13. Lavender
It’shot and dark as I fling the sheets from my body, desperate for a little air, my skin begging for nakedness. For cool. Still in the realms of sleep, I pull myself upright and drag off my T-shirt, flopping back to the mattress again.
I smell like chlorine… oh, I threw myself into the pool, didn’t I?
I wasn’t drunk, just a little messy with nerves. And maybe a tiny bit buzzed on Raif. On blowing him. How does that even work? Being on your knees shouldn’t feel like a power move, but it did. And at that moment, it was either a dunking or a fucking.
Appealing but no. Not until he begs me.
His face. My God, his face. Slacked-jawed and intimate. He was so into it.
Me, too. I’ve never enjoyed that before.
I turn my smile into the pillows, sinking… sinking…
Sleeping.
And dreaming. It’s so hot, like there’s a fire in my bed.
No, not a fire. A man.
All man,my mind whispers, sounding pleased as my fingertips coast over a broad chest. Coarse hair. Hot skin. I run my hand lower over the jut of his pelvis and purr as my fingers traverse back, slipping the elastic waistband.
Or almost as they’re caught.
I smile, biting my lips as though to contain it.
“Princess.”
Raif’s voice is deep, and his skin smells delicious. Musky male. Laundry detergent. Probably the sheets. The trace of a cologne I don’t yet know. Soap. The tiniest hint of smoke. It makes for a heady cocktail as I nestle my lips to his skin and lick.
He tastes like salt and bad decisions.
Raif groans a rough masculine sound, and the sound makes me feel giddy.
Pulse-y. And needy for relief.
I slide my thigh over his, and his hand loosens, allowing me to press my mostly naked form over his. He feels good—so good. Maybe I should’ve nixed the pool on the terrace. We could’ve been doing this all night long.
I suck the salt from the skin of his neck, wriggling a little as I try to find some relief.
How long has it been? I hate how the thought intrudes. I won’t think about it, then. And I don’t as his arms come around me.
“Oh.” The sound is just a breath, not even a sigh, as I slip my hand between my legs and find myself already wet.
“Fuck.” His curse, my moans, his hand closing on mine. He brings it to his mouth and bites my fingertips. He sucks on them and whispers, “Tastes like a dream.”
“Because it is.” Then I’m moving forward. Or up. Stretched out by him. I moan as he sucks on my neck, scrabbling against him as the hard shape of his cock nudges against my cleft. Just a wisp of cotton separates us.
“Yes, there—just there.”
I want to reach down and explore, but I don’t want him to stop kissing me.
“You’re burning,” I whisper.
He exhales into my neck, groaning quietly. “For you.”
His hands find my hips and mine the hardness of his pecs. He begins to rock. To rock me and my fingers curl, nails pinching.
“Fuck.” A hiss.
I arch my body, his crown hitting me just… “Yes, there!”
His grip on my breast, breath warm, mouth wet as he sucks my nipple between his lips. I keep moving, moving, keeping that rhythm. That pace. “Please don’t stop.” I anchor my hands in his hair, suddenly panicked that he might. The pulse between my legs grows, filling the gaps inside me.
What he was made to do.
Like he’s read my mind, his hand slips lower, hooking my underwear to the side.
“Yes!” I want this—I’m desperate.
“Lavender, you’re nothing but a cock teasing bitch who deserved it.”
I’m suddenly not hot anymore, the voice one I recognize. My blood runs cold, and I let out a sob that I’m instantly sorry for. I brace for the worst, pulling my hands to my face when the voice changes, and I hear my name, soft and filled with concern.
“Lavender.” Hands catch mine. “Lavender, open your eyes, princess. It’s just me.”
Raif’s eyes meet mine, inky pools that shine in the darkness.
“I-I had a dream,” I begin, my voice halting and rusty. Between my legs aches, my clit still pulsing against him. I begin to pull away, my movements jerky and awkward when he stills me with his hand on my hips.
“Are you okay?”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. A dream. Just a dream. A bad dream I haven’t had in ages.
“Don’t leave.” His voice sounds hoarse and full of longing as he wraps his arms around my back. “Go back to sleep, princess. You’re safe here.”
Something inside tells me this is true.
I drift off into the blackness.