26. Faith
CHAPTER 26
Faith
I’d been sitting at my desk off and on for the past three hours and had written less than two pages. No matter how hard I tried to force the words onto the screen, my writer’s block had returned, rendering my efforts of stringing words together quite useless. I played through the night at Meemaw’s in my head over and over, desperately trying to force the words to appear.
I couldn’t get past the look on Dante’s face as I pushed past him into the hall the other day. He’d looked pissed and angry and, well… wounded. I needed to get past this if I was going to be able to unravel the story of my fictional Faith and Dante and turn it into my next novel. Steph had pretty much dismissed all my other ideas and was holding out for more of the Dante story. I glared at the blinking cursor on the screen for another full minute, then stood up and slammed down the cover of my laptop.
I whipped my sweatshirt off over my head and tossed it on the bed. Grabbing a long-sleeve T-shirt off a hanger, I threw it on and ran my fingers through my hair. I needed to talk to Dante and move on. Besides, what did I have to lose? People were already gossiping about us.
I grabbed my keys and made my way to the car. Ten minutes later, I turned into the parking lot of Tapped. Here goes nothing. As I pulled open the heavy door, I wondered if I was making a mistake. Too late for that. I stepped inside and walked back to the bar.
“What can I get you?” The bartender towered over the bar. Tall, dark hair, could have been a body double for Dante if it weren’t for the dark brown eyes.
“Is Dante around?” I asked.
“Ah, he had to nick away. Something about an emergency meeting with his group.”
“Are you new?” I couldn’t quite place the accent.
“I’m Oliver. Nice to meet you.” He thrust his hand across the bar.
I took his hand. “Hi. I’m Faith.”
“The one and only, aye?”
“What?” I cocked my head. What was that supposed to mean?
“Nothing.” He let go of my hand and flung a dishtowel over his shoulder. “Can I pour you a pint?”
“No, that’s okay.”
“Chur. He’ll be gutted he missed you. You’ll come back to visit me again, aye?”
I nodded and pushed back from the bar and made a beeline for the door. It was a mistake to come here in the first place. What did I hope to accomplish with this little visit? As I walked back to my car, I noticed a guy heading toward me on the sidewalk. I looked down at the pavement as he passed.
“Faith?”
My head whipped up, and we made eye contact. Those damn eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Dante asked.
“I was looking for you. The bartender said you weren’t around.”
“You must have met Oliver. He’s new. I only catch about half of what he says. I was just on my way back from campus. Come on up.” He made a move toward the staircase leading up to his apartment.
I took a deep breath. Now or never. My feet clattered up the steps behind him.
He led me into the room and set his backpack down on the floor. “Can I get you anything?”
“No, I’m fine.” Being so close to him, I couldn’t breathe.
“What’s up with you? You told me you could handle things. Then you just walk away?”
“I shouldn’t have come.” I backed toward the door.
Dante’s boots clomped across the room, and he slapped a palm to the door next to my head, leaning in and preventing me from leaving. “What do you want, Faith?”
His breath tickled my ear. My nipples tingled. Good question. What did I want from him? Sex. Inspiration for my book. But every time I got near him, my thoughts jumbled, my nerves jangled, and I lost all access to rational judgment.
My hands went to his chest. “I want to try again.”
He traced the line of my cheekbone, and I closed my eyes, breathing in his scent.
“I don’t know what that even means,” Dante whispered, his lips barely brushing my earlobe.
Fisting his shirt in my hands, I pulled him away from the door and toward the couch. “It means I want to feel you.” I nudged him backwards. “Inside me.”
Dante
As I fell back against the cushion, I pulled her down on top of me. I should say no. Tell her to get the hell out and leave me the fuck alone. She’d already invaded my mind. Every night I fell asleep thinking about how she felt underneath me. When I woke up, images of her teasing smile danced across the inside of my eyelids before I opened my eyes. Fuck, I’d jerked off so many times picturing the way she’d bent over in the elevator—I was surprised my cock was still attached.
As Faith’s tongue traced the shell of my ear, my hands slid under her shirt and released the clasp of her bra. She moaned and shifted on my lap. My fingers skimmed over the soft skin of her ribcage.
“So, you want to give it another shot?” I asked.
“Yeah, if you’re up for it.”
I pressed my erection into her crotch. “I’m up for it all right. But we’re going to play by my rules this time.”
She rubbed against me. “What rules?”
My fingers darted underneath the waistband of her jeans. “You don’t spook if I say more than a couple of words to you.”
“Mmm.” Her mouth nestled against my neck.
“And you can’t just walk out on me again. I’m gonna need access to you at least twice a week.”
“But only for sex. Not like hanging out or anything.”
I smiled. “Only for sex. Don’t worry, I won’t try to complicate things by asking you out or something stupid like that.”
“Fine.”
“Should we shake on it?”
“Don’t you think there’s a better way to seal the deal?” Faith reached out to grab for the handle of her bag on the floor.
I dragged it close, and she felt around inside, pulling out a foil packet. I took it from her and ripped it open.
“Wait.” Faith climbed off my lap and knelt down on the floor in front of the couch.
She tugged at my jeans, and I undid the button, then lifted my butt off the couch so she could slide them down my legs. She tossed them over her shoulder, then looked up at me and wrapped a hand around my cock. I sighed and let my head fall to the back of the couch.
She ran her tongue along the underside and took the tip into her mouth. Wet heat surrounded me. A surge shot straight to my dick, and I struggled to regain control. I wasn’t going to let her finish me off this soon. She proceeded to stroke, suck, and lick, and I fought against the tide swelling inside until I couldn’t stand it.
I grabbed the condom from the couch cushion and unrolled it onto my throbbing hard-on. She stepped out of her pants and shirt, and I yanked her down onto my lap, sinking inside her. Lotus Blossom finally achieved.
“So good, Faith. You feel so fucking good.”
She wrapped her legs around me and slid up and down. My mouth searched out any part of her, depositing sloppy wet kisses on her neck, her shoulders, her arms. While her arms wrapped around my neck, I palmed her breasts, squeezing them together and letting my tongue travel the crease where they met. I took one nipple in my mouth and rolled the other between my fingers until they both hardened to points. Then I switched.
She shifted on my lap and picked up the pace. Her breath came faster. Her eyes closed and her legs squeezed around my midsection like a vise.
“I’m close, Dante. Really close.”
I slid further down on the cushion for a better angle.
“Don’t you fucking move,” she ordered, and I shifted back. With her riding me, she was in complete control.
She clenched around me and pushed down while I moved deeper inside her. As she reached her release, she threw her head back, and I rained kisses down on her neck and breasts. She looked so fucking hot. I loved knowing I could do this to her. Miss-Everything’s-Under-Control. With a final thrust, I let myself go.
Sex only. With a side of minimal conversation. Yeah, for sure, I could handle it.