Chapter 38 #2
I blow out a breath, already knowing I'm gonna cave. My brother might be even more protective of my kid than I am. If he's allowing it, the gore can't be too bad, and the language can't be worse than what she hears from his team or mine.
"Fine," I sigh as the elevator dings open.
Ruthie squeals, still high on her win. "Thank you, thank you!"
"Are they coming to get—"
"Aunt Alex just pulled up! Got to go. Love you, Dad.
" There's a short pause I can't fill anyway because my mouth is hanging open from the whiplash of the last thirty seconds.
Then, Ruthie continues. "Thanks again for today, Tess.
" Another pause settles, filled only by the ruffling of the phone that tells me it's now pressed between them. "You're the best."
That last part hits me as I walk through the sliding metal doors and completely negates the fact that two seconds earlier I felt conned by my preteen.
"She just ran out the door," Tess says, pulling me back, her voice closer. "Alex didn't even come in, that little sneak. Sorry, I had no idea that—"
"Speaker phone?" I cut in, pressing the button for my floor. "Bold move, Hastings."
The elevator doors shut, and the mood of the conversation shifts with them. At first, I think maybe it's just me—the silence, the solitude, the soft breath on the other end of the call.
But then Tessa speaks, and I know right away from the sound of her voice that she feels it too. "Why do you say that?"
I lick my lips, following the roll of my tongue in the elevator mirror. "Oh, I don't know," I answer coyly. "Because I could have said anything when I picked up your call."
Tessa swallows audibly, and knowing she's home alone thickens the moment. "Like what?" she asks.
"Like what are you wearing?"
She huffs out a laugh, the question hitting her exactly as I intended—cheeky but shameless. "A t-shirt and leggings," she answers simply.
The elevator reaches my floor, and as the doors slide open, the tension grows heavier. I shake my head, lowering my voice. "Wrong answer."
Tess gasps softly, and as if the air was breathed into my lungs, I pick up speed as I head toward my room.
"Go get my sweatshirt."
Instantly, footsteps sound over the receiver, and I'm taken back to the last time I gave her a task while we were both on the phone.
Back then, I just wanted more of her—our first kiss left me with a craving only she could settle.
Now, after spending real time with Tessa, after knowing what it's like to see her fall apart, after watching her love and care for my daughter…
I want all of her.
After another few seconds pass, both of us moving and not saying a word, I slip my hotel room key into the door. It hums, the small light on the lock turning green, and I push open the door.
"Got it," Tess says softly as I step inside.
My jaw tightens as my eyes trail over the room, my breath hitching when they pass the dresser standing in front of the bed.
"Do you remember the last time we talked in a hotel room?" I ask, walking toward the furniture and brushing my hand along the top of it. My palm slides across the wood as my body remembers bracing myself there, Tess pressed against it.
"Tessa…" I say, when she doesn't answer. I put my phone on speaker and set it on the wood, leaning both hands on top of the dresser and glancing down at the screen.
"I do," she answers, the sound of her voice shifting as she goes hands-free too.
I shake my head, my dick hard just thinking about how badly I wish we could relive that moment. "I'm not even sure I realized it then…" I say, gripping the edge of the wood a bit tighter. "But that moment changed everything for me."
"Me too, Liam."
The sound of my name falling from her lips snaps something in me like it always does. "Is it on?" I ask bluntly, not needing to explain.
Tess inhales deeply. "Mhmm."
My jaw ticks. "Only that?"
"Yes," she breathes.
My cock twitches beneath my sweatpants, and I slowly allow one hand to fall from the dresser. Palming myself over the fabric, I close my eyes and picture her standing here like she was last time—this time in my sweatshirt. "Go to my bed."
A laugh slips from her lips. "You mean my bed?"
"No," I say bluntly. "I don't."
I hear her suck in air, then once again, footsteps tell me she's listening. While I wait for her to stride the few feet it takes for her to get from her room to mine, I dip my hand inside my drawstring.
"I'm here," she says in perfect timing, my fist just curling around my length.
"Lay on the bed, head on my pillow." More ruffling teases me as she does so. I grip myself tighter, picturing her standing here, her sweetness enveloping me, her lips just barely brushing mine. "I want you to touch yourself, Tessa."
"Liam…"
"And think of me like I know you do."
She whimpers, and the sound shoots straight to where I'm aching for her.
"Are you touching yourself too?" she asks.
"Yes," I admit.
"And thinking of me?"
I groan. "Always."
That pulls a sound from deep in her belly, and makes it so I can't remain still any longer. Stroking myself up and down slowly, I keep one palm flat on the dresser.
"Tell me what to do," Tess says, her voice thick.
I tug down to my base, then pull back up. "Use your fingers like I would if I were there," I say. "Hovering over you, sliding between your knees as they fall open for me. One hand on your clit and the other playing with your nipples."
She hums, and I drop my head back, imagining her doing exactly what I said.
"I wish you were here," she admits, her breathing now coming out in short spurts. "I want you, Liam. I want you so bad."
"You have me, Tessa." I focus on my tip, my fist clenching tighter. "I think you have for a while now."
She moans, her breath shaky, and my hand pumps faster. The fact that she can get me this close—with just a few words from thousands of miles away—almost scares me.
But it also makes it better.
"Push two fingers in, baby," I tell her next. "But remember… they're mine."
My free hand white-knuckles the dresser as my cock throbs in the other.
"This feels so good," Tess groans.
I picture her plunging in and out of her pussy to the same rhythm as my hand gliding up and down my cock.
"Do you feel good?" she asks.
"Yeah," I say weakly, tugging faster, harder. "So fucking good."
"I need you, Liam. Inside of me—please."
A growl crawls from my throat as my balls fill beneath me. "Soon, baby." My hips begin to buck, meeting my fist. "After we tell her, I'm all yours."
"Mmm," she whines, growing closer. "And I'm yours."
"Fuck, Tessa," I cry out, reaching for the box of tissues on the dresser, her confession alone enough to push me over the edge. "Holy shit, baby. Come with me."
"Already there," she manages, falling apart from so far away.
I catch my release, all the while, picturing her coming undone on my sheets. A few seconds pass as we come back to earth, and when her breathing evens out, I turn the call off speaker and pick up my phone.
"I'm serious, Tessa," I say, still breathless. "When I get back, we're telling Ruthie. And then I'm yours—all of me—if that's what you want."
"I do," she says quickly. My shoulders fall as I finally stand. "I really do."
Smiling, I run my hand through my hair. "Good."
I chuckle to myself, dragging my palm down my face. "It's been nice talking to you, Hastings."
She giggles softly. "Yeah, Two-Three. It's been nice talking to you too."