Blind Devotion

by S. Nelson

  As we ate, we talked about some of the cases I was handling, along with any updates I had about Tanya Glinn, to which I told him she and her two little ones were safe with her sister, her ex-husband still nowhere to be found, for the moment. Max regaled me with stories from his childhood, most of them having to do with his younger brother, Hal. He also told me he wanted to open his own firm, there in the city in the very near future.

  The hours flew by, the intimacy between us increasing with each story told, and every dream revealed.

  “You know you can just stay here, right?” Max offered, busying himself by clearing away our dinner and refilling my glass of wine. “Tomorrow is Saturday, so it’s not like you have to get up and go to work.” When he reentered the living room, he stood before me, his physique capturing my attention all over again. He’d been wearing the same outfit of relaxed jeans and a red T-shirt since I’d arrived, but for some reason, my hormones had kicked into overdrive.

  Instead of responding to his offer, I boldly said, “I need to take some of these clothes off.” Max arched his brow. “I mean, I feel a little overdressed.” I was still wearing my work outfit, a knee-length black pencil skirt, and blush satin blouse. My suit jacket rested on the back of a chair, my heels littering the floor beneath it.

  “By all means, take off your clothes.” Max smirked, the small dimple on his left cheek making him look innocent, when I knew the exact opposite was true.

  “Very funny. Do you have something I could change into?” I proceeded to walk from the room and down the hallway, noticing the bare walls as I continued my travels. No pictures of any sort beset the area, as was true in the living room as well. I realized he’d recently moved in, but the man needed some lessons in décor.

  Entering his personal space was intimidating. I’d had a quick tour of his entire apartment before, but standing next to his bed conjured up all sorts of illicit images, images I yearned for to come true.

  There was no denying the chemistry between us, and I knew in my heart both of us wanted to take our relationship to the next level, only having held out because Max wanted to give me time to absorb all the information he’d told me about his arrest.

  But enough time had passed.

  I was more than ready.

  So when he walked up behind me and nuzzled into the side of my neck, I released a moan I’d been holding on to the entire evening.

  “Alina,” he whispered. “I don’t know how much longer I can wait. I know I told you to take all the time you need, but I’m suddenly becoming inpatient. Is that wrong?” He circled around me, his tongue sweeping over the column of my throat, the side of his face ever so scratchy, but I didn’t mind one bit. In fact, I loved the feel of it. Max had not shaved in days, and he looked more rugged than ever. He was a handsome man when clean-shaven, but there was something about the stubbled look that turned him from handsome to dangerously virile.

  “No,” I breathily replied, finding it difficult to think.

  “You didn’t really want to change into something else.” Challenging me with his stare, he slowly unbuttoned my blouse, the pads of his fingers drifting over my heated skin with each one. “You’re quite the tease.”

  “I’m not a tease if I’m going to give you everything,” I countered, a coy smile changing my expression.

  “Everything?”

  Instead of answering, I pressed my lips to his, slow at first then feverishly when he ripped open the rest of my blouse and drew me closer, his hands resting on my back only to cleverly unhook my bra with the flick of his fingers.

  “I need to see you.” He pulled back, the warmth of his breath drifting away only to make me gasp for air. Slowly, while keeping his eyes pinned to mine, he brushed the satin material from my shoulders, removing my bra and tossing it to the floor.

  We’d shared the same air.

  We’d indulged in our passion.

  He’d licked away my desire.

  Yet I’d never felt so bare.

  So alive.

  The way he looked at me made me feel like the sexiest woman alive, but he also made me feel self-conscious, if that made any sense.

  “Say something.” I nervously laughed, crossing my arms over my chest because of his scrutiny. He peeled my arms away and gently placed them at my sides. As he lowered to his knees, he squeezed one breast while taking the other into his mouth, his tongue flicking over the tightened bud.

