It Started with a Snap by Piper James

Chapter Thirty-One

Ember

Well, it was official. Ethan had fixed, replaced, patched, and repainted everything that was broken in the boutique. The place looked amazing, the air was a perfect seventy-four degrees, none of the light fixtures blinked, and all of my dressing room doors were fully functioning.

While everything was now in tip-top shape, I had to admit, I was sad Ethan wouldn’t be hanging around here all day anymore. I’d gotten used to having him around over the last few weeks, and even though we spent every night together, I liked knowing he was near during the day.

I have no idea who I even am anymore.

If you would’ve told me a month ago that I would be fully invested in a relationship and wanting to spend every minute of every day with my boyfriend, I’d have laughed you right out of the room. Yet, here I was, missing Ethan already, and he’d just finished everything yesterday.

The bells on the front door jingled, and I looked up to see Ethan striding toward me, a smile on his face. It was as if he’d sensed my melancholy mood and ran right over here to cheer me up. Or I was a witch, and I’d conjured him out of thin air.

He looked around the boutique, and seeing it was empty, he hurried around the counter and pulled me into his arms. Pressing his lips to mine, he drove his tongue into my mouth. It was hot and demanding, and left me with a scorching inferno burning inside me.

Ignoring the clenching in my core, I cleared my throat and asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you were finished.”

“Maybe I just missed you and wanted to see you,” he replied.

“And you decided to bring your toolbox?” I asked, arching a brow and looking pointedly at the metal box he’d dropped to the floor before kissing me.

“Noticed that, did you?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “I hoped that kiss would distract you long enough for me to make it upstairs without you noticing.”

“Upstairs?”

The bells over the door jingled again, and I looked up to see Patty waving as she walked toward us. “The place looks great. You did an awesome job, Ethan.”

“Thanks, Patty,” he said, watching as she made her way into the back office. Then he turned to me, picking our conversation back up. “I can explain. Let Patty get clocked in, then meet me up there.”

Before I could protest, he was gone, his footsteps echoing as they faded up the stairs. I walked back to the office, and Patty was on the computer, checking the delivery invoices as she usually did on Tuesdays.

“Hey,” I said, “I need to run upstairs for a few minutes. Would you mind saving that for later and watching the counter for me?”

“Of course,” she said, winking. “Have fun.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at her as I turned to go. I couldn’t blame her for thinking I was going up there to meet Ethan for a little afternoon delight. I’d left her in charge plenty of times over the last few weeks for just that reason.

But Ethan’s sketchy response when I asked him about the toolbox told me this was no booty call. He was up to something, and he wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to like it.

When I made it up the stairs and into the apartment, I found him measuring the length of the back wall. The measuring tape snapped back into its casing, and he turned to give me a sheepish grin.

“What are you doing?” I asked, cocking my head to study him.

“Okay, hear me out,” he said, moving to sit on the edge of my bed. “I know you said you wanted me to do the bare minimum, but I really want to fix up this place for you.”

“Fix it up?”

“Patch the holes, paint the walls, and replace the loose floorboards. That kind of thing.”

“Oh, Ethan, I don’t know,” I replied. “It’s going to take me forever to pay off the repairs you’ve already done. I can’t afford any more.”

“Then, let me do this as a gift,” he said, pushing himself to his feet and striding toward me. Taking my hands into his, he added, “I want to do this for my girlfriend.”

“Don’t you have to go back to your real job?” I countered.

“Not for another week or so. I’ll be done with this in a few days.”

“I can’t let—”

“Ember,” he said, cutting me off. “I want to do this. It means a lot to me, to be able to do nice things for you. Besides, didn’t you miss me this morning? Because I missed you.”

With those words, he leaned in and kissed my neck. One hand twisted in my hair as the other snaked around my waist, pulling me up against him. His fingers crept down to squeeze my ass, and I could feel his cock hardening against my belly.

“Oh, you play dirty,” I sighed, tilting my head to give him better access to my neck.

“Damn right, I do,” he whispered, his breath hot on my skin. “Is it working?”

“I don’t know. Let me find out,” I said, my fingers moving to his belt buckle.

