Chapter 15
CATHERINE
I’ve been in a cloud the past two days. All I think about is Wilder. All I want to do is be near him. Even right now as I stand here staring out the window at the guesthouse, waiting for him so we can work on his dad’s speech.
In a strange way, I need everything that’s happening between me and Wilder just as badly as I want it. The way Wilder’s hands roamed my body and the taste of his kiss was healing for me. It’s proof that I have a voice and I’m allowed to do what is right for me. Good men still exist, and intimacy doesn’t always have to be forced—nor should it be.
I know he’s still my student, and that makes this wrong. But I can’t help it. Wilder is safe, and I need something safe in my life before I go insane. The amount of times I have prayed for, craved, and searched for something that made me feel whole and not in the thousands of pieces Troy always tries to break me into is infinite.
Wilder is that for me. He is an answered prayer, a wish come true. He lights me up from the inside out and I am terrified this feeling will go away. He makes me want to leave my husband. Not that I haven’t thought about it every day for the past eight years. But now, it feels different. I have someone’s arms I can run into. I have someone who will protect me.
Just seeing the way Wilder responded when he thought Troy was hurting me was proof enough. And now I plan to stop being the person who puts myself last. I’m putting myself first, and Wilder too.
The minute I see his lights come down the driveway, excitement stirs inside me. My heart races as he comes closer and closer, finally bringing the car to a stop. With the anticipation of seeing him too high, I pull open the door and run outside barefoot to meet him at the driver’s side.
Wilder pushes open the door with a huge grin on his face, and before he can even get out, I grab his face in my hands and press my lips to his. “I’ve missed you.”
His hand goes around my lower half, resting on my ass. “Now this is how I like to be greeted.” He kisses me again, giving my ass cheek a gentle squeeze that sends my blood rushing through my veins.
Pulling back a tad, I keep my hands on his face and look deep into his eyes so he can see the intensity of what I’m about to say. “I need you,” I tell him. “Right now.”
All I’ve been thinking about is the orgasm he gave me last night and the way his cock felt in my hands. For the first time, I felt happy to make another man feel good, and he returned the favor tenfold.
It was amazing, but I want more. I need more.
Wilder side-eyes me, brow raised. “I’m gonna need you to be a little more specific.”
He wants specific? Specific is what I’ll give him.I’ve never been one to talk dirty, but I read romance novels. I want to make Wilder feel as good as he made me feel. I want to show him I’m not just this scared little creature I’ve forced myself to become because of Troy.
I want to be me.
I lean back down, my mouth ghosting his ear as I whisper, “I want you to fuck me like there is no tomorrow.”
Those words hold so much truth. I want him so damn bad, to the point I might literally explode. I also have every intention of spending this day like tomorrow doesn’t exist because that's when the beast returns from his work trip.
It’s funny how I no longer think of him as my husband. Just the man who ruins me every day. The beast not just in my nightmares, but in real life.
I’m taking away his power over me one step at a time. And this is the first step, taking something I want for myself.
Wilder throws a leg out of the car and gets up, both his hands now firmly gripping my ass as I feel the growing bulge in his shorts. “You sure?”
I love that he’s so attentive to my wants and needs; it’s new and refreshing. “Surer than I have ever been about anything in my life.”
The next thing I know, I’m being hoisted up by his strong arms. My legs wrap around his waist and he kicks his car door closed before carrying me through the threshold of the house.
I grab the door and swing it closed. Leaving all of my reservations outside. I know what I want, and it’s clear he wants it too, so I’m going to let us have this even if it might end badly.
My mouth lands on his neck, kissing and sucking as he carries me into the small bedroom off the living room. I want to mark him as mine. I want the world to know that Wilder Cromwell is taken, at least for now.
His hands roam my body in a loving way, making my core heat with love and lust. It’s so powerful that I swear Wilder and I were written in the stars. The way my body responds to him is unlike anything I ever knew existed. It’s magnetism you only read about in books—something from a fairy tale. It’s pure and gentle and just ours.
We get to the small back room and Wilder lays me down gently before cloaking his body over mine. He kisses me on the lips then moves to my neck, my collarbone, and down to my stomach. I’ve never craved a man like this before. The way his mouth causes goosebumps to erupt over my whole body, how his touch sends electricity into my soul.
He lifts up slightly and his fingers grip the hem of my shorts and panties, pulling them down slowly while our lustful gazes cement together.
Biting his lip as he takes me in, I smile at him. He will never understand how much his light has saved me.
Wilder helps me up until I’m sitting and removes my top. I wasn’t wearing a bra because I didn’t feel like throwing one on after my shower, so the moment the shirt is tossed to the side my breasts are freed. A smirk grows on his face before he leans in.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
He gently cups one before lowering his head to suckle on my pebbled nipple, causing adrenaline to rush through me. When he moves to the next one, giving it the same attention, I gasp as pleasure builds within me.
