Chapter 41
brOOKLYN
“This is your meal plan for the week. I upped your carbohydrate intake, but otherwise it’s similar to what we’ve been doing so far.
Once we get to regionals, I’ll cut out any high-fat and high-fiber foods that are harder to digest. We don’t want you having any stomach discomfort during the competition.
” I slid a packet with the pertinent information across the counter.
“This is a hard copy for backup. I’ve also updated everything on the nutrition app so you have it on your phone. ”
“Thanks.” Haley gave me a grateful smile. “You always think of everything.”
“I try. How are you liking your meals so far?”
“They’re good, and I’m so glad they taste like something. I swear my old nutritionist was allergic to seasoning. Her recipes were so bland, you’d think she’d explode if she added a little pepper to her chicken.”
I laughed. “I am definitely not opposed to pepper.”
We were in her family’s kitchen, going over some last-minute items before she left for her afternoon training.
It was early March and my second week in Chicago.
With regionals coming up fast in April, I’d hit the ground running the minute I arrived.
Between onboarding with the Moores, trying to get situated in my new home, and collaborating with Haley to create a system that worked for her, I’d barely had time to sleep.
Thankfully, Derek and Haley were as warm in person as they’d been during my interview. They had high standards, but that only pushed me to work harder and be better, which was easy when I enjoyed what I was doing.
My instincts had been right: working with an individual athlete fit my style way better than spreading myself thin with a team. I had the freedom to experiment with different recipes and methods, and Haley was responsive to most of my suggestions.
Overall, it was a smooth start to my new life, but that didn’t stop me from checking the clock every two seconds. I was itching to talk to Vincent. We didn’t get to video call each other often, and my body was already thrumming with anticipation.
“I forgot to tell you earlier, but my grandparents are in town,” Haley said. “My dad and I are having dinner with them earlier, so we don’t need to check in tonight. You can take the rest of the day off.”
My pulse sped up. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I know the past two weeks have been crazy, so get some rest. Let’s meet back here tomorrow, same time, same place?”
“Sounds good.” I said goodbye to Haley and left, my face breaking out into a grin. Her timing couldn’t have been better.
I had the afternoon off, and it was evening in London, which meant Vincent and I could talk for as long as we wanted.
I practically floated on my way back to my apartment. It was only a ten-minute walk from Haley’s house, but my face was already stinging from the wind by the time I got home. Chicago winters were brutal, but even that wasn’t enough to ruin my high.
I quickly showered and changed into a silk nightshirt and lingerie (just because Vincent wasn’t here in person didn’t mean I couldn’t dress up for him). I topped it off with some mascara and lip gloss before I took my laptop to my bedroom and logged on at our scheduled call time.
Vincent’s face filled my screen, and my heart cartwheeled just like it had the first time we kissed.
His dimple flashed. “Hey, buttercup.”
“Hi.” I smiled back, soaking him in. God bless whoever invented video technology. The firm curve of his mouth, the sculpted arch of his cheekbones, the teasing gleam in his eyes—they were so sharp and vivid, it was like he was actually standing in front of me.
“Tell me about your day,” he said. “I want to hear all about it.”
We always started our conversations with detailed rundowns of our day, including what we ate and which errands we ran.
To other people, it might seem mundane or even boring, but I lived for these moments.
Now that we lived in different cities, I didn’t want our connection to hinge only on big life events; I wanted to know the same details I would’ve been privy to if I were still in London.
After I finished, Vincent told me about training and Spike’s apparent aversion to talking.
The bodyguard seemed determined to blend into the background, which was his job, I guess. I was just glad Vincent had someone looking out for him. Even though the intruder hadn’t made another move since the Angry Boar photo, not a day passed when I didn’t worry about him.
I kept that to myself. Vincent would worry about me worrying about him, and that was a vicious cycle we didn’t need to get stuck in.
“Great match over the weekend, by the way,” I said. “Defense looked good.”
“Yeah?” Vincent drawled. “How good?”
“Good enough for me to look up the club’s captain.” I tapped my fingers against my desk and pretended to think. “Have you heard of a player named Vincent DuBois?”
“Vaguely. He sounds like a charmer.”
“He is. He’s good-looking too. Tall, dark, handsome…just my type.”
“Is he?” Vincent said silkily. He leaned in, an ember of heat flaring in his eyes.
