Finish What We Started

Bellies full, warm despite the night’s chill, and matching smiles split their faces as they walked hand in hand inside the hotel.

It was like walking into another world. One of decadence and gilded opulence. Her eyes struggled to adjust to its dim lighting.

A huge neon sign above the sprawling check-in desk welcomed them to the stunning building.

The dark wood panelled lobby spread into a lounge area, filled with pastel pink upholstered loveseats sprinkled around small wooden tables, which matched the mahogany panels on the walls.

Golden painted wallpaper married the room and the godlike marble statues guarding the entrances together.

Quirky details like the snake stamped velvet cushions on the sofas, the lampshades draped in pink velvet with tassels around their vintage glow light bulbs.

And the circular mirrors hanging on the walls made the room feel both imposing and inviting. She hungrily took it all in, hand tingling in Luke’s as he observed her.

“Fuck, Luke. How much did you spend?!” She blurted, making him chuckle.

His face was calm as he said, “Believe it or not, it’s one of the cheaper places to stay.”

She shook her head, listening to the sounds of a cocktail shaker rattling through the archway with the neon red sign pointing toward a bar they couldn’t see. He had to be lying!

Marble, gold-gilt everything, and all the luxurious furniture—it couldn’t be cheap.

He must’ve read her mind as he pointed to a little black sign on the checkout desk. She squinted at it, eyes widening as she laughed under her breath.

“The ‘make me famous’ package? Did you get that one? How on earth did you find this?” She said, noting the hundred dollars a night cost for that package.

It was the cheapest one—others cost more, but nothing over three hundred dollars. Her stomach flipped in a way that made her knees weaken.

Her hummingbird heart soaring as he leaned into her. He smelled like heaven and sin. She inhaled deeply as the urge to kiss him silly rose like a tide within her.

He had gone above and beyond for her, no matter the occasion.

Whether allowing her to share his home, making sure she had a good Christmas, and now this… she didn’t know where to put the cascading, sparkling sensation that rolled through her blood and bones.

She wanted to touch him, let sparks fly under her fingertips and show how grateful she was.

Wanted to show him how much she appreciated all he’d done when all she really wanted was him. The rest just accessorized it. A flush licked across her face, down her neck, and chest, down to her legs.

She shifted on her feet as a well-dressed college aged man poked his head through the staff door behind the hotel desk.

The man vanished again as he saw they required no help. Her fingers lifted to touch her neck, lips parting, and she suddenly wanted to be very alone with Luke.

Wearing nothing but skin. He pressed a kiss to the top of her braided hair and she turned her face too late to latch onto his mouth. Her lips tingled as he squeezed her hand and gave a nonchalant shrug.

“No, I’m not telling you which one I got,” he said. She arched her brow, but he went on. “My sister mentioned it. She likes to explore when she visits and stumbled across it last year.”

He moved toward the bar, pulling her along as she gaped up at him. She knew he had planned to wine and dine her.

Shower her in romance and expensive cocktails.

But she didn’t want to sit in a bar, acting like a demure lady.

She desired his exclusive company.

Alone in the room, he paid for.

Why waste time getting drunk when they could intoxicate each other?

She halted him with a tug on his hand.

“Are you set on having drinks?” She said as his expression told her he’d hoped for this question.

His smirk as he drew her closer, letting go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulder, made her stomach flutter as heat curled around her abdomen.

“I don’t really care, but I wanted to treat you,” He said, and she smiled slowly as she jerked her head toward the black painted elevator door beside the front desk.

She sidled closer, laying a hand on his chest. His midnight blue shirt was smooth under her fingers.

His heartbeat was not. It pounded under her palm. She tilted her head to expose her neck and held his smoldering gaze.

“How about we go to our room and finish what we started earlier?” She asked in a husked voice.

He loosed a breath that sounded relieved. A thread of thrumming tension snaked through the air between them.

She almost punched the air as he nodded, but refrained. They didn’t linger.

Her shoes clicked off the tiled floor, a metronome that did nothing to keep her racing heart in rhythm as they approached the elevator that opened as they walked and stepped inside.

Luke punched the number for their floor and turned to her. A roguish glint in his eye as he backed her up to the mirrored wall.

The tiny space abruptly felt even smaller. Her heart raced, blood coursing through her veins so fast she was dizzy, and she could feel it in her ears, nerve straining anticipation making her hands shake.

