Chapter 22

Joanna

 

 

Bright morning light spilled in through the windows of Bastian’s bedroom. I stirred sleepily at the sound of the back door opening downstairs, followed by Marcie’s voice. A strong arm was curled around my waist protectively. A very naked body was pressed up against mine intimately, from head to toe. I could feel Bastian’s warm breath puffing steadily on the back of my head, stirring the strands of my hair.

I didn’t bother fighting back the giddy smile that spread across my face. Finally, after all this time, Bastian’s walls were finally down. I had seen that look in his eyes the night before when he had settled into bed next to me. It had been the look of utter trust of another person.

Sucking in a deep breath, I gently rolled beneath Bastian’s arm as carefully as possible to not wake him. His chocolate-colored hair was messy from the way my fingers had run through it passionately the night before. Several times to be exact.

The pleasure Bastian had given to me the night before had been beyond anything I had ever known. I craved it even more than before. The sensation of him sliding into me, feeling his hot and jagged breaths on my neck while he reached his pinnacle—it was utterly erotic and soul-baring in the best ways possible. He had done everything he could do to make sure I reached an orgasm every single time. That type of devotion still made my heart flutter because Sid had never done that. Sex had always been about him only. Laying beneath Bastian, he made sure I was enjoying myself just as much as he was.

I reached out to gently trace the sharp cheekbones of Bastian’s face. The faint stubble of a beard prickled the end of my fingertips. We had crossed so many lines that I felt confident there weren’t any left. I didn’t know what to expect, but I hoped I was still alongside Bastian at the end of the week.

That also meant that we had to return to reality sooner rather than later. I didn’t know what Bastian planned to do with the change in our personal relationship and how it would affect our working relationship. I knew he took his work seriously, and he also promoted a professional atmosphere. No one in the office ever talked about secret office romances with Bastian. It was always among other employees—never with Bastian himself despite some fantasies.

A pang of smugness filled me then. I had slept the with one man every female on this side of Utah wanted to have. Although, to be fair, there was also a number of women who had had him. They wanted him back, too. I couldn’t count how many times I had taken personal messages for Bastian from a woman trying to get ahold of him. At the time, it had made me leery of trusting my own mixed-up attraction to him. All of that had changed, though, starting the night of the concert, and it had shifted drastically last night over dinner. A part of me wanted to ask what Bastian wanted exactly when it came to our relationship, but I didn’t want to push my luck any further.

I didn’t want to spend the rest of my time in Park City dealing with the mood swings all over again. I didn’t want to leave. Period. I just wanted to stay snuggled up underneath the warm bed covers with Bastian’s strong body pressed up against mine like a protective cocoon against the harsh reality that waited patiently for me.

My fingers trailed down to his slightly parted lips. His expression was serene and unguarded as he continued to sleep peacefully next to me. Maybe hiding away was the only thing that I could do until Sid lost complete interest in gaining me back. He would find some other woman to charm into his life. Yet I knew that he wouldn’t let me go easily, either. He wanted someone to control. He wanted someone to give him what he wanted without question. I had fit the bill for a long time, but now I was resisting him. I had openly defied his authority in front of his coworkers of all things too. So even if he didn’t want me back as his girlfriend, I was certain he’d still want payback.

It was only a matter of time before he figured out where I was. Fear dug its icy claws into my heart while I let my hand fall away from Bastian’s face. Not willing to let that fear spread any further, or to ruin this perfect morning, I pressed a kiss against the side of Bastian’s neck. I trailed my lips up the softness of his skin while I pressed up against him to nibble lovingly on his ear.

A rumbling groan escaped Bastian’s chest. His arm tightened around my waist happily before pulling me against the hardening erection of his that rested on my upper right thigh. His eyes fluttered open, and he smiled at me.

“That’s a good way to wake up,” he said, chuckling. “I’ll never get used to that type of wake-up call.”

I rested my head next to his on the pillow with a soft smile. “Yes, it’s the best type of alarm in my opinion.”

“Is that Marcie I hear downstairs?” Bastian asked sleepily. “I need to get up to get my checkbook from my office. She’s going to go into town to do some grocery shopping.”

“Why can’t we go?” I suggested curiously. “I don’t mind doing the grocery shopping. Marcie already has enough on her plate with taking care of this large mansion by herself.”

“It’s a break from cleaning. Plus, I don’t really want to get out of this bed to be honest with you.”

