“Okay,” I said as we walked to his door. He put his guitar down and released my hand before getting out his keys and this time there was no fumbling.
“Do you want the tour, since you didn’t get it officially last time, or do you want to skip it?”
I didn’t really have to think about that.
“Skip the tour,” I said and he closed the distance between us with one step.
“Thank God. I couldn’t keep my hands off you one more second.”
“So don’t. I’m yours tonight.”
Okay, so I wasn’t into owning or being owned. I was a progressive woman. I believed in gender equality. But honestly, I was ready to be his tonight.
“And I am yours,” he breathed into my mouth before kissing me. I took his lead and wrapped my legs around his waist and plunged my tongue into his mouth. He growled and backed up. I felt something new in his mouth and I pulled away from the kiss in confusion. He smiled when he saw my face and stuck his tongue out deliberately, presenting the silver barbell that pierced it before kissing me fiercely again, letting my tongue dance with his.
Fuck. Me.
Something told me that we weren’t going to make it to the bedroom. He crashed into the refrigerator.
“Bedroom?” he said, taking a quick break from my mouth to kiss and suck on my neck in a spot that made me grind my hips against the bulge in his pants.
“If you can get there,” I said breathlessly as I raked my hands on his back. Stupid clothes. Why must they always be in the way?
“I’ll try,” he said with a little laugh as he walked backwards with me toward the door and kicked it open.
“Can you get the light?” he said moving me near the switch. “I want to see you.” Well, ditto.
I flicked it with my elbow and he made his way toward the bed and I unhooked my legs from around his waist so he could lay me down.
“I only get you for this one night, so I’m going to make sure you remember it,” he said, and his words sent shivers up and down my spine.
“And I’m very much hoping you’re wearing something similar to that ribbon number from the other day,” he said as he straddled me.
“I guess you’ll have to undress me to find out,” I said, and I managed to sound a little sexy.
“I guess I will.” His fingers played with the edge of my t-shirt, teasing me before I put my arms up and he pulled it over my head. I swore he seemed a little put out that I had a tank top on under it, but when he removed that, his eyes got wide as he took in the bustier. It was pretty damn sexy, and I felt sexy wearing it, even though I couldn’t breathe that well, and my poor boobs felt like they were being squeezed to death.
“Lovely,” he said as he moved his hands up and down and then undoing the button of my jeans and slowly sliding them down to reveal the matching panties.
“I am very, very glad we turned the lights on,” he said as he joined his mouth with mine again for a deep kiss. I still had my boots on, but he didn’t seem all that concerned. He was still fully clothed and I was having a problem with that, so I reached for his shirt and started yanking it over his head. We broke the kiss long enough for me to get it off.
He really did have a fabulous body. I ran my hands up and down it as he went to work on my boots, pulling my legs up so he could unzip them and toss them to the other side of the room before removing his own shoes. Then he slowly inched my pants down my legs until they were off.
“You’re beautiful, Sunshine,” he breathed. I loved the way he looked at me. Almost as if he were afraid to touch me. Almost.
“Thank you,” I said, and then made a face.
“What’s that face for?”
“It sounded weird. I mean, it sounds stupid. Like I’m one of those girls who thinks they’re hot and everyone else does too. I’m not one of those girls.” He was laughing.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re adorable.” No. I was not adorable. I could not be adorable in this bustier. Sloane would kill me.
“Just get over here so I can take your pants off,” I said, reaching for his belt and using it to bring him closer.
“Yes, ma’am.” I froze.
“I will not have sex of any kind with you tonight if you call me ma’am.”
“Yes, sir,” he said and moved to kiss me.
“No, I’m serious.” And then he kissed me and pressed his hips against me and lost my train of thought. Belt. I had to get working on that.
I finally got it and started shoving his pants and underwear over his perfect ass. Ah, I’d missed that.
“As much as I love this pretty thing you’re wearing, I’m more fond of what’s under it,” he said starting to unhook the bustier.
“You’ve done this before.”
“No, I just know how to get what I want.” He released me from the bustier and I took a deep breath.
“That feels so good. I never knew how nice taking a deep breath was until right now.” He smiled and kissed down my neck, licking and biting, and with the addition of the tongue barbell, I was a quivering mess by the time he used it to stroke one of my nipples.
Somewhere along the line the panties went the way of all of my other clothes and we were both naked and sweaty and ready.
“I want your mouth on my cock,” he said as he looked down at me. Hey, at least he’d said something first instead of shoving it into my face like some guys did. Nothing made me feel sexier than a penis and a hairy ball sack being shoved in my mouth when I least expected it.
“You do, do you?” I moved my hands down and stroked him.
“Yes,” he said, and I scooted down and he moved up, and I took him in my mouth. Once again, I am not a blowjob master, but with my hands, I could do pretty well. I hadn’t been going very long when he grabbed my chin and moved my head away.
“I don’t want to come in your mouth. I want to be inside you.” Aw, how considerate. I propped myself up on my elbows and he shifted me back up and laid my head on his pillows. He smiled before he moved down my body and settled his face between my legs. I was so looking forward to what else he could do with that tongue ring.
