Without missing a beat, she replies, “Everyone. And for the record, I’m all grown up.”
“You sure are, but how about we make another deal? Just for tonight.”
Shifting, she tilts her head to the side, her gaze dipping down my body. “What deal?”
I stare at her, wondering if I dare cross another line with her tonight. First kissing and now . . . “When we’re in here, when we’re together like this, forget about everyone else because, unlike the world, I won’t disappoint you, Marlow.”
She smiles—genuine and sweet, that honeyed side not seen by many. I’ve borne witness to it many times between us. “You never do in the bedroom.”
The sting from how specific she is slights against my skin, but for now, I let it go. I’ll leave heavier topics for another day because she wants to forget about anything outside this room tonight. And I’ll make that wish come true.
Her fingers weave into my hair while I keep kissing and then nibble just shy of where I know she really wants my mouth.
Pushing up, I stand and start on the buttons of my shirt. “Since you’re so into teasing.”
She laughs and then scoots up the mattress. Leaning against the walnut headboard, she settles in unabashedly, watching me as if this show is just for her. It is if I’m being truthful. I like the way she looks at me. I like that I can see her breathing deepen as I strip another layer of clothing away from my body.
But I really fucking love when she starts wiggling from the need blooming inside her, when we’re on the precipice of our bodies being together again.
I grab a condom from the nightstand and stand next to the bed. “I want you to put it on me.”
She acts all proper for everyone else, playing a role for them. She’s a woman who’s used to being given everything she wants, but she’s bored of the gilded cage that she’s been placed in. She can be who she really is with me, and that’s never more herself than when we’re tangled in the sheets. She takes the packet and gets to her knees before me. And I fucking love it. This is my Marlow.
The one behind closed doors. There’s so much more to her than the rest of the world sees. It took years to get here. I thought she was nothing more than a spoiled princess, a Hollywood kid from famous parents who ate up the socialite title.
I was too blind to see who she really was back then, but now that I have, her beauty is more than skin deep. And despite what she says or how she acts around others, I know she cares about me. That’s what scares her.
Kissing my shoulder, she drags her hand down the center of my chest. She presses the packet to my stomach—the tease—and then bends to kiss me lower. I suck in a breath when she slides my cock into her mouth. Gripping the base, she holds me steady as she sucks in her cheeks and then slides off me.
She drags the packet against me and then rips it open. “How about we stop teasing each other and get to the main event?”
Shaking my head, I chuckle. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“We wouldn’t want that.” Sliding the condom over my hardness, she smirks. “Trust me, I want you alive and well for this.”
Cupping her chin, I take a deep breath and release a sigh. What am I going to do with her?
Sexually—I already knew back at the party. Sex with her is always phenomenal.
Emotionally—this is foreign territory.
By the uncertainty in her eyes, I’m not alone.
There’s not one part of our bodies that we haven’t openly shared. But the walls have remained in place when it came to anything deeper.
I climb onto the bed and right on top of her. Her legs butterfly open for me, and her arms come around my neck. Resting on my forearms on either side of her head, I say, “I’m thinking we should try that kissing thing again.”
“What are you waiting for?”
I don’t. Not any longer. I kiss her firmly on the mouth as I position myself at her entrance. The heat between us penetrates the cool air as soon as my dick touches the apex of her legs.
Deepening the kiss, I push in, capturing her gasp. Her nails dig in as she holds me, her tongue finding and then twisting with mine.
I pull my hips back and push back in, wanting to lose myself in the ecstasy of her warm embrace. The sounds of our connection fade under the sensation, her moans and hearing her beg for more, faster, spur me to drive harder. The rhythm of our bodies together and then apart, the push and pull, the impatience, the love, the like, and everything we’ve ever said or felt for each other mix into a singular goal—my name from her lips for the whole fucking city to hear.