“I don’t think that not wanting to link my sexual desire and performance to a written contract makes me tightly wound, Ms. Lasky,” I replied tersely.
“Lighten up, will you?” she laughed. Something about her laughter made me even more irritated. It reminded me of the upwardly mobile girls on Wolcott Street whose families were on the verge of being middle class. Those girls, with names like Jessica and Lauren, looked down their noses at boys like Finn and me. We were the ones they thought would not only never escape the working-class grind, but would drag them back down into it if they showed even the slightest interest, so they spoke down to us. The tone Payton was using was both presumptuous and dismissive, and reminded me of all the ways in which those girls had made me feel small and unworthy.
“Listen,” I said as I felt my chest tightening. “I know you’re a modern woman and that you have all kinds of forward-thinking ideas about friends with benefits and sex, but I’m not obligated to play by your rules. No matter what the damn contract says!”
“Jeez, chill out,” she said rolling her eyes as she shook her head disapprovingly. “It’s just sex.”
I could feel the rage building inside me, but it was undercut by the fact that I was also incredibly aroused. As anger and desire waged an internal war, the tension between the two made me even more frustrated.
“Are you always such a bitch?” I growled angrily.
“Nice language. You kiss your mother with that mouth?” she shot back, narrowing her eyes as she boldly walked around the table and stood less than a foot in front of me with her hands on her hips.
“Lady, I haven’t seen my mother since I was a small child,” I snapped. “So, no, I don’t kiss her with it. You’re so high and mighty—”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Payton interrupted dropping all pretense of anger. She stammered, “I didn’t…I’m so sorry…”
I said nothing as I watched her search for a way to mitigate the damage she thought she’d done. Part of me wanted to lord it over her to keep her safely at bay, and part of me wanted to reach out and pull her to me and assure her that I’d made peace with it long ago. I opted for angry silence.
Before I knew it, Payton had wrapped her arms around my neck whispering, “Dax, I’m really sorry.” I could feel her body pressing against me as she slid her fingers into my hair and pulled my head down and rested her forehead against mine as she whispered over and over, “I’m so sorry.”
I gave in and wrapped one arm around her waist as I reached up and slipped my fingers under her chin tipping her face up toward me so I could kiss her. I knew where this was headed, but I couldn’t have stopped myself even if I’d wanted to.
Her lips were as soft and smooth as the silk that covered the curves of her body, and she moaned into the kiss as I traced a path down her neck with the tip of my finger. She groaned as I cupped a silk-covered breast and ran my thumb back and forth over it until her nipple formed a stiff peak.
“Dax…” she whispered into my lips.
“Mmm hmmm,” I murmured as I moved my hand to her neglected breast, firmly stroking it until I felt it responding. Payton’s hips swayed gently as she leaned forward, pulling me closer and kissing me with an intensity that told me we were quickly approaching the point of no return. I had been stiff from the moment she’d walked into the room, but now that I had her in my arms, I felt the need rolling like waves through my body.
I slid a hand down her thigh to the hem of her silky dress and slowly pushed it up, exposing her tanned skin and drawing another low moan from her lips. I gently bit down on her lower lip as I slipped my hand between her legs and pushed them apart enough to lightly run my fingers over the satin that separated me from her.
“Dax…” she whispered more urgently. “Oh God, Dax…”
“Mmm hmm,” I nodded as she gripped my hair and began moving her hips against my fingers, seeking relief. I kissed the side of her face as I murmured, “So soft, so beautiful…”
“Dax…” she moaned as I slipped my fingers under the elastic of her panties and stroked the velvety skin underneath. Her breath came in ragged gasps, “Not here…not here…”
“Hold on, literally,” I whispered in her ear as I straightened up and lifted her off the floor. Without removing my hand from between her thighs, I tightened the arm around her waist and turned toward the hall. Payton kept her arms wrapped around my neck as I walked us into her bedroom and kicked the door shut behind us. Before I sat her down, I nuzzled her neck and asked, “This okay?”
“As long as you don’t stop what you’re doing,” she replied breathlessly. I carried her over to the big bed in the center of the room and bent over so that she was laying on her back.
“Let go,” I said.
“No,” she pouted.
“Let go,” I repeated as I slid my fingers between her swollen folds and began leisurely stroking from top to bottom. Payton moaned and spread her legs, but she didn’t let go. I dipped my fingers into her wetness and spread it upward until my fingers found the tiny knot that caused her to writhe with pleasure. Then I leaned down and said, “Let go or I’ll stop.”
Payton let go and dropped her arms to the duvet as I smiled. “Good girl,” I murmured as I continued the slow rhythmic stroking and added, “Lift your arms over your head.”
“What?” she questioned as the look on her face hovered between desire and confusion.
“Put your hands over your head,” I repeated as I alternated between firm and light strokes, and then stopped.
Payton moaned and shifted her hips, trying to push my fingers against her sensitive skin, but I withdrew them and waited. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she raised her hands and stubbornly said, “Happy now?”
“It’s not me that is looking for happy, is it?” I said resuming my slow pace and watching as she melted into my touch. I laid down and stretched out on my side next to her on the bed without removing my hand from her panties, but when she tried to roll over to face me, I grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and held her arms over her head, making it impossible for her to move.
“What are you doing?” she asked as her eyes widened.