Page 92 of High Water

“Aspen, fuck, please…” I moan, unmuted before I can stop it as she sucks me hard, her mouth so fucking perfectly warm and wet I can’t think straight.

She pulls away, her emerald eyes flash with a warning as she glances back at the door and then turns her sharp gaze on me.

“You broke the rules,” she whispers, snatching the panties out of my hand and pushing them back into my mouth. “I shouldn’t let you come at all for that. But I deserve it. Don’t I?”

I nod and try my best to look contrite. Her brow arches sharply before she hits her knees again. I won’t last long. An angry Aspen, still desperate to watch me come, is about the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

“I was gonna let you come all over my tongue too. Down my throat. Let you see me swallow every last drop of you down.” She grins up at me like a fucking devil when she sees how remorseful I am that I didn’t just sit still and keep my mouth shut. “You’ll have to earn another chance at that.”

She gives me one last teasing pass of her palm over my cock before she runs her tongue back along me, bobbing her mouth over the tip once more and then again as she starts to pick up the pace of her torment. I cant my hips, desperate for more of her that she refuses to give, and a muted groan slips free as she starts to stroke me faster. She tears her mouth away just before I start to come, sitting up on her knees and watching with rapt attention as thick streams splash over her chest and down her abdomen. I make a mess of her and myself as another wave of it pulses over her hand and wrist and onto my pants.

She grins at the state of me, satisfied with her handiwork as she rises from her position on the floor, then she leans over to take the panties from my mouth. She uses them to wipe herself clean, and I watch as they get damp from the come on her hands and stomach before she climbs into my lap.

Her fingers thread through my hair, and she tilts my head back, forcing me to meet her brilliant green eyes, watching me with intent. I’m hers now and always, my body spent and drunk on anything she’ll give me.

“Lick yourself off me,” she demands, her eyes darting down to where a thick streak of the pearlescent liquid is threatening to drip from the tip of her nipple. The dare in her eyes is evident. She thinks I won’t follow through on her request, even with the temptation of having her in my mouth offered up to me.

I grin, making a show of the way I lave over her nipple, flattening my tongue and then wrapping my lips around it, sucking her between my teeth. I nip her gently, and her hips rock forward of their own accord, desperate for the friction she’s deprived herself of. She worries her lower lip with her teeth, her fingers tightening their grip in my hair as I tease her with another pass of my tongue. Her eyes flutter open, and an amused grin spreads across her face before she bends down to kiss me.

It’s claiming at first, then her tongue flicks over mine as she takes a taste of me off my own lips, but it turns softer, almost sweet. It’s a version of her I haven’t had in ages, kissing me like she could spend hours lost in us. Until she breaks it a few moments later, her eyes raking over my chest as she starts to pull away. I wrap my hand around her back, slipping down to her cheek and digging my fingers into the flesh there.

“I’ll be hard again in a minute if you keep kissing me like that. Then you can ride me. Or you can put me on my back and fuck my face on the bed,” I plead quietly. It’s an offer I’m making as much for me as her because I’m desperate to watch her fall apart using me in the effort.

“Afraid time’s up. I need a shower, and then I have to check on Fallon’s homework.” She plants a chaste kiss on my forehead. “But I’ll take a rain check on straddling this handsome face.” She smirks at me as she uses my shoulder for balance and stands, disappearing into the bathroom without another word.

“Fucking hell,” I curse when she shuts the door, and I’m shrouded in darkness. I somehow manage to love this woman more each day.

THIRTY-EIGHT

Aspen

“I’m on my way home from classes, but Fallon just texted that she’s out of tampons. Do you think you could grab her some? I know that’s a big ask, but I can send you a picture of what the box looks like.” I wince as I ask Bishop the question, and I can hear my brothers’ voices in the background. I’m not sure if they’re in the restaurant at the Avarice or Seven Sins, but there’s definitely background noise.

“Uh, sure. Never bought them before. I gotta be honest, but I’m up for the challenge. Send me a picture, and I’m sure I can figure it out.”

“Are you sure? I can see if Hazel or Dakota are around.”

“I’m positive.”

“Okay. I’ll send over a picture of the box. If you see any of the good chocolate ice cream while you’re at the store, you could grab some of that for her too.” I’m rambling my way through my thoughts as they come to me.

“Sure. But you’re gonna have to tell me what brand the good chocolate ice cream is.”

“I forget the name of it, but I can text you and tell you what it looks like.”

“Sounds good. You need anything while I’m there?”

“A one-way ticket somewhere I can be on a beach with a drink in my hand and not be thinking about anything?”

“That bad?”

“I was going to wait until I got back to tell you and my brothers at the same time, but while we were looking at the sword again today in the lab, it broke open. It’s definitely a fake or a replica of some sort. But there was something stored in the hilt. Pieces of metal and what looks like a map or a clue of some sort.”

“Holy shit!” He’s loud enough that he must draw the attention of my brothers. “I’ll tell you in a minute.” I hear him mumble to them. “Anything that made sense or puts us back in the right direction?”

“No. Not that I can tell. I’m bringing it home with me, and I’ve shot over some preliminary photos and thoughts to Charlotte for her insight. I’m baffled, to be honest. Why have a replica of the relic? Why put clues inside it? Why not tell any of us if he knew—and did he know? My dad, I mean. Obviously. I’m sorry. It’s been such a long day, and I’m so scatterbrained. Fallon’s having trouble with her homework, too, and I can already tell she’s in a terrible mood and in pain. So, unfortunately, I think you’re going to be in the lion’s den with both of us tonight. Forewarning.” I dump everything on him as I make my way home.

“I was getting that picture from how this was all unfolding, but listen, I am gonna go to the store. I’m gonna get these things you and Fallon need—text me if there’s anything else. Then I’m going to order us room service. It’s a benefit of living in the penthouse of the resort right now, so we might as well take advantage of it before we’re back out in the middle of nowhere. Let me know what you want. After dinner, I’ll help Fallon with her homework or help you with your map. Whichever is more dire or both if there’s time. All right?”