“Then do it,” I whisper, because even if he has another fifty hours of the ultimate pampering waiting for me, I would give it all up to be in his bed.
Edward leans forward and, before I can ask what he’s doing, his arms go around me under the water. His shirt is soaking wet now as he holds me against him. The muscles in his arms strain and bunch around me as he lifts me into his arms as if I weigh nothing, making me instinctively wrap my arms around him. He doesn’t seem to care about the water as he carries me, dripping onto the carpet, into the master bedroom and onto the bed.
Edward lies me down on the covers and moves over the top of me as he did in the hotel, claiming my lips with hot kisses that speak of his need and urgency. There are too many barriers stopping us from being skin to skin all of a sudden and I’m impatient as I reach for the buttons of his shirt, my fingers fumbling and slipping on the water that slicks the fabric tight to his abs. With a growl low in his throat, Edward sits up and rips the shirt open, letting buttons scatter to either side of us as he throws the ruined fabric to one side.
He shifts his hips and slides to the side of me for a moment, undoing his belt and unzipping his trousers, making my breath come in faster as I realize what comes next. He shucks everything in one go, leaving me to stare at his member, thick and hard like a rod between his legs. It’s bigger than I imagined, bigger than I thought would be possible – it has to fit inside of me, after all – and thickly veined.
Then Edward is over me again, his tip brushing a sticky trail against my upper thigh as he lowers himself to kiss me, deeply, his tongue vying with mine, the heat rolling off his body warming me and heating me up in ways I didn’t know existed. I run my hands down the sides of his hard muscles, over the ridges of his abs, wondering at the way they feel under my fingers.
It still feels incredible that a man like Edward would want me. But as he guides my hand down to close around him, to feel how thick and hard he is, the heat inside of him, the softness of the skin there, I know that he wants me more than I would ever have thought it possible for one person to want another.
Except I know that it is possible, because that same deep want flows through me. Edward moves my hand away, and shifts his position until he is lined up against me, his head poking at my entrance between my splayed legs. I can hardly breathe with the anticipation – I’m still wet and on fire from the way he touched me in the tub, so ready for him – as he hesitates, looking into my eyes, watching my reaction.
He slowly pushes forward, just a little at a time, and I feel everything in such amazing detail. The stretch as his member pushes through in the first moment, the way it pops inside of me and then glides easier, the feeling of fullness that grows and grows to dimensions I could never describe. I can’t help but moan as he moves, his breath heavy and catching with each new movement, his muscles corded with veins that stand out from his skin.
He keeps going, past the initial tightness and discomfort, on and on until I feel like any more will surely burst me open, until he gives a groan of satisfaction and I look up to see him still watching me closely. He bends his head to plant a kiss on my lips, sweeter and more caring.
“You feel so good,” he says, and the words inflame me even more, and I realize that the only thing I want in the world is for him to move.
Even though I have no experience with this, something instinctive inside me knows to move, to roll and grind our hips together, to keep a strange and primal rhythm. Though for the most part all I can do is lie, stunned, and let him move over me, in and out producing new and enthralling sensations every time, I don’t miss how he gasps for breath and moans when I roll my hips towards him, when I have the presence of mind to push up as he thrusts down, heightening both our pleasure.
The wave I felt when he touched me before is growing inside me again, but this time more powerful. The feeling of him inside me, as well as the pressure and the friction as he rubs against me from the outside, makes it all the more heady, all the more overwhelming. I barely know who I am or where I am or what year it is anymore, everything else in the universe fading away into inconsequentiality, as I let Edward and the wave carry me higher, higher, higher –
And I gasp out his name as the sensation overpowers me, crashing down and filling my whole body with ecstasy, making me buck and twitch wildly, drawn out longer and longer as Edward makes a few more thrusts and then shudders, and then is still for a moment, resting above me and breathing hard, and I know that both of us have found our satisfaction.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Edward
I catch my breath looking down at her, resting on my elbows. She is flushed and hot, her eyes still glazed with the afterglow, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she breathes again. I was wrong when I thought she was the most beautiful sight in the world before. This – this is it, not just satisfied, but satisfied and glowing with my seed inside of her.
I flop down beside her, rolling myself over, and rest in the soft embrace of the covers. I reach over to trace a hand over the lines of her cheek, down to cradle her head, to pull her in for a moment to kiss her lips. She is everything – perfect, sated, and mine.
“Wow,” Casey says. I smile, letting her know with my eyes that I agree.
“Are you hungry?” I ask, catching sight of the time on the clock over her shoulder. “It’s dinnertime.”
We had our afternoon tea late, but with no lunch and plenty of exertion – all the walking around all day, before we even got into bed – I know I could eat.
“Yes,” Casey says, looking surprised to discover it. “What are you thinking?”
“We can order in,” I tell her, grabbing my phone to start scrolling through a delivery app. “Pizza, or something. Whatever you want.”
“Pizza sounds amazing,” Casey says. She nestles in closer to me so that she can watch the screen, examining the order details. She points out a few things she wants, and I confirm the order, putting my phone back down on the bedside table out of our way.
