24. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
KINSLEY
I t’s getting late, and we should head home, but as I catch my breath, I can’t help but regard Ethan. As I admire his gorgeous face and fit body again, a wave of heat washes over me, obliterating all logic.
Without thinking, I unfasten the top button of my dress, desperate to cool down. Rookie mistake for somebody who can’t remember how many glasses of wine she’s had tonight.
Ethan’s eyes turn to saucers. “Umm.” He lets the word hum on his lips before clearing his throat and trying again. “You do realize what you’re doing, right?”
I tuck my chin, following his gaze. That’s when it hits me that I did not , in fact, unfasten the top of my dress. I did that hours ago. I did, however, unfasten the second and maybe even third button. I can’t tell because I refuse to acknowledge my little blunder.
“It’s really hot in here,” I say, and it’s the truth. “You don’t have to look.”
“How the hell do I not look?” his voice rumbles with a ferocity so strong I can feel it in my traitorous lady parts.
“You can close your eyes.” I blink back boldly.
He shifts subtly next to me on the couch, his posture tense and his chin lifted, as if he’s really forcing himself not to look down again. “Do you want me to close my eyes?”
Of course I don’t want him to close his eyes. I want him to look. Hell, at this point, I want him to touch. Somewhere in the back part of my brain, where the wine hasn’t drowned all logic yet, I realize how dangerous this is, but I don’t care enough to turn away. Instead, I rotate toward him, incentivizing him to take a peek, and say in the best bluffing voice I can manage, “You should want to close your eyes.”
Ethan lets out a low growl that makes my insides ignite. He takes a few deep, audible breaths, like he’s grasping for control, but his eyes liquefy with pure desire. “Do you want me to close my eyes?”
The repeated question is a reality check. This is not casual flirting. Nothing about tonight has been remotely close to casual. With a long breath in, I try to collect my thoughts, but the only thing running through my mind at this very moment is how badly I want Ethan to touch me. Anywhere and everywhere.
As much as I want to blame it on the wine, these thoughts have been swamping me since he kissed me at the bar. But this won’t come without consequence. Touching will lead to kissing; kissing will lead to sex. And I can’t afford to have a one-night stand with Ethan. He isn’t the kind of man I can sneak away from in the middle of the night and never see again.
Then again, Tessa leaves in a few days. Any awkwardness that might ensue is likely to disappear once she’s on that plane and Ethan and I can stop pretending and go our separate ways. There’s a real possibility that we might never have to think about this again.
I’m thinking too hard about all of this. Maybe, if I just let him look…
Embracing the temptation, I grasp the neckline of my dress and slowly drag the material down my left shoulder. It doesn’t go far, but the entire left side of my breast becomes visible behind a thin lace bra.
“No,” I finally say, matter-of-factly. “I don’t want you to look away.”
Ethan doesn’t immediately look down like I want him too, but he does inch himself closer to me, turning so his knees touch mine. Without shifting his gaze from my face, he draws his hands up and unfastens the button in the middle of my chest. When it comes loose, he slips the material down my other shoulder.
My pulse quickens, and my stomach flutters as the pads of his fingers brush against my bare skin.
Only then does Ethan finally allow himself to look at my exposed skin. “Kinz,” he growls.
Heat spirals inside me, flooding me with arousal. “I know this is a bad idea, but I really want you to touch me,” I say, my voice reedy and desperate.
“If I touch you now, I might not be able to control myself.”
Heat pools in my belly, and my chest rises sharply. “Is that a promise?”
Groaning, he angles forward. His lips crash into mine. He kisses me reverently, like he’s been starving for my mouth. With one hand, he cradles the back of my head and pulls me in closer. It’s both forceful and gentle. With the other hand, he cups my breast, stroking my nipple through the lace of my bra with his thumb. His touch is light at first, as if he’s testing the waters, but the softness of it makes me ache for more.
I arch my back in response, which causes his grip to tighten.
