Beauty from Pain (13 page)

I’m
propped on my elbows
and still
inside Paige when I lower my face to kiss her. This is where I want
to be right now. Inside her. And it’s where I intend on being quite
a bit over the next three months.

This is the part where things always get messy
in regular relationships. This is when women want to talk about
love and commitment, but not Paige; we aren’t like that, so I can
relax.

I kiss her again and then pull out. She frowns
at the loss. “Don’t worry. The caveman will be right
back.”

I hear her laugh as I go into the bathroom to
throw the condom in the trash. I pull it off and tie it in a knot
before I give it a toss. I hate them, but they’re a necessity in
any sexual relationship outside of a monogamous
marriage.

I walk back to the bed and Paige
has no reluctance about
ogling
me. There’s no shame in her game and it’s a
turn-on to see her almost salivating as she gapes at my body. I
work hard for it, so I enjoy the pleasure I see in her eyes as
she’s admiring it. “You might as well be the devil.”

“
Baby, you’re the one holding the
apple.” I slide into bed next to her and she immediately climbs
over and straddles me. She slides her hands from my pecs, down to
my abs, and then up again. She leans forward and runs her tongue
over each of my nipples before she glides down my body. Her legs
move from my outer hips to between my thighs as she migrates south.
She’s slow about going down because she’s giving me the time I need
to get hard again.

I know she’s about to take me in her mouth. I
wait for it and then I feel a warm rush of breath on me. She runs
her soft, wet tongue over my tip and I twitch in response. It’s
been a long time since anyone has done this for me. Too
long.

When she finishes licking me from base to tip,
I can’t silence the groan that comes out when she takes me
completely in her mouth. Damn. This isn’t going to take long
because this woman has mad oral skills.

I run my fingers through her hair while she
sucks me off, and I tap the top of her head when I’m about to
erupt. She doesn’t stop and I wonder if Americans don’t know about
the universally known signal to stop, so I tap her again. “I’m
about to come, Paige.”

She sucks harder and that’s when I realize she
has no intention of stopping. It shocks me because no woman has
ever let me come in her mouth. Damn, it’s hot.

I’m about to explode and I hear myself grunt,
“Ooh, shit,” as I flex my hips up to Paige’s mouth. When I’m done,
she licks one last time and then peers up at me with a mischievous
grin and laughs. “Mmm. Tastes like chicken.”

I’m laughing after a blowjob. Those two things
aren’t supposed to go together, but I see they do with her. I think
the odds of her killing me with sex are good, but what a way to go.
At least I’ll die happy.

–––––

When I wake the next morning, I feel very rested and
I know it’s the great sex. It’s always like a sleeping pill for
me.

Paige is asleep on her stomach, the sheet
scrunched down over her perfect little ass. I can’t help but study
the arch of her back. Some men love asses. Some, tits. I love the
curvature of a woman’s back, especially the part at the small of
her waist where it dips in.

And Paige’s dip is beautiful. It’s so deep I
could drink from it. Maybe I’ll do that sometime.

I push the sheet away so I can better see the
slope of her back. I’m relieved when I don’t find a tattoo in my
favorite spot because that ruins the beauty of it for me. I don’t
think she has any tattoos, and the only piercing I’ve found besides
her ears is the dangling jewel in her navel. I don’t mind that one
at all.

I can’t resist putting my fingertips against
her upper back and slowly following her spine downward. Her skin is
so soft and smooth. So perfect. And I can’t wait to have her from
behind.

She stirs a little so I lift my fingertips
because I don’t want to wake her. I place a butterfly kiss against
the skin of her lower back and then leave her to sleep.

I get the newspaper and have my first cup of
coffee at the bar in the kitchen. Nothing of much interest in the
headlines—mostly last-minute Christmas deals.

Christmas is in two days. I smile when I think
of the delivery Paige will get from me while I’m at my parents’
house in Sydney. I’m a little sad I won’t be with her when she
opens it. I’d love to see her face.

I’m on my second cup when Paige sneaks up
behind me. She steals my MO when she snakes her arms around my
waist and kisses the side of my neck. Her lips are warm and wet
against my skin. “Good morning.”

I turn my face toward her and kiss the corner
of her mouth. “And good morning to you. Want some
coffee?”

She inspects my cup. “Hmm … I guess not. I
only drink flavored coffee with lots of creamer and sweetener. It
ends up being dessert by the time I add everything I like. I’ll
take some juice if you have any.”

“
I have orange juice.”

She walks around the bar and goes for the
cabinet above the dishwasher. “Glasses?”

She almost guesses right. “The one to the
right.”

“
Have you eaten
breakfast?”

“
No. I wanted to wait for you so
we could eat together.”

She waltzes over to the fridge and takes
inventory. She’s wearing the khaki shirt I stripped off and tossed
to the floor last night. It hits her high on her thighs and when
she bends over to see what’s on the bottom shelf of the fridge, I
see her black lace panties peeking out just below the
hem.

I love having a woman in my life
again.

“
Mrs. Porcelli stocked the
refrigerator well before she left. Want me to cook
something?”

I don’t want her to think I brought her here
to be my cook or housekeeper. “I don’t mind eating a bagel or
cereal.”

“
I’m no gourmet chef like your
sister.” She stands with the door open, searching another minute
while she sips her juice. “What about an egg and bacon
sandwich?”

“
A sanger for brekkie sounds
good.”

“
A sanger for brekkie,” she
repeats (with her southern accent I find so charming) as she pulls
out the bacon and eggs and sets to work. It doesn’t take her long
to prepare our breakfast and so far, so good. We’re finishing up
when I hear my phone ring in the living room. I dash to catch it
before it stops ringing.

