CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SEVEN
I woke up extra early the next morning. I’d been doing that a lot lately. Maybe it was the mint green bedroom walls I now had, or maybe it was the fact that my subconscious just couldn’t get enough Jordan. Now that she’d been sharing my bed for almost a week, my sleep was deeper and I woke up readier for the day.
And hornier.
So much hornier.
Jordan’s chest rose and fell rhythmically. She slept with her hands in a prayer position beneath the side of her face, curled up in a ball. She was so cute I wanted to take a bite of her, but I’d wait until she woke up for that. I slid out of bed quietly, heading for the bathroom to take a piss and brush my teeth. When I slipped back into bed, Jordan was rousing. I pulled her into my arms, folding her into the space against my chest that seemed made just for her.
Almost nobody had ever folded against me so perfectly. Olivia was the only exception. Normally the mere thought of my late fiancée would cause a painful wrench in my chest, but right now, with Jordan in my arms, I didn’t have the energy to get lost in that pain. For whatever reason, right now, I felt good. This felt good. That was all I knew.
Jordan woke up slowly, grinning instantly as she came to, and those pretty gray-blue eyes zeroed in on me. She booped my nose, wriggled out of my grip, and scampered off to the bathroom. When she returned, the minty freshness of her breath hit me as she covered my mouth with her own, coaxing a deep kiss from me.
I chuckled as she settled on top of me, draping her body along mine. “Good morning.”
“Great morning,” she corrected, her warm, smooth skin sliding against mine. Her thigh brushed my hardening cock, already ready for whatever she wanted from me, and she purred like a kitten. “About to be the best morning, actually.”
I trailed my hands along her body. We’d opted to sleep naked last night, even though we hadn’t had sex again after her shift at the club. She’d been too sore—totally my fault and totally not unexpected.
“Are you ready for more?” I asked, expecting her to say no. But instead she nodded, brushing her lips against mine.
“As long as you go slow,” she whispered.
I teased her lips with mine, the velvety brush of her mouth sending any remaining blood in my body straight to my cock. Her hips splayed open, and my erection nudged for the sweet heat of her core.
“I can go slow,” I promised.
She gave me a sloppy tongue kiss, then pulled back, pushing her hands against my chest as she sat up. Instead of sitting on top of me again like I expected, she scooted off me, coming to my side. Her gaze scorched over my stiff cock, which jutted out at an angle.
“I want to do something first,” she said shyly, wrapping her hand around the base of my cock. My ass cheeks tightened as she tried to make her fingers touch—and failed again. “You’ve fingered me and eaten me out so many times. It’s only fair.”
I couldn’t rip my eyes from her small hand wrapped around me as she ran her fingers from base to tip. Her head dipped lower, and she looked up at me just before her lips touched my cockhead.
“Can I?” she asked.
I grunted, flexing my hips so that my cock met her lips. “Fuck yes.”
She bobbed and licked at the head, then wrapped her lips around me. Her hot mouth descended, swallowing me as far as she could…until she gagged. She pulled back, disconnecting with a pop.
“I think I only took like a third of it,” she complained.
“Best third ever.” I gathered her hair to one side, flexing my hips. “Try again.”
Jordan dipped down, wrapping her lips around me again as she sucked and licked. My balls tightened, a low groan rumbling out of me.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get hotter with Jordan, it did.
“That’s right. Just like that.” I pushed my fingers into the mess of her hair, knotting them slightly as she sucked me off. “Look at me, baby.”
Her gaze soldered onto me, sending warning spirals through my limbs. I found the line of her bottom lip wrapped around my cock. “You suck me off so good. I feel like I could come already.”
She popped off me, her lips swollen, looking stricken. “I’ll drown.”
I laughed. “Then how about we finish together a different way?” I nudged her back onto the bed, then covered her body with my own. Anxiety prickled at the edges—would my being on top, in my bed, trigger her again? Did she feel safe enough? I watched her carefully as I filled the space between her legs.
“What do you think?” I prompted, nuzzling the hollow of her neck.
