“Now?”
She gets up, puts a finger to her lips, and leads me down the hall past a closed door I assume belongs to Cara. The master bedroom is at the end of the hall, and Rae pulls me inside.
“We have to be quiet,” she murmurs. “Josh, I want you to make love to me. Please. Please.”
In response, I pull her into my arms, holding her tight as our lips explore each other. Our clothes soon follow, one piece of uniform at a time, until we’re both naked. Her skin is warm and smooth against mine, and she smells delicious.
“I know I had a sundae already,” I murmur, guiding her back toward the bed, “but I need another dessert. I think you’ll do.”
“What—”
Whatever she was going to say dissolves in a moan as I slide my tongue through her warm, wet folds. She quickly grabs a pillow and holds it over her face as I press her thighs apart and proceed to eat her ravenously. She’s juicy and sweet like a nectarine, and soon her hips start to roll as she grinds herself against my tongue. I love her greediness, love the sound of her muffled cries into the pillow as she finally comes, her body shaking hard.
Smiling like the cat that caught the canary, I slide up her body and pull the pillow away from her face. “You’re delicious, baby.”
She pushes me to my back and scoots down. “Your turn.”
I tilt my head back into the pillow as her mouth drops down over my cock. Warm and soft and wet. She takes me deep, massaging me with one hand, until I reach down to tug gently on her hair.
“Gotta stop. I want to come with you. In you.”
Rae positions herself over me. “I don’t want anything between us, Josh. Is that all right?”
I nod, my eyes glued to her form. She has the most beautiful body, full breasts topped with peaking nipples, a soft belly, thick thighs I can’t keep my hands off of. “I’m clean. I haven’t been with anyone in a year at least. Let me feel you, beautiful.”
Rae braces her hands on my chest and works herself onto me, pulling me in little by little. I bite my lip to hold back the loud grunt of pleasure I want to let out. She’s so tight, so warm, so wet. I’ve never felt anything that feels as good as she does. She lets out soft little gasps with each downward thrust until I’m seated all the way inside her, and then she starts riding me for dear life.
I pull her down to kiss her at the same time, and she moans into my mouth. I swallow every one and give her a few in return, then I grab her ass as her hips roll hard against me.
Just as I’m losing my battle with self-control, she lets out a strangled cry. “Oh, I’m gonna come!” With a gasp, Rae bursts around me, her inner walls fluttering rapidly around my cock.
“Yes, baby,” I moan quietly, breaking and coming deep and hard inside her. “Come all over my dick. Just like that!”
Rae collapses on top of me, and I close my eyes, loving how she feels on top of and around me. After a few minutes, when we’ve caught our breath, we take turns cleaning up a little in the bathroom.
“I can…head out, if you want me to be gone before Cara wakes up,” I say hesitantly.
“No,” Rae says softly. “It’s late. Stay.”
I don’t need to be told twice.
I slide into bed beside her and pull her into my arms. If life gets any better than this, I don’t ever want to find out.
6
Rae
When my alarm goes off at five the next morning, I’m still wrapped in the strong arms that held me all night long. Warm breath brushes the back of my neck, and long, strong legs are pressed to the back of mine.
It takes me a long moment to remember this is not my normal life.
I shoot straight up in bed, and a second later, Josh sits up beside me. “Everything okay?”
“I, um…” How do I answer that question? Everything is amazing and terrifying and not the way things are supposed to be and so not okay. “I have to get ready for work and get Cara ready for daycare.”
“Okay. Well, you ladies will need breakfast to get going. You got stuff in the kitchen? Or I can run out and grab something for you.”
“Um…” Don’t let him take care of you. This is only going to lead to heartbreak and misery, and you know it. “Yeah. There’s food in the kitchen. Eggs in the fridge, I think, milk, cereal…”
“Say no more. I have it under control.” He smiles at me, kisses my forehead, and jumps out of bed, putting on his clothes.
I watch his corded back flex as he pulls his clothes on, trying to fight off the urge to panic. Was I really so lonely that I let the first guy I found attractive in years into my life, my bed?
My heart?
I run into the bathroom and shut the door. I turn on the shower and lean over the sink, trying to take deep breaths to calm down.
Tell him you made a mistake. Tell him you can’t do this. Tell him not to call or come over anymore. Tell him there’s no room for him in your life, no room for him, or…
I meet my own eyes in the mirror.
Love.
I shower, blow my hair dry, and put on a little makeup. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to tell Joshua Hopper I can’t see him anymore. Better to end it now than to wait for things to progress and get my heart broken when he tells me he can’t be the man I need.
When I reach the kitchen, I hear Cara’s small voice chattering on and on, and Joshua’s deep voice responding. I peek into the room.
Joshua is serving Cara pancakes. Bacon sizzles in another pan on the stove, and the smell of coffee fills the room.
“We never have pancakes on workdays,” Cara is telling him. “Mommy has to get ready and doesn’t have time. I usually just have cereal and toast.”
“Oh yeah?” Joshua says, returning to the stove and pouring in more pancake batter. “When do you have pancakes?”
“On mornings when Mommy doesn’t have to work. Or when Grandma makes them. So this is weird.” Cara cuts into her pancakes. “But good weird, I mean. They’re yummy. You cook good.”
“Well, thanks,” Joshua replies.
“I wish you could cook breakfast for me every day,” Cara says. Then she perks up. “Can you cook for me every day?”
Joshua chuckles, setting a plate down on the table. “I would love to, kiddo. We’ll have to see what your mom says about that.”
My stomach tightens.
“When can I meet your niece?” Cara goes on. “I want to make a new friend.”
“Well, we’ll have to ask your mom about that too, but maybe this wee—”
“What’s all this?” I say, stepping into the room.
“Mommy!” Cara exclaims. “Look, Josh made pancakes!”
Joshua looks up and smiles at me, then gestures to the plate he just sat down. “Come eat while it’s hot.”
“Thanks, but, uh, I’m not hungry.” I pull a mug from the cabinet and fill it halfway with coffee.
“Feeling okay?” he asks in a low voice.
“Mm-hmm.” I nod and smile but can’t meet his eyes.
He slowly rises from his chair and walks toward me. “Rae, what’s—”
“Eat up, Cara,” I say loudly, the tremble in my voice obvious. “We have to go soon.” I turn away and start cleaning up.