Chapter 20
Ava
My back hits the wall. My backpack drops. His fingers skim my sides, my waist, and the curve of my hips, stealing my breath.
“Where the fuck is the zipper?” he mutters, hands patting me down like he’s searching me for weapons.
My pulse hammers out of control. “Tear it,” I gasp, dizzy with lust.
He stills.
His head lifts from my breasts, and those piercing blue eyes gape at me like I’m missing my straightjacket.
“I’m not tearing your dress,” he insists. “You made this dress. With your bare hands”
The way he says it, as if it matters, makes my heart squeeze.
And turns me on even more.
“I’ll fix it. Promise.” I cross my fingers over my heart and pull his tie free.
Because yes, the zipper sticks. I knew that when I bought it. But it was the last one, and I was in a hurry.
It’s honestly a miracle I haven’t popped a seam. This dress is basically double-stitched together with hope and prayer.
He takes my hand before I can say anything else and presses a slow kiss to my palm.
“I don’t think so,” he murmurs darkly.
His hands slide lower, slow and deliberate, and I savor the moment.
No man has ever touched me like this. Not with this kind of patience. This kind of control. A slow exploration.
Like unraveling me is his favorite sport, and he intends to take his time.
His mouth follows a lazy path between my breasts, past my navel, until I’m breathless and quivering.
I clutch at his shoulders, a moan slipping out as his hot mouth finds my sex.
“Harrison!”
Then, with unnerving patience, he coaxes the fabric of my dress upward, inch by torturous inch, peeling me free.
When it’s finally gone, he stills.
Taking in all of me. Drinking me in.
Something warm swims in my belly.
Not because I’m in nothing but panties. I’ve been half-naked on sets with cameras, lighting rigs, and entire crews watching. None of that ever got under my skin.
The way his eyes trace me. Linger. Memorize. Claiming me in this moment so completely without even touching me.
It’s intimate in a way I’m not used to. And I am so fucked.
We somehow end up in a bedroom, where he tosses me onto the bed. The woodsy, rich scent of him is all around.
Then, he pulls back. “Nervous?” he asks gently.
Yes.
“No,” I lie with a breathless giggle as the tequila does my talking. “Just waiting to see what I’m working with.”
I motion to his pants.
He begins to remove them. The sound of the zipper is absurdly loud in the quiet room.
They fall to the floor.
And for a heartbeat, all I can do is stare.
This is a gorgeous man. Tall and muscular and so well endowed, they should name a skyscraper after him.
He gives his length a stroke. I watch in awe, suspended in the moment.
I steady my breath. “Okay. Now I’m nervous.”
A slow, sexy grin breaks free. “Don’t be. We’re not starting with him.”
“Then what are we starting with?”
“You.”
No man has ever been this way with me.
And I love it.
“Panties off,” he orders.
There’s something about his confidence, the quiet command in it, that sets me alight. A spark I’ve never felt before.
I do as he says and slide them off.
“Spread, and let me see that pretty little pussy.”
He’s so dirty.
Butterflies flutter in my chest. I’ve never done this. Displayed myself. Taking orders and being turned on. This is totally unlike me.
But the hunger in his eyes is intoxicating.
Slowly, I open my legs.
“Fuck,” he growls. “You’re so wet.”
His stubble grazes my thighs, the heat of his mouth at my entrance. My entire body shudders with the long lick of his tongue.
“Oh,” I whimper.
My fingers thread through his hair as the man goes to absolute town on me.
“Mmm,” he moans, the vibration sending me to another world.
He slips a finger in, and my back arches off the bed. All-consuming pleasure.
For a split second, I want to stop him. To slow it down. To hold him there until dawn and drown in it.
But I can’t.
He moves up the bed and gathers me into his arms, holding me while the aftershocks ripple through me. His mouth finds my neck, pressing tender kisses there.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs.
How many men have said that to me? In my industry, too many to count.
But the way he says it feels different. Like he’s not talking about how I look, but more like he sees who I am.
“Still nervous?” he asks.
I face him and brush his thick auburn hair back from his face. He’s still flushed, still warm, still very much affected. “No,” I whisper.
He shifts, settling between my thighs as he lines himself up. Then he freezes.
“What’s wrong?”
He squeezes his eyes shut. “I don’t have my wallet.”
I laugh softly, unable to help myself. “I wasn’t going to charge you.”
He snorts, then groans. “Condoms. They’re in my—”
He cuts himself off mid-sentence, relief flashing across his face before he bolts from the room, his massive hard-on leading the way.
I hear drawers opening and slamming somewhere down the hall. A muttered curse. Another drawer.
Then—
“Yes!” he calls triumphantly.
He returns holding one up like a trophy, grinning. “This place has its perks.”
I’m not exactly sure what that means, but when he rips it open and climbs over me, I couldn’t care less.
He pauses, hovering just long enough to drive me crazy, his whole body thrumming with restraint. “I’ll go slow.”
“Do,” I warn, breathless, “and I’ll kill you.”
Dimples carve into his grin. “Copy that.”
He nestles himself at my entrance, and I brace for impact, considering he’s the size of a battering ram. I’m pretty sure I’ll feel him for the rest of the week.
Even after I return to California.
Sudden regret fills me.
“Still okay?” he asks.
I nod.
He nudges me open and moves in. Just an inch. It’s enough of a warning that my body tightens.
Gentle kisses move along my ankle as he eases my leg to his shoulder. The control this man has is mind-blowing.
One gentle finger glides along my sensitive clit, and my body opens up.
He slides in, and the burn lasts for moments as we drown in each other and the rhythm of our bodies takes over.
Slow and steady quickly moves to deep, punishing thrusts. He’s not in control anymore.
Neither am I.
It’s been too long. And he keeps hitting that perfect spot.
“Harrison!”
“God,” he grinds out. “That’s it. So fucking good.” His eyes fall shut as he bucks hard enough that I see stars.
I convulse around his release as his head falls to the curve of my neck. We breathe each other in, holding tight.
“I’ll be right back,” he murmurs, already stepping away.
I watch him head for the bathroom, the lethal muscles of his back, legs, and ass on full display. He returns moments later and slips in beside me.
I laugh, breathless.
“What?” he asks, shifting behind me, pulling me close, and kissing my temple.
“No wonder you cost fifty thousand dollars.”
He chuckles as two solid arms tighten around me. “Five stars on Yelp would really help me out.”
“You know what would help me out?” I say, smiling sleepily as my eyes drift shut. “A loyalty program.”