His fingers splayed on my lower back as he ground his hips and erection into my upper thigh with a low-throated moan. Despite the lingering ache in my legs, I felt lust building up in me all over again.

“You aren’t too tired, huh?” I whispered, running a hand through his messy hair. I admired the way the sunlight played in the golden highlights in it.

“I’m never too tired to have you,” Bastian growled. “Only problem is that I think we should probably take this into the bathroom. To the shower in particular.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you’re going to be making some noise again,” he said. “I can promise you that. I don’t want to make Marcie uncomfortable.”

I leaned back to gaze up at Bastian. “You’re telling me that you’ve never in your entire life brought a woman back here?”

“Of course not,” he said, mildly affronted by my surprise. “Why do you act so surprised? I do have class, you know. I don’t just parade women around in my life.”

“You just keep us a secret,” I said teasingly. “I see how that is. Very classy of you.”

Bastian rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. He pressed a kiss to my forehead before he rolled away from me on the bed. I snuck in an appreciative glance at his taut backside as he walked across the room to the bathroom.

I slipped out of the sheets a moment later when I heard the shower turn on. Shutting the door behind me, I made sure the door was locked, even though I knew Marcie never ventured into our rooms while we were home. She only came in to make the beds after washing the linens and to place fresh towels in the bathroom.

Steam curled up toward the ceiling. I gladly stepped into the shower stall, relishing in the heated tiles beneath my feet. Bastian stood directly in front of me with his head tilted back underneath the spray of water. Steady trails of water flowed down his well-defined stomach and chest to curl around his groin area before continuing down his well-chiseled thighs. Everything about Bastian screamed masculine temptation. He could easily pass as a Greek god if he wanted to.

Unable to resist, I reached forward to graze my fingers along him intimately. He hardened easily beneath the stroke of my fingers while his hips rolled forward at the touch. I marveled at the heat and strength of him beneath my fingers. The fact that I got to touch him like this brought a feminine smugness. To see a man like him react in such a way—it was breathtaking.

Strong fingers curled around my wrist to pull me away. He smirked at the disappointed look on my face.

“I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head at me. “I know what you’re thinking. I am not going to waste a perfectly good orgasm that way.”

“What’s wrong with you getting a bit of pleasure?” I asked. “You’ve done it for me several times already.”

“While I do enjoy the idea of this hand on me”—he pressed a kiss against the palm of my hand—“I like the idea of coming inside you much more.”

A shiver went through me when he released my wrist to back me up against the wall. He twisted me around to press my breasts and stomach up against the warm tile. I bit the tip of my tongue to contain my gasp at this new position he intended to make love to me in. It was utterly dominating in all the right ways, and made even better when he grabbed both my wrists to pin them above my head.

Hot lips attacked the side of my neck, followed by certain bites that had me squirming in pleasure against him. His free hand roamed along my breasts before sliding down my stomach to dip between my thighs. I let out a quivering breath when he parted me to rub at my core.

I cried out against the friction while he continued to grind his hard erection against my backside. He waited patiently for an orgasm to come crashing over me again. Pleasure tore through me in crashing waves while I tasted blood on my tongue from biting the inside of my cheek to keep quiet.

The heat of the shower and with Bastian’s hard body nudging against mine effectively stole the breath out of my lungs. I struggled to breathe against the onslaught of the sensory overload. My body tingled pleasantly when Bastian reached forward to coax my hips backward slightly before he thrust himself into me.

He buried his face into my wet hair to muffle the groan on his lips. I rested my head against the wet tile while I let my eyes slip closed to enjoy the sensation of him thrusting in and out of me at a lazy pace, punctuated with deep thrusts. His fingers gripped my hip sensually while he adjusted his hold on me. He dominated me in every possible way, and I didn’t mind it for the first time in my life. He increased the pace a minute later when his need for a release became too great.

His fingers threaded through mine while he kept my hands pinned to the wall. I stood on the tips of my toes while I reached my release all over again. I came back in time to hear Bastian let out a guttural cry before he tipped over into his own pleasurable release. I would never get used to the feeling of him twitch deep inside me before spilling his seed.

We stood there for a long time, unwilling to move from one another. I felt him press a tender kiss against my wet shoulder as he tried to catch his breath. His chest was pressed flat up against mine with my breasts smooshed up against the shower wall. I could feel his heart thundering away inside the cavern of his chest. It hammered away in perfect time with my own racing heart.