Page 17 of Vain (Tempest #2)

Chapter Seventeen

AIDEN

I woke up an hour ago, but it was still dark out, and nothing was going to make me leave this bed.

Not when I have the most beautiful woman in the world wrapped up in my arms. I breathe her in, wondering what I did to deserve this.

I’m half afraid it’s all a joke, and I’m somehow the punchline.

Matilda Carson is in my bed, in my arms, and my cock wants nothing more than to be buried inside her.

Unable to stop myself, I slide my hand around her ribs and cup her breast through the silky fabric of her nightgown. I thrust my hard cock against her ass, imagining what it would feel like to slip into her tight wet heat. She stirs, grinding back into me, making me curse as I tweak her nipple.

She jolts, her swift inhale of air making me wonder if I should stop. But when she keeps silent and ever so slightly pushes back into me, I carry on, wondering if perhaps she needs to be pushed a little.

“Fuck. If you knew what you do to me,” I grumble, sliding my hand down her thigh. I grip the silk in my fist and slowly edge it up her body. And still, she doesn’t stop me.

With a growl of approval, I shove the material over her ass and freeze when I realize she’s not wearing any panties. “Fuck me. You slept like that all night?”

“Maybe,” she whispers back.

“You mean to tell me that your hot little pussy was hiding behind nothing more than this?” I tug at the material as if it offends me.

She tries to roll toward me, but I stop her. “Oh no. You can’t tease me like that and not expect me to retaliate.”

She freezes. “Retaliate?”

I press my lips to her ear and my cock to her ass once more. “You know what I like to do with naughty little teases?”

I roll her onto her belly and get to my knees between her legs. I glide my hands over her exposed ass and thrust my cock against her pussy. “I make them beg,” I warn her before I slap my hand against her ass. Not enough to hurt, just enough to keep her centered in the here and now.

I trail a kiss over the cheek I just slapped before repeating the process with the other. “Hands on the headboard, ass in the air. I want to taste how much you want me.”

Her breathing is labored and loud in the otherwise quiet room, and she slowly does as I ask. I take a second to lose the boxers before getting back into position.

My cock is so hard it’s almost painful. It’s been this way since I woke up and found it nestled between the globes of her ass.

I move behind her in a doggy position and press my length against her wet pussy.

She gasps as I glide through her heat, coating myself in her arousal.

I don’t penetrate her, though, even though it’s all I can think about.

No, I want her to be a writhing mess of need before that.

I want her to want me as much as I want her.

It doesn’t take long before she’s twitching and squirming, but when I feel her tense, I stop what I’m doing and pull back. I lie beside her, looking at her dazed expression with a smirk. “You wanna come, Tilly?”

She whimpers but nods.

“Give me the words, baby.”

“I want to come. I need you to make me come,” she hisses out, her face flushed, her skin damp, and her chest heaving. Jesus, she looks like a goddess.

“The only way you’re coming is with my tongue in your pussy and my cock in your throat.” She jolts, her eyes widening comically before her eyes drift down to my cock.

I wrap my hand around it and start to stroke it slowly, her eyes following my movements. When she licks her lips, I almost shoot my load right then and there.

“What’s it gonna be, Tilly?”

“I need to come,” she answers immediately.

“Then you know what to do.”

She hesitates for a moment before she turns, moving herself into position before tossing her leg over my chest as she faces my cock. She takes it in her hand, and I swear to god I almost see stars.

I slide my hands around her thighs and tug her back until her pussy is over my mouth before I dive in, tongue first. She shouts out my name as I swipe my tongue through her folds, the taste of her exploding on my tongue.

Not wanting to be outdone, she leans down and drags the flat of her tongue from the base of my cock to the tip. I suddenly realize this is going to be a battle of wills. I grin against her, feeling far more confident than I should when the woman has clearly cast a spell over my cock.

May the best person win.

When she opens her mouth and takes me inside, I’m suddenly not feeling quite so confident. She sucks hard, making me buck.

“Fucking hell,” I snarl before I start fucking her with my tongue.

She picks up speed, taking me deeper and faster as her need to come drives my own. I slide my hand up and use my two fingers to spread her pussy open, making her gasp before I suck on her clit.

She comes, screaming around my cock as I suck and lick her clean. She pulls away when it becomes too much, and repositions herself so she can keep sucking. But I’ve got other ideas. I flip her on her back and crawl between her legs, my aching cock in my hand, poised and ready to go.

“You gonna let me inside you?”

She bites her lip, her cheeks flushed with arousal. “Condom.”

I reach for the bedside table and grab one of the two I brought in earlier.

She chuckles. “Presumptuous?”

“Hopeful. Really fucking hopeful.” I answer as I rip the packet open with my teeth and roll the condom over my hard length.

“You want this? You can say no.”

“I want it. I want you.”

“All you had to do was ask.” I thrust inside her. Even though she’s soaked, she’s so fucking tight it takes me a few tries before she’s able to take me all. “So much better than I imagined, and I’ve done nothing but think about this since the day I met you.”

She reaches up and grabs hold of my hair, yanking my mouth down to hers.

What little control I had snaps as I fuck her hard and fast. I’m not going to last long, not a fucking chance. But I’ll be damned if I let go before she comes again.

“Aiden,” she whispers like a prayer against my lips.

“Touch yourself, baby, I want you to come again.”

She starts stroking her clit as I work her up from the inside out. Her movements become rough and frantic and her head thrashes from side to side.

“Let go, Tilly. I want to feel you come.”

