He left his phone on the counter and strode over, backing her up against the wall. In her heels, they were nearly the same height, and things were lining up very nicely. “You dressed up for me.”
“You fed me dinner.”
“You dressed up for me.” He pressed into her, and wow, okay, yes, he was definitely a fan of the ensemble. She did so love being appreciated.
Still, he hadn’t kissed her yet, had barely even touched her, and she was getting impatient. “Does this mean you like it?”
He tilted his head down, and she waited for his mouth to land on hers,finally, but it landed near her ear instead. “Do you remember when I told you I wanted to rip that bridesmaid’s dress off you?”
“Vividly,” she murmured.
“I’m trying very, very hard not to completely destroy this pretty little thing you have on.”
“How’s that going for you?”
“Terribly.”
Judging by the way his hands had tightened into fists on either side of her, that was fully accurate.
“Well, itwasexpensive, so I appreciate that. Here, let me help.” Without breaking eye contact, she slid the black lace panties down her legs, then tucked them into the breast pocket of his shirt. “Look at that. Teamwork.”
The heat in his eyes could’ve melted glass, and she waited forhim to say or do something—anything—but he stayed pinning her to the wall with nothing more than a look.
And then he sank to his knees.
She felt his shuddering breath before he even parted her with his thumbs. He pressed a kiss to the inside of one thigh, then the other, and her legs wobbled in anticipation, just barely stabilized by his hands sweeping down to her ankles. Then he slid them back up, stroking up over her calves and the backs of her thighs before cupping her ass, leaving a trail of fire in his wake.
“Judah,” she moaned. “Come on.”
“Shh, I’m busy.” He kissed along the crease of her thigh, nibbled at her hipbone, and made his way down the other side.
“This is cruelty.”
He smiled against her skin before giving her the firm lick she so desperately craved, making her gasp for air. She slid her hands into his hair, tugging as he gripped her hips, burying his face inside her. Her breathing grew shallow as he used his tongue to trace the edges, to swirl around her clit and place a kiss there, and then another, before brushing it with his nose as he moved to lick her slowly from the inside out.
“Holy fuck,” she breathed, any coherence devolving into swearing and moans as he explored her with lips and tongue and—so help her God—teeth. “Have you been practicing?”
There was no answer, only a humming against her clit before he sucked it into his mouth and absolutely obliterated her ability to think, especially when he lifted her leg over his shoulder to get even closer. His fingers soon joined, a quick caress before he easily slid one, then two inside her, and soon her entire body was tensing—so close she swore and prayed and begged for relief before finally imploding on trembling legs, his firm hand on her hip the only thing keeping her from collapsing on the ground.
He helped lower her to the floor, and she curled up into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I lied,” she whispered,burying her face in his shoulder. “I am deeply, deeply unsorry about your phone call.”
“I kind of suspected,” he whispered back.
“Judah, seriously, how are you so good at this?” He snorted, his breath tickling her neck, but she looked him squarely in the eye. “No, for real. I don’t think you’re lying about me being your first, but this is, like… a weird, preternatural level of skill.”
“You’re not exactly subtle about what you do and don’t like.” His fingertips trailed along her shoulder, her collarbone, drawing a light shiver. “I follow the way you move, the way your breathing changes, the noises you make—I really, really like those noises in particular. Same as anyone else does.”
She stared at him in wonder, positive he was joking, then realized he wasn’t at all. “You really believe that. You genuinely think everyone takes the time to stay that in tune with the other person and cares that much about making them feel good.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Don’t they?”
“Oh, sweet summer child.” She thought about the question he’d asked her two nights earlier—if it was always as good as it was between them—and she wondered if maybe, for him, it would be. Maybe she was actually the one doomed to find everything downhill from here. It was a terrible thought on too many levels to contemplate. “Still, that doesn’t explain all the technique.”
To her surprise, his cheeks pinkened. “I like to be good at things. And I’m good at researching how to be.”
“You researched?”
He shrugged, his cheeks going full-on red. “I only took lessons in piano; the rest of the instruments I play, I taught myself. Learning how to play instruments is what I do.”
