CHAPTER 33
Sebastian
THE SECOND HALF OF MARCH PASSED IN A BLUR. Before I knew it, it was April, and the temperatures had inched into more manageable territory. I still had to wear a coat every time I left the house, but the wind no longer tried to bite my face off when I walked down the street.
Maya and I continued dating in secret. We planned on telling our friends soon, but we were holding off on telling our families until after the launch event. Her parents were intense about her love life, and she didn’t want that pressure on top of the chaos at work.
We were only two months out from launch. Everything was going smoothly so far, but I was constantly on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. If it weren’t for Maya, I would’ve cracked already.
“Did you see the latest email from the venue?” I asked.
Maya nodded. “About the table settings? I’ll respond.”
It was Wednesday, and we were working out of her living room instead of our shared office at Singh Foods HQ.
We’d been alternating between her penthouse and my brownstone the past few weeks.
It was our sneaky way of combining business and pleasure—we still got plenty done, but we could take quick “breaks” without worrying about someone walking in on us.
However, the emails had been endless today, and it took us another hour to get through them all before we ventured to the kitchen for a snack and a stretch.
“How are you feeling about everything?” Maya asked.
She leaned against the counter, a bowl of strawberries in hand.
Since we were working from home, she was dressed more casually than usual in a pair of shorts and a vintage concert T-shirt.
Her feet were bare, and her hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders.
The sight sent a tendril of warmth through me. This was my favorite part of our new relationship—seeing her comfortable and unguarded and so completely herself.
“Fine,” I said. When she cocked an eyebrow, I amended, somewhat ruefully, “Fine some days, a bit of a mess on others.”
I was trying not to let the pressure get to me.
My father hadn’t mentioned our deal since we signed the contract, and his silence only fueled my overthinking. He was probably biding his time and waiting for me to flame out on my own, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me fail. I refused.
“Sounds normal to me,” Maya reasoned. “Everyone has ups and downs before a big event.”
“Maybe.” I wiped my hands on a napkin and tossed it in the trash. “What about you? How are you feeling?”
I was squeezed by external pressure, but Maya was her own harshest critic.
“Fine some days, a bit of a mess on others,” she said, making me smile.
“For example, I’m happy that everyone we invited RSVP’d yes, but if the venue fucks up the place settings—despite repeated, detailed instructions from me—I will lose it.
And if we don’t win the Gastronomic Event of the Year award, I will definitely lose it because I know the CMO at Whitaker Farms is just waiting for me to—”
“Breathe.” I laughed and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. Once she got started, it took an army to stop her. “Only one of us is allowed to spiral at a time.”
“Sorry.” Maya blushed and set her bowl down. “I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent, but you see? You’re not the only one feeling the pressure, so don’t feel like you have to hold it all in. We can break down together. It’ll be more fun.”
I laughed again even as my chest twinged. I shared more of myself with her than anyone else, but if I trauma dumped on her every time the walls closed in, we’d never get anything done. She had enough on her plate without playing therapist for me.
I told her enough to relieve the worst of my tension and handled the rest on my own.
“How’s your research going?” I switched topics. “Have you found anything yet?”
Maya hadn’t given up on her Pittsburgh theory. It was her pet project when we weren’t working on the launch, but she’d hit a dead end.
“No.” She sighed. “I feel stupid for spending so much time on a hunch, but it’ll keep bugging me until I figure it out. So… I guess I’ll be stupid and continue trying.”
“Let’s make a deal,” I said. “When the launch is done, and you figure out what happened in Pittsburgh, let’s go on the biggest, most indulgent trip we can think of. I’m talking a full month of food, drink, and general debauchery. No work, no emails. Just… fun. And relaxation.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d truly relaxed with no obligations looming over me. I bet Maya couldn’t either.
She smiled. “Deal.” She glanced at the clock, then back at me. “You know, it’s almost the end of the workday, and we haven’t taken a single proper break yet…”
My body tightened at the subtle suggestion running beneath her words, but I didn’t reply as she pushed off the counter to stand in front of me. She hooked her fingers through my belt loops, her chest brushing mine. “I think we deserve one. Don’t you?”
