Twenty-Eight
Isla
I want to come buried inside you.
Theo’s promise drilled straight into some primal part of my brain, triggering a chemical reaction that altered every molecule in my body.
Two glorious, comforter-soaking, nerve-frying orgasms later, I still can’t stop obsessing over those filthy words. He might as well have injected them straight into my bloodstream.
Even wrung out and boneless, I’m riding a high. Which is why I’m already plotting the quickest way to drag him out of his clothes and inside me.
Theo is braced above me, both elbows planted on either side of my head, caging me in.
His intense stare pours into me, flooding me with a scorching heat that melts my insides. Every trace of green is swallowed by the darkness of his pupils. He looks at me like I’m both salvation and sin. As if he can’t decide whether to pray to me or punish me.
Whatever he wants from me?
I want it more.
Judging by the way his eyes narrow, lips curling with sly intent, he’s reading every desire I’m projecting.
His fingers drift across my cheek, tracing the flush he’s pulled to the surface. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, then lets his knuckles skim my temple.
It’s not a sexual touch, but I shudder anyway.
His exploration continues along my brows, my eyelids, the bridge of my nose. He trails my freckles, sketching a pattern across my skin with the tip of his index finger. Maybe he’s memorizing the constellations. Or, perhaps, he’s marking his territory.
My lashes drop. Not from modesty.
More like… malfunction .
When his thumb finds my bottom lip, it lingers. Just long enough for me to give it a teasing lick.
“You’re dangerous,” he murmurs as his hand settles at my throat.
“You’re the bigger threat here,” I whisper.
To every part of me.
My pulse thrashes beneath his palm, confessing secrets I don’t dare speak.
How badly I want him. Us .
How much I need this to stay simple. One wild, perfect moment.
No meaning. No promises. No aftermath .
Too bad I’m lying to myself.
Nothing about my feelings for Theo has ever been simple.
Whatever he hears in the beat of my heart shatters his control.
Sensing my permission— or is it perhaps submission? —he pounces, slamming his mouth to mine.
Desperation wrapped in dominance, the kiss is a contradiction. A kind of surrender. Hard and soft. Fast enough to steal my breath, but slow enough to make me savor the rush behind the theft.
My lips part wider, yielding to his tongue, inviting him deeper. His hand glides to my hair, fingers threading through the strands before gripping the back of my head to hold me in place.
Our kisses spiral. Stripped of rhythm or order, they’re reduced to senseless frenzy. Instinct snarls past reason, and the shameless noises I’m spilling onto his tongue sound like nothing I’ve ever made before.
Lit with need, I drag my hand to the hem of his Henley and tug up. Somewhere between his stomach and his neck, the fabric snags on pectoral muscles.
“Off,” I whine. “Naked. Now.”
He hisses out a rough “Are you sure?”
I glare up at him—lips swollen, mind numb—and let out the most undignified sound of frustration. “So sure. We’re done with the Q&A portion of the evening. Strip .”
He complies with my request, yanking the shirt over his head in one smooth swipe.
And… shit .
I gasp. Groan. Gape.
Probably—no, definitely —drool.
His body is obscene. I’ve seen him shirtless before—but never like this.
Never with permission to worship at the altar of his abs.
Every hard ridge tightens even further beneath my palm as I trace my way down his stomach.
My fingers map the faint trail of dark hair vanishing into the waistband of his jeans like a lewd little compass needle urging me to tread south.
X marks the X-rated spot.
Theo lifts a brow. “Done eye-fucking me, Sunshine?”
“Not at all. Maybe you should distract me with actual fucking.”
My fingers skate across the grooves of his stomach, and he shivers. Pride floods my chest at the intimacy of his reaction. Emboldened, I scrape my nails down his sides. Goose bumps chase my touch.
He inhales sharply. “ Isla .”
I grin—all innocence and menace. “ Hmm? ”
“You want my cock inside you?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Haven’t I made that clear?”
“Then behave , or I won’t make it.”
Theo surges upright, hauling me with him until we’re both in a seated position. One flick of his hand and my shirt vanishes. My bra follows, unclasped in a move that straddles command and caress.
I’m naked except for my knitted thigh highs. He looks down at them, and his gaze ignites. A wildfire tears through the lush green forest of his eyes.
“These,” he says, hands sliding up my legs, “have been driving me mad all day.”
His thumbs stroke along the seam where the soft knit ends and bare skin begins.
Then… pinch .
“They stay on,” he orders.
“Fine,” I breathe, reaching for his belt. “But this comes off. ”
He watches, lids heavy, as I thread the leather through the clasp and unbutton his jeans. The zipper fights me, strained too tight over the swell of his erection.
