AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I motion for Sarah to come forward. She rushes over, and her eyes flit nervously between me and Sloane as she clears the table in record time. I stand and walk around to Sloane, offering her my hand. She takes it with a smile, and I pull her close to me. One hand goes around her waist while the other grips her nape. I brush my nose over hers, breathing in her sweet scent, and she sighs.
“I’ve got one last rule.”
Her breath skates over my lips. “What is it?”
“I say when.” I hold her gaze, watching my words wash over her before continuing. “We’re not fucking this up because you’re dissatisfied with your vibrator. I take care of the things that belong to me, Sloane, and you are mine. Your smart mouth, your incredible mind, and your greedy little pussy.” I study her face, hoping she catches the finality of my words. Hears how determined I am to not let her go. The rapid fluttering of her pulse under my thumb makes me think she does, even if it’s just subconsciously. “Every part of you belongs to me, and I might not be worthy of the job, but I promise you I won’t rest until all of your needs are met. All you have to do is trust me to take care of them. Can you do that, angel?”
Can you trust me to take care of your body and your heart?
Sloane nods. “Yes.”
Her easy agreement sets something free in my chest, and I lean down to take her mouth in a rough kiss. Her lips part on a moan, and I take full advantage of her openness, slipping my tongue into the wet heat of her mouth and exploring like it’s the first time all over again. Kissing Sloane is like floating in an ocean of relief, desire, hope, and the pure, unadulterated need that’s been bubbling inside of me for years. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to holding her in my arms, running my hands all over her ass, and caressing the generous dips of her hips.
When I finally release her, my dick is hot and throbbing against her stomach, and half-lidded eyes, hazy with lust, meet mine as she palms my erection with her tiny hand. I suck in a breath through my teeth and lay a hand over hers before she can do more than give it a light squeeze. Even as I hold her hand in place, I feel my skin tightening, a bead of precum dampening the front of my briefs.
This fucking woman.
“And that—” I thread my fingers through hers and bring her hand to my lips, kissing each digit before bringing them to rest over my heart. “—is exactly why you have to let me set the pace for this, angel. I fucking love how hungry you are for me, and I wish you knew how much I want you. How badly I need to bury myself inside of you and not stop until you beg me to.” Sloane’s eyes widen, and I can’t tell if she’s afraid of my words or turned on by them. “But I need to know that you’re safe and comfortable more than I need anything else, so hear me when I say this: the decision about taking this to another level will be mine and mine alone.”
“I hear you.” Sloane pouts, standing up on her tiptoes to brush her lips over mine again. “But please don’t think I’m going to make it easy on you.”
“Oh, angel. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” I squeeze her hips and take her mouth again, pulling away before I give in to the urge to spread her out on one of these tables and give Sarah and Nadia a hell of a show. Sloane’s eyes are bright with alcohol and arousal as she smiles up at me. “Let’s get out of here, beautiful.”
* * *
The ding of the elevator announces my arrival on the tenth floor of my building and effectively snaps my mind out of thoughts of Sloane and the little pants of pleasure she made on our ride down from the rooftop as I kissed and sucked at her neck until she was attempting to climb me like a tree.
I couldn’t stop touching her on the way over to my place, and I was thankful when she insisted on staying in the car while I ran up to pack a bag. The short break from her gives me time to breathe, to shore up my resolve not to take her home tonight and fuck her until neither one of us can walk.
No one’s in the hallway as I rush to my door. Knowing that Sloane is waiting for me, breathless and a little tipsy, has me moving fast. So fast I don’t pay any mind to the familiar vanilla and citrus notes lingering in the air or see the black trench coat thrown over the arm of my couch. In fact, none of those things register until I enter my bedroom and see Kristen sitting against my headboard, her usually bone straight locks curly and mussed in a way that kind of reminds me of Sloane’s hair.
Except Sloane’s curls are natural, soft black ringlets with hints of brown and gold that match her eyes and only show in certain light. Like the sunlight that filtered in through the window above her kitchen sink this morning. Kristen’s are beautiful but obviously provided by a curling iron or those soft foam things Mal uses on her wigs sometimes. Flexi-rods. I think absently, surprisingly calm for a man who’s just found his ex-girlfriend turned casual fling waiting in his bed, wrapped in his sheets and naked. Suddenly, I’m glad Sloane refused to sleep at my place because if she walked in on this, we would have been over before we even started.
Yes, this certainly looks like a woman who knows you’re just friends.
“You’re home.” Kristen purrs, sitting up to let the sheet fall. It pools around her waist, exposing her breasts. She crooks a finger at me. “Come to bed. I’ve missed you.”
I scrub a hand over my face, calling up the last bit of patience I have for the woman in front of me. Trying to remember that she’s a friend, someone I care about who seems to be struggling a bit more than I initially thought. The call while Sloane and I were at dinner was worrying; she was all over the place on the phone, mumbling about feeling overwhelmed and needing me because her life was falling apart.
You’re my rock, Nic.
I downplayed it because I was feeling defensive about Sloane implying Kristen was a blind spot for me, but I’m not just blind. I’m stupid too. Because I truly believed Kristen understood me when I said this was over.
“What are you doing?”
Her smile fractures a bit, the first vestiges of doubt wrinkling her brow. “I’m….do I need spell it out for you, babe?”
She pushes the covers away, revealing the rest of her slender form as she gets on her hands and knees, crawling to the edge of the bed and reaching for my belt. I take a step back.
“Jesus, Kris. You know that we’re—” I pull in a sharp breath, biting back the harsh words crowding my tongue because they sound too much like my father did when he was berating my mother. No matter how annoyed I am right now, I won’t turn into him.
It’s too late for that. Stringing women along was Gabriel Alexander’s bread and butter. A nasty voice whispers in my head. How many women did he use up and throw away just like you’re about to do this poor girl?
“We’re not doing this anymore.” I finish finally, backing away to put some distance between us. I won’t go back to Sloane smelling like Kristen’s perfume.
“Nic.” She pouts, stumbling off of the bed. “I need this. I need you. You never used to have a problem with helping me relieve stress from work. What’s so different now?”
Everything.
