes whirring around.
He catches your shoulder. âEyes on me.â
Another stomach flip.
âHard not to. Thereâs twelve of you.â You manage.
The corner of his mask twitches. âLucky you.â
He scans the mirrors, calculating angles like itâs a live op and not a thrown together haunted warehouse. Itâs then that it becomes glaringly obvious to you that heâs already mapped the exits. Youâve known him long enough to recognize that stillness before he movesâthe way his gaze narrows, the way his hand tightens just slightly in focus.
Old habits, you suppose.
Someone in a nurse costume lurches from the fog and you flinch before you can stop yourself. Ghost doesnât miss a beatâone arm hooks around your wrist, dragging you past.
âFake,â he says flatly.
You roll your eyes. âThanks, genius.â
âDidnât want you swinginâ again.â
You canât help it, you laugh, more breathless than anything.
âI reserve my swinging for you,â you mutter. âI know you like it.â
He hums. âGenerous of you.â
Then heâs moving againâhand still tight around your wrist, the other cutting a path through the crowd. You barely catch the flash of a gap between two mirror panels before he pulls you through.
A door slams behind you, muting the noise to a muffle. Itâs a closet. Or maybe a maintenance alcove. Doesnât matter. Itâs pitch-black except for the faint, bleeding red light seeping through the cracks. Dust, wood, and his scent fill the narrow space. You realize just how small it is when you exhale and your chest brushes his vest.
âBloody hell this is tight,â you mutter, pressing a hand to your temple. âCouldâve warned me.â
âYouâd have argued,â he says, voice low enough to vibrate in your ribs. âLike I know youâre about to now.â
You glare up at him. âItâs a broom closet, Riley.â
âStorage,â he corrects. âTechnical term.â
âYou dragged me into a closet.â
âDragged?â He tilts his head slightly, resting a gloved hand on the wall above your shoulder as if to make sure you donât get any ideas about bolting. âYou walked.â
You snort. âYou had my wrist.â
âDidnât hear you complain.â
âIâm complaining now.â
âToo late for that.â
You look up at him again, ready to fire something else back, but your voice catches. The space is really small. Heâs pressed close enough that you can feel the rise and fall of his chest. The edge of his vest brushes your sternum every time he breathes. You canât shift without bumping into him.
âJesus,â you mutter, trying to edge sideways. âYou enjoy this, donât you?â
âWatchinâ you lose your mind? Bit.â
He doesnât budge. Youâre struggling to catch a full breath. âBastard.â
âMm.â He doesnât deny it. âBastard who brought you to safety. â
Your fingers twitch at your sides and your teeth sink into the pillow of your bottom lip. So many different things flood your mind at onceâlike how he always seems to be the one to save you whenever you need it. How he always manages to keep you steady when youâre furthest from. How he just seems to have an answer for everything.
It makes something in your chest yearn. Something between your thighs too.
âHowâd you even know this was here.â You aim for casual, though it comes out choked.
He shrugs, the red light flashing through the crack cutting a line across his face.
âReconâs recon.â
You scoff. Expected. âYou really canât stop working, can you?â
He tilts his head, eyes catching yours. âYouâd prefer I improvise?â
You open your mouth to reply, but his hand lands briefly on your arm with just enough pressure to make you stop.
âBreathe,â he says. Not a suggestion. More like an order dressed as one. âYouâre wound tighter than Price.â
You swallow. You werenât expecting that.
âYou noticed.â
âHard not to when youâre practically vibratinâ.â
You glare up at him, but the fightâs gone. Your pulse is still hammering, and now that the noise and chaos has minimized the adrenaline feels heavier than your body knows how to handle.
He sees it. Of course he does.
You shake your head. âIâm fine.â
He leans closer, close enough that you can feel his breath stir the hair at your temple. âDidnât ask.â
You tense. âGhostââ
âBreathe,â he cuts you off. âIn through your nose.â
âGhostââ
Again. âDo it.â
You hesitate internally only to obey outwardly because that tone leaves no room for argument. You drag in a slow breath and let it fill your lungs, eyes fluttering shut as your inhale slows.
Ghost purrs an approval.
âNow out,â he says quietly. âSlow. Like youâre tryinâ not to fog a scope.â
You do. Then you do it again. And again. His voice doesnât waver. You focus on the rhythm, on his words, on the solid shape of him towering in front of you. The rest fades away after a moment and you forget where you even are, why youâre thereâit all fades away to just him.
"You're still breathing fast." He murmurs after a few. One hand still at the wall while the other lifts, gloved thumb brushing just beneath your lip where you've been biting it. "Mâthinking for other reasons now."
Your throat works a dry involuntary swallow, but you don't pull away. He leans in, skull mask inches from your face, catching the faint bleed of red light through the cracks.
âGhost..." itâs barely a whisper, more warning than protest.
âMm?"
You blink. âThis is...not smart."
âNo," he agrees seldomly. His thumb traces your lower lip again. "But we've never been about smart, have we?"
And heâs right. This thing between you has never been about smart. Itâs been about messy, stupid, foolish, secretiveâwhatever other handful of distasteful words you can name to undoubtedly give Price a heart attack before 50.
Itâs been many things. Above all else, addictive. Which is why it never seems to really end.
When you donât respond, his voice drops. "...yâwant me to let go?"
You donât need to think about that question to know the answer, but you make it seem like you do just for your conscious minds sake. Then you shake your head.
And thatâs all he needs.
He closes the space between you like it was always meant to be closedâmask grazing your forehead as his arms slip around youâone hand sliding up your spine beneath your hood until he cups the back of your neck with enough pressure to make you groan. Not kissing youâbut almost worse. Holding you exactly where he wants.
Where part of you has always been for years.
"You feel that?" His free hand works to pull up his mask just enough to press warm lips to your temple in a grin. "All that bullshit outside. None of it matters here."
You close your eyes, tilting your head without really thinking about it. You donât know if itâs the adrenaline, if itâs the cramped space, if itâs just the sheer fact that you havenât touched him since the last time you ended up somewhere you shouldnât; but whatever the hell it is, his lips grazing your skin feels like a dream.
You exhale, half a laugh, half a groan, and it sounds more strained than you want. "Bloody hell, Simon."
He hums an agreement, lips sliding across your cheek to the hinge of your jaw. "Missed that."
You try to form a thought, but his thumb presses your chin up enough to expose the pulse thudding beneath your skin, and the words dissolve into a quiet swear.
"Look at me." He murmurs.
Eyes half-lidded, you do.
His head is still angled just enough to put his mask into sharp focus, but even in the dark, you know he sees youâthe flutter of your eyelashes when he runs his thumb over the hollow of your throat; the way your tongue flickers out to wet your suddenly dry mouth; the way your breath catches because it's been months since anyone's touched you like this.
"Yeah," he breathes. "That too.â
You've felt this before, the dizzying back-and-forth between the adrenaline rush and the sudden sharp drop into a place you've never been able to name. You've been here with him more times than you'd admit, and yetâsomehow, every time feels like the first.
Your hands find the front of his vest, fists balling in the fabric just to feel the solid muscle beneath. Your heart jumps as he leans in, and this time there's no hesitationâhis mouth closes over the spot just beneath your ear and you gasp before you can stop yourself.
âGhostââ
âWhatâd I say about that?â He murmurs against your skin, wet lips slipping down your pulse point. You hardly hear the question and he knows it, so he doesnât wait for your response. âYouâll use my name when weâre alone.â
His hand tightens at your neck as he drags his lips down to your collarbone still covered by fabric, but it doesn't matter. The heat of him burns through anyway. Every inch is deliberate. Heâs not rushing, not even close, and thatâs what scares you most.
This isnât desperation or adrenaline-laced recklessness; this is intent.
You tilt your head back against the wall on instinct when he presses closer still, dominating you with sheer size alone until his thigh slips between yours as if it were always meant to be there.
"Fuck," you hissâbecause holy hell has a name and it's currently holding you hostage in a storage closet inside a haunted warehouse full of screaming civilians who have no idea what real fear feels like. âSi-mon-â
He swallows the next sound that slips out of you, lips slotting over yours in a kiss that could stop the world and you'd never notice. It's a slow, languid thing, and when he pushes his tongue into your mouth you can't decide if you should groan or moan louder.
And youâre not sure which he's more intent onâforcing noises out of you or making your hips tilt to meet his thigh automatically like muscle memory. You canât even help yourself, not as his hands roam, one working at the band of your pants and the other holding your lips to his as you start to grindâ
âYeahâŠthatâs it,â he growls against your mouth. Leather fingers hook into the waistband of your pants just low enough to send heat flooding south. âBeen too long.â
You canât breatheâdonât want toâso you kiss him harder, chasing every filthy sound he makes like itâs oxygen. His hand slips lower, dragging across your arse and squeezing hard enough to make you gasp into his mouth.
âYou gonna cum on my thigh like this?â He murmurs darkly, lips brushing yours between words. âFuckin desperate thing youâve always been.â
He's rightâhe's always been right about thatâand you swallow the moan that's building up in your chest as you grind harder against his thigh, unabashedly helpless as a whore. It should be embarrassing but it isnât, only because heâs rock hard against you and you're dizzy with the realization that he wants you just as muchâthat in spite of everything, you're still doing this. Still stealing moments wherever it's possible, still playing with fire.
You move to kiss him again, but he pulls back just out of reach, breath warm across your mouth.
âSimon.â You frown, tired of the teasing. âPlease touch me.â
He growls, shifting his grip into your hair and angling your head where he wants it.
âSay it again."
You swallow, mouth dry. "Please."
A noise low in his chest rumbles against your ear like a warning. "Louder."
You close your eyes, breath hitching. "Simon."
âGo on.â His thumb brushes over your lower lip, and for the briefest moment it's almost gentle. "One more."
You tilt your head back against the wall, lips barely grazing his.
"Please." It's ragged in your throat, a breathless command and a desperate plea. "Please, please fucking touch me."
His grip on your arse squeezes. "There's my girl."
It's that, the way he soundsâgrowly, possessive, all but purring as he pushes back into the kissâthat's enough to make you forget about the noise outside, that you're trapped in a broom closet in the middle of a haunted house, that there's an entire crowd of people just a few meters away.
You forget everything, just for a moment, as he slips his fingers over your mound and against your clit. As the entire fucking world melts away when he starts swirling themâ
"...soaked," he grits against your neck. "All this time pretending you don't want me and here you are. Dripping on my hand like a fucking sin."
You whimper, hips jerking forward instinctively. He applies pressure exactly where you need it; leather pads drawing slow, maddening circles against your slick clit and making your thighs tremble.
âJesus, Simon. This isnâtââ you gasp, fingers clawing at his vest for stability. âT-thought you were trying to help me-mmf-breatheââ
âI did.â He bites your earlobe, hard. âBut weâre at a haunted house, sweetâeart,â his voice is rough with a grin you can hear. âSomeoneâs gotta make you scream.â
Your eyes flutter open, hazy with need, and the red light bleeding through the cracks makes his eyes look like embers. You want to toss something back but only whimper again, head falling back against the wall as he slides his fingers further, dipping low, teasing through folds already slick with want.
Then he slips one thick digit inside you and crooks it deep.
You choke on a sob. âOh fuckââ
âTighter,â he hisses through his teeth. âFeels like youâve been saving this for me.â
And God help youâyou have.
You can't speak, can't even form a word as he curls that finger in rhythm, slow and deep, immediately pressing against that soft spot inside you like heâd mapped it into memory. Your back arches off the wall, hips bucking forward with need.
"F-fuck, Simonââ is all you manage.
And to that he adds a second finger without warning, thick leather stretching you open just right while using his thumb to circle your clit in tandem. Youâre clutching his vest so tight your knuckles crack because heâs dragging you to the edge in seconds and itâs been months since youâve been there.
"Simon!" You cry out loud enough that your voice bounces off the walls. âIâm-ah-Iâmââ
He smirks against your neck. âThatâs it. Scream for your ghost.â
He crooks his fingers again, deeper, and you shatter. Your back bows, nails raking down his vest as a broken cry tears from your throat. The world goes white behind your eyelids, bright and warm and so fucking rightâand all the feelings youâd worked to forget about flood out of you with the release that you know is soaking his glove as you spasmâhips jerking, sopping walls clenching around his digits like youâll never let go.
He doesnât stop.
Just keeps thrusting through it, slow and relentless as you tremble and gasp and come apart in his arms.
âMm. Atta girl,â he murmurs into your ear. âLet it take you.â
And God help you, it does. Wave after wave rolls through you until your legs give out and the only thing holding you up is him. The solid press of his body, the arm locked around your waist like heâs always meant to catch you when you fall. Everything is bliss, pure white hot and electric, liquifying your bones in his grip.
Itâs stupid, God itâs so fucking stupid how you end up here time and time againâand youâll be thinking about that laterâbut right now youâre not thinking at all. Not even as he pulls his fingers out and spins you around. Not even as your hands slap against the cold concrete when he presses your chest to the wall, one gloved hand splayed between your shoulder blades keeping you pinned.
"Stay still," he warns, voice dark as sin.
You're still trembling from the aftershocks when you feel him drop to his knees behind you. The zipper of his tac pants sounds like thunder in the silence.
Then warm breath hits your soaked inner thigh.
âOh, Simon, I donâtââ
You don't get another word out before his mouth is on youâlips, tongue, teethâdevouring you like he's been starving for it in a space hardly big enough to be considered a closet. Your reaction is immediate, involuntary and utterly catastrophicâsensitivity on high as you collapse forward, forehead pressing against the wall while his tongue drags through your slit and he laps at all the pent up need youâd just released because of him.
âFuck.â Itâs all you can say before he does it again. And again. âOh fuck, Simon.â
He groans against you and the vibration alone almost makes you cum again. One hand grips your hip hard enough to bruise while the other slips under you, lifting your arse just so he can get deeper. When his tongue flicks over your clit in tight circles, it's not a questionâit's a demand.
You will give him another.
You sob his name into the darkness. And he doesnât stop. It falls from your mouth like a prayer, over and over, and maybe it isâa desperate litany he pulls from your lips with every flick of his tongue. You're not even sure you're speaking English anymore. You're not sure you speak any language other than the one he's writing across your body.
âLike thatâ" you gasp, fingernails scraping the wall for any scrap of composure. "Please, Simon, Imsofuckingcloseâ"
He growls, pulling your thighs open even wider and driving his tongue as deep as it'll go. You think you hear him murmur, "good girl," but you're so far past proper cognitive function now that you think it might have been a hallucination.
Youâre melting, eyes rolling as his tongue swirls over your clit. He kisses slow and deliberate, all but worshipping your cunt until he grips harder at your hips harder and laps at you like heâs trying to memorize every shiver, every twitch of your body under his mouth. The juxtaposition makes you cry out, and when he slips those two fingers back inside you, still slick with your release, and crooks them deep while sucking on your clit?
You cum again. Itâs instant and entirely uncontrollableâ a sob tears from your throat as pleasure blindsides you, a tidal wave crashing through bone and blood and breath all at once until youâre shaking and squirming and gripping the fabric of his balaclava so hard you think youâve put holes into it.
And itâs only then, when youâre trembling against his chin, that he stops.
You slump against the wall, chest heaving, sweat beading on overheated skin. This is dangerousâthis is so so dangerous that maybe itâs even catastrophic. Reckless. A thousand ways of being broken in the makingâbut even now you can't bring yourself to care when you feel his lips moving up your spine, the press of his hands on your hips as he stands and slides his erection up against your slit.
âSimon, fuck.â You whimper, grinding against his length despite yourself. Heâs huge. You know itâs going to hurt, it always does. âMâseeing stars.â
He presses his forehead between your shoulder blades, lips tilted into that smirk you canât decide if you love or hate.
âThen close your eyes, sweetâeart.â
His hands slide from your hips to your wristsâholding them against the wall as he grinds. The thick head of him nudges through slick folds, teasing just enough to make you whimper.
âTell me you want it,â he growls. âTell me this pussyâs still mine.â
Youâre shaking, wrecked, dripping and so far gone that lying is impossible. Even if you did you know he wouldnât believe you.
âI need it,â you beg, arching back into him. âItâs yours. Only ever been yours.â
Only ever been yours. Those words, the sound of them on your tongue, soft and desperate and just for himâmake every part of him burn just like youâd hoped they would.
âOnly ever been mine.â He grits, leaking tip grazing your clit and making you shudder. âProve it."
âMmmfffff-â you moan, part anticipation and part relief as he pushes in slow. The stretch burns, just like it always has, because heâs bigger and thicker than youâd ever been able to properly handle and he knows itâgives you time to whine about it with each inch he slides in. âOhgodâshitââ
He doesnât let up, just sinks deeper with one smooth stroke until heâs buried to the hilt and your walls pulse around him like theyâre trying to pull him deeper. Then he stills. Breath ragged in his chest. Jaw clenched. And for a moment, it feels like time stopsâthat this tiny broom closet is all that exists: heat, sweat, breath between cracked lips and pounding hearts out of sync but somehow beating for each other anyway.
