Gideon huffed, closed his eyes, and sucked in a hard breath. His neck was corded with tension, his jaw bulging as he ground his teeth. It lasted endless seconds, this moment suspended in time. Then the tension went out of him, and he reached for his belt. I propped myself up on my knees, hands on his elbows, andwatched as he shimmied his clothes down to his knees, where they dropped to his ankles.
It was lewd. His thighs were dusted with dark hair, and his cock sat heavy and hard against his stomach. He gripped it in a big hand, squeezing the base as moisture leaked out the tip.
“You keep licking your lips like that, I’m going to have to tell you to suck it,” he said, his voice a harsh rasp.
My eyes flicked up to meet his, and my breath caught at the sight of him. He was so beautiful, teetering on the edge of control. Wanting me so badly his whole body was one taut line. I lowered myself back down on top of him, exhaling at the heat of his cock against my center, pinned between my core and his stomach.
“Maybe that’s what I want,” I whispered, burying my face in his neck. “You to tell me to…to…”
I couldn’t say it. I’d done it so many times before, but the act had become—at best—a chore. At worst—disgusting. Right now, though, it was the opposite. It didn’t feel like Ihadto suck Gideon off just because he’d made me orgasm. It felt like an overwhelming desire, something I actuallywantedto do, because I wanted to taste him. I wanted to see him lose control.
Gideon’s teeth raked down my neck and bit into my shoulder. His hands guided my hips to rock against him. “You want me to tell you to get on your knees and suck, baby?” His hands tightened on me, pressing my weeping core harder against his cock. I slid against him, my slickness coating his hardness from root to tip.
I shuddered. “Yes,” I admitted—and there was something wrong with me, wasn’t there? To want him to use me like that when it was being used that had made me feel so worthless. Butsomehow, it felt like going down on Gideon would rewrite all those bad experiences. Like it would be something new with him. Something better.
I felt rather than heard Gideon’s chuckle in the vibrations of his chest. He sighed, hips rocking against me, the tip of his cock pressing against my bud over and over and over again. He tangled his fingers in my hair and pulled my head back so he could look in my eyes. “My wife is a horny little thing, isn’t she?” He must have seen the effect his words had on me—the pleasure of being called his wife, the embarrassment of being read so easily, the spark of hopeful yearning at finally being understood—because he grunted and added, “What am I going to do with you?”
I’m not sure why that little musing sent me over the edge. Maybe it was the promise of a future with him, or the fact that it implied he wanted to figure me out. To please me. Whatever it was, a final orgasm gripped me, and I shuddered on top of him. Gideon swore, grabbing my hips, and dragged me down harder against his body.
And then he did use me.
He used his hands to rock my boneless body against his cock, his own hips punching up into me. Another shudder of pleasure washed through me. As I clung to him, his body went rigid, and I felt the warm wetness of his release against my stomach.
We lay there until our heart rates settled. Then I peeled myself off his chest, swallowing thickly as I met his gaze.
Gideon’s hand came up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. He looked thunderstruck. In a gravelly voice, he simply said, “Let’s clean up and go to bed.”
GIDEON
Her skin was silver in the moonlight. I brushed her hair off her cheek as she slept, listening to the soft sound of her breaths.
It couldn’t last. She’d come to her senses. She was a beautiful, intelligent, brave woman from the city. She’d never settle for me, for this.
But she was here for now. I vowed to make the most of it until she inevitably left.
TWENTY-ONE
SADIE
I woke up with the warm, heavy weight of Gideon’s arm around my waist. This time, instead of letting me go, Gideon pulled me tighter as he mumbled a good morning, then rolled me over so he could kiss me softly. I’d half expected to wake up and realize that yesterday had been a dream. It didn’t seem possible to finally be here, with him, like this.
Within moments, Gideon proved me wrong.
I arched off the bed as he stroked me, my legs scrabbling at the sheets, my hands curling into the soft, long-sleeved tee he’d worn to bed. He watched me with his head propped against his hand as he lay on his side beside me, a soft, satisfied smile on his lips. When I came back down to earth, he pressed a kiss to my shoulder and promptly intercepted the searching hand I’d sent over toward his crotch.
Bringing my fingers up to his lips, he kissed them gently. “None ofthat, now.”
“Why don’t you want me to touch you?” I asked, and it sounded embarrassingly close to a whine.
He just smiled at me, eyes circling my face. “I want you to touch me,” he answered, but he didn’t let me move toward that goal. “But not when it feels like you’re just doing it because you think you need to.”
My brows slammed down. “That’s not how I feel.”
“Every time you come, you jump toward me like you think you owe me one.”
“Well—” I clamped my lips shut, heart hammering. Finally, I whispered, “Isn’t that how it works?”
“Not here,” he said. “Not with me.”
