A deep growl rumbles from behind me as a slap brands my skin.
“Fuck, your ass looks incredible like this.”
Soft fingers stroke me, massaging away the sting, and I hum happily, sinking down, savoring the fullness and stretch as I rest one hand on Reed’s thigh, and cup his balls with the other, straddling him in reverse cowgirl.
“You say that when I’m on all fours and you’re behind me,” I pant, pressing his balls against my swollen clit so I can use them to grind on.
“It looks incredible like that, too,” he groans as I rise and sink back down onto him, moaning loudly.
Thank God Gracie Mansion is big enough that even if the night security team has arrived early for their shift, they won’t be able to hear us from downstairs.
“You know I’m christening the starfish one of these days, don’t you?” Reed eases two lubed fingers inside me, making me cry out louder as a new wave of arousal soaks us both.
“Your monster cock won’t fit. I’ve told you,” I pant as my inner thighs begin to tremble.
“Why do you think I do this? I’m warming you up.” He swirls his fingers around inside my ass, causing me to come unexpectedly with a scream.
“Reed,” I cry, struggling to force out his name as I convulse around him, relishing the feeling of coming around his long, thick length while his fingers press inside me, giving my body more to grip on to as I fall over the edge into spine-tingling pleasure.
It’s like he touches pleasure points inside me I never knew existed.
“See, Angel. You come extra hard on Daddy’s cock when my fingers are in your tight little asshole. Just think how good it’ll feel when I fill it with my cum.”
I bite my lip as my orgasm rolls into another.
Reed moans underneath me. “I love feeling you suck me in tight when you come.”
He circles his fingers again, and I squeeze my eyes shut as my vision blurs. “Reed,” I whimper.
“What do you want, Harls?”
“You,” I pant, my arms beginning to shake.
Reed takes his fingers back slowly. The sensation of him removing them makes my stomach clench.
He reaches for the damp facecloth on the nightstand, running it over his fingers and then discarding it.
“Come here.” He lifts me like I weigh nothing, his shoulder fully healed, and flips me onto my back beneath him. “Now get those knees up.”
His lips dust mine as I pull my knees up to my chest and drop my thighs open. Reed slides home in one deep thrust, forcing the air from my lungs as his eyes hold mine.
“You’re so fucking sexy.”
He pins my arms on either side of my head as he rises above me and thrusts. My mouth falls open as he fucks me deliciously hard and deep, his breath tangling with mine as we both moan and pant and cry out filthy encouragements to each other.
I force my legs apart as far as possible, inviting him deeper inside me.
“Your cunt is my happy place,” he groans, his eyes fixed on where my body is greedily sucking him in. He pushes forward and his balls thud against my ass cheeks, making me cry out louder.
“And your cock is…” My eyes roll back in my head, and I peel my spine off the bed to arch up toward him.
“My cock’s what?” he hisses through gritted teeth.
I look into his eyes, their golden flecks flashing at me.
“It’s… it’s… perfect,” I shout as I come again, a mess of whimpers and murmurs as I cry out with each pulse that’s traveling through my body.
“You’re perfect,” Reed counters, growling low in his chest as his cock thickens inside me.
“Fill me,” I whisper, my breath evading me as I shudder beneath him.
His lips spread into a panty-melting smile, setting a whole new swarm of butterflies free in my stomach as my orgasm continues around him.
“Fuck,” he growls through his smile as his shoulders tense. Then his lips are on mine and he’s groaning into my mouth as he drives into me so hard I’m forced down into the mattress. “Harley…”
His breath stalls, then he groans deeply as he comes, spilling inside me, filling me, just like I asked.
“Yes… I want to feel you tonight… I want a part of you still there… Do it deep…”
“Fuck, Harls.” His entire body tenses and shakes above me as he slams in hard again, pushing his orgasm far inside me. I know what it does to him when I talk to him like this.
He loves it.
His thrusts grow slower and gentler until he sinks into me one final time and then stills, dropping his face to mine and catching my lips in a searing kiss.
“I love you, Angel.” He lets go of my wrists, leaning on one arm and cupping my face with his free hand.
“I love you too,” I whisper against his lips, enjoying the sensation of his fingers trailing down the side of my neck, leaving a happily sated tingle in their wake.
