Chapter Six #3
She swallowed, curling her touch ever so slightly.
Her entire life, she’d been shoved aside, and she never minded it. She adjusted to putting on a brave face and lying about being fine.
After all, it was necessary.
But if she and James were doing this … they couldn’t hide from each other.
“Why’d you agree?” she asked.
“Why’d you ask?” he returned.
“Because I’ve always played things safe.” She rubbed the hem of his shirt between her fingers. “And for once, I wanted to do something out of control.”
His breathing shallowed. “And I’m a risk?”
“The biggest, but …” She paused, finding his gaze again.
“Sophie,” he murmured, his hands covering hers. “Am I a risk you want to take?”
She tilted her head, the last time she’d laid it all on the line screeching through her mind in a blaze of warning lights.
What if…
No.
There was no sign James would do that, and things had already gone differently than planned.
She took a deep breath. “Yes.”
He nodded and cast his shirt away.
She sucked in a breath. “Oh, my God.”
His sleeve tattoo didn’t end at his shoulder. Instead, it turned into a massive clock, swirling ink onto his pec. The clock curved upwards into those twisting flames, thin tendrils winding against his nape.
Her gaze moved to his right side, locking onto the small stamp of Roman Numerals on his collarbone, and that pitch-black feather on the side of his ribs.
“Like what you see?”
“I more than like it.” Running her hands down his chest, her nails scoured those defined abs.
He groaned, pulling her into his lap. His lips found hers in a frantic and searching way, like he didn’t know when he’d next see her.
In a way, I guess he doesn’t.
His teeth nipped her, and he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, but delicious
gentleness contoured everything. Beneath her shirt, his hands held onto her waist, touch sweeping her skin.
“Your hands have calluses.” She lifted her arms for him to remove her blouse. “I didn’t expect that for someone who sits behind a desk.”
“I go to the gym a lot. Now,”—he tapped the waistband of her jeans—“you going to take these off for me?”
A pleasant aching thrummed between her legs, heat pulsating low in her stomach. Leaning forward, she took his bottom lip between her teeth and tugged gently. “Take me to your room first.”
His laugh caressed her skin, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to his room. Her lips molded to his again, her hands running through his hair and pressing his head closer to her.
He kicked the door shut, stamping out the blare of the abandoned movie, and pinned her to the wall with his body.
In the sudden quiet, she became much more aware of what they were about to dive into. But she didn’t care; she was too overwhelmed by him to worry about the consequences.
She rolled her hips against him, eyes widening as his erection pressed against her thigh. Oh, my God.
She moved her hips again, a desperate sound escaping her.
“More,” she breathed.
“Well, I guess that answers whether you’re sure about a no-strings thing,” he groaned. Mouthing along her jaw and nipping along the arch of her neck, his tongue darted out to soothe the bite as he undid her jeans.
Need roared into an inferno under her skin, burning her alive. She dropped her bra to the ground, followed soon after by her underwear and the rest of his clothes.
“Jesus,” he breathed. “Sophie, you’re pe—”
“Don’t,” she interrupted.
They couldn’t afford to drop compliments.
Still, she didn’t hold herself back from running her eyes appreciatively over him.
“Come here,” she whispered.
He stepped forward, entangling his hands in her hair. “Still want me to bite you?”
“Always.” She pulled him into another deep kiss, craving his taste all over.
One of his hands wrapped around the base of her throat, fingers squeezing as his other hand slipped between her legs.
She sighed in content, pressing her hips toward his touch. “God, yes, keep doing that.”
He kissed her shoulder while rubbing circles against her clit, before pushing a finger into her. Adding another, he pumped them in and out as his mouth found hers again.
Her breathing quickened as she sighed against his lips.
His hand left her neck, palming her breast instead, and his fingers sped up.
Groaning, her head tipped back against the wall, and she canted her hips toward his hand.
“There’s a good girl,” he muttered. “Fuck my hand, just like that.”
He toyed with her nipples, tugging and rolling them between his fingers, all while his other hand didn’t slow.
Gasping, her head fell forward onto his shoulder, creeping closer and closer to the edge inside.
His head dipped, lips puckering over her nipple.
She tripped over the cliff. Back arching, a flurry of gasps slipped through her lips as her thighs shook.
He caught her around her waist. “You good?”
She nodded, sucking in deep breaths. Tilting her head, she asked, “Is that all you got?”
