Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
MERCURY
“Have you ever been to a film premiere?”
We’ve been driving for about an hour, and the country roads are just starting to give way to the narrow streets and historic architecture of Edinburgh. I look out the window, still slightly unable to believe that stuff like this exists.
“Does Brave count? I was ten and insanely upset for months that I wasn’t born with red curly hair.”
“You’re asking me—the soon-to-be earl—whether the animated film about a Scottish woman trying to defy the role she was born to fulfill counts?” He snorts. “Nah.”
“Trying to prove I’m not the only funny one in this relationship?”
His eyes crinkle at the corners. “Maybe I’m just out of practice.”
My pulse quickens as I gather the courage to ask the question I’ve been meaning to ask for a week. “Is that the only thing you’re out of practice at?” His brow furrows in confusion. “I mean—shit.” I mentally smack myself on the forehead.
His expression shifts to keen understanding. “Are you asking how long it’s been since I last had sex?”
I inwardly groan. “Yes, but I realize I could have phrased it differently. Or, you know, just not asked at all. But it’s a fair question, isn’t it? Considering…”
“Considering I know all of your sexual history?”
“You mean my lack of sexual history?”
He gives me a warm smile. “Still, I understand why you would want to know, especially after the photos and Lana’s appearance at the manor.”
“I never looked at the photos,” I blurt out, and he looks genuinely surprised.
“You may be the only one in the world who hasn’t.”
“In the whole world? Doubtful. You think too highly of yourself.”
He snorts out a laugh. “Thanks for keeping me humble.”
“Anytime.” A silence settles between us before I say, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You don’t need to tell me.”
“You didn’t make me uncomfortable, Merc. I’m glad you asked.”
“You are?”
He nods. “If you’re not brave enough to ask someone about their sexual history, it’s probably a sign you’re not ready to sleep with them. There are just certain things you need to know when becoming physical.”
“Is that why you haven’t touched me yet? ’Cause you were waiting for me to be more confident?”
A sly smile spreads across his face. “No, I was just enjoying the sweet agony of watching your anticipation grow with each passing day.”
My breath hitches as my eyes dart to the partition that separates us from the driver. “And now?”
“And now that you’ve waited so patiently—I’m clean, by the way. It’s been over a year since I’ve been with anyone—I think you deserve a reward.”
My mind reels, and my stomach clenches at his seductive, surprising words.
A whole year? “What do you have in mind?” I ask, trying to sound mature, but I’m pretty sure my voice climbs half an octave as his large hand stretches across my thigh.
My strapless black dress has a long slit up the front, and I watch in silent fascination as he slowly pushes the fabric to each side, exposing my bare skin.
“Have you ever made yourself come?”
My cheeks instantly grow warm as I recall all the times I’ve been alone—in the shower, in my dorm, in my apartment—when I’ve slipped my hand between my legs only to—“No,” I finally answer. “I’ve wanted to, but I always felt—”
“Embarrassed?”
I nod.
I have no idea where this embarrassment comes from. I was raised in a very sex-positive household. It’s why I had such strong opinions about the idea of virginity when Ash brought it up, and until that moment, I really believed I’d just been too busy to have sex.
I didn’t think I was holding out for the right person.
Or one very specific person.
“If there’s one thing I teach you, it’s how not to be embarrassed anymore. Soon, you’re going to own this confident, sexy side of yourself, and it’s going to be such a fucking honor to coax it out of you.”
“Is that what you’re doing? Giving me lessons?” I say in a flirty tone.
But his expression is anything but flirty.
In fact, it’s downright feral as he leans into me.
“No, Merc. These are not lessons. I’m not teaching you how to fuck your future husband or boyfriend.
What I’m giving you are memories. Memories so deeply ingrained in your mind that every time you think of me, you’ll remember this.
” He slides his hand between my legs, and I gasp.
“The feel of my hands on you. The knowledge that it was me who gave you your first orgasm, and you’ll remember…
” His fingers skim the delicate fabric of my panties.
They’re already soaked. “That nothing will ever be as good as this.”
I don’t know whether he said that last part to me or to himself, because as he slides my panties to the side, he groans as if he’s enjoying this as much as I am.
“Spread your legs, love. Let me see you.”
Part of me wants to do the exact opposite because revealing the most intimate part of my body to him feels like stepping off a cliff. But maybe it’s the kind of cliff I want to jump off? Like a roller coaster at Six Flags—scary, but also a major rush.
I decide to hike my skirt up a little more, giving myself more leverage, and slowly, as seductively as I can, spread my legs to give him the view he’s dying to see.
I hold my breath, waiting for his reaction.
