Page 62 of The Best I Never Had

His hands come to my biceps. “This is for you. You don’t need to do that.”

“This is for me,” I say.

“Thea,” he says as his fingers tighten enough on my arms to pull me back to standing. “It’s fine.”

I groan. “Stop being so polite.”

His brow furrows. “Since when is treating you with respect a bad thing?”

“It’s not respect when I’m telling you what I want—when it’s what you want, too—and you’re denying both of us for some patriarchal sense of gallantry.”

“Thea,” he says cautiously.

He’s so used to prioritizing everyone else, he doesn’t even know how to accept putting his desires first when it’s offered. But it’s inside him. I could see it at the bar that night, the way he watched me. If he can stick with me through my rage, I can help him see he deserves this.

I grab either side of his face, forcing him to look at me. “Do the things you were imagining while I was on stage. It was all there in your eyes. The way you watched me?” I moan, feeling a rush of arousal at the memory. “Like you wanted to climb up there and do unspeakable things to me. I want that, too.”

He lets out a shuddering breath.

I lift my chin, letting my lips drift over his with each word. “What do you want, Owen? Do you want me to walk out that door and let you keep your perfect golden-boy persona, or do you want me on my knees for you so you can fuck my mouth?”

“Fuck,” he growls right before he wraps a hand around the back of my neck. The word lands like a lightning strike between my legs. He’s never said it—not around me, at least—and seeing this perfect gentleman unravel at my goading is a fantasy brought to life. I want to take him apart piece by piece.

His mouth crashes against mine, everything about this kiss bigger than our first. His tongue delves between my lips, a delicious sweep. I moan into his mouth, and he spins us so I’m pinned to the shelves instead, grinding against me in a way that tells me exactly how he’ll treat me in bed if he lets go. Sparks shoot behind my eyes, and I think this may be the fastest I’ve ever gotten this close to coming, and all without a single piece of clothing removed. He pulls back, and I chase his mouth with mine until a tightened pressure on my neck causes me to open my eyes.

Owen’s gaze is dark, all colors except those rings of navy swept away by his pupils. And when he speaks again, everything in my body goes weak.

“Get on your knees, Thea.”

Chapter 19

OWEN

The smile Thea gives me is the epitome of the cat who’s caught the mouse, and I’ve never been more grateful to be caught up in anything. She lowers herself slowly, savoring the anticipation and the tension in my body. A fucking queen, even in nothing but a thin white tank top and ripped jean shorts. I should be the one on my knees, swearing my fidelity.

She undoes my pants, pulling them and my underwear down in one tug until my cock bobs up in front of her. We both pause, her staring openly while I track every expression that crosses her face—the way her deep brown eyes go wide and the delicious way she licks her lips. She leans forward to take me in her mouth, but that’s not how I want this. And she told me to demand what I want. My hand wraps around her gorgeous curls, tugging her head back so she has to look at me.

“You want to know where my thoughts went when you were on that stage?” I ask as my other hand wraps around my cock, stroking myself. She nods her head. “Then put your hands behind your back.”

My heart is thudding, half because she’s the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen and half because I’m afraid she’s going to turn away from me. When she was up there, I didn’t just want her. I wanted complete control, to take and own every piece of her. It’s a fantasy I’ve never felt safe enough to explore with any of my past partners, and part of me believes it’ll send her running for the hills. But her lips just twist into a devilish smile as she bends her arms, laying her hands on the small of her back.

“Tongue out,” I say.

She doesn’t miss a beat, sticking her tongue out while keeping her eyes glued to mine.

I step closer, running the tip across her full top lip like I’m painting it, and she lets out a moan so hot, I don’t know how I’ll make it through more. I tap my dick on her tongue a few times, then slide between her lips. “Fuck, Thea. This mouth.”

I give a short experimental thrust and—shit—nothing has ever felt so good. Thea holds my eyes the whole time, somehow smiling with her lips stretched around me.

“Is this okay?” I ask, my voice strangled, and she nods.

She tries to move her head forward, but I tighten my grip on her hair to keep her in place. This is what I want, what I have never been bold enough to ask for until Thea demanded my whole truth. My life has been about meeting the needs of others, and this freedom—the freedom to take what I want without thinking about anything but my own pleasure—sets something free inside me. She moans as I plunge into her mouth, the vibrations shooting down my cock and through every inch of my body.

I pull her mouth off me, using the controlling grip on her hair to stand her up. “Take off your shorts, then get back on your knees. I want you to make yourself come while your mouth is wrapped around me.”

Thea whimpers, tugging against the hand in her hair to capture my lips as she unzips her shorts and drops them and her underwear to the floor. I almost change my mind, begging for a chance to look at her, but she drops back to her knees, her hand delving between her spread legs while she wraps her lips around me. It’s the hottest sight I’ve ever seen, her eyes fluttering closed even as she fights to keep them on me. She sucks hard, her cheeks hollowing, and my desperate groan fills the room. And a few minutes later, when her body tenses and she moans around my cock, it takes every bit of control to keep from coming down her throat.

I pull her off me before she can push me over the edge and bring her back to her feet, pinning her to the shelves as I kiss her deeply. She pulls her tank top over her head and throws it across the room in one fluid motion and suddenly she’s there, bare for me and so glorious I know I’ll spend the rest of my life comparing every other woman to her.