I parted my legs for him and he stroked my leg almost absentmindedly. What was he doing? I wanted his mouth on me. RIGHT NOW. He couldn’t tease me like that and then not follow through.
“If you don’t lick me right now, you’re fired,” I said and he laughed against the inside of my thigh.
“I was just making sure that was what you wanted, Miss Clarke,” he said before he licked me up and down.
Every curse word and expletive exploded in my brain and I fisted the sheets as he licked me again before taking my piercing into his mouth. My piercing was designed to stimulate me in that area already, but in addition with the little ball on his tongue ring, I was coming undone in only a matter of moments.
“Are you enjoying your coffee, Miss Clarke?” he said smiling up at me and that almost did it.
“Get back to work, Mr. Blaine,” I said, stroking his hair.
So he did. Moments later I was in the grips of a powerful orgasm. He let me ride it before going back again, and wringing a second out of me right away, one even more powerful than the first.
“Fuuuuuck, Lucas.”
“Lucah,” he said as he kissed his way back up my body. “Just for tonight, could you call me Lucah?” He stared at me and I watched a storm swirl in his eyes.
“Please say it for me.”
“Lucah,” I said and before I could ask him why he wanted me to call him that, his mouth was on my mouth and he was reaching into the drawer for a condom.
Then he was inside and I would call him whatever the fuck he wanted. The sex was faster this time, but not quite the pace of when we’d been in the conference room.
“Come for me, Sunshine,” he growled before another orgasm tore through me and I came calling his name. Or the name he’d asked me to call him. I don’t really remember. I could have yelled out some combination of the two
for all I knew.
He held me and we locked eyes with him still inside me.
“Can I get a raise?”
When I said only one night, I meant it, which also meant that we had a lot of sexual ground to cover in a short time. Lucas (or Lucah) was open to anything, so we did it. Sometimes it didn’t work out and we’d end up giggling and kissing, but when the sun finally started to come up, we’d had each other in almost every way you can have a person, and my body was exhausted. I also really, really needed a shower. And coffee. And sleep.
“Are you awake?” Lucas whispered in my ear before kissing my earlobe.
“No. You’ve even fucked the sleep out of me.” I rolled toward him and smiled.
“Then my job here is done, Miss Clarke.” He stroked my arm and the sun lit up his hair like fire. He kissed my shoulder.
“Are you hungry? I can make some breakfast if you want to shower.”
“Are you a mind reader now, too?” He kissed my cheek, slapped my ass and then went to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and crawled out of bed. Huh, my legs did work. A few hours ago, didn’t think I was ever going to be able to use them again.
I stumbled to the shower and ended up using his products since they were my only option. Besides, I liked smelling like him. I cut the shower short and went back into the kitchen in a towel. He was still naked and doing something with a frying pan.
“Isn’t cooking naked a little dangerous? Flaming grease and all that?”
“I cook my bacon in the oven and I think I can handle pancakes without bodily injury. Did you enjoy your shower?” He kissed my hair and sniffed it, smiling.
“I did. And thanks for the extra toothbrush. That was very nice of you.”
“I thought I should have it. Just in case.”
“In case for me, or in case for someone else?”
“In case for you.” I kissed his shoulder and stood next to him as he flipped a stack of fluffy and golden pancakes onto a plate.
Before we ate he put on some boxers, and I put on one of his shirts and we sat on his couch to eat. He flipped the television on and handed me the remote.
“I know how women are with the remote, so I’m handing over control now.”
“Um, excuse me? How are women with the remote?”
He looked at me like I was dense.
“Women always want to control the remote. It’s easier if I just let you have it than fight over it. I gotta pick my battles.” He shoved a bite of pancakes in his mouth.
“Um, I’m pretty sure that’s bullshit because men are the ones who always want control of the remote.”
“Only because women are bad at using it.” Oh, he was baiting me and I knew it, but I didn’t care.
“Yeah, well I’m going to use this remote to bash you in the head,” I said before I changed the channel. I skipped around until I found a channel that showed old cartoons. Wile E. Coyote was busy chasing the Roadrunner and I laughed and set the remote back on the coffee table.
“Cartoons?” Lucas said.
“You have a problem with how I use the remote and what I pick?”
He shook his head. “No, actually. This is what I would have picked.” A beat of silence passed and it felt like it meant more than we picked the same thing to watch.
“I used to watch these when I was a kid. Every Saturday morning. My parents told me I wasn’t allowed, but I kept the volume down and turned it off when they came in the room. I was very stealthy. Or at least I thought I was,” I said as Wile E. Coyote bought yet another anvil from ACME. “You’d think he would stop buying products from ACME. I mean, nearly every one is defective.”
“He should call the Better Business Bureau and report them,” Lucas finally said, rubbing my knee.
I really shouldn’t have let him, because I’d said it was just one night, and it definitely wasn’t night anymore. I should have waited until he was asleep and snuck out.
We finished our pancakes and bacon and coffee and I leaned against his shoulder and he stroked my drying hair.
