12. Juniper

Juniper

What was wrong with me?

I almost kissed him. Not only did I almost kiss him, but I wanted to still. This was not how it was supposed to go. It was supposed to all be fake, no feelings, no strings. Just because we hooked up once didn’t mean we couldn’t do it. We were adults, but something about the way he held me yesterday, and the care he put into everything he’d given me had blurred those lines. But they couldn’t. Casey was counting on me. I was counting on me.

We were all in the tub now, the jets going and the candle Ellery got me flickering on the table. It was really pretty, with the turquoise jar and pretty turtle top. When I saw that price tag there was no way I would splurge for something like that, but when I went to the cupboard to grab extra towels when Rachel told me they forgot theirs, it almost tumbled to the floor. It made me think Ellery was listening all those times he asked me questions, and made me even more confused than ever. I stared at that flickering candle every once in a while, just watching the flame burn as hot as I felt.

Ellery and I now sat side by side, keeping enough distance so we didn’t actually touch.

Rachel was right, being in a hot tub after freezing outside and straining my muscles truly did feel good.

It was nice to talk with them more. I really did like Rachel, and hoped she wouldn’t hate me too much after our fake break up.

As we sat and chatted, Samuel pulled out the hard seltzers he brought, and we drank our way through more than we should have.

Soon it was obvious Samuel was getting drunk, and he and Rachel started getting handsy. It started with a move closer, and a kiss to her neck. Then they started whispering and giggling together. Ellery seemed to be in his own world, sipping his drink and not paying much attention to them.

The bubbles agitated the water enough that I couldn’t see everything. But I could see the outline of his hand headed up towards her upper thigh, and even higher. His other was positioned higher, and he started playing with her boobs under the water. There was something so… erotic about watching them that made me hot all over.

“Hey!” Ellery said, making me jump. “Go get frisky in your own hot tub. I don’t wanna see that.”

Rachel just laughed and Samuel made little kissy faces at him. He hopped out of the tub then pulled Rachel out, who wrapped around him easily. “See ya later,” Samuel called as the two of them walked out and through the room, dripping wet.

My mind traveled to the things they were off to do and a blush ran across my cheeks.

“Ugh, I think they’re going to be in the honeymoon phase forever,” Ellery said, sipping on his bottle again.

Realizing the situation we were in made it feel like the world had stopped spinning. We were now alone, in a hot tub.

He looked at me then too. The air molecules were charged by something greater than electricity. Something that was magnetizing us together.

“Should we go inside?” I asked quietly.

“If you want,” he said, as if there was another option.

“Or…” I trailed off.

I squealed as I was lifted from the water and placed in his lap, straddling his body.

“Or we can do this,” he said.

My hands landed around his shoulders, my body pressed to his. I knew I’d set these rules, tried to remind myself of why I was truly here, but something about him felt magnetic.

“We could,” I agreed.

He pulled me close. The bubbles took that moment to auto shut off, leaving us in a sudden silence that felt a lot like the calm before the storm. His fingers deftly went to my back, then my neck, unclasping my bikini top and watching it fall to the water beneath us.

A shudder racked through me as he ran a fingertip over my exposed nipples. “I will never tire of seeing these,” he said, flicking the metal bars.

I didn’t think I’d ever tire of him touching them, but before I could get the words out, his mouth was on them. He rolled the piercings around with his lips. My wet hands gripped his soft hair, searching for purchase. He gave one a hard suck and bite before soothing it over with his tongue. Every sensation went right to my clit, sending pleasure through every nerve ending.

“I’m at my wits end for you, pretty moon,” he said.

He stood and sat on the edge of the hot tub, pulling me forward until I was between his thighs. Pressed to his chest, skin to skin.

My hand grazed down his body, over his chest and his hard pectoral muscles. Further down through the bit of chest hair to his abs. They were solid, just like the rest of him.

I moved my touch towards his hip, running a finger over his hip bone, until I finally followed it all the way down his V to the edge of his shorts. I could hear his breaths get shorter as my touch moved closer and closer to the hard length currently tenting his shorts. It felt like a bit of revenge from the last time when he teased me to no end.

I thought about continuing my tease, but then my eyes found his. I was transfixed on his gaze, his shimmering ocean eyes pulling me in, like a lighthouse on the edge of the sea.

My hand drifted under his shorts, grabbing hold of his thick length. He shuddered as I pushed his shorts down, pulling his cock out. Looking at it, it was just as large as I remembered it being. The tip was thick, his foreskin covering it until I pulled it back to reveal the cockhead fully.

