Chapter 31
Deacon
Iknocked on Riley’s door, glancing with distaste at the hallway around me. Her building wasn’t terrible, but the smell of urine and stale cigarette smoke permeated the carpet below my feet. I hadn’t needed to push the button next to her name, which was labeled neatly beside apartment 206, because of the broken lobby security door.
So you walked right on in, and now you’re knocking on her door, huh? No text or call beforehand. Just showing up at her place on a Tuesday night like you have that right.
I clutched the book in my suddenly sweaty hand and shifted the bag of food in the other hand. Maybe I was making a mistake, but I needed to see Riley, and if I had texted her beforehand, she might have said no to me stopping by. I’d been locked in meetings for most of Monday and today, and Riley had spent most of her time helping the financial advisors. I’d seen very little of her and hardly spoke to her, and I missed her.
Why didn’t you book a session with her then? You think she’s not used to last minute booking requests from you?
I hadn’t booked because I wanted to see her without having to pay for it. I wanted to talk to her and touch her and kiss her because we both wanted it, not because she was providing a service.
Maybe that isn’t what she wants?
It was. It had to be. She’d refused three times to let me book with her on Saturday and Sunday, but she stayed with me until Sunday afternoon. That had to mean something, right? Eloise had never deliberately said no to spending time with me that wasn’t specifically booked, but the few times she’d spent the night without me paying the agency, she hadn’t been shy about mentioning her money issues and how tight things were for her without my bookings.
So, now you’re falling for someone else who very obviously does this only for the money. What is wrong with you? Have you learned nothing from Eloise?
I ignored my inner voice as I knocked again. I’d offered to pay Riley, and she said no, despite it being obvious she’d only signed up with the agency for the money. So, if she was willing to give up the money, then maybe that meant she felt something more for me, too.
I knocked a third time, harder and longer. Maybe Riley wasn’t at home. Maybe she was out doing another booking with someone else because she’d lost out on cash this weekend. Maybe she was on her knees at this very moment, being someone else’s good girl.
My stomach roiled, and I stepped back just as the door opened. Riley, looking sweaty and wearing tight leggings and a - God help me - sports bra, stared at me in surprise before removing her earbuds. “Deacon? What are you doing here?”
I held up my copy of the new Lisa Gardner book. “I’m starting a book/dinner club. Want to be a member?”
She stared in shocked silence before starting to laugh. She backed up and gasped, “Get in here, you weirdo.”
I stepped inside her apartment, closing the door behind me as her giggles trailed off. She grinned at me. “Hi.”
“Hi there. You look…”
“Sweaty,” she said.
“I was going to say good enough to eat, but then thought that might be inappropriate for book club.”
“That depends on the book we’re reading,” she said. “Come in.”
I followed her down the narrow hallway to her main living space. The kitchen was galley style and separated from the living room by a wall. I could see a door leading into her bedroom and a second door that I assumed was the bathroom. The place was small but cozy looking. I placed my book and the food on the small table in the tiny nook off the kitchen and studied the three bookshelves stuffed with books on the far wall.
She followed my gaze, blushing a little. “I told you I was book obsessed.”
She grabbed a hand towel and blotted her face with it.
“So, why are you sweaty?” I asked.
She laughed. “I was doing my workout video.”
“If you want some exercise, I can think of a much more fun way to achieve it.” I gave her an exaggerated leer before wiggling my eyebrows at her and pointing to my crotch. “I’m talking about banging me.”
“Thank you for clarifying,” she said with an eye roll before she shut off the TV, which showed a woman wearing spandex frozen in a squat.
I grinned at her. “Sorry I interrupted your workout.”
“It’s fine. How, um, was your day?” She made a face. “That was a dumb question. I worked with you all day.”
“Not really,” I said. “I barely saw you today or yesterday.”
She smiled at me. “It’s been a pretty busy week.”
There was a moment of awkward silence, and then I took a step toward her, and somehow, Riley was in my arms, and her mouth was on mine. I cupped her breast, and she moaned before pulling back with a soft gasp. “Deacon, wait.”
“I don’t want to wait.” I kissed her throat and squeezed her breast. “I miss you.”
“I smell, and I need a shower first,” she said.
“No, you don’t. You smell great,” I said.
“I don’t. Give me ten minutes.”
Before I could argue, her stomach growled. I kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re hungry.”
“I haven’t eaten yet,” she said.
“It’s a good job that I brought your favourite.”
She grinned. “Lasagna?”
“With cheese toast,” I said. “Go have your shower, and then we’ll eat.”
As much as I wanted Riley on my dick, my urge to take care of her was stronger.
I turned her and tapped her on the ass. “Go have a shower, baby.”
When she continued to hesitate, I made my voice stern. “Do as I say.”
“Yes, sir.” Like always, her obedience made me happy, and I caught her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.
She turned to look at me, and I said, “You’re my good girl, Riley.”
Her smile turned bright, and I could practically see the tension in her body disappear. “Thank you, Deacon.”
