It’s nothingat alllike the diner.
“Yes.” My voice cracks when his hand trails over the ball of my shoulder and tickles the column of my neck with a feather-light touch. “Yes, I made it.”
“You told me tonight you didn’t make it.” Pulling back just a little, his eyes meet mine. “I specifically asked, and you said no.”
“There was only one piece left,” I admit on an embarrassing sigh. “I wanted it, and the universe was tempted to take it from me.”
“You lied to me.”
I can’t speak past the lump that lodges in my throat, so I nod and lean into his warm hands. I’m embarrassing myself, but I can’t stop. I want ten minutes of guilt-free selfishness. Just one time in the dark where no one has to know, and it won’t hurt my son or anyone else I love.
“Do you lie to me often?”
Again, I nod.
Grinning in a way that reminds me of that smug wolf, Eric repositions his legs so his thigh touches mine, then he slides it between but stops before it touches my core. His musky scent intoxicates me and helps me forget I’m a responsible mom who can’t afford this. “What do you lie about?”
This time I shake my head because I’m still proud, and despite the thrumming of my heartbeat in my pants, I can’t admit my truths.
He bites his bottom lip and draws my eyes to the movement. “You lie about me and you, don’t you?” The stubble on his jaw touches my cheekbone and draws a broken gasp from my throat. “You lie about not wanting me. You lie about wanting me to leave you alone.”
I hold my breath and nod. “Yes.”
He makes sounds of approval in the back of his throat that vibrate from his lips to my cheek. “But… why? You don’t have to deny yourself. Life is too fucking short, and why the hell can’t you enjoy the situation you got?”
“Because…”I don’t know! “Because I was mean to you, and now I can’t spend time with you.”
“You’re proud.”
I nod.
“What if I promised not to tease? Your pride stays intact, we both get to come, andfinally, we get to feel what we’re both dying to feel. We get to feel what we both want when we’re in that diner. You think I don’t wanna fuck you in that booth? In the storage closet? On my fucking table?” he grits out. “Will you call the cops if I touch you?”
I shake my head, then gasp when he sneaks a callused hand beneath my top and slides it over my sensitive belly. “You’re just so proud.” His lips buzz along my cheekbone. “Admitting you want me would hurt your pride, wouldn’t it?”
I nod. I’m a mute idiot, but not saying the words means I get to keep my pride for a little longer.
“It doesn’t have to be complicated.” His hand slides over my stomach so what little abdominal muscle I have twitches beneath his touch. “I’m not looking for anything that might resemble commitment. My work doesn’t really allow for that. But if you’re looking for a fun time, I could make it worth your while. I promise I wouldn’t be a wasted fuck.” His words rumble in my ear, send tingles along my spine, and make my toes curl in my sneakers. “I’d make sure you come first, I promise.”
“I’ve never come during sex.” I swallow to lubricate my dry throat. “That’s not a flaw on my part, and admitting it doesn’t hurt my pride. I haven’t come during sex because men are lazy and selfish. I can make myself come, but not a single man has been able to step up and perform.”
“I’m not lazy, nor am I selfish.” His teeth nip at my cheekbone and draw a squeaked gasp from my throat. “Getting you off gets me off, so I’ll work until you scream, and only after that will I take my own. Then next time, I wanna watch you play with yourself, because that’ll get me off too.”
“I don’t want to play with myself.” My whisper gains strength. “That’s the whole damn point. I cook my own meals; I wash my own laundry; I pay my own bills. I do everything for myself, so getting myself off isn’t something I want to do. But if you’re not sure you could compete…”
He pushes forward and crushes me against the steel door until the breath explodes from my lungs. Sliding his leg forward, he brings it high enough to press against my crotch, then he grins when he feels what I feel. “I can make you come just by speaking in your ear and letting you ride my leg.” He’s so arrogant as he drops a kiss on my jaw. It’s so easy to pretend this is okay when we’re in the dark. “I promised myself I’d back away from you. I promised I’d leave you be because I’m not good for you. But here you are in the middle of the night smelling like cherries and sex, and I’m just not sure I have the strength to walk away this time.” He pulls back and catches my eyes. “You really shouldn’t have snuck over here in the middle of the night, Katrina.” Slowly sliding a hand along my ribs, he brings a thumb over my pebbled nipple and grins. “I could suck your tits and make you come. I could slide my fingers into your pussy until you stretch, and still, you’d come in under twenty seconds. Do you believe me?”
He’s giving me the green light, the opportunity to say yes without saying yes. He’s giving me the chance to turn this into a bet, rather than admitting I want to fuck him.
“I’m not sure you could deliver.” I’ll play his game, because I really want it, and I still get to say I didn’t ask for it. We can both pretend we don’t hear the way I pant for him, and while we’re going, we can also pretend I’m not rubbing myself against his strong thigh. “Thirty years,” I breathe, “and not one man has been able to live up to what he says.”
“No cops?”
I give a breathy laugh. “No cops.”
On a deep growl, Eric grips my thighs and lifts so my legs wrap around his hips and his hardened cock crushes against my pulsing core. “I’ll show you what I can do for you.” He carries me the way he came, around the side of the building with his mouth doing sinful things to my neck and his strong hands bruising my thighs. “Tomorrow, you can add extra cookies to my plate in silent acknowledgment that I fucked your brains out. You don’t even have to say the words; you can keep your pride intact, but I’m gonna get extra cookies.”
“We’ll see,” I pant. I have less than an hour to get home, to sneak back into my apartment and into bed before my son checks my room and sends out a search party. “I have to be home in forty minutes.”