He drew in a sharp breath. Body rigid, every inch of him changed with what I did to him. Having this full body effect on him made me feel so in control, yet at the same time, so lost to the pleasure sparking between us.

I began to work his cock in earnest then. My fingers held firm as I jerked him, keeping a slow, steady rhythm he seemed to enjoy. A slight groan left his lips as I picked up speed, bringing him closer to the edge.

He grabbed my chin and tilted it up, so we were face to face again. We were so close, I could feel his hot breath on my face. I licked my lips and his eyes flicked to the motion. Then he leaned in, until we were so close I imagined exactly what it would be like for him to bridge that gap. One small push would connect us. He was going to. He leaned forward, and a second before he could touch I pulled back.

He quirked his brow in a quizzical fashion.

“No kissing,” I clarified.

He drew back. I thought he may leave all together, but instead he ran his hands down my sides, leading to my hips. “I’ve been told I’m an excellent kisser,” he said as his gaze lingered over my body.

“I’m sure you are,” I said.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss him. There was just something too personal about it. Too complicated about it. It was a boundary I had to keep to draw some sort of line between whatever we were and… whatever this game was.

Something flashed in his eyes for a moment, it almost looked like hurt, but it was gone before I could take it in.

I jolted as his hand rubbed over my clit, the motion unexpected.

“Keep going,” he whispered.

His gaze was no longer on my face, but where his touch was. I continued pumping, trying to feel his body and learn what he liked. Our breaths were labored. The water beneath us swished gently, and the wind whipped beyond the glassed over balcony, but it couldn’t touch us here. Here it was warm and beautiful.

It didn’t take long for me to get closer and closer.

“Come for me, my pretty moon,” he said.

I’d never had an orgasm from words alone, but it felt like I was now. Like it was a real command. I squeezed his fingers, coming hard. I pumped him at the same pace, willing him to come with me.

Moments later, ropes of come hit my stomach, covering me in the reminder of what just happened between us.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, taking deep, steadying breaths.

His arms came around me, holding me close. In this moment, everything felt simple. It felt like there wasn’t a huge sum of money holding us together. It was just the two of us… like this was something real.

“Would you like to go shower?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

He got out and stuck his hand out to help me. I followed him inside through the dripping wet trail Samuel and Rachel had already left earlier. He led us towards the bathroom and went in first. I released his hand to let him go, planning to go back outside and sit on one of the chairs since I was wet.

When I released him, he looked at me. “What are you doing?”

I shifted on my feet. “Letting you shower?”

“No, we’re showering together,” he said.

He didn’t wait for me to respond, just spun on his heel and went to turn the water on. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. He really did think people would just bend to his whims. It felt like a flaw but was, for some reason, more attractive to me.

I realized I had a decision now. I could follow him in, which would probably lead to… more, or I could turn back and let him shower alone. My feet carried me forward, as if I didn’t have control over them.

Ellery dropped his wet trunks to the floor then, giving me a good view of his entire back. His shoulders were so tight, as well as his back. My eyes trailed further to his toned, pert behind. I’d never taken a lot of time to consider a man’s ass, but something about his had me staring. Even his thighs were muscled, as if they were cut from marble.

“Ready?” he asked.

My gaze bounced up, to where he smirked. I ignored it and walked into the shower stall. It was huge, the floor made of some kind of pebbled stone that tickled my feet a bit. Even though it felt like there was room for six people here, when I turned back to Ellery, it all felt much smaller. Everything about him just took up so much space. His attitude, his good looks, his giant body.

Even if I did think he liked me, how long could it really last? I didn’t have a large personality. Or money. I had magic, but that wasn’t really the same. Even if, somehow, we set aside the now sixty thousand he’d agreed to give me to be here, there was still the issue of how different we were. How different our lives were.

I rinsed then switched places with him so he could do the same. I bent to grab the soap bottle from the floor, and when I stood back up and turned to him, his eyes were firmly on my backside and his cock was hardening again.

“I saw that,” I said.

His brow quirked. “Like I didn’t catch you checking me out earlier.”

“You didn’t,” I said, even though he definitely did.

“Whatever you say,” he said.

“And you got mad about the instructor earlier,” I said, lathering the shampoo through my hair. It smelled like pomegranates. I normally used a pomegranate shampoo, but this one was much more luxurious than mine.

He scoffed. “Did not.”

