“God, do that again,” I begged.
She did, and my balls tightened in response. I shifted my position so that every push forward, my groin rubbed her clit. That friction coupled with the attention I gave her nipple had her peaking in seconds, the culmination of weeks of sexual tension. She toppled over into climax, her muscles pulsing against my cock, the sounds of her cries in my ear.
“Ah, fuck,” I ground out, my cum spilling inside her, my dick jerking with a long-forgotten pleasure that made me feel as if every muscle I possessed had been taken from me. My legs shook as I eased her down to the floor.
The passion that had exploded out of me receded, and common sense came flooding back.
Shit. No condom.
I shoved my dick back inside my pants and zipped up. “Fuck, Belle, I’m sorry.”
A crease appeared between her eyebrows, and I wanted to kiss it away.
“For what?”
I grazed my teeth over my bottom lip. “I didn’t use a condom.”
She nodded, then chuckled. “I know. Your sperm is trickling down my legs.”
“But what if…?”
“I get pregnant?” she asked, her brow arched. “I won’t. I’m on birth control. Unless it’s STIs you were worried about. In which case I’d say pregnancy was more likely given our particular circumstances, wouldn’t you?”
She had a point, but still…
“Stay there,” I muttered. “I’ll get you a cloth.”
I darted into the guest bath, praying it wasn’t in use. I got lucky. In less than a minute, I’d returned to the library. I handed over the damp cloth, averting my eyes while she cleaned herself up. I should say something, but I didn’t know what to say. We hadn’t exactly planned this. Then again, in my experience, the best sex was usually unplanned.
And that… that had been right up there with fucking awesome sex, despite only lasting minutes.
Next time, I’d do better.
“What are you thinking?” Belle asked, standing before me now, fully dressed.
I reached for her hand and pulled her to me. “That we need to do that again, and this time I’m going to savor you for hours.”
19
Belle
Upton towed me back to the dining room, and all I could think was, “I hope they can’t smell sex on me.”
I’d cleaned up the best I could, but every now and then, I caught a hint of my arousal mingled with his.
And I wouldn’t change a thing.
Well, apart from the timing. Maybe. But the spontaneity of it had been exactly what we’d both needed, especially after I’d screwed up so badly by telling Sebastian my secret before I’d shared it with Upton. He could have cut me off entirely, yet in the end, his anger and betrayal were the things that had brought us together. Our relationship had progressed these past few weeks, but then it had kind of stalled after the trip up the mountain, almost as if we hadn’t known how to take that next step, and so we’d teetered on the edge, moving neither forward nor backward.
We entered the dining room, and the hum of conversation stopped. Sebastian’s gaze went to where our hands were joined, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. His eyes collided with mine, and he inclined his head. I think that was his way of extending his approval.
“It was great to see you all,” Upton announced. “But Belle and I have a few things to discuss, and so we’ll leave you to it.” He turned to go, then stopped and faced the table once more. “You guys all have hotel rooms, right? Or did you need to stay here?”
“We’re good,” Ryker drawled. “But thanks for the latent thought of hospitality.”
Upton shot a glare at Ryker who just grinned.
“Zak,” I began, but Upton was way ahead of me.
“Zak, you’re welcome to stay. There’s a room on the ground floor that Barbara can easily make up for you, or if you’d rather go home, one of the guys will make sure you get there safely.”
Zak sought me out, his smile exuding happiness. “I’ll stay if that’s okay. It’d be good to catch up with my sister over breakfast.” He finished off with a wink.
I sent a glower in his direction.
“Actually, that’s a great idea, Zak,” Sebastian said. “I say we all meet here for breakfast in the morning. Around nine?”
Upton glanced down at me, his golden eyes burning, and making me burn, too.
“Make it ten,” he said.
Sebastian barked out a laugh. “Ten it is.”
We escaped upstairs, Upton’s long strides meaning I had to do the occasional skip to keep up with him. He led me into his bedroom, closing the door behind me. I held my breath, anticipating a fast come-on, given what had happened in the library. Instead, he crossed over to the window, drew the drapes, and then turned around and raked his gaze over me, head to foot and back again.
“Come here,” he murmured. “I went too fast before. This time, I want to relish you. To touch and kiss every inch of you. And afterward, we’re going to talk.”
I caught the hint of steel in his tone at the talking part. You’re not out of the woods yet, Belle. He mustn’t have bought my reasoning of why I’d shared details with Sebastian instead of him, and I wasn’t sure I had any more satisfactory answers. Sebastian was warm and funny whereas Upton was surly and spent a lot of time brooding, and I could just imagine how it would go down if I offered that up as an explanation. Besides, that wasn’t the reason. I’d made an honest mistake, that was all.
Then again, Upton wasn’t nearly as sullen and moody these days. He definitely smiled more, although he could still disappear inside his head on occasion, making him impossible to reach.
“I’m waiting.”
Smiling at his not-so-subtle command, I kicked off my shoes and padded over to him, curling my toes in his deep-pile wall-to-wall carpeting. He flicked my hair over one shoulder, his fingertips brushing my neck as he did so. I shivered from his touch.
