Something Unexpected by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 20
Beck
“PLEASE TELL ME you’re reading a joke right now.” My brother Jake strolled into my office and found me with my nose buried in my cell. “Because you’re smiling like a schoolgirl with a crush.”
“What do you want, Jake? I have a lot of work to do.”
As usual, he ignored me and planted himself in one of the guest chairs. He used his chin to point to my phone. “Who are you texting?”
“None of your business.”
He grinned. “It’s that Nora woman, isn’t it? She’s hot, dude. Nice figure.”
I clenched my teeth. It annoyed me that my brother had even been looking.
He pointed to my jaw. “Oh yeah. You got it bad. It’s definitely her you’re texting. What’s the deal with her anyway? Is she single?”
“Yes.” I pulled my chair up to my desk and put my phone down. “Now, what did you come in here for?”
“I sent you over the new prospectus to review. The old one was outdated and didn’t include some of our key investors. Plus, it was boring and had too many words on the page.”
“It’s a document that informs people about the company. Of course it has a lot of words. It’s informational.”
“Yes, but you need fewer words on the page and more bulleted information. People in my generation have the attention spans of a gnat. We like our information bite-sized. Our brains are wired by TikTok and Snapchat. All your boring information will be there. But it will be snappier and easier to digest. And we also need more pretty pictures.” He grinned. “Come to think of it, I should’ve put myself on one of the pages.”
I shook my head. “Whatever. I’ll look at it this afternoon.”
Jake kicked his feet up on my desk and locked his hands behind his head. “So getting back to this Nora chickadee. Why haven’t you made a move yet if she’s single?”
I frowned.
Jake’s eyes widened, along with his smile. “Holy shit. She shot you down, didn’t she?”
“She didn’t shoot me down, if you must know. We’ve…spent some time together.”
“You mean you’ve hooked up?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Jake.”
“But you like her. I can tell. I saw the way you looked at her at the hospital, and every time you talk about her, you have this goofy smile.”
“It helps when you like the people you hook up with…”
Jake shook his head. “No. This is more than that. You like her, like her. So why is it only a hookup? Why don’t you ask her out and see where it goes?”
The only thing Jake liked better than looking in the mirror was gossip. He wasn’t going to let this go. I sighed. “She doesn’t want a relationship, which is fine with me. I’m too busy for one. So we’re keeping it simple.” I didn’t add that Nora hadn’t even committed to an ongoing physical relationship yet. It had been three days since our conversation at my place. We’d texted about Louise, but neither of us had raised the subject. I didn’t want to come off as desperate, even if that’s how I felt waiting for her to make her decision.
“Oh shit. So you’re doing what you hate when women do the same to you.”
I squinted. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re upfront with women that you don’t want a relationship. They agree to a casual arrangement, and then after hooking up a few times, they want more. They bait-and-switch you.”
I wasn’t doing that. Was I? Would I take more if Nora was offering it? Yes. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t capable of hookup only. Hell, I was the king of hookup only.
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
Jake shook his head. “No strings attached doesn’t work when one of you has feelings.”
“I like her, but she also drives me damn nuts at times. I don’t have feelings.”
“Sure, Mr. I-Make-Goo-Goo-Eyes-When-I-Text-Her. But whatever. It’s your string to choke on.”
“Is there anything else we need to discuss, or is Dear Abby hour over? I have shit to do.”
“Who’s Abby?”
“Jesus Christ,” I grumbled and pointed to the door. “Get the hell out of my office.”
Jake left. But his words irked me all morning. I’d definitely complained to him more than once about a woman I’d started something casual with who all of a sudden wasn’t happy with our arrangement. I remembered having this conversation only a few months ago about a woman named Piper I’d been seeing. When I’d told her I wasn’t interested in more and reminded her that she’d said the same, she’d gotten upset and said she’d been hoping I would change my mind. Was that what I was doing with Nora?
Let’s face it, I did like her. And for the first time in longer than I could remember, I would’ve liked more—to get to know her, have dinner, wake up next to her, maybe see where things went. Something about being with her just felt right.
My phone buzzed from my desk, and I was grateful for the interruption. I’d never admit it, but Jake was right. I was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush. I needed to pull up my panties and get my ass back to work. Maybe it was best that Nora seemed to have forgotten about the arrangement I’d proposed.
