Page 10 of Afterglow

“Like I don’t know my own fucking mind,” she says, and her words burn with determination. “I know what I’m doing. I know what I want, and for the love of god, if you don’t get up here and kiss me, you will not get another chance.”

Who am I to argue with that?

We reach for the waist of her jeans at the same time, our hands tangling as we slide them down her legs. She leans back on the bed in only her bodysuit. The high cut shows off her long lean legs and the thin strip of fabric between them hides only the most intimate parts of her.

I’m halted from crawling up her body when she sits up, legs bent and splayed open. That’s got to be the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. She looks like every man’s wet dream… or mine at least. Need takes over and I palm myself over my jeans. She immediately reaches out a hand to cover mine, releasing my belt and sliding down my zipper. The vibration as every single tooth of the damn thing gives way is an electric current straight to my dick.

My head drops back. “Leanne.” Her name is a plea on my lips this time. My choice not to wear underwear today was the best decision I’ve ever made, especially as her hand slides against my smooth shaft. Fuck.

I fall forward over her, propping myself on my hands with the rest of my weight on my knees between her thighs. Our lips are the only point of contact until I drag my beard against her skin, kissing her neck and then her collarbone where it peeks out from under her top.

Shifting to one hand, I trail my pointer and middle fingers across one peaked nipple, then down the rest of her body to the apex of her thighs. I keep my eyes locked on hers as I rub the backs of my knuckles down the strip of fabric, pressing at just the right place to make her arch off the bed. Gliding my fingers back up, I hook them underneath and tug gently. She moans at the friction it creates and squirms beneath me.

Teasing her this way shouldn’t be so fun, but it is.

“Bryce. Please,” she whimpers, and the caveman inside me roars to life. This woman, the one who has been the bane of my existence for months, is begging me to touch her, and I fucking love it.

“What do you want, blondie?” I ask, my lips ghosting over the shell of her ear.

She rakes her nails through my hair, hard enough to make me gasp. “Did you bring me in here to fuck with me, or did you bring me in here to fuck me? Because I’m only here for the latter.”

“Oh, I’m definitely here for that too,” I say, sliding my fingers lower and applying the right amount of pressure for the snaps of her bodysuit to pop free. She’s bare to me now and I’m this close to sinking into her without another thought, but the reasonable side of my brain kicks in and I curse. “Shit. Protection? I don’t have a condom.”

She stiffens beneath me and I’m sure she’s going to back out, she probably should… Maybe I should. I never go bare—haven’t in a very long time. My gaze meets hers, and where her eyes were infinite pools of hazel heat a moment ago, they seem to harden to golden granite now, her guard snapping back into place.

“I can’t get pregnant, so that’s not an issue.” It’s a statement that brooks no argument. “Got checked six months ago and haven’t been with anyone since. You?”

I guess we’re doing this. Holy shit. “Had a physical last month, no partners since.”

She nods and reaches to pull me down, forcing my weight onto her like being crushed into this feather-soft mattress is exactly what she needs.

No more talking, got it.

I shimmy out of my jeans and rip my shirt over my head, and as much as I love her tight little bodysuit, it’s stripped off and thrown to the floor with the rest of our clothes. A swipe of my fingers finds her wet and ready for me, and any remaining rancor from the last six months disappears with a snap of my hips as I thrust inside her. Her bossy, demanding nature melts under the heat of my gaze. Hot breaths, slick skin, and ragged moans are all that’s between us now. That fortress she hides behind falls even more when she rolls me onto my back and begins to rock against me.

Holy hell, this is amazing. Staggering. Mind-blowing.

“You feel. So good.” I punctuate each sentiment with an upward thrust. It’s not long before the muscles in my body tighten and I’m doing everything in my power not to tumble over the edge before I can get her there. She’s so tight, so warm, and my body does not want to hold back. But she’s not ready. I can tell. She’s making all the right sounds, moving exactly like she thinks she should, but her body tells me a different story.

I pant between labored breaths. “I’m close; how do I get you there?”

Her gaze flies to mine, full of surprise. What kind of selfish assholes has she been sleeping with? I slow her hips, just enough to take the edge off for myself, and look her dead in the eyes.

“Tell me how to get you there. I’m not finishing without you,” I say emphatically as ragged breaths heave through me.

Her eyes flutter closed, and she turns her head away before saying, “I don’t. I can’t… climax from only penetration.” Her cheeks flush a deep red. She’s embarrassed, and that won’t fucking do. Not from this woman—this fiery, impossible, confident-to-a-fault woman.

I grip her hips and thrust up, grinding against her so the space between us is nonexistent. She gasps and her eyes fly open when I repeat the motion, hitting her deep.

“That wasn’t a challenge.” She punctuates the statement with a glare. “It’s just the truth, so go ahead and finish.”

I’m guessing she hasn’t had men take it as a challenge before. Or they have and lost, and then blamed her for it. Been too prideful to use other means, confident their dicks could do the job.

Yeah, that’s not happening here.

“I know it wasn’t, but I’m also not going to leave you hanging while I get off. That’s not what we came in here for, Leanne.” I rock up against her and she moans—a real one this time—her eyes never straying from mine. “So, I want that hand of yours. Now.” I lift my own, fluttering my fingers in invitation, until she slips hers into it. “You’re going to show me how you like to be touched here”—I slide our fingers between us, right above where we’re joined—“while I fuck you here.” I thrust again, and she cries out.

“Shhh.” I lift my other hand and press the pads of my fingers to her lips. “You wouldn’t want everyone to hear, now would you?”