My body was wrecked and ruined, exhausted, but so alive as I breathed through the crest of pleasure. My eyelids were heavy, but I felt Arthur move his fingers from inside me and watched him bring them to his lips and suck the evidence of us into his mouth.
And I knew I was done.
I knew that no one could ever compare to him tonight, to Arthur and his wicked presence and the maelstrom of feelings that came with it. Arthur reached to the table and grabbed a cigarette. He lit the end and inhaled, exhaling a cloud of white into the air. I rolled slowly onto my back, letting my eyes rove down his naked body. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to spend an entire night exploring him, no rush, no barriers between us. But I knew it was impossible. This night was all we’d ever get. In no world did we belong together.
Arthur’s eyes fixed back on mine. I saw his dick twitch as he moved his gaze down my body before finding my eyes again. He took another drag of his cigarette, then crawled over me as I remained lying back on the table. His face hovered above mine, and he gripped my jaw and opened my mouth. Leaning down, he exhaled, and the smoke from his cigarette entered my lungs. I closed my eyes as the nicotine flooded my body. I tentatively ran my hands up Arthur’s arms on either side of my head. His muscles flexed. I studied his body. Scars were scattered up and down his skin. I looked up into his eyes to find him watching me. His lips were slightly parted, and his eyebrows were pulled down, as if he couldn’t understand why he was letting me touch him so affectionately.
“Arthur,” I tried to say, but he schooled his expression, then took another drag of his cigarette and breathed it into my mouth like before, cutting off my words. He repeated the action until the cigarette was finished and I was utterly spent.
He stubbed it out in the ashtray further up the table. Then he dipped down and kissed me. He kissed me and kissed me until I was starved of air. I didn’t care. I could happily die this way. Lips bruised and body depleted.
Arthur finally pulled away. He put his hands under my arms and lifted me from the table to stand before him. My dress hung at my sides, exposing my naked body. I wrapped the dress around me using a torn strand as a tie around my waist.
Arthur pulled on his shorts, leaving the zip and button undone. I could still see the top of his cock and the defined V that only made me crave him more. He moved to the bar and poured himself a gin. When he turned, he held out a glass for me too. I took it and sipped. Arthur was leaning against the bar, watching me.
“We leave tomorrow,” I said, needing to slice through the pulsing heavy tension that had built between us.
Arthur sipped at his gin. “Boyfriend coming back, huh?” he said. My stomach dropped at Hugo being brought into this moment. I had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who my father adored. And I’d just cheated on him. I had just fucked Arthur Adley, of the infamous Adley firm.
And I couldn’t muster one ounce of regret.
“We’re going to Ibiza.” I downed the gin, and Arthur casually topped it up. His body was stiff, and his eyes kept darting outside toward my yacht. I guessed he wasn’t usually the chatting-after-sex type. Sadness sprouted in my chest. This, whatever the hell it was, was clearly over.
“I’ll go.” I placed my now-full glass of Bombay Sapphire on the table Arthur had just taken me on. I had just opened the door to leave when I felt Arthur’s hand thread through mine. I whipped my head to face him in shock. His eyes were locked on his hand in mine. His jaw clenched and his hand tightened around my fingers. “Arthur?” I whispered, heart thudding.
“Are you staying in London now sixth form is done?” he asked.
I frowned in confusion but wanted so desperately to stay in the moment with him. “I go to Oxford in September. Business Studies.”
Arthur lifted his head, and the ghost of a smirk on his lips made my legs weak. “Clever fucker, eh?”
I laughed, and warmth filled my bones as Arthur’s hand squeezed mine harder. At the sound of my name being called, I looked over to my yacht. I peered through the window and saw Arabella on the sun deck, clearly searching for me.
This time, I had to go. None of my friends could ever know about this.
Turning back to Arthur, I spotted a pen on the bar. I took the hand that been holding mine and wrote my mobile number across his palm. I was under no illusions. I didn’t expect Arthur to call me. And I knew it was the stupidest thing I had ever done.