Hardpressed (9 page)

He planted an open mouthed kiss on my inner thigh that made me gasp.

“Just wondering. Continue.”

I obeyed, letting my fingers fall into a rhythm that my body knew well. The movements were easy and smooth because I was already wet. He could be inside me so easily now. No resistance.

“You’re beautiful down here. So pretty and pink. I want to shave you sometime. Lick all the soft skin. Have you ever done that?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this up close analysis of my lady parts. He was throwing me for a loop. I just wanted him to suck or fuck me already.

“I can’t do this.” For the first time in my life, pleasuring myself was starting to piss me off. I wanted his hands on me. I felt like I was settling for less, embarking on the solitary journey to orgasm as a means to an end. Nothing like the unexpected and deliriously pleasurable adventures that Blake took me on.

“Are you embarrassed?”

“No… A little, maybe. But I don’t want to come this way.”

“You won’t. You’re giving me what I want, and trust me, nothing and no one’s going to make you come but me from now on. You’re going to show me how you touch yourself, and then when you’re just about to come, I’m going to put my cock in you. Can you handle that?”

“Can you use your mouth?” I pleaded.

He propped himself on his elbow and half rolled his eyes. “You know, Erica, you’re not exactly being obedient. I’ve given you the game plan, which, lucky for you, doesn’t involve any props because they’re in my apartment. But if you keep talking, I’m going to just throw you over my knee and spank the hell out of you. Get it?”

I giggled, but my laughter faded. His gaze was dead serious.
Oh, he wasn’t kidding
.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes so I wouldn’t be tempted to laugh. Challenging Blake was too fun, but I didn’t want to be spanked like a petulant child right now.

I kept my eyes closed so I could concentrate, trying to forget that Blake was watching everything. I tensed and tightened, grabbing my breast, arching into my own touch. I was getting close, my motions becoming more urgent, less graceful. My mind spun. I imagined Blake was there instead. His name left my lips again and again. I needed him inside me. I was about to come when he caught my wrists, holding them tight to my sides.

“Have to taste you for a minute, baby.” His tongue flattened and lashed across my clit. The slow and steady climb to my orgasm sharpened into a steep one. I cried out as the sensation of his mouth on me launched me perilously close to the precipice. I bucked my hips, desperate for him, for more delicious Blake contact. He tore away, but before I could protest, he’d buried his cock in me balls deep in one single thrust, quickly followed by another.

“Blake, oh God, I’m coming,” I cried, my body shuddering with the searing pleasures overwhelming me.

“That’s right, I want to feel you fist around my cock. You’re so fucking tight already.”

He kept up his punishing thrusts, thumbing my clit in careful circles until I came with a wild string of cries. I swore, in my mindless release, that nothing had ever felt that good. Ever.

Blake found his own pleasure somewhere in the blur of my orgasm and collapsed over me. We lay there in a wasted heap, our breathing shallow and uneven.

“Good girl,” Blake whispered.

I decided to go in late to work so I could see Alli off the next day. Heath and Blake were in the living room, talking quietly, catching up. For four people who cared about each other so much, we all had a lot of catching up to do.

I helped Alli pack since she’d lost time staying the night with Heath. I could tell from her frazzled and sleep deprived state that they’d had an intense night. Probably no less intense than the one that Blake and I had shared. She was right about these Landon men keeping us on our toes. Heaven help us both.

But her color was back and her mood was lively again. She struggled to zip up the luggage that always seemed to grow after a visit even though we hadn’t done any shopping. She conquered it and stood back, hands on her hips. I checked the time. We only had a few more minutes before we sent her off to the airport.

“I guess this is it,” I said. I tried not to think about how much time would go by before I saw Alli again.

Tears spilled over onto her cheeks. She pulled me into a tight hug and sniffled into my shoulder. We’d had a great visit, but I knew her tears weren’t all for me.

“It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

“You promise?” She pulled back, holding my hands tightly in her own.

“I promise.”
Come back and we can all be together
, I thought but swallowed the words. No point in going there. That was her choice to make. She knew she could always come back.

