Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
PEARL
I am gonna choke this motherfucker with his own sweater vests if he doesn’t stop moving.
Pearl cradled Reed’s laptop as she followed him around the bookstore the next evening. They’d been working all day on inventory.
The air was as thick as her last attempt at vegan frosting.
She wiped a bead of sweat from her face. “We need a name for this place. I can’t keep calling it Reed’s Bookstore Project in all these files. What did you put on the county paperwork?”
“Just call it The Bookshop for now.” Reed whistled as he hammered in the nameplates for the book sections.
How is he so fucking pleasant right now?
“How many shelves were you thinking we’d need for the romance section?” She clicked through the complicated book-ordering catalog system that independent bookstores used.
“I thought maybe six, or maybe two. I’m not sure.” He hopped off the ladder and jogged to the toolbox in the front.
“So, uh… four?” she said, scratching her head. God, why didn’t they have AC yet? The doors were flung open, and stingy cross breezes only lazily drifted in.
He jogged across the large open floor where freestanding bookshelves would eventually go. Sometimes she wished she could just tackle him and pin him down as she walked behind him, clicking furiously, trying to get the page to reload.
“Look, do you want me to order your books or not?” she yelled.
“Yes, order me books!” he called with a wide grin over his shoulder.
There was little else that irritated her more than when she was about to lose her goddamn mind and the person she was talking to didn’t have a care in the world.
They’d been working for hours in the heat, and his smile had never faltered, his hair had never stopped flopping, and he’d barely stopped moving.
He’d worn athletic clothes today, and his compression shirt hugged every single inch of his chest, biceps, and back. He looked like a hot, nerdy rock climber.
It didn’t help that he kept adjusting his glasses—it was adorable.
Irritating motherfucker.
How dare he make me attracted to him.
“Will you just sit down?” She gestured to the two chairs she’d thrifted her first day on the job. They were high wingback chairs in a maroon brocade that went perfectly with the dark walnut of the bookstore.
Bert had just finished the small stage by the nook, and the two chairs sat opposite it.
Reed grabbed boxes to unpack. “Sure.”
“I need you to decide how many more chairs you want, how many more lamps you want, and what lamps go where,” she said, clicking through her to-do list.
“Um,” he said, ripping open a package that had more hardware in it. “Oh my gosh, these are going to be so great.” He held them up to her so she could see. It was an old-timey looking restroom sign.
“Reed, focus,” she snapped.
“You should take a break,” he said suddenly, looking at her with concern. “You want me to go get you an iced tea? I know your AC is off in your car. You can cool down in mine.”
She growled. “No, I would like to get through this list so that I can go home.”
“Come on, why don’t we take a break? I’ll take you over to, um…” He thought for a minute. Oh shit, he’s probably thinking of a place he could go. “...um, Bloom? They have AC.”
She pushed her sweaty bangs back. “It’s fine. So, chairs? Lamps?”
“Oh, right. Um, I was thinking a couple more?” He shrugged. She pulled up the layout diagram.
“So you want two more chairs over by the mystery section, and maybe a couple of bean bags for the kids’ section?”
“Oh my gosh, what if we had a huge built-in couch in the kids’ space instead?” he said, getting excited.
“I. Am going. To kill you,” she ground out, tapping her nails on the laptop with every word. “No new ideas. We don’t have time to order new things.”
“But it has to be perfect. It needs to spark wonder.” His eyes sparkled with his new ideas.
“This bookstore”—she stood up and slammed his laptop—“won’t spark anything if it doesn’t get finished.”
He brushed her concerns away as he stood too. “The layout is just a guideline. We can keep moving it until the day we open.”
“Ooooh no,” she said, tossing the laptop down on the chair. “Because I’m the one who has to keep moving everything.”
Her hands fisted in his tight compression shirt as she yanked him back and forth. “S top—changing—your mind—or I—will toss—you out—the skylight ,” she said with each shake punctuating her words.
His smile was bright and hot as he looked down at her.
Her eyebrows furrowed, and heat hit her cheeks. “What? Stop smiling at me.”
He gulped, still smiling, and licked his lips, adjusting his glasses.
“I thought we agreed on no death threats during business hours?” he murmured. “May I?”
She froze as he pushed a piece of sweaty hair that had been stuck to her cheek behind her ear. Her hands were still fisted in his shirt.
Better than around his throat.
The side of his mouth quirked up into an indulgent, warm smile. “Pearl, you’re doing such a great job.”
Her heart stuttered in her chest.
What?
“I’m sorry if I don’t say it enough. I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. I know this is a lot, and I’m asking a lot of you.” His eyes searched her face.
It felt like a caress.
“No, don’t do that,” she said, releasing her hands and holding them up. “Don’t be nice.”
