The House Mate (Roommates, #3)

Max

Don’t pressure her.

I stood in front of Dylan’s door three hours after my proposal, crippled with indecision. Through dinner, bath time, and even a glass of wine, Addison hadn’t said a word about it.

After the debacle at my office earlier in the day, I’d spent the rest of that afternoon kicking myself for being so hard on her. Especially in light of the way she’d embraced Dylan. She was as in love with my daughter as I was, and it showed in everything she did. Who cared about a few college credits?

Once I’d gotten over the initial surprise and realized I might lose Addison, it had become so clear to me that I wanted her in my life permanently.

But my “will you marry me” had been met with stunned silence. Not what I’d been hoping for at all. I could only hope that once she had a little time to think, she’d see how awesome it would be. The three of us together, like a real family. Who knew? Maybe it could even be the four of us someday . . . or the five of us.

That thought lessened the tightness in my chest a little.

I stood by Dylan’s bedroom door and pressed an ear to it, slumping with relief at the sound of silence. She’d been fussy for most of the day at my office and had missed her nap, so I’d put her down early. The first fifteen minutes had been hell as she’d wailed and whimpered, even calling us by name.

“Dadaaaaa . . . Assinnnn!”

I’d sat outside the door in the hallway the whole time, wrestling with myself over whether to go in and get her, but Addison had been firm, saying that we should give her a chance to learn to comfort herself. Of course, she said that right before her eyes started to water and she ran away to hide in the kitchen.

I grinned in spite of myself. She really did love Dylan and would be thrilled to know that the wailing had stopped.

I rose on stiff legs and made my way quietly downstairs.

“She’s out,” I murmured to Addison, who sat at the kitchen table with a mug of tea before her.

Her shoulders slumped and she groaned. “Thank God. I can’t stand to hear her cry like that. It kills me.”

I stepped up behind her and laid my hands on her shoulders, digging my thumbs into her tense muscles. She hummed and let her head fall forward.

“That feels really good.”

My pulse kicked up as I continued the massage. We’d both been in the house sort of drifting past each other all evening, lost in our own thoughts. Me worrying about whether she would say yes, and her, who knew? Maybe wondering whether she wanted to get saddled with a guy who’d never had a real relationship before and came with a lot of baggage?

Fuck, I didn’t want to pressure her, but I wasn’t even sure if I should be looking for a ring at this point. Maybe she was going to pipe up and tell me she didn’t want to be with me at all.

I hated the uncertainty.

She reached back and squeezed my wrists gently, stopping me. Then she stood and turned to face me.

“Since the baby is asleep, maybe you and I should hit the sack a little early too,” she said, not meeting my gaze.

“Together?” I asked, hoping like hell she meant what I thought she did.

She nodded and wet her lips. “If you want to.”

Oh, I wanted to. But I didn’t bother with words. I just bent and swept her into my arms. She let out a low squeal and then slapped one hand over her mouth as we froze.

Silence greeted us, and I chuckled. “You almost woke the kraken,” I whispered, carrying her past Dylan’s closed door to my bedroom. I crossed the room to the bed and laid her gently down on the mattress. A devious thought tickled the edge of my brain, and I shot her a lethal grin. “Which gives me a great idea for a little game.”

“Is it called ‘Release the Kraken’? Because I think we’ve played that a few times already,” she deadpanned.

The last of the awkward tension between us faded as we both laughed softly.

“Nope. It’s called ‘How Quietly Can You Come?'”

She made her lips into an o and her eyes went wide. “Sounds intriguing. How do we play?”

“Well,” I said, my blood starting to heat as the game formulated in my mind. “You don’t play. You lay back quietly while I do unspeakable things to your body to try to make you scream. The tricky part is if you wake up Dylan, the game is over.”

Her eyes flashed and her nipples peaked beneath her thin T-shirt. “So how do I win?”

“You win by letting me make you come over and over again, and staying quiet enough that we can keep going.” I yanked my shirt over my head and dropped it on the floor before reaching for my belt buckle. “What do you say, Addison? You want to play with me?”

Her gaze flicked below my waist, and I didn’t need to look down to know that my cock was already as stiff as fuck and clearly outlined through the denim. This had seemed like a great idea when I’d first thought of it, but now I wondered how the hell I was going to keep quiet when I already wanted to howl like a fucking animal at the thought of being buried inside her again.

“Yeah,” she whispered, reaching out a hand to trace my shaft through my jeans. “Yeah, I wanna play.”

I unbuckled my belt and unfastened my jeans, stripping them off in one motion. The boxers were next but I left them on, needing something between us, no matter how flimsy. As wild as I felt, I didn’t trust myself not to abandon the game before it even got started.