He leans into your ear, one hand releasing your wrist only to tangle in your hair at the root.
"Fucking heaven." He growls.
Heaven. It's not a word you hear often, certainly not from himâbut the weight of it makes your breath hitch, makes your heart skip. Makes you wonder for a split second if you really do know this man in ways no one else does.
Then he rocks into you, hard. A cervix kissing thrust.
âFuck! S-Simon.â You hiss through the sting. âYouâreâfucking biggerââ
"And you're squeezing me like a vice," he grits out in response. "Should I go slow?"
And the answer should be a solid yes, definitely yes, for Godâs sake youâre not some kind of superhero. You're a mess and youâll likely be walking funny for a while after this but when he presses against your backâheat and muscle and just enough of that familiar, musky cologne still seared into your brain and whispers:
"Or should I wreck you the way I've been wanting to since the last time?"
There is no other answer than this one. âFucking hell. Yesâplease."
âChrist," he mutters. âSâfilthy for me. Sâgood.â
âAll yours.â You hiss, grinding back against him. âWreck meââ
He groans, grip tightening in your hair until you're breathless. Red light flickers through the crack in the door. Your lashes flutter. Then with one sharp motion, he pulls back and slams into you. Hard.
âLike that?" He hisses.
Your head drops back against his shoulder.
âFuck," you gasp. "Y-yes. Like-thatâ"
He does it again and you chew your lip not to scream.
"Like this?" He growls, setting a brutal pace.
There's no more room for breath, let alone thoughts. The room starts to spin, everything except the thick, perfect slide of him inside you, the heat of your bodies and the fact that despite the lack of space you canât get enough of him. Youâll take more and more and more so long as heâs will to give it.
He seems to sense that, somehow.
"Greedy little thing," he snaps, hips smacking your ass with each thrust. "Grippin me so fuckin tight.â
âYou-ah!-you love it,â you gasp, back arching as he drives deeper. âAdmit it.â
âLove.â He repeats against your neck, teeth grazing your pulse point. âLove how yâfeel," he grinds out between thrusts. âLove how you take every fuckin inch like you were made for it." His hand slips from your hair to wrap around your throat with just enough pressure to make you whimper. âAnd maybe I hate that I donât hate it,â he breathes. âBut fuck if I can stop.â
It's a confession at the wrong time, a truth ripped from some deep, hidden place that's never seen the light. You feel it in the rasp of his voice as he says it, in the hard edge to his words. You've never heard him this honest and itâs enough to make your chest ache.
It must do the same for him because he hisses a curse through his teeth and brings his fingers to your clit.
You whinge. âF-fuck! S-SimonâIâmââ
"I know," he growls, thumb circling faster. âMm. I fuckin know."
You've never seen him like this, all that patience and control stripped away until he's just a wild, feral thing. You should be scared of this version of him, but all you can focus on is how good he feelsâhow you're losing yourself to the edge, and he's the only thing keeping you there.
Your lids squeeze shut. Youâre so close. âOh-oh godââ
"Let go," he commands, voice dark and edged. "Cum fâme."
The demand shatters you.
Your back bows, your breath catches, and then youâre coming so hard it feels like your soulâs being ripped from your body. Walls clenching around him, pulse thundering in every limb, a scream tearing from your throat that echoes off the walls of the closet.
He doesnât stop.
Rides out every spasm, every twitch, pounding into you through the aftershocks until his own release hits like a detonation. A guttural groan rips from his chest as he buries himself deep, heat pulsing inside you as he empties himself with three final thrusts that make you sob. The world comes back to you in fragments, in slow motion and blurry, so for a moment, you both stand thereâbreathing hard, sweat-dampened, hearts slamming.
You should get dressed. Clean up. Make a joke about broom closets or haunted warehouses. Go find the others. But neither of you move. You just stand there and breathe. Then he pulls out, and you both work to piece yourselves back together.
Thereâs never much to say after moments like this â when the airâs still thick with heat, and your heartbeatâs still trying to climb down from wherever it ran to. When the world feels too quiet, and youâre left to wonder what the hell just happened between you again.
It always ends like this.
A blur of want, a crash, and then the silence after where youâre left standing in the wreckage of it, pretending youâre fine. Pretending itâs simple. Pretending you havenât started to dread the calm that comes once his hands leave you.
Simon speaks first. He always does.
âThere,â he says, voice rough but steady. âHaunted houses ainât so bad, mh?â
You huff out something between a laugh and a breath, spinning to face him. âYou make a questionable therapist.â
âExpectedly.â He shifts, adjusting his mask back into place. âJust donât like seeinâ you jump at shadows.â
âThey were people jumping out of walls.â
âStill shadows to me.â
You glance up at himâat those eyes behind the mask, dark and steady and infuriatingly composed. The same eyes that had looked at you differently a minute ago. Softer. Or maybe you imagined that. You always think you do.
âYou donât get scared of anything, do you?â You ask.
Heâs quiet for a beat that lasts too long, gaze flicking over your face in a way youâd never really seen from him before.
Then he shrugs. âGet focused. Not scared.â
âThatâs not normal.â You scoff.
He tilts his head slightly. âNever claimed to be.â
The red light flickers through the cracks again, bathing you both embers. You can still feel the heat of himâhis breath, his touch, the way heâd said your name like it meant something.
And it always leaves you like this; wanting more than you should and hating yourself for it.
âNext time you want to calm me down,â you murmur, half to cover the silence, half to breathe through it, âI pick the location.â
He huffs a quiet laugh through the mask. You feel it more than hear it. âFine by me. Sâlong as it doesnât involve you swinginâ at me again.â
âDepends how annoying you are.â
He leans in just slightly, enough that his voice grazes your ear. âThen weâll call that training.â
You roll your eyes and fail to bite back the smile that surfaces. He straightens finally, shoulders rolling, that stance settling back into its rightful placeâthe soldier again.
âYou good?â
You nod, slower than you mean to. âYeah.â
âRight,â he mutters, already shifting for the door. âLetâs find the others before they start takinâ bets on our arrests.â
You almost laugh, but it dies somewhere in your throat. Because thisâthis pattern, this back-and-forthâitâs always easier than asking what any of it means.
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Divergent is a bad book, but its accidental brilliance is that it completely mauled the YA dystopian genre by stripping it down to its barest bones for maximum marketability, utterly destroying the chances of YA dystopian literatureâs long-term survivalÂ
Sure. Imagine that you need to make a book, and this book needs to be successful. This book needs to be the perfect Marketable YA Dystopian.
So you build your protagonist. She has no personality traits beyond being decently strong-willed, so that her quirks and interesting traits absolutely canât get in the way of the audienceâs projection onto her. She is dainty, birdlike, beautiful despite her protestations that she is uglyâyet she can still hold her own against significantly taller and stronger combatants. She is the perfect mask for the bashful, insecure tweens you are marketing to to wear while they read.
You think, as you draft your novel, that you need to add something that appeals to the basest nature of teenagers, something this government does that will be perversely appealing to them. The Hunger Gamesâ titular games were the main draw of the books, despite the hatred its characters hold for the event. So the government forces everyone into Harry Potter houses.Â
So the government makes everyone choose their faction, their single personality trait. Teenagers and tweens are basicâthey likely identify by one distinct personality trait or career aspiration, and theyâll thus be enchanted by this system. For years, Tumblr and Twitter bios will include Erudite or Dauntless alongside Aquarius and Ravenclaw and INTJ. Congratulations, you just made having more than one personality trait anathema to your worldbuilding.Â
Your readers and thus your protagonist are naturally drawn to the faction that you have made RIDICULOUSLY cooler and better than the others: Dauntless. The faction where they play dangerous games of Capture the Flag and donât work and act remarkably like teenagers with a budget. You add an attractive, tall man to help and hinder the protagonist. He is brooding and handsome; he doesnât need to be anything else.Â
The villains appear soon afterward. They are your tried and true dystopian government: polished, sleek, intelligent, headed by a woman for some reason. They fight the protagonists, they carry out their evil, Machiavellian, stupid plan. You finish the novel with duct tape and fanservice, action sequences and skin and just enough glue and spit to seal the terrible, hollow world you have made shut just long enough to put it on the shelf.Â
And you have just destroyed YA dystopian literature. Because you have boiled it down to its bare essentials. A sleek, futuristic government borrowing its aesthetic from modern minimalism and wealth forces the population to participate in a perversely cool-to-read-about system like the Hunger Games or the factions, and one brave, slender, pretty, hollow main character is the only one braveâno, special enough to stand against it.Â
And by making this bare-bones world, crafted for maximum marketability, you expose yourself and every other YA dystopian writer as a lazy worldbuilder driven too far by the ârule of coolâ and the formulas of other, better dystopian books before yours. In the following five years, you watch in real time as the dystopian genre crumbles under your feet, as the movies made based on your successful (but later widely-panned and mocked) books slowly regress to video-only releases, as fewer and fewer releases try to do what you did. And maybe you realize what youâve done.
one quibble: hunger games was intense and sincere and the writer had worked for tv and knew exactly what she was talking about when she wrote how media machines create golden idols out of abused kids and then leave the actual people inside their glamorous shells to rot. hunger games had a genuine core of righteous anger that resonated with a lot of people. the hunger games was genuinely angry about shit that is genuinely wrong.Â
but divergent was clumsy make-believe the whole way through. it aped the forms and functions of dystopian lit but the writer didnât actually have any real, passionate, sincere anger to put on the page. she didnât know what it was talking about, so she didnât have anything worth listening to.
thereâs a difference between anti-authoritarianism as a disaffected, cynical pose and anti-authoritarianism as a rallying cry by people who believe in a bitter world. and the former is something corporations and industries and publishing houses are so much more comfortable with. so divergent and the flood of books published and marketed alongide and after it showed how the dystopian genre was no longer truly revolutionary, no longer a sincere condemnation of corporate oligarchies. the mass-market dystopian genre was now nothing more than an insincere playspace for people who were writing dystopia as a safely distant, abstract make-believe stage for their pretty girl heroes, rather than a direct allegory for everything that needs to be torn down in this world today.Â
This is the second branch of this post Iâve reblogged and like the fourth Iâve seen and Iâm just thinking about how the Uglies series, a pre-Hunger Games forerunner of the YA Dystopia boom, had significantly less staying power than it could have specifically becauseâŠwith the toxic beauty standards forced on teenagers being a Big Theme, studios couldnât figure out how to make a profitable movie out of it. The book got optioned multiple times, but a film version made in Hollywood was destined to fall apart at casting & makeup - their marketing methods relied on exactly what the series was criticizing, which isâŠpart of what made it so popular with teenage girls to begin with.
You contrast that with how the marketing for the Hunger Games films directly contradicts the messaging of the text, and how Divergent seems ready-made for the big screen, and it becomes really apparent why the genre folded in on itself. Capitalism tried to recuperate dystopian fiction criticizing capitalism, and in doing so, butchered the genre.
Thereâs also something rattling around my brain about a correlation between how made-for-screen a dystopian book is and how much it Doesnât Understand Dystopia, with the culmination being Ready Player One, a piece set in a dystopia that somehow still actively glorifies capitalism & that was literally optioned for film before the book was published, but I donâtâŠknow how to expand on that point.
âA true dystopia exaggerates a trait in our own society, taking it to its worst possible extreme. If we donât do something about this misogyny, weâll become The Handmaidâs Tale; if we donât do something about this communism, weâll become 1984; if we donât do something about this anti-intellectualism, weâll become Fahrenheit 451. The Hunger Games, which contains some surprisingly sophisticated political commentary, includes among its targets income inequality, celebrity culture, and the glamorization of war.
Divergent takes place in a society where all citizens are sorted into five factions based on their dominant personality trait: The selfless are sent to Abnegation, the intellectual to Erudite, the kind to Amity, the honest to Candor, and the brave to Dauntless. Leaving aside the sheer laziness of naming two factions with adjectives and three with nouns, what trait could this faction setup possibly be mirroring in our own society? If we donât do something about these BuzzFeed quizzes, Divergent warns us, we may find ourselves going down a dark path.â
But by Day Four, your ring cam has captured enough war crimes against lawn care to qualify for Hague tribunal review, and frankly, Pamela-from-HOA was circling like a fucking vulture.
You donât know who approved the housing application for the four men (introduced to you as John Price, Kyle Garrick, John MacTavish, and âGhostâ) across the street, but youâre 90% sure it was forged. Because no one- not one- has any idea what theyâre doing and theyâre strange. Really strange.
You noticed it the day they moved in: four large, broad shouldered types in plain clothes that somehow made them look even less normal. The one with the beard gave off dad energy until he opened his mouth and called the guy with the skull mask âson.â The one with the mask didnât react. The Scottish one swore constantly but somehow managed to sound cheerful about it, and the fourth kept calling everyone âsir,â even though they clearly werenât in charge of anything, least of all themselves.
At first, you figured maybe they were just⊠eccentric. Maybe a band? Some kind of halfway house for ex wrestlers? But then they started trying to do things.
Simple, suburban things.
Like putting up a satellite dish.
You watched from your window as all four of them gathered in grim formation, staring up at the roof like it was enemy territory. There was pointing. Nodding. Some kind of briefing. Then they began climbing⊠without a ladder. By the time the first dish was plugged in, one of them was on the garage roof, one was holding the plug like a detonator, one was barking coordinates, and the masked one was simply standing in the yard, hands on hips, staring at the operation with the solemn energy of a funeral.
It ended, as these things often do, in mild electrocution and swearing.
By Day Four, you were convinced they were running some kind of experiment on how not to appear human. They waved too formally. Their grocery trips looked like tactical raids where they bought four of everything (four jugs of milk, four loaves of bread, four packs of toilet paper- âdoomsday preppersâ were added to the list of possible things your neighbors were.) And at least once, you caught the blonde one crouched behind his car, whispering into what was either an earpiece or a Bluetooth headset that he definitely didnât need.
You finally approached on Day Seven, when one of them- Price, apparently- was outside with a toolbox, disassembling his mailbox for no apparent reason. You asked, very gently, âHey, everything okay over here?â
He straightened up slowly, smiled like a man trying to remember what smiles looked like, and said, âRoutine maintenance.â
The masked one appeared behind him a moment later, holding a wrench. âItâs compromised,â he said gravely.
âCompromised,â you repeated, dead inside.
He nodded. âInternal breach.â
You went home after that. Slowly.
You told yourself you werenât going to get involved, that it wasnât your business if your new neighbors were part of some ex-military performance art commune, but then you saw them the next morning standing in formation at the curb, coffee mugs in hand, saluting the garbage truck.
So now, every few days, you walk over with cookies or tools or a smile- anything to stop them from accidentally declaring war on the neighborhood watch.
They call you âcivilian asset.â You call them âthe four horsemen of HOA violation.â
Youâd made it a full week with only passive surveillance: peeking through the blinds, judging silently, watching four of the most suspicious men alive absolutely tank at civilian life like they were doing it on purpose.
But then Day Eight arrived, and with it: the lawn mower.
It appeared in their driveway, brand new, still partially in the box, wheels on backwards, safety manual fluttering sadly in the breeze. You watched as the tallest of the four (you think his name is Ghost, though that canât possibly be real) stared at it with the blank caution of a man facing a disarmed explosive.
Price, with the vibe of someone whoâs either a dad or a war criminal (or both) crouched next to it with a screwdriver and said, âIt canât be that complicated.â
Ten minutes later, the mower was upside down.
Fifteen minutes in, you heard one of them say, âMaybe it needs batteries.â
Twenty minutes, and the engine roared to life⊠before immediately dying and releasing a puff of smoke that probably violated several state laws.
You finally snapped at minute twenty two, crossing the street with your iced coffee in one hand and your will to live rapidly evaporating in the other.
âGentlemen,â you called, because âdumbassesâ felt rude on a first-name basis. âNeed a hand?â
All four of them turned as one. It was⊠a lot. Broad shoulders, stiff stances, gazes so intense it felt like they were trying to assess whether you were armed or a threat. You lifted your coffee slightly in truce. âHi. Neighbor. Not here to judge but also- what are you doing?â
âWe are,â Soap said proudly, hands on his hips and completely ignoring the sideways mower behind him, âmowing the lawn.â
âNo, youâre not,â you said. âYouâre staging a failed reenactment of Mad Max: Suburbia Edition.â
He blinked. âWe started it?â
âYou smoked it. Thatâs not the same.â
Gaz rubbed the back of his neck. âWe followed the instructions.â
âWhere are they?â
ââŠWe shredded them.â
You closed your eyes. Counted to three. Maybe five. Then sighed and said, âMove. Let me.â
You had to start from scratch: wheels fixed, oil checked, gas topped off. They hovered like overgrown children whoâd broken something expensive and were trying not to make it worse.
