I bury my face against her throat, sucking hard enough to mark her. “Say it,” I growl, my voice guttural. “Say you don’t want me talking to anyone else. Say you want me all to yourself.”
She shakes her head, but her body tells a different story—her thighs tightening around my hips, her pussy clenching around me like she’s scared to let go.
“You can’t even lie to me right now,” I bite out, slamming deeper, pulling a sharp gasp from her lips. “You don’t want Jeff, or anyone else. You don’t want anyone touching you but me. Admit it, Maisy. Admit it before I fuck the words out of you.”
Her eyes flutter shut, jaw tight, refusing. I grip her chin, forcing her to look at me as I thrust harder, rougher, her body jerking with each push of my hips.
“You want more than just benefits, don’t you?” My forehead presses to hers, sweat dripping down my temples. “You wantme. All of me. No strings? That was bullshit. This—” I drive into her, deep and relentless, “—this is a string you’ll never cut, baby.”
“Sterling—” she gasps, her voice breaking as pleasure takes over.
I drag her closer, my hand sliding up her spine, holding her flush against me as if I can fuse us together. My lips graze her ear as I whisper, “You’re mine. Not Jeff’s. Not anyone’s.Mine. Say it.”
Her resolve cracks, a sob tearing free as she clings to me. “Yours. I’m yours.”
The words ignite something primal in me, and I fuck her harder, my claim stamped into every thrust and bruising kiss. She chants it again, breathlessly, until neither of us can hold back any longer.
When she comes, it’s with a shudder that rips through her body, her cries muffled against my shoulder. I follow, spilling into her with a groan, my grip tight on her, like I’m afraid she’ll slip away if I let go.
We collapse against the island, panting and trembling. My lips brush her hair, my chest still heaving. “Don’t ever try downplaying what we are again,” I rasp, voice hoarse. “Because after tonight, there’s no pretending this is nothing.”
TWENTY-TWO
MAISY
After nearly an hourof scrubbing the countertops, tossing empty bottles and shards of broken glass away, and wiping away every trace of the party and our wild sex, Sterling threads his fingers through mine. Without a word, he leads me down the hall to the bathroom.
He shuts the door behind us and turns on the shower, letting the space grow warm. His eyes stay locked on me while his fingers trail down my body, skimming over my waist as he pushes my skirt down my hips. I shiver under the weight of his attention while he takes his time, as if stripping me down is something he doesn’t want to rush.
When I’m finally standing naked in front of him, he tugs his shirt over his head with one hand and kicks his jeans free until there’s nothing separating us. My heart skips a beat when my eyes land on his thick, heavy length, hard for me again.
“So beautiful,” he murmurs, almost to himself, as his eyes skim over me.
His hand settles against the small of my back as he nudges me toward the shower. I step in first, warm water rushing over my skin.
Sterling steps in right behind me, crowding me against the tile as his mouth finds my neck, lips dragging wet, open kisses down to my shoulders as his palms work my breasts greedily. By the time he turns me to face him, my chest is heaving, nipples peaked and aching, and every nerve is alive for him.
He pressed my back against the wall and nudges my thighs apart with his knee. Without needing to lift me up, his cock finds my swollen entrance, and in one relentless thrust he stretches me to my absolute limit, forcing a strangled cry from my throat. My fingers claw at his slick shoulder, searching for something to anchor me as he fills me.
“Fuck, Sterling,” I gasp, head tipping back against the tile.
He growls in response, grinding deeper, his mouth claiming mine. Each thrust is harder than the last, water running down our bodies as he drives into me. It’s impossibly overwhelming, but I never want him to stop.
He slows down, dragging nearly all the way out before slamming back into me, making me cry out again. The rhythm is merciless—long, teasing strokes that have me clenching tighter around him, begging without words. My thighs start to tremble as my toes barely grip the slick floor of the shower, every movement dragging me closer to the edge. Sterling reaches down, and lifts me up so that I can wrap my legs around him.
He presses his forehead to mine, eyes locking on me and stealing my breath all at once. “Feel that?” he rasps. “Feel how good I fuck you? How perfectly you take me?”
The words unravel me, tightening the coil inside until it snaps, my orgasm tearing through me in violent, pulsing waves. I cry out as I cling to him, my nails leaving half-moons on his wet skin.
He doesn’t stop, though.
He keeps fucking me through it until I’m sobbing his name against his mouth, begging him to never stop.
With a broken groan, he follows me over the edge, his thrusts growing erratic before he buries himself deep and holds himself there. The shudder that rips through his body vibrates into mine, and his release spills hot inside of me.
For a long moment, the only sound is the water pattering against the tile and our ragged breathing. My body is limp against him, every muscle trembling as he kisses my temple, then my cheek, softer now, his mouth lingering like he’s trying to memorize the taste of my skin.
Then suddenly, the light flickers twice before the bathroom plunges into darkness.
