30. West
CHAPTER 30
WEST
Turns out, when your best friend’s little sister tells you she’s a virgin who wants your help with practicing intimacy, it’s a little hard to concentrate on work the next day.
Guilt makes me avoid the group chat, where Rafe and Alex are talking polo. I know well what taking care of his siblings means to him. And here I am… doing something he’d consider a betrayal and not finding the strength to stop it.
I have meetings in the city and another call with the investors from Japan. Nora is busy too. She informed me early this morning, when she was getting ready to go for another run with her guards, that she has a meeting of her own that night. She’s having dinner with my sister.
“You two have become real friends, haven’t you?” I hadn’t been able to resist. I pulled at her ponytail, wound it around my fingers, and kissed her in the grand foyer.
She kissed me back, mouth soft and open against mine, before pushing me away. “Yes,” she said with a smile. “And no more, thank you. I have places to be.”
“Run fast.”
“I always do.”
I watched her walk down the steps in a pair of leggings that hugged her long legs and pert ass. Sam and Madison were standing beside her, caps pulled low. They both met my eye and gave a short nod. Protect her , I thought.
I know she doesn’t want to stay cooped up forever. That it’s important for her to still live her life. But I couldn’t relax until I had confirmation that she’d returned to Fairhaven.
I don’t see her for the rest of the day.
My dinner is with investors visiting Fairhaven, as boring as it is necessary. They’re charmed by the place, by the old grandeur, and I nod politely at their questions. They stay longer than I want them to, playing pool in the library. Clapping me on the shoulder like we’re friends.
When I finally walk up the stairs that night, I know Nora is back home from her own dinner; my head of security informed me.
It’s late. She must have gone to bed.
I slow down when I pass the door to her rooms. It’s almost natural, by now, to be attuned to her. To listen to where she is.
That’s when I hear it.
A muffled groan.
I’m by the door in two quick strides. “Nora?”
There’s a loud yelp in response. I push open the door and find it unlocked. Her living room is empty. Is her stalker inside? How? I stride into the open doorway to her bedroom, my hands already fisted at my sides.
Nora is alone. Lying on her bed.
Her eyes lock with mine. “Oh my god!”
There’s no intruder. Just Nora, with her hand pushed beneath the waistband of her shorts… and a steady vibrating sound.
“West!” She pulls her hand out, but the vibrator remains there. She pulls the cover over herself, with nothing but her face peeking out.
“Shit.” I’m unable to look away from her. “You were making noises. It sounded like you were in danger.”
“I’m not.” Her voice comes out thin, and there’s still that vibrating sound. “God, I need to shut it off…”
I turn away and focus on the dark wood of her dresser. There’s another muffled gasp from the bed and then nothing but silence. She’s turned off the vibrator.
“You’re trying them out.” All my blood has rushed south in one fell swoop, and I reach out to put a hand on the doorway. Fuck.
“Yes. I’m not convinced yet.”
“You sounded pretty… convinced.”
“They’re intense,” she says. I look over to see her draping an arm over her face. “I can’t believe you’re here. I was…”
“Don’t be embarrassed.” My feet move me closer to the bed with a will of their own.
“How can I not be?” She lowers her arm to look at me. “No one has ever seen me do… that .”
“I know. You could barely talk about it before. But it’s a good thing to practice, sweetheart.”
She digs her teeth into her lower lip. “You think so?”
“I do. Were you able to come?”
“No. Not yet.”
“But you were getting closer.”
“I think so,” she murmurs, and takes a deep breath. Her cheeks are on fire. “Yes. I was. But I couldn’t get the vibrations right. They were too strong, I think.”
“Stop being embarrassed.”
“I can’t!”
I take a step back. “I can leave, if you want to continue… and report back to me later. Or I can stay, and we can practice. It’s entirely up to you.”
Her eyes are burning, just as strongly as her cheeks. But I see the fire in them that I’ve come to relish. “Stay.”