When you finally pulled the cord and the engine hummed to life, they all stepped back like youâd summoned fire. Ghost let out a low whistle. âWitchcraft,â he muttered.
âYouâre just saying that because I didnât read the instructions.â
Price gave a hum of approval. âGood instincts.â
âNo,â you corrected. âJust basic literacy and critical thinking. You should try it sometime.â
By the time the first line of grass was mowed, youâd already adjusted the blade height and showed them the bag catcher. They were watching you like it was a TED Talk. Soap kept nodding enthusiastically, Gaz had pulled out a notepad, and Ghost⊠well, Ghost hadnât moved, but he looked thoughtful under the mask.
âDo we⊠tip you for this?â Gaz asked awkwardly.
âNo, but if you explode another household appliance, Iâm billing you for emotional damage.â
They took over after that, slightly too eager, slightly too coordinated like this was part of a training exercise and not a normal Sunday morning. You watched them mow the rest of the lawn in overlapping 10x10 squares.
It was the most efficient lawn youâd ever seen.
Terrifyingly so
You didnât ask why they moved in. You didnât ask why they had two satellite dishes, five separate trash bins, and a constant rotation of unmarked vans dropping off âtools.â
You just went home, sat on your porch, sipped your coffee, and told yourself they were probably just ex-military, recently retired, and terrible at pretending to be normal.
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House Tour â my house is on pretty girl ave! âÂ
pairing: pool cleaner!bucky x rich girl!reader
warnings: 18+ MDNI, smut, perv!bucky, dom!bucky, touch starved reader, sexual tension, mutual pining, oral (f receiving), p in v, fingering, edging, begging, degrading, size difference kink, praise, dirty talk, masturbation, breeding kink, overstimulation, name calling and pet names: "slut" "baby" "pretty girl"
word count: 13.7k
masterlist
a/n: wanted to write a fic based on sabrina's song house tour. i was inspired by @houseofhyde's (literally sabrina carpenter) fics and if you haven't already, read her manchild series and check out her man's best friend inspired anthology coming soon! huge thank you to my girl @wildflowersandvibranium for helping me w/ the color gradient. thank you to @heldbybarnes and @its-in-the-woods for helping me w/ the moodboard. thank you to @juniebjonesin for being my beta-reader. thank you to @chateaubarnes for the divider. <3 much love.
synopsis:
Your house is big enough to host a hundred people, but the only one you want in it is your maddeningly hot pool cleaner. You want himâbad. Yet no matter how hard you flirt, he never seems to take the bait. What you don't realize is that Bucky wants you just as badly, he's just very good at hiding it.
You paused in front of the full-length mirror hanging in the foyer of your sprawling three-story house. A skimpy swimsuit was snug to your body, an expensive pair of sunglasses perched on top of your head, along with a chilled cocktail in your manicured hand to top it all off.Â
You adjusted the sheer cover-up knotted loosely at your hip that revealed just enough skinâŠthough never quite enough.
With one quick glance out the window towards your backyard, your breath hitched immediately.Â
There he was againâyour pool boy, hard at work.Â
The usual white tank he wore clung to his chest, already slick with his sweat. His arms flexed with every pull of the pole, muscles tightening beneath his sun-warmed skin, his hair falling into his eyes as his broad back bent and straightened as he moved around.Â
The sight alone sent butterflies to your stomach.
You sucked in a sharp breath, smoothing your hair and bringing your sunglasses down the bridge of your nose. Sliding open the glass door, you were welcomed with the hot sun and a slight breeze, bringing with it a faint smell of chlorine.Â
âGood morning, Bucky,â you called, your voice cheery with an inviting smile.Â
Bucky glanced up from the water, sunglasses reflecting you back at yourself.Â
âMorning.âÂ
Then, a small nod before returning to his work.Â
It wasnât much, but still, your smile didnât falter. Ever since you hired Bucky to work for you as your designated pool cleaner, you couldnât help but grow a little⊠attached.
You were a single woman living in a house big enough to hold a family of ten. Or twenty. Too much money, too much time on your hands, and not enough sex.
So when a strong, quiet, devastatingly attractive man showed up to work under your roof, what was the harm in having a little fun? Watching him became your guilty pleasure, like keeping your own personal eye candy by the pool.
First, it started with harmless admiration. Â
Youâd catch yourself watching him from the corner of your eye, stealing glances under your sunglasses or through the window when you thought he wouldnât notice. Youâd watch very closelyâthe way sweat dripped down his neck and in between the crevice of his chest.Â
And his arms.Â
God, his arms.Â
You couldnât help but imagine how they might feel cinched tight around your waist, or how those rough, calloused hands might look wrapped delicately around your throat.Â
Silly thoughts, really. Inappropriate, even.Â
He was just the man you paid to clean your pool. You never said anything, of course. Just⊠quiet looks, very long sips of your drink, and the guilty thrill of knowing you liked the view far more than you should.Â
You leaned back into the reclining chair, stretching your legs out before crossing at the ankle, your fingers idly twirling the straw in your cocktail.
âItâs so hot out today,â you said, tilting your head towards him. âBut I canât really complain with a view like this.âÂ
Bucky didnât react. He didnât even look at you either. Just a quiet grunt, his expression unreadable behind the darkness of his sunglasses.
Very typical.Â
Second, it became something physical. A physical attraction.Â
The mysteriousness of him left too much room for your imagination to run wild. He rarely said anything beyond the occasional âGood morningâ or a low grunt, and more times than not, you found yourself aching for just a little more.
âYou know, if you ever need a break, my house is always open and well air-conditioned,â you offered lightly, finishing it with a soft laugh to make it sound playful instead of⊠well.
Predatory.
The truth was, for all its size, your house was lonely. A word, a glance, even the smallest scrap of attention would have been enoughâand somehow, the person you wanted it from was the man fishing leaves out of your pool.Â
It was no different than coworkers developing crushes just from seeing each other every dayâor feelings sparking within a friend group simply from being around one another so often.
So really, it was only natural to feel this way⊠wasnât it?
You wanted to feel him. All of him. His muscles, his jawline, his backâŠÂ
You wondered how hot his body would be pressed to yoursâhow his fingers would feel sliding into you, stretching you, filling you, instead of your own.Â
You hated to admit it, but you have touched yourself to that thought before.Â
Once.Â
Twice.Â
Maybe more.Â
Bucky barely looked up. âIâm okay. Thank you,â he said, voice quiet, rough, and dismissive, before turning back to the pool like the conversation had already ended before it even began.Â
Your lips curved up in a sly smirk as you tried again.Â
âAre you sure? Do you want anything to drink then? A lemonade? Water? Or maybe a cocktail?â your tone stayed breezy, playful, all as if you werenât holding your breath for an answer.Â
âNo, maâam,â he replied casually, eyes still fixed on the pool. And he still didnât look up.Â
You exhaled slowly, swirling your straw before taking another sip. God, he was infuriating. And yet, the more he ignored you, the more you wanted him.Â
And last but not least, it became a game. A challenge. As maddening and one-sided as it seemed, you couldnât help but crave it.
You were a rich, young and beautiful woman. Realistically, you could have anyone you wanted and you knew it. You were used to being fawned over, used to nobodies tripping over themselves just to ask for your number. But the fact that you couldnât so much as snag the gaze of your pool boy?Â
That ignited something inside you.
For once, you were the one chasing.Â
And you didnât mind it one bit.
âSo, do you have any plans after this? I was thinking of making a quick lunch if you would like to join me.âÂ
Silence. Just the sound of water swooshing gently against the poolâs edge and the light scrape of the skimmer gliding across the surface. He paused, his eyes fixed on something in the distance, near your water pipes. His shoulders straightened like a thought came to mind.
Then, he finally lifted his head to look at you. Your heart thumped faster in your chest.Â
Finally.Â
âCan you come here for a second?â he asked, his voice straightforward and blunt as he set the skimmer down.Â
You couldnât help the smile creeping on your lips. You rose from your chair, setting your cocktail down on the side table. You smoothed the cover-up around your hips as you made your way over, anticipation already fluttering wildly in your chest.Â
The entire time, Buckyâs gaze followed you from behind his shades. You hoped he noticed the way your bikini clung tight to your curves, the subtle sway of your hips as you moved towards him.
You flashed him a charming grin, crossing your arms over your chestâsubtly accentuating the way your breasts pushed up against your arms.Â
Too bad his sunglasses hid his eyes. You had no way of knowing if he had even noticed.
âFollow me,â he said, curling his fingers to motion you closer.Â
âOkay,â you agreed softly, letting him guide you.Â
With his back to you, you couldnât help but admire the viewâthe width of his shoulders, the way he moved. You were so caught up in the silhouette of him that you hardly noticed where he was leading you until you found yourself at the side of the house, standing before the jumble of water pipes and filters.
He stopped abruptly. âStand here.â
You moved closer, your heart beating so fast it could leap out of your chest. The way he stood there, watching you, commanding you to come up to him⊠it all made your skin heat up in a way that had nothing to do with the sun.Â
âCloser.âÂ
Your breath caught in your throat, one large hand brushing against your lower back to guide you into position. The touch was casual, almost incidental, yet it was enough to make your legs feel a little weak.
He held your gaze for a moment, his hand still resting lightly on your lower back. You wanted nothing more than to reach up and remove his sunglasses yourselfâjust to see his eyes, to know if he was feeling the same spark you were.
Then, finally, he broke his gaze and tilted his head towards the filter.Â
âThereâs an issue with the filter,â he explained. âItâs clogged worse than I thought. Iâll need to check it a few extra times this week to make sure itâs running properly.â
Oh.Â
Your shoulders slump slightly, the thrill of his attention immediately colliding with a pang of disappointment.Â
You followed his gaze to the pool and let out a very long and disappointed sigh. âIs that so?âÂ
He grunted quietly, his hand retreating from your back. âYeah,â he said flatly. âIâll start on it. Should take a while to get it fully unclogged.â
You swallowed, trying to force a nonchalant smile. Infuriatingly dry, and yet every word, every glanceâor lack thereofâonly made the fiery spark inside you burn brighter.Â
âHow âbout you come inside for a second?â you offered quickly. âCool off a little before getting back to work⊠I mean, look at youâyouâre sweating like crazy.â You added a soft chuckle, letting the words hang teasingly in the air, hoping, praying heâd catch the bait.Â
Buckyâs head tilted up, looking past you and up at your three-story house. His expression was frustratingly unreadable, leaving you guessing at what might be running through his mind. After a long pause, he finally looked back at you.
âNo, thanks.âÂ
It was just as you expected. With a soft sigh, you masked your disappointment with a small shrug.Â
âSuit yourself,â you murmured as you already turned your back away.Â
âButâŠâÂ
You paused, glancing over your shoulder.Â
âIâll take a glass of lemonade,â Bucky said, his tone flat like he was granting you a concession.Â
Your lips curved slowly up into a grin, that warmth coming back to life in your chest. It wasnât muchâbut it was something. And with him, even the smallest thing felt like a victory.
âLemonade, coming right up,â you said lightly, your tone playful.Â
This time, when you turned toward the house, there was a little more pep in your step, the sway of your hips unconsciously enthusiastic. It felt good, being given something to finally work withâeven something small.
What you didnât see was the way Buckyâs eyes followed you, hidden safely behind his sunglasses. You missed how his gaze lingered on the curve of your ass through the sheer cover-up, how his jaw clenched once you finally slipped out of view.
From outside, he could see everything.Â
The way you moved around the kitchen with far too much energy for something as simple as lemonade. How you dragged out a step stool to reach the tallest cabinet, just to pick the nicest glass for him. How you filled it with ice, frowned because you put too much, dumped it out, then poured it again until it was perfect. How you even fussed with the lemon slice on the rim like you were serving royalty and not some random pool cleaner.Â
And the sight was fascinating.Â
He loved watching youâa wealthy girl who could have staff do it for youâgoing out of your way to make a drink for someone like him.
Of course he knew about your coy smiles, your lingering stares when you think heâs not looking, the way your hips sway when you walk away, the skimpy bikinis you wore despite never once stepping foot into the pool.
He noticed everything.Â
He just chose not to bite.Â
Because watching you tryâwatching you put all that effort into getting a reaction out of himâwas far more entertaining than giving you what you wanted.
As you leaned into the fridge for the pitcher, your sheer cover-up rode higher over your thighs, the thin fabric stretching to reveal the curve of your ass underneath. You bent forward slightly to grab some more lemons from a lower shelf, andâŠÂ
The sight made his throat go dry.
His cock stirred, thickening and rising slowly, an ache pressing against the confines of his work pants. He shifted his stance, trying to will the sensation away, but it was no use. The pressure was unbearable, insistent, and tight. Every movement reminded him of just how badly he needed you.
Bucky glanced toward the kitchen again, making sure you were still occupied. When the coast was clear, his hand slid to his crotch, fingers brushing over the straining fabric as if adjusting himself would ease the discomfort.Â
It didnât.
The brief contact only made his cock twitch in his pants even more.Â
âFuck,â he grunted, his hand palming his bulge through his pants.Â
He had to bite back a groan as his cock throbbed, begging for more. It was so risky squeezing himself when you were only a few steps away, but he couldnât bring himself to stop.
You had no idea what you were doing to him. And the cruelest part was knowing you wanted him tooâthat fact alone made it harder to keep his control.
Bucky knew he could easily barge in and ruin you, ruin all that polished perfection you surrounded yourself with.Â
Heâd dirty up your pristine house in an instant. Heâd bend you over the arm of your thousand-dollar couch. Heâd fuck you across all three glossy floors. Heâd bury himself deep in your king-sized bed until you couldnât bear to go to bed without him.Â
His hand pressed harder against the outline of his cock. âFuck, baby,â he growled to himself as filthy images flooded in his mind.Â
He wanted to so badly drag that sad excuse of a cover-up off your body, bunching it around your bare waist and bending you over the kitchen counter that you hardly use to cook for your own. He wanted to take his time and savour youâmake you finally crumble and beg for his attention instead of throwing out coy smiles and teasing comments.
His thumb circled the swollen head straining against his pants, the friction was delicious but it was not nearly enough.Â
Fuck, did he want to split you open on his cock, watch your spoiled composure shatter as you clawed at him for more with those greedy, manicured hands.
He squeezed himself harder, breathing heavy, eyes locked on the doorway where you could reappear any second. The risk of being caught only made his cock throb harder.
Imagine if you walked out right now, catching him red-handedâ
The sound of the door opening snapped him back to reality. He yanked his hand away, standing up straight and turning his back just as you stepped outside with his glass of lemonade with a bright and oblivious smile on your face.
âHere you go,â you said brightly, handing him the glass.Â
âThanks,â he muttered back, his fingers brushing against yours for the briefest second before he took it.Â
He tipped the glass back, his Adam's apple bobbing as swallowed, and you found yourself staring at his throat like you were thirsty yourself. He let out a satisfied sigh as he set the glass down on a nearby table.Â
He gave you one quick glance under his sunglasses before nodding his head once. âItâs good.âÂ
Dry.
Flat. Like always.Â
And you, of course, didnât notice the irony that just a mere seconds ago, he had his palm against his cock, groaning your name under his breath. Now here he was, still as stone, acting like you barely existed.Â
But for you, that tiny moment, your fingers brushing against his when you passed the lemonade, was enough to send your heart skipping like a schoolgirlâs.Â
It was ridiculous, really, how something so brief could make you feel so electric.
You forced a small smile and slipped back into your chair, twirling the straw in your now half-melted cocktail. You tried to play it cool, but your eyes kept dragging back to him again and again.
You were hypnotized with the way his hands toyed at his belt like he was adjusting himself, the movement of his shoulders as he crouched low by the pump system near the poolâs edgeâeverything about him just made it harder to resist.Â
Bucky leaned over the filter housing, twisting the valve to let off the hiss of trapped pressure. You watched as he unlatched the clamps holding the lid in place, muscles hard at work under his sun-warmed skin.Â
With a low grunt, he lifted the heavy top free, setting it aside before reaching down into the canister. He worked quietly, pulling free a clogged-up basket stuffed with leaves, stringy muck, and god knows what else. You werenât really paying that much attention to the filter anyway.Â
âMm,â he muttered, giving it a shake, water splattering onto the pavement. âThe filter's jammed up worse than it should be. Iâll need to check on it a couple more times this week, make sure it doesnât back up the whole system.âÂ
He tilted his head. âGonna take a look at the pumpâs pressure next.âÂ
He dropped the basket back into the filter housing and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. Then, with a low grunt, he hooked his fingers at the hem of his damp white tank and lifted up and over his head.Â
You nearly spilled your damn drink.Â
His chest stretched out, broad and solid. His muscles shifted as he tugged the fabric free and tossed it aside. Sunlight caught on every lineâthe ridges of his abs, the sharp cut of his V disappearing beneath the waistband of his low-slung work pants.
âOh my god,â you breathed, heat flooding in your belly.
