a pink hue and I feel my own blush intensifying on my skin.
My nipples pebble. My flesh heats up. I feel slick between the thighs.
After a few tense minutes, he whistles low on his breath.
“What do you think?” I dare to ask.
He glances over at me. Then back at the papers. Then back at me again.
He scrubs a big hand down his face. “I-I’m having trouble coming up with words…”
I giggle like a silly preteen in a Sex Ed workshop. The room is thick, heavy. Sex clinging to every air molecule. I wish he’d just kiss me. I wish he’d crawl over me and put his mouth on mine and slip his fingers into my panties to see exactly how I feel about him in this moment.
Instead, he looks away. Again, he blinks heavily and gives his head a graceless shake. “I-I really need to get out of here.”
I rise into a seated position. “What?” I thought that something was happening here. Between us.
He waivers a little when he stands. “I’ve had way too much to drink at the bar so my judgment isn’t the best. And after reading this…” He waves the manuscript in the air and his words trail off.
My gaze drops to his crotch and I can see that bulge trying to tear its way through the seams of his jeans.
He strokes my cheek. “I don’t want to do anything stupid tonight. You understand that, right?”
I’m sure disappointment is written all over my face. Still, I nod. “I understand.”
Tenderly, he brushes my hair from my face and presses his soft lips to my forehead. His stubble deliciously bruises my skin. “I know that things are dark in your world right now. But I promise you’ll find the light one day soon.”
Things aren't so dark right now. Not with you here in my life. The words threaten to leave my mouth.
When I inhale him, I have to reach up and curl my fingers in his shirt to keep from fainting with lust.
Jude slowly pulls away and walks over to the door. He watches me and I see desire that mirrors mine. “Let’s be clear about one thing…I’m going to fuck you, Iris. And when I do, I’m going to be perfectly sober and so will you. Because I’m going to make sure neither of us ever forgets it.”
At his words, my belly fills with fire. My only response is a muttered, “Mmm-hmm.”
“Good night.” With a smirk, he closes the door softly.
Perfectly flushed from my split-ends all the way down to my chipped toenails, I drop back onto my mattress and whisper up at the ceiling. “Good night…”
26
Jude
Last one. Tighten your abdominal muscles. And curl, curl, curl. Hold it. Engage your core.”
Iris scrunches her nose as she wearily executes my orders, the strain evident on her face. “I can’t,” she whines. “I can’t do it.”
“Yes, you can,” I encourage her. “You can do it…Hold.” I silently count down from five to one. “Now, release.”
She collapses onto the lush lawn, expelling a dense, pained exhale.
“That was good,” I tell her. “Really good.” I’m sitting in the grass beside her with my legs stretched out in front of me.
She wheezes and rolls over onto her side in the fetal position. “You’re a sadist. A mean, mean sadist.”
I choke out a laugh and drop down beside her.
We’re working out in the backyard today. The weather is beautiful and the house felt a little stuffy. Plus, I figured I could use the fresh air because hangover or not, there’s no way I was missing my exercise today.
If my physiotherapist noticed I was off my game, he didn’t mention it. In fact, he looked encouraged by my progress during our session earlier.
Now, I’m here in the grass with the beautiful, sweaty, panting Miss Merlini and there’s no other way I’d rather spend my afternoon.
With Iris lying there, still struggling for her breath, I focus on changing up the playlist. Something upbeat will probably give us the boost we need to make it through the rest of this workout.
She picks up her bottle and sucks greedily on the nozzle. “Shit—I’m out of water,” she groans.
My eyes flit over her delicious curves, stretching that spandex outfit in all the right places. My cock twitches approvingly. “Let me fill you up.”
Her eyes snap to mine. I cringe when I realize how that sounded.
“I-I just mean, let me fill up your bottle.” I grab her bottle and mine, and hurry my horny ass toward the kitchen.