by Wendy Smith
Chloe laughs. “I love being with you.”
I run my fingers through her hair. “You coming back to town is the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“It makes me really happy to hear that.” She smacks her lips together and looks up at the headboard. “Okay, I’ll ride your face.” She giggles.
“Come on over.” I grin.
She rises up on her knees and I let out a low whistle.
Chloe wags her index finger at me. “Stop it, or you’ll miss out.”
I laugh as she straddles my head.
“I can’t believe I’m doing it.”
I grip her thighs. “I fucking love that you’re doing it.”
The headboard moves behind me as she takes hold of it.
“Oh my God, Hunter. I’m too old for this.”
“You’re looking good from where I am.”
She lowers herself a little, and I pull her the rest of the way. Chloe squeals with laughter.
“That’s my girl.”
I feast on her as she squirms above me. Sliding my hands up her torso, I cup her breasts.
She gasps. “Hunter.”
I love this. I love that I’m giving her experiences she’s clearly never had before. Then again, our first night taught me how unpredictable she is. And she’s right; my first instinct was to treat her like china, but now I know she likes it hard and rough, and from the way she’s reacting, she likes this too.
There’s so much for us to explore together.
If she’d decided not to do this, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. But that she’s chosen to move out of her comfort zone means a lot, and I’m going to make her come so hard her legs turn to jelly.
I ignore my instinct to treat her gently and suck on her clit.
She lets out a moan that makes my cock twitch. And then she whimpers when I run my tongue up her slit.
“Hunter.”
My name on her lips urges me on as I tease her, circling her clit with my tongue before sucking on it again.
Her body shakes, and the headboard slams the wall. I grin, losing myself in her scent and taste. She’s everything I ever wanted.
Chloe’s perfect.
Again and again, she grinds against me, and I don’t even know if she knows it but I love it. She’s so into it, and she comes for the second time right as I lap at her clit again.
I squeeze her thighs, and slide out from underneath her. She turns, letting go of the headboard and throws herself at me as I sit up.
Her mouth is on mine in an instant, and I kiss her back as hard as she’s kissing me. My beard’s covered in her, and she’s all I can smell.
I roll her until she’s lying on her back but keep kissing her, not ready to break the contact.
Letting her up for air, I take in the sight of her.
“I …” Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are so alive. “That was crazy.”
I chuckle, and she drops her gaze.
“Hey. I’m glad you liked it.”
“You must think I’m so naive, but I’d never done that before.”
I shake my head. “No. I think you’re a woman who became a mother really early, and your whole life was consumed by it. I’m not going for a comparison.”
She nods. “You’re right. I wouldn’t give them up for anything, but having the twins changed us. Gone were the days of sex in the back seat of the car.”
“Well, you know I’m up for it if you