Chapter 9
nine
. . .
The second I accept Lucien’s video call, I burst into giggles.
“You have fun, princess?” he asks, staring at me with eyes full of desire.
“So much fun,” I answer honestly, a warm blush settling on my face. “That was insane.”
“I enjoyed it.”
“That good girl really did something to me.”
“All for you, baby.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” he quietly answers, eyes locked with mine through the screen.
“I’m sorry if it sounds weird.”
“Are you overthinking?”
With a nervous laugh, I nod, briefly hiding my face with my bedsheets.
“No overthinking, princess,” he says, partially teasing yet also reassuring.
Moving the blankets away from my face, I look into his eyes once more. “I tend to do that a lot,” I confess, suddenly feeling a bit vulnerable.
He studies me for a moment, his eyes softening. “Want to talk about it?” he asks.
“Maybe. It’s just become a part of me over the years, I guess.”
“Same,” he reveals.
“You overthink too?”
“Feel like we all kind of do,” he quietly replies, leaning forward, the tension leaving his forehead and jaw. He lowers his head, looking up at me through his lashes. “It’s just a part of being human.”
I've never seen him look quite so vulnerable. Deep in thought, I look away. “Maybe I’m just too sensitive, though,” I say softly.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” he states. “If anyone has ever told you that, they’re dead wrong.”
“Maybe.”
“If I were there right now, I’d hold you against my chest and drill it into your pretty little head.”
A quiet laugh escapes me. “I think it’s a way of having some control over the situation,” I say. “It’s like my brain is trying to protect me.”
“I understand.”
“With you, though, I’ve always felt really comfortable.”
He flashes me a crooked grin. “Yeah?”.
“Yeah. You make me feel safe.”
“You make me feel safe too.”
“I do?”
He nods. “Absolutely. I feel like I can talk to you about anything.”
“I feel the same way about you.”
“You also make me a bit nervous, though,” he says, widening his eyes in a playful manner. “I’m not really used to that.”
I laugh slightly, finally gaining the courage. “So…how many spicy sessions do you have on the books for this weekend? Just out of curiosity. It’s cool if you don’t want to tell me, though,” I babble.
He cocks his head to the side, not taking his gaze away for even a second, and silently observes me.
I take in a small breath.
“When you’re shy or embarrassed, your nose gets red,” he points out. “It’s cute as fuck.”
“Lucien,” I mutter, flustered.
“Zero.”
My stomach drops. I blink. I must’ve heard him wrong. “What?”
“I don’t have any sessions with anyone this weekend,” he reveals.
We gaze into each other’s eyes and remain silent. My heart leaps. I mentally curse the relieved grin that settles on my face.
Shit.
“Is that…normal for you?”
“Nope,” he answers.
“Oh,”
“Are you going to ask me why none are booked?”
I nod.
“I’m not sure,” he admits, panning the camera closer to his face. “Maybe it’s because I canceled all the sessions I had. Blocked off the option on my site too.”
“When did you do that?” I ask, stunned.
“Last night.”
Taking my bottom lip between my teeth, I try to hide my cheeky grin. Why the fuck balls does that make me so happy? I haven’t felt this way in so long.
A knot forms in the pit of my stomach.
Oh, god. Oh, no.
Not the feels!
“I just don’t feel the need to have other calls right now,” he adds in, watching me closely.
“I don’t mean to take up all your time,” I quickly blurt out, stirring in bed. “It could be better spent somewhere else. If anything, I should be paying you now. I’m going to send you money.”
“Nora,” he speaks over me, his eyes narrowed and focused solely on me. “I don’t want you to pay me. I don’t think you’re understanding me, love.”
Swallowing hard, I stare at him with a racing heart. “Sorry. I talk a lot. I’ll shut up now.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t want you to stop talking,” he tells me. “Babble in my ear all day and night. As long as I’m with you, I’m where I want to be.”
Instant butterflies.
“That was insanely adorable,” I say.
“That was corny as hell,” he counters, rolling his eyes. “Sorry about that. Not sure where the fuck that came from.”
“It’s okay. I liked it.”
“Good.”
“Luce?”
He looks at me. “Yeah?”
“I love how we can be so open with each other,” I tell him. “This is the most fun I’ve had in years. I’ve been having a really great time with you.”
