Sips & Strokes: Love wasn't part of the deal

by Sarah Skye

  “Mm-mm, it’s you, Professor Lily. I’ve never known a woman who was so sublimely sweet, and yet so… fucking… hot.” I close my lips on her breast and suck hard, pinching the other at the same time.

  She howls and bucks her hips. My scalp tingles where she tugs even harder, and that blanks all the questions and words in my head. I close my eyes and suck on her body until she’s writhing and I’m at risk of losing tufts of hair.

  “Calder, Calder, please I need—”

  “Say no more.” I had promised to take my time, but fuck that. I strip her jeans as fast as I can, panties too, and throw myself on my stomach between her legs.

  The first lick makes her groan. My tongue on her clit makes her scream. When I laugh at her wild abandon, she covers her face with a pillow and shudders.

  I pull back an inch. “Oh, no you don’t. I want to hear every sound you make, or I’ll stop and make you touch yourself while I watch instead.”

  She gets still and then peeks out from behind the pillow. “Would you really?”

  My hips flex against the bed at the thought. “I’d fucking love to see that show, no lie. But, hmm, not sure there’s much that could pull me away from you right now, love.”

  The pillow tumbles to the floor as I run my tongue over her pussy again. I gently bend her knee and encourage her to open wider for me. She hums and rests her foot on my back while she trails her fingertips over her breasts.

  “God, I’m so sensitive,” she murmurs.

  “Mm-hmm,” I hum so she’ll shiver.

  I tease her, switching between licks and sucks, then bring my fingers in to keep her on the edge. She shudders and tenses up, but every time she does I back off or kiss her thigh until she’s groaning in frustration.

  “Dammit, Calder,” she shouts at the ceiling when I get her closer than ever. Her beautiful face scrunches up. “Stop teasing.”

  “But that’s the fun part.”

  Her fingers reach between her legs, bumping my face out of the way. I emit something between a growl and a laugh as I catch that wrist and pin it to the bed. “How dare you interrupt me, Professor.”

  “I need to—”

  “Shush.”

  I dive back for more of her, licking back to front before closing my lips around her clit. She tenses again, soft murmurs of “Mmhmm, yeah, that, please” slipping from her as she tenses up yet again.

  “Please don’t stop this time,” she whimpers.

  “Mm-mm.”

  Her body pulses. She’s soaking wet, her juices running down my chin. Her whimpered pleas get louder and louder until the moment I tap my tongue against her and shove two fingers deep inside.

  “Calder!”

  My name bounces off the walls as her orgasm crashes down on her, wave after wave that I ride with her. My eyes want to close as I absorb her pleasure, but there is nothing like watching my girl come, and so I barely let myself blink.

  At last she goes slack, chest rising and falling with shaky breaths. I lick my lips and grin, then kiss my way back up her body.

  Lily opens one eye when I hover over her. Her dark eyebrow arches. “For a fake boyfriend, you give one hell of a real orgasm.”

  I grin, but that term punches my gut. “Nah, I think you were faking that part, too.”

  She laughs. “Yeah, that was totally an act.”

  “No doubt about it.” I dip my head and kiss her so she can taste herself on my tongue. She kisses me back, then pulls away again with a shy smile.

  “How’d I get so lucky to get a fake boyfriend like you?”

  Before I can reply, she touches my lips and blushes. “The real question,” she adds softly, “is how the hell can this really be this good?”

  “Why shouldn’t it be?” My throat is tight. I realize vaguely that I’m holding back words, but exactly what they are I’m not sure.

  “Because my life doesn’t work this way. I don’t wind up in bed with hot models who are also insanely sweet and funny. I don’t have relationships, real or fake, with guys who make me feel like the most important person in the world no matter what we’re doing. It’s just not my life, Calder.”

  “Well.” I swallow hard and quirk my lips. “Unless I’m very much mistaken, your life still doesn’t work that way. You are not, in fact, in bed with models, nor are you in relationships with guys. There is only me—again, unless I’ve seriously miscalculated.”

