Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Instinct took over. He took the stairs two at a time and reached for Lily.
He didn’t think—he never did when it came to Lily. He bent to kiss her because words had never been his strong suit, and because maybe if he kissed her, he wouldn’t see Caroline’s eyes begging him.
Her lips parted under his like they’d been waiting, warm and yielding, unraveling the last shred of control he had. A hard, claiming kiss, meant to make him forget and to stake his place at the same time.
“Hi,” she whispered when he finally lifted his head, slightly breathless, her arms looped around his neck.
He kissed her again, quick and hungry, until the sound of giggles cut through. Lily broke away, her cheeks blooming as pink as her lips. That shy, gorgeous smile knocked the air out of him.
“Is that your boyfriend, Miss Lily?” a little boy demanded, stuffing his arms into a puffy orange coat with a disgruntled look.
Rush gave him an unrepentant grin. Sorry, boss.
“We’re good friends,” Lily said evasively, shooting him a glance. “Bash, you know Sheriff Callahan.”
“I should hope that’s your girlfriend after that kiss,” Mrs. Solano huffed, rounding the corner. “Now I know why you won’t come to bunco, Sheriff. I wouldn’t let him out of my sight, either, Lily.” She winked at Lily, tugging the boy along. “Come on, Bash. Grandma’s got to make a new plan.”
Bash side-eyed him, skirting around his body like he had cooties, before throwing his arms around Lily’s waist to hug her tightly.
Rush’s smile threatened, but he kept his expression solemn. Hell. He planned to do the same thing the second they were alone.
“See you next rehearsal, buddy,” Lily called after him. “Don’t forget to bring the frankincense.”
When the door shut, silence filled the studio.
Rush’s gaze lingered on Lily’s flushed cheeks then dragged lower.
The skintight black thing she wore hugged her breasts tight, lifting them high, the creamy swells begging for his mouth.
His eyes tracked down to the sheer black skirt and pink tights outlining her hips and long legs—legs he suddenly needed wrapped around him again.
He swallowed a groan as she moved across the room.
The back of her outfit dipped low in the back, leaving a smooth expanse of porcelain skin.
Graceful, feminine, and so goddamn sexy he couldn’t think straight.
All curves and soft lines wrapped up and begging for him to tear her clothing off her body and get his hands on her bare skin.
Last night’s kitchen scene slammed into him—Lily sprawled out on his counter, her thighs spread wide. He hadn’t been able to think straight then either. Clearly, nothing had changed.
“Hey,” she murmured, resting against the door. “That must have been hard,” she said, her eyes too soft and too knowing. “Was that the first time you’ve seen—”
The air in his chest turned thick and suffocating, threatening to choke him. He cut her off fast. “Have you had lunch?” He needed to replace the look in her eyes. Needed to erase it with something else. Something that wouldn’t make him sweat and panic. Something he could control.
“Not yet.” She tipped her head, studying him and apparently choosing to let it go. “I was going to eat now. I don’t have any classes until the afternoon.”
“Good,” he said curtly.
“I’ll just grab my purse.” She flipped the sign in the window to Be Back Soon and brushed past him.
Rush moved to the door, locked it with a decisive click, and hung his coat on the rack.
He followed her down the short hall, his eyes on her round ass. His gaze snagged on another door before they reached her office. It was a small, windowless studio with a barre running the length of the mirrored wall. His pulse kicked hard.
“That’s my private studio,” Lily said, coming up behind him. She flicked the lights on. “I use it for one-on-one lessons or when I want to dance by myself.”
Rush flicked the lights back off. Lily’s eyes lifted to his, widening when she saw his jacket gone.
“Come here,” he ordered, reaching for her hand, his cock already thickening at the thought of drowning out everything else but her.
She flushed prettily, hesitated, then stepped forward into the room. A slow smile tugged at his mouth. Lily liked when he took control. Perfect. He liked giving orders.
“Closer,” he said, firmer, using his body to crowd her toward the barre.
She took another step, then another, until she stood in front of him, tilting her face up, trust he hadn’t earned shining in her eyes.
