21. Monroe

TWENTY-ONE

MONROE

"Did you see the looks on their faces?" I say on a laugh as we walk down the hall toward Riggs' condo. "Not only did my basket make the most money, but it wasn't even close ."

"Trust me, Monroe. Nobody was more shocked than me that someone bought my half-empty bottle of mouthwash and a to-do list that's been sitting in the kitchen drawer since my rookie year," he replies. His tone says he's annoyed, but the proud smile on his face as they announced that my basket raised twelve thousand dollars for charity told me everything I needed to know.

He thinks I'm a fucking genius. Which, obviously, I am. I'm good at what I do, and that goes beyond analytics and content creation. Thinking outside the box is a huge part of having a successful marketing strategy, and those tactics can be applied in other parts of life.

In other words, horny rich women will drop stacks to put their mouth anywhere Riggs Valentine has put his.

He unlocks the door, pushing it open for me to walk through. I barely even have my shoes off before his arms snake around me and I feel his lips coast across the already heated skin of my neck. I melt into him, tilting my head to give him better access and waiting for him to bite, but he just continues teasing, darting his tongue out and dragging it toward my ear. Goosebumps trail behind it and I moan as his hands slide up my body, cupping my breasts. Arching into his touch, I can't stop myself from grinding my ass back into his hardening erection.

"Do you know how much it turned me on seeing you win tonight?" he murmurs, squeezing my nipples gently. "You're so fucking hot when you're competitive. But I think you owe me for helping."

"Oh yeah?" I reply innocently. "How can I possibly repay you?"

He chuckles. "It's probably going to take all night, but why don't you start by going to the bedroom, stripping off all those clothes, and getting on your knees?"

I look over my shoulder, locking eyes with him for a few seconds before slowly moving away. I don't look back, but I can feel the heat of his stare burning into me as I take my time making my way up the staircase before disappearing down the hall to his room.

I quickly get undressed, thankful that I shaved from head to toe last night. I take a brief look in the mirror, fluffing my chocolate-brown hair before dropping to my knees and resting my hands in my lap. My clit throbs between my thighs at the thought of him being rough with me again.

As volatile as our relationship has been since that night in Boston, and as many people as I've been with since then, nobody has ever given me what I've needed the way Riggs has. I tried so hard to tell myself that it was a fluke, or that it just felt that way because I hadn't been with anyone other than Conrad up until that point, but I knew I was lying to myself. I chased that euphoria weekend after weekend, hoping I'd find it with someone eventually, but I had already been ruined for everyone else. My body knew what it wanted. It still does.

I'm practically vibrating with anticipation by the time he stalks into the room, and my stomach does flips as soon as our eyes connect. I don't have to wonder what he's thinking, because I can feel it radiating from him.

He's there . The switch that makes him turn into an animal has been flipped, and the sweet guy that was kissing my neck just moments ago is long gone. I almost moan out loud as he prowls toward me, reaching out to grip my chin between two fingers as soon as he's close enough to touch me. I feel a drop of arousal slide down my pussy lips and toward my ass as he stares into me with dark eyes.

"You say stop, we stop. I say stop, we stop. Understood?" he says, and I can tell he's on the verge of snapping completely. I'm thankful he's making that clear, but in this moment, he'd have to rip me limb from limb before I'd put an end to any of this. I need it just as much as he does.

"Yes," I say in response, and as soon as the word leaves my lips, he's violently ripping his clothes off, practically shredding them before he throws them aside. I swallow thickly, my pulse speeding up as he looms over me, deep breaths making his thick chest rise and fall quickly.

His cock is already rock hard, and he takes it by the base, rubbing it along my lips. I open my mouth, needy for the bead of precum that's leaking from the tip, but I barely get a taste before he lands a tight slap to my cheek.

"Uh-uh, baby," he scolds. "You don't get to suck my cock yet. Not until I'm sure you smell like me. Close that slutty mouth and wait until I give you permission to open it again." I do as I'm told, pressing my lips together tightly as I await his next move. I look up at him as he steps in, dragging the swollen head across my cheek before moving to the other side and repeating the motion. I can feel the wetness smearing over my skin, growing more and more annoyed with the thought of him letting it go to waste instead of allowing me to taste it. I whine in frustration, squeezing my thighs together as he rubs his scent all over my face and neck before finally pressing himself through my slack lips.

I relax my jaw, letting him use me, knowing I need to wait until he tells me I can take over. He makes me sweat it out for a while, lazily thrusting in and out. He's so big that my eyes water almost immediately, and I have to focus on not gagging. But when he takes a particularly long stroke, there's nothing I can do to hold it back. My throat constricts around him at the intrusion, attempting to force him out, but he does the exact opposite, fisting the hair at the crown of my head and holding me still. I fight it, knowing that if I really want to stop, all I have to do is slap his thigh. But the panic that's setting in from being unable to breathe is making me so aroused, that I'd rather pass out than do that.

