Page 39 of Don't Bite the Botanist
He stroked his cock, thoughts of Tressa filling his mind. When she’d first left him alone in his room, he almost ran back out and asked her to stay. She’d made it clear she was more than interested in seeing where things might go between them sexually, and he couldn’t deny that the feeling of her in his arms earlier had felt so right it was scary.
He wanted her. He wanted her delicious body that called to him, and he wanted her fierce attitude that challenged him. It hadn’t escaped his notice that she refused to talk about her past, and he could only imagine what she’d gone through to remain that tight-lipped. But she didn’t let it define her. She fought through the trauma and became this powerful, confident, sexy woman.
She was everything he ever wanted in a partner, but he still couldn’t have her. At least not yet. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew she was the kind of woman who was end game. The kind you would never let go if you ever found yourself blessed enough to call her yours.
If Ethan allowed himself a taste of Tressa, it would be the death of him. He would fall so hard, the impact would shatter any other motivations he had. And Jake deserved better than that. He deservedbetter than a best friend who forgot about his revenge because he couldn’t stop touching the goddess in the next room.
And he wouldn’t be able to stop.
So he had settled for the next best thing.
He’d locked the door to his bedroom and slid under the covers before shucking his pants and boxers. Just the thought of being with Tressa had him painfully hard, so he’d gone straight to work, gripping his cock and imagining it was Tressa’s hand working him up and down.
Fuck, the bed even smelled like her, all sweet and fruity. She’d said their staff changed the sheets, but she must have rolled around in them afterward, because damn. The scent only increased the pace at which he jerked himself off.
She was so fucking far away in the next room, but it felt like she was right there beside him. Like she was with him, bound by the same strong connection he felt.
It drove his arousal to new heights, and he threw his head back, stifling the moans that threatened to escape. He wouldn’t be able to look Tressa in the face if she heard him masturbating like a teenager on the other side of the wall.
But that was what she made him feel like. A horny teenager who wanted nothing more than to get his dick wet. Only he didn’t want just any pussy. He wantedhers. He wanted to feel how tightly she clenched around his cock when he finally claimed her.
He’d never been a particularly rough lover before, what with his fear of accidentally hurting a partner, but something about Tressa told him she could take it. She could take everything he wanted to give and then some.
Despite her petite appearance, she wasn’t delicate like his flowers, she was strong. And fuck did he want that strength wrapped aroundhim, choking his cock until he erupted inside her.
His hand worked his length harder and faster as he imagined her there on top of him, bouncing up and down with those perfect tits right in his face.
It was that final visual that finished him, and he couldn’t fight back the loud moan that escaped as his release exploded all over his hand.
Fuck, he’d never come so hard in his life. He simply couldn’t deny the power Tressa had over him. At one point, it even seemed like the walls shook from the force of his orgasm, but that couldn’t be real.
He snatched a couple tissues from the box on the nightstand, cleaned himself up, then collapsed back into the bed, sending a fresh cloud of bubblegum scent wafting into the air around him. His hand drifted over to the wall, and it was like he could sense her presence on the other side. He didn’t love the idea of sleep, fully aware the nightmares would inevitably visit him once more, but knowing Tressa was next door helped ease his anxiety a bit.
Ethan shifted over so he was pressed against the wall. Closer to his salvation. Because that’s what she was. He knew it in his bones. She was the one who could make the nightmares go away. If only he was strong enough to be with her.
But he wasn’t. He was weak, both in body and mind. The vampire had done that to him, reduced him to a pathetic version of himself, but no matter what it took, he was going to kill it and get his strength back.
His goddess deserved better than a broken man.
Chapter twenty-one
Tressa
“You need to tell Ethan the truth.”
Tressa wiped the water from her eyes and looked up to see Saiden and Derrick looming over her. Groaning, she let go of the edge and sank back under.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t hide at the bottom of their swimming pool forever. And even if she could, it wouldn’t matter. Her vamp hearing could pick up their voices just fine underwater. It was how she knew it was her cousins and not Ethan who’d entered a few moments earlier. She’d been keeping one ear open just in case Ethan wondered in and she needed to reduce her level of vamp speed that made Olympic swimmers look like kids with floaties.
“You know we’re having this talk whether you come out or not, right?” Saiden asked.
Tressa glanced up to see the distorted face of her cousin leaning over the edge, glowering at her. Well, maybe not glowering so much as looking at her with his normal menacing expression.
Accepting that her peace and quiet were gone, she pressed hard against the bottom of the pool to launch herself up and out of thewater to land next to her cousins. Snatching the offered towel from Saiden’s grip, she wrapped it around her body.
“Okay, fine,” she said, collapsing onto a lounge chair and staring up at the night sky visible through the open ceiling. Marquin had the retractable roof installed at her request since she was pretty much the only one who used the pool regularly. There was something about swimming under the stars that reminded her of the few peaceful moments from her childhood.
An outdoor pool would have been ridiculous, given they had to severely limit their time in the sun unless they drastically increased their intake of blood. So she accepted the cloying smell of chlorine in the enclosed room as long as she could open the roof when she swam at night.
