Chapter 14 #2
We found a buffet after some googling. The sun had set, and tonight had a much more date-like feel than last weekend had.
Over our meal, he explained more of the playing and talked about some of the tournaments he’d been to.
He said he’d even gotten some guys’ numbers so they could get together by themselves instead of waiting for bigger venues. And he also had a few trades lined up.
He was lighter tonight than he had been all week. Guilt threatened to turn my dinner into a lump. I should’ve controlled myself better.
On the drive home, I showered him with questions about his investors and his travel itinerary. The man had a plan. I hadn’t even contacted a landlord. I couldn’t risk my job, but dammit, I didn’t want to move.
When he pulled up in front of the house, I stared at the dark shape. A night-light in the hallway was on and glowed through the blinds. Home sweet home. Just not mine. Or Van’s.
After we got inside, he stretched his arms above his head. His UNO hoodie rose above his waistband, baring a strip of lean abs that I hadn’t seen despite sleeping with him every night for six weeks. “I’m going to finish up some last-minute things.”
My heart fluttered to the ground like the leaves this time of year. He was going back to work? After we’d spent much of the day together? “Don’t have too much fun.”
I trudged to the bedroom, my frustration growing about how last weekend had affected us.
I stopped in front of the door. Did I keep pretending like I wasn’t bothered by the distance between us?
We were acting normal, but it was there.
Would I make it worse by addressing the pent-up elephant in the room?
Did I want to go through another week of wondering if I had offended him? Then another week after that, and another, until we parted ways? I spun around on my stockinged feet. The office light was on. Van was inside.
At the doorway, I stalled. I wasn’t brave enough to go all the way in. He was standing behind his desk, ready to take a seat. He glanced up, a question in his eyes.
Here goes. “Last weekend, did I mess this up? Like royally mess everything up?”
He propped his hands on the top of his desk, leaning forward. He might be in a sweatshirt and blue jeans, but he looked like he could command a boardroom. He’d do just that when we divorced. He’d be ready.
I twisted my fingers together. “I didn’t mean to. These hormones—”
“Are they still bothering you?”
They were behind it. Living with Van was bothering me in a hot-and-bothered way. “Yes.”
He pushed off his desk and came around it. Stopping on the opposite side of the threshold as me, he propped his hands on the doorframe. “Do you need help…feeling better?”
Now was my chance. “Y-yes. Wait.” I held a hand up, but we were so close I put it right on his chest. “We need to talk first because I can’t take another week of wondering if you regretted what happened.” If he regretted me.
“No.” He didn’t elaborate more. A simple answer that filled me with hope.
“I didn’t make you uncomfortable?”
“The erections did.”
I blew out a breath. Whoa. “So you didn’t mind?”
His gaze softened. “No, but I worried I crossed the line with you.”
“No.”
“Then…” If possible, he got closer. “We should take advantage of our time together to help relieve each other.”
Yes, please. I almost said it, but another issue cropped up, an old but relevant one. “Doesn’t it bother you? I’m your brother’s ex.”
Self-recrimination passed through his eyes. “No.”
“As simple as that?” It just didn’t dig under his skin anymore? He didn’t act like it, but I had to know. If he rejected me again, it’d hurt more than getting left at the altar. “Because after the kiss…”
He briefly closed his eyes. “About that. I’m sure you don’t have the whole story.”
My libido ran and hid. There was more? About what? Me or Elijah? “Oh?”
“My ex? The one that I was starting a company with, who cheated on me and then cost me everything to fold our business without completely trashing my reputation? Do you know who she cheated with?”
I shook my head before I gave it any thought. How could I know? I’d never been around Van’s social crowd. The only person we’d had in common was—“Oh.” Horror and sympathy cascaded through me. Poor Van. “He didn’t.”
“He did. So did she. And then when he was done spending the money she kept, he dropped her.”
Just like he’d taken my money and found another woman. “What a grade A bastard. Oh God, marrying me must’ve been more salt in the wound. And then the kiss.” The back of my throat burned. “And the bathroom. Am I making you revisit your trauma left and right?”
“Clover, I’m getting to the point where I’m going to say whatever will let me get you naked again.”
Oh. His blunt tone shocked me. Heat pumped into my veins.
“The problem with that kiss,” he said, “is that it showed me it didn’t matter who your ex is.”
