The Rejected Wife: Chapter 7

He touches his tongue to mine, and goosebumps pepper my skin. The hair on the back of my neck rises. Every cell in my body has turned into a tiny inferno. Liquid heat courses through my bloodstream. A groan rumbles up his chest, and the vibrations squeeze my nipples, turning them into tight buds waiting to unfurl at his touch. Damn. He slants his lips over mine, and I feel his kiss all the way down to my toes. My scalp tingles. My thighs tremble.

I hear a thump as if from a distance and realize he must have dropped the baskets of books. The next moment, he slides his big palms under my butt and boosts me up.

As if we’re engaged in a well-synchronized dance, I lock my ankles behind his back. And when that thick column tenting his crotch stabs into my core, I whimper. It seems to inflame him, for he deepens the kiss. He thrusts his tongue into my mouth, and his hips follow suit when he plunges forward and grinds the evidence of his arousal into my core. Little fires break out over my skin. My nerve endings hum. I dig my heels in and try to pull him closer.

He obliges by pushing me up and into the row of books behind me. A few of the books unbalance and fall to the floor.

Not that it distracts him, for he continues to plunder my mouth, and my head spins. A weakness shudders over my body. He grasps my hips and fits me even closer, and I can feel every ridge of that thickness between his legs. He’s so big and thick, and so long, it’s as if I’m being branded by his cock. A yawning gap unfurls in my belly. A neediness grips me; that yearning that awoke when I first saw him, roars to the fore. I hold onto his shoulders and begin to grind up against that steel column.

Every time I hit it, a trembling radiates from the point of contact. He wraps his thick fingers under my thighs and begins to rub up against me. The combination of our opposite and complementary movements sends a rush of sensations up my spine. A lightning strike of sensations roars up from my thighs, surrounds my pussy, and volcanoes up my back, carrying me with it. Before I can stop myself, I orgasm.

The climax slaps me with a force that has my vision grow black at the edges. I shudder and convulse as he continues to brush his arousal up against my core. When the climax finally fades, I slump. I’m aware of him holding me close, of a whisper against my damp forehead. He tightens his hold about me until I finally stir. When I look up, it’s to find him watching me with a tenderness that has me blushing all over again.

‘I…came,’ I say unnecessarily, then flush even harder.

‘And it was the most beautiful sight in the world.’ He lowers me to my feet, holding me until he’s sure I have my balance.

‘That’s twice you made me climax.’

‘Are you keeping count?’ He half-smiles.

‘Maybe.’ I press my palm into the tent at his crotch. ‘Let me⁠—’

He places his broad palm over mine. ‘You don’t owe me anything.’

‘But’—I pout—’I want to.’

And I do. Really. Not that I’ve given any blow jobs before this, but he satisfied me, and he’s turned on. It feels only right that I help him.

‘Not yet.’ He tugs on my hand, and when I let go, he brings my hand to his mouth and kisses it. ‘Watching you come and taking care of you, pleasuring you and treating you like the goddess you are, feels like the most important thing in the world.’

I can’t recall anyone ever calling me a goddess before this. I gape at him. Gorgeous, sexy, alpha, and he’s so attentive. So caring. ‘You’re not real, are you?’

He laughs. ‘I am. Very much.’ He brings my hand back to the evidence of his arousal and slides my palm up and down the length. ‘Don’t mistake my turning down the use of your mouth with not wanting you. I haven’t stopped thinking of how it’s going to be when I finally bury myself in your pussy, and make you come around my cock, only⁠—’

‘Only?’ I breathe.

‘Only…when I do so, it will be because you’re completely sure that it’s what you want. Because once I have you, I won’t be able to let you go.’

A torrent of sensations coasts through me. My belly quivers. My toes curl. My God, this man can talk dirty to me all day, and I’ll happily listen and bring myself to orgasm with the cadence of his deep, dark, gravelly voice.

He straightens my cardigan, tucks strands of hair behind my ear, then steps back and surveys me.

‘Do I look okay?’ I suddenly become conscious of how disheveled I look.

