22. Rook

22

ROOK

M y mind was blank.

Never in my life had my mind been this blank, but the sight of Kitty in that dress made everything else screech to a halt. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t even move. I was utterly transfixed. She was stunning, a complete vision in a gorgeous dress, and her boobs looked amazing in that corset.

And her smile. It was so wide and so bright that it lit up the entire room, and I realized at that moment that I was falling in love with her. Maybe I had been from the beginning, but now it was so glaringly clear.

I loved her smile. Her heart. Her determination to do right by this town. Her laugh. Her warmth.

I loved her.

“Is everything okay?” I asked when she hung up the phone and turned back to me. Her smile wavered, and my instinct immediately told me that something was wrong.

“I…” Her voice trembled slightly, and when our eyes met, it felt like something had changed.

My heart beat for her now, and only her.

“I have to change my medication,” Kitty said breathlessly. “Old allergies or something. I just hope it hasn’t affected anything in the long term.”

“Oh.” I nodded. “At least they caught it quickly.”

“Yeah… yeah.”

Kitty still looked uncertain, especially when she began tapping her phone against her palm and rocking back and forth slightly, but all of that faded when her mother stepped through the curtain in a deep emerald dress that swept along the floor like a wave.

“Oh, my God!” Kitty squealed. “You look amazing!”

“Don’t I?” Mrs. Morgan smiled widely, then she looked at me. “Do you think so?”

“Respectfully, I think I should decline to comment,” I replied quietly. “But yes, you look beautiful.”

And she did. But in my eyes, it was nothing compared to Kitty, who immediately recaptured my attention as she danced around her mother in excitement.

“This Yuletide is going to be one for the books!” Mrs. Morgan declared, and then she darted back into the changing room.

Kitty slowly took a seat in the chair next to me and puffed out her flushed cheeks. The crimson really made her eyes pop, and when she looked me in the eye, my heart clenched.

I wanted her.

In every single way that I could have her. In every way she would let me. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, even when her smile was lacking the light it had a moment ago.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s hot.” Kitty chuckled, flapping at herself with her hands. “Don’t you think?”

“It is a bit,” I agreed. “But you look… phenomenal.”

Kitty’s blush darkened and she dipped her head down, causing a few loose strands of her hair to dance across her shoulders. Shoulders I wanted to touch and kiss until the end of days.

“I, uhm…” Kitty glanced nervously toward the curtain. “I have something I need to tell you.”

“Anything.”

“It’s kind of—” Kitty abruptly cut herself off when her mother appeared through the curtain, fully dressed.

“Kitty, dear, I just remembered I have to pick up something for your father while I’m in town. Do you mind if I nip and do that just now?”

“Not at all!” Kitty stood and gently smoothed out her dress. “Take your time. We can meet up for dinner at that Italian restaurant you like? Around six?”

“Perfect, Darling.” Mrs. Morgan surged forward and clutched at Kitty’s shoulders, kissing her cheek. “I will see you then.” With that, she swept out of the room and disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of her floral perfume.

“Let’s get you out of that dress, dear.” Hilda motioned for Kitty to return behind the curtain. Kitty flashed me a smile and followed, vanishing out of sight.

Just as well. I needed a moment to catch my breath because all the air had vanished with my new understanding of my feelings. I loved her.

I had to tell her.

But how?

And when?

What if she didn’t feel the same way and I ruined everything? I didn’t work for Samuel anymore, so if I did fuck it up, there was no way Kitty would keep me around as a friend. I would lose her completely.

Suddenly, a shrill ringing rose up from the front of the shop. Just as I opened my mouth to ask Hilda if she wanted me to answer the phone, she came bustling out of the dressing room and hurried through the door.

The shrill ringing ended a few seconds later.

“Rook?”

“Mmhmm?” I stood immediately at Kitty’s call.

“Can you help me unlace the last part of the corset? I really need to get this dress off.”

“Of course.” I stepped through the curtain into a small room with a single platform and four long mirrors. Kitty was on the platform with her back to me and a half-unlaced corset. Our eyes met in the mirror as I stepped up behind her, and once again, I felt utterly weak.

In the best way.

“Just this?” I asked softly as I took the lace strands between my fingers. My knuckles brushed softly against her bare back, and Kitty gasped, then shivered.

“Yes,” she said quietly. “Please.”