I didn’t need the headache.
But then I turned my phone over and read the incoming text.
Nora: I’ve thought about your…arrangement.
My heart started to pump. It pissed me off. Yet I was already typing back.
Beck: And…
Nora: As you so eloquently put it, I’d like to fuck you, too. So I’m in.
I salivated like a starved dog served a sizzling steak.
Beck: When can I see you?
Nora: Is see you code for get naked?
Beck: It’s code for how wide can you spread your legs? I can’t wait to eat your pussy.
The dots started to bounce around, then stopped. It was a solid thirty seconds before they started moving again.
Nora: Sugarcoating isn’t your thing, huh?
I was typing that I’d coat her with sugar if she wanted, when a second text arrived.
Nora: But yeah, I can’t wait for you to do that too…
I cleared what I’d typed, too impatient to waste time.
Beck: What are you doing right now? I can come to you.
Nora: LOL. Slow down, cowboy. I’m currently at the nail salon with Louise. I was thinking more like tomorrow night.
Even the mention of my grandmother didn’t dull my hunger.
Beck: How about tonight?
Nora: Anxious much?
Beck: YOU. HAVE. NO. IDEA.
Nora: I just snort-laughed out loud and scared the woman getting her nails done next to me.
I pictured it—her big pouty smile and how gorgeous she looked with a little gleam in her eye, laughing at the screen.
Beck: So tonight?
Nora: Fine, Mr. Impatient. But I have a few things to do. So it will have to be later.
Beck: Whatever you want. Tell me where and when, and I’ll be there.
Nora: I’d actually prefer to come to you.
Maddie was with her mom for the next three days. My grandmother was doing well and had gone back to her place with Bitsy this morning. So I didn’t even have the little barking shit to interrupt giving Nora my full attention.
Beck: Works for me. What time?
Nora: I can probably get there about ten.
Beck: Can’t wait. See you then.
Nora: Oh, and Beck, we need to talk first. I think we need to set some ground rules for this thing.
Beck: Fine. But it’s going to be hard to talk with my cock in your mouth. So maybe we talk second.
Nora: Pig.
Beck: We’ll see who’s the one squealing when I get my hands on you.
She sent back a pig emoji, and that was the end of it.
I guess I was going to be stopping at the pharmacy on the way home tonight to pick up a bottle of aspirin. Because whether it proved to be a giant headache or not, there was no fucking way I wasn’t doing this.
***
The doorman rang to let me know I had a guest, and I suddenly got palm-sweaty nervous. It had been a long-ass time since a woman made me feel this way. And I wasn’t sure I liked it. Since it was late, and Nora had probably eaten dinner by now, I’d had my assistant order a charcuterie board. She’d asked if it was for a date or the guys coming over, since I occasionally played cards with my buddies, and she’d ordered a spread for those nights. I normally loved that my assistant took the initiative. When she’d ordered for our last card night, I’d come home to a delivery of not only food, but a selection of cigars and whiskies that had been paired together, as well as a half-dozen combination wooden cigar tray-coasters, so the guys could set their drinks and their cigar down while holding their cards. But now, as I looked over at the dining room table, I thought it might be too much. Gwen had sent not only the charcuterie board, but also chilled wine, a flower arrangement, and a few candles.
My heart thumped faster as I heard the elevator slide open from the hall. But when I opened the door and got a look at her, it almost knocked the wind out of me.
It’s a hookup, Cross. Not a date.
Luckily, I was a master at not showing my nerves.
Nora looked incredible—way more dressed up than I’d expected. She had on a Kelly green, silky-looking slip dress with high heels that wrapped up her ankles. Her thick, blond, normally straight hair was done up in loose curls, and she had more makeup on than I’d ever seen her wear. I couldn’t stop staring at her scarlet red lips. Maybe this was a date after all…
“Down, boy,” she said. “I’m not dressed like this to come over. I had a hot date before this.”
My exuberance came to a screeching halt. She had a freaking date before coming over?
Nora took one look at my face and chuckled. She stood toe to toe with me and patted my chest. “The date was my father, Mr. Cool.”
“I thought your father lived in California?”
“He does. But he came to visit for a few days. We went to see an opera at the Met at seven. That’s why I’m dressed up and couldn’t come until this late.”
My shoulders loosened. “Oh.”