“Your body is like a statue,” she whispered, her gaze trailing over me, leaving a path of fire in its wake. “Hard and gorgeous.”

Her hands drifted down her own body, her fingers busily working the leggings she was wearing down her thighs. When she was done, she was completely bare from the waist down, and I groaned as I caught sight of the thin swatch of hair that led to her pussy. Her long, toned legs still held on to a kiss of late-summer sun, and I imagined them wrapped around my neck.

“Fuck, you look so good, Addison.”

She settled back against the pillow and gave me a shy smile. “What now?”

That was a great question. Especially when I wanted to do so many things.

“First things first. In order to keep things fair and to make sure you let me do my work undisturbed, I’m going to have to restrain your hands.”

Her eyes went wide and her pupils dilated. “Restrain me? Are you sure that’s necessary?”

“Nope,” I said, shaking my head. “Not at all, but when you decide to create a game, you can make up the rules. I’m in charge this time.”

I bent to slide my belt from its loops and then stood, gripping the leather in my hands. “Scoot down,” I instructed, my voice already gritty at the thought of what was to come next.

For a second, I wondered if Addison was going to back out. The way that pulse in her neck was beating, there was no question she was interested, but being restrained required a level of trust I wasn’t sure I’d earned yet. Especially after the way I’d treated her that afternoon.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

My blood sang when she slowly scooted down and lifted her arms over her head without prompting. “Like this?”

The move hitched her little T-shirt high, baring her flat stomach and just a glimpse of the underside of both breasts.

Nice.

“Yup,” I said, setting one knee on the bed as I looped the brown leather around her wrists. It took almost a minute to get them bound tight and to fasten the belt to the slatted headboard.

I leaned back to admire my handiwork with a growl. “This is a fucking wet dream come true,” I admitted, staring down at her, drinking in every inch of her with my gaze. I straightened and made my way to the foot of the bed, every nerve ending alive with anticipation.

Goose bumps rose on her legs as I gripped her ankles and slowly slid them apart. “Remember the rules, Addison. Quiet, or it’s game over.”

She nodded, her eyes hot with desire as I settled between her thighs. Her pussy was already slick for me, the pink flesh gleaming in the soft light, and I trailed a single finger over her in the lightest of touches. She stiffened and let out a tiny puff of air.

“That’s good,” I murmured, nodding. “So quiet, love.” I traced gentle circles against her heated flesh, barely grazing the skin but moving closer to her clit with each pass. Minutes passed as I blew against her gently, treating her skin like a watercolor canvas. When I finally passed over her clit with my thumb, she groaned and then bit her lip.

“Perfect,” I muttered, wanting nothing more than to dive in and eat her alive, but knowing I had to resist. I repeated the touch over and over, barely grazing the bud of nerves, watching as her muscles tensed and trembled.

“Max,” she whispered, arching closer. “Harder. Please touch me harder.”

I wanted to. Lord, did I want to, but for the next hour, I managed to resist in an effort to wring every moan, every groan, every sigh from Addison’s body.

By the time I finally slid my cock deep, she’d come four times and was primed for another orgasm. I was so far gone, it took no time at all for me to join her as she tightened around me. I exploded inside her, her name a hoarse groan ripped from my lips.

The sounds of our harsh breathing filled the room as the roaring in my ears finally quieted a few minutes later. My bones were like liquid as I rose to my knees and gently unfastened the belt from Addison’s wrists. Red marks blazed her golden skin, and I bent to kiss each one.

“Did I hurt you?” I asked, running my thumb over the offending marks.

“No,” she said with a breathless snort. “I almost hurt me, though. I couldn’t stay still at the end there, and think I nearly tore the headboard off.” She brought her arms down and curled them around me, pulling me against her for a quick kiss. “The marks are nothing. They’ll be faded by tomorrow and totally worth it.”

“In that case, maybe we should plan a weekly game night.” My blood was already heating up again at the thought, but her bright smile flickered for just an instant.

“Okay, but next time, I get to make up the rules.”

As long as she was still here with me, I could live with that. I stretched onto my back and she curled against my side, fitting her body to mine like a puzzle piece. My whole life, I’d never known I could love another person this completely. Suddenly, in a matter of less than two months, I’d found two people who had become integral to my happiness . . . vital to making my world right.

Addison shifted closer, wrapping one leg around my hip as she drifted off to sleep. I made a mental vow to do everything in my power to erase the last of her doubts and make sure this was how I went to sleep every night. With her by my side.

Because anything less would be half of a life.