Seventeen

Harlow

The knock came at my door earlier than I had anticipated.

It was late Monday afternoon, and it was my day off. I’d spent the better part of the day getting all my housework and errands done, because I was expecting this knock to come.

And even though it was happening earlier than I’d expected, I didn’t mind. While my chores I needed to get accomplished today had kept my body busy and moving, it was safe to say my mind hadn’t gotten much of a break.

Because I hadn’t stopped thinking about Blaze, particularly the excitement I felt about knowing he was going to be coming over to see me after he was done at work.

When he brought me home last night, we’d made the plan to see each other again today. Unfortunately, we couldn’t spend the entire day together since he had to work, but it was probably a good thing that had been the case, since it gave me the opportunity to take care of things I would have chosen to ignore if he had been here. I was so excited to see him now.

Ever since we’d had that discussion at my salon last week, I’d spent more days with Blaze than not. Sure, I didn’t get all day, every day with him, but I got a few hours. I loved it.

And while every moment we’d spent together had been wonderful, I wasn’t sure anything could have topped yesterday afternoon and evening. I couldn’t stop thinking about what it had been like to have Blaze making my body feel so good. It had been so great, so memorable, that I found if I thought hard enough about it, I could still feel his touch lingering.

The man was incredible. He had been so attentive and talented. Granted, I didn’t have anyone else to compare him to, but I was convinced his skills weren’t lacking. I’d never felt so good in all my life, not even when I’d used my own hands or toys on occasion.

As wonderful as yesterday had been with Blaze, he had insisted on making it all about me. It was nice. Generous. But Blaze’s insistence on me being the only one to benefit physically from the fun meant that my mind had been consumed by one particular thought today.

How was I going to be able to make him feel just as good today as he’d made me feel yesterday? Would Blaze welcome having my hands on him? Would I even succeed at accomplishing what I set out to do when I wasn’t even really sure where to start?

I didn’t have any answers to those questions, but I knew I intended to get some. I only hoped Blaze would allow it, because he deserved to feel some of the same that he’d given me. Plus, I wanted to watch and listen to him as he lost control. Considering he’d claimed it had been more than enough for him to see me like that, I wondered if I’d feel the same watching him come apart, knowing I’d made it happen for him.

I made it to my front door, swung it open, and rushed forward into Blaze’s arms. He didn’t miss a beat, effortlessly catching me and holding me close while lifting me slightly off the ground. After planting a kiss on his lips, I declared, “You’re early.”

“Is that okay?” he worried.

I nodded. “Of course, it is. But I don’t have dinner ready for us yet, because I wasn’t expecting you for at least another hour and a half.”

Blaze grinned, kept his firm hold on me, and stepped forward. He kicked the door closed behind him, nestled his face in my neck, and inhaled deeply. Only after he’d peppered several soft kisses to the skin along the top of my shoulder and up the side of my throat, he brought his mouth to my ear and whispered, “I was hoping to use the extra time to work up an appetite and maybe start with an appetizer.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “What did you have in mind? Did you have a taste for something special?”

Blaze pulled his head back and allowed his eyes to roam over my face. There was such a look of contentment in his expression, like being able to hold me close like this after a day at work was all he’d ever need to have in his life. If that was the case, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand it, because I was quickly learning just how much happiness I felt whenever he was around.

“I did have something very special in mind,” he confirmed.

Tipping my head to the side, I asked, “What would you like?”

Without an ounce of hesitation, he answered, “You.”

My brows shot up in surprise. “Me?”

He nodded slowly. “I’d like more than just a taste of you, Harlow. If I’m honest, I think you could be a full-course meal.”

I licked my lips, wondering precisely what he wanted to do with me. I wasn’t na?ve, and I was aware there were places he could put his mouth that might be enjoyable. If that’s what he wanted, I had no plans to stop him.

Because I liked him, and I wanted this as much as it seemed he did. I’d trusted him to make decisions about the places we’d go and the things we’d do when he took me out on dates, and I trusted him with this. I trusted him to take the lead and do this in a way that wouldn’t be too much too soon for me.

