She sighs softly, and I can't hold back anymore, so I grab a condom from the nightstand and pull it over myself, then flip her on her back again.
I'm so hard, I can barely think straight. Her flesh is glistening, and just the thought of those soft inner walls closing in on me is enough to drive me crazy.
"Blake," she whispers, almost begging.
I position myself at her entrance and slide inside in one swift move, entering her all the way to the base. She cries out beautifully as she clenches around me, fisting the sheets. She is so tight and snug and fucking perfect.
I lift her ankles, placing them on my shoulders and move fast, watching myself slide in and out, her chest rising up and down in quick succession. She's not just fisting the sheets, she's pulling at them.
"This feels so good, so deep," she rasps, writhing and moaning as I drive inside her faster.
"You're amazing, Clara. Fucking amazing, you know that?"
Her nipples are puckered, calling to me as her breasts move with every one of my thrusts. In a matter of seconds, I change positions. I lower her feet back on the bed and lounge over her. As much as I like watching her, tasting her is even better. I kiss her chest, take a nipple in my mouth, then skim my lips up her chest and neck, her jawline. I pepper her cheeks with kisses before feathering my mouth over hers. She parts her lips, allowing me to kiss her deep and hard.
Every time we're together, she gives more of herself to me, and I do the same. Not because she demands it, but because opening up to her feels natural and right. I want to make her feel all the things I feel and don't know how to voice.
Squeezing my eyes shut tightly, I breathe in through my nose to stave off the orgasm for just a while longer. I'm close. I can feel it in the tightness at the base of my spine. But when she starts clenching around me, I know I'm a goner. I move my hips so I grind against her clit, and she explodes underneath me.
We climax as one, a tangle of messy and sweaty limbs, our cries mingling together, her fingers tugging hard at my hair, my nails digging in her thigh. After regaining my composure, I sit up. Clara pushes herself on her elbows, and we both look at the state of the bed. The sheets are completely torn out of their corners. I can't remember who ended up pulling them out altogether. It might have been her. It might have been me. We might have done this together.
She laughs. "We're such a mess."
I kiss her forehead. "We're fierce."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Clara
Quentin: In my office. Now.
I leap from my chair, staring at the words on my phone. Not a good omen, and not what I expected. I just received the confirmation that the stars of our show will be on a famous late-night talk show, and I'm damn proud of that. It took a lot of hard work to obtain that, but it will give us a big boost. Since I just forwarded the e-mail to Quentin, I was expecting praise, and this smells fishy.
When I enter Quentin's office, his face is set in grim lines. The man usually looks like he has a stick up his butt, but today that stick must be extra-long and thick.
"What's the matter, boss? Did you read my e-mail about the talk show?"
He nods, gesturing me to sit in the chair opposite him, which I do, the back of my neck prickling with unease.
"I remember you telling me you don't know the Bennett family well." He turns his computer monitor toward me, and my entire body goes cold. It's a celebrity gossip website featuring photos from last Saturday's Bennett show. I appear on a number of those, laughing with Blake, talking to Logan or Ava. One in which Blake is clearly kissing me. My mind begins to spin. How could I have been so careless? I knew there was press there.
Then I mentally slap myself. Why should I be hiding? I didn't do anything wrong.
"You lied."
Deep breath, shoulders straight. "It's my private life. I don't have to lay it out for you."
"Damn right you do if I ask you to." Quentin is a short, thick man, and behind his desk, he looks even shorter and thicker.
"As long as my private life doesn't interfere with my work-"
"Spare me the bullshit. I asked you for dirt on the family, and you lied to my face, telling me you're not close to them."
"I also told you I don't sell people out for ratings. You asked me to betray the trust of people I care for. That's not part of my job description. Or yours."
"I've been at this job longer than you, girl. Everyone does what they can to get forward, including stepping on bodies."
"Not how I operate. And Nate got at the very top without trashing anyone."