Chapter 11
ALEX
Treacherous | Taylor Swift
Even someone that gorgeous had to have some flaws, Alex thought, as Sarah turned down the volume on his radio. So, not a Taylor Swift fan. Not an insurmountable obstacle, he supposed. And he had plenty else to coax her attention from the scenes beyond the window she was now pointedly staring out of. Where she had immediately fixed her gaze after he’d caught her eyeing his forearm intently as he backed out of the parking space. So what if he’d taken the time to roll up his shirtsleeves before starting the car?
He couldn’t remember when last he’d been so captivated by a woman he actually had something in common with.
Truthfully, he couldn’t remember when last he’d had any interest in a woman beyond sex.
Although he definitely wanted more of that.
‘Who’s your favourite artist?’
‘Do we need to talk?’
‘Yeah, actually, I think we do.’ He hadn’t been planning this. He’d been hoping to convince her that they should definitely be hooking up again, making out in more bathrooms at the very least, but it was past time to clear the air. If she didn’t want anyone to pick up the tension between them, they at least needed to remove the source of it. ‘You realise I’m basically your best friend’s brother, right? Who she’s known her whole life, and who will likely be at every big life event of hers for the rest of time. And who you’ll have to spend plenty of time with in the next seven weeks while you help plan the wedding we’re already both a major part of.’ From anyone else, the words might have sounded bitter. But even if he couldn’t quite manage as light a tone as he normally maintained, a near lifetime of moderating his voice came in handy in those moments when his emotions threatened to break through.
By contrast, Sarah did not disguise the scorn in her voice. ‘You’ve barely been in her life for years , Aleksander. Do I really need to worry about you sticking around forever?’
‘Don’t pretend you understand anything about my relationship with her.’ Now, the bitterness was bleeding through. Even if she couldn’t possibly understand why he’d never made an effort to see Abby outside of their families getting together for holidays. ‘I’ve told you I’ll keep our secret. And apart from that indiscretion—a situation you initiated, I remind you—I’m not really sure what I’ve done to make you so pissed at me. I haven’t even mentioned the kiss, because I’m not going to let you pretend it didn’t mean anything. You gave as good as you got, Princess.’
They stopped at a red light, just long enough for Alex to see Sarah’s eyes flash when he looked at her. ‘Of course it didn’t mean anything. I’m supposed to believe you don’t do that sort of thing all the time?’
It was probably his fault, he mused, that she thought so little of him. Flirting and charm had taken him so far in life that Alex had forgotten it could be a turnoff for anyone. And how was she to know how little interest anyone else had held for him since they’d met?
They were nearing her street now, and for the first time in over a decade, he didn’t know exactly the right thing to say to make the situation work for him. As he slowed to a stop, he decided to speak anyway. ‘You can lie to yourself all you want. It meant something to me .’
Because of his size and confidence—and gender, he supposed—women always let him dominate. And that was its own fun. But having Sarah push back against him, chase his lips, fight his tongue—he hadn’t anticipated how much he would love it. How tightly he would hold on to those memories for days after.
He leaned in, waiting for her unsteady breathing to give her away before he unlocked her door. The sandalwood scent of her perfume was dizzying in the enclosed space.
Her eyes were so fucking pretty when he looked at her, shades of molten honey shifting in the golden afternoon sun. Indecision flicked across her face, followed by a split-second of pain. Then, ‘Fuck it,’ she whispered, grabbing his cheek and pulling his face to hers.
Kissing her was a high he was never going to come down from. She tasted faintly of sweet coffee, and he wanted to keep it forever.
‘You want to hook up again.’ Sarah’s voice was even quieter when they finally pulled apart, husky in a way that sent his blood pounding.
Again. And again and again and again. But he simply nodded. If once was all that was on the table, he was desperate enough to take it.
‘I thought you had plans.’
He’d planned to visit a friend’s gallery, since he had a rare few hours free, but... ‘I can be late,’ he said, dropping his voice to match hers. Hell, he’d cancel in a heartbeat if he thought there was a chance she’d let him spend the night.
Sarah looked agonised. Finally, she opened her mouth again. ‘Two ground rules.’
