Chapter 23
twenty-three
ORION
She looks up at me from my bed and I’m struck by how much I like having her there.
I hated the distance between us over the last few days, even though it’s completely understandable. She’s been busy with Sienna and wedding planning. I’ve had sail tours.
The other day might have meant nothing to her, but it meant a hell of a lot to me.
My hands ache for her.
I need to know she’s at least with me part of the way. That these feelings I’m developing aren’t just on my side. It’s not just the sex, but her friendship and her smile and the way she’ll never let me get away with anything.
I need to clear the air. I stand a few feet away from the bed. “You can leave at any time.” I carried her up here and she protested the whole way. But I need her to feel safe.
“I know.”
“If you stay, I won’t be gentle with you.” I can’t be right now.
She presses her thighs together. “I don’t want you to be gentle.”
I step closer and wrench her knees apart. “Good. You want this?”
“Yes,” she breathes as I claim her mouth in a kiss.
I push her onto the bed so my body hovers over hers. Her hands roam down my side. I want to be consumed by her.
She pushes back on me.
“We’re still fighting. This isn’t a truce,” she says.
I understand what she’s thinking. If we’re fighting, then this isn’t a real connection. It’s bullshit, but it’s what I’ll let her believe. She can lie to herself. She can’t lie to me.
“I know. I’m counting on it.” I can’t tell her the truth—that I’ll stop fighting with her at any moment. If all she’ll give me is the fight, then I’ll take it. I’ve never been this desperate with any other woman.
It’ll take time with her. I’ll break her out of her cage.
She kneels on the bed and works me out of my T-shirt. If she notices it’s one of hers, she doesn’t react.
I missed her so much; I’d do anything to feel closer to her.
I yank off her tank and she wiggles out of her sports bra. I run my fingers across the indents it left. Even in this moment, I want to treasure her. But she doesn’t let me linger. She pulls down her leggings. I’m not surprised to find she’s not wearing any underwear.
I swear my mind goes blank, even though I was expecting it.
I pick her up and flip her to her stomach, pressing her into the bed. I reach for her pussy and am delighted to find her wet. “I knew fighting with me gets you horny.”
“Stop messing around, then,” she cries as I press a finger into her and she moans.
“I want to play a game,” I whisper into her ear. “First one to come loses.” I need chaos in bed with her because my feelings are settling.
“That’s not fair to me! If I get you off, what’s to stop you from leaving me high and dry?” she asks, her hips pressing into my erection through my shorts, seeking friction.
I kiss her shoulder. “If I come first, I’ll lick you until you come twice and then my cock should be ready to go again.”
Her pussy clenches around my fingers.
“And if I come first?”
“I’ll make you come again. Either way, you’re coming at least twice.”
I want to rip her open and see her insides. If she won’t let me into her heart, I can at least give her orgasms.
“Deal.” She pushes back with more force and leverages me off her. She’s reaching for my shorts before I can react. “You have condoms, right?” she asks.
I grab one from my nightstand. I stocked up a few days ago, because regardless of what we said, I want this to continue.
She removes my shorts and then takes the condom from me.
“You can’t skip straight to fucking,” I protest. I want to taste her because it’s the best chance I have of winning this game. She comes so easily; it’s really unfair of me to suggest this.
“What are you so afraid of? You think you can’t handle my pussy?”
I groan as she puts the condom on me, her soft hand squeezing me. How does she know exactly how I like it? I don’t know where this version of her came from but I love it. Once I’m sheathed, she leans over the bed, shoving her ass in the air. She’s ready and waiting. I thrust in.
She’s so tight and feels so good. I love that I’m fucking her on my bed—my last sanctuary from her. This is only temporary, but I’ll never get her out of my spaces. She’s invaded my boat and now my bed and I want her to grow her vines into my whole life.
It’s slow, so I don’t notice at first. She lifts her left leg up and presses it against my chest. I realize she’s doing the splits against me, and my cock is buried in her, and she is the sexiest being on the planet.
I’m so lucky I’m the man she’s doing this with.
I kiss her calf and focus on the sounds she is making.
She’s given me easy access to her clit, and I brush it gently, the way she likes it, knowing it won’t take her much to come. She clenches tighter around me as I pump into her.
Fuck, she feels amazing. The challenge is she knows this—she’s going to make me come.
I pull out of her and she falls to the bed without my support. She quickly recovers and flips to her back.
She knows she almost won. But I’m on top of her and inside her again before she has the chance to get the upper hand. I kiss her as if she’s the very air I need to breathe.
The next few minutes pass in a blur. Any advantage I have disappears when she rolls me onto my back and does things with her hips that have pleasure radiating down my spine.
I can’t let this woman go.
I do my best to rub her clit. I’m out of my depths. I use everything I have to get her under me again. I hold her close to me and her hands grip my shoulders. I give the last few thrusts I have. I’m about to lose the game. But as I come, I feel her clench around me and her entire body shakes.
I don’t want to collapse on top of her, but I don’t have any strength left. I pull out and roll to my side.
“What happens with a tie?” she asks, out of breath.
I shake my head. “Multiple orgasms…in a…moment.”
She laughs. “I broke you.”
I get up to remove the condom on shaky legs, and when I return, she’s in bed. I expected her to cut and run. But she hasn’t.
I lie down in bed next to her. She snuggles me and rests her head on my chest.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks.
“Talk about what?”
“Whatever drove you to this?”
You did. You’re the reason I picked a fight. Work was fine. I just need you.
I kiss her forehead. “No. This was enough. Can you stay?” She’s a siren calling to me.
“No, I came home to shower and unwind a moment. We’re doing a girls’ night at the Lucky Oyster.”
I don’t know what that is. I haven’t been to many places besides Paradise.
She lifts away from me and gathers her clothes. Then she picks up my shirt and realizes it’s one of hers. “When did you get this?”
“Recently.” I try to sound cool about it. I could tell her I got it when I visited her office. I did buy a few things that day, but I bought this online. I got it because I needed more of her.
“You should have told me. I’ll give you a discount code.”
“Next time,” I say. “Mostly I bought it so I had an article of clothing you wouldn’t steal.”
“Very funny.” She throws it at me.
I pull it on and find my boxers and shorts. I want her to stay. Or to come back after her night with her friends. I want this to be a thing. Where we have sex and hang out and she sleeps next to me. But she’ll decline in the name of keeping this casual.
While walking downstairs, I notice a slight twinge in my back.
“This was fun,” she says.
“It’s never happening again?”
She hesitates. “I don’t think it should be a regular thing. It’s too complicated for us to be together. We really should stay friends.”
“Sure. That’s a good idea. We’ll be friends.”
I don’t believe her. There is nothing simpler in the world than us being together.