by Liz Lincoln
Carrie let out a long, low moan. She wanted to collapse onto the couch, but the way they were sitting, he wouldn’t be able to come with her. So she clung to his chest and let him hold her up as he feasted on her breasts.
“Screw cake. You’re delicious.”
The compliment made her shudder; he moaned his approval into her skin.
It was good. So good. Like it always was. But he was derailing her plan. Maybe it was silly, but she wanted to know what was in that box.
Still, maybe another minute. He was too good at playing with her breasts.
He was so good at everything involving her naked body.
When he slid a hand between her legs, stroking her through her yoga pants, she couldn’t help rocking into him. But then she clamped her thighs on his hand so he couldn’t move.
“Stop a second.” She hated how breathy she sounded. She was aiming for firm.
Seth lifted his head and sat back, pulling her up with him. His eyelids were heavy over his blazing eyes. “For the record, I love your tits.”
Again his blunt words turned her on more than they should. “And you can have them back as soon as I get my other present.”
“My cock isn’t all you need?” This time, his grin was over the top and made her laugh.
“Much though I love it, and definitely plan to enjoy it very soon”—his eyes narrowed and his hand tightened on her thigh—“girls like gifts.”
He made a frustrated sound, but reached for the box. “I do want to see it on you.” He set the box in her lap, then traced a light finger up her side.
She shuddered.
He gave her nipple a flick before returning his hand to her thigh.
What did it say about her comfort level around Seth that she could sit there with him, topless, and not get self-conscious? She generally liked her body, but that didn’t mean she was comfortable sitting around half naked.
Shaking off the musings, she ran her hand over the heavy wrapping paper. “Nice touch.” He’d found a glossy dark green paper with a subtle vine pattern in it. It was a little different from ivy, but she appreciated the sentiment.
He winked at her. “I saw it in the airport gift shop, of all places. You better appreciate it, cuz I took some serious shit for buying that. Fortunately, it also worked well to beat back the jackasses on the flight back from Seattle.”
She laughed softly. “I do appreciate it.”
“Do me a favor?”
“Hum?”
“Laugh again.”
Carrie gave him a strange look. “I can’t laugh if there’s nothing funny. That’s weird.”
“Yeah, but it makes your tits bounce and it’s really hot.”
For the second time that evening, she backhanded his chest. “You’re terrible.”
“Never said I wasn’t.” His gaze didn’t leave her breasts. Her nipples ached, the heavy desire approaching the line where desire became painful.
“Stop distracting me and let me open my present. Then you’ll get back to delivering my other presents faster.” She was getting a little breathless.
Seth tore his focus away from her chest and looked back to the box. Carrie neatly sliced through the tape with her fingernail and removed the wrapping paper in one piece, revealing a white Macy’s box.
“It’s not from Macy’s. I actually got it at this boutique in Houston.”
“I’m intrigued.” She lifted the lid and pushed apart the green tissue paper.
Before her appeared the most beautiful green and black corset she’d ever seen. She lifted it out of the box and held it up.
The main bodice was a heavy green silk brocade, with a subtle pattern of black vines winding over the green. The fabric that covered her breasts had a bit of stretch to it, which she’d never seen before.
Up the center, six silver buttons held it closed. It also laced up the back with a black satin ribbon.
It was gorgeous and perfect and so thoughtful and intimate, and dammit, she was going to cry.
“It’s beautiful,” she managed to stammer, her voice barely a whisper.
“So are you,” he returned, just as softly. He smoothed hair off her face, tucking it behind her shoulder.
“Thank you. I can’t begin to tell you how much I love it.” It felt like he’d reached inside and read her heart. Which was ridiculous; he’d seen her do cosplay. Of course he knew she liked Poison Ivy clothes.
But he’d paid attention and knew her current corset was wearing out. She’d bought it secondhand, and the fabric was starting to fray. She’d had to resew in several of the boning strips because they kept poking through the fabric.
His smile was so brilliant, genuine, and warm, full of casual affection and for the moment none of the sexual spark that burned so strong between them.
He’d bought her sexy lingerie, sure. But it wasn’t about sex. It was because he knew her as a person. And he cared.
She swallowed hard and pushed the thoughts out of her head. She wasn’t prepared for where they could lead.
So she swung her legs off his lap and to the ground, turning her back to him. “Tie me up?”
She held the corset to her front, the brushed cotton lining so much softer than the polyester of her old one. The lining even had underwire sewn in to give her more support, rather than being crushingly tight like many of the corsets.
“I’d love to.”
He gathered her hair in one hand, then slid it over her shoulder. His fingertips trailed along her bare skin, making her shiver.
Then he went to work on the laces, gently tugging and adjusting until the garment hugged her snugly but not too tight.
When he was done tying it at the bottom, he set his hands on her shoulders, leaned his chin on one next to his hand, and spoke softly into her ear. “It’s perfect.”
It felt perfect. Like it had been custom-made for her. “I can’t believe how perfectly it fits.” She turned back to face him, letting him see his gift from the front.
His finger traced along the edge, making her suck in her breath as it dipped into her cleavage. “It better. I had them customize it for you.”