‘You look like a woman who’s been thoroughly kissed,’ he says with a hint of satisfaction.

‘I can cross being kissed in a bookstore off my bucket list then,’ I murmur.

His eyes spark. ‘Want to tell me what else is on it?’

I pop a shoulder. ‘Perhaps.’ I can’t resist the teasing tone in my voice.

I hear the tap-tap of heels behind him. Moments later, a woman appears. I hadn’t noticed her before this, but her confident gait, combined with her presence here when the rest of the shop is empty, indicates she’s likely the manager.

My suspicion is confirmed when she tells us, ‘It’s almost closing time. Of course, I’d be happy to stay later, if you want…’

‘Gio.’ Tyler walks over and kisses her cheek. ‘Thank you for letting us browse.’

‘It was absolutely my pleasure.’ She looks at me, a warm expression in her eyes.

‘This is Giorgina Mitchell, the owner of this incredible bookstore.’ He introduces her. ‘And this is my…’ He stops himself from saying— Girlfriend? Nah. I can’t be his girlfriend if we only met earlier today. Right? He settles for, ‘This is Priscilla Whittington.’

I wonder if she’ll recognize my surname, but all I see is a wide smile. I hold out my hand, but she eschews it and hugs me. ‘Lovely to meet you.’

I am surprised at the demonstration of affection, but it feels so genuine, I hug her back. Because anyone who owns the bookstore of my dreams surely deserves it. She steps back and beams at me. ‘Did you have a good time perusing the books?’

‘Did I have a good time?’ I roll my eyes. ‘That would be putting it mildly. I adore this space. What you have here is my every wet dream come true,’ I say enthusiastically.

Tyler coughs, and when I glance at him, he’s smirking.

Heat flushes my face again. Apparently, I can’t stop blushing around this guy. ‘Well… Maybe not all, but this place’—I turn back to Giorgina—’is my every book fantasy come true.’

‘Right?’ She grins. ‘I am forever grateful that I saw the opportunity and went for it. I wanted a place where readers would be happy to come in and spend time reading and, of course, buying the books, too. The best thing is I get to hold book club events, as well as bookish cosplay gatherings, and author signings.’

‘Wow! You have the best job in the world.’

‘I do!’ She looks between us. ‘So, would you like me to keep the shop open for you, or⁠—’

‘Oh, no, that’s not necessary; I’m done. Also, I’m sorry I put out your customers this evening.’

‘It’s for a good cause. I’m sure they’ll understand.’ A hopeful gleam comes into her eyes as she glances in Tyler’s direction. But she doesn’t say anything else, for which I’m grateful. ‘Would you mind posing for a photograph?’ she asks.

‘A photograph?’

‘It’s not often I find a man holding the basket of books while a woman shops here.’

‘Right?’ I nod vigorously. ‘I was telling Tyler the same thing.’

‘Which is why I’d love to take a picture of the two of you and post it on our socials, if you don’t mind?’

‘I don’t.’ Tyler turns to me with a question in his eyes. When I don’t protest, he puts his arm about me and pulls me in. In his other hand, he holds a basket of books. I look up into his face, and the light shining in his eyes is a mixture of tenderness and heat, need and lust. I swallow. Liquid heat infuses my bloodstream. Is every encounter with him going to be this intense?

‘Oh, that’s perfect.’ Giorgina pulls out her phone and takes a few quick pictures. ‘You guys are so cute together.”

Neither Tyler nor I react. I can’t look away from those piercing dichromatic eyes of his. The green iris has golden sparks in it. The other one is a piercing blue with splashes of silver. He’s Apollo and the God of Thunder and Lightning, rolled into one.

She clears her throat, and I jerk out of the haze which has overtaken my mind. He releases me, and I pull back at the same time.

She looks at us with an even bigger smile; this one has a knowing tinge to it. But she doesn’t comment on the moment we had. She nods at the basket that Tyler is holding, and the other one at his feet. ‘I’m so pleased you found our self-help section. I added it recently. Shall I ring up your purchases? And if you give me your address, I’ll have the books delivered to you.’