Page 16 of The Substitute (New York Gods #4)

SIXTEEN

TOBI

We get back to my room and both sit on my bed. I don’t know what to say, so I look over at him, hoping he’ll do the thing.

“If you keep biting your lip, I’m going to have to taste it myself.”

I blink at Savage, confused. “What?”

Savage reaches for me, cupping my jaw, and drags his thumb across my bottom lip. “You keep biting your lip. It’s making me jealous.”

“Jealous of what?”

“That I haven’t gotten to bite it.”

Good god, I want his lips on mine. Would he actually bite me? Hard or soft? Would he leave a mark?

The desire to find out floods my system, making me shift in my seat.

A lascivious grin transforms his face, turning his smile dark and sensual. With a snap, Savage closes his laptop and sets it aside without taking his eyes off me.

“I’m going to taste you.” It’s a threat and a promise, and I have never been more turned on in my life. “Come here.”

There’s no thinking, just my body flinging itself at him. In the next instant, I’m straddling his lap, zeroed in on his mouth while I pant in anticipation.

“I do like an eager boy.” Savage pulls me against him with a hand on the back of my neck. He leaves open-mouthed kisses on my throat, nipping at my skin and exploring what’s exposed by my shirt.

“You’re the one that said we had to study first. You could have been kissing me this whole time.” The chastising I attempt is much more of a moan, but I don’t care since he’s setting off goosebumps across my body.

I want to touch him too, but don’t know where to start or what to do.

Is it weird to rock against him? Fuck, I want to grind on him, drive him as crazy as he’s driving me, but then what?

He liked it the other night when I touched him, but where do I start?

And since he’s supposed to be in charge, do I need to ask first?

“You’re tensing up on me,” Savage says as he pulls back enough to look at me. “Do you need direction, baby girl?”

My face is hot. Hell, my entire body is. Between that nickname and him looking at me, I’m a mess. I’m clearly turned on, but now I’m embarrassed, too. I don’t know what I want. Fuck. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this.

I cover my face with my hands and lean against his shoulder.

“Talk to me. What happened?” Savage runs a hand up and down my back.

“I don’t know.” My palms muffle my words.

“Nothing has to happen. You can tell me no.”

I groan and rock against him, clearly still hard. I don’t want him to stop, I just don’t know what the rules or expectations are here.

“Words, Tobi.”

“I don’t know what to do.” My face burns with humiliation. What twenty-one-year-old doesn’t know how to do this?

“What do you want to do?” There’s no judgment in his tone, just curiosity and acceptance. “Or what do you want to happen?”

“Can I touch you?” I whisper the words like, if he says no, it’ll be easier to take.

“Of course you can.”

I chew on the inside of my cheek as I work up the nerve to ask my next question. The last few years, I hoped to be doing all this with Rhys, and I guess I never gave myself time to think about doing it with anyone else. I don’t think I’m ready for anything more than just this.

“And if I don’t want to go farther than just this? Is that okay?”

Savage cups my cheek and lifts my head until I’m looking at him. “If you aren’t into something, I don’t want it. Period.” He brushes my cheek with his thumb. “If all you want is to cuddle, that’s all we’ll do. You just have to tell me that.”

I’m shaking my head before he stops speaking. “I want you to kiss me and touch me.” It’s not until the words are out that I realize I’m staring at his mouth, so I meet his gaze and whisper, “Please.”

He smiles and touches his mouth to mine, then he does some ninja move that has me flat on the mattress.

On instinct, I wrap my arms around him like I’m going to fall, but when my pulse settles, I slide my hands down his back to cup his ass.

Feeling his muscles move under his clothes while he’s grinding against me makes it impossibly hotter.

Savage grips one of my legs and hooks it over his hip. Taking the hint, I wrap both my legs around him, changing the angle of my hips for him to thrust against. When I gasp, he teases my lip with his tongue until I chase him. It’s a dance, a game, and I desperately want to play.

Over the soft cotton of his shirt, I drag my fingers through the dips and valleys of the muscles that cover his body. I play with the edge of his shirt, not sure if I can touch under it.

Savage smiles against me, trailing kisses and bites along my jaw to my ear.

“Do you want my shirt off?”

