Page 59 of Prey Tell
I throw my head back as my whole body tenses up like I’m about to—
Wait.
“Chase, I’m going to come soon.”
I work my hips against his hard shaft, the roughness of his jeans spurring me on. My mind is racing and slowing down all at once. This has never happened before. Someoneelseis going to make me come—
“Not yet, Juliet.”
He pulls away and lowers me, holding me up and securing my bra back over my exposed nipple. I’m dizzy and disoriented, and cold air skirts over my skin, making me shiver. Every little touch gives me goosebumps and makes my core tighten around nothing. I touch my lips—which are sore from his stubble—and look up at him.
He doesn’t look any more composed than I feel.
His hair is wild, his lips are swollen, and I can see the red lines from my nails all over his arms, torso, and neck. His bare chest is… I hadn’t realized I was scratching him so hard when I was in the moment. Some of them look like they’re bleeding. My neck flushes as I stumble back.I went too far. I was overpowered by his scent. I didn’t mean—
“Parker.” My eyes snap to his, and he’s watching me carefully. He steps closer. “That was good. You did well listening to what your body wanted.” My eyes survey his chest, and he reaches out, grabbing my chin between his thumb and index finger. It’s not rough. It’s almost… tender.Why do I love when he does that?“It can be overwhelming at first,” he murmurs, his eyes searching mine. “But you need to know that everything that happened was completely normal.”
He lets go of my chin and grabs his shirt, throwing it back on.
“I’m sorry about the scratches.”
He chuckles. “I’m not.”
“But I hurt you,” I say, pulling my denim jacket over my shoulders.
“And I have our safe word, Parker,” he murmurs, looking at me. “I know we weren’t in a scene, but if anything had gone too far, I would’ve stopped it.”
“Okay,” I say unevenly.
We walk back to the castle silently. I’m not sure if I passed this first test—was it a test?—or failed. He said everything I did was normal, but then… why did we stop?
Chase, I’m going to come soon.
Not yet, Juliet.
He must be reading my mind because he clears his throat as we walk.
“If we’re really going to do this, you have to trust me,” he says sternly. “That includes trusting me to stop if either one of us is uncomfortable.”
I nod. “I do trust you. I told you.”
“Good. And I need you to trust that I will give you what you need. It may not be whatyouthink you need, but again, it comes back to that trust.”
“Then why did you stop when I wanted to keep going?”
He shoves his hands in his jeans pocket. Seeing Chase wearing casual jeans—even if they are fitted perfectly and probably cost hundreds of dollars—does something funny to my brain.
It’s like I can’t compute it. I’ve had him in a box for years—one that labeled him as off limits, cold, serious—and now my brain needs to rewire around all of this new information.
“Because you aren’t quite ready. It won’t benefit either of us if we jump right into playing together. Do you trust me enough to know when and how to give you what you want?” he asks.
How the hell am I supposed to respond to that?
“Of course.”
“But…” he trails off, looking at me and smirking.
I huff a laugh. He knows me too well, even after all of these years.God, am I really that predictable?
