Page 33 of Cardinal

My own chest rumbled with a deep groaning growl when her hands slipped around my neck and gripped it before she moved her hands across my shoulders, pushing my jacket off. Goosebumps erupted over my body at the feeling of her nails through the thin material of my dress shirt as she raked them down my body. Her tiny fists bunched the end of my shirt up, pulling it out of my pants before her nimble fingers made quick work of my buttons.

"Juliet." I groaned softly against her lips before taking them again in a heated kiss.

Breaking the kiss, Juliet rested her head against mine to catch her breath as her hands traveled along the grooves of my muscles. Nervously, she licked her lips as she looked at me with unsure eyes. "I…" She started with a shaky breath. "I want to taste you, but I'm scared."

Smiling softly, I let go of her hair to take her hand, bringing it up to kiss the back of it before sliding it down my body with a deep exhale and making her palm me through my pants. "Do not force yourself. It will only do more harm than good. If touching me like this is all you can manage, then that is great progress on your part, and I won't be complaining one bit."

Frowning, Juliet's eyes softened with sadness as she moved her hand to the waistband of my pants, hooking her fingers around it. "But I want to make you feel good. It doesn't feel fair."

"Oh, Juliet, principessa, no." I spoke in a hushed tone as I pulled her hand out to hold. "Sex isn't some exchange, and don't you ever let anyone make you feel that way. You give and take what you are comfortable with, end of discussion. Don't let anyone guilt trip you, nor do you guilt trip yourself into going way out of your comfort zone like that. If they are a decent person, then they will understand and accept your decision."

Looking deeply into her eyes with my tender gaze, I stroked the back of her hand. "I can handle my own boner if you can't go any further, and I won't hold anything against you if you choose not to do anything beyond what we have done. And honestly, I don't care if you 'created a problem' for me, and shit, that doesn't mean you have an obligation to 'take care' of it. That should go beyond me, as well." Pausing to chuckle, I shook my head playfully, "I mean, lord, have mercy on your partner because they'll have to face my wrath, especially if they mistreat you." The playfulness in my voice dulled out to a stern edge. "Point is, don't let anyone make you think you have to take care of their own dicks or cunts." Pressing my lips against her forehead, I let my kiss linger momentarily as I collected my thoughts. "Yeah, it sucks, but that shouldn't be put above your own comfort and consent."

Leaning back to a smile, I curled a finger under her chin to tilt her head up. "Am I understood?"

I wasn't about to go cry to the world about not getting my dick sucked or wet in a pussy. Honestly, the men who complained about that shit were boys, not men, in my books.

With a hesitant smile, Juliet nodded her head in response.

"Words, principessa." I demanded in a soft but firm voice, making her eyes widen slightly as her cheeks flushed up.

"Yes, sir, understood." Her response had shivers of pleasure tingling down my spine.

God, she would make the perfect sub.

Her eyes deviated from mine to roam my body along with her fingers. Then, once she got down to my waist, her eyes widened momentarily before narrowing with cheeky curiosity as she looked up at me with a smile that she tried to hold back. "Do you seriously have a tattoo pointing to your crotch?" I could hear the strain in her voice as she tried to hold back her chuckle or laugh.

Rolling my eyes, I pushed my open shirt aside to expose my abdomen to her fully. "It wasn't on purpose. The tail just kind of ended up where it did." I mused with a chuckle as I leaned back so the lights of the room could hit my exposed body.

Okay, maybe having the pointed tail of my tattoo wrapped around my waist to my front side and pointing downward to my nether regions was done a little on purpose. But hey, I was only a stupid sixteen-year-old teenager who honestly thought it was funny at the time. If someone wanted to chase my tail, then they could follow it and get fucked.

Juliet didn't need to know that, though; no one did. This would be a secret I would take to the grave with me.

Sitting up straight, she traced the tattoo's outline with the tip of her finger before following the dip of my V-line. "Can I see the full tattoo?" She asked with a voice and face full of curiosity.

As tempting as it was to shed my shirt fully, I reluctantly shook my head at her. "Later, I have to go get ready soon, and I'm afraid that if I get more undressed for you, I will get too distracted and cut into my warmup." I apologized with a smile before leaning in and kissing her forehead.

"What do you have to warm up for?" She questioned with a tilt of her head as she settled her hands on the waistband of my pants again.

"My match," I answered kind of bluntly.

Juliet's eyes widened slightly in shock, and she looked at me in a way that silently asked if I was serious or not. When I didn't say anything in return and only offered a smirk and shrug of my shoulders, she huffed and frowned at me worriedly. "You're going to fight? Why? What if you get hurt or killed?"

I didn't mean to laugh at her, but she was just too cute, fretting over me and all. "Juliet, I've been fighting since I was in high school, and I am still standing strong." Reassuring her with a smile, I draped my arms around her waist and pulled her back in for a quick kiss. "And I'm not being a cocky bastard saying I'm unbeatable. It's a damn fact."

I haven't lost a business match yet, nor do I ever plan to.

Not like the people I fought and punished weren't fighters by any means, so I wasn't worried about getting beat. Even if they were fighters, I had over three decades of training and conditioning that I still kept going on a daily.

Juliet's throat bobbed with her swallow as her eyes grew nervous. My mouth opened to ask her about her mind, but I quickly shut it when her hands started to undo my belt and pants. "Juliet, you don't—"

"Shh." Her boldness took me aback when she pressed a finger against my lips. "Let me, please." She begged softly as she played with the waistband of my boxers. "I want to give you a little luck."

Fuck.

Shuddering, I relaxed my hips into her as I leaned back a little on the bench to give her some room to work.

A sharp, flabbergasted gasp followed the sharp slap of my cock against my stomach the moment Juliet peeled my boxers back, and my rock-hard cock sprung out. I had to hold my tongue to keep myself from laughing at how shocked and amazed Juliet's wide eyes stared at my twitching monstrosity.

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