Chapter 18
James
Iplace Stella on the bathroom counter while I fiddle with the shower, turning the knobs until the temperature is steaming but not boiling. Then, I turn to her and methodically remove her clothing, leaving grazing, reverent touches in my wake, watching goosebumps prickle to mark where I’ve been.
The slight shiver she gives when I finally have her naked in front of me is tantalizing. I don’t stop touching her, savouring the way she leans into me, subconsciously searching for my touch, my comfort, as I stand, tipping her chin to look at me.
Her pupils have bloomed, leaving a ring a blue around them. The feral look she gives me has blood rushing to my cock as I press in closer to her, savouring her laboured breaths. She’s looking at me like she wants to consume me.
“I know we said one time, but I can’t stop thinking about you and it’s driving me crazy. I want… I want more,” I murmur into her ear as I drag my lips along the column of her throat.
“You’re the one who was adamant that this wasn’t going to happen,” she whispers.
“Says the woman who left a note,” I tease her, running my lips over her pulse.
She shudders, gripping me tighter. “Craving you is my new favourite pastime. Every time I see you, every time I get close to you, I’m holding myself back from kissing you, from whispering all the things I’m going to do to you in your ear, from wrapping your hair around my fist and showing you exactly how much I want you.
” The words tumble out, each one a growl ripped from the possessive, caveman-like instinct to make her mine.
“You know, I’m starting to think you might be a romantic,” she murmurs.
She leans into me as my arms band around her.
The moment I have her in my hold again, it’s as if I’m finally coming up for air when I hadn’t even realized I was drowning.
I’m an addict getting a hit they’ve been searching for.
She’s the forbidden thing I can’t stop thinking about.
“You might be right.” Every other girl left my mind the moment she entered my bed.
Stella is stuck there, snuggling into the farthest corner, exploring more of it than I even know.
She’s carved her initials there, claiming me even if she doesn’t realize it.
Even if this can’t last, if this isn’t meant for me, I don’t want to fight this anymore.
“Should I expect you to chase after me in the rain?” she teases.
“Don’t push it, sunshine,” I chuckle, checking the temperature of the water. Little does she know, I’m a goddamn liar. I’m starting to think I might chase her through almost anything.
I don’t want to wonder what might have happened if things were different, if there was an alternate future for me. I’m about to sign away my entire life, I just want to have this one part for myself before the ink dries.
But Nessa.
Before anything happens, I need one reassurance.
“You have to promise me one thing, sunshine.”
“What?”
I take a deep, focusing breath to get out the words, even as I grab a handful of her ass and grip her hair. “If things end… badly… pick Nessa.” She pulls away for a moment, looking up at me questioningly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you’re her friend, and if it’s ever between me and her, pick her. Please, sunshine.” I need to know that what happened before will never happen again. Nessa will not lose people because of me.
I can’t lose Stella either.
“Okay.” She seems confused, but that’s all the permission I need. I slam my mouth to hers, crushing her between my chest and the shelf. Her hands sneak under my shirt, rucking it up as her fingers trace over my abs, dragging her nails lightly, making my muscles twitch.
This was exactly what I needed. To have her under my hands, under my body, knowing that she’s safe and sound, and, at least for now, she’s mine.
Stella
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way James kisses me. He holds nothing back, letting his teeth and tongue roam while I’m completely at his mercy. There’s no ambiguity, no questioning of his intent.
Maybe he doesn’t need to be something I resist. I haven’t changed my mind on a relationship, but the more he touches me, the more time we spend together, the less weight my reasoning seems to hold.
I help him rid himself of his clothes and I audibly gulp.
The last time I saw him naked, we’d been feverish, frantic, too desperate to take it all in.
Now, as I look at him, I remember why I was sore between the legs for a full two days afterwards. I was nervous when I saw it last time. Now, all I can think of is how good it felt, how full he made me, how hard he made me come.
His dick isn’t the only appealing part of seeing James naked. He’s freaking gorgeous.
The v-cut from his abdomen to his pelvis is mouth-watering.
I have the strangest urge to lick it. There’s a light dusting of blonde chest hair, only slightly lighter than the hair on his head, but it’s curled a little.
He must go to the gym a lot because there isn’t a muscle on his body I can see that looks unattended to.
James carries me to the shower, my ass firmly in his grip, and I purr when the warm water sluices over the both of us. A shower steamer in the corner is letting off scents of eucalyptus and mint as James sets me down. He grabs a bottle and begins lathering soap over my body.
I’m confused. Was he not about to bang me in here?
And then, he sinks to his knees.
