by Kata Čuić
He licks his lips. “It doesn’t have to be. You could date me for show and have something real behind closed doors.”
“Like a champagne room?” That doesn’t sound real at all.
He studies me carefully. Like he knows I’m so very close to giving in, and a single breath from him will send me careening over the cliff. “If that’s something you want, I’ll make it happen. Just say the word.”
“Word.”
I can’t get her clothes off fast enough. My elbow hits the door frame with a jarring thump, but I barely even register the pain. At least I closed and locked it before pulling her shirt off.
“Are you okay?” She laughs then soothes my elbow with her lips and tongue.
My elbow.
Sweet baby Jesus, I want this woman to lick me from head to toe.
I need her.
I’m only getting this opportunity because she gave me a very clear route, so this can’t be all about what I need.
I press her body against the door with my own, effectively cutting off her ability to make me lose my mind. Hauling up one of her legs to wrap around my waist, I slide my hand up the smooth expanse of her thigh. My fingers curl around the edge of what definitely feels like the same kind of lace panties I’ve seen before. I murmur in her ear between kissing her neck until her head lolls back to give me better access, “You’re so much softer than I imagined.”
“You were imagining me?” she asks, breathless.
“You stripped for me, Peaches,” I admit between pulls of her tongue. “Who did you think I was jerking off for?”
“Oh,” she chuckles, the vibrations shared between our mouths. “I shouldn't have done that. I’m so sorry.”
I pull back to meet her eyes. We can’t go any further until some things are crystal clear, with no room for error. “I’m not sorry. If you still want this, I will work harder than I ever have to make it worth your time. But if you have any doubts, you need to tell me now. We can forget any of this happened. Just like last time.”
Those words taste like shit on my tongue that I’d much rather drown in Tori’s flavor. My muscles tremble with restraint. If she shuts this down, no amount of jerking off for the rest of the season is going to be enough to satisfy me.
She bites her lip and studies me with obvious hesitation in her eyes. “You don’t want this, too?”
A sigh of relief pushes my chest more firmly against hers. If that’s all she’s worried about, then game on. “You have no idea how much I want this.”
So, I show her. I prove it.
Peaches admits she loves the way I kiss her. I pour everything I have into owning her mouth, her lips, her tongue—nipping her full bottom lip that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever sunk my teeth into, trying my damnedest to suck all the happiness she brings me into my chest.
She grinds herself against me shamelessly. Riding me in the open foyer of my house with our pants still on while she’s balancing on one leg because I’m still holding the other hostage around my waist.
Her nails dig into my ass with enough pressure to startle me even through my jeans.
My cough of laughter spooks her.
She pulls her hands away, curling them into her chest like a barrier between our bodies that I instantly hate. “I—I’m sorry.”
“Ssh,” I soothe her swollen bottom lip with my tongue then drop her leg, so I can put her hands back exactly where she had them. “No apologies between us. Take what you need from me, babe. I promise I’ll enjoy every second of the ride.”
Her breath ghosts out in a rush that presses her lace-covered tits against my bare chest. That bra is going to be the next thing to go. “I haven’t done this in a long time, but I don’t want to be selfish. If this isn’t going to be an even exchange of goods, then maybe we should stop.”
Hell no.
This mix of confident and submissive Tori only makes me want to see how far she’ll go in either direction even more. Just like the first time we met, I’m eager to peel back all her layers to see who she really is at her core. To see what we could be together. I haul her up with my hands on the ass I’ve been dying to grab onto for weeks, situating her center right where she’ll get the most out of what I have to offer.
“I haven’t done this in a long time either,” I confess, pressing her into the door with enough weight to make my dick really angry with the hint of more. “I don’t know how long I’ll last once I get inside you so, please. Take what you need before I can disappoint you.”
The vibrations of her husky chuckle have me this close to coming in my pants, which only reinforces my admission.
She slides her hands from my cheeks, down the sides of my neck, to rest on my shoulders. “I love how honest you are, Mike Mitchell.”
All my brain hears is that she loves any part of me at all. “Then, I’m honestly telling you—get off now because when I take you upstairs to fuck you? I’m not going to be able to hold back.”
A shudder rolls through her right before she clamps her hands in a vice hold at the back of my neck and crashes her mouth against mine in a way that’s going to brand me for all time.
Her movements are frantic as she tightens her legs around my waist and grinds her heat against me so hard, I’m already close to seeing stars.
I press her harder against the door, pistoning my hips in a matching tempo, kissing her until my lungs scream for air, kneading her ass until my hands tingle.
She rips her mouth away only to let out a gasp then a long, low moan.
“Fuck, yes, Peaches.” I roll my hips around with slow, even pressure to draw out her pleasure, studying every flutter of her eyelids, the open gape of her mouth, the way her pulse throbs in her neck. I inhale it all like a starving man. “Give it to me.”
Her head rests against the door, her body lax in my arms as she blinks her eyes open. “I gave it all. Your turn.”
“Do you still want to take it all?” I double-check as I take the stairs to my bedroom two at a time with her still in my arms.
