Thoroughly Whipped

“He’s good.” Nicholas nodded, and I asked, “Nicholas Sinclair, what are your intentions for my best friend?”

Sage leaned closer and said, “Naughty ones. Very, very naughty ones.”

“Then you’ll do fine,” I said and let him spin me again.

Nicholas looked over my shoulder and said, “What have you done to my cousin and where can I buy it?” I turned to see Harry drinking champagne at the bar, looking our way, completely ignoring the people who had gathered around him to converse.

“I have no idea what you mean,” I said, unable to stop looking at Harry.

“Oh, bloody hell.” Nicholas took me from the dance floor and deposited me at Harry’s feet. “It’s no fun when your partner is mooning over someone else the entire time.” Nicholas winked at me, grabbed another woman he knew, and dragged her to the dance floor.

Harry pulled me against his chest. We danced some more, ignoring the questions and eagle-eyed guests. The champagne was buzzing through my veins, the fake stars were glittering, and Harry hadn’t let me go all night.

As a slow song began to play, I went to my toes and said, “Make love to me.” Harry raised his head from the crook of my neck and met my eyes. “Take me from here and make love to me,” I said again.

Harry slipped his hand into mine and led me through the crowd and to the stairway. We headed to my room. When we walked past it to the door at the end of the hallway, he turned the knob. With a blush on his cheeks, he confessed, “My room.”

“Next to mine.”

Shrugging, he said, “I had to have you close.” Throwing off my mask and his, I crushed my lips to Harry’s and we moved into his bedroom, locking the door behind us. Harry kicked off his shoes and guided me to the bed. He placed me gently on the mattress, and I could already feel that this moment was different. There were no jokes, no playful quips. This was him and me, our true selves, together at last.

Without breaking eye contact, Harry slipped off his jacket, followed by his shirt. I shivered seeing his sculpted chest and torso again, and I didn’t look away—not even once—when he pulled down his pants and climbed on the bed.

Harry kissed me. He kissed and kissed me until my lips were swollen and I was completely drowning in him. His mouth moved to my neck, and I lifted my hair as his fingers found the tie of my dress. The thin material fell away from my breasts and pooled at my hips. His mouth laid kiss after kiss down my neck, along my breasts, and down my stomach. My breathing was stuttered and my body felt on fire, scorched by every brush of his lips on my skin.

Harry pulled my dress from my legs, my panties following afterwards. He crawled back above me, both of us exposed and raw and free. “I love you,” he said, a tremor in his voice. Like he was fearful of being refused.

“Harry,” I whispered and cupped his face. “I love you too. So much I can barely stand it.”

He kissed me again; he kissed me and kissed me until I was breathless. His hand moved down my body, as light as a feather. I parted my legs and threw my head back as he touched me. I moaned, the sound echoing around the room. I felt Harry’s hardness on my hip and, with my hands on his back, guided him between my thighs. His lips broke from mine and, staring into my eyes, he slowly pushed inside me. I arched my back, my breasts brushing his chest.

Harry’s mouth moved to my neck, and I tipped my head back as his arms threaded around me and held me as close to him as possible. He rocked back and forth inside me, not a single word being spoken. I had never had it like this, never had it so slow and passionate and intense. I realized it was because, before this, before Harry, I had never made love. Because I had never been in love like this.

Love. I loved him. So much it was terrifying.

“Faith.” Harry’s hands moved to the top of my behind. He increased his speed, his thrusts coming faster and faster, a sheen of sweat gathering on our heated skin. I held him close, my arms cradling his head, as I felt my orgasm building, higher and higher. Then my body stilled, filled with pleasure so intense that my eyes shut and I cried out, limbs weightless, my bones nothing but air. Harry tensed then, with a low groan, came inside me. I clutched his hair as he gently rocked back and forth, until he expelled a loud exhale and dropped his forehead to mine.