“How do you know my measurements?”
His cheeks got red, and even his nose and ears looked a little pink. With a sheepish smile, he said, “I might have dug up your Ivy corset and measured it. I noticed in Chicago that yours was getting a little ragged, then at the club I saw you had to keep pushing that one stick-thing back in place.”
“Boning,” she corrected, almost choking on the word. He’d paid so much attention.
He knew her so well, he’d thought of the perfect gift. And he’d gone out of his way to make it even more perfect for her.
Oh God. Oh God, not good. Red alert. She was so dumb. Part of her had known it would happen, but another, much larger part had convinced herself it was OK, she wouldn’t be that careless. That larger part was wrong.
She was in love with Seth.
Chapter 16
His gift, and so many other things about how he treated her, said their relationship had evolved into more than sex for him too. His gift was a clear indication he cared. But the idea that she was alone in her love for him was frightening.
She looked up at him and found him watching her, his expression so tender and beautiful, she could barely contain all the emotions pressing out against her chest. Trying to escape.
“What are we?”
The words flew out of her mouth before she knew she was going to speak. Instant regret surged through her. They’d already established what they were: two adults having casual sex because of mutual attraction. She was the idiot who’d gone and broken the rules by falling in love.
At least she hadn’t blurted that out.
Seth blinked a few times, like he was processing the question. Or stalling for time, wondering how to get out of the conversation she’d sprung on him.
Except maybe it was good to get it out there. He obviously hadn’t fallen in love with her.
But the lengths he’d gone to for her present, the way he watched comic book movies and rom-coms with her, how he listened to her talk about wanting to work comics and graphic novels into the curriculum, they all indicated he cared. She was more than a hookup.
“Are you asking about our relationship? Is that what you mean?”
They had a relationship. That was something. “I guess. Um, yes.” She shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t even know where that came from. It just flew out of my mouth before I knew I was going to say anything. Let’s forget I did.” She started to stand. “Let’s—”
“Carrie.” Seth wrapped his hand around her wrist and gently tugged, asking her to sit back down.
She did, and met his serious gaze. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst through and tear a hole in her brand-new corset.
“Do you want to be my girlfriend? Is that what you’re asking?”
Yes! “No.” She shook her head for emphasis. She wouldn’t be clingy and push him into more than he wanted. “I mean, we agreed this was casual. We don’t need to…”
Something in his expression dropped, causing her words to trail off.
Looking at his hand on her wrist, he said, “Yeah, OK. I mean, you’re right. That’s what we said.”
Thick, uncomfortable silence settled over them and Carrie struggled to fix what she’d done. She wanted sexy, playful Seth back. Not confused, disappointed-looking, silent Seth.
“Wait, do you—”
“It’s just that—”
He chuckled, rubbing his thumb back and forth over her wrist.
The small touch warmed her, bringing back a little of the lighter mood.
“You go,” she said quickly. Because she wasn’t entirely sure what she’d been about to say. And blurting things out had worked so swell last time.
He kept watching his hand on her wrist, his thumb soothing her wild pulse. “I guess I kinda already think of you as my girlfriend.”
“Oh.” She sat up straighter. “Um, OK. I didn’t realize that.”
She was his girlfriend! The most amazing man she’d ever met, the man she’d fallen in love with, thought of her as his girlfriend. Hallelujah, praise the angels, her heart squeezed happily.
Slowly he lifted his head and met her gaze. His expression shifted from sad to puzzled. “Do you…is that OK?”
She nodded rapidly. “Yes. Yes, that’s more than OK.” Oh my God, he was nervous. Seth Chamberlain—her big, brave gladiator, the Iron Man of the Gridiron—was nervous that she might not want to be his girlfriend.
His beard tickled her palm as she laid it against his cheek. “It’s still gotta be secret, I understand that. But having a secret boyfriend sounds all kinds of naughty fun.” Messed up, but naughty fun.
He covered her hand with his, pulled it to his mouth and pressed his lips to her palm. One side of his mouth curled up in a roguish smile. “It does.”
He kissed her palm again, this time scraping his teeth along the skin. Then he dragged his tongue up her arm until he reached her collarbone, where he settled in to feast on her skin.
She shuddered, sliding her fingers into his hair to hold him close. “Cheesecake, carrot cake, a beautiful new corset, and a boyfriend.” Her words came in breathy gasps.
How was he so good at sucking her just the right way? If she tried to stand, she wouldn’t be able to. She had no skeleton.
He lifted his head, his expression playful. “So I win?”
“Win what?”
“My presents are better than an ereader? Keep in mind, there are several orgasms yet to come.”
A shiver ran down her spine. “Still a tough call, but yeah, I think you edge out the tablet.”
He searched her face for a long moment, stretching it out until it was almost uncomfortable.
Just before she wanted to avert her gaze and squirm away, Seth stood, then scooped her up.
The weightless sensation of falling had her clutching Seth’s shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“I think I’m gonna have sex with my girlfriend now.” His long strides ate up the space as he headed for his bedroom.
