Page 29 of Spar
He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the ends until they stood straight up. “I don’t know what to say to him or how to help. I feel helpless.”
She stepped closer, surprised by his admission. It felt like an offering of sorts, a glimpse into the emotions of a man who never came across as anything less than in control.
“You don’t have to say anything. Not yet. Just be there for him. When he’s ready for more, you’ll know it.”
“I hope you’re right. I meant to talk to you about him staying here,” Chris said, a guilty looking crossing his face. “If you’re not comfortable with it, I’ll set him up with Charlie.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Tori said more harshly than she’d intended. “Travis is going to need you. He’s going to need both of you, and I’m going to make sure you two hear him out and stay by his side until he figures his shit out.”
He smiled and reached out to her. He ran a thumb over her lips.
“Micromanaging me, huh?”
“If that’s what it takes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He reached up and grabbed her wrists then held them together with one hand above her head.
She felt his need for control and gave it over to him willingly.
“Slide your feet apart,” he rasped in her ear.
She obeyed him without hesitation, and he rewarded her by crashing his lips down on hers and claiming her mouth.
He moved a leg between hers and pushed her back against the wall. His kiss alone could set her on fire, but she wanted more — needed more.
She arched her body, using his leg to press against her aching core.
He chuckled quietly. “Impatient, sweetheart?”
She answered by rubbing against his leg and deepening the kiss.
Chris slid a hand up under her shirt and teased a nipple through her bra.
She tried to move her hands, desperate to get them on his body, but he tightened his grip. Her strength was lacking when compared to his.
He continued to explore her underneath her shirt, one nipple at a time until she thought she might come just from the sensation alone.
“Open your eyes,” he said.
When she did, she found his gaze hooded and needy, a far cry from the confident and demanding way he commanded her body.
“You belong to me.”
She started to argue, to let him know that she belonged to no one but herself. She’d spent the better part of her adult years proving to everyone that she could take care of herself.
But maybe she wasn’t as autonomous as she wanted to believe. She wanted to tell him yes. To scream it.
He looked at her, obviously waiting for acknowledgment, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know how long this would last, and if she gave even a tiny piece of her heart away, she wouldn’t survive it when she returned to her apartment and life went back to normal.
She did her best to communicate her feelings with a look before she moved her mouth back to his.
They fumbled until the backs of her legs touched the side of the bed. He let go of her hands long enough for her to slide his shirt up over his head, revealing his hard-earned body. She hurried her hands at his jeans, releasing the button and sliding the zipper down around his bulge.
She looped her thumbs into the band of his boxers and pulled both them and his jeans down in one fell swoop as she kneeled before him.
Tori took him into her mouth, feeling oddly liberated on her knees in front of him. He let her take control, only guiding her by the faint pressure he placed on both sides of her temple as he worked his hands through her hair.
He moaned through clenched teeth and pulled her up to her feet. He lifted her onto the bed. He pulled at her pants, one leg at a time, kissing her calf and up to the apex of her thighs.