Two strides and he had her against the mirrored wall with the barre at her back. He breathed her in like oxygen after drowning—her warmth, her calm. She was all soft, sweet woman, so open and pure in her want.
“Give me your wrists, Lily.”
“But—”
“Let go,” he said roughly. “That’s what you said you wanted, isn’t it? To stop being so damn scared.”
Her lips parted, cheeks tinged a deep pink, but she held his eyes steadily. “Yes.”
He curled his hand around her slim, pale neck, his thumb pressing just enough to feel the frantic flutter of her pulse. A few red curls had escaped from her bun, teasing his knuckles as he tilted her head back.
“You’ve played it safe your whole life. Missionary sex on Saturdays.
Birthday blow jobs like a good little girlfriend.
Never let yourself want more. Never let yourself lose control.
” He traced his fingertip along her neckline, dipping into the shadowy valley between her breasts, feeling her body tremble at his touch.
“But you want more than that, don’t you, darlin’? ”
Her chest rose faster, her eyes huge in her face. Finally, she nodded.
“Say it.” He leaned into her, letting her feel his hardness.
“I want more,” she whispered.
He pressed his body flush against hers, letting her feel exactly what more meant.
“You ever been kissed in cuffs?”
Her eyes went huge. “N—no.”
“I think you’d love that,” he growled, turning her until she faced the mirror.
He pushed her slightly forward, guiding her hands to the barre.
He caught her wrists and pressed them there, holding her there easily with one hand.
“You know I could put you in cuffs for real,” he murmured against her ear.
“You ever been fucked in cuffs, Lily?” He scraped her ear lightly with his teeth.
“No,” she whispered, her breathing picking up. She didn’t pull away. If anything, her body arched closer.
Her reflection stared back at them, face sex-flushed, lips parted, eyes wide with something between nerves and excitement. Behind her, he towered over her, a sharp contrast between his dark sheriff uniform and her delicate dancer’s body. A rush of pure, primal lust seared through him.
He bent close to her ear. “I want to protect you and fucking tear you apart at the same time.”
Her breath caught while she stared at him in the mirror.
Rush pressed his palm to her chest. “You have to breathe, Lily,” he ordered.
He tilted her head back to rest against his chest and kissed her. He tasted her slowly at first, coaxing, savoring the sweetness of her response. Her full lower lip trembled before he caught it between his teeth and sucked until she whimpered, melting against him.
“Open that pretty mouth, Lily.” His thumb swept over her lip, and she shivered, parting for him until he saw the flash of her pink tongue and her small white teeth.
It made him crazy, remembering the sounds she’d made last night with his mouth between her thighs—how she’d writhed, begging, until he’d coaxed that sweet release from her right there on his kitchen counter.
He angled her chin up higher and kissed her, deeper, with nothing gentle about it now. He claimed her, demanding she meet him the way he wanted—lips and teeth and tongue, until they were both panting.
His hands skimmed down to her hips, catching the restless grind of her body back against his aching cock. He stilled her with a low growl then rolled forward, pressing the hard length of himself into the curve of her ass.
She gasped, her body jerking against the barre.
Any other man might have backed off or treated her like a lady.
He was sure that fucking ex of hers hadn’t pushed Lily’s boundaries the way he did, but Lily didn’t need polite.
She needed fucking. She was soaking wet for him, grinding back against him like she couldn’t get enough of the way he tested her limits.
That’s what she wanted, and that’s what he could give her.
“Feel that,” he murmured against her ear, tightening his grip to grind against her harder. “That’s what you do to me.”
She whimpered, her hands fluttering at the barre, her body hot and desperate against him.
Every shift dragged her damp heat against him, burning him even through his trousers.
The thin barrier of tights and bodysuit was no match for how wet she was.
He felt her slick warmth, and the knowledge that she was soaking wet made him throb painfully.
One of his hands slid up from her hip to yank her neckline down, freeing both perfect, flushed breasts into his palms. Her nipples were gorgeous, tight in the cool air, begging for his mouth.
“Fucking perfect,” he murmured reverently, pinching the taut, straining peak while he watched in the mirror.
His other hand shoved her top down, dragging her tights and skirt down just far enough to cinch around her thighs, far enough until he could slip his fingers down to her mound and into her soaked cleft.
He circled her clit with the heel of his hand.
“Dripping for me, just from playing with your tits,” he groaned.
Her cry echoed in the studio, and her hips writhed back against him uncontrollably.
He withdrew his hand and stepped up behind her, jerking open his belt and freeing his cock. “You want more?” he rasped, staring at her in the mirror.
Lily bucked backward, her naked breasts bouncing and sending him over the edge. “Yes.”
“Then keep those pretty eyes open,” he growled, lining his cock up with her entrance and pushing into her from behind.
The tights bound her legs together, making her squeeze him even tighter.
He gritted his teeth, his throbbing cock inside her, and held still, letting her adjust to him. “And watch.”
He gave her slow, lazy thrusts, dragging his cock through her slick heat, pulling out almost all the way before sinking back in again. The friction made them both shudder.
The mirror gave him everything—her breasts bouncing with each thrust, her wrists held in his hands at the barre. Her eyes closed, lips parted on a silent moan.
“Eyes open,” he ordered, snapping his hips forward.
One hand found her clit, the other her breast, and he thrust harder.
Her body rocked between his hand and his cock, seesawing until she was on her tiptoes, thrusting back against him hard, taking him deeper, wetter, faster.
The sound of their bodies filled the studio, filthy and hot.
Her reflection was wrecked now. No, not wrecked. Gorgeous—red swollen lips, wild hair tumbling around her shoulders, eyes wide as she met her own gaze. “Watch yourself come.”
Dimly, he wondered if she saw herself the way he did. Strong, stunning. Every inch the woman who took him apart without trying.
“Oh,” she gasped, eyes squeezed closed. “I can’t—I’m going to—”
Her release ripped through her with a shuddering sob, her body clenching so tight he swore. Rush held her steady, playing with her breasts gently until she sagged back against him, spent and trembling.
He kissed her bare shoulder then chased his own release with several deep thrusts before spilling deep inside her with a groan. For a long moment, he stayed curved over her, trying to catch his breath, their sated reflections still staring back.
She sank to the floor, the tights bunched around her knees.
“Oops.” She looked up at him with a shaky smile, eyes glassy with unshed tears. “My legs aren’t working.”
“Fuck, Lily.” His gut twisted. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, laughing as she wiped her cheeks. “Better than okay. I just… need a minute.”
Rush tucked himself back in his pants, guilt roaring in his head. Christ, what the hell had he just done? He’d had plenty of rough sex before but not with someone like Lily. She was too sweet for that depravity. He was horrified at himself.
“Wait here,” he said. He ducked into her office and came back with a water bottle, a towel, and a long cardigan he’d found draped over her chair. She was still sitting against the mirror with her knees against her chest.
He dropped down beside her and tugged her gently into his lap. Carefully, he untangled her tights, pulled them off, then held up the towel with a silent question.
She let her legs fall open, and he used the towel on her tenderly before wrapping her in the sweater and pressing the bottle in her hands. “I’m sorry—” He started to apologize for whatever the fuck that was. “That was—fuck, Lily. I shouldn’t have—”
“That was a first,” she cut him off with a shaky laugh.
His brow furrowed. “First?”
She smiled shyly. “I’ve never had sex at work before.”
He searched her face. “You liked it, then?”
“Loved it.” Her smile widened. “I told you I wanted new. Real. That was both.” She laid her head against his chest and sighed, a happy sound that made his arms tighten around her. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply.
“Still up for lunch?” he asked after a beat.
“Starved. You have to feed me after that,” she said, her lips swollen and as flushed as her nipples, both still damp from his mouth.
He grinned, unable to resist dipping his head to press a quick, hard kiss there. “Let’s go eat,” he said, his equilibrium back in place—for now, anyway.