His knee shoved her legs apart. His hands braced on the railing on either side of her hips as he lowered his mouth to hers. She closed her eyes as his spiky lips scratched her softer ones, melting into each other. She couldn’t breathe.

Fast and fierce, he wasted no time as they slowly ascended to their floor. She clung to his open coat lapels as he explored every corner of her mouth and turned her legs to water. Flame shimmered through her and burned away all traces of the alcohol she’d consumed. The lift came to a shuddering stop as his hands gripped her waist.

Wet heat pooled between her parted legs, his thick thigh giving her a tease of friction. She surged ever-closer, pressing herself against him, trying to climb inside and never leave. He groaned against her lips before pushing away from her.

He did not let her go, warm hand wrapping around his to drag her behind him. She chuckled, skipping after him on wobbly legs as he unlocked their room and pulled her in. She never had time to admire the luxe space.

He was on her the second the door shut.

Grabbing hands, both impatient now as they snatched at clothing, skin, and hair. His hammering heartbeat thudded against hers as lust grew so potent both already panted for breath. Each kiss punctuated by their harshening breath and whispering murmurs as she struggled with his belt.

Her flimsy red dress somehow found its way to the floor before she got his belt off. She made a noise of satisfaction as she tugged it free, tossing it aside without a care.

She flicked the button of his pants open and tried to slip her hand inside; he denied her of her prize. Hunger for him coursed through her body like a current of steaming hot water, swapping her soft murmurs for his rough groans. His hand laced through her hair, hooking into her crown of braids, and tongue flicking hers.

Soon enough, she was breathless and frantic. She quivered in his arms as he swallowed her feral noises. She tasted his smirk as his beard scraped her skin, and she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck.

She wore naught but her shivering anticipation. An invisible web of desire built and built around them as he finally let her breathe. His smoked-out gaze locked on hers. He looked like he wanted to devour her.

She was game to let him try. A trickle of wetness slipping down her inner thighs as he confirmed her internal craving.

He whispered, “I want to taste you,” while kissing her deeply, causing her knees to turn to water.

His coarse, heavily accented voice threaded through her nerves. The thought of his mouth on her, the intense heat emanating from him that bled into her and filled her mind with scarlet smoke. He supported her with a powerful arm wrapped tightly around her back.

A flood of anticipation swamped her as she broke away with a sly smirk. She glanced over her shoulder, spying the massive fourposter bed hung with black curtains and a matching bedspread through the darkness.

They hadn’t even turned a light on. She turned back to Luke. And she stared at him as she fluidly draped herself on the bed.

She beckoned him over with a crook of her finger. No shame as she parted her dimpled thighs and exposed herself to him. Strands of fine spun moonlight glimmered through the blinds, painting the room and her body in silver and shadow. Luke finished undressing, his erection springing free before he approached the bed.

The mattress shook as he kneeled between her legs. Firm hands spread her wider, pinning her thighs to the bed. Her heart rate elevated even more. Her mouth watered as he stared at her and licked his plump, kiss bitten bottom lip.

A tremor ran through her muscles as phantom kisses peppered her inner thighs; she shivered, her heart pounding.

His eyes never left her face. Cataloging what made her sigh and what made her tense. Hot breath ghosting over her glistening cunt as he kissed and nipped his way up each of her thighs, but never touching her where she ached for him. A sweep of his tongue over a stinging nip of teeth on her hip, soothing the hurt.

Her airy gasp made his eyes flash white-hot. Then a sucking, bristling bite as he traveled back to her thighs—painting maroon poppies into her creamy skin.

He repeated the things that made her twitch impatiently and curl her hands into the sheets as he hovered over her dewy flesh.

Then he listened to the pleading thoughts screaming in her mind. He drew a fingertip up the seam of her. The heat of her desire transformed his eyes to the darkest coal.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from demanding he stop playing with her.

Luke repeated the move, his thumbs opening her up and exposing her wetness to his starving gaze. She held her breath, stomach tensing as his head finally dropped.

The gentlest of licks taunted her. A yielding sigh from the depths of her lungs released in a quaking exhale as his hot tongue captured her essence and swallowed it down. Her heartbeat skittered.

A roar of blood in her ears deafened her as he traced the shape of her with the hardened tip of his tongue.

He took his time tasting every part of her his clever mouth could reach. Tension and fire twined in her core, spiralling and making her hips jerk as she slammed her eyes shut.