She squeezed her thighs around me, locking her ankles behind my back. “I think hell yes.”
My cock glided against the swollen, juicy entrance of her pussy. The brief contact made me jerk. Her lips parted, desire swirling in her gaze.
“I’ll go slow,” I reminded her. I eased myself in, finding her just as tight as yesterday’s session in the VIP room. She sucked in sharply, but I held her gaze, nodding.
“You got this, baby.”
She relaxed slightly, searching my face as I eased myself in, more slowly than I’d ever done in my entire life. My back was tense from the restraint. The urge to plow her dripping core was intense. But I was a man, not a heathen.
Jordan stretched around me, a soft sigh passing her lips as I sank deeper, inch by inch.
“How does that feel?” I could hear the grit of my own restraint in my voice.
She blinked lazily, already in another world. “Like perfection.”
She curled her nails into my chest, arching her back while a low, mewling moan escaped her. I studied her closely as I began moving against her at a glacial pace compared to what my body craved. I didn’t want to scare her or hurt her, much less break her.
“Too much?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I love it.”
“You love my cock, huh?” I slipped my arm along her right thigh, lifting her leg up against the side of my body. I found another inch of space this way, unable to prevent a deep groan. I rocked against her, looking down at the union of our bodies. The way we folded together, tangled limbs becoming one.
“Maybe I do,” she breathed, smoothing her palms against the wide expanse of my chest. “How could I not? It defies science.”
I smirked, pulling out of her all the way and then easing back inside. My cock glided into her more easily now that her pussy was dripping and primed. “Well I haven’t gotten a call from the Guinness Book of World Records yet. I’m sure there are bigger ones out there.”
“I can’t even understand how it fits.” She inhaled sharply as my cock filled her once more. Her eyes fluttered shut, and I dipped down, dragging my teeth against each of her nipples in turn.
“But it fits so well.” I growled against her collarbone. Jordan was heavenly. If I were a different man, I’d dedicate poems to her pussy. I guided her other leg up, urging her to lock her feet behind my back. My vision went spotty from this angle. Borderline too good. I thrust into her again. She reached for me, and I could tell that she wanted me closer. I lay down so that our bodies came together at all possible points. The heat and feel of her plastered against me set every inch of my skin prickling with awareness. If I could have melted into her, I would have.
Each time I sank back into her, I made sure to grind up against her, give that swollen clit plenty of attention. Judging from the way she panted against me, clutching desperately like I might somehow float away, told me it was a good move.
She cried out, but it was unintelligible. I brushed my lips against hers.
“What was that?”
She laughed, and tipped her head back, a guttural moan floating past her lips.
“Noted,” I said.
“Fuuuuuuck.”
“Mm-hmm.” My mouth was on her neck, her jaw, her chin. “Doing that right now.”
“Seven, I’m so close,” she panted.
“Me too, baby.” I slid into her again, grinding up against her until she arched her back and let out the most pornographic moan I’d ever heard from her. That was my cue.
“Ohhh, Jordan. I feel you coming around my cock.” My voice scraped past my lips, the sudden lightning bolt of pleasure shooting from head to toe. My whole body jerked as the orgasm barreled through me, then faded.
I grunted through the final waves, sinking down on top of her to capture her lips in a kiss. She was already grinning like crazy, her eyes half-lidded and drowsy with satisfaction.
“That,” she whispered between kisses, “was fucking epic.”
Epicwas one word. Addictive was another. I buried my face in her neck, taking a deep inhale of her scent. I didn’t want to leave this spot. This moment in time. This situation. Whatever it was, it was deeply fulfilling living with Jordan, accompanying her everywhere, protecting her and somehow along the way growing this close to her. She started as a job, but now it was so much more.
I rolled off her, the last thought settling awkwardly inside me. But I didn’t want to think about it now.
“I’m not sure I can move for the rest of the day,” she said, eyes barely open.
“Luckily, you have some time to kill before the club,” I said, coming to my feet. “Let me get you cleaned up.”