We lie together for a while in companionable silence, our foreheads resting together, enjoying the sanctuary of a rare, lazy afternoon together in bed. Since Reed took up the role of mayor officially, it has been a whirlwind of work, publicity, events, and more work.
Tonight is no exception, even though it’s Saturday. But at least it should be fun.
I shuffle against the cool sheets, stretching with a contented sigh. “We need to get ready.”
“We can be late.” His eyes sparkle at me as he strokes my hair.
“No, Mayor. We can’t. That would be exceptionally rude.” I giggle as his teeth sink into the dip of my neck beneath my ear, and he growls, his breath tickling my skin.
“I’d rather be rude with you.”
I giggle more. “No. We’re going. The car will be here before we know it.”
“Fine. Let’s go. It’ll be one night closer to you finally letting me inside your perfect ass.” He chuckles as I slap his chest.
“So romantic. I’ve told you. You’re too big.”
He draws back to hold my eyes. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“With my life,” I whisper.
“Then you know I won’t do anything that will hurt you.”
My lips curl into a smile, and I stroke the side of his face. He’s right. He would never do anything to hurt me. Ever.
“No. You’d do something like throw yourself in front of a moving cab for me.”
“Exactly.” His smile mirrors mine as he places a kiss on my lips and slides out of my body, lying down beside me.
A disappointed sigh falls from my lips as we separate.
“When we get home tonight, then?” He raises one brow at me.
I narrow my eyes at him, giggling as he narrows his back. “It would be a special treat, right?” I trace circles over his chiseled abs.
“A very special one.” He grins, his eyes falling between my legs and my over-sexed pussy. It’s probably bright pink and getting ready to erect an ‘on strike’ sign, considering the amount of attention he gives it.
Not that I’m complaining.
“In that case. How about the day you give me a…” I search my mind for a suitable trade. As much as I love and trust Reed, I still don’t believe that he will fit up there. Nothing anywhere near his size has ever come out from there. So surely, he can’t go in there. It’s science. Or math. Or both. I don’t know. It’s a giant appendage and a tiny hole. That’s all I know. “A Middlemist Red!” I say, as inspiration hits. “Yes. The day you give me a Middlemist Red, I will let you…” My eyes fall to his large cock, which is still giant even though it’s softening. “I will let you put it… there.”
The grin that spreads across Reed’s face is cartoon-worthy. How it stretches so wide, I will never understand.
“You’re looking far too sure of yourself there, Mayor. Do you know what a Middlemist Red is?”
“Nope.” He pops his ‘p’.
“Aren’t you a little concerned that it could be hard to source?” I raise both brows as I wait for the smile to fall from his face. There’s no way he will succeed. It’s practically impossible. The rarest flower in the world only exists in two places—the botanical gardens in London and New Zealand.
My starfish is safe.
“Nope,” he says again.
I pout to hide my smug smile, the muscles in my cheeks aching from holding it back.
He looks at me. “You know I don’t give up, Harls.” His eyes drop to between my legs again as he strokes two fingers up my inner thigh, collecting a trickle of cum that’s escaped and pushing it back up inside me.
My mouth goes slack, and I moan as he circles his fingers inside me gently.
“If there’s a Middlemist Red on this planet, then I will find a way to get you one.”
“You want my ass really bad, don’t you?” I huff playfully.
He laughs, pulling me to him and kissing me. “I just want you. All of you. Every day. Every way I can have you. Forever.”
“Fine,” I murmur against his lips. “You win. You get one, and we’ll try it.”
He kisses me again, smiling.
“Why do you look so happy?” I tap my finger against his lips as they leave mine.
“Because I already won, Harls.”
“How’d you figure that?” I grin back at his infectious joy. I wonder if he’ll be smiling when he realizes he’s just agreed to fail.
He’s so sure of himself sometimes. There’s confident and then there’s irritatingly, adorably cocky. And he is the master of both.
I lift my chin. “I’m waiting.”
His eyes sparkle as he leans in to kiss me again, his words clear and sure as they leave his lips.
“I already won because I got you.”
“Aren’t you glad we left on time now? Imagine how embarrassing it would have been if we were late, and everyone was already here,” I say to Reed as we walk toward the ballroom.
The Songbird is elegant glamour at its finest. I have to pinch myself some days that I work in the most iconic hotel in New York. Despite the number of functions I’ve attended here, the number of sparkling champagne towers I’ve seen, and live bands I’ve heard play, I always feel like a movie star walking on to set.
