Page 72 of Fight Or Flight

His baseball pants were uncomfortable and confining, and he strained against them, but he forced himself to ignore the urge to tear them off. He knelt down between her legs, pushed her tank top up, and kissed around her belly button, across her skin to herhipbones, down her smooth inner thigh, then back up the other one as she squirmed.

She was propped up on her elbows, watching, until he took her with his mouth, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell back onto his pillow.

He was as lost in her as she was in him. Her moans and little gasps, her thighs twitching, it was all too much for him. He licked and sucked, stroking her thighs as her hips lifted from the bed. Every muscle in her body tensed, holding tight, until she found her release with a half scream, half gasp, and let go.

The sight of her on his bed, half-naked and blissful from the orgasm he’d just given her, made his body flame. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. He had to have her. Now.

He climbed onto the bed, slid open the drawer on his nightstand, and pulled out a condom. Stretching out next to her, he kissed her. She opened her eyes and smiled.

“Whoa,” she said with a little shake of her head. “That was intense.”

She slowly rose up onto her knees and reached for the zipper on his pants. She leaned over him, kissing down his stomach, then further down as she lowered his pants.

Tingles raced across his skin, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as she put her hands on his chest and straddled him, the soft weight of her pinning him to the bed.

When he opened his eyes, she was staring down at him. Her dark eyes intense, staring into his. She reached down for the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head, then unclasped her bra and slipped the straps down her arms.

He reached for her, gliding his hands up the sides of her torso, then cupping her breasts in his hands and brushing his thumbs across her nipples.

“Beautiful,” he said. “You’re so incredibly beautiful, Natalie. I—”

She cut him off by kissing his mouth. He only had a moment to wonder whether she knew what he was going to say, before she reached for the condom, ripped it open, and slid it on him. When she lowered herself down onto him and he disappeared into the smooth heat of her, every word in his throat died, every thought in his head evaporated.

She rode him slowly, torturously, setting an excruciating pace. She stared into his eyes for a long time, her face going slack even as her eyes burned. Part of him wanted to flip her over, hold her tight, and bury himself into her. But he didn’t dare give up the sight of her above him. He bit his lip and watched her move, her faced steeped in pleasure.

She fell forward, her mouth going to his neck, sucking, kissing, adding shivers to the rush of sensations coursing over his skin, before moving up to his ear. She nibbled his earlobe, licked the shell of his ear, moaned, and clenched, continuing her slow assault.

And he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Natalie,” he said, just once. A warning? He wasn’t sure.

He linked his arms around her waist, bent his knees, planted his feet, and thrust into her, slightly faster than her pace, trying to find some relief without scaring her.

She gasped and held on, whispering into his ear. “Yes, Ethan. More.”

Thank God.

He went faster, then freed one hand, slipped it into her hair at the base of her neck, and tilted her head gently back so he could see into her eyes. She rose with the pleasure, her face tightening.

“Yes, Ethan.”

He stared into her eyes, taking in her pleasure as her breath came faster, matching his. She leaned forward, her breasts in his face. He took her nipple into his mouth and sucked as her mouth opened, and she crested. A strangled, breathy noise escapedfrom her throat. She gripped, convulsed, tightened around him, spurring on his own orgasm. It ripped through every corner of his body lightning fast and held him there in strangled pleasure that rolled on and on.

He held her tight to him. Even long after their bodies had eased into a warm, languid state and their breath had returned to normal. When she finally moved, he held her tighter in place, not ready to face being without her.

He looked into her eyes, searching, trying to tell her without speaking the words. He’d always suspected that he’d have a hard time getting over her when she left, but in that moment, he knew. All doubt was gone. He’d never manage it.

“Stay . . .” he said with a thick voice.

She smiled and kissed him, then cuddled into his side and sighed as his arm came around her shoulders and he kissed her forehead. Her face relaxed, her breathing evened out, and, when he was certain she’d drifted off to sleep, he whispered the thought he’d had from the moment he got her text the night before.

“Stay forever.”

fifteen

Anne’s head was pounding as she walked through the front double doors of her North Shore Drive mansion and stepped onto the polished marble foyer floor.

The morning had been a nightmarish ordeal. She couldn’t get out of attending the Mayor’s brunch, a Mapleton tradition where the incumbent Mayor shakes hands and makes nice with the newly elected Mayor after weeks of campaigning against each other. At the start of the campaign, she’d looked forward to it, convinced she’d walk into the room with her head held high, accepting congratulations from local bigwigs on another successful run. None of her contenders had been any actual competition for her.

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