Chapter 26
I plunged my rubber-gloved hands into the suds, wincing.
The hot, steaming water didn’t have an ounce of cold.
I needed to feel pain because it was the only thing that was stopping me from losing it.
Still, tears pricked my eyes as I swiped at plates and scoured pots.
Stop being ridiculous! I thought, scrubbing the cutlery with tears of pain and anger trickling from my eyes. I dumped it in the rack with a clatter.
Mitch walked into the kitchen, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him grab a tea towel from the handle of the stove. I twisted my head away, so he didn’t see my face.
‘You don’t have to. You cooked,’ I muttered.
‘I want to.’
He stood way too close to me for comfort, and, irritated, I threw a cup onto the rack where it slid precariously off the top of a steaming plate.
‘Whoa, careful!’ he said, grabbing it. ‘Ouch, that’s really hot!’ He dipped a finger in the water and flinched further. ‘You need some cold in there.’ He reached over to turn the tap on, but I batted his hand away.
‘Leave it!’ I growled.
Mitch paused, and I could sense him peering at me. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine.’
‘You don’t seem fine.’
I gritted my teeth, ‘Well I am!’
About to plunge my rubber-gloved hands into the boiling water again, Mitch grabbed my wrists. He turned me to face him, and his mouth was set in a firm line. Breathing heavily, I attempted to wrench away, but he was too strong.
‘Let me see.’ He carefully peeled off one glove, then another to reveal my bright pink hands, and I blinked back tears of pain. But it was nothing like how I was feeling inside. In fact, I welcomed it.
‘Are you a masochist? What did you do that for?’
‘Let me go,’ I gasped, trying to get away from him and not wanting him to see how badly I was crumbling.
‘No, Prim, I won’t,’ he said, his hands gripping my shoulders like clamps. ‘Not until you tell me what’s going on.’
‘Nothing’s going on,’ I said in a pinched voice.
‘Primrose…’ The pitying tone in Mitch’s voice got right under my skin and jabbed the special button reserved just for him. The one that made me want to melt and fly into a rage.
‘Fuck off, Mitch.’
His eyebrows raised. ‘Wow, what’s got into you? Time of the month?’ His cocky attitude goaded me even more.
‘Go away.’ Flattening my hands against his chest, I pushed him.
But it was like trying to move a brick wall.
He grinned, clearly enjoying making me struggle, and my last thread of sanity snapped.
I pummelled his chest with my stinging fists.
‘I hate you. I want you to die!’ I gasped, trying to hurt him as much as he’d hurt me. But Mitch didn’t seem affected at all.
‘How, Primrose,’ he said calmly, ‘tell me how you want me to die.’
‘I-I want to push you into the road so you get hit by a bus!’ I cried frantically. ‘So it runs you over and… and your head is squashed like a melon!’
I looked up to see Mitch’s lips curving, and I itched to slap him. I was about to, but he grabbed my wrist.
‘You don’t mean that,’ he said in a low, ominous tone, his gaze pinning me to the spot.
‘I do, I do,’ I moaned, ‘I hate you so much.’
I wrenched my wrist away from him and sank to my knees at his feet, all the fight going out of me. ‘I really, really hate you,’ I whispered.
Mitch stood over me like a mountain. Tall, solid, and impassable.
‘Well, that’s a shame,’ he said, his deep voice floating down to me as I curled over on the floor, my gut spasming violently. ‘Because I’m crazy about you.’
Somehow his words (inconceivable words!) penetrated the red fog in my brain and crystallised like a hard white diamond.
I peered up at him blearily through a mess of hair and tears. ‘What?’
‘I’m crazy about you,’ he repeated. ‘That’s what I’m going to tell Mia tomorrow. When I quit Suite Noir.’
I pushed a chunk of hair out of my eyes as my heart jolted with delight. But still, I couldn’t quite believe it.
‘You’re lying,’ I said suspiciously. I crawled over to the drawers where I kept the plates, and hauled myself up, using them like a ladder.
Mitch leaned against the oven, watching me carefully as if I might go off at him again.
‘It’s true. It started at my interview when I saw you sitting there in your tight little skirt, typing away busily on your laptop about my performance.
’ He chuckled. ‘Maybe it was because I’d had a few workplace encounters, but your whole secretary vibe was really doing it for me. ’
I blew out a breath. ‘Seriously?’
He nodded. ‘And then, when I caught you moaning my name with Richie, I thought, Fuck, she's ridiculously hot, and she seems to like me too. This is going to be a problem. I tried to keep my distance, but at the photoshoot… well, yeah, that was sexy as hell. I fell for you pretty badly, and even more so after our practice session. But you’re such a cool cucumber; you didn’t give anything away.
