“That’s more like it,” he said. And he made sure she more than liked everything that followed.
Chapter 26
Siobhan rolled over and snuggled into Derick.
“Don’t even try it. You’ve rendered me completely useless,” Derick said, teasing clear in his tone.
Siobhan shifted up onto an elbow so she could look at him. “Who? Me?” she asked innocently. She drifted her fingertips over his chest lightly.
He caught her hand in his and pressed it flat against his skin. “Stop it.”
“What am I doing?”
“Making me hard.”
She leaned down to press kisses to his shoulder. “I thought you said you were useless.”
“I am. I think it would take divine intervention for me to get off again.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “That sounds like a challenge.”
Derick burst out laughing. “It definitely wasn’t meant that way.”
“But what if I took it that way? What if I climbed on top of you and rode you? You think you could come then?”
Derick’s eyes were locked on hers, desire clear on his face. “Maybe you should try and find out.”
Siobhan smiled as she leaned to press a kiss to his lips. She flung a leg over him so that she was straddling his thighs, her breasts pushed against his torso. Rocking slightly, she let her nipples be stimulated by his chest hair and firm body. Eventually, she leaned forward a little and then sat back, taking his cock all the way inside of her. She straightened up and began to move up and down on him.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered as his hands moved to her hips, gripping tightly.
“You’ve really found religion in this bedroom today,” she teased, despite barely having the breath to utter the words.
“I found something. God, that’s so good.”
Siobhan couldn’t help but smirk at his response. But her lips quickly parted as Derick began to thrust up into her.
She moved a hand up her body to toy with her nipple. Since she’d already had three orgasms in as many hours, Siobhan’s nerve endings were overly sensitive. It wasn’t going to take her long to reach her climax.
“Touch your clit, Siobhan. I wanna watch you get yourself off while you ride me.”
She pinched her nipple one last time before sliding her hand down her body. When her fingertips made contact with her clit, she jolted at the sensation.
“You’re close, aren’t you?”
Derick’s words weren’t helping her refrain from orgasming. She felt like she was one dirty word away from losing control. So she decided to fight fire with fire. “I want you to come inside me, Derick.”
He gritted his teeth and thrust harder, but didn’t reply.
“Come on. Fill me up. I want it. Wanna feel you dripping out of me for the rest of the night.”
Derick’s grip tightened and he pistoned into her.
She ground into him, letting his cock go even deeper. Then she bounced up and down on him a few more times before she felt his body go rigid and slickness fill her. She’d been giving her clit lazy strokes, but Derick’s release made her pick up the pace.
His hands reached up and caressed her breasts before he began rolling her nipples between his fingers.
It was all she needed. She shuddered on top of him as she rode out the waves of pleasure. The orgasm was powerful but brief as exhaustion won out. She collapsed on his chest.
“You okay there, champ?” Derick asked, with obvious amusement.
“You came again. I win,” she mumbled against his chest.
“I’m pretty sure we both won.”
“Very true. But now I’m broken. And I need to go into work tonight.”
Derick tightened his arms around her. “That’s not going to work for me.”
Siobhan chuckled and then propped her head on her hands so she could see him. “What? Were you planning on keeping me here forever as your sex slave?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed. “It couldn’t be forever.”
She slapped his shoulder lightly and he laughed.
But his face grew serious quickly. “You really have to go?”
She sighed. “Unfortunately. But I don’t work tomorrow. We could do something then?”
“All right. I guess I can make it without you until then.”
“Sorry for your suffering,” she said as she kissed him. Then she pushed off of him and began to grab her clothes.
“You need to leave right now?” he asked.
“Well…yeah. I need to go home and change my clothes. It’ll be easier for me to shower there.”
Derick simply nodded, and then got out of bed and began dressing, too.
“You don’t need to get dressed just to walk me to the elevator,” she joked.
“I’m not walking you to the elevator.”
She looked at him, confusion probably plain on her face. “Then what are you doing?”
“Going home with you.”
“Why? Not that I don’t love your company,” she added quickly. “But…why?”
Derick walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “Because I’m not ready for today to be over.” He kissed her deeply then, emotion pouring from both of them.
“Okay then,” she said when they broke apart. “You can meet my roommate, Dom.” Siobhan walked out of the bedroom to collect the rest of her clothes, and Derick followed.
“Cool. Is he a nice guy?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s his story?”
Siobhan threw a smile over her shoulder. “I actually have no idea.”
Derick huffed. “Sounds like you guys have really bonded.”
Siobhan laughed at Derick’s dry delivery. She suddenly realized that she’d laughed more in the past four hours than she’d laughed in the entire time she’d been without Derick. There was no longer any denying it: Derick made her life better. It was time she started returning the favor.
Chapter 27
Derick raised the glass to his nostrils and breathed in the aroma. No matter how many times he’d tasted fine wine, he never got any better at evaluating it. Especially before he even tried it. The scents could range from nail polish remover to plums, and that didn’t necessarily indicate what it would taste like once it entered his mouth.