The word makes me lightheaded.
I sit next to her on the bed, slowly, carefully. No sudden movements. Without taking my eyes off hers, I stretch out beside her.
She’s beneath the covers.
I’m on top of them.
“You’re using the small one. Right? With suction.”
“Yes. It’s intense.”
“Were you turned on before you put it against your clit?”
Her lips part on a soft exhale. It takes a moment before she responds, and she can’t quite meet my eye. “A little.”
“Touch yourself now,” I murmur, turning so my face is beside hers. “Don’t turn the vibrations or suction on.”
Her shoulder shifts, and beneath the covers, I hear the faint rustle of fabric. I close my eyes at the rush of need that sweeps through me. Fuck, but I want to see that.
Nora’s breathing catches, and damn it, I have to look. Her mouth is parted and her eyes flit from me to the ceiling. I reach out to turn her face to mine. “I’m right here with you. You’re so brave,” I tell her. “Being so good for me, working through your nerves like this.”
She gives a tiny nod, and some of the tension around her eyes relaxes.
“Does that feel good? Touching yourself?”
“Yes,” she whispers. She’s watching me, her hand moving beneath the covers.
“I won’t touch you. Won’t do anything you don’t want,” I murmur. “But I’ll be here with you the whole time.”
“Maybe… you can kiss me.” Her voice is a bit thin, but her skin is flushed.
I smile a little. “I can do that.”
Slowly, I shift closer until our foreheads touch. Her breath is warm against my lips, and I kiss her slowly, thoroughly. I take my time, savor her, suck on her tongue. Brush my teeth over her lower lip and whisper how good she tastes.
Her lips follow mine hungrily. The triumph of that makes me even harder. She said she’d never liked kissing a man before me.
I’ll wear that compliment as a badge of honor until I die.
I brush my lips over her cheek instead, down to the fragrant curve of her neck, and let her catch her breath.
“You’ve never kissed me like that before,” she says.
“We’ve been taking things slow.”
“Do you… like it? Kissing me?”
The question is so innocent. If she only knew how my cock aches against the zipper of my pants. “You’re perfect. I could kiss you for hours, sweetheart.”
“Oh.” Her entire body relaxes.
No one has likely kissed her neck like this before. I brush the collar of her shirt aside with my mouth and kiss the edge of her collarbone. The scent of her skin is making it hard to think straight.
“Turn on the vibrator,” I tell her. “Lowest setting. Press it against your clit, but not the suction part.”
“Okay.”
I lift up on an elbow to kiss her again. She arches into my touch, her lips parting for me. I can tell the moment the vibrator turns on, with her fumbling under the covers, because her mouth stutters against mine.
A low buzzing fills the air.
“That’s it. It’s stronger than your fingers, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she whispers. There’s a current of energy rushing through her, and I want it to burn me. I trail my lips along her cheek. “What were you thinking about? Before I walked in?”
Her eyes flick to mine. “I was… um. Nothing.”
“Nothing?” I kiss her neck again, and her breath catches.
Yeah. She likes that.
“I think you’re lying.” I kiss the hollow of her throat, and her free hand surges up, slides through my hair. The pressure at my scalp makes my cock throb.
I’m going to have the worst fucking blue balls after this.
“What do you want me to tell you?” Her voice is sharper now, tinged with heavy breathing.
“The truth.”
“You,” she whispers. “I was thinking about you.”
I groan against the crook of her neck.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, her hand stroking up my neck, “if that was?—”
“Don’t apologize. Never apologize to me, and not for that.” I kiss her again. It’s much harder this time, driven by my own need. I should be more careful. Go slower.
But Nora only tightens her grip on my hair and kisses me back like she wants it just as much. Just like she’s told me she always does with men.
I lift my head, mouth inches from hers. “We need a safe word.”
Her eyes are wide. “What do you mean?”