She didn’t think she could watch as he feasted on her. His unwavering hands held her down as he fluttered his tongue over her clit to make her cry out and bury her hands in his hair.

Scalding arousal glittered through her as he worked her over. He set her aflame inside and out, her liquid arousal dripping straight into his waiting mouth.

Frustration nipped at the frayed strands holding her together as he was content to take his time.

Content to savor every drop of her as her mind reeled, and an emptiness opened inside her. He was completely in control, and she wanted him as undone as she felt.

Then his tongue pushed inside her. She clutched at his hair as her inner walls clenched. Sweat trickled down her face, though she hardly exerted herself.

Low whines and his name falling from her open mouth like a prayer as she cracked her eyes open. His dark head buried between her legs was a sight so enticing she almost came right then.

A thrumming under her skin making her quiver as her stomach tensed. Her legs were jumping under his restraining grip as her wetness flooded his prickly face.

It only seemed to make him work harder.

His rumbling, muffled noises as he consumed her didn’t calm her down. They vibrated through her clit as his lips sealed around it.

She whined, unable to get enough air in as the salted scent of her arousal infused her nose. Her hands clawed at the fine bed sheets.

Her blood turned molten, embers sparking under his touch as her release raced so close it was impossible to keep quiet. She closed her eyes as he gently grazed his teeth over her clit.

The bristle of his facial hair on her sensitive flesh adding a delicious layer of sensation. Her entire body jerked as she gave a strangled moan.

Her back arched off the bed. Her trembling thighs trying to close around his head and keep him where she needed him as he looked up at her.

A satisfied shine in his blackened gaze as she shook and whimpered, goosebumps flaring across every inch of her naked flesh.

He sensed how close she was and backed off. Not without leaving more teasing bites and kisses graffitied into her inner thighs, causing her to gasp as he swiped a hand over his soaked beard.

She buried her teeth in her bottom lip, almost drawing blood as Luke slid two fingers inside her. He didn’t give her time to ease into it. His head lowered, and he drew her clit into his mouth.

Lavish warmth rippled out from her core, and sweat beaded on her panting chest as he groaned. His ravenous mouth worked to send her off the edge.

Emilia gave herself over to it, hoping there would be something left of her once she returned to earth. Tension coiled like a too taut spring inside her, her muscles stiffening and loosening over and over. He was relentless.

She threw her head back and wailed, hands fisted tight in his hair. He growled, the sound echoing like a pulse between her thighs.

His fingers and mouth worked in tandem to shatter her. She was helpless under him.

Static prickled over her skin, spiraling flame in her core as the tension pulled too tight. Her stomach fluttering in time with her inner walls around his fingers buried deep in her cunt.

He pushed her to the precipice of release and circled that tiny bundle of nerves with the tip of his tongue.

His fingers crooked inside her to make her sob and thrash her head. She knew he liked what he tasted as he hummed and took everything she had. Somehow drawing more from her.

Darkness clung to the edges of her vision as she called his name. She wasn’t entirely sure if it was a plea for him to stop or one for him to keep going.

All her nerves flared under the onslaught of sensation and mindless, hazy desire. She needed the tension to snap before she did.

Luke’s blunt nails cutting into her pinned thigh added a decadent bite of pain that kept her from floating away.

A ragged moan escaped her teeth as she clamped down on his fingers. Her eyes rolled back as her body quaked and tingled all over.

Release was so close, it was all she could think about. So close that a moan climbed up her throat.

Then he was gone, settling back on his haunches as he licked her essence off his smirking mouth and he palmed his rigid cock. She clamped her legs together to counter the aching burn between them as her thwarted orgasm vanished from her grasp.

It was as if she had two heartbeats as she waited for the hollow ache to subside and simmer down. She rubbed her thighs together to ease it. She nearly didn’t register Luke’s cocky expression as he reached for her.

Oh, he was a beautiful, cruel man—she could take charge, too!

She didn’t give him a chance to direct her into position and reared up. A slight snarl sounded on her lips as she collided with him and pushed him down on his back.

His head was near the mattress’s edge as she swung her leg over his toned torso and straddled him. She bent to snap her teeth at his lips and kiss him hard and messy before she leaned back.

She reached behind her, wrapping her hand around his cock and watching as his eyes flickered shut. His jaw tensed as she toyed with him, sliding her hand up and down the solid length of him.