It’s my mum. I wouldn’t answer except I know
she’ll keep calling until she gets me. We haven’t spoken in a few
days, so I’m sure she’s calling to finalize plans for Christmas
Eve. “Hello, Mum.”

“
Good morning, Jack Henry. How’s
everything at Avalon?”

“
Things couldn’t be
better.”

“
That good, huh?”

I walk into the kitchen and Paige is clearing
our breakfast dishes. I walk over to her and whisper, “Don’t. I’ll
get it. You did the cooking.”

“
Who are you talking to?” Damn. My
mum has sonar ears. That’s why I never got away with anything as a
kid.

“
I have a guest.”

“
A female guest?”

She’s going to love this. “Yes, Mum. It’s a
woman.”

“
She must have spent the night if
she’s at your house this time of the morning. I can’t believe you
have a girlfriend you haven’t told me about. Are you bringing her
home with you for Christmas?”

“
No.”

“
I want to meet her,
son.”

Of course she does. “It’s not that kind of
relationship.”

I hear her huff. Really? My mum huffed at me.
“And it never will be if you just said that in front of
her.”

“
She
understands.”
It’s you who doesn’t
understand.

“
Trust me. She
doesn’t.”

I try to steer her in a different direction.
“I think you were calling to touch base with me about your plans
for the holidays.”

“
That’s right. Everyone will be
here around five, and we’ll eat at six.”

She doesn’t have to tell me this. It’s the
same every year. “Okay, Mum. I’ll see you then.”

“
Please,
consider bringing her. It would make me very happy.”
Wrong. What she and I are doing wouldn’t make you
happy at all.

“
No.”

“
You break my heart, but I still
love you, son. Be careful driving in.”

“
I will. Love you too.”

When I hang up, I feel like I need to
apologize to Paige for talking about her while she’s standing right
in front of me. “I’m sorry about that.”

She shrugs. “There’s nothing to be sorry
about.”

The old girl thinks it’s a tragedy to be
almost thirty and unmarried without any prospects. She wants to
marry me off to a wife who will start pushing out babies before our
first anniversary, like my brother’s wife did.

Not. Gonna. Happen. Hell will freeze over
first.

I help finish the dishes and then we’re free.
“I’m going to work out. Want to join me?”

She frowns and shrugs. “I didn’t bring the
right kind of shoes or clothes for working out. Plus, you don’t
have the right kind of equipment for what I do, so I think I’ll
take a shower and get ready.”

“
Okay, but I’m
installing a pole in the gym.”
Or maybe
the bedroom. I haven’t decided.

She smiles and dismisses my statement with the
wave of her hand as she walks toward the bedroom. “Yeah, yeah.
Whatever.”

She thinks I’m kidding, but she’ll see I’m
not.

Time passes quickly while I do my workout; I
can’t stop replaying the last twenty hours in my head. Paige is so
different from the others, but in the most spectacular
ways.

15

Laurelyn Prescott

The shower is huge and there’s plenty of room
for two people. Somewhere not too far in the back of my mind I hope
Lachlan joins me, but I don’t expect him to. He’ll be working out
for a while. No one has a body like that without spending a lot of
time in the gym.

The hot water feels glorious—I’m a little sore
today. Because of my usual workout regimen, it’s hard to put me in
many positions that will stress my muscles, so props to Lachlan for
achieving that.

When I finish in the shower, I linger a little
longer. Just in case. When he doesn’t come into the shower with me,
I’m a little disappointed, but I don’t dwell on it. We have until
he leaves for his parents’ house tomorrow.

I get ready and dress casually since I think
we’re staying at the vineyard today. I guess I should’ve asked, but
I didn’t, so I choose faded denim shorts and a solid ivory tank.
Maybe it’s a little over the top, but I finish the ensemble off
with my brown cowgirl boots.

I’m braiding my hair when he comes into the
bathroom and we both smile when our eyes meet in the mirror. He’s
shirtless and glistening with sweat. Damn, if I hadn’t just
showered. “Someone had a productive workout.”

He stands with his hands on his hips, a towel
thrown over one shoulder. “I did, thanks to you. I couldn’t stop
thinking about yesterday and last night, so time got away from
me.”

“
You don’t look very happy about
it.”

“
That’s because I wanted to catch
you still in the shower.”

“
I stayed in a long time because I
was hoping you would, but you didn’t, so I gave up on
you.”

He walks toward me and I hold up a hand to
stop him. “Nope. Too late now, caveman.”

“
Okay. Later then.” He smiles and
drops his sweaty bottoms to the floor before he kicks them toward a
hamper and gets into the shower. Steam immediately billows into the
space. “I have some vines I need to check today. Do you want to go
out with me to see how they’re doing?”

“
I’d love to. There’s not a
problem, is there?”

“
I hope not, but that’s why I’m
going out to check.”

It feels like a sauna in here and I have to
get out. How can he stand the water so hot after a workout? “Okay.
I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

I’m watching some kind of Australian Christmas
special when he plops on the couch beside me. He’s wearing khaki
cargo pants and a fitted navy V-neck T-shirt. I can see a few
sparse hairs peeking over the V’s point, but I know there’s more
underneath and think about how I ran my hands over them last
night.

Oh, my. He’s a fine specimen of a man. Very
fine indeed.

He puts his hand on my leg and massages it.
“Ready?”

“
Whenever you are.”

He stops by the refrigerator as we pass
through and grabs a couple of bottled waters. “It’s going to be a
hot one and we could be gone for a while. It’s probably not a bad
idea to take a cold drink.”

He grabs his Indiana Jones hat
from the hook as we’re on our way out the door. I shake my head
because I can’t believe the good-looking suit can also be
rugged
sexiness
on a stick. No man should be this desirable.