And after, he hadn't had the usual desire to bolt. Even in his own house, he'd normally left the bed if the woman fell asleep. He wasn't ungentlemanly enough to wake her up and kick her out, but he wasn't about to cuddle. Until Courtney.
When his arms were around her, it just felt right. He wanted her, but he also wanted to protect her. The feel of her body pressed against his had comforted him as much as it had excited him. He'd caught himself wondering what it would be like to wake up next to her, and not just because they'd both passed out after a night of incredible sex. What it would be like to watch her go through her evening routines. Brushed out her hair. Pull on a pair of comfy pajamas. Would she wear one of his shirts to bed? The thought that she would sleep wrapped in his scent tugged at something deep and primal inside him.
There was a possessiveness there, a desire to claim her. But even as he thought it, he realized that it wasn't the same as before. This wasn't an owning, a sense of property. This was something far different. This was Vance wanting Courtney to be his so that he never had to worry about losing her. He wanted to make sure everyone knew that they belonged together, that he belonged to her. They were lovers and there would be no sharing.
“Fuck,” Vance swore. “I'm in love with her. In actual selfless want her to be happy no matter what it means for me love.”
He stood and grabbed his keys. He had to tell her. She deserved the whole truth. The idea of losing her terrified him, but it was the only way. Now that he knew he was in love with her, he couldn't lie to her.
He didn't stop to tell Emma where he was going but she'd given him a knowing smile as he'd hurried past her desk on his way out and that was enough.
He spent the entire drive to Courtney’s apartment trying to think of the best way to do this. It wasn't like he could just say 'by the way, we used to go to school together, isn't that neat.” It was a bit more complex than that and he had no idea how to initiate the conversation.
The moment the door opened and Vance found himself face-to-face with a surprised redhead, he knew that all of his planned conversations were no good. In no version of this scenario had he expected Maggie Black to be waiting. Courtney had mentioned a friend flying in from Chicago and he'd assumed it was someone she'd met in college. He'd completely forgotten that Maggie's family lived in the Windy City. He also hadn't realized that the girls had remained friends. Courtney hadn't mentioned her. Then again, they didn't really spend much time talking about things other than sex. If Courtney had told Maggie his name, all bets were off. Maggie had ridden his bus for two years and, judging by the scowl on her face, she remembered him, and that meant Courtney most likely knew of their connection.
“Vance Forster.” Maggie crossed her arms. “It's been a while.”
“Hi, Maggie.” He quickly decided that acknowledging her was better than trying to pretend he didn't know her. “I'm here for Courtney.”
“I'm sure you are.” Maggie stepped out of the way. She glared up at him as he walked past her and into the apartment. “She's in the bathroom.” She picked up her purse and glowered at him. “I'm heading out for a while. Tell Courtney to text me if she needs me”
He nodded.
Maggie took a step towards him. “If you hurt her, they'll never find your body. I have connections.”
He stared, open-mouthed, as Maggie strode past him and out into the hallway.
“Mags, who was at the...” Courtney's voice trailed off when she saw Vance standing just inside the still open door. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Vance echoed. Now that he was standing in front of her, he wasn't sure what to say. The only thought his brain seemed to be able to produce was 'don't fuck this up.' Wise words. If only he could figure out a way to accomplish it.
Her expression hardened. “You knew.” She stomped past him and slammed the door shut. “I wasn't sure that you did until I saw you just now. Why didn't you ever mention it?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Unless there was a reason you didn't want me to know.”
“It wasn't like that.” He started to protest, then quickly amended. “I mean, it's more complicated than that.”
“Really? Seems pretty simple to me,” Courtney turned on her heel and stalked into her living room.
He followed, his heart sinking as she continued.
“Maggie said she remembered you, that you were some sort of quiet geeky kid who spent most of his time staring at me. Not that I knew you existed. We didn't have any of the same classes, have any of the same friends. I'm not entirely sure how I was supposed to know about you since you never said one word to me. But, I think, somehow in your twisted little mind, you thought that I was purposefully ignoring you. How am I doing so far?” She spun around, eyes flashing.
A bolt of fear and desire stabbed through him and he stammered, “pretty good, actually.”
“Then how about I continue.” Courtney’s arms crossed her chest. “You've waited and plotted for years, which is a little creepy and pathetic to be honest, just waiting for your chance to fuck with me. Or was it just waiting to fuck me?” Her eyes shone and he suddenly realized that she was close to tears. “I'll bet you even hired me at Asgard so you'd be in this position of authority...”
“I never used my position at the company,” he interrupted. “I made it very clear that what we were doing had nothing to do with work.”
“Oh you made a lot of things clear.” Her bottom lip trembled.
“Court—”
“Don't. Just don't.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Just tell me one thing. Was there anything about this that was real?”
A hand squeezed his heart. “It's the most real thing I've ever had.”
He took a step towards her and she flinched. He stopped.