  She rolls her eyes and dissolves into that musical laughter that I can’t resist. “Oh my god, you’re as picky as my grandmother when I’d ask if I could have a cookie. ‘I don’t know, can you eat a cookie, Lily?’”

  Her high-pitched grandma voice is too much, and I bury my face in her neck and laugh. She wraps her arms around my neck. Her nails on my back start as a gentle caress, but the longer I have her pressed against my mattress, the more my body registers details of her soft curves under me. My laughter dies as I begin to nibble on her earlobe, and that changes her gentle scratches to something a little more primal.

  “Calder?” she murmurs in a lazy, teasing tone. “Can I touch you?”

  “Lily, you not only can, but you also may,” I growl into her ear, loving how she laughs as she slips her hand into my jeans. “Fucking hell,” I groan when her hand closes around me.

  “You’re telling me,” she breathes, and we trade a glassy-eyed look. “Take them off, Calder, I want you now.”

  “Your wish, darling, is as ever my command.”

  I roll off the bed and drop my jeans, reaching for a condom in the nightstand drawer. Lily sits up and helps me roll it on, her eyes not leaving mine. Then, she lays back and lets her legs fall open as she motions for me to come to her. I crawl between her legs and hover over her. My mouth is dust, and I’ve no idea why.

  That is a bloody lie. I know exactly why.

  My eyelids droop as I stare at her. “Professor Lily, I think you should know. Whatever our arrangement is, there will be no faking from me from here out. Got me?”

  She lifts her head and captures me with her kiss as she pulls my body down to her. “Thank you,” she murmurs in my ear as I thrust inside her.

  20

  Lily

  The moment Calder’s inside me, my jaw drops. I don’t howl like I did before. This time, I’m gasping. When I inhale, I take all of the air in the room with me.

  “Holy...holy...holy…” I can barely say that four-letter word as Calder slowly thrusts into me.

  I knew he’d be a lot to take. For weeks I’ve been eyeing his very impressive length during class. But I didn’t anticipate just how intense he would feel—and I feel him everywhere, from my fingertips to my toes, from the top of my head to my chest. Every single time he slides into me, I’m shaking with pleasure.

  “Holy fuck,” I finally say, my fingers digging into his shoulders. “That feels...you feel…”

  “You feel fucking incredible.” Calder’s voice is a low rasp.

  My eyes roll back when he hits a particularly deep spot. “So… do… you…”

  He emits a rough chuckle that makes me grin. I focus my gaze back on Calder. With his arms braced on either side of me, he lowers his face so that his nose just barely touches mine. When he starts to slow down a bit, I grip his deliciously firm ass, pressing him into me harder.

  “No, don’t stop. Please,” I whine.

  Again he chuckles. But this time there’s a shy edge in his eyes. “Sorry, love. If I go too fast, this’ll all end way too soon. And I don’t want to leave you disappointed.”

  My chest squeezes at what his words imply—that he’s enjoying being with me so much that he has to pace himself, otherwise he’ll come too soon. It sends a hot flush all over my body.

  I run my hands up his back, relishing the hard feel of all that muscle under his smooth skin. “I’ll take that as a compliment then.”

  “You should. You’re unbelievable, Lily.”

  It’s another few moments of that slow, shallow thrusting. Then Calder swallows and leans up, hook
ing my legs over his shoulders. My head falls back with the deeper angle that he’s positioned us in. He starts up that slow rhythm once more, and my head goes cloudy and dizzy. Even when I try to blink, I’m seeing stars.

  “Yeah. Just like that,” I say through ragged breaths.

  I feel Calder’s stubble against my calf, then he presses a soft kiss to my leg. The combination of sensations—that super soft, super sweet kiss and the desperate way he’s taking me—sends all my senses into overdrive. This guy. This guy is beyond incredible in bed. I’ve never had anyone physically satisfying me like this. But more than that, he knows how to be sweet, and that makes all of this a million times more intense. More meaningful.

  Pressure builds inside of me, starting from my clit and slowly moving up my core. It’s only been two handfuls of minutes since Calder’s been inside of me, and already I’m nearing the edge. As incredible as this feels, I can’t let this be the end. I want more. So much more.

