Page 43 of Sterling Clay

Chapter 15

[Clay]

“Was I interrupting something?” Knox teases and wiggles his large brows, implying he knows damn well he did.

“Don’t be obtuse.”

Knox chuckles while I swipe a hand over my mouth, desperate to contain the kiss, while simultaneously wiping it away as if Knox can see it on my lips. As if he senses that the kiss I shared with Mavis was exactly as I said it would be. Unique. Special. Beautiful.

I’ll never be the same.

Even her whispered plea to kiss her had me jolting to life. Like I hadn’t known I needed someone to tell me to do such a thing before. Like I hadn’t found it hot as hell that she was claiming what she wanted, moments after acting afraid of me.

Then she offered additional instruction. Soft demands and hesitant commands.

Give me your tongue. Fuck, I’m still hard just thinking about her requesting such a thing from me.

If she wants control, if she needs to be the lead, I’m not going to fight her. Especially not after the buzzing sensation that still vibrates within me. As I told her earlier, I’d chase her, no net required.

I feel exalted, elated, like I’m high on something. My dick is hard as a rock. My heart hammers excitedly within my chest. The desire to race after Mavis and beg her to command me again grips my throat.

What the fuck is happening to me?

She’s like a fine wine you only get to sample, but I want a full glass.

“Powerful stuff, huh?”

My head swings upward and I glare at my brother. “What?”

“Must have been some kiss.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I give him my back and take a seat at my desk, needing a moment to calm down.

Knox chuckles. “Dude. Festival.”

Right. Yes. The fest. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

My brother laughs harder. “I get it. I want to whisk Halle off as well but—”

“It’s not like that.” I spin in my desk chair, using the desk to shield my hard dick like I’m some randy school-aged kid, while I glare at Knox. My voice is sharp and direct. I clutch the edge of my desk as if holding myself back from pouncing on him. I clear my throat. “We aren’t like that.”

I hate how I said the same thing earlier to Ford when he teased me on the phone. When I said I wanted to show Mavis something in my office and he asked me if that was a sexual euphemism.

Mavis and I aren’t like that. She’s coming off a bad relationship. I don’t do them period.

Case in point, my brother standing in front of me, reminding me of a festival I run every year, where I attend to every detail, making certain it’s perfect. It’s profitable. It goes off without a hitch or scratch or dent that would soil what I’ve rebuilt in our family business. I’m in control.

And yet, I’m off-kilter. Mavis has unraveled me. And deep down I’m afraid to admit what I really want. What I know I need. Someone for me. Not my siblings or the Seed & Soil or a festival of people, but that one person who is all mine. Who wants me as me, not brother or boss or community leader.

Hell, I don’t want to lead anything. I want Mavis to be the driver, take the wheel and guide our journey. She’s the one I’m afraid to be close to, because someone like her could break me.

Because before, she was someone unobtainable. I could smile and be kind, offer a compliment, maybe a little flirt, and it was all innocent because it had to be. She was married, or so I thought.

But now? Mavis Grant is within my reach, and I can do all the things I told her I was envious of with her ex. I can look at her and be with her. Touch her and hold her, with her permission. With her guidance. With the power firmly in her hands.

Could she want more? Could she offer me more?

“Be careful here, Clay.” Knox interjects over my rambling thoughts.