Chapter Seventeen #2
She was absolutely perfect. This woman had been made for me and me alone. Now that I'd finally made her mine, I wasn't going to let her go. She was going to be mine forever.
Pleasure overwhelmed me. It was an effort to keep the orgasm at bay when all I wanted was to give in to it. Heat spiraled through me.
"Touch your clit," I said.
She moved a shaky hand from the sheet that she'd been fisting to her chest first. "I'm not sure I can come again."
"You so will. Do you trust me?"
Her eyes widened. "Yes."
"Then do what I say."
She lowered her hand slowly. The tips of her fingers barely brushed her clit, yet her entire body jerked.
"My God," she whispered.
"Again," I said.
She feathered her fingertips over her clit, closing her eyes. Her face became red within seconds. I knew she was ready.
"That's it. I want to see you come, Tory."
And she did. She pressed two fingers down before taking her hand away completely, grabbing the sheets and crying out loud. I wanted to watch her ride out her climax, but I couldn't because my own took me by surprise.
Afterward, my body felt completely weightless. My vision wasn't very sharp, but slowly I focused on Tory. Her expression was soft, eyes closed, a small smile on her lips. I looked left and right, then grabbed the T-shirt I'd discarded on the bed, cleaning us up as I pulled out of her.
I sat down on the bed next to her, chuckling. She’d pulled the sheets out of the corners. How was I lucky enough to have Tory? She opened her eyes, and when she saw me looking at her, her smile widened.
She moved next to me, kissing my right shoulder and then my left one before peppering more kisses down my chest.
"We did this all wrong," she said.
"Excuse me?" I teased.
"You didn't let me enjoy any of these muscles."
"Tory, I was so fucking hungry for you. It was years of pent-up need."
She looked up in surprise. "Leo, you mean that?"
"Fuck yes, I do." It was something very personal to share, but I wanted her to know. I didn't want to lie.
"I don't understand. What do you mean, you've wanted me for years?"
"I’ve fantasized about making you mine since the first time we met.”
She gasped. "But you've never even hit on me… right?" She bit the inside of her cheek. "Did I totally miss the signs?”
"No, I never did," I confirmed. "But you’ve always wanted different things than I do. I figured staying friends was smarter.”
"That's true." A devilish smile appeared on her face. "But I'm starting to think that your way has some merits."
"Meaning?" I laughed, not at all minding that she was climbing into my lap, her breasts right in front of my face.
I pulled her nipple into my mouth. She gasped before sitting on my thighs.
"Sex is fun," she whispered. “Being casual has its perks. I think… it’s what I need right now.”
Yes! Fuck yes! This was music to my ears.
“I’m here to oblige.”
She rolled her pelvis forward and then gasped, looking between us. I was semihard again.
"Oh, and it looks like sex is on the table again.”
"Yes, it fucking is."
Tory wasn't in bed with me the next morning. I wondered if she'd gone back to her room in the middle of the night, but then I thought I’d heard her speaking softly. She was probably downstairs.
I looked at the clock on my phone. Fucking hell, no wonder—it was already 9:00 a.m. I rarely slept past eight o’clock during the week. Then again, we'd only gone to sleep a few hours ago. Last night had been fucking incredible.
I put on boxers and headed downstairs.
"Oh, here he is," Tory said into the phone. She was sitting on the kitchen counter. "I've got to go." She immediately hung up, putting the phone down.
"Who was that?"
"Um, Debbie," she said.
"Tory, why are you blushing?"
"No reason."
"Tell me."
"It was just girl talk."
"About me?" I asked slyly.
She pointed at my face. "Where did that smug smile come from?"
I shrugged. "I'm just putting two and two together. You were talking to your best friend. Girl talk. You're blushing. Obviously, you're bragging about our night, Tory."
"Well, yeah… She texted me to ask if everything went okay, and I spilled the beans."
"When did you wake up?"
"A while ago."
Now that she mentioned it, she did look very fresh, like she'd taken a shower. She'd even put on a short white dress that was already fueling my fantasies.
Shit.
"I also made breakfast," she said.
I pulled her closer to the edge of the island. "I just want you for breakfast."