His gaze rested on my face. “You saved me,” he murmured, his hand curling around the back of my neck to the nape.
He massaged gently, and tingles shot down my arms and legs. I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of him, the smell of him, soon, I hoped, the taste of him.
“We saved each other,” I replied. “You might not believe me, but I needed you almost as much as you needed me.”
The pad of his thumb caressed my earlobe, and my stomach tied itself in knots. God, he meant it when he said he planned to take his time. He’d hardly touched me, and already I was a hot mess.
He inched my zipper down, slowly, building the anticipation. I parted my lips, inviting him to kiss me. He ignored my open invitation, instead his fingertips and his thumb continued to explore the soft skin on my neck, my earlobe, my cheek, almost as if he was a blind man trying to memorize my face through touch alone.
And all the while his amber eyes burned—and I went up in flames.
My dress came loose and then fell in a heap at my feet. Only then did his eyes leave my face, and his hands followed, touching first my collarbone then heading south where he cupped my right breast through my lace bra. My nipple hardened instantly.
“You’re too beautiful for me,” he muttered. “But I don’t care. I’m stealing you anyway.”
I thought about arguing, of telling him—again—that his scars only enhanced his appeal rather than detracted from his insanely good looks, but I’d be wasting my breath. Upton still needed more time to reconcile what he felt he’d lost with the reality. He truly believed his attractiveness only came down to his physical appearance. He failed, yet, to see the full picture. He would. Eventually.
“Can I undress you?” I asked, the flat of my palm connecting with his taut, broad chest.
He swallowed and nodded.
I slipped my hands beneath his jacket, up over his shoulders, and slid it down his arms. When I bent to pick it up—even I knew an expensive suit when I saw one—he stopped me with a firm grip on my arm and a shake of his head.
/> “Leave it.”
My fingers slowly unfastened the buttons on his shirt, and I prayed I wouldn’t fumble. I’d only seen him naked from the waist up once, and the sight of him had filled my dreams for days. Now I’d not only get to see him naked, but to touch him as well. Explore his body with my hands and my lips and my tongue.
His shirt joined the jacket, and I went to work on his trousers. He stepped out of them and stood before me, all ropes of muscle and tanned skin. I dropped my gaze. He already had an erection, the head peeking out from the top of his black boxers. I had no idea what made me do it. With little experience to call upon, I was acting on instinct alone. And that instinct sent me to my knees. I stared up at him, waiting for him to say something, or guide me, or maybe even stop me.
He did none of those things.
Instead, with hooded eyes, he loomed over me, his throat working, his jaw tight, his thighs locked in place.
I slipped my thumbs into his underwear and rolled his boxers down his legs. His cock sprang free, right at my eye level. Thick and long and hard.
No wonder I’d winced when he’d pushed inside me in the library.
I’d only ever seen one other—Marin’s. And it didn’t look like that.
Stop. Stay in the now.
The past was the past, and my immediate future was entangled with the stunning man standing naked before me. How long that’d last was anyone’s guess. We, more than most, understood how things could change in the time it took someone to snap their fingers. Life was short, and whereas Upton had closed himself off in order to cope with his grief, I’d chosen to exorcise my guilt by being the best version of me I could be, and help others.
And I counted Upton as a success story.
“If you don’t touch it or lick it or fucking suck it soon, I’m going to lose my ever-loving mind.”
His words brought a smile to my face. I’d gotten lost in my thoughts for a moment, exactly like he did at times. I wondered what he thought of on those occasions when his eyes glazed over and he’d sit with Bandit in his lap, absentmindedly stroking him as he stared out across his backyard.
I must ask him one day.
But not now.
“Belle,” he growled.
I flicked my tongue over the head, capturing the bead of moisture along his slit. He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, and his cock jerked.
“More.”
I gripped the base and angled the head toward me, then closed my lips over him. The musky taste of man spilled onto my taste buds. He was steel wrapped in satin. Flawless.
His hands burrowed into my hair, but he didn’t push, or pull, or tug. He simply anchored them there, almost as if he needed to steady himself. His thighs quivered, and when I swirled my tongue around him, his chest rumbled with a soft groan.
I lost myself to him, settling into a rhythm that he must have approved of if the sounds he made were any indication. I’d kept my gaze lowered, but as he thickened beneath my hand and my tongue and I sensed he was close, I risked a peek at him.
My clit throbbed. Jesus, that’s so damned hot. He had his eyes closed, his full lips parted in a silent moan, his head leaning back. His abs rippled every time I pulled him deep, and his thighs shook so much, I wondered how they were holding him upright.
My free hand traveled over my stomach, and I touched myself. A jolt of electricity coursed through me, my orgasm on the brink from giving pleasure rather than receiving it.
That’s new. And addictive. So very addictive.
“Make yourself come,” Upton ground out, and only then did I realize he’d opened his eyes and was watching me, fascinated. “God, Belle, do it.”
I groaned around him, my throat vibrating against his cock.
“Fuck.”
His fingers tightened in my hair, and I rubbed the nub of nerves between my parted thighs, sucking harder on him in response to my own approaching climax.
“Sweet fucking Jesus.”
