Page 91 of Shame Me
He gave me a tiny smile and withdrew—and I wanted to cry, because hehadfelt so amazing, even though my body refused to release everything it had been holding onto. “I’m not comingwithout you.” And he kissed me more firmly before tracing a trail with his lips down my chin, my neck, my cleavage…my belly, my navel.
Meanwhile, his fingers teased my nipples, but when I could feel his breath on my pussy, he slid his hands to my thighs and gently touched his tongue to my clit. At first, I could barely feel it, but then he exerted a little more pressure, and I let out a long sigh before sucking the air back into my lungs as far as it would go. I groaned, still not sure if I would get there—but then I felt it…that sense of impending pleasure, and I couldn’t help myself. “Yeah, like that.”
Braden was attentive and obedient, and doubled down—exerting a little more pressure, slightly more speed, but keeping the same back-and-forth motion. I kept whispering things likeyeah, that’s it, unaware of the words coming from my mouth as my brain started zipping toward the clouds and thenexplosion.
Fireworks went off in my brain as my body responded to the rhythm of his tongue—all manner of words flowed from my mouth, including his name, as I gave into a pleasure I’d never known before.
And he didn’t stop until I was done.
Kissing my belly, he waited until I’d caught my breath. “Are you okay if I—”
“God, yes, please.” The look in his eyes told me he would have ripped off the condom and jerked off if I’d denied him, but I couldn’t think of any better way to enjoy the glow I felt. And when his cock found its way inside my pussy again, my orgasm continued, rippling against him, my thighs gripping him as if wanting to devour his entire body.
“Jesus, Dani,” he breathed, unable to hold it back anymore.
Afterward, he rolled off me but held me close—and he gazed into my eyes until I closed them. His arms felt soft, gentle, and safe as I grew sleepy against him.
I didn’t care about tomorrow. I only focused on this moment and sweet, sweet Braden.
CHAPTER 28
The next morning, we had to meet for breakfast like we often did, and then we had to get back on the road. Our next stop took us back to Salt Lake City, but our show wasn’t until tomorrow night.
As I stretched in bed, Braden stirred—and I realized he’d held me all night long. I had a bit of a crook in my neck because of it, but I felt loved.
“Good morning,” I said, surprised that there was nothing awkward about it…even though I was feeling alittleweird. I kept reminding myself that Braden was my friend. And it would only be strange if Imadeit strange.
I hadn’t realized it, but he was still asleep and pulled me close. I could barely hear his voice when he muttered. “I love you, Dani.”
His words jolted me…because I cared about Braden—so much—but I couldn’t reciprocate that particular emotion.
And then I felt a flood of guilt—because, in that moment, I realized I still loved Zack. Even after the way that man had crushed my heart, I loved him to the depths of my soul—and a big part of me was certain he wouldn’t have cheated on me if he’d been sober.
Lying still, I scoured my brain for the right—the kindest yet most truthful—thing to say, when he stirred again. This time, Braden asked, “How much time do we have? Do you know?”
“My alarm hasn’t gone off yet, so we have at least half an hour.”
“Are you okay if I sleep a little longer?”
“Yeah, sure—that’s fine.” Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how tense his question had made me—and he’d allowed me to not have to answer it. I started to get out of bed when he tightened his grip around my waist.
“Don’t go. Stay with me.”
“I gotta pee, Bray.”
He made a soft noise similar to a whimper but let me go and I got out of bed, locating my t-shirt and sweats and pulling them on before heading to the bathroom. As I got ready—washing up, pulling my hair in a ponytail, brushing my teeth, and putting on a tiny bit of makeup—the guilt began to weigh heavier.
This time, though, I felt guilty because Braden maybe thought I cared about him the same way he did me…and I didn’t. IlovedBraden, but I loved him the way I loved Cy. They were my band brothers, my second family, and I cared about them deeply.
But I didn’t love Braden like a boyfriend, like the way he loved me. I’d never pictured us together or dreamed about our lives in the future.
When I was getting dressed, Braden got out of bed, smiling at me as he headed to the bathroom. “I’m ready for some coffee.”
“Me too.”
Zack had wanted to eat breakfast at the diner on Colfax where he used to wash dishes but Mick overruled it. Even though it wasn’t too far from the hotel, there was no place to park the bus—so he made “an executive decision” and said we’d be goingto a Burger King in Thornton just off the freeway that had a big parking lot.
The brat in me was glad that Zack wasn’t getting his way, but I imagined he still had a few friends there he wanted to touch base with. Either that or he wanted to say, “Look at me now, suckers!” And he could do that shit on his own time.