“Oh. OK.” She was in favor of that. She was always in favor of him having sex with his girlfriend.
The spark in his eyes was positively wicked. “And I think I’m going to see how many times I can make her come before she passes out.”
*
—
Carrie’s breath came in pants, her chest heaving, aftershocks from her third orgasm still ripping through her. They’d started with a sixty-nine, then before she’d had a chance to recover, Seth had flipped her onto her back and continued using his mouth to shoot her up and over a second time.
Then, tasting sharply of her, he’d kissed her. And continued to kiss her, taking a few detours down to suck her nipples and drive her wild, while he fucked her with two thick fingers.
Now she felt thoroughly satisfied and unable to move. But as she sprawled on his bed, trying to find her breath, she could feel Seth watching her. As spent as she was, she still wanted to take him inside her.
She loved the way he felt, pressed against her from chest to knee, using his whole body to give hers pleasure. She loved the tight clench of his ass cheeks as he moved in and out of her. She loved the way he gasped her name when something felt good.
She loved him.
Drawing from strength reserves she didn’t know she had, probably because they were reserved for sex and no one else had every worked her this hard, she opened her eyes and rolled her head in his direction.
Seth lay on his side, his body only inches from hers, head propped on his hand. She’d yanked out his ponytail sometime while he had his hand buried between her legs, so his hair hung loose around him.
His smile was tender, the glint in his eyes a little bit cocky. “You’re not done yet, are you? I still have more birthday presents to give out.”
She smiled as broadly as her energy level allowed. “Give me a couple minutes. The last one was…intense.” She’d felt pleasure in her teeth and the roots of her hair.
He scooted closer, pressing himself along her side. His arm came over her waist and he stroked up and down her side. He’d requested she keep her new corset on, and because it made her feel sexy, and because the way he looked at her when she wore it took her breath away, she agreed. Also because the design allowed him to free her breasts, unlike her old corset.
The slide of his hand over the heavy fabric was pleasant, but she wanted his touch on her skin. All of her skin.
Movements languid and lazy, eyes shut, she unclasped the bottom buttonhook. Seth’s hand paused over her ribs, then slid to the center of her chest, flipping open the top hook. Together, they opened the corset until it fell away.
“Lift up,” he murmured. She complied, and he slid it out from under her. A moment later she heard the metal buttons clink against the wood floor.
His lips grazed her where her ribs met her sternum. His large hand splayed across her waist and belly. “That corset is damn sexy,” he said into her neck. His breath made her shiver. “But I really love your skin.”
He trailed his tongue along the underside of her right breast, the side closer to him, then raised his head. Carrie felt and heard him shifting, his long body rubbing along hers.
A shadow passed over her closed eyelids, and she felt his breath on her face.
“You are so fucking beautiful.” His voice was soft and reverent, almost pained.
Carrie opened her eyes to find his burning into her. His hair fell around them like a curtain as he propped himself on his elbow to look down at her.
He smiled, as soft and reverent as his words. Carrie’s chest swelled until she thought she might burst from the overabundance of emotion inside her. Or worse, she might destroy this beautiful, special moment they were having by blurting out that she loved him.
Instead, she smiled back and stroked her hand over his cheek, memorizing the feel of his whiskers
on her palm. The shape of his mouth as he smiled at her. The look in his eyes when he looked at her with something beyond lust. Something so far beyond, she wanted to crawl inside him and let him make her safe and warm forever.
Maybe he did love her. Maybe he, like she until a few hours ago, didn’t realize it. Even if he didn’t yet love her, he cared deeply. If they continued on their path, he would. He wasn’t one of those closed-off men incapable of letting go and loving.
The idea that he could love her back, that they could build something together, a future out of what started in the tampon aisle, thrilled her so much, she had to slide her hand into his hair and pull him down for a kiss.
They sank into each other, the touch rapidly growing heated and hungry. She rolled to her side, pressing against him, and his arms came around her to hold her tight.
Their hands roamed and caressed, but their mouths stayed fused. They’d done plenty of oral exploration leading up to this moment.
Finally, unable to stand being without him for another second, Carrie slung one leg over his and tilted her hips so she could stroke her throbbing clit against the root of Seth’s cock.
He moaned long and deep into her mouth.
“I need you,” she whispered against his lips as she wrapped her hand around him, guiding her toward her entrance. She circled his head around her clit a few times before advancing. She was so wet, it took no effort to slip him inside her throbbing pussy.
She used her leg on his ass to try to pull him farther inside.
“Fuck, Carrie. That feels amazing.” Nevertheless, he pulled back, slipping out of her when she wanted him to shove in.
“What’s wrong?” She needed him to fuck her now. This was her birthday celebration, dammit.
Seth started to push himself up. “I need to get a condom.”
She stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Wait.”
He looked down at her, lips deep red from kissing, hair untamed and tangled around his head, eyes heavy-lidded and questioning.
“I haven’t been with anyone else since my physical this summer, and I got a clean bill of health.” Would he get what she was trying to ask? She’d thought a lot about this in the past few weeks, and scripted in her head what she would say. But when it came to the moment, she was more nervous than she’d expected.