“Oh, yes,” I say, waving him off as though he’s the one overreacting. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
“I was in the small bedroom at the end of the hall, okay? I’ve been there the whole time. I won’t leave you.”
I flick my wrist and add a tiny, tight smile meant to leave him in no doubt whatsoever that everything is A-okay and I’m not a jabbering, needy mess.
I go to the fridge and open it to try to distract myself from what I can only describe as an indescribable urge to have something repeatedly shoved up my ass. The thought of food is still far from appealing, but nonetheless, I search through jars and containers on the off chance something takes my fancy enough to give me something else to think about.
There’s nothing remotely tempting on the shelves, so I open the drawers one by one.
Cheese? Bleugh.
Cured meat? More bleugh.
Fruit? Ew.
Broccoli, peppers, carrots? No, no, and no.
Cucumber? Hmm…now there’s an attractive vegetable. Or is it a fruit? I can’t remember and can’t say I care. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that goodness, it’s gorgeous.
So long and thick. So hard.
Damn, that’s some good-looking exocarp. Bumpy. Almost veiny, if you squint right.
Wonder why I spent so long looking for a knot dildo when this handsome thing has been here all along?
I hold the cucumber, drifting off and looking out of the window as I appreciate the weight and girth of it in my hand.
Outside, it’s snowing again. Softly now. Ice crystals dancing on a flirty breeze as they twirl down to Earth.
“Don’t even think about it,” Branson says, voice loud and a lot closer to me than I realized.
“I, er,” I stammer, levitating for several seconds before dropping the cucumber back in the fridge like it’s hot.
“I know it looks like the answer, but it’s freezing out there.”What’s he talking about? Oh God, he didn’t see me undressing a cucumber with my eyes, did he? Please no. I can’t handle it if he did.I follow his line of sight, and sag with relief when I notice that he’s looking out the window. “You feel like you’re burning, but you’d still get frostbite if you go out there.”
“You’re right,” I say, nodding agreeably. “It’s a bad idea. A very bad idea.”
“Are you struggling?” he asks quietly.
He’s close. Tall as hell and incredibly broad-shouldered. Handsome in a way that makes me want to sit on his face. His voice is so deep that I feel the vibrations in the tip of my dick when he talks.
My thoughts swim. Ooh, I definitely haven’t woken up from the dream all that well. I’m disoriented as hell. My mind has been taken over by lust. I can’t think straight. The only thing I’m able to focus on for more than a second is the thought of having something very big and very thick jammed up my ass.
“Little bit,” I manage.
A shadow of compassion flickers in his eyes, and he reaches for me again. This time, he comes so close that I feel the ghost of his touch on my arm. A disturbance of air. A cool breeze on sunburnt skin. “Can I check your temperature?”
“With a rectal thermometer?” I ask hopefully.
He laughs, and fuck me, it’s a beautiful sound. It sounds like sex. Like the end of an orgasm. Like a bed creaking and a headboard hitting the wall. Like a big dick splitting me in half.
“No,” he says, eyes still smiling. “Like this.” He places his hands on either side of my face and pulls me toward him. He leans down, making my heart beat erratically, and gently stamps his lips on my forehead. He makes a soft, sympathetic sound. “Poor baby. You’re burning up.”
“Meep,” I say.
He places the backs of his fingers on my cheeks, left one and then right. His touch is soothing and cool, and I can’t help leaning into it. He reaches into my glass and chooses a big piece of ice, carefully holding it in his fingers as he runs it over my lips. Bottom lip. Top lip. Bottom lip again. I part my lips slightly and run my tongue along the seam of my lips, lapping at the icy crystal and sighing from the chilling sensation.
Branson smiles at me. A friendly smile. A fond smile. The kind of smile you give someone when you’re planning on fucking them into oblivion. Then puts the ice into his mouth, licking the tips of his fingers as he does it.