“Did too,” I said.

We switched again so he could wash his hair and I could rinse mine. “I was just coming to check on you.”

“By biting his head off and telling him his services were no longer necessary?” I questioned.

We swapped back so I could condition while he rinsed. “I didn’t like the way he touched you,” he said.

“He was just helping me up.”

“His hands were on your hips,” he insisted.

“You were just jealous,” I sniped.

“So what if I was?”

We both paused at the admission. The sound of the water hitting the tile seemed louder than it did before.

Ellery reached down and grabbed the soap. He put some into his hands then lathered it, before gesturing me to move towards him. I did and his body blocked the water from spraying me as he ran his hands over my arms, over my shoulders, down my middle, flicking my nipples as he went.

“What are we doing?” I asked.

We both knew I didn’t mean the shower.

He didn’t look at me as he spoke. “We’re in what some might consider a … strange arrangement.”

I scoffed. “That’s an understatement.”

“But, I don’t think that means we shouldn’t have fun while we’re doing it. There’s obviously attraction here. If we act on it, it would make everything easier.”

“You think?”

It made sense. I was attracted to him, and minding him constantly was a struggle. But we were both adults, and that would help relieve some of the tension.

He nodded. “It would also help sell this whole thing, I think. If we were more intimate.”

I didn’t know if I bought that reasoning, but I couldn’t think of a rationale to say no. And maybe if we got it out of our system, every brush of skin wouldn’t feel so intense. Then, once this was all over, I could walk away with my money and feel satisfied. It was a win for everyone.

“I agree,” I said. “It does make the most sense.”

His hands started to roam lower then, running over my hips and back to squeeze my butt. I gasped at the feeling of it.

“Want to continue now?” he asked.

I nodded.

We quickly rinsed off, dried, then moved to the bed. I hadn’t been on it since we got here, and it was so soft and plush, which should have been expected at a place like this.

I squealed as he flipped me by my legs, so I was face down on the bed. I crawled up to all fours, trying to get my bearings. Before anything could happen, he had his hands on my hips, pulling them back into the position he wanted me. I felt a bit like a rag doll being thrown around, but something about the control he took was so sexy.

He pressed his face into me he licked my pussy from behind. I buried my face in the bed, trying to stifle the noise.

He fucked into me with his tongue before bringing it forward to my clit. His face was fully pressed into my body, his breath heating my skin.

I whined as he pulled away, leaving me wet and wanting. “I want to hear you, pretty moon,” he said. “Give me all the moans I’ve earned.”

I turned my face, planning to sit up and tell him no, but he dove right back in and I cried out loud, not able to stop it.

“That’s what I wanted,” he said against me. The vibrations went straight up my spine, making me tingle from head to toe.

He licked and sucked me like I was his favorite candy. His tongue was soft but firm, pressing exactly where I needed him to be every time.

My hand came around to his head, needing him somehow closer. I pulled on his curly, wet strands, probably painfully, but he didn’t seem to mind.

A few more strokes and I came on his tongue. I pulled him somehow closer, feeling him even deeper.

I collapsed onto the bed, absolutely boneless after riding his face.

He kissed my buttcheek and pulled away. I turned back when I heard the tear of foil and saw Ellery ripping a condom with his teeth, holding his cock with the other hand.

He rolled it down his length and I felt him line up with my cunt. He teased my entrance, but I didn’t want that. I wanted him to fuck me. I leaned back against him and pressed myself into him, sheathing him halfway.

He hissed as I did, holding my hips steady. “This is going to be over too quickly if you keep doing that.”

I tried to push back more, liking the way he squirmed, but I was held very still. He withdrew almost all the way before sinking back in slowly. It was excruciating, and I wanted more. I wanted to be fucked hard.

But he continued to set this slow pace, easing in and out, snapping his hips right at the end to thrust into me hard. The motion hit my g spot every time, and it built a slow, intense orgasm inside of me. Though I savored every motion, I still wanted more.

His hand came around to rub my clit. I wanted to lower my head, to close my eyes and allow myself to really feel it, but his fist in my hair had no give.

He also picked up his pace, fucking into me harder and faster, giving it to me exactly the way I wanted.

Pleasure coursed through my body, flooding my system as I came. It was drawn out, brought on slower than the ones before.

I felt his hips fall out of rhythm and slam into me one final time before he emptied inside the condom.

He fell to the bed, but I was so exhausted I couldn’t move, and sleep found me quickly.