He chuckled, pulling back slightly to give me more room to get it undone. “Oh, I know that’s working.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” I said, groaning as I slid my hand into his underwear to grasp his velvety hard shaft.

Yes, I knew he was distracting me with sex. No, I didn’t give a shit.

And yes, I was going to let him renovate my apartment. How could I say no?

He kissed me, nibbling my lips before brushing his tongue against mine. I swallowed his moan as my hand stroked him, and he released me to push his pants and underwear down, giving me better access. I started to drop to my knees, but he caught me and pulled me back up before pushing me toward the bed, kicking off his shoes and stepping out of his pants along the way.

After ripping off his shirt, he carefully stripped me out of my boots, jeans, and blouse, then kissed me all over as he unfastened my bra and slid my panties down. He licked his way up my leg, pausing to kiss my mound before straightening. He fell back onto my bed, stretching out on his back and crooking a finger at me.

“Come here,” he said, and I climbed onto the mattress, eager to have his cock in my mouth.

I loved making him come almost as much as I loved having him make me come. It was exhilarating, hearing his panting breaths, his moans and growls, and his quiet praise as I worked. It pleased me to please him, and I couldn’t wait to get started.

But Ethan pulled me toward him, not stopping until I was stretched across his chest. He kissed me for a long time, the fingers of one hand tugging my hair as the other slipped down to press between my thighs and brush over my entrance.

“Mm, you’re so wet,” he murmured against my lips, dipping a single fingertip inside me teasingly.

“Yeah,” I breathed, spreading my legs further to give him better access.

His finger pushed in a little further, but not enough to give me any relief. I needed more. I tilted my hips, trying to create some friction between his abs and my clit, but Ethan only pulled his finger out, leaving me begging for more. Literally.

“Ethan, please,” I moaned.

“Take what you want, Ember.”

I didn’t know what I wanted. His hand back on me? His fingers, pushing inside me and curling to find that perfect spot? His mouth? Something. Anything to satisfy the burning need he’d stoked to life with his kisses and touches.

But most of all, I still wanted his cock in my mouth.

So I slid off him and twisted. Taking his hardness in my hand, I stroked it a handful of times before sliding it between my lips. Swirling my tongue around the tip, I sucked it shallowly for a few seconds before taking him all the way in.

Ethan groaned, and his fingers slid up my thigh to brush against my pussy. He rubbed the slit lightly, spreading the moisture around, but never touching my clit or pushing inside me. I started to protest as he pulled his hand away—again—my protest turned into a yelp as he wrapped his arms around my thighs and yanked, pulling me backward up over his chest until I was straddling his face.

His tongue found my clit and his cock popped out of my mouth as I arched my back in pleasure. Ethan devoured me like he was a starving man, pumping his tongue into me several times before moving back to my clit.

I grabbed his cock and slid it back into my mouth, bobbing my head in time with his ministrations as my orgasm built inside me. I sucked him faster, my tongue tracing his length as one hand stroked the base and the other cupped his balls.

Ethan moaned, pushing his tongue back inside me as his fingers found my clit. My climax hit suddenly, my thigh muscles clenching as waves of pleasure washed over me. Ethan continued to lick me, pumping his hips slightly as his own orgasm made his entire body tense up. I swallowed greedily, humming as I stroked him a few more times to milk every last drop.

Ethan turned his head and kissed my inner thigh with a satisfied sigh. I pushed myself up and rolled off of him, twisting around so I could lay my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat as it slowed to its normal rhythm. After several sated moments, I lifted my head and pressed my lips to his.

“I need to get back to work, unfortunately,” I said, giving him a little pout. “I’ll see you later?”

“You can count on it,” he said, pecking his mouth against mine again.

I returned his smile before sitting up and sliding off the bed. Grabbing my clothes from the floor, I turned to stare at him, my brow wrinkling.

“That was a dirty trick, using your hot body and talented mouth to get me to agree to your plan,” I said.

“Good thing you like me dirty,” he replied, waggling his eyebrows and smirking.

“That’s true,” I said, grinning. “I really do.”