  “You’re perfect.” He teased my other breast, his hands quickly unzipping my skirt. His movements became hurried, tearing my panties from my body before he slung my leg over his shoulder, placing his hand on my back to anchor me to him. I reached out for something to hold, but we were in the middle of his bedroom, nothing around for me to grasp to hold me steady. So instead, I gripped his thick hair and rode his face as he licked me.

  I moaned his name over and over, the wanton desire inside me brimming hotter until I trembled at the very edge of bliss. Losing any shred of inhibition I had left, I writhed against his tongue, praying for my release to detonate, only for him to withdraw completely, stand, spin me around and briskly walk me toward his bed. He’d shed his shirt, the warmth of his skin igniting mine all over again.

  As we stood by the edge of the bed, I reached behind me and hooked my arm around his neck, toying with the strands of his hair while he kissed my neck.

  “I’m going to make you beg,” he promised, bending me over and placing my hands on top of the white comforter. “Don’t move.”

  I heard the click of his belt buckle when it hit the carpet, then the rustle of his jeans as he discarded them. Instinctually, I knew he was naked behind me, and as he’d previously gazed on me, I wanted to take my fill of him.

  I made to stand, but a quick bite of pain across my ass made me cease all movement. “Ow,” I mumbled.

  “I told you not to move.” Massaging the affected cheek, he proceeded to move me back into position, palms flat on the bed.

  “But I want to see you.”

  “You will, but first I want to take in every angle of your incredible body.” His fingertips leisurely cascaded over my feverish skin, from the tops of my shoulders to my ankles. “Perfect,” he uttered once more, before opening a drawer next to the bed and pulling out a condom.

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t put that on yet,” I pleaded, turning my head to look at him over my shoulder. “I want to taste you first.”

  “Far be it from me to argue with you.” His smirk disappeared as I spun around and dropped to my knees.

  Max

  THE WARMTH OF her mouth drove me insane. The way she sucked me before swirling her tongue around the head of my cock made my vision blur. Her assault was slow. Deliberate. The way her fingertips stroked my balls made me flinch, waiting for her to become more aggressive, but she never did.

  Tugging at the strands of her dark golden hair, I tried to push her away. When I came, I wanted to be buried deep inside her.

  “Alina,” I warned. “Stop.” I grunted, her lips wrapping around the head, every sensitive nerve firing at once. “Fuck.” Thrusting into her mouth, I almost lost myself; it felt so good. Then remembered how I wanted things to play out and jerked back, popping free from her mouth in one quick motion.

  “I was only doing to you what you did to me.” She smiled as she stood, looking me up and down as I’d done to her, the appreciation in her eyes making me even harder. “Do you live at the gym?” she asked, running her hands over my chest and down to my abdomen, and just when I thought she was going to grab my cock, her hand fell away, and she slowly walked around me, her nails raking over my ass before they drifted upward over my back. She touched a certain area, close to my side and I twitched. “Ticklish?”

  “A bit.”

  “Hmm . . . good to know.” When she was in front of me once more, I took over, latching my mouth to hers and walking her backward until she fell onto the bed, me coming down on top of her, careful not to
crush her with my weight.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I reached for the condom and tore it open with my teeth.

  “I think you know the answer,” she replied, spreading her legs and giving me a devilish grin.

  “I suppose I do.” Sheathing myself, I lined myself up and thrust into her, burying myself to the hilt in one fluid motion. All of a sudden, I felt like some sort of animal, my primal instincts were only to conquer and mate.

  I grunted.

  She moaned.

  I moved quicker.

  She slowed me down.

  I slung her leg over my hip.

  She placed the other around my waist.

  We were locked together, moving in sync while we both chased our orgasm.

  There was nothing I wanted more than to see Alina come undone, so I unhooked her legs from around me and moved into a kneeling position, careful not to slip from her body. At that angle, I was able to see everything.

  The way her tits bounced every time I thrust forward.

  The flat of her stomach.

  The thin strip of hair covering her pussy.

