Chapter 22
Josephine
We made it back to the mansion with a few minutes to spare. There was far less traffic on the return trip, and Kylian drove the boat this time, so the trip across the lake was much quicker, proving that Kendrick purposely took his time on our way to town. Jackass.
Kylian and I hauled everything to my room. I confirmed how much time we had before we had to leave for the Boatyard, and what, exactly, the dress code was for the event, before taking a quick shower.
I assumed he’d head to the Nest to get ready himself, but I can still hear him in my room as I turn off the hair dryer.
Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I try to force a smile.
My dark, cinnamon-brown hair is blown out and smooth, curling in soft layers that frame my face. Several new freckles have appeared since I arrived in North Carolina a few weeks ago. I’m grateful to have access to my skin care products and sunscreen again.
After I swipe on a coat of mascara, I pinch my cheeks for color, then add a layer of sheer lip gloss.
I adjust my black tank top and smooth my hands down the front of my raw-hemmed white denim shorts.
One more fake smile, and I almost convince myself that this is all okay.
Almost.
I decide I look good enough. Especially considering I don’t know what’s expected of me today.
I asked for details in the car, but Kendrick just mumbled something about a work commitment. Kylian met my eyes in the mirror and gave me a reassuring smile. I hope he’ll fill me in sooner rather than later.
Exiting the bathroom, I’m surprised to find Kylian bustling around. He’s got an armful of my clothes in one hand, and he’s headed for the closet.
He’s so focused on his task he doesn’t notice I’ve emerged.
“Uh, thanks, but I can do that,” I insist from across the room.
He pauses and smiles at me over his shoulder, then continues forward. “It’s not a problem, Jo.”
I follow him into the closet and watch, shifting from hip to hip and feeling all sorts of awkward. He methodically catalogs the items in his grasp—a jean jacket and two sun dresses—then puts them on hangers and hangs them on the rod that spans one side of the space.
“I’ve got almost everything put away. You can rearrange it how you want it later, but at least it’s all sorted,” he murmurs as he hangs the last dress and assesses his work.
Nodding once, he turns back toward me.
“Damn,” he rasps, dragging his gaze up and down my body. “You look gorgeous.”
“You’re just full of compliments today, huh?” I keep my tone light so he can’t see how his words make me feel all girly on the inside.
“I’m a quick learner,” he quips. “You said you weren’t sure where things stand between us, so now I’ll make it abundantly clear as often as possible.”
He holds my gaze for several seconds, the heat in his expression making it abundantly clear that he likes what he sees. I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t love the way he inspects me from head to toe. When Kylian focuses on something, he really focuses.
The spell is broken when he clears his throat.
“There are only a few things left to put away.” He nods toward a random assortment of objects spread out on the bed.
Once we’ve emerged from the walk-in, I gather my curling rod and a reusable gel eye mask to stash in the bathroom. When I walk back into the bedroom, Kylian holds out a sage green case.
“Sunglasses?” he guesses, moving around the bed and holding it out for me.
“Uh, not exactly.” I bite back a smirk and snatch the case out of his hand.
Except he’s too quick. Mentally. And physically.
Tightening his grasp, he regards me with a quizzical smirk. I try—and fail—to pull the case out of his hand.
“What is it, then?” He tilts his head to the side, his expression earnest. There’s no way he’s prepared for the answer to that question.
Biting back a laugh, I tug on the case again. “This would be my vibrator.”
Kylian’s mouth falls open, but he doesn’t loosen his grip.
“This? How?”
The shock in his widened eyes is almost comical. It’s also distracting enough that I let him pull the case right out of my hand.
“Seriously. How? I thought vibrators were like, twelve inches long? And usually purple or pink?”
Rolling my eyes, I hold out my hand again. “Give it here. We’ve gotta go.” We had less than twenty minutes when I got out of the shower, so we’re pushing it now. I’m not interested in giving Decker an excuse to harp on me today.
“Hell no. I’ve got questions.” He turns the case over in his hands, examining it the way one would admire a precious jewel or a rare artifact.
“Kylian,” I urge.
“Jo,” he counters playfully, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “I need details. What’s it called? How does it work?”
“You’re shameless,” I accuse, eyes wide.
“I’m curious,” he corrects. “And now that we both know where things stand between us,” he hits me with a serious, heated stare, “I want to learn all I can about you.”
