THEO
Theo
I broke. Fuck the rail. I spun in his arms as he brought his fingertips to his lips. Desperate, I needed some part of him inside me. His growl made my head spin. He fed me two fingers, slowly fucking my mouth as slowly as he had stroked my cock. He pressed me back into the rail, kicked my legs apart again. His fingers teased that aching, empty feeling. He replaced his fingers with his tongue. I thrust against him, his cock and knot just out of my reach. I’d never get enough of him.
Don’t stop, don’t ever stop.
I came again, my moans smothered on his tongue.
I dropped my head on his shoulder. I couldn’t take anymore sensation and couldn’t bear to have any less. He rested his cheek on my temple and did… nothing.
The last alpha I’d dated, he’d come in me and as soon as his knot let go, he’d punch me in the thigh and say “let’s go watch the game.”
But Justice was just here, waiting, like he knew I was in a thousand pieces and needed time to come back together. I snuggled into his neck. His scent was so alive. It was cut grass and wild flowers and fresh wood. I took a deep breath and picked my head up.
“Hey.” He said it like I was gone for a while.
I ducked my head again. I couldn’t quite meet his eyes. I had been desperate for someone to see me, the real me, and now that he had? I honestly didn’t know if I could handle that. But I took a chance with another glance.
He lit up like he found out the best secret. Then his eyes narrowed slightly. “Too much marshmallow?”
Yes. Fucking yes. Exactly. But I toned that down with a “maybe.”
And still he was just here. He didn’t change his position or mine. Until I could meet his eyes.
Again with that secret smile. “Thank fuck I love gooey marshmallows.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes.
“Can I kiss you?” He asked softly. I nodded. This kiss was… different. It was grounding and reassuring. Still hot, but not meant to lead to something else.
He took a deep breath and shifted his weight, still touching me but not pressing into me. It was like he could finally trust that I wouldn’t fall down or fall to pieces.
My phone sounded from my pocket. I stiffened. “Mackenzie’s ringtone. Can I…”
“No, don’t do that.” He cut me off. “Don’t ever ask permission for Mackenzie. I do not stand between you. She always comes first.”
I blinked rapidly and dug my phone out of my pocket. That felt like a bigger statement than it was, and I couldn’t quite process that yet.
I read the message and then held it up for him.
Mackenzie:
Cuddlezzzzz now.
“That’s a lot of z’s.”
“She might be drunk.”
I read the message again like new information would be revealed. I tapped my thumb on the edge of my phone. Scrolled up and then scrolled back down.
“Shit.” I said, realizing what had just happened.
“What?”
“I uh, think I was waiting for you to tell me what to do, but you were waiting for me to tell you what I was going to do.”
He tried and failed to not smirk. “That’s about right.”
“I’m going to go check on her.”
“You should.”
He took a big breath and sighed loudly. Then his fingers were skating over my skin. I froze. He adjusted my boxers back to the proper place, zipped and buttoned my pants and did up my belt. Fuck. That might have been the most intimate thing I had ever experienced. He put his hands on the rail to each side of me and put more space between us.
“Do you want me to walk you back to your room?”
Duh, yes. “No, I’ll be fine.”
“That’s not what I asked.” He cocked his head. “I asked what you wanted. Not if you’d be fine.”
I looked down at the dark screen of my phone. I cleared my throat. “I do want you to walk me back to my room, but I think I need a little time to myself.”
“That’s valid. Now, will you be fine?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Great. And just so I don’t feel like I’m a creep because I’m stalking you two all over the ship…”
“You’re stalking us? That’s a bad look for a CEO.”
“Look, I don’t have a phone, okay? Daisy took it away from me so I could ‘relax’. I can’t send you a text.”
“Justice, the ship has a phone system. You can call any room you want. And there’s Todd the Butler.”
He rubbed his face and tried not to smile. “There’s this casino and auction thing tomorrow. Aria is all over my ass about it. It’s for one of her charities. Will you go with me?”
“Is this a date?”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“No, it’s not a fucking date. You’ll know when it’s a fucking date when I send flowers and messenger over a new outfit that I picked out for you, not Todd the Butler, and I send a car and I take you to some place so obscenely expensive and impressive that you wet the panties I just bought for you. Then you’ll know it’s a fucking date, okay?”
I tried very hard and failed at not laughing.
“For fuck’s sake. Casino night. Yes or No?”
“Yes.”
“Is Mackenzie going to wear that little blue dress?”
“I… I think so. I think she only brought one formal dress.”
“Okay, now go.” He stepped aside and put his back to the rail, resting his elbows on top of it.
I started walking away, smiling to myself. My feet slowed, a thought stirring. I walked back to Justice. “Will you be fine?”
“Yes, of course. Go.” He nodded his head in the vague direction of my room.
I turned and walked away, chewing on my lip. Justice had just lied. But not to me. To himself. And I didn’t know what to do with that information.