She enjoyed the feel and weight of him in her hand for a long moment. Sparks, bright and fiery, shot through her veins as he scraped his nails over her ass and snapped his hips.

He smelled like her and him, and a hint of something that reminded her of snow and sleepless, sensual nights at home.

When his eyes opened again, she smiled wickedly as she lined him up with her. She took all of him inside her in a single serpentine slide. Her hands braced on his heaving chest as she flickered around his cock.

A slight burn as he stretched and filled her. Her breath wouldn’t stay in her lungs. He appeared stunned, mouth slack and eyes screwed as she clenched her inner muscles. Lust and longing clouded her eyes as she slowly rocked her hips.

She slowly softened, moving with ease as he’d prepared her so well. His hands framed her waist. He groaned as she lifted on quaking knees and slid back down, falling forward to kiss him and tasting herself on his tongue.

Eyes closed, she swirled her hips and ground down. She worked at a slow pace to drag out the coiling, swelling pleasure, snatching away her ability to give voice to everything she felt.

She thought he might’ve been fashioned from shadows and sin just for her. Like she couldn’t get close enough.

As if she wanted to possess him, body and soul. She wanted to hoard him inside herself and capture the intensity of their desire forever. Chemistry, madness, fate, or whatever else.

She didn’t care what it was between them when everything felt so good and right.

Luke worked with her, strong hands helping her rise and meeting her every drop down with a snap of his hips. The drag of his heavy cock against her inner walls was an insatiable addiction.

Her strangled moans and his low growls filled the sex-stained air as they moved.

Tension building to a crescendo all around and inside them. The sway of her breasts held him in thrall. She arched to let him look, purring as he let go of her waist to cover her chest and roll her nipples between finger and thumb.

Her steady movements turned erratic as sharp bolts of pleasure shot down her torso. Feeding the fire that was quickly becoming a torment. She couldn’t control the shake in her hands or the wobble in her voice when she cried his name.

Or cursed through her gritted teeth as her pleasure grew out of control. His hands were back at her waist as she shuddered and keened, cunt clenching as her impending release left her feeling as if she were dancing along a cutting tightrope.

She slowed to a crawl, struggling to breathe through the smothering pressure as his cock jumped inside her. Bursts of white light flashed behind her closed lids and the need to come drowned her. Her nails cut into his marble chest, and his hands flexed around her waist.

Her sudden yelp echoed as he lifted her almost all the way off him and slammed her down hard on his length. Trapped by his powerful hands, he filled her so completely, her skin buzzed as though electrified.

Her inner muscles fluttered wildly and held him close. Her fingers and toes curled; if only she’d found him sooner.

They wasted how much time when they could have had this all along? His wolfish grin and eyes of smoky darkness watched her struggle as she opened hers—wholly entranced, and the hunger in them bottomless.

“I thought I was the impatient one,” she said in a gasping voice, head shaking as more wetness seeped from her.

“I usually hide mine better,” he murmured, smiling, smug as he lifted her and brought her down hard again; she couldn’t stop her loud moan, feeling hot all over.

Still, she found the means to take back control, rolling her hips and tensing herself to drag a lovely harsh moan from him. She ignored the twinge in her tired muscles as she moved.

He observed her every reaction closely. She wondered if he’d try to draw her like this and found she didn’t mind the idea. His mouth curled into a tender smile, lips puffed, and sheened by her kisses.

She moved in a rapid, grinding rhythm, speechless for once. Engulfed in him and all she felt as if she couldn’t settle on one emotion and let all of them run free.

Her heart raced and swelled, fingers scoring crimson into his skin, and her throat thickened. Christmas had seeded hope, joy, new love; these feelings remained.

She was desperate to see how strong they became once they’d had time to thrive. Luke appeared just as affected as the tension pulled too taut and strained inside her.

Her orgasm danced closer and closer. Luke’s hand fell from her waist to where they were joined. He felt the mess he had made of her as his hand fell to where they were joined.

His possessive growl lifted the hair on her nape as she reveled in how perfectly he felt buried inside her. His fingers swirled around her clit and her cunt clasped around him.

Every pore on her skin seemed to seal over as she panted and whined. Unable to stay away, she fell forward again to capture his lips in hers, and he helped her fuck him.

Heat and a hail nerves whirled through her. Stomach tensing as she bottomed out. He was nocked so deep it forced the breath from her as she fluttered wildly around his cock.

