I don’t question why that’s true. It just is.
“It was more ... complicated ... than I was expecting.” He opens his eyes, his gaze solemn. “I’m glad you were with me.”
My mouth tightens into a little frown. “Maybe we should’ve done something else.”
“No. It was a perfect night.” Despite his words, frustration colors his tone. “I’m just ... me, I guess. And no matter where I go, or what I’m doing, I can’t leave all my bullshit behind.”
My heart breaks, even as I leap to defend him. “It’s not bullshit. You’re allowed to have feelings, even complicated ones.”
He looks so forlorn I’m about to suggest we skip tonight’s other activity. But then he sets his wine down and with slow, deliberate movements, undoes the knot in his tie. His eyes never leave mine, and even though he hasn’t said anything, my heart rate speeds up.
He slides the column of charcoal gray silk from around his neck and holds it taut between his big, strong hands.
“Day 8,” he says in a deep voice. “Blindfold.”
In the past, just the idea of being blindfolded would’ve made me anxious. But I feel safe with Gideon, and I suspect that tonight, he needs me to show that I trust him.
So I lift my chin ever so slightly, and he takes it for the invitation it is.
The loss of one sense heightens the others, and after he lays me on my bed, I lose track of how many orgasms he wrings from me with his mouth and hands. He’s so careful, constantly checking in, and I’ve never felt more protected.
Finally, Gideon’s hips settle between my legs and his heavy cock rests on my mound.
“Let me in?” He must be out of his mind with need, but he says it tenderly.
I find the strength to hitch my thighs over his hips, nudging his taut ass with my heels. I’m open and wet, more than ready for him. His arms wind around my back and he plunges into me. I cling to him like ivy on a brick wall, usingmy sense of touch to form a mental picture of him on top of me.Inme.
And then I’m lost to everything except the pounding of his cock and the sweet words he whispers darkly in my ear.
“God, Valencia. Seeing you in that dress ... I wanted to tear it off you, right in the fucking restaurant. You are everything I’ve ever wanted. You know that? I’ll never get enough of you. Never, never,never.”
He punctuates the statement with thrusts, and I nearly burst with the sense of my own power.Ido this to him.Me, Valencia Torres. His ferocity unleashes an answering force in me, and I thrash my head, loving the delicious tug on my scalp from his fist wrapped around my hair.
Without warning, he pushes off me. I experience a moment of uncertainty, not sure where he’s going, before he hitches up one of my knees. His hips pin me to the bed. The heel of his hand grinds circles against my clit as his strokes hit deep inside.
Oh, this is good.Toogood. I’m unraveling in the dark, my hands scrabbling against his toned back.
“Come, my sweet little vixen,” he croons. “You can do it. Come for me.”
His hoarse whisper burrows into the place where all my unnamed feelings hide. For a second, I’m afraid they’ll spill out.
I rip off the blindfold, needing his face to ground me. Blinking in the soft light, I soak in the way he grits his teeth,the way his brow creases like he’s in pain, and then the way those luscious fucking lips form his next words.
“You have no goddamn clue what you do to me, Valencia.”
I don’t, but oh, I want to.
I can’t ask, though, because the orgasm bears down on me. I cry out, clenching around him. His whole body stiffens. He gives a series of powerful thrusts, then releases a staccato groan that echoes the tremors in my core.
With a heavy exhale, he drops to the bed, then gathers me against his side.
We’re panting and staring at each other, our faces just inches apart.
Something is different now. I don’t know what, or why, and part of me doesn’t want to know. Especially after I told him last night that we don’t have a future past the end of our list.
But the other part, the part thatdoesunderstand what’s changed, speaks. “Stay here tonight.”
His voice is quiet when he answers, his expression raw and unguarded. “I want to. More than anything.”
