Page 73 of Do You Take This Man

Her eyes met mine as I closed the distance between us. “We usually meet after rehearsals. You made me wait.”

I stopped just an inch or two from her, noticing how her knee shifted toward me.

“I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

I dragged my forefinger from her kneecap up her thigh, the fabric of the dress soft under my touch, the heat from her body radiating toward me. My voice came out sharper than I’d planned, deeper and more clipped. “Too fucking bad.”

RJ’s body almost shivered at my touch, like a ripple of want passed through her. She wanted me to go faster, but I continued the slow pace of my finger up her thigh until I was at the top, and then I slid it across her lap, watching her squirm. “You’ve never talked to me like that before.” Her teeth sank into her lip again, deeper this time.

“You lied to me.” I stepped closer, my erection pressing against her leg. Her eyes glinted at this change in our behavior, but I spoke honestly. “It made me mad.”

RJ uncrossed her legs, taking time to rub one against my dick, and her expression shifted, like she was calculating something. “You made me mad, too. You ignored my messages. You know I hate that.”

I continued to slide my finger back up, then down, her thigh, grazing under the hem of her skirt, itching to move my hands up under her dress and feel her heat. “But you want to spread those beautiful legs for me, don’t you?”

RJ’s fingers slid into my hair and slowly curled against my scalp, waking up all my senses. “I told you I don’t like waiting.”

I pulled my hand away from her dress and stroked up her bare arm, seeing the goose bumps rise and the frustration flash on her face. “And I told you, that’s too fucking bad.”

Her fingers tightened in my hair and I inhaled sharply. She spread her thighs, and I stepped between them, our eyes meeting and her dress riding up. “Why is it so hot when you talk to me like that?”

I wanted to slide further, to dip my hands between her legs and give her what she wanted, but I knew this was driving her crazy and I clung to that iota of control. I shrugged. I couldn’t mess up her hair, not here, but making her agitated was enthralling. I reminded myself I didn’t have to be gentle and romantic. She’d made it clear she didn’t want that. “I haven’t decided if I’m going to have sex with you.”

RJ pressed a hand between us, stroking me through my pants. “Yes, you have.”

She hadn’t touched me in two weeks, and I clenched my jaw against the sensation of her palm. RJ’s expression was smug, and she looked up at me with those big brown eyes, anddamn.

I pulled her lips roughly to mine and her fingers tightened in my hair again. I needed to kiss that infuriatingly smug smile off her face, that smile that meant she thought she knew me, that she could call the shots and I’d follow along. The flood of memories washed over me at the thought of another woman thinking what I didn’t know wouldn’t hurt me, and I deepened the kiss, pressing myself between her legs and swallowing her sighs when the head of my dick pressed into her wet panties. I pulled away from her mouth, nipping her bottom lip. One arm rested on the wall behind her, the other cradled against her neck, my thumb gliding over her throat. “You lied to me.” I heard the strain in my own voice.

She was silent for long enough that I pulled back to look at her face as she searched mine. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I don’t know whythis bothered you so much, but I won’t do that again.” She pressed a soft palm to my face. “We’re honest with each other, above anything else.”

I flexed my jaw, so frustrated with myself that I wanted to walk out of the room just to prove how little she meant to me, but I knew RJ didn’t apologize easily. I wanted her like this—angry and passionate—and I wanted to revel in the feel of her soft hand on my cheek. I wanted both, and I wanted to ignore the voice in my head that wanted even more from her. “Then tell me the truth now. You want this?” I pressed against her. “Because it’s been a long damn day, and I’m not in the mood for games.” I was in uncharted waters. I’d never said anything like that to a woman before, never come close, but no woman had frustrated me as completely as RJ before, frustrated me and left me wanting.

She swallowed and met my steely gaze with her own. “I didn’t ask you for games. In case it’s unclear, I’m asking you to take me.”

I unbuckled my belt, but RJ slid down my zipper, stroking me. I had to close my eyes against her touch, and I pulled her wrist away. “Not yet.” I pushed her dress up her thighs, my thumbs pressing up the insides of her thighs until I could hook into her panties and pull them down her legs. Her skin was so soft, I wanted to kiss every inch.Focus. “So, we need, um, a safe word or something, since we’re both feeling rougher?”

She smiled, a laugh escaping in one breath, and heat rose on my face.

I didn’t like the embarrassment that wrapped me up, that this was more ammunition for her to use against me. That I didn’t know how to do this. “Forget it,” I said, shifting to take a step back. “I’m leaving.”

She reached for my arm. “No, Lear, wait.” Her expression softened in an instant, leaving my head spinning. “I wasn’t laughing at you, I just... I don’t normally do this either, being rougher.” Hereyes widened, and I watched as she carefully pulled back the smile and the openness, swallowing whatever she was going to admit and reminding herself what I was to her. “Cubicle. Cubicle means I want you to stop. That’s all. I wasn’t laughing at you. I was just nervous.”

I didn’t ask what she had been going to say. I didn’t want to care. I didn’t want her to think I cared.Because it doesn’t matter. Because it’s just sex.And it wasn’t just sex because she’d said that’s all she could do, it was just sex because that was probably all I could do, too. The weight of my phone in my pocket filled with missed messages of concern and reminders of the date were proof of that. I wanted RJ—her scent and taste and the feel of her against me filled my brain—but I also needed to prove to myself that I could have RJ’s body without demanding her heart.

I pulled her face to mine, letting our lips and tongues clash before nipping her bottom lip again, the yelp and moan she let out pushing me on as I nipped at her earlobe, my fingers pressing between her legs. “Don’t lie to me again,” I said, sliding a finger into her, then two, pushing them in and out of her slick entrance.

“I said I wouldn’t.” She rode my hand, pulling my hair as I sucked the skin over her collarbone and rubbed a thumb roughly over one of her hard nipples pushing at the fabric of the dress.

I pressed my fingers in harder, fingertips finding the swollen bundle of nerves. “Good.”

“But you’re not in charge,” she said, but her voice wavered on the last word. I hated that I knew she was close to coming, not because of that but because of the way her eyes widened and her mouth opened, and I’d dreamed of that expression for months.

“Feels like I’m in charge,” I added, my thumb brushing over her clit.

RJ pulled hard on my hair. “Will you stop talking and make me come? That’s all I need you to do.”

Her words hit me somewhere primal and I pressed hard againsther G-spot, watching her writhe, so close, her mouth opening, and then I pulled my fingers away.

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