Page 54 of Under the Same Sky

“How long have you been planning this?”

I give her a crooked grin. “All week.”

“And the dress?”

“Mya picked it out, but she didn’t let me see it until you had it on. I’m glad she made me wait.” I rest my hand on Reese’s exposed back, and move with her. One song becomes four, and after a while I take Reese to the dinner table. We talk, drink champagne, and between meals, I make her laugh.

“This has been so perfect,” she tells me, wiping her mouth. “You’re going to have trouble topping it with our second date.”

“It’s not over yet,” I tell her. I reach for her hand. “Dance with me.”

Fletch starts singing Kane Brown’s Found You, and as soon as we step onto the dance floor, a camera flash goes off. Reese startles, but visibly relaxes when she spots Mya. I asked her to take photographs, and gave her permission to post them online of she wanted to. A few articles about me and Reese have already popped up online, and I have no problem letting the world know I’m happily off the market, and if I had it my way, it’ll be for good. I’m not going to rush it, though. A proposal will be too much too soon for Reese, but damn if I don’t want her forever. If she’ll have me.

Mya snaps away, but at some point, she fades into the background, along with Fletch. All I see, all I feel, is Reese.

“Are you excited for your launch?” I ask, tracing patterns on her back.

“I’m a little nervous,” she concedes. “I’ve worked hard for it, and I want it to succeed.”

I have no doubt it will. Mya has been working around the clock to make sure everyone knows about it, and to her credit, she’s damn good at her job. She’s been using photos from our trip to New York to build anticipation, and even the band’s fans have shown an avid interest.

“You have nothing to worry about, I think it’s going to more than you expect.” I kiss her nose. “Now, remind me why we’re not having a launch party, again?”

Reese sighs. “I wanted to, but with so many of my followers scattered all over the world, I didn’t think anyone would come.”

“Good thing I know some people.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll have to wait and see, I guess.”

It’s past midnight when the limo stops outside the house. Reese and I stayed long after Fletch and Mya had left, not wanting the first half of the night to be over. Not that Reese knows there’s a second half. I walk Reese to the front door of her house, and she hesitates at the front door.

“You should know, I was advised by my best friend not to put out on the first date.”

I try to suppress my smile because said best friend played an instrumental part in what comes next. I didn’t want to be presumptuous, but I planned ahead. Just in case.

I pull Reese to me, and kiss her softly. “We can end it here. I’ll kiss you goodnight, and go home.”

“Or?”

“Or you can open the door, and let me in. I’m following your lead, whatever you want is fine with me.”

She opens the door and pushes it open, greeted by a dimly lit room, and floors covered in rose petals. Cheesy? Maybe. Do I care? No. Because Reese wanted to be wooed, and what my girl wants, she gets. “Mya’s at my place with Eli,” I whisper. “It’s just you and me tonight.”

It’s the first night all week we’ll be completely alone. We may have been sharing a bed, but Eli’s been with us every night, regardless of whose house we’ve been in. When Reese is ready, I’ll ask her to move in with me, but for right now, I like how things are going. We step over the threshold, and I hold Reese’s hand while she slips her heels off. She helps me out of my tux jacket, chucking it over the sofa. And then she’s on the balls of her feet, craning her neck to kiss me. Her fingers work the buttons on my shirt, her hands tracing the planes of my stomach, my chest, my shoulders. My shirt falls to the floor, and I allow her the time to touch me, to explore, to feel. When I shiver, she breaks away and spins.

“Will you unzip me?” Her voice is hoarse, with a hint of a tremble. I lower the zipper, and slowly slide the dress off her shoulders, helping her step out of the pooled material at her feet. I suck in a breath. All she has underneath the dress is a beige lace thong, her ass on perfect display. God, she’s beautiful, her body a work of art, and I find it even sexier that she created it. She’s not flawless, but she’s not ashamed of that. She’s confident in her body, in her skin, and it adds to the list of things about her that drive me crazy. Without a word, Reese undoes my belt, lowers the zipper of my dress pants and slides them down my legs, along with my black boxer briefs. She drops to her knees and takes my hard dick in her hands.

“You don’t—”

“I want to.” She licks her lips. “Please.”

I swallow, the sound audible, but it’s my silence that gives her permission. She licks my shaft first, and then sucks the head into her mouth. She takes more of me into her mouth, and my legs shake. Her head bobs, lowering until I hit the back of her throat. A groan gets trapped in my throat, and my eyes roll. Heat crawls up my back, and if she keeps sucking, keeps taking me in all the way, I’m going to blow.

“Not like this,” I tell her. She blinks up at me, and lets go of my dick with a pop. She stands, removing her thong, and I’m on her in a hot minute. A collision of bodies, mouths, hands. I lift her, legs go around my waist, and carry her to her bedroom. We fall onto her bed, and she rolls us so that I’m on my back. Her fingers wrap around my shaft, and she rises on her knees. She lowers onto me, until I’m balls-deep inside her. She wriggles her hips, resting her hands on my chest, and starts riding me. I squeeze her breasts, pinch her nipples, and devour every whimper, every cry, every breath. Her skin slaps mine, and my hands move down her waist, cup her ass and hold her still while I thrust my hips up, up, up.

“Yes,” she breaths. “Harder. Fuck me, Thorin.”