Chapter 10
TALYA
I’d often wondered, would Ezra have kissed me if my sister hadn’t interrupted us?
Would years of pent-up longing and desire have finally led to something more?
Instead, after that night, we’d seamlessly slipped back to our normal, and I’d promised myself to never risk our friendship again. Because no matter how much we’d threaded the line over the years and had almost obliterated that night, I’d convinced myself it was better that way.
Safer.
I’d always been terrified of losing him and having Ezra in my life was worth more than the potential of a few seconds of bliss.
But that was what happened when you let fear control you.
It built walls and prevented you from taking risks that could lead to finally having what had always been within arm’s reach.
Except now I was done with holding back.
The fear I’d carried for years was swept away and replaced by the courage to do what I’d wished I’d done that night three years ago.
Ezra’s hand slid up to cup the back of my neck, his touch steady as he gently guided me forward until our foreheads rested against each other. I gripped his wrists, needing something to hold on to through the resulting drunken, dizzying rush of being this close to him.
His mouth hovered just inches from mine, and I leaned in, my lips softly brushing against his. The uncertainty of what would come next sent sparks skittering across my skin, while the familiar smell of his clean aftershave and vanilla-butter scent that always seemed to cling to him filled my lungs.
Ezra’s hooded gaze locked onto mine, his expression intent. I knew exactly what he was looking for, so I gave him a small nod.
That was all it took.
Ezra crashed his lips against mine without an ounce of hesitation, like he’d been waiting for my permission all his life.
Everything around us burst into technicolor. I’d been kissed before, but nothing would ever compare to how Ezra James was devouring me like I’d been the answer he’d been looking for. Like he was trying to breathe me in.
He kissed me with a desperation and starvation that matched my own, and I was burning everywhere.
My hands gripped the front of his shirt, dragging him closer until there wasn’t any space left between us.
I pressed my tongue against the seam of his lips and he opened up pleadingly, letting me lick my way into his mouth.
Our tongues brushed together in soft friction as he let out a gentle hum of pleasure that traveled down my spine and all the way to my toes. The kiss was frantic and with each muted moan of his against my lips, a single thought tore through me as we drank each other in.
I needed more of this.
Of him.
My heart pounded so loudly as I pulled my mouth from his, my ragged breathing melting with his desperate whimper. Groaning, he gripped my jaw to bring his lips back to mine, and I almost forgot why I’d pulled away as he tilted my head back and returned to kissing me.
“Ezra,” I rasped in between wet, frantic kisses. “More.”
“Please,” he groaned. His hands dragged roughly down my body to pull me toward him as we went stumbling across the room until he guided us to the closest banquette without ever breaking away.
Once he was seated, he lifted me onto his lap, my legs parting to land on each side of him.
He tugged at my hips, yanking me down to slot his hips between my thighs.
We fit against each other so perfectly, my brain seemed to short-circuit when his unmistakable erection pressed against me.
Ezra’s fingers dug into my waist as I ground against him, raking my hand through his hair to clutch the back of his neck.
I pulled his head back and dragged my teeth across his bottom.
“I need…” I began, all breathy, my blood humming in a way it never had before.
The sight of my red lipstick smeared across his mouth, the white and black face paint no longer in place, sent hunger shooting through me. “I need to feel you.”
A rumble vibrated through his chest. “Be specific, Talya,” he panted against my lips, his eyes dark with need. “Where exactly do you want to feel me?”
I slipped a hand down his chest, my fingers resting at the hem of his belt. “I want you inside of me and don’t make me beg for it,” I demanded before gripping him over his trousers and fuck me. Arousal bloomed between my legs at the feeling of him this hard, just for me.
I’d told my sister no dick would be involved, but Ezra’s would definitely be ridden tonight.
He laughed, the sound so low and wicked it sent another hot pulse straight to my core.
He pressed a kiss to my lips, then dragged his mouth down in a sensual torture until he paused right beneath my jaw.
He licked my flushed skin, claiming the thundering pulse there, all while his fingers traveled to the hem of my short dress that was now bunched at my hips from my straddling him.
“What if I like the thought of having you beg for my cock?” he said, his thumbs drawing soft circles over my bare skin.
I spread my legs wider to give myself more space as my fingers deftly undid his belt and unzipped his pants. “I think you’ll be the one begging to fill me up,” I replied, raking my nails over the fabric of his boxers where it was strained from his own arousal.
Before I managed to slip a hand inside, to finally touch him, Ezra grabbed my wrist.
“Wait,” he groaned painfully like it was taking everything in him not to let me do whatever I wanted with him. “I want to taste you first.” I met his hungry gaze as he guided my hand to my hip, his other hand still firm on the other side. “Take this off.”
I moved the hand that was still gripping the back of his head and reached down, grabbing the bottom of my dress and slowly pulling it over my head. “Is this what you want?” I whispered, tossing it somewhere aside and leaving only the black thong I’d worn underneath.
Cool air hit my skin, but I’d barely felt it under the heat of his gaze roaming over my bare skin.
“Look at you,” he whispered, awe and need coating his voice. “Just breathtaking.”
His fingers traveled up my spine before they slowly cascaded down the length of my sides, his fingers lingering on the outskirts of my breast. My skin erupted in goose bumps everywhere he touched and I stared at him as he seemed to catalog every inch to memory with reverence.