Of course, I was also aware that I needed to communicate with him and let him know what I was ready for. And since he seemed eager to get that taste, I didn’t think it was fair to delay him, even if I was a bundle of nerves.

“I’d be more than happy to have you figure out if that’s true,” I told him.

“Yeah? You’re okay with it?”

I pressed my lips together to stifle a grin as I nodded. “I trust you.”

Something warm stole over his expression, and one of his hands drove into my hair. “Baby…” he croaked. “Do you know how much it means to me to hear you say that?”

“Maybe half as good as it feels to be confident in saying it,” I guessed.

He let out a laugh. “That’s fair.”

We held each other’s stare for several moments in silence before I asked, “So, are you going to carry me to my bed, or are you going to keep me here, wondering what exactly you have planned for me?”

Blaze pressed a quick kiss to my lips and said, “Wrap your legs around my waist, and I’ll take you to your bed.”

Instantly, I complied.

Blaze noticed, and his lips twitched as he kicked off his sneakers just inside the front door. “Somebody’s eager.”

Could he blame me?

I gave Blaze instructions on how to get to my room, and as we made the journey there, I couldn’t ignore the trembling in my belly. The anticipation for what was ahead was almost too much to bear, so I was grateful when we made it to my bedroom and Blaze carefully lowered me to my back in my bed.

As I scooted myself back, he joined me in the bed, hauling me up against him, so we were on our sides with our bodies pressed together. Whatever Blaze had been eager to get, he didn’t delay.

He hooked one of my legs over him as his mouth captured mine. His tongue drove into my mouth, tasting and exploring while his hands roamed over my body.

While there was a part of me that wanted to use my own hands to explore his body, there was the other part of me which was happy to submit to him. At least for now. Maybe I’d allow him to get his fill, to touch and taste as much as he wanted, and when he finished, I could take my time to do the same.

So, I held on.

I held on to him and kissed him back with everything I had.

There wasn’t an ounce of disappointment to be found in doing that. Because, eventually, Blaze got himself worked up. He rolled me onto my back, and his body came over mine. I loved the way it felt to have his big, strong body on top of mine.

But more than that, I loved how he tore his mouth from mine and, with deep, heaving breaths, he shared, “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I brought you home last night.”

My arms tightened around him in response.

He pressed a soft kiss on my jaw and whispered, “From the moment I sat down at my desk, I was hard thinking about you and how beautiful you look when you come.”

I pressed my head deeper into the pillow, my eyes closing as I tilted my chin up higher.

Blaze nibbled on the skin at the front of my throat, one of his hands sliding up my side until it shifted to the front and cupped my breast.

I whimpered.

“Nobody has ever driven me this wild,” he shared.

I rolled my hips.

Blaze didn’t stop. “Nobody has ever made me want to leave work early just to get a taste.”

It was too much, and yet, I still needed more.

His thumb swiped over my nipple on one side while his mouth bit down gently on the other, my shirt and bra a nuisance for me at this point. When he released my nipple, he lifted his head slightly, forcing me to look down at him. Once our eyes were locked on one another, he said, “Nobody but you.”

“Blaze,” I whimpered. I was so overcome by not only the physical sensations moving through me, but the emotional ones, too.

Though I might have been too caught up in the way I felt, Blaze wasn’t so distracted that he couldn’t react. After hearing me say his name, he moved and did it quickly.

My shirt was gone in an instant, followed by my shorts I hadn’t managed to change out of before he arrived. Blaze moved to my bra next, and it was only after I was there in nothing but a pair of panties that he slowed down.

His heated stared moved over my body, not a single inch of it going unnoticed. “You’re so beautiful.”

I’d had so many nerves moving through me, but with the way he was looking at me combined with the words he said, it was difficult to feel anything but desired at that moment.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded.

His hands came to my hips, his fingers curling around the lace edge of my underwear. “Can I take these off?”

“Yes.”