“I’ll try to stop changing my mind. This place would be a disaster without you,” he called as she stomped away, the praise shimmering down her spine like glitter. “Your work ethic is only outpaced by your monumental contributions.”
She screamed in frustration as goosebumps flooded her skin. “I’m going home.”
“I’m so glad you’re my partner in this!” he called across the bookstore.
She swiped her keys off the table, storming out with a vengeance. “Just your assistant! Go away!” she yelled back.
“This just proves you can do anything you want!” he yelled as the door shut behind her.
She’d never had this cocktail of irritation, frustration, and that goddamn praise kink all swirling in the martini glass of her head.
She sped home and slammed the front door open.
She needed to blow off steam.
Maybe a cool shower? Was that it? She rubbed her hand on her chest. What was this feeling? Oh my god , she thought, checking in with her body.
Oh my god, I’m horny .
“Why am I such a freak,” she moaned.
She rested her head against the cool, cheap Formica countertop. Her phone buzzed with a message from Hemingway.
Yes.
Their flirty banter had been in her head all night. That was what it was. She’d just been revved up and looked at a hot guy in clinging athletic wear.
She could admit that Reed was hot if she didn’t think about his brain or his mouth or the smile that she wanted to grind into the asphalt.
She dashed to her room. No telling when Reed would come back home, and she couldn’t be caught with her hand down her shorts in the kitchen, even though… fuck, that turned her on. Him walking in and finding her bent over and moaning on her vibrator.
Hemingway_CanSuckIt
Thinking about you
ImpossiblyBookish
are you alone?
Hemingway_CanSuckIt
Yes?
ImpossiblyBookish
good. stay that way for 10 min
Hemingway_CanSuckIt
Can’t wait to see what you have planned…
She ran up to her room and ripped off every piece of sweaty clothing except her black thong. She wanted to be reckless tonight—naughty, bad, wild .
Wanted Hemingway to come so hard he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Thank god for rechargeable vibrators , she thought as she ripped it away from its charger, sending a silent thanks to Hemingway for getting one that didn’t need expensive batteries.
Pearl found a blank space of white wall in her room and backed up to it. She knelt so her back was to the wall.
She leaned over and took a picture of her waist, hips, and ass cheeks in the air against the wall. After about ten tries, she had one that looked pretty good.
She cropped it to avoid including any tattoos. Her tattoo artist always tagged her in endless photos for his site and social posts, so it would be easy to reverse engineer who she was if she shared pictures of them. She didn’t have many on her back and hips though, and none on her ass.
She turned on the vibrator and let it dance over her panties as she sent the best photo to Hemingway.
ImpossiblyBookish
was thinking of you too
to help you visualize coming on my ass more realistically.
{photo loading}
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Ak;;ijr23;’/SMLN
Pearl quirked her head. Okay not the reaction I had hoped for.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Almost just fell to my death because I got distracted by your ass.
On the ground now.
Bookish…
You…
You are breathtaking.
Your ass is absolute horny fucking perfection. Thick, round. Looks so good in that thong.
Got dizzy because all the blood rushed to my cock.
ImpossiblyBookish
playing with my purple friend too.
if you were here, i’d want to be fucked so hard.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
That’s exactly how I’d want it.
I can’t stop staring at your ass.
It’s wide. Gorgeous. My hands are itching for it.
Love those pretty white lines across it.
…My stretch marks?
ImpossiblyBookish
really???
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Hell yes. They’re real, and raw. Beautiful.
Like how water looks in the sunlight.
Makes me feral. Want to lick it, bite it.
I’d want you just like this. Ass in the air, bending over for me. Slamming into you so it all jiggles.
Does your ass jiggle, Bookish?
ImpossiblyBookish
you couldn’t handle it, h.
it shakes.
swings.
wobbles when i’m fucked
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Fuccck.
You’re perfect
ImpossiblyBookish
i want to be fucked so hard
please
She turned up the vibrator to a higher setting, teasing herself with it.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
I’d slam into you first, hard and rough.
Knowing you could take it
Stretching you.
Pearl moaned, arching her back against the foot of her bed.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
I’d sink my hands into your hips, each finger digging in.
Grasping your softness. Squeezing it.
I might leave bruises I want it so bad
ImpossiblyBookish
yes
Hemingway_Cansuckit
I’d punish you with my cock
Slamming in harder and harder.
Faster.
ImpossiblyBookish
fuck yes.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
I’d push you down so your face was buried in the mattress.
Pushing harder, rougher
ImpossiblyBookish
exactly what i want
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Tease your ass with the vibrator until I started sliding it in.
See if you could take both.
Holding it in your ass as I fuck you harder and harder.
Pearl squealed in ecstasy picturing it.
ImpossiblyBookish
i could
oh my god i want you to fuck me in both holes.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
When I’ve pounded you hard enough, I’d lie down on the bed and you’d straddle me.
