Tears well up in Ivory’s eyes, her hands shaking against the granite surface. “How long?”
“He’s looking at years for multiple offenses. The bail is set at two-hundred-thousand.”
She nods as a trembling smile unfolds across her lips. “Thank you.”
When she moves to come closer, I stop her with a strained expression. I want her. Too much.
She tilts her head and licks her lips. “You believed me when my own family called me a whore and a liar. I’ve been running from him for four years, and in one week, you removed him from my life.” She stares at me in awe. “Emeric, you’ve done something no one has done for me in a really long time.”
She doesn’t clarify what that is, but I can fill in the blanks. I’ve made her feel safe.
“I wish it was more.” I flex my hand on the island, holding her gaze. “I want him punished for rape, Ivory. If you change your mind about pressing charges, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“No.” Her jaw sets. “I want to move on.”
She’s worried he’ll come after her, and frankly, I am, too. I don’t want her connected to his demise in any way. He won’t be locked up forever, and I’ll have to deal with his inevitable freedom when that day comes. But there’s less risk for Ivory if he’s not blaming her for the next however many years he’s rotting in a cell.
As for the best piece of news I received this afternoon… I close the final few feet between us and prowl around her, lightly gliding my knuckles up her arm.
She shivers, turning her neck to maintain eye contact.
I pause behind her and grip her wrists. With her body facing the counter, I flatten her palms on the cabinet door above her head. “Don’t move your hands.”
She smiles at me over her shoulder. “If I do?”
Brat. I slam a hand against her gorgeous ass.
She flies up on tiptoes, head dropping back with a squeak of surprise. But her hands remain where I put them.
“Such a good girl,” I whisper at her ear, causing her entire body to tremble.
Her responsiveness is such a fucking turn on. I’ve been hard since the day I met her, but I’m finally, finally, going to slacken this long-suffering ache between us.
Unless she uses her word.
I cover her hands with mine, pressing them against the cabinet, a silent reminder. Then I move down her bare arms, fingers stroking skin, then shifting to caress around the outer curves of her breasts.
She holds still for me, but there’s a subtle sway in her posture as she lifts and leans toward my touch, her head tipping and eyes alert, following my every movement.
I roam my hands over the stiff material of her black dress, tracing the outline of her muscles and hipbones beneath. When I reach the hem at her knees, I gather the dress up her thighs, over her supple ass, and let it cling around her waist.
With her eyes turned to watch me, her lashes lower as I slide my mouth down the back of her dress. She sighs, bowing against the counter and dropping her head between her raised arms.
Crouching behind her, I fill my hands with her high round cheeks. The black lace panties look so damn sinful on her. Too bad this is the last time she’ll wear them.
I grip the tiny straps around her hips and yank.
The sound of ripping lace brings her head around. “I liked those.”
“I’ll buy you a hundred more and rip every fucking one of them off your gorgeous ass.”
As I stand, I reach around the front of her legs and drag the tips of my fingers up her inner thighs. Her trembling limbs and husky moans scorch heat through my cock, engorging it to painful steel.
When my hand encounters the soft hair on her *, I tug hard on the short strands. She bites down on her lip, muffling a gasp.
My heart pumps faster, harder. I press my chest against her back, kick her feet apart, and slide my finger along her slit.
Her head falls back on my shoulder, and her mouth chases mine. I dodge her, tickling my lips along her jaw, down her neck, blanketing her skin with my breaths.
“God, Emeric. I’ve never felt like this.”
“Shhh.” I nibble on her shoulder, let her feel my teeth, my tongue, and the heat burning me up inside.
Her head rolls, exposing her neck to my kisses. I suck on her ear lobe, circling my tongue as I plunge my fingers into her slippery cunt. Fuck, she’s so warm and wet and tight.
She whimpers and rubs her ass against my cock, propelling my teasing touches into a panting, grinding imperative. Our bodies roll together, fucking without penetration. My cock is lined up, but my slacks are in the way.
I thrust my fingers in her soaking *, savoring the clench of her inner walls. “You’re clean, Ivory.”
Her hands twitch against the cabinet door. “Clean?”
“Your test results.” I slide my touch toward her anal rim. “We’re both clean.”