I thought you might think of me as just one of the guys. So I knew I had to play it carefully.’
‘Is that why you wanted to stay here?’ I said quickly, still not completely believing this. ‘To play me?’
Mitch shook his head. ‘Of course not. That was completely unplanned. I didn’t hire Shoshana to rip me to shreds!
But I didn’t want her; I wanted you. Badly.
So I jumped at the chance to stay. And then, of course, as well as that gorgeous, sexy side of you that you keep locked away, I discovered how lovely and kind and caring you are too, and I was a goner.
I hoped you wanted me. I thought you might.
But I wasn’t sure. Then last night, when you asked me to make love to you, I knew something was going on.
But you ran off before I could probe further. ’
‘B-But why did you say all that stuff in the lounge? About going back to Suite Noir—’
‘It was bullshit,’ he said, ‘to rile you up. When I told you I was going back to work, you looked like you wanted to murder me, and your cat had died. So I knew you pretty much felt the same way I did. You just weren’t admitting it.’
He looked at me, a guileless expression on his face, and I knew he wasn’t lying. It had been a typical Mitch move, a well-planned execution to bring me to my knees. And oh God, he literally had!
I stared back, my heart pounding in my ears, unable to speak. Mitch inched closer to me, holding my gaze, and my breathing came out in shallow pants as I grasped the magnitude of what this meant.
‘You attract and frustrate me in equal measure,’ he said huskily, ‘but I don’t want anyone else. Just you.’ He kissed the top of my head and tucked me into a warm embrace.
I relaxed into his arms with a soft sigh, feeling like I’d somehow been reborn in this kitchen. ‘Same,’ I whispered against his chest. ‘I feel the same. Like I want to punch you, and then kiss you. But mostly kiss you.’
An amused rumble emanated from his chest. ‘Glad to hear it.’
I sniffed. ‘By the way—I don’t have a cat.’
Mitch rubbed slow circles on my back. ‘I know. Do you want one?’
‘Um… maybe? I’m more of a dog person.’
‘We could get one. I’ve always liked the idea of a dog called Buster.’
I giggled at that. ‘Buster?’
He nodded. ‘Yeah. Or is that a stupid name?’
I looked up at him, half-laughing, half-crying. ‘I love you so much.’
He smiled and kissed my forehead. ‘I know, sweetheart. I love you too.’
‘And just for the record, I don’t want you to get squashed by a bus. Ever.’ I shuddered at the thought of it.
Mitch grinned. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.’
Leading me by the hand to my bedroom, Mitch laid me on the bed and undressed me slowly, trailing kisses from my lips to my navel as he went.
By the time he got me naked, I was shivering with need, aching to feel his heated skin on mine.
I ran my fingers up his abs, admiring his taut muscles.
He’d shed his t-shirt and jeans but was still in his boxer briefs.
‘So beautiful,’ he said, gazing at me in the lamplight. He gently touched my hair, spread out on the pillow. ‘Like an angel.’
I tugged urgently at his underwear, attempting to get it down over his massive erection.
‘A bloody horny angel,’ I said with a laugh, giving up and massaging the fabric instead, enjoying the hard outline of his cock.
Mitch took pity on me and eased his boxers down.
With some dexterous manoeuvring, he managed to get them off completely.
I feasted my eyes on him, running my hands over his warm, muscular thighs as he straddled me.
He grunted as my hand reached his dick, watching as I ran my fingers around his slippery tip, and lightly stroked up and down his commanding shaft.
His breathing hitched in his throat. ‘Fuck, that feels good.’
‘Yeah?’ I said, pleased.
His intense blue gaze shifted to mine. ‘I think we should pick up where we left off last night.’
‘I can’t remember any of that,’ I said mock-innocently.
‘No? Maybe this will remind you.’ He placed a hand by my head, tracing his mouth down my neck and across my collarbone.
Then lower, licking at my nipple, teasing it to a peak.
Then he sucked. Hard. The smarting pain kick-started my pussy, and I let out a gasp of pleasure as my clit started throbbing.
Mitch hummed in approval, knowing exactly what he was doing to me.
His fingers slipped between my legs as he sucked, rubbing and teasing my clit until I was swimming in pleasure.
‘So lovely and wet,’ he murmured, coming up for air. ‘Don’t think we’ll need the lube I picked up on the way here, but definitely a condom.’
‘Did you go to Boots?’ I asked, stroking his back and feeling the plasters still on there. A few were missing, so I guess they’d dropped off, or he’d taken them off. But I could feel scabs, so I was glad it was healing.
