Chapter 33
AUSTIN
Iheld her through every tremor, worshipping the way her body responded to me like it had been made for this moment alone. When the last shiver rolled through her, I pressed gentle kisses to the inside of her thighs.
She melted into the mattress, eyes glazed, lips parted, my name still soft on her tongue.
I crawled back up her body slowly. Every inch I climbed, I memorized the way her skin flushed and her body shuddered beneath me.
By the time my mouth found hers again, I was shaking with need, the taste of her still sweet on my lips.
“Your turn,” Melody whispered, voice husky, her hands already sliding down my chest with intent that made my abs jump. “I want to make you fall apart too.”
I caught her wrists gently, pinning them beside her head. Playful. “Easy, tiger. We’ve got all night and I plan to use every damn minute.”
She pouted, and fuck me, if it wasn’t the cutest thing I’d ever seen. “You’re calling me tiger? That’s rich, coming from the guy who just growled at me.”
I laughed against her neck, nipped at the tendon there. “Valid.” Then I stole another kiss, lingering, slow and deep until she relaxed into me again. “Don’t move.”
I hopped off the bed and went into the bathroom. I knew these hotels and was hoping they didn’t let me down. I jerked open a drawer, and sure enough, a variety of toiletries and little extras, including a three-pack of condoms.
I grabbed all three and returned to the bedroom. She was still sprawled out on top of the blanket, her body all dewy and beautiful.
“Look at you being prepared,” she teased, eyes sparkling.
“Told you, the hotel is used to a certain clientele. The concierge is saving himself the trouble of bringing a box up.”
She laughed all breathy and beautiful.
I tore the foil, rolled the latex down while she watched with those wide eyes.
My hands weren’t entirely steady. Somehow this felt bigger, scarier than the first time I’d stolen second base under the bleachers in high school.
This wasn’t just about scratching an itch.
This was about showing her she mattered. That I saw her.
And I wanted her.
She reached for me, fingers threading through mine, and tugged. “Come here.”
I eased over her, knees nudging her thighs apart. For a second I just hovered, forehead to hers, both of us breathing hard. “You sure?”
“Absolutely,” she said on an exhale. “But take your time, Bancroft. I’m a big girl; I like long rides.”
I couldn’t help the grin that split my face. “God, you’re perfect.”
I lined myself up slowly, watching every flicker across her face. When I slid in the first inch, her eyes fluttered shut, a soft sound escaping her lips. I stilled, giving her body time to adjust, brushing back damp strands of hair from her forehead.
“You okay?”
She rolled her hips in answer, an invitation that sent sparks up my spine. “More.”
I sank into her by degrees, savoring the way she stretched around me, hot and tight, the gasp of my name when I bottomed out. My arms trembled with the effort to keep it slow, but she made it impossible, hips rising to meet every tiny movement, fingernails digging crescents into my ass.
“You feel so good,” I moaned. Words were suddenly elusive.
“Ditto.” She lifted her head to kiss me, tongue sliding along my lower lip deliberately. “Move, Austin. Please.”
So I did. Not the frantic, headboard-banging pace I thought I wanted.
I rocked into her unhurried, every stroke calculated to make her toes curl.
I watched her eyes go unfocused. She arched beneath me, meeting each thrust with a little roll of her hips that had me gritting my teeth.
Sensation wound tight, coiling low in my belly.
Melody’s leg hooked around my waist, urging me deeper. I adjusted the angle just to hear that catch in her breath. “Right there,” she whispered, nails sliding up my spine. “Again.”
I obliged, drive after slow drive, until sweat beaded at my temples and her pulse fluttered wild under my lips.
She was close again. I could feel it in the way her muscles tightened.
The tremble that started in her thighs and rolled up her body like I was riding a wave.
I slipped a hand between us, found where we joined, circled my thumb gently around that sensitive bundle of nerves.
“Come for me once more, baby,” I said, voice like gravel. “I want to feel you.”
Her back bowed beautifully off the mattress and a soft cry escaped her lips. The contractions around me pulled me toward the edge, but I held on, riding through it, kissing her deep until the last pulse faded.
When her eyes opened, blown wide and liquid, she cupped my cheek. Her thumb brushed along my lip, and something in my chest cracked open. She was in ecstasy. I did that. I made her feel like that. It made me feel like I was the king of the world standing on the bow of a massive ship.
