Count on Me (Petal, Georgia) (13 page)

He started to speak but she held a hand up. “
But
I just realized right now that this little moment is sort of a root. A root to building a community, my safe place here. You’re part of that.”

“Contraband grief. Wow, that’s a powerful concept. I’m sorry. I’ve lost my father, and my mother, well I’ve had to give her up little by little as she’s declined over the years. Grief is important. It’ll eat you up if you can’t express it in your own way. You do what you need to. Feel what you need to. Don’t let anyone else police that.”

“Which is easier said than done.”

He snorted. “Yes, that’s true. You’re tough though. And when you need an ear, I’m around. I’m happy you feel like I’m part of what makes you feel safe in Petal. That’s a really nice compliment. One of my all-time favorites, I think. Just know that with me, you can cry or whatever any time.”

She smiled up at him. “We should change the subject now. How was your Sunday?”

He let her.

“So far so good. I slept until ten. I wanted to sleep later, but you know how it goes. Your body is used to five so I think my days of sleeping until noon are past. But I slept in, and then I read in bed for a while before wandering out to make coffee and some food. Caught up on my stuff on DVR. Nothing at all taxing. And now you’re here so it’s a pretty damned good day all around.”

“And did you get everything you needed done yesterday?”

“I’ve yet to actually get everything I needed done when I needed it done. But I came close. Which I’m counting as a win.”

“Tell me about your day yesterday.”

She leaned against him as he recounted his day, embellishing here and there to entertain her better.

“You really should have sex with me.” She blurted this in one of their quiet moments.

He paused a moment and then put his beer down. “Should I?”

She nodded. “Yes. I mean, unless you don’t want to. If you don’t want to, then no you shouldn’t.”

He took her face in his palms, kissing her softly. “I really want to.”

This made her laugh and he pulled her into his lap. “I also seem to recall this particular position for kissing being a favorite of mine. I wasn’t wrong.”

She undulated, stroking the heat of her pussy against his cock, sending shockwaves of pleasure through him.

“Yeah, that’s it. I remember now.”

He put his hands at her hips, and she dipped her mouth down and breathed a kiss onto his lips.

This was good. Damn she tasted so sweet. He kissed from her lips to her ear just to hear that little whimper she gave. The weight of her in his lap was so perfect he was nearly afraid of it. Maybe he should be. She made him feel things he wasn’t sure he could.

She reached up and pulled her hair from the chignon at the base of the back of her neck. The material of her shirt pulled up, and his hands landed on the warm, soft bare skin of her belly and he groaned, sliding his palms up her back, skin to skin.

The backyard lights came up as the twilight slid away into full dark. With a muffled curse, he managed to stand with her legs wrapped around his waist. “Come on.”

“Where else could I go?”

He laughed as he headed to his bedroom, kicking the door closed or they’d have a furry visitor.

He tossed her to the bed, and she fell back with a laugh, the spill of all that dark hair framing her face. He moved to turn on some music, trying to find a thread of patience because damn he wanted her right then and there.

But when he shifted in her direction, it was to find her having reached the bottom button on her shirt and then shimmying from it.

“Holy shit.”

He got to his knees on the bed to face her, kissing her bare shoulder. Her breath hitched, which sent her cleavage closer to his face, and he gave in, turning to brush his lips against the curve of each breast.

“No front catch?” he murmured as he slid his hands around to her back to unfasten all that lace and underwire.

“They’re too big for that stuff. I can’t afford to go busting out of a bra while I’m delivering a closing argument.”

He laughed, pushing her back, his hands going to the waist of her pants.

Gaze latched on to her face to gauge her willingness, he slid the button out of the hole and unzipped. She lifted her ass as he drew the pants, and a scrap of dark blue silk that was her panties, down her legs.

All that skin bared to his gaze and his gaze only.

Damn.

He took her in from the tousle of glorious hair, the hard, dark nipples capping breasts that made his mouth water, the dip at her waist, the flare of her hips, the curve of her thighs sliding into toned calves and then feet painted with the same pale pink she had on her fingers.

So feminine and sexy and in his bed.

One corner of her mouth lifted. “Come on then, Watson.”

He pulled his shirt up and off and was out of his pants and shorts in record time as he resumed his place on his knees, staring at her body again.

He whistled low. “Jesus. I can’t believe all this lives underneath your clothes. I mean, I was impressed before, but this? Wow.”

She reared up enough to grab his cock in her fist, squeezing just right. “Show me, don’t tell me.”

It was his turn to laugh as he bent down to take her mouth again. She nipped his bottom lip and slowly moved her fist up and down.

Then she rolled him over and kissed his neck as she straddled his body. She paused, listening to the music for long moments before she locked her attention back on him. “I love this song.”

“Is this what you do when your favorite song comes on?” He gave her a dubious look.

“Only with a chosen few people. I don’t even know who it is though. My country-music muscles are sadly pretty weak.”

He took her breasts into his hands, testing their weight before sliding his thumbs back and forth over her nipples until they went tight. “This is Kacey Musgraves. ‘Back on the Map’ is the name of the song.”

She wriggled free and kissed down his belly, and her gaze locked with his, licked up the line of his cock until he lost all words.

All he had was feeling. It washed through him as he watched her. Those lips wrapped around the head of his cock, the way her tongue swirled around him before she sucked him back into her mouth again and again and again until he nearly reeled with it.

He touched her shoulder. “Wait. Wait. Not yet. Want to be in you when I come.”