Tonight is no exception.
I look up at Reed in his tuxedo. I swear this man is the male body designers must base all their measurements on. It fits him like a glove, perfectly tailored to every dip and curve of his broad, toned frame.
“What’s that look for?” He smirks, keeping his eyes straight ahead. “I can hear those wheels turning in that beautifully crazy head of yours.”
I narrow my eyes. “Crazy?”
He laughs, probably thinking it’s wisest not to respond, and squeezes my hand instead.
The corners of my mouth lift. “Oh, I was just thinking about this book I read.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. It was about a woman whose boyfriend called her crazy. They found him buried in the garden underneath her prize-winning plants. Apparently, all the shit he was full of was acting like the golden egg of fertilizers.”
Reed’s brows shoot up, and the corners of his lips pull down as though he’s trying to stop himself from laughing.
“Really?” He clears his throat, his free hand curling into a fist that he raises to his lips. “Maybe the boyfriend called her crazy as a compliment.”
I purse my lips. “Well, he was stupidly intelligent, with some ridiculously high IQ. So I’m not sure he could use that in his defense.”
“Maybe he’d gone crazy himself. Because of how much he loved this woman.” Reed manages to keep his face perfectly calm and composed, looking ahead as we walk across the hotel lobby. “Maybe…” He pauses. “Maybe spoken words aren’t enough, and he sings to her when she’s asleep. Sings songs that tell her how she’s the reason the sun rises in his world every morning.”
I tip my head to one side, considering his words.
“Or maybe she only wants him to think she’s asleep. Maybe she’s pretending, and actually, hears every single word of those songs. And they’re the reason the stars shine in her world every night.”
Reed nods slowly, rolling his lips as I glance at him. “And yet, she still buried him underneath her plants.”
“She really likes plants,” I whisper, biting my bottom lip.
His fingers tighten around mine and he side-eyes me with a glint. “I think the boyfriend should consider himself lucky being buried beneath her flower garden every night.”
My shoulders shake and I press my lips together to suppress my laugh. “Really?”
He smirks. “I’d die a happy man buried beneath yours, Harls. A happy fucking man.”
“I’ll remember that next time you call me crazy.” I catch his eye and we smile at each other, holding each other’s gaze for an extended time. Content in the present. Not in the past. Never in the past.
Just here. Now. Together.
Reed dips his head and presses his lips to mine in a gentle kiss.
“Come on. Or we’ll be late to this charity party you insisted we come to. I could have been home, fucking you with my tongue instead,” he growls into my ear before standing up straight.
“The charity fundraiser you’ve been arranging for weeks with Tom’s help, you mean?” I pop a brow at him. “You know you’re looking forward to it.” I trail my fingers up the front of his shirt and straighten his bowtie.
“Maybe.”
“I’m really proud of you, you know,” I breathe. “Tonight means a lot to people.”
“I know.” He gifts me with an achingly beautiful smile, his eyes shining.
“Come on, then.”
We walk to the ballroom entrance. My long, pink gown, designed to look like the skirt is made of soft petals, swishes along the marble floor.
The cream and gold intricately carved French renaissance style doors are wide open, welcoming us in.
Oh…
I’ve seen the ballroom of The Songbird hotel filled with people a million times.
But never like this.
“Reed!”
I curl my free hand around his bicep, wondering how we will even make it across the room. There are people everywhere. Drinking, talking, smiling. A jazz band is playing to the far side of the room, and the dancefloor is filled with couples.
“Look how many people there are. Wow.”
“It’s more than I expected.” Reed scans the room, raising a hand to Griffin and Maria, who are making their way toward us.
“I’m not surprised.”
I grin, warmth filling my chest as I look around at everyone who has come to support and raise money for the city’s new community reach program that Tom is heading up with Reed’s help. The first is going to focus on men’s mental health.
It’s going to be a lifeline for people.
“They’re all here because of you. Because of what you’re doing with Tom. You’re the new energy they needed, Reed. The city is so lucky.”
“I’m lucky.” He smiles down at me as Griffin and Maria arrive next to us.
“Great turnout.” Maria grins as she kisses first me, then Reed on both cheeks, her hair like a dark silk curtain around her shoulders, leading down to her scarlet, figure-hugging dress. I’ve told her before I think she must be a distant relative of royalty. All elegant and graceful.
