Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
JAKE
It’s past midnight, and I’m lying in bed staring at the ceiling.
The images from this afternoon barrel through me—the way Stella looked when she was pissed at José, all fire and authority. The way she bit into that cupcake, lips wrapping around the frosting. The way her cheeks flushed when I told her she was sexy as hell when she was angry.
Fuck, she’s driving me mental.
I’ve jerked off twice tonight thinking about her, and I’m still hard. Every time I close my eyes, I see her on that desk last Friday—feel her trembling against me as I made her come. The memory of her taste. The sound of her breathing my name. It’s fucking torture.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand. I grab it, expecting a work email or maybe one of the guys asking about tomorrow’s schedule.
Instead, I see her name.
Stella
Fuck it. I need you. NOW.
My heart kicks into overdrive. Two seconds—maybe less—before I’m out of bed, pulling on jeans and a T-shirt. My hands are shaking as I type back.
Jake
On my way.
I don’t question it. Don’t think about what this means or whether it’s a good idea. All I know is that Stella needs me, and nothing else matters.
The drive to her place takes fifteen minutes, but it feels like hours. She’s in a small apartment in New Hope, not far from the workshop. I’ve never been here before, but I looked up her address in the employee files—not in a creepy way, just… curious.
Her porch light spills a warm glow when I pull in. It’s a beacon pulling me —straight to hell or heaven, depending on how you look at it. My cock’s already hard thinking about what’s behind that door. Then I don’t have to think anymore, because before I can knock, it swings open.
And fuck me.
She’s standing there in nothing but a silk robe that barely kisses the tops of her thighs.
The fabric clings to her curves like it was custom-made to torment me.
Her red hair’s loose, a fiery halo that makes her green eyes look darker—full of hunger, heat, and all the filthy promises I’ve been craving since we met.
“You came,” she breathes, voice soft but dripping with need.
I grin, stepping forward, crowding into her space until my chest brushes hers. “You asked,” I growl, and then I’m inside, kicking the door shut with my boot.
The second the latch clicks, she’s on me. Mouth crashing into mine like she’s starving and I’m the fucking feast.There’s nothing gentle about it. It’s raw, desperate. The kind of kiss that leaves your lips bruised and your brain white-noise static because the only thing that matters is more .
Her fingers fist in my shirt, like she’s trying to drag me inside her body through sheer force of will. The whimper she makes when my tongue sweeps against hers shoots straight to my cock.
“I tried to stay away,” she gasps between kisses, lips slick, breathless. “Tried to be professional, but—I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Good.” My voice is gravel as I shove her back against the door, pinning her there like the sin she is. “Because you’ve been torturing me.”
My hands roam—greedy—over silk that barely hides the heat of her skin. The robe’s useless. Nothing but a flimsy excuse for decency I’m about to tear apart.
When my hand slides between her thighs and hits bare skin, I pause just long enough to chuckle darkly.
“No panties,” I murmur against her mouth, teeth scraping her bottom lip before sucking it into mine.
“Easy access,” she whispers, voice like a fucking drug.
“Fucking hell, Stella,” I growl, and the sound is pure animal. “You’re going to kill me.”
I drop my mouth to her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. My teeth graze her pulse before I bite down, not hard enough to mark—yet—but enough to make her moan and arch like she’s offering herself up to me.
“Bedroom,” she pants.
“Lead the way, darl,” I rasp, but I don’t give her the chance to take more than a step. I spin her around in the hallway, press her against the wall, and take her mouth again—my cock grinding against her hip.
“I’ve been thinking about this since that night at Grumpy’s,” I tell her, hot against her lips. “Thinking about how you’d look in your bed. What you’d sound like when I’ve got you trembling and screaming my name.”
The tie of her robe doesn’t stand a chance. One hard tug, and it falls open—sliding off her shoulders to pool at her feet like surrender.
And fuck, she’s stunning.
Curves for days. Nipples flushed and hard like they’ve been waiting for my mouth. That perfect cunt glistening just for me.
“Fuck, Stella,” I breathe. My hands are everywhere, palms mapping the swell of her breasts, the dip of her waist, the curve of her hips. I want to worship her. Ruin her. Own every fucking inch.
“Jake,” she moans, my name breaking apart when I close my mouth over one aching nipple—sucking, biting just enough to make her gasp. Her fingers tangle in my hair, tugging, and it pulls a groan from deep in my chest.
“On the bed,” I order, voice like steel. “Now.”