“Heath loves you and I love you.”

“And you love Blake!” She giggled through her tears.

I hugged her again. We separated once Heath popped his head into the bedroom.

“Time to go, babe.”

She gave me a little squeeze and waved goodbye, disappearing through the doorway with Heath.

Blake came up to me as a tear fell down my cheek. Damn it. I would miss that girl. He wiped it away and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist, thankful that at least I’d never have to say goodbye to Blake any time soon. I couldn’t and didn’t want to imagine it, ever.

*

“Are you sure it’s going to fit?”

I waited impatiently as Marie unzipped the garment bag and peeled away the enclosing plastic from the dry cleaners.

“I think so. I had the top taken out a bit.”

I laughed a little as I held a modest arm around my breasts, which had always seemed a little too full for my petite frame. I stood in my bedroom in my underwear as Marie unveiled the dress. The floor-length gown was a rough black silk with a pattern of faded teal velvet embellishments.

I stepped into the dress and Marie zipped me up. The sweetheart top tightened around my chest comfortably. Grateful I wasn’t busting out, I shuffled over to the mirror to see how the rest of the dress fit. The mermaid cut gown hugged my waist and hips perfectly, and the large swaths of the vintage fabric flowed out at my knees.

Marie stepped beside me, almost a head taller and looking as vibrant and gorgeous as ever. She’d been my mother’s best friend, but over time she’d truly become one of mine as well. Sometimes she was the mother I needed, other times just a friend I could talk to about things I couldn’t imagine talking to my mother about. Times like these though, she looked at me the way my mother would have. Her eyes clouded a bit as we admired the beautiful gown together.

“Sometimes I forget how much you look like her.”

I smiled and swallowed back tears. Now that I knew my father, I could appreciate a little more how closely my features favored my late mother’s. We shared the same blond locks and fair skin, but my father’s eyes stared back at me.

I tensed suddenly at the thought of seeing him tonight. Nothing about that relationship was simple.

“Well, she had incredible taste.”

Her eyebrows rose slightly. “Actually, Daniel bought this for her. She wore it to our senior ball.”

“But she left it with you.”

“She left a few things, out of convenience I suppose. Told me to donate them. But this was too beautiful not to keep. I’m so glad I did. Look at you.” She slid her hands down my upper arms and gave them a little squeeze.

“It’s perfect.” I ran my hands over the fabric, loving the mix of soft and rough textures, from the velvet to the silk. The dress fit me so well. Somehow my mother had managed to give me a truly beautiful gift without even knowing it.

Before I could get emotional again, the door buzzed in the kitchen. I shuffled out of the bedroom to answer it. A few seconds later I let in the courier. He was holding a pink box with a black sheer bow. His eyebrows rose as he examined my too-formal-for-midday outfit.

“Sorry, wardrobe change,” I joked nervously.

“No apologies needed.” He gave me an obvious once-over before fishing a piece of paper out of his pocket. “Um, I just need you to sign for this.”

I scribbled my signature and took the box. I shut the door behind him and set the box on the table, eager to open it. I retrieved the tiny card tied to the bow and read it.

Erica,

Spoil me and wear this tonight.

Love, B

My heart sank a little. Shit, what if he’d bought me a dress? I couldn’t part with this gown. The gala was still hours away but I already didn’t want to take it off.

Reluctantly, I tugged the edge of the bow and pushed away the layers of pink tissue paper until I reached a pile of delicately folded black lace garments. I took out a strapless bra with matching panties and lace topped silk stockings. The man had expensive taste, and lingerie was no exception.

Marie came up behind me and let out a whistle.

“Okay, that’s my cue. My work here is done.”

Suddenly embarrassed, I dropped the garments back into the box.

“You’re officially my formal attire savior. Thank you so much, Marie.”

“Anytime, baby girl. I’m glad I could help. Please take pictures! Oh—actually on that note. I forgot to tell you that Richard will be there with a photographer who’s covering the event. Maybe he’ll give you a plug in his piece.”

“Awesome, I’ll keep an eye out for him.”