She disappeared into the bathroom, and I removed my jacket before hunting through the kitchen drawers for silverware. I placed them on the table and opened the fridge, scowling at how little food was in it. I grabbed the pitcher of water and poured us both a glass before returning to the living room. The book I bought her was sitting on the couch, a bookmark stuck about three-quarters into it, and I smiled before studying her bookshelves. She hadn’t been kidding about enjoying suspense novels, and I took out three I’d never heard of and read the back of each one.
Riley’s arms slid around my waist, and she pressed her soft body against my back. “Hi there.”
“That was a fast shower,” I said.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
I turned around. She wore cotton pajama bottoms and a tank top, and she was braless. “I like your outfit.”
“I’m sure you do,” she said with a soft smile.
I cupped her breast, teasing her nipple before nuzzling her neck.
“Do I smell better?” she asked.
“You smell good enough to eat,” I said.
Her hands tightened on my waist, and I loved the look of need that crossed her face. I cupped her ass and squeezed it. “You’re picturing me eating your sweet pussy, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she said shamelessly.
“If you’re a good girl during dinner, I’ll consider letting you ride my face afterward,” I said.
Anxiety flickered across her face before she smoothed it away. I squeezed her ass again. “Let’s eat, baby.”
Five minutes later, we had the food dished out and Riley took her first bite of lasagna. Bliss crossed her face as she chewed and swallowed. “Oh my God, this is good.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” I said.
“I am. Truly.” She smiled at me and sipped some water. “Did you want to borrow the books you were looking at?”
“Yes, unless you’re the kind of person who doesn’t share their books.”
She laughed. “Who doesn’t share books? That’s part of the joy - sharing a story you love with others.”
“Some people are very possessive of their books,” I said.
“Is some people you?” she asked with a grin.
“Maybe,” I said.
“Is that why you bought me the Lisa Gardner book instead of just offering to let me borrow your copy when you were done?”
“I have no idea how you treat your books. What if you’re one of those people who fold the page to mark their spot,” I said.
“I’m a bookmark user,” she said.
“Sure, I know that now,” I said. “But I’m not handing out my precious books to just any hooligan who loves reading.”
She laughed hard. “Now I’m a hooligan?”
I shrugged and ate some pasta. “To be fair, your books are not shelved alphabetically.”
“I’m the worst,” she said with a grin.
“Not the worst, but I’m definitely sneaking over here someday, breaking in, and shelving your books correctly.”
“I think you’ve missed your calling as a librarian,” she said.
“I would have been a great librarian,” I said.
“You’re young. There’s still time for a career change.”
“I’m thirty-five. That’s not young.”
“It’s not old,” she said with an eye roll.
“May I be indelicate and ask how old you are?”
“Indelicate…” she snorted. “Maybe you are an old person.”
“Making fun of my age is not being my good girl, Ms. Gates.”
She wrinkled her nose at me before saying, “I’m twenty-five.”
“Shit,” I said. “A decade younger than me.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No,” I said. “Unless you keep cracking old jokes.”
She smiled and pushed the lasagna around her plate. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure,” I said.
“Have you ever been married?”
“Nope. How about you?”
“No,” she said. “Do you want kids?”
“I do. Two or three,” I said. “You?”
“Two,” she said. “You never let the kids outnumber you, Deacon.”
I laughed. “Smart. Very smart.”
“Have you ever been close to getting married?” Riley asked.
I hesitated, my stomach twisting. I’d wanted to marry Eloise and had ignored every red flag she threw at me because of how much I loved her. Looking back at it now, I couldn’t believe how stupid I’d been to think she loved me and to imagine she wanted to be my wife. I’d been blinded by love and vowed never to let that happen again.
Riley isn’t like Eloise. She wouldn’t play you like that.
“Deacon? Sorry, did I get too personal?” Riley asked with a touch of regret in her voice.
“No, it’s fine,” I said. “I’ve never dated someone to the point where it reached the lifetime commitment stage.”
A strained silence floated between us, and I decided it was time to steer us to a safer topic. “So, which of the three books I’m borrowing should I read first?”
* * *
Riley
“Do as I say, Riley.”Deacon pinched my nipple.
“Deacon, I can’t,” I panted as he dipped his hand between my legs and stroked my clit.
“Yes, you can.” His face was stern in the faint glow of the fairy lights I had strung across the headboard of my queen-sized bed.
“Do you want to die? Is that what this is?” I sat up on my elbows. “You have some kind of death wish?”
Deacon laughed before leaning forward and capturing one tight nipple between his lips. He teased it until I clutched the back of his head, my back arching. “Deacon!”
He released my nipple. “I won’t die when you sit on my face, Riley.”
“You might,” I said. “I’ve got junk in my trunk, remember?”
“I remember,” he said with a salacious grin. “Now be my good girl and ride my face.”
He laid on his back in the middle of the bed, and feeling both turned on and nervous as hell, I carefully knelt over his face. I gripped the headboard as Deacon grinned up at me before grasping my thighs and pulling me lower. His hot tongue slicked across my pussy, and I moaned, digging my fingers into the headboard as he pulled me even closer.
“Oh God, Deacon,” I panted. “I don’t want to kill you.”
