I raise an eyebrow. “Wait, you don’t think we actually have to do it in front of people to convince them, right?”
She smacks my arm lightly. “No, Penn. God.” Her laugh is husky now, her gaze soft. “But a little… intimacy couldn’t hurt.”
“Right. So, if we’re going on the naughty list… we’re going all in, right?”
Her grin turns wicked. “We don’t half-ass anything, remember? And I think I’m really going to enjoy watching you go all in.”
Jesus.
I catch her mouth in a kiss that’s anything but fake. Her lips taste like peppermint and longing, and when she sighs into me, it punches the air right out of my lungs. My hand cups her cheek, my thumb brushing her softness as I kiss her deeper.
“Penn…” she breathes, her voice shaking a little. Her legs part beneath me, welcoming.
But first—clothes.
I pull back just enough to yank off my shirt. She sits up, arms lifted, offering herself to me. I strip her shirt off gently, and when her bare skin catches the soft lamplight, it feels like I’m seeing something sacred. My hands trace over her breasts, slow and light, and when her nipples peak beneath my touch, I swallow a groan.
“This won’t do,” I whisper.
“What won’t?” she asks, voice soft, low, full of arousal.
“I need to see all of you.”
I slip off the bed, switching on the lamp beside us. Warm amber light floods the room, wrapping around her curves. My sweats grow tight with need, and I push them down, stepping out of them as I wrap one hand around my shaft. She watches, her breath catching, her body answering mine without a single word.
“Now that’s better,” I say as I drink her in.
“I like seeing you too,” she murmurs, voice low and smoky, as she crooks a finger at me, inviting me back into her warmth.
Yeah. Consent has never looked so goddamn sexy.
I raise a brow. “Something you need, babe?”
She shifts against the sheets, her eyes flicking down, unashamed. “Oh, I think you know exactly what I need.”
I step closer, watching her breath hitch as her gaze lands on my cock. The room feels hotter now, like the air itself has thickened around us. I glance at the twinkling lights outside, then back at her, my voice playful.
“Could it be... a peppermint stick?”
That makes her laugh, a real one, the kind that lights up her whole face and melts something in my chest. She looks relaxed now, more herself. After everything she’s been carrying, it feels good to be the one who gives her that.
My cock twitches as she licks her lips, and yeah, maybe what I’m offering is a little harder than peppermint, but the intent is all the same.
“It most definitely could be,” she says, her voice thick with heat.
“Ah,” I say, crawling back onto the bed, “I’ll give you what you want, but right now, it’s about me.”
She angles her head, a spark of something sad, or maybe it’s disappointment. But it’s definitely a spark of something long ago in her eyes. I get it. Douche bag probably never put her first, but I’m about to show her how pleasuring her is everything I want first.
She makes a move to push herself up, but before she can retreat into that old wound, I slide my hands under her thighs and pull her toward me, settling between her legs. She moves to prop herself up, confused, but then I slide her pants down, toss them away, and lower my mouth to her sex. Her gasp steals the air from the room.
I grin against her, licking her slow from bottom to top, feeling her legs tremble as she melts beneath me.
“Penn, oh God it’s... it’s…”
Her words tumble out in fragments, and I lift my head just enough to say, “It’s all about me, remember?”
Her head lifts, her eyes locking with mine, wide and full of something that looks a hell of a lot like disbelief, but also relief. And then I’m gone again, tongue and fingers working in sync, taking my time, learning her with every sigh and shiver. I spread her open, stroking her slowly, caring for her deeply.