Page 103 of Pride and Protest
They were that bad.
Nearing the end of the dance, Dorsey’s stick struck hers high in the air. He moved closer to her as their sticks still crossed each other above their heads. One deep breath would have their bodies touching. If he bent down to kiss her, with her arms high like this, she wouldn’t be able to stop him in time. Not that he was going to.
Dignity, Liza. You made a mistake. You bet on the wrong horse. Now you have to live with it.
“Liza,” Dorsey said. She noticed that his head was bent down at a perfect angle.
Action over deliberation.She didn’t let him finish.
She kissed him quickly and deeply, sticks still high in the air.
Fuck dignity.
“Take me somewhere, Dorsey,” Liza whispered.
He was breathless. “Anywhere.”
“Your place.”
Dorsey was calling his car the next moment. Gigi made him take a turn around the room to make his apologies and bid everyone good evening, but Liza saw the rapid-fire handshakes and shoulder pats and laughed. He looked like someone had pressed an invisible fast-forward button.
CLOSED CIRCUIT
Liza and Dorsey fell onto each other as soon as they crossed the threshold of his loft. Dorsey pushed her toward the kitchen as his mouth met hers in a fury that overwhelmed her and buckled her knees.
He had been so slow, so calculated, before. That measured man was gone. His warm hands explored her body. In the kitchen’s gleaming sterility, they were the only two things out of place. Liza was sure he would take her on the dining room floor if she let him. Her hips dug into the countertop as he kissed her neck. Why had she never noticed how strong he was? He picked her up with so little effort, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Right at the crook of his neck, this close, he smelled like skin, soap, and sweat—like he was finally meeting her the way nature intended.
“I want you, Liza. I’ve wanted you for a long time,” Dorsey told her between kisses. “I know I fucked it up with you before.”
“Don’t speak.” Liza did not want her head clouded with all the ways this could end in tears.Sorry I misunderstood our relationship. It won’t happen again.His final sentence flickeredconstantly inside her head. He walked up the stairs with her hooked around his neck and waist.
“No... No, Liza, I fucked it up. But I’m gonna make it right. I’m gonna make it up to you.” He ground the thick ridge of his cock into her. “And I’m gonna start here.” He kissed her again.
Wet friction.
His mouth on the shell of her ear.
Filthy promises whispered against his neck. Liza was shattering. He wasn’t proposing or anything, just acknowledging that he had been wrong. But why had his words vibrated inside her?
It was Liza’s turn to take a measured approach to tonight.Just be breezy.All the judgment she had heaped on Bev, and here she was again, in the arms of a man who could only give her a piece of himself, not all of him, and she would take it, at least for tonight. She was tired of feeling empty. Tonight they had recognized her for an event she and Dorsey and Park had put together. She had a win tonight, and she needed it after a series of losses. Why not try to run up the score while she could?
Once in his bedroom, Liza stood and tried to separate, but Dorsey would not let her go. He bent to kiss her again, but she pulled back and wagged her fingers. “We have plenty of time. More than fifteen minutes this time,” Liza teased. He brushed the soft skin of her jaw with his thumb as if he couldn’t believe she was actually here.
Liza pulled at his belt buckle. “I was so stupid before,” she said. “I kept ignoring my heart. I had all of this evidence, and I ignored it. But I won’t ignore this.” Dorsey sucked in a breath when Liza pulled his pants down. Liza slid her hands into the warm cotton of his boxer briefs. With her free hand, she pushed his underwear past his hips. His thick cock bounced forward and pulsed for her. A small bead of wetness pearled at the engorged tip. Liza lickedher lips—she would swallow it whole if she could, and bent down to kiss the head. It jerked up in anticipation, trying to put itself into Liza’s hot mouth.
“Now that we’ve greeted each other...” Liza went to her knees. She was damn good at this and too rarely got to showcase her skills.
“Liza, I have no shame in telling you if you start there, this is going to be a short night. I’ve wanted you for so long. I cannot—” He stopped short when Liza’s mouth closed over him. She kneaded his butt as he thrusted deep into her mouth.
“Liza!” He held the crown of her head. Every vein in his cock pulsed and throbbed on Liza’s tongue. He was close, she knew.
“Oh my god, Liza. Fuck it all, I’m coming.” His voice was tight, and he seized and spilled himself into her mouth. He fell backward on the bed and did not speak. Liza hurried to the bathroom and spit in the sink. She found some mouthwash and gargled.
By the time she stepped back into the room, he was up and hard again.
“See? You just had to believe in yourself.” She smiled.
“You are so beautiful.” He covered his heart with his palm.
