Page 87 of Up the Ladder


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He says nothing for a while, and I expect him to tell me it’s ridiculous. The contract isn’t because I don’t trust him, but because it reassures me that we are legally obligated to behave well. And I also like the idea that we’re bound together by it.

To my surprise, he focuses on the sheet he holds and says, “So, what’s new?”

“Well, most of it is the same as before,” I start. “I have changed the consent part to include a clear word. It’s a dotted line, so we can decide on it together, but I was thinking of ‘Jessica’ as a safe word.”

He chuckles, his eyes skimming over the contract. “It works.”

“Then, I also added more sexual practices so we can go through the entire list.”

“I see that, yes.”

“Now, I already told you about the no-condom addendum. I know you got tested and are waiting on the results, but we can get over the—”

“I got the results this afternoon,” he interrupts.

“Really? That fast?”

“With the small fortune I paid to get them quickly, yes.”

His impatience is evident, and I wish I’d done my part with that much zeal. “Hmm, I’m still waiting for mine.”

A dark expression passes over his face. “Have you had sex with anyone but me since the test from last time?” My cheeks warm up, and I shake my head. “Then you don’t need one.”

“It was for the fairness of it.”

“Love, I couldn’t care less about fairness if it means I get to fuck you raw tonight.”

Well, when he puts it like that.

“I take it everything came back negative?” I venture.

“I’m as clean as it gets, red.”

He picks up the pen I came with, and when he sets the papers on the table to sign them, I suggest, “Do you want us to review the contract and the addendum, like last time?”

“No, I trust you.”

Less than a minute later, everything’s signed, and I added our safe word. I’m going over everything again when he moves close enough for his warmth to envelop me and his lips to drop on my neck. Tingles ignite everywhere he kisses, soft and patient, and I close my eyes and tilt my head to the side so he has better access. The caress of his tongue on the tender spot below my ear has me sighing.

I feel the papers being pulled from my hands, and I let him. When I open my eyes, I see how he sends them flying on the coffee table. And when I turn to face him, his hands cradle my cheeks, pulling me in for a famished kiss. Before I know it, I’m wrapped in his embrace, the dizzying graze of his tongue demanding entrance. The instant I indulge, he invades me like a conqueror. His enthusiasm makes me laugh, which comes in the way of our kiss.

“Are you by any chance impatient, Jake?” I giggle.

“I’ve been thinking about it non-stop since you suggested it.”

Then he’s kissing me again, one of his large hands slithering up my side to cup my breast. He pinches the hard tip of it, and I moan into his mouth. As always with us, we get caught in a loop of wanting more, and more, and more. Before long, I end up straddling him, grinding onto the hardness of his crotch.

“Bedroom,” I breathe out, relinquishing the kiss for an instant.

His big hands squeeze my behind intently, which is bared, thanks to my bunched-up dress. I’m airborne in a split second, clinging to him while he carries me away from the couch.

“Where?”

Between heated kisses and the entwining of tongues, I guide him through the apartment all the way to my bedroom. Once we reach it, he drops me on the bed and looks down at me with hunger.

“Undress,” I order, rising to my elbows to watch him do it. The command brings out a cursed smirk that has me pressing my knees together. He swiftly sends a hand behind his head to remove his form-fitting sweater, but that won’t do. “Slowly,” I add.

Now, it’s arousal more than amusement that has his eyes sparkling.