Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Leo
I ’m trying, lord, I am trying to act normal, like I haven’t spent the past two days in bed having epic, dick tingling sex with the woman I’ve been in love with for years. Learning her, and having her learn me. Having total, unfettered access to every inch of her, the taste and feel of her imprinting indelibly on my mind and heart and soul like the tattoo I’m drawing on my latest client.
But I can’t help zoning out, my mind wandering over the curve of her breasts, the glint of her silver nipple rings and how they looked in both the moonlight and the daylight, the line of her collarbone that I’ve now run countless kisses across. And I’ve never been in a better mood in my life, smiling at everything over and over.
I’m nothing if not a professional, so I’m making sure I ink this anime octopus right, taking extra care to follow the outlines on her thigh perfectly. But I can hear Sadie talking to her own client in the hallway as she brings him through to her studio, and god damn it if my dick doesn’t twitch at just the sound of her voice, saying nothing dirty, not even talking to me. I grin to myself. If I thought I was gone for that fucking vixen before…
…now, I’m just plain ruined .
“Do you do many anime and manga tattoos?” My client’s voice is soft, almost timid. Her name is Daniella, and she’s cute as fuck, blonde with a tiny pleated skirt and a purple crop top with skulls on. Her smile actually reminds me a lot of Sadie’s, bright and sweet.
“I do,” I reply, feeling bad that I’ve been daydreaming while I ink her. “A lot of Studio Ghibli, of course, but I did a great one last month based on Komi Can’t Communicate .”
Her smile widens. “That’s one of the best! Have you seen it?”
“I actually haven’t,” I reply, “but if you say it’s one of the best, I’ll definitely add it to my watch list.”
“You should. It’s on Netflix.” She squirms slightly, and her face goes slightly pink. “If you want…you could…I dunno, come over to my place and…we could watch it together?” She presses her lips together, and my heart melts. She strikes me as the shy type. That probably took a lot of guts.
“Ordinarily, I’d say hell yes,” I say to her honestly. It’s more than that she’s cute. It’s that she seems really, really nice. She has that ‘good people’ aura that’s getting rarer in this day and age, like she’d pick you up from the airport and bring you snacks for the journey home. “Unfortunately, I’m spoken for. But thank you very much for the invitation, that was kind of you.” I take her hand and squeeze it, hoping she isn’t embarrassed.
“Oh…well, no problem, the invitation is open. As friends, I mean.” She goes a bit redder, looking around the room to avoid my gaze. Eventually, she gives up with a shrug. “Can’t blame a girl for asking,” she chuckles.
“Always worth asking,” I agree. “And listen, Daniella…whoever gets to say yes to you is a lucky bastard, and no mistake. Never let that slip your mind.” I mean what I say, and I think I managed to get that across, because her smile brightens even more, and she squeezes my hand back.
Sadie looks pale. She’s still smiling and giving me secret hot looks when no-one’s looking, but I can’t help but notice she’s massaging her left temple off and on, and rubbing her lower abdomen as well, grimacing every now and again during lunch. She’s hardly touched the chicken salad sandwich Em picked up for her, either.
It’s been about a month since I last saw her like this, so I’m pretty sure I know what’s happening.
We’ve spent lunchtime with the gang acting like nothing’s changed and we didn’t spend the weekend running each other ragged. But when we all head back to work, I duck into her studio, fondly flipping Gary off as he croaks shocking obscenities at me amiably from his perch by her desk. Little fucker has really made himself at home, and is popular with everyone’s clients, not just Sadie’s. They all want to stop by and see the foul mouthed bird at Wishbone.
The look she gives me, like we’re being sneaky and she loves it, makes my insides tickle happily.
“Y’alright?” I ask her, pulling her hips towards me. “Need any painkillers, some chocolate? A shot of whisky?”
She opens her mouth to say something, but then laughs softly and shakes her head. “How did you know?”
“Because I pay attention. Like I told you before. And I know when my woman is hurting.” I knead her womb with my knuckles, and yikes, her abdomen is hard as a rock.
“Mmmmmm,” she purrs, leaning her forehead on my chest. “Keep doing that.”
“You got it,” I say, kissing the top of her head. “Anything else?”