Maybe I should have said no. To be plagued with such thoughts about her and then stand here helping her out of her dress, it was a recipe for disaster. I suspected Kitty had the same thought when our eyes met in the mirror once again.

I worked slowly, carefully unthreading the lace. Each quiet whoosh of silk made the corset part inch by inch until the only thing holding the dress up was both of Kitty’s hands pressing the fabric against her chest.

“I have something I need to tell you,” she said, slowly turning to face me.

“Do you?” I asked. Those words felt like a challenge. She was standing before me, almost naked in that gorgeous dress, and her eyes sparkled like glitter, reflecting the circular lights above.

“It’s important,” Kitty said again, her voice trembling.

Was she feeling the same electric charge in the air that had my hair standing on end?

“As important as this?” I placed one hand against her neck, aligning my thumb with her jaw. She didn’t resist when I tilted her head up slightly, and then I leaned down to kiss her.

It started gently, just a soft press of lips to lips with each of us holding our breaths for a few seconds. But the moment I kissed her, all my restraint faded, and I couldn’t hold myself back.

Whatever she wanted to talk about could wait until I had devoured her because I couldn’t wait any longer.

I increased the pressure of the kiss, and Kitty responded in kind, giving me all the permission I needed to continue. We were careful in removing her dress and setting it aside so that Hilda’s work wasn’t disturbed. The moment Kitty was free from it and standing on that platform in just her panties, I knew I was done for.

I rushed back to her and kissed her deeply, caressing her arms and shoulders as I pulled her close against me. Kitty moaned and whimpered as my tongue danced into her mouth and traced a familiar path. We weaved magic together, and I lowered her down onto the platform.

I barely thought about getting caught by Hilda, barely thought of anything other than making Kitty feel as good as she made me feel.

“Rook,” she gasped, cupping my face and panting against my lips. “Here?”

“Do you not want to?” I asked, pausing my kisses along her jaw and looking into her beautiful eyes.

“I do,” she gasped. “But if Hilda…”

“Don’t worry.” I smirked and kissed her full lips. “I’m talented.”

She laughed softly into my mouth, and I resumed my path. I kissed down her jaw to the soft heat of her neck. Each open-mouthed kiss I placed on her throat was firm enough to be felt, but I was conscious not to leave any marks. My hands cupped her breasts, kneading the soft flesh with both palms.

Kitty arched into me with a gasp and her nipples hardened almost instantly under my touches.

I kissed along her clavicle to the valley of her breasts, then each nipple got equal attention from my lips and tongue.

By the time I reached her panties, Kitty was panting harshly and the fabric was soaked at just a touch. I stroked my knuckles against her pussy, rubbing her damp panties against her, and Kitty moaned.

“Soaked so quickly,” I murmured, kissing her inner thigh. “How filthy.”

Kitty didn’t even bother replying. She was laid back and spread out on the stage with her body flushing pink and red from the path my mouth took down her. Both her hands caressed her own abdomen, then they slid down to bury into my hair as I pulled her panties aside and buried my face against her pussy.

No inch of her was left untouched. I kissed her outer lips, not caring for the rough texture of the curls there. Then I shoved my lips between her folds and kissed her most intimate heat. Kitty moaned and her fingers knotted in my hair, sending a punch of pleasure right through my gut. I alternated between flat presses of my tongue and pointed stabs inside her and over her clit to bring the most pleasure as quickly as possible.

I knew her body well by now, but I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything that made her tick. I wound my arms under her thighs and around her hips to keep her in place against me, and Kitty’s muffled moans began to pitch sharply. She was rocking back and forth, gasping and whimpering while her juices poured over my tongue and flooded my senses with her sweet taste.

She was addicting. I wanted her world to explode. I wanted her to feel even a fraction of the pleasure she gave me with just her presence. Kitty’s fingers flexed in my hair, pulling sharply and then relaxing. Her hips rocked back and forth, grinding against my face, and I gave her everything I had.

I was thoroughly buried against her pussy and I never wanted to leave, not if I got to hear those gorgeous sounds from her.

“Rook!” Kitty moaned hoarsely, then her body went rigid under my grasp and she came with a trembling gasp and a long, low whine. I kissed and ate her through it, soaking up each trembling wave of pleasure and drinking down every pulse of her juices.

I was in heaven ? —

“What the HELL is going on in here? Kitty!”