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For a second, Arlene stayed still. She wasn’t even breathing. I knew because I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Then her eyes widened, and she swallowed audibly. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” I’d read into her tone later. For now, I scooted forward until I could reach the bottom drawer in the nightstand. I barely used it, but I kept a bottle of lube there—and a few single-use packets for when I was going out with someone who might need them but didn’t have the foresight to grab them. “That’s good.”

I memorized the way Arlene’s chest moved up and down as she watched.

Did she think I stored something dark in there? Or maybe this was affecting her even more than it was affecting me. Or she was worse at keeping those emotions to herself.

I showed her the bottle just in case. “This okay?”

“Yeah.” Her eyes fluttered close after she nodded. “You’re good. You’re great.”

I didn’t really know what to do with praise half of the time. It wasn’t a big problem here, solely because I could bury my face against the curvature of her thigh.

Arlene shivered. Oddly enough, it was exactly the reaction I needed—to remember I was the one in control. This was about getting Arlene to do more of that, to lose herself in her own pleasure.

With a subtle nod to myself, I uncapped the bottle of lube and poured a generous amount of my fingers. I wasn’t a fan of cold lube.

“Can you hold your legs for me?”

“Huh?”

I smirked. Getting her to stop functioning really was easy. I dropped the bottle of lube and used my free hand to nudge her leg until she got what I meant. It didn’t take her long.

A part of me wanted to check in with her that the position was okay. It was more exposed, but I was selfish. First, I wanted her exposed. Second, it didn’t take a genius to realize that she was the most turned on when she was exposed. Driving her wild brought me a strange sense of pleasure.

My body responded to being in charge of hers.

With her body folded in half, I had the perfect access to keep taunting her. I stuck to what I’d promised, though, which was sucking her clit while fingering her. It wasn’t a hardship when Arlene was so open about the way it affected her.

Obviously, I didn’t rush into it. There was no fun in that. No. Instead, I teased the wrinkled skin of her rim with a lubed finger while I caressed her taint. Arlene moaned, writhed slightly. A soft press of my pads against the sensitive skin made her stay still.

I’d remember that.

It was always good to be prepared.

“Good girl.”

It was also good to give praise, or so people said. It was definitely good with Arlene. The words seemed to wash through her body with the way it relaxed and sunk into the mattress.

I could make more of an effort to praise her.

“Claude,” she whispered.

No one said my name the way she did.

“I’ve got you,” I hummed. I could be cruel, but not too cruel. “You’re so ready for me, aren’t you?”

Arlene nodded. I didn’t give her much time after that before I was sinking one finger inside her ass. Well, the tip of it. I could behave.

Her muscles clenched around me for a few seconds regardless.

“Breathe,” I murmured. “In and out.”

She obeyed easily, soon letting me go deeper. “Move. Please.”

“On it.”