21. Ford

FORD

CHAPTER 21

I , Ford Malone, was not a cuddler. Never had been. Not even with Claudia, after all our years together, though she hadn’t been especially cuddly either.

But for the first time in my rich, varied, and satisfying sexual history, I found myself lingering after the act. Usually, once I’d finished, I was out of the bed, out of my partner’s arms and in the bathroom. Getting rid of the condom and planning my escape route—either right out the door or at least out of the room.

So it surprised me that after fucking Emzee, I stayed in the bed way longer than I was accustomed to. Even if it was only a few minutes afterward. Not my usual MO at all.

The sex had been incredible. She’d been so hot and so incredibly tight that it had taken almost all my energy and focus not to come the moment I was inside her. She had felt so good, still felt so good, that I was reluctant to remove myself from her arms.

I could still hear the sharp gasps of pleasure she’d made as she came on my cock, her whole body tightening around me in the most unimaginable bliss. I knew if I kept thinking about it, I’d get hard again.

Truthfully, I hadn’t been expecting our chemistry to be so out of control.

Emzee’s head was still resting on my chest, one of her thighs thrown casually across my hips. It felt good. Almost like she belonged there. But I couldn’t afford to think like that.

Slowly I pulled away, half expecting her to continue clinging to me, but she didn’t. Mumbling something in a half-asleep daze, she rolled over in the bed, in all her gorgeous, naked glory. She was the very picture of a woman satisfied.

I felt a twinge of guilt for sneaking away, which, of course, was ridiculous. The last thing I needed was for her to get even more emotionally tangled up with me. I knew it was inevitable to a certain extent, what with our upcoming fake marriage—and especially after having sex—but I didn’t want to encourage it. She’d get the picture soon enough.

“Where you going?” she asked, apparently awake enough to realize I was heading for the door.

“Bathroom,” I said, easing the door shut slowly enough to catch her waving a dreamy hand before letting it fall back onto the bed, as if it had taken her last bit of energy to do so.

I felt a swelling of masculine pride as I headed down the hall to wash up and get rid of the condom. It wasn’t until I turned the bathroom light on that I noticed the blood. Not a lot, just a small smear on the condom.

I stared at it for a moment. It wasn’t enough blood for a period, I knew that. Instead, it was just enough…

Shit .

Emzee had been a virgin.

I’d just taken that from her.

She had given it to me.

I got rid of the condom and leaned against the sink, my thoughts spinning.

Sure, I’d known that she was a little inexperienced when it came to long-term relationships and the level of intimacy that entailed…but I had never imagined that she was a virgin. Of course, now that I took a moment to think about it, it made perfect sense. Emzee had never had a boyfriend in high school, not with all the bullying she’d gone through, and although she had started dating once she went away to college, it had never been anything serious.

In fact, all of her relationships had really been more like…flings. Not just in terms of how long they lasted (or didn’t last, actually), but in the way she talked about the guys, as if she was happy enough to have a little fun with them, but only up to a certain point. Maybe the point where they wanted to go all the way, and she decided they weren’t good enough.

And no wonder. She had a bad habit of choosing real losers.

She also had never struck me as the kind of girl who would usually engage in no-strings-attached sex, so it made sense that she had waited. In a way, I was glad her first time had been with me.

Still, this changed things. It had probably just made our whole situation a lot more complicated, but it couldn’t be taken back now. We’d just have to deal with the consequences.

All of a sudden, everything felt different. The sex felt…meaningful. And I felt some kind of way about the cuddling, too. I couldn’t quite define it, but there had been meaning in the afterglow, too. I’d wanted to hold on to her. Let her hold on to me.

It wasn’t anything I’d ever felt with Claudia. Even when things had been at their best between us, when we’d found our stride as a couple a few years back, I had never felt close to Claudia the way that I felt—had always felt—close to Emzee. Because Emzee and I were friends. Or at least, that’s what I had always chalked it up to.

But now everything had been cast in a new light. I realized I’d never connected to Claudia during sex the way I just had with Em. Never even felt the slightest impulse to cuddle, let alone actually instigate or allow it. Fucking Claudia had been hot and fulfilling, of course, and I’d certainly made sure that she’d enjoyed herself—but for us, the act had always felt more like checking a box. Meeting a need, whether physical or emotional. It hadn’t felt like it really meant anything. It was just another activity we were committed to taking part in as a team.

With Emzee, though, the sex had felt different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, couldn’t really explain it, but it was new territory for me. Of that I was certain.

I splashed some cold water on my face, not sure what to do about the unwelcome and unexpected feelings that were pinballing around inside me. I hated when shit got complicated out of nowhere.

Instead of going straight back to the bedroom, I went to the kitchen. Usually, at this point in the evening, I’d be eying the door and going through a long list of possible excuses I could make as I snuck out in the middle of the night.

I took out some tea instead, which I knew Emzee liked to drink when she couldn’t sleep.