“Here. Let me.”
His warmth slips away as he stands, quickly shoving his pants down and tossing everything else off with them.
And, suddenly, he’s gloriously naked in front of me.
Well, except for his socks.
“Good,” I say. “Leave them.”
He glances down at his feet. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah.” I laugh, running a toe up his calf. “We’re going to explore this knitwear kink together.”
“Sure. Later . Right now…” His voice roughens as he gives himself a slow tug, dragging his grip up the thick shaft. “On your back.”
He’s so big.
I suck in a breath, holding up one hand. “Wait.”
Theo instantly stills. “Something wrong?”
“Yes. I mean— no .” I swallow, shifting to sit directly in front of him. “All good.” My tongue darts out to wet my lips. “Just…give me a second to…”
Process?
Brace myself?
Contemplate how to defy biology and physics?
I reach for him, fingers wrapping around his hard, heavy length. My first stroke is explorative—a study in smooth skin over rigid steel. The next pass is firmer. More daring.
His abs flex, hips snapping forward. With a groan that I feel in the depths of my core, he grinds into my palm, hunting for more friction.
My thumb glides along the thick vein pulsing beneath my touch, lingering just long enough to draw out a full-body shudder. When another guttural noise tears free, I give him more pressure.
“Isla…”
My other hand slips lower, brushing his balls in a bold sweep that earns me a filthy curse.
“ Isla .”
The temptation to taste him is too great to resist. Since he’s level with my mouth, I let the intrusive thoughts win.
Leaning in, I guide him to my lips, indulging in a long, thorough lick from base to tip.
Salt and heat flood my tongue as I part my lips wider, sucking over his swollen crown, savoring the stretch he commands.
“Isla!” His fist tangles in my hair, grip trembling with fraying restraint. “If you—”
The words die on his tongue when I take him deeper. Holding his gaze, my mouth moves over him in a steady slide, swallowing him down as far as I can manage.
He grunts, hips snapping as instinct shatters his composure.
The high it gives me is staggering. There is something lethally intoxicating about making a man carved from control—a guy who has spent years holding tight to it and denying us—completely lose it.
One second, I’m teasing, the next I’m flat on my back, pinned beneath a man officially out of patience.
My eyes widen in surprise, a shocked gasp filling the space between us.
It’s a sound of satisfaction. Victory. Breaking Theo is definitely my new favorite hobby.
Still—it makes him pause to check in on me.
“You okay?” His voice is so strained it’s barely recognizable.
“Yup.” A little too okay. Whatever I’ve unleashed in him—it’s doing things for me. “You?”
“Hell no.” Despite his smirk, he looks like he’s about to pass out.
“Poor baby. So hard up, huh? Want me to make it better?” Spreading my legs wider, I tilt my ass up, rubbing against him.
A feral sound tears from his throat. He dips his head to my chest, tongue circling my nipple. Then his mouth seals over it, sucking like he means to leave a mark.
My toes curl, nails scoring his shoulders, thighs trembling around his hips.
Just as I start to drown in raw pleasure, he sinks his teeth into the sensitive peak. The bite is hard enough to make me jolt, but restrained enough to leave me aching—and arching—for more.
It’s second nature now when I cry out his name.
“My kind of sickness calls for long-term treatment.” Kissing his way up my neck, he grinds against me in one slow, obscene thrust. A perfect slide of thick heat over slick need. “ Heaven . And I’m not even inside you yet.”
“Which is the root of your problem, if you ask me.” I rock up into him with all the defiance I can muster. “You said you plan to come buried inside me. Talked a big game.” Shifting beneath him, I grab his ass with both hands and tug him closer. “Time to make good on your promise.”
We moan in unison. The sounds melt together into a single carnal vibration.
Time halts and pressure coils around us, particles shifting and warping to make space for the magnitude of this moment.
“ Shit .” Theo freezes, wincing. “Hang on. Condom.”
I savor the flex of his muscular body as he reaches over me to rummage through the drawer in his nightstand.
“I bought—” His voice catches on a low, hoarse note. “Yesterday.” He clears his throat, then smirks. “Just in case. ”
“Just in case,” I echo, matching his grin. “Very on-brand of you to come prepared for…”
He quirks a brow. “ Coming ?” All playfulness vanishes as he snaps his hips against me, tacking on a dark, decadent “Inside you.”
Yes, please.
“Need help with those condoms?”
“I’ve got it. They should be—” He pulls out a folded piece of paper. “The fuck ?”
No box. No foil packets. Just… paper .
He opens it one-handed, instantly cursing again.