Chapter 31
thirty-one
. . .
Ceci
Aidan’s camera clicks into focus, and I breathe a sigh of relief at his picture. He’s in Winnipeg and then heading to Edmonton and Calgary before coming back to the East Coast.
“Hey, you,” I murmur, the computer’s internal microphone picking up the words.
“Hey.” He gives me a tired smile, tucking one hand behind his head. The angle makes his bicep pop beneath the sleeve of his T-shirt, and I allow myself to ogle for a bit. “How was your night?”
“Good. I had dinner with Colt, and we talked about the new project he’s starting. He needs some help.”
He frowns.
“Colt and I are just friends,” I add quickly. “There’s nothing between us. Never has been, never will be.”
“No, I know. I trust you. Are you helping him with the new project? Will it take away from the helmet program?”
Oh.
“Not at all. I’ll take a look at the code he’s written, but this isn’t a full-time gig. Or even a part-time gig.”
I do some consulting on the side, and I’ll always help out my bestie, but I’m not in the market for another project.
Well. Maybe.
I hate to admit it, but I am getting a bit bored with the helmets.
The hard part is done, at least on my end.
I still have to monitor the data to make sure nothing gets corrupted once we proceed, and that it stays in working order.
If I have to write a patch or tweak some of the receivers, I can do that in a few hours.
The project isn’t over, not by a long shot. But it’s in a steady state.
And I’m bored.
“I had an idea,” I say to change the subject.
“Oh?” Aidan’s eyebrow arches into his hairline.
“I tucked a little something into your suitcase.”
He frowns, skepticism lining his features.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t take anything out. And it’s nothing that would get you in trouble with customs.”
Heaving himself off the bed with a tired groan, Aidan plods across the room, taking his laptop with him. I’m treated to a dizzying tour of the hotel room as he opens his suitcase and rummages through it.
“Underneath the toiletry bag.”
I hear his soft oh of surprise through the camera. He’s found the toy I left for him.
“What’s this for?” He moves back to the bed, and I close my eyes for a few moments until I can be sure he’s settled.
“Well, we’re apart for the better part of a week,” I rationalize. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t be together. And I thought… well, maybe it will take some of the pressure off.”
He’s gotten me off with his mouth, his fingers, and toys, and most of the time he lets me return the favor, but some nights he simply isn’t interested in reciprocation. It leaves me feeling like I’m letting him down, even though he swears he’s happy with the way things are.
Aidan stares at me for so long, I think the video’s frozen. But no—his chest is rising, and his eyes are moving beneath heavy lids.
“You did this?”
Suddenly overcome by nerves, I swallow. “Yeah. Did I cross a line?”
He lets out a shaky breath. “Not at all.”
“You’re not upset?”
“I want you to take off your clothes,” he says instead. “Let me see you.”
It’s nerve-racking to do this in full daylight, knowing he can see all of me. I’ve been bared to him before, in his bed, but now he’s asking me to put on a show. To tease him.
I push the laptop to his side of the bed, then undo the first button on my blouse. My eyes dart to his through the screen.
“Keep going.” His voice is rough with lust. Gravelly.
There’s no need to rush, I tell myself. Turning one shoulder in his direction, I push the satin fabric down my arm, giving him a teasing view of my bra and the swell of my breast.
“Ceci,” he murmurs.
“Yeah?”
“I wish I were there.”
“What would you do?”
“I’d dip my head to taste your skin. Suck on your neck until a bruise blooms, marking you. Claiming you.”
A bolt of heat runs through me. “And?”
“I’d kiss my way down your body, tasting you, memorizing your scent. Kiss each and every mark and scar. I’d show you exactly how crazy you drive me. How much I want you.”
I believe him. I really do.
Stripping off my blouse, I exhale heavily, and he makes a low groan of appreciation deep in his throat.
“Keep going.”
My fingers dance at the edge of my bra. “And?”
“And show me those tits. Show me you,” Aidan says.
“Only if you do the same.”
My eyes are trained on the computer screen as he unceremoniously whips off his T-shirt. His strong shoulders, broad chest, and muscular arms make my mouth water, and I want to run my fingers through the smattering of ginger hair on his pecs.
“You’re so sexy,” I murmur as I unhook my bra, letting the lace fall away.
Aidan shakes his head, a blush staining his cheeks and traveling down his neck and chest. “That’s all you.”
“Agree to disagree.”
I move the laptop and shimmy off the bed until I’m standing, then reach for the waistband of my slacks. Without belaboring it, I let the fabric pool at my feet and hook my thumbs in my undies. The lace slips off my hips to join my pants, and I crawl onto the bed on my hands and knees.
