Jessica stopped, unable to move. After a moment, Sed wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her onto the edge of the table. She cried out in protest as his c**k fell free from her body and their mouths separated. He stood and pushed his pants down to his knees. She slid her hands beneath his shirt and lifted it to expose his tight abs.
“Nine more?” he murmured as he directed his jutting c**k back into her eager body.
She wrapped her legs loosely around his hips. “I think I can handle five more. Tops.”
He grinned at her and slowly pulled out. Slowly. Slowly. In complete control. His fingers sought her clit. A spasm gripped her body and she shuddered.
“Only five?”
She chuckled. “Don’t wear yourself out. You have to go to the studio tomorrow.” Her hands shifted from his belly to his back and he shuddered. He surged forward, burying himself deep. Her back arched in ecstasy.
“Why?” he said breathlessly. “I can’t sing anyway.”
“You are too much of a distraction and I have to write my paper. I have to pass that class.” And she would pass. Failure was not an option. But she had other reasons to send him off to the studio. She had to make plans for Friday. The day she was going to ask Sed to marry her.
Chapter 49
Sed awoke knowing today would be the day. The day he would ask Jessica to marry him. Which would be a challenge since he wasn’t supposed to talk. She wouldn’t have a hard time convincing him to remain silent today. Yesterday, his throat had hurt. This morning, it burned and ached so bad he hesitated to breathe. But he could tolerate the pain. What he couldn’t tolerate was the idea that she might refuse to marry him. He couldn’t really blame her if she did. He’d been a selfish ass the last time they’d tried forever, but that didn’t change how much he wanted her to be his wife.
He watched her sleep for a moment, struck by her beauty and reveling in the knowledge that she slept in his bed—their bed—and she’d be there every morning for the rest of their lives. They would make it. Failure was not an option.
Sed leaned out of bed and scooped his pants off the floor. He removed her engagement ring from his pocket and held it up to the limited light filtering through the curtains. He didn’t have a plan. He just wanted the ring back in her possession as soon as possible. Like, right now.
He lifted her left hand and started to slip the ring onto her ring finger. She gasped and flung her hand to her forehead as she regained consciousness. The ring went flying.
He heard a tiny ping on the opposite side of the room before she said, “Why is the sun up? What time is it?” She lifted her head from the pillow to check the clock on the nightstand. Her eyes widened and she jumped out of bed. “Oh crap, it’s late. Why didn’t the alarm go off?”
Well, they hadn’t exactly been thinking about alarm clocks when they’d finally made their way up to bed the night before. An amused smile on his lips, he watched her dart around the room.
“Sed, get up. I’m going to hop in the shower.”
“I’m up.” At least that’s what he meant to say. His words sounded more like a bunch of rusty nails rattling around in a tin can. Sucking dry air all night? Yeah, not so good for the healing process.
Jessica climbed up on the bed to kneel beside him. She kissed his forehead tenderly. “Oh sweetheart, your poor throat.”
He remembered a time when he wished he were injured so she’d show him the affection he craved. He was rethinking that wish right about now.
She kissed his eyelids. The tip of his nose. “I know the guys need your input to record, but maybe you should stay home and rest.”
He reached for the dry erase board on the nightstand. He’d used it the night before to give her instructions on his care. He erased Lick my back, and replaced it with Keep me company?
She pouted. “I want to, sweetheart, but I can’t. I have to get to the library.”
Well, he didn’t want to stay home by himself all day. Drop me off at the studio, then.
“You sure?”
He blinked, meaning yes. She kissed him. Just the motion of his lips as he returned her kiss sent pain shooting through his throat. He produced a pained whine, which prompted Jessica to cup his face in both hands.
“I’ll be right back,” she murmured against his lips, drew away, and headed out of the bedroom, not towards the bathroom.
He puzzled over where she was going for a moment and then remembered her ring now lay somewhere on the other side of the room. He climbed from the bed and searched for it on his hands and knees. His fingers brushed over the plush carpet in a widening circle as he made his way toward the far wall. He couldn’t find it. His heart thudded with panic. He didn’t even realize Jessica had returned to the room until she straddled him and sat on his back. The heat between her thighs against his lower back sent his senses spiraling out of control.
“Are we going to play cowgirl and stallion?” she asked, rocking slightly and making him even more aware of the endless delights at the apex of her legs. “Can I take you for a little ride?”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “I’ll give you—” Pain cut his teasing reply short. He winced. Jessica leaned over his back and shoved an orange Popsicle in his mouth.
He damn near had an orgasm as he slurped the cold liquid down his burning throat.
She kissed his shoulder and climbed off his back. “Better?”
He nodded, still slurping in bliss.
“As much as I’d like to take you out for a morning ride, I’ve got to get in the shower. You need to get ready too. Okay? The guys will be waiting for you and I’ve got to get to the library before it closes.”
He blinked, finding it hurt less than nodding, and waited for her to go into the bathroom before continuing his search for her ring, his dwindling Popsicle lodged in the back of his throat. He finally found the ring resting against the baseboard behind the floor-length curtains. He’d just climbed to his feet when Jessica exited the bathroom drying her hair with a towel. Her one towel. God, he’d never get tired of that beautiful sight.
She pointed toward the bathroom and he went to do her bidding, the ring concealed in the palm of his hand.
After his shower, Sed got dressed and then leaned against the bathroom sink. He stared down at the engagement ring he held pinched between his thumb and forefinger. Maybe he should buy her something bigger before he asked her. Something more like the ring Brian had bought for Myrna. Some countries had a smaller gross national product than what that ring had cost Brian. This cheap thing Sed had bought for Jessica in his starving-musician days bordered on pathetic. Insignificant in size and quality, true, but it did hold special meaning. At least it did to him. He’d carried it around with him for two years, hoping one day to return it to her. He was determined that today be that day.