This one smelled like cardboard, and Derick felt his nose turn up reflexively as he inhaled.
“Something wrong, sir?” the waiter asked.
“I’m not sure about this one.” He smelled it again and then raised his eyes toward Siobhan, who was seated across from him looking slightly amused.
She held out her hand. “May I?” she asked.
“By all means,” Derick said, passing the glass to her as the waiter stood patiently beside the table.
She swirled the glass in the air for several moments and then brought it to her nose, closing her eyes as she inhaled. Then she took a sip.
Derick could see her moving the wine around in her mouth before swallowing it. She set the glass down and nodded toward the waiter, indicating she approved.
“Looks like we’ll take that one after all,” Derick said.
The waiter gave him a quick nod and poured them each a glass before setting the bottle on the table. Then he told them the specials for the night, and said he would return to take their orders shortly.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Derick inched toward Siobhan, his hands clasped in front of him on the table. “That was impressive,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Not to mention sexy as hell.”
“What was?” she asked, glancing up from her menu.
“Tasting the wine. I still have to swirl it flat on the table or it splashes out of the glass.”
Siobhan laughed softly.
“I’m glad I know you can do it because it’s your job from now on. I’m no good at it, and watching you move it around in your mouth before you swallow is an added bonus.”
Her eyes twinkled with amusement. Derick could tell she w
as trying to suppress a smile when she spoke. “You really have a knack for making the strangest things seem dirty.”
“Thanks,” he said, grinning widely and sitting up a little straighter. “Do you know what you’re getting?” he asked, finally bringing his attention away from Siobhan and toward his menu.
“I don’t know. The pecan-encrusted trout special sounded pretty good. I might go with that.”
Derick nodded as he eyed up the steak choices. “Trout’s too…fishy for me.”
“Well, it’s a fish, so…” she trailed off.
“Yeah, but some fish don’t really taste like fish. Flounder and tilapia are soft and light, and salmon and mahimahi have more of a chicken texture and the seasonings tend to disguise any fish flavor that they—” Derick stopped midthought when he noticed Siobhan’s eyes getting wider. “What?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Nothing. I just didn’t realize you were such a seafood connoisseur, that’s all.”
Derick chuckled and closed his menu. “What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.”
Siobhan’s eyes locked on his and her lips parted slightly so she could press her teeth against her bottom one. “Well, I definitely can’t argue with that,” she replied.
The waiter came back to take their orders and pour them another glass of wine. Full of easy conversation, the dinner passed quickly. They discussed everything from the movie they’d seen the other night to the new app Derick was helping to develop that allowed people to upload pictures of bugs and animals in order to identify them.
“That’s a good idea. I could’ve used that the other day. I found some shiny silver thing in the shower.”
Derick stared at her as he tried to keep from smirking. “The faucet?”
“No, you ass. It was a bug. And it was slimy.”
Derick’s eyes widened. “You touched it?”
Siobhan looked disgusted. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I didn’t…it just looked like it would’ve been slimy.”
Derick nodded as he swallowed his bite of mashed potatoes. “Okay. I have a serious question,” he said when he was done.
Siobhan looked slightly nervous. “What is it?”
Derick stared at her, letting the seriousness of his expression sink in. “Who do you think you know better? The bug or your roommate?”
Siobhan rolled her eyes and laughed. “Shut up,” she joked. “I told you Dom was Blaine’s friend from high school. That’s all I really need to know. I only care that he’s not a serial killer. I don’t need to know his favorite color. Besides,” she added, “the gallery’s actually starting to make some money. Every artist has sold at least a few pieces, including me. Hopefully I should be able to get a place of my own soon.”
He resisted the urge to ask her if she really wanted to live by herself. Though the past few weeks had been easy and comfortable between them, Derick knew it was too soon to discuss living together.
The thought made him smile, but he didn’t want to bring up that discussion now. Not when Siobhan seemed so confident and relaxed, like all the pieces were starting to fall into place. She even mentioned the possibility of quitting the Stone Room and making art and the gallery her sole career—a dream she’d never thought she’d be able to accomplish.
It made Derick happy in a way that nothing else in his life ever had. His eyes crinkled, lighting up with his excitement for her.
“What?” she asked. “Why do you have the goofy grin on your face?”
Derick realized he’d probably been staring at her for too long without contributing to the conversation. “No reason. Just happy,” he said, reaching a hand across the table to clasp hers.
She brought his hand up to her lips and gave it a gentle kiss before speaking against it. “I’m happy, too,” she said softly.
And Derick knew it was the truth.
Chapter 28
Siobhan entered the back of the gallery with Derick following behind her. “So what are we doing here?” he asked.
She flashed him a mischievous grin over her shoulder. “It’s a surprise,” she answered as she flipped on the lights.
Derick’s eyes flitted from painting to painting. He hadn’t been in the gallery since the opening just over a month ago. That night, he’d been so preoccupied with the artwork Siobhan had painted that he hadn’t even gotten the chance to look at the other artists’ pieces.
