Chapter 26: Forever With The CEO: Chapter 26

“Poker?” I said, certain I’d heard wrong.

“Yes.” She nodded vigorously. “Or I have board games.”

I hadn’t seen this coming. I figured she’d want us to watch a movie or something, cuddle up on the couch, and have some sexy times. I wanted to take us back to that night in my closet. Pretend marriage or not, that night had been real. And this past month since we signed the papers, other things started feeling real too. I was closer to Allison than I’d ever been to a woman, and to my astonishment, I wanted more of it. I wanted everything.

“Poker it is, then.” Between that and board games, I’d take poker any day.

She jumped up from the table, scurrying away to the console under the TV. Something had changed these past few seconds, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. She’d finally started to relax, but then she somehow withdrew again. Why?

“I found a deck of cards!”

She bent at the waist, putting her ass up in the air. I could see the shape of those round lumps perfectly.

I quickly got up to carry everything to the kitchen, not bothering to clean up. I could deal with that later.

Something in her body language was still off, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it, even if it meant playing poker. Clearly I’d said something wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what for the life of me. Was she so bothered by my family trying to matchmake us?

I set our glasses down on the small coffee table in front of the couch as she approached it.

“You do know the rules of poker, yes?” Allison asked.

“Yes. I prefer a bigger round. Then again, I haven’t played in years.”

“Aha,” she said. “Then prepare to have your ass beaten by me. I happen to be very good at poker.”

“How come?” I asked.

“My friends and I played obsessively in college. I’m sure I’ve still got it.”

“Is that so? Challenge accepted, then.”

As she started to shuffle the cards, I decided to be up-front. “Allison, something’s changed since dinner.” She glanced up at me, and her hands stilled. “You were relaxed, and then you couldn’t get away fast enough. Did I say something wrong?”

She shook her head. “No, not at all.”

“But something is off.”

Her shoulders drooped. “Nick, this is…” She sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it without sounding silly.”

“I promise not to judge.”

She pressed her lips together. “I thought that once we’d lived together for a bit, things would get easier…”

“But they’re not,” I finished for her.

“No, not at all. Every time I think I have things under control, something happens and…” She closed her eyes. “I realize I really don’t, that I’m still not sure how to best handle this. I figured poker would be a very safe way to spend the rest of the evening. There’s no way to turn it into an innuendo.”

“Weeeeell…” There was strip poker, after all.

Allison looked at me, jerking her head back and then shaking it. “Nick, you know what? I don’t even want to know.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

She went back to shuffling, then looked up at me and sighed. “No, I do want to know.”

“You just said the opposite.”

“I know, but otherwise I’ll think about it for the rest of the evening. How would you make this into something dirty?”

“I could suggest we play naked poker.”

She blinked rapidly. “You mean strip poker?”

“Exactly that. I just jumped to the naked part.”

She turned red faster than I thought possible.

“See, we were both far better off if I’d kept this to myself. Like, every time you lose, I’ll imagine what clothing item you could take off.” I tilted forward slightly. “I don’t imagine you have too much on.”

I knew I’d gone too far the second she exhaled sharply. But I’d lasted weeks without openly making a move on her, hadn’t I? Being alone with her tonight changed things.

“Nick…,” she whispered, then stopped. When she spoke again, her voice was more confident. “You know, I’d chastise you for even putting that idea in my mind, but I’m not a liar. That was the first thing that popped into my head when you said naked poker. Because if one of us would end up naked, it would be you. That’s how much I trust my skills.”

Yes! She was flirting back. I had no idea why I was celebrating when we’d both agreed to keep things platonic, but I was victorious.

I was so close to her. It would take almost no effort at all to lean over and kiss her. Her lips looked delicious, and they were beckoning me.

I drew in a deep breath, glancing down between us at the cards. She’d mixed them so well by now that there was no need to keep doing it, but she’d started to move her hands again. I caught both of them, setting the cards to the side and then holding her palms up, resting my thumbs on them. That was when I realized that there was a light tremor in her body.

“Allison, I know what we agreed on back at the penthouse. I remember every word. Actually, I remember every fucking second.”

“So do I.” Her voice was barely audible, like she wouldn’t even admit that to herself.

“But I don’t know how to do this,” I continued. “I want you so damn much that I can’t even think straight. I came here with the intention of helping you relax, and now I’m flirting with you.”

