He keeps fucking me through it. Pumping in and out of me until I melt like a chocolate bar left in the sun. He comes then too. With a roar.
“Fuck, Lily, that was…” He collapses over me and kisses my shoulder.
“I know.” I turn my head and seek out his lips.
“Seriously. Damn,” he manages between rough breaths and our tongues mingling.
“I know,” I whisper. “I think you just broke me for anyone else.”
Chapter Seventeen
Vale
I think she’s broken me too.
I thought I was an old dog with no new tricks to learn. Sex was just an outlet. Don’t get me wrong. Sex was never awful. It was satisfying in the way that I needed it to be. For both parties.
But tonight is different. Lily is different. The sex is epic. My chest feels like it’s about to bust open with this weird sense of optimism I’m not used to.
Maybe because we’ve known each other for so long. Become friends despite her brother. Grown close. These feelings between us are built on something stronger than attraction. We have a connection that’s much more than sex. It terrifies me, but I can no longer deny it.
And she’s so damn beautiful. Sexy. Funny. Cute.
I shift my weight off her and onto the bed beside her. Use the heel of my palm to push her damp hair out of her face.
She smiles at me, her gorgeous tits heaving with each breath. Her skin is flushed and rosy.
She forgives me too easily though, when I’ve been such an ass. I know this and I want to warn her that she needs to remember to be careful to guard her heart. Because I would hate to break it.
“Come here.” I tug her against my chest. Wrap my arm around her and kiss her forehead.
She lays her hand on my chest. Draws pictures with her finger. “You’re not leaving?”
“Do you want me to?” My breath catches. I don’t want to leave her. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. It’s disconcerting that I feel like this.
She shakes her head against my pectoral muscle. “I’d hoped you’d stay. I want you to stay. But I thought you might not be ready.”
“You thought that’s what I would do because I’m that guy.” There’s a lump in my throat. I have been that man. More times than I’d care to admit to. It was easier. I inhale the tropical scent in her hair.
And still she’s willing to give me a chance.
“You’re not a bunch of walking-talking sex hormones.” She drops her gaze to my body and smiles. “Well, not only that. You’re also a great friend. You’re protective and caring. I don’t know what happened to make you doubt yourself.” She squeezes her arm around me. “But if you need to go slow…”
I turn to her and drape her leg over my hip. “Did you just turn my line back on me?”
She bites her lip to try and stop the grin that takes over anyway. “Maybe.”
“I haven’t dated since I was in high school,” I admit. It’s barely the tip of the iceberg, but I want to offer her something of myself. To explain… despite my better judgement. “So you might need to keep that in mind while we’re dating. Until your brother finds out and tries to kill me.”
“Hud’s a pussy cat.” Although she says it lightly, her brow furrows. “Do you ever wonder if he’s using reverse psychology in some kind of matchmaking attempt?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t see that being the case.” I press a chaste kiss to her lips. “He has too clear a recollection of our shared history to think I’m good enough for you.”
“It’s a pity.” She sighs. “It would make everything easier.”
I’m not sure that’s true. There are things far worse than Hudson Kelly cockblocking me from his sister. But it was too easy to put him aside tonight all the same. “At some point, if we’re going to do this, we’re going to have to tell him.”
“He isn’t going to be happy about it,” she says.
“That’s understandable. We’re breaking the rules. What if we don’t work out? What if I hurt you and you end up hating me?”
“What if it’s the other way around?” she asks.
I stare into her eyes to give my words more weight. “That could never, ever happen.”
“For me either.”
“But if it did,” I insist. “Then he has to hate me too. It’s the code, isn’t it?”
“I don’t care about the damn code,” she exclaims. “That will never happen. I’m twenty-five. I don’t need my brother rescuing me from the big bad wolf. I’d much prefer the big bad wolf eat me.”
I chuckle.
“But, you’re right, we should wait.” She blows a strand of lilac hair out of her face. “Be certain before we broach the subject with him.”
“I’ll tell him.” I linger over her lips. “When it’s time. If he’s going to be angry at someone it should be me.”
“Let’s not worry about that now,” she says. “I wanna talk about the fact that you just used the words we’re and dating in the same sentence.”
“Shocked?” I ask.
“A little.” She curls a hand over her heart. “Is that what you want?”
“It appears that way.” I smirk at her. Never thought I’d find myself in this position. Sharing quiet banter with the woman in my arms at some unholy hour of the morning. Looking forward to waking up with her playing little spoon to my big spoon. Hoping that it never ends. This morning the future looked bleak. Now, I want to believe I can have this… with her. I pull her half across me just to get closer. “We can talk about it more tomorrow. Now we better get some sleep.”
“It’s okay. If you wake up and change your mind.” She buries her head into my chest. “If you need to go. I’ll understand.”
I don’t need an out. I want to be here when morning breaks a few hours from now. So I can make her coffee on that flexed-up coffee machine inside the house. I want to take her to get hot egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. Then I want to bring her back to bed for an orgasm and a nap. And then later we’ll do whatever she wants. All day. Hell, we’ll go rollerblading on Venice Beach if that’s what will make her happy. We’ll pick up bananas and ice cream and play video games.
“I’m not going anywhere. Except on some kind of date tomorrow.” I kiss the bridge of her nose and earn a smile that sears my heart.
“A date? The most undatable guy I know wants to take me out on a date?” She teases me with her sparkling gaze and the way she sucks her lip in. She can be a bit of a brat when she wants to be.
I smooth my hand over the swell of her ass and squeeze. “That’s what I said. A first date at that.”
She makes a face like the idea tastes funny.
“Do you have a problem with me wanting to take you out on a date?”
She shakes her head. “Would you believe me if I told you I’ve never been on a good one? First dates are my nemesis. Maybe we should skip it.”
“You finally get me to ask you out, and you want to skip it?” I tease my lips along the side of her jaw.