I lean against the wall, arms crossed as I watch her bounce on her tiptoes, singing off key. Fuck, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Mars’s parting words echo in my mind. Life is beautiful. Life is short. Live it on purpose.
Stepping forward, I cross the kitchen towards her, shucking my shirt as I go. She sees my reflection in the microwave and gasps, spinning around.
“Ry, you scared me—”
I silence her protest with my mouth, wrapping her in my arms as we kiss. She sucks in a breath against my lips, letting out a little squeak that turns into a moan as she sinks against me. The wine glass full of crushed ice brushes against my shoulder and I hiss, flinching away. My body is on fire for her, and the chill of the glass is so cold.
“Oh—sorry,” she says with a bubbly laugh, setting the glass down behind her.
It gives me an idea. With a grin, I fish my fingers inside the glass pulling out a piece of ice. She watches, eyes wide, as I pop it in my mouth.
“Oh, sweet puppy, what are you doing?” she teases, her hands brushing over my bare chest.
The heat in her eyes is fueling my fire. My dick twitches as I suck on the ice, letting it chill my tongue. I grab her face, my fingers firm on her jaw as I tip her head back, my intention clear.
She grips my shoulders as she parts her lips, her eyes lost to lust.
Leaning my face closer to hers, I dribble some of the icy water into her open mouth. She gasps, closing her lips as she swallows, some of the water dripping down her chin. I chase the water with another kiss, burying my tongue in her mouth. Hers is so warm and mine is cooled by the ice. It doesn’t last long before my mouth is just as hot as hers and we’re pawing at each other, desperate for more.
I shove her up against the counter, my fingers digging back inside the top of her glass. “Take your bra off.”
She doesn’t hesitate, jerking the straps off her shoulders to let her beautiful breasts hang loose and free. The freckled skin of her chest is flushed pink, as are her cheeks. I look down, loving the way her nipples are peaked and needy, waiting for me.
The ice drips in my hand as I lift it up, letting a few droplets fall onto her breast. I repeat the motion on the other side, cupping her with my icy palm.
“Oh god,” she cries out, arching into me as her skin pebbles over with goosebumps.
Once again, I chase the cold with heat, covering her nipple with my mouth, sucking the icy water off her skin. She tastes like heaven.
Her hands dig into my hair, pulling me back as she searches my face. Her dance music still pulses all around us. “What happened to you today?” she says, her tone gentle, curious.
“Life is short, Tess. Wanna live a little with me?”
She smiles, her eyes twinkling. “You spoke to Mars.”
“Yeah, can we not talk about him while we’re half naked?”
“Are you jealous of Mars, sweet puppy?” she teases, her hands roving. “Are you worried I’ll leave you for his surly sourpuss glares and his steamed salmon dinners?”
I cup her ass, pulling her against me so she feels how much I want her. “Never,” I reply, knowing it’s the truth. Mars isn’t my competition. I have no competition because Tess isn’t a game or a prize to be won. She said it herself the night we danced at the Price wedding. If she wanted to be anywhere else, she would be. She wants to be here. She wants to be with me.
The thought burns in my chest, fanning the flames of my need for her. “I like being your sweet puppy,” I admit, my hands slipping behind her back to work loose the clasp of her bra. “I like when you pet my hair and fetch me water and get me berries for my morning oatmeal.” The bra comes loose, and I drop it to the floor. “I spend so much of my life taking care of everything and everyone else. So, I like being sweet, and I like when you’re sweet to me.”
She smiles, her hand cupping my cheek. “I like being sweet to you.”
I turn into her hand, kissing her palm. But then I grab her wrist tight, jerking her hand down as I step in, my hips pressing hers into the counter.
She gasps, looking up at me, our naked chests pressed together, hearts beating fast.
“But I am not just sweet.” I cup her breasts as I lean in, nipping her bottom lip.
“Ryan—”
“I can be gentle, and I can do as I’m told…but I like control too.” I fist her hair, jerking her head back.
She hisses, letting me do it, a sexy smile pursing her lips as she gazes up at me, her eyes dancing with excitement. “I know you do,” she says, her hands flat on my chest.
“I want you to know me, Tess. I want you to know all of me. Life is too short to settle for anything less than everything. You deserve to have everything you want, but I do too.”
“And what do you want?” she whispers.
I smile down at her, my hand loosening in her hair. “In this moment?”
She nods.
“I want to lay you out on the bed, tie your hands to the headboard, and fuck you in the ass ‘til you scream.”
“Ryan,” she whimpers, her gaze molten as she literally melts into me.
“I want you,” I say, dropping my mouth to hers. “Tess, I want you,” I say again, my lips pressed against hers. “Please, say yes. Please, let me have you.”
She clings to my hips, her body leaning against mine. “Yes,” she whispers, her voice barely audible over the loud party music. “Ryan, yes. Take me. I’m yours. Any hole. Ryan, I’m yours—”
I silence her with a kiss, demanding entrance with tongue and lips, claiming her mouth. The heated press of our kisses helps the fire spread as our hands move. Everywhere she touches me gives me a shock of pleasure. It warms and crackles like electricity, racing across my skin.
I drop my hands to her hips. “Jump.”
She gasps, leaning away. “Ry—what—”
“You heard me,” I say. Grabbing two fistfuls of her ass, I pull on her, lifting her off the floor.
She shrieks, pressing up with her toes just enough that I hitch my arms around her thighs, pressing her pussy against my erection.
“Hold on,” I say, spinning around and carrying her out of the kitchen.
“My margarita,” she squeals, laughter caught in her throat as I use her body to shove open her bedroom door.
I walk straight across the room and drop her down on the end of the bed. She shrieks again, her hair flopping around her face in a mess of curls as she drops back to her elbows. I swoop down, kissing both her breasts before I claim her lips. “I’ll make you a thousand margaritas once we’re done,” I vow.
She laughs again, her hands brushing over my shoulders and down my arms.
I pull away and she pouts, reaching for me.
“Get those panties off and crawl up the bed,” I say. “I’ll be right back.”
Not waiting for her response, I hurry across the hallway into my dark bedroom and snatch up a bag from the top drawer of my dresser. I grab the lube from the side table and hurry back across the hall to find her naked in the middle of the bed, legs spread, fingering her own clit.
I go still, watching her play. Her chest is flushed a deeper pink, her cheeks too. “Like what you see, puppy?” she teases.
I groan, dropping the bag onto the end of the bed. “I’m not puppy tonight.”
She dips two fingers inside her pussy, giving them a little twist that has her biting her bottom lip like a red-haired siren. “Who are you then?”
Reaching into the black shopping bag, I pull out a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs.
She gasps, dropping her hand away from her clit as she sits up. “Ryan, tell me you didn’t go to a sex shop with Mars Price today!”
I blink. “What—no,” I cry. “No, I bought these online. You think I would brave a sex shop without you, are you kidding?”
She crawls down to the end of the bed, taking the handcuffs from me, eyes wide. “These are so cute, I wanna die,” she coos, rubbing the pink fur against her cheek. “Ohmygosh, they’re so soft—”
I snatch them out of her hand with a glare. “They’re not supposed to be cute. They’re handcuffs, Tess. This is serious.”
She smirks. “Then why didn’t you get like, black leather, or just plain metal?”