“You sound sad.”
“Well, yeah. I liked your handprints on my ass.” Letting my towel drop, I inspected my butt. It was only a little red, not black and blue or anything too dramatic.
During the spanking, the pain had been so intense and all-consuming that I’d figured on bruises for a week, but clearly either my pain tolerance was for shit or Joe knew what he was doing. Probably both. “I liked that. A lot. I like feeling naughty, then being good enough to take a spanking from you.”
“Because you’re a brat.” His voice was fond as he pulled me to him.
“And you like that?” I prompted, needing to hear it. I still wasn’t entirely sure whether Joe was simply indulging my kinks or whether his own desires were being met.
“More than.” Joe gave me a soft kiss. “You acting all bratty and naughty and the spanking does it for me. Big time.”
“Good. It felt like I was flying there at the end.” High on the memory of the sex, I undid his towel. The spanking had been intense, a release like I’d never had before, something cathartic that reached deep inside me, but the sex after had been another level all together. The way we’d kissed and moved had been desperate and primal and possibly the hottest thing in my entire life.
Joe’s eyes flared hot and dark. “It was fucking hot. You were amazing.”
“So were you.” I slipped into the tub before I could be tempted into blowing him right there on the deck. Some other time. We didn’t need Joe expiring from self-consciousness before we even had some hot tub fun.
“Doing okay?” he asked as he followed. He did more fiddling with the controls before he settled down next to me.
Honestly, the churning water was a little much on my sensitive skin, but this had been my idea, so I was determined to stick it out more than twenty seconds. “Fine.”
“Good.” He leaned back with a groan, flexing his right hand against one of the jets. Maybe I wasn’t the only one with bruises. I smiled at him as he continued, “I honestly haven’t used this tub that much since I installed it a couple of years back. Nice to have an excuse to.”
“No wild hot tub orgies?” Teasing, I lightly splashed water at him.
“Nah. Guess I’m kind of boring, especially compared to a lot of the Bold Brew crowd. I’ve been to a couple of their invite-only play parties, but it’s not really my scene. I’m more of a homebody.”
“Yeah, well, I like your home a lot.” I bumped his shoulder. I liked him a lot too, but figuring out how to convey that was hard.
“Thanks. You…uh…tempted by any of the munches or the private play parties away from the shop?” The color was back in his cheeks.
“Nope.” I kissed his blushing cheek. “Exhibitionism isn’t one of my kinks.”
“Says the guy who loves being naked.”
“In your house.” I shifted away from one of the more aggressive hot tub jets. “With you.”
“Hah. Thanks. But you’re twenty-two. You should probably explore—”
“You trying to get rid of me?” I hardened my voice, wanting to shut down his thinly veiled attempts to put distance between us. He wasn’t particularly subtle either. We’d just had amazing sex, so naturally he was nervous about how long something this good could last. So was I, but I wasn’t going to let him think I already had one foot out the door.
“No, of course not,” he sputtered. “I like you here. A lot. Both naked and not. I was simply trying to be realistic.”
“Well, stop.” I stared him down until he looked away. I shifted around, trying to find a more comfortable position and failing. “Speaking of realism, I may have been overly optimistic about what my ass can handle.”
“We can get out—”
“You stay there.” I hopped up to sit on the ledge, rubbing his shoulders when he acted like he was about to exit. “It feels nice on my legs. I’m going to go grab my phone, then you can tell me what to order for food while you soak.”
“Use my phone with the meal-ordering app.” Joe gestured at his phone over by the towels. “It’s got my info all saved.”
Something about the gesture rankled with me. I loved him taking care of me, but I didn’t like the idea of him seeing me as needing it. “Okay, but I’m paying for half.”
“Levi.” Touching my calf, he met my gaze with a tender smile. “How about you let me try out the sugar daddy role for once, and not worry about who is paying for what?”
“I don’t need a sugar daddy.” I sounded way too snappy for how light and joking he’d been. Reaching down, I stroked his face before dropping a kiss on the top of his head. “I just need you.”
“Thank you.” He tipped his head back so we could kiss. It was sweet, but admitting to needing him made my skin feel too tight. I didn’t need presents or meals out. But I did need Joe, the warm comforting presence in my life, and that feeling was big and scary.
Especially because I wasn’t sure it went both ways. I wanted to believe I could add something important to Joe’s life, but he was so settled—house, career, family, and friends. Even his free time was responsibly allocated with the volunteering. Heck, he might need a dog more than he needed a younger guy brimming with uncertainty. Unlike Joe with his carefully ordered life, I wasn’t sure what would happen when my sublet ended, or how exactly I was going to cope with student loans and bills coming due in the fall.
“What’s wrong?” Joe frowned up at me.
“Nothing.” Exhaling hard, I tried to will it so. “The summer is going by fast.”
“How about we slow it down together?” Turning in the water, he moved between my legs. His damp hands were gentle as he cupped my face. The seriousness in his eyes made my stomach wobble.
“I’d like that.” Maybe we’d only get this summer. Maybe we’d get longer. I’d worry about that later. Right then, I only wanted to bask in the perfection of this moment.
Chapter Nineteen
Joe
“No one warned me it was going to be this hot.” Levi’s voice crackled in my ear. I was leaving a building site, and July had fully arrived. Not the warmth of June when I’d first met Levi or the heat of early July, but the full-fledged muggy, sticky, roasting oven that we spent most of the year pretending didn’t exist here.
“It’s July in Pennsylvania, Levi. It gets hot.” I tried for a teasing tone, but I was a sweaty mess after hours of dealing with a botched installation and a pending inspection and a junior electrician who was away at the lake this week.
Levi was on break over at Bold Brew and didn’t need my tale of woe clouding up his day. Every day he got a little more comfortable in his work there, and over the last few weeks of our friendship, it had been really nice watching him come out of his shell.
“I know. At least Bold Brew and the condo have A/C. Old electrical, newer duct work. Go figure.”
“Consider yourself lucky. A lot of older homes in Laurelsburg don’t have air conditioning. I’m going to have four fans on tonight.” Every year I said I was going to get some portable units, and every year I talked myself out of it until it was too late, and the stores were all out. But I’d survive. Damply, but I’d be okay.