“Nah, I’m OK, thanks. I’ve got some painkillers on my desk, and it doesn’t look like it’ll turn into a migraine this time.” I’ve seen her when she has an attack, and it’s awful. Except now, when it happens, I’d get to look after her the way I always wanted. The thought of being the one she turns to when she needs looking after makes me smile, feeling fully at peace with everything for the first time in a long while.
I continue massaging her lower belly with my fists for a little while longer, and then cup her face in my hands and kiss her until some colour returns to her cheeks.
From a new WhatsApp group started by Emily Gastright called THE TIME HAS COME!!!! (Members: Emily Gastright, Eli Gastright, Dean Gastright, Liaden O’Brien, Tippi Mills, Tim Stewart)
Dean Gastright: I can’t believe they think they’re fooling us [laughing emoji]
Emily Gastright: I thought it was just wishful thinking on my part [twenty big smile emojis]
Tippi Mills: What? Tell meeeeeeeeeee
Tippi Mills: Seriously, my flight to Phoenix is delayed and I am bored AF. Spill the damn tea
Tim Stewart: I mean, I haven’t heard from Sadie all weekend. Developments???
Tim Stewart: And she didn’t tell me [laughing emoji]
Tim Stewart: [GIF of Frasier Crane yelling that he is wounded]
Eli Gastright: I definitely caught a look between them
Tippi Mills: What kind of look??
Tippi Mills: Like an I-know-what-you-look-like-naked look, or a god-we-are-so-in-love look, or both????? Please say both
Dean Gastright: I mean, with all due respect to you and Tim as their siblings, I’m gonna say they definitely spent some time taking it out on each other in the sack
Liaden O’Brien: Fucking lunchtime meetings, I can’t believe I missed this!!!!!!!!!
Emily Gastright: Yeah, I think Dean’s right. And Eli’s right. There was a special glint in their eyes when they looked at each other. Like they have secrets…
Emily Gastright: CAUTIOUSLY HOPEFUL [five fingers crossed emojis]
Tippi Mills: Oh my god, I’m going to knock their heads together if things aren’t happening between them
Liaden O’Brien: ME TOO
Emily Gastright: Ugh, I need to get a grip
Emily Gastright: I have no chill about this at all
Dean Gastright: [Six laughing emojis]
Emily Gastright: What?
Dean Gastright: That’s exactly what Sadie said about you and Eli in the text chat way back when!
Emily Gastright: What [laughing emoji] That’s crazy
Emily Gastright: Maybe that’s a good sign… God, I could so easily become superstitious
Emily Gastright: It’s so difficult letting them have their space and not trying to hurry them along [wailing face emoji]
Tim Stewart: It’ll happen. I give it another week before they’re official.
Emily Gastright: Yeah?
Tim Stewart: Yeah. I know my sister.
Dean Gastright: I’ll take a piece of that action. Tim calls 7 days, I’m gonna say 10. I think she’ll put him through his paces a bit longer before she admits anything.
Eli Gastright: Are we seriously doing this?
Dean Gastright: Fuck yeah we are
Dean Gastright: Remember the bet he had for when you’d propose?
Eli Gastright: Yeah, I remember. Twenty bucks on two weeks. Leo’s got a tiger by the tail and he knows it.
Leo
It’s late afternoon. I don’t have any clients for the rest of the day.
I’m pretty sure she doesn’t, either.
I’ve finally sorted Dean and Liaden’s one hundred and twenty five grand, and I’m meant to be dropping in on them both after work. Like with Eli, I’ve looked forward to handing over that money to Dean for the last ten years, made all the sweeter by knowing he has a better life now and can enjoy it more. I’ve pictured it over and over again in my mind.
And now, all I can think about is whether I can sneak into Sadie’s room so I can kiss her again. It’s a craving stronger than any hunger I’ve ever experienced before. A simple kiss with her makes my blood burn in my veins. I think this must be what addiction feels like: a fierce need that clears your mind of anything else, even the important stuff.
So for a moment I think my brain’s just showing me what I want to see when she creeps into my studio.
