Page 85 of Beautiful Thing

I allow my hand to travel down the front of her body, slipping between her thighs to play with her clit. “No, Belle. You’re my adorable little chihuahua, and I like it.”

With just a few slow swipes and gentle plucks of my fingers, Layla forgets all about our disagreement and she’s breathing hard again.

I’m done arguing, too. I go back to singing her praises. “You’re hot as fuck on the outside. But the essence of your beauty comes from inside, Belle.”

Eyes connected in the finger-smudged mirror, we stare drunkenly at each other. I stuff two fingers into her opening and her walls instantly contract around my knuckles.

“Your body is just the container that holds all the beautiful things you are.”

I whisper by her ear as her breathing grows increasingly hectic. Twisting and curling and probing, I roughly fuck her with my fingers, the sounds of her wetness echoing in the room.

I press the pads of my fingers against her tender g-spot, slowly curling inward. Layla coughs out a startled moan.

And she crumbles in my hands.

As she falls apart, I admire her twisted facial features in the mirror. I’m honored to witness the breathtaking sight of her coming again.

“Everything about you is beautiful, Layla. Don’t ever fucking let anyone tell you otherwise.”

As the echoes of her orgasm melt away, shudders move through her torso and her knees sag. I patiently hold her against me. As she recovers, I hold her like I’d never let her fall.

I reach for a washcloth on the shelf beside the sink. I dampen it with warm water and I use it to wipe her up. When she’s strong enough to stand on her own, I pull on my boxers and I grab my flannel shirt that’s hanging on the back of the bathroom door.

I hold the shirt open for her. “Arms out,” I say, and Layla complies, stepping into me and slipping her arms through the sleeves.

She stands there blushing as I fasten all the buttons, starting at the bottom.

“There. All done.” I give her naked ass a playful swat.

Layla yelps when I slip one arm around her back and the other behind her legs, scooping her off her feet. She clings to me, giggling into my neck as I carry her to her room.

I’m careful not to disturb Sky in his crib as I open the bedroom door. Quietly, I deposit her in her bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin.

This. This is how I should have handled things all those nights ago when she tried to kiss me in the kitchen. Instead of pushing her away, I should have pulled her closer and made her feel like the most gorgeous woman in the world.

I can only pray that I’ve redeemed myself tonight.

She smiles sleepily at me, stroking my sticky beard. “Good night, Lover Man.”

I repress a chuckle. “Good night, Belle.” My lips graze her cheek.

Her eyes flutter shut. Her breaths go deep and steady before I’ve even made it to the threshold.

I still have no fucking clue what I got myself into tonight. But I’m going to enjoy this high while it lasts. Because I’ve got a feeling that tomorrow, I’ll feel the sting.

34

LAYLA

Iwake up the next morning to the sound of wood-chopping in the distance. Before I’ve even opened my eyes, a smile stretches across my face.Archer…

Crawling across the bed to the window, I peek through the curtains. Archer is nothing but a tiny figure in the distance, swinging his ax in the woods. But just the sight of him sends a spark of happiness through my body.

And I don’t know why, but everything feels brighter, more colorful right now. The sky. The trees. The snow. It’s all blindingly beautiful this morning.

I release the curtains and flop onto my back.Gosh—I really needed that orgasm.

And what an orgasm it was.Twoorgasms, to be precise.

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