Every sound she makes tears through me.Every gasp.Every moan.Every helpless arch beneath my hands as I feast at the apex of her thighs, lapping up every bit of her essence, and I think if I never taste anything else again in this lifetime, I’d die a happy man.
She writhes under me as she lets go again, her fingers gripping the silk ties binding her wrists, her mouth open wide as she pants out my name again and again.When her back floats back to the bed, I press a kiss to the inside of her thigh and then rise to stand over her.
The sheets are soaked between her legs, her lipstick smeared against her teeth, tear streaks trail through the makeup on her face, and she’s never looked more beautiful to me.
“Vanessa, are you okay?”
Her head bobs up and down, her chest heaving with her breathing.
“You need to say it out loud.”I trail a finger up the side of her breast and then pinch her nipple.
“Ahhhh.”Her back arches as she nods again, but she says the words I need to hear.“Yes, yes, I’m okay.”
My mouth latches onto her nipple a second later, and I suck and tug on each one, Vanessa whimpering under me as they turn a deep red, my tongue flicking against the hard tips, her hip thrusting up, searching for more.“Hayden, please.”
“Please, what?”
“Fuck me.”She’s begging me and they are the sweetest words I’ve ever heard.
“What do you say?”I torture her a little more, wanting every last bit of her compliance.
“Please.”Her body wriggles on the bed as she pleads.“Please, Hayden.Please fuck me.”
Those words cut through me like a sword sweeping through a villain, and I fall willingly.I climb between her legs and shove inside of her in one hard thrust.And then I don’t stop.
I push in and out of her, my hands reaching up to release the blindfold, her eyes meeting and locking onto mine.The candles burn lower while the music pulses around us as Vanessa comes apart for me again and again on dark silk sheets with my name on her lips.And the terrifying thing?I’ve never felt more focused in my entire life.
Later, as both of us lie beneath the sheets, Vanessa lifts her gaze to mine through softened mascara and flushed cheeks.There’s no fear, no uncertainty as she looks over at me.Only satisfaction and trust.
Mine.The word invades for the third time tonight and contentment so complete settles somewhere deep in my chest and stays there.And for the first time in a very long time, I realize I’m not afraid of needing someone anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Vanessa
Control
Zoe Wees
The next few weeks feel too good to be real.That should probably concern me more than it does.Most nights, Hayden is waiting outside the museum by the time I leave work.
Sometimes leaning against his car in a dark wool coat with his hands shoved into his pockets.Sometimes standing beneath the glow of the streetlights holding coffee for me because the temperature in Chicago has dropped sharply enough that winter feels close now.
Always making my stomach feel like one thousand butterflies have taken flight.
The first time it happened, I thought maybe it was a coincidence.By the tenth, I realized Hayden had quietly built me into the rhythm of his life.And somehow, without noticing when it happened, I’d done the same thing.
My apartment barely feels like mine anymore.His records have started appearing beside my turntable because he believes my music collection lacks “structure.”Expensive whiskey now dominates an entire corner on my kitchen counter.
Half his clothes lie draped over the chair in my bedroom because even though Hayden somehow manages to remove articles of clothing in every room he enters, he still makes sure they all land in one place.
Even Vinny has betrayed me.The cat waits for Hayden at the door every night like an emotionally compromised little traitor.
“I rescued you,” I mutter one evening while Vinny sprawls shamelessly across Hayden’s lap instead of mine.
Hayden doesn’t even glance up from the newspaper he’s reading on my couch.“Animals recognize quality.”
“You’re reading a physical newspaper in my apartment.”
