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“Then I must be swift,” he growled, and then his fingers were curled into her waistband, tugging her leggings and panties downward, mouth traversing the curves of her stomach, the swell of her hips, and then oh god he was nuzzling at her core.

She could feel his panting breaths on her skin like cool puffs of mist, his soft hair trailing over her skin, hear him rumbling low in his throat as he pulled the constricting band of her clothes past her knees.

She wriggled to kick her shoes off when he got to her ankles and then the constriction was gone.

Rai tossed the tangled mess of pants on the table beside her and then his tongue was on her, a long, slow lick all along her cunt and holy fuck , Poppy arched into it, mind gone, nothing left but the feel of his mouth .

“I knew you would taste divine,” he purred into her, eyes meeting hers over the landscape of her body, and there it was, they were at eleven, maybe even heading for twelve.

Poppy’s fool heart was not going to survive this, not going to survive Rai, and she didn’t care.

He rumbled out another laugh and ducked down again, nipped and teased at her, flicking his tongue playfully, taunting her, taking his sweet time despite his promise of swiftness, and Poppy writhed desperately, legs shaking with each nefarious lap.

Nothing had prepared her for this, a man treating her cunt like a twelve-course meal instead of just an appetizer, and all she could do was hold on as he sent her flying, soaring, tumbling—

The table started to vibrate beside her head, and Poppy was jolted out of heaven by the opening rhythms of Devo’s “Working in the Coal Mine.” Rai jerked his head up, his eyes wildly darting around.

“Don’t stop,” Poppy whimpered, scrabbling for her phone.

Rai grinned and bent to her again with his bad, bad tongue, swirling it in arcane patterns as she tried to organize her fumbling fingers to snooze the alarm so she could have just five more minutes, please, please, and she finally got the phone to shut up, though she dropped it so it fell right on her face before thunking back to the table by her ear.

She barely even noticed the tiny bit of pain with what Rai was doing, the jolts of electric pleasure rocketing along her nerves.

But what the hell had she been thinking, choosing that song for her work alarm?

Something something irony, chain gang, work slave, hell job, laughter is the best medicine except oh god the lyrics were too on the nose now even for her, and she started to laugh as Rai just kept on doing wickeder and wickeder things to her clit and he laughed, too, the vibrations rumbling through her like an earthquake, and she clutched at his head and urged him on, vaguely aware that he was murmuring her name between licks and goddammit the alarm was going off again, the shake-a-shake-a-shake-a and then the synthesizer and the bell ding-a-linging but she didn’t even need to tell Rai not to stop this time, he just kept pushing her up and up and finally over the edge, even as the too-cheery singing began.

She swore as she came, her legs spasming and kicking at his back, shocks of sensation zinging through her belly and out all the way to her fingertips.

Rai pressed gentle kisses to her quivering cunt, her thighs, her stomach, then rose to his feet.

He reached out, picked up her vibrating phone, and turned off the song. His chin was wet and shiny. He licked his lips and grinned at her, his expression insufferably smug.

“It is time to work?” he asked in a perfectly normal voice.

Poppy lay there on the table, sprawled out half naked, looking at him for what was probably only a few seconds but felt like an eternity.

“Don’t wanna,” she said at last, shoving up to her elbows, but then she sighed.

“But I gotta.” She shoved back the resentment that threatened to bubble out.

She needed these jobs. Work hadn’t been thick on the ground lately, even with her one lonely art sale, and there were more bills due way too soon.

Rai helped her to her feet, brushing tender lips over her forehead, her cheeks, finally her mouth, and Poppy didn’t even flinch at the taste that had to be her, because Rai thought she tasted divine, and maybe he was right. Maybe she did.

Maybe she really was the goddess he saw in her.

But it was awkward to be standing there looking at him, naked from the waist down and still quivering with aftershocks.

She turned away, snatched his water bottle, the one she’d refilled a millennium ago, and held it out to him.

She hadn’t planned for this, the thanks for the orgasm, see ya later part of the date. She didn’t like it.

Rai accepted the bottle, his face grave. “What is wrong?”

She put on a smile, grabbing her pants. “Nothing. I mean, I don’t want to work, obviously. I’d rather… You know.” She wriggled into her underwear, then her leggings, wishing she’d thought to bring a towel out.

Rai didn’t seem to mind being a sloppy mess. “Then do not work. I will gladly… You know.” He grinned like a Cheshire cat.

“I can’t.” She bit her lip, wavering, then lunged in for a hug. “You have to go sell stuff in the morning anyhow, right? Like a normal job?”

He was silent for a long time, gently petting her hair. “Yes,” he said at last. “I am a salesman and…today is always the most productive day of my week.” He kissed her ear. It felt like an apology.

Poppy thought furiously, considering her deadlines.

She was probably going to be up until one, given how she was dragging out the saying-goodbye part, and then she had a few more jobs already claimed for Monday…

Maybe she could be done by five? “Will you call me when you’re off work tomorrow?

I don’t know if I’ll be free, but we can touch base.

Maybe watch a movie?” She took his arm and walked him out toward the front door.

“I will call,” Rai said.

“So… Five? Six?” She paused at the door, leaning into him again.

“Yes.” He stroked her back. “And I will text you, many times. ”

She nodded, then buried her face in his shoulder. “I have a lot to do, but I’ll reply when I can. And you’ll be super busy, too, I’m sure.”

“Perhaps.” His arms tightened. “I wish to stay.” His voice was petulant. It was a good thing she couldn’t see the lethal pout that had to be on his face.

She hugged him back as tight as she dared. “If you stay, I won’t get anything done. And I have to.”

He rumbled something in his throat, then released her. “I will go.” He took her hand, turning it over and setting a tender kiss in the center of her palm. “I thank you for the gift of your pleasure.” He set her hand to his own cheek, eyes smoldering.

She leaned up and kissed his lips. “Thank you. Today was… I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She paused before going on. “I bet Mom finished baking that bread. She’ll give you some, if you ask.”

He nodded. “I will pay my respects.”

“Wait.” Poppy hurriedly wiped at his chin with her hand, removing the last smears of wetness, then wiping her hand on her pants.

“Sorry. Just…kinda weird. You talking to my mom and…” She blinked, then went to fasten his jeans, which were still gaping open.

“I mean, she knows I’m an adult, but that doesn’t mean she needs visual proof of my wanton ways. ”

He smiled then, a slow, evil grin that threatened to break her heart all over again. “I do not mind,” he said. “I will wear your wickedness for all to see.”

“Except my mom,” Poppy said primly, feeling her cheeks flushing.

He smirked. “As you wish.” And then he bowed slightly and walked out the door. The rain had petered off at some point when she hadn’t been paying attention; all that came in was a fine mist already warming to steam.

Poppy didn’t let herself watch him go. She closed the door, strode stiffly over to her laptop, and settled in to work.

God, she was still tingling. How the hell was she supposed to focus on stump speeches and news clips when every inch of her wanted to fling open the door and run after her new lover? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all.

But…it was still better than before. It was better than having no lover at all. Better than contemplating a future of nothing but working in a virtual coal mine, waiting for her last canary to die.

Rai had made everything better in just over a week.

And maybe, six weeks down the line, just maybe she wouldn’t regret letting him in.