Chapter Twenty-Four
Seth
The last three days have been a bit of a whirlwind.
Despite being in the wedding, I hadn’t been privy, or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention, to all the wedding planning going on around me.
Ripley and Thea’s absence for the last seventy-two hours made it blatantly obvious how oblivious I’ve been.
I’ve barely seen him, and considering what happened in the distillery and the epiphanies I’ve come to, I’ve been less than happy about it.
Plus, their absence meant Cary and I were left to handle RED on our own.
Honestly, the rush of dealing with a crowded restaurant was nice, getting to do it with Cary again was even better.
We still work together like a well-oiled machine.
It felt like I was back in Seattle, in a fast-paced environment that helps keep my anxious thoughts at bay.
But I felt Ripley’s absence. I felt it in ways I didn’t know I could, down to my bones and deep in my soul.
Missing him, despite being in the same place as him for the first time in years, unlocked a slew of revelations.
First and foremost, I am deeply and desperately in love with Quinn Ripley.
Secondly, my focus has shifted for the first time in my life.
I’m more concerned with a person than my work.
I’m watching the clock, waiting for closing time so I can go home to Ripley.
I’m checking my phone, not for emails from investors like usual, but for flirty texts from him.
And I just know, if someone asked me to choose between Ripley and getting ahead on work, I’d choose him, no questions asked.
It’s unsettling how easily the shift happened.
Late last night, when he slinked into bed and wrapped me up in his body, it felt like I could finally breathe again.
I’d gone to sleep in my own room once he texted me he’d be getting home past midnight for the second night in a row.
I considered sleeping in his room, but doing so when he wasn’t home seemed like a decision that warrants a discussion first.
And although I was dead tired, my thoughts kept me up as he fell asleep in my arms. After hours of running through all the scenarios and every single way my life could fall apart and the inevitable changes, I decided I’m going to tell him exactly how I feel.
After the wedding.
The last thing I want to do is steal the spotlight from Thea and Cary on their big day, and distracting Ripley from his man of honor duties is selfish—too selfish even for me.
Today is the rehearsal dinner, which means another day of missing Ripley since he’s tied up with last-minute wedding tasks, another day of almost zero one-on-one time. Which is why I’m waking him up with more than just coffee this morning.
Setting the to-go cups on the counter, I bound up the stairs.
It’s still early, but I’m hopeful he won’t mind.
The door is cracked open from when I left earlier for my run.
He’d grumbled about me being neurotic as I pulled myself from bed this morning, placing a kiss on his head before I left.
By the time I was dressed and heading out, he was already snoring again.
I crawl onto the bed, pulling the covers down as I do. Each inch of Ripley’s naked flesh has me salivating for more, but I go slow, trying not to wake him until the perfect moment. His cock springs free as the comforter glides over it; he’s already semi-hard, an every-morning occurrence.
The marks I’ve left on him mottle his skin in various places, little bruises announcing, “Seth was here.” Swallowing, I decide he needs more.
The one near his nipple is fading, and the ones on his hips aren’t enough.
I wish I could mark him on his neck, leave a lovebite for everyone to see, but we have to wait a little longer.
I pull my shirt off and throw it to the ground as I lean over, bringing my face to his shaft.
He’s neatly trimmed and has the most beautiful dick I’ve ever seen.
He’s smaller than me, by an inch or so, but he makes up for it in girth.
I take a deep inhale, breathing in his musk, surrounding myself in everything him.
I lick my lips, already drooling for him.
Leaning closer, I drag my tongue from his base to his tip.
“Mmmm,” he moans, still half-asleep, though his cock is fully awake now, standing tall and proud for me.
One of his arms is draped over his eyes, the other reaches down to where I am, grabbing a handful of hair just as I take him into my mouth.
“Oh, fuuuuck. Seth?” he asks, his voice raspy with sleep.
I bob up and down, sliding my hand up his chest in answer.
The morning sun peeks in through the curtains just enough to give me a view of his beautiful, sleepy face as I take him as deep as I can.
My hand reaches his throat, and I wrap my fingers around it with a gentle squeeze.
Ripley’s eyes shoot open, sleep a distant memory now.
“Fuck, baby, that feels so good,” he grits out, voice heavy with sleep, pulling tighter on the strands he has wrapped around his fingers.
