Page 123 of Pick Me This Time

“Well, first,” he replied quietly against my ear. “I’m going to make love to you until I absolutely have to leave tomorrow morning. Then we’re going to talk every day. Call me a hundred times an hour if you want, but just don’t go silent on me, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed, wondering just how this was going to work. “Are you going to be seeing other people?”

“No,” he said vehemently, sliding his finger under my chin and lifting it until I was looking up into his eyes. “If you decide that you would like to⁠—”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. I stared into those glittering dark orbs that would always fascinate me. “I love you, Sterling. I might not be sure how we’re going to do this, but I love you and I want to try.”

“Same. I love you, too, baby. We’re going to make it work.” Sealing the promise with a kiss, he crushed my lips under his own. He got my hair all wet when he lifted a hand to hold the back of my head.

I didn’t even mind. Right then, I wouldn’t have minded anything other than him breaking away from me. I drank from his lips like he was the only lush, tropical oasis in a desert the size of the whole planet. Eventually I climbed into his lap and sat astride his legs.

He hissed when I lifted myself so my entrance was enveloping the tip of his cock. “We can’t, Daph. Don’t get me wrong, I want to, but if you get pregnant…”

“Are you clean?” I asked genuinely, easing back enough that I was able to see his eyes.

His brow furrowed, but he nodded. “Yeah, but why? Eric will⁠—”

“Let’s not talk about my brother right now.” I caught his face in my hands and slowly pressed myself down on him. “I’m on the pill, Sterling. I’ve always been on it. I had issues with my cycle, so…”

His eyes widened and his breath caught. He lifted his hips and glided into me with one powerful thrust from underneath. A scream lodged in my throat at the heat of him inside me without anything between us.

It felt so good that my head rolled back and I moaned, sliding my fingers into his hair. With my back arched like it was, he had perfect access to my breasts and he took advantage of it, taking one in each hand and teasing my nipples as we moved together.

My breathing sped up, my heart racing as pleasure sparked through me, my muscles already tightening. In the past, it’d been hard for me to achieve orgasm with a man, but with Sterling, it was like our bodies had been made for the pleasure of the other.

Even the way I fit against his pelvis in this position was perfect, the friction on my clit exactly right even if his hands were on my breasts. He teased my nipples, working me into a state of suspended bliss until I finally couldn’t hold back anymore.

It was so much more intense now that he was bare inside me, the heat of him making it feel so much more real. My toes curled and my head dropped forward as the orgasm approached. Then I let go, not even ashamed of letting him see my face while it happened.

Sterling moaned. His thighs tensed underneath mine and his cock swelled inside me. As the waves of bliss dragged me under, I hung onto him. My entire body shook with the pleasure that ratcheted through me.

He came, shooting hot shots deep into my body for the first time. My eyes flew open and I watched with rapt attention as his beautiful features contorted. His hips jerked against mine. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt before, and when it was over, I pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

“I love you. Let’s do that again. As often as we can until you have to leave.” My voice was hoarse and breathless, but I made it.

Making love to him had been an unrivaled experience, and since he was leaving tomorrow, I wanted to make the most of the time we had left together. Sterling smiled against my lips. “God, I love you too, Daph. Let’s get cleaned up. Then we’re going to bed. That was amazing. We’re definitely doing it again.”

The rest of the night went by much too fast, passing in a blur of moans and sighs, pleasure and moments of brevity in between, where he promised me mounds of dirty texts and suggested other ways of keeping the passion alive. We fell asleep together not long before the sun rose, and when morning came, I woke up to him kissing me goodbye.

“I love you, baby. I have to go get packed and ready for my flight, but I’m going to call you all the time, okay?”

I nodded. My eyes filled with tears as I kissed him back. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“Same,” he promised, kissing me one last time, then tucking the blankets tightly around my still naked body. He was already dressed, sitting on top of the bedding. Those eyes hooked on mine once more. “Stay in bed. It’s freezing outside today. I’ll call you when I land. Love you.”

“Love you,” I replied, taking his hand and squeezing it. He held on to me for as long as he could, Then he moved as far away from me as either of our arms would allow before he dropped my hand, blew me a kiss, and left.

A sob rose up from deep within my soul as he disappeared. I choked it back, not wanting him to hear it and feel even worse about leaving. I loved him and he loved me, but my life was here and his was in New York.

This sucked for us, but it just was the way it was. He was flying out this evening, going back to work, and tomorrow, I had to do the same thing. While our lives had changed irrevocably in some ways, the basics were still the same.

As soon as I heard the front door shut behind him though, I stopped fighting the tears, letting them flow freely. I buried my head in the pillow and pulled the covers over me. I sobbed until my stomach hurt and my head was throbbing, but the tears still hadn’t dried up.

Eventually, my phone started ringing and I considered ignoring it, but at the last moment, it occurred to me it might be him. I grabbed the device blindly, my vision too blurry to bother checking who it was. “Hello?”

“Hey, you,” Rachel said from the other end of the line. “You sound terrible. I’m assuming that means he’s gone?”

“Yeah, he’s flying out tonight.”