bridge of his nose, across his lips … inside of his mouth. I hook a finger into his cheek and pull. He captures my finger between his molars and bites down before sucking and swirling his tongue around the tip of my pointer finger.
Passion is painfully beautiful.
Amazingly awful.
A loud whisper.
I pull his face closer to mine and kiss him as a familiar stirring I’ve never felt before stirs in the pit of my stomach. I gasp for breath against his mouth; my stomach heaves, pushing against his with every harsh pant.
“Has it ever been like this, Lydia?” he asks in a sex-thick tone as we trade inhales and exhales. “With anyone but me?”
“Never,” I moan. I grip his hips and pierce his skin with my fingernails. “Only you. Only this. Only us.”
He hides his face in my neck and groans, triggering a shiver from the top of my head to the very tips of my toes. My heart beats like wild, spreading lust-blood through my wide-open veins, and the head rush dazes me. Pinpricks and tingles dance across my sultry skin, lifting me higher in the room, and this time I bring Talent with me.
“What do I feel like from inside?” I ask, flicking his earlobe with my tongue. “Has the man who has everything fucked like this before?”
Talent tries to lift himself up to his palms, but the magnetic pull between us won’t allow more than millimeters between us. Brushing my lips across the top of his shoulder, I hold steady on his sides and roll my hips as he strokes harder and deeper inside of me.
“Do you want to know what your cock feels like to me? It feels like you’re tearing me wide open. Like you’re digging a spot only you’ll ever fit again.” I hum as he ups his tempo, driving harder into me. “It feels like retribution. Like a takeover. You’re so hard inside of me—nothing compares, Talent. Nothing, no one, ever … only you.”
My stomach winds up like a twisted chain, turning, and turning, and turning until the pressure is too much and it snaps.
And so do I.
Euphoria is better in color.
It’s ultra-bright like I’ve climbed a flight of stairs directly to the center of the sun. Talent’s eyes aren’t just gray, but they’re flecked with blue, green, and lavender. My skin burns crimson not pink under their stare, and it’s not opaque when my eyes fall closed and my head tilts back. Behind my eyelids is a kaleidoscope of brilliant streaks, lurid hues, and vibrant splashes that portray a picture of what I expect forever looks like.
Hopeful.
I wake up to a world where I don’t feel alone for the first time ever.
There’s no way to know the time. Talent’s bedroom is as dark now as it was when I arrived and the sun was up. An hour could have passed since I fell asleep, two hours, five—a week. For a person who lives her life in one-hour increments, I find myself unconcerned by the passing seconds.
Talent sleeps with his back to me, and as naked as I am. A thin white sheet lazily covers his body from the waist down, and a mischievous smile crawls across my face as I gently pull it away. The steady rise and fall of his shoulders stops and his next breath comes out as a soft chuckle.
“I’m not going to lie,” Talent says in a sleepy voice.
He turns onto his back, and the hummingbird in my chest bursts into flames and is reborn a fucking vulture. I’ve seen thousands of naked bodies in my life, but there’s never been a single cock I’ve craved.
Until now.
He woke up hard, and he’s unashamed.
Talent doesn’t have one reason to be.
“Lie about what?” I ask, swallowing. My cheeks burn, and I’m grateful we’re in the dark.
“I was afraid you’d leave when I was sleeping.” Talent turns his head to look at me with hooded eyes and messy hair. I tuck my hands under my head and try to keep my focus on his face and not his impressive manhood. “I almost tied you to the bed.”
Laughing out loud, I squeeze my thighs together under the sheet to relieve some of the longing I feel. “Kidnapping is punishable by law, Ridge.”
My nipples harden, and I curl my toes. The luxury sheets tucked around my body feel like sandpaper compared to the memory of Talent caressing my skin with his hands, his mouth, his strength. There will be bruises on the insides of