“Ethan.” I moan and nip at his lip.
He takes this as a sign to remove my belt. I lean back, panting, as he hastily unclasps it and pulls it from around my waist. Then, as if reading my mind, he unfastens the last few buttons and spreads the denim dress wide open.
“Dammit, Kinzie,” he chokes out.
His words buzz through me like a lightning bolt, and all reservations disappear. I want this man. I want to feel his hands and his mouth all over me. I want to feel him pulse deep within my core.
Standing, I let the dress fall from my body. I’ll deal with the aftermath later. Tonight, it’s just him and me. No past. No future. Just here and now.
I straddle him and lower myself so I’m flush against the growing erection beneath his jeans.
With a tortured groan, he leans forward, tilts my head, and kisses my neck. He works his way down to my shoulder while his warm hands work their way up, roaming every inch of my flesh until they meet my heavy breasts. He wastes no time working his fingers beneath the lace, dragging the material down so my nipples are exposed.
Then his lips are there, alternating between them, pulling and nipping, lavishing them with attention like he knows this might be the only chance he gets.
I toss my head back, relishing the sensation. While I’ve had good sex before, I’ve never experienced anything like this, the way this man is drawing out so much pleasure from just my breasts alone.
He grazes his teeth across one sensitive peak, sending a shock wave of bliss up my body and pulling a moan from deep inside me. Finally, as if he knows the sensations are almost too much to bear, he trails a finger down my stomach. When he gets to the waistband of my panties, he pauses.
“Don’t you dare stop,” I say.
He growls a predatory sound. “Oh, I’m not stopping. We’re just getting started. I’m just debating whether I want these to stay on or if they should come off.” He rubs his thumb against the thin strip of fabric between my legs.
My thigh muscles tighten at his touch. I press into him, showing him how much I like it. “If mine come off, so do yours.”
I grasp the hem of his shirt and yank it off over his head. Then, rather than allowing myself time to admire his solid chest and the grooves between his abdominal muscles, I undo his belt. At my administration, his erection pulses. I make haste and slide one hand up and down against the thick material, refamiliarizing myself with the length and girth of his cock.
Tossing his head back, he lets out a guttural moan.
I sink lower, desperately searching for friction, but as I do, Ethan is suddenly standing, breathless, pulling me with him. For a second, I think he’s going to tell me to stop, that we’re going too far, too fast. That he can’t do this.
Instead, he sets me on the floor and takes a step back. “Take them off,” he demands.
I obey, slipping my panties down my legs. On a normal day, such domineering behavior is a turnoff. Today, though, the possessiveness in Ethan’s voice makes me hungry for more.
As soon as they hit the floor, I step out of them. “Your turn,” I say.
He wastes no time removing his jeans, then he slips his thumbs into the waistband of his boxer briefs. With steely eyes, he says, “No regrets, do you understand me? We stop when you want to stop, but absolutely no regrets.”
“What if I don’t want to stop?” I ask, inching my way closer to him. I press my palms to his bare chest and feel my way down his torso until I reach his waist. He’s taller than me by at least half a foot, so his penis presses against my stomach when I step up even closer.
“Then we don’t stop.” He turns me around and unclasps my bra.
It falls to the floor, and his boxers follow right behind. Then he’s pulling me with him to the carpet, laying me flat on my back, bending my knees and exploring every inch of me with his hands and his mouth.
When his fingers brush against the inside of my thighs and across my wet folds, my breath catches, and a throng of electric currents soar through my limbs.
“Stay with me,” he growls when he finally dips two fingers inside me.
The pressure, combined with his words, makes my legs clench tight.
In response, he lets out a low, feral noise unlike anything I’ve ever heard from him.
“More. I want more,” I say, lost in sensation as he pumps his fingers in and out of me. Quicker and deeper. Then his mouth finds my clit, and he’s tasting me with his tongue, turning my insides into liquid fire.
