She blinks and swallows, the motion loud enough for me to hear. Once more she tries to reach for the book, and I find myself relaxing just a bit, allowing her enough room to touch my hand. Our palms connect, and I don’t know if she notices it, but she’s no longer trying to take the book from me.
I want to kiss her, then watch her mouth swell from the rush of blood. Her skin is already turning pink, and I can bet the rest of her is capable of turning the same shade if I cave to my desires and have my way with her. If I spank her flesh and brand my handprint into the meat of her ass.
Yeah, she’d definitely be red all over.
Arloe settles on her feet, her tits no longer against my chest. I miss it. But instead of telling her that, or pulling her back to me, I let my hand fall away from her back then turn my attention back to the book.
“You really like this crap?” I say to break the awkward silence.
She wraps her fingers around the spine, playfully jerking it from my grasp. “It’s not crap. In fact, it’s been at the top of the charts for weeks now.” Arloe rolls her neck with her lips pressed tightly together.
I laugh aloud at that. Her and these fucking books.
“Doesn’t make it any less crappy,” I huff out and step around her.
“Do you even read?” she blurts.
“Not that,” I deadpan while picking up our drinks before heading back to the game room.
Arloe is behind me, the soles of her feet slapping against the hardwood floors. It’s funny how animated she is that I can hear her frustration through her walk, or stomping, rather. We reach the rugged areas, bumping into each other when I turn to face her.
“So you’re one of those people,” she teases.
“And what kind of person is that?”
“One who knocks something before they even try it.” Her eyebrows rise in challenge while a smirk paints her lips.
I shake my head playfully. “Fair point. Read to me then.”
Her mouth gapes open for a split second, and she stares around the room. “Um— What?”
I settle into the leather chair and motion to the one next to me. “Read to me.”
She looks at me confused, like she’s waiting for me to say just kidding, but I’m not. If this is what makes her happy, then I want to hear it.
She shakes out her shoulders then pads to the chair next to me. She settles into the oversized leather and tucks her feet under her. “Fine. But I’m not starting over. I’ll read from where I left off.”
I nod and sip my drink, looking at her over the brim, waiting for her to start. This is going to be good. She’s already blushing and squirming in her seat.
Arloe sucks in a deep breath and opens the book. A laminated bookmark falls to her lap, but she ignores it.
“At this moment, I can’t think of a more beautiful sight. Her body is bare and stretched over my bed, displayed to me. Her ample breasts move with every breath she takes, tempting me. ‘Do you want this?’ she whispers, moving her hand between her thighs, flicking the sensitive pink bud.”
Arloe clears her throat and flips forward a few pages. “Maybe we should start somewhere else,” she mumbles, her eyes pointing to the floor.
A smirk tugs at the corner of my lips as I relax back into my chair. “Continue.”
She shakes her head lightly then moves so her back is to me. “Fine. But I can’t look at you. Your stare is intimidating.”
I laugh. It isn’t my stare that has her flustered, that’s for sure.
“Her voice is unsure and weak. ‘The question isn’t if I want it, princess. It is, do you want it? Could you live with the thought of betraying your family to fuck me?’ I close the gap between her and me. It’s only by a few inches, but I can smell her arousal. Her doe eyes flash to mine, and I can see it. The fight melts off her, and she gives in to the pure animalistic want she tries so hard to hide. ‘“I would do anything to be with you.’”
“Her voice cracks, and it makes me realize I’ve done exactly what I set out to achieve. I’ve broken her and made her love me more than her own family. This arrangement of keeping her until she came to my side was supposed to be simple. Quick. But the lines of what I should do and what I want have started to blur.”
I stand quietly and position myself behind her. I zero in on the page she’s reading and silently follow the words in my head as they leave her lips.
“Being with her in this way is wrong for more than one reason, but I can’t stop now. She and I are too far gone to look back. ‘Do you love me?’ I question. ‘More than I should,’ she replies, and with that, my body takes over. I crawl on top of her and crash my lips to hers. The taste of her strawberry lip gloss hits my tongue and sends me over the edge—”
Arloe jumps when I reach around her, stopping her mid-sentence. I take the book from her grasp, expecting her to hesitate, but she doesn’t. Still standing, I tower over her at my full height. She glances up at me, the confusion on her face faltering as I pick up where she left off.
“My tongue pushes through her lips and claims her taste. I trail my hand down her side, gliding over her thigh, and push her hand out of the way. I massage her clit, pinching it between my fingers, then slip one inside her.”
Arloe’s chest rises and falls more rapidly than before. She’s turned on, just like she was during the reading in her shop and, just like then, my dick strains against the fabric of my pants. She notices my hard-on almost instantly, her head tilting slightly with a breath caught in her throat.
Arloe looks up again, finding my eyes on her. She shudders, her chest bucking as she attempts to calm her breaths.
I can’t stop myself from touching her, letting my fingers stroke her cheek before pushing her long hair to one side. Her neck is exposed to me now, and I want nothing more than to kiss, suck, and nibble on her flesh. But I like this too much. Seeing her flustered and sheepish over me reading the words she so adamantly claimed to be brilliant.
When I pull my hand away, devastation flashes behind her eyes. She wants me to touch her, to fuck her. That spat in the kitchen earlier was just some ruse she’s concocted to cover up the fact she wants to be here.
I settle into the chair next to her, her small frame crowded around mine. She scoots to get comfortable, but it doesn’t seem to help her. Her eyes are still full of uncertainty, arousal, maybe even a little bit of doubt.
And I’m an asshole who likes to see her flustered. So I bring my face close to hers, not caring how uncomfortable this position is. Her throat bobs again while I continue reading in her ear.
“I start slowly, only building rhythm when her pants come out short and quick. ‘Tell me you love me, princess.’ Her eyes close, and she sucks her lip between her teeth, not wanting to mumble the words. I move quicker, placing my thumb on her clit. ‘Tell me.’ ‘I— I love you.’ She finally screams.
“I smile then remove my finger from her dripping pussy and kiss a path from her neck, down to her core.”
I stop, distracted by the hitch in her breaths. Arloe looks at me, and we stare at each other for a moment, me searching her face, fighting my desires to take her, and her pleading for me to do just that. My gaze drops to her lips, her perfectly full, kissable lips. I think about biting them again, and with the way she leans toward me, I know she’d let me.