“Including how I like to get off?” I quip, planting my hands on my hips.
“Especially how you like to get off.”
I gulp past the insecurity tapping me on the shoulder. Instead, I opt for the overconfident sass I rely on when I’m uncomfortable.
“It’s called the Thumper. It has three modes. I like the air pulse setting best.”
Kylian’s expression morphs from curiosity to fascination as my face heats in embarrassment.
“Satisfied?” I mumble, walking past him toward the door.
If we don’t get going, someone’s going to come looking for us.
“Not in the least,” he replies without missing a beat, striding toward me. At least he’s following me to the door.
“The Thumper. The Thumper… Hold up. It has five intensity settings for each of the three modes?”
I whip my head around and suck in a breath.
He’s still holding my vibrator in one hand while scrolling on his phone with the other. “Wait.” He lifts his head and meets my gaze. “This doesn’t look like the one online.”
Slapping a hand over my eyes, I groan. “Kylian… that’s just the case.”
I peek between my fingers and hold back a laugh as his eyes double in size.
“Can I open it?”
With any of the other guys in the house, I’d be mortified. But Kylian has been my safe place for the last twenty-four hours. And he looks nothing but earnest, albeit a little too eager.
“I guess?” I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of this situation.
If I said no, I have no doubt he’d honor my decision, but I can’t deny him when he looks this excited.
He opens the case and plucks the toy out of the shell, the opposite of shy about holding it and turning it over as he analyzes it from all angles. I’m meticulous about toy hygiene, so the vibrator’s clean. I’ll just sanitize it before I use it next time.
“It’s shaped like a comma,” he mutters reverently. “And these little buttons turn it on?” He glances up at me to confirm.
Biting down on my bottom lip, I nod. There’s no way he’s actually going to—
The toy buzzes to life as he clicks on the thump function.
“Wow. That’s intense.”
I giggle. Freaking giggle. What is wrong with me right now?
Kylian pops his head up at the sound. His pupils are totally blown out as he peers at me through the lenses of his glasses.
“This is what you like?” he murmurs, stalking closer as the toy pulsates in his grip.
I bite down on my lower lip and shake my head. I like the air pulse better than the thump feature.
His eyes narrow on me as he saunters closer. And with the slightest quirk of one brow behind his glasses, he clicks another button.
“This is what you like?” he surmises as the second feature whirs to life.
Pursing my lips, I fight back a coquettish grin as I nod. My gut is filled with fizzy bubbles: freshly poured champagne, a jacuzzi on the highest setting. I’m nothing but air and anticipation.
“There’s one more,” he murmurs as he stops in front of me, his body so close our chests brush on my next inhale.
He clicks the third button, and the vibrator buzzes louder.
Thumping. Pulsing. Vibrating.
He’s holding the sex toy trifecta in his hand. Emanating a heavy, hazy lust, his aura pulls me deeper under his spell with every passing second.
“This is really something.” Kylian smirks, raising the toy to eye level as he inspects it more meticulously. “There’s no way you could possibly need all three settings on at once though, right?”
He hums, the breathy contemplation barely audible over the steady buzz. He surveys me again, and I swear my thighs clench involuntarily.
“Unless…” His mouth quirks into a teasing smile as he watches me through hooded eyes.
I’m hanging on his every word, and he damn well knows it.
With the buzzing sound echoing between us, he draws the moment out, ratcheting up the tension until I finally find the wherewithal to swallow past the lump in my throat.
“Unless?” I ask in a needy voice I don’t recognize.
His smile widens, and a barely there dimple on just one cheek appears.
“Unless the Thumper is intended for more than one person to use simultaneously.”
Another cock of an eyebrow.
A heavy, heated pause.
And then— “Should we try it?”
I’m nodding before I fully process the question. Leaning back on the bedroom door, parting my legs slightly, aching for him to try.
Desire zings through me as he maintains eye contact, clicks the button to increase the intensity, and lowers his hand.
I don’t dare look. Don’t allow myself to overthink.
I just squeeze my eyes shut as he presses the vibrator between the apex of my thighs, lining it up with my zipper and sending a jolt of electricity through my entire being.
He places it perfectly, lining up the thumping side with my clit, then pinning the vibrator between us with his hips.
“Holy shit,” he murmurs, raising his arms to brace himself against the door on either side of my head.
“Holy. Shit,” he hisses when he rocks his hips forward and presses into me harder.
