Her breaths came in short puffs and her stomach began to undulate under my hand. She was seconds away.
I rocked back onto my knees. Nope. I wasn’t ready. I wanted to feel her contract around my cock. I wasn’t going to waste this moment. Every drop of her desire was to be savored.
I grabbed a condom from the bedside table and in less than a second, I was paused at her entrance, taking a breath so I didn’t boil over the moment I felt her warmth around me.
“You ready?” I asked. She lay like a tortured kitten on the bed, her long, glossy hair splayed out across the bed, her legs open, her lips reddened by her moans and my teeth. Christ, I could fuck this woman all night long.
“Please!”
I took a breath, held her gaze and pushed into her. My chest pounded like my heart was trying to be set free but I didn’t give into the instinct that told me to fuck her quick and hard—anything to relieve this ache in me.
The expression in her eyes turned from desperation to panic as I slid into her.
I smoothed my palm down her stomach. “You can come now, Sofia.”
The panic gave way to relief as she cried out silently, arching her back, her body stiffening as she reached her peak. But I wasn’t about to stop there. This beautiful, passionate, entirely infuriating woman deserved more than that.
I was coated in her now, and she was warm, slick, and completely boneless beneath me. I began to thrust.
“Again?” She looked at me, fear mixed with confusion in her gaze.
I reached beneath her bottom, tilting her up so I could get deeper.
“Again,” I said. “And again. And again.”
At this moment, I couldn’t think of a minute in my future when I wouldn’t want to be fucking Sofia. I wanted to stay in this room for days, weeks, years, just fucking. She was so soft and perfect—compliant with just the right amount of fervor.
“Oh God.”
“Yes, Sofia?” I said in answer, and I thrust into her again and again. “I’m the only god that will help you now.”
She arched against me as her orgasm crashed through her body. The feel of her shuddering body against mine slashed through my final tether of control, and I emptied myself into her as deep as I could get.
Breathless and swaying on my feet like I’d drunk a bottle of whisky on an empty stomach, I collapsed next to her. I checked my watch. How long until I had to leave? There wasn’t enough time. I couldn’t just lie here and recover. I’d stepped over a thousand lines to be with Sofia tonight. I wanted to make the most of her before I had to return to real life.
Seventeen
Sofia
I was learning that even the ambient sounds of expensive restaurants were different from the places I usually went to. First of all, everything was quieter. There was certainly no hum of football commentary coming from screens set over the bar. Instead, light piano music barely played in the background of the Mayfair restaurant where I waited for my father. Waiters glided around the space like they were wearing silent electric ice skates; when silverware accidently met glassware, the distinct sound of crystal rang out in harmony with subtle piano.
I sighed, trying to busy myself with the menu and not think about Andrew or James or whoever it was who made me come over and over last night and then abruptly left just before midnight, as if he were in danger of turning into a pumpkin. It wasn’t like I expected us to cuddle afterward, but I couldn’t help wondering what happened next. Was that it? When I saw him in the office again, would he pretend he remembered nothing about our unforgettable night together? Would work remain business as usual, but would James slide onto the stool next to me again at Noble Rot and continue our game? London was a hell of a lot more confusing than I’d expected it to be.
I wasn’t looking forward to another meeting with my father. The lunch at his house had been intimidating despite Evan and the girls making their best effort to welcome me. Still, I’d felt more out of place than a nun at a rodeo. However, I did leave with a genuine fondness for my father’s other family. Things between Des and me had been strained, like picking through a minefield of what I couldn’t and shouldn’t say. Hopefully today would be better.
At least in a restaurant we were in more neutral territory—although places like this weren’t exactly a staple in my life. Maybe it would mean that the gap between us wouldn’t feel so much like a canyon today. I needed to find some common ground with him. I didn’t have years to get the money my mother needed. The doctor had said that if they didn’t operate soon, it might be too late to stop her from having permanent damage a knee replacement wouldn’t fix.
“Sofia!” my father’s voice rang out from behind me.
I turned and he greeted me with a kiss on both cheeks. It seemed so weird to me that a man who should know me better than anyone greeted me like he’d known me forever when we were pretty much strangers.
He sat and ordered something I didn’t catch from the hostess, then turned to me. “Thank you so much for coming.” He smiled as if he were genuinely delighted to see me. I couldn’t help but wonder why, if he was so happy to have me in his life, he’d never reached out to me. He’d had almost thirty years to find me.
“So how was your week?” he asked. “Managed to see anything of London?”
The only thing I’d seen a lot of was my boss’s naked body. But I wasn’t about to confess that.
“Not much. My job is pretty demanding. My boss is very busy. So I have weekends but mostly, I’m exhausted. Tomorrow, I’m going to take myself off to see some sights.” I wasn’t sure if that was true. Quite honestly, I wanted to spend the day in my PJs, talking to Natalie on the phone and breaking down the latest episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey.
“Andrew Blake still treating you okay?”
“Yup. Just a few weeks into it. But so far so good.” Yes, Andrew was an epic dick, but he also had an epic dick. It wasn’t like the sex made up for how he was in the office, but the James thing and the way he’d been at the bar, the way he was when we were in bed . . . It made him a little more intriguing. He wasn’t just an asshole. He was a compelling asshole.
“He has a reputation for being ruthless. Does he treat you well?”
Images of Andrew naked, between my legs, pushing into me, over me, flashed in my brain.
“Yup,” I managed to squeak out. “Well, truth be told, he’s abrasive and rude, but nothing I can’t handle.”
A small grin pushed at the edges of his mouth. “I’m glad to hear it.”
I shrugged. “I think he appreciates me. He just buries it deep. Lucky for me, I inherited a killer work ethic from my mom. She worked three jobs when I was young.” I clammed up when I realized what I’d said. I’d forgotten who I was talking to. Shit, I needed to get the lid back on this can of worms immediately. Everything I said was true, but that wasn’t the point. The last thing I wanted to do was to make Des feel uncomfortable. That wasn’t going to encourage him to get out his checkbook.
“A strong work ethic is important,” he said. “It’s something I worry about with Bella and Bryony. They have so much, they need something more than necessity to drive them. My father always drilled it into me that nothing came for free. Everything was to be worked for.”