He got the message and pressed a little harder, causing a sharp, involuntary inhalation. She’d had hand jobs in her life, but they had always involved fingers. But there was something about the firm yet diffuse pressure of the edge of his palm that was working for her.
Well, come on, there was something about Max that was working for her. Her beautiful friend she trusted absolutely.
It didn’t hurt that, as he used to joke, he was very good at this. He kept up the pressure, moving his hand in tiny circles as he stared at her, the blue flames burning high.
“Are you going to be able to come like this?” he whispered.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Can I kiss you again?”
“Yes. Kiss me again.” And never stop.
There was something almost unbearably erotic about being dressed in a suit while Dani lay on the bed in front of him with her dress bunched around her middle. The juxtaposition between her dishevelment and the fact that Max was fully and formally attired was hot as hell. And when she started shaking and moaning as she came beneath his palm, he wondered if he would ever get over it.
He also wondered if she was all right. As she rode the aftershocks, he kept his hand on her, hoping now that he’d used it to get her off, he could also use it to anchor her. If this was her first time being with anyone since Vince, since the divorce that had come through today, she might be unexpectedly emotional.
“Take off that suit.”
Or perhaps not.
He took off the suit—so quickly he ran into trouble as he tripped over his own feet trying to get out of the pants—and pitched forward onto the bed.
She rolled out of the way, laughing, and twisted herself into a pretzel trying to get her dress over her head and unhook a complicated bra with crisscross straps in back. He helped her with the latter, and eventually, they ended up in a tangle of limbs and laughter.
You are beautiful, he wanted to say, because she was. Her pinned-up braids were half undone, and she had small, perfect breasts shaped like teardrops.
You are beautiful. It was the only sentiment in his head. He wanted to say it so badly, but he knew she wouldn’t want to hear that from him, at least not in the intense, reverent tone it was sure to be delivered in. So he kissed her to make himself shut up.
She kissed him back with abandon, but not for very long. Probably because she was aware that she’d come and he hadn’t. She was probably more aware than he was, given how he’d been living in his head, mooning over her, but when she touched him for the first time, he was, suddenly, aware.
“Dear god,” he bit out as her hand closed around him.
“Is this okay?” she whispered.
He laughed.
“I’m going to take that as a yes.”
“Yes,” he gasped, as she tightened her grip and moved her hand up and down his shaft.
Max had fancied himself, before Dani, a skilled lover. He could last a long time, usually. It had been so long, though. In order for this not to be over two seconds after it started, he needed to— “Oh, no.”
She laughed, but not at him, he didn’t think. She sounded delighted.
As his body shuddered, he watched her laugh, and he was pretty damn delighted, too.
“Do you have any condoms?” Dani said a few minutes later, while they were lying side by side panting.
“My god, woman. You may be ready to go again, but I need a moment.”
She laughed. “No! I meant for next time.”
Next time. Had Max ever heard two better words?
She rolled over. “Oh, wait. Is there not going to be a next time? Was this”—she waved her hand between them—“It? Do I have to follow the same rules as everyone else?”
He captured the hand, cognizant that getting too cuddly was not advised for a variety of reasons but unable to help himself. “There is going to be a next time.” He grinned. “And I don’t have any condoms. But I’ll get some.”
“Not from Leo and Marie, though, right?” she said quickly.
“Because we’re not going to tell them about this?” he asked carefully.
“Are you kidding? No. They wouldn’t understand.”
He was fairly certain he didn’t understand, either. “What wouldn’t they understand?”
“Us. Our thing. I would say friends with benefits, but it’s more than that.”
His heart, which had only recently returned to normal, picked back up. “It is?” The ground beneath him had shifted today, but he wasn’t flattering himself that Dani was going to see this as anything they could actually have. Things hadn’t shifted that much.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s perfect, right?”
Yes.
“Like, I’m here,” she went on. “We can do this without violating your rules. And whatever my deal was with the potential Tinder dudes is a nonissue. And we know we’re not going to ruin our friendship.” She looked alarmed suddenly as she jerked her head up. “Right?”
“Right. Of course not.” He played with her hand a bit. “But how is what you’re describing not friends with benefits?” He was trying to understand. He wanted to know what she expected from him. He wanted to know what he could have.
“I guess it is.” She shrugged. “I just feel like . . . we’re us. We don’t need labels. I mean, you’re my favorite person.” He jokingly preened, but inside, it wasn’t a joke. She took her hand back and used it to swat his chest. “This feels like an extension of that. Also, at the risk of inflaming your already healthy ego, I gotta say . . .” She fanned herself with her hand. “You weren’t lying when you said you’d had good reviews.” He grinned and did some more mock-preening. “Like, what was that?” she exclaimed. “I usually can’t come unless I’m on top, but you do some weird mojo with your palm, and bam!”
“I was merely following your lead,” he said, though he noted her preference for being on top. As pleased as he was to have been proclaimed her favorite person, not to mention a sex god, he remained dissatisfied with her explanation about the nature of their relationship. Were they friends with benefits, or were they, as she’d said, “more”? But he wasn’t going to press her. He didn’t want her to overthink things and end up calling it—whatever “it” was—off. So, with more difficulty than he would have expected, he changed the subject. “I could go across the hall to my brother’s room. He’ll have condoms.” He would, right? Max frowned. Hopefully Seb was using condoms.
“It’s hard to imagine your brother having sex. He’s so buttoned up.”
“It’s even harder to imagine him having sex with Torkel Renner.” Max still had not fully recovered from his shock.
“Who’s Torkel Renner?”
“The head of palace security.”
“The big beefy guy with the mirrored sunglasses?”
“That’s him.”
She whistled. “Well, he seems like he’s very good at his job. I’m sure he’s extremely competent in . . . other areas as well.”
“The thing is, I’m fairly certain they’re in love.” It was still so astonishing. But he supposed sometimes these things happened with no warning. He glanced over at Dani.