“You were right. I had a huge crush on you in school and I thought that because you were popular and pretty, you'd never give someone like me the time of day. I let it haunt me, drive me. When I saw that you'd applied at Asgard, I didn't interfere, I waited to see if you'd get hired. That would be my sign, I decided. The sign that I was supposed to do what I'd been fantasizing about since I was seventeen.” He didn't want to continue, didn't want to tell her the extent of what he'd wanted, but he knew that he had to. “I wanted to make you mine.”
“You wanted to humiliate and degrade me for something I never did.” Her arms tightened around her waist as if she were holding together pieces of herself.
“I fucked up, I know it,” Vance found himself pleading. “I thought I wanted you to feel what I felt when I was in school, but now...”
“Now?” She repeated, her voice sharp. “Now, what? Now you just want to forgive and forget? Keep on fucking each other? Letting you tie me up, spank me, do things that I'd never let anyone else do to me just so you can get off?”
“No.” He felt his own eyes begin to burn. He was losing her. He'd only just realized what she meant to him and he was going to lose her because he was an ass. “Now, I finally let myself see what I've been hiding. That I'm in love with you.”
Her mouth twisted. “That's rich, coming from someone who's spent the last twenty years planning revenge on me.” Her voice broke. “Do you have any idea what these past two weeks have been like for me? How I've been trying to justify what I let you do to me? I believed all of your shit about trust and mutual respect, and all you wanted was a fuck toy.” She wiped an angry hand across her cheeks. “Get out.”
He froze. If she threw him out, he'd never have a chance to tell her that it was the truth. That he loved her in a way that he'd never loved anyone. That every time they'd been together, his plans had vanished and he'd just wanted to bring her pleasure. If she truly thought that their relationship had been so he could hurt her, there was only one way to show her.
He dropped to his knees. “Punish me, Mistress, but don't send me away.”
He clasped his hands behind his back and bowed his head, his stomach in knots as he waited for her response. Would she understand the significance of what he was doi
ng? Not just the fact that he was asking for punishment or that he'd put himself in the Sub position, but the enormity of trust he was placing in her? They'd never discussed switching. She'd never been a Dom, didn't know the right techniques to do things, didn't understand the responsibility that came with it. She could actually hurt him, but that was a risk he was willing to take. If it meant a second chance with her, he'd take any punishment she could mete out.
“Vance.” Her voice was soft and her feet came into view. Pretty feet with seashell pink nails. Then her hand was under his chin, tipping his face up. “I don't want to punish you.”
His stomach sank and he wanted to look away from her but her hand kept its grip on his face.
“You thought you loved me before,” she continued. “What makes this different?”
He could smell the strawberry shampoo she'd used that morning, could almost feel the heat radiating off of her body, and his own body responded. He made himself concentrate. This was his one chance to convince her. “I was in love with the idea of you before. I thought I knew who you were but I actually didn't know anything about you. Now I know you. I know that when you come, you get this catch in your breath, like everything just stops in that moment. I know that when I brush my thumb over your nipple, it makes you wet.”
“You know my body,” she countered as she stepped back. “You still don't know me.”
“I know that when you talk about your family, the corners of your mouth tighten and, for hours afterwards, you become this complete control freak. I know that you have an irrational fear of goats, but love snakes. That you take your coffee with just a hint of sugar and your favorite ice cream is chocolate chip cookie dough.” He started to reach for her and then stopped. “And I know that, when you think I'm not looking, you watch me with this soft expression in your eyes that I'm hoping means you care about me too.”
“Vance,” she started.
“Please, Court.” He spread his arms wide. “I'm begging you. Give me another chance. I'll do whatever it takes to make things right. You tell me what to do.”
He watched a multitude of emotions play across Courtney's face and waited, every muscle in his body tense, his stomach churning. When she took a step towards him, his heart leaped. Then she was kneeling in front of him and he couldn't breath. Her hand cupped his cheek and his breathing stuttered.
“I don't want to tell you what to do,” she said softly. A small smile curved her lips. “That's your job, Sir.”
His blood rushed south and he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his. He devoured her mouth, feeling like a man who'd just found that everything he'd eaten had been bland and only now was he discovering what it meant for something to have flavor. He buried his fingers in her hair, turning her head to deepen the kiss. When her tongue dipped between his lips, he moaned.
Courtney's hands found the edge of his shirt and she tugged at it, breaking their kiss to pull it over his head. When he reached for her again, she held up a finger. She pulled her own shirt off and looked at him, eyes shining, “I have to say something first.”
He waited, drinking in the sight of her. Hair mussed, skin flushed, light gray bra cradling her full breasts, long flowing skirt concealing the wonders he knew lay beneath.
“I'm in love with you, too,” she said it simply, so matter-of-fact that Vance almost thought he'd misheard. “I tried telling myself that it was just the sex, but I realized that I don't want anyone else.”
That was all Vance needed to hear. He crushed her against him, his mouth trailing down her neck even as his hands roamed her body. It was strange. He knew every curve yet felt like he was exploring it for the first time. He pressed her back against the ground, his hands greedy as they shoved her bra up over her breasts. His lips closed over her nipple and Courtney cried out, her back arching. Her hands went to his waist, fumbling at the zipper.
“Don't you want to go slow?” He gasped as her hand closed around him.
