“Hey, Scott.”
“Drew, we need you in. Now. We just got a fish delivery we had to turn away so the entire menu for the day needs to be replanned. Can you come in now?”
I frown, knowing CJ is about to get a front row seat to what life with me will be like. “Yeah, fine, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hang up, sigh deeply, and return my phone to the nightstand. “I’m sorry, CJ, but I have to get ready to go. They need me at the restaurant.”
She blushes and rolls off the bed, snatching up her clothing. “It’s okay, I understand,” she replies, shooting me a self-conscious smile.
“Hey,” I say, climbing off the bed and grabbing her gently by the arms. I cup her face in one hand, stroking her cheek with my thumb. “If I had my way, I’d tell Scott to go fuck himself and I’d spend the next hour and a half eating you out.” That gets a laugh out of her and I smile. “There’s my girl.” That makes her blush harder, making it nearly impossible to think about leaving.
“Really, I’m good,” she assures me. “Don’t mind my neurotic self-consciousness. And thank you for the amazing night. And morning.” She closes her eyes and goes on her tiptoes to press her lips softly to mine. Light dances behind my eyes and shivers crawl over my skin in that way that’s only ever happened with her. I pull back, searching her face and wondering how she does that.
“To be continued,” I promise, stroking her cheek. “Tonight, even, if you’re up for it.”
She bites into her lip. “Okay, but this time I’ll bring the food.”
I raise an eyebrow. She’s a brave girl to try to bring me food. “All right,” I agree, somewhat skeptical. “I’ll text you when I’m home.”
And I have to admit, I’m extremely curious to see what she’s got planned.
Chapter Eight
CJ
I already know exactly what I’m going to get Drew for dinner. It’s a local, sustainable burger joint that has a bunch of locations. Honestly, I’ll be surprised if he hasn’t eaten there before, since there’s one a few blocks from his restaurant and it espouses the food values he holds so dear. And their burgers are hands down the best I’ve ever had. So once he told me he loves burgers, I couldn’t help but think of it.
I usually go to the one in the Castro, but the SoMa one is closer to his place on Nob Hill. And it’s open later. I don’t wait for him to text me, since the shop closes at midnight. I get the last burgers of the night. Bag in hand, I head straight to Drew’s. The fresher they are, the better they’ll taste. He texts me just a few minutes after midnight, when I’m almost to his place.
As I get to his door, I silently hope he’s still in the shower and has to answer half naked and dripping wet.
Turns out I’m sort of right. He answers the door fully dressed in his usual white T-shirt and jeans, but his hair is still wet and he’s drying it with a towel.
“Damn, that was fast,” he says with a small smile. I note that he looks beyond exhausted. He stops drying his hair and reaches for me, pulling me in for a kiss. It’s gentle and tender, and I get muted flashes of the same intense yet ill-defined sex vision I have every time we’ve kissed, giving me a glimpse of what our future has in store. It makes me shiver lightly, as usual.
“Hi to you too,” I murmur, looking up at him, entranced.
Drew pulls me into the apartment, closes the door, and presses me up against the back of it, towering over me and looking like a man starved on many levels. When he leans in to kiss me again, he pauses and takes a big whiff.
“You have burgers,” he gasps.
I produce the bag from behind me with a laugh. “Not just any burgers.”
When he sees the name on the bag, his eyes widen. His body suddenly presses into me and his lips claim mine ferociously. The vision is so much clearer now, and I can feel that it’ll happen soon. When he pulls back, I’m so turned on I have to take a few deep breaths to calm myself.
“You are un-fucking-believably amazing,” he crows, taking the offered bag. “I love this place, but I almost never can go except on days off.” With a few long strides, he’s on the couch, placing the contents onto the coffee table.
I sit next to him, helping him identify which is his burger, then start on my mini burger while I watch him devour his meal. He’s a man who does everything with gusto, that’s for sure. And while my burger might be called “mini,” I still only manage to eat about half. Drew finishes his and half the fries in the time it takes me to eat that much.
“Rough day?” I tease, snatching a fry.
Drew groans. “You have no idea,” he says, shaking his head.
I glance away. I have some idea, having gotten a vision off of him after that phone call that promised a grueling day. “I figured it would be. Hopefully the burger helps?”
“Insanely,” he agrees. “Thank you.” He wipes his mouth with a napkin and leans back into the couch. “Having you here helps too, you know.” He gestures for me to join him, and I sink next to him, happy to be back in his arms.
I trace a finger over the bulging muscles of his chest. “How do you stay in such good shape? Your hours suck, and I imagine you end up eating a lot.”
He smirks down at me. “I usually get up and work out before going to the restaurant. Though I’ll gladly skip it for what we did this morning.”
“Yesterday morning,” I correct him. And then I blush, curling in on myself. Why do I do that?
I peek up through my hair to find him smiling at me. “You’re adorably awkward, you know that?”
I scrunch up my face. “I don’t think anyone’s ever found it adorable before.”
“Well, I do,” he declares. “How was your day, by the way?”
“I slept for most of it, so I’d be up for tonight.”
That gets his attention. I can feel the tension in his body, and in the heat of his gaze.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” he says cautiously, “because I love talking to you and getting to know you. But after the day I’ve had …” He presses his lips together, looking for a way to say what I’ve already seen happening. The man has had a bad day. And all he wants to do right now is relieve the tension with a good fuck. Luckily for him, I haven’t been able to stop thinking of exactly that all day.
I save him the trouble of saying it by rising and pulling him by the hand to the bedroom. Once he gets what I’m doing, his arms circle my waist, and he pulls us over the threshold. He turns me around and his mouth finds mine in the dim room.
The vision explodes through my mind, and it’s as if his naked flesh is already touching every inch of mine, his smell invading my senses, and I’m instantly panting. I push it back enough to focus on his hands tugging at my sweater. I help him remove it, then do the same with his shirt. It’s the first time I’ve seen him without it, and even in the low light I can see the powerful muscles of his chest and stomach, and the hugeness of his arms. It makes me ache for him, and my hands tug at the button of his jeans.
We urgently finish undressing each other. His hands travel down my body, gripping me and lifting me to him. I wrap my legs around his waist as he lowers us to the bed, his mouth working my neck the whole way. I can feel my slick center rubbing over the hair on his lower abdomen, and it makes me twitch with anticipation.