White spots danced before my eyes, and a swell, almost a convulsion, grew in my lower abdomen. I rubbed harder, faster, and in response, my other hand, the one wrapped around Upton’s erection, sped up, too.
“Shit, damn.”
His essence spilled onto the back of my tongue and slid down my throat. Seconds later, I peaked and tumbled over the edge. I released him, my head lolling back, a satisfied moan spilling from my lips.
I found myself encased in Upton’s arms, and he held me close to his strong, taut chest, then set me down on top of the bed. He lay down beside me, and his warm palm skated up my side, and his lips claimed mine. I sank into his kiss, needing the moment to gather my thoughts after the intimacy of what we’d shared. Sex in the library had exploded with heat and passion and a raw intensity that we’d both needed in that moment. But this… this… I felt full and satisfied and cherished. Strange to think of oral sex in that way. I hadn’t particularly enjoyed it on the few occasions I’d done it with Marin, but with Upton it not only felt new, but different.
Erotic.
Sensory overload.
His hands roved over me, and my bra and panties ended up tossed across the room. He settled between my thighs and cupped my face, his golden irises filled with an openness that made my heart soar.
I traced his scar with my fingertip. He flinched, but barely.
I called that progress.
20
Upton
Soft lips, tender hands, the smell of peaches. Silken tresses caressing me. Fingertips touching, tracing between my shoulder blades. Firm, rounded breasts pressed to my back. A shapely leg thrown over mine.
This is the best dream ever.
I expelled a soft groan, wanting the pleasure to go on and on, but a part of me knew it wouldn’t last. Nothing good lasted. Love and loss. Pain and suffering. Hurt and anger. Grief and guilt. As soon as I awoke, the depression and despair and dread at facing another day would return. Better to stay here, inside my dream, where I was whole and normal, and me.
The me I used to be before—
My eyes flickered open. A shard of sunlight peeked through the drapes where I hadn’t closed them properly. I blinked, the remnants of my dream already fading before I could grasp on to the details, but whatever I’d dreamed about, the fragments of its warmth remained.
“Morning, handsome.”
I twisted my head, greeted by Izabelle’s easy-going smile and gentle eyes instead of an empty pillow or, occasionally, Bandit’s awful dog breath. My insides twisted. She was so fucking gorgeous, even with just-woken mussed hair and mascara smudges where she’d failed to remove her makeup last night.
We never got around to having that talk.
Ah, fuck it. Sex first, conversation second.
“Hey.” My voice rasped, still heavy with sleep. “What’re you doing?”
She pressed a kiss to my back. “Exploring.”
The sensation of her lips on my scars had me stiffening. I shuffled away and then rolled onto my back. I hooked an arm behind my head and forced my mouth to curl at the edges in an attempt to distract her. “You’re welcome to explore my dick,” I said, expecting her to laugh.
She didn’t.
Instead, she paused for two or three seconds, let out a heavy sigh, then threw back the covers and got out of bed.
“Where are you going?” I rolled onto my side and propped up my head. “It was only a joke. Come back to bed.” I’d gone to sleep last night dreaming of morning sex and woke up ready to fulfil the fantasy. I patted the mattress.
She turned her back to me, pulled on her panties, slipped her arms through the straps of her bra and fastened it, then spun around, hands planted on her hips and glared at me. “You know, for a smart man, you’re an idiot.”
I widened my eyes, genuinely stunned, struggling to catch up with the speed with which we’d gone from the heady heights of the morning after to this. And all because I made a dick joke?
“I’m a man. We make stupid jokes at inappropriate times. Do
n’t judge me too harshly.”
“Jesus, Upton. You don’t get it, do you?”
I sat up, my temper rising at her refusal to explain what the fuck she was talking about. “Clearly I don’t. Fucking hell, Belle. I never took you for the uptight kind.”
Her eyes sent a burst of fire in my direction, all exasperation and barely suppressed rage. She snatched up her dress from the floor, creasing the material where she fisted it in her hands.
Hands that were shaking.
What the hell?
“I’m going home,” she said, tugging on her dress.
I threw back the covers and sprang out of bed, reaching her just as she began the battle of trying to zip it up without assistance.
“Stop, Belle.” I wrapped my hand around her wrist, preventing her from continuing. “Just stop. Tell me what’s going on.”
Slowly, doubt had trickled into my mind. This couldn’t be over some mistimed dick joke. I’d missed a cue, something along the way that resulted in this… outburst.
“I kissed you, on your back, and you acted as if I’d given you a venereal disease. You couldn’t move away fast enough.”
“Oh, that.” I shifted my gaze to the window.
“Yes, that.” She palmed my shoulder to get my attention. “I don’t want to have to second guess where I can and can’t touch you, Upton.”
I rubbed my fingertips over my lips. “I don’t like being touched there.”
“Why not?”
My eyebrows shot up. “Why not? That isn’t a serious question, surely? Have you seen the fucking mess back there? The better question is why would you want to touch me, let alone kiss me, in that particular location. It’s ruined and ugly. Why would you want to even look at it?”
Enchanted: A Billionaire Romance (The ROGUES Series Book 4) Page 13
