Page 156 of The Score

Chapter 50

Pen

We reach the first floor. Bear takes me onto the dance floor. Neither of us is much of a dancer, but he brings me to his arms. He leads us into a gentle sway but gazes around the space.

I lick my lips. We're close enough that I can feel how hard he is already.

"There has to be some private place around here," he says.

He's tall enough he can see above most people's heads much better than I can. He turns with me in his arms and stares toward the back.

"There," he says. "Let's be casual."

My heart beats fast. He leads me by the hand. We find a hallway I've never been to, marked with three washroom doors. We walk past them to the back, crossing a door that reads Employees Only.

"What do we do if someone catches us?" I ask.

He tries a couple doors in a dimly lit hall. "I give them a big tip for their silence, of course."

The third one is unlocked. It's mostly dark inside, with a very subtle source of light I don't see. The small space looks like a storage room of some sort, holdingmostly cleaning supplies, but I don't get to inspect it much. Bear closes the door, locks it, and presses me against heavy duty wire furniture.

He kisses me passionately. I melt against metal shelves, warmed up by the way his hands roam all over.

"I'm more nervous than I thought I'd be," I confess.

Part of this fantasy had to do with figuring out if I could do it at all. Could I relax enough with someone to do something like this?

He stops. "Do you still want to do this? We don't have to."

"Oh yeah, we're doing it." I bring him back to me. "Maybe only once. But at least once."

Because it's with him. If I'm going to relax enough with someone, it's going to be him. The man I have feelings for. My best friend.

Yeah, the butterflies are still here. They keep getting worse and worse.

He pulls back and studies me closely. Whatever he sees, it helps. The look on his face goes from focused to something ancient. The kind of thing evolution was sure to protect through millenia. His tongue peeks at me. His pupils dilate. His eyebrow twitches. My lungs work like I've raced a mile, and my heart hammers against my breastbone, demanding I get him to do everything I thought would remain between me, an elaborate fantasy in my mind, and my own fingers before.

He takes my hand like he's going to pull me to him, but he doesn't. He's just admiring me in the dim light of this service room.

"You are sexy as hell, Pen." He falls to his knees. "And you said you wanted to be eaten out in a secluded corner of a public place."

"Holy shit."

He comes closer and caresses my thighs. "I have to be the one doing this with you."

"In a place we should not be doing it."

"Tonight I don't care." He lifts my skirt and kisses me through my underwear.

I hold on to the metal rods of the shelving unit behind me. He pulls my underwear aside, like that first time in the shower. I get ahead of him and put my leg on his shoulder.

"Do you want me to prolong this?" He sucks on me. "Should I take my time? We both know I can make you come within a few minutes."

"Fast. Get me off fast."

He's learned me well. He gets me riding his tongue within seconds. I'm buckling against metal furniture like it's the mattress on our bed. If words slip through my mouth, I let them. If I whimper, it's how it needs to be. This is everything I wanted. I couldn't care less about the noise we're making, because he's making me feel wanted. I couldn't care less about where we are, because I'm with him.

Maybe that's why everything feels so different with Bear. I trust him like I've trusted no one else. Even here in a random storage space. Maybe safety is what makes the difference. I've always felt safe with him.