Using the same hand, he holds me where I am, licking his full, pouty lips as he watches me gag on his cock.
My hand tightens around his throat, and he loosens his grip so I can come up for air.
“Good morning,” I tell him, a bit out of breath, a smirk pulling on my lips.
“Good fucking morning, I could get used to th—” he says, the last word breaking off as I nip his inner thigh, biting and sucking at the spot until it’s red and angry looking.
I take him back into my mouth, running my tongue along the slit of his head, lapping up his precum.
I let it sit on my tongue like bourbon, feeling it all over my palate reacquainting myself with the taste of him.
He pulls me off, grasping my chin between his fingers. Confused, I bring my gaze to him.
“Come here,” he tells me. The heat in his voice burns through the clothes I’m still wearing, my painfully hard cock pressing up against my shorts.
He drags me up his body but turns my face at the last second to kiss my neck.
He laps at the skin, sucking and nipping a few spots as he travels down to my chest.
I moan, relishing in the feel of his mouth on me, but then he pulls away, panting.
“Wha—” I try, but he cuts me off.
“Take off your pants, and turn around.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” he says as he shifts down a little more on the bed.
Ripley is rarely the demanding one in bed. He doesn’t crave control the way I do. But he has moments, small moments of switching it up, moments where I allow him to be the one calling the shots. I can’t say I hate it, but I’m sure I would if it were with anyone else.
Doing as he says, I slip off my shorts and briefs, turn around, and straddle his face backwards so my dick is lined up with his mouth.
“Is this what you wanted?” I ask as I plant one hand on the bed beside his hip, the other wrapping around his cock. I feel him shutter as I start to move.
Up and down.
Up and down.
“Y-yes,” he stutters.
I peek under my arm to look at him, a smile tipping up my lips at the sight. Even upside down, he’s a goddamn masterpiece: hair mussed from sleep, glasses forgotten on the bed table, cheeks aflame.
Fuck. Me.
“Ripley,” I say to get his attention, my hand still stroking him.
“Hmm?”
“This is only fun if we’re both participating.”
I laugh as his eyes pop open, giving me a scowl. I turn back to his rock hard cock, taking him into my mouth again.
He does the same, and I thrust into him, the feel of his lips stretched around me knocks the air out of my lungs.
Like the greedy little slut he is, he takes me all the way to the back of his throat before grasping my thighs so tight I know it’ll leave a bruise.
He holds me there until he’s gagging, only finally releasing so I can lift up, giving him a moment to breathe.
Using my tongue, I rim the head of his cock, sucking on it before sinking back down, pulling him into my mouth. Deciding I want to drive him wild, I reach around to his sack, caressing the soft skin of his balls. Something unintelligible comes from him, but I’m too in the moment to decipher it.
I thrust into his mouth three more times, going as deep as I can before he’s pulling away. I don’t stop to see what he’s doing, but I hear when he spits into his hand. Then, his finger grazes up past my balls to my hole.
With my lips wrapped around his cock, I let out a guttural moan as his finger teases the tight muscle, pressing gently, looking for access. The vibration from my moan makes his dick twitch in my mouth, spurring me on because I know he must be close.
I lose myself in the pleasure of having his lips stretched around me and his finger sinking into me, I have to pop off of his dick so I don’t come.
“Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck,” I let out, sounding tortured, barely keeping myself up with the one arm propped beside his thigh.
“Rip—I—fuck, I’m so c-close,” I stutter as he thrusts his finger in and out, his warm mouth still strangling my cock at the same time.
With his mouth too full to speak, he jerks his hips, and I get the message: he’s close too.
Unable to hold onto my control, I let myself get messy with him. Strings of drool seep from the corners of my lips as I run my tongue up and down his shaft, taking him into my mouth and sucking at the precum leaking from his tip.
The moment Ripley adds a second digit, I know I’m one thrust away from blowing my load. He grazes my prostate with the tips of his fingers, and it’s over. I don’t even have time to warn him before I’m shooting down his throat.
Ripley takes it all, sucking it down, licking me clean, and allowing me to ride out my orgasm. The moment I’ve come down I get back to work, knowing he’s just as close.
“Oh my God, yes, Seth, please,” he mewls and tenses up, close to letting go.