“Now that’s VIP service,” she said as I walked to the bathroom. I grabbed a washcloth, running it under warm water. She grinned at me as I eased her legs open and gently wiped at the cum dribbling down her thighs.
“Or is this just a perk because I admitted I love your cock?” she teased.
“Standard procedure if my cock’s been inside you.”
“How on earth are you still single, Seven?” Her tone was teasing, but I could sense the real question buried beneath. Now wasn’t the time to go near that topic, though. I pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee once she was cleaned up.
“Stay here and rest if you want. I’m going to get dressed and head to the gym for a little bit before your shift tonight. I need to run some laps.”
She sighed happily, curling up into a ball. “Sounds like a plan.”
“You sure you don’t need a cuddle buddy?” I was second-guessing my plan. I was all about the aftercare. And the pre and during care, for that matter.
She snuggled deeper. “You go work out. Those abs won’t chisel themselves. Besides, a nap is sounding real good right now.”
“Just promise me you won’t sneak off again like last time.”
She held up two fingers. “Stripper’s honor.”
“Not sure if that’s supposed to make me trust you more or less.”
She swatted at me, but I was already on my way to grab my pre-packed gym bag from the living room. This was the sort of thing I could get used to. Sexy mornings with Jordan in my bed. Work out breaks. And then hitting the city in whatever way the day demanded of me—close protection duties, meeting new clients, or backend office work.
If Jordan was in New York, then I could be in New York. Long-term, even. I’d never envisioned myself settling in a place like Manhattan, but life had a weird way of handing us unexpected twists and turns.
Except what the actual fuck are you talking about? Long-term with Jordan?
My phone vibrated against my thigh as I moved through pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk, distracting me from my thoughts. I power walked the three blocks to the gym as a rule—my warm-up—and didn’t break stride as I checked my phone.
Incoming email: Re: Experienced CPO wanted.
Someone had responded to my latest help wanted ad. My gaze flicked between phone and sidewalk as I skimmed the email, trying to get a feel for who the new applicant was. I caught the most minimal details as I dodged between people and passed by slow-moving groups of tourists.
Liam Henderson. 29. Former NYPD. Marine.
This was sounding promising.
I pocketed the phone until I finished my trek to the gym. Once I reached the steel beamed, glass-walled fitness center, I paused outside the main doors, studying the rest of Liam’s information.
He seemed just as qualified as Chico—possibly more.
Which meant Liam might be the protection officer to take over for me, as I’d planned.
If he works out, I reminded myself. It will take a special new hire to take on your current caseload. I surveyed the street in front of me, the thought settling heavily inside of me.
My current caseload was Jordan. Full stop. I had no higher priority than her right now, and the thought of passing her off to someone else had my gut doing strange flips.
I felt sick. I felt strange. I felt decidedly not well.
But this has been the plan all along. I pocketed the phone, taking slow steps in front of the gym as I mulled over whatever the fuck was happening inside my head right now.
The plan had always been to build the business. To step away from daily protection. To hand over Jordan’s protection to someone else. Liam might be the guy, or someone would fit the bill, and I would continue building my business.
There’s nothing wrong with that.
So why did it give me the weird churn in my gut?
I whipped out my phone again, knowing what I needed to do. There was no other option than to continue with the plan. The one that made the most sense for myself and for my future. I sent Liam a response to his application, expressing my interest in interviewing him further. I suggested a date, time and place, and hit send before I could think better of it.
I hadn’t told Jordan much at all about the business. Mostly because it hadn’t come up, but also because when it had come up, it hadn’t seemed appropriate to divulge anything beyond the absolute necessary baseline.
But I suspected she wouldn’t like the idea. I could already see her fighting back about me handing her protection over to someone else. Imagining it made me twitch, which only confirmed the deeper truth that circled inside me.
Jordan might be mine, but I could never claim her fully. Not when so much fear lurked in the shadows.
If we made this real—then I stood to lose her.
Whether from the hands of her brothers finding out about us and firing me, or from a cruel twist of fate a second time around.
I didn’t know which it would be, but I was almost certain it would be one of them.