Page 57 of Lure

We could tackle everything else tomorrow.

“You sure? I don’t mind setting us up in the living room. I’ll even build a fire.” He held out a hand to me as he stood and I took it. “You’re freezing.”

“No, not that bad and yes, I’m sure. You’ve slept on the sofa for two nights and you’ve been great. It’s time for me to be a big girl again.” I went for self-deprecating, but there was something in his soft huff that said he didn’t believe me. “Thank you for showing me this.”

“My pleasure. We’ll do it again. One of the best parts of having our base here… the sky goes on forever.” The wistfulness in his voice tugged at me and I spared another look up. He was right, the sky definitely did that.

Guilt nibbledat me after I bid Alphabet and Goblin goodnight and went up to my room. I felt like a bit of a coward and a hypocrite. I’d kind of—no kind of, Ihadenjoyed the last couple of nights. Alphabet was good company. Our agreement had done a lot toward making it easier to just talk and enjoy him.

He promised when the guys came back, we really were going to drill down on the issues. Well, he hadn’t promisedexactly, but I read between the lines and it was what hewantedto do. I believed him. That was enough for me.

What I didn’t want to do was have a fight with the others tonight. They’d been gone for three days and I’d only seen part of the operation. It was safe to assume they would be exhausted. If not—well, they deserved to return to base and rest up.

We could always fight tomorrow.

I went through the motions of getting ready for bed then went to the photograph of me and Amorette on the dresser.

“You’d probably have ripped their heads off by now.” I traced the lines of her face. “You’d have a dozen different arguments ready and turn them inside out. Or you’d have already persuaded them to do everything.” Another long sigh escaped me before I set the framed photograph down. “I miss you.”

I had to make myself turn away after that. Turn away and get ready for bed. Once I was under the blankets, though, and the light off save for a low one in the bathroom, I just stared at the ceiling.

My mind raced. Watching movies had helped distract me and let me sleep, but I didn’t have a television in here or even a phone to listen to something on. No, it was just me and my thoughts and they started going faster, and faster. Around and around in circles alternately drenching me in ice cold fear, unsteady nerves, or just pure, existential dread.

“Enough, Grace,” I told myself. “Enough. We have to sleep. We have to sleep if we’re going to do this.” I tried to focus on good things, positive memories, even just fun things I wanted to do…

My mind flitted from event to event, thing to thing, and just wouldn’t settle. It was so damn irritating. Blowing out a breath, I sat up and stared around the room. I’d go for a run on the treadmill in the morning. Exercise could help, maybe. The restlessness invading my whole system aggravated the shit out of me.

I considered and rejected getting up. Dealing with everything else in the morning would be better. Especially with my heart pounding, my hands clenching, and a headache threatening. I’d just be spoiling for a fight to relieve the tension.

Just not a good plan.

I flopped back against the pillows and resisted the urge to thump my hands and feet against the bed and scream. A little huff of laughter escaped me at the mental image of my tantrum. Still staring at the ceiling, I thought about all the things I would have done if I were home in my place.

Watch a movie or catch up on some show that I was behind on.

Listen to music.

Play on my phone.

Read a book.

None of those were an option in here. Especially if I didn’t want to leave the room.

I ran a hand over my face. Well, an orgasm would definitely help with the tension. A shudder of anticipation vibrated right through the taut feeling in my body. Yeah, an orgasm would do nicely.

The lack of toys or a partner were not deterrents. Not in the slightest. In fact…

I cupped my breasts and teased the nipples through the cotton of the sleep shirt. One thing about knowing my own body, I knew exactly how much pressure to apply to elicit a response. Even better, I could savor the feelings because I had no intentions of edging myself.

Still teasing a nipple with one hand, I slid the other to dip into my panties. Teasing my clit, I stroked back and forth slowly. A memory of Voodoo in the hotel room stealthed out of my memory, a tempting wraith that had my cunt clenching around emptiness.

Fuck.

Having felt the bunch of his muscles and the way he moved against me… The heat of his mouth against mine… The swipe of his tongue… Gentleness and demand… I arched my back, the memory leaving me slick and needy.

Circling my clit with two fingers, I applied the pressure I wanted even as I pinched and twisted a nipple. The competing sensations made me arch and shift as I spread my legs.

A toy could increase the speed and force. But my fingers were just fine. My pulse increased as the band of tension that had bound me up so tight earlier, stretched out. The only thing that would make this better was if he were right there…

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