“Release that pressure,” she encouraged him.
She watched how his whole body twitched from her touch. His eyes opened, and his gaze locked onto her as he began to spasm against her hand. She aimed him to the side of the bed, and he came in hot, quick bursts. His moans were deep and ragged, and his body was still slick with oil and a new sheen of sweat. When his cock finally stopped pulsing against her, she gave him one last longing tug.
Eventually his gaze came back, and she was surprised when he sat up and wrapped a hand behind her neck to draw her in for a kiss. He was so sweet and gentle at her mouth, like an unspoken thank-you. Her hands found the sides of his face, and they continued to kiss, slow and firm.
When he pulled away, something vulnerable was in his expression. “You okay?” he asked.
She couldn’t help the smile that broke across her face. Could this man be any sweeter? “More than okay. Are you?”
“Yeah.” Then he sucked in his bottom lip as he asked, “Now, what are we going to do about you?”
“Something hot, I hope,” she blurted out.
He laughed, then sat up and leaned into his palm, which caused his triceps to pop. “What would make you feel taken care of, Soph?” He ran his knuckles along the side of her arm, and she shivered.
Dash moved to the side of the bed and placed her between his knees. He pressed her body up against him, and she felt him harden. “This okay?” he asked.
She nodded, then grabbed the hem of her dress and lifted it up and over her head. He let out a heavy exhale as she unhooked her bralette.
He cupped her breast and brought his mouth to her nipple. Her head fell back as she let out a happy sigh. She’d missed that tongue, and his full lips, which sucked her into him. He pulled her body close so she could feel that he was hard again. She moved a knee onto the bed, and he lifted her and placed her on his lap, his hardness meeting her mound. She instinctively ground against him, and he moaned into her breast.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and moved them both onto the bed. Then he lay back into the pillows and brought her down with him, so her breasts hovered perfectly over his waiting lips and her mound met his dick.
He lifted his hips so that his hardness reached her clit, and she throbbed back, wanting more. He was so slick from the massage oil, and she was so wet with anticipation, and as she rocked against him, they moved as smoothly as if he was already inside her.
But the cotton fabric of her panties was still between them, and she needed to feel him gliding up and down her clit, in between her lips, and grazing her wet entrance. She attempted to take them off, but then his hands moved to her waist, and he tried to wrestle the fabric off himself.
He wasn’t moving fast enough, though. “Just rip them off,” she said forcefully.
Then she heard the tear of fabric as he pulled the panties off and away from her.
“Ah.” She breathed out as she easily settled against him. “That’s what I want.”
She braced her hands against his toned chest and glided her hips up far enough for the tip of him to meet her entrance, then back down so her clit nudged his head. She rode him up and down, stopping her bud at his tip to move in slow circles against him. And she let out little moans as she felt the pressure build.
“I’m close,” she said.
She bucked her hips up and rode along the tip of him, then ground in a slow circle, the way she liked. And just as quickly as he’d come for her, she felt the sparkling, hot release of all that pressure as she moaned and twitched. “Oh. Dash.” She breathed out, letting her body fall against his as she continued to tremble from the orgasm.
“Sophie, I…” He stopped himself from whatever he wanted to say.
“You can tell me.” She sat up and took his hand in hers.
“I know I can, which is maybe the strangest part of all of this. Not because you’re strange, or anything. Wow, I’m starting to ramble the way you do.”
“Uh, easy on the compliments, Dash. You’re going to make me swoon here.”
He laughed, but then his expression turned serious. “What I’m trying to say is that it’s easy to joke, because then we don’t have to think about it. But that was a big deal for me. And I’m just really happy. I like being around you.”
His gaze on her was so earnest and vulnerable, but she looked away. She hadn’t expected him to open up to her, and now that he had she almost wished he hadn’t. Because he’d also made it clear that they would never be more than just friends with benefits, and she didn’t want to fall for him any more than she already was. Not when she wanted someone to love her in return.
22
DASH
Dash waited for Sophie to say something. He’d just revealed his feelings—a thing he never did—but she’d helped him to get to this place where he could be honest. Now he just had to see how she would respond.
But not knowing how someone would react was a special kind of torture. And as Sophie blew out a massive breath and brought her knees to her chest, he realized with a sinking weight in the pit of his stomach that he’d miscalculated.
“I don’t even know how to say this.” She avoided meeting his eyes. “But I think I fucked up. Like, I know you don’t want a relationship, or anything, but I do. In the past, I have this problem with not speaking up about what I need. And what I need right now is someone who wants to be with me.”
“Right,” Dash said. Of course she deserved an actual relationship. And while he’d expressed that she made him happy, that wasn’t the same thing she needed. If he was a stronger person who wasn’t terrified of losing their sobriety, he would commit to her. But he couldn’t, not when he knew that committing to someone could mean a relapse. Yes, he wanted to be with Sophie. And maybe someday he’d be ready for that, but not today.
His tongue was leaden as he searched for the right words to say, but in very Sophie fashion, she filled the silence. “And I, uh, just started seeing someone. We’re not exclusive, or anything, yet.”
“That’s great, Soph,” he forced himself to say. And he should be happy for her, but he absolutely wasn’t.
“Yeah.” She looked down at the bed and brushed a piece of lint from the duvet. “Yeah, um, it’s great. But what happened today just has to be it, you know? Like, I know we said it was a onetime thing before, but then we…”
He hesitated, but of course what happened today wouldn’t happen again. If she was starting to date someone, then she couldn’t keep being with him. He gave her what he hoped was an understanding smile. “Of course.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I feel so ridiculous that I’m even bringing this up, but I promised myself to be more honest about what I need. I just really want to try to give this new thing a chance. I can’t do that if we’re…” She rapidly blinked, as if to fill in the blanks.
“Who are you seeing?” He sounded defensive and, he supposed, he was. He aggressively tugged his T-shirt back on and was grateful that it covered his face as she answered.
“Carla.”
Dash cracked his neck as he adjusted the shirt. “And you’re happy with her?”
He nearly shook his head for asking the question because, again, her choices were truly none of his business. But he liked Sophie as a person, and she deserved to find someone who appreciated all the cracks that made her so perfectly unique. Was Carla the right one? He had no idea, but he wanted to make sure Sophie was certain, if only because the friend part of their relationship was still important.