Page 35

Shit.

I shove a hand through my hair and before I think better of it, I sigh. I don’t know what it is about the expulsion of air that does it for her, but I’ve been watching. Making note. Filing away when she gets those soft, lusty eyes and what brings it on. And I highly doubt the overgrown hair does much of anything for anyone. Amie was forever up my ass to get a haircut, which led to it getting wildly out of hand.

“We need to talk,” I say, getting straight to the point.

But her sex-sated eyes sharpen and narrow. “Not the words a girl wants to hear when there’s still cum inside her.”

I shake my head. “That’s not what I mean. I want to catch up with you on some, uh, work stuff. Childcare. I’m not done discussing that cop.” I hit her with a pointed glare. “But I should probably get Evie home and⁠—”

“Stop with that shit.”

“Excuse me?”

Jess rolls her eyes in the exact way I’ve pictured. “She’s asleep. Down for the count if I had to guess, and it’s raining. So quit being stupid and come to bed.” She leans down, scoops her leggings off the floor, and sashays her perfect round ass down the hallway and past the room where Evie sleeps.

What the fuck is happening?

I start after her, but backtrack, check the locks, and turn out the lights. I’m tired. Maybe too tired to fight, definitely too tired to figure out what she’s thinking. And there’s no way I have it in me to tackle anything on my long list of shit that needs to be discussed.

Evie is in fact, out cold, and will likely stay that way all night. Her black hair curls are in a wild disarray, her cheeks are rosy with sleep, and clutched tightly to her side is a plush ladybug. She smiles in her sleep and then sighs, snuggling tighter to the toy.

I close the door most of the way and continue down the hall, following the sound of running water.

Jess’s bedroom is tidy. Dark gray walls lend it a certain moodiness that I would never associate with her. The color is more in line with the decor of my office—gothic academia or whatever she called it.

The water stops, and before long, Jess saunters through the door, a fluffy white towel hiding her curves from view. She doesn’t look at all surprised to see me standing at the end of her bed, but she does look pleased.

“Did you check on our girl? Everything is satisfactory?” There’s an unspoken challenge in her tone, like she’s daring me to find fault in how she cared for Evie today, what she provided to make her comfortable. And don’t even get me started on how she referred to her as our girl.

“She’s perfect, thank you.”

Jess purses her lips and nods, the movement somehow subtle yet full of sass. “Clean towel is on the counter. New toothbrush is by the sink.” Whatever she says after that is nothing but noise, because she releases her tight hold on the towel, tossing it to the hamper, and revealing miles of perfectly pale skin.

It’s distracting to the point my brain is fried.

“You okay there, big guy? Been a minute since you’ve seen a real live woman up close and personal?” She cocks a hip, and I can practically hear a needle screech across a record.

All my focus is on the front of her hips. Four marks line each side, and I would bet my ass, they perfectly match my finger placement if I were to grab her from behind.

“What?” she asks, concern and cluelessness battling for top billing. And when she sees those marks, she hisses, “Yes,” like the fact that I left my mark on her flesh excites her.

Maybe it does.

Maybe as much as it does for me.

I pull my shirt from my body and toss it on the floor by the dresser, adding the rest of my clothes to the pile, without taking my eyes off her. My cock thickens, but I need that shower. Two minutes. Just to wash off, before dirtying up again. I point to the bed and grunt, “Lie down. And don’t move.”

My shower does, in fact, last for two minutes; the towel doesn’t even make it out of the bathroom. And maybe the biggest miracle of the moment is that Jessaline Lapin is doing exactly what I told her.

I wrap my hand around her dainty ankle and kiss my way up the inside of her leg, inhaling deeply when I reach the apex of her thighs. With absolutely no preamble, I lick her with a flat tongue from the bottom to the top, sucking hard when I reach her clit. So much for slowing things down the second time.

Between her little moans, Jess pants out, “Guess that talk isn’t all that important then.”

“Keep that smart mouth going, and I’ll fill it with my cock. Give you something to choke on while I fuck you with my tongue.” I do exactly half of that, thrusting my tongue deep and savoring the taste of us, before I bite her inner thigh.

God, the sounds she makes. I would love nothing more than to lose myself in her, fuck her nonstop. Until the end of time. But I don’t miss the subtleties in others, and while Jess isn’t wincing or trying to pull away from me, I’ve already used her hard. And because I’m a giver if nothing else, I kiss my way up her body and roll so I’m flat on my back.

“Dammit, Eddie,” she gasps, a shot of whine coloring her words. “I was so close.” She puts a hand to the center of my chest and shoves up to a seated position next to me.