Page 76 of Cross-Checked

Her only reply is the sound of her panting as I work her closer to coming on my cock.

“Does it feel like a punishment?” I taunt.

“Please, Ronan,” she grunts out my name as I bury myself deeper inside her.

I lean forward so my lips are right next to her ear. “I like it when you beg, especially when you use my name. What I don’t like is when my body is craving yours, and you spread your legs and show me your pussy over a video call where I can’t touch or taste you.”

She turns her head slightly, rubbing her cheek along mine. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Chuckling darkly, I reach between her legs, sliding my finger over her clit until she’s chanting “Yes” over and over. And when I stop, pulling my hand away suddenly, she groans in frustration.

Holding her hips as I return to standing, I pull her back on me, hard. “How’s it feel to want something that’s just out of your reach?”

The way I’ve been edging her, I’m confident her orgasm is going to be earth-shattering as soon as I let her have it. But in the meantime, I’m enjoying holding her off, knowing that this “punishment” is going to be more than worth it in the end.

“I hate you.”

I trail my tongue up the side of her neck and enjoy the way her whole body shakes with a shiver before I press my lips to the space where her earlobe meets her jaw, and then whisper, “No, you don’t.”

“Iwantto hate you.”

“That’s not even close to the same thing,” I grit out as I bury myself in her again.

“Why do you have to be so damn perfect for me?” she mumbles, her voice barely audible.

“I could ask you the same thing.” I could ask her so many things, like why she’s letting her fear get in the way of this amazing thing that’s developing between us, or what she thinks is the worst thing that would happen if people found out about us? “Maybe instead, if you ask meverynicely, I’ll let you come.”

“Please, Ronan . . . please make me come.”

“Look at you begging,” I practically purr into her ear.

I trail my hand down her abdomen and press two fingers onto her clit. With my other hand, I pinch her nipple, rolling it between my fingers. In response, her hips move faster, taking me harder and deeper as she lets out soft moans and grunts of pleasure.

“Such a good girl.”

Pressing with more intent on her clit, I work her up into a frenzy until her legs are shaking and her movements are erratic. And as I tilt my hips to change the angle, I can tell I hit the perfect spot inside her, because the walls of her pussy are squeezing me, rhythmically moving along my shaft in a way that has the first feelings of my own orgasm snaking through my body.

She cries out as her climax rips through her, and my hand shoots up to her mouth, covering it. “Quiet, now,” I say through gritted teeth as I try to hold back from coming until she’s done. “Let’s not wake the baby.”

Turning her head, she looks over her shoulder at me as she bites into my palm while she rides out her pleasure. And that edge of pain as her teeth sink into my skin has me coming so hard my vision is blurry at the edges until all I see is her face, and those wide, dark eyes staring into mine. I think I could handle anything life threw at me if I got to end each day with her, like this.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

McCabe

When we’re both spent, I scoop her into my arms. I’m fairly sure her legs wouldn’t work if I asked her to walk, so I carry her toward my bedroom. “Let me clean you up.”

She opens her mouth like she wants to say something, but no words come out. Then she closes her eyes and sighs, her lips curving up in a way that makes her look totally content.

Laying her on my bed, I head into the bathroom and wet two washcloths. After I quickly clean myself off, I bring the other washcloth back to the bedroom. AJ hasn’t moved from where I set her down, lying on her side, facing the bathroom, eyes closed, like a picture of serenity.

“You alive?”

She doesn’t open her eyes, just mumbles, “Barely.”

Taking her knee, I lift, rolling her onto her back so her legs fall open. I’m looking down, focusing on what I’m doing as I use the warm washcloth to gently clean her, but I can feel her gaze on me.

“I’m just going to...rest here for a minute,” she says. “Then I’ll head home.”

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