A week ago, this atmosphere, Braden ready to do whatever he wants to me, would have me already clawing for an orgasm.
So what’s missing?
Braden is as handsome and magnificent as ever. He loosens his tie and removes it. He discards his suit coat and unbuttons the top two buttons of his white shirt. His black chest hair peeks out.
Yes, he’s majestic as ever, and the thought of him sliding his cock into me makes me shiver.
I’m always ready for Braden.
But tonight…I want more.
What? I can’t say.
Braden pulls up a barstool and sits down in front of my bare pussy. He inhales. “Mmm. I love your scent, Skye. I love that you’re always ready for me.”
I am.
I’m soaking. I want him. I always want him. But what—
“Oh!”
He jams two fingers inside me, and I jerk. The feeling is wonderful…and unexpected. Usually he licks me first.
Still, I’m ready. Wet. And as he slides his fingers in and out and around, I undulate on the bar, my hips circling.
“Touch yourself,” he says. “Play with your nipples.”
They’re already hard and straining, and I finger them lightly, my own touch sending me into shudders and moans.
“You’re so beautiful,” he says. “So hot.”
I close my eyes, chasing an invisible rabbit down a hole. He eludes me, though, even as I grind against Braden’s hand.
The zing of his zipper.
Then he’s inside me, pumping. How he reaches me at the height of the bar, I have no idea. I don’t care. The friction of his pubic hair against my clit sends me reeling, and I’m almost there… Almost there…
But the climax is quicker than I am. I can’t catch it despite the glorious friction against my clit.
Something’s missing.
Something I reach for… Reach for…
“Come, Skye.”
Finally, I grip the pleasure that was eluding me. My climax rolls through me and around me. “Braden!” I cry out. “More! I need more!”
“Keep going,” he says through gritted teeth. “Keep going, Skye.”
His words. All I need are his words.
Usually.
But tonight…they don’t work.
Chapter Forty-Three
“That’s it, baby.” He rams into me harder, harder, harder…until— “God, yes. So tight. So sweet.”
His release is long and sustained. He pushes into me, perspiration dripping from his brow, his eyes squeezed shut.
I watch him. Watch every microsecond of his orgasm. He’s beautiful. Big and strong and beautiful when he comes.
And I realize…
I’m no longer coming.
My orgasm has subsided.
In this forbidden place. This beautiful forbidden place with the man I love and adore. I should be coming and coming and coming, but once I came down from the first orgasm, I was done.
Odd.
Odd and unsettling.
Braden finally withdraws. “Skye?”
“Yes?”
He frowns slightly. “I thought you’d enjoy this. Coming here.”
“I did. I do. This is a beautiful place. Dreamy, even. Reminiscent of another time.”
“Yes, it is.”
“I’d love to do a photo shoot here sometime. Maybe for one of my posts.”
“Of course. Anytime. But there’s something you’re not telling me.”
I stay silent.
“What’s wrong?”
How does he know? “Nothing. Why?”
He trails a finger over my jawline. “You seem…elsewhere tonight.”
I force a smile. “You’re imagining things.”
He cocks his head. “Don’t lie to me, Skye.”
I sigh.
“Out with it,” he says.
“It’s silly, really.”
“Nothing is silly. Let me help you.”
“I’m feeling… This is difficult for me to say.”
“Just say it.”
“I’m not sure. Inadequate, I guess.”
“Why?”
“A lot of reasons. I’m not being a good friend to Tessa. I’m letting Addie get to me. I feel like I’m not…”
And I’ve given up control to Braden in the bedroom, though in all honestly, that makes me feel more like me than I’ve ever felt.
It’s the rest of the stuff, mostly, but I can’t deny Braden is a part of it.
“Not what?”
“Like I’m not me anymore.”
I expect him to frown. To tell me I’m being ridiculous. To…do just about anything other than what he ultimately does.
He cups my cheek, runs his thumb over my lower lip. “Look at me.”
I meet his blue gaze.
“Tell me, Skye. Since we met, when have you felt the most like you?”
“It’s little things, Braden. It’s not—”
He touches his fingers to my lips. “Just answer me, Skye.”
I close my eyes, let out a soft sigh.
Apprehension knifes through me.
Not because I’m afraid to answer him.
But because I know the answer, and that’s what surprises—and frightens—me.
Chapter Forty-Four
“Skye…” he urges.
I open my eyes, turn my head, and kiss the palm of his hand.
“In New York,” I say. “At your club.”
He smiles. “That pleases me.”
“Why?”
“Because at the club is when I feel the most like me,” he says.
“Then why do you indulge only in New York?”
“I’ve already answered that question.”
“But—”
“There are certain things I keep out of my Boston life. Aren’t there certain things you keep out of your Kansas life?”
The fact that I haven’t told my parents about Braden spears into my head. Why haven’t I? They’ll be thrilled that I’m happy, not to mention that I’m dating a billionaire. What parents wouldn’t be?