Page 41 of Songbird
She shakes her head and avoids my eyes. “No.”
“But… you’ve been in a relationship for six years.”
Her nod is small and embarrassed. “Uh-huh.”
“He never… And you didn’t…?”
“Nope. It was never high on his list of priorities.”
My jaw clenches and I glare at the white wall over the top of Rosie’s head. That selfish asshole. That piece of shit who had the most wonderful woman in his bed and he couldn’t even fuck her worth a damn.
“But you liked it?” I ask her, lifting her chin so she has to look me in the eye.
“Yes,” she admits quickly, and I smirk at the feverish thirst in her bright blue eyes.
“And you’d like to do it again?”
She nods, small and quick, which makes me wonder if she thinks I mean right now. My dick’s hard enough that I wouldn’t need much persuading.
“So do I.” I lean in until our lips are a hairsbreadth apart. “And guess what, Songbird?”
“What?” she replies.
“As long as you’re safe, there is no higher priority for me than your pleasure. So, for as long as you’re here, and for as long as you want me to, I’m going to make you come… and come… and come… to make up for all the orgasms you’ve been denied.” Her body trembles in a full-body shiver that makes me smile. “What do you say to that?”
“Okay,” she whispers, her lips close enough for her breath to tickle.
I cover her mouth with mine and kiss her slowly. It’s nothing like what we just did. This one is slow and deliberate. We both know what we’re doing this time, and we both know that this kiss is real.
I might have made Rosie come, but she’s given me a gift today without knowing it. She’s made it possible to believe there might be something I can give her after all. Nothing that will last and nothing worth leaving her life for, but something she might takewith her when she goes. I can teach her what she’s worth and what she should expect to get from the man who loves her.
fourteen
Rosie
I’mtryingtoconcentrateon the email from my record label, I really am, but the words on the screen swim like tiny black fish in a sea of white, and no sooner do I bring a sentence into focus than the letters fuzz into oblivion again.
I can’t stop thinking about what happened yesterday in the laundry room. Part of me is mortified I could be so brazen, the other part is desperate to do it again, and I can’t help but wonder… if it was that good grinding on Finn’s lap, what would it feel like to have his hands between my legs? His tongue on my clit? His cock deep inside me?
“You almost done there, Songbird?”
I startle at the question and the sudden appearance of Finn, who’s leaning on the back of the opposite dining chair. His gentle rumble is edged with amusement, and his tiny smirk is insolent in a way that makes my stomach twist. He knows what I’m thinking about. I know he knows what I’m thinking about. What I don’t know is when he’s going to make good on his promise, and I can’t very well ask when he’s going to make me come again.
I’m alady.
I glance at the screen and click through to the email about applicants for my new security team. Finn was insistent I look at it this morning, saying he needed to respond to his military contact, and I begrudgingly agreed. There are three résumés attached and they all look fine to me. To be honest, if they’ve passed Finn’s check, I’m happy enough to hire them, but that would mean leaving here and going back to my life in LA. Finalizing my separation from Chip. Rebuilding my life with me at the helm and not him. Rebranding myself as an independent businesswoman in this industry, one who is creative and capable and a force to be reckoned with. When I ran from Violet’s studio, those goals were pushing me forward, but not anymore. Now I’m searching for reasons to delay.
I minimize Finn’s email and close the laptop with a snap. “I’m done.”
Finn raises his right eyebrow. “And?”
“And none of them are right for the job.” I shrug. “Sorry.”
His mouth pulls into a knowing smile that warms me in unusual places. “You don’t sound very sorry.”
I lift my chin and stare down my nose at him across the dining table. “You don’t know my mind.”
Finn chuckles. “You might be surprised.” He straightens and rolls his head toward the loft. “Upstairs,” he orders, tone firm and eyes hot. “Now.”