Griffin and Reed fall into conversation, and Maria inclines her head subtly, directing my attention over her shoulder.
“Is that…”
“She cornered him to talk about school funding,” Maria says as Suze talks animatedly with a very enamored looking Harry Ellston over by the bar.
“Good luck, Harry.” I giggle as Suze’s hand flies into the air, and she starts ticking things off on her fingers.
“Oh, I think he’s enjoying it.” Maria turns just as Harry nods at Suze with a smile on his face, then rests his hand on her lower back and gestures toward the dancefloor.
The two of us stand staring as she pauses before allowing him to lead her away.
“Go, Harry.” I shake my head with a smile as they disappear from sight.
“You all set for tomorrow?” I turn back to Maria.
“Yes. I can’t wait.” Her eyes dart to Griffin, who’s still deep in conversation with Reed. “I think Griff is looking forward to it. Even if he doesn’t admit it.”
“Aww, it’ll be so lovely. I wonder if you’ll see Rosie?”
“Maybe. Thea, the lady who’s showing us around, said that she sees her in the park every day.”
“I hope you do. Will you take a picture for me? I bet she’s huge now.”
Happiness bubbles in my chest as I picture her, wild and free, after being nurtured by the staff at the bird charity who collected her from Maria and Griffin. She’s where she belongs now. With other birds, enjoying her life. And I know Maria’s company has been involved in fundraising for the charity recently, so all those birds will be living their best life.
Spreading their wings and flying.
A lot like Reed.
I look at his profile as he talks to Griffin. The past couple of months have been busy, to say the least. But he’s not just coped with all the changes becoming mayor has brought, he’s embraced them. He really is doing an incredible job. He was popular before, but since the interview with Tom, his public rating has soared. People like that he chose to show vulnerability. To share something so personal in the hope of helping others.
He even has the full support and backing from the president, after a personal visit to New York. Reed thinks part of it is to save face should anyone have witnessed the way he spoke to me at the retreat all those months ago. And partly because of the overwhelming public support the program he and Tom have set up. But either way, he’s backing Reed’s plans, which will make it easier as they grow. Personally, I think it’s because he feels threatened. He might be a foolish, unfaithful husband. But he’s not a stupid man. He can recognize a future country leader when he sees one. One who is more than capable of having his job next. And doing it better.
I know Reed isn’t thinking that far ahead yet. He’s happy being in the present. For so long, he was scared of having his past used against him. But it’s the opposite. People come up to him and thank him. And it’s not just men. It’s mothers, sisters, girlfriends… I’ve seen it at public events I’ve accompanied him to. They come over and thank him. Saying he’s helped their son, their brother, their partner by demonstrating that being a man doesn’t mean you can’t show your emotions, that you can’t admit to not having it together every second of every day.
No one can.
Because we’re only human.
Although, as I prefer to say, because we are human. There’s nothing only about it.
Reed slides his arm around my waist, smiling down at me as he and Griffin finish their discussion.
“Maria and Griffin are seeing Rosie tomorrow.” I beam at him.
“I know. Griffin told me.”
Maria’s eyes light up at Reed’s words and she looks at Griffin. “I knew you were looking forward to it.”
“Mmm,” he grunts, nodding his head at both of us before giving us a rare smile. “See you both later. I left something in a meeting room down the hall and Maria is going to help me find it.”
Her eyes catch Griffin’s and then she takes his hand as he carves a path through everyone toward the main entrance.
“They’re going to have sex,” I whisper, turning to Reed. “They did it before at a charity dinner. You know, the one where your date threw her drink in your face.”
“I remember that night.” Reed breaks into a closed lip smile. “You wore a dress I could see your nipples through when you got cold.”
“I did not—”
“You definitely did.” His smile grows and his eyes twinkle as he looks down at me. “Now, what do I have to do to get a dance around here before all the boring speeches and shit start?”
I shove him in the chest playfully. “Don’t make out like you don’t love it. You were born to be on that stage.”
He chuckles and takes my hand, leading us over to the dancefloor.
“Mrs. Walker?” He places one hand on my lower back and takes the other in his, holding it against his chest as we dance.
“Put your hand lower,” I whisper in his ear.
One corner of his mouth lifts. “Like this?”
His hand slides to the dip of my lower spine, his pinky finger grazing the top of my ass.