The next thing I knew, I was completely naked in front of a man for the first time in my life. And despite the uncertainty I felt about what I was supposed to do next, I didn’t feel embarrassed by my nudity. I knew that was all due to the way Blaze was looking at me.

The moment his hand came to rest on my knee, my hips jerked up. It was as though my body recognized his touch and knew what was in store.

Blaze seemed to understand precisely the effect he was having on me, because I caught him trying to hide his grin as his other hand went to the opposite knee and began drifting along my thigh.

My chest began to rise and fall rapidly with my quickened breaths, and Blaze brought his mouth to within inches of mine. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

I smiled against his lips, one of my hands reaching up to thread into his hair. Holding him there, I kissed him.

His fingertips were so gentle and featherlight on my skin as they continued to move along my thigh and up my side; it was no surprise I was squirming beneath him. The ache was building between my legs, and he hadn’t even touched me there.

When he tore his mouth from mine and shifted its attention to my breasts, his hand didn’t stop teasing me. Only now, instead of tracing delicately over my side, both of Blaze’s hands firmly grasped my breasts and played. With his mouth teasing one, his fingers kneaded and toyed with the other.

I felt helpless as I continued to writhe and pant and moan beneath him.

Eventually, Blaze continued his journey south, his hands moving to my hips while his mouth pressed kisses along my abdomen. The anticipation was far too much, the ache building, and I was desperate to squeeze my legs together for some relief.

But I couldn’t do that.

Because Blaze’s body was between them, and he chose that moment to look up at me again.

“Baby, I’m going to make you come with my mouth, okay?”

I nodded at the same time I asked, “What should I do?”

He smiled at me. “Just lay back and enjoy it.”

“Are you… Is that… Really?”

Blaze shifted his body until he was lying on his stomach with his head between my legs. He was that close to the most intimate part of my body, and he looked like he believed he’d won some treasured prize.

After curling both hands around my legs, Blaze turned his head to one side and pressed a kiss to my inner thigh. Another shot of desire moved through me as I panted.

That’s when Blaze looked at me and promised, “Yes, Harlow. That’s all you need to do. Lay back and let me make you come.”

Once I gave him a slight nod of understanding, Blaze dropped his focus from my face. It was all I could do not to squirm completely out of his hold with the way he was looking at me between my legs. Then it became an exercise in superhuman strength to remain where I was the second he put his mouth on me.

“Oh, God,” I moaned.

Blaze’s tongue was swirling, slowly and deliberately, around my clit. Then his lips were pressed firmly against me as he sucked.

He had said I should just lay back and enjoy myself, but I wasn’t quite sure how to do that. This was so new, so stimulating, and I desperately needed something to hold on to.

My fingernails gripped the blanket beneath my body, my head lifted off from the pillow to glance down between my legs. I couldn’t even begin to formulate a coherent thought about what it did to me to see Blaze’s head there, knowing he was intent on delivering the pleasure that he was to me.

I wasn’t sure if he knew just how talented he was or that I felt as though I was experiencing the greatest moment of my life, but Blaze would not be deterred. His tongue flicked; his mouth applied pressure. His hands gripped my thighs or moved up my body to play with my breasts. He built me up effortlessly, a continuous onslaught of wonderful sensations coming at me.

Blaze seemed to be doing everything he could to draw it out. He could have made me come almost immediately, but it was as though he was enjoying this far too much to see me through to the end just yet.

There was nothing I could do but what he’d said—lay back and enjoy it.

So, that’s what I did.

I laid back and enjoyed it.

I submitted to Blaze’s desire to deliver this the way he intended.

And once I did that, somehow, it was even better. Blaze seemed to recognize I’d done what he’d wanted me to do from the start, and it was only then that he allowed it to build without pulling back.

One of my hands released the blanket and found the top of his head. I gripped his hair firmly in my hand as I called out a warning. “Boss, I’m going to come.”

Blaze did not relent. He kept at me, pushing me higher and higher until, finally, he sent me soaring.

I cried out as wave after wave moved through me, Blaze not taking his mouth away until he saw me through to the end.

