When she took him into her mouth again, she licked him up and down slowly, making him slick. He ran his fingers through her hair, gathering the loose waves in his hand to watch.
“I’ve been waiting for you to show me what you can do with that mouth,” he murmured. With one hand on his cock and one in her hair, he parted her lips again with the head. “Suck.”
She parted her lips and took just the tip of him into the heat of her mouth. He felt like he’d been branded by fire. She sucked lightly, then deeper, as he grew wetter from her tongue until he was deep in her mouth. She added her hands, rubbing the base of him with one hand, and his own fell away. With her other, she cupped his balls, using her mouth and her lips and her tongue to take him apart, the little witch.
He sucked in a breath. “Yes,fuck. Just like that.”
He had to remember to breathe. Her breasts spilled over the cups of her bra, so pretty against the leather of his chair. Heteased her nipples while she took him into her mouth deeper and stroked him tighter and faster until he finally stopped her with a hiss. She pulled back, and the sight of her swollen, glistening lips was enough to make him come. “I’m close.” He should warn her, in case she didn’t want him like that.
She grinned. “I know,” she said before closing her mouth around him tightly. The effect was immediate. Theo squeezed his eyes shut and let go, letting the fire consume him fully. Dimly, he was aware of her hand threading through his, a connection like a lifeline while he shook from the aftereffects.
When he opened his eyes, she was smiling up at him. He kissed her lips gently and helped her into his lap again. “Thank you.”
She settled against him, nuzzling against his chest. “It was my pleasure,” she sighed. “Next time we play out my fantasy.”
He stroked her back lazily. “Anything you want.”
Chapter Thirty-One
"Not too much.I don't want to look like I’m trying too hard,” Val said.
“Got it.” Amber dabbed a little more of the soft pink shimmer to Val's eyelid with precision. She took a step back, surveying her handiwork with a critical eye.
It was just the two of them getting ready tonight—Sandy had taken the night off, but someone had called in and she was forced to stay to work a double, and Holly was at Allie’s. Amber had splurged on manicures and pedicures for both of them earlier. Now, back at her apartment, they were putting the finishing touches on their hair and makeup.
“There.” Amber looked at Val’s reflection in the mirror and a knot tightened in her throat. “You look beautiful, honey.” Val’s hair was pulled back into a chic knot, leaving only tendrils framing her face instead of the usual heavy hank of hair she hid behind. She looked softer, younger. Happy.
Val studied herself, an uncharacteristic look of worry making her forehead furrow. “Do you really think so? I know everyone else will wear ball gowns, but this feels much more me, you know?” Val smoothed down the full skirt of the black dress.It fit her like a dream after Amber took in the bodice. Val had paired it with her black high-top Converse, a little touch of her mixed with the retro dress.
“Vintage is always in style. You look gorgeous and confident,” Amber said, holding her eyes in the mirror. She tried not to get too mushy, but she really was so proud of Val.
It had been a big summer for both of them. Val’s letter of acceptance to the State University of Geneseo had come last week. Amber hadn’t even tried to hide her excitement when Val opened the letter. Neither of them had. They had screamed and hugged, and Amber had taken Val, Sandy, and Holly out for ice cream. Val was going to commute in the fall and work part-time waiting tables at the pub. Big changes were ahead for both of them.
“Hey now, it’s not like I’m moving. I’ll be next door,” Val said.
“Stealing my food and lounging on my couch, I hope.”
“Hello, of course. I’m going to be a broke college student. I’ll be over every night for dinner with Holly.”
Amber took a chance and gave her a quick hug. “I hope so,” she whispered.
Val squeezed her back. “Okay, okay, enough of the sappy stuff or you’ll ruin this perfect eye makeup.” Val cleared her throat and stepped back from the mirror. “Let’s talk about your dress. You outdid yourself on this one.”
“I should hope so. It took me weeks of sewing to get these beads on.” Amber's dress was the simplest creation she ever made, but also the most stunning. It had neither of her go-tos: there was no bold color choice or outrageous amount of skin drawing attention to herself. At first glance, it was a simple gold sheath dress that fit like a second skin, with a scoop neckline and thin straps.
It was up close that the dress went from merely chicto spectacular. Amber had spent weeks sewing tiny glass beads in intricate patterns all over the dress, making it sparkle wherever light reflected off it. In the soft glow of The Grand River Hotel’s ballroom lights, the dress would shimmer and make all the evenings she had worked on it worth it.
But she couldn’t think about the gala right now, or about everything she had riding on it being a success for Theo, or she might pass out.
“Come here,” Amber said. “Let’s get a selfie in the mirror to send to your mom. I know she really wished she could be here to see you all dolled up.” She snapped a few pictures and sent them to Sandy and thought about Annette.
How many of these moments had Annette missed when she was trying to put herself through school and working nights when Amber and her sisters were little? Most of them. A wave of gratitude swept through her for her mother. Both women were doing what they had to do for their families.
“I feel so naked without my hoodie on,” Val said, smoothing down her skirt. “How do you dress like this every day?”
As Amber studied them critically in her smudged mirror, an epiphany struck her. “I suppose both of our wardrobes serve the same purpose.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