Your thighs pressed together, desperate to soothe the ache between them. You wanted to keep watching, but every flex of his back as he crouched over the filter only made it worse. You pictured your hands running down the hard grooves of muscle, his body hovering over yoursâ
God. It was so indecent, sitting here and openly staring at him.Â
You knew you couldnât take it anymore when he started to grunt as he bent down to check the pipes. The sound was nothing but seemingly innocent, but to your ears, it came out unbearably filthy.
Clearing your throat, you scrambled to your feet, your drink wobbling dangerously in your hand.Â
âWell,â you said quickly, voice rising high in pitch. âItâs getting⊠really hot out here, so Iâll justââ You hiked a thumb over your shoulder. âIâll be inside if you need anything.â
You didnât wait for an answerânot that you were going to get one anyway. With your face burning, you hurried back towards the safety of your house, desperate for cool air and four walls protecting you from the sight of his addicting sweat-slicked body.
Bucky glanced up, peering at you through his shades as he watched you scurry off inside, your cover-up lifting around your bare thighs.Â
That was cute. For someone whose entire game was trying to catch his attention, you bolted the second you actually got it.
He bent back over the pipes, but his focus was shot to hell. Every few seconds, his gaze followed back to the house, tracking you through those wide, spotless windows until you disappeared past a wall⊠only to reappear again in your bedroom.Â
The blinds were wide open, curtains parted to give him a clean view of your perfect body. You hadnât even realizedâor maybe you did, and this was your invitation for him to watch you.Â
From where he stood at the poolâs edge, he had a perfect line of sightâyour figure moving across the room as you wiggled out of your flimsy cover-up and tossed it carelessly onto the floor somewhere. He watched as you paced around the room, flustered and restless.Â
The sunlight peeking through your windows lit you up like a goddess, a carving that was made to be worshipped by him.Â
You looked edible.Â
And Bucky wanted a taste.Â
Just as he was about to force his gaze away to focus on the filter, you did something that made his throat go completely dry.Â
You let out bikini straps slip from your shoulders. The top fell loose and he felt his chestâand his pantsâtighten as you stood there, bare and unaware. But what really got him was the sight of you crawling into your bed, removing your bottoms and letting your polished fingertips glide down your bare torso and disappearing in between your smooth thighs.Â
âJesus ChristâŠâ he muttered as his cock began to stir again.Â
Watching you make lemonade earlier was one thing. But thisâthis was just obscene. Standing out here in your yard, shirtless, watching you touch yourself like you were putting on a show for him alone.Â
It shouldâve felt wrong. He shouldâve felt like a creepâlike a pervert. But it didnât stop him.
Because this was exactly what you wanted, wasnât it? For him to stare at you? After all, you were likely touching yourself to the thought of him anyway, so it was only fair for him to watch you in return.Â
Your hair sprawled across white silk pillows, your legs stretching open as you began to work yourself with desperate little touches. Buckyâs cock strained with every twitch of your fingers. He could already imagine itâhow wet youâd be for him, how tight.Â
If it were his hand between your thighs instead of yours, youâd be clawing at him, begging to keep goingâor to go easy.Â
Fuck. Watching you earlier had been bad enough, but this? This was pure torture.
He could already imagine it, how wet you would feel against his fingers, how easily you would open up for him if it were his hand between your thighs instead of your own.Â
His cock pressed hard against his zipper, begging for just an ounce of relief. Palming himself wasnât enough, and if he wasnât going to storm upstairs and fuck you into your mattress, heâd have to settle for his hand instead.Â
You had your head tossed back against the pillow, your eyes squeezed shut and your mouth hung open. Bucky couldnât hear you, but God, he wished he could.Â
With a low growl, he unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants, zipping his fly down quickly and desperately. His hand slipped into his waistband, pulled out his cock, already warm and heavy in his palm. The rush of cool air against his swollen tip made him hiss through his teeth, and his fist tightened around the length.
Bucky watched as you rolled your hips against your own fingers, your lips parting to gasp, he couldnât hear but could damn well imagine.Â
His fist worked over his cock, giving himself small and teasing strokes. But the longer he watched you, the harder he pumped himself. His breath hitched right along with yours, even if you couldnât hear him.Â
âYeah, thatâs it, baby,â he rasped under his breath, this thumb sliding over the leaking tip of his cock. âFuck yourself nice and deep⊠open up that pretty pussy for me.âÂ
You gasped again, your head sinking deeper against the pillows, and he groaned, imagining it was because of him, because of the way he would sink his cock into you and split you wide.
âBet youâd be so fucking tight around me,â he grunted, hips rocking into his hand as he pumped faster. âIâd stretch you out so good, make you scream my name instead of keeping it all quiet like that.â
Every shake of your body, every subtle move of your wrist, only made him harder, needier. His balls were tight and aching, but still he couldnât stop, couldnât drag his eyes away.
âGoddamn, look at you,â he muttered, voice strained. âSo perfect⊠so fucking sweetâthinkinâ youâre in control all the time.â His hips bucked into his fist, precum smearing over his knuckles as he stroked harder. âYouâve got no idea, do you? How bad I wanna ruin that pretty little image of yours....â
Your thighs trembled, your lips parting in another voiceless cry, and he groaned deep in his chest, pumping himself faster. You were getting close, he just knew it.Â
âIâd fuck you stupid, baby,â he hissed, gaze locked on the way your legs started to shake. âHave you begging, drooling, makinâ a mess all over my cock until you couldnât even say my name without whimpering.â
He braced one hand against the edge of the filter housing, knuckles going white.Â
âYouâd be mine. Only mine. Iâd keep you tucked away in this big house, fuckinâ you on every damn floor until you forget anyone else even exists,â he growled. âIâll make sure you have no one else over but me.âÂ
His hips jerked, strokes getting messier as the image of you whimpering beneath him filled his head. Through your window, your back arched, your eyes squeezing shut as your fingers moved frantically between your legs.Â
âYeah⊠thatâs it, baby,â he hissed quietly. âCum for me, cum on my cock like Iâm right thereâŠâÂ
Your body trembled, chest rising up and down rapidly. Bucky felt his own release rising hard and fast. The sight of youâsilk sheets wrinkling beneath you, hair sprawled out over the pillowsâtore a groan clean out of his chest.Â
Good thing you couldnât hear him.Â
You turned your head, cheek brushing softly against your tousled hair, looking like a goddamn angel.
Then your eyes fluttered open.Â
Straight out the window.Â
And Buckyâs stomach dropped.Â
Shit.Â
He immediately yanked his hand off himself and stuffed his cock back into his pants, turning his body toward the filter like he had been working on it the whole time. His breathing came hard through his nose, heart beating fast as he grabbed the nearest tool and pretended to check the pipes, praying you hadnât seen him.Â
âFucking hell,â he muttered under his breath. His heart was thudding in his ears, his cock still achingâslick and completely unsatisfied in his pants.Â
He sucked in a deep breath as he tried to steady himself, trying to look like he hadnât just been seconds away from blowing his load all over the pool deck.Â
Play it cool.Â
Work the pipes.Â
Donât look back up.Â
Meanwhile, from above, you lay your back against your pillows as your gaze swept out the window and down to your pool.Â
Bucky was still out there, bent over the filter and hard at work. His broad back was gleaming with sweat, and even from here, you could see his chest rising and falling heavily, his breaths coming in sharp.
A faint smile tugged at your lips. Of course he looked wreckedâhe had been out there all morning, under the sun, hunched over pipes and skimmers and God knows what else.
He was really, really hard at work.Â
Your smile dropped to something⊠guiltier. Poor guy, out there sweating through his work while youâve been upstairs, sprawled out in silk pristine sheets, doing⊠well, not much of anything useful.
And even though he didnât ask for it, he deserved another lemonade.Â
You sat up and threw on a simple shirt and shorts this time. It wasnât like you were going for a swim with the filters all messed up, and it wasnât like that bikini had done much to catch his attention anyway.
You stepped outside, the glass of lemonade slick with condensation. The sun hit you right in the face, forcing you to squint as you raised a hand to shield your eyes.
âRound two!â you called, your sandals smacking lightly against the patio.Â
Buckyâs shoulders stiffened before he stood up straight and turned to you. He cleared his throat, his fingers brushing over yours for the briefest second before he took the glass.
âThanks,â he muttered, voice raspy and thick. He looked down at you, sunglasses hiding his eyes. His jaw clenchedâlike he wanted to say something but couldnât, orâŠÂ more like he didnât trust himself to speak.Â
You were a different sight than before. Your hair was a little mussed, you had on a plain shirtâa few sizes too bigâhanging over your body. It was so big that he barely noticed your tiny shorts riding up your thighs.Â
No skimpy hundred dollar bikini. No sheer cover-up. And this time, no obvious attempt at allure.Â
And still, he wanted you.Â
Because even like thisâespecially like thisâhe was still hard, still unsatisfied, his cock pressing hot and heavy against his zipper.Â
He swallowed hard before tipping the glass back. He downed the lemonade in one long chug, his Adamâs apple bobbing with every swallow until the glass was completely empty.Â
You smiled, hands behind your back. âBetter than the first time?âÂ
He exhaled slowly, handing the glass back to you.Â
âYeah.âÂ
It was another sweltering afternoon, and you were sprawled out on the pool chair with a book in your handsâa book you hadnât turned a page in for the last fifteen minutes. Your eyes kept straying past the print, landing on Bucky where he knelt by the water pipes.
Today was even hotter than yesterday, and he was out there shirtless, sweat dripping down his skin as he worked. You had on a different swimsuitâstill skimpy, still expensiveâand the heat was making you sweat right through it.
Honestly, if it werenât for the view, you wouldâve already given up and gone inside to the comfort of your AC.
You set the book down on your lap. âBucky,â you called, tilting your head towards him. âAre you sure you donât want to come inside? Itâs okay to take a break, itâs so damn hot out here.â
He didnât even glance up from where crouched. He twisted a wrench, the metal clinking sharp against the pipe.Â
âIâm fine,â he muttered.Â
But the sun was glaring down on you both mercilessly, beads of sweat sliding down his temple, down his throat and over his chest. You were already burning up just by sitting stillâso with him out there working, he seemed anything but fine.
You wiped at your damp forehead with the back of your hand, moving uncomfortably against the recliner with a huff. The heat was unbearable, and the bikini that was supposed to make you feel sexy felt sticky, suffocating, and gross.Â
âBucky,â you tried again with a weary sigh, âcome inside. Just for a minute. Iâll crank up the AC and grab you a drink. Youâre going to pass out if you stay out here. The filter can wait.âÂ
He didnât bite. He never did. Even your own patience felt like it was melting under the sun.Â
âDonât worry about me,â he said roughly, tightening the wrench with another twist.Â
He still didnât look at you.
Normally you would laugh it off, throw out another playful line his way, and try again until you wrung even the smallest reaction out of him. But the heat, the sweat, and the mounting frustration of constantly chasing his attention had you clenching your jaw instead.
âFine,â you muttered, sharper than you intended, snapping your book shut and rising to your feet. âSuit yourself.âÂ
Without another wordâor even glanceâyou turned and marched back into the house, letting yourself be greeted by the cool air over your skin as the door clicked shut behind you.Â
Bucky froze from where he crouched, wrench going still in his hand as he watched you stalk off and shut the door in a way that clearly indicated you were not coming back.Â
What the hell was that about?Â
You never just⊠got up and left.
You usually retreated in the house with a smile on your face, and every single time, you kept coming back, circling him with that playful little persistence of yours.Â
His jaw clenched, tossing the wrench aside with a heavy clatter. He dragged a hand down his sweaty face, cursing under his breath.Â
He stood up slowly, letting out a little groan at the strain. Sweat was dripping down his temple and soaking through the waistband of his pants. The sun was cooking him alive, and maybe that was why he was starting to feel a little frustrated himself.Â
Because the truth was, he wasnât fine.Â
The heat was suffocating, and his head was spinning with an irritation he couldnât quite put down. It wasnât just from the sunâit was you.Â
The way that bikini clung to your curves, the shine of sweat down your chest, the needy whine in your voice when you begged him to come inside.Â
Christ. He was hard again, cock straining against his sweat-damp pants. He hated how quick it happened. He hated how easily wound up he got every time you looked at him, and he hated how you walking away only made it worse.
The pool gurgled behind him, the filter still clearly needing work, but his focus was all over the place.Â
All he could picture was you inside, cooling down with that little frown on your lipsâdisappointed that he wasnât in there with you. You were probably already stripping out of that bikini. Maybe laying down, legs pressed together, trying to take the edge off the way you had yesterday.
And because of those thoughtsâthose relentless, stupid thoughtsâBucky lasted all but five minutes.Â
Five full minutes of pacing along the pool, knowing the pipes needed his full attention when all he could focus on was the tight ache in his chest and the heavier one pressing against his zipper.
When his gaze inevitably looked up towards the house, there you were through the spotless windows.
Laid out across the couch, your skimpy bikini straps were digging into your skin as you slouched against the cushionsânot even caring that you were dirtying up the expensive furniture with your sweat.Â
You crossed your legs at the ankle as your eyes fluttered shut, chest rising and falling softly. You werenât even looking at him.
And fuckâhe couldnât take it anymore.Â
He tugged off his work gloves and tossed them by the skimmer, muttering something grumpily under his breath that even he couldnât catch. His boots stomped heavily against the patio as he made his way to the back door.Â
He paused at the door, his eyes glued on your body through the glass. He should knock. Hell, he should turn around and get back to the pipes before he did something stupid. But despite his thoughts, his fingers wrapped tight around the handle anyway.
This was exactly what you wanted, wasnât it? The way you always lingered near him, flirted shamelessly, always tried to tempt him closer without ever saying it outright. You have been waiting for him to step inside this house for weeks.
In Buckyâs mind, he was finally giving you what you wanted.Â
The door slid open with a low scrape, the blast of cold air brushing against his warm body. He stepped in as if he already lived there, heavy boots already dirtying the once-pristine plush rug.Â
Your eyes fluttered open at the faint sound of the door closing.Â
âBuckyâŠ?â your voice was soft and confused as you took him in.Â
A big, broad, sweaty Bucky, standing in your living room for the first time since heâd started working for you.Â
âWhat are you doing in here? Is everything okayââÂ
âAlmost done with the filter,â he cut you off with a rough voice, his gaze trying to steer away from the tempting lines of your body. âJust needed to use the bathroom.â
You blinked at him, thrown off guard by the excuse but too caught up in the fact that he was finally in your house to even question it. âOhâyeah, of course. Come on.âÂ
You scrambled to your feet, suddenly self-conscious in nothing but your swimsuit. When you pictured Bucky entering your home, it wasnât like this. In your head, you wouldâve coaxed him in with a drink, maybe with a teasing smile here and there. Â
Not because he needed the bathroom.
So yeah, his unexpected presence threw you off. But still⊠at the end of the day, it was better than nothing.
âThis way,â you said over your shoulder, leading him down the hall.
Your house had never looked betterâfreshly waxed floors were reflecting under the light, except Buckyâs dirty work boots were now leaving a trail. Your walls were decorated with curated art and frames that were probably worth more than most peopleâs salaries.
But Bucky didnât spare a glance at any of them.Â
His eyes were locked on you.Â
And you could feel his heavy stare weighing down on your nearly bare back.Â
The walk to the bathroom was short, yet it felt endless. Because for once, you had nothing to say. You stopped in front of the door, fingers twisting the knob before pushing it open.
You could feel him behind you, close enough that his breath ghosted over the back of your neck. Your pulse quickened, and your mouth went dry.Â
If you turned around, if you so much as looked up at him, you werenât sure youâd be able to keep your composure.
You cleared your throat. âWell⊠this is it,â you said, flicking the lights on.Â
The mirror above the sink lit up instantly, creating a warm glow across the tiled room. And in the reflection, you saw the two of you framed in the doorway.
And then you caught him.
His gaze wasnât on the bathroom at allâit was on you.Â
You saw the way his jaw was clenched tight as his eyes trailed over the slope of your bare shoulders, his gaze lingering on the thin bikini straps pressed against your soft skin.Â
You didnât say a word. And truthfully, you didnât want toâbecause if you spoke, you would snap him out of it.
You wanted him to keep staring at you. You wanted to feel his eyes dragging over your body slowly, down your shoulders, over the curve of your waist and hips, to every inch of bare skin your bikini left exposed.
He wasnât touching you, but his eyes felt like a touchâscorching, intimate. It made your stomach twist and your thighs press together. Through the mirror, you watched as his tongue swiped over his bottom lip, a low groan slipping from his chest like he was fighting something back.
God, did that stare burn so bad.Â
You wanted him to touch youâjust a light graze of his fingertips, the heat of his palm against your waist. Anything.
For a second, youâre convinced he might actually do itâclose that little bit of space between you, press you up against the doorframe, and give you what youâve been craving.Â
But instead, he tore his gaze away. He stepped past you into the bathroom, his shoulder brushing yours. The brief contact had a soft gasp catching in your throat, your body already trembling at something so small.