She smirked. “You should’ve seen your face. It looked like you wanted to kick someone’s ass.”
“And you find that amusing?”
She tapped her nails against my chest. “I do.”
I wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, gave it a gentle squeeze, and pulled her against me. “You’re going to pay for that, Sutton. Now give me that pain-in-my-ass mouth.”
I planted my lips over hers, and she eagerly opened for me. The stress of my day dissolved almost instantly. Her tits pushed up against me, and she made that little moan sound that drove me nuts. They say things that take away anxiety and stress are often addicting—like Xanax and alcohol. I understood that now.
Nora wrenched her mouth from mine. “Are you going to maul me in the doorway or invite me in?”
I took her bottom lip between my teeth and gave it a good, firm tug. “Doorway works for me.”
She giggled and pushed at my chest. “Let’s go inside, caveman.”
I begrudgingly opened the door and let her walk in. Though I was thanked for my gentlemanly behavior by a phenomenal view of her ass in that dress.
I wonder if she’d let me in the rear door.
I cleared my throat and pushed that thought to the back of my mind—for now. Nora set her clutch down on the dining room table, which screamed romance with the wine chilling in a bucket, flowers, and candles.
“What’s all this?” she asked.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten dinner. So I went with something you could pick at.”
“That was thoughtful.” She turned back to the table for a minute. “And the flowers and wine?”
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “My assistant did that.”
Nora smiled. “Is that a bashful look? It’s kind of cute, though not one I thought you had in your arsenal of expressions.”
“Wiseass. After I set it all up, I realized it was a bit much for…you know, for our purposes.”
“You mean for a hookup night?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, at least you have a good assistant.”
“I do. Would you like a glass of wine from my romantic setup?”
Nora smiled. “Sure.”
I grabbed the bottle from the ice bucket and went into the kitchen to uncork it.
Nora took a seat on a chair on the opposite side of the island. “So, I think we should probably talk about ground rules before we go any further.”
I slid a glass of wine over to her and poured mine. “Shoot. I like rules.”
“You do?”
“Of course. It’s not any fun to break them when you don’t know what they are.”
“Beck…”
“Relax. I’m joking.” I sipped my wine and shrugged. “I’m ready. Lay what you got on me.”
“Okay, well, I think these types of arrangements are often ruined because people keep pushing the boundaries further and further, and one of the two people looks back and realizes their hookup has inched into relationship territory. So the point of making some ground rules is to keep us firmly in the hookup zone.”
“Alright. So what are these rules?”
“First, I think unless we’re with Louise, we should keep our time together limited to sex.”
“So you walk in, I strip you naked, and you hightail it out of here when we’re done?”
She laughed. “Maybe not that dramatic, but more along the lines of we shouldn’t watch movies together beforehand or spend the night after.”
I didn’t love that, but I also understood why she would make the rule. It might have been where I’d gone wrong with my previous supposedly no-strings-attached relationships.
“Okay. What else?”
“No dates. No restaurants or movies or whatever.”
“Alright.”
“No chit-chatting on the phone or exchanging texts, unless it’s Louise-related or we’re setting up a time to meet.”
That sucked. Her texts had become the highlight of my day.
“Fine.”
“I think we should also try to limit the affection. No hand holding or flower sending. No sweet gestures at all.”
“Hang on, is letting your head loose long enough that you can take a breath while I’m fucking your face considered sweet? In my book, there’s a fine line between considerate and sweet.”
“Now who’s the wiseass?”
“Are we done?”
“One last thing. I think normally these types of situations aren’t monogamous. They’re more like don’t ask, don’t tell. But we’ve already had sex without a condom, so unless you want to go back to using one, I think we should forego sex with anyone else. Dating others is fine, of course.”
The thought of her fucking anyone, or even dating another man, made me irate, so that was the easiest rule to accept.
I nodded. “Deal.”
She sipped her wine, then set it down and ran her finger along the rim of the glass. She looked up under thick lashes. “That’s it. So…we could get started whenever you’re ready.”
I held her gaze while I chugged the rest of my wine and walked around to the island. I lifted her from her chair, tossed her over one shoulder, and stalked to my bedroom. I’d briefly considered fucking her on the counter, but the thought of her spread eagle in my bed was too good to resist. She giggled, and the sound shot straight to my heart.
