I try to slow down, try to reach between us to get my hands on her so I don’t completely ruin this before we’ve even started, but she pushes my hands away.
“No, don’t. You feel so good.”
“Baby, if I don’t help you out, this is going to be over before it starts.”
She writhes against me and her hands dig into my shoulders. “I don’t need any help. You’re doing just fine.”
At that, I give up trying to rein in any sort of control. My fingers bite into her hips and we come together like crashes of thunder in the middle of a storm. Wild and beautiful and unpredictable. She presses close to me like she’s trying to climb into my skin. I twist us both so she’s on her back. Her arms come around my shoulders, not letting me put any distance between us.
And that’s what does it for me, what sends me over the edge. I don’t know much about her, but in this moment all I know is she needs me. I couldn’t hold back even if I tried. She gasps at the sound of my release and I feel her clench around me a second later, like the physical act of bringing me to the brink is what she needed to get off. If I could come a second time, knowing that would have done it.
We’re quiet as our heartbeats slow and our breathing goes back to normal. I don’t want to get up, break the connection, but the orgasm has rendered me exhausted for the second time. She breathes deeply beneath me and I know she’s close to falling asleep again, too.
While I’m still conscious, I get up to clean us both up. She murmurs as I wipe away the remnants between her legs and get back into bed. As though we’ve been doing it for years, she settles back with her ass against my hips and once again the scent of her shampoo lulls me back to a dreamless sleep.
In the morning, I reach for her, but she’s gone.
Chapter Six
Avery
My hands go to his biceps to hold on the moment his lips touch mine. The world spins away. I forgot what it’s like to feel wanted by him. So many things happened in the months since I've seen him it’s easy to push away the memories. The only thing I haven’t been able to push away is when he stars in my dreams at night.
Now there's no forgetting the pressure of his lips. There's no washing away his addictive taste. His kiss burns away all my good reason and common sense. If I wasn’t hyper aware of every way he invades my senses, I would have said his kiss is another fevered dream.
When his tongue brushes mine it's like I've been stung all over. Nerves that had gone dormant buzz to life like the yellow jackets swarming around us. I make a needy noise in the back of my throat and it's that sound that brings me crashing back to rationality.
My hands are twin vices on his biceps, and I force myself to relax my grip, although very reluctantly. The heat we're generating between us rivals that of the steamy afternoon air. It's a good thing I won't have any hot water when we get home because a cold shower is exactly what I'll need.
“I've been thinking about doing that since the morning I woke up and you weren't there.” His rough voice is like honey in my ears.
Hot guilt washes over me. “I'm sorry about that. My grandma was having a moment and I had to leave in a hurry. Besides, I thought it would be easier without the awkward goodbyes.”
I make a move to put some space between us, but his hands on my waist tighten, keeping me close. “Would it be creepy of me to say I've thought about you probably more than is healthy while I was gone?”
It's not creepy, but it does hit me right in the heart. I clear my throat. “It's not creepy,” I manage to say. In fact, no one has ever said anything of the kind to me before and if I weren’t so panicked to have him here in the flesh after all this time, I’d think it was kind of sweet. In the past, what few short-lived relationships I’d cultivated had crashed and burned when they realized how much time I had to devote to Grandma Rosie.
“Why don't we—”
In the distance I hear the squeal of a protesting screen door, cutting off my focus from what Walker’s saying. Then the sound of Grandma Rosie’s frail voice penetrates my thoughts. “Avery, is that you?”
Before I can say anything, Walker turns and spots Grandma Rosie on the front porch.
He twists back to me for a moment. “Is that your grandma? The one with Alzheimer’s?”
My hands grow clammy and I wipe them on my thighs. “What—what? Oh, um, yes. Grandma Rosie. But she’s okay. We didn’t have any significant damage and I stocked up before.” I’m rambling. I don’t know if he can hear the straight panic in my voice, but it sounds brittle and desperate to my ears.
“I should give your place a look before I get back to the guys. It’s the least I can do.” He gives me one last kiss on the lips and even though it’s only the barest touch I feel it down to my bones.
“No!” I nearly shout, but he’s already stalking across the street to my house. His long legs make easy work of the distance and I’m simply no match. He’s at the fence before I get halfway. The air simply evaporates from my lungs as he eats up the space between the gate and the front door where Grandma Rosie is waiting patiently, innocently. I don’t know where the baby is, probably still asleep in the bassinet, but she isn’t holding her. With my heart in my throat, I follow behind as quickly as possible.
“Good morning, ma’am, I’m Walker Bryant with the fire department. How are you doing?”
“Has there been a fire?” I hear Grandma Rosie ask.
“No, ma’am. I’m helping with the cleanup after the storm. You remember the storm from last night?”
“Storm?” Grandma Rosie's expression is guileless.
“Yes, ma'am, there was a bad hurricane last night. How are you feeling?”
“Oh, I'm all right. My granddaughter Avery takes good care of me.”
Walker glances back over his shoulder at me as I climb the steps to the porch, out of breath. Both from the kiss and the short sprint across the street.
“I bet she does.”
“Do you want some sweet tea?” I wince at Grandma Rosie's ingrained hospitality. The last thing I want is for Walker to go inside.
“No, Grandma, I’m sure he’s—”
But Walker acts like he doesn’t hear me. “That would be great, ma'am, thank you.”
I nearly wince. “Are you sure you aren’t busy? Don’t you have a ton of people to check on or something?”
Walker merely grins over his shoulder as Grandma Rosie leads him inside the house. “I always have time for the company of beautiful women.”
My heart is at my feet as we move inside. Rosie busies herself making us all glasses of sweet tea. I already know I won't be able to drink any around the knot in my throat. All I can see are the baby things everywhere. A man like Walker must notice everything, so they can't go outside his observation. Once she gives him the glass of tea, Grandma Rosie smiles and goes back to watching her shows on her tablet in the recliner.
His throat works as he drinks deeply. Despite my panic, my eyes are glued to him. “Have you been working all night?” I figure distracting him will be the next best thing. Maybe if I do, he won't notice the bottles on the counter or the breast pump on the kitchen table. My cheeks burn with embarrassment and I hope he thinks it's because of the heat. I don't know if it's my nerves or the lack of air conditioning, but it feels about 100 degrees inside now.