âThanks,â he muttered before reaching for the door and shutting it behind him.Â
You were left standing in the hall, your pulse thudding loudly in your ears. You felt your skin warm where his shoulder brushed yoursâyou almost felt feverish. You shouldâve gone back to the couch and pretend like nothing happened.Â
But instead, you found yourself pacing in the living room, restless and unable to sit still.Â
Bucky was in your house. He was actually in your damn house.Â
And yet, the worst part was knowing that the second he came back out, heâd go right back to normalâback to his work, back to being dismissive, like none of this had ever happened.
But as the minutes dragged on, your heart couldnât help but slam harder in your chest with each second he remained behind that closed door. Any normal person would assume that he was⊠taking a number two. Instead, a dangerous thought crept inâthe idea that maybe he was in there because he felt it too.Â
Because he couldnât hold back any more than you could.
That he was in there touching himself.Â
Because of you.Â
By the time the bathroom door creaked open, your breath was shallow with anticipation and your palms clammy.Â
Your head whipped to the hall just as Bucky stepped out, broad shoulders filling the doorway. His hair was damp, and you couldnât tell if it was because of the sweat, or from splashing water over his face.
âUhâare you⊠are you okay?â you asked, your voice softer than you meant it to be.
He dragged a hand over his stubbled jaw, his expression unreadable as his eyes took you in.Â
âIâm fine,â he said, dismissive as everâyet his voice was rougher, like gravel.Â
At this point, you expected him to brush past you, head back outside and lose himself in the pipes. Thatâs what he always did, and thatâs what you told yourself to expect.Â
But he didnât move.Â
You interlocked your fingers as your hands rested in front of you, looking prim as if he was the owner of the house and you were the one serving him.Â
âUmâdo you, uh, want something to drink before you head back out?â you offered. âOr you could sit down for a bit, maybe relax for a second? Itâs hotter today than yesterday, andââÂ
âI want a tour,â he cut you off.Â
âA house tour?â you blinked, flustered. âO-okay⊠let me just changeââÂ
âNo need,â he interrupted calmly, his eyes flickering briefly down to your body before coming back to your face. âItâll be quick anyway. Gotta fix those pipes.âÂ
Your cheeks warmed up. A house tour was the last thing you expected out of him, but you werenât complaining. Maybe this was his version of a break. You straightened your shoulders and tried to play it cool.Â
âAlright⊠well, weâll start here,â you said, gesturing to the living room couch where you had been lounging earlier. You walked him past the coffee table, and with your back now turned to him, you couldnât help but if his eyes were lingering on your body the same way it did at the bathroomÂ
âThis couch,â you continued, forcing yourself to sound light and casual, âis where I usually read or watch movies. Very comfortable, and it gets plenty of sunlight.â
Bucky stood close behind you. âVitamin D,â he said. âVery important.â He glances down at the couch. âDo you mind if I take a seat?âÂ
If it were any other man, you wouldâve been revulsed at the thoughtâyour pristine, expensive couch soaking up sweat from someone who had been working in the sun all day.
But Bucky wasnât any other man.
âPlease,â you reassured, motioning with a smile. âBe my guest.â
He let out a quiet huff as he settled down, the cushions sinking under his weight. His broad shoulders stretched across the backrest, making your large couch look small. One hand slid along the cushion, testing the give of the fabric.
âItâs comfortable,â he said flatly.Â
You laughed a little too quickly, the nerves getting at you. âI get only the best. I⊠spend a lot of time here.âÂ
Bucky tilted his head slightly, and for a second, you thought that heâd get up and give one of his usual gruff responses. But instead, he patted the empty cushion beside him, inviting you as if the house wasnât under your name.
âHave a seat.âÂ
Your breath got stuck in your throat. âUhâokay,â it was unexpected, but you shrugged and settled down anyway, your bare thigh grazing against his. âSure.âÂ
He leaned back into the couch, arms stretched lazily across the top, one long leg crossing over the other. For someone stepping into your living room for the first time, he sure sat there like he owned it.
You perched on the edge of the cushion, hands folded primly in your lap while he looked as though he belongedâlike this was his space, not yours.Â
âCan I ask you something?âÂ
You turned, eyes slightly wide at the sudden question. âAnything.âÂ
He looked around the room with an unreadable expression, taking in the expanse of the clean kitchen, the wide dining area, and the chandelier dangling on the high ceiling.Â
âYour house is big,â he said. âMost houses I work for, thereâs a family, or people coming and going. But hereâŠâ his eyes land back on you. âYouâre always by yourself. Why is that?â
You felt yourself going stiff. The bikini you put on to draw him closer suddenly felt like a mistakeâbecause right now, with the way his eyes pinned you, you wished you were wearing anything else.
âI donât reallyâŠâ you hesitated, fingers fidgeting in your lap. âI donât really like having that many people over. It makes it dirty, and I like the solitude sometimes, you know?âÂ
His head tilted slightly. The silence that followed felt tense, until his mouth quirked up in a faint smirk. âSo thatâs why your house is so clean?â his voice was rougher, almost teasing. âWould be a shame if someone like me were to come in and dirty it up, wouldnât it?â
âW-what?â you stuttered, but tried to hide it with a small laugh.Â
Spurred on by your flustered reaction, his smirk grew wider as he leaned in closer, his voice coming to a growl.Â
âWhatâs wrong? Thought you always wanted me to come inside your house.âÂ
The way he said it, voice deep and husky, made your stomach twist and your legs press together. He wasnât just talking about the house, and you both knew it.Â
Buckyâs eyes swept lazily around the room before settling back on you.Â
âI want to see the rest of your place,â he said, âbut your couch⊠itâs pretty damn comfortable.âÂ
You opened your mouth, unsure if you should argue or joke, but the words never made it out. He shuffled, leaning closer, his thick thigh pressing harder against yours.Â
âScoot closer,â he murmured.
You swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous, but you did as he asked and slid closer until the heat of his body filled every inch of space beside you.Â
Thatâs when his hand glided gently on your bare thigh. His fingers were rough. Warm. His thumb moves in slow circles against your skin, testing you.Â
âTell me more about the living room,â he coaxed, his tone deceptively casual.
He looked at you and spoke as though he wasnât even touching you, as though his hand wasnât resting heavy and warm on your thigh. His touch was deceptively gentle, but it was enough to make your whole body tremble.Â
Enough to leave you aching for more.
âUm⊠well, I usually⊠uhâread here⊠watch movies and sometimes, you know⊠just nap,â you stammered.
It was insane, reallyâ how confident you were when trying to coax him in. But your words faltered as his head leaned closer, his lips brushing against the curve of your neck. A soft kiss, then another, each one carving into your skin as his hand traveled higher.
âAnd the rugâŠâ you blurted out, desperate for composure. âItâs one of my favoritesâitâs a limited-edition Oushak. Handwoven, cream and pale blue⊠only ten of them in the world.â
A soft press of his lips, followed by the scrape of his teeth and the slow glide of his tongue over your neck, left your breath caught in your throat. His hand squeezed your thigh, creeping dangerously higher to the thin fabric of your bikini bottoms.
âWhere is it from?â he muttered against your skin.
You knew he didnât care for the answer, yet you gave it to him anyway. âAnâahâitâs, uh⊠it was imported, umâfrom⊠f-from Turkey? Or Persiaâsomewhere like thatâI donât, I canâtââ
Your words were barely making sense now, every syllable trembling off your tongue. Because it had been so longâso long since anyone touched you like this. And being touched by the man who you secretly sought after made your head spin like crazy.Â
His hand slid up higher and wrapped tight around your waist, pulling you close against him. You let out a soft gasp, your body trembling as you pressed into his hard, warm, and muscular frame.
âBuckyâŠ!â you breathed, your hands rising instinctively and brushing against his bicep.Â
But before you could go any further, his hand shot out immediately and caught your wrist. His grip on your wrist was gentle, but the movement was rough as he guided your hands back down to your sides with ease.
âKeep your hands at your sides.âÂ
You sucked in a deep breath, both embarrassment and arousal tingling inside you. The audacity of himâto be so commanding here, in your own damn house. He worked for you. It shouldâve been the other way around. And yet, you cursed yourself for nodding because you were just simply too flustered to resist.
He grinned faintly at your obedience.
âGo on,â he said, lips ghosting over your ear as his hand caressed your naked waist. âTell me more about the house.âÂ
âBucky,â you hesitated, blinking up at him. âWhat are you⊠what are you trying to doââÂ
âCâmon, pretty girl,â he grunted, his nose brushing against your jawline. He pulled away slightly to catch your gaze, his blue eyes dark and desperate, pinning you in place. âIsnât this what you wanted? For me to come inside?â
âWell⊠yes, butââÂ
âThen go on.â He pressed, leaning closer. âLetâs relax for a bit, yeah? Just lay backâŠâ he looked around the living room slowly, âand tell me more about your beautiful home.âÂ
His hand slid down your waist and around your back, his touch firm but careful as he guided you back against the couch cushions. He moved with you, settling himself between your legs, his broad shoulders nudging your thighs apart.
âBucky..â you whispered, your voice shaky even though you made no move to stop him.Â
He lowered himself slowly, his stubble grazing against the sensitive inside of your thigh. One kiss, then anotherâeach torturously gentle, each one leaving your body trembling even harder.
âGo on,â he encouraged as he pressed another kiss higher. âTell me more about your living room.â
Your head fell back against the couch, a soft sigh escaping your lips as you tried to string words together.Â
âUm⊠the⊠the ceilings are highâso high, and the chandelier⊠itâs uh, imported crystal. Very⊠elegant.âÂ
Buckyâs lips curved up against your thigh, a soft, raspy chuckle vibrating against your skin. His mouth traveled higher until, finally it pressed firmly against the thin fabric of your bikini bottoms. The sudden heat of his lips over your most sensitive spot made you jolt, a sharp gasp escaping your throat as your body shook.
âB-BuckyâŠâ you panted, your hips bucking up instinctively, desperate for more contact. âPleaseâŠâ
You felt the teasing curl of his smile against you. The thin fabric was already damp with your arousal, and the realization that he could feel itâthat he could smell itâsent a hot flush of shame and need up your neck.
âMmm,â he hummed against you, the vibration shooting straight through your core.Â
âYouâre soaked, baby. And you smell so fucking sweet,â his tongue flicking over your clothed folds. âWhat was that you said about your⊠chandelier? Imported crystal?â
Then, his tongue flicked out, dragging over your wet folds through the fabric, the damp barrier doing nothing to dull the sensation. The light, tormenting trace of him had your hips rutting up shamelessly, chasing more friction, more of him.
âOh, GodâBucky. I need youââÂ
Your thighs quivered around his head as his tongue traced you again, the sticky fabric preventing you from feeling the real thing. He was playing with you, tormenting you, making you unravel with just the smallest movements of his mouth.
âNeed me? What could you need from me that you donât already have, baby?â he taunted, his hand rubbing up and down your thigh. âYouâve already got a fancy rug, a chandelier⊠so donât be greedy now, sweetheart.â
Your hands fisted the cushions harder, nails biting into the fabric as your legs quivered around him. âI canâtâI need more, please, I needââ
Before you could finish, he shoved your bottoms to the side, exposing your slick heat to the cool air. A guttural groan escaped him at the sight, his eyes darkening as if he had been starving for this. He didnât hesitateâdidnât want to waste another second as his mouth dropped back down, tongue flattening against your folds in one long, hungry lick.
âOh my god!â you cried, your back arching as your hands flew to cover your face, too overwhelmed to do anything else. âBuckyââ
âMm..â He hummed against you, savoring your taste before dragging his tongue even slower, teasing your sensitive clit. âTell me more about the house, baby. The floors⊠theyâre waxed, arenât they?â
God. Here you wereâsprawled out and nearly naked on your couch with your pool cleanerâs head in between your legs. This very moment felt like straight out of a dream, but here he was, asking about your wax floors.
âY-yeahâŠâ you panted. âThe⊠the floors, theyâre⊠w-waxed everyâoh, fuckâevery week.â
âEvery week, huh?â he muttered into you, lips curling before he dove back in, sucking hard on your swollen clit until you cried out. âThat why they shine so pretty?â
You have a very good feeling he isnât just talking about the floors anymore. You could barely answer, choking on your moans, thighs shaking violently around his head. Your grip on the couch cushions grew desperate, clawing at the fabric for any ounce of stability.
Then came his fingers. Two, thick and rough, sliding through your soaked folds, teasing, spreading you open.
âF-fuckâŠâ you gasped, hips twitching uncontrollably.Â
Without warning, he shoved them inside deep, curling instantly against your softest spot. Your cry was sharp, needy, your back arching off the couch.
âB-Bucky!â
He didnât let you adjustâhis tongue fucking your clit in rhythm with the hard thrusts of his fingers, pumping into you wet and fast, filling the room with the sounds of your pussy squelching against his hand along with his deep grunts and groans.Â
âThatâs it, baby,â he grunted. âCry for me. Fuckâyou sound so fuckinâ prettyâŠâ
The sound of his mouth, your wet pussy squelching from his fingers filled the air. Your body was unraveling, every nerve tightening as your stomach knotted hard, the edge of release coming into you with brutal speed. âIâfuck⊠feels so good. Iâm so close, Iâmââ
But just as you were about to come undone, he stopped.Â
His mouth pulled away. His fingers slipped out with a wet pop as he left you trembling, wet, and aching for more.
A broken whimper left your lips as he casually tugged your bikini bottom back into place, covering the mess heâd just made of you.
âBuckyâwhyââ your voice cracked as you tried sitting up.Â
He smirked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand like it was nothing.
âYouâll get more when Iâm ready.â He leaned back, calm as ever, while you trembled beneath him. âNow⊠are you going to show me the rest of this pretty house?â
You whimpered, legs still trembling. âBucky⊠pleaseâŠâ
He pushed himself up slowly, adjusting himself in his work pants, the heavy outline of his cock impossible to miss. His eyes dragged over youâevery curve, every shake of your body as you arched unconsciously toward him. His tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip at the delicious sight. Watching you come apart for him was already driving him mad.
When he took a step back from the couch, you moved without thinking.
âWaitâŠâ you scrambled, crawling to the edge of the cushions. Your hands trailed along the thick muscle of his thigh until they found the waistband of his pants. You tugged gently, voice desperate and a quiet whisper. âI⊠I want to taste tooââ
His eyes darkened instantly, locking on yours, and before you could pull him closer, his large hand wrapped around yours. The grip was firm, authoritative, and deliciously commanding.
âNo,â he growled. âTour first.âÂ
Your brows furrowed, lips parting in disbelief.Â
You were frustrated, aroused, and utterly confused. Why was he torturing you like this? Didnât he know that you needed him so bad? You were so close, and you can still feel your pussy fluttering against the thin fabric of your bikiniâaching for him. A frustrated whine left your mouth as your nails dug into his hand, trying to tug him closer anyway.
But Bucky only shook his head, smirking faintly at your desperation. He leaned down until his lips brushed against your ear, his breath making your skin prickle.