  Her glistening wetness coating my cock every time I pulled back.

  The way her thighs trembled.

  The way her entire body flinched when I rubbed her swollen clit.

  The way she arched her back when the teasing became too much.

  The quick rise and fall of her chest as I pulled her closer to the edge.

  “Max . . . please,” she begged, biting the corner of her lip so hard I thought she’d draw blood.

  “Please what?” I wanted her to say it. I needed to hear the words.

  “I’m so close. Please.”

  “Please what?” I repeated.

  She dug her nails into my thigh, making me wince at first, only to smile when she told me what I wanted to hear.

  “Make me come.”

  I said nothing in response, instead picking up the pace. Vigorously rubbing her clit before pinching her sensitive bundle of nerves, the motion caused her to seize up and scream my name. She threw her head back and bunched the comforter tightly in her fists.

  I quickly followed, spilling inside her as my mouth found hers, our breath becoming one as each of us struggled to find our own.

  A moment later, I fell to the mattress beside her, pulling off the condom and tossing it in the nearby wastebasket.

  “Well . . . that was uh . . . something else,” she laughed, throwing her arm over her face to shield her eyes.

  I lightly smacked her thigh.

  “Something else? Not sure if that’s how I’d describe what we just did, but okay.”

  She moved her arm and turned onto her side to face me. “Oh yeah? Then what would you say?”

  We were both smiling, reveling in the other’s contentment, still high from our climax.

  “Amazing. Out of this world. Like none other.”

  “Meh.” She shrugged and at first, I thought she was serious, until she cracked a smile. She tried to move away, but I pounced and pinned her to the bed. Holding her hands above her head with one of my own, my free one traveled the length of her delectable body until I came to rest between her thighs, finding her still very much swollen.

  She moaned.

  “Meh?” I inserted two fingers inside her, to which she responded with a throaty moan. “Do you want to go again?” I asked, continuing to tease her while I waited for her to answer.

  “Yes . . . I . . . I want to . . . Oh God.” Her breaths were choppy, her words getting lost on her lips. I reached for another condom and for the next two hours, I changed her teasing meh to a fuck yes.

  Alina

  AS THE WEEKS passed so did my father’s aggression toward Max. He’d snarl less and less until he barely flinched whenever I mentioned his name. He continued to refuse to hire him back, but Max said he wouldn’t come back even if he had. And because he no longer worked at Winthrop, Krueger, and Donn, that meant he no longer had to deal with the likes of Amber Sotter, which I couldn’t say I wasn’t happy about. I’d witnessed the way she fawned all over him in the lobby, and even then, while we barely knew each other, I’d been hit with a wave of jealousy. I feared it would only be worse now since we were officially together.

  Max wanted to do something different, still practice law but focus on one specific type. He chose entertainment law, to which he would deal with labor laws, contracts, and various other topics as they related to the entertainment industry.

  Everything at the office went back to normal and rather quickly. Things between Chris and me were a bit awkward, but nothing I couldn’t deal with. He wasn’t rude, per se, just short and to the point. But I really couldn’t blame him, and I was fine with the curtness so long as it didn’t interfere with my job. Which so far it hadn’t.

  All in all, life was good. Work kept me busy, but when I wasn’t at the office, Max and I were spending every available moment together, really getting to know each other.

  “I’ll swing by and take you to lunch.”

  I cradled the phone on my shoulder, rustling through numerous papers on my desk, trying to find the one I needed. “I wish I could, but I have to get ready for my one o’clock.” I sighed in relief when I found the paper I’d been looking for. “Maybe tomorrow,” I offered, wishing I could step out for an hour just to get me some Max time.

  “Okay. I guess I’ll have to wait,” he faux complained, making me smile like he always did. It was nice to know he missed me just as much as I did him whenever we weren’t together.

