Ohfuck. I can’t help but rise to her challenge.
“Or what, Lottie?”
She smirks, mirth dancing in her eyes now.
“I’ll go grab one of your ties,” she says, her voice light now, practically innocent.
Anticipation slowly curls through my stomach, overshadowing the bone-deep sorrow. Nutmeg surrounds us between one moment and the next.
She grins. “Is that what you need right now? You need me to force your brain off?”
Yes.
She must see the word in my face because she nods before I can give any kind of agreement. And then, in a moment that proves she knows me better than anyone else in this world, she reaches into the pocket of her sleep shorts and pulls a simple black tie she must have grabbed from my closet.
The fabric is soft and cool against my skin, caging me in. It should feel claustrophobic, but I only feel the weariness slowly bleed out from my body. Charlotte tests the knot and then her body heat disappears completely. I count the rushing beat of my heart as she eases the warm-ups even lower and then guides them off completely. The crush of fabric sends a bolt of heat through me, and my cock jumps.
Her hands are soft and sure as she strokes me, root to tip and back. With every rough slide, her hold tightens, until I can’t keep from crying out. A warmth settles between my hips, and I twist my body, needing more, already dangerously close to the edge.
“Fuck,” I gasp.
The touch falls away at once. I count my heartbeats again, their speed lightning quick now. She eases my knees wider. The soft, quiet movement of her pajamas comes a fraction closer, and then her shoulders press into my inner thighs.
I suck in a startled breath as she runs her tongue along the underside of my cock. And then groan, long and low, as her lips surround the head and she takes me deep in a single slide. She sucks, the pressure so intense that another ragged noise falls from me and my hips jerk.
Jesus, I’m not going to last more than a few minutes if she does that again.
She pulls away, leaving me aching. As realization slowly settles over me, I drop my head back, closing my eyes even though I can’t see anything.
“You said you were going to make it better,” I mutter, the words hoarse.
Her hand strokes me again, a quick caress that’s gone before I can really absorb it. My stomach clenches.
“I am,” she says. I canhearthe smile that must be curving her lips, that must be giving her eyes that coy glint when she’s feeling equal parts playful and sly. “Now hush.”
The darkness heightens every brush of her lips, every swipe of her tongue, every biting prick of her nails. When I roll my hips next, though, her hands brace against them and force me entirely immobile. I rub my feet along the carpet, trying to keep from breaking her hold on my hips and fucking up into her. One of her braids brushes against my hand, and I twist my fingers, grabbing it before she can pull away again. I use it as an anchor, slowly inching my hand up it until I feel the warmth of her cheek.
“Lottie,” I say, desperate now. “Oh, fuck, I?—”
She sucks me deep again.
The orgasm rushes through me, hot and consuming. Her throat tightens around me as she swallows, and I moan, the sound pulled from the depths of me, hoarse and ragged. She settles in my lap before she removes the tie. The light from the TV casts her in a yellow light that brings out the warmth of her skin and hair and eyes.
“I love you,” I whisper.
Her smile is radiant as she cups my face. “Good.”
Nine
COLE
Dad’s office is large and warm despite being in one of the high-rises downtown. Shelly glances up as I step into the space, the glass door shutting soundlessly behind me.
“Oh, hi, Cole,” she says with a bright smile. “Johnathan is just finishing a meeting but should be out any minute.”
With a nod, I drop into one of the leather chairs that line the room, trying to relax in the relative quiet of this space before we go somewhere louder for lunch. The flare from last week resolved better than the last few before it, leaving only the residual headache I’ve been feeling since the gala itself. Between that and finally being able to remove the last of the bracing on my nose, I’m in relatively good spirits.
As long as I don’t remember I’m going to have to hope Marcus is at the gala in October, at least.