Alex nodded for her to go on.
‘This is a one-off. As you pointed out, we’re going to spend a lot of time together in the next few weeks, and this should help get rid of this… thing between us.’
‘So you admit—’
‘You are dangerously close to talking yourself out of sex.’
Alex shut his mouth abruptly.
‘The other is an extension of our previous agreement. Abby and Erik never find out.’
Provided Sarah was calling the shots, he was pretty sure Abby wouldn’t care who her friend was sleeping with. And if she wasn’t bothered, Erik wouldn’t care either. But he agreed nonetheless.
‘Okay then.’ Sarah nodded and exited the car.
Unsure if he was supposed to be following, Alex stared after her, until halfway up the path to her building, she turned and called, ‘Are you coming?’
Fuck , he hoped so.
Minutes later, he was kissing her against the door to her bedroom, letting his hand slip from its hold on her ribs to turn the handle. They fell through the gap, and his fingers returned to her shirt, unbuttoning it as he walked her towards the bed. ‘What do you like?’ he breathed into her neck.
She stumbled, and he wrapped an arm around her waist immediately, pulling her tighter against him to keep her upright.
‘I’m sure you like to run your mouth, but I’m not that into talking. You don’t have to tell me I’m a good girl or whatever.’
‘More into degradation? I can work with that.’ He did like talking. Liked giving praise. But he’d do whatever made this good enough for her that she begged for more.
‘Don’t you dare ,’ Sarah snarled, digging her nails into his arm.
‘So you’re not into any talking?’ He was breathing heavily now, as he slipped her shirt off her shoulders. A soft groan escaped him at the sight of her bra. On the surface, it wasn’t anything special—just plain black cotton—but something about the simplicity suited her enough that his thumb was running over it reverently, entirely unbidden. Until that moment, he would have been hard pressed to answer if he was a boob or an ass guy. Both were great to look at and touch. But the sight of her soft breasts filling the dark fabric had him converted. ‘Can I tell you how much I like you in this? Can I tell you how good you feel?’
‘Uh, yeah, that’s’—her body stiffened as he ran his thumb firmly over a nipple—‘that’s fine. Missionary isn’t great for me, but if I’ve already come, that’s fine too.’
‘If this is a one-time thing, I’m not leaving you with fine , Princess. So that’s what you don’t like. Now tell me what you do like. Which is what I asked.’
‘I like being on top.’
Yeah, once was not going to be enough with her. ‘Better.’ His tongue darted out to flick against her neck. ‘Also, hot .’
‘I like being eaten out.’ Her voice cracked slightly, like she didn’t want to admit it. As if he hadn’t been desperate to do that since the moment he’d met her.
‘Fuck, yes. That. I want to do that. Can I?’ He was already lowering his head, lips trailing down her neck and across her chest.
Sarah went stiff. ‘I haven’t shaved.’
If he hadn’t thought it might send her running, Alex would have laughed. ‘I cannot express to you how little I care.’
‘I…don’t have a dental dam.’
The tiny rational part of his brain that had been about to check out paused. He had condoms but nothing else. ‘Do we need one?’
‘I got tested after—after the last person I was with.’ Was it him? he wondered. It had been months. Maybe… ‘I have the results on my phone if you want to see, but—’
‘I trust you.’ His fingertips curled under the waistband of her jeans, but she stopped him again.
‘Look, I realise this makes me sound like some incel reddittor, but I don’t love reciprocating. So you really don’t have to—’
Alex couldn’t fathom being with this woman and not wanting to go down on her all the time.
But if she—normally so brimming with confidence—felt insecure about it, it had to stem from a bad experience. He’d be aching for it even if he never got those perfect lips on him. ‘What kind of assholes have you been sleeping with, Princess?’ he asked, finally popping the button on her jeans. ‘I am asking’—he lowered her zip—‘because’—one rough tug as he knelt in front of her had the fabric around her ankles—‘I am fucking desperate to taste you.’ His hands paused on the waistband of her underwear—a matching set to her simple bra. ‘I like these on you too.’ His eyes flicked up to hers. ‘But I’d really like to take them off.’