Chapter 16 Breaking the Rule
brEAKING THE RULE
DEREK
Even though I had told her to sleep, I knew Paige hadn’t gone back to her guest room.
I was an idiot.
Because I wanted to stay with her after making sure her daughter fell asleep. The way she looked at me made me want to kiss her and drag her back to my room.
So I walked away. It felt almost impossible leaving Paige standing alone in that hallway.
I was a man of logic so I should sleep and not walk out of my bed and make sure she was okay.
Yet here I was, finding her on the couch in the living room, curled up with a cup of tea, the large robe swallowing her slight frame. The city lights cast shadows, making her look vulnerable in a way that made my chest ache.
I sat down, putting enough space between us to keep my hands to myself.
“You can’t sleep either?” Paige asked, her voice small.
I shook my head, looking at her, and the distance between us felt like torture.
“You should be sleeping,” I said, even though I was glad she wasn’t. “Tomorrow’s going to be—”
“Every time I close my eyes, I hear him saying those things and threatening to take Lily.”
“He won’t,” I said, moving closer. “I won’t let him, Paige. I promise you that.”
She looked up at me, her eyes still red from crying but clear now. “Why are you being so good to me?”
The question caught me off guard. “What?”
“This,” she said, gesturing between us. “All of this. The fake relationship, letting us stay here, defending me against Jack. Taking care of Lily in the middle of the night.” Her voice wavered. “Why, Derek?”
Because I love you. Because I’ve loved you since we were kids. Because watching you get hurt is killing me.
But I couldn’t say that. Not now and not when she was vulnerable.
“Because you deserve it,” I said. “Because someone should have been doing these things all along.”
Paige didn’t reply. She just slid across the cushion and lifted her hand, pressing it against my chest, right over my racing heart.
Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.
“Derek,” she whispered, her voice low and sultry. “I-I need to feel something other than broken right now.”
“You’re not broken, Paige,” I replied, her eyes dropping to my mouth.
Fuck. I don’t think I can control anymore.
Before I could lean forward to cradle her face, she closed the distance between us as her mouth found mine.
It was a soft, simple brush of lips. But the second my brain caught up with what was happening, I took over. I growled low in my throat and angled my head, deepening the kiss.
The teacup clattered somewhere around us, and her robe fell open as I trapped her against the back of the couch, claiming her lips in a scorching kiss.
The sound that left her throat was a hungry, desperate moan that shot straight to my cock.
“Oh God,” she whispered, pulling back just far enough to breathe. “Derek, we—”
My thumb traced her bottom lip. “Yes?”
“We’re breaking the rule,” she breathed.
“Fuck the rules,” I said, stealing another kiss, my hands sliding into her hair. “I don’t care about the contract right now, Paige. I care only about you.”
“This is crazy,” she gasped against my mouth, her hands were fisting in my shirt and pulling me closer. “We’re supposed to be faking it.”
“Does this feel fake to you?” I asked, gently biting her lower lip, making her gasp. “Because it sure as hell doesn’t feel fake to me.”
She moved, her body pressing against mine, all her soft curves feeling right against my hard muscles. She froze when she felt the hard bulge of exactly how not-fake this was for me.
“Oh,” she gasped, her eyes widening.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice strained. “That’s what you do to me, Paige.”
She straddled my lap with a confidence that made the blood rush south. I groaned, feeling every inch of her heat on top of me. She felt so fucking perfect and warm that I never wanted to let go of her.
Fuck me. I wanted to get rid of her sweats and sink inside her wet heat.
She began to move against me, slowly rubbing herself on top of me. My hands tightened on her waist, wanting her to use me for her pleasure.
“We shouldn’t,” she said, biting her lower lip and rolling her hips.
“Definitely not,” I agreed, my breathing increasing with passing seconds.
“We’re friends.”
“Best-friends.”
“Y-yeah. We definitely shouldn’t since we’re best-friends, right?” I said. “But then why the hell does it feel so fucking good?”
“Maybe we should…” she suggested.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Is this okay?” she asked breathlessly, her hands braced on my shoulders when she kept grinding over my bulge. “Tell me if I should stop.”
“Don’t you dare fucking stop,” I said, burying my face in her neck and inhaling her sweet scent. “Fuck, Paige. Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me right now?”
“Tell me, then,” she said, her voice husky.
I grabbed her hips and pulled her down onto my cock. I could feel the heat and warmth with only the fabric of our sweatpants separating us. Her lips parted, her fingers tightening on my t-shirt.
“F-feel this?” I asked, my voice gruff. “Feel my cock throbbing for you? Just from kissing you? Fuck Paige—I want you to feel beautiful, wanted and fucking w-worshipped.”
“Worshipped?” she said, a smile curving her swollen lips. “That’s a pretty big promise, Peterson.”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep,” I said, dragging my hands from her hips and pulling my t-shirt over my head in one swift motion. “Let me prove it.”
Her hands were immediately on my chest, exploring the ridges of my muscles. “Wow,” she mumbled as if she were talking to herself. “I had forgotten what this feels like.”
“What did you forget?” I asked, enjoying the way she was touching me, her pupils dilating.
“Being touched like I’m wanted,” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Like I’m not just... convenient.”
“Paige,” I whispered, cupping her face in both hands and making sure she heard every word. “You are not convenient. You’re extraordinary. You’re brilliant and fierce and so goddamn beautiful it hurts to look at you sometimes.”
“Even with—” she paused, gesturing vaguely at herself. “Even with the baby weight and the stretch marks and—”
“Especially with all of that,” I said, sliding my hand under the hem of her t-shirt, splaying my fingers across the soft skin of her stomach. “You created life, Paige. You’re a mother and that’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s fucking incredible.”
She kissed me again, harder this time, and when she pulled back, she was lifting her arms. “Help me?”
I pulled her t-shirt over her head slowly, savoring every inch of her soft skin. The sight of her in the dim light, wearing nothing but a soft bra, made my breath catch. The swell of her breasts cupped by the bra made my mouth water.
“Fuck, Paige,” I groaned. “You’re perfect.”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m not—”
“Yes, you are,” I said, tracing the edge of the lace and watching her shiver. Her cleavage was begging me to rip off her bra and cover her breasts with my mouth and hands. “So fucking perfect for me.”
“Derek,” she said, her voice breathy and needy in a way that made my cock twitch. “Please.”
“Please what?” I said, kissing the hollow of her throat. “Tell me what you want, beautiful.”
“I want—” She gasped as I kissed lower, across her collarbone. “I want to feel you. All of you.”
“We’ll get there,” I said, reaching behind her, my fingers finding the hook of her bra. “But first, I’m going to take my time with you. I’m going to learn every sound you make. Learn and memorize every place that makes you gasp and moan.”
I unhooked her bra with a soft click and slid the straps down her arms. My lips parted in awe, seeing her beautiful tits. They were heavy with dusky hard nipples, begging for my attention.
I cursed again. “They’re fucking perfect, Paige.”
My hands cupped them, and she arched into my touch with a moan that went straight to my core.
“So fucking responsive,” I said, licking my lips and brushing my thumbs over her nipples and watching them tighten. “I love that about you.”
“Derek, I-I need more—”
“I know,” I said. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you, beautiful.”