23. Dorian - August
TWENTY-THREE
Dorian - August
HEAVEN - JULIA MICHAELS
Gravel crunched beneath my boots as I made my way across the lot toward my truck. But I stopped mid-step when I saw Noah leaning against it, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the ground.
I hadn’t known what to expect when I asked her to meet me, but seeing her there, waiting, made me glad I did. Whatever this was between us, I couldn’t keep pretending I didn’t feel it. I couldn’t keep pretending it wasn’t real.
“I didn’t realize you’d left,” I said, stepping closer. “I figured you were still inside, playing pool.”
Her brown eyes met mine, and for a moment, everything else faded.
“Yeah, I slipped out a minute ago,” she said.
“How was your night?” I asked, stepping closer.
“Uh, good… It was… good,” she replied, though her gaze held something back.
I moved in, closing the space, standing just over her where she leaned against the truck.
“Good, huh?” I echoed from earlier. Without thinking, my hands moved to her hips, fingers curling into the waistband of her skirt.
A small gasp escaped her as I tugged her forward, away from the truck.
With a flick of my wrist, I dropped the tailgate, the thud echoing through the stillness of the lot. Our gaze locked on each other as my hands slid back to her hips with slow, deliberate precision. Her muscles trembled under my grasp as I lifted her onto the tailgate, her small frame light in my arms. Her legs separated just enough for me to step between them. I closed the distance until we shared the same breath.
Hesitation and desire glimmered behind her irises, but she didn’t pull back. She was navigating this moment just like I was, trying to figure out what came next after that kiss in the bar. I leaned in, close enough that the heat of her exhale brushed against my skin.
Every instinct in me screamed to close the gap, to kiss her again.
I savored it—the way she leaned into me, waiting for me.
“Hey,” I murmured.
Her golden-brown skin melted against my hands as I tightened my grip on her.
“Hi,” she whispered back.
She bit her lip, her eyes searching mine, and I could see the same battle raging within her that continued to tear through me.
One kiss could go down as a mistake.
Two couldn’t.
I dipped my head, the softness of her skin brushing against mine as I came closer. The scent of her was intoxicating, and every second near her pulled me in deeper.
“What if we did… something casual?” she said, her nose lazily grazing mine.
“Casual?” I repeated.
“Yeah, no big feelings, just… me and you,” she murmured, as she rested her head on my shoulder.
Her body pressed against mine felt good, natural.
Like maybe this could work.
“I don’t have much to offer right now. I just know that I want you,” she whispered against me. Her words were muffled, but clear enough to knock the air out of me.
I tilted her chin up, making her meet my eyes. “I think I can do that,” I said, and the words felt like a release.
Close, but not too close. No expectations, no pressure, no risk of getting hurt.
She smiled, and fuck, I wanted to bottle that smile up and save it for a rainy day.
“Yeah?” she asked.
This was the solution. A way to have her without crossing the line. Keep things light, simple. The truth was, I’d been fighting what this was between us for so long that maybe going casual was the only way I wouldn’t completely lose myself in her. Because the minute I let myself fall for her—for real—it’d be game over.
But this? This I could manage. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“Yeah,” I murmured, letting my knuckles brush lightly across her cheekbone before leaning in and capturing her lips again.
She whimpered, and the sound made something deep inside me tighten.
Her lips were soft and warm. I cupped the nape of her neck, drawing her closer. She let out a breathy sigh, her mouth parting just enough for me to take my chance, teasing my way in. The moment her tongue met mine, a low groan rumbled from me—the taste making my head spin.
She felt perfect, too perfect.
Her skirt bunched higher on her thighs as I pressed forward, the heat of her body radiating through my jeans. It was maddening, feeling her this close. I wanted more, but I savored the moment.
“We should stop,” she murmured between kisses, her words half-hearted.
“Why?” I asked, not letting her pull away, my lips finding hers again.
“Someone might see us,” she said against my lips, though there was a teasing smile in her words.
God, I could drown in her kisses and never come up for air.
I moved back just enough to study her. Her throat moved as she swallowed, eyes fluttering shut for a second. The low light only made her even more irresistible. The parking lot was dark, with only a few streetlights in the distance illuminating the space around us.
We were tucked away at the far end of the lot, hidden in the shadows. I glanced around and gestured to the empty lot. “I think we’re safe.”
She rolled her eyes, and I chuckled. My gaze dropped to her lips again, still swollen from my kisses. Even in the darkness, those damn lips drove me as wild as they did in broad daylight.
“What?” she asked.
“I like you,” I admitted, the words spilling from me before I could stop them.
Her smile faded into a flat line. “No feelings, remember?”
I stepped back, running a hand through my hair, trying desperately to recover. “Yeah, sorry… No feelings…”
I leaned in and captured her lips once more.
I had to. I was sinking, and the only way to survive was to lose myself in her completely. Her kiss was heated, intoxicating—stirring something primal inside of me.
As her mouth moved against mine, every brush of her lips had my body reacting. My jeans grew tighter by the second. I pulled back to catch my breath, watching her eyes flutter open, dazed and heavy with the same want that coursed through me.
“So, what does casual mean exactly then?” I asked, arching a brow.
“I thought you were smart.” She chuckled, her eyes lighting up. “It means no feelings… yes sex.”
