Chapter 22 Lucian #2
“Come for me,” I demanded, grinding my hips just right, driving into her mattress until her body arched and another climax ripped through her.
She screamed my name this time, her whole body tightening, thighs trembling as wave after wave of release shook through her. She clamped down around me so fiercely I had to grit my teeth not to spill inside her, every convulsion dragging me closer to the edge.
I pulled out suddenly and flipped her onto her stomach, dragging her hips up. She scrambled onto her hands and knees, and I slammed back into her from behind.
My hand tangled in her hair, yanking her head back so I could hear every filthy sound she made.
Her hips met mine with every thrust, her body gripping around me as if she were made for this rhythm. The sight of her body taking me so greedily made my vision blur with need.
“You feel how deep I am?” I ground out, voice rough. “No one’s ever filled you like this.”
She sobbed, pushing back on me, her body clenching with each thrust.
I slid my free hand around her front, fingers finding her clit. I rubbed hard, and she wailed, her body jerking as she came again, pulsing around me, soaking my cock.
The wet squeeze of her undid me. I hammered into her through it, every stroke a battle against my own release.
The pressure coiled too tight, too fast, and I buried myself to the hilt, groaning loud as I spilled inside her.
Hot release flooded her, my cock pulsing deep as I held her hips pinned against me.
My chest heaved with ragged breaths, sweat rolling down my spine as I rode out every last spasm inside her.
She collapsed onto the bed, trembling, and I fell with her, still buried deep, refusing to let her go. My mouth found her shoulder, biting down lightly before dragging my tongue across damp skin.
“You drive me insane,” I rasped against her ear. My body still twitched with aftershocks, cock still hard inside her despite the release I’d just had. “And I can’t stop wanting you."
She turned her head, lips brushing mine in a kiss that was softer than I deserved. The contentment on her face made my chest ache with emotions I could never admit to.
I wanted to tell her I loved her. The words burned in my throat, desperate to escape, but I couldn't form them.
Because saying them out loud would be to go back on my word of supporting her dream of being an independent mother.
It would mean admitting that she'd become everything to me, that losing her would destroy me more completely than losing Cross Capital ever could.
If I told her how I felt, I'd have to face the possibility that she didn't feel the same way. That what we had was physical attraction and convenience, nothing more.
That she thought I was too old for her, or that she had her whole life ahead of her and didn’t want to waste it on something that wouldn't work. The thought of seeing pity in her eyes when I confessed my feelings was unbearable.
But worse than that was the knowledge of what loving me would cost her. Viktoria's attacks would intensify the moment she realized Tessa mattered to me.
The board's skepticism would turn to outright hostility. Her career, her future, everything she'd worked for—it would all be collateral damage in a war she never asked to fight.
How could I ask her to sacrifice everything for a man whose own board of directors wanted him gone? How could I drag her through the scandal that was coming, the vicious public attention, the character assassination Viktoria specialized in?
She deserved better than the mess I'd made of my life. She deserved someone who could offer her a future without the constant threat of scandal, someone whose love wouldn't come with such devastating consequences.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly, cupping my cheek.
"You." The admission slipped out before I could stop it. "How beautiful you are. How much I—" I caught myself before the words could escape, settling for safer ground. "How much I needed this. You."
She lifted her head to look at me, and the tenderness in her expression nearly undid my resolve. "I needed this too."
She grew silent for a while, and I tried to memorize the feeling of her in my arms, the peace that settled over me when she was close. Because no matter how much I wanted to keep her, I couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out.
Eventually, she stirred, glancing at the clock on my nightstand. "I should go. Early meeting tomorrow."
I watched her slide out of bed and begin gathering her clothes, even while I was internally screaming for her to stay.
I wanted her in my bed all night, the way we used to sleep on business trips.
The sight of her getting dressed, preparing to leave, made my chest tighten with dread. These stolen hours never felt long enough.
As she reached for her purse, I caught her hand, pulling her back to me. My forehead rested against hers, and I breathed in her scent, trying to hold onto this moment.
"It's getting harder," I admitted in a moment of vulnerability. "Pretending this doesn't consume my every thought. Acting professional when all I want is to pull you into my office and—"
Her phone rang, cutting through the intimacy of the moment. She closed her eyes, sighing softly.
"It's my mom," she said, glancing at the screen. "I have to take this."
I released her reluctantly, watching as she stepped into the hallway and answered with sudden and very fake brightness. "Hey, Mom. How are you?"
I heard fragments of the conversation—something about flight plans and Frank's health scare—things I maybe wasn't supposed to hear. When she returned to the bedroom, she was snapping her purse shut.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"Frank had chest pains earlier. Turned out to be anxiety, but Mom's worried about their trip to Chicago next month. She needs to talk through the details." She held the phone to her chest protectively and talked in hushed tones, and I got the point.
It was going to take a while and she was going to leave, just like she'd done a million times before. Like this was nothing more than friends with benefits sex.
As she gathered the rest of her things, I felt the familiar ache of watching her leave.
But tonight, with Daniel's betrayal fresh in my mind and the board closing ranks against me, I couldn't let her walk away without saying something.
"Tessa." She paused at the bedroom door. "I want to see you tomorrow night. And the night after that." I got up and hurried over to her, my voice dropping to barely above a whisper so her mother couldn't overhear through the phone. "Every night, if we're serious about improving our chances."
Her breath caught, and I saw understanding flicker in her eyes. "Every night?" she asked quietly, covering the phone with her palm.
"If you'll have me."
She nodded, something shifting in her expression. "I'll have you," she said, smiling, and it wasn't a smirk of flirtation. It was something more that I clung to.
I might've been imagining it, but it appeared Tessa was happy with my insistence on seeing her more frequently.
Now, I just had to figure out how to get the board off my back, my ex-wife to stop having me spied on, my children to stop gossiping about me, and my life to stop spinning wildly out of control.
Because I was just desperate enough to throw caution to the wind and flush it all down the crapper to have Tessa forever.