Chapter 28

MELODY

I leisurely strut to him,my drink dangling from my hand.

"Only one kiss. That's all," I say.

My attempt at bargaining is met with a cunning smile.

"Sure, baby. Whatever you say," he murmurs before taking one last drag, tilting his face down to hide his grin, and putting the cigarette out.

He pops a mint into his mouth and sheds his jacket before collecting mine.

"I want to see you," he says, taking my blazer and removing the purse from my hand.

The jackets go in the back seat before he slides the clutch onto the roof of his car.

He turns to me and latches his hands onto my hips.

"One kiss," he says, squeezing my flesh and making me close the gap between us by pulling me into him.

Our eyes meet first, and his smile fades, as does mine. He then removes the glass of champagne from my hand and places it on the roof of his car as well.

The slim, delicate glass is in a precarious spot, and it won"t make it by the time he's done with me.

He grabs a fistful of my silky hair, his touch awakening millions of nerve endings, creating a party of sorts.

Goosebumps rise on my neck, and tingles flash below my waist.

My fingers wrap around his wrist while my eyes dip into his gaze. A deep ocean of the unknown.

"You look beautiful, baby…" he says quietly, his warmth looping around me like invisible tendrils, his touch creating magnetic storms across my skin, his untarnished satisfaction disarming me, his voice rolling over my lips with candor and tenderness like never before.

His arm snakes around my waist while I fall into his chest. The top he wears is soft and warm, embalmed with his masculine scent.

I want to press my nose against it and inhale the essence of him, his warmth, the safety he provides.It's a beautiful dream without monsters, and I'm eager to explore it with all my being.

Our lips collide,andwe kiss like it's our first kiss.

With strands of hair moving over my skin, breaths dipped in heat, tension flaring, lips rolling, and tongues sliding.

The more we kiss, the harder I press myself into him,andthe more I feel his hard length against me.

He makes no secret out of it, tilting his hips and making me yearn for more than a kiss.

Tearing his lips away from me, he reaches back, takes my hand, and then presses it against his bulge.

His eyes don't leave mine.

"I said a kiss," I murmur.

His eyes narrow with a smile.

"You said so many things. Sweet little lies to fool yourself. You don't believe any of them."

"Nothing has changed," I say in response. "If I give into you, you will fuck with my head so badly, I won't recover. I don't know how to do half–measures."

He draws in a slow, strained breath before he speaks again.

"You can continue doing what you've been doing but you'll only make things worse and prolong your misery."

"Maybe I like it that way," I say, giving him a sultry look.

He quietly laughs.

"I had no doubt you were a glutton for pain. And I can give you pain."

I lean into him, grinning, tenderly kneading his bulge.

"Only if you reward me afterward."

A chuckle peels off his lips.

"So you're ready to cut a deal."

"Maybe," I say.

"Although nothing changes," he continues.

"Mm-hmm."

"You're a tough negotiator."

"I have no choice," I say, intoxicated by his smell, rubbing his shaft harder through his pants.

Having alcohol in my blood makes me bold.

"No sex besides me," he rasps.

"Agreed. The same goes for you."

"Hmm…"

I stop and look at him.

His eyes flicker with delight.

"You can't be with anyone else," I say. "I won't accept it."

He doesn't even make an effort to stifle his satisfaction.

"As you say, babe."

"I mean it."

"What else?"

I pull my hand away from him, and he grips it and brings it back, pressing it against his groin. I feel him stirring, my jealousy giving him that much satisfaction.

"That's about it… I think," I say softly. "Oh, I need to know if Aretha Stenson is hitting on you."

His eyebrows move into an incredulous look, his eyes brimming with amusement before he chuckles.

"You think she'd ruin her career for me?" he jokes.

"Not funny."

"She's not hitting on me. She's just dressing better."

"Right."

"Besides, she can't compete with you… Uh…" He pauses for a second, rock-hard in my hand. "For someone so difficult to commit, you're drastic when it comes to rules," he says.

"I've been burned."

"You hung out with the wrong kind of people."

"That coming from you is––"

He presses his thumb over my lips.

"We're done," he says thoughtfully, and I instantly sober up. "I didn't want to start with sex, but I'm willing to do it as long as you accept my conditions. First up, I expect you to give me a fair chance. I'm not you're fucking boy toy. You learn who I am, and don't lose your shit. You come clean with who you are and never doubt yourself again. And I have access to you for sex all the fucking time. It doesn't matter where you are or who you're with. No one else gets sex from you, or you'll have them on your conscience. That's my final offer. Take it or leave it."

My hand slackens over his groin while my lips part.

"I don't want to hear any of your justifications, Melody," he says sternly, and it all starts to make sense.

He was madas hellin Connecticut because I rolled with him, let him make me feel good, and then becameallmotherly with him.

He couldn't stand it.

Maybe he was gone this week.

Maybe he wasn't.

Whatever the case, his frustration with me hasn't subsided.

I'm like a squirrel, and he knows it.

One sudden move, and I'm gone, swirling away in chaos.

He has no patience for it.

He just told me that.

But now that he has laid it all out, I'm more stirred than ever. And he knows it. That's why he's given me some time. To lure me in, test my reactions, asses my vulnerabilities.

He's smart and innovative, and his execution is flawless.

He"s removed my silly objections and is now giving me two choices.

"If you walk, you won't see me again," he says coldly.

A lifelong of Tom Everetts and Emiles unfolds in front of my eyes with glitches and blurred background, a greasy soup of mismatches.

