I poke my head in each door for a peek. The rooms are big but not nearly on the scale of those at the ranch. And the décor is all very clean and masculine—grays and deep blues. Finn fusses a little, reaching out to me. “I should get him to sleep. It’s late, and he’s been off his schedule today.”
He takes my hand, leading me up the metal staircase. “I’ll show you his room.”
Finn’s room?
I guess he’s not planning on Finn and me bunking together anymore? He opens up a door, and Finn’s crib is already set up inside. “Jon and Catrine brought your stuff over earlier,” he says, then points at a doorway. “Bathroom’s through there.”
I look around. A bag of Finn’s toys and clothes is on the dresser. There are diapers and wipes and even his baby monitor. But no bed for me. I place Finn down in the crib, patting his back and watching his big, beautiful eyes getting heavier and heavier.
“We’ll have to get him new bottles and stuff,” Slade whispers. “Anything that was in the kitchen I had tossed.”
I nod, knowing I have enough to get us through tomorrow. “I’ve already started a list,” I say, my voice sounding less nervous than I actually am.
Taking my hand again, he walks me down the hall a little, opens up a door, and says, “Our room.”
The dark wood bed has a leather headboard, and the color scheme is the same as downstairs. Again, there are huge windows, but the curtains are drawn, and from what I can see from the doorway, the bathroom looks huge.
He takes a step, and I give his hand a little yank. “Finn might be scared being in a new place. I should probably stay with him. I can just sleep on the floor.”
“You slept on the floor last night,” he says, grinning at me. His head tilts. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve never actually shared a room with a man all night. Never slept next to one.”
He inches me closer. “Crash course in sleeping with a guy. We sleep with our legs spread wide. Balls have to breathe, so don’t expect a lot of room. Our dicks are rock hard in the morning and several times a night, so expect to be poked. I don’t snore, and as long as you don’t make me eat green shit, I won’t have gas.” I burst out laughing, and so does he.
“Sex,” I whisper, briefly looking up at him. “I know you probably think that I’m easy or a guaranteed lay, but I don’t want to rush into anything, and sharing a bed is going to make that harder.”
His blue eyes turn a shade darker. “I don’t think that way about you.”
“You trying to tell me that part of this plan of me staying here isn’t so you can fuck me?”
“No,” he says, leaning into my neck. “The plan is to seduce you.”
“There’s a difference?” I ask, pushing away slightly.
“A big one,” he says. “Fucking is just that. Straight to the point. And believe me, you’d like it, but you can walk away after. My plan is to make you want me so badly that you can’t ever walk away. My plan is to make you crave me like I crave you. To need me like you need to breathe. My plan is to make your pleasure my sole purpose in life. The reason I get up in the morning is to make you come, watch your body explode, listen to you moan. So you don’t ever have to worry about me just wanting to fuck you because I want much more than that.”
I crash into him, kissing him hard. He picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist, and carries me over to the bed. Pinning my hands over my head, he grinds against me, kissing my lips and neck. My body starts to tremble slightly as he hits the right spot over and over again.
His hand slips up the skin of my legs, sending tremors through my body. When he reaches my inner thigh, my legs fall open slightly, my body knowing what it wants. But my head has another plan. “I need to wait.”
When the heat of his hand leaves my thigh, I almost whimper. A part of me hadn’t expected him to accept my rejection. That’s not been my experience in the past. He inhales deeply, like inflating his chest will deflate his penis.
“Okay,” he says simply.
“Really?” I ask. “I thought your game was to seduce me.”
He gently outlines my face with his fingers. “Has your life ever been about what you need?”
“No, not really,” I admit.
“Well, it is now,” he says. “And my life is about what you need. So if you tell me you need to wait, then we wait.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SLADE
Pushing her hair from her face, even in the darkness, I see her blue eyes ripple with tears. I wonder if anyone has ever put her needs before their own.
“I . . .” she starts but can’t finish.
“Tell me,” I say.
“I’ve never had sex for pleasure,” she says.
I can see there’s something else she wants to tell me, but she stops herself. “What about boyfriends?”
“Never had one,” she whispers.
I’m trying to wrap my mind around that when she drops something else she’s never had.
“Never had an orgasm either,” she says, her voice so quiet I wonder if I misheard.
My eyes dart to hers, which she tries to avert in embarrassment. “You need me to remedy that, baby?”
She giggles, pulling me into a kiss. Her mouth parts, granting me access, and my tongue finds hers eager for me. Placing my hand back on her inner thigh, I don’t go any higher.
“Whatever you need,” I whisper, kissing her neck.
“Touch me,” she pants.
I don’t waste a second ripping off her shorts. Giving her thigh a little squeeze, I feel her legs fall open, inviting me. I take my time, toying with her, my finger sliding up and down her long, smooth legs, slowly sliding down her panties. I gently tug on her little triangle of hair. “I like this,” I groan. “I can’t wait to bury my face in it.” Her eyes flash open, and I flash her a naughty little smile. “But only when you need it.” I’m having entirely too much fun teasing her.
“Slade,” she begs.
“Yes,” I tease, my finger outlining her.
“Oh,” she quivers under my fingertips. “Please,” she begs.
“You trust me?” I ask. Her eyes find mine in the darkness. “You trust me to know what you need and give it to you?”
“Yes,” she cries as my finger invades her, working her, stretching her open.
Christ, she’s tight and wet and warm and so fucking beautiful. She’s not naked. I can barely see her in the darkness, yet I can’t take my eyes off her. The shadows of her body as her back arches, the sounds from her full pink lips, the feel of the bed moving as I give her what she needs. Her hand flies to my chest, grabbing my shirt. All I want is to bury myself deep inside her, give her everything, but I just promised her we’d wait. I can’t push. As much as I want to, I won’t. She’s learned some shitty lessons about men in her life, and I need to undo those. Breaking my promise to her won’t help that cause.
But that doesn’t make this any easier. When she screams out my name, my cock throbs so hard it hurts.
Her back arches in a little stretch, and she yawns. Her blue eyes are half-open. I know she’s exhausted between last night and what just happened, but she still reaches for me. Unfortunately, she is interrupted by Finn crying in the other room. Paige releases a deep breath, blowing her hair up out of her face.