Sadie
I paced the floor of my room, too stressed and in my head to go to sleep. Cyrus had gone out on a date. A date! I knew I shouldn’t care. I should actually be glad. If he was with someone else, that meant he was moving past me.
Yet, the thought made my stomach twist so hard, I thought I might be sick.
I had no right to feel this way. After all, I was the one who rejected him. I’d practically run out of his office after he’d given me an incredible orgasm that had made my eyes roll in the back of my head. It had been so incredibly selfish of me, but I’d panicked. Sex was a line that I knew we shouldn’t cross, but we kept inching closer and closer to it. I felt out of control when I was in his arms, and that scared me. I’d never felt like that with anyone before.
What was I going to do? I couldn’t keep going like this. I couldn’t hide in my room and pace back and forth every time he went out with someone else. I couldn’t just avoid him whenever things got awkward between us. Still, I had no idea how to navigate this. How to navigate him.
Suddenly, I heard a commotion downstairs. I stopped and listened carefully. Was that the front door? Was Cyrus back?
Before I could stop myself, I rushed out the bedroom door and down the hallway to go and see him. I was an idiot, I knew that, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. Stopping on the second-story landing, I looked down over the railing and spotted him taking off his jacket. Or, rather, trying to take off his jacket. He fumbled a bit and seemed to be struggling to keep his balance. Was he drunk?
“Cyrus?” I called with a frown, moving to the stairs. “Cyrus? Are you okay?”
He went still and then slowly turned to look up at me.
“You,” he said, his eyes narrowed.
I stopped half-way down the stairs, caught off guard by the animalistic tone of his voice.
“Um…you…you’re home early,” I murmured. I could feel my cheeks heat as he continued to stare at me. He reminded me of a wolf eyeing its prey, assessing how best to attack it. He didn’t say a word and began stalking toward me. I could see in his expression that he was angry. With me? “Cyrus? What’s wrong?”
He prowled up the stairs toward me, and before I could think of what to do or what else to say, he grabbed me around the waist and slammed me into his chest. I gasped and his mouth came crashing down on mine. He didn’t give me a chance to breathe as he slipped his tongue into my mouth. He dominated me with his kiss, clutching me to him with such force, I was certain he would leave bruises on my skin.
I didn’t care, though. I quickly melted into him, losing myself to his kiss and his rough touch. He turned me and pressed me up against the wall. I felt precariously balanced on the stairs, but he held me steady as he continued to devour my mouth.
When I slid my hands up his arms, he grabbed hold of my wrists and pinned them above my head. I let out a breathless cry.
“Cyrus? What’s gotten into you?”
He didn’t answer as he began kissing and biting his way down the side of my neck. With his free hand, he grabbed the skirt of my nightgown and yanked it up to my waist. Plunging his hand into my panties, he touched me, making me moan and arch my back.
“Ah! You…you’re drunk. We shouldn’t…”
My protests weren’t very strong. I mostly said them because I thought that’s what I was supposed to say, but in truth, I’d been craving his touch. It was as if my body had already grown addicted to it.
“I need to touch you,” he said, his eyes sliding closed as if he were savoring the feel of me. “You are so perfect.”
My heart fluttered. I didn’t know how to respond when he said things like that. My resolve to resist him quickly slipped through my fingers, and I was helpless in his arms. He worked my sex with his fingers as he ran his tongue up and down my neck. I tilted my head to give him easier access, effectively surrendering to my desire for him.
I slid one hand down his body and cupped the front of his pants. I gasped, and he groaned. It was at that moment that I realized I had never returned the favor to him. He had gotten me off multiple times already, but I’d never done the same for him. For some reason, that bothered me. I felt suddenly selfish. I hadn’t even considered his needs until that moment.
“I should be the one touching you,” I murmured against his lips as I slowly stroked him through his pants. “You’ve taken care of me so much already.”
Chapter 33
“Yes,” he growled with a nod. “Touch me.”
I gazed into his eyes. He stared back at me, his gaze slightly glassy but hungry and desperate. I couldn’t remember a man ever looking at me the way that Cyrus did. As if he would simply die if he couldn’t have me, especially at that moment, when he was drunk and not fully in control of himself. His armor was down, and he wasn’t trying to hide just how much he wanted me.
It was intoxicating, and my head began to swim with a combination of lust and giddiness. Holding his gaze, I slowly undid his pants and slid my hand inside past his underwear. I wrapped my fingers around him and watched his jaw clench as a groan slipped past his lips. His hand remained between my legs, his fingers rubbing my sensitive flesh as I stroked his hard length.
Our breaths mingled as our lips hovered so close together, we were practically kissing, but we held back as we continued to gaze into each other’s eyes. As I watched pleasure dance across his face, my own pleasure built up within me. This was one of the most erotic encounters I’d ever had, and we weren’t even having sex.
As if he could read my mind, he asked, “Do you want me to slide inside you? Do you want to feel me reaching deep into your body?”
While he spoke, he slipped a finger into my entrance. I whimpered, and he snarled, bucking his hips into my hand.
He was going to make me come like this. Right there on the staircase. I knew it wasn’t going to be enough, however. I was going to want more. So, so much more.
When I hit my peak, I threw my head back and let out a strangled cry. I tried to keep my voice quiet, so Megan wouldn’t hear from her bedroom. I had to dig my teeth into my lip to keep myself under some small amount of control.
Cyrus buried his face against my neck as his thrusting grew rougher and his teeth scraped along my skin, making me shiver. Just as he was about to climax, he suddenly went still.
Frowning, I murmured, “Cyrus? What…what’s wrong?”
He didn’t say anything. Didn’t even move. He kept his face buried against my neck as he breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling against mine. I started stroking him again, but he reached down and grabbed hold of my wrist, stopping me.
“No,” he muttered, lifting his head with a shake. “Stop.”
I stared up at him, stunned. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
Gently, he tugged my hand off of him and stepped back. I watched in silence as he fumbled to shove his erection back into his pants. It was no easy feat, as he was still completely hard, but he appeared determined. When he’d finally righted his clothes and adjusted himself, he looked back up at me.
“I’m…drunk,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not thinking straight. We should stop before we do something we’ll both regret.”
“Regret?” I breathed. Was this something he’d regret? Being with me?
His words stung. It was hypocritical of me, I knew. I’d been pushing him away up to that point, but now that he was doing the same to me, I didn’t like it. I didn’t want him to walk away from me. I didn’t want him to stop.
Once again, I’d gotten off, but he was left frustrated.
Shaking his head, he said, “I’m sorry. We can talk in the morning.”
He turned to go, but I reached out and caught his hand, stopping him. I wasn’t certain what I was going to do, but the urge to pull him back to me was overwhelming. Before I could, however, a scream rent the air.
It was Megan.