âYou wanted me inside,â he said quietly. âNow show me your house.âÂ
None of this made sense. You couldnât understand why he was dragging this out, why he wouldnât just give you what you were begging for. But God, you couldnât stop yourself from listening. You were already addicted to him enoughâthe sound of his voice, the warmth of his hand⊠it could undo you completely.Â
So you swallowed hard, nodded, and stood up. Your legs were weak, trembling with every step as you moved ahead of him, leading him towards the staircase.Â
âThatâs it,â Bucky purred behind you, deep and mocking. âGood girl. Lead the way.âÂ
Your fingers held onto the banister as you climbed, your thighs brushing with each step, the subtle friction of simply walking making you go mad. The fabric of your bikini felt suffocating and sticky, and you knew he could see it in the way your hips swayed as you walked.Â
âYouâre shaking,â he taunted softly. âLegs that weak already? And Iâve barely touched you.âÂ
âBuckyâŠâ you whispered, not sure if you were pleading or warning.Â
âKeep going,â his hand brushed against your lower back, steadying you like he owned your body. âShow me more of this big, empty house that youâre so proud of.âÂ
When you reached the landing, you paused, swallowing hard and desperate to catch your breath. But Bucky was already closing the gap, his chest brushing against your bare shoulder blades.Â
âThis is⊠the hallway,â you said quickly, gesturing down the long stretch of polished wood and soft lighting. âI, um⊠had these sconces imported from Italy. TheyâreââÂ
âImported,â Bucky cut you off, his tone slightly mocking and amused. âEverything in this houseâs imported, huh?âÂ
Your cheeks burned, and you tried to keep walking, pointing towards a piece of art hanging on the wall. âThatâs an original oil painting, early 19th centââÂ
His chest pressed harder against your back, trapping you between him and the wall. Warm breath brushed over the shell of your ear, and then his mouth was on your neck againâsoft kisses, then rougher as his hands slid around your waist.Â
âB-buckyâŠâ you sighed, âplease, can we justââÂ
âKeep going,â he murmured. âDonât stop.âÂ
His hands gripped your waist tight as he rolled his hips forward, his hard length grinding against your ass through the barrier of his work pants. The friction was maddening as he rutted up against you, hard and slow.Â
âTh-that⊠that painting⊠itâs, um, early 19th centuryâah!âÂ
Your words broke apart the minute his lips found that sweet spot just under your ear, sucking until you whimpered.Â
âYou already said that, baby,â he growled. One hand slipped up, cupping your breast through the tiny triangle of your bikini top, thumb flicking over the hardened bud. âCâmon, give me something new.âÂ
His other hand pressed lower, flattening against your tummy as he rutted against you harder, each thrust of his hips pushing you forward a step.Â
âF-fuckâŠâ he hissed through gritted teeth, his breath ragged in your ear.Â
His rutting grew rougher, his cock thick and heavy against the curve of your ass through his pants. Your palms splayed flat against the wall, the sconces rattling faintly from the impact.Â
You were a shaking, whimpering mess under him. âTheâth-the flooring,â you babbled, âmahogany⊠oh god, imported from BrazilâŠ!â Your words were caught off by a sharp moan as his hands slipped under the bikini, squeezing your breast and pinching your nipple.Â
âImported,â he repeated mockingly, panting as he ground against you. âFuck, baby, you feel that? Youâre makinâ me so fucking hard.âÂ
âBuckyâplease, please,â you whined, shamelessly pushing your hips back into him, grinding against the thick outline of his cock. The friction sent sparks up your spine, your thighs quivering and clit throbbing.Â
âShit,â he cursed, forehead pressing into your shoulder as his hips rutted against you harder, sloppier. His hands roamed and fondled you roughly as he fucked against you through his pants. âGonna make a mess in my work clothes if you keep wiggling that ass against me.â
You gasped, head tipping back helplessly against his chest. âThen do itâfuck, pleaseââ
âGoddamn, youâre fucking desperate,â his hand circled up around your neck, not choking, but squeezing gently as he held you in place and rutted faster. âKeep talkinâ about the house, pretty girl. Go on. Tell me about your perfect little hallway while I ruin you right here.âÂ
You nearly collapsed and his hand finally slid under the thin band of your bikini bottoms, his fingers brushing through your slick heat.Â
âB-Bucky!â you gasped, hips jerking when the pad of his finger circled your clit. The contrastâhis hand working you, his hips grinding rough and needy into your ass, it had your body unraveling in seconds.Â
âThatâs it,â he rasped against your ear. âFuckinâ soaked for me. So good, baby.âÂ
You whimpered and clawed at the wall, your body caught between his rutting cock and those ruthless circles around your clit. âPleaseâI canâtâIâm gonnaââ
âYeah?â he panted, hips stuttering as his cock pulsed and leaked hard against you, the friction almost unbearable for him too. âGonna come for me right here in your pretty hallway? Fuckâme too, baby, me tooââ
But just as your body tensed, pleasure right there at the edge, he tore his hand away. His hips stilled, chest heaving against your back as his grip on your waist tightened before letting you go.Â
The sudden loss felt like ice water in your veins.Â
âN-no, no,â you begged, looking over your shoulder with pleading eyes. âPlease, not again. WhyââÂ
He chuckled as he pressed a mocking kiss to your cheek. âNot yet,â his hand caressed down your thigh while the other tugged your swimsuit back into place. âTourâs not finished.âÂ
Your body was trembling beneath him. Youâre about to turn around, grip onto his shirt and start begging, but his rough voice cut through.Â
âShow me your bedroom.âÂ
You swallowed hard, cheeks burning, every nerve frustrated from being denied. âBuckyâŠâ you whispered in plea, but you didnât dare to finish your sentence with the dark look he was giving you.Â
His fingers came up and brushed your cheek in a teasing stroke, making you jolt. âYou gonna keep me waiting? Or do I need to find it myself?â
Your knees nearly buckled, the thought of him striding into your private spaceâinto the most intimate part of your house made your heart beat even faster in your chest. With a shaky breath, you straightened up while still clinging to the wall for support, and nodded.
âThis way,â you said, legs trembling as you took small steps down the hallway.Â
Behind you, you could hear him exhale a soft laugh, amused at how weak and needy you were from so little.Â
Your hand trembled as you turned the knob, pushing the door open to your bedroom. The soft scent of your perfume was floating in the air, laced with fresh linen and the faint sweetness of flowers from the vase on your nightstand.
âThis is it,â you said softly, stepping aside so he could see.Â
The room looked pristine. Large windowsâwhere you could get the full view of him, of courseâwith sheer curtains to let in the afternoon light. A perfectly made bed with ivory sheets, not a thing out of place.Â
It was your sanctuary. Your most private place.
And now he was in it.Â
Bucky leaned against the doorframe, his eyes taking in every inch of the room before landing on you again.Â
âFigures,â he said. âPerfect. Clean. Polished. Just the rest of the house.âÂ
You fidgeted, your palms brushing nervously over your thighs. âI⊠I like to keep things neat. It helps me feelââ
âSafe?â he interrupted, his voice almost a growl. He pushed off the frame and stepped closer to you. âThen whyâd you invite me in, sweetheart? Iâm the messiest thing that could ever happen to this house.âÂ
Your breath caught, your heart hammering in your chest. âI didnât let you in,â you whispered. âYou⊠invited yourself in, actually.â
His jaw ticked, a dangerous flash of amusement glinting in his eyes. âLay down,â he ordered suddenly, his voice rough and demanding. âOn the bed. Now.â
Your gaze darted from his still-sweaty and still-dirty work clothes to your untouched, pristine sheets. The contrast made your stomach twist.Â
âUh⊠I donât knowââ
âAre you kidding me?â he scoffed, crossing his large arms over his broad chest, muscles flexing. âYouâve been eye-fucking me since the day I started working for you, and now that Iâm standing here, youâre telling me you donât want me in your bed?â
âWell,â your eyes flicked from his sweat-stained shirt to your spotless sheets. âI donât mean to offend, but⊠youâre dirtyââÂ
Before you could even finish, his mouth crashed against yours. The kiss was rough, greedy, stealing the rest of the words right off your tongue. His rough stubble scraped against your skin, his lips bruising yours.Â
âI was rubbing all over you in your hallwayââ another hard kiss, âhad my tongue and fingers buried in your pussyââ his hand grabbed your hip, dragging you closer against him as he kissed you harder, âand now youâre worried about cleanliness?âÂ
Buckyâs mouth left yours, lips stealing kisses down your jaw and down your throat. You were panting, clutching desperately at his shirt.Â
âYou think I care about these clean sheets?â he muttered against your skin. âYou think I donât notice the way you look at meâevery damn day, like you want me to ruin every inch of this perfect house?âÂ
Your heart was beating so hard it hurt. âBuckyâŠâÂ
He leaned back, eyes boring into yours with a hunger you couldnât quite explain. His thumb brushed over your trembling bottom lip.Â
âFine,â he grunted. âIf youâre that worried about the bed, Iâll just have to fuck you on your pretty waxed floors like a slut, then.âÂ
Before you could respond, his hands wrapped around tight around your waist, lifting you up and gently setting you down on the floor. The cool hardwood hit your bare back, your hair spilling across the glossy wax as he hovered over you. The contrast made your skin prickleâyour perfect, polished sanctuary versus the filthy way he was pinning you down in it.
âYou like that, donât you?â he rasped, spreading your thighs wide with one big hand while his other gripped your jaw to keep your eyes on him. âThe thought of me ruining all your hard workâdirty boots, sweaty body, cum dripping down your nice clean floors.â
A broken moan tore from you, your back arching under him as your thighs trembled. âBuckyâpleaseâŠâ
âPlease what?â he taunted as he ground his hard cock through his work pants against your barely covered pussy. âPlease fuck you like the needy little slut you are? Right here, on the floor you polish every damn week?â
He pulled away slightly to pull his shirt over his head. Then his fingers made quick work of his belt, tugging his work pants down until his cock sprang free. Thick, heavy, the flushed head already slick with precum.
A hiss escaped his lips as his fist wrapped around the hot shaft, working himself with a few steady pumps as his hands tugged at your bikini, while his other hand yanked your bikini bottoms down your thighs in a single rough motion.Â
You gasped, trembling, your pussy slick and finally bared for him.
âFuck,â he groaned, running the tip along your warm folds. He tapped against your clit once, making your hips jerk. âLook at you⊠already dripping.âÂ
He smirked, leaning over you. âYouâve been trying to get me in this house for so long. Always flirting, always begging. This is what you really wanted, isnât it?â he nudged himself against your entrance, just enough to make you cry out. âDonât be shy now, baby. Say it.â
Your hands clawed at his shoulders, your voice turning into high, breathless moans. âYesâyes, I wanted this, I wanted youâplease, Buckyââ
âThatâs a good girl,â he cooed as he pressed the head of his cock against your entrance. The stretch was immediate and overwhelming as he pushed in slowly. Your mouth dropped open with a whimper, fingers digging into his broad shoulders.Â
âGodâyouâre so tight,â he grunted, jaw clenching as he eased just an inch deeper. âRelax, baby. Iâll be gentle⊠justâlet me in, fuckâŠâÂ
But gentle wasnât easy with you clenching and fluttering around him like that. You whimpered louder, your back arching off the floor as the thickness of him split you open. âBuckyâtoo bigâI canâtââ
âYes, you can,â he rasped, his lips brushing your ear. âJust breathe⊠let me in, baby.â
He tried to push in deeper, inch by careful inch⊠but every time he pushed forward, the tightness of your body made his breath hitch. The control he promised you was slipping with every squeeze of your body.Â
âToo damn tight,â he groaned, forehead pressing to yours as his eyes flutter shutâtrying to keep it together, because damn, did he want this just as badly as you did.Â
âCouldâve had it on the bed⊠make it nice and comfortable for you,â another inch, another cry from you. âBut no, you didnât want to dirty it up. So now youâre taking it here, on the floor, like a dirty slut.â
He pushed deeper, almost halfway in before pausing at the tight sensation. He tipped his head back, lips falling to let out a frustrated groan.Â
âFuckâbut Iâm too big, arenât I?â he slowly pulled back, then back in, fucking you with whatâs already inside your clenching pussy.Â
Your walls fluttered around him, your body trembling as it slowly began to adjust to his large size. The initial sting turned into a deep, burning and delicious stretch, each shallow thrust easing him in further.Â
âTh-thatâs it,â he coaxed sweetly, voice breaking as his hips rolled carefully, testing your limits. âGood girlâtaking me so fuckinâ sweetâŠâ
Your nails dug into his shoulders, hips shifting beneath him to meet his slow movements. The pain was melting into pleasure, and every tiny adjustment of your hips let him sink a little deeper.Â
You were opening up for him, and he could feel it.Â
His jaw clenched, hovering over you with one hand against the floor to balance himself, and the other gripped in your hip.Â
âSpread your legs a little higher, baby,â he rasped, voice restrained.Â
Before you could move yourself, he caught the back of your thighs and pressed them up, folding you into a desperate and messy version of a mating press. The angle had you gasping, crying out at the sudden, deeper stretch.
âFuck, thatâs it,â he groaned. âLook at youâpretty little thing⊠takinâ me like this.â
But just as he adjusted his knees on the polished food, his boot slipped against the waxed and smooth surface.Â
He lost his grip for just a second, and the slip forced his hips forward in one hard, uncontrolled thrust.Â
Slamming all the way in.Â
âOh my god!â
A helpless cry ripped out of you as your back arched off the floorâhot pleasure and pain shot through your body. Tears blurred at your eyes at the overwhelming stretch, the sudden fullness of him stealing breath from your lungs.Â
Buckyâs moan was just as wrecked, his forehead leaning against yours as his body shook.Â
âShitâfuckâbaby⊠I didnât mean toâoh, goddamnâŠâ he tried to pull back, but your cunt fluttered too tight around him, clamping down so hard he groaned again, shuddering from the sensation.
You clung to him for support. âS-so fullâoh my god, Bucky, donâtâdonât moveââ
âFuck⊠IâI canât⊠sâtoo late, baby. Feels too good now.â
His words were a growl, ripped straight from his chest as he drew his hips back and slammed forward again, burying himself to the hilt. The waxed floors squeaked beneath you with every rough thrust, the sound swallowed by your moans and his ragged grunts.Â
âMy god⊠look at you,â he rasped. âAll that whining about me being dirty, but here you areâgetting ruined on the fucking floor.â
You couldnât answer or even form a single wordâthe only thing leaving your lips were strangled moans and broken gasps. The stretch, the fullness of himâit was overwhelming.Â
And addictive.
âBuckyââ you sobbed, head falling back against the polished floors as tears spilled. âIâoh my godââ
âShh,â he hushed, voice mixed with gentleness and possession. âTake it. Take all of me. You wanted me in your house, baby? Then fucking have me.â
His thrusts grew harder and deeper, his cock hitting a spot inside you that made your vision blur. Every slam of his hips resulted in another cry from your throat as your body shook beneath him.Â
You were gone.Â
Utterly undone.Â
You were reduced to a babbling, slutty mess.Â
Buckyâs thrusts were relentless as he fucked you deep. His hand clamped down on your jaw, forcing you to look at him.Â
âBet you regret not going on the bed now, huh?â he gritted between shaky groans. âCouldâve had me stretch you out all soft on those pretty sheets⊠but noâyou had to take me right here. On the floor like a dirty little slut.â
Your walls clenched hard around him, and his eyes darkened. His cock twitched deep inside you.
âWhat do you say, baby?â his voice was rough and possessive as his pace quickened, impatient for an answer. âWant me to breed you while you lay there nice and pretty on your comfy bed?â
You tried to answer, but only broken whimpers and pathetic gasps left from your lips. The words wouldnât come out, but your body gave you awayâyour thighs trembling, pussy fluttering desperately around him, already begging without words.
âUh-uh,â he pinned you down harder, his nose brushing yours as he stared into your eyes. âDonât just lay there. Tell me.â
But your brain was fried. Completely scrambled by the way he was splitting you openâso you gave the only answer you could.Â
You nodded, frantic and whiny, tears brimming as your lips formed a silent plea.Â
Bucky groaned in approval, his control snapping. âThatâs my good girl.â
He pulled out, and the sudden emptiness left you whining. His hands gripped your waist firmly, lifting you effortlessly off the floor. A startled yelp escaped your lips as your legs curled around him for support, clinging to his broad body.
He set you down gently on the bed, but his hands didnât stop exploringâgrabbing, gripping, teasing every curve.Â
He stepped back to the edge of the mattress, and before you could even say anything, he yanked your bikini top off in one rough motion. The straps snapped, falling away to leave your chest bare, nipples already hard and flushed from the heat between you two.
A low growl rumbled from his chest at the sight of you, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. âFuck,â he groaned, already tugging down the rest of his clothes until he stood completely bare. âSo fucking beautiful.âÂ
Bucky got on the bed and pressed himself against you, the heat of his heavy cock meeting your dripping folds yet again. You let out a soft gasp as he filled you again slowly this time.Â
âThink you can take me again, baby?â he groaned, his hands gripping your hips tight, tilting your body up to meet every stroke. Each movement was hard, fast, and unrelenting, making you gasp and whimper with every hit.
âF-fuck⊠yes, Bucky!âÂ
Buckyâs eyes rolled back, jaw tight, as he leaned over you, pressing his forehead to yours. He shifted your legs back into the mating press, hands gripping your hips to tilt you up just right.Â
âGonna go even deeper this time, baby,â he panted. âNeed you to feel every inch of me.âÂ
âOh my god, Buckyâfuck⊠you feel too good,â you moaned, looking up at him with soft and pleading eyes as he fucked into you.Â
âLook at you, all fancy and perfect⊠and Iâm the filthy pool boy inside you,â he growled, voice rough and raspy. âTaking my rich girl⊠making you mine.â
Your hips jerked instinctively at the words, thighs trembling around him. âP-pleaseâŠâ you whimpered, fingers tight on his shoulders.Â
He smirked darkly, teeth grazing your earlobe. âShut it, baby⊠you donât get to talk right now. You just get to feel meâfilling you up, making that tight little cunt all mine.â
His hand dug into your hip, pulling you closer as he slammed in deeper.Â
âBet you never thought someone like me would get you this wet⊠taking your perfect little pussy and using it, huh? Fuck, you love it⊠donât you?â
Your back arched, hips rolling with his thrusts, and the heat building tight in your stomach, building fast. With a loud and deep groan, he drove into you harder, faster, every stroke pushing you closer.
