Chapter 19 #2
Then, we have the whole thing with Mitch.
A couple of months ago, I wouldn’t have blinked twice at the way he was holding me, chalking it up to a friendly, familiar touch.
But ever since Steele got into my head and made me realize that we could be on completely different pages, I don’t know what to think.
I certainly don’t want to lose a lifelong friend, but I also know that if he sees me in any other way, I have to nip it in the bud.
Apparently, what I’ve done so far hasn’t made my feelings toward him clear.
Mitch will make a great boyfriend to someone, but that someone isn’t me. I crave more.
Passion.
Fireworks.
Steele.
Fuck. My. Life.
From the night we met, the ropes of my self-restraint have been slowly fraying.
What I once thought was strong and unbreakable is now merely a thin fiber, ready to snap free at any moment.
Every time he’s close, the heat from his skin warming me all over, my resolve weakens.
And seeing him tonight—smiling with a smart, beautiful, talented woman on his arm—made me realize that if I don’t do something, I’m going to have to experience it for real…
probably very soon with the way the city has begun to embrace him.
Could I truly handle that? Knowing what his touch feels like, but seeing it on somebody else?
I step forward, stopping in front of the desk and splaying my hands on its surface.
My head drops, lips pulling in slow, soothing breaths as I try to clear my mind, but it’s no use.
Tears of frustration well in my eyes, stinging when my lids close and I try to will them away.
I can’t go back out there with makeup staining my cheeks, showing everyone in attendance that I’m exactly what they think I am—the foolish heiress with no direction, who doesn’t fit anywhere.
I’m jolted back to reality as the doorknob turns, the sound causing me to whip around in a panic.
I just wanted a second to myself—which has unfortunately turned into a lot longer—and now I’m about to get tossed out looking like a complete mess.
But when the door opens, a tall, familiar frame fills the space, and all the air is sucked right back out of my lungs.
“Sydney,” Steele says, his chest heaving while he fights for breath. He looks like he just ran a hundred miles, worry lining his expression. “What the fuck happened? Are you okay?”
I’m frozen where I stand, unable to answer his question as he enters the room, the door closing behind him with a quiet snick. His palms are pressed against my cheeks a moment later, his gaze roving over my face in search of injury.
“Baby, talk to me,” he begs, his warm brown eyes locking onto mine. “Did he touch you? I’ll fucking kill him if he did.” His caress is gentle, yet shaky, like he may snap at any moment if I don’t tell him what’s going on. But I don’t want to talk. Not anymore.
In an instant, I’ve got the lapels of his jacket clenched in my fists, and I’m yanking his lips to mine.
He stiffens for a moment, but as soon as he realizes what’s happening, he’s giving it right back in the most dominating way.
His tongue plunges into my mouth, devouring me like he’s starving and I’m the only sustenance for miles.
Strong hands lower down my body, snaking around until he’s gripping my ass and pulling me even closer.
I moan into his mouth when he squeezes the supple flesh roughly, and he swallows it before feeding me one of his own.
My touch mindlessly roams up his chest, sliding around his neck and holding on as he kisses me passionately.
Just like I knew it would be, it’s mind-blowing, making my head spin so fast that I can barely remember where I am.
I’m so lost in the feeling—the smell of his bergamot cologne—that I barely register the bottom of my dress being pulled up over my ass until I’m lifted from the floor.
“Fuck, Syd,” he murmurs, never breaking the connection as my legs instinctively wrap around his waist. He’s hard, his erection pressing into my throbbing clit and making the most lifelike fireworks explode behind my closed eyes.
It’s an interesting feeling, knowing you’re actively being ruined for all other men, yet not giving a single fuck because you can’t imagine ever wanting anyone else’s hands on you, anyway.
Steele Harlow turned me inside out the night we met by being everything I needed, even though his instincts were telling him he shouldn’t.
I denied it for as long as I could, but we were made for this moment. Made for this kiss.
“Steele, please,” I plead, “I need you.” I don’t care how desperate I sound, or how out of control I am. I’ll do whatever it takes to feel him inside me right now.
“Not here,” he replies, never making a move to break the connection as the words vibrate against my chest. “I’m not fucking you for the first time in a supply closet, where you have to muffle your screams of pleasure. No fucking way.”
“It’s not the first time you’ve fucked me,” I argue into the kiss. “Remember?”
That’s what finally makes him pull away, carefully lowering me down until my feet are back on the floor. He steals one more small peck before dropping his forehead to mine, a soft smile playing at his lips.
“How could I forget, Mistress?” I roll my eyes in response, secretly loving the nickname as he continues.
“But that wasn’t the real Sydney Grant. It was a part of you, but not the whole thing.
I want to know what you taste like when the man you’re supposed to be with worships your body.
To drink every drop of the need you have for me.
To hear you say my name when you finally unravel.
Please don’t take those things away from me, baby. I’ve waited too damn long.”
My heart beats wildly, warmth flowing through my veins like the sun on a midsummer day.
As much as I want to be bent over the desk and taken hard and fast with a room full of people just yards away, he’s right.
I fought whatever’s happening between us for far longer than I should’ve, and he sat back patiently while I figured it out.
He deserves everything I have to give, and we can’t do that here.
“Okay,” I reply quietly. “We should probably go tell our dates we’re leaving, right?”
His stare goes dark, the muscles in his jaw ticking as he remembers why he came chasing after me in the first place. “Did that asshole touch you, Sydney? I need to know.”
I shake my head, swallowing thickly. “No. I mean, yes, he did. But it was nothing I haven’t allowed before. I’ve never laid out any type of boundaries with him because I thought we were platonic. It all seemed harmless, but now, I don’t want anyone else touching me like that.”
“Good,” he growls, leaning down and nipping at my lower lip.
“But you’re not going back in there. You can text him and say you weren’t feeling well, and that I took you home.
As far as Blair, she was the one who told me to come after you.
I’m pretty sure she could tell that I was about to lose my mind. ”
“You’re a caveman,” I laugh.
His fingers flex, biting into the flesh of my ass as he leans in, his breath dancing over my parted lips. “When it comes to you, fuck yes, I am.”
My cheeks heat, and I stifle the very uncharacteristic giddy smile that threatens to break free.
I’m not really sure what’s happening to me, but I can say with absolute certainty that I’ve never felt anything like it before.
Where I’m normally anxious unless I’m in complete control, I find myself wanting to let some of that go just to see what happens.
I don’t think I’ve ever put that kind of trust in a partner, but with Steele, everything just feels different.
“Alright, then,” I relent, lifting my chin in defiance. “Since you’re in charge, how do you suggest we get out of here without being seen? The front entrance is on the other side of the building. And did you drive? Because I was picked up.”
A cocky smirk tugs at one corner of his mouth, mischief radiating from his expression.
“Of course, I drove. It’s adorable that you think I was planning on leaving without you tonight.
I wasn’t necessarily banking on Doctor Shit for Brains fucking up so royally, but I was ready to do whatever it took to get you in my car, even if it was just to ensure that you got home safe. ”
“Steele Harlow,” I playfully admonish, looking up at him through my lashes. “Are you going soft? It sure seems like it.”
He yanks me into his body, his somehow still hard length pressing into my stomach through our clothes.
“That feel soft to you, Mistress?” My eyes flutter closed, a shaky exhale filling the space between us before he plants a rough, chaste kiss on my lips.
“Didn’t think so. Now, let’s get out of here. I need to fuck you.”
Best. Idea. Ever.