In my bedroom, I set her down on her feet near the edge of my bed, then walked to a chair ten feet away and planted myself there.
“What are you doing?” She laughed.
“Undress for me.”
The smile on her face morphed into something very different. She liked when I took control in the bedroom.
Nora reached back and unzipped her dress slowly. The sound of each tooth coming apart made me want to rip the fabric to shreds. I had to grip the arms of the chair in order to stay put while she slipped the thin straps from her shoulders and let the silky material puddle on the ground. Standing only in heels that wrapped up her legs and a black lace strapless bra and matching panties, she couldn’t have been any sexier. But then she lifted her chin, defying whatever discomfort was probably seeping in at being on display, and my half-mast cock hardened to full salute.
“You’re gorgeous.” My voice came out strained, with some tremble to it. “Turn around. I want to see the back.”
She made a slow pivot. Damn, I wanted to be that piece of string tucked inside the crack of her fantastic ass. I licked my lips, which had gone dry. “Sit on the edge of the bed.”
I could almost come from watching this woman take my commands. This was a gift she was giving me.
Nora perched herself on the edge of the mattress, legs together.
I rubbed my bottom lip with my thumb. “I’d like to add a rule to your list.”
“What’s that?”
“No touching yourself unless we’re together. I don’t want you satisfying your own urges. I want you calling me. Often.”
She swallowed and nodded.
“Thank you. Now spread your legs.”
Her eyes flared and darkened, but she did as told.
“Wider.”
She used her hands to push her knees until they couldn’t go any farther.
“Now touch yourself. Rub your clit. Over your panties.”
Her eyes jumped to meet mine. It looked like she might push back, but instead she held my gaze as she moved one hand over her panties and began to massage small circles around her clit. After a few seconds, her eyes drifted closed. Her lips parted, and I watched as her chest rose higher and faster.
Fuck.
My.
Life.
How in the world was I not supposed to fall in love with this woman? She was the entire package, with a great big sexually open bow on top.
I rubbed my cock through my pants as I watched. Nora’s back arched and her head fell back. When her circles grew faster and she started to moan, I knew it wasn’t going to be long. So I went to her. Dropping to my knees between her thighs, I yanked her panties down her legs and dove in with an open-mouthed hunger like she was my first meal in months. I lapped and sucked, speared my tongue into her sweet hole, and drank every bit of her juices.
Nora threaded her fingers into my hair, nails digging into my scalp. “Beck…”
I reached up and held her down, burying my entire face in her. I could’ve drowned in here and died a happy man. I ate her through her orgasm, through the writhing and shaking, until long after she fell back and collapsed on the bed. I wasn’t letting one drop of her sweetness go to waste on the sheets.
When I was done, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and unleashed my straining cock. I knew how warm and wet she was, and I couldn’t wait to dip inside and find my nirvana.
As I climbed over her, Nora’s eyes fluttered open. A sated and silly grin spread across her beautiful face. “Hi,” she said.
My lip twitched. “Hi.”
“You’re really good at that.”
“Why thank you.”
“I’m not sure how much of a participant I’m going to be right now.” She moved her head to look at her right arm, which was spread out across the bed. “My limbs feel like jelly.”
“It’s okay. I’ll pick up the slack.”
She grinned. “Thanks. I owe you one.”
“Which I will happily collect on in the near future.”
I reached down and fisted my cock, lining it up with her opening, and pushed in. Even with only my crown inside, I was glad she’d already come, because this was going to be embarrassingly fast. I’d forgotten how tight she was.
My eyes squeezed closed as I pushed farther inside, her soft walls clenching around my cock. The way it felt, I thought tonight might shoot to the top of my best sexual experiences list, and I wasn’t even fully seated and hadn’t come yet. That was saying something.
I pushed in deeper, stretching her inch by painstaking inch, until my balls were resting against her ass. Nora looked up at me, eyes glazed over, lips parted in a pant, and I decided I was staying here. Not moving. Maybe forever.
But then Nora arched up, bringing her lips to meet mine, and I got lost in her kiss. At the risk of sounding like a giant pussy, everything else faded away. And I got my second wind. My hips started working, sliding in and out. She was so wet. So slippery, fucking phenomenal. But I needed her to come again first. It didn’t matter that she’d just orgasmed five minutes ago, and my load was ready to shoot out like a cannon. I needed to satisfy her, needed to please her.