His eyes soften again. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. It’s nice to see you smiling more.”
“Are you having fun too?”
“Oh, I’m having a blast.”
With a slight eye roll, I giggle silently, rolling onto my side. “Are you?”
“Fuck yeah. I just helped you come while I was streaming. I don’t think you understand how goddamn hard it was.”
“It must have been hard multitasking,” I point out in agreement.
“Not what I meant, baby.”
My eyes widen, a small gasp escaping me.
He was hard.
When I notice the devious smirk on his face, I laugh shyly, unsure how exactly to respond. My mind is stuck on the idea that he’s hard because of me.
“I’m trying to be respectful here,” he begins, inhaling a short, heavy breath. “It’s become quite challenging, though, if I’m being honest.”
“How so?” I ask, wetting my lips with my tongue.
Lucien groans softly, his gaze now fixated on my mouth as he adjusts himself in his bed. “I wasn’t lying when I told you I don’t act on anything. When it’s on the books, I keep it professional.”
“You’ve been very professional,” I agree.
“Keeping it that way is getting…difficult.”
My heart leaps. “Is that a bad thing?”
“You tell me,” he challenges.
“Two friends having fun. I’m consenting. Are you consenting?”
“Fully,” he states.
“I don’t see anything wrong with that, then.”
“This arrangement between us was for you. I guess I’m taking it pretty seriously.”
“Are you saying that during all the spicy moments we’ve shared, you haven’t… done anything?”
“Besides enjoy it?” He shakes his head. “Not a single thing.”
Oh, wow. He really stuck by his word.
“When’s the last time you’ve been with someone?” I ask.
“Been with?” he echoes, arching a brow.
My pulse quickens. “Been with,” I emphasize slowly.
“It’s been a while,” he reveals, his voice low. “Probably about a year ago.”
With raised brows, I roll onto my back, playing around with different responses in my head. I guess a part of me just figured that he would have girls on speed dial.
“I haven’t really been to any bars or anything recently. Been busy working,” he explains.
“Understandable,” I say.
Silence.
Heart fluttering, I bite my lip.
“Hey, Nora?” he asks. “Would it be crossing a line for me to tell you how often I think about you?”
“Think,” I quietly repeat.
“Yes. Think.”
Suddenly, I feel floaty, a rush of excitement flowing through me.
“Would it be crossing a line for me to tell you I feel the same?”
“Good, because I’m not going to lie to you. I think about you all the fucking time,” he says, urgently. “Every night when I shut my eyes, I imagine how fucking incredible it must feel inside you.”
A throaty breath escapes me.
“I’ve been fantasizing about what you would feel like too,” I confess.
“Fuck,” he moans deeply, and I see his brows furrow close together as his breathing increases. “I want you so bad, Nora. So fucking bad.”
With a relieved gasp, my body trembles.
“You do?” I ask softly, matching his frantic breaths with my own.
“Yes,” he groans. “I need to do something about this. Tell me to stop right now and I will.”
“I don’t want you to stop.”
“Fuck fuck, fuck,” he breathes harder. “I’m throbbing. I’ve never been this hard in my life.”
A warm sensation prickles along my skin, heat spreading between my legs. My thighs instinctively clench tight. I’ve never felt this sense of longing. As someone who has always been so composed, suddenly I’ve become a hot, desperate mess, quivering at the thought of having him inside me.
The sound of my soft moans must take him by surprise.
“Nora?” he holds his phone closer, and the intense expression on his face stirs something in me.
“Where is your hand?” I ask, turning the tables and catching both of us off guard.
“Fuck,” he lets out, barely audible. “My hand is above the blankets. I’ve been trying like hell to resist.”
“Do you want to touch yourself?”
“So fucking bad.”
“Do it.”
The exact moment I hear a relieved yet tortured groan, my stomach tightens.
My mind drifts to the thought of him working his cock in his hand, which is exactly what he’s doing right now.
I can see the slightest movement in the corner of the screen of his arm pulsing, and my pulse instantly quickens, a rush of adrenaline surging through my body.
“Nora, tell me, off the books, is this just one-sided?” he asks, his voice dropping an octave. “Or do you want me as bad as I want you?”