Once I’d reached that point, he turned his head to the side, pressed another kiss to my inner thigh, and brought his body over mine.

I was panting, out of breath, and so unbelievably sated.

“Wow,” I marveled.

Blaze smiled against my lips before he kissed me, giving me a taste of myself. Then he asked, “Did you enjoy it?”

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes briefly. When I opened them, I confirmed, “Immensely. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I didn’t even know that was possible. And here I thought there wasn’t a single thing that could top what you did to me yesterday.”

Blaze shifted his body to the side of mine, propped his head in his hand, draped his other arm across my body, and glanced down at me with a look of amusement. “Baby, I promise it’s only ever going to be better each time you get something from me.”

I licked my lips. “Sounds like I’m a lucky girl, and as wonderful as that seems, it’s a bit disappointing.”

Confusion washed over him. “Disappointing? How is it disappointing?”

I rolled toward him and pressed my palm to the center of his chest. “I just don’t think it’s fair I’m the only one who’s benefitting from all of this.”

“Harlow, I told you I’m content to give you this. I promise there’s no rush,” he insisted.

“I understand, and I appreciate that you aren’t attempting to push me for anything. But even if we aren’t going to have sex right now, I still think it’d be nice if you’d let me do something to make you feel as good as you’ve made me feel,” I explained.

His body tensed, his fingers pressing in firmly on my back. What he didn’t do was offer a verbal response.

Unsure what he was thinking, I ignored the nerves I felt and asked, “Is there something I can do for you? Can I touch you?”

Following a beat of tense silence, he gave me a nod. “Yeah, baby. You can touch me wherever you want to touch me.”

His voice was deep and husky, like he was trying to hold back his emotions.

Hope and excitement surged inside me. I wanted nothing more than to do this for him. “So, it’s okay if I take off your clothes?”

“Of course, you can.”

As excited as I was to see Blaze’s naked body and touch his skin, I didn’t move. When too much time passed without any action on my part, Blaze asked, “Is something wrong?”

“I… well, I… I’m not sure what exactly to do once I get your clothes off, and I don’t want to screw it up,” I stammered, heat hitting my cheeks.

Blaze curled his fingers around the back of my neck and gave me a squeeze. “Harlow, you’re naked, and I’ll be naked. If your hands are on me, however that comes, there isn’t anything that you can do to screw it up. But if it will ease your mind and quell the nerves you feel, I can show you what to do.”

“Okay,” I said softly before I moved and came to rest myself on my shins beside him.

I held his gaze for several beats, then I placed my hands beneath the hem of his shirt and began sliding it up his torso. His skin was so warm, and his muscles twitched beneath my touch. I’d made it to his chest, where Blaze helped by lifting his body and pulling it the rest of the way off.

For the first time, I finally understood the look Blaze gave me when he saw me naked. I’d only removed his shirt, and the attraction I felt for him had ratcheted up several notches. His body was strong and flawless.

I placed both of my palms on his chest and allowed my hands to touch and explore him. Blaze seemed perfectly content to let me take my time, and he even showed his appreciation for what I was doing with a groan when I bent forward at my waist and began kissing his chest and abdomen. There wasn’t any spot on him I didn’t want to kiss.

Eventually, I made my way to the fly of his jeans. I unfastened his belt, unbuttoned the fly, and slowly pulled the zipper down. My eyes met his, the heat in his gaze was undeniable.

“I think you’re going to have to lift your hips for me,” I told him.

Blaze didn’t hesitate. He lifted his hips, but he allowed me to be the one to pull his pants down. I’d gotten them off and yanked off his socks at the same time. My hands crawled their way back up his thick, muscular thighs until I reached his hips, where my fingers curled around the waistband of his boxer briefs.

I waited a moment, giving myself the chance to take this in. And when I was convinced I’d finally done that, I pulled his underwear off and freed him from the confines.

He was gorgeous.

Every part of his body was utterly breathtaking.

“God, you’re handsome.”

“Thanks, baby.”