I want everything all at once and I want it with him. I think my body must convey that somehow, or Wilder is capable of reading my mind, because in the next second, he stands up at the foot of the bed and tosses his shirt to the side.
I’m completely naked, watching him as he rids himself of his clothes. I blink and suddenly a man stands before me. Wilder is no boy, he is not a student—he is a man in every sense of the word. Tight, rigid abs, toned skin, and muscles for days. He’s sculpted to perfection.
My chest rises and falls rapidly as my want for him intensifies. I can literally feel my arousal between my thighs.
“Perfection,” I whisper, not even realizing the word came out of my mouth until he chuckles. My cheeks heat in embarrassment, but he steps up to me, pinching my chin when I try to look down.
Nibbling on his bottom lip, his nostrils flare as his eyes skim up and down my body, the heat of his stare turning me on even more. We take our time to drink each other in and I try not to let any of the hateful words Troy has thrown at me ruin this moment. And they can’t. Because the way Wilder looks at me leaves no room for doubt in my mind. I am beautiful. I am enough. For myself and for him.
When we finally snap out of our daze, I crook a finger at him. Wilder smiles as he crawls up the mattress on all fours. Using the palms of his hands, he separates my trembling thighs and lowers his face between them.
“Mmm, Mrs. J,” he hums. “I can’t wait to see how good my teacher tastes.” His words light a fire inside me that hasn't burned in years.
The pad of his tongue drags up and down my sex and my legs tremble before I even have a second to enjoy it—before I even have a chance to try and hold back. I don’t want this to be over so soon.
Wilder chuckles, his head peeking up at me. “Don’t worry, Kitty Cat. I might be younger than you, but I know how to make you come more than once.”
A shiver runs down my spine, the best kind. Before I can blink, he is back to work and all too soon I cry out in pleasure.
I grab a fistful of his hair, forcing pressure as I buck my hips upward. I can’t even remember the last time a man has made me feel so good. Everything feels extra sensitive, but it’s like I need him more than I need air.
Wilder separates my thighs farther, kissing one, then sucking on the other. He pushes two fingers inside me, curling the tips at just the right angle. My mouth falls open just in time for him to look up at me with delight.
He wasn’t kidding; he knows exactly what he’s doing. And I can already feel myself yearning for more.
Wilder’s experience is obvious with the way he moves his mouth and works his fingers, but instead of being jealous of all the girls he’s been with in the past, I’m grateful that it’s me he’s with right now. In a weird way, Ifeel privileged to have this amazing man all to myself, even if it’s only for a little while.
Pushing deeper, he hits a spot that has a moan parting my lips. I lift slightly so I can see him because I’m a visual kind of girl and the sight of him sucking on my clit while electricity courses through my body, drives me absolutely wild.
His fingers move in a fluid motion as he gives attention to every inch of my core. Every nerve ending is hit and my body feels like it’s soaring in the clouds.
I grab his head, not knowing anything else at this moment beside my need to come for him.
“Oh God,” I cry out, arching my back farther. I’m desperate for more. I crave the moment I’m sent over the edge into ecstasy, but I also don't want this to end.
Wilder makes my body feel so damn good.
Adding another finger, he pumps feverishly and the pleasure is almost more than I can handle. His teeth graze my clit, nibbling on the sensitive nub, and I suck in a shaky breath just before my walls clench around his digits.
I come undone—completely unraveled as my orgasm hits me full force.
“Wilder,” I moan, nearly singing his name. “Oh, baby.”
I surprise even myself with how vocal I am. I've always been a mouse in bed, but this man does things to me that I can’t explain.
The next thing I know, Wilder is sliding up my body. His mouth lands on mine and I taste the bitterness of my arousal on him. “My favorite dessert,” he says.
I quirk a brow, unsure what he’s talking about.
“You taste like my new favorite dessert.”
I feel my cheeks flush with heat and the shade only deepens when he drags his tongue across my bottom lip. “I can’t get enough of you, Mrs. J.”
I cup his face in my hands and kiss him again. “The feeling is mutual.”
His erection presses into my thigh as he slides up and down my body, gyrating against me. “Are you on birth control?” he asks with a raised brow.
“Yes,” I tell him. He looks nervous for a second so I pull his face to me. “What is it?”
This time it’s his face that turns red. “I wasn’t expecting this to happen so I didn’t come prepared.”
I kiss his cheek, reassuring him. “I’m clean. If you are too, then I trust you.”
The next thing I know he’s sliding his big cock inside me, filling me to the brim. There’s no pain, only pleasure.
My arms wrap around his torso, fingers pressing into the skin of his back.
His movements are slow to start and it’s nice, just feeling him inside me while our bodies connect. Every few seconds he kisses my forehead, my cheek, or my neck.
I savor every moment, warmth radiating through my core.
Inch by inch, he picks up his pace, driving faster and faster. I thrust upward, spreading my legs wider as I envelop his cock.