She laughed softly. "I see. So, you're a sweet talker in the mornings, too, huh? Not only at night? I figured you might have been laying it on extra thick yesterday."
I straightened up, blinking. "Tory, everything I said was 100 percent true."
She planted both hands on my shoulders. "Such a good thing that you came down wearing no clothes. I can do this all day long." Then she bent forward, putting her lips on my right shoulder and moving them slowly up my neck.
I stopped her, tugging at her hair, pulling her back. "Let's have breakfast, or else you run the risk of me just taking you back upstairs or on this counter here."
She grinned. "Hold that thought."
I stepped back, and she hopped off the counter. That’s when I noticed the two bowls.
"You didn't need to prepare breakfast," I told her.
"I just made some oatmeal. You said you never have time to make it in the mornings, right?"
“Yes!” How did she remember that?
"I can’t believe you still love it. It used to be your weekend treat in college.”
“I kept up the tradition.”
“Remember when I tried to surprise you one weekend and showed up with oatmeal? And it was terrible?”
I grinned. “Hard not to remember. Thought I’d break a tooth on the dried plum.”
“I just didn’t realize it still had the pit.”
We both started to laugh as she pushed one bowl in front of me. I grabbed two spoons, and we dug in right away.
"This is great,” I said after a few bites.
"I looked up a recipe online."
This woman was incredible. We both ate quickly, and then she glanced at the fridge.
"I need more food. More sustenance. Someone gave me a very good workout last night."
I grinned. "Hell yes."
"And I need to unpack all the stuff I brought yesterday." She darted her gaze away. "Actually, I'm not sure if I should."
I stilled. "What do you mean?"
"I've been thinking." Her body language changed, her shoulders stiffening. "I think I want to stay in Boston for a while."
I could hear angels singing. Yes, yes, yes!
"That's great. Then why wouldn't you unpack?"
"Well, I need to get my own place."
Shit, I didn't see this coming.
"Right," I said, buying myself time to come up with a more appropriate reaction.
I felt insanely disappointed and couldn’t understand why. Obviously, if she wanted to stay in Boston long term, she’d need her own place.
"I'm super grateful that you invited me to stay, but I've been here a month. I think it's time for me to find a place of my own, you know? It would help me start over. Right now, I'm in limbo, undecided about my next steps."
"I’ll help you find something great. I recommend this neighborhood."
"I love the neighborhood," she said. "But we need to find something tiny. I don't want to spend too much on rent, and I don't need too much space."
"Tory." I touched her chin. She looked up at me. "You don't have to hurry, okay? I'm very good at finding what my clients need. I’ll have great options for you in no time. But don’t feel pressured to move right away.”
She licked her lips, pointing between us. "I think this would be easier if I do.”
"Really? Because I think just the opposite." I wiggled my eyebrows. "It’s so much more convenient if we live together. I just have to draw up a roommate clause that says clothing is forbidden."
She started to laugh. "I think this friends-with-benefits thing is a bit weird if we live together." She hesitated before adding, "It would kind of feel like a relationship."
That was true. But for the first time in my life, the idea didn't make me want to change the subject right away.
Fucking hell, what’s happening to me? My whole life, I’d dated and had casual hookups. I never intended to settle down or start a family. I preferred not staying overnight and not having anyone staying over with me either. But I didn't like the idea of Tory moving into her own place.
"Leo, what are you thinking?" she asked softly.
No way in hell could I tell her that. I couldn't even understand why my thoughts went there in the first place.
But this was the right thing to do. Tory might want to be friends with benefits now, but this would be just a phase for her.
You didn't go from wanting a picket fence, a dog, and three kids to not wanting that anymore.
"I'll contact my team right away," I assured her.
"Leo, it's Monday morning. I’m sure they’ve already got a lot on their plate."
“True, but I’m the boss.”
She rolled her eyes. "You sound like a tyrant."
"I promise you I'm anything but."
"Your prowess in bed kind of proves differently. But I don't mind."
“Is that so?”
She grinned. "Let's scour the fridge for something more."
"Yes, let's. We're both going to need a lot of sustenance for what I have in mind today. I can promise you that."