Page 67 of Between the Lines

I give in, slapping her clit once more, and when her thighs press together, I know she’s about to burst. I stand, fist my cock and pump it a few times before shoving it between her thighs.

“Hold these sweet thighs tight for me. This is going to be quick.”

I rut between her thighs, one hand playing with her clit while the other lands a rough smack to her ass cheek. She’s coming again already, and it’s a good thing, too, because with the second smack,she cries out, “Oh, fuck,Nathan, that’s so good, don’t stop,don’t stop,” and I’m about to bust.

“Can I—God, Claire.”

“Come for me, Nathan. Anywhere, I just need you to?—”

She doesn’t get to finish her sentence. I pull out from between her sweet thighs, fist myself, and explode on her skin in three pumps.

My head hangs, both hands resting on her ass where I’m subconsciously rubbing soothing circles over the marks I’ve left. When our breathing evens, I bend to kiss the dip of her back.

“Don’t move.”

She nods lazily, and I return in a few minutes with a washcloth. Once we’re both cleaned up, and I’ve tucked her back into those sinful leggings, I turn her over and press my lips softly to hers. It doesn’t take long for her tongue to twist around mine, and though I give in for a moment, I pull away, dotting her face with simple sweet kisses. The opposite of how I usually am. She’s challenging me on every level but I can’t stop diving into the deep end of our unknown.

When I pull away, she’s flushed, my favorite shade of cotton candy pink.

“Master of the silent orgasm, huh?”

Pink fades to red immediately, and when she tries to squirm away, I shift to pull her into my lap until she’s curled up under my chin.

“Excuse me, you’re the one whoorderedme to be loud!”

“You’re the one who said you were reading dirty books on my recliner.”

We both laugh, my hands squeezing up and over her shoulders.

“I was uh… serious, you know.” When I pinch my brows in question, she continues. “I was thinking. Aboutyou. I think I might do it too much, but I can’t help myself, Nathan.”

She cups my face, her thumb tracing the divot in my chin while her nose grazes the side of mine. I sigh.Content.

“I didn’t intend for this to happen tonight, but I’m glad it did.”

Her smile is gracious, but melts into mischief as she says, “I’d be lying to myself if I said I haven’t been hoping this might have happened, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it. I don’t know if I was expecting that mouth on you either, Mr. Harding.”

I grunt, my hands pulsing on her sides before I remind myself thatwe need to slow down. I tilt her chin up to me with my thumb, my gaze turning serious.

“Are you okay with that?” I ask.

Her eyes both soften and widen, and she nods, a littleMhmescaping.

“And you were okay with…”

My touch shifts, and when I cup her ass and squeeze gently, her eyes flutter shut, the sound caught in her throat sin in a symphony.

“Maybe a little too much. Keep that up and you might never get me to leave.”

My eyes flare, but I understand exactly what she’s saying. I can’t incite another round.

Instead, I kiss her temple, wrapping my arms around her to hold her there. I don’t want Claire to leave. We can gather up all of the leftovers to make a smorgasbord midnight snack. Put on a movie, or keep reading. We could sit here and talk, about her issues at home, or where she sees herself going next. The thought of her leaving River Valley both fills me with pride and chokes me. But as I’m building up the courage to ask her to stay, to maybe crack open the surface of all that I’ve kept bottled inside, she shifts against me, holding me tighter.

“I should go. And before you protest, it has nothing to do with you.” She tilts her head up to me and cups my chin, stroking the five o’clock shadow that I let become unruly in her presence. “I have some things to patch up at home, and I think rebelling by staying here isn’t fair to you or to me.”

She presses a chaste kiss to my lips, and it takes everything in me not to hold her here. In my lap. In my study. In my arms.

“So, next time, I’m thinking I bring over some things to cook you a real meal.”

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