Page 70 of Succumbed

“Come here.”

Lex stands and walks over, then sits with her back to my chest. Once she’s settled, I wrap my arms around her and hook a leg over hers, snuggling her against me. Her body melts into mine, and I kiss the top of her head.

“Tell me more,” I whisper.

She rests her hands on my thighs, thumbs stroking back and forth. “When you first asked if I’d ever been shared before…I’d already been asking myself why I’d never had a threesome. Ever since Linc mentioned it, I’d been…wondering.”

“It’s not unusual, you know. We didn’t have any expectations.”

She chuckles. “I know, but…I’ve had opportunities. Multiple. I’ve never said yes, not until you and Linc.”

I can tell it’s not easy for Lex to share about herself. She’s used to owning the conversation in a corporate setting, and it’s new territory for her to be open and vulnerable. I don’t want to push her, but I’m dying for her to truly let me in.

After a few moments of silence, I press my cheek to the side of her head and tighten my arms around her. “Did you think of the answer?”

“I think so? Being with the two of you…it’s the most vulnerable thing I’ve ever done. I’ve built a business from the ground up, put my professional reputation and entire life savings on the line more than once, but none of that compares.” She inhales deeply, her fingers gripping my thighs. “There’s never been anyone I was willing to surrender to like that, no one I trusted enough with my body, or…”

Her words trail off, as though there’s something else she was about to say and swallowed instead. Tell me, baby. Don’t hold back now.

“That’s why I thank you, you know,” I say as I shift slightly. She snuggles closer, hands moving to rest on my forearms. “I don’t take it for granted, Lex. Not ever.”

“I know you don’t,” she breathes. “If you did, it would all be over.”

The thought of anything being over chills me. Shoving the feeling aside, I drop my lips to her neck, kissing her softly. She tips her head to give me better access, and I press open-mouthed kisses along her flesh.

“Tell me about the freedom,” I mumble against her skin.

She squirms in my lap, her thighs squeezing together. I’m desperate to slide my hand into her skirt, relieve the pressure I can tell is building, but her rules stay my advance.

“It’s kind of hard with your mouth on me.”

I smirk. “I could stop.”

As I draw back, she reaches a hand up and clasps the back of my head. “Don’t you dare.”

Chuckling, I obey, bending back to put my lips on her.

“I just…there’s so much I’m responsible for, Shane. Everyone at Athena, all of our clients. And even though it sounds silly, I feel some level of responsibility to the VC and startup communities, female founders, groups of people I care about and want to support. Any given moment, I’m thinking of how to better serve and support them…”

“Sounds exhausting.”

“It is. But on my knees for you, for Linc…”

My cock thickens against her backside at the image, burned into my retinas after seeing her in that exact position on my bedroom floor.

“When I’m there, with you…everything else falls away. I’m not responsible for anything. I don’t have to make any decisions. I can just be…Lex.” Her voice cracks. “I’m not the founder of the most successful VC in the Bay or the sponsor of some event or the mentor of a rising entrepreneur…”

I hold her and breathe her in, feeling the impact of the emotions rolling through her as she takes a shaky breath.

“It’s the only time I’ve ever felt like I’m enough.”

Chapter 21

Lex

Am I crying? Shane has stilled behind me, his lips on my skin as he holds me and listens. I can’t make sense of how I feel. My clit throbs from his sensuous touches, the feel of him hard and warm around me. But my head is a mess, my pulse thundering in my ears. A hot, wet tear curves down my cheek as I put words to something that has simmered unacknowledged for weeks.

“You are enough,” Shane rasps.

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