I shifted, rolling us so she was on top, legs still straddling me. Surprise flickered in her expression, followed quickly by a mischievous sparkle that told me my feisty influencer was loving being the one in control. “I can work with this,” she said, palms flat on my chest.
I let my hands roam up her thighs to grip her hips, giving her control. “Show me, Melody.”
She sank down slowly on me, biting her lip, eyes locked on mine as she began to move. I groaned, fingers flexing against her skin. She felt like hot silk around me, squeezing in all the right places. She leaned forward, hair falling like a curtain around us, kissing me slowly.
I slid a hand between her breasts, splayed fingers wide. The other moved to knead her gorgeous ass and guide her pace. She set one that built friction fast, whimpers turning into husky moans each time she ground down. The coil tightened. My vision tunneled.
“You feel so fucking good,” I managed, voice breaking. “Absolutely perfect.”
She pinned my wrist to the pillow above my head, surprising me.
Melody changed the angle, rolling instead of bouncing, every roll brushing the spot that had my hips jerking up involuntarily.
My free hand jumped from her hip to her breast, thumb and forefinger finding her nipple and teasing it gently.
Her breath hitched. She sped up, chasing it.
I rocked up to meet her, the rhythm getting sloppy.
“I—I can’t—” My control snapped. The words tore out of me.
Pleasure twisted upward, sharper, faster.
She leaned down and kissed me. It was sloppy and messy and completely out of control.
I tumbled over the edge, groaning her name into her mouth.
She stayed right there, hips rolling lazily until the last tremor left me boneless.
She collapsed forward on my chest. Our breathing was labored. I wrapped my arms around her pillowy softness, holding her close like I had never been so sure of anything in my life.
Eventually she rolled off, flopping to the side. I disposed of the condom and grabbed two chilled bottles from the bar fridge. We drank, still breathing hard, sharing lazy little smiles that felt massive.
And then we climbed under the covers and snuggled close.
“This is nice,” I said quietly.
“Which part?”
“This. Being alone with you. Not being perceived.” I paused, trying to find the right words. “I’ve spent my whole life with people looking at me. Thinking they know me. Making judgments about who I am based on my last name or my reputation or whatever I did last week. It’s exhausting.”
She propped herself up to look at me. “And this is different?”
“This is refreshing. When it’s just us, I don’t have to be Austin Bancroft, the son that disappoints. I’m not the professional screwup my family has to be ashamed of. I can just be me. Whoever that is.”
“I like whoever that is,” she said softly. “For what it’s worth.”
“It’s worth everything.” I pulled her closer, needing her warmth. “What about you? How are you feeling about all this?”
She was quiet for several long seconds. “Confused. Happy. Terrified. All of it at once.”
“That’s fair.”
“I’m not sure what this means, Austin. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
We had rules in place for a reason, and now we’ve gone and broken the biggest one.
” She looked up at me. “Does this mean we’re a real item?
Like, actually dating? Or is this just—I don’t know—a natural conclusion to the arrangement? ”
The vulnerability in her voice made my chest ache.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ve never been good with labels.
Relationships. Defining things.” I ran my fingers through her hair.
“But I know I’d rather be with you than anyone else.
I know that when I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you.
I know that the idea of you with someone else makes me want to put my fist through a wall. ”
“That’s very caveman of you.”
I kissed the top of her head and then grunted, pounding my chest with my other hand. “All I know is this feels right. Real. And I want more of it.”
“More?”
“We should go away somewhere. Just us. Away from New York and my family. Away from the cameras and the gossip and the pressure.”
She sat up slightly. “Go away where?”
“I don’t know yet. Somewhere warm. Somewhere private. Somewhere we can just be together without the rest of the world weighing in.” I was getting excited about the idea now. “You can work from anywhere, can’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts.” I cut her off gently. “Let me take you away. Let me show you what it’s like when it’s just us and no one else’s expectations.” I pulled her back down to me. “I have the perfect idea. But I need to make some calls first.”
“Austin.”
“Trust me. You’ll love it.” I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “But right now, we still have plenty of hours before sunrise. And I’m just getting started showing you all the benefits of breaking the rules.”
“Oh really?”
“Really.” I rolled her beneath me, loving the way she laughed. “I’m very thorough when I put my mind to something.”
“I’m learning that.”
“Good.” I kissed her slowly. “Lesson two begins now.”
“There are lessons?”
“Many lessons. I’m a dedicated teacher.”
She pulled me down for another kiss, and I forgot about everything else.