She throws her head back and cries out as her pussy flutters around me. I give up all pretense of holding on. I thrust into her, burying myself inside her as far as I can before I come with a roar.

I pick up my phone when it rings and squint in the early morning light.

“Yeah?”

“Aiden?”

“Speaking. Who’s this?”

“Names Mathews. I work with Tate. Any chance we can meet up?”

I look at my watch and see it’s quarter after seven. “I’m heading back to see Kellen. Visiting hours start at eight. I don’t trust that fucker not to try and make a run for it if I’m not there to stop him.”

He snorts. “I need to talk to him anyway. I can meet you there, if you’re cool with that?”

I look at Tilly, who stirs beside me, and hesitate, reluctant to let her out of my sight.

“I have info I think you both should know,” Mathews continues.

“Shit. Yeah, I’ll meet you at the hospital. Give me an hour.”

“You got it,” he agrees before hanging up.

I toss my cell on the side table and lean down over Tilly, who is now awake and looking up at me curiously.

“Morning, beautiful,” I murmur before pressing my lips to hers. She whimpers against my lips, the sound making my cock throb.

The sheet slips down between us, making her grab for it, but I pull back and stop her. “You never have to hide from me.”

She blows out a shuddering breath before releasing the sheet. “It’s instinctual. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. It all takes time.”

She smiles shyly as I kiss the tip of her nose and reluctantly climb from the bed. If I don’t get up, I’ll end up fucking her instead of heading to the hospital.

“You want to come back to the hospital with me, or do you want to stay here and chill? I’ve got a man that wants to talk to me and Kellen, so that will mean sitting in the waiting room again.”

“I don’t mind. I’d like to see if I can visit Zoe again anyway.”

I pause for a minute before grabbing my cell and dialing Wade.

He answers with a gruff, “It’s my day off, fucker, so this better be good.”

“Matilda wants to visit Zoe today. Think you can make that happen?”

“She didn’t have any problems getting in yesterday to see her,” he points out as Tilly climbs from the bed and heads to the bathroom.

“Yeah, but I bet Cora has been planning all night, especially on the off chance we come back. I don’t want to make any waves while we’re here. The last thing Matilda needs is shit spread about her across the media, especially when she’s trying to keep a low profile.”

“Alright, leave it with me, and I’ll see what I can do. What time are you heading in?”

“I’m meeting Mathews, one of Tate’s boys, in an hour.”

He groans. “You can buy me lunch,” he says, hanging up, making me laugh.

I hear the shower turn on, so I quickly dial Blake. He answers after the second ring. “Everything okay?”

“We’re all good, though we could have done without Cora being her usual happy self yesterday. I’m heading back to see Kellen in an hour. We’re meeting Mathews there. You know him?”

“Yeah, good guy. Just tread carefully. Kellen might have pulled through, but they lost one of their own, remember.”

“Shit, that’s right.” I run my hands through my hair.

“We’ll be back later today, so I can trade out one of the guys with you. Not sure we need people finding out we have Hollywood’s sweetheart here. I don’t need Tempest overrun with zealous reporters while we have this Baylor shit hanging over us.”

“Amen to that.”

“I’ll text you when we land and let you know who’s coming. How’s he doing anyway?”

“When I left him last night, he was doing okay. He’s pissed this happened on his watch, but it could have happened to any of us.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll smack him upside the head if he starts acting the martyr. There’s only room for one of us,” he drawls, making me chuckle. It’s no secret that Blake’s been dealing with his own version of survivors’ guilt over the years, being the last man standing in his military unit.

When the shower shuts off, I head to my bag, pull out the clothes I need, and lay them on the bed. “Gotta go. I want to check in with Matilda’s security guys to see if anything happened while we’ve been gone.”

“Alright, keep me updated.”

“Will do.” I hang up and fire off a text to Daniel, not wanting to speak to the guy unless necessary. I can imagine how pissed he is that I left with Tilly and didn’t inform him.

When he doesn’t answer, I head to the bathroom, finding myself walking into a room of steam when I open the door.

“The fans are not working.” Tilly chuckles as she applies some cream to her face.

She’s wrapped in a large towel, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and her face free of makeup, and it hits me. This is what I want—this normal everyday shit. I can take the glitz and glamour that her life might entail in small doses as long as I get to come home to this.

“You okay?”

I move up behind her, my hands moving to her hips as I press a kiss just behind her ear, making her shiver. “I’m good baby, real good. Thank you for coming with me.”

She turns and looks up at me, her eyes searching mine. “You’re welcome.”

I press my forehead to hers and stand there for a minute, letting the stillness of the moment center me before I step back. “Wade’s gonna run interference with Cora.”

“Thinks she’s going to cause issues today?”

“I think she’s never been one to miss the chance at playing the victim or being the center of attention. I’m sure she’s come up with a scenario that will let her be both. I’d rather get that shit nipped in the bud.”

She nods. “I know exactly what kind of woman she is. I’ve met plenty of them in my line of work. If things between us turn into something more?—”

“When, not if. It already is something more for me.”

She swallows before offering me a blinding smile.

“When this becomes more and she finds out who I really am, she seems vindictive enough to go to the press. Are you ready for that? It can get nasty, and nobody seems to care about the truth. You’ll be everything from the manipulated hero to the deceitful villain.

She seems like the kind of woman who hates to lose. ”

“That’s the thing, though, Tilly. She’s already lost. No matter what happens or what people say or think about us, I’ve already won. And I’ll keep on winning every day that I wake up with you beside me.”