3

JORDAN

Warmth spreads through me when Nadia giggles and buries her face against my chest.

“You’re so silly!”

I press my mouth to hers, slow but firm, tasting the curve of her lips. “I’m serious. Bing is a terrible name for a dog. What happened to something classic, like Max or Charlie?”

She pulls back just enough to roll her eyes, but the smile tugging at her mouth betrays her amusement. “He’s a German Shepherd. He needs a strong name and—truth is—I already love him.”

Her voice wavers at the end, and in that instant, I catch it, the flicker of sadness hiding behind her eyes. It claws at me. Part of me wants to ask what’s wrong, to tell her she doesn’t have to carry it alone but another part of me, the darker, more selfish part, just wants to take it away in the only way I know how, by making her forget.

By touching her until nothing else exists.

The thought alone grips me hard. I see her beneath me, her voice breaking with a moan, every inch of her taken, marked, and owned until there’s no space left for anyone else, no part of her that isn’t mine.

As if she feels the heat coursing through me, she lifts her hand to my face, kisses me harder, and lets her palm drift down, pressing against the ache straining in my pants.

Her lips curve against mine. “Where’s your bedroom?”

I don’t answer.

I scoop her up instead, her laugh breaking against my mouth as I carry her down the hall. The door barely clicks shut before I set her on the bed. My fingers find the hem of her blouse, pushing it up and peeling it away from her warm skin.

She lifts her arms and lets me undress her piece by piece until she’s lying back in lace and trembling breath.

I strip down just as quickly, my clothes hitting the floor in careless drops. Sliding in beside her, I pull her close, my hand trailing the curve of her hip, slipping lower until she arches into me.

Her lips part, her body tense with need. I kiss her again, slower this time, savouring the taste of her as my fingers stroke her, guiding her toward the place where words don’t matter anymore.

“What do you want?” I whisper against her skin.

“I want to forget.”

“I say there's no time like the present.”

The entire world fades away as we tease, mark, and nip on skin.

I shift lower, my lips trailing kisses across her belly and along the curve of her waist. Her clean-shaven heat comes into view, barely hidden beneath a scrap of lace. The sight alone has me clenching my jaw. I hook a finger into the waistband and tug it down her sleek, toned legs.

My God.

She’s a vision, pure temptation laid out before me.

When her thighs fall open, I lean in and press my mouth to her warmth, tasting her.

Her scent hits me first, heady, musky, intoxicating, before her flavour coats my tongue. Each teasing lick has her hips arching, a groan spilling from her throat as her fingers dive into my hair, tugging, urging me closer.

I flick my tongue over her swollen folds, once, twice, before sucking gently, savouring the way she jolts beneath me. Her slickness floods my mouth, thick and unrelenting, and I breathe her in like oxygen.

She’s dripping, trembling, and unravelling before my eyes. Her thighs tremor, her muscles knot and release, her toes curl hard against the sheets, and every sign of her breaking only drives me wilder.

I give her clit a featherlight flick, then another. She gasps, hips clamping against my face, pressing her center tighter to my mouth.

“Don’t stop,” she moans, voice strangled, thick with need.

Her grip in my hair tightens as her moans grow raw, desperate. I slide my hand up, fingers brushing her entrance, and press. She’s so tight, I hesitate, glancing up.

Her forehead gleams with sweat, her parted lips glisten, her chest heaves. She’s beautiful, achingly so and when her eyes finally meet mine, something slams into my chest.

“Hey,” she breathes, voice unsteady. Her expression flickers, shadowed, and she starts to push herself up. I shake my head, pressing her gently back down.

“How long has it been?” I ask, glancing at the apex of her thighs.

“I don’t know,” she exhales, her tone fragile. “I stopped counting after a year.”

A storm of anger and disbelief lash through me, but I shove them down, kiss her again, and return to her heat. She softens beneath me, surrendering. I spread her open, exposing her clit fully, and tease it once, twice, before sucking slowly and deeply.

Her entire body jerks. Her breathing quickens into sharp little pants, every sound dripping with abandon. I slide a finger into her, stroking her with deliberate precision, building her up, winding her tighter.

