Chapter 18
eighteen
HENRY
By the time the Petersens finally retreated to their wing of the house full of copious rich foods, brandy cream, and countless glasses of red wine that cost more than I made in a week, I felt like I’d been dunked in a cold bucket of water and put through a mangle.
Christmas Eve had drawn to a close, complete with a dramatised retelling of The Night Before Christmas from a local am-dram group, much to the delight of our guests.
I traipsed upstairs twenty minutes past midnight.
My feet hurt.
My back hurt.
And I hadn’t managed to steal a kiss from Amanda since lunchtime. I knocked gently on her door as I passed, but there wasn’t an answer.
Shutting my door behind me, I pulled out my phone only to see a string of messages from my mother. Seeing that it had officially tipped from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, she’d demand a call no matter how late.
I hadn’t talked to my family in a few days, so I stepped out onto the little balcony off my room to FaceTime them. The signal was always ropey in the oldest wing of the house, where my room was located. I shuddered as cold wrapped around me; it would need to be a quick call.
Mum answered first, all pink cheeks and tinsel crown.
Dad shouted hello from somewhere in the background.
One of my sisters, who was the only one spending both Christmas and betwixtmas with my parents, waved something sparkly that looked a lot like Gus Gus, our old sausage dog.
‘You look exhausted,’ Mum pointed out.
‘Well, a merry Christmas to you too.’
She tutted. ‘You need a proper rest. You should come home more often. We miss you.’
‘I know, I’ll be home in a few days. Just—’
After a few minutes of chatting about the clients and Mum and Dad’s visits with the elder relatives, the picture froze, then pixelated. Cut and reconnected. Cut again.
‘—Henry? Can you hear us? What’s going on?’ Mum, Dad and my sister, Grace, filled the screen.
‘Signal’s rubbish,’ I said. ‘Hang on, I’ll come back inside nd see if it pops in.’
I stepped into the room, half-chatting and half-yelling and set the phone on the desk while rummaging for my charger.
A soft knock sounded at my door, and before I could turn, I heard Amanda’s voice.
‘Henry?’
I spun around. And everything in me stilled.
There she was.
Standing in my doorway in nothing but underwear and bows. Silken ribbons wrapped around her waist and thighs, one even fastened around her throat.
She looked incredible. A seductive Christmas present all ready to unwrap.
She stepped inside, and I steadied myself against the wall, my ability to think having fled my addled little brain.
‘Merry Christmas,’ she said, looking both coy and like a temptress all in one.
Behind me, my mother’s voice rang out.
‘HENRY? IS THAT A WOMAN? WHAT’S HAPPENING?’
Amanda jolted like she’d been tasered, wrapping her hands around herself before tucking into my ensuite.
I lunged for the phone and tripped on the corner of the duvet, which sent me sprawling over the desk chair.
Amanda poked her head out of the bathroom as I went arse-over-tit.
Mum shouted, ‘Henry!’
Dad asked, ‘Is he dead?’
The dog barked with wild excitement, and my sister laughed her arse off. I reached up and grabbed the phone, hitting the red symbol.
Silence.
Mortifying silence.
Amanda emerged from the bathroom, her face nearly as red as the ribbons she wore. Her eyes were saucer-wide.
‘Henry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to hang out in the corridor in case anyone saw me. I shouldn’t have let myself in. This was a stupid idea.’
‘No. Don’t say that.’ It took a moment for me to pull myself back to my feet, double-checking the call had ended before shoving it in a drawer.
‘I don’t know what came over me. I look ridiculous. God, your family saw me like this.’
‘They didn’t see anything, I’m pretty sure they were facing the bed. They will have just heard your voice. And seen my panic.’
‘I just thought I would try being fun, for a change. Do something a bit silly to thank you for being so sweet. Well, and not so sweet too.’
I made my way to her, gathering her up against me and running my fingers over the silk of the ribbons. ‘And I adore it. You look amazing, and I’m very much hoping you might still let me unwrap my gift?’
‘You’re sure I don’t look silly?’
‘Amanda.’ I tilted her chin and brushed my lips over hers. ‘You’re not silly. You’re the most beautiful thing I have ever seen walk through a doorway.’
‘High competition too when you spend every day with a donkey.’
Her joke made me laugh, and reassured me she would be okay. Then her mouth parted, those eyes flicking up to mine.
‘So you like it?’ she asked.
‘I nearly died from delight.’