“Hey,” she whispers, grinning wickedly before launching herself at me, more purposeful than at the wedding, more deliberate. Her arms are around my neck, her body pressed so tightly against me that you couldn’t get a sheet of paper between us. Her mouth is so soft against mine, and yet firm, moving feverishly. I don’t hold back. I pull her hair hard and pour everything I’ve ever felt for her into this one kiss, wanting to punish her a little again for making me wait, and reward myself a lot for my patience.
She pushes me back against the wall, and I fucking love it when she gets assertive. When she takes control to get what she wants, when she demands what she needs from me, it feels right in every conceivable way. On an instinctual level, from the second I met her I knew she’d be like this. I knew she’d be a live wire, untameable when unleashed. It’s one of the things that drew me to her so hard. Like recognises like. Fire recognises fire. Her eyes burn into mine.
And then she drops to her knees.
As she hits the ground, I’ve never felt more powerful and in control… But at the same time, I’m one hundred percent at her mercy, vulnerable and excited and loving every second.
She maintains eye contact with me, because she learned over the weekend that it drives me wild, and she smiles lazily as she undoes my belt and my fly.
“God, woman,” I mutter, the muscles in my abs jumping fitfully as she reaches in and pulls out my cock with gentle hands. It’s at full mast, and the pulse that runs through it as she rubs me up and down, up and down, makes my breath catch.
“Shh,” she teases me, before slowly running the flat of her tongue from the base of my balls to the slit of my helmet, where a drop of pre-cum is already waiting for her. When she sucks the very end, my knees shake, and a growl rumbles deep in my chest.
“You…sure you wanna do this…” She’s been feeling off colour. I don’t want to be a selfish ass…but she’s not making it easy, coming in here and putting my cock in her mouth like it’s not one of my biggest fantasies come true…
“Yes,” she says with fake exasperation, grinning up at me, “but I suggest you shut up and enjoy it. Quietly .”
She’s right; I can still hear Em and Eli’s voices -
And then I’m not aware of a damn thing, because every sense in my body surges right to where her mouth is sucking on me. It’s as electric as being hooked up to the mains. I grab her hair again, this time to clear my view so I can watch. She looks beautiful with me in her mouth. But the pleasure is too intense for me to be able to fully appreciate it the way I want to. Dear god, the way she runs her tongue around and around the head of my dick while her eyes smile up at me is a new layer of heaven. And when she takes me as far as she can, right to the back of her throat, while massaging the base in a perfect rhythm, has a noise somewhere between a grunt and a gasp pulled from me helplessly.
I jerk against the wall, holding the back of her head for dear life and dimly marvelling at the silkiness of her ginger waves, as I helplessly start to fuck her mouth, unable to stop. She lets out a smug murmur, and her head bobs with even more enthusiasm, working with me. She’s pulling out my entire damn soul.
Surely she knows by now that it’s already hers.
For long moments she keeps going, and I keep fighting to stay quiet. And it’s nearly impossible. It feels too good, so good I can hardly stand it. Eli’s voice gets closer, and I clap a hand over my mouth to silence even the unstoppable panting as best I can. He sounds like he’s heading for my door, and she won’t stop, and I can’t stop, I can't hold my hips still, they just keep going…
And just as I decide Eli’s just going to have to see everything and just deal because there’s no reason good enough to call a halt to this bliss, he makes a few sounds and heads away again. My head is buzzing too much to be able to make words out of what I heard, but it’s like he was going to come in, but someone stopped him.
Thank fuck for that.
And then she sucks me even harder, damn near viciously, to bring my attention back to her, and I go past the point of no return.
“I’m gonna fucking come,” I whisper to her as a warning, but I’ve started shooting into her mouth before I even get to finish the sentence. It’s no problem not making a sound, because I couldn’t make one if I tried, my whole body rigid and my teeth clenched against a silent shout. My eyes screw up so hard it hurts, and my vision takes forever to go back to normal as the wrenching climax eases.
Sadie looks up at me and wipes her lips clean with one finger before sucking it. “Good boy, staying quiet,” she smarts off, and I can’t help it. I fall to my own knees in front of her and hold her as close as I can, dick still out, caging her head in my hands and marvelling at the beauty of it.
I will never have enough of this woman. No measure of time, no intensity of any fuck, could ever be enough.
But I’m going to enjoy chasing it.