His still-lathered hands make their way up my legs, curving around every contour until they wrap around the tops of my thighs.
I shudder, the proximity to where I need him making it almost unbearable.
His touch skips my sex entirely, curving up my waist to my breasts, my arms, massaging and lathering me as quickly as the warm water washes it away.
My hips cant towards his face, commanding his attention. Looking up at me, he places a sweet kiss on my hipbone before biting it, marking me. I gasp, the sensations so at odds my brain can’t process them.
“You start out so demanding sunshine, but in the end, you always beg so prettily.” The low rasp of his voice scrapes through my insides, my thighs quivering in anticipation as he situates himself at the apex of my thighs, placing scalding kisses on my legs, skirting the area where I need him most.
I sink my hands into his hair, steadying myself as he drives me mad.
A frustrated growl slips out of me as he bypasses my clit again and the subtle vibration of his laugh drives me further into insanity.
He looks up at me, never taking his eyes off me as he dives in and sucks hard on my clit with no warning.
I cry out, and I would have fallen over if he wasn’t holding me up by my hips.
I rest my back against the cold tile, handing over control.
James loops my leg over his shoulder as he devours me, sucking and licking until my moans turn into screams. I don’t have the leverage to push into his face or make him do anything and he is evilly aware of the fact.
I don’t know how long it’s been. By the time he has me falling apart on his tongue the water’s running cold.
James reaches out and turns off the water while remaining fixated on my pussy, lapping up my release as I continue to writhe in his hold. My grip on his hair becomes impossibly tight, yanking him up to look at me.
“James, please.”
“Fucking hell,” he growls as he stands up, hoisting me up with him.
I cling to him as he steps out of the shower, spinning me to face the mirror as he presses up against my back.
He grazes my ribs, trailing up until he’s cupping my breasts, expertly rolling my tight nipples in his fingers.
Any tension in my body has melted away, every thought emptied under his caress.
“Do you want me?” He asks, as though I’m not already dripping down my thighs. I push my hips into him, gripping the counter in front of me. I meet his eye, every unspoken word flowing between us.
“Yes,” is the only word I need to say. He grabs a condom from a drawer, sliding it on with impressive speed.
My vision falters as he slowly pushes inside me, the near-painful stretch making me cry out in pleasure.
I would be embarrassed by the low, intense moan he drags out of me, but I’m so blissed out I don’t have room in my mush-turned mind to care.
He circles his hips, hitting every nerve ending inside of me, drenching my soul in decadent ecstasy.
A fresh wave of unadulterated arousal pours over me as he sinks even deeper. I can’t catch my breath.
My arms shake as he increases his rhythm, implanting himself so deep inside me I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get him out.
And I don’t want to.
I give up trying to match his pace, letting him use my body and manipulate me how he needs me, knowing that my pleasure will be fulfilled no matter what.
Because I trust him.
Never once have I thought he would hurt me. He’s never lied to me. He’s taken care of me. I don’t need to give a single thought about whether or not to let him have my body the way he wants.
His grip slides up to my throat, lifting me from the counter to stand flush against his chest, his thrusting never stopping for a moment.
The change in angle makes me moan, arching my ass into him to take him deeper.
James uses his thumb to turn my attention to the mirror, watching my breasts bounce with every thrust, seeing the deep flush appear all over my neck and chest. My hair is damp and wild, my eyes half-closed in ecstasy, my mouth hanging open as sounds pour from me, unbidden.
Pleasure licks its way up my spine as James reaches to thumb my clit.
We make a very pretty picture.
When I look up to see his face, James is intensely concentrated, a slight bead of sweat gathering at his brow as his thick, hard length plunges into me. He’s looking down at me, taking me all in as he uses me.
My pussy flutters and clenches around him as my orgasm builds.
He is unrelenting in his pace, never giving me a break from the onslaught of pleasure.
He’s everywhere, covering me, filling me.
I squirm in his hold, desire spurring me on as I chase my relief.
The dam bursts before I even know it’s coming, sneaking up on me and taking me under its thrall.
I’m grateful James can hold my weight because I don’t think my legs work anymore as I’m completely overtaken.
I’m a shuddering, dripping, whimpering mess as he finishes inside me with a shout, his hold bruising. Every twitch of his cock sends new shocks of satisfaction through me as I drip the culmination of his efforts onto the bathroom floor.
James is efficient when he cleans me up and swoops me up into a towel, carrying me to his bed.
Laying here, in the bed that smells like him, with his comforting warmth surrounding me, I drift off, the events of today nothing more than a mere memory.