I know she’s close, I can feel her trembling around my hand, taste the urgency of her release on my tongue. My cock throbs in answer, straining, already primed for what comes next.

She’s fire and flood, eager as I am. I have no idea how long I can hold back.

I grab my cock at the base and stroke it up and down before sliding into her slowly.

I almost shatter as the moist heat of her center envelops me, and then she raises her hips, nudging me all the way in.

I see the pain in her eyes, so I pull back.

“Babe…” My tone is hard and taut with restraint. “We don’t have to do this tonight.”

She grips my wrist and pulls me back. “I need you. Earlier you said there’s no time like the present, and I totally agree with that.”

I sigh heavily. “But you’re in pain.”

“I’m not a virgin. It’s just…” With a long, deliberate movement, she runs her tongue across her lips. “It’s been so long.”

She spreads her slit open with her fingers, holding herself apart and exposing her creamy center.

My gaze widens, and desire slams into me. The last trace of control slips away, and I lean down to kiss her with an urgency that makes her shudder.

I melt into her naked flesh, exploring her delicate curves, marking, seeking, teasing, and taking note of the spots that make her breath hitch.

My God, I hope she doesn’t disappear after tonight.

“Now. Please.”

I need no more encouragement. Swiftly, I slide on a condom and settle between her thighs.

Fear flickers in her eyes for a moment, but it vanishes the instant I push into her. driving myself deep, filling her, and basking in her warmth.

I move with prolonged precision, plunging past her tightness and into shattering pleasure that makes our bodies throb.

Sensation skyrockets, and I no longer think of anything but Nadia and the heat she gives me.

Right now, we’re one, spiraling higher and higher into paradise.

My body jerks, and she gasps, clinging to me. Her fingers dig into my shoulders as release tears through us both.

Suddenly she cries out loudly, arching her back off the bed. Her inner walls press hard around my cock, and she grimaces as the orgasm overtakes her.

Her pulsing center drives me to the edge, and the first spurt of cum jets into the condom.

Our bodies thrash together in the throes of shared pleasure.

It’s overwhelmingly beautiful how our lips mesh, our kiss carrying us through the remainder of our orgasm until we collapse, drained of passion but fueled by something I can’t quite place a finger on.

Love?

Lust?

Well, now isn't the time to linger on what-ifs. I stand and walk into the bathroom to get a wet cloth to clean her up. I almost stumble when I return and notice she’s already dressed, her clutch resting neatly on her lap. I walk closer, kneel beside her, and take her hands in mine.

“I was hoping I could clean you up, get you downstairs to feed you, and then we’d talk.”

She looks at me for a moment before lowering her gaze and fiddling with her skirt.

“I’ll shower when I get home, and I’m not hungry.”

My brows bunch in concern. “It’s almost midnight. Stay the night and I will—”

She stands abruptly, cutting me off, and stares down at me with a coldness that makes me falter.

“I had a good time. I don’t want to make this into something it isn’t.” She cups my chin and strokes my bottom lip with her thumb. “I don’t know your name, and you don’t know mine. That’s good, because I doubt I’ll ever see you again.”

I stand, meeting her eyes. I want to tell her she’s wrong. I want to tell her I know her name. I want to tell her I don’t want this to end but before I can get the words out, she spins on her heel and walks out of my room without a backward glance.

I throw the wet cloth across the room and sink onto my bed. My chest aches with the truth.

I almost had her.

I did but I couldn’t make her stay.

After a long breath, I reach for my phone on the nightstand. I scroll to a message I’ve already read more than once, and the smug grin that spreads across my face is impossible to hide.

I quickly type a reply after five days of silence and press send.

Nadia has no idea what’s coming. She thinks she walked away for good, but she’s wrong. When she sees me again, she’s going to have no choice but to face what’s between us and I can’t wait to see her reaction.

A huge part of me is excited too, buzzing with anticipation. At least this time, I won’t have to sneak around anymore and that changes everything.

I just can’t tell if it will be for the best because with Nadia, you never know which way the fire will burn.