“I was wondering about that.”

“I promise you, I’m not doing it on purpose. I’m not an asshole. There’s something about you, us, that draws it out of me.”

“I feel it too. So, where does that leave us?”

“Playing naked poker.”

She grinned. “I wouldn’t mind seeing some of those sexy muscles.”

That was all it took for any sort of self-restraint to simply melt away. Just like back at the penthouse, I couldn’t think past the fact that I needed this woman right now with every fiber of my being.

So instead of making a counter proposal, I kissed her. Fuck, I’d missed this, her sexy mouth. She tasted like white wine.

She groaned, instantly opening up. Her tongue met mine with fervor, and I knew we weren’t going to honor our agreement. Not tonight. It was impossible, not when kissing her felt so damn good.

I pulled her onto my lap, and a whooshing sound filled the air.

“The cards!”

“Fucking forget about them,” I growled. I sure as hell couldn’t think about anything else but how much I needed her.

I pushed my hands under her dress. Her skin was smooth and inviting, and I wanted her completely naked.

When she groaned against my mouth, I moved farther down to her neck. Last time, I hadn’t been able to even see her properly, but this time I was going to do things differently. Even though I was once again so desperate that I was very close to shoving her panties to one side and thrusting into her right away.

I ran my hands over her torso. There didn’t seem to be a zipper, so I simply yanked the dress over her head. Then I pressed down on her shoulders so she was lying back at an angle.

She was wearing a simple white bra and panties, but she looked sexier than ever.

“You’re so damn beautiful. I didn’t get to have a good look at you last time.”

“No,” she said, her eyelids hooded, “you were too busy devouring me, and I didn’t mind one bit.”

“I want to do things differently this time, Allison.”

I saw a glass of wine out of the corner of my eye, and that gave me an idea. I reached for it and told her, “Lean back as much as you can.”

She licked her lips and lowered herself carefully. I poured a bit of white wine in her navel, and she gasped. Realizing I didn’t have the access I wanted like this, I quickly moved her to the couch so I was still sitting between her legs. The wine I’d poured was dripping down her skin. Her panties dampened. She moaned again, which told me that the area was already sensitive. I kissed back up to her navel.

“Nick!” She arched her back, rolling her hips back and forth.

I reached under her back, undoing the clasp of her bra. Her breasts were gorgeous. Leaning in, I pulled one into my mouth, sucking at her nipple until she was no longer whispering my name but crying it out. Her heels pressed against my ass, and I realized she’d lifted her legs and trapped me between them.

“I just want to make sure you stay here,” she said with a coy smile.

“Don’t worry, Allison. I’m not going anywhere.”

I rested on my knees, hovering above her as I worked both of her breasts with my hands, especially teasing her nipples.

I congratulated myself for bringing the couch here because it was fucking perfect for this. Then I grabbed the glass of wine, taking a sip before lowering myself to her breasts and sucking a nipple into my mouth. She turned absolutely wild. My mouth was cold, but then it slowly warmed back up, and the change of temperature was wreaking havoc on her senses. Hell, it was wreaking havoc on mine.

I felt her nails dig into my back. A few seconds later, I realized she was trying to get my shirt off. I hadn’t taken my clothes off last time either, but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. I wanted her to be able to touch me all that she wanted.

I didn’t want to stop exploring her body, but it was the most efficient way to get naked, so I pulled away from her.

“Nick!” she protested. She made to grab my arm, but I quickly moved out of the way.

“Just taking off my clothes, Allison. Just for you.”

“Oooh, I get my own personal stripper,” she said, then turned onto her side, propping her head on her palm and looking at me hungrily.

I started by undoing the buttons of my shirt.

“You’re doing this slowly on purpose to tease me,” she pouted.

“Obviously,” I admitted.

“That’s not fair. Why do you wear an undershirt? It’s making the whole striptease idea seem lame.”

“Don’t worry, that’ll come off too.” Losing patience with the last buttons, I just reached back, grabbed the fabric between my shoulder blades, and pulled it over my head. I did the same with the undershirt.

“Oh yeah. Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

When I finally tossed them away, I noticed she was in a sitting position. Her face was level with my abs.

“Do you know how much I’ve been dreaming about these?” she whispered. She put both forefingers underneath my nipples and traced a crisscross pattern all over my abs while I worked my belt.

