She sank into the kiss, having craved it for weeks. He tasted just as incredible as she remembered. She languidly met his tongue with hers, keeping the kiss slow and deep.
They’d had their frantic coupling the first time. Now it would be all about savoring each other.
They spent several minutes just like that. Whenever they had to part to catch their breath, they took turns using their lips on each other anywhere they could reach.
The sensitive curve of her neck.
The tender skin of his earlobe.
The soft edge of her jaw.
The exposed line of his collarbone.
Every caress had her body craving more. And more. The way his heart pounded in his chest told her he felt the same.
Eventually, their hands got involved. They started over their clothes. Just the brush of her hands over his hard chest. Just the gentle cupping of her breasts. Just the touch of his abdomen above his belt. Just the glide of his hands along her hips.
They alternated kissing and watching each other as they touched and explored. The sound of their harsh and heavy breathing filled her apartment, occasionally punctuated by a sigh or moan of pleasure.
When she was ready to move things along, she eased off his lap and reached for his hand. “I want to be under you when you take me this time,” she said.
He didn’t argue.
They moved into the bedroom and started undressing each other. They took their time about it, including plenty of kissing and stroking of bare flesh as it became exposed. She finally got to see all the effort he’d been putting in at the gym, and she showed her appreciation for his firm, well-muscled body by kissing nearly every inch of it.
He gave her body equal attention. By the time they finally pulled back the bedding and climbed onto the bed, he had coaxed her body to the point of pain.
But that didn’t deter him from keeping things slow and controlled. He rose above her, positioning himself between her legs and bracing himself so he could once again claim her mouth. Then he kissed her like they had all the time in the world.
As he did, he slowly tilted his hips. Up and down, Up and down. His hard length teased her mercilessly, rubbing against her again and again.
She lifted her hips, struggling to maintain their exquisitely deliberate pace as her arousal reached its peak.
“Uh-uh,” he said against her mouth. “You’re not coming that way. Not this time.”
“Please.”
The word was a moan. She positively ached for him.
He issued a low laugh as he made his way down her body with his mouth. Understanding his goal, she reached up and gripped her pillow on either side of her head.
“God, Callan, it’s not gonna take much—”
He flicked his tongue over her. She bucked against him. Then he circled her with his tongue, dipping down to taste her.
“Fuck, Roxy. I’ve been fantasizing about this for so long,” he said between the miraculous things he was doing with his tongue. “You taste even better than I ever dreamed. And now you’re going to come for me.”
It took only one more clever flick of his tongue and the slightest bit of suction for her body to obey his command. She cried out as the orgasm shot through her. Wave after wave of ecstasy crashed over her, leaving her body pulsating in welcome as he once again eased up her body.
He made a couple detours along the way, running his tongue along her abdomen and drawing her nipples into his mouth. First one, then the other. Then back again.
In no time at all, she was once again lifting her hips against him.
“Hungry for more?” he whispered into her ear.
Her fingers gripped his taut backside and she pressed against him. “Yes.”
“Do you want me inside you?”
“Yes.”
He reached for the condom he had placed on the nightstand. Once he was ready, he moved back between her hips. Then he held her gaze as he entered her.
After that, the time for teasing was past. He started to move, using her as his guide. She set the pace and the angle of his thrusts using her hands and the position of her hips. Her passionate moans got louder as her pleasure built.
Then he started thrusting deeper, harder. Faster.
And he drove her right over the edge.
“Yes, Roxy,” he said as he pounded into her. “Fuck, yes.”
He tensed against her, his head tipped back and his muscles quaking as he came deep inside her.
A moment later, he pulled out of her and carefully rolled to the side. He removed the condom and tied it off, wrapping it in a tissue from the box on the nightstand and tossing it in the trashcan next to it. Then he just lay there, struggling to catch his breath.
She leaned up on her elbow and smiled down at him. “Sounds like you might need a little more cardio conditioning there, Mr. Hockey.”
He snorted on a laugh. “Are you volunteering to help me with that?”
Leaning down, she brushed her lips against his. “Any time you want.”
“Well, in that case…”
He pulled her back down for another kiss…and she made sure he got in plenty of cardio that afternoon.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A couple days later, Callan was about to walk out the door of his condo to meet Roxy at a listing when his cell phone rang. He saw it was his mother and debated whether to answer. She had called him a couple of times over the past few weeks to see how he was doing, but he hadn’t taken the calls. Her voicemails had been generic, not mentioning anything about the conversation he’d had with his father after the funeral.
Of course.
He considered sending her to voicemail again, then just decided to get it over with and accepted the call.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello, Callan. I’m pleased I finally reached you. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
The typical formality of her speech had him reverting to the same. “Not at all. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”
“I wanted to let you know that your father and I have purchased our annual tickets and are planning to be in Atlanta for a couple of your preseason games.”
He felt a new knot of tension forming between his shoulder blades and moved his shoulders to ease it. Once again, she was glossing over the real issues between them, using hockey as the way to do it. She assumed buying game tickets and coming out to some of his games made up for her lack of involvement and support the rest of the year.
“Good for you,” he said dully.
“Since the games are coming up soon, I thought it best to try to arrange some time to see you.”
He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, pushing through the anger and resentment that wanted to color his response. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“What? Whyever not?”
“As fun as it always is, I’m not up for an evening of listening to my father tell me everything I did wrong during the game,” he replied.
She made a clucking sound with her tongue. “That’s unfair, Callan. Your father just wants you to be the best you can be.”
“Which will never be up to his standards. Anyway,” he plowed on before she had the chance to give him more excuses, “I appreciate you getting the tickets. If you’re open to having dinner with me without him around, I’d like that.”
She didn’t respond for a moment. Eventually, she sighed and asked, “Will you be available to have dinner with me after your game on the twenty-second?”