Just as I think I'm going to succumb to the lack of oxygen, he pulls out. I gasp for air, coughing and sputtering while my lungs attempt to fill back up. A string of saliva hangs from my bottom lip, connecting to the tip of his cock, and I do absolutely nothing to break it. I just continue looking up at him, telling him without words that I'm ready for more. He quirks a brow, and even though I should be scared by the way he instinctively reads my mind every time, I'm not. I've never felt safer and more protected than I do in this moment, with this man who could break me in half if he really wanted to.

"You ready to suck me, sweet thing?" he asks, and I have to stop myself from begging and panting like a fucking dog. I nod my head rapidly, and he takes mercy on me, pushing back into my mouth. This time, I close my lips around him, hollowing my cheeks and slowly bobbing my head back and forth. He lets me set my own pace, but I can tell he needs more by the way his ab muscles flex and release every time I pull away. Wanting to make him feel good, I speed up, increasing my suction until I hear him begin to growl above me.

He returns his hand to my hair, gripping onto a thick chunk as he meets me thrust for thrust, snapping his hips roughly. I'm drooling and gagging as we work him toward his release, and I notice that I'm on the cusp of my own. There's no contact to my clit whatsoever, but his sounds and the way he's brutally fucking my face is enough to have me ready to come right here.

His noises become deeper and louder as he yanks my head back, making me pop off of him. I sit there, desperate for more while he jerks himself furiously, just out of my reach. "You ready to swallow me, Monroe? I want to own every one of your holes." I nod frantically, right before he lets go of my hair and squeezes my cheeks, forcing my jaw open. "Don't fucking move," he grits out, leaning down and spitting into my mouth. My clit throbs harder at the lewd act, and I barely get a chance to register it all before he steps back in, grunting loudly as his orgasm tears through him. He paints my lips and tongue before he angles his cock down, emptying even more of the warm liquid onto my chest.

I expect him to let go of my jaw, but instead he drops to his knees, pushing his tongue into my mouth that's still full of his spit and cum. He kisses me wildly, wrapping his arms around my waist and taking me to the floor before lying between my parted legs. His still semi-hard cock rubs along my swollen clit, and I climb toward my own climax, pushing my hips up toward him. I whine into the kiss, and as if he knows what I need, he pulls away, lowering down my body. He stops to lick my tits, gathering the remnants of his release while looking up at me with his pupils blown completely wide.

He ghosts his lips past my belly button and down my slit before entering me with his tongue. Just the thought of him pushing his cum into me this way has me wound ripcord tight, ready to explode all over his face. "We taste fucking incredible, baby," he rasps. "Come for me and I'll show you."

I moan loudly, focusing on the pleasure as he tugs on my piercing with his teeth before latching onto my aching clit. I reach down, fisting his hair and bucking off the floor as he feasts like a starving animal. Between the sights, sounds, and feeling of him devouring me, I'm on sensory overload, not sure whether I want to pull him closer or push him away. But I don't get time to decide, as my vision goes white and my orgasm erupts, making every muscle in my body spasm violently. I feel like I'm floating away, but Riggs has a hand pressed to my abdomen, holding me in place as I slowly return to earth.

"What a beautiful mess you made, Mayhem," he says. "I've never seen anything prettier than you when you come." He gently pushes his tongue back inside my overstimulated pussy, and although I involuntarily whimper at the sensation, it still feels so good. I look down, watching his eyes roll back, triggering an aftershock that I know he can feel.

He pulls back, crawling up my body and dropping his mouth to mine. He was right. We taste amazing. Everything about this moment is perfect, and I know he feels the same shift happening between us as our lips move against one another in the most passionate kiss we've ever shared. It makes the things I've felt for him in the past pale in comparison to the rioting emotions that are raging inside me right now.

Being here with him like this makes me wish I could go back to Boston and redo everything. I still don't think I was in the right place for a new relationship, but the way I went about leaving wasn't right, and I robbed us both of a chance to see where this thing could go. If I had just been honest with him, I'm sure he would've been patient with me. But instead, I lied and omitted.

I still am.

I know I should tell Riggs why I am the way I am. That I was controlled and dismissed all my life, and that I moved to Hope Harbor to escape that. That way, he'd understand why I've pushed him away and fought everything so hard. Even though I said it out of spite for those bitchy women at the first charity event, I wasn't lying. He's the kindest, most selfless man I've ever met, and he deserves the world.

He moves back down to my neck, kissing and licking at my sensitive skin while he mumbles praises against it. "You're fucking perfection, Monroe. Thank you for letting me be who I am with you. I've never let go like this with anyone else," he says quietly, making my heart crack in my chest at the confession. The fact that I have this part of him that nobody else has seen makes me feel grateful in a way I refuse to unpack right now. Because I know if I did, I'd have to face the reality that my feelings and apprehensions about why I've been so against relationships are making less sense with every minute I spend here.

I inhale deeply, breathing out an exhausted sigh as he backs away and stands, scooping me up into his arms and carrying me to the bed. My head is telling me I should be smart and stop this before I get more attached, but my heart is winning the war tonight.

I know I'll have to deal with the conflicting emotions I've been feeling sooner or later, but for now, I just want to pretend this is our real life.