“Lower.” I huff. “Remember that first time we danced together? How I said we should be close enough that people around us can feel our desire flowing in waves, can see the crackle of electricity in the air between us?”
His hands slides lower, grasping my ass cheek possessively as his lips dip to my ear.
“You wanted me to look at you as if I was recalling the way you had just ridden my face before we left home, and I’d had to breathe through my ears,” he growls, making goosebumps scatter up my spine.
“Yes,” I whisper, my breath hitching as he pulls me to him with one hand so I’m pressed tightly against him.
“Angel?”
He lets go of my other hand, and I leave it resting on his chest as he curls his around my neck, stroking his thumb over my jaw and pinning me in place with an intense, smoky gaze, lit up by golden streaks.
“Yes,” I whisper again, swallowing against his hand.
“You did ride my face before we left home. You rode it while I buried my tongue inside your sweet pussy.”
My eyes widen, and I look side to side to make sure no one dancing nearby can hear him. But the music is too loud. He chuckles, flexing his fingers against my skin so my eyes return to his.
“I love how sweet and shocked you act.” He dips his lips to my ear again. “When we both know you’re my good girl, who can’t get enough of her daddy’s cock inside her.”
My heart pounds in my chest and I clench my thighs together at the deep timbre of his voice. How can he keep such a calm expression saying things like that, when I’m only hearing them, and they make me want to collapse in a horny, breathless heap at his feet?
Superpowers.
That’s what it must be.
Reed Walker is super-fucking-human. I knew those sexy glasses were a disguise. He’s like Superman’s filthier cousin or something.
I open my mouth to answer him—
“Hello, you two.”
Tom Coulter’s warm voice cuts me off from asking Reed if he fancies getting a cape to roleplay with, and I smile politely at him and Margo.
“Oh, don’t let us interrupt,” Tom says. “We’ll catch you both later for a dance partner swap.” Tom smiles as Margo winks at Reed. Then they wrap their arms around each other and move away in time to the music.
“They’re so lovely. They’ve been in love for nearly forty years, you know. Tom told me that first night I met him.” I gaze after them as they dance and laugh together.
“He’s a good man,” Reed says, pulling me close to him again and placing his second hand low on my ass cheeks so I’m pinned in his embrace just as the band start playing “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman.
Reed dips his lips to my ear and gently sings the words to me, making my body vibrate with energy like electricity is dancing over my skin with each perfectly sung note. There are no words more fitting for Reed right now. Words did try to destroy. Bea, Graham, Dennis… they’re all awaiting trial.
But he is strong and brave.
He’s exactly who he’s meant to be.
He is Reed Walker.
And I couldn’t love him any harder if I tried.
I slide my arms around his neck and sink my fingers into the hair at the top of his neck, smiling when a deep moan leaves his lips and his eyes return to mine.
I smile at him, and he smiles back.
“Do you think people still kiss lots when they’ve been together that long? I hope they do. I mean, it would be quite sad, don’t you think? If you stop. I wonder if you’d forget how to kiss and have to learn all over again like—”
Warm lips seal themselves over mine, taking my breath as their own, and sending heat powering through my veins. I whimper into his mouth as he kisses me with the confidence and certainty of a man who knows what he wants.
“I’ll never let you forget how to kiss, Harls.” His lips hover over mine, my breasts rising and falling against his shirt as I take in air. “You know why?”
“Why?” I whisper, attempting to swallow down the Reed Walker butterfly fan club that lives permanently in my core, ready to start a riot at any given second. All they need is a small sign.
One kiss. One heated look. One growl.
One anything of his.
“Because”—he kisses me softly—“I’m going to kiss you until I’m all old and wrinkly, remember?”
“You—?” Warmth blossoms in my chest as I look into his eyes, and the butterflies receive their signal as his pupils dilate. “Paige’s party?”
Reed nods, confirming it’s no coincidence that he’s repeating the exact words he said to me at Paige’s birthday party. After he got headbutted by Freddy the goat.
He lifts both hands to cup my face.
“I love you so much,” I whisper, looking up at him.
“I love you too, Harley. And I will love you for as long as my soul exists.”
“Souls exist forever, Reed.” I stare into his eyes.
His eyes sweep over my entire face before coming back to rest on mine as he smiles.
“Then forever it is.”