My eyes left his, moved down his body, and landed on his erection. I’d moved my body, so I was now nestled between his thighs. I licked my lips, allowed my hands to drift over his legs again, and ultimately covered him with one of my hands before I looked to him for some direction.

“Curl your fingers around me,” he urged, immediately sensing the question in my gaze.

I did as he instructed, and Blaze brought his hand to meet mine. “Now what?” I asked.

“You stroke it, pumping your fist like this,” he returned, his voice thick with emotion.

With his warm hand on top of mine, Blaze demonstrated what he needed me to do. I loved the intimacy of the moment and that both of us were doing this together.

But when I seemed to catch on and got the hang of it, Blaze removed his hand from the equation and allowed me to do it on my own. As much as I liked the both of us doing it together, I liked being the one to do it for him, because I wanted him to be able to just relax and enjoy it like he’d done for me.

Wanting to be sure that was what was happening, I asked, “Am I squeezing too tightly?”

He let out a soft laugh as a lazy smile spread across his face. “That’s not a possibility. The tighter your grip, the better it feels.”

Noting that detail, I tightened my grip, continued to stroke, and was rewarded with a deep groan. It made me feel so powerful.

“Should I go faster or slower?” I pressed, wanting to know everything I could to make sure he was satisfied.

“You can do whatever you can tolerate,” he returned. “The harder you squeeze and the faster you stroke, the quicker I’ll come. But I don’t mind if it’s slow and lazy, because it just means I get your hands on me for longer.”

After taking in those words and recognizing he’d done a lot of alternating his pace with me when he used both his hands and his mouth, I decided it would be best to provide him with the same.

“Would it help if I kissed you?”

“Harlow, I love the sight of you wearing nothing at all, but I’d love nothing more than your soft, naked body pressed against mine while you jerk my cock and kiss my mouth,” he growled.

The sound of his voice was like nothing I’d ever heard before. It was deep, gravelly, and unbelievably sexy.

It would have been impossible for me to not only give him what he wanted but to ignore how the way his voice sounded made me feel.

Even though he’d just made me come, his voice rumbled in a way I could feel it between my legs, a renewed desire for more of what I’d already had.

But I had to ignore it. He was the priority right now.

Wanting to give him everything to make this spectacular, I kept my hand on him, shifted my body out from between his thighs, and pressed my naked body against his. The moment I was there, and his arm wrapped around my back, I touched my mouth to his and put all my effort into kissing him and stroking him.

Blaze made it clear what he liked when he groaned, pressed his fingers in on my skin, or thrust his hips in rhythm with my fist.

Over and over, I continued. Even when my arm cramped, I didn’t relent. And it paid off.

Because Blaze tore his mouth from mine, closed his eyes, and growled again, “Fuck, baby, you’re going to make me come.”

God, I didn’t think I’d ever tire of hearing him like that, so caught up in us and the way I was making him feel.

I kept going.

I squeezed tighter.

I stroked faster.

And the next thing I knew, Blaze had a grip on me like I did on him. The muscles in his chest, shoulders, and neck tensed and flexed as his orgasm ripped through him, and the sounds that came out of him were unlike anything I’d ever heard before in my life.

It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

That’s when I understood.

That’s when it all made sense to me how it was possible for Blaze to say that seeing me come apart had been more than enough for him.

When his muscles relaxed, I slowed my strokes to a stop. Blaze brought his eyes to mine and asked, “How is it that everything you do is perfect?”

Hearing that was such a relief. “Really? You enjoyed it?”

His hand went to the back of my head to hold me there as he lifted his from the pillow. With his mouth inches away from mine, he muttered, “I loved it. I loved every single thing about it.”

Blaze didn’t give me the chance to respond. He claimed my mouth in a bruising and possessive kiss.

We did that for a long time, my hand still wrapped around him.

But eventually, we got ourselves cleaned up and went downstairs, where we took the time to make dinner together.

And as was becoming clear to me, it was another day with Blaze that felt better than the one before. I wasn’t sure if it would always be that way, but I prayed it would never change.