Got a big mirror?
ImpossiblyBookish
yes
Hemingway_Cansuckit
We’d face it and you’d ride me so I can watch your ass straddle me, taking the vibrator
I’d watch your tits I can’t stop thinking about in the mirror.
You’d take your time riding me while I shoved you down onto my cock, harder.
Harder. You’d slam your hips into me.
ImpossiblyBookish
i’d feel so full.
want to show you something.
She stuck the suction cup end of the vibrator against the mirror mounted to her closet door. Doing the same position as before, bent over on all fours so just her ass cheeks were visible, she held her phone up and hit record.
She fucked the vibrator hard, in and out, rattling the mirror, groaning. She wanted this to haunt Hemingway’s dreams.
The mirror showed just how stretched her pussy was around the big vibrator. The smack of her ass as it hit the mirror rattled the door. Her ass moved back and forth, the reflection moving away and then coming back to kiss itself.
She watched the video back. She could only see her waist down, and her ass was so big it took up most of the mirror. The rest of the reflection faced the plain wall next to her closet door.
ImpossiblyBookish
{video loading}
front row seat
She took the vibrator and teased herself with it. She was on edge, trying not to come, and prolonging her pleasure.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Fuck B
I can’t
Last
Don’t want to stop watching it
You’re a wet dream
That pussy stretched so wide for me
Perfect little bud to stick a finger in.
Your ass. Jesus
I want to see it crash into me, jiggling.
Fuck you so hard you can’t walk straight.
ImpossiblyBookish
i’m gonna come
feels too good.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Turn up your vibrator
ImpossiblyBookish
yesss
Hemingway_Cansuckit
More, Bookish.
So high you can barely take it.
Press it to your pussy and fuck it hard for me
Pearl screamed as she fucked herself, louder, and louder. Rippling cresting waves of need pulled at her as it swirled around her clit, rubbing it up and down, harder and harder. Her hips jerked involuntarily, chasing the pleasure.
Her climax pulled higher and higher screams out of her. She clutched handfuls of her bedsheets, pressing harder to the vibrator, imagining Reed bending her over and fucking her. He’d slam harder, and rougher, pulling her hair back until she couldn’t take it.
“Fuck me, Reed,” she screamed, until she convulsed again and again on the vibrator, finally climaxing and feeling the burn of the vibrations against her pussy.
She yanked it away, breathless.
Wait…Reed?
She wiped a hand down her sweaty face. Oh my god, I hope he didn’t hear that.
It’s fine. It doesn’t count.
It’s just a little fantasy to get me over the edge. Only because I don’t know what Hemingway looks like.
ImpossiblyBookish
i think you almost broke my pussy.
christ that felt so good.
haven’t come so hard in so long.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
You’ve yet again made a mess of me.
Enjoy a picture of your spoils
{photo loading}
Pearl’s pussy clenched.
It was Hemingway fisting his cock against his abs. His hand was covered in cum and it had spilled onto his tanned stomach, as if it had spurted hard.
Jesus, he’s fit.
His stomach was a nondescript man stomach, but ridges and dips of muscles lined it. It looked white but tanned from the sun, a small trail of light hair from his navel. His hands were large, looking like they had some strength to them. She could see the edge of a watch band, but that was it.
ImpossiblyBookish
too bad i’m not there to lick it all up.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Oh god, don’t get me started again.
ImpossiblyBookish
you are genuinely hot, h
like, there’s at least 3 of your 6 pack showing
i’m...skeptical you like big girlies IRL
i mean, i think plus size women are goddesses.
a big soft set of round tits? heaven.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
On that we definitely agree.
I’m attracted to all sizes, but I’m particularly fond of curvy women.
The softness is inviting, connects to something primal in me
Feral.
Like I know I need to mate with someone who looks like that.
Cuddle up and squeeze every bit of softness.
Makes me hungry for it even now.
I just happen to be a guy who works out a lot because it helps me cope with life
And my mom is pretty thin, so the muscles aren’t really vanity. Just genetics.
ImpossiblyBookish
slender, easy muscles AND a huge cock?
won the genetic lottery
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Don’t forget my sparkling conversational skills
ImpossiblyBookish
well sure
but
huge cock!
congrats man.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
hahahahahaha
Takes…genetic? bow.
ImpossiblyBookish
and those sexy big dude hands. where they’re muscular, like you could easily open a pickle jar, or hang off the ledge of a building.
Hemingway_Cansuckit
I’m just glad you have the bubble / peach / shelf ass gene
Cause holy fucking hell. It’s perfect
ImpossiblyBookish
thank you for respecting the peach
…in the most disrespectful way possible
Hemingway_Cansuckit
I mean this quite literally when I say it…
Any time, any place, Bookish.