“If you don’t show me what you can do with that dick I’ve been fantasizing about since the first time I saw it, I…I’ll…”
I laugh as I lay her in the middle of my bed. “You can’t even come up with anything.”
“I’m all comed out,” she admits, her eyes falling closed with a deep sigh as her body relaxes against the comforter. “Get in here, so we can enjoy the relaxation together.”
As I take in her red hair fanned out on my bland, gray blankets, her milky white skin a sharp contrast to the lifelessness of my bed, I’m anything but relaxed.
This is going to be the shortest game of my life. There’s no way around it.
She opens her eyes to find me staring at her. A frown pulls at her swollen lips. “I’m on the pill if you’re worried about getting trapped into anything.”
Of course, she’d think that’s what I’m worried about.
I crawl over her then reach beneath her to fumble with the clasp of her bra until she takes pity on me and sheds it herself. I talk with my mouth full of the sweetest peaches, “I trust you. I’ve seen your pill case in the bathroom.”
I take my time licking, sucking, nipping at every millimeter of her round, firm flesh.
She threads her hands through my hair, holding me to her as I suck her nipples into hardened peaks.
“Delay of game, Mitchell,” she murmurs through her moans.
I chuckle against her warm skin. “If you’re calling penalties now, just wait until I jump the snap.”
“Huh?” She raises her eyebrows in complete confusion as she lifts her hips to help me peel her jeans and panties off.
“I’m trying to cool down a bit before I completely embarrass myself,” I admit. Not that running my nose along the inside of her thigh before taking a taste of her sweet center accomplishes that.
“Oh, sure. But you’ll let me completely embarrass myself against your front door.” She tugs my head away by my hair then offers me a soft glan
ce to soothe the sting. “I won’t judge. It’s been a lot longer for you than it has for me.”
“Almost four years,” I admit then immediately wince. Honestly isn’t always the best policy.
Judging by her expression, Tori’s already doing the math in her head, and those numbers don’t add up. She doesn’t call me out. “You’ve already seen my strip show. It’s only fair to show me yours.”
I stand up by the foot of the bed. My hands shake as I slowly unbutton, unzip, then pull down my jeans. Not because I’m embarrassed of the body I work so hard to keep in top shape, but because none of the roadblocks I’m throwing up are slowing me down at all tonight. Unless she calls the game, I’m going to cross this line. Hell, I’m going to jump over it.
She lazily circles a finger in my direction. “Keep going.”
I slide my boxer briefs down inch by inch, not bothering to keep the cocky grin off my face. I already know she likes this part, too.
Tori licks her lips. “Do I need to admit to you how many times I’ve fantasized about that being inside me since I first saw it? Would that make you speed things up just a little?”
“It would not.” Call me an egomaniac, but I’m absolutely basking in the glow of her heavy gaze.
Coming from a woman other than Peaches, the obvious want in her expression wouldn’t faze me at all. Another lesson learned the hard way.
“I saw condoms in one of your away game swag-packs,” she blurts. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I still have to protect you. Even from me,” she murmurs the last part.
I lower myself on top of her, the glide of bare skin on bare skin enough to send my eyes rolling into my skull. Nothing my mind has cooked up over the past year could ever come close to this. Her lips are soft beneath mine.
“I know you do. I’ll protect you, too,” I promise. “Be right back.”
Not even the snug condom is enough to dull the sensation of finally, finally pushing inside her tight heat.
I collapse my full weight on top of her, trying to breathe through the pure pleasure incinerating my mind. After seconds that feel like an eternity, I lift my upper body, shifting my weight onto my arms and thrusting forward until she swallows me whole.
She throws her head back, exposing her long throat to me. Her hands claw for purchase at my back, her legs tightening around my hips as I piston in and out, faster, faster, chasing a rush that’s already engulfing me in flames.
“Oh, God! Oh, God!” she cries, her legs spasming around me.
I can’t last. No matter how satisfying it is to see Peaches flying apart around me.
I jerk into her, my orgasm barreling through me so hard, all I can do is grunt through my release that feels never-ending.
“So good,” I breathe into the skin at her neck, completely spent.
“Ruined me,” she whispers through what sounds like choking tears.
Her body still trembles beneath me, squeezing my sensitive cock almost to the point of pain as her chest stutters with struggled pants.
Fuck. I went too fast and hard. It’s been a long time for her, too.
I peel myself away and slide out slowly, ready to apologize and tend to the body I just ravaged like a fucking animal. “God, Peaches. I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
She opens and closes her mouth several times, her naked tits heaving with deep breaths. Her voice comes out panted. “Feels like…like…I’m still coming. Can’t stop. Ruined.”
I derail the grin threatening to make me look like a complete asshole by brushing my lips against hers. “If you’re only stroking my ego because you feel like that’s also part of your job description, then this arrangement isn’t going to work out for me.”
She closes her eyes on another deep sigh then swings her head wildly back and forth. “No. Never been like that before. Never. So good. Mmmm. Multiples aren’t a myth.”
Nope. Can’t fight it anymore. A stupid smile feels like it’s cracking my face in half. I kiss her again. Just because I can. “Does that make me your unicorn?”
Her eyes pop open. “No.”