Life gives zero guarantees, and hejustshowed me how ridiculous my expectations were.

"What happens if I stay?"

"Other than you not breaking my rules?" he tosses at me with a smile I so welcome on his face.

"Yes."

"For starters, you get down on your knees and suck my dick until your beautiful mouth drips with cum."

JAX

Her magnetic eyesturn intopools of wonder as shock reads on her face, and astonishment grips her mind.

Never in her life did she think she'd be asked to give a blowjob in the back of an alley.

Her shoes and dress cost more than an average salary, and they will most likely be ruined, and her knees will have scraps from the concrete.

"Go ahead," I tell her, not wasting another second.

There's a moment in everyone's life when a crossroads isn't only a crossroads.

It's the beginning of a new life.

A crime happens at that crossroads.

An old version of that person dies, and a new one emerges. You have to be quick and merciless and, above all, never grieve. There is time for that later. But grieving has no place in making that decision.

I don't want to humiliate her or show her I'm her boss.

I don't regard her as such, but she needs to know this is a new beginning. And authentic new beginnings never look like your old life.

The time of pussyfooting around her has come to an end.

It has done nothing for her.

It made her unhappy, and it drove me up the wall. But I knew I had to have patience with her.

The problem is I'm not the only one who's treated her like a princess. And it's never worked. I knew it wouldn't work if I did it, but I indulged her.

That time has come to an end.

She knows it and is like a kid without her training wheels for the first time.

"Get down, baby, and take me out. We don't have the entire night. There's a place I need to be."

She doesn't like my wordsin the slightest, and there it is––her curiosity is laced with resentment and revenge.

I bet she'll suck me good.

This new woman is new to her. She's already shown her sultry side by convincing her to dye her hair and put a statement out there with her dress.

The luscious red hair highlighting her eyesfuelsthe tension in my body.

I make myself comfortable against the car, folding my arms over my chest while inviting her to touch me again.

Pouting, she unfastens my belt and unzips my fly.

I'mrock hardwhen she pulls me out of my pants and boxer shorts.Her red nails trailing down my length make my balls tighten.

She needs to gift me so much pleasure, so I forget the boners she has given me.

Damn, she's beautiful as she wraps her hand around me, impressed with my girth.

"It won't work unless you use your spit, so get down. Don't make mesay it again."

She gingerly lifts her dress with her free hand and crunchesin front ofme, sparing her knees. That works for me.

Her dress almost splits at the seams, and her tits push up, about to spill out of her bra as she brushes all her hair over one shoulder.

I help her with that, unfolding my arms, gathering her mane of deep fire in my fist, and reaching down to scoop her breasts out of her dress.

A questioning look slides over her face before she glances at the other end of the hallway.

"Don't worry. No one will bother you," I say asshefeelsherway around the crown of my dick with her fingertips.

Her breath tickles me before I feel the heat of her mouth and the moisture that I crave.

She places the head of my cock in her mouth, closes her lips, and sucks on my flesh.

A jolt of electricity pushes through my groin. The tension is perfect, making my blood move faster.

I wonder how many dicks she has sucked. Or how comfortable she has been. And has she?

Was it something she checked off her list? Or did she get any pleasure?

She's too concentrated on her task to experience anything close to pleasure, although timid signs that she likes it surface quickly.

She doesn't mind that her chest is exposed, and to make things even messier, I push the shoulders of her dress down so the top of her dress is bunched up at the waist.

She's still shy around my dick, and that might have to do with her brain more than her skill. So I fan my fingers over her cheek and hold her hair high.

"Let's do this…" I say, pressing my thumb into the corner of her mouth to keep it open and sliding my length in.

Every time I hit the back of her throat, a beaded tearfallsfrom the corner of her eye. She swallows hard and sinks her nails into my thighs.

I feel nothing while I watch my veiny rod moving past her crimson lips.

But I've never seen something more beautiful in my life.

It took some effort to bring her here, to make her believe in her instinct and how worthy it is.

She lets me fuck her mouth. The woman commanding a boardroom. The woman most likely feared.She allows me to do this to her.

She's down in front of me, tightening her lips around my hard length, moving her tongue and rolling her lips, sucking me good, not minding my fist in her hair, my thumb next to my hard flesh.

Her eyes are closed, yet her expression doesn't lie.

She's more and more relaxed.

More in tune with what she's doing.

And more willing to give up on her principles.

I'd love to have her naked in front of me, blowing me while wearing only her fuck me heels and maybe that magic liner that makes her eyes look like dying stars.

My beautiful red-haired woman.

Who knew she had it in her?

My hips start jerking faster as I inch closer to the point of no return. I increase my force, diving into her deeper, hitting her throat.

She keeps swallowing hard, not because she knows how much I like it but because she's tense, which makes it perfect.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one dealing with sexual frustrations this week.

She's faced them herself.

Her head moves to meet my thrusts and we get into this hypnotic dance of lust as I rock my hips and she swallows my cock.

Before long, I fuck her mouth, and she holds her own, taking me all the way to the top until I blast my load and experience the relief I wanted for some time.

Fuck, I love this.

My pulse explodes in my ears, and my hand hardens on her face while cum drips from her mouth, some of it spilling on her dress.

I slacken my grip, and her hair slides like a demure cloak over her chest, soaking up some of my semen.

I've made a mess of her.

Tears stain her face, cum lines her lips, and her locks are damp from my release.

Welcome to our new beginning.