Oh. A shiver whispered over my skin. I licked my dry lips, and he clocked the movement like a predator. He wanted me. The hormones I blamed last weekend on raged back. “I seem to be at a disadvantage. I haven’t seen you naked yet.”
He reached behind him and yanked the shirt over his head. I sucked in a breath when I was met with his bare chest. His pecs were dusted with hair just a little darker than on his head, and it merged into a trail running between his abs and down to where he was unbuttoning his jeans.
“Oh.” I breathed out when he ripped the zipper down, and his underwear shifted to expose the glistening tip of his cock. “My.”
My was very close to mine, and that was what I wanted to declare about that noteworthy erection.
“You’re as hard as granite.” Inwardly, I winced. Really? Now I was going to make a geology comparison? “Marble, really. There’s a reason they carved giant slabs into statues.” God, that was worse. “Those statues weren’t as well endowed.”
I groaned, and the corner of his mouth tipped up.
He shoved his pants down. “To be fair, sweet Clover, those statues were carved in a soft state. Not how most modern men would want to be immortalized, but I’m not sure how David felt.”
He kicked off his jeans and shucked his socks off with them. Holding his arms out to his sides, he spun in a slow circle.
Now that was an ass worthy of carving. “Do you do butt clenches when you sit in the chair all day?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. That actually makes me feel better.” Note to self—flex some muscles while I sit all day.
“Do you want to touch?”
“Yes,” I said in a whisper. When he moved closer, I wrapped my hand around his hot length. His hard-on filled my grip, and I pumped up and down. He twitched in my hand. A small reaction but a heady one. “I’d…like to do more.”
He grunted and thrust his hips. “With your hand on my dick, I’m in no position to stop you.”
I’d never wanted to lick something so badly in my life. The way he was reacting, and I’d hardly done anything? It was exciting. Exhilarating. Powerful. I felt sexy in a way I never had.
“What if it’s my mouth?”
His jaw went slack. “You want to do that?”
To answer him, I lowered to my knees and gazed up at him. His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed, and his eyes were full of disbelief. He glanced around. “We can find a better spot for you.”
“This works just fine.” Something about sucking him off in his office appealed to me. Like maybe after we went our separate ways, whenever he was behind his screen for long stretches of time, he’d think of me.
I wouldn’t forget him.
I opened my mouth and sucked him in. A long, ragged groan left him, and I would’ve smiled, but there was no room.
He was large, and I wanted to leave an impression.
My first identity to him was as his brother’s girlfriend.
The next was a jilted bride. Then a single mom trying to figure it all out.
I wanted to be a sex goddess. Not the clumsy girl who almost took herself out masturbating in a motel bathroom.
I licked and sucked, mining my brain for any technique advice I’d heard or read over the years. It must’ve been working. A tremor trailed up and down his body, his raspy breathing filled the room, and he was close. His cock twitched in my mouth, and he went ramrod straight. I felt powerful.
“Christ, Clover. I’m going to— If you don’t want to—”
I increased the suction and worked the base of his shaft. His hips hinged forward, and he exploded. His release filled my mouth, but I didn’t let up. This had to be unforgettable. Spectacular. He gave me the control, and I would be the sweet Clover who had given him the best blow job of his life.
More groans came from him, and he swung his hips back. He popped out of my mouth, his tip glistening, and yeah, I might’ve been a little proud of how white his knuckles were on the doorframe.
“I’m surprised I can talk.” He sounded like he just ran ten miles. He cupped my chin.
His gaze intensified, turning promising. “Your turn.”
Van
I had Clover’s knees spread wide and pushed up as far as they’d go. She was on her back on the bed. Fuck the pillow wall. I laid her out on top of them. My arms were shoved under her ass to lift her out of the cozy cradle they made. The pillows wouldn’t block me from her tonight.
I tackled her clit with my tongue, lapping and stroking until I found the rhythm that drove her wild.
She fisted her hands in my hair. “Van.”
The way she groaned my name was enough to get me hard again. I’d never come like that. Her hot little mouth had robbed me of all control and brain cells. My stamina had dipped, unable to stand strong against her soft tongue.
Now it was time to redeem myself. I wasn’t thinking about who I was competing with. I had to be the best. Unforgettable. Why?
Now wasn’t the time to answer.
She yanked on my hair when I hit a certain spot. Mentally, I was grinning from ear to ear. I threaded a finger inside her, and she clamped on to me, riding me like she was afraid I’d stop and she’d be left unsatisfied.