Chapter 20 #2
At some point in the haze, his hands slipped from my shoulders. They trailed down my chest, over my stomach, and before I knew, it they were at my belt. The soft clink of metal preceded the whisper of my zipper being tugged open.
Shock cut through the fog, and my hand shot out, catching his wrist before he could go further.
“Darby…”
My chest heaved as I tried to steady myself. But that proved difficult when his face was the only thing I could see. His lips were kiss-swollen, and his chest swelled against mine.
I wanted him—hell, I’d been half out of my mind with wanting him since the first time he smirked at me—but my want slammed into a wall I’d left between us.
I hadn’t told him about my leg.
Faced with the very real possibility of clothes coming off, I had to wonder how Darby would react. Would he be startled by my prosthetic, finding it as cold, hard, and intrusive as I did? Would it make me unappealing? Unattractive?
I thought he was stunning, captivating, and by every measure I could conceive, flawless.
But what would he think if he saw me as bare as I’d grown accustomed to seeing him?
Darby’s fingers traced the ridge in my jeans, and I bucked up needfully, but I didn’t release his wrist.
“You don’t need to be shy,” he murmured. “You’ve got more than enough to work with.”
My jaw clenched. I knew he meant it, but I couldn’t shake the fear of the moment when he’d see all of me and not just the parts I was willing to share.
Then he kissed me, and I surrendered the fight. The waistband of my boxers stretched as his hand slid beneath them, reaching.
The moment his fingers closed around me, I knew I was finished. He pressed in close and covered my throat with kisses that chased away what little sense I’d managed to retain.
“Do you think about me?” he murmured, his breath hot against my skin.
“Sometimes…”
All the time.
His hand moved in slow, deliberate strokes. “What do you think?”
“That…” My chest seized around the word. “You’re pretty.”
There was more, he was more, but I stuck on that thought like a CD skipping.
Pretty. Pretty. Pretty.
“Mmm.” He smiled against me, and the shape of it changed the press of his kiss. “You like pretty girls, don’t you, Mercy?”
“Yes.” My heaved breath mingled with a moan while sparks shot down my legs, tingling all the way into my toes.
“What else do you think about?” Darby’s hand tightened, rhythm quickening. “Touching me? Fucking me?”
“Ngh… God…”
His mouth was at my ear now, his words a sinful purr. “Do you wanna put your dick in me? Feel this tight cunt strangling your cock? Or maybe you want to stick it in my mouth? Choke me? Make me cry?”
A shiver tore through me as every stroke dragged me closer to the edge. My thighs tightened, and I thrust into his hand, chasing the pleasure he so generously gave.
I was lost to ecstasy until he called on me once more.
“Do you want me to swallow you down, Mercy baby?”
The sound that ripped out of me wasn’t an answer so much as surrender. My body jerked as my orgasm ripped through me. I spilled in his hand, up his arm, and all over the front of his dress.
I came back to myself in the wreckage of it, out of breath with my vision swimming. Then I saw the mess I’d made and Darby’s delighted grin.
He glanced down, giggled, then shifted, giving me the full view of it. My cum streaked across him like a filthy badge of honor.
“Darby… Fuck, I’m sorry,” I stammered as heat ringed my neck.
He swiped a finger through the splatter and dabbed it to the tip of his tongue. “Mm. Tastes like marshmallow.”
“Really?” I croaked, still dazed.
“No.” He laughed outright then, and his eyes glinted merrily. “Not at all.”
He slid off me with a cat’s grace while I tucked my cock away.
“I’m so sorry about your dress.”
“It’s fine, Mercy.” His voice softened around the name even as his smile stayed impish. “I’ve had people pay me to wear it. Ever heard of a pearl necklace?”
“Christ.” I dragged a hand down my face. “You don’t need to do that. You can wear something of mine.” The implication hit me a second too late, and I flushed even hotter than before. “My clothes, I mean. I’ll get you some.”
I hauled myself up and made for my bedroom, where I rifled through my dresser’s drawers. Nothing I had would fit Darby’s petite frame, but the thought of him bundled in my too-big clothes, swallowed by fabric and warmth, pleased me more than I’d admit.
I hesitated, weighing the options until I settled on a pair of sweats and my favorite tee and carried them back.
I wasn’t prepared for what waited.
Darby stood stripped down to lace panties with his hands on his hips and his umber skin luscious in the lamplight.
I’d seen him in similar states at the club, but never in my house.
Not in my living room and fuck… The sight had my cock stirring again, which only made the sudden punch of guilt sharper.
My breath hitched, and I regripped the bundle in my hands.
“Oh shit. I didn’t…” The words scraped out of me as I forced my gaze to stay at eye level. He’d just gotten me off, and I hadn’t so much as put a hand on him.
“What about you?” I asked. “Can I… can I do something for you?”
Maybe it was an excuse to touch him again. Or maybe it was the realization that pleasing other men was literally his job, and I didn’t want to be like them. Who focused on his pleasure? Someone this incredible deserved to be appreciated for more than what he could offer.
I could do that. I wanted to.
Darby grinned and walked forward to take the clothes from me. He stepped into the pants and tugged on the shirt, drowning in both exactly as I’d pictured. Then he snagged the remote from the coffee table and flopped onto my couch in a puddle of cotton and fleece.
I was still gawking when he patted the empty cushion beside him, beckoning me to sit. “You can pick the movie,” he said.
“Movie?” I echoed.
“No chance I’m going back to the Dollhouse yet; I’m milking this night for all it’s worth.” He grinned and waggled the remote. “And I took the liberty of ordering us a pizza.”
I huffed a laugh before easing down onto the couch. “Guess that settles it, then.”
He shoved the remote into my hand, and I powered on the television. I thumbed through the options without seeing half of them, more aware of the body at my side than the screen.
Darby gave a satisfied little purr, then slanted sideways until his shoulder pressed into mine. By the time I looked down, he’d snuggled against my side with his legs tucked up and his tail looped around them.
Resting the remote on my thigh, I draped my arm around him.
He fit. On the outside and maybe even the inside of me. Having him close, holding someone for the first time in too long, filled a space I didn’t know I’d been saving. And if I had a place for Darby, then maybe he had one for me too.