Page 52 of By the Fae

I raised an eyebrow, keen to show I was asking a question without actually speaking it.

“Holly, baby girl, there is so much about him. I’m still debating whether I want you to hate him as much as I do or whether I keep you in the dark, so that when our deal is over, you run to him like you always planned to.”

It felt like I was at Bordalis InterRealm Games Convention circa thirteen years ago all over again. Like my dreams were being ripped away from beneath me. Same guy doing the ripping, too.

“Actually,” I said. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to know. I think.”

What if it was bad? What if it was really bad? Was it wrong to want to stay ignorant? Also, I was pretty sure it wasn’t for the reason I was trying to convince myself. There was far too much to unpack there. I’d need a bath, and oils, and candles, and a good few hours, and maybe I wanted to wait until this thing with Goldie was over.

Perhaps if I found myself hating Seth, this ‘deal’ would be over too.

And I wasn’t ready for it to be over. Because maybe, just maybe, I wanted a little more time with the grumpy blonde.

The thought both terrified and thrilled me.

I took my knickers off and threw those at him too. Goldie caught them, smiled, and tucked them into his sweatpants pocket.

“What’s your question?” he said. “Is it Goldie, will you please suck my clit until my screaming brings the plaster down from the ceiling? Because the answer is, I thought you’d never ask.”

My cheeks felt as though the fake flames had leapt from the corner of the bed onto my face.

“Uh, actually, I was going to say . . . Do we have to have sex?”

He didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Of course we don’t. You don’t feel ready for that? We can build up to it if you want. Or not. I might be the one telling you what to do and how to do it, but you’re very much in control here.”

I felt my shoulders ease in relief. “I want to,” I said. “Eventually. Because . . .” I couldn’t quite figure out how to finish my sentence. Because I definitely wanted that. Or, at least, my body wanted it. My mind wasn’t there yet. “Just, uh, not today. Let’s do what you said. Let’s work up to it.”

Goldie took my hand in his. “As you wish.” He brought my knuckles to his lips. “Besides, there’s a lot more to sex than filling holes.”

“Yeah?” I said, my voice coming out a little squeakier than I meant it to.

“Anything can be erotic with the right person.”

With the right person. Had he intended to say that? Did he even realise he did?

He turned my hand over, pressed my palm to his face, and laid a kiss directly in its centre, immediately chasing the kiss with his tongue. The action, comparatively tame compared with last night, should not have elicited the reaction it did from me. I melted, my brain dissolved to mush, feverish need cramped my abdomen, and all rational thought abandoned me.

I was in trouble.

He took my forefinger into his mouth and gently sucked, his tongue a soft, warm caress against my skin. Something between a whimper and a squeak left my throat. The corners of Goldie’s mouth ticked up in a smile, but he didn’t relent his ministrations. Taking his tongue up the seam of my finger, he flicked the fleshy pad in the middle and ran it down the next one.

If he’d have asked for sex right then, I would’ve handed it to him on a plate. Heck, I’d even have rushed to the kitchen in my birthday suit to find some kind of garnish to accompany his meal.

He moved his face close to mine and laid a gentle kiss at the juncture of my jaw, just below my ear.

“You’re going to make yourself come, and I’m going to watch,” Goldie whispered.

I didn’t argue, didn’t want to argue. It sounded hotter than any fantasy involving Seth I had conjured myself over the past few months. I nodded, because words were broken, and let him ease me down onto my back.

He settled on his knees between my open thighs and placed the hand that he’d just made love to with his mouth over my sex.

I was so wet. Wetter than I think I’d ever been. My body so ready to take his. Later, it was going to have serious words with my brain. Instinct must have taken over as my fingers began moving of their own accord, softly circling my clit. I hadn’t masturbated in months, possibly years. What with sharing a room and a squeaky set of bunk beds with my sister. And I’d never done it in front of anyone before. But, Gods, it was so freaking hot.

Goldie’s lips parted. The tiniest crease flexed his brow. But other than the rise and fall of his bare chest, he remained statuesque.

I tried to slow myself down. Tried to close my eyes and pretend I was at home or anywhere else and that I didn’t have an audience. But every time I peeked through my lids, he gave me an almost imperceptible nod of encouragement. And every time, it sent a thrill right through my body. Like a bolt of lightning through my spine, cramping my stomach, and setting my clit alight. Teetering me on the edge of an orgasm.

Perhaps it was because he was watching. And from the need in his green eyes, the slight hiss to his breath, and the bulge straining against the front of his sweatpants, I’d say he liked what he saw.

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