Page 46 of Midnight Wishes

Alex considered for a moment, then shook his head. ‘I think I can do it like this. Brace yourself on the bed frame.’

She leaned over him, clasping just above his hands. He bucked his hips once, experimentally, and raised his eyebrows at Sarah. She nodded, breathing heavily, and he increased his speed, thrusting up hard into her, his body a long, powerful line, anchored at the bars he was cuffed to.

He’d been right—he didn’t last long. But if the way her body pulsed around him was any indication—or the way she dropped her hands and leaned in to kiss him, raking her fingers through his hair, tugging at his scalp—she’d got there too.

Still, he planned to make good on his promise, if only because making her come was his new favourite hobby. One he was reallyfucking good at. ‘What do you want?’ he asked, as she uncuffed him. ‘My hands, my mouth, the vibrator?’ He was kind of hoping she didn’t say hands. He’d do it, obviously, but his wrists were aching from the metal cutting into them.

‘I’m good. Really. I don’t know if Icancome again.’

He frowned at her defeatist attitude. ‘Two isn’t even close to our record.’ There’d been that single lazy Saturday she’d gifted him. An hour of making her wait for it, then six over the next hour.

Sarah laughed as she rolled off him. ‘Quality over quantity.’ A small, pathetic groan escaped her, one that made him feel at least ten feet tall. ‘I think your dick might be magic.’

‘We should have sex all the time. You’re so nice to me after.’

‘Aleksander, we do have sex all the time.’ And she was back to rolling her eyes.

‘Princess, it’s been almost a week,’ he reminded her.

‘Yeah, well, whose fault is that?’ She collapsed onto her pillows—which even with the confines of that mind-blowing bra did fantastic things to her tits—hands propped under her cheek as she yawned.

His.He knew it was his fault. Work’s fault, really. And he would have given anything to spend the previous few nights wrapped up in her rather than numbers and spreadsheets. She’d invited him over a couple of times while he’d still been at the office, and by the time he’d left, she’d been either asleep or no longer interested.

With a sigh he felt right down to his bones, Alex swung his long legs off the mattress. Even if the bed was slightly too short to be comfortable, the company made it worthwhile. He’d beenwracking his brain to think of a reason to linger, but if he was done being useful, he was done, period. Sarah certainly wasn’t going to let him spend the night.

And then, she gave him a lifeline.

Chapter 23

SARAH

Let It Happen | Gracie Abrams

‘What do theymean?’ Sarah asked, nodding at the thick, dark lines tattooed down the side of Alex’s stomach. She’d teased him about them before, but it really was beautiful work. If she ever got over her fear of needles, she might ask him for the name of his artist.

He paused with his hands on the second button of his shirt. ‘The runes?’

Sarah nodded, then felt awkwardness wash over her as she took in his still body, the surprise in his voice. After everything he’d said about his granddad at the bar, she hadn’t thought those could be any more personal, but maybe… ‘You don’t have to tell me, if it’s private or—’

‘No, that’s not it. It’s just no one’s ever asked about them before.’ He looked faintly pleased. ‘The ones on my arms, people see them at work or if I go out.’ His voice dropped. ‘I’m not going to pretend there isn’t a laundry list of people who’ve seen these ones, but…you’re the first person who’s been interested.’

And the way his eyes studied her then, branding her as permanently as the ink on his skin, she decided she didn’t care how many people had seen them, as long as she was the one who got the story. Alex fell back down next to her, grabbed her hand, and brought it to his ribs.

‘This is anAnsuz. The rune of communication and words.’

‘Is that why you talk so much?’ Sarah was aiming for snark, but it came out breathier than she’d intended.Ridiculous.He’d had his dick inside her five minutes ago, and she was getting flustered over her fingers on his stomach? She’d been touching almost the same spot while she worked herself to completion on his thigh. But suddenly his hand around hers felt…tender. Intimate, as he trailed her fingers to the next.

‘Wunjo.Helps you achieve your desires. It’s also good for building business relationships, apparently. I got that after I applied for my job, since I figured I didn’t have a hope in hell of getting it based on qualifications.’

‘So all that talk about working your way up, and really you just cast a spell to make it easy on yourself?’

Alex pouted, andgod, it made her want to kiss him. ‘I’d like to think my natural charm and ability to speak three languages has had some bearing on my success.’

‘English…?’

‘French and Italian. I took Italian for my GCSEs, and I spent six months studying in Paris. I was pretty fluent by the end.’

‘I’d love to go to Paris,’ Sarah said wistfully. ‘That’s going to be my reward for getting my work into a gallery. So I can pretend I’m free of painting fur forever.’

---