Chapter 23
twenty-three
Josh
If I thought the last forty-eight hours on the RV away from Kate were pure fucking hell, this—this—is psychological warfare.
We’re the last ones to check in at the hotel, and the guy behind the counter is typing like the sloth from Zootopia is his hero and he has a personal vendetta against my sanity.
I’m so goddamn close to getting Kate alone again I can taste it, but this guy is out here living life in slow motion, like we’ve got all the time in the world and I’m not seconds away from combusting.
Sir. Please. I am begging you. I will personally clean every room in this hotel with a toothbrush if you would just hand over the key and let me take my very hot, very kissable, very fuckable girl upstairs before I lose what little chill I have left.
“Alright,” the man finally says, grabbing two keycards off the stack on top of the counter and swiping them through the computer.
“Your adjoining rooms on floor fourteen—” He holds the keys up and I snatch them out of his hand faster than he can register it happened.
I’m halfway to the elevators when I hear Kate thank him and turn to follow me.
The elevator—which is, of course, made of glass so I still can’t touch her—seems to move at a snail’s pace to our floor and god damn it why does everything in this stupid hotel hate me?
The second the door clicks shut behind us, the air shifts. I toss the keycard onto the nearest surface without looking. I don’t even know what this room looks like. It could be a broom closet for all I care. Kate’s in it with me and we’re finally alone and that’s all that matters.
She opens her mouth like she’s about to say something, but she doesn’t get the chance.
I’ve already got her back pressed against the door and my mouth on hers, kissing her like I’ve been starving for it, because I have been.
Every mile, every minute, every second of waiting has been one giant act of restraint, and I am so fucking done holding back.
I drag my hand up the inside of her thigh before gripping her pussy like I own it—because right now, I do.
“Do you remember what you said?” I growl, biting at her bottom lip before sucking it into my mouth. “That you wanted me to destroy you? Be the sweetest mess I’ve ever made?”
She nods, breathless, pupils blown wide with anticipation.
“Good,” I murmur, scooping her up with both hands under her thighs and walking her toward the bed.
I drop her onto the mattress, and she bounces slightly, her hair fanned out like a fiery halo around her head, lips parted and flushed and goddamn, how is she real?
She looks up at me with that soft, teasing smile that does things to me, and I growl as I strip my shirt off.
“When you need me to stop, you will tell me to stop,” I say, dropping my shirt to the floor.
“Yes,” she says, her breath already coming out in shallow pants.
“Clothes off. Now.”
She sits up slowly and pulls her shirt over her head like she’s in no hurry whatsoever and tosses it to the floor next to mine.
“Trust me Kate, you do not want to test me right now,” I say as my pants hit the floor and I step out of them.
She doesn’t break eye contact as she slowly pulls one strap of her bra down her shoulder.
I smirk, grab her wrist, and flip her effortlessly onto her stomach, earning a breathy laugh that turns into a gasp when I lean my weight onto her back and slide my hand to her hip.
“I know you have no idea what you started,” I whisper in her ear before kissing just below it. “So, I’ll let this little bratty streak of yours slide. For now.”
She laughs when I hook my fingers into the waistband of her leggings and yank them down, kissing the back of her thigh as I grip her hips and pull her up onto her knees.
The bra goes next as I snap it open with one hand and pull it down her arms before tossing it over my shoulder to land who the fuck knows where.
Taking a second, I study her now naked body on the bed. I want to destroy her. Ruin her. Leave her so thoroughly fucked that the only word she remembers is my name. But I also want to savor her. Worship her like the goddess she is while I do it.
“Fuck, Kate,” I mutter, kneeling behind her like she’s my own personal altar. I run my hands up the back of her thighs to her ass and squeeze. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
She tries to look over her shoulder, but I press a hand between her shoulder blades, pressing her back down onto the mattress. “No. You don’t get to watch this time.”
Knowing I can trust her to stay put, I lift my hand from her back and do what I’ve been fantasizing about since the first time I tasted her—I spread her thighs and I feast.
Her hips jerk and her fingers clutch at the sheets while I lick and suck and tease her, grinning against her skin when she moans my name.
“You taste like a fucking dream,” I groan, changing the pace and licking her slower just to watch her writhe. “You’re going to come for me like this, and then I’m flipping you over and doing it all over again.”
And she does—oh, she does—with a choked cry that goes straight to my dick.
I flip her onto her back, climbing over her like a man possessed, trailing kisses up the center of her stomach and savoring every inch of soft skin beneath my tongue.
Her chest rises and falls in shallow breaths as she tries to recover, and I press a kiss between her breasts, then over her heart before moving higher.
Capturing her mouth with mine, I circle her clit with my fingers, and she whimpers, her hips bucking off the mattress.
“Easy, sweetheart,” I whisper against her lips. She gasps my name and claws at my back, and I swear I see stars. I answer with a sharp flick of my fingers that makes her cry out. Her breath hitches, and I feel her thighs tighten around my arm.
Her eyes flutter closed, but I won’t let her hide. Gripping her chin, I growl, “Look at me.” She opens her eyes, and I smile. “Good girl,” I murmur, pressing my fingers inside her.
She moans, loud and unrestrained as I thrust my fingers harder and faster, curling them just right until she’s trembling beneath me, begging me for it through gasped-out sobs. And I don’t stop. Not until she’s coming with my name on her tongue and her back arching off the mattress.
Rising from the bed, I walk to where my suitcase lies on its side just inside the door.
Kate props herself up onto her elbows to watch as I dig through my suitcase to find what I’m looking for.
I stand at the edge of the bed with my prize, a small pink vibrator, resting in the palm of my hand.