She shook her head. “Later. Now, I just want you inside me.”
“What the lady wants.” He grinned, pushing up her skirt. “The lady gets.” His cock swelled even more at the sight of her bare pussy, lips glistening with moisture.
“In that case.” She shoved him back, taking him by surprise as she pushed him onto his back. Before he could react, she straddled his waist, her skirt covering them both. Her pussy brushed against the tip of his cock and he grabbed her hips. “My ass is still a bit sore from yesterday, so I'll drive if you don't mind.”
“Thought you said you wanted me to call the shots.” He winked at her. When she raised an eyebrow, his fingers flexed and he gave an order he'd been wanting to give for a while. “Ride me.”
She reached beneath her skirt and positioned his cock at her entrance. She moaned as she sank down onto him and he swore. No matter how often they had sex, she was still so tight, her pussy clinging to him as she began to move. Her eyes locked with his, every rise and fall of her hips sending waves of pleasure through them both. She leaned forward, palms flat on his stomach, nails biting into his flesh.
“I love the feel of you inside me.” Her voice surprised him.
He usually had to remind her to speak, to tell him what she was feeling, what she liked. It had been a way to both embarrass her and learn about what turned her on. The fact that she was doing it without prompting was almost as hot as what she was saying. Almost.
“I can feel you against every part of me, rubbing against my walls, stretching me as you grow.” Her voice became breathless as she worked above him. “I love it when you come inside me, filling me. The way your cock pulses as you spurt deep inside.”
He nearly came in that instant. He released her hips and reached for her breasts. It was time to let her know what it was like to hear someone talk. He rolled her nipples between his fingers.
“The first time I buried myself in your pussy, I felt like I'd just come home. We fit together so perfectly. The only place tighter than your cunt is your ass. Like a vice gripping my cock, desperate to drain every last drop out of me. When I'm inside you, nothing else matters.” He pinched her nipples and and she keened, her entire body stiffening as she came. Her muscles convulsed, tightening around him and he could hold back no longer. He cried out her name, hips bucking up into her as he emptied himself.
She fell forward and he wrapped his arms around them, his hips still jerking, her body quivering. He cradled the back of her head, murmuring against her hair as he held her. “I love you. I never want to let you go.”
“You might have to.” Her voice was muffled against his chest. “Otherwise we'll never make it to the bed.”
Vance laughed, the sound startling him with its total sincerity. He rarely laughed with people, never with a woman he was fucking. Then again, Courtney wasn't just another fuck. She was something different. “I guess that would be okay.” He pressed his lips against the top of her head. “On our way you can make a phone call.”
“Who am I supposed to call?” she asked, puzzled.
“Maggie. Might I suggest a hotel room for the day?”
“Oh really?” She shifted so she could look at him.
He brushed his fingertips across her cheekbone. “Because I plan on spending the rest of the day making love to you.”
“When you put it that way.” She pressed an open-mouthed kiss against his chest and he felt himself start to grow hard again. “I guess I should ask her to spend the night away. But she’ll need to come back tomorrow.”
He started to sit up. “Then let's not waste a single minute.”
***
Courtney stepped into the house and smiled to herself. She'd moved in six months ago and she still had a hard time believing that she lived here. She hung up her jacket on the coat rack near the door and then noticed the rose petals on the floor. Heat coiled low in her belly. After a year together, Vance still made her weak in the knees.
It had been eight months since she'd started her own company and, while things we
re going well, it had certainly taken its toll on their sex life. Only over the past few months had they gotten back to having sex more than once a week. This week, Vance had been promising something special and it looked like he was about to deliver. Throughout the day, he'd sent her texts, telling her everything that he wanted to do to her. By the time she'd pulled in the driveway, she'd been soaked.
She slipped off her sandals and untied her dress. The cool air caressed her skin, but her shiver was more from anticipation than the chill. Her black lace bra matched her thigh-high stockings. In the past year, she'd completely revamped her underwear wardrobe, purchasing numerous kinds of lingerie. The only thing she'd barely had to buy, however, was panties. She still followed the rules he had set forth after their first night together.
She followed the trail, curious to see if it would lead to their bedroom or the basement. Her pussy throbbed as the silken petals stopped at the sliding door to the kitchen. On the other side, they continued. At the foot of the stairs, she paused. Vance stood in the center of the room, clad only in a pair of black boxer-briefs that left little to the imagination, a rose in his hand. Not that she needed to imagine. She knew every inch of his body, would know it with just a touch.
For a moment, their eyes locked and they stood, holding each other's gazes. Then Vance smiled, a familiar and welcomed heat warming his arctic eyes. She knew that smile. Neither one spoke as she crossed to the bed, intentionally swaying her hips with each step. She climbed onto the sheets, taking care to give him a good view of her bare pussy. He'd shaved her last night, an experience she always enjoyed.
“On your back.” His voice was hoarse and, as Courtney turned, she let her eyes flick down to his growing bulge.
She did as she was told and then spread her legs. The end of the bed sank under Vance's weight as he knelt between her legs. He looked down at her.
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