As soon as I undid it, she lowered my zipper, tugging at it very aggressively. I grinned, pushing down my pants. She immediately helped me yank down the boxers, too, then looked up at me. My cock was already erect, practically in her face. With our gazes locked, she licked once from the bottom to the tip. I groaned, moving my hips forward on impulse. Then she repeated the motion, never breaking eye contact.

“You’re so damn sexy.” My voice was so broken that I was surprised she heard anything. But then her eyes turned darker, and I knew she had. “I love every single one of your curves, your breasts, your waist… your ass. I’ve fantasized about that so many times.”

She gasped, then lowered her mouth.

“Touch yourself, Allison. I know you need it, and I can’t reach you like this.”

Her eyes were completely wide now. I knew she’d touched herself the moment it happened because her lips clamped even tighter around my cock. She closed her eyes and whimpered, and the vibrations traveled all through my body. I pushed forward on instinct, deeper inside her mouth, and she took me in all the way.

I couldn’t see her properly, but I didn’t miss the way her arm moved. It was frantic. She was dying to come just like this, with my cock in her mouth and her hand in her panties. I nearly exploded at the thought.

“That’s it, gorgeous.” I wrapped her hair around one hand, pulling it at the back of her head. I wanted to see the curve of her neck while she slid her mouth down on my cock. Her hums intensified, and every single one of them went straight through me.

I couldn’t believe how on edge she was. Then again, she wasn’t the only one. These past few weeks had been excruciating, knowing that only a flight of stairs and a door separated us.

I knew exactly when she started to come because she stopped moving her head. The sound she made was animalistic, guttural. It shook her entire body. It was such a damn privilege feeling this woman’s climax course through me. I didn’t move at all, just watched her come down from the high and open her eyes slowly, then her mouth. She smiled after pulling back.

“I want to taste your pussy, beautiful. Right now.”

“Yes, please.” Her eyes darkened.

I pushed her back on the couch and took off her panties. They were completely soaked. I tossed them on the floor and positioned myself so I had access to her pussy and she could suck my cock as much as she wanted. I opened her thighs wide and, without giving her any warning, licked her clit. Then I moved farther down her slit. The pleasure was surreal. Somehow tasting her pussy while she had my cock in her mouth made everything even more intense. We were giving each other pleasure and exploring.

I teased her clit again and again, following the cues of her body. This was what she needed, so I was going to oblige. Only it was becoming increasingly more difficult to focus. The way she moved her mouth on me brought me closer to climax every damn time.

When I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold back much longer, I pulled out. “I want to be inside of you.” I hovered with my mouth over her pussy.

“I need it, too, Nick,” she whispered. “So damn badly.”

I slapped her pussy twice as I straightened up. She cried out so loud that for a split second, I thought she came. Fuck no, the only time she was allowed to come was on my cock.

I grabbed both her ankles, putting them on my shoulders. Her mouth was red. I liked watching her like this, completely vulnerable. I traced the contour of her lips with my thumb. “I fucking love that you’re so red.”

She licked her lips. “Please, please push inside.”

I went in all at once until I was completely buried in her pussy.

“Nick!” she groaned and grabbed her breasts with both hands.

“You feel so damn perfect. You are perfect, Allison.” I pulled back, looking between us, loving the sight of my cock pistoning in and out of her.

She lowered one hand between her thighs to her clit, and I watched her for a few moments. It turned me on that she pleasured herself without any shame. But then another instinct took over, and I moved her hand away.

“Your pussy is mine tonight. I’m the only one who can touch it.”

She instantly lifted her arms above her head. I liked this position because it made the bouncing movement of her breasts on every thrust even more obvious. I touched her clit in the same way I did with my tongue earlier. The combined sensations from stimulating her G-spot and her clit was wreaking havoc on her.

“Please… I want to come. Make me come, please.”

“That’s what I’m here for, beautiful. I’ll work you up so damn good that when you come, you won’t even remember what your name is.”

She gasped, pinching her eyes shut. And then her pussy started to pulse around my cock. I changed the rhythm of my thrusts, tilting my pelvis at another angle, making sure I got that G-spot good. I knew I did when her gorgeous face started to twist. The pleasure was almost torture because it was more but not enough.

Then my own climax slammed into me. I didn’t feel the buildup, not in the way I’d done back when I’d been buried inside her in the closet.