He followed each brush with a kiss and overwhelming need bloomed all over my body.
“I’ve dreamed of this.” Our eyes met in a heated and intimate gaze when his hand settled at my waist. “I’ve dreamed of having you like this so many times I probably sound pathetic.”
I laughed under my breath and cupped his jaw to press a soft kiss to his lips. “Then that makes two of us,” I told him as I smiled against his lips.
“Yeah?” he asked, his eyes filling with uncertainty.
I held his gaze. “Ezra James, I’ve dreamed of you more times than I can count.” My hands dipped under the collar of his jacket to take it off and he obliged. I then took off his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt, exposing the hollow of his throat.
“Now, as much as I love hearing how obsessed you seem to be with me, I need you and in order to have that, you said you wanted to taste me. I’m a patient girl, but I’ve been waiting for this moment for too long and I might combust if you don’t start touching me more.”
My words seemed to unravel him because the lust that had been there suddenly seemed to heighten until I could barely see the green of his irises. Ezra grabbed me by the back of my neck and pulled my face to his.
With our mouths only inches apart, he muttered against my lips, “Anything for my girl.”
Suddenly, he let go and his hands grabbed my wrists, yanking them down behind my back in one seamless motion. I yelped, thrown off-balance, and he grinned before hauling my chest forward. His mouth latched onto my nipple with a rough, punishing hunger.
“Ezra,” I cried out when he bit down, just shy of real pain, and my vision blurred for a second.
“God, I like hearing you scream my name,” he mumbled against my skin. He then dragged his teeth across the sensitive skin before sucking on it to ease the sting. He let it go with a pop and moved to my other breast to do the same.
He kept alternating between each side, his greedy hands now roaming all over my body. My hands grasped his shoulders for balance as I writhed under his touch, grinding against him, searching for some relief, while moans of pleasure filled the air around us.
I’d barely grown accustomed to his ministrations, when Ezra slipped a hand between us and before I knew it, he dipped below the waistband of the black lace and touched me right where I wanted him.
I arched into his touch, a strangled sound tearing through me.
He buried his face against my neck, his lips pressed against my collarbone.
“You’re such a mess, Talya,” he grunted, his fingers skimming gently over my clit before he pushed two fingers inside me.
I clenched around him, the unexpected intrusion deliciously welcomed.
“I made you like this, didn’t I? So eager for me, aren’t you, beautiful? ”
I moaned loudly, barely aware of what came out of my mouth as he moved them in and out of my pussy, fucking me at a torturous pace.
He nipped at my collarbone before licking the sting away. “I need to hear you say it, Talya. I can feel how much you want me, but I need to hear you say it.”
I slightly pulled his head away and he fixed me with a heavy look.
There was so much possession in his gaze, one I’d been craving to see for so long.
I hated to be told what to do, hated when men tried to claim me, but the way Ezra looked at me, I’d say yes to anything he asked for without hesitation.
Ezra James already had my heart and soul, but now my body was his to do whatever he pleased with.
“Yes,” I whimpered. “You did. This is all because of you. Only you.” The words spilled out of my mouth unrestrained. He deserved to know and I wanted to tell him.
“Good,” was the only thing he said before he surged up and caught my mouth with his, and I kissed him back with everything I had.
This kiss was rougher, more greedy as he fucked me with more urgency now, his thumb moving over my clit with expert, tight circles. My orgasm climbed with terrifying speed, and I was trembling from pleasure so badly, if his other hand weren’t splayed across my back, I wouldn’t be sitting upright.
My muscles tensed, screaming for release. My hands dug into his hair, yanking to grasp myself into reality before I floated away. He hissed against my mouth, which only made me more desperate for him while I chased the blooming heat taking flight in my core.
I kissed him again before I pulled away, panting as I rode his hand. “Ezra,” I whined. “I—” I couldn’t finish my thought, the feel of his fingers inside too much.
“I know, Talya. Your cunt is practically sucking my fingers in.”
Holy fuck. This was better than I’d ever made up in my mind.
“Now keep your eyes on me and give me what I want.”
Ezra watched me with so much awe, I was barely able to keep my gaze locked on his as I rode closer to the edge.
Having Ezra’s complete attention and admiration was a sight to see.
There was something about the way he looked at me, the way he said my name that unraveled every part of me with each passing second.
There was something to be said about being worshiped like this that made me want every inch of him.
A hot and aching sensation settled in my chest as he pressed his thumb harder against my sensitive clit, and I broke.
“Ezra.” His name wrapped around the loud moan that tore through my chest, my thighs clamping around his hand as my nails dug into his scalp. Ezra didn’t stop, only continued fucking me through my orgasm as he crashed his lips to mine, drinking every sound I made.
He’d barely pulled his fingers out of me when my hands fumbled to remove the layers of clothes he still had on, revealing the smooth deep-olive skin I’d imagined a million times and a smattering of dark chest hair. Lean muscles framed his tattooed body, a carved cut at his hips.
“You’re so fucking hot.”
My compliment pulled a laugh from him that cracked my chest open when I looked at him to see his face light up. I wanted to bask in it, but right now, I needed something more. He opened his mouth to say something, but his breath stuttered as I raked my nails over his chest and down his abdomen.
“Lift for me.”