I’m panting. Pulling his hair. Digging my nails into his skin.
“Stay with me,” he growls against my core.
That’s all it takes. Those words, that voice, trigger uncontrollable waves to wash over me. An explosion of whites and yellows and oranges flashes behind my eyelids. A vision of a sunrise and the smell of saltwater sweep through me. I grip at his arms and buck against him, riding it out until my face buzzes and tingles and hums.
“Holy fuck,” Ethan says, as if he’s the one who just experienced the best damn orgasm of his life. He inches up to get a better look at me, but he keeps his fingers there, massaging my folds, as I drift back to earth.
“I want you inside me,” I gasp, still catching my breath. Dragging my hands down his glistening abs, I revel in the way his muscles twitch. I grasp his erection and pump the length of him, watching the way he rolls his neck in pleasure.
He shakes his head. “I don’t have a condom.”
Instant disappointment washes over me. I want him inside me. My core is pulsing with hunger. But I’ve never had unprotected sex before. Not the first time we made love, and never in the decade since. Not even with Jay.
Ethan’s face falls, and he begins to pull his fingers away from my center.
I reach out and hold his hand steady. “I’m good.” My words are rushed. “I haven’t had sex in a very long time.” I’ve been depriving myself of all things penis, but he doesn’t need to know that.
Hovering over me, he places a kiss on my breast and rubs circles over my clit. “I just had my physical. I’m good too. But…” He lifts his head and regards me, his eyes still molten.
I want to say it. That I can’t get pregnant. But now is not the time to confess that secret.
“Are you on birth control?” he asks.
With a thick swallow, I say, “We’re covered.”
He gives me a curious look, but he doesn’t inquire further. Instead, he laps at one peaked nipple, the move sending a shiver down my body.
“Please,” I breathe out. “I want another orgasm.”
With a grunt, Ethan slides his hand onto mine so we’re both holding his cock. “I might not last long. Watching you come…” His voice trails off as we stroke his shaft.
“I don’t care how long it lasts so long as you get inside me right now,” I moan, drawing small circles across my own clit with my other hand. “Or I’m doing this by myself.”
“God dammit, Kinzie.” With a growl, he presses into me. He’s gentle at first, gliding into my wet pussy, inch by delicious inch.
My body stretches to accommodate as he fills me.
“Yes,” I cry out, slamming my eyes shut. There’s just so much of him, and the connection feels unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Desperate for all of him, I buck my hips up.
“Slow down.” Ethan places a palm on my lower abdomen, forcing me to stop. “I need a second.” I open my eyes and catch sight of the strain in his neck, the tortured expression on his face.
“You have no idea how hard I’m holding back right now. Fuck. I’m afraid I’m going to embarrass myself.”
“So this,” I push against him, forcing him deeper inside me, “doesn’t help?”
His cock pulses in response.
“You think this is funny?” he growls.
“I might be getting a bit of satisfaction watching you try to control yourself while you’re inside me.” I grind against him again. This time, his hard length bottoms out.
“ Oh ,” I breathe as an electric current pierces me.
“Dammit, Kinz,” he says again, grasping my thighs. “You better fucking hold on.” And with that, Ethan turns primal. He pulls back quickly and thrusts forward again and again, each time harder and deeper than the last. Rotating his hips, he grinds against my clit.
My entire body screams for more as I lose myself in him, in the feel of his body.
I clutch at his forearms, my nails biting into his flesh as I pant and moan and call his name.
He kisses me, licking into my mouth, tasting me as I taste him.
“Kinzie,” Ethan huffs. “I’m going to touch you—”
The mere thought of his fingers finding my clit again, the sound of his voice, sends me into a fevered frenzy. My body tenses, and a second wave of spasms overtakes me, sending me straight over the edge.
“Mmm.” Ethan pumps into me two more times, and then his body goes rigid above me. It contracts and pulses, and his warm release fills me.