She obeys without hesitation, and fuck if that doesn’t do something to me. Watching her climb onto the bed—hair a wild mess of fire, body sprawled across the pillows like all my dreams come true—nearly makes me lose it.
“You’re overdressed,” she teases.
“Not for long,” I promise, stripping my shirt in one brutal move. Her gaze drops to the noose tattoo on the back of my hand as I shove my jeans down. I swear her breath hitches. Good. Let her wonder what these hands are going to do.
When I free my cock—thick and already leaking—her lips part on a shaky breath.
“Holy shit,” she whispers. “Come here.”
The demand, bold as fuck, makes me even harder. I move to the bed, and the second I’m within reach, her hands are on me. When those soft fingers wrap around my length, I grit my teeth, a groan tearing from my chest.
“Stella—”
“I want to taste you,” she purrs.
Before I can even think, her mouth is on me.
Warm. Wet. Heaven and hell all at once.
“Fuck,” I bite out, hips jerking when her tongue does a wicked little swirl that should be illegal. My hand tangles in her hair—not to control, just to feel her. To keep from unravelling too fast.
“Look at me,” I command.
When she lifts those green eyes, lips stretched around my cock, it’s game over. “That’s it, darl. Take me deeper. Fuck, you’re good at this. Such a good girl for me.”
She moans around me like praise is her kink, the vibration making my vision blur. I pull her off before I lose it like a fucking teenager.
“I need to be inside you,” I grit out.
“Yes,” she breathes, voice wrecked. “Please.”
I push her back, crawling over her. My fingers slide into her slick heat—Jesus, she’s drenched. I curl them just right, watching her back bow.
“You ready for me, darl?” I murmur against her lips. “Because once I start, I’m not stopping until you can’t fucking walk.”
“Yes,” she moans, nails digging into my shoulders. “Jake, please.”
“You sound so pretty when you beg, darl,” I growl, teasing her with the head of my cock.
“Please, Jake, I need you.” She moans.
“Are you on birth control?” I ask, not wanting to stop to grab a condom.
“Yes, and I’m clean. Please, Jake, I need to feel you— all of you. Fuck me. Please.” She begs, and that’s all I need. I line up and sink into her in one slow thrust that has both of us groaning.
“Fuck,” I rasp, forehead pressed to hers. She feels so good. “You are so fucking tight. Like you were made for my cock.”
I start slow, savouring every inch. But when she whispers, “Harder,” I lose it—pull almost all the way out and slam back in, hard enough to rattle the headboard.
Her cry is pure fucking music.
Then I do the thing I know she’s craving—my left hand sliding up her chest, fingers wrapping around her throat. My noose tattoo stares back at me as I squeeze—gentle, just enough to make her breath hitch.
Her eyes go wide, pupils blown, and fuck if that look doesn’t ruin me. “You like that?” I grit out, tightening just enough to make her gasp.
“Yes,” she chokes out, voice hoarse and desperate. “Only by you.”
Those words light something dark in me. Something primal. My grip firms, thumb stroking her neck as I pound into her—harder, deeper.
“That’s it, Stella,” I snarl against her ear. “Take it. Take all of me like the filthy little slut you are for my cock.”
She shatters—screams my name as her pussy clenches and milks me like she’s trying to own me from the inside out. The sound, the feel—it drags me under with her. I come with a roar, spilling deep as I bury myself to the hilt, my hand still claiming her throat like the devil’s signature.
When the aftershocks fade, I collapse beside her, pulling her against me, her body limp and boneless. My fingers trace lazy circles over her hip, but my mind’s already plotting the next time I get to ruin her.
“Stella,” I murmur against her hair, voice still wrecked. “You have no idea what you’ve started.”
She just lies there, cheeks flushed, lips swollen, chest rising and falling like she’s run a marathon. I should let her rest—be the good guy.
But then she looks at me through her lashes—green eyes still glazed, voice whispering, “Jake…” like a prayer—and it punches the air out of my lungs.
I can’t stop. I won’t stop.
“You done?” My voice is a low growl as I brace one arm beside her head. She blinks, confused, and that slow, cocky smirk curves my mouth before I add, “Because I’m not.”
Her breath catches. “You?—”
“Flip over,” I cut her off, my tone sharp enough to make her gasp. Her body obeys before her brain can argue, and fuck if that doesn’t make me even harder.
