He pulled back with a grin. “I heard your squeal. Does it mean what I think it means?”
I nodded, my eyes filling with happy tears as I bounced up and down. “I’m in the Top One-Hundred! Ninety-seven!”
Wes peppered my face with kisses. “I told you it was only a matter of time.”
It was August, six months after release, and a book influencer’s video praising my book went viral five days ago.
I had already been making more money than I’d ever made with my last books, but my sales dashboard the past few days showed numbers that made me dizzy. I’d earned more today than I used to in an entire month.
“How does it feel?” Wes asked.
“Surreal,” I whispered. “Like it can’t possibly be happening to me, even if it’s everything I’ve wanted for so many years.” Two agents, several foreign publishers, and one U.S. publisher had already reached out to me.
“You did this, Nova.You.” He waited until I nodded before continuing. “What are you thinking about the traditional path now?”
My smile didn’t waver as I lost myself in the certainty and pride in Wes’s hazel eyes. “I’ll hear them out.” I shrugged. “But an offer would have to impress me.”
Wes chuckled. “That’s my fucking girl.”
He cleared space and lifted me onto his desk. I wasn’t wearing panties, just as he’d instructed this morning. He buried his head between my legs, and my head fell back on a breathy moan. He sucked my sensitive flesh, devouring me until my legs shook and a cry fell from my lips.
“Now you see why you weren’t allowed to wear panties today, baby? I needed you available to me at all times, so I could reward you exactly the way you deserve.”
I panted, staring down at his beautiful face between my thighs. “Please, may I come?”
“Yes. You’re going to be coming all night long.”
He tugged on my clit ever-so-gently with his teeth as I cried out. Then he returned to sucking and pulsing at the exact tempo and pressure he knew I needed.
Because Wes knew everything about me. He studied me, watched me, obsessed over me, pried me apart until I was bared to him, right down to my very core.
I’d never been known like this before. And I had never known another so deeply. Living with Wes made me feel like I had a home again. A family.
And this time, I was safe.
Our communities of friends and neighbors were lush and supportive. We’d built entire worlds together within our relationship and outside in the city. And in every world, I belonged to Wes.
And he belonged to me.
I came on his tongue.
“Stand up. Take off your dress.”
I obeyed. My dress fell in a navy pool of fabric on the floor.
Wes sat down on the loveseat across from his desk. “Now crawl to me.”
I dropped down to my hands and knees. As I crawled to him, my mind settled. The joy and excitement from my book’smilestone still hummed in my body, but I was more present now, focused and blissfully relaxed.
Wes pointed to his knee. “Kneel. Head here.”
I kneeled at his feet, resting my head on his black pants. He gently stroked my hair, and I sighed in contentment. “Do you want to choose what we do tonight, or would you rather I chose?”
“Do you really need to ask that question?” I murmured.
I couldn’t see his face, but I somehow knew he was smiling.
“No, but I like hearing you answer it anyway.” He paused. “Who knows what’s best for you, baby?”
