Page 114 of Lash

When I’m left panting and limp, he rises from between my thighs, wipes his mouth on his forearm, and then presses a kiss to my lips.

“There. All better?"

I nod, delirious. "Yes…all better." He slips off the bed, removing the robe as he reaches for his clothes, discarded and forgotten for the last forty-eight hours. "Wait, where are you going?"

He grins. "Getting dressed. We have a plane to catch, my love."

I roll off the bed, stumbling on jelly legs, and then lurch unsteadily toward him. "Perhaps I am not as sore as I thought."

He groans as I caress his hard length. "Tati, we really do have to go."

I grin at him, bracing my arm around his shoulders as I lift on my toes, notch him at my entrance, and lower myself onto his cock. "But Nico, sweetheart, we both know how fast you can be when you want to."

He frowns at me, or tries to. "Are you implying that I am not lasting long enough for you?"

"No, darling," I whisper, wrapping one thigh around his hips—he catches my intent and lifts me. "I am saying exactly what I said—we both know that you can finish quickly." I put my lips to his ear. "Which is what I want. How fast can you finish, Nico?"

He walks with me to a bare stretch of wall next to the bathroom, presses my back to the cold hard wall, kisses me so thoroughly I’m left gasping, my lips swollen. And then he nailsme to the wall, fucking me with delicious, ravaging, powerful thrusts—relentless, almost savage. He's done in a matter of a couple of minutes, filling me to the brim with his hot release.

Panting raggedly, he slumps against me, breath hot against my chest, holding me pinned against the wall, his cock still buried inside me.

"There," he growls. "What about that?"

I scratch his back, nibbling his earlobe. "Perfect," I whisper. "But you may have to carry me to the lobby."

He pulls away to gaze at me, love written in every line of his face. "I'll carry you to the ends of the earth, my love."

I cup his face. "I know." I pat his arm. "Let me down. I need to clean up and get dressed."

When we arrive in the lobby, Kane, Silas, Saxon, Chance, and Rev are already there, sipping yet more coffee from lidless paper cups, standing in a circle, all in the exact same pose: burly arms crossed over big, hard chests, coffee cups resting on a bicep, legs planted wide. Noticeably absent are Solomon and Scarlett.

They arrive only five minutes before the driver is scheduled to be here, both of them not exactly hiding the glow that I'm sure Nico and I must also be sporting.

Solomon and Nico get coffee and join the circle of men, and Scarlett and I take seats on a nearby couch. We both sit down somewhat gingerly.

We trade looks and then burst into laughter. She leans close and whispers in my ear. "Walking bowlegged?"

"What is bowlegged?" I ask.

She stands up and pushes her knees apart as if she is sitting a horse. "Bowlegged."

I flush. "Oh." I snicker. "Yes.Very."

She holds a fist to me, and I tap my knuckles against hers, feeling awkward and silly doing so. "Same, girl." She sits beside me and whispers again. "Sol and I have had a lot of sex over theyears, but the last two days?" She wipes pretend sweat from her brow. "Girl, my cooch is gonna need aminute. We werebusy.”

A strange warmth fills me, a frisson of excitement or happiness, and it takes me a minute to understand what it is—where it comes from.

Scarlett, being extraordinarily perceptive, notices. "What?"

I shrug. "I just…nothing."

She bumps me with a shoulder. "Nah, nah, nah. None’a that shit. Out with it."

"I just…I've had employees I was close to—" I swallow hard. "Ana and Katya. They were killed at the beginning of this, when I met Nico. But I've never had…friends. A girlfriend." I look at her. "You are my friend. It is…a new feeling."

She blinks hard, looking away and up at the ceiling, shaking her head. "Shit."

"Scarlett, what? I—"