His eyes reflected the whirlwind of emotions consuming her, too.

He was in her body and under her feverish hands, hanging from her lips as she whimpered into his mouth. She hoped it never stopped feeling like this.

His hand worked her clit as the pressure in her core pressed against her skin and demanded freedom.

He was holding back for her. She saw it when she opened her eyes, fire devouring the black. He met her next slide down with a jab of his hips.

Another swipe of his fingers at her clit and her throaty cry split the humid air. His sheer delight at watching her come apart at the seams for him clear to see.

Her release sparked its warning. She was clenching and pulling him deeper somehow. They groaned as they felt it. She bounced over him faster and faster.

He helped her as the tendons in his neck popped and the red flush on his face deepened. Another flood of her essence soaked them both as they chased it.

Her sob wasn’t entirely one of pleasure as her mind fractured with jagged white lines. She met his adoring gaze, fixed on her writhing body.

His encouraging murmurs, later unrecallable. She lacked the words to express her euphoric, tongue tying infatuation, hoping he sensed it.

His tense jaw and quaking hands on her hips held her prisoner as she chaotically moved over him. Tension so sharp it nipped at her as his fingers worked that bundle of nerves.

His cock hit that sweet spot inside her that made her keen too loudly.

His eyes held no shadows as they stayed glued to her. But she screwed hers shut against the onslaught of sensation he was pulling from her; only a glinting pride shone in that wondrous gaze.

Release making everything blurry around the edges.

A storm of shocks and tingles broke over her as the tension snapped, and she broke. Lush heat and delirious pleasure stole her voice as she flailed. He took over, lifting and dropping, thrusting into her to follow her over the edge.

His cry of ecstasy cut off as she collapsed over him and kissed him.

A shivering breath released into his lungs as he held her down and came. Fire wreathed around and under her skin until she felt she was floating in a sea of flame.

Everything heightened by how close he held her.

As if afraid she was an apparition and if he dared loosen his hold, she’d vanish. They kissed filthy and slow as he massaged her back.

His large hands touching every inch of sticky skin they could reach. Her mouth scraped raw and pink by his bristled lips as she smiled into it.

They were so closely entwined she felt every rumble of his rippling growl as she returned his kiss. She wanted to melt into him.

Warmth radiated through her chest, more than happy to be held. Her body was boneless and weightless, but leaden at the same time.

Her heart took its sweet time, returning to its normal measure. Hyper aware of him beneath her. Contentment, and a fulfilling tiredness settling as he slowly softened inside her.

When she gathered the strength to break free of his mouth, she hid her face in his neck to breathe in his redolent scent. Committing it to memory as she counted every loud thump of his heart to calm hers.

His hands smoothed down and up her back, prolonging her inability to form coherent thoughts, as the aftershocks of her release jumped under her skin.

She savored the moment with him. Devoid of questions or jokes. Neither made any attempt to separate.

It was a long time before she peeled herself off him, a begrudging frown as she did. He found the strength to rearrange them. Her disgruntled moan as he left her body made him chuckle a little.

Before she lay her head over his heart and drew misshapen stars into his chest.

Sticky and sinking into the bed as her every blink took longer and longer to reopen. Her weighty limbs wrapped around him, legs still twitching.

Too tired to bother getting up to use the bathroom, she barely reacted as he pulled a blanket over them.

He rearranged them into a spooning position, his body plastered to her back. He moved a few loose strands of her hair away from her neck to kiss her there.

Neither spoke for a while, and it wasn’t her that broke it.

“What are your plans for this year?” He said, rasping, and she smiled into the darkness.

“Nothing concrete yet. You?” She answered, her voice just as quiet as sleep crept into her mind.

“Only one thing comes to mind,” he said, and she frowned, hoping he hadn’t planned a month-long vacation or something else that would keep them apart more than she’d like.

“And that is?” She asked when he didn’t elaborate.

He kissed her neck, leaving a nipping bite before whispering, “You. I want to spend it with you.”

“Just this year?” She teased, giggling as he tugged on her earlobe with his teeth and let go, shaking his head at her.

“It’s not solely my call. Start with this year and let’s see how things unfold.”

Her heart soared and her grin hurt her face as she chuckled and said, “Deal.” She sounded calm, but she really wanted to kick her feet and squeal. Winter had treated them amazingly thus far.

She eagerly anticipated their future together.