‘Yeah. I had a feeling we might be getting it on tonight, and I wanted to be prepared.’
I chuckled. ‘Confident of you.’
‘It was either that or be chucked out on my arse.’
I grabbed a chunk of his firm bottom and squeezed. ‘And a very nice arse too, I have to say.’
Mitch grinned. ‘It’s all for you, baby.’
He kissed me as I groped him, then reached an arm over the bed to his gym bag. He brought out a box of condoms and ripped the top off with his teeth, which made me shudder.
This was really happening. We were having sex right now!
The thought of it didn’t make me quail—rather, the opposite—and I eagerly helped Mitch roll the condom over his thick length, which was dripping with pre-cum.
I knew he was aroused, so I was surprised when he nuzzled my neck and said, ‘We can take it slow if you want. There’s no rush. ’
From the way my pussy was clenching to take his cock, ‘slow’ wasn’t at the top of my agenda.
‘Not sure that’s going to work,’ I said, breathing in his warm scent; citrus and musk and something undeniably Mitch. ‘I want you too much. But maybe start with this.’
I positioned his cock at my entrance, holding him there, and he moaned a little, thrusting the tip in and out of me, going deeper with each thrust so I was stretching to accommodate him. I gasped a little at the feeling. He was so long and thick.
‘Sorry,’ Mitch murmured. ‘I know I’m big…’
‘It’s okay, I can take you.’ I sounded more confident than I felt.
But I wanted him so badly. Taking a leaf out of Mia’s book, I drew up my legs and opened them as wide as I could.
Mitch decided to add a squirt of lube to his cock, and then slowly eased into me, pausing until I was used to him, before easing in a little more.
When he was fully seated, Mitch stroked my cheek. ‘You feel amazing—so tight and wet. Such a good girl taking my cock. I love you.’
He murmured some more, a mixture of dirty talk and sweet nothings, and it relaxed me, made me even wetter. I wiggled in pleasure, on fire for his praise. ‘I love you and your filthy big cock,’ I said, and Mitch chuckled.
‘Is that right? Such a dirty mouth, Primrose.’
He drew out slightly and thrust in again experimentally, making sure I could take it. We both groaned at the sensation, and Mitch began rhythmically moving his hips.
I groaned again, louder, meeting his thrusts as he drove into me, over and over, and my pussy thrummed.
‘Fuck, you feel good,’ Mitch moaned. ‘So much better than I imagined.’
I nodded and gasped, ‘Oh yeah. So good. Don’t stop.’
Now I knew what Mia was talking about. Mitch’s cock was indeed conducive to a passionate response!
He threaded his fingers through mine as our hips slid together, and white-hot darts of pleasure wound their way down my spine.
I lay back and let Mitch possess my body any way he wanted; hard and fast, soft and slow, enjoying it all.
He looked like a blond warrior with his sweat-drenched brow scrunched in concentration.
‘Oh God,’ I gasped. ‘You’re ruining me.’
He grinned. ‘Already? We’re just getting started. Such a gorgeous, sweet, sexy girl. I love you so much.’
His words reached into my chest and squeezed my heart. I moaned, feeling myself starting to lose it under his steady ministrations.
‘That’s it, beautiful,’ he panted, sensing I was on the edge. He circled my clit, matching the rhythm of his thrusts. ‘Come on my cock.’
My eyelids fluttered and breathing shallowed, and suddenly I was shooting into the stars.
I cried out his name, my entire body arching and shaking as I shattered under him, my pussy clenching his cock so tightly that it sent him over the edge too.
Hips stuttering, lips parting, and a look of such intense wonder on his face as he gazed at me, that I fell even deeper in love with him.
Our breathing synced in the aftermath, and I slowly came back to reality. ‘Wow,’ I said, shakily. ‘That was—’
‘Out of this world,’ Mitch finished for me softly. We shared a kiss, and he whispered some loving endearments that made me feel even happier. Sex is so much better when you’re actually in love with someone, I thought.
I was reluctant to have him leave for a second, but Mitch pulled out of me carefully and said he’d deal with the condom in the bathroom.
A moment later, he was padding back into the room and crawling under the covers to gather me into his arms. I snuggled against his toasty warm body, our fingers twining together.
‘You good to sleep like this?’ he asked drowsily.
I yawned. ‘I think so. Though I’m not used to a muscle pillow.’ I knocked my head against his broad chest.
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. ‘If you can’t sleep and want round two, let me know,’ he murmured.
My pussy tingled at that, and already I could feel moisture seeping onto my thighs. ‘You’re on,’ I said faintly.
God help me, but I didn’t think we would be getting much sleep tonight.