I whimper at the tingles centering in my groin and making my cock ache.

“Words.” He bites at my earlobe and pulls.

“Oh, fuck,” I gasp. “Yes, please.”

With a chuckle, he reaches behind his head and pulls the fabric off.

The door opens, and I freeze. Savage looks over his shoulder and sighs.

“That explains why he wasn’t answering me.” Ambrose’s unamused tone has my eyes widening. Oh, shit. “I’m not leaving, so continue or don’t.”

“You get the cuck chair then.” Savage points to Ambrose’s desk chair and lowers back down to kiss me again.

“Really? We’re just going to keep going?”

“You’re going to do what I tell you to.”

“Why is that hot?” I let him kiss me again but watch Ambrose, who has taken a seat in the chair with his arms crossed. He’s watching me like a hawk, and it’s definitely doing something for me.

Savage smirks against my skin. “Because you like not having to think.”

He slides a hand into my hair and turns my face toward Ambrose while he sets goosebumps off across my skin with his lips and teeth on my neck. I’m a trembling, whimpering mess in a matter of seconds.

Ambrose adjusts in the chair, pulling on his pants like he’s uncomfortable. It draws my attention to his groin, and holy shit, I think he’s hard. Is he into this? Does he like watching me with Savage?

“I can’t believe you’re sitting in the cuck chair,” Savage scoffs as he slides his hand under my shirt and my eyes close.

“Wouldn’t be my first time,” Ambrose says nonchalantly.

I pick my head up, but Savage cuts me off.

“No, don’t ask him to explain right now.” Savage rolls us to the side so my back is to Ambrose. Our legs are intertwined, and Savage smiles at me. “Much better,” he says against my lips.

Ambrose growls an irritated sound.

“Ignore him. Stay right here.” Savage nuzzles my nose, kisses me softly, trails his lips up my cheeks and his fingers down my back. It takes a few minutes, but I relax into it, letting myself enjoy the simple caresses and attention.

I lay my head on his chest, breathing him in and kissing his throat lazily. He gives me a soft hum that I like too much.

“This is cute and all, but some of us have shit to do.” The chair slides on the floor, and I tense, waiting for a fight, but Savage stays relaxed.

“No one is stopping you, brother,” Savage replies.

There’s an angry huff behind me, and I roll onto my back to look up at my roommate. There’s something there besides irritation—just for a second, when his eyes meet mine.

I want to be relaxed like Savage, but I can’t help but feel like I’m hurting Ambrose, and things have only just started to be better in the room. I don’t want to ruin them again. Anxiety twists in my gut until I can’t take it anymore. “I should probably study, too.”

Ambrose looks up from his books with a smirk. He better not start some shit.

But Savage doesn’t take the bait. He kisses my temple and turns my face to his with fingers on my chin. “Text me later.”

Once I’ve walked Savage out and get back to my room, I find Ambrose shirtless and clearly still upset. I don’t know what to do about it or how to handle this. Do I wait for him to say something first? Do I apologize for something? Do we need to set up some kind of rule about having people here?

I scrub a hand over my face and drop down onto my bed.

“You’re not studying.”

I look up to find Ambrose watching me.

“What?”

“You’re not studying.”

Now I’m confused. Clearly, I’m not. I don’t have any of my shit out. “Huh?”

“You told him you need to study.”

“That was just to make it stop being awkward—” I cut myself off.

I don’t know what I’m saying. I like spending time with Savage, but I also like how jealous Ambrose is being.

I don’t want either of them to stop, but does that make me shitty?

They both know. I hate feeling good then getting hit with all this guilt.

We stare at each other for a long moment before he lifts the blankets and climbs under, then holds them up.

“Come here.”

I get up and slide into his bed, already warm from his body heat, and wait for his next move.

Is he jealous I was cuddling with Savage so now he feels like he has to as well? Or is this what he really wants?

Ambrose turns me to face away from him and curls up against my back, wrapping his arm around my waist to flatten his palm on my chest. He bends one knee, pushing mine up as well, then leans into me.

The pressure is perfect, and I let out a satisfied sigh.

Ambrose kisses the back of my neck and settles, quickly falling asleep and taking me with him.