Her eyes go wide for a second, but it’s enough to give me pause.
“Am I stopping?”
“No,” she says, licking her lips and moving her eyes from the toy back to mine.
Grabbing her by the hips, I flip her over.
“Ass up, sweetheart,” I say as I lift her hips off the mattress.
When I press the toy against her clit and click it on, she buries her face in the sheets and whimpers.
I wrap one arm around her waist and pull her up so that her back is flush against my chest.
“Still feel like teasing me, Kate?” I growl against her ear as I move the toy in small circles around her clit and slide my free hand up her body to grip her throat—just enough for her to feel it, to know I own her body in this moment. “Still want to play games?”
She tries to answer, but all that comes out is a broken moan, and it’s music to my fucking ears.
“Thought so.”
Keeping a grip on her throat, I don’t let up.
I move the toy in slow circles to keep her right on the edge, trembling and breathless, her body caught in the push and pull of surrender and need.
I want her to remember this moment every time she closes her eyes.
Every time she touches herself. Every time she even thinks about teasing me again.
Her body tenses and when I press the toy against her clit and hold it there, she cries out and her whole body seizes, and I almost come just from watching her. I force myself to hold on as I work her through every twitch and moan and desperate gasp of my name.
“Just like that, baby,” I groan. “Fuck, you’re perfect when you fall apart for me.”
I feel my control start to slip but I fight the need to bury myself inside her, because I don’t want this to end. I want her to come apart again. And again. And again. Until she’s begging me to stop, just like I promised.
I pull the toy away and she whines, a sweet, broken sound that shoots straight through me.
“On your back,” I growl.
She rolls over, eyes on me, lips kiss-swollen, body still trembling, and I swear she’s never looked more beautiful than she does right now.
I waste no time sliding my fingers to her clit, circling with a featherlight touch. She gasps, her hips arching up seeking more, but I don’t give it to her. I tease her in slow, deliberate circles, drinking in every whimper, every tremble, every breathless word she whispers.
“Josh,” she moans.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” I ask, watching her body writhe. “Need something?”
She nods helplessly, eyes fluttering and breath ragged.
“Then you’re going to beg for it.” I press down a little harder, enough to make her squirm. “You’re going to tell me how bad you need me.”
“Fuck—”
I shift, straddling her and replacing my fingers with the head of my cock, sliding it through her slickness without giving her what she wants.
“Tell me,” I growl against her throat. “Tell me what you want.”
“You,” she gasps, hips rolling against me. “I want you, Josh—please.”
I groan at the way she says my name, my control hanging on by a thread, but I’m not giving it up yet. Not until she’s begging like she means it.
“Not good enough,” I grit out, sliding just inside before pulling back out. “If you want my cock, you’re going to be a good girl and beg.”
She whimpers, writhing under me, grabbing at my arms, my back, anything she can reach. “Please, Josh,” she pants. “I need you. Please. Please fuck me.”
There it is. The thread that snaps whatever control I had left. I grab the condom out of my wallet and roll it on before I slide into her with one deep, claiming stroke, and fuck, the way her body fits around me is something straight out of a dream. Like she was made for this.
For me.
I fuck her exactly like I promised. Hard. Unrelenting. A reminder that she started this, that she knew exactly what she was doing when she decided to tease me. Push me. When she told me to destroy her and begged to be ruined.
I move with purpose, with hunger, one hand gripping her hip, the other sliding under her ass to lift her so I can go deeper.
She wraps her legs around my waist and takes it all—every stroke, every curse, every praise I whisper into her skin like a prayer.
Her nails dig into my back and her body clenches tight around me.
“Josh,” she chokes out. “I’m going to…fuck I don’t think I can—”
“I’ve got you,” I promise, never slowing, never breaking the rhythm. “Come for me, sweetheart. Give me one more.”
She shatters again with a cry of my name, her body shaking beneath me. The moment she falls apart, I lose it too, sinking deep as I come with a low, guttural moan, her name the only thing on my lips.
We collapse together, sweat-slicked and panting, hearts racing in time. Her shaking legs are still wrapped around me, and I have absolutely no desire to move because I could die happily right here.
My forehead drops to hers, both of us breathing like we just ran a marathon. Her skin is flushed and damp, her lips parted, her lashes fluttering like she’s caught somewhere between blissed-out and completely obliterated.
“Jesus,” I breathe. “I think I just saw my ancestors.”
She lets out a laugh that turns into a sigh, her fingers tracing lazily down my back like she’s trying to memorize the feel of me. Running her hand up my back again, she brushes her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck, all soft and sweet, and my chest warms.
She’s still catching her breath when I finally ease out of her. I move slowly, my hands skimming over her skin as I lower myself beside her, pulling her into my arms. Her face tucks into my chest and I wrap her up tight.
“You alright, sweetheart?” I murmur, brushing her damp hair back from her forehead and pressing a kiss there.
She nods against me, still a little dazed, her fingers curling into my chest like she needs something to hold on to. I press another kiss to her temple, then her cheek, then the corner of her mouth, soft and slow and gentle.
“You were incredible,” I whisper. “Always so good for me. So goddamn perfect.”
She makes a soft sound—something between a sigh and a hum. I feel it vibrate through both of us, and it lights me up from the inside. Kate isn’t just some body under mine. She’s not just somebody I’m fucking on the tour.
She’s…everything.
My favorite bad decision. My sweetest addiction. The only one who’s ever made destruction feel like worship.
I kiss her again, unhurried and deep and full of every word I’m too afraid to speak out loud. Then I reach for the blanket, tucking it around us, keeping her close as her breathing evens out and her body relaxes fully against mine.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” I whisper into her hair. “Always.”