He brought her down, pulling her tighter against him. Finally, he removed his hand and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Should I apologize?” he whispered in her ear.
“Don’t say another word.” She placed the napkin back in her lap. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes glazed.
“Hey. Derek.” Lucas punched him in the arm, just as everyone in the room began to clap. “That’s you. Get up there.”
Payback was a bitch. He now had to face the crowd, the people looking at him expectantly. All of which was enough to kill his erection.
Still, he took his time acknowledging Lucas’s words. Accepting congratulations around the table. And reveling in Cassie’s kiss before rising to his feet to accept his award for the work he’d done and the money he’d donated to House of Hope.
* * *
Cassie invited Derek to sleep at her new apartment for the first time, and the same limousine that had dropped them off took them there. He called a neighbor to feed and walk Oscar, both tonight and in the morning, and he was all set.
They arrived at her place and left their coats in the front hall. They kicked off their shoes before making their way to the bedroom.
“I’m so proud of you,” she said, unhooking her bracelet and placing it on the nightstand. “Congratulations on being honored tonight. I can’t believe they surprised you like that.”
Cassie tried not to think about what she’d been doing seconds before his name was announced. As his name was announced.
“Thanks,” he said, not meeting her gaze. He’d been humble about it since his acceptance speech, which had brought a lump to her throat.
My parents had no insurance when my father became sick. If my mother hadn’t had to work two jobs to put food on the table and to pay rent, she would have had more time with my father at the end. I want to make sure other families have the time my parents didn’t.
Cassie’s heart had hurt listening to his words. Her family had the money to make sure their employees had insurance. They could have given Marie time off to be with her husband. Instead she’d already been fired, accused of stealing. It still didn’t make any sense to Cassie. She definitely planned on talking to her mother about it next time they were alone together. She wanted her mom’s take on what had happened. And why.
“House of Hope is lucky to have you,” she told him.
“It’s just something I need to do,” he said, placing the plaque he’d been given on her dresser top.
He shrugged out of his jacket and laid it over the vanity chair in the corner.
She strode over to him on bare feet and met his gaze. “Well, this is something I need to do.” She reached up and unhooked his bow tie, tossing it to the floor.
Next she worked the buttons on his dress shirt, unhooking them one at a time, revealing his bare chest, a light sprinkling of hair, and the hard muscles that tapered into his slacks. She slid the shirt off his shoulders, letting her hands trace the strength in his upper arms and chest before dropping the garment to the floor too.
Unable to resist, she leaned in and breathed in the scent of him, his cologne and raw masculinity, tracing the tattoo along his left arm with her mouth.
“So sexy,” she murmured, trailing her lips along the black ink.
His big body trembled. “All this because I won an award of some kind?” His lips twitched in amusement.
“No, all this because you’re you.” She ran her tongue across his chest, around first one nipple then the next, tracing the same path with her fingertips.
She undid his pants, hooking her thumbs into his briefs, and pulled both down. He kicked them off, and then he stood before her nude. Exactly the way she wanted him. Naked and erect, there for her to do whatever she desired.
She lowered herself to her knees, and he groaned at the implication of her pose. She had no intention of disappointing him. He spread his legs, bracing his weight, and she grasped his shaft in her hands.
He slid his hands into her hair, messing up her blow-dry, not that she cared. He gripped the long strands just as she cupped his balls in her hand and drew his cock into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the rigid length.
His grip tightened, pulling at her scalp until her eyes watered. She accepted the pain, a good hurt that reverberated inside her body, all the way down to her sex. Giving to him turned her on.
Who knew? She wasn’t an expert. This wasn’t something she made a habit of doing with guys, mostly because her experience had been with quick sex. Nothing with Derek was typical, and no matter what happened, she had memories to last a lifetime. Right now she wanted to make sure she made an impression on him so he’d never forget what they’d shared.
She held the base of his cock in her hand and began to suck his shaft, pumping her hand up and down at the same time.
“Fuck, princess. You feel good.”
She smiled around his thickness and kept up her movements, aware of how quickly he was closing in on coming by his harsh grip in her hair, the way he began to thrust into her mouth. The head hit the back of her throat, and she managed to swallow around him, causing a harsh groan from him.