She scrambles onto her stomach, arse perfect and round in the air. I grip her hips, dragging her back to the edge of the bed until her feet barely touch the floor.
“This what you want, darl?” I rasp, sliding a hand up her spine, slow and deliberate, until I’m wrapping it around the back of her neck. My thumb grazes the soft skin there, my noose tattoo staring back at me. “Want to give me every last breath you’ve got?”
“Yes,” she whispers, voice shaky but dripping with want. “Please, Jake.”
Fuck, the way she begs—I could come from that alone.
“Then take it,” I growl, lining up and slamming into her in one brutal thrust that knocks a cry from her lips. My grip on her neck tightens—not cutting off everything, just enough to let her feel my power. My claim.
She moans, and my body responds like it’s possessed.
“You love this, don’t you?” My voice is pure filth, breath hot against her ear as I lean over her, still fucking her slow and punishing. “You love giving me control. Letting me take you to the edge.”
“Yes,” she chokes out, each word shaky from lack of air and too much pleasure. “Fuck, yes.”
“That’s my good girl,” I snarl, tightening my grip a little more before loosening it to let her drag in a breath. “I could do this all night—fuck you, choke you, make you scream until your voice is gone and your pussy’s sore for days. You’d let me, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” she sobs, and I feel her flutter around my cock, her body already spiralling again.
I release just enough to pull her head back, forcing her spine to arch, and my teeth find her shoulder. I slam into her harder, faster. My free hand finds her clit, rubbing ruthless circles until her legs shake.
“Come for me,” I command, voice dark and sharp as a blade. “Come while I’m holding your fucking throat. Let me feel you break.”
She shatters—screaming, convulsing, her pussy milking my cock like it was made to own me. I hold her there, grip firm, riding out every wave of her orgasm until I’m spilling deep inside her with a guttural roar.
We collapse forward together, her body limp against the sheets, mine sprawled heavy over hers. For a long moment, there’s nothing but the sound of our ragged breathing and the pounding echo of my heart.
I ease my hand from her throat, rubbing soft circles over the skin I just claimed. “You good, Stella?” My voice is hoarse but gentler now.
She hums—a shaky, content sound that makes me press a kiss to the back of her neck without thinking.
“More than good,” she whispers, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
“Was it too much?” I ask, because I need to know. Need to make sure the hunger in me didn’t push her too far.
Her hand finds mine, fingers threading through like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “No,” she breathes, turning her head just enough for me to see her eyes—soft, hazy. “It was… everything.”
Fuck. That does something to me I can’t explain—something deep and dangerous that’s got nothing to do with lust.
I pull out slowly, hating the loss of her heat, even as I grab a towel from the chair to clean us up. She lets me, quiet and pliant, eyes tracking my every move like I’m something worth watching.
She hops up to pee, muttering something about not wanting to get a UTI.
When I climb back into bed, she doesn’t hesitate—just curls into me like she belongs there, her cheek warm against my chest, her breath steadying mine.
“That was…” She trails off, searching for the words.
“Yeah,” I murmur, pressing a kiss into her hair. My arm wraps around her, holding her close. Grounding us both.
We lie there in a silence that’s not really silence—just the hum of her breath, the thud of my heart, the lingering echo of everything we just did.
Then, softly: “Arden offered me a full-time job today.”
I blink, pulling back just enough to see her face. “Yeah?”
“Operations Manager. A hundred thousand to start.”
A grin tugs at my mouth despite the exhaustion in my bones. “That’s incredible, darl. You’re going to take it, right?”
“I want to,” she admits, chewing on her bottom lip. “But if I do this—if I take the job, and we… whatever this is—it complicates things.”
“Only if we let it,” I say without missing a beat.
Her laugh is soft, a little disbelieving. “We just had sex an hour after I texted you to come over. We’re not exactly nailing the whole ‘professional’ thing.”
I chuckle, rolling us so she’s on her back and I’m propped on an elbow beside her. “You want to take it slow? Fine. We’ll play nice at work.” My mouth curves into a wicked grin. “But don’t expect me not to tease you. Not after this.”
“Jake—”
“What?” I interrupt, leaning in to brush a kiss over her jaw—slow, tender this time. “I’ll be professional, darl. But every time you look at me, you’re going to remember how I had my hand around your pretty throat while your tight pussy took my cock—that sweet pussy that’s filled with my cum.”
Her breath stutters, and my grin turns downright sinful. “You’ve just given me a challenge, Stella. And I do love a good challenge.”