“He’s tall, dark, and unwilling to commit. You can’t miss him.”

I laughed.

“Seriously though, he’s seen photos of you all over my apartment, so I’m sure he’ll introduce himself at some point.”

“Got it. I’ll be on the lookout.”

She gave me a quick kiss and headed out, leaving me alone with nothing but the overwhelming anticipation of the night to come.

*

I’d slipped on the lingerie that Blake had given me and did a little spin in front of the mirror, assessing myself. My hair was pinned up, and loose curls framed my face. I wore diamond studs that had been my mother’s and matched the diamond bangles that Blake had given to me.

What a lucky girl I am,
I thought, giddy with anticipation. But trying to network with all this sexual anticipation was going to be interesting for sure.

Alli had taken off for New York already and Heath was now staying with Blake. Maybe that was a good thing. He’d mentioned props recently, and the thought of being subjected to his arsenal of dominating toys intimidated me a little. We could do enough with our bodies alone. Surely we didn’t need help.

Just then, Blake’s silhouette filled the doorway. My breath caught as I sized him up. The green in his eyes glowed against the stark black and white of his perfectly tailored tuxedo.

I watched his reflection as he walked slowly toward me, drinking me in from the back.

“You’re early.”

He stopped behind me, catching my gaze in the mirror. “I may have underestimated how tempting you would be in this little getup. Those panties do fantastic things for your ass.”

“Serves you right,” I teased, taking a step back so I could feel the heat of his body, perilously close.

He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. He rested a hand at my hip and pulled me back so our bodies met.

“I couldn’t wait to see you in it.”

“I missed you too.” I smiled and leaned in, rolling my hand back, relieved to have him with me again. My body relaxed into his. Any time away from each other really dragged.
Could you sound more hopeless and dependent?
I ignored the little voice, and at least for now, gave in to being completed in his presence.

My smile faded when he trailed his lips up my neck, took my diamond stud in his mouth, and bit my earlobe gently. I let a moan escape my lips and my body tensed in heated anticipation. He roamed my curves. Sliding his palm over my belly, he moved south and slipped into my panties and over my mound. He stopped suddenly and his eyes widened.

“What the…?”

He spun me around, hooked his thumbs under the strings of the panties and pulled them down without ceremony, revealing the results of my very first Brazilian wax.

I bit my lip, nervous and shy to be so bare. “Do you like it? I wanted to surprise you.”

“Color me surprised.” He pushed me back up to my dresser and dropped to his knees, bringing the panties to the floor with him. “Sweet Jesus. You do love me.”

My giggle segued into a gasp when he slung my leg over his shoulder and dove into me, licking me, spreading me with his fingers so he could tantalize the sensitive flesh. The man had a brilliant mouth, and everything felt so…different down there. More intense, like I was being touched for the first time. An exposed nerve bared only for him. I shivered at his breath over me. The sensations of his lips and tongue as they tantalized my bare flesh had me trembling.

I glanced to the side, catching our reflection in my floor-length mirror. My face was flushed and my breasts heaved, heavy and tender up against the bra. Watching him eat me with such passion, this flawlessly beautiful man in his flawless tuxedo, pleasuring me like his life depended on it, was possibly the most erotic thing I’d ever witnessed. My heart swelled at the sight of it. Warmth washed over me, spreading like wildfire until I was burning with love and arousal.

My eyes fell shut when he sucked my clit. My body skidded toward the impending orgasm. “Don’t stop, please…”

“I’m never leaving. You’re too fucking sweet. And now… Fuck.” He circled my opening with his tongue and dove inside, fucking me with shallow plunges.

I gripped the edge of the dresser. I was a few strokes away from having no strength in my legs, and prayed I could hold myself up when the time came.

“Yes, like that. Blake, oh my God, I’m going to—”

“Come for me, baby.”

The low rasp of his words vibrating on my pussy pushed me over. A short series of thready cries gave way to a wail as he took me over the edge. I shook uncontrollably, out of my mind with the pleasure he gave me. He held my hips tight, effectively holding me up as the tremors faded. I tried to gain my composure, struggling for breath.