She paused, pulling off, that mouth of hers all swollen and glossy. “No. But you’ll have plenty of time for that too.”

The gentleman in him warred with the man who wanted to take and mark and ravage. He dug his fingers into the blanket trying to hold on to the former.

She pulled back again. “Problem?”

He shook his head, nearly frantic.

She cupped his sac, scoring it gently with her nails. “You’re hesitating.”

“Manners!” His voice broke halfway through the word.

She laughed, and while keeping his gaze, she licked over the slit like every single fantasy he’d ever had made into flesh. He swallowed his words.

“You made sure I consented. You’ll obviously make me come. So fuck manners, Royal. Let go. It’s just me and you here.”

Then she took him so hard and deep, he let go of his manners and thrust his hips. His fingers slid into her hair.

She took him into her mouth over and over and over until the pleasure was so sharp he had no other choice but to fall into a climax so hard he saw lights behind his closed eyelids. His skin went hypersensitive, shivers covering him when she kissed his hip.

“Give me a moment. I don’t have feeling above my toes yet.”

She laughed, moving to rest her head on his biceps as he stroked a hand through her hair.

He took a deep breath and stretched before turning and pinning her beneath him. She grinned. Damn he loved that grin of hers.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I’m going to lick you now. Pretty much everywhere I’ve been fantasizing about since that first night in the grocery store.”

“You wanted to lick me even after I made you get cereal off the top shelf?”

“I like doing things for you. Plus, when you reach up your tits push forward and your ass arches back. It’s like the perfect position for your body.”

She laughed as he slid his tongue down her neck, pausing to lave the hollow of her throat. “You taste good.”

“I do?”

“Like the cold air outside. A little bit of your perfume I think. Your skin. Damn your skin is addictive.”

She arched back as he kissed his way down the middle of her chest and headed first to her left nipple and then her right.

“You’re really good with your mouth,” she breathed out.

He drew the edge of his teeth against her nipple before he continued down her body, kissing and licking as he went. “I haven’t even reached my final destination yet.”

“I’m on the edge of my seat.”

“Good, that’s where you need to be so I can eat your pussy.”

She gasped, and he paused, wondering if he’d gone too far. But she slid her fingers through his hair and tugged.

Guess not.

He pulled her open using his thumbs to part her to his mouth and his gaze. And when he took that first long lick, they both sighed happily.

He licked slowly, getting to know her, what she liked, what made her gasp and arch. She wasn’t shy about expressing herself, which was as hot as everything else about her.

Her thigh muscles trembled a little as he licked and nuzzled, drawing her closer to orgasm as her body readied for it. Her taste on his lips drove him. He needed to make her feel good, as good as she made him feel.

And when she came, she tightened her grip in his hair and that only added to the experience. To her taste flooding him as she climaxed against his lips.

“Yes.”

She sighed happily has he kissed his way back up her body and to her mouth.

“I think we need a break for a beer, and then we start round two of this party.”

“I’m all for that plan.”

She watched as he left the room. Spike burst through the door like they’d been hoarding bacon in the bedroom. He looked around, and satisfied there was no unclaimed bacon, he hopped up on the bed and put his paw on her exposed foot.

When she didn’t move quickly enough to pet him, Spike gave a little demonstration with his nails that had her sitting up.

“You’re bossy, cat. I sort of like that in a person.” Caroline scratched under his chin, and he flopped onto his back to give her better access.

“He’s easy for women.” Royal came in and handed her a beer. She took several gulps.

Caroline needed to come over here for this exact sort of stress relief because even after the day she’d had, she was really relaxed.

“Apple doesn’t far fall from the tree?” she teased.

Royal laughed, coming in to kiss her long and slow. “I’m only easy for a very few women. Lucky for me, you’re right here in my bed.”

She pushed him onto his belly and straddled his butt.

“You like being on top,” he said into his pillow. This morphed into a groan when she began to knead the muscles at his shoulders and neck.

“I figured you might be a little knotted up after all that physical work you’ve done and with all the deadlines you’re facing.”

His skin was warm against her fingertips, pliant beneath her palms.

“Dear God. Just so you know, I don’t plan on giving you up. You’re smart, funny, gorgeous, your mouth is a deadly weapon and you give massages too. The perfect woman.”

She kept working, massaging the knots from his muscles until he’d loosened up into a warm mass of hot man flesh.

She dropped to the side, and he turned, seeing so much more than what was on the outside. Which she liked, but it scared her as well. No matter how much she imagined she’d be able to keep it light with this man, she was so wrong.

“Thank you.” Because the things he just said about her had made her happy and she wanted him to know it.

He stretched his arms up over his head and got bulgy and sinuous, and it made her a little breathless. He tipped his chin at her. “And thank
you
for that.”

“What? For what?”

Grinning, he got close enough to kiss her. “For the massage and for the way you just looked at me.”

“Oh. Well. I mean. Look at yourself.”

He rolled her over, pausing to kiss her again. “I’d rather look at you. Though looking at you does affect me.” He rolled his hips, grinding his cock into her thigh to underline his point.

“Well, thank goodness for that. How else could you fuck me otherwise?”

He nipped her bottom lip. “Damn I love your mouth.”

He leaned across her as he dug around in a drawer in his bedside table and pulled out a shiny foil packet.

“Thank God.” She’d only realized about five minutes before that she might not have any condoms. She was sure they could have figured out something else to do with their time without them, but she was glad they didn’t have to now.