Ritual - Palm South University

By the time we get back to the suite downtown, I’m starving for his touch again. It seems I never can get enough.

I’ve never been to Chicago before, and I decide after just one day in the city that I love it. The architecture is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, buildings stretching up high into the sky and lining the river, the lake, filling the city with lights. But there are also dozens of parks and recreational areas, so while it’s a city, it’s somehow greener and fresher than Manhattan — at least, in my opinion.

I’m appreciating the view from our balcony and the crisp, cool air when Brandon joins me, wrapping his arms around me from behind. I rest my head back on his chest as he lets out a deep, content sigh.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he whispers in my ear.

I nod, letting my eyes trace over the city lights glittering like stars, the river reflecting their glare and making for the most picturesque backdrop.

“You know, it’s been almost a year since the first time you took me on that private jet,” I remark.

Brandon chuckles, kissing my cheek. “It has, hasn’t it? God, I wanted you so bad. I’m surprised I made it that long before touching you.”

“You were trying to do the right, moral thing and not fuck your intern.”

“Looks like I sold my soul to the devil, then.”

I turn in his arms, threading mine around his neck. The way the lights reflect in his eyes warm my chest, and I trace his dark features, falling even more for him every second that we’re together. “I’m so happy we found each other.”

He nods, knuckles brushing my jaw. “Me, too. I can’t believe you thought we weren’t exclusive all that time, until you asked me in the spring after we told everyone at the agency about us.”

“It’s hard,” I argue. “When you’re my age, everyone plays games.”

His eyes are darker when they meet mine again. “Do you know now that I don’t?”

I swallow, nodding, leaning into where his hand frames my face.

“And do you know that I love you?”

I close my eyes, fighting back the tears those words drew from me the moment he said them. It’s nearly impossible, though, for the joy that strangles me, the relief, the terror and otherworldly ecstasy that consume me at once.

“I do now,” I say, opening my eyes and looking into his. “And I love you, too.”

Brandon’s lips are on mine as soon as I finish speaking, and I breathe in the kiss, the man holding me, the night around us, the moment I’ll never forget. I’m so lost in the way his hands feel on my waist, and the way his lips move in time with mine, that I barely register him lifting me into his arms and carrying me inside.

The windows that surround the suite are floor to ceiling, still showcasing the breathtaking city view as Brandon deftly turns out every light and guides me to the California king bed. My knees hit the back of it once he sets me back down on the floor, and I press my hands into his chest, smiling against his kiss.

“I thought you said you wanted to fuck me on the balcony?”

I’m ready for him to give some smart ass comment in response, or to haul my ass back outside, but instead, he swallows, pressing his forehead to mine. “Not now,” he husks. “Now, I’m going to make love to you in this bed.”

My heart swells in my chest, my throat tight as I run my fingers back to hold his neck and draw him back to my lips. The kiss is gentle and sweet and unlike any other that I’ve had from this man, and I melt into it, resisting the urge to pinch myself to make sure this is all real.

He takes his time undressing me, peeling my little black dress over my head before reaching into my hair and slowly pulling out each bobby pin that holds it in place. Next, he unclasps my bra, and helps me step out of my heels before slipping my panties down over my ass, my thighs, my ankles, leaving them on the floor.

Between kisses and touches and sighs and licks, he undresses himself, too — and then his arms wrap around me, guiding me down on top of the plush comforter of the bed, the down pillows giving way to the weight of my head.

I don’t realize I’m shaking until Brandon holds himself over me and my trembling fingers wrap around his thick, bulging biceps. I hold onto them as an unsteady breath slips through my lips, and Brandon kisses me gently, spreading my legs wider with his. Our bodies are hot where they touch — chest to chest, his arms surrounding me, and mine holding onto him, his thighs between mine, his shaft warm and hard where it slicks between my wet lips.