Page 45 of He Falls First

I grab hold of his sheets, feeling utterly consumed as the room echoes with the sounds of flesh on flesh. Hendrix’s skin is hot and slick with sweat and his face is so dark, so serious.

So much for not coming with penetration. It’s definitely his dick that does it for me this time, pulling out an orgasm from deep inside me. All my muscles stiffen and I don’t think I have to tell him what’s happening, but I do it anyway.

“You’re making me come,” I moan, before my head feels so heavy, I close my eyes and let it fall back.

He doesn’t hold back anything from me now. His thrusts intensify, getting faster and harder until he stiffens too, roaring as he spills into me with warm, rushing seed.

We both sound like we’re aching as we come. And maybe we are a little. But I’m trying my hardest not to think about my heart right now.

Hendrix pulls out of me but we stay entangled, his breath warming the nape of my neck. For a while, we’re entirely still. Eventually, I find my fingers tracing idle patterns on his arm as I savor the quiet intimacy.

“So,” I begin, rolling to face him, “as part of the dating lessons, got any feedback on my technique?”

“You seriously have to ask?” His hair falls into his eyes as he lifts his chin to face me. “That was incredible, Elizabeth.”

“Good to know,” I say lightly, pushing down the flutter in my heart. “You know. For future reference. With the men I’ll date.”

His expression closes off, his body tensing beside me. “Uh-huh.”

His arms tighten around me for a moment before he goes stiff, withdrawing into himself. He doesn’t feel all soft and cuddly anymore.

Because what we did was “just sex,” I remind myself silently, feeling a strange hollowness in my chest. He confirmed it when I asked and everything. Just sex, and nothing more.

This is the deal we made. But as we drift off to sleep, there’s nothing I can do to stop my mind from replaying every touch, every sigh, every moment that felt like so much more.

Chapter 18

Elizabeth

I’m having a rare evening away from Hendrix’s place. I can’t let myself get too spoiled by his world class chef dinners, so today I came over to help with family dinner at Dad’s place, like I usually do about once a week.

The smell of Dad’s roasted lamb mixes with the vibe of family tension. Marianne’s eyebrows are furrowed, her fork poised for battle in the air as she drives home her latest point.

“Seriously, Dad, you can’t be serious about investing in cryptocurrency,” she scoffs.

“Ah, Marianne, always quick to dismiss the future,” Dad says with a twinkle in his eye that says he won’t be deterred.

I chew slowly, trying to savor the mint jelly just to avoid being dragged into the fray.

“Hey, at least the lamb’s delicious!” I add, as if that has to do with anything.

“Of course it is, Lizzy. Your father only buys the best, don’t you, Samuel?” Marianne mocks. There’s affection somewhere in her sarcasm—I think.

My foot starts tapping beneath the table. I need some way to express the frustration I’m supposed to keep corked. The lessons with Hendrix are making me second guess my default role as the peacekeeper of the family. I want to be less… pliable.

“Elizabeth.” Dad turns his attention to me, tiring of my sister resisting everything he says. “How’s the job? Still fetching coffee for the bigwigs?”

I feel a familiar pang of annoyance, and these days, it’s hard to ignore the itch to stand up for myself. So I don’t.

“Actually, I’m working closely with the ‘bigwigs.’ We’re collaborating on important projects.” I hold my chin high as I butter another roll.

“Right,” Marianne chimes in. “And all still with the job title of ‘assistant,’ right? Doesn’t sound like they see you as very important.”

“Executive assistant,” I remind her. “And maybe I like my job more than you think. It’s not just fetching coffee. This project I’m working on, it’s going to help a lot of small businesses.”

My tone’s bordering on defiant, which is new for me, but I really am proud of my work on LocalLink. Marianne should watch out. I’ve got solid retorts locked and loaded now. And I can almost hear Allison and Cora cheering me on from wherever they are tonight. As well as Hendrix’s approving grunt.

His sexy grunt, too, while we’re at it.

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