âFuckâcum for me, baby,â he growled. âI can feel you squeezing me so tight⊠fuck, Iâm right there tooââ
âBuckyââ you gasped, nails dragging down his bare back as your legs trembled violently around his waist. âIâm gonna cumâplease, donât stop, donât stop!â
That was all it took for him.Â
âFuck, sweetheart!âÂ
He slammed into you one last timeâhard. Hot streams of his release spilled deep inside you, filling you up while your own orgasm shook you, your body convulsing around him. The wet, messy sound of your cunt milking every drop only drove him further, leaving the both of you trembling, coming undone together in a haze of sweat.Â
The two of you collapsed onto the bed, limbs tangled and sweat-slicked, your chests rising and falling as you caught your breath.Â
âGood girl,â Buckyâs arm draped possessively across your waist, his hand tracing lazy circles along your hip. âThat was so good, sweetheart. You took all of it, baby.âÂ
You rested your head against his naked chest, the warmth of him calming you down. All the while, heâs pressing soft kisses to your sweaty forehead, fingers treading your hair in a gentle and soothing manner.Â
âHave you⊠really noticed the way Iâve been trying to catch your attention?â you asked softly, your fingers tracing idle patterns along his chest.
Bucky let out a quiet and amused huff, his big palm gliding lazily up and down your spine.Â
âYeah,â he said casually. âIt was pretty damn obvious.â
There was a brief pause for a moment, just the sounds of your breathing filling the air.Â
Then, a teasing little smirk curved your lips.Â
âWell, did you think I didnât notice you too?âÂ
He raised a brow and tilted his head down to look at you, confused. âWhat do you mean, baby?âÂ
But you didnât look up at him.Â
âWhen you⊠stood outside my window. Watching meâŠâ you dragged your nails down his ribs, feeling him tense beneath you. ââŠjerking off⊠while I touched myself, thinking about you?â
Bucky froze beneath you, his lips parting but no sound coming out at first. His blue eyes widened and his face flushed in embarrassment.Â
âYouâfuck, you saw that?â his voice broke, suddenly not so cocky anymore.
âMhm,â you hummed, grinning as your hand slid down his stomach. His abs twitched under your touch, and before he could even process it, your fingers wrapped around his still-hard sensitive cock.
He gasped, body jolting at the contact. âShitâbaby, waitââ
But you didnât wait. You stroked him slow and steady, relishing the way his entire body trembled under yours. He was the one in control, taunting and commanding⊠but now?Â
He was a mess, chest heaving, fists clutching the sheets as he tried and failed to keep his composure as you worked him with your hand.Â
âYou looked so desperate out there,â you teased, leaning down to press your lips against his ear, your voice a sultry whisper. âStroking your cock while you watched me play with myself. Did it make you crazy? Knowing you couldnât touch me?â
âFuck,â his hips jerked up and his legs trembled. He squeezed his eyes shut, head shaking. âBabyâplease⊠Iâm too sensitiveâoh!âÂ
His head fell back against the pillows, a strangled moan coming from his throat as your wrist twisted just right, drawing another bead of precum from him.Â
He was so sensitive, every stroke making his thighs twitch and his hips buck up helplessly into your hand. âPlease, pleaseâŠâ he moaned, âplease⊠my god, itâs too much. FuckâŠâÂ
âNot so smug now, huh?â you purred, giving him a firmer squeeze that made him hiss through clenched teeth. âMy poor, dirty pool boy. Youâre just as needy for me as I am for you.â
Before he could respond, you straddled him slowly, the head of his cock nudging against your puffy and wet folds as you settled onto his hips. His whole body went taut, a groan ripping from his chest as his hands instinctively gripped your thighs, trying to stop you.Â
âFuckâŠâ he whimpered, eyes glued to where you were teasing him, your wetness smearing over his flushed tip. âBaby, I canâtâshit, Iâm stillââ
A soft and not-so-innocent giggle left your lips. You leaned down, lips brushing his jaw as your hips rolled just enough to make him twitch beneath you. He sucked in a sharp breath, his cock throbbing helplessly against your drenched heat.
âHouse tourâs not done, Bucky,â you whispered, your smirk brushing against the corner of his mouth. âWeâve still got a third floor.â
â my house was especially built for you! â
thank you for reading <3 Â
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Please tell me that the shitty boyfriend got his ass beat by the war dogs
And that reader just got themselves four new bodyguards
I do wonder how each of them would be like with reader afterwards
Part three to the Dogs of War AU (part two) by (really popular) demand. This oneâs a long one. 5.7k CW for domestic violence
The world fractures into color and sound that doesnât belong to you.
Red pools across brick, broken by blue, broken by rain, the rhythm of sirens casting and recasting your apartment building in bleeding light.
You are outside of yourself, untethered. A ghost in wet skin. The voices around you warp and distort like sound underwater, muffled into nothing more than shapes of noise.
Your hands (no, hands that resemble yours) tremble in your lap. Numb. Wet. Strangerâs hands. You cannot feel the ache in your knees, though they must be bent; you cannot feel the weight of your body where it sits; you can not feel the bruise on your ribs, though you are wheezing. You float inches above it, watching through clouded glass.
Someone is crouched in front of you, cutting through the static with the deliberate grace of a tide drawing back from shore. His presence gives shape to the blur: shoulders folding in, posture unthreatening, arms open. He waits in the hush, letting you come to him.
Slowly, your eyes climb toward his face. Brown eyes first, steady and warm. A scar under one eye, grounding his beauty into something real. Brown hair plastered by the storm, rain dripping off his jaw. Pretty, you think, distantly, the way a fevered dream thinks a candle is the sun.
His lips move, and this time the sound reaches you, a thread through the fog. âAre you with me now, love?â
The words are an anchor dropped into deep water. The world jolts. Breath catches in your lungs, sudden and cold. The brick wall sharpens, the sirens crash back into your ears, the sting of rain finds the hollow of your throat. You are inside your body again, shivering, breathing, burning alive with sensation.
Your voice comes out cracked and brittle. âWhat?â
The question is all confusion, but it is proof of life.
His smile is small, soft, and terribly kind. And just as you claw back toward him, the wave takes you under again, but not as far. Not this time. Someone is holding you above the deepest dark.
A few days earlierâŠ
Price hears the lock turn before the door opens. Old habit, that: cataloging sounds, timing entry patterns, noting who has keys to what. Laswellâs place has three: Kate herself, her wife, and now you apparently.
Heâs mid sentence when the door crashes inward, bringing in rain and panic in human form.
The girl- woman, really, though you look young in the way fear makes people look young- stands dripping in the foyer, hair plastered dark against too pale cheeks. Your voice cracks like ice when you speak, words tumbling over each other: âHe cut the brakes in my car. I think- I think he cut the fucking brakes-!â
Four pairs of eyes snap to you, four brains automatically cataloging threat level, escape routes, weapon accessibility. Price watches Soapâs hand still on his mug, Gazâs shoulders square, Ghost go statue still in that way that means heâs calculating angles. Theyâre not at home base, but some instincts donât respect geography.
You freeze mid sentence, and Price sees the exact moment you realize youâve stumbled into something larger than Laswellâs kitchen. Your eyes dart between them, wide, hunted, processing their bulk and the way theyâve positioned themselves without meaning to. Military bearing is hard to shake, even in civilian clothes.
âSweetheart,â Missus Laswell says, stepping between the table and their unexpected guest. âCome here.â
Price notes the placement, the protective angle. Laswell is proud of her wifeâs positioning; putting herself in the gap, creating distance between predator and prey. Except in this room, theyâre not the predators. Not tonight.
You blink, pulse visible in your throat. â⊠S-sorry. I didnât realize you had anyone else over.â
Your apology comes quick, automatic. Too quick. Price has heard that tone before, from informants whoâve been beaten for inconveniencing the wrong people, from civilians whoâve learned that existing in the wrong space at the wrong time has consequences.
âFriends of mine,â Laswell says, and Price hears the weight she puts on that word. In their line of work, friends are currency more valuable than ammunition. Trust is harder to earn than promotions. When Laswell calls someone friend, she means: these are my people and I would both kill and die for them.
âAnd now, yours,â she adds, and Christ, that seals it, doesnât it? The promise implicit in that, the protection offered, itâs not something she extends lightly.
Price feels Soap shift beside him, recognizes the subtle straightening in Gazâs posture. Ghost doesnât move, but his stillness takes on a different quality. They know an assignment when they hear one, even wrapped in gentler words.
You try to smile, but itâs a broken thing, all sharp edges and habit. Your hands shake as you push wet hair from your face, and Price catches the faint mark at your wrist when your sleeve pulls back. Old bruise, fading yellow. The kind that comes from grip pressure, from being held too tight.
Youâre standing wrong, too: weight on the balls of your feet like you might need to run, shoulders hunched protective over your ribs. Price has seen enough beaten soldiers to recognize the posture: someone whoâs learned to make themselves smaller, to absorb impact, to calculate exit strategies without conscious thought.
âDid you say someone cut your brakes?â he asks, voice carefully level.
You nod, jerky and frantic, tears threatening. âM-my boyfriendâŠâ
The word drops like a stone in still water. Price sees understanding ripple across his teamâs faces. Theyâve all had girlfriends, wives, sisters. They know the difference between love that protects and possession that destroys.
He looks to Laswell, sees months of careful patience in the set of her jaw, and realizes sheâs been working this problem the long way, the legal way, the way that respects boundaries and builds trust slowly. The way that keeps her conscience clean and her security clearance intact.
But thereâs relief in her face now, too. Because Task Force 141 doesnât operate under the same constraints. Theyâre ghosts, officially. Off book, deniable, the kind of surgical instrument you use when conventional tools wonât reach.
Price looks back at you, takes in the fear and exhaustion, the way you hold yourself like something broken thatâs still trying to function. In their business, you learn to read people fast; ally or threat, reliable or compromised, worth saving or acceptable loss.
Youâre one of the oneâs thatâs worth saving. More than that, youâre already saved, just by walking through that door, just by being claimed by Laswell as friend.
The others have done their own calculations. Ghostâs head tilts just enough to meet Priceâs eye- a question asked and answered without words. Soapâs hands relax on the table, combat readiness shifting to something more focused. Gaz settles back in his chair, but his attention never wavers from you in the doorway.
âRight then,â Price says, voice carrying the authority of a dozen campaigns, a hundred nights spent tracking monsters through urban jungle. âWhatâs this bastardâs name?â
You blink, startled by the directness, the immediate acceptance of your reality as their problem. Youâre probably used to having to convince people, to having your truth questioned and minimized. But Price doesnât deal in maybes and benefit-of-doubt. Someone cut your brake lines. Someoneâs marked you as disposable.
Thatâs all he needs to know.
The rest is just logistics.
PresentâŠ
The second time you surface, itâs gentler. Like swimming up from the bottom of a warm pool instead of clawing your way out of a riptide.
Gaz is still there, patient as stone, rain dripping from his dark hair onto the pavement between you. His eyes never left your face, you realize. Keeping watch. Keeping you tethered.
âWhat happened?â The words scrape out of your throat, raw and small.
He shifts slightly, glancing over his shoulder toward the building behind him. Red and blue lights still paint the brick in alternating washes of color, but the sirens have gone quiet. The chaos has settled into something more controlled, more clinical.
âYour boyfriend,â he says carefully, âwonât be bothering you anymore.â
The simple statement hangs in the air between you. You search his face for more, for details, for the shape of what you canât quite remember. Thereâs something gentle in the way Gaz watches you process this, like heâs ready to catch you if you fall again.
âI canâtâŠâ you start, then stop. Your hands flex in your lap, and you stare down at them like they belong to someone else. âI remember being in the apartment. He was angry about something. The car, maybe? And thenâŠâ
The fragments start to settle into place, like pieces of a puzzle youâd forgotten you were solving. The sound of your door banging open hard enough to shatter the plaster. Your boyfriendâs voice, sharp and angry, his face twisting with rage as he reached behind his back-
âOhâŠ,â you whisper, the memory surfacing sudden and clear. âHe had a gunâŠâ
A few days earlierâŠ
Ghost stands in the hallway outside the guest room, back pressed to the wall, your silent sentinel, listening. The house has settled into the kind of quiet that only comes after crisis: fragile, temporary, held together by exhaustion and the promise that morning will somehow make sense of it all.
Through the thin door, he can hear you breathing. Uneven still, catching on the edges of dreams that probably arenât dreams at all. Missus Laswell had led you up here three hours ago when youâd finally stopped shaking long enough to start dozing on the couch, curled into yourself like a broken bird.
The front door opens below. Price and Gaz returning from their inspection of your car. Ghost doesnât need to see their faces to know what they found- the set of Priceâs footsteps tells the whole story. Heavy. Deliberate. The walk of a man whoâs seen confirmation of something that makes his blood run cold.
âKitchen,â Laswellâs voice, low and controlled.
Ghost moves toward the stairs, silent as smoke. Old habits. The kind learned in a house where footsteps had consequences, where being seen meant being hurt. Where small boys learned to be ghosts long before they had reason to be soldiers.
Theyâre gathered around the table when he arrives; Price, Gaz, both Laswells, Soap leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. The tension is thick enough to cut.
âBrakes were cut clean through,â Price says without preamble. âBut thatâs not all. GPS tracker under the rear bumper. Been there a while, from the look of it. And something else.â
He sets a small device on the table. Ghost recognizes it immediately: audio surveillance, cheap but effective. The kind of thing obsessive men use when control slips through their fingers like water.
âBeen listening to everything,â Gaz adds, voice flat. âEvery conversation, every phone call. Every time she talked to you,â he nods to the Laswells, âhe knew about it.â
Laswellâs wife goes very still. âThatâs how he knew she was getting help.â
âThatâs how he knew to escalate,â Price confirms.
Ghost thinks about earlier that evening. How youâd finally broken, words pouring out of you like blood from a wound finally lanced. The bruises youâd catalogued with clinical detachment, as if they belonged to someone else. The way youâd apologized between every revelation, as if surviving was something to be sorry for.
He loves me, youâd whispered. He didnât mean it. Heâs sorry.
The same words Ghost had heard from his motherâs lips a hundred times. The same hollow justifications, the same desperate bargains with reality. Love that left marks. Sorry that came with conditions.
Heâd been eight the first time his fatherâs fist found his ribs. Twelve when he learned to read the signs; the particular quality of silence before the storm, the way shadows moved differently when danger was coming. Fifteen when he finally understood that some people wore love like a weapon, sharp and cutting and designed to draw blood.
Youâd looked so small tonight, drowning in one of Laswellâs sweaters, hands wrapped around a mug of tea you never drank. Telling your story to the carpet, to the air, to anyone but the faces watching you with careful neutrality and mounting rage.
He cut my brakes, youâd said, and Ghost had seen his own childhood flash behind his eyes. Not brakes, those were a luxury the Rileys never had. But other things. Sabotage disguised as accidents. Cruelty masquerading as love.
âShe asleep?â Price asks, glancing toward the stairs.
Ghost nods. âFor now.â
âGood. She needs it.â Laswell runs a hand through her hair, looking every one of her years. âWhatâs our next move?â
âNext move?â Soap speaks for the first time, voice carefully controlled. âBastardâs already made his. Surveillance anâ now thâ car rigged tae kill her. This isnât a domestic dispute anymore- âs attempted murder.â
âLegal systemâll handle it,â Gaz says, but thereâs doubt in his voice.
Ghost knows better. Has seen too many cases slip through cracks, too many victims blamed for their own suffering. The system works for people with power, with money, with connections. For everyone else, itâs just bureaucracy painted over indifference.
âAnd if it doesnât?â The question comes out rougher than he intends, scraped raw by memories that never quite heal.
Price meets his eyes across the table. Understanding passes between them, not just professional assessment, but something deeper. Recognition.
âThen we make sure sheâs safe anyway,â Price says simply.
Itâs not a promise they should make. Not with their oaths, their obligations, the weight of official sanction hanging over everything they do. But Ghost thinks about you upstairs, finally sleeping without fear for the first time in God knows how long. Thinks about the tracker they pulled from your car, the audio device that turned your life into performance art for a monsterâs entertainment.
Thinks about a little boy who learned too late that sometimes the system fails, that sometimes justice comes from other places, wears other faces.
âSheâs under our protection now,â Ghost says, and itâs not a suggestion.
The others nod. Even Laswell, who should know better, who has more to lose than any of them. Because some lines, once crossed, change everything. Some people, once claimed, become worth any risk.
PresentâŠ
âDonât fucking lie to me!â Your boyfriendâs voice, raw with rage, echoed off your apartment walls. âThree days, and nothing. No signal, no location, nothing. You think Iâm stupid?â
Youâd backed against the kitchen counter, hands raised defensively. âI donât know what youâre talking about. I was at Kateâs house, I told you- â
âKateâs house.â He spat the words like they tasted rotten. âRight. Kateâs house, where you learn to be a lying whore.â
You blink, trying to piece together fragments that feel like they belong to someone elseâs life. âI rememberâŠâ you start, then stop, pressing your palms against your eyes. âHe was so angry. Angrier than Iâd ever seen him.â
âTake your time,â Gaz says quietly.