  I reach up and pull Calder down to kiss me. “I want to be on top. Of you. Now.”

  He grins against my mouth. “Gladly.”

  In an impressively smooth move, he flips us over. I steady myself with my palms pressed flat against his chest. And then I take a breath, close my eyes, and slowly ride him. That delicious pressure still courses through me, but it’s a more controlled intensity.

  When I glance down at Calder, his eyebrows are furrowed, like he’s concentrating.

  “You good?” I rasp.

  He nods. “I just need you to get yours first before I get mine.”

  Smiling, I bite my lip and slowly start to speed up. Then I slip a hand between my legs and rub small circles against my clit.

  Calder’s eyes go wide. A strangled sound rips from his throat. His reaction to me touching myself gives me a new-found confidence.

  “Fucking hell,” he mutters, gripping the fleshy parts of my hips with a force that tells me he loves what he sees.

  “You said you wanted to watch.”

  I speed up both my riding rhythm and my hand. My heart thunders against my chest as that glorious heat between my legs gets hotter. It amps up the pressure inside of me to an unbearable peak. My legs start to quiver. It won’t be much longer.

  As my gasps get higher and more desperate, I try to speak.

  “I’m so close, Calder. So, so close.”

  With his hands still on my hips, he moves me up and down over his cock, keeping the rhythm I’ve set.

  Seconds later, all the heat and pressure inside of me comes to a head. I explode all over him.

  My head falls back and I’m shouting once more. I’m surprised the volume of my voice doesn’t shatter his bedroom window. I’m thrashing like I’ve lost all control over my body. I try to plant my legs firmly against his bed to keep myself in place, but it’s no use. I have zero control over them as orgasm ravages my body. Thankfully Calder’s still got me by the waist. He holds me up as I convulse, landing like a rag doll on his chest. It’s a second later that I feel him tense and grunt underneath me. Then he lets out a growly breath and wraps his arms around me, hugging me tight against his chest.

  He heaves a long, hot sigh that condenses on my forehead. “Fucking…”

  “Hell?”

  I glance up at him right as he bursts into laughter. Then he kisses my forehead. “Yes. Exactly that.”

  After a minute of catching our breath, he eases me off of him, then sits up and removes the condom. He throws it in a nearby wastebasket before lying down and pulling me back into him.

  I’m spooned against him, his arms wrapped snugly around my waist. After a few minutes, the sweat coating my body turns cold and I start to shiver. Before I can even move, Calder shifts behind me. “You cold, love?”

  “A little, yeah.” There’s a pressure in the center of my chest once more at hearing him call me that. And this time, I know exactly what it means.

  He pulls his comforter over us and nuzzles the back of my neck. “That was incredible. You are incredible,” he whispers in my ear.

  I close my eyes and smile, every cell in my body buzzing. Because in this moment I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I won’t be able to fake a single thing with Calder ever again after what we’ve done.

  Because I’m falling in love with him.

  I hum and twist my head to kiss his bicep, which is pressed against my shoulder.

  “So are you.”

  In the morning, I wake up to an empty bed. It’s a few seconds of blinking and rubbing my eyes before I take in the scene: Me alone in bed. Again.

  Inside I start to deflate. Did he really leave me again?

  But then I hear footsteps outside his closed bedroom door. It swings open to reveal Calder wearing nothing but flannel pajama pants that hang deliciously low on his hips, the perfect frame for that flawless Adonis belt. In his hands is a tray with a plate of waffles and a small bowl of fruit.

  I grin so wide my cheeks ache.

  “I thought you might be hungry,” he says.

  When I nod excitedly and pat the spot next to me in bed, he laughs. He walks over, sits on the edge of the bed, and sets the tray in my lap. I swipe a waffle from the plate and grin at the generous smear of chocolate on them.

  “All I had were frozen waffles, chocolate hazelnut spread, and some raspberries,” he says. “Sorry it’s not more impressive.”

  I’ve already devoured half of the waffle when I turn to him and give him a light smack on the shoulder. “Don’t even apologize,” I say while chewing. “This is the greatest breakfast ever.”