  After we hung up, I plopped down in my chair and glanced up at the clock. Eleven thirty. Which meant I had an hour and a half to prepare before my next meeting, which would’ve been fine except my stomach was trying to eat itself. I’d only had a small blueberry muffin a few hours ago, and apparently, it hadn’t been enough.

  Engrossed in paperwork, a rap on my door startled me, and when I looked up, I saw Chris standing there. He looked relaxed. Happy. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was grateful we were no longer together. I wished him well, and hopefully one day he’d extend me the same.

  “Are you ready for the Armondo meeting at one?”

  I’d forgotten he was in on the case as well. “Yes, although I wanted to go over a few more facts beforehand.”

  “Care to fill me in?” Before I could respond, he asked me another question. “Have you eaten yet? I was just on my way down to Mario’s to grab a hoagie. Do you want to walk with me, make sure I’m completely up to speed before the meeting?” Chris was brought in the previous week, so I supposed it couldn’t hurt to make sure we were both as equally knowledgeable. Besides, I was starving.

  “Sure, but can we just pick them up and bring the food back here?” I felt guilty for some reason, telling Max I couldn’t meet up with him but accepting Chris’s offer behind his back.

  You’ll be right back. You have to eat something, right? Besides, it’s partly work-related.

  My inner turmoil did little to squash my guilt.

  The entire walk to the deli was spent discussing what was best for our client, and not once did Chris bring up us or what had happened, for which I was grateful. His pleasant, all-business attitude helped to relieve me of some of the guilt, that was until we ran smack dab into Max exiting Mario’s, a paper bag held firmly in his hand.

  I stopped walking and quickly looked back and forth between the two men. Chris hadn’t seen Max at first, but the same wasn’t true for Max, his body instantly tensing at the mere sight of my colleague slash ex-fiancé. Then Max looked at me, the hurt on his face masked with anger.

  When Chris noticed I wasn’t beside him, he looked back then followed my stare. Thankfully he didn’t say a word, disappearing inside the deli to give us some privacy.

  “I can explain.” I started walking toward him, but he held up his hand to stop me. My heart raced in my chest, and I started to sweat, upset at myself for agreeing to go with Chris. I should’ve just let him pick up the food alone.
Surely he would have brought me back something if I’d asked.

  With barely controlled fury, he took a deep breath before erasing some of the distance between us. “I was going to surprise you and bring lunch to you.” Every word was clipped. “But I see now you already had plans.” Shoving the bag into my arms, he hurriedly brushed past me without another word, refusing to stop when I repeatedly called after him.

  Several moments later, Chris reemerged from the deli, a bag tucked under his arm. “Are you okay?” He looked concerned, but he was the last person I wanted to confide in about anything having to do with Max.

  “I’m fine,” I lied. “Let’s get back to the office. We have a lot to go over before the meeting.” For the next few hours, I was somewhat successful in drowning myself in all things work related, only thinking of Max a few times. I went to bed that evening without hearing from him, even though I texted him a few times, trying to explain what had happened.

  Alina

  BRIEFCASE IN ONE hand and coffee in the other, I swung open the door and barely muffled a scream, the lid on my traveler mug apparently not on tightly enough because the hot contents spilled down the front of my outfit.

  “Christ, Max. You scared me half to death.”

  “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I’m not sure what it is with me scaring you while you’re holding hot liquid.” He attempted a smile, but it fell flat when he saw the annoyance dancing on my face.

  Spinning around, I headed toward the kitchen to try and clean up, although I knew the effort was going to be useless. Wearing a navy blue, knee-length dress, I probably wouldn’t be able to see the coffee stain, but I would be able to smell it. There was a difference between inhaling the delicious aroma from a cup and the scent wafting up at me every time I moved. Not the same.

  I’d gone from guilt to anger all in the span of two days. If the roles were reversed, I would’ve been upset, but I would’ve at least responded to his text. Allow him the chance to explain before I proceeded with full-on radio silence. The way he’d handled things wasn’t the best, and if he was here to apologize, I’d make him grovel first.