Munchkin joined me. He was still wearing his leash. Em and I had been so eager to get to the bedroom that we’d been all over each other the moment we got in the apartment, with no time to even unleash the dog.

He didn’t seem to mind, though, wagging up at me as I unhooked his leash and hung it on the hook next to the door. I played with his pointy ears and gave him a few scratches as I waited for the water to boil. Once our mugs of tea were ready, I spiked them with a few dashes of whisky for good measure.

Munchkin appeared to approve, wagging his tail at me before returning to his little bed in the living room, clearly sensing that Emzee and I deserved some more privacy. He was a smart, thoughtful little dog. I knew he got anxious if Em wasn’t home enough, but he was never clingy when I came over to hang out, which I appreciated. Whether that spoke more highly of me or the dog, I didn’t know.

I headed back to the bedroom with the tea, but when I opened the door, I found that Emzee was no longer sprawled out wantonly across the bed, but instead had slipped under the covers, hiding all her glorious soft skin and sexy-as-fuck curves.

What stopped me in my tracks was the look on Emzee’s face as I walked over to her. The smile she gave me—full of pure happiness—hit me right in the gut.

Something I normally managed to keep at bay, even when I was doing the full puppet master routine on her.

If she ever found out…

Well. I’d just have to make sure she didn’t.

Seeming to sense my hesitation, her smile faltered.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, biting her lip.

As she looked at me, her grip on the sheet loosened and it dipped down, revealing her absolutely perfect tits. They were full and round, almost too large for her petite frame, but oh-so perky, having that mouthwatering teardrop shape a man couldn’t resist. Even though we’d just fucked, I found that I was ready to go again, my cock responding to her of its own accord.

“Yes,” I said, setting the tea down on her nightstand. “There is.”

My dick was rock hard as I climbed into bed beside her.

“What is it?” Emzee asked, looking adorably nervous.

I tugged the covers away, revealing the entirety of her naked body. I didn’t think it was possible, but I grew even harder at the sight, my balls aching.

“I’m not inside you right now,” I said. “I think we need to remedy that, don’t you?”

Her eyes lit up, then widened as she got a glimpse of my cock. I knew I was well-endowed, but I’d never gotten the kind of reaction that Emzee had given me when I first revealed myself to her. Getting that same reaction now only made me want her more.

I dug around for another condom and then rolled it on, eager to take her again. Emzee seemed just as eager, her hands reaching down to stroke me as her mouth found my neck.

I didn’t want to deal with my guilt now. Instead, I focused on something I could control. Making sure my fake fiancée came her brains out.

“Are you ready for me?” I asked, circling her pebbled nipple with my thumb.

She nodded, still biting her lip in a way that was both enticing and adorable.

“You want my cock inside you?” I prodded.

“Yes,” she said breathily.

“Get on your hands and knees and face the headboard,” I ordered her.

I loved that she immediately did as I asked, her tits swaying heavily as she positioned herself on the bed, her heart-shaped ass directed toward me. I slid a hand down the silky smooth skin of her back before parting her thighs wider and sliding a hand between her legs.

“Fuck yes,” I said. “You’re more than ready.”

I slipped a finger into her easily, feeling her body clench around me. I wanted to feel that around my cock.

Kneeling behind her, I gripped her hips and positioned the tip of my dick at her entrance, easing myself into her inch by inch. She moaned as I did, arching her back to accommodate my girth. She was still so fucking tight, especially from this angle, but now I knew exactly why, and I felt satisfaction in knowing that I was the only man who had ever taken her this way.

Gathering her long, silky hair into a ponytail with one hand, I pulled her head back until she gasped and then began to fuck her, knees braced on the bed, my other hand tight around her hip as I slammed into her, each thrust making my hips hit her ass with a satisfying smack.

“Fuck,” she moaned, her hands fisting the sheets.

It was so hot, watching from this angle, seeing my cock spearing in and out of her. I slid my hand from her hip, down between her legs, until I found her tight, wet slit, my cock hammering into it below. She cried out as I stroked her, finding her clit and rubbing it as I fucked her from behind, harder and faster, relishing every desperate moan I drew from her.

I was close, but I wanted to feel her clench around me again.

“Get on your stomach,” I told her, releasing her hair. “Facedown, and cross your legs. More friction.”

She did as I asked. I lowered myself onto her and entered her again, digging my thumb into her asshole as I fucked her, making her squirm and pant like an animal.

“You like that?” I said. “You like how I’m touching you?”

“Yes,” she gasped in between heaving breaths.

“I want you to touch yourself, too,” I commanded. “I want you to feel my cock against your fingers while I’m fucking you.”

Her hand slipped down between her legs, her hips grinding harder as she stroked her own clit, and then I felt it—felt her orgasm rush through her as she cried out into the sheets, her pussy clenching and shuddering tightly around me.

I managed only two more strokes before I climaxed too, the two of us collapsing in a heap afterward, our bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces as we drifted off to sleep.