Page 37 of Half-Hearted
A finger hooked under the flimsy waistband of my thong, and he peeled it off slowly, then tossed it in the direction of his jeans.
“Finally,” he whispered as he settled himself between my thighs. “May I?” he asked, parting my lips with his thumbs as he waited for my permission. His eyes were glued to his target, and he murmured to it in a loving, buttery tone. “So pretty.” I clenched. He noticed. Thatsmile.
“Ye—” I gasped sharply. The word wasn’t even fully out of my mouth before he stole it away with his tongue. With a slow,fulllick. And then another. And another. Before his full attention moved to my clit, spoiling it with tantalizing circles of his tongue, grazes of his teeth. I let out a string of nonsensical noises, one hand gripping his dark hair, the other fisting his sheets.
He spread my thighs wider, holding me flat against the bed with his palms.
“Fuck.” That was Joel. I couldn’t talk. “Fuck, Lex.”
He sucked roughly on my clit, and stars studded my vision. Then his tongue dipped inside me, again and again, yanking my soul from my body. He was licking and lapping, sucking and groaning, until I couldn’t catch a hold of my breath. It was unreal. He was fucking incredible at this. I was already there, too close, filled to the brim with liquid fire. One more tiny suckle and I’d—
The orgasm tore through me like lightning, splitting me into incoherent, trembling pieces. I cried out, shaking thighs fighting pointlessly against their unrelenting restraints. “That’s it, baby,” Joel murmured as he continued to lick me slowly, leisurely, unconcerned by the thousand deaths I was dying. He simply kept going.
For a full minute, all I could do was gasp up at the ceiling and allow the little tremors of pleasure to run through my limbs.
But then, Joel’s tongue recircled my clit, and I almost died. My hands scrambled over the sheets, trying to pull me away. “Joel. I can’t.”
He clucked his exceptionally talented tongue with disappointment before placing a sweet kiss on my too-sensitive button. “Didn’t you say you fantasized about being my little plaything?”
“I want—”
The rest of my words were swallowed in a gulp of air as Joel slipped a finger inside and licked me again with the thick pad of his tongue. “Oh.”
I lost the sense of everything. Time, space, reality. The pressure built inside me again too quickly, threatening to spill me over the edge.
But I couldn’t. Icouldn’t.
And yet I did.
I unraveled a second time, my muscles seizing, limbs trembling, lungs stuttering, as I cried out Joel’s name.
He pressed lush, loving kisses on my inner thighs, then up my stomach, chest, neck. “You’re right,” he murmured when he reached my ear. “The real thing is so much better.”
Another aftershock ran through me, inspiring a whimper. Had he not turned me into a useless puddle of blushing liquid, I’d have agreed with him out loud.
He chuckled against my neck. “Are you dead?”
“Mmm,” I confirmed.
He nipped my earlobe. “Honestly, I kind of want to do that again.”
“I’llactuallydie if you do,” I said, snaking my arms around his neck.
“You taste incredible.” He kissed my shoulder, neck, cheek, then pressed his forehead to mine. The light, satiated smile he wore waned slowly. “I love you, Alexis. Really. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”
My heart sang, sending the reciprocating words flying to the tip of my tongue. But I thought that if I said them out loud, I would cry and ruin everything. So instead, I lifted my head and kissed him. Joel practically melted on top of me, wrapping me in a warm embrace, careful not to crush me under his weight. Though I really wouldn’t have minded if he did.
Eventually, we separated long enough for him to fish out a condom from his nightstand. I reached for his boxers before he had a chance to rip the foil, eagerly wanting to return his earlier generosity before we got to the main event. But he grabbed hold of my wrist. “Not today.” His voice was pitched low, smoked whiskey and lust. “I can’t wait anymore.”
I nodded and let go. “Okay.” I knew exactly how he felt.
He slipped the foil between his teeth and tore off his boxers, fist curling over his large, hard length. I swallowed and took off my bra. His glazed eyes moved down to my breasts, and he stroked himself a few times, slowly, before putting on the condom. Then he climbed back on top of me and dipped his head for another long, mind-meltingly possessive kiss. Once, twice. His hand found mine on the bed, and our fingers intertwined. Neither of us said a word, breaths stuttering as he slowly, oh so slowly, eased into me. He was big. It stung, even after all that… prep work.
Joel was patient, though, listening intently to my cues, waiting for me to adjust before he started to thrust. Gentle and unrushed at first, testing. Until the pinch of pain eased into throbs of pleasure.
“Faster,” I encouraged, nails digging into his back. I needed more. “Please. I’m good now.”
Joel groaned into my neck, burning my skin with heated nips and kisses and, “God, Lex.”
