Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LOTTIE
“Ohmygodyesplease.” I moan, barely coherent now.
I sit up, working the straps of my shoes, only to have him stop me with a hand around each wrist. “Leave them on.”
I smirk at him. “You have a shoe fetish I don’t know about? Because it’s fine if you do.”
“No. Just a Lottie-naked-in-these-heels fetish.” He laughs, pulling his white t-shirt over his head in one fluid movement.
My mouth waters, taking in every muscle, every ripple and valley of this man’s chest, eyes tracing the ink so carefully drawn over his taut, tan skin. “How often do you work out. My god.”
“Never.” And I believe him.
“Ah, to have a twenty-seven-year old’s metabolism.”
Knox rolls his eyes at me with a smile before ducking to kiss me. He pulls away and cups my face in his hands. “You’re beautiful.”
For a moment, we don’t speak. We just stare into each other’s eyes, his glacier blue, yet warm at the same time.
The way his gaze roams over me, a combination of heat and hunger and something else, has my pulse racing even quicker, my breathing coming in even shallower.
I want him, yes, but more than anything I crave his closeness, the feel of him.
It’s not the orgasm I find myself chasing, but the chance at connecting with him once again.
Suddenly overwhelmed by this unnamed emotion, I pull him down and over me, his body covering mine.
Quickly, we move to pull down his pajama bottoms and underwear all at once, watching with awe as he springs free.
Almost immediately, though, he pulls away, sitting at the edge of the bed despite my protests.
“Shit.”
“What? What’s wrong? Come back.” I don’t care if I sound like I’m begging. The way I feel right now, I’d happily do so.
“I—shit—I don’t have anything.”
“You don’t have anything of what?”
“I don’t have anything.”
“Okay, that still doesn’t say—”
He looks at me like I’m dense, and maybe I am, but there’s very little my brain can process when he’s naked like that.
“I don’t have a condom. I used everything I had that night we spent together. Haven’t purchased any since.”
“You’ve been flirting with me shamelessly for weeks, but never thought to purchase a box of condoms just in case?”
“Didn’t want to jinx it,” he says bashfully. “For the record, I’m clean, haven’t slept with anyone since you or anyone for a long time before that. But…” He drops his face into his hands, groaning in frustration.
“Oh, I—” I swallow, considering my options.
“I haven’t had sex without a condom since my ex and I separated, and I’m good.
I went to the doctor recently and…” I cough a little, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed.
But we’re adults, goddamnit. “And, well, birth control wise…” How do you tell a man you’re about to sleep with that you can’t have children?
Situationally, it’s good news. But in reality, it’s a freaking bummer, right?
I don’t want to ruin this night by bringing it up.
This thing between us, it’s not meant to be permanent at all.
Which means he doesn’t need to know that I can’t do the one thing women are supposed to do.
That I’m broken. “You don’t need to worry about the birth control part.
We’re good.” It’s the best I can do without getting into it.
He turns to look at me, eyes wide. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure?” I can tell how hard Knox works to maintain his self-control, but the mask drops as he licks his bottom lip, his eyes dropping to my chest, my legs.
He reaches out and runs a hand over my calf, travels up over my knee toward my inner thigh.
His light touch sparks the heat inside me once more, the possessive squeeze he gives my legs just inside my thighs running an electric current through me.
“Because we could also just do other things.” The look in his eyes, starved, predatory, has me melting atop his bed as he hooks his fingers into my lace thong and gently, so slowly, pulls it down.
“How about we do those other things and more?” I sit up and pull his face to mine, kissing him, running my tongue over his lower lip.
“Yeah,” he whispers against me. “Yeah, that sounds good.” “Good.” I grin, looking up at him.
His eyes darken and his hands come to my shoulders in one quick movement. “Now be a good girl and lie back while I taste you.” I gasp as he pushes me back, my body shivering with the sound of his commanding voice.
“I love it when you take control,” I can’t help but say. I blush in embarrassment at the confession, covering my face with my hands.
“I know you do,” he says against my skin, kissing what feels like every inch me, stopping to unhook my bra.
“You do?” I look down at him, watching him watch me as he travels down my body.
“I do. Because you spend the entire day in control of everything else, working, managing people, making sure things are going well. And by the end of the day, I know you must be tired. I see you, Lottie Veracruz. I see you and how you are every day. And I know losing control from time to time is exactly what you need.”
He sees me.
I gasp. “I… I think you’re right.”
He grins that lopsided smile of his, his eyes full of the mischief I love. “I know I am. And now you’re gonna just sit back and enjoy this.”
Knox wraps his hands around my thighs and pulls me further down the mattress in one movement. And without any further preamble, he dips his face in between my legs and presses his lips there, kissing my pussy as if it were my mouth.
“Jesus,” I moan, my back arching off the mattress.
He groans into me, the vibrations from the noises coming from deep within his chest making the whole thing ten times better. Just as I’m recovering from the initial pleasure of his lips on me, of his hot breath on my wet folds, I feel the slow drag of his tongue over my clit and—
I feel incredibly empty, my body aching to be filled. God, it feels so good, but—
As if he could read my mind, Knox slides two fingers in me, making me almost cry in relief.
He murmurs words of approval into me, but I can barely make them out, too caught up in a fog of pleasure and pure, unhinged happiness.
Eyes closed, hands knotted in his hair, I come hard as he hooks his fingers in me, hitting me in just the right spot.
My mind blanks, clenching around him during this life-altering moment.
He waits until I come down from my orgasm, but then he’s on me, in me, and I am so deliciously full. He’s big and it’s a tight fit, but I’m pliant and wet from my come. His warm body over mine, pressing me into the mattress while he’s inside me feels like the best thing I’ve ever felt.
“You feel better than I remember,” he pants into my neck. “God, so good. It’s so fucking good.”
I want to scream yes and it’s better than good and I want this all the time, but I can barely catch my breath as he moves in a near-punishing rhythm.
Without warning, he sits up on his knees, pulling my legs to rest on his left shoulder.
He wraps an arm around them while his right hand grips my hip and I fist the sheets below me.
“Your tits are incredible.” He watches as they move with every one of his thrusts, absentmindedly kissing my ankles.
His body is perfect and already glistening with a sheen of sweat when I run my hands over his chest, his abs.
He’s hard and soft all over, skin smooth and covered in tattoos and a smattering of hair.
I want to get to know every tattoo, every story behind them. I don’t want to leave a single one out.
I watch as something in Knox’s expression shifts, letting me know how close he really is.
“Fuck,” he groans, pulling my legs at his side once more before falling over me. His right hand comes between us, his thumb circling my clit in quick, decisive movements and—
I’m so close. I’m so close.
“Good. That’s good.” He’s breathless, growling like an animal, both of us sweaty from the exertion. Right before I feel the orgasm come over me, I tighten my legs around his waist and dig my nails into his back, unable to hold back the scream that rips through my chest.
I come in waves, over and over again. It feels never-ending in the best possible way. And when I’m finally done, I can tell he’s on the edge, so close it’s painful.
“Can I come inside you?” he barely manages to push out.
“Yes,” I say, gripping him to me as it’s his turn to lose control now.