Page 80 of Love Decoded

My vision is just starting to clear of black spots when I feel Charli gently close her lips around the tip of my cock to suck the last drops out. The sensation has me shivering again.

“Sensitive,” I rasp.

“Sorry,” Charli whispers.

When I look down at her, the dazed shine in her eyes makes the breath stall in my lungs. Instantly, my knees buckle, and I land with a thud before her.

I take her face in my shaking hands. “Jesus Christ,” I say on an exhale. “That was…”

I can’t find the words, so I simply lean forward and take her lips in a kiss.

She lets out a muffled squeak of surprise, but once I slide my tongue in her mouth to very clearly communicate that I don’t care what she tastes like, she melts into me with a sigh.

When I pull back, she looks even more dazed than she was before.

“I…” She licks her lips, and I feel my cock twitch with a second wind. “I liked doing that,” she admits. “I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but…that was really sexy. And empowering.”

I huff a soft laugh. “Believe me, you had all the power. I would’ve given you anything you asked.”

Her eyes glint with mischief. “Noted for next time.”

I give her a look before kissing her harder. Then I stand and pull her to her feet. Shooting a look at her laptop, I ask, “What are the chances that I can convince you to skip your work and come watch a movie and eat dinner with me?”

She chews on her lip, glancing at her screen. “Umm…can you give me an hour or two to get the ideas out of my head first?”

“You mean the orgasm I gave you didn’t knock them all out? Way to bruise my ego.”

She narrows her eyes. “You won the bet with that orgasm. Your ego is fine.”

I can’t stop my grin. “That’s right, I did. Thank you for the reminder.” I steal another kiss. “Alright, fine. I’ll come get you in an hour and a half. After that, you’re all mine for the night.”

But when excitement flashes across her face, I find myself adding, “Not in the sex way, though. We’re still taking that slow.”

She collapses into her chair with a sigh. “You are the worst fuckboy. Fine.”

I send her a wink as I leave the room. It’s flirty, but in reality, I’m using it to hide my genuine reaction.

Nerves. Because the real reason I’m taking things slow is because I want her to be sure of me.

TWENTY-SIX

LUCAS

I don’t know who peed in my boss’s granola this morning, but he’s thrown everything but the kitchen sink at me today. Sometimes I hate being a high performer because it means he never questions if I’ll be able to get everything done.

When he pops into my office for a second time—after our morning meeting, where he already piled cases on my workload—I need a break. I need to just shut my brain off for a second.

A vision of all-black clothes flashes through my mind.

Maybe I just want to turn off my work brain.

“Samantha, hold my calls for the next twenty minutes, please,” I fire off into our phone system.

“On it,” she chirps back.

For the first time since I set foot in this office eight hours ago, there’s a little bit of a pep in my step.

I find Charli in the conference room. I saw her come in around lunchtime today, which I’ve noticed is her usual time when she does come in. She spends most days working at home, which I love—I love knowing she’s in my space at home. When she does come to the office, it’s either because she needs something in the physical files, or because she needs the big whiteboards that surround this room.