“If you don’t feel comfortable anymore. At any point, in any of the… practicing we do…” I lift up and make sure she meets my gaze. “You tell me stop, and we stop. That’s it. I won’t get angry, irritated, or mad. Nothing will change because you tell me what you want. It won’t change what I think of you.”
Nora nods a little, and embarrassment flitters over her face. “Yes.”
“I need you to promise me, sweetheart. Tell me stop, and we stop. Promise me that the second you think it, you’ll tell me.”
She nods. Her skin is flushed and warm beneath my lips. “Yes. If I want to stop, I’ll tell you.”
“And you remember that I won’t be angry, right?”
“I know, West.”
I kiss her neck again, and her breathing stutters. “Have you ever been kissed here?”
“No. I like it. I like it… a lot.”
I smile against her skin. That’s something I can work with. “I’ve thought about you too.”
“You have? While you’ve…”
“Yes. I know I shouldn’t, but I have.” I kiss the edge of what I can reach with her comforter pulled up like this. Goose bumps erupt across her skin. “You like this a lot.”
“Yes,” she whispers.
“My sweet, responsive girl. You’re doing so well.” I kiss her again. “I want you to shift the toy. Put the suction right on your clit. Can you do that for me?”
Her free hand is still on the back of my neck, like she’s anchoring herself to me. “Okay, I’m… oh. Oh .”
Fire pounds down my spine. “Good?”
“ Yes .”
I kiss down her neck again, and this time, she pushes the comforter down. I follow the newly bared skin of her chest down to the edge of her camisole. I can see the faint swells of her tits and the hard poke of her nipples through the fabric.
I trail my fingers along the edge of her camisole and watch her shiver. “You’re doing so good,” I tell her. “So pretty. What does it feel like?”
“I feel hot. It’s so intense.” Her eyes are locked on mine. “I’ve never felt this kind of craving before.”
“Stay in the moment. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes,” she whispers. Her chest rises and falls with a quick breath, and her back arches. “I want…”
“Tell me, pretty girl.”
“I want you to kiss my neck again. I want your mouth on my…”
I glance down at where she’s arching her chest. The hard outline of her nipples. “I know where you want me.” I kiss down her chest. “Increase the vibrations.”
Her breath catches, but a second later, I hear the noise ramp up. I kiss her breast through the fabric, up to the hard point of her nipple.
I suck it through the cotton.
She moans again, a soft, drawn-out sound that makes my cock throb. I imagine her hand between her legs, under those covers. Her sweet pussy, her swollen clit.
“That’s it,” I murmur, and lift my mouth long enough to meet her gaze. Her pupils are blown wide. “Can I push this fabric down? Suck your nipple without the shirt?”
There’s a quick nod.
“I need to hear you say it.”
“Yes,” she quickly says. “Please.”
Fuck, I could get used to her begging. I slowly inch the fabric down over the soft swell of her tits until two tight pink nipples wink up at me. I groan at the sight. “So pretty,” I mutter. “Pink is my new favorite color.”
I lower my head to take one of them into my mouth. I suck strongly, and she moans again. I glance up to see her face pushed back against the pillow, her neck arched. She’s sensitive here, too.
I switch tits, giving the other the same hot, sucking treatment. And then I brush my teeth over her nipple.
Her breath turns loud, catches. The fingers threaded through my hair tighten with an almost painful grip. “That’s it, baby. Let it take you.”
She’s panting, and then her body bows beneath me. I slide my arm under her and hold her as she comes.
“Look at you,” I say, because I can’t stop, because I’ll never forget this. Because it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced.
She shudders, and there’s movement beneath the covers. The vibrations continue, but the sound is more muffled. She must have pushed it away from her sensitive clit.
Nora buries her face against my neck. “Oh my god.”
I pull her closer, so she’s curved into me as far as she can be with the cover separating us. “What a good, fierce girl. You did so well.”
“I can’t believe I just did that,” she says. “I just came with someone else.”
I smooth a hand over her silky hair. “You did, sweetheart.”