“Do we?” I drawled, my blood heating. There was a noticeable shift in the air, and thoughts of work, my father, and Pittsburgh suddenly seemed light years away. “I didn’t take you for a slacker, Maya.”
“Oh, I’m not.” She smiled again, this time with a devilish gleam in her eyes. “I’m a very hard worker.”
My breath quickened when she undid my belt buckle and pants in one deft motion; it vanished altogether as she sank to her knees and took me in her mouth.
Wet warmth engulfed me. I bit out a rough curse before I braced my hands against the counter, my knuckles white.
Maya was right: she was a hard worker, and she sucked my cock with the same dedication and enthusiasm she reserved for everything else. Lust scorched my veins, and I had to recite the Blackcastle Football Club’s current roster in my head so I didn’t come in seconds like a schoolboy.
“Fuck, sweetheart,” I breathed again when she slowly ran her tongue up my shaft and swirled it around the head. She sucked, her cheeks hollowing, and the sight of her full lips wrapped around my cock was so erotic, it sent shudders down my spine. “You’re so damn gorgeous.”
Maya stared up at me, her eyes soft with desire and adoration as she sucked and licked her way down my length again.
It was her softness that undid me.
Sometimes, I looked at her and couldn’t believe she was mine. I’d waited for her for so long, and I was sure I didn’t deserve her. But now that I had her, the devil himself couldn’t tear me away.
She was mine, always.
And I was hers. Always.
My cock pulsed, growing impossibly harder and thicker. She moaned, her mouth glistening with a mix of saliva and pre-cum as she took me all the way down her throat.
Another shock of pleasure rocketed through me. I uttered a hoarse groan, my head tipping back and my fingers tangling in her hair as she sucked me off in earnest. I kept my other hand on the counter, trying to steady myself as my knees weakened.
The wet, sloppy sounds of her blow job filled the kitchen, and she was so eager to please, so damn into it that her enthusiasm was hotter than anything she physically did—which wasn’t to say she was lacking in that particular department.
The head of my cock hit the back of her throat.
Maya spluttered, her tight passage convulsing around me as she fought her gag reflex.
Her eyes welled with tears, her body visibly tensing, but she kept going.
She grabbed my thighs for leverage, and the sensation of her swallowing every single fucking inch of me was too much.
The leash on my already frayed self-control snapped. “I’m going to come,” I panted. She redoubled her efforts, her needy whimpers vibrating through my entire body. “Fuck. Maya, I—fuck!”
I pulled out at the last possible second.
Thick, hot ropes of cum splashed across her face and lips.
It dribbled down her chin and onto her shirt, but she didn’t seem to notice as she knelt at my feet, mouth open and tongue out.
She waited until I was done before she swallowed an entire mouthful of my cum with a moan.
Jesus fucking Christ. I almost came again from that sound alone.
Fuck gorgeous. She was perfect—made for me in every single way that mattered.
Despite my recent orgasm, my cock was still throbbing, my muscles tight with pent-up lust. I could spend hours slaking our desires, and it wouldn’t be enough. When it came to Maya, I was insatiable.
I reached down and pulled her bottom lip down with my thumb.
“Look at you,” I said softly. “Did you like that? Did you like drinking up my cum like a good little slut?”
She nodded, her eyes flaring with renewed desire at my words. Her nipples were so hard I saw them poking through her shirt.
“Good.” I dragged my cock down her cheek and across her chin, coating it with the leftover cum.
A dark blush stained her cheeks when she realized what I was doing, but she didn’t protest when I nudged the tip of my freshly cum-covered cock against her mouth.
Her lips parted and wrapped eagerly around me once more.
“Clean me off. It’s not polite to leave a mess after you’re done eating. ”
Maya shivered. She obeyed, making hungry little noises as she licked my cock clean like it was the world’s filthiest creamsicle. By the time she was done, there wasn’t a speck of cum in sight, and I was rock hard again.
She sat back, her face so proud it made me laugh, but she squealed a second later when I picked her up and carried her over to the breakfast table. It was tucked into the corner of the kitchen and smaller than the formal dining table in the other room, but it’d do.
“What are you doing?” She watched, her voice laced with both anticipation and apprehension, as I left her on the table to gather what I needed from the rest of the kitchen.