My thoughts exactly.
The thrum of the toy is intense and relentless—a constant pounding that’s almost too much, even through the thick denim of my shorts and my underwear.
But the vibrations are only partially responsible for the sensations rolling through me.
Kylian’s maintained eye contact, making this almost comical situation anything but, sends sparks of electricity through my extremities. Staring into his eyes feels intensely intimate. We’re chasing mutual pleasure from two sides of the same toy.
I close my eyes and shudder as warmth pools in my core.
Kylian hums softly. Then he brushes his hand against my cheek and gently grips my chin.
“Open,” he murmurs. “I want to see you, baby.”
My eyes fly open, and my lips part, too. A second later, Kylian’s thumb is in my mouth. I close my lips on instinct, then swirl my tongue around it.
He growls in approval. “That’s it. Suck it. Suck it like the needy girl you are and let me see you.”
I’m nodding again, feeling like an incoherent bobblehead, unable to muster any more control over myself.
He slowly draws out of my mouth, and I nip at the pad of his thumb. Groaning, he pushes back in, this time pistoning his hips in rhythm with his hand.
I moan, my breath coming fast and hard as the telltale tingle of release builds inside me. Sparks ignite from my toes to the crown of my head, signaling my impending unraveling.
“Kylian.” His name is a plea as I can’t help but thrust my hips forward and feverishly suck on the digit in my mouth.
“Fuck. I’m right there, too. Let go for me, Jo. Show me how good I make you feel. Show me how good you can be for me.”
Desire squeezes every muscle in my body as a mindless haze consumes me. I can’t think. I can’t see. I can’t hear. I just feel.
The thumping intensifies, either because Kylian clicked the button again or because my orgasm is still building. Because somehow my body’s still climbing.
Climbing, climbing, climbing. Scaling so high I’m almost fearful of the intensity of the fall.
I whimper and meet his eyes. The desire in his gaze matches the unrelenting undulations rendering me senseless.
He nods encouragingly, and I hit my peak. Time stands still as the first clench of my inner walls tears through me and steals my breath. I gasp, then cry out.
In an instant, Kylian covers my mouth to muffle the sound. All as my pussy pulsates and arousal soaks my panties.
The climax is so intense I lose my grasp on time and space. There’s nothing but this moment, Kylian’s eyes, and the toy he’s still pressing against my body, using it to draw out an orgasm that just won’t quit.
A pounding on the surface behind me, sharp enough to rattle my head, jolts me back to the moment.
“Josephine!” Decker’s voice booms through the thick door. “We have to go. Have you seen Kylian?”
My eyes shoot open, and I squeak behind Kylian’s hand. He stays laser-focused on me, his mouth parting ever so slightly as his hips slow, and he grunts.
“Fuck, Jo,” he grits out between clenched teeth, thrusting the toy between us one last time.
“Josephine!” Decker booms.
“We’re coming!” Kylian calls back.
My eyes practically bug out of my head as I burst into a fit of giggles.
Kylian smirks, caging me in with both arms and resting his forehead against mine as we pant in unison, working to catch our breath and come back down to earth.
“Naughty girl,” he murmurs against my lips. “You did so good for me, baby.”
And then he catches them in a searing kiss, sending my thoughts spinning once again.
He pulls away a moment later, adjusting himself and giving me a slow, satisfied appraisal.
“Go get cleaned up,” he says, tilting his head toward the bathroom.
I start toward the en suite without a second thought. Bizarrely, his dominance doesn’t grate on my nerves the way Decker’s does. Maybe because I never expected him to be so bossy—or vocal—in the bedroom, or in this case, against the door.
Bottom lip pulled between my teeth, I offer him a coquettish smirk over my shoulder. Did we really just do that?
“Jo,” he scolds, running one hand through his hair and tugging on the ends. “Don’t look at me like that.” He puffs out his cheeks and blows out a long breath, pulling out his phone from his back pocket to check the time. “We really do have to go.”
“Take this,” he tells me, holding out the vibrator. “I’ve got to go change my pants.”
A surprised huff escapes me as my focus drops to his crotch.
Holy shit. Yep, he does. I didn’t realize he’d come, too. But there it is. Literally.
“Be downstairs in two minutes,” he instructs, lunging forward. He kisses me once more before unlocking the door and taking off toward the staircase at the end of the hall.