“Well, in that case,” I murmured. The gravel dug into my knees as I knelt before the tailgate. “Now that I’ve tasted your mouth, all I can think about is what your pretty pussy tastes like. Be a good girl and lean back for me,” I said, bunching up her skirt around her hips, exposing the soft brown skin of her thighs.
I trailed my hand slowly up her stomach, over the curve of her torso, and pressed down gently. She watched me intently as she slowly lowered to the bed of the truck.
“There’s my girl.” My hand moved down her body to hover above her exposed panties. I hooked my fingers into the thin bands biting into her hips, pushing the fabric down her legs. Her decadent skin brushing against my hands sent my heart racing as I tossed her underwear into my pocket. Our eyes locked in a heated gaze as I moved before her.
My hand trailed down her stomach. I slipped a finger into her core, and I felt for the first time how this wasn’t one-sided. Her arousal coated my fingers. A groan rumbled from within me as I relished the effect I had on her.
“You are dripping. Is this all for me?” I asked.
A small, breathy sound escaped her. Slowly, my head dipped between her thighs. My tongue flicked across my lips before meeting her center. At the first taste, I almost lost my mind. She was everything I needed and more.
I pressed a second finger inside her, working in sync with my mouth.
Every sweep of my tongue and pull of my lips consumed her, savoring her as if she were the last thing I’d ever taste. I pressed my arm down, holding her in place as I dove deeper.
“Stay still, peach,” I murmured.
“Peach?” she gasped out as I continued to move.
I nodded, unwilling to speak.
“I… I don’t usually…” she panted, her hand pressing my head away for a moment. Her eyes connected nervously with mine as I sat up.
I pulled away, waiting for her to continue.
“I haven’t done”—she waved her arm around to where my head still sat between her pretty thighs—“this before… I don’t know if I can come like this.”
Oh, hell yeah. I loved being the first one to have her like this.
I rose to meet her face to face, her eyes trained on me as I steeled my gaze.
My hand gripped her face to bring her close, the other rubbing the soft flesh of her exposed thighs. “Baby, I’m going to make you come like this at least once before we leave this parking lot.”
“But—I,” she started but I cut her off with my fingers, pressing them back into her and relishing in the way she gripped them.
Her head fell back, letting out the sexiest moan I had ever heard. I knew she’d make intoxicating sounds when I got her like this.
But she was even outperforming my dreams.
I knelt back down and added my tongue to her clit, swirling around.
She coated my lips, my tongue, and my chin as I found a rhythm. Savoring her reaction to my touch, so responsive.
I could barely see her in the dark of the night, but damn, did she look so good spread out on my tailgate, skirt bunched up, with my head between her thighs.
The sounds pouring from her pitched higher as she approached the edge, her body fidgeting as she got closer and closer.
She tried to push herself up, but her arms trembled, barely able to hold her weight.
“Be a good girl and stay still,” I said, and she moaned in response. “You like that? When I call you my good girl?” My hand scaled her body, pressing the middle of her chest down against the truck bed.
The way her pussy felt on my tongue sent my blood roaring through my body. I snaked my hand down her stomach, enjoying the way her skin reacted under my fingers, as my own need built as I devoured her.
Soon, I was trailing my hands down her thighs, her knees, her shins. As they dropped at her ankle, my fingers found my belt, unbuckling it to release some pressure.
I continued licking, sucking, and paying close attention to how her body reacted to me.
“Dorian…” she panted.
I felt her release building by the way her pussy was clenching my fingers. I pressed my tongue to her clit, moving in circles while my fingers curved inside her, and she let out a little whimper.
“Fuck,” she moaned.
“Come for me. Be a good girl and come for me.”
Her release barreled through her body. “I’m coming… fuck, Dorian, I’m coming,” she panted desperately.
Her body folded, and her legs attempted to close around my head. I pushed them open but lessened my intensity to match everything she needed and concentrated on the way she was pulsing.
The moment slowed, and I watched my fingers as they gently pulled out of her. I pressed soft kisses to the delicate skin of her inner thighs before looking up.
“You coming on my tongue with my name coming out of that pretty mouth might be one of the best things to ever happen to me.”
She sat up, my body following her. My knees ached from kneeling in the gravel, and I’d feel it tomorrow. But I liked that thought—knowing the pain was from making her come apart for me.
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I grinned. “Do you have any idea how much I needed that?”
“You?” she asked. “You needed that?”
“I did. I already want it again,” I mused. “But we should probably go somewhere more private for what I have planned next.”
Her eyes heated for a moment before softening.
Something shifted. The heat between us transformed into something else—something tender. She glanced down at my hands resting on her thighs. I quickly pulled down her skirt, covering her.
“What is it?” I asked gently.
She hesitated, not meeting my gaze.
“Thank you…” Her voice trailed off. “I… I always thought something was wrong with me. But now… I’m thinking maybe I wasn’t the problem.”
I tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at me. “You were never the problem,” I echoed.
Her eyes searched mine, and then she nodded.
I leaned in and kissed her again, soft and slow this time. This kiss wasn’t like the others. It wasn’t fueled by urgency or desire.
It was sweet, delicate—just like her.
And I melted into it. I melted into her.
All the reasons why we shouldn’t do this, why this could end badly, screamed in the back of my mind.
But for once, I didn’t listen.
A bigger man might hold back. A better man probably would. But all I could do was hold her tighter and kiss her deeper.
I knew that I might be scared shitless doing it, but I was willing to forcibly silence that noise in my head that screamed this would end badly.