It felt . . . sweet. And normal. Like this was our life. But it was only temporary. We were vacationing in this space and it was almost time to go back to reality. I knew that, which was why I’d turned my phone off as soon as I’d gotten into the cab with him.
Against my will, and probably against his, we fell asleep together.
The next time I woke up, the sun was hanging low in the sky and the television was still on, but it was playing different cartoons. I moved and that roused Lucas, who blinked his eyes open and smiled when he saw me.
It was almost Sunday night and I’d said it was just going to be one night, but that one night was getting stretched and if I didn’t put my foot down, that one night was never going to end.
Oh, but I didn’t want it to.
I liked him. I really, really liked him.
I’d been kidding myself when I’d thought we could go back to a strictly professional relationship after having sex. Well, maybe we could have after the first time, but now feelings were involved, at least mine were. I didn’t know how he felt about me, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask.
“I should go. I have dinner with my parents soon,” I said, peeling myself off his chest. My hair was all over the place because it had dried without the help of a brush or any styling products.
“Okay,” he said, helping me up. I didn’t say anything as I went back to his bedroom and put everything back on but the bustier. I needed another person to get into that thing, and I wasn’t going to ask Lucas, because then that would lead to us starting up again, and I couldn’t. This had to be it.
Why did I feel like I wanted to cry?
I shook my head at myself and folded up the bustier and shoved it in my purse. Then I got dressed the rest of the way and pulled my hair back.
I was not looking forward to going back and getting the third degree from Sloane, but I had to. I had to go.
Lucas wasn’t in the living room when I went back out. Where the hell did he go? I found a note on the counter.
See you tomorrow, Sunshine.
-Lucas Blaine
There were a few other doors in the apartment, and I didn’t know what they were for, and he clearly didn’t want to say good-bye in person, so I took the note and put it in my purse, right next to the bustier.
The apartment was quiet when I got back and another note greeted me, this time from Sloane, saying that she’d gone in to work for a few hours. I sighed and looked around the big empty apartment.
One of the reasons I loved living with Sloane was that I was never alone. Growing up as an only child had been rough; add to that the fact that my parents had a lot of money, and I’d been extremely isolated.
I got dressed in my favorite sweats, the ones I wore when I was sick, put on some music and grabbed one of my favorite books. It was hard to read with Sloane around, because she was always interrupting me, or reading over my shoulder and asking me what the book was about. It kind of killed the enjoyment.
I had only read about fifty pages when my eyes started closing again and I fell asleep with the book on my chest.
“Hey, Rory.” A hand shook my shoulder gently and my eyes opened to find Sloane peering at me.
“Hey,” I said, sitting up and causing the book to fall to the floor. “What time is it?” The apartment was dark. I must have slept for hours.
“It’s six. Are you okay?” I must look really terrible or else Sloane would be on me for details about the date and the sex and the bustier.
“I think so. I mean, I told him it would only be one night and it was only one night. I just needed to get him out of my system.” Sloane set some bags down on the counter and came to sit on the couch with me.
“And did you? Get him out of your system?” Honestly?
“No,” I said, and against my will I started to cry. “I mean, I feel like I’m breaking up with him, which is stupid because we’re not dating. I’ve only known him for a few weeks. I should
n’t feel this way after a few weeks, and a few sexual encounters.”
“How are you supposed to feel?” Sloane took my feet into her lap and started rubbing them. One of her other talents was great foot massages, but she only gave them in emergencies. I’d had quite a few when I’d broken up with Royce.
“I’m supposed to be able to move on with my life. To see him at work and not feel butterflies whenever he smiles or says my name. To not think about him and want him all the time. I’m better than that.”
“Better than what? You’re attracted to him, he’s attracted to you. That’s not a sin, Rory.”
“It is when you work together.”
We both sighed at the same time.
“I’m fucked,” I said.
“Yeah, you kinda are. I wish I could help you.”
“You can distract me. Tell me about Fin and Marisol.” Sloane’s eyes lit up.
“Well, I’d say that the chemistry was definitely there. But you know how she is. No kissing on the first date, let alone sleeping with a guy. I mean, I would get her drunk to test it out, but that doesn’t seem like the best idea. But, they did exchange numbers and eye fuck each other for several hours after you left. I think we have a match.”
“Good. Someone deserves to be happy.” Sloane gave me a sympathetic face.
“I’m making you breakup cake.”
“But we weren’t dating.”
“I know, but I think you need it.” Sloane always made a cake when one of us broke up with someone. It wasn’t any particular type of cake, just whichever one was our favorite. She made it in heart-shaped pans, which was more of a sick joke than anything. My favorite cake was German chocolate with coconut frosting.
“It’s too late cuz I already got the ingredients. You sit there and find something trashy to watch and I’ll make us some dinner, okay?” She kissed my forehead and I nodded.
“Hey, I texted you a million times. Did you turn your phone off?”
“Shit, I did. Can you hand it to me?” Sloane fished in my purse and tossed it to me. I knew she saw the bustier, but didn’t comment.
Sweet Surrendering Page 12