  He leans over and kisses me, licking the chocolate on my lips. I giggle.

  I hold up the waffle to him. “Want a bite?”

  He shakes his head. “I wish I could stay and have a little breakfast of my own.” He eyes the lower half of my body, which is still tucked under the duvet, then looks back at me and wiggles his eyebrows. I roll my eyes while chucking.

  “But I have to run soon. I’ve got a shoot scheduled for this morning.”

  “Oh, for Sonce?”

  He shakes his head. “Book cover. Then a call with my agent.”

  “One of these days I want to go to one of your shoots. I’m dying to see you styled like a hunky romance hero.”

  He grins. “I’d love that.” When I finish chewing, he leans over to kiss me, then stands up and darts around his bedroom to get dressed.

  I’m halfway through the raspberries when those tell-tale nerves hit the pit of my stomach. If he’s leaving, does that mean I should leave too? I really don’t want to. I’d rather lounge around in his bed and wait for him to come back, then maybe we could have a second round of mind-blowing sex… then a third and a fourth…

  I shake my head, snapping myself out of the fantasy. I clear my throat and start to scan the room for my clothes right as Calder walks back over to me. He’s replaced his flannel pajama pants with worn dark jeans. A casual button-up hangs over his shoulders.

  “I don’t know how long this shoot will be, but you should stay. If you want. It would be nice to spend the day together… if you don’t have anything else going on.” He fumbles with the buttons of his shirt. There’s a shyness in his eyes that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. It settles the nerves in my stomach instantly.

  I grin up at him. “I’d love to stay.”

  The most beautiful smile spreads across his face as he leans down and gives me a slow kiss. He cups my cheek with his hand. When he pulls away, he’s still holding my face. I close my eyes and let out the softest moan. God, he feels so, so good. And, god, I could get used to seeing him like this every day.

  “Make yourself at home,” he says.

  I thank him, and he walks out. A second later, I hear his front door close. And then I fall back into bed, my chest tight and my heart pounding, fully aware of just how deeply I’m falling for Calder...and scared to death that he may not feel the same.

  Two hours later, I’m in a pair of Calder’s boxers, his hoodie, and a pair of war
m wooly socks I found in the top drawer of his dresser, sitting on his balcony with a notepad. I glance up at the cityscape in front of me, then back at my sketch. It’s a pencil drawing of the dozen skyscrapers that mark the horizon. I sip from my mug of tea I brewed. This is one of the more relaxing days off I’ve had in a long time.

  My phone rings, and when I see it’s Morgan I quickly answer.

  “Hey, you. How’s it going?”

  “Pretty great, actually.”

  I can hear the smile in her voice. She gushes about how her grandma is smashing physical therapy. She’s strong enough that she can even go for multiple leisurely walks every week.

  “Oh my gosh, that’s great!”

  “Her doctor says she’s making a quicker than expected recovery,” Morgan says. “He even gave her the okay for her cataract surgery next month. We thought she’d have to wait until after January. But it looks like it’ll be happening before Christmas.”

  I grin while gazing ahead at the city skyline. “Does that mean you’ll be back sooner than expected?”

  “Maybe. Hopefully. I love my grandma and will stay with her as long as she needs me of course. But I miss you. I miss the city.”

  “I miss you too.”

  “So tell me. Did you read lover boy the riot act like I hope you did?”

  I bite my lip as my gaze falls to my feet. “Yeah…”

  “And?”

  “And it went well. Like, really, really well. I told him exactly what I wanted and what I wasn’t going to put up with… and he apologized. And got on board with everything I wanted.”

  “That’s my girl.” There’s a clapping noise in the background.

  “I think… I think it turned him on to see me like that. Like, all demanding.”

  “Oh damn. Tell me all about it.”

  My face heats as my smile grows even wider. Then I give Morgan a run-down of everything that’s happened between Calder and me since we got back on track at the whisky tasting. The entire time I gush over Calder, from his sense of humor to his thoughtfulness to his dynamite skill and stamina in the bedroom.