‘Come here,’ I said, sliding my hands around her waist and guiding her toward the bed, stopping just short as she wrapped her arms around my neck, her throat bobbing when I traced the edge of one ribbon with my fingertips.
‘Let me look at you, baby.’
Stepping away from me, she gave a slow twirl, those ruby ribbons bobbing with each movement.
God damn.
‘You did all this for me?’ I don’t know which god I’d pleased, but whoever it was, I offered them a thank-you.
A nod. ‘To please you.’
To please me. Fuck, that sent shivers down my spine.
‘And you will, sweetheart. But first, I want to unwrap you.’
Her breath hitched as I caught her around the waist and lowered her onto the bed. The ribbon around her waist went first. I tugged it off and discarded it, kissing a trail across the skin it had covered.
Amanda moaned breathily when I did the same for the ribbons that circled her thighs, taking my time to kiss and lick every ounce of skin I exposed until she was eventually laid in nothing but her red underwear.
The temptation to cut it off gnawed at me, but underwear could be expensive, so I unhooked her bra like a good boy.
‘Fuck,’ I groaned as I circled her nipples, watching rapt as they peaked under my attention. My tongue followed my fingers. Then my teeth. Amanda’s back arched as I took my time with her, working her pretty chest until she writhed beneath me.
‘Where are you going?’ She demanded as I stood, turning off the lights and grabbing a candle from the dresser. Low melting point, my favourite.
‘To get a little something I think you’ll enjoy.’
I lit the taper, letting the warm glow spill across her skin. Shadows danced over her skin, and she flinched as the wax dripped onto her stomach.
‘It won’t burn you. Just a moment of heat, and then the sensation grows. Can you feel it?’
‘Yes,’ she said, her stomach tightening as another drop landed.
‘I love it when you give in.’ The wax was as red as her ribbons, leaving a trail of droplets from her hip up to her chest. I grew particularly fond of the slutty little moans she gave when the wax dripped on her nipples.
Her breathing grew more rapid with each passing minute, and when I dripped the wax over her thighs, she trembled.
‘Henry,’ she whispered, barely a breath, ‘please…’
And that was it. The last thread of my restraint snapped like the thinnest twig. Placing the candle on the bedside table, I tore off her panties and shoved them into her mouth, enjoying the way her pupils dilated when I did.
Flipping her over, I positioned her at the edge of the bed.
‘Grab your ankles, Princess, and don’t let go.’
She lay on her stomach, face tipped to one side, splayed open with her ass in the air. Glistening so sweetly for me.
All for me.
‘So very wet,’ I said, knelt beside the bed and basking in her obedience.
‘Henry, please fuck me,’ she begged around the wet material of her underwear.
‘No. You can’t display all that for me and expect me not to have a taste, Amanda. Such a delicious feast, and I want to taste you so very badly. Want to feel you lose control with nothing but my tongue.’
Her gasp was soft, broken and desperate when I leaned forward and pressed my tongue against her.
I couldn’t tell which one of us moaned the loudest. She tasted sweet and salty and perfect.
Her fingers tightened around her ankles, and she wriggled backwards, demanding more with every inch of her body.
‘I want to taste the need you’ve been hiding from everyone else,’ I murmured, my lips brushing over her heat and making her squirm.
My teasing only lasted so long before I couldn’t hold back any longer.
My soft touches turned to hungry lashes of my tongue, alternating between nipping her with my teeth and sucking her into my mouth.
A light sheen covered her skin, growing hot beneath my fingers as I pressed my arms between her thighs, spreading her even wider and grabbing her ass with my hands.
The perfect position to hold her steady while I made her fall apart.
‘You taste so fucking good, baby,’ I said against her swollen flesh, delighting in every dirty little gasp she gave. I felt her orgasm before it hit fully, her cunt pulsing against my mouth.
I redoubled my efforts against her clit, teasing the bundle of nerves until she cried out into the sheets, her body flexing and shaking as I swallowed down every last little ounce of her desire.
When I finally released her and gathered her against me, she looked totally boneless. A satisfied puddle of woman. I fished the panty gag from her mouth and tossed it aside.
She touched my cheek with shaking fingers.
‘Henry…’
‘I’ve got you,’ I whispered, kissing her slowly. ‘I’m here.’
She exhaled against my mouth and finally curled up in my lap like I’d hoped she would the day I met her.
And lord help me, it made me fall even harder.