The distance between us as I straddle him disappears completely with one firm press of his hand on my lower back. I circle my arms around his neck.
“There’s no checklist to follow,” he chuckles. It’s warm against my skin.
Maybe I expected a clear order of operations. Proven steps to follow. A direction to take that he knows firsthand will get the job done and leave me satiated but unattached. Maybe I hope for him to switch to instructor mode and pull out a lesson plan.
His mouth finds the edge of my jaw, and my thoughts scatter like marbles on tile.
“But you could start with not holding up your weight anymore,” Tripp says between languid kisses.
Each word against my skin makes me shiver. My eyes close, and I tilt my head as his mouth works closer to my ear.
I hadn’t realized I was keeping myself from being fully seated on his lap. The burn in my thighs confirms I’ve been holding myself up. Just enough.
Two hands smooth over the tops of my thighs in the next second. Protecting myself against feeling what’s underneath those jeans of his is no longer an option, and I sink down fully.
I’m glad, too. Becausegod, the friction is heavenly.
My body takes over on pure instinct. The first grind of my hips makes Tripp’s eyes slam shut. The second pushes a moan up my throat.
“Now every time you breathe out,” he whispers in my ear, “let your tension go with it. Relax.”
My shoulders drop on command with my next breath as I try to lose the last bits of rigidness left in my muscles, even as he unhooks my bra and throws it to the side. The stiffness in my arms dissipates soon after, and I melt into his warm body.
All because he told me to.
Following his directions seems automatic. Something in his voice. Something in the trust built between us. I’ll follow any of his commands as long as it keeps feeling this good.
I’m aware of how close our mouths are. If he pulls his head back just a few inches, we’ll be face-to-face again, and he’ll see it in my eyes—just how terribly I want to know what it’s like to press our lips together.
It’s always been my favorite part about sex. The one thing IknowI won’t mess up.
He barely lifts his hips. Still, it’s enough to press his hard length against my clit. What unbridled confidence possesses me to rub against him and drop my head to bury another moan into his neck, I’ll never know.
It feels a lot like comfortable surrender. A lot like letting go.
“Does it make you feel powerful? Feeling what you do to me?”
My hips move against him again, this time earning me a deep groan from Tripp’s rumbling chest.
“Yes,” I breathe out in an almost pained whisper.
There’s an even more untamed part of me dying to break free right now. I think it’s because I’m searching for relief—closer to the brink than I’ve been in a long time, if ever.
“That’s it, Mace. You already know exactly what your body wants you to do.” His voice isn’t distracting me, instead spurring me on. I suck in every bit of available oxygen into my lungs when he drags a knuckle through the center of my panties. “Look at me.”
It takes massive effort to pull my head from the safe space in the crook of his neck. When our eyes meet, he runs his finger back up, landing right on my clit. With firm pressure, he makes two impossibly slow circles with his thumb.
My mouth drops open, and I’m tempted to close my eyes to savor the sparks of pleasure coursing through my veins. The second my lids drift down though, he pauses his movement.
“I said, look at me.”
This time, I unblock every single emotion behind my gaze. His eyes bore into mine like they might reveal every secret he’s ever cared to know.
My fingers grip the hair at the back of his head with no restraint. It lifts a corner of his mouth a tiny bit. Tighter—tighter—until he’s wincing and fully smiling at the same time, as if he relishes the pain.
For a quick few seconds, my eyes leave his, scanning his body beneath mine. Even though he’s been steering the ship, I love the small sense of command being on top of him gives me.
Long, lean arms around me. Narrow hips pressing his rough hand into my core. Every part of him is drenched in lust, and I have to blink three times to remind myself to stay present.
