Gasping, she looks up at me. “Why not?”
“I don’t want you to have regrets. And you’re a virgin.”
“You knew that when you came up here, Paxton.”
“I know, but then I felt you,” I say, my finger still inside her. “And fuck, baby, this seems like something… something you might want to save.”
She shakes her head. “Listen, I’m tired of people telling me I’m not ready for things that I am ready for. Of men thinking they know what is best. Do you trust me to know myself?”
I look at her, her eyes filled with a desire to be understood. And hell, I understand. More than I could express. And fuck, it makes me want to take care of her in a way I’ve never wanted to take care of anyone else in the whole damn world.
“The thing is, Penny, when I look at you, I’m not just thinking one-night stand.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I think you and me… there is something here. Something real.”
“We’re strangers,” she says softly. “Isn’t that the point? Two boats passing in the night?”
I lean over her, kissing her gently. “What if we don’t have to pass?”
She smiles, rolling her green eyes. “I think you’re crazy, Paxton.”
I lick my lips, gazing at her with a longing that I’ve only ever read about. Fuck, I just met her and she’s cast a spell on me. I sure as hell don’t want it to break.
Penny
For a second I think Paxton might end the party before it begins, and I love the way he worries that this is what I truly want. But I feel respected more than I ever have by a man and he listens to me, hears that I wants this, 100%. When I’ve made my desire clear, he stops playing nice — instead he begins to finger me the way I never knew I needed.
“Oh god,” I moan, the pleasure pulsing deep within me. He adds a second finger to my tightness, and I drop my head, letting go. My knees open wider, giving him access to all of me. And god, does he take it.
He begins to fill my pussy with his hand, finger fucking me so completely, I strip for him. He lowers his mouth to my pussy, licking me up and down, his beard coated in my juicy release and his loves it, I know he does.
My breasts bounce as he circles my clit with his finger, as I move against his hand in a way that has me aching with need. More, I want more. All he has to give. I’m so horny for him, loving the way his beard tickles me as he devours my cunt. I feel sexy as hell as he eats me out, and with his head buried at my core, I wrap my legs around his neck, not wanting him to leave this spot. Ever.
When I’m at the very edge, he stops teasing. His tongue is in me, and I’m coming hard, his name on my lips and I cry out in pleasure. “Oh, Pax, oh god, oh yes!” The words spill from my mouth and my body is on fire. He leaves a trail of kisses up my belly, my tits, my neck. Kissing me firmly on the mouth, staking his claim. I am his, there is no doubt.
“I loved that so much,” I sigh, wanting to touch his cock, feel his manhood, please him the way he has just pleased me.
“Yeah?” he asks with a grin that makes me deliriously happy. “Good, because so did I.”
I cover my face with my hands, laughing. Rolling to him, I tell him the truth. “I’ve never felt so good in my life.”
“Never?”
I shake my head, and he takes my hand, lacing our fingers, kissing them.
“Me either, Penny,” he says.
And as implausible as it may seem — I believe him.
Chapter 5
Paxton
I feel like I’m spinning, delirious and drunk all at once. Yet I am completely sober. It’s just that looking at Penny has me thinking all sorts of impossible things.
She smiles up at me, and I pull her close, abasing my chest and I inhale her lavender shampoo. Just being with her relaxes me. We don’t need to rush this, and after the mouth-watering orgasm that just shuddered through her body, I can sense she needs a breather.
“How about a glass of water?” I say, and she nods, reaching for a silky white robe. Cinching it around her waist, I squeeze her ass that is just barely covered. “Damn, you look sexy in that.”
“This old thing,” she says with a smirk. I know damn well that’s real silk and brand-new.
We go to the kitchen, and she pulls a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge, filling two water glasses.
“So, you live in Seattle long?” I ask her.
“Born and raised.” She shrugs. “I went to college at the University of Washington, and my father gave me the penthouse as a graduation gift last year.”
“Generous.”
She bites her lip. “According to my dad, money equals happiness. He thinks luxurious gifts will make up for the fact that he’s not really been there for me.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, following her outside to the balcony that overlooks the water. “I feel like there is a story there worth telling.” There is a giant Ferris wheel down on the waterfront, ferry boats crossing the sound, the Space Needle behind us. It’s a beautiful view, but damn, my sights are on her.
“Well if you ever read my poetry, you’ll get the idea. Mom died when I was a teenager and my father didn’t take a single day off work. I dealt with that grief alone and I’m not sure I can ever let that go.”
“I’m sorry, that’s a loss you can’t ever be ready for, especially not when you’re young.”
“You sound like you know a thing or two about it?” she says, lifting her eyes to meet mine.
“My parents died in a car crash when I was in high school.” Penny wraps her arms around me, her cheek on my chest.
“Oh, Pax,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry.” The way she holds me makes me believe her. “Do you have any other family?”
“I have a younger sister. She’s the same age as you, I’m five years older. It was awful to lose our mom and dad, but at least we had one another.”
“What’s her name?”
“Claire,” I say. “And she means the world to me.”
“She’s lucky to have a big brother looking out for her,” Penny says. “I always wanted one.”
I lift her chin, kissing her softly. “I hate that you’ve been through hell alone.”
“I have my friends. Lucy and Tori have been with me since prep school.”
“And they thought going out with a guy you didn’t know was a god idea,” I say with a chuckle. “Why is that?”
We walk back into the house, and Penny pulls out crackers and cheese. We eat our midnight snack, and she tells me her girlfriends hate how controlling her father is.
“He sets me up with his associates, or his associates’ sons. It’s all about merging two families together.”
“And you don’t want that? To be set up?”
Penny pauses, considering her words. “I’m not against being set up. In some situations, I think that could be sweet. What I don’t like is my dad finding me dates with men who aren’t suited for me.”
“And what kind of man suits you, Penny?”