Chapter 14 #2
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I pulled him closer and buried my face in his neck, kissing his throat, his jaw, his collarbone. Rubbing my lips against his scruff. “I’ll be good.”
He pushed in deeper, so deep I gasped. Then I closed my eyes against the sharp twinge, my breath caught in my lungs.
“Breathe, baby,” he said in that low, sexy voice I wanted to drown in. He began to move inside me with long, unhurried strokes, and my body trembled and tightened, the need building in me all over again.
“Yes,” I whispered, running my hands all over his arms and back and neck. “I want this. I want you. Since the moment I saw you.”
My words seemed to ignite something within him, and his thrusts grew faster, harder, deeper. I clung to him like he might drive me right off the edge of the mattress. Our breathing grew ragged, our bodies slick with sweat.
I moved my hands down either side of his spine to his ass, thrilling at the muscles working beneath his heated skin. Curling my fingers into his flesh, I pulled him into me, meeting every punch of his hips with a lift of my own, delirious with the effortless way our bodies moved together.
“Fuck—close,” he rasped, slowing his pace a little.
“Don’t stop,” I begged, opening wider for him, lifting higher, taking him deeper—so deep that he touched a magical spot inside me that made my entire body involuntarily contract around him almost painfully tight.
“Oh, god—right there . . . I can’t—I’m going to—” But I lost the ability to form words as the tension snapped and the second orgasm crashed through me, relief rippling throughout my entire body, from my core to my limbs to my fingers and toes.
As if he’d been waiting for me, Austin’s climax hit as mine waned, so I could feel every pulse of him inside me. Beyond the fading thunder of my heart, I heard his guttural moan. Beneath my hands, I felt his muscles twitch and shudder and still.
I couldn’t help the smile that crept onto my lips as he collapsed on me. A stellar performance, I thought. Technique? Ten. Choreography? Ten. Artistry? Ten. I loved every single moment from the entrance to the exit, and I want an encore.
Austin picked up his head. “Are you laughing?”
“Was I?”
“Yes. And as much as I like the way you laugh, that was not supposed to be funny.”
“It wasn’t! I swear, it wasn’t funny. It was very serious. I had two very serious orgasms.”
“That’s more like it.” He nodded with cocky satisfaction.
“I was just thinking about something that made me smile.”
“Oh yeah? What?”
“You standing there on my doorstep with no shirt on, a condom in your pocket, pretending like you’d come over to give me tomorrow’s departure time. Did you really think you’d fool me?”
“I wasn’t thinking much at all. I just wanted to see you.” He brushed the hair back from my face.
“You didn’t need to pretend otherwise.”
“You know how I am.”
“I do.” I locked my ankles behind his thighs and my hands behind his neck. “And I appreciate that you want to be respectful of me. But I’m a big girl.”
“You are. But there’s something about you that makes me feel protective. I can’t help it. Sorry if that’s toxic male patriarchy or something.”
I smiled and pulled his head down so I could kiss his lips.
“You are not the toxic male patriarchy. You’re just a little bossy sometimes.
And a lot stubborn. And sort of dictatorial about the way things have to go.
But as someone who hasn’t ever had a man be protective of her, I have to say it feels pretty good. ”
“So does that mean I can fight your ex-fiancé if I see him tomorrow?”
“No! I’m going to handle him myself.” I laughed. “It would not be much of a fight anyway, trust me.”
“I still want to do it.”
I smiled again at the ferocity in his voice. “I appreciate that. But actually, I think you should thank him. If he hadn’t been such a jerk, I wouldn’t have been stranded here in need of a job.”
“That’s true. And I don’t know what I’d have done without you this summer.”
My entire body tingled with pleasure at his words. “You’re not just saying that because it was fun to fuck the nanny?”
He groaned as he tipped to one side. “Don’t say that.”
“Why not? It was a riot to fuck the boss.” Laughing, I slipped from the bed. “I’ll be right back.”
In the bathroom, I cleaned up and washed my hands. In the mirror, I saw flushed cheeks, puffy lips, wild hair. But the girl who looked back at me was happy.
As I dried my hands, I wondered if Austin would still be lying there in bed when I went out. Was this like an overnight kind of thing? Would I get my encore? What if he was all This can’t happen again, Veronica when I walked out? Pulling on his sweatpants? Racing for the door?
But when I opened the bathroom door, I saw him lying on the bed, right where I’d left him. My insides tightened once more. Quickly, I switched off the living room light and hurried back to him.
“You’re still here,” I said, lying on my side with my hands tucked under my cheek.
“Is that okay?” He propped his head onto his hand.
“Yes. You can stay as long as you want.” I chuckled sheepishly. “I’ve been a little lonely up here all by myself.”
“Have you?” He ran his hand down my arm, shoulder to elbow.
“Yeah. I’m an extrovert, and I think I’ve just been starved for meaningful social interaction over the last couple years.
I was pretty isolated caring for my mom.
And I went right from her house to orbiting Neil, who kept me close while also keeping me sequestered.
But I suppose it’s been good to have time to think. ”
“What did you think about?”
The outline of his broad shoulder was tempting me, and I put my hand on his chest, brushed my fingers through the soft, dark hair.
“Well, I’d like to say I’ve been up here contemplating the meaning of life, world peace, self-actualization.
But the truth is, I’ve mostly been up here fantasizing about your naked body. ”
He laughed. “Then we’re even. That’s all I’ve been doing over there. Or sometimes just one floor below you.”
“And how was the reality compared to the fantasy?”
“So much better. No comparison.” His hand skimmed the dip at my waist and over my hip.
My heart fluttered. “Good.”
“But now I have a problem.” In one easy move, he’d turned me onto my back beneath him, shackling my wrists with his hands, pinning them to the mattress above my head.
“I’m going to want it all the time.” He buried his face in my neck and inhaled deeply. “God, you smell good. Every single time you walk by me, I want to fucking eat you with a spoon.”
“I don’t see a problem with that. Not for the next week, anyway. After that, you’ll have to behave again.” It was good that we had an agreed-on end date. No potential for hurt feelings or misunderstanding.
“Then I better not waste any time.” He kissed his way back up to my mouth and claimed it with his own.
We got very little sleep that night. But as I drifted off wrapped in Austin’s arms, I felt happier than I had in years.