“You feel so good, baby. I never want to leave.” His voice is gruff and raspy and it turns me on to the point of no return. I thrust up and down, riding him from beneath while my nails delve into the skin of his back, dragging them downward.
“Fuck yeah, baby. That’s it. Mark me.”
Sounds of pleasure escape me, my walls gripping him so hard I’m surprised he can even move. I want him buried deep—all the way inside me, forever. This euphoria is unlike anything I have ever known.
Wilder lifts one of my legs, bringing my knee to my chest as he plunges deep inside me.
His head lifts and our lustful gazes meet, staring longingly at each other as we both come undone together.
When he’s done, I wrap my arms around him and his body relaxes over mine. Peace settles inside me and for the first time in, what I think, may be forever, I feel content.
We lie there panting as we catch our breaths, the air in the room heavy. Once my head has stopped spinning, I kiss Wilder’s shoulder. “That was…something else,” I tell him with bated breath.
“Something amazing,” he grumbles back, nuzzling into my neck as if it were the only place he would want to be right now. It makes me feel like I bring him some of the comfort he brings me and I love it.
After a few more minutes, Wilder slides out of me, my thighs slick with our arousal. When I stand up, I feel the remnants run down my leg.
I go into the bathroom and clean up, and Wilder joins me. Standing behind me at the sink, he wraps his arms around my body. “You’re incredible, Cat. In every sense of the word.”
I spin around, engulfing him in my arms. “Not as incredible as you.” Pushing myself up on my tiptoes, I kiss his lips then leave the bathroom to get dressed.
As I pass through the living room, I notice my phone. Anxiety washes over me as I grab it off the sofa so I can turn off my location. I can’t believe I didn’t think to do that sooner.
But before I can, I see that Troy sent me a text message.
Troy: Surprise. I’m coming home early. I couldn’t stand to be away from you an hour longer. My plane lands at seven and my driver should have me home by eight.
Oh no!
I read the next message…
Troy: Just landed. See you soon, my love. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms.
His fake charm does nothing for me. They are empty words and I’m sick to my stomach knowing I’ll be seeing him soon.
“Wilder,” I shout as I make my way to the bathroom where he is while glancing at the time—seven forty-two. “Wilder!” I shout again. “We have to go!”
As I turn the handle and push open the bathroom door, I see him standing over the toilet, the steady sound of piss hitting water. His shoulders shake slightly as he relieves himself and he quickly looks over his shoulder. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“We have to go now!” I tell him with dire urgency. “Troy is coming home. Write your dad’s speech draft and email it to me. I’ll do my best to get to it tonight.”
“I thought he wasn’t coming home until tomorrow?” He reaches out and flushes the toilet then moves to the sink to wash his hands, all too casually.
“His plans changed,” I say quickly. “He’ll be home in, like, twenty minutes. Maybe sooner.”
Patting his wet hands on his shorts, he sulks a bit. “I’m not ready to say goodbye.”
Moving things along, I grab him by the arm and pull him out of the bathroom because I don’t think he understands the gravity of the situation. Once we’re in the living room, I start gathering his things and handing them to him—his shoes, phone, hoodie.
“Baby.” He puts two hands on my shoulders, steading me. “Slow down. We’ve got time.”
I stomp my foot to the floor, a desperate beat of fear and urgency. “We don’t have time! Wilder, you don’t know what he’ll do.”
I shake my head, fear filling my body until that’s all I know. I swear I almost drown in it until soft lips meet mine.
“What will he do, Cat?”
I can see the situation finally settling in for him, but it’s like he thinks he can take on the whole world for me, and that’s not what I need. I need to keep Troy happy until I can leave. I almost have the right amount of cash saved up and if he can have another work trip soon then maybe I’ll be able to disappear.
I shake my head at his question, not ready to give in. He’ll try to fight this battle for me and I am so close to escaping on my own. I just need a few more weeks.
But if Troy comes home and sees Wilder’s car in this driveway, there is no telling how violent his outburst might be for either of us. We need to get the hell out of here and I have to hope he doesn’t come over to this house before I have a chance to clean it up.
Wilder is standing there, a concerned look fixed on his face. I want to be the person he needs right now, but I can’t.
“Just slow down, Cat. Please.”
“There is no time,” I snap at him unintentionally as I pull him toward the front door. I stop us in front of it, the realization of what’s happening hitting all at once. Who knows when Wilder and I will have another opportunity to watch movies while snuggled on the couch, make breakfast together with limited ingredients, or dunk powdered donuts in overly-sweetened vanilla coffee. I run my hand down his arm. “This weekend was everything to me, so thank you.”
“Hey.” He puts a hand on my cheek, thumb stroking my skin. I lean into his touch and close my eyes. “This isn’t goodbye, Cat. It’s just goodbye for now. We always have CatEyes and WildMisfit. And I’ll drop anything, anytime to see you. Just name the place.”
He’s right. This isn’t over. In fact, it’s only just begun.
I push myself up on my tiptoes and kiss him goodbye—for now.