I cried out her name, circling her clit even quicker. Even through the orgasm, I felt her pussy clamp tighter around my cock. She put her palms on her face, moving them upward and tugging at her hair as she cried out until sweat broke out on her temples.

I didn’t stop even for a brief second, giving her all I had. I only pulled out once we were both completely done and could barely breathe.

***

We only stayed downstairs for a few more seconds before heading to the bathroom to clean up. Afterward, we came back to the living room. I liked watching Allison walk naked through the house. Her body was so fucking perfect.

When we were in front of the couch again, I stopped right behind her, fondling both her ass cheeks.

“Your ass is perfection.”

She grinned, turning around. “So you keep saying.”

She grabbed her dress and quickly pulled it over her head.

I frowned. “Why did you do that? I enjoy seeing you naked.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It felt just a bit weird.”

I wriggled my eyebrows. “You mind if I’m naked?”

She tilted her head to one side. “No. But just so you know, I might jump your bones again just to get my dirty desires out of the way.”

I threw my head back, laughing. “My plan is extremely similar to yours. In fact,” I said, circling her nipple through the fabric until it peeked through, “I could say that you stole my idea.”

I did put my boxers on, though, before we both sat on the couch. Then I pulled her onto my lap again.

“This escalated quickly,” she whispered.

“It gives me the perfect opportunity to do this.” I put my hand on her lower back, tilting her forward so she was hovering over me and her ass was slightly lifted. “Now I can finally tell you what I want while we talk.”

“Oh, I see. That’s your idea of doing two things at once, huh?”

“Exactly. Life’s too short to procrastinate.”

“Nick, I’m not sure what to say.”

I frowned, then took both my hands from under her dress and touched her cheeks with the backs of my fingers.

“One thing’s clear,” I started.

She raised a brow. “Do tell, because everything’s clear as mud for me.”

“We can’t continue the way we have up until now, pretending that we’re not attracted to each other.”

She straightened up. “That was probably a silly plan, wasn’t it? It was going to come to a head sooner rather than later. Though I have to admit, I didn’t think it was going to be this fast. Then again, I didn’t think we’d have the opportunity to have the house to ourselves either.” She blushed and covered her mouth.

“What just went through your pretty mind?”

“That Penny might be a genius. The timing was impeccable.”

Her words took me by surprise. Then I realized she was right. “Yeah, we Whitleys are known for our impeccable timing. It’s interesting.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why do you sound so unhappy about it?”

“I just hadn’t realized that my family could read me so well. They could probably tell from the wedding that all I wanted was to be alone with you.”

She bit the inside of her cheek.

“Tell me what’s on your mind, Allison. I promise I’m good either way.”

She frowned. “That’s just it. I’m not sure. Before… we said we’d have separate lives.”

I didn’t fucking want a separate life. I wanted to build a life with her.

“Fuck no. That’s off the table.”

The corners of her mouth lifted. Clearly she liked what she was hearing.

“And staying away from each other also doesn’t seem to work out.”

I liked where this was going. From the very beginning, she’d been far more cautious than I had been, and I didn’t want her to feel like she had to do something just because I wanted it. Not my style.

She was mine to protect and take care of. I felt more possessive of her than I’d ever been with anyone in my whole damn life. From the day of the accident, I felt the need to be right there with her.

“And anyway, you did say that you’re not marriage material. So—” She smiled, tilting her head. “—how about we’re married with benefits?”

That made me laugh. I liked that she took everything with humor.

“Married with benefits. I love that. But I don’t think it’s enough.”

All my life, I didn’t think I could be a good husband. I could be an excellent fake one, but what if I could be a really good boyfriend?

“Oh?” she said.

“What you and I have is real, Allison.”

She nodded. “Very.”

“You’re mine. And I’m yours. How does that sound?”

“Like a dream,” she whispered. “I love it.”

Then she grabbed her glass of wine and took a sip.

“That’s warm already. I can take out another bottle.”

She lowered her glass, looking at me from under her eyelids. I realized she was trying to bat her eyelashes seductively. “Yes, let’s do that. And why don’t we go upstairs to the bedroom?”

“Hell yes.”

She laughed. “I take that as a sign that you’d also like to spend the whole night there?”

“Well, the new couch is comfortable, but I won’t say no to a bed.”

“Then consider that another benefit of our marriage.”