“No?” Even the bliss still humming through my veins isn’t enough to keep my stomach from dropping. Just like giving in and jerking off to thoughts of her wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy me, having her once won’t be either.
Maybe I’m the only one assuming this isn’t a one-time thing though.
“This is just a rebound, bridge, fling…thing,” she trips over her words, but she gazes up at me with familiar determination shining in her eyes. “For both of us, right? We got closure from our pasts, but we’re both focused on our careers and the future. We’re moving on with our lives as consenting adults with needs. This is just…a convenient way to scratch an itch.”
I roll off her onto my side of the bed.
She’s giving me an out I would have grabbed with both hands last season. Why does it feel so shitty now? Tori’s right. Nothing has changed. My job comes first. I should be happy she’s thinking clearly enough for the both of us. With this new level to our relationship, she’s not a distraction to my focus anymore. I’m getting to have my cake and eat it, too, without having to worry about cleaning up the mess left behind in the kitchen.
“Mike?”
I turn my head to the side to find her watching me with a wary gaze.
“That’s all this is, right?” She swallows thickly. “Friends with benefits?”
“Yeah, Peaches.” I hold my hand out for her to take. “That’s all this is.”
I smother the laughter building in my chest as I covertly read Mike’s texts, glancing around my cubicle to make sure no one’s watching. I’m supposed to be building a proposal of content for his upcoming social media announcements, not enjoying him ratting out his teammate.
Mike: He asked our flight attendant if she wants season tickets and if she’d consider moving to Albany. He’s convinced she’s the one.
Tori: Leave Elliot alone! Maybe she is his unicorn!
Mike: Sure. And maybe I was right. Maybe I’m yours.
I don’t necessarily think he’s wrong, but I can’t admit that to him either. He has definite unicorn potential.
I squirm in my standard-issue office chair and rub my thighs together, where the ghost of Mike remains between my legs even when it’s been days since he’s been there last. The man is ravenous after going so long without. He does things to my body that I am one-hundred-percent certain no other man could—or ever will—be able to replicate.
I hope I satisfy him even a fraction as much as he does for me, but I’m not stupid. His focus is on football, not love. I admire him for his tenacity and ten-year plan. I have my own goals to achieve. Our worlds do not collide past this season, but I don’t regret giving in to my attraction. Much. I’m happy to be a comfort to him for as long as we’re in this forced mess together. God knows Mike deserves a little good in his life for a change.
Tori: You don’t have to convince me to come over tonight, you know. I’ll be ready and waiting. Let me know when you land at the airport.
A throat clearing just over my shoulder sends my phone jumping out of my hands as I fumble for recovery with my heart beating out of my chest. I place the evidence of my guilt face-down on my desktop before spinning in my chair.
“Ben?”
Of all the faces I expected to be frowning at me, his wasn’t even a remote consideration.
He shrugs. “Hey. Did I, uh…catch you at a bad time?”
“No! Not at all!” I clear my throat to make my voice sound normal. I’m not actually the one who has any explaining to do. “What are you doing here?”
He thumbs over his shoulder to where David is watching us like a hawk as he leans against the fake wall of his own cubicle. “I didn’t actually think anyone was going to let me in, but I was lucky enough to run into your boss in the lobby. He must have recognized me somehow because he believed me when I told him we’re old friends.”
More like this is another of David’s tests.
My eyes cut to the empty space on my desk where a picture of Ben and I used to reside. That old photo hasn’t been on display in quite a while.
“So…what are you doing here?”
His expression turns sheepish. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his khakis. “Owen called me and said you were in a bind. He asked me to drive up here and check on you every once in a while.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. My brothers have no idea that Ben is the last person who should be checking up on me. They only know his New York City address is slightly closer than where they live in Virginia. “I’m sorry you wasted a whole day making this trip, but as you can see…” I splay my hands wide. “I’m just fine.”
He tilts his head to the side and sticks his tongue in his cheek. “Really? Because from those texts I couldn’t help but see, I’m guessing you got forced into a less than fake part of your social media stunt.”
A simmering rage spreads through my limbs, warming me from stomach to fingertips. This is exactly why I warned Mike about giving my family too much of the truth.
I grind out, “I haven’t been forced into anything.”
What I really want to say is Mike Mitchell is a better lover than you could ever hope to be.
That would just be cruel. Also—according to Ben’s fiancée—a lie.
He nods, but he doesn’t look like he actually believes a word I’m saying. “Well, I’m already here. The trip doesn’t have to be a waste. Let me at least take you out to dinner. It’s almost quitting time anyway.”
He’s not wrong, and I have no good excuse to refuse his generous offer. The least I can do is make sure he’s fed before he gets back in his car for the three-hour drive.
“Can I choose the restaurant?” Okay, so maybe a tiny bit of me is petty enough to make him pay for keeping me out of the loop about his life.
“This is…” Ben blows out a breath as he studies the menu at 677 Prime. “Not gonna lie, Tor. Way above my pay grade.”
“Oh.” I wave off his embarrassment like I don’t know exactly how he feels. “No worries. You drove all the way up here to check on me, so dinner is my treat. Order whatever you want. Really.”