He closed his eyes, a soft gasp passing his lips as she wrapped her fingers around him. “How about I show you?”

***

When Eliza climbed on top of him, Beckham worried that he really was going to have an embarrassing moment. Every bit of control he usually had in these situations was shot right now. Eliza was beautiful, sure, but he’d already known that. No, the thing that was killing him was how responsive she was. Every touch, every taste came with a big reward. A shudder. A sigh. A hungry look that made him weak in the knees. It made him want to show her every fun way he could make her feel good. He wanted to eat up her reactions like candy.

Eliza braced her hands on the bed, leaning over him, and pressed her lips together in mock concentration. “Hmm, where to start? Where to start?”

He smiled and reached up to tug her hair free from the bun. It tumbled down, the ends tickling his chest like the light touch of fingernails. His cock flexed against her and she smiled, looking enormously pleased with his reaction.

“I promise not to make you wait much longer,” she said, not sounding at all apologetic.

“Take your time, Eli. I’m not exactly suffering here.”

“Then I’m not doing my job.” She leaned down to kiss him, and he put his hand to the nape of her neck, deepening the kiss. The feel of her tongue against his sent fire burning through his veins again, but right when he was about to lose his mind, she broke away and shifted her attention.

The second her teeth touched his shoulder, he nearly lost it. His head pressed back into the pillow, a deep groan escaping him. He hadn’t known if she’d been joking about biting him, but he was all for her making good on the promise. He hadn’t ended up with all this ink without some appreciation for a little pain. He threaded his fingers in her hair and gripped, letting her still lead the way, but liking the idea of giving her a little taste of roughness back. She made a rumbly sound in the back of her throat, letting him know she approved, and then she ran her tongue along the Marcus Aurelius quote burned into his shoulder:The best revenge is to not be like your enemy.

“Eli.” He murmured her name like a prayer.

But she was only just getting started. She traced his ink with her tongue, her hair tickling his skin like a hundred feathers as she worked her way down, waking up every nerve ending along the way and making his cock ache like it’d never been touched before. Eli was nothing if not thorough and detail-oriented—or maybe she just thoroughly enjoyed torturing him—but he was a happy victim. There were worse ways to die.

She sucked his nipple piercing into the hot cavern of her mouth, tracing his ribs with her fingernails, and then dipped down to circle his navel with the tip of her tongue. He used every ounce of willpower he had to stay still, to let her do whatever she liked, but when she dragged her teeth along the vee of his pelvic bone, the tip of her nose tracing a cool line against sensitive skin, his body lit on fire. He automatically reached down, squeezing the base of his cock, keeping himself in check. No way was he losing it before he had a chance to be inside Eliza.

She lifted her head, her eyes sparkling in the low light as if she’d accomplished exactly what she set out to do, and handed him the condom. “Don’t make me wait any longer.”

He quickly tore the packet open and reached down to roll it on, loving the way that Eliza watched him. He gripped her hips and guided her upward, loving the way her hair spilled around her shoulders, the way her breasts rose and fell with quick breaths. This image would be burned into his brain. He wasn’t sure exactly how they’d landed here in this moment but he was so glad it was now. Eliza lowered herself, slow and deliberate, and the snug, sweet heat of her body enveloped him one delicious inch at a time, stealing his breath when he was finally seated deep.

Sweet fucking hell.Did it usually feel this good?

He wasn’t going to last long. Not this time. He hadn’t realized how long he’d secretly been fantasizing about this, and the fantasy paled next to the reality. But he damn sure was going to make sure she came again and then next time…Next time.Right then he knew there would be a next time if Eliza was game. Because this wasn’t going to be enough for him. One night of this was only going to make him want her more.

Figuring out all the ways he could make her moan was going to take a while. He looked forward to working his way through that scavenger hunt. What sound does she make when I bite her here? What noise will she make if I lick her there?

They started to move together, the rhythm of their bodies falling into perfect sync. He held eye contact, loving the dark look in her eyes, the smoky heat there. He reached out to stroke her where their bodies met, relishing the way her thighs instantly clenched around him. She gasped his name and tipped her head forward, bracing her hands against his shoulders and rolling her hips in a way that made him almost choke on his tongue.

“Fuck. Eli…” His words sounded strangled.

“Beck.”

Her body tightened around him like a fist and her nails dug into his shoulders. She cried out, her orgasm sweeping her under, and he closed his eyes and lost himself to her.Eli. Eli. Eli.

Later, when Eliza was stretched out next to him, their bodies both sapped and the buzz of orgasm starting to fade into sleepiness, the panic began to creep in to take the place of all those good things he’d been feeling. He didn’t want to be like the guys who’d ghosted her, didn’t want to give her even a hint of that kind of rejection, but he also knew he couldn’t stay over. He didn’t do that. With anyone. Ever.

“Eli…” he said into the darkness, trying to figure out how to say it.

“Want to finish the movie before you go home?” she asked. “I have ice cream.”

He closed his eyes. He didn’t know if she’d saved him from the conversation on purpose or by chance, but he wanted to kiss her all over again. “That sounds perfect.”

“Good.” She rolled onto her side and patted his chest, sending him a little smile. “That was a lot of fun. You’re not so bad at this sex thing, Beckham Carter.”

He laughed and tugged a lock of her hair. “Not so bad? Gee, thanks. Your enthusiastic endorsement is overwhelming.”

She rolled her eyes. “I think I made my level of enthusiasm pretty clear.”

“True.” He gave her a look of mock seriousness. “Mabel did howl back at you at one point.”

She smacked his chest, half-laughing. “I did nothowl.”