A Little Too Bold

Rachel stepped fully into the dining room, excitement radiating off her like something contagious.

“Dad, you're home early.”

Chloe had already retaken her seat by the time she came in. Her hands rested too neatly in her laps.

Rachel didn't notice the stiffness. She crossed the room and leaned down to hug her father, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

“I thought you had an important meeting today.”

“It got rescheduled,” he replied, offering a measured half-smile as Rachel dropped into the seat beside him.

She turned to Chloe. “You didn't tell me he was back.”

“It didn't cross my mind,” Chloe said lightly. “He came back an hour after you left.”

Rachel nodded.

She lifted the lid of one of the serving dishes, and steam curled into the air, filled with the rich aroma of spice  

“This is definitely not your cooking, Dad.”

Harvey gave a quick chuckle. “She's not bad.”

His eyes flickered to Chloe for just a second before returning to his plate

Chloe lowered her gaze, a quiet warmth spreading through her chest before she could stop it. Why did a compliment so small feel like a reward?

Chloe reached for her fork at the exact moment Harvey lifted his glass to his lips.

Rachel paused. Her gaze shifted from one to the other, and she noticed that neither of them had touched their food.

“Did I miss something?”

They glanced at each other, then at Rachel.

“Just a rough day at work,” Harvey answered, shifting his daughter's focus away from the elephant in the room.

She didn't push any further.

Lunch went by quickly, and everyone went back to their rooms.

Chloe lay on her bed, phone in hand and scrolling through a page she probably shouldn't have been looking at. Her screen showed many photos of Harvey from business ads, magazine covers, and a newsletter that identified him as the state's most eligible bachelor.

A small, involuntary smile tugged at her lips as she lingered on a photo of him in a swimsuit. Her hands slowly crept down between her legs, the wetness between making her ache for his touch as she pictured being pinned to the bed by those brawny arms.

A knock at the door caused her to freeze mid-swipe. “Chloe? Are you there?” Rachel’s voice rang cheerful and loud enough to make Chloe’s heart skip a beat. 

“Uh… yeah, come in,” she responded, hastily tossing her phone onto the nightstand.

Rachel pushed the door open and stepped in, smiling brightly. “Sorry if I startled you. I felt like I was going to die if I stayed in my room any longer.”

Chloe sat up, brushing back a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s fine,” she said too casually. “I was just reading a book.”

She gestured for Rachel to join her on the bed, hoping she wouldn’t notice how flustered she was, or have any reason to doubt what she'd been doing.

Rachel perched on the edge of her bed, crossing her legs. 

“So… how was the movie?”

“It was good,” Rachel said, eyes lighting up. Then, leaning in as if she had a secret, she whispered. “Steve and I kind of hooked up in the cinema.”

Chloe froze, a laugh caught in her throat, dying somewhere between shock and disbelief. She blinked at Rachel. “How is that even possible?”

Rachel grinned as if it was no big deal. “At first, I was skeptical too, but then it just… happened.”

Chloe raised a brow.

“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy,” Rachel laughed. “It’s not like we're the first to do it. Besides, it was just a quickie.”

Chloe leaned back against the headboard, running a hand through her hair. Her mind wandered back to the pictures of Harvey she’d been looking at earlier, and a pang of desire mixed with embarrassment swept through her.

“You’re unbelievable sometimes,” Chloe finally managed.

“You should try it,” Rachel said, her grin widening.

“What? Have sex in a cinema?”

“That would first require you to actually make friends,” she teased. “I mean, be daring. Do something spontaneous for once and stop playing it safe.”

Chloe laughed softly. She wasn’t the kind to act without thinking, but Rachel’s teasing words lingered a little too long in her head. 

Her eyes drifted towards the nightstand, the weight of her own desires causing her to stiffen.

‘Maybe being a little bold wouldn't be so bad.’

And so later that night, Chloe lay awake in her bed, her mind restless as she stared up at the ceiling. Thoughts of this afternoon, Rachel's teasing and boldness, Harvey's body soaked with water, twisted and tangled in her head.

She arched forward, spreading her legs slowly until the cotton of her shorts strained against her inner thighs. Her right hand found its way beneath the frayed hem, fingertips brushing against the heat radiating from her skin.

Her fingers opened into a scissor, pressing against the slick, sensitive flesh above her clit, rubbing in gentle circles that sent electric currents racing up her spine. Her toes curled against the sheets, and a quiet gasp escaped her lips.

She was dripping, her arousal coating her fingers as her body ached with an insatiable hunger for ‌release. Her mind wandered to the images of Harvey that made her pulse quicken, and the chilling sound of his firm voice.

Her breath caught.

"Fuck," she moaned.

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she increased the tempo. Her two middle fingers moved in deliberate, circular motions over her swollen clit, and each touch brought her closer to the edge.

Gently, she slid two fingers inside herself, feeling her inner walls clench around them. Unable to keep her voice down, she clasped her left hand over her mouth to gag herself, but it wasn't enough to silence the primal sounds escaping her throat. 

She threw her head back against the pillow, a breathless "Mm..." tumbling from her lips as she tried to push them even deeper.

Her nipples were hard and begging for touch. She abandoned muffling her moans to grasp her breast, pinching and rolling her aroused peak between her fingers.

Carried away by her rising waves of pleasure, she hadn’t noticed her bedroom door open until the low, unmistakable rumble of his voice cut through her haze.

“Chloe.”