Page 43 of Under Pressure

“Doesn’t it? We need to get used to touching each other if she’s going to believe that you’re actually interested in me.”

“And let me guess, you already think she’ll buy that you’re into me?”

“Of course. Because I am.”

I clamp my teeth down onto my lip, but the move fails, and I smile. Letting my gaze roll up to the ceiling, I sigh. Beck’s too smooth for his own good—and mine. I’m well and truly fucked here because while I know this can’t actually go anywhere, I’m softening toward him. It’s not enough to make me agree to anything real, but he’s wearing me down, and it’s ridiculously annoying that he knows it, too.

Remember the sound of his friends laughing at you, Quinn.

I can’t let myself forget that he didn’t make one move to step in and tell them to fuck off. They’d have listened to him, but he kept quiet. I shouldn’t have expected anything from him, but Iwas naïve enough that I’d actually welcomed those smiles and friendly nods of his head in the halls and assumed he was a good enough guy despite his terrible choice in company.

He’s fooled me before, and I refuse to let him do it again.

It’s been over ten years since I last saw him, though.

His chair scrapes the floor as he pushes back further. I snap out of my head when he rises and starts walking toward me, those long, long legs of his moving far slower than usual. The back of his hand is flexing, the veins more prominent as it falls to the edge of the table, only a couple of inches from where I’m clutching it.

A warm knuckle meets the underside of my chin and guides it up. My neck arches, and I’m forced to meet his blazing gaze. He leans over me, the scent of his cologne filling the air around me, leaving me no choice but to take a long inhale of it. My skin ripples with goosebumps as he inches closer and the heat of his exhale washes over my nose.

“Breathe, Quinn.”

I do and instantly regret it. The scent of his aftershave mixes with cologne. Raw heat floods my system and turns my thoughts drowsy.

“I’ll come by again tomorrow night, gorgeous. We’ll work out the finer details then,” he murmurs, lips brushing the arch of my ear as his thumb traces the bags beneath both of my eyes. “Get some sleep tonight.”

I inhale sharply, and then he’s gone, my skin suddenly icy.

And my thoughts just as unclear.

16

“Fuck,baby. Tell me what you need.”

I can’t see the man’s face, but the coarse, strained voice floats up my body, caressing every naked inch of my stomach. It’s familiar and so sexy that I make no effort to draw him up so I can look at his face. Heat runs a slick trail around my belly button before curling higher and brushing my nipple. I arch my neck and stare up at the ceiling, gasping in quick, unfulfilling breaths as the tongue on my breasts makes way for the hot suction of his lips. My fingers slip through soft, long hair, grasping at the strands. I feel something cold around his neck, and suddenly, I’m using his chain as a leash, yanking him closer.

“That’s it, Quinn. Show me what you like. I’m yours to use,” he grates, groaning roughly against my diamond-hard nipple.

I lift my hips, searching for relief. He’s hovering above me, lying in the cradle of my thighs, yet he won’t touch where I need him to. The endless tease is driving me to madness, and I use my hold on his hair to push his head back down my body.

His rough chuckle fans across my belly, then the top of my groin. I shiver, moaning when his hair brushes my pussy, and I press up from the bed again, too close to begging. He doesn’t hesitate when his tongue flicks out and runs across unshavedskin. The throaty growl he releases floods my thoughts, distracting me well enough that I relax completely beneath him.

“Knew you’d taste like this. So fucking sweet—something just for me.”

He uses his fingers to part me before blowing a steady stream of air across my throbbing clit. His chuckle elicits another moan from me when I release his hair and grip his nape instead, terrified he’ll stop.

“I won’t stop. Not until I feel this perfect pussy flood my face. I’ll stay right here as long as it takes, baby. Use me how you need. The only thing I want is to make you come.”

It’s impossible for me to speak. My vocal cords are paralyzed. The guy between my legs doesn’t seem to care, though. He’s reading me just fine without words. I nod in approval when he drags the flat of his tongue over my clit in slow, exploratory movements. He hums against me, and I whimper, fisting the sheets at my side.

“I know what you like, Quinny. Why have you been fighting this, hmm?” He retreats just enough that he can look up at me through thick black lashes. The green eyes are sharp with arousal, burning and burning— “Keep your eyes on me. Fuck, just like that. Watch me make you come?—”

There’s a loud bang around us, and I jerk beneath him, realization cutting through the haze of lust.

Did he just say Quinny?

FuckingQuinny.

Another bang sounds, still faint, like I’m trapped underwater. Suddenly, I’m looking down at Beck, watching as his mouth lifts from my crotch. The sight of his swollen, glistening lips sparks a rush of alarm as I go still, muscles solidifying.