So I grabbed one of her knees, lifting it to hit inside her at a new angle. The look on her face went from happily sated to oh shit, here we go again. On the right path, I slipped a hand between us and massaged her clit as I glided in and out. Nora’s muscles began to pulsate—she squeezed so tight around me that I could feel her twitching, milking my cock.
She moaned as her orgasm hit, saying my name over and over.
And…
There it was.
Nirvana.
Heaven.
I was going to have to set up the sound recording on my phone so I could replay that throughout my day. Especially if I wasn’t allowed to talk to her.
Oddly, I’d never gotten off on a woman screaming my name during sex. But something about Nora doing it was almost better than my release itself. It made me feel warm and soft inside, yet like the king of the jungle at the same damn time.
Once she went slack again, I ramped up my speed and took my own release, filling her with what felt like an endless stream of cum. After, my body jerked and spasmed deep inside her. Reality began to seep back in, and I looked up to make sure Nora was okay. Again I found her with a giant, goofy smile.
I smiled back. “Hi.”
Her smile widened. “Hi back.”
I chuckled and pulled out, even though I had no desire to move. “One minute. I’ll grab you a towel.”
I came back with a damp cloth and a dry one. Nora hadn’t moved a muscle. Since she was the one who’d let me make the mess, I figured the least I could do was clean it up. But when I looked between her legs, I saw my cum dripping out.
“Oh fuck,” I groaned. “That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Nora leaned up on her elbows, but I stopped her. “No, don’t move. I want to watch it come out naturally.”
She blushed. “Oh my God. That’s totally weird, and I should probably feel self-conscious. But the way you’re looking at me is so sexy, I don’t even care.”
My dick hadn’t fully softened yet, and I started to harden as I watched. I couldn’t take my eyes away as my arousal dripped from her pussy and seeped along the crevice that led to her ass. When it got close to her hole, I reached with one finger and spread it around. Nora’s eyes widened as I massaged my cum in and prodded her puckered opening.
“Is this off limits?” I asked.
She bit down on her pouty bottom lip. “I’ve never done it. Not fully anyway. My ex and I, we… He went for it once, but it hurt too much.”
“That doesn’t sound like a no…” I dipped my wet finger in, just the tip. Nora gasped, but relaxed as I started to push in and out gently. “Does that hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Not tonight. There’s no rush. We’ll take our time. Maybe just a little massage once in a while, to get you ready for it.” I pushed in a little farther, not even to my knuckle. She clenched around me…but relaxed again after a minute. “You have to learn to trust me. Know that I’ll go easy and take care of you.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
I gave it another minute, gently gliding in and out. Her body relaxed enough that I could’ve pushed farther, but I didn’t want to take things too fast. So I slipped my finger out and cleaned her up properly. When I was done, I went into the bathroom. Nora was standing with her dress halfway back on when I came out.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting dressed…”
“You’ve only been here a half hour.”
She smiled halfheartedly. “I know. But this is just sex, so…”
“Seriously? You’re going to run out the door like this? Should I toss some cash at you, too?”
Nora narrowed her eyes. “Don’t be a dick, Beck. This was our arrangement.”
Yes, we’d agreed to sex only, but it still felt wrong. Though I stopped myself from bitching, afraid I might scare her away on day one.
“Fine,” I grunted. “Let me at least drive you home.”
She zipped the back of her dress. “I’ll just grab an Uber.”
I raked a hand through my hair. It was the first time in my life that I’d felt used. I didn’t like it very much. I took a deep breath. “When can I see you again?”
“Soon.”
“How about more of a definitive answer?”
“My dad is only in town for a few days, so I’ll be with him.” She ran her fingers through her hair like a comb. “We have a lot of plans. Museums, a play, a French restaurant with a seven-course tasting menu… We’re even having lunch with Louise one day. I’m excited for them to meet.”
Great. My grandmother gets to share a meal with Nora, but I don’t.
She walked over and pushed up on her toes, kissing my lips. “You’re pouting.”
“No, I’m not.” I totally am.
“I’ll call you, okay?”
Not even a minute later, she was out the door. I leaned my forehead against it and listened for the sound of the elevator coming and going.
This no-strings-attached shit isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.
