“No thanks,” I mutter, crossing my arms. “Come on, please,” I beg. “Just a taste. I’m free-falling over here.”
“No,” she says more vehemently this time. “I’m not going to hurt your feelings and make you question things with Langley. You two are good together—”
“God, you’re useless,” I cry, slipping off the side of the bed. “The one time I need you to catch me as I fall, and you’re just gonna cross your arms and watch me go splat?”
“Falling for a guy and falling to your death are not the same things,” she counters. “That the sensations are similar for you is what we called trauma, Tess. If you’re not ready to be with Ryan, be a big enough person to tell him that. I really don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”
I stare at her wide-eyed before I slowly shake my head. “Who are you, and what have you done with Rachel Price?”
She just shrugs, a little smile on her face. “I did my own free-falling recently…or hadn’t you noticed,” she adds, gesturing to the pile of men around her.
“Married happy Rachel is a total buzz kill,” I say, snatching my coffee off the side table. “I’m leaving before whatever infection you have spreads to me.”
“Wait—what do you want me to do about Shelby?” she calls.
“Umm, nothing.” I slip on my shoes. “Forget about it. I’ll take care of it.”
“Tess…”
“Really, it’s fine,” I say, ducking down to pick up my rain jacket. “Lots to do today. See you later Price family—”
“Tess,” Ilmari calls softly, stopping me in my tracks as I reach the door.
I turn and glance over my shoulder, one hand braced against the doorway.
He’s sitting up in the bed now, naked to his waist, his blond hair a mess around his shoulders. He holds my gaze, those steely blue eyes boring into me. “You came here looking for advice. Will you hear mine?”
I hold my breath, hand holding tight to the door. His partners all look to him too, waiting for him to speak. Moments tick by as he just looks at me. Finally, I raise a brow at him and nod.
“Life is short.”
I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. As per usual, he doesn’t need to. “Right. Thanks, Mars,” I say, tears in my eyes.
I turn away from the vision of all four Prices happy in their marriage bed. Life is short, and they’re choosing to live it to the fullest. But I don’t have Rachel’s strength…and she doesn’t have my baggage.
I know what my advice is, even if Rachel won’t say it for me. My advice is that I should let Ryan go. My advice is that my life is messy and complicated and Ryan deserves better. My advice is good. My advice keeps me safe. I know it’s my advice I should take.
So you tell me why I’m marching out of this house, phone in hand, ready to dial Ryan and tell him to be naked and waiting in the shower by the time I get home. Life is short, and I feel like doing some more free-falling before it ends.
46
“Holy god,” I groan, rolling to my side away from Tess. I’m a sweating, panting mess, and I feel like all my essence has been sucked out of my dick. I’m nothing but an empty shell now, the chalk outline form of Ryan Langley. “Babe, I can’t,” I mutter, eyes shut tight. “No more. I’m dead.”
The vibe she was using drops to the bed, buzzing between us as she giggles. “Poor puppy, did I wear you out?”
I just groan.
She showed up like a spinning tornado, busting into the house at 7:30 a.m. having already been out to the coffee shop. Then she dragged me into her shower where we fucked like animals, her hands pressed against the tiles while I hammered into her from behind. Her pussy squeezed my dick so hard, I saw stars. It was fucking epic. Best wakeup ever.
We somehow found our way back to my room, and we’ve spent the last hour naked. She made me come again when she slipped a buzzing cock ring on me that made me feel like my dick was zapped by lightning. My jizz spilled all over my stomach, and I practically squealed like a girl trying to get it off when I reached that point of oversensitivity.
Then my red-headed devil licked me clean while she fucked herself with a two-pronged toy she calls her ‘rabbit.’ She straddled my legs as she rode the toy, her beautiful body moving on top of me as she came again, calling my name.
Now she thinks I can try for round three, and I have to end this while my heart still beats. I’m convinced: Sex with Tess is gonna kill me…and I’ll gladly thank her for it as my soul ascends.