Chapter 23 #2
He grunted over her with each powerful thrust, his cock spearing into her, forcing her to open up for him.
She spread her legs wider, arched beneath him, welcomed each ferocious pump of his hips with a mindless cry.
Her fingers circled her clit frantically, and her second orgasm hit harder than even she’d expected.
She moaned helplessly beneath him as he fucked her through every shudder, the loveseat, heavy though it was, edging across the floor with the force of his movements .
“God, you feel so fucking good,” he panted, his voice almost unrecognisable, he was so close to the edge. “Look at me. Look at me. ”
Cherry’s eyes had slid shut under the sensual force of his touch, but she opened them now and turned her head to meet his gaze.
His eyes were inky in the shadows, his features harsh with lust. He kissed her, hard and rough, his unrestrained thrusts setting her aflame even as his tongue plundered her mouth.
Cherry gasped against him as another orgasm shook her, and he growled deep in his chest, tearing his lips from hers.
“Fuck,” he rasped out, his thrusts stuttering, his breath ragged.
“ Fuck , I—” His words turned into a harsh cry as he came, holding her tight against his chest. He sank his teeth into her shoulder as his cock jerked inside her, his hips bucking.
Then he stilled, the tension draining from his muscles. His hold on her gentled, became almost protective as he released a long, shuddering breath. He kissed her shoulder, brushing his lips over the skin he’d bitten.
“Holy fuck,” he sighed.
Cherry slumped against the back of the loveseat, still on her knees, their bodies still joined, his skin hot against hers.
He pressed a kiss to the side of her face. “You okay, love?”
She forced her eyes open, even though exhaustion had settled over her like a blanket some time in the last few seconds. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’m good. I’m great. ”
He grinned. In an instant, he went from the man who’d just fucked her senseless to the man she…
Well. She wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. She just knew that the sight of his smile did things to her heart, set butterflies free in her stomach, and made her want to kiss him. On the nose. And call him baby or sweetheart or something equally embarrassing.
Oh, dear. She was very far gone. And so well-fucked, she didn’t even care.
He pressed his lips to hers, achingly gentle, then pulled back and whispered, “I like the way you’re looking at me right now.”
She laughed. “That’s funny. I like the way you’re looking at me.”
“Good.” He kissed her again, soft and almost reverent. She couldn’t ignore the way her heart swelled in response, seeming twice its usual size and inexplicably lighter, all at once.
Then he shifted his weight and pulled out of her, looking down between their bodies…
And his face changed. Was wiped blank. Completely emotionless. Everything about him stiffened, pulled away from her, even though he hadn’t moved at all.
“What?” she asked, anxiety skittering along her spine. Suddenly, the air around them felt cool and unwelcoming. She became hyper-conscious of her nakedness, of the vulnerability of her position. “What is it? ”
And he said, his gaze still fixed on something she couldn’t see, “It broke.”
Cherry frowned, confused. “What broke?”
“The condom,” he choked out. “It fucking broke.” He stood up all at once, as if he couldn’t bear to touch her.
Cherry stood too, turning around just in time to catch a glimpse of his face. He looked pale, horrified, as if he were going to be sick. His chest rose and fell as he dragged in air, his breathing becoming a series of heaving pants.
“Ruben,” she said, keeping her voice as even as possible. “You need to calm down. Okay? Just breathe.”
When he didn’t respond, she reached out to touch him, to soothe him. He flinched away as if she were on fire.
The movement, tiny as it was, felt like a punch in the face. Cherry let her hand drop, her heart falling with it. Then she hardened her jaw and lifted her chin and turned away. She needed some clothes. Immediately.
“Wait, Cherry—I’m sorry.” His voice sounded like an echo of itself, weak and carried by those anxious, dragged-in breaths. “I’m sorry. I just—”
“What the fuck?” she demanded, whirling around to face him, her temper appearing out of nowhere. “So it broke. Why are you so…” She gestured helplessly at his face, twisted in misery, the sheen of sweat on his brow. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
He frowned as if she’d spoken another language. “What do you mean? ”
“Do you… have something?”
It took him a second to figure out what she was talking about. “Jesus, no. I would’ve told you. I mean, I would’ve—”
“Do you think I have something?”
“No,” he said, his voice firmer, closer to its usual self.
He reached out to grab her wrist, but she jerked away.
Because she couldn’t erase the look on his face, the way he’d avoided her touch.
As if he were disgusted. “Cherry,” he said, and now he had the fucking nerve to look upset.
“It’s nothing to do with you. I just… I can’t get you pregnant. ”
Oh, Christ. Where the fuck were her clothes?
She stormed around the sofa and found her damned Dolly Parton T-shirt lying by a bookshelf.
Her underwear was a lost cause, but the T-shirt was just long enough to cover the important parts…
if she tugged down the hem and held it there with one hand.
Which was exactly how she wanted to continue this conversation. Great. Fucking great.
“Cherry,” he sighed, as if she were being unreasonable. “You have to understand—I mean, what would we do? If there was a baby? We couldn’t just separate. I’d have to—”
“You’d have to marry me,” she finished. “God for-fucking-bid.” And where the hell had that come from?
She didn’t want to marry him anyway. This was a business deal.
A contractual agreement. But it was her fault for allowing lines to be blurred, for getting carried away.
She should’ve used her new-found riches to invest in a better vibrator instead.
“No,” Ruben insisted. “That’s not what I meant. I was going to say I’d have to… I don’t know. I don’t fucking know.” His tone became gentle, apologetic, as if he were breaking her goddamn heart when he said, “I can’t handle kids, Cherry.”
“No-one was asking you to,” she snapped. “I’m on the pill, by the way. So don’t worry. Nothing will get in the way of you dropping me once our time is up.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said again, and now he sounded angry. Him ! Angry! She’d laugh at his fucking audacity if she weren’t so bloody furious. “I panicked,” he gritted out. “It was a reflex. And I’m sorry. I’ve never… I’ve never been in this position before.”
“Right,” she said, giving him her sweetest smile, her most reasonable tone. “Because I fake engagements with foreign fucking royalty every other week.”
“I’m not talking about the engagement. I’m talking about…” He gestured wildly between them, something bright and dangerous and uncontrolled in his eyes. “This! Us!”
“ Us ?” She forced herself to laugh, as if she was truly amused. As if she hadn’t a care in the world. “You sound like a child, Ruben. We had sex. That doesn’t mean there’s an us .”
His jaw tightened. “Don’t fucking do that.”
“Oh, is that an order?”
“Cherry.”
“Ruben. Let me make something clear: I am not here to trap you. In fact, you trapped me . And it may be news to you that not every woman on earth wants to carry your royal fucking babies— ”
“Cherry—”
“But they don’t! Okay? I don’t! What do you think I am, desperate? Like I’d chase a man who doesn’t want me?”
He ran a hand through his hair, his expression almost helpless. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry.”
“So am I,” she said. “Because I’m not doing this again. Not with you. Clearly we need to keep things as uncomplicated as possible. But it’ll be a long fucking year without some dick to pass the time.”
He flinched as if she’d hit him. But he didn’t stop her as she marched past him and out into the hall.
And Cherry almost convinced herself that she didn’t care.