He was wandering over toward some abstract-looking cityscapes when he heard Siobhan’s voice.
“You gonna stand around all night or you gonna give me a hand?”
Derick turned around to see her smiling, a large roll of brown paper under her arm. “Of course,” he said, moving toward her. “What do you need help with?”
“Some of these paintings need to get wrapped up so they can get shipped. I’ll print the address labels if you can get the paintings down and start wrapping them. There’s bubble wrap in the back,” she said. “I’ll go grab that and some packaging tape.”
“Which ones have to come down?” Derick asked once she’d returned with the other supplies.
She looked at a paper on the desk. “The first two portraits on that wall, that one with the bright red over there, and…” She scanned the paper. “And mine, but they’re already in the back room.”
“How many did you sell?” he asked.
“All of them.” When she looked up at him, Derick’s smile was even brighter than hers.
He closed the remaining distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, sweeping her up into an embrace. “Seriously? You sold everything?”
She nodded. “Mm-hmm.” She looked over at her paintings. “I sold a few during opening night, and then someone else came in the other night and bought the rest. I wasn’t even here when it happened.”
Derick put her down and held her head as he kissed her excitedly. “That’s incredible!”
Siobhan breathed in deeply before letting out what sounded like a sigh of relief. “It really is.” Then she lifted an eyebrow at him. “You’ve never gone by the name Wyatt, have you?”
“No, definitely not,” Derick said quickly, an awkward smile gracing his lips. “I promise I didn’t buy them this time.”
She laughed. “I’m just messing with you,” she said.
“I am actually a little sad that you sold the ones you painted about us, though. I would’ve loved to have had them.” He pulled back to look her in the eyes. “With your permission, of course.”
Siobhan looked over her shoulder at the wall of paintings. “You can’t buy them, Derick,” she said when she turned back to him.
“I understand. I didn’t mean—”
“No, you don’t understand. You can’t buy them because they were never for sale.” She smiled faintly, her eyes softening with emotion. “The ones I sold were other ones I posted on the gallery website when a few buyers asked to see more of my work. They wanted these,” she said, pointing to the ones on the wall. “But I refused to sell them. They’re yours, Derick. I painted them for you.”
Silent for a moment, he didn’t do anything except wrap his arms tightly around her, feeling her heartbeat against him. “Thank you,” he said simply, as the magnitude of her actions hit him. The only paintings she’d displayed on her opening night were ones she didn’t have any intention of selling. And it had all been to show her devotion to him. Derick eyed the paintings again. “What do you think I should do with them?”
“Typically people hang them.”
Derick reached down to squeeze her right above her hips, making her squeal. “I meant where should I hang them?”
Siobhan shrugged. “That’s up to you. They’re yours, remember?”
Derick smiled, tucking her soft hair behind her ear. “Ours,” he corrected her. When she didn’t argue, he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before releasing her and walking over toward the artwork on the wall. He removed a few of the paintings and set them down carefully. “We should celebrate,” he said.
&nbs
p; Siobhan cut some brown paper from the roll and looked up at him as he took down the last of the paintings. “We should,” she said. “What’d you have in mind?”
Chapter 29
We should celebrate all the time,” Siobhan said softly as Derick nibbled on the sensitive skin right below her ear. They’d been back at Derick’s apartment for only about twenty minutes, but hadn’t wasted any time in getting lost in each other.
Derick let out a chuckle. “Why?” Derick had stopped kissing her to respond, which made her regret talking in the first place.
“Because apparently I’m a fan of expensive champagne and your mouth, so if this is what happens when I get good news, I’m not above making something up.” She laughed, which was probably more due to the fact that she was on her fourth drink than because she’d said something funny. “What is this anyway?” she asked, as she took the last sip of what was left in her flute. “I don’t usually like champagne.”
Derick smiled against her collarbone as he removed the glass from her hand and set it on the table next to his couch. “Less talking, more nudity,” he said, pulling her shirt over her head with a sudden urgency.
Siobhan felt it, too—the heat growing between them, their heartbeats quickening as they tore off layers of clothing.
Their breaths were already heavy with the need for each other, and Siobhan could feel how hot her skin was from alcohol and desire. This was where she belonged. In Derick Miller’s arms as he ran his hands all over her body and made love to her mouth with his tongue.
God, that tongue. It was so soft, but so aggressive and consuming that she nearly forgot to breathe. And when she finally did, she found herself gasping for air.
She’d been so preoccupied with his wet lips on her, Siobhan hadn’t even realized that Derick had leaned her back onto the couch so he could lie on top of her.
But once she noticed Derick’s weight on top of her, it was all she could think about. Well, that and his erection pressing against her in just the right place. Her legs wrapped instinctively around him, but he didn’t push inside her, choosing instead to inflict delicious torture as he slipped his cock over her clit, pressing his tip lightly against her until her body was pleading with him to go all the way inside.
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