Page 52 of Silver Player

“Go do what you need to do before bed,” he states, and I stare down at him, feeling strange about his position and soft command. It sounds so…domestic, and I don’t dare dream of such things with him. Entering the bathroom located off the hall, I brush my teeth, change into my nightshirt, and comb out my hair. When I return to my room, I slowly sit before Billy and then match his position, my back to his front.

A hand coasts up my spine while his body lowers, scooting his knees underneath mine and forcing me to tug them upward. My nightshirt shifts, and a warm hand rubs over my thigh.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, not accusing him but curious. My shirt lifts higher until my underwear is exposed, and then his mouth sucks at the middle of my back. Open mouth kisses travel down my spine to the base and the edge of my panties.

“You’re safe,” he says between suction. “I’m here,” he tells me, and I want to believe he means so much more. My eyes close as I give into the soothing sensation of his mouth working over my skin, along my skeleton. He remains in the same general area of my body. Moving to my waist and nipping at my hip. His hand continues to stroke over my thigh. Eventually, he palms over one covered cheek, and I still.

“You’re okay,” he reminds me. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. Or Sadie.” The comment relaxes me, and I fall back under his spell. His soothing kisses. His stroking palm. Then he slips his finger under the band at my leg and curls along the elastic until he comes in contact with an area he’s so recently discovered.

“I don’t like how we did things downstairs,” he says, and I still once again, afraid he means me and my too-quick reaction.

“I want to take my time with you, Roxanne. You’re that type of woman.” He leans over my hip and sucks at the tender skin. His fingers slip through wet creases within my panties. “And while I’d take you against a brick wall if that’s what you really want, I think I’d prefer to have you in a bed like this.”

A finger slips into me, deliberate and direct, and I hum under his touch. He’s not frantic or frenzied like we were on the floor but taking his time to delve in and draw back, and I fall deeper into him. His touch. His kisses. A second finger joins the first, and he takes his time to slip forward and back, drawing out the pleasure he’s created. I separate my knees a bit, holding them apart to allow him better access to me, and he groans against my back.

“You’re so wet, Roxie, just as I knew you would be.”

Knew I would be? Has he thought about me? Has he considered what it’d be like to be with me? I don’t ask. I just feel.

“Billy.” I hiss, his name a soft cry, and his fingers increase their pace.

“I want to taste you, Roxie. Let my mouth do as my fingers are.” I shift, and he sits up, tucking his fingers in the waistband and lowering my underwear. I’m not wearing the sexiest pair as this was the last thing I expected to happen tonight. Then again, I never expected to kiss him or be robbed either.

“Stay with me,” he says, almost sensing I’ve traveled back to the bookstore below. “We’re up here. Together.”

Together. Billy Harrington and me. It’s surreal. A fantasy, and I suddenly understand how my sister must have felt all those years ago. This is what she wanted. Him like this with her.

Billy lowers his head and kisses just below my belly button. His tongue comes forward and circles the area, and I chuckle as it tickles.

“There’s my darlin’,” he mutters against my skin as he drags his nose over the coarse mound of hair and then lowers it between my slick folds. My legs spread of their own volition and then his hands force them farther apart. His tongue comes out like it did at my belly button, and he drags it around my most central part before slipping forward, and I break apart. My back arches. My fingers comb into his hair. My knees lift as his tongue does things to me I’ve never had done before. Delicious and dangerous, all the things I thought Billy Harrington would be like. He’s sweet while insatiable, lapping at me, licking me until I’m so wet I feel myself dripping.

“Billy,” I warn, knowing this time will be different. It wouldn’t be that rush that surprised me on the bookstore floor, but a lingering wave of release, rolling down to my toes and spreading to my belly. I curl upward, my head lifting as I bite my lip to hold back the scream. He’s relentless as the orgasm lingers and his tongue moves in earnest, flicking over the nub and then slipping back into me. I’ve hardly come down from the first when a second threatens.

“Billy,” I hiss, his name draining the last of my oxygen as my breath catches, and I instantly come a second time.

“Holy shit,” I mutter as I fall back to my pillow, my body more relaxed than it’s been in years. My head lulls to the side, and I stare off at the window a moment. Billy kisses my inner thigh and then sits up, wiping a hand over his lips.

“How was that for distraction?” he teases, and I want to retort something witty and sharp, but I have nothing. He took it all from me. He took my stress and my orgasm, and unfortunately, I think my heart’s going as well. Casual and uncomplicated he said earlier, but it’s already getting complicated for me.

+ + +

The next morning, Billy’s gone, having snuck out sometime during the night. Sadie acts like she can’t wait to leave for school while I want to tell her about the break-in and warn her about being diligent of her surroundings. While I wasn’t personally attacked, I worry about Sadie’s safety.

“Maybe this is why you should let me drive,” she teases although she doesn’t have her driver’s license yet. She rides the school bus, which isn’t the cool thing, she told me, but most kids ride it as they live spread out within the community. Sadie took driver’s ed this summer, but she needs practice hours before she can get her permit. Unfortunately, I hardly drive anywhere in Blue Ridge. I live above my shop. I walk to Tom’s Grocery when I need something. There isn’t much opportunity to let Sadie drive, and an idea strikes me.

“William,” I sternly say his name that afternoon when I call him. I’m all business. This call has nothing to do with the fact he touched me in ways I’ve never been touched. Or the fact I wanted him to hold me all night instead of leaving me in my empty bed still riddled with the shock of my business being robbed or the fact Billy went down on me and it’s all I can think about.

With what we did, what he did to me, I should have returned the favor. I should have at least offered, but he curled up behind me after returning my underwear, pressed me to my side, and held onto me until I drifted off to sleep. Safe in his arms.

Nothing is going to happen to you. Or Sadie. I’m here.

“Roxie,” he teases in return, his voice sultry and deep. “You’re rather formal this afternoon.” Am I? Isn’t this how we are with one another? Isn’t this casual like he suggested?

“I wanted to thank you for handling the sheriff last night and checking on Sadie.” His concern for her is sweet. “Did you happen to notice if she looked sick last night?”

“Sick? Not exactly.” He clears his throat. “Why? Is she sick today?”

“No. No, nothing’s wrong.” I pause, regaining my focus for the call. “She just felt warm, but she went to school. On that note, I have an idea. How would you feel about driving lessons?”