The wetness pooling between my thighs is my answer. “Off the books, Luce, I want you just as bad,” I admit.
“Fuck,” he moans softly, his head rocking back slightly. “Can you be all mine for the night?”
“Yes,” I breathe, my fingertips lightly grazing my clit. “This isn’t our usual roleplay, is it?”
“No. It isn’t. This is real,” he tells me, wholeheartedly. “I want you. I crave you. I haven’t even had you yet, and I’m fucking obsessed.”
Desperation floods through me. This is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I’ve never had this level of attraction to anyone, especially not through the phone. I just want to touch him.
“Where is your toy?”
“My nightstand,” I reveal, already reaching for it in anticipation.
“Is it still charged?”
“Why? Do you want me to use it?” I tease, wriggling my panties down and switching the toy on.
“I do. I really do.”
Slipping the thickness inside me and placing the vibrating nub on my clit, I almost come undone immediately. I’m already at the edge… and he knows.
“Tell me when you’re close,” he instructs firmly. “I’m going to make sure I come with you.”
“Okay,” I whisper breathlessly.
With an arched back, tense legs, and my toes curled, my breathing hitches. I hum quietly, catching a moan in the back of my throat before it has the chance to fully slip out.
“Let me hear them. All of them.”
“Say please.”
“Please,” he breathes.
Right on cue, I moan loudly, unable to hold it back even if I tried.
“Mmm. That’s it. Good girl, baby. More.”
Just knowing that we’re both acting on this together sends an even bigger thrill through me.
Both our phones have panned to the ceiling, but it’s clear we are both focused on the sounds coming from them.
Several whimpers escape me, and my breathing is shallow.
He hums quietly in approval. I don’t think he realizes what his sounds are doing to me.
God, he sounds so fucking hot. His natural tone is already deep enough, but his groans are a whole different story. There’s something so sexy about hearing a man moan. The slightly wet sound I can hear from his side of the call is the cherry on top.
“Luce,” I mutter hastily, “I want to hear you too.”
“Do you?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“At your service,” he groans, no longer holding anything back. “Fuck. Oh, hell. I wish my hand was you.”
Well, hot damn.
Then he lets me hear it all. Every guttural sound. Every moan. Every ragged breath. Tonight, they’re all mine.
Finish him, Nora!
“Oh, fuck, baby,” he says through clenched teeth.
“I’m close,” I eagerly gush out.
“Mmm. That’s my good girl. Let me hear you.”
“So… close…”
“Fuck. Me too. Please come for me,” he exhales sharply.
I’m so caught up in the moment I barely have the chance to realize the camera has panned to my face. I squeeze my eyes shut. Let him see.
“You’re beautiful, Nora. So. Goddamn. Beautiful.”
I can hardly hear him. Crying out in satisfaction, I ride out the highest of highs. My heart drums wildly in my ears. My back bows, my pussy clenches tightly around the toy, and wetness pools onto the sheets under my ass.
“I’m there, baby. Fuck, I’m there,” he bites out through sharp exhales.
Hearing the sounds he makes while finding his release only seems to give me a secondary orgasm, especially considering the toy’s vibrations are still going. I didn’t expect to fall over the edge again so quickly. Hearing his moans and sharp breaths just does something to me.
“You make the prettiest sounds when you come,” he murmurs, breathing hard.
We both remain silent, trying to catch our breaths. Although we’re not together physically, it somehow feels like we are.
“Luce?” I whisper.
He meets my relaxed gaze, giving me his full attention.
“Do you typically catch feelings fast?” I ask.
“Yup. You?”
“Yup.”
“Mmm.”
“And this,” I begin, hesitating, “is all platonic, right?”
“Right,” he murmurs, sleepily.
Even though we’re both making note of what we agreed upon at the start of this arrangement, from the look in his eyes, I wonder if he feels it too.
The spark between us. Undeniable chemistry.
Looking up at the ceiling, I swallow hard.
“Unless,” he says quietly.
Unless…
“What if I don’t want it to be platonic anymore?” I ask.
My heart flutters with anticipation as I wait for him to answer, but he remains silent for too long. Turning back to my phone, ready to meet his eyes, I’m left wondering.
Lucien is already fast asleep.