Page 63 of Cross Me

“It took you long enough to tell me,” she said dryly. I’d be righting that wrong for the rest of our lives. “So you aren’t mad?”

“At you? No.”

“I thought you couldn’t blame Anders,” she pointed out.

I pressed my lips into a thin line. “I can’t blame him for feeling the way he does, but he shouldn’t have told you.”

It was going to make telling her the truth more difficult to bear. I propped my head on her knee. Now that I’d faced the firing squad, I felt a familiar desire taking root in me, but I fought it, knowing that I hadn’t escaped danger entirely. There were other truths to confront tonight. My eyes flickered to the clock.

“Have somewhere to be?” she asked.

“Checking the time.” I kissed her knee and she shivered. “I should look in on Elizabeth.”

“She’s asleep.” Clara sighed and checked the time herself. “I sent Penny in with her. I didn’t know how this would go.”

“It’s fine,” I said, waving off her apology. Someday, my wife wouldn’t feel the need to apologize to me for every goddamned choice she made. I would make sure of it. “I’ll peek in on her later. Besides, that leaves me and you time.”

Forty-five minutes to be exact, but I left that detail out. I couldn’t be positive I’d seen to all her needs until I’d seen to all her needs—and I was determined to do that before I told her the truth. Waiting for Edward was important and a ready excuse to be selfish now.

“We could go to bed,” she suggested.

“Too far.” I shook my head. There wasn’t time for a change of location and any horizontal surface would do—or vertical for that matter. Hell, no surface at all. I just needed my mouth on her. “I’ve been patient, but it’s been forever since I tasted you.”

“It’s been days.” Her words snagged as I pushed her legs apart and knelt between them.

“As I said: forever.” I tugged at the waistband of her pants and caught the elastic of her underwear, urging her to lift her ass to accommodate my efforts. Pulling them off her, I chucked them to the side before reaching up and yanking her ass to the edge of the chair. My palms slid up her silky thighs and pushed them open wider. A fine covering of downy hair dusted her pretty cunt, but above me Clara looked away.

“I’ve been a little preoccupied and I haven’t—”

“Don’t apologize to me, Poppet,” I reminded her. There was no need. This was my favorite present. I didn’t mind how it was wrapped. I was more interested in playing with what was inside. I brushed a finger down her weeping sex and she gasped. “I think it missed me, too.”

Pushing between the folds, I massaged her with my thumb, relishing her soft wetness and the greedy way it swallowed my finger. Spreading her, I lowered until her taste danced across my tongue.

“Yes, please.” A delicate hand grabbed ahold of my hair and tugged me closer.

“So demanding,” I teased, still close enough to breathe her in, “but since you asked nicely.”

“Oh…my…God…” she groaned as I caught her swollen clit between my teeth and sucked on it. I could stay here forever and listen to her make those noises—the sharp, breathy intakes, the loud, joyous moans and every sound in between. My cock could, too, judging by its hardness.

Clara’s hips rose to buck against my mouth and I grabbed hold of her ass, rocking her against me, urging her toward release. Her muscles tightened and I clamped down, fucking her with unrelenting strokes as she fell apart. Her hands released me, clutching at the sides of the chair as she continued to grind against me through the last aftershocks of pleasure.

I pushed her back on the chair, blanketing her leg with kisses as I sat back on my heels and watched her eyes close and her body melt into the seat. She peeked down at me. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes bright. I worshipped her. I needed her to see that so I slowly ran my tongue over my lower lip before bringing my fingers to my mouth and sucking her taste from them.

Her eyes clenched shut and she shook her head. When she finally spoke, her words were strangled but demanding. “Get off your knees.”

“My place is at your feet.” I meant that. If I could give up my crown and turn my back on the world, I would happily spend the rest of my life right here doing what I’d just done.

“Up, X.” There was no room for argument.

I stood but before I could lean down to kiss her, she’d pushed out of the chair to kneel before me.

“Clara, you don’t have to.” That wasn’t what this was about.

“I know that.” She looked up at me with a wicked smile. “I want to, X, because this is my place.” Her hand gripped my cock through my pants, stroking it, as the other worked to loosen my belt. I reached to help but she batted my hand away. The message was clear: she was claiming what was hers. When she pulled it free, she shoved my pants to my ankles and began to press hot kisses through my boxers until I was painfully hard. I fought the urge to lift her up and fuck her as she continued to tease. Instead I placed a steadying hand on her head. Clara seemed to understand that I was struggling to stay under control, because she finally drew down the last barrier between me and her sweet, little mouth. Her tongue met my shaft as I sprang free, drawing up it until her lips popped over the crest of my cock. I groaned as warm heat surrounded me and began to suck with lapping, thirsty draws.

“Fuck, Poppet,” I ground out as she took me deeper with long, drawing pulls. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

It was true. Clara was always beautiful, but there was something about the sight of her kneeling before me with my cock in her mouth that lit a flame inside me. As much as I was enjoying it—and I was fucking loving it—I needed to be inside her.