“Ah, this is why I call you Rookie,” I said with a laugh.
Flynn sighed, and I almost swallowed my tongue when he finished zipping my fly. Before he could buckle my belt, I slid it out of the loops. He stared at me as I rolled it and handed it to him. “This one is black, goes with more things.”
He ducked his head and took the belt, and even in the shadows I could see the way his face had tinted red. I loved it. We didn’t talk as I helped him get his clothes back on, but we shared small smiles.
The drive back to his house was comfortable—we’d already gotten the fire out of our systems—and I was able to hold his hand and savor touching him as I navigated the streets. Occasionally he would look over and smile, but there was a drowsy end-of-the-night feel in the air that made me want to curl up in a bed with him. I pulled the car to a stop in front of his house and wanted to demand he take me inside, but as much as I could be an asshole I didn’t want to push all his boundaries in one night.
“Thanks for the date,” he murmured.
I had nothing to say to that except cheesy things, so I leaned across the console and planted my lips over his. I loved the way he followed after me when I started to pull back, enticing me to dive in again and press my tongue into his warm, wonderful mouth.
Everything about this was good and felt right.
It was difficult to convince myself to stop for air. “I’ll walk you to your door.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not necessary.”
“You’re going to let me do it.”
“Yes, Sir,” he murmured, and I kissed his cheek while pure pleasure coiled in my belly.
We held hands as we walked along the cracked sidewalk that led to the front of the house, and I was happy to see there was a light on. He took out his keys and glanced at the door. His shoulders hunched and he jangled the keys; he was clearly trying to work himself up to something—either inviting me in or telling me to fuck off.
“I’m not going to ask to come inside tonight,” I said, taking the choice away from him since he didn’t seem to know what he wanted. “How do you feel about having me in your space next time?”
He dropped his keys and cursed, bending to scoop them up again. “When is next time?”
“I’m picking you up in the morning.”
He stared at me, then the door, and I wished more than anything I knew what was going on in his head.
“I’m not sure.” He let out a long breath.
“I’ll take that as a no.” Disappointment bit at me, but I’d pushed him a lot and knew we should probably keep some distance between us until he was comfortable, even though I wanted to smash every single boundary he had to pieces and take over his entire life. “I’m going to ask again soon. Don’t say yes until you trust me.”
His throat bobbed, and I was mesmerized by the way his face scrunched up, smoothed out, then tensed again. Finally he glanced up, and I was staring into hurt brown eyes. “That won’t be easy for me.”
“Don’t confuse me for someone lazy.” I winked at him. “I’ll make you trust me. See you in the morning.” Nerves wove their way through me as I walked to my car and forced myself not to look back. I’d said my piece and needed to let it go, even though it ate at me to do anything even slightly... normal. This was probably why BDSM had all the talk about safewords and setting boundaries, but I’d never been with someone I wanted to... own. I got into my car and had trouble forcing myself to drive away. I wanted every waking minute he had. I wanted his days. I wanted his nights.
And I definitely wanted his mouth on mine again. Fuck, I would have to figure out this shit with my parents because there was no way in hell I was giving him up.
9
FLYNN
The next morningfound me and Judge at the gym again. He looked tired and yawned a lot, while I felt on top of the world. I loved the moment when the sun peeked over the horizon, sending waves of warmth across New Gothenburg. I lived for it, which is why I loved going to the gym as early as possible with him.
We warmed up together and I didn’t miss the outright stares of appreciation he gave me while I ran on the incline as fast as I could, my strong legs carrying me over the fast-moving belt of the treadmill. The gray sweats I wore today were tighter, but I’d chosen them on purpose to get a reaction out of him, and the expression on his face when he’d first seen me had been worth it. The crowning touch was a tight black tank top that showed off my chest. I thought he wanted to get on his knees at my front door and worship me, and there were no words for how exhilarated it made me feel.
After the treadmill we moved on to weights, and I went through my dead lifts and squat reps before hitting the bench press. He spotted me, standing behind my head at the end of the bench with spread legs, his crotch so close to my face I swore I could smell the sweat on his balls. I fucking loved it. I wanted to press my face into the bulge of his sweatpants and breathe him in.
He smirked, as though he knew exactly what I was thinking, and stepped in closer to me. If we’d been alone, I would’ve nuzzled my face against his semi and inhaled him.
“What are you thinking?” he whispered, eyes darkening.
“You don’t want to know,” I said with a grin as I shoved up the bar before bringing it back down toward my chest, taking a deep breath with every push upward. I let out a long hiss every time I lowered the heavy weights, my muscles straining and burning, but Judge had pushed me this morning. He didn’t let me go easy, and I enjoyed every second of the stares of appreciation he gave me.
“Yeah, I do.” He bent his knees a little and his crotch got that much closer to my face.
