Page 44 of Canvas of Lies
My hand moved away, drawing a frustrated whimper from her, but I hooked it around her knee and positioned her to my satisfaction, with one foot on the bed and her thighs spread wide. Despite her clear disapproval of the interruption, the new position gave me greater access when I started stroking again, circling her clit with my fingertips. Kat groaned, arching back against my chest, though her hips remained locked against mine.
When my teeth grazed her shoulder, she came apart under my fingers. A sharp cry burst from her lips, the sound echoing in my blood. I eased her back down to the bed, my touch soothing now, caressing the muscles that still quaked with her release.
The next few thrusts were lazy, languid, as I gauged her recovery. Eventually, I felt her shift to brace herself against the mattress, pressing her hips backward. She made a sound somewhere between a purr and a moan, and my lips tipped upward.
Lightly, as though it wasn’t killing me to maintain my last shred of control, I said, “How do you want this? Say the words, and I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Kat bit her lip and rocked back against me. “Harder!”
Thank fuck.
Hearing her say it was almost as erotic as the sight of her flushed skin shivering in the throes of passion. My hands locked on her hips and I took her, hard and fast, just as she’d requested.Every gasping breath, every muffled groan drove me closer to the brink. She met me thrust for thrust, and when I knew I couldn’t hold out much longer, I took advantage of the leg I’d shifted to reach around and tease her again, to drive her toward another peak.
It took barely more than a press of my finger for her to convulse around me, her muscles squeezing so tight it triggered my own orgasm. My shuddering groan layered over her hoarse cry. Kat managed to keep her arms braced underneath her only until the pulsing within her faded, then she collapsed forward onto the bed.
“I’m never moving again,” she mumbled, her voice muffled by the bedding.
I laughed softly as I crawled into the bed alongside her, then I gathered her boneless limbs against me, tucking her head under my chin and smoothing damp tendrils of hair back from her face.
“I think I can get on board with that,” I replied.
“That was . . . hot. Incredibly hot. Don’t you dare think it means you can boss me around outside of the bedroom, but holy shit. In bed, I think I love it.”
My low hum of agreement reverberated under her ear, so she snuggled in closer and didn’t bother trying to keep her eyes open as I stroked her hair. Every inch of my body relaxed against her loose frame, floating on complete and utter satisfaction.
“It’s different with you,” she said drowsily.
My fingers paused for only a heartbeat before continuing the soothing path along her wild tumble of curls. “What is?”
“Everything,” she mumbled, exhaling a long, exhausted sigh. “Everything is different.”
My arms tightened around her as she drifted into sleep, but those words echoed in my mind for a long time while I lay there in the dark.
They were terrifying, exhilarating—and almost certainly true.
Chapter Sixteen
Kat
Myalarmclock,oneof those old-fashioned types with the clanging bell on top that I picked up from a yard sale a few years back, startled Nico into bolting upright the next morning, dislodging my sleepy self from where I’d been curled into his side. I merely mumbled a few choice words as I grabbed the clock and made the obnoxiously loud ringing stop.
Nico panted like his heart might beat straight out of his chest. “How the hell can you stand that thing?” he asked, flopping back down beside me.
I shrugged one bare shoulder and buried my face against a pillow. After a few minutes, he recovered enough to start drawing lazy swirls over my shoulder blade with his fingertip until I inched closer and tugged at the blanket he’d covered uswith sometime during the night, exposing more of my back to his ministrations.
“You really are a kitten at heart, just begging to be petted. Every time I touch you, you start purring. It’s satisfying to know I have such an effect on you.”
“Just keep rubbing,” I muttered, but the soft rumble of pleasure in my throat brought a broad smile to his face as I peeked up at him.
When I shifted onto my side, his caresses grew increasingly intimate and his lips followed the twisting paths his fingers had sketched across my skin. I hadn’t strayed from my morning routine in years, barring our weekend together, but I couldn’t summon a word of protest, either, as I arched into his touch.
After finally playing out Nico’s shower fantasy, which resulted in us running even later, we walked to the Keeper together. He grinned smugly when I ordered a heartier meal than usual at the coffee shop, choosing a breakfast burrito over a bagel.
When I magnanimously waved my hand for him to pay for both our orders, I lifted my chin. “Seems only fair. It’s your fault I worked up an appetite.”
“I’m more than willing to take responsibility for my actions, especially when I enjoyed every single second of it.” He smirked as he held open the door for me.
“Mmm. Me too.”
