And with Reuben.
*
Reuben woke at five thirty the next morning, his body spooned around the warm, naked curves he already couldn’t get enough of, Vivian’s blond hair tickling his nostrils. The room was dark, the promised sun not yet up, no fingers of light poking through the blinds in Viv’s bedroom.
But he was definitely up.
She stirred slightly and he kissed her nape as he rubbed his erection against the cleft of her ass. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
Snuggling back into him, a sleepy smile in her voice, she said, “I know what you’re thankful for.”
“Oh I think you’re going to be thankful for it, too.”
She laughed. “That’s a very brave statement.”
Reuben frowned as his lips nuzzled the side of her neck. “Brave?”
“Interrupting my first opportunity for a sleep-in for over a month?” And then she yawned and stretched lazily against him, her back arching, her butt cheeks grinding—he suspected on purpose—so good into his cock that Reuben’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head.
“Sorry.” He grimaced as she settled back into him again.
Resigned to not pursuing the need raging through his system, Reuben mentally flicked off the lights that were super-charging his system, extinguishing each and every one. He dropped a kiss on the spot where the slope of her neck met the start of her shoulder—God he loved that spot—before easing back a little. He was determined to let her sleep, which meant removing himself from temptation.
Sometimes, despite his best intentions and the higher, more evolved reasoning of his brain, his dick—whose intentions were not best and whose evolution was even less so—went rogue on him. And he wasn’t giving that bad boy any rope.
Because he would, for damn sure, hang himself with it.
There were some things he could get ready for their surprise morning outing, which was the reason he was awake at half past stupid hour on a day they both could have slept—or stayed in bed anyway giving thanks—until they had to be at his parents’ for lunch.
But before he could move too far away, her hand shot out and grabbed this thigh.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, kissing that spot again, “you sleep. I’ve got a few things I want to take care of.”
Her hand gripped his thigh tighter. “But…” She squirmed her ass cheeks suggestively along the length of his cock. And just like that every light on the switchboard of Reuben’s libido surged to life again. “I’m awake now. And looking for something to be thankful for. You should totally take advantage of that.”
More than happy to take advantage, he nuzzled her neck and muttered, “Yes, ma’am,” as he groped behind him for a condom.
*
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going or not?”
Reuben shook his head, grinning at Vivian’s blindfolded profile. It was one of those blackout masks that they handed out on long-haul flights but with that and her red beanie pulled down to cover everything but her face and her thick red scarf pulled up to cover the lower half of her jaw, she not only sounded muffled but she looked like she was going on some kind of heist.
“I told you, it’s a surprise,” he said as he pointed his pickup north, leaving the outskirts of Marietta behind as the early morning sky lit with the soft peach and rose gold of the first rays of sunshine. It seemed the National Weather Service’s promise of a sunny day for Thanksgiving was being delivered on in spades.
“I don’t like surprises.”
Reuben chuckled. He’d have never guessed. From observing her this past month, he knew Vivian was a businesswoman through and through and that was the way she approached life. Everything was planned. Pros and cons were weighed and there was always a contingency ready to go. He only had to look at how she’d turned Delish around by adapting to the local Marietta conditions.
“Trust me, you’ll like this one. It’s not far, I promise.”
She humphed a little but didn’t complain any more, just settled into the seat and, crossing her arms, turned to look out the window, which was kinda funny given that she couldn’t see anything. Reuben smiled. He couldn’t wait to see her face when she took off her blindfold.
She’d been far too busy this past month to do any sightseeing and that was a tragedy, as far as he was concerned. Miracle Lake was an absolute jewel and it was only fifteen minutes out of town and Reuben was excited that he was the one who got to introduce her to this hidden little gem.
Who knew, maybe she wouldn’t see what he saw? She was, after all, a city slicker and even Clem, who’d grown up here, hadn’t been a fan. Especially at this hour of the day. Clem would have refused point-blank to go anywhere with him while it was still dark and below freezing outside.
But Vivian hadn’t minded. That could have been because he’d suggested it after he’d made her come for the second time within ten minutes this morning but, in his experience, that usually made a woman—and a dude for that matter—less inclined to leave bed not more. And Vivian had definitely been up for an early morning expedition.
If she wasn’t a fan? Well…that would be disappointing. He’d never shared this with a woman before—not this kind of early morning jaunt anyway—and that felt important.
Like it meant something.
Flicking a glance at her profile again as he turned onto the forestry road that led to the lake, he asked, “What are you thinking about?”
She turned her head to face him. “Meeting your parents.”
Reuben laughed. “I hope you’re not worried about it? They’re looking forward to it.”
Chewing on her bottom lip for a beat or two, she said, “Meeting parents isn’t exactly what I do. I’m worried about their…expectations.”
“With us?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Don’t worry,” he teased. “Mom’s not picking out china patterns or anything.”
Hell, she hadn’t even asked to meet Vivian yet or taken it upon herself to call in at Delish and introduce herself. Which, come to think of it, was not normal behavior for his mother.
Maybe, after getting her hopes raised with Clem, she’d learned to back off?
“So what have you told her?” Obviously warmed up enough now, Vivian loosened her scarf a little, pulling it down from her face. “About me? About us?”
“That I like you. That we’re…friends.” He hadn’t actually said that but it was hard to classify what they were doing without being crass about it.
Lovers? Friends with benefits? Fuck buddies?
He figured they’d part as friends when all this was over but what exactly were they doing now? It felt way more than friends who had sex. It was way more than what he and Clem had been doing for three years and he knew that after only one month.
It was intense. It felt…deeper. And man, was he pleased she was wearing a blindfold as that realization hit.
“Friends?” Her eyebrows rose above the blindfold, which was kinda funny but the conversation had turned too serious to laugh. “Who sleep together.”
“Well…the whole town knows that,” he teased trying to lighten the mood because he wasn’t going to spoil whatever it was they had going on right now by worrying about how to define their relationship and any feelings he might be having. Why borrow trouble? There was a frozen lake to skate on and a beautiful woman to share it with and on this morning in particular he was very thankful for his good fortune.