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Starla risked a glance up at me, uncertainty in her eyes. “Should we get a room?”
“No. I’m heading out. Sorry, honey.” I kissed her forehead and rose, anger making my spine tight as frustration burned me up inside.
Even the beautiful late summer night couldn’t soothe me. My cock pressed against my zipper, but it wasn’t because of Starla’s touch or the show I’d been watching. All it’d taken for me to get hard was thinking of Jessica.
Out in my car, I closed my eyes. Since I hadn’t had much to drink, I could drive myself home whenever I was ready, but I didn’t think I was there yet. I rubbed at my bleary eyes and wondered how in the hell I was supposed to get that woman out of my head.
My dick ached.
I wanted to punish her—and not in the playful way I’d normally use with one of my subs. I wanted her on her knees, bent over a spanking bench as I paddled her ass with my bare hand, making that perfect ass red and knowing that she wouldn’t want to sit down for days.
Unzipping my pants, I pulled my cock out and started to stroke. The images in my head spun out more to the story.
After she was whimpering, once she’d begged me to forgive her, to fuck her, maybe I would. But I’d take it nice and slow—fucking her pussy until she was ready to come, then stopping, giving her time to come down before I lubed up her ass and eased inside, slow, but not stopping. The thought of her clenching around my dick, whimpering, almost ready to beg me to stop even as she wiggled and pushed back on me, had my cock pulsing in my hand.
I wouldn’t let her come until she was rabid for it.
Until she begged.
Until she promised to give me every damn thing I’d been expecting from her—everything she’d jerked away right when I’d thought it was all mine. Only then would I touch her clit, and I wouldn’t be gentle. I’d send her screaming over the edge, swearing that she’d never walk away from me again. And then I’d pull out and come all over her back, marking her as mine.
Breath stuttering out of my lungs, I grabbed a handful of napkins from the glove compartment and came in them. My cock pulsed and twitched as it emptied, and my mind was blissfully blank.
For all of five seconds, and then I was forced to remember that none of that would ever happen.
“Damn you, Jessica.”
THIRTY-FOUR
JESSICA
“Wow.”Bristol leaned back in her seat, looking blindsided.
I completely understood how she felt. I’d been bewildered by Derrick’s decisions, and I’d known about the contract.
Imani looked pissed and I didn’t blame her. We’d all worked so hard on this and a dumb decision on my part had fucked it up for everybody. Granted, I couldn’t say for certain that Derrick would’ve signed Bristol if I hadn’t been involved, but at least she would’ve had a clean break early on instead of putting even more time and effort into something she thought was a sure thing, only to have it ripped away.
“There’s nothing we can do about it?” Bristol asked.
“No.” Imani rubbed her forehead like she was getting a headache. “We hadn’t signed anything yet.”
“I’m sorry about that,” I said. I’d been apologizing a lot recently and it didn’t get any easier. “I should’ve put everything down in writing from moment one.”
Imani shook her head. “We weren’t at that point yet.”
She was right, but I still felt guilty. We’d been gearing up to it, but Bristol had been polishing her manuscript and trying to hammer out a proposal for a second book that I could take to Derrick. The plan had been to have everything ready to pitch when we got back from our honeymoon. Now, the plan had fallen into ruin, and I couldn’t even really go into detail about why without destroying her faith in me—and maybe herself. I had every reason to believe her book would be a hit, but she might think I’d bargained with Derrick because I thought it wouldn’t sell on its own and I wasn’t chancing that. I couldn’t be responsible for destroying her confidence too.
“We were close,” I said with a sad smile.
Reaching for my water glass, I sipped and hoped I didn’t look as nervous as I felt. Jami gave me an encouraging smile and motioned for me to continue. She was helping me, but this was my plan.
“We’re not going to give up on this. I believe in your book, Bristol. And I’ve got a financial backer who believes in me. I’d like to continue working with you and publish your book.”
“I…” She looked confused and glanced at Imani.
Imani inclined her head, an interested light in her eyes. “You want to independently publish her book with you acting as the publisher and editor? On your own?”
“Yes.”