The man looks riveted. Fucking mesmerized.
I figured that with how many pussies he’s seen in his life, he would regard mine as any other, maybe even be pleasantly pleased, but the way he’s staring at me makes me feel like I have the prettiest damn cunt in the whole world.
And that does all sorts of things to my self-confidence.
“I would love to get down on my knees right now and bury my face between those thighs, but I promised you we’d go slow.”
My mouth falls open. “You would like that?” The men in my romance novels love to go down on their women, and sure, he wrote a song about it, but I figured it was just one of those things women fantasize about but never actually get.
“Fuck yes,” he says, still mesmerized by the sight of me. “But first, you’re going to come on my fingers.”
I might just come from listening to him talk about it. God, his voice is sexy. No wonder he’s made a fortune off it.
He angles my chin so I’m facing him. His pale blue eyes sweep over mine, and then he bends forward, and our lips finally touch. It feels like a lifetime since he kissed me in that lake. Those weeks afterward, I worried I might never feel this again. To feel him again.
He leans forward, distracting me with slow, languid kisses when I feel the first brush of his fingers between my legs.
“Oh,” I gasp, breaking the kiss as a familiar sensation jolts up my spine. It’s the same feeling I get when I read a spicy scene in one of my books or when I catch Asher just out of the shower, still dripping wet in a towel.
Lust.
But this time it’s so much more intense, and he’s barely touched me.
He bends down to kiss the nape of my neck and my collarbone as his fingers explore my body. At first, he moves slowly, as if intent on discovering every inch of me. But when he grazes my clit and I let out a low moan, something in him seems to snap.
“Fucking hell, Merc. That moan. It’s been haunting my bloody dreams,” he groans. “Let’s see if I can make you do it again.”
He uses his index finger to rub a slow circle over the bundle of nerves, and I nearly come undone. My stomach tightens, and my clit throbs. I just need—“More,” I demand.
He grins. “Aye, love.”
He captures my lips and kisses me with the same intensity as his fingers.
He rubs my clit, then shifts, sliding just the tip of his index and ring fingers into my pussy.
I whimper into his mouth as he pushes them deeper.
He pulls them out, and I watch in amazement as he slips those glistening fingers into his mouth and sucks. Oh my god.
It’s so dirty.
It’s so fucking hot.
When he slides them back between my legs and slowly pushes them back in, I feel it deep in my belly. He lets out an appreciative groan as I roll my hips and ride his fingers, loving the sensation of him moving inside me.
His eyes are filled with desire and a kind of wonder as he watches me writhe in ecstasy.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says, kissing me deeply. Then his eyes drift down my body, watching his fingers work my pussy.
He said he was making memories for me to take with me after we part, but I wonder if he might be making memories for himself too.
I start to feel a tingle at the base of my spine. My belly flutters, but the intensity builds and builds. “Oh god,” I cry out, not caring at all if the driver hears me. Because this feeling? It’s the best goddamn thing I’ve ever experienced. “I think I’m gonna—”
My whole body detonates. I think my vision goes white for a minute as I float into another dimension, one where gravity doesn’t exist and time is fluid.
“Holy shit,” I murmur, blinking back to reality.
“You’re a screamer.” Ash grins.
“I screamed?” I don’t remember screaming.
“Like a fucking banshee.” He looks really damn pleased with himself about that fact.
“I had no idea it could be like that,” I say, still slightly bewildered. “I might have taken my sister’s advice and bought a vibrator if I had.”
He runs a finger over my still-sensitive flesh. I involuntarily shudder. “I promise you, what I can offer you is far better than any vibrator.”
I don’t doubt that.
There’s a crackle on the intercom, and then a nervous, awkward-sounding man begins speaking. “Lord Blackstone, uh…I just wanted to let you know we’ve arrived at the restaurant if you’re decent—ready!”
I snort out a laugh as Asher’s expression brightens with mirth. He presses the button and replies, “Can you drive around the block, Ryland? Miss Creed needs a minute to get herself sorted.”
I gape at him. He lifts his shoulders. “The man just heard you scream bloody murder. I had to at least let him know you were alive and well.
“I’m quite sure he knows I’m doing just fine,” I reply with an amused roll of my eyes.
His brow lifts. “Just fine?”
“What? No. I mean—”
He leans forward, capturing my lip and tugging it between his teeth. “Just fine will not do.”
Then he reaches for the intercom button again. “On second thought, Ryland, could you give us a few more minutes? Maybe hop on the motorway or—”
“Consider it done, my lord.”
“Thanks.”
He turns to me, a wicked grin plastered on his face. “Now, let’s see if we can aim for greatness this time, yeah?”