Shimmy Bang Sparkle(39)

“Hi!” she said. She was breathless, her cheeks were flushed, and with every gasp her beautiful cleavage compressed against the scoop neck of her dress.

I handed over the bottle of wine and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You should take that show on the road.”

She took the bottle from me, looking a little shy. “You were listening.”

No point in playing this one cool, either. I wasn’t going to lie to her about the big stuff or the small stuff. “Yep. The whole thing.”

She cringed and then giggled at herself. “I get a little carried away. Come in,” she said, and opened the door wider. She had the Christmas lights that hung over the television plugged in, and the shades were drawn. The light was soft, the place was tidied up, and it smelled amazing. Inside the oven was a huge pan of lasagna, bubbling away. A big bowl of salad was ready to go on the table. And Christ almighty, garlic bread.

I could barely keep the drool from spilling out of my mouth, and then she turned around, revealing the back of the dress, which was backless except for a braided crisscross of thin polka-dotted straps. No bra, just a creamy white tan line still left over from summer. “You look gorgeous,” I said, taking her by the hips and looping my fingers over the apron tie. I brought my lips to hers, teasing her before I went in for the kiss. A nose to her cheek, my fingers in the curls at the base of her neck. But then I did kiss her. Kissed her hard and passionately and like I hadn’t been missing her for hours but for days, for weeks, for forever. Her body collided with the fridge, and it rocked behind her. I ran my hands down the pleats of her skirt and grabbed her ass, hoisting her up into my arms. Magnets fell off the fridge, and David went cockeyed.

“Does this mean we’re not eating yet?” she asked, with a laugh in her voice.

I hooked one arm underneath her, and she linked her ankles together. As I carried her through the kitchen, I paused in front of the oven long enough to hit the “Off” button, which beeped under my fingertip as I kissed her. Then I pulled my mouth away from her sweet lips to tell her, “You’re not gonna eat right now. But I am.”





19

STELLA

I undid the buttons on his dress shirt so fast it was a miracle I didn’t yank them right off and send them pinging around the room like a handful of Skittles. But I could not get my fingers to move quickly enough, and halfway down I gave up and slid my hand across his bare chest. His abs. His Adonis belt, a mythical thing that had only existed on Tumblr before I met him. That body, Lord have mercy on me and his body.

Using my calves, he pulled me to the edge of the bed, and my skirt rode up. It was a retro thing, complete with a single layer of crinoline underneath, to give the skirt a little lift. He went to his knees on the carpet and opened my legs. His hands slid up my thighs and pulled my panties down halfway. He situated my legs so that my knees bent over his shoulders, and then his face disappeared under my skirt. When his tongue touched me, I moaned . . . and he groaned. The only word for him, bare chested, on his knees, doing magical things with his tongue to me was . . . hungry.

So, so hungry. Just for me.

I pulled up my skirt so that I could see him. His eyes appeared above the ruffles, and I felt his smile against my clit. In the full-length mirror that I had on my wall, I saw him from behind too. Every detail was sexier than the last. His thick, meaty thighs pulling the fabric of his dress pants tight. The curve of his ass. Dress shoes tonight, not his boots, with scuffed leather soles. The clean, sharp line of his hair, just above his shirt collar. And my feet, dangling over his shoulders.

Whatever he was doing with his mouth was making the room shake already, and to steady myself I hung on to his forearms. The contrast of his ink against my skin sent my brain whirring into outer space.

His eyes were closed in the most delicious pleasure, and he used the widest, strongest part of his tongue to press against my clit. As the tip moved along my slit, I let my head fall back onto the mattress.

Again, though, the nerves that had psyched me out last time were gaining on me. I knew I could do it, but I didn’t want to wear him out. “I don’t know how long I’m going to take. I’m not used to coming like this,” I whispered at the ceiling.

The pressure on my clit stopped, and he pulled his face away. He didn’t wipe his mouth off on my thighs, but he did kiss the inside of the left one. And then he said, “I don’t fucking care if it takes all night, gorgeous. Just relax. Let go. I’ve got you,” and tugged my skirt from my hands, letting it cover his head completely. And got back to work.

Let go, Stella. He’s got you, I repeated as I looked up at the ceiling, and closed my eyes. As he made a slow clockwise circle around my clit, he groaned. His exhalation warmed my skin, and he groaned again. It was the unmistakable sound of someone eating something they found absolutely delicious.

Though I’d never seen the northern lights, I felt like I was seeing them now. Ripples of green and blue got mixed up with deep blues and purple-blacks. As I relaxed, I eased down into a wonderful in-between place, neither here nor there nor anywhere, and yet everywhere. It was a place where I didn’t need to worry and didn’t need to decide. It was the pleasure of lying down on cool grass on a hot day. Before I knew it, I was close. Really close. The flicker and the pulse had started, and my nervousness was gone. It was coming, and no amount of overthinking was going to stop it. I gripped his hands hard. “Nick . . .”