Because she’s laying next to me naked, and there’s absolutely nothing that would stop me from wanting to have her again right now.
I start with kisses along her collarbone and neck, enjoying her giggles and the way that they turn into gasps and moans. I fondle her breasts and pay special attention to her nipples, which I’ve noticed are very sensitive. I wonder if one day I’ll be able to make her come just by playing with her nipples alone. But there’s plenty of time to explore that in the future.
Right now, I just want to be inside of her again.
Casey’s eyes widen at how hard I am again already, and she strokes me tentatively while I work her with my fingers, moaning and telling her how to do it best. She follows my instructions until I’m leaking precome and so hard it almost hurts, ready to bury myself inside her. Slipping two fingers inside to feel how wet she is, I know that she is ready too – and this time, now that the first time discomfort is out of the way, she can enjoy it all the more.
I push inside of her, enjoying the tightness and wetness of her, the way she seems to fit perfectly around me, like a sheath. We both sigh in pleasure, her filled up inside and me totally enveloped, and then I begin to move. This time Casey is more responsive and active, lifting her body towards mine in time with my thrusts, even starting to move harder and faster than me. I can hardly catch my breath as I appreciate her moves. I would feel the same for her whether she was horny and active or remained coy and passive – being inside her feels so good, no matter what – but I think I could really get to enjoy this new side of her, and that’s saying something. Because I really enjoyed our first time.
I keep a strong and steady rhythm as I thrust in and out of her, watching her face screw up and her eyes close at the sheer intensity of the sensations coursing through her. I slow my pace deliberately until she whimpers and bucks her hips towards me, then grin and drive into her faster and harder, until her head arches back against the pillows and she grips the sheets so hard I think
she might tear them.
I watch her face, feel her body under me, as she reaches ecstasy. I see the moment it happens as the muscles in her face loosen and smooth, giving way to a glowing peace, and feel her contract around me, squeezing tight. With that grip on me I can’t hold on much longer, and I find myself reaching the edge as she starts to come down, the pulsing contractions pushing me over the edge.
There’s the sound of the doorbell ringing just as I find my release inside of her, filling her up again. I wait for the aftershocks to die down a moment before moving, pulling out of her reluctantly.
“Stay there,” I command. “I’ll go get it. We can eat in bed.”
And with Casey’s blissful look and nod, I know that even a pack of wild dogs couldn’t force me to stay away from her for long.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Casey
I wake up to soft morning light filtering in through the windows – I realize that both of us wore ourselves out so much last night that we didn’t even bother to close them. We didn’t get dressed, either – waking up naked with Edward beside me is definitely a new experience for me. I look at him for a moment, his face soft in sleep, and smile to myself.
Last night was amazing. It was everything Edward promised it would be, truly special. I felt like a goddess from the way he made everything about me, saw to my every need, gave me all the pleasure I could handle. We ate dinner naked and put on a movie in his bedroom, and by the time it was over, we had recovered enough for a third round.
My thighs and ass ache from the exertion, not used to having a man drive into me like that. But it’s not a bad pain – more like the ache you get from exercise, the satisfaction of your body pushed to the limit.
I get up out of the bed, carefully so that I don’t wake Edward, and find a robe hanging over the back of a chair. I should shower, but I don’t know my way around yet, and while Edward’s sleeping I don’t want to wake him with the shower. Or with me knocking things over in the search for towels.
Instead, I wander through the other rooms of the house. I saw all of downstairs yesterday, but up here there is more to explore. There are more bedrooms, each of them with a comfortable-looking bed made up with fresh sheets. Everything is clean and tidy, making me think that Edward probably has a cleaner to come in and keep everything neat. From the windows I can look down into the garden, the perfect size for a child to play around in.
I know Edward said that he doesn’t have anyone else in his life, but this place is so big. Even if he was expecting to have a family one day, it’s far too big for just him alone – so why? Why buy a house this size so early? If he hadn’t even met anyone yet…
I find doubts beginning to creep their way into my mind. Maybe Edward did meet someone else. Maybe he already has a wife, and she’s just away on vacation somewhere. Could it be possible that he was telling the truth?
“Morning, princess.” I turn to see Edward leaning against the door jam behind me. “That robe looks good on you.”
I look down to take in my body draped in the black robe, which has an embroidered ‘E’ on the front. Property of Edward. But am I?
“Do you really live here alone?” I ask, coming out and saying it.
“Yes,” he says, giving me a puzzled look. He moves to my side. He’s thrown on a loose pair of joggers to move around, but his chest is still bare.
“You don’t have a family at all?” I ask. I look out at the garden again, because it’s easier than looking at him – just in case he’s about to break my heart. “Or a wife? A girlfriend?”
Edward’s hand lands on my shoulder, warm and soothing. “Of course, I don’t. If I did, I would never have invited you here.”
“You mean it?” I ask. I’m still not quite willing to believe – to throw everything in. Because if I do, I’ll have to accept that I’ve completely fallen for him, and that means it will hurt even more if everything goes wrong.