“Careful what you wish for.” He grinned as he carried her to his bed, dropping her to his mattress.
“Do you know how badly I wanted to ask you out when I first saw you?” Falling to his knees, he smoothed his hands down her body, and his lips traced down her stomach.
“So, why’d you wait?”
“You looked like you were going to kill me that first day.” He mouthed at her hip. “And I knew there was no way you’d say yes.”
She chuckled, the laughter rolling into a groan as his hand squeezed her breast. “You took my coffee. You were lucky I left well enough alone.”
“You really would’ve yelled at me?”
She tilted her head. “Do you want me to?”
“In a way.” He hummed and kissed her thigh. Offering a wicked grin, he slung her legs over his shoulders. “Let’s start by seeing how responsive you can be for me.”
His tongue spread and twirled across her clit, and there was something gentle yet treacherous about the way he licked her.
Gasping, she grabbed at the sheets as she craned her neck to look at him.
His mouth worked as he met her gaze, holding it briefly before tearing away. Slipping his touch to her calves, he widened her legs.
God, the things he did … she melted into his mattress. Her fingers ran through his hair, holding him to her.
Whispered encouragement floated from her lips as pleasure overwhelmed her.
A moment later, she cried out, crashing over the edge again.
“Such a good girl, letting me hear you.” He kissed her thigh.
Deep breaths inflated her lungs as she stretched out. “God, you’re spoiling me. I haven’t even touched you yet.”
“You don’t have to tonight, if you don’t want to.” His gaze carved down her body. “I can just focus on you.”
She snorted. “Nice try.”
Catching her breath, she sat up. Her gaze flicked below his hips, and she met his eyes. “Get on the bed.”
Bracing her weight on her knees, she gripped his cock and took the head in her mouth.
A tortured groan slipped from his lips, and he roped his fingers into her hair, tugging. “Good God.”
She hummed and continued her movements, her tongue swirling around and snaking up to his tip.
Taking more of him into her mouth, she relished the whimpers coming out of him, the noises only adding to the pressure between her legs.
He groaned, his breath coming in labored pants. “That’s it. Relax your throat.”
Her teeth gave the lightest of scrapes, and he jerked, fingers tightening in her hair.
“Fuck,” he grunted.
Pulling his cock from her mouth, she peered up at him. “Did I hurt you?”
Most men didn’t like it when you got your teeth involved. God knew her ex didn’t. But there was something about James that had made her want to try.
“No. It felt amazing.” He panted and smoothed his hand down her spine. “Do it again.”
She grinned and flicked her tongue against his tip, surrounding his cock with her mouth. Scouring her teeth down his shaft, he unraveled before her eyes.
Racing to the bathroom, she locked the door behind her.
She didn’t regret what happened; far from it. In terms of the bedroom, all her exes paled in comparison.
And on top of that … James had asked if she was alright with him being into the rougher side, which spoke volumes. Not to mention his constant check-ins to see if she was alright.
But the fact of the matter was, she couldn’t stay here. That leaned too … intimate for what this was.
Blowing out a breath, she pressed her frizzy hair down in the mirror. She had donned the clothes she had worn before and adjusted them, trying to make herself as presentable as possible.
“Fuck,” she muttered. What the hell do I do?
The easy solution lay before her: sneak out. But that was … extremely rude.
Still, what other choice is there?
Another deep breath snuck past her lips as she steeled herself and left the bathroom.
Grabbing her purse from the hall table, she crept to the elevator and slipped her shoes on.
She could only pray James slept, succumbing to the exhaustion of the day after making sure she was cleaned up and taken care of.
A chuckle made her freeze. “Well, this is flattering.”
She turned, guilt flooding her like she had just been caught sneaking out past her curfew.
James leaned against the wall opposite her, clad in pajama pants with his arms crossed across his bare chest. He grinned and clucked his tongue. “Shame. I must’ve not done my job right if you can still walk.”
“I’d say that’s more embarrassing for you than me.” She swallowed, desire skittering over her skin and collecting between her legs. “And there’s always next time.”
His eyes flashed, roaming down her body. “Or you can stay, and we can take care of that right now,”—he winked—“time efficiency and all.”
Clearing her throat, she strutted over to him and ran a finger down his jaw.
“Sounds tempting.” She smirked. “But unlucky for you, I’m leaving.”
Taking a staggering breath, he arched a brow. “It’s almost one in the morning.”
“I know.”
But I can’t stay here. I won’t.