Page 52 of Duke's Daring Bookworm
I didn’t, though. I couldn’t.
It felt?—
“Oh, fuck,” I moaned as he circled me, gently at first, andthen increasing pressure until his finger slipped inside. Somehow, just that finger, just the tip, felt massive. It stole all my attention. I didn’t know whether to move away, to move into it, to scream, cry, beg for more.
Slowly, he pumped his finger into me, not demanding more, as he continued to lap at my clit.
“Duke, I don’t—oh, fuck. That’s—” Another orgasm crashed into me, hitting me all at once, the intensity of it scary and amazing.
He chuckled as he pulled his finger from my ass. I had no bones—they fled with my orgasm—and I laid my head down on the cool counter, my eyes closed as I basked in the afterglow.
“Are you going to fuck me now?” I asked when I realized I had been laying on the counter in a daze for too long.
“No.” He picked me up and carried me to the bedroom where he stripped me down and slid into me while he cupped my face gently, placing soft kisses on my eyelids, my nose, my forehead, the corner of my mouth, everywhere he could reach. He moved in me, slow and easy, like he had nowhere he would rather be than right here, connected to me, loving me.
When I came this time, it was as slow and easy as he moved, rolling through me like a soft breeze as he buried his nose in my neck and clung tight to me for his own release.
I didn’t know sex could be… beautiful, but now I understood why some women cried. A rebellious part of me wanted to rage against my stipulations in the deal.
One month. Just friends.
Except this didn’t feel like just friends. This felt desperate and hopeful all at once. I felt precious in his arms, and I never wanted to leave.
Chapter Nineteen
Duke?” Lily’s quiet voice broke the silence of the night. She lay curled in my arms, her back to mine, and her unicorn pillow clutched tight in her arms. She had been so excited when she saw I packed it.
“Yeah, baby?” I pulled her even closer than before. Her head was tucked tight beneath mine, exactly where she should always be. I hadn’t been able to spend the night with her like this since that first time, and my bed felt empty every night that I fell into it and she wasn’t there.
“Thank you for my pillow. I don’t even know how you hid that from me.” She pulled it tighter as she pushed back against me more, like she wanted to merge our bodies into one.
I laughed softly and strands of her hair tickled my neck.
“Billionaire superpower.” If she didn’t realize I just packed it while she was in the bathroom, who was I to ruin the magic of it?
“Oh, right.” She fell silent again, but her breathing was still too fast for her to be asleep.
“Duke?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you for today and… and I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I don’t—I try not to let it out. I try to keep it in, it’s not fair to other people to have to deal with me like that, so I make sure they don’t have to know just how hard it is for me sometimes.” She spoke all this like it was a secret, like when we would camp out in the tree house in her backyard on hot summer nights and tell each other scary stories.
I wanted to roll her over and kiss away whatever nonsense had her apologizing to me, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t help.
“I’m not sorry,” I said eventually. It was the truth. “It’s what best friends are for, and I’m glad I could be there for you.”
“Why were you there?” I’d given up on sleep and ran small circles on her stomach instead, letting myself feel her warm skin, so alive and intoxicating.
“Why does anyone go to the grocery store?” I didn’t want her to know I was there to see someone. She would get the wrong idea, and I didn’t want her doubting herself, especially not right now.
“You have a personal chef and shopper and whatever else.” Her voice was that same teasing tone she used anytime she made fun of my wealth. God, I loved it so much.
“Don’t get mad at me,” I said. This is Lily. She was my best friend first. Maybe she would understand.
She abandoned her pillow and turned over to face me, her hand coming up to cup my jaw.
“There’s very little I could be mad at you for, especially at a grocery store.”