He laughed, the sound muffled between my thighs. “Baby, you won’t. Just relax and let me make you feel good.”
“I don’t know if I can or… oh fuck!”
He laughed again before sucking hard on my clit. My legs shaking, I tried not to grind my pussy against his mouth, but, fuck, I was only human. Not even thirty seconds later, thanks to Deacon’s ridiculously talented tongue, I was gripping his head with one hand and grinding against his mouth like a third-rate stripper.
I moaned his name when I came, my hips bucking and my fingers digging into his scalp. The hot pleasure tumbling through my body made it almost impossible to climb off of Deacon, but I managed. I nearly smacked him in the nose with my knee, and he made a low chuckle as he moved out from between my thighs. My cream covered his face, but I didn’t have a lick of embarrassment over it, not even when he had to use the sheets to wipe his face.
I started to sink onto my back, and Deacon gave my butt a soft spank. “Stay on your knees, good girl.”
He moved behind me on the bed, and I automatically widened my legs, bracing myself on my knees and clinging to the headboard as Deacon settled himself behind me. The blunt head of his cock slid down the crease of my ass, and I made a very undignified squeak when it pressed against my back entrance.
He pressed a kiss against the back of my shoulder before nuzzling my throat. “Have you been fucked in the ass before, baby?”
“No,” I said. “Is that something you want to do to me?”
“Yes.”
“Kinky,” I said.
He laughed and palmed my ass. “Would you be into trying it?”
“Maybe,” I said. “With lots of alcohol and lube.”
He chuckled and squeezed one ass cheek. “No to the alcohol, but yes to plenty of lube, and we’ll take it slow.”
“I’m not sure I want to try it tonight,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
He reached around to cup my breasts as he kissed my neck gently. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen tonight. We have plenty of time, so think about it for as long as you need. If you decide you’d like to try it, tell me. If you don’t want to - we won’t. Simple as that.”
God, I loved how sweet he was. His no-pressure approach was exactly what I needed, and I had no sense that he was only saying it to win points. He really meant it.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice husky as I blinked back the sudden tears. Now was not the time for my stupid heart to get all mushy.
“You’re welcome, good girl.”
He reached between us and guided his cock into my pussy. The delicious stretch made me clamp down on the headboard as Deacon gripped my hips in his warm hands. His first few thrusts were heaven, and I moaned happily as he slid in and out.
“That feels so nice,” I panted as I pushed back against each of his thrusts.
“Nice?” he growled, his hands tightening on my hips. “Baby, I can do a lot fucking better than nice.”
He angled my hips lower and worked me back over his cock. It felt good, it felt really good, and I was just about to tell him that when his thick length pressed up against that bundle of nerves inside me.
“Oh God! Oh fuck!”
I barely heard his low grunt of approval over my raging, roaring heartbeat as one hand tightened on my hip and the other slid around to press against my mound. He made another thrust, and I tried to twist away. I couldn’t take that kind of pleasure… it was making me panic a little at how fucking good it felt. He’d hit my g-spot before, but this… I didn’t know what the fuck this was… I’d never felt anything like this before.
I hung off the headboard, a moaning, heaving mess getting thoroughly fucked and oh holy hell - every deep jab of his perfect cock, every time he fucked up into me, it pushed me relentlessly toward a climax that I was certain would blow my goddamn head off.
I wanted to beg him to stop, tell him it was too much, but instead, I babbled, begged, pleaded.
“Oh God, Deacon, more. Please, more… it’s so good. You’re so fucking big. More, yes - just like that. Fuck me. Fuck me, honey. I fucking need it.”
The pleasure coiled in my belly, and when it burst, I couldn’t stop the keening sound that escaped, the whine of pleasure that came deep from in me as I clamped down on that massive, perfect cock.
Deacon’s hoarse shout happened only seconds before hot liquid coated my inner walls. I squeezed and squeezed him again, clinging to the headboard as warmth spread across my thighs, and my pussy until not even the headboard could keep me upright. I tilted to the side, and Deacon went with me, his cock sliding out of me as we both collapsed on our sides on the bed.
I could feel him pressed against my back, feel the rapid beat of his heart as he slung his arm over my waist and buried his face in the crook of my shoulder. I had no idea how much time had passed before he raised his head and said, “You good?”
“I think I passed out for a few seconds,” I said. My voice was shaky and filled with a weird wonderment that I would have been embarrassed about if I hadn’t felt so damn good.
He kissed my shoulder. “I wanted to last longer, but your little cunt clamped down on me, and that was fucking it for me. Christ, I don’t think I’ve ever come that hard.”
“Ditto,” I said, my voice still full of that weird bewilderment.
We cuddled quietly. I needed time to recover from whatever had just happened, and maybe Deacon sensed that, or maybe he needed his own time to recover. It was over an hour later before he stirred against me. “It’s getting late.”
My hand tightened around the arm still slung across my body. I didn’t want Deacon to leave. Bracing myself for his rejection, I said, “You could stay the night.”
“You sure?” he asked. “You don’t mind?”
Relief pouring through me, I said, “No. I’d like you to stay.”
He held me tighter. “Then I’ll stay.”