Page 64 of Caught from Behind

“I’m fine,” I say?—

Or start to say, anyway, because her snort is loud enough to reach my ears even over the shower running in the background.

My skin is sticky from the steam, but I ignore it in lieu of talking with Ella.

One look from her and the dirty feeling leftover from the phone call, the one that had me wanting to stand under the stream of water and wash it all off—the failure, the frustration, the fear—is gone.

I would so much rather get lost in this woman than talk about the game.

About what came after.

“Riggs,” she says, albeit gently. “I know that’s bullshit, honey.”

Unfortunately, she’s too smart for her own good.

I prop my phone up again, ignore the words jabbing at my brain, and smile at her. “Maybe so,” I admit. “But I’ve got my beautiful Ella’s hungry eyes on me”—I wrap my hand around my dick and it hardens further at the tiny hitch in her breath—“and she wants to suck my cock.”

Her flash of a wicked grin is like a gorgeous storm, like a fucking siren calling me to shore.

It would be terrifying if I hadn’t already dived overboard, strong, sure strokes taking me right toward the rocks.

“I do want to suck your cock,” she murmurs. “But, unfortunately, we need to be in the same room for that.”

“Or you could get naked and we can get creative over video call,” I proposition.

Her eyes sparkle, but she slowly shakes her head. “Baby,” she says.

Just baby.

That’s it.

But I hear the undertones in those four letters.

She’s not going to let this go.

Dammit.

I open my mouth, but she beats me to the punch again. Only this time, it’s in typical Ella form—surprising the shit out of me with the next words that come out of her mouth.

“I’m terrified.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask in a rush, heart clenching as I squint behind her, trying to see beyond the bright kitchen lights and into the darkness beyond. “Is someone there?—”

“Not like that,” she says softly, but evenly enough that the momentary panic fades and I’m able to focus on what she’s saying and not some invisible threat behind her. “I…well, honey…” She winces. “Frankly, I thought this was going to be just hot sex for a few days, maybe for a few months, and then we’d go our separate ways.”

The rebuttal rises up into the back of my throat—mine—but I don’t let it escape.

And, thankfully, she keeps talking.

“But I think that was delusion speaking because it could never just be that with you,” she whispers. “With you, it’s always been something more.”

I pick up my phone again, trying to study her face on the tiny screen. “Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?”

“It’s not,” she murmurs, eyes sliding closed for a long moment. “It’s just…”

I brace, holding perfectly still, knowing she’s about to give me another precious piece of herself, another gift that is so fucking valuable, it’s priceless.

“I never wanted that,” she whispers.

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