In Good Company: Chapter 22

I don’t waste another second.

After weeks of wondering what she tasted like, I lean in and press my lips to Lucy’s. I’m hesitant at first, wanting to make sure she’s okay with this happening.

She doesn’t pull away or make any move to end the kiss. Instead, her lips eagerly meet mine. For a moment, we just stay there, locked in the sensation of finally feeling the joining of our lips.

But I need more.

My lips part as I wait to see if she’ll let me deepen the kiss. My fingers tighten the grip they have on the strands of her hair, and I pull her body into mine.

Lucy reaches up and places her trembling fingers against my face. Something deep inside me relaxes at the simple touch of her fingertips along my cheek. It’s a comfort to know she needs to feel the connection of our skin just as much as I do.

Desperate for more, I let my tongue dance along the seam of her mouth. When she moans, I taste it, and I swear time seems to come to a standstill when her tongue brushes up against mine.

The gentleness is gone. I can’t hold back anymore, and it doesn’t seem like she can either.

Our chests press against each other as our tongues meet in a wild frenzy. Hands pull at hair, and fingertips dig into skin as we get lost in the kiss. We swallow each other’s moans greedily, never once breaking for air.

“Cal.” Lucy moans my name, and the moment she does, I know I’ll have to hear her moan it again. I want to discover what other sounds I can get from her as I explore her body. Maybe even discover what other ways she can moan my name.

I kiss along her jawline, letting the fingers not gripping her hair explore her body. I want more of her—I need more of her—but I don’t want to take this too far.

Even I know I shouldn’t be kissing her right now. I need to be careful that I don’t cross the line more than I already have.

But fuck, it’s tempting.

My lips trail along her neck as I try to taste her any way I can.

“Everything about you is so fucking tempting,” I tell her, my lips dancing along her skin with the words. She tastes like salt from the saltwater pool mixed with something else. Something sweet and delectable. Maybe it’s just her.

“Oh my God.” Her back arches as my teeth nibble at the sensitive skin of her neck. I guide my tongue over the spot my teeth just dug into, wanting to ease the sting.

Her hands move down my back, and it feels like my skin is on fire everywhere she explores.

“I never want to leave this pool house,” I tell her, fighting the temptation to coax the tiny triangle covering her tits to the side and taste her there too. Even her pebbled nipples fight against the fabric, showing their protests over being hidden.

“Why does this feel so good if we shouldn’t be doing it?” she asks, her eyes finding mine when I bring our faces together once again.

“Because even if you think this shouldn’t be happening, this thing between us is undeniable.” I lean in and kiss her slowly for a moment. My tongue works leisurely against hers, like I have all the time in the world to kiss her.

When she opens her mouth for more, I pull away with a smirk.

“And because I can’t imagine anything else I’m meant to do at this very moment other than taste your needy moans.”

Her eyelids flutter shut for a moment as she rocks her hips. I think if I dared, she’d let me untie the strings at her hips and press a kiss to her center.

I don’t. As much as every part of me wants to do just that, I don’t want to scare her away. I thought that maybe if I kissed her once, I could get it out of my system. I tricked myself into thinking it’d be lackluster and all these sudden urges I had for her would disappear.

I was so fucking wrong.

Now that I’ve kissed her, I want to kiss her again. I want to kiss her everywhere. I can’t scare her away before I get the chance to do that.

Apparently a glutton for torture, I trail my fingers over the bow on her left hip. “It’d be so easy for me to pull on this,” I toy, not really needing a response from her. My body betrays my desperation for her in many ways, the thickness of my voice being one of them.

“Cal.” My name falls from her lips like a plea. I fucking love how many times she says my name. Hopefully, I’m infiltrating her mind like she is mine…like all she can think about is me, and that’s the reason my name keeps falling from her lips.

“If I pulled on these strings, would I find that you’re wet for me, baby?”

Baby.

The pet name falls from my lips so effortlessly I don’t even question it. I can’t question it, not after seeing her reaction to it.

Her teeth rake against her bottom lip as she circles her hips. She’s seeking some kind of friction, and it’s sexy as hell.

“I bet I would,” I answer for myself, tugging on the string ever so slightly.

Needing to do something more, I let my fingers dance along the top of her bikini bottoms. My fingertips slide underneath the fabric, but only by a little. Just enough to tease her.

Her moan is everything to me. It’s proof she wants this just as badly as I do.

Lucy’s hands find either side of my face as she directs me to look at her. I commit the sight of her flushed cheeks and swollen lips to memory. I can’t ever forget the sight in front of me. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I did.

“Kiss me,” she demands, her gaze falling to my lips. “Kiss me again before I feel guilty for letting you kiss me in the first place.”

I laugh before doing as she asks. Leaning in, I press my lips to hers, loving how her mouth is open and ready for me the moment our mouths meet.

Her legs wrap around my middle, bringing my straining cock right against her core. She moves against it with a moan, her tongue circling mine inside her mouth.

For a split second, I think about freeing myself and ripping her bottoms off and joining our bodies. I don’t, knowing it’s far too soon for that.

But the temptation is there. Fuck, it’s there.

Lucy tilts her head to the side, opening her mouth wider to deepen the kiss. Even her thighs part more for me, like she’s trying to get our bodies as close as physically possible.

I grab onto both sides of her so my hands don’t roam anywhere else. I’m so lost in the kiss that I don’t even hear the sound of the pool house door opening before it’s too late.

“Oh, whoops,” a voice calls.

Lucy presses her palms to my chest just in time for both of us to see Margo’s wide eyes staring at us.

“Don’t mind me.” Margo laughs nervously, her eyes awkwardly moving between Lucy and me.

I look at Lucy, finding her cheeks red and her fingers pressed to her lips guiltily. Her bikini top is slightly off-center, and her hair looks a mess. I’m sure mine looks the same.

“Oh my God,” Lucy mutters, sliding off the counter.

Margo pulls the door shut without saying anything else. Lucy’s panicked eyes meet mine for a moment before she races after Margo.

I step forward, trying to grab Lucy’s hand. “Wait,” I call after her, wanting her to stop.

When her eyes find mine, my stomach fills with dread. Regret is written all over her face, and I hate it.

“I have to go talk to her,” Lucy explains, her voice shaky. She anxiously runs her fingers through her hair in an attempt to tame it. “We shouldn’t ha⁠—”

“Don’t,” I cut her off, the word coming out harsher than I intended. I sigh, trying to soften my voice with my next words. “Don’t say we shouldn’t have done that.”

Her eyes soften slightly. For a moment, I wonder if she’s going to stay and talk to me instead of running after Margo.

She doesn’t. “I’ve got to talk to her,” she explains before running out the door.

I sigh, dread running through me. My intuition is almost always correct, and the look in Lucy’s eyes told me everything I needed to know. She regretted what just happened between us. Hell, I should regret it. I just got caught kissing one of my employees.

But I don’t regret it at all.

Instead, I’m hoping it happens again.