“Casey.” His soft voice makes me turn my head to look at him. “All my life, I’ve been waiting. I haven’t had other relationships. Other women haven’t interested me, not in the least. I had no idea what or who I was waiting for, only that I’d never met anyone that was my match. But then I saw you outside the college. I saw you and I talked to you, and we walked and ate together, and every moment has made me more sure. It’s you I’ve been waiting for, all this time. You’re the one.”
I cover my mouth to stop myself from crying. My heart feels like it might swell and burst inside my chest. I feel so much for him that it hurts. Could this really be true?
“Let’s have breakfast,” Edward says, then gives me a sly smile. I think he’s trying to normalize things for me, because he can see the tears of emotion gathering in my eyes. “Unless you want to shower together first?”
I do very much want to shower together, but not while I have this lump in my throat. A little simple domesticity might be a better idea. “I could eat,” I tell him. “I want to see what your kitchen is like.”
As he leads me down the stairs, I can’t stop thinking. Could it be true that I’m the one for him? I’m filled with a painful kind of apprehension, a fervent hope that it might not turn out to be a mistake. Because as soon as he said it, I felt it in my chest. Edward is the one for me.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Edward
We eat at the kitchen island, simple poached eggs on toast. I look at Casey as we make small talk while we eat, light and simple things that don’t require much thought. Which is good, because my head is in a totally different place.
Looking at Casey sitting here in my kitchen, I see something else, the vision that began last night, clearer now than ever before. Casey wrapped in my robe as she hurries to get the kids ready for school, watching over them as they eat toast or cereal. I picture them rushing around with jelly on their cheeks, until Casey swipes them and wipes it off. Hugging my legs to say goodbye to Daddy before I head off to work. All of us, here in this kitchen. A family of my own.
And I know what I have to do.
“I just have to make a few work calls,” I say to Casey, brushing off my hands and moving towards the garden door. It’s true, in a sense. I do have to let James know that I won’t be coming in again today – or for the rest of the week. I know the business can run itself for a while if I’m not there. There are more important things to focus on right now.
Because my second call isn’t work-related at all. In fact, it’s a call to an old friend, my best buddy, Rick.
I’m filled with tension as I wait for the line to connect. I know the overseas call will probably cost a fortune, but I don’t care. This has to be done – and now, before Casey goes back home.
“Hey, Ed,” Rick says. “How’s it going? Did you meet with Casey?”
“I did,” I tell him, with a light chuckle. “No thanks to your organizational skills. I managed to give her a tour of the old place. I think she liked it.”
“Yeah? Is she doing okay? I haven’t spoken to her in a couple of days.”
“She is,” I say, glancing back toward the house. Through the glass doors, I can see Casey still sitting at the island, scrolling through something on her own cell phone. “Actually, it’s Casey that I wanted to talk about.”
“Have you been with her for the last couple of days? I thought she might ask you to show her around,” Rick says.
“Yeah, I have. I’ve shown her all the tourist stuff. But it’s not that.”
“Oh, is there boy trouble over there?” Rick asks. I wish he would stop jumping to his own conclusions. I can’t use body language or facial expression to slow him down, and he’s just off on his own track. “I was worried about that. Casey’s innocent, you know? She’s been sheltered over here. I don’t want those English boys with their fancy accents trying to take advantage of her.”
“I don’t think there are any English boys,” I say, opening my mouth to get the rest out – before Rick cuts me off.
“Are you sure? I don’t like to have Case
y spending too much time with boys over here. She never brings them back home or anything like that. It’s just not the right time for her. She needs to focus on her education.” Rick sounds like he’s reciting a perfected speech, something he’s gone over time and time again. “Boys come later. She’s such a young girl still, only eighteen. She shouldn’t even be thinking about that yet. When she has her degree, fine, she can start to think about it. I had her when I was twenty, and I wouldn’t change her for the world, but she’s not going to throw her life away like that.”
“Got it,” I say, closing my eyes. What I wanted was to ask for his blessing – but I don’t think I’m going to get it, especially after that speech.
“So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Rick asks.
“Oh, nothing. Just – I said I’d take her on her next tour as well. Not that I’ve been to Royal Holloway, but it’s good for her to have someone else there, to ask the questions she doesn’t think of.”
“Thanks, Ed,” Rick says. “I knew I could trust you to look after my daughter.”
“Right,” I say, wishing I’d never made the call. “Well, talk to you later, buddy.”
I look back towards the house for a moment before walking back inside, wondering what the hell I’m going to do about Rick. Backing off the subject for now is fine – but sooner or later, we’re going to have to talk. Because there’s no way I’m giving Casey up.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Casey
When I booked my tours last week, I thought I would be doing them alone. But standing here in front of the main reception at Royal Holloway, waiting for our guide to meet us, I’m so glad my plans have changed. I can’t think of anyone more than Edward that I would want to have at my side – and I only wish we had more time together.
But looking at schools is what I came here to do, and I can’t just take off to spend time with him – I’ve got to be responsible. This is about my future, and even if I’m having a difficult time now picturing one that doesn’t have him in it, I still have to focus on making the right choice of college.
London With Dad's Best Friend: An Instalove Possessive Age Gap Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 198) Page 6