The memory surfaces like oil in water, dark and spreading. âHe said a-a tracker? Stopped working. That I must have found it, must be cheating on him. He kept asking where Iâd been, who I was with.â Your voice cracks. âI tried to tell him I was just at Kateâs, but he wouldnât listen.â
âSay it!â His hand tangled in your hair, yanking your head back. âSay what you are. Say youâre a lying, cheating slut who thinks she can make a fool out of me.â
Tears had streamed down your face as you choked out, âIâm not- I didnât- â
âWrong answer.â The first blow came fast, his open palm across your cheek with enough force to make your ears ring and blood to pool in your mouth. âTry again.â
The tears come now, hot and sudden, spilling over before you can stop them. âHe made me say things,â you whisper to Gaz, your voice breaking. âTerrible things about myself. And when I wouldnâtâŠâ You touch your ribs unconsciously, remembering the sharp pain of his boot.
âHey.â Gazâs voice cuts through the memory, gentle but firm. âYouâre here now. Youâre safe.â
âYou want to act like a whore, Iâll treat you like one.â His belt had come off with a sharp snap of leather. âMaybe then youâll remember who you belong to.â
The first lash across your back had made you scream. The second had you begging. By the third, you were saying anything he wanted to hear, anything to make it stop.
âI kept apologizing,â you continue, barely aware youâre speaking aloud now. âFor things I didnât do, places I didnât go. But it didnât matter. Nothing I said mattered.â
You look up at Gaz through your tears, searching his face for judgment, for disgust, for the confirmation that you deserved what happened. Instead, you find something fierce and protective burning in his dark eyes.
âIt wasnât your fault,â he says, each word deliberate and clear. âNone of it. Not one bloody second of what he did to you.â
The gun had appeared when youâd finally fought back, when desperation had overridden fear and youâd tried to run for the door. The cold metal pressed against your temple, his breath hot and sour against your ear.
âWhere do you think youâre going, bitch?â
âThatâs when he pulled the gun,â you whisper, and somehow saying it makes it real in a way the memories couldnât. âHe was really going to kill me.â
A few days earlierâŠ
Soapâs had his hands wrapped around the throat of bastard men for lesser crimes.
The thought keeps circling back as he watches you through the kitchen window, sitting in the garden with Missus Laswell, carefully repotting herbs with the focused attention of someone grateful for any distraction. Your hands shake only slightly now; an improvement from the violent tremors that had seized you that first night.
It would be easy. After a night of digital sleuthing Soap knows where the bastard works, where he drinks, the route he takes home. After years of building target packages on ghost networks and phantom cells, assembling a complete dossier- his debts, his drinking habits, his work place drama, even the women heâs been sleeping with while in a relationship with you- on one small town bastard had taken them less than six hours.
He knows Ghost could slip into his flat like smoke, that Gaz could make it look like a mugging gone wrong, that Price could orchestrate the whole thing so cleanly it wouldnât even warrant a full investigation.
But.
âStatistics donât lie,â Price had said during their first proper debrief, voice grim. âSeventy-five percent of domestic violence murders happen when the victim is trying to leave or has just left. We go after him directly, we donât solve the problem. We escalate it.â
The numbers had been sobering. How many women died because someone thought they could scare their abuser straigh? How many times a broken nose or threatened kneecaps had only made the monster angrier, more desperate, more willing to risk everything for one final act of control?
âHeâs already crossing lines,â Ghost had added quietly. âCut brake lines, surveillance equipment. Heâs not thinking rationally anymore. Push him, and heâll push back harder.â
âAt her,â Gaz had finished. âAnd we canât be there every minute of every day. Not with our schedules.â
That had settled it. Direct action was off the table. But Task Force 141 didnât become ghosts by limiting themselves to direct action.
So theyâd turned their particular skills toward a different kind of warfare. Psychological operations. Intelligence gathering. The slow, methodical dismantling of an enemyâs capabilities and support structure.
Soap had weaponized the bastardâs own surveillance against him; hijacking the tracking apps, feeding false location data, creating a digital puppet show that kept the manâs attention while erasing your real movements from every database he could access. Price had begun the careful work of building a legal case that would hold water, pulling strings with contacts who owed favors.
Ghost had canvassed your building within hours of the first night: every entry point, every sightline, every neighborâs schedule. Your apartment (233) got new cameras your shitty boyfriend would never find. The balcony door that had never quite latched properly now opened smoothly to his touch. When he confirmed 170 was vacant (elderly tenant in hospice care, family too busy to check on the place) it took him less than thirty seconds to pick the lock and slip inside.
In between surveillance and digital warfare, they paid visits- casual, professional visits- to his workplace, his drinking buddies, his family. Asked the sort of pointed questions that made people wonder why the military was sniffing around, made them start reconsidering their association with a man who apparently warranted that kind of attention and distanced themselves before they could be dragged into whatever had earned him official attention.
But the real breakthrough had come from Gazâs patient work with you, not just comfort, but intelligence gathering of a different sort. Learning the patterns of abuse, the triggers, the escalation timeline. Understanding the enemyâs psychology through the eyes of someone whoâd survived it.
âHe gets really angry when he thinks heâs losing control,â youâd told Gaz on the second day, voice small but steady. âLike when he got passed up for a promotion at work. He came home and⊠well. Thatâs when the really bad stuff happens.â
And there it was. The tactical insight they needed. Control was the bastardâs weakness and his strength. Take it away gradually, methodically, and heâd escalate. But take it away the right way, and heâd escalate into a trap.
Itâs that same second day when Gaz manages to make you laugh.
Soapâs making tea when it happens- that sudden bright sound cutting through the careful quiet thatâs settled over the house like dust. He nearly drops the kettle, head snapping toward the living room where you and Gaz are supposedly organizing Missus Laswellâs embroidery floss.
âGaz, what is that?â
âA French knot.â He holds up what looks like a small catastrophe of tangled thread, and you laugh again- not the careful, polite sound youâve been making when someone tries to cheer you up, but something genuine and startled and alive.
âThatâs not a French knot,â you manage between giggles. âThatâs not even⊠what is that?â
âModern art. Abstract expressionism in cotton,â Gaz declares solemnly. âPicasso.â
The laughter that follows is infectious. Soap finds himself grinning as he pours hot water over tea bags, something warm and protective unfurling in his chest. Itâs not just relief at hearing you laugh, itâs pride. Theyâre doing this right. Building something instead of just breaking things.
From the doorway, he catches Priceâs eye. The Captainâs watching the scene in the living room with the same expression Soap recognizes from successful extractions- relief mixed with something fiercer. Mission parameters shifting from rescue to protection.
Youâre not just a problem to be solved anymore. Youâre theirs.
By the third day, the trap is set. The bastardâs digital leash has been severed and redirected. His support network- friends who might alibi him, coworkers who might cover for him- has been quietly poisoned with carefully placed doubts about his stability. His financials have been flagged for suspicious activity that will slow any attempts to run. His communications are being monitored.
Most importantly, his world has been made smaller without him realizing it. Fewer options, fewer allies, fewer places to hide when everything goes wrong.
âHeâs going to snap soon,â Ghost observes that evening, studying the behavioral analysis theyâve compiled. âProbably within the next forty-eight hours. The false dataâs getting harder to maintain, and heâs asking questions.â
They are. Not ready to prevent whatâs coming- that was never the plan. Ready to control it. To turn his violence into evidence, his rage into his own destruction.
Dogs of war, pointed at the right target.
âShe goes home tomorrow,â Laswell says, and itâs not a question.
âShe goes home tomorrow,â Price confirms. âAnd weâll be watching.â
The bait walks into the trap willingly, because you donât know youâre bait. Because theyâve made sure you donât have to carry that weight, donât have to know that your safety requires you to be unsafe for just a little while longer.
Itâs not clean. Itâs not kind.
But itâs effective. And when the moment comes- when he finally snaps and comes looking for you with violence in his heart- theyâll be there to end it.
Whatever it takes.
PresentâŠ
The sound of splintering wood. Your apartment door exploding inward with a crash that made your ears ring. Three figures moving fast and fluid through the wreckage- Price, Soap, Gaz- voices sharp and commanding.
âArmed suspect, gun to the victimâs head!â
âDrop the weapon! Now!â
Your boyfriendâs grip had tightened on your hair, the gun barrel grinding against your temple hard enough to bruise. âStay back! Stay the fuck back or Iâll blow her brains out!â
You look up at Gaz through your tears. âThatâs when you came through the door. All of you. But it made everything worse because suddenly I wasâŠâ
âA hostage,â Gaz finishes quietly, and thereâs something raw in his voice. âIâm sorry. Christ, Iâm so sorry we put you in that position.â
âYouâre fucking them, arenât you?â Your boyfriendâs voice had been slurred with rage and alcohol, spittle flying as he screamed at you while keeping the gun trained on the three men. âThis whole innocent act, this whole âIâm just friends with someone two decades older than meâ bullshit- youâre spreading your legs for all of them!â
âThatâs not- â youâd started, but heâd yanked your hair harder.
âDonât fucking lie to me! You think Iâm stupid? Three military cunts showing up to save their little whore?â
The degradation cuts through you again, fresh as the first time. âHe said such horrible things. About me, about you all. Called meâŠâ You canât repeat the words, even now.
âHe was unraveling,â Gaz says gently. âEverything heâd built his control on was falling apart, and he was lashing out at anything he could reach.â
Price had stepped forward, hands visible, voice calm and steady. âNobody needs to get hurt here, mate. Just put the gun down and we can sort this out.â
âSort this out?â Your boyfriend had laughed, high and brittle. âYou think youâre so clever, donât you? Thinking you can waltz in here and steal whatâs mine? Did she tell you she was a good girl? Did she tell you she was sweet and innocent?â
His grip had shifted, and youâd felt the gun move away from your head for just a moment. âSheâs a lying cunt, and you three are fucking idiots for falling for it.â
âYour life was never actually in danger,â Gaz continues, and thereâs an apology in every word. âWe had eyes on the situation the whole time. But we couldnât tell you that without giving away Ghostâs position.â
You blink, confused. âGhostâs position?â
What you hadnât seen, couldnât have known while your world narrowed to the cold press of metal against your skull: Ghost moving like smoke through apartment 170, across its small balcony, scaling the buildingâs facade with the fluid precision of a man whoâd done this a hundred times before.
What you hadnât heard over your boyfriendâs shouting and your own thundering heartbeat: the whisper-quiet sound of your balcony door sliding open, the barely-there footsteps across your living room floor.
Ghost had been a shadow behind shadows, using your boyfriendâs fixation on the three men in the doorway to position himself perfectly. Close enough to see the sweat beading on the bastardâs neck. Close enough to smell his fear beneath the stale alcohol and rage.
Price had kept talking, kept the manâs attention forward while Ghost closed the distance. âJust put the weapon down. Nobody has to get hurt here.â
âHurt?â Your boyfriend had swung the gun toward Price, and that had been the opening Ghost needed.
âHe moved away from you for just a second,â Gaz explains. âTurned the gun on Price instead of keeping it on you. And GhostâŠâ
Lightning fast. One moment your boyfriend was holding a gun, screaming threats and accusations. The next, he was on the ground, Ghostâs arm around his throat, the sound of bone snapping, the weapon skittering across your kitchen floor. At the same time, Soap had surged forward, grabbing you, yanking you into his chest, arms clamping tight around you as he spun you so that his body was between you and your boyfriend. The whole thing had taken maybe three seconds.
âTarget secured,â Ghost had said, voice flat and professional as your boyfriend went limp in his hold. âWeapon safe.â
You stare at Gaz, pieces clicking into place. âHe was- Ghost was-â
Gaz confirms. âWe were never going to let him hurt you. But we needed him to make the move, needed him to escalate with witnesses and evidence. Needed it to be clean and legal when we took him down.â
The relief hits you like a physical blow, followed immediately by something that might be anger. âI thought I was going to die. I thought he was going to kill me and then kill all of you.â
âI know,â Gaz says simply. âAnd Iâm sorry. We had to let it play out, had to let him show his true nature in a way that would stick in court. But you were never alone in there. We were never going to let anything happen to you.â
The tears come harder now- relief and terror and rage all tangled together. âI hate that youâre sorry,â you manage through the sobs. âI hate that you had to save me at all.â
âHey.â Gazâs voice is soft but firm. âYou didnât need saving because you were weak. You needed saving because he was dangerous. Thereâs a difference.â
The words hit something deep inside you, something thatâs been wound tight for weeks. The relief, the gratitude, the overwhelming realization that youâre truly safe; it all crashes over you at once. A sob escapes before you can stop it, raw and broken.
Without thinking, you lean forward, and Gaz immediately opens his arms, letting you collapse against his chest. The tears come freely now, not the panicked, terrified sobs from earlier, but something cleaner. Healing.
âI know,â he murmurs, one hand gentle on your back. âI know. Youâre safe now. Youâre going to be okay.â
His voice is steady, certain, and for the first time since this all began, you actually believe it.
Three weeks laterâŠ
Laswell watches her team around the dinner table and thinks, not for the first time, how domestic they look when theyâre not planning operations or reviewing intel.
Itâs a perfectly normal Sunday dinner. Her wife is fussing over second helpings, the late afternoon sun is streaming through the kitchen windows, and four of the most dangerous men in the world are debating whether pineapple belongs on pizza with the gravity usually reserved for matters of national security.
The knock at the front door interrupts Soapâs passionate defense of Hawaiian pizza.
âIâll get it,â her wife calls, already moving toward the foyer, her lips tugging upwards mischievously in a way that has Laswell furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
Laswell doesnât think much of it- probably a neighbor, or perhaps a delivery thatâs been delayed. The conversation continues without missing a beat until her wifeâs voice carries from the front door, bright with delight.
âOh my goodness, look at you! You look absolutely lovely!â
Thereâs a pause, then a softer voice, one that makes the entire table go quiet.
âThank you. I⊠I wasnât ever allowed to wear dresses when I was⊠you know. But I wanted to try again. I hope itâs not too much?â
âToo much? Sweetheart, you look beautiful. I was worried you wouldnât be able to come when I texted you last minute, but Iâm glad you could make it! Come in, come in- everyoneâs already here for dinner.â
Laswell feels the shift in the roomâs energy immediately. Four chairs scrape against the floor as four men suddenly find reasons to straighten their posture, run hands through their hair, or clear their throats. Itâs almost comical, really, how quickly seasoned operators can turn into awkward schoolboys.
The voices get closer, her wifeâs warm chatter mixing with your quieter responses, and then you appear around the corner.
The sundress is simple: yellow cotton with tiny white flowers, the kind of thing that might have come from any department store. But the way you wear it, the way you hold yourself, makes it look like something special. Your hair catches the late sunlight streaming through the windows, and thereâs a brightness to your expression that wasnât there before. More than that, thereâs a confidence in your posture that speaks of someone reclaiming parts of themselves theyâd lost.
Price clears his throat and stands, ever the gentleman. âYou lookâŠâ He pauses, and Laswell can practically see him cycling through a dozen different adjectives before settling on, âWell. You look well.â
Soap has gone slightly pink around the ears and seems to have forgotten how words work entirely. He manages something that might be âAyeâ or might just be a general sound of approval.
Ghostâs reaction is more subtle, the slight widening of his eyes, the way his gaze lingers for just a moment before he looks down at his plate. When he looks up again, his voice is gruff but sincere. âYellow suits you.â
Gaz has the presence of mind to pull out a chair. âJoin us? Thereâs plenty of food.â
Laswell watches the whole tableau with deep amusement. These are men whoâve faced down warlords and terrorist cells without blinking. Price once talked down a hostage situation while bleeding from three different wounds. Soap has defused bombs while under sniper fire. Ghost has killed men with his bare hands, and Gaz has been dumped out of perfectly good aircraft more times than anyone should reasonably count.
But put them in front of a woman in a sundress, a woman they helped save, who theyâve watched grow stronger and more confident, and suddenly theyâre all thumbs and stammered compliments.
Itâs the hero complex, she supposes. The same protective instinct that made them drop everything to help you in the first place. Dogs of war, indeed, but even the most dangerous dogs like to be reminded that theyâre good boys sometimes.
You settle into the offered chair, and the conversation gradually returns to normal, though Laswell notices how carefully they all make sure youâre included, how Soap immediately launches into a story designed to make you laugh, how Price pours your wine with the same precision he usually reserves for mission briefings.
Her wife catches her eye from across the table and raises a smug eyebrow, the kind of look that says, âSee, youâre not the only one who can conspire.â
Laswell just smiles and reaches for the salad bowl. Some victories, she thinks, are worth savoring. And watching four of the worldâs most competent soldiers turn into protective, flustered guardians over Sunday dinner? Thatâs definitely worth a smile.
After all, itâs good to throw dogs a treat every now and then.
I love that the modern-day tumblr post equivalent of chain emails only requires me to reblog a relatively pleasant image instead of forward an email to a bunch of my friends and family members to quell my raging anxiety.