“Mmhmm.” My breath hitched as the mood shifted from playful to something heavier, more electric. Anticipation curled low and hot between my thighs.
The hardest part of a long-distance relationship was not being able to touch each other. Our conversations filled an emotional void, but they couldn’t satisfy my need for physical intimacy.
My toys got the job done, but they weren’t him. Unfortunately, they’d have to do until one of us could visit the other in person. Unless…
An idea took shape in my mind. It was something I’d never had the guts to do, but this was Vincent. It was now or never. “I forgot to mention one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I went shopping for some new lingerie over the weekend.” I leaned back, my stomach fluttering with a mixture of nerves and excitement. “Black lace. It’s gorgeous.”
Vincent’s eyes darkened. “Show me.”
A thrill coursed through me at his command. I pushed away from my desk and knelt on the bed so he had a better view from my computer.
The air pulsed as I pulled my silk nightshirt over my head, leaving me in a semi-sheer lace bra and matching thong.
My heart raced. We’d sexted before, but we’d never sent nude pictures or engaged in cybersex. This was a whole new level of eroticism, and I would’ve chickened out if Vincent’s sharp intake of breath didn’t ignite something deep inside me.
“Do you like it?” My voice sounded almost too breathy to be mine.
His eyes traced the swell of my breasts and the curve of my hips. They lingered between my legs before they met mine again. Little fires erupted everywhere his gaze landed.
“I’d like it better if it was on the floor,” he said, the steel in his tone betraying the softness of his words. “Take it off.”
My heart rate sped up from a gallop into a full-fledged frenzy.
This was it. The point of no return.
Are you really going to do this?
I stared at myself onscreen.
The video version of me stared back, her cheeks pink and her lips parted as she slowly reached behind her and unhooked her bra. She tossed the scrap of black lace aside before she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her thong and shimmied out of that too.
It felt like an out-of-body experience, but my senses returned to me when the last stitch of clothing fell off my body.
I kneeled there, fully naked and vulnerable. My body thrummed with nerves but also…a tiny thrill. It was my first time being naked on camera, and while it was scary to put all of myself out there like this, it was arousing in a way I couldn’t name.
My nipples pebbled into diamond-hard points, and wetness pooled between my thighs.
I swallowed, my attention shifting back to Vincent. He’d removed his own clothes while I’d been stripping. He watched me from his desk, his eyes dark and hooded while his hand gripped the base of his impressive erection.
“Touch yourself for me,” he ordered. “Play with your nipples and cunt. I want to see how you get yourself off when you’re alone at night.”
His words zipped through me like an electric shock. My pussy clenched with need, and I kept my eyes on his as I spread my legs wider.
I curled my forefinger and rubbed the slick, swollen nub while my other hand played with my breasts.
I alternated between them, tugging at and pinching my nipples until jolts of pleasure shot straight to my clit.
I was on fire, every inch of my body blazing despite the winter chill seeping through my apartment.
Vincent groaned, his hand twisting up and down his cock. Seeing him so turned on turned me on even more, and I couldn’t hold back a moan.
“Oh, God.” I whimpered, my head falling back as the beginnings of an orgasm coiled at the base of my spine. The slick, erotic sounds of Vincent jerking off mixed with my heavy pants.
I thought having sex over video would make me feel disconnected, but this strangely felt more intimate.
We couldn’t hide here. There were no sheets or dim lighting to soften the experience or conceal any insecurities.
It was only us in all our raw, naked glory, taking pleasure for and with each other in the ultimate expression of trust.
I wouldn’t do this with anyone else. I’d be too afraid they would pick apart my flaws or use it against me somehow, but Vincent? I trusted him whole-heartedly, and any self-consciousness I might’ve felt at pleasuring myself on camera was long gone.
I rubbed faster, my breaths turning erratic as my orgasm crept closer and closer and—
“Stop.” Vincent’s harsh command brought the impending wave to a halt.
I whined in protest but obeyed. My fingers were sticky with my juices, and my core continued to pulse after I pulled away.
Vincent hadn’t come yet either, but pre-cum leaked from the tip of his cock and smeared on his stomach.
My mouth watered. I wanted to reach through the screen and lick him clean. To taste every inch of him and make him lose control the way he could make me lose mine.