Page 123 of Ex Somnis

He chuckles. “Oh, I’m pretty sure enjoyment is the point of safe sex.”

“I will not let you do that to me again when we’re not talking about anything. This unsaid shit between us is driving me crazy, and I can’t keep doing it.”

He frowns and tries to take a step toward me, but the honey doesn’t budge. “That’s strange. Last time, I could.” He tries again and glares down at his knees, then back up at me. “Why are you stronger than me?”

I shrug. “Weren’t you the one who told me, the longer you’re in here, the better you get?”

“I mean, yes, that’s how it works, but not like that.” He tries again, then scoffs. “Lenny, come on. Let me go, and we can talk.”

“I won’t, because if I let you go, you’ll come over here with your stupid eyes and stupid hair and do stupid things to me.”

He stops struggling against the honey. “My stupid hair?”

“Yes.”

He lifts one hand and lets it slide through said hair. “That seems unfair.”

His eyes lock onto mine, trapping me with their intensity.

That’s also unfair.

“Let me go. I want to talk to you, but not like this.”

“No. You will say something, and I won’t be able to think anymore. You’ll call me…” I trail off.

“I’ll call you what?” He raises an eyebrow, waiting.

Just the thought of what he calls me makes warmth bloom low in my stomach.

“Dirty things,” I hiss out. “And I will not let you call me a greedy girl and kiss me and…” I trail off again, realizing my mistake too late. Because now I’m thinking about it, his voice rough while he had me on the edge of the bed, fingers curled deep, mouth on my clit, demanding I come on his hand as if I owed it to him.

My pussy clenches at the memory, in time with the heat that floods my face.

“Huh. Looks like you have to concentrate to keep it up.”

Wait, what?

The honey fights him for another second before it gives, and Ridge steps out of it, closing the distance between us in a few long strides. I back up fast, but my shoulders slam into a giant gummy bear, causing it to wobble under the impact.

Ridge cages me in, close enough that I can smell sour lemon, ginger, and him. “You don’t want me to call you my greedy girl?” He squeezes my waist, gently. “Not even a little bit?”

I lean into him like a magnet, but then I shake myself and push his chest. “No.”

He lets me move him but only backs up one step.

“No, no, no.”

I turn and walk away from him, moving fast over the spongy gummy bear floor, which is a tactical nightmare with everything bouncing slightly. I hate this floor. I made this floor.

In a blink, he’s beside me, keeping pace with no apparent effort.

“Fine, I can admit that I’m the greedy one,” Ridge says, shrugging. “Because all I can think about now is fucking you.”

My clit pulses.

Traitor.

“Which is unfair of you, by the way. I came here with a speech.”