On the other end of the video chat, Aidan has removed his sweats and is slowly stroking his cock, eyes glued to me. The camera angle lets me see him from head to mid-thigh, and it takes some positioning for me to find the right setup on my end.
“Pick up your lube,” I tell him.
He lets out an amused snort as he does so. “Now what?” he teases.
“Slick your hand and pour some into the toy.”
He’s shown me his box of sex toys—the ones he keeps in the nightstand drawer and the second collection for the shower—and I did my best to find something I thought he’d like.
A pocket pussy with a bonus vibrator? Yes, please. Almost makes me wish I had a cock of my own to play with it.
Instead, I’ve got a vibrating dildo all to myself. As he’s preparing his toy, I get mine ready, spreading lube over the silicone and my fingers.
Aidan stares at me, eyelids heavy. “Show me what you’re doing.”
Moving my leg, I put myself on display for him. His lust-drenched groan sends a bolt of heat through me.
“Touch yourself,” he murmurs.
“Only if you do the same.”
As my fingers delve between my legs, he strokes his cock from root to tip and back down again.
“Ceci.”
The gravel in his voice hits me in my core.
I slip a finger inside me, working the lube around.
Sometimes I need more help than others, but it has nothing to do with attraction or desire.
I want him, plain and simple. There’s no doubt in my mind how much I want him. My body just has to get on board.
As I watch, he takes the silicone pussy and places it over the tip of his cock. He doesn’t slam home. No, he teases his cockhead, working it over his tip. The soft sighs he lets out prove I made the right call.
I want to bring him pleasure. And if he’s not ready for P-in-V, we can still be intimate in other ways.
Adding a second finger, I let myself indulge in the sensations. Pleasure floods my veins, and I allow myself to have this, to free-fall into the sensations.
Finally warmed up, I reach for the dildo, teasing it up and down my slit.
“Do it,” Aidan says hoarsely. “Let me see you fuck yourself.”
I let my legs fall open, spreading them farther as I line up the silicone with my entrance. The toy breaches me, and everything in my mind quiets. The only sound in the room is my harsh breathing and the pained sounds coming from my laptop speakers.
When I finally take it all, the flared base resting against my cunt, I flick a button on the bottom to turn on the vibration.
“Oh…” I arch my back as the sensations flow through me.
I hear a quiet grunt, and I force my gaze back to the screen. Aidan’s slipped the rest of the toy over his length, and I watch as he moves the silicone up and down his cock.
“There’s a button,” I gasp out as I press the one on mine to change the speed. “Underneath.”
His eyebrow arches, and his grip shifts around the pocket pussy. “A button?”
“Just trust me.”
He grunts, and I know the moment he’s found it, because his eyes roll back into his head.
“Holy fuck,” he pants.
“Good?”
“Holy fucking shit.”
I cough out a laugh. “I’m glad you like it.”
Aidan strokes the toy over his cock. “I like you.”
My heart melts, even as the tension inside me coils tighter. “I—”
“I know,” he murmurs, voice hoarse. “You don’t have to say it. I already know.”
The distance between us stretches farther than ever, but I’ve never felt closer to him. The miles don’t matter when we have the kind of connection we share.
And as I work the dildo inside me, I let myself imagine that he’s here beside me. His scent on the sheets surrounds me in a comforting embrace. A piece of him is with me even while he’s on the other side of the continent.
“Ceci.” My name is a lust-drunk groan on his lips. He’s working his cock faster, fucking into the silicone pussy. “I need you.”
“Show me.”
He grunts, then pulls the toy off his cock and tosses it aside.
His hand wraps around his length, and all it takes is two strokes, maybe three, before he’s coming, his release splashing onto his abs in thick white spurts.
Aidan milks his cock until he’s sated, and then he sags against the mattress, staring at me through heavy eyelids.
It doesn’t take much longer for me to tip over the edge either. As the pleasure hits and I clench around the silicone buried deep inside me, I gaze back at him, at the pure want on his face.
The ecstasy eventually fades, and I pull out the toy, switch it off, and toss it to the side. Then I curl up with his throw blanket, pulling my laptop closer.
“I miss you,” I admit.
It doesn’t make me less than for admitting it. For volunteering it.
Aidan’s face falls, and his mouth twists into a frown. “I miss you too.”
“Only a few more days.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promises.
“Score some goals for me?” I tease, trying to shake the vulnerability clinging to my heart like a second skin.
“Just for you.” He yawns. “I need to go get cleaned up.”
“Of course. Me too.”
I don’t want to get up, though. Not if it means our time together tonight is over.
“I’ll text you in the morning,” Aidan says. “Not too early. Probably closer to lunchtime for you.”
My tired smile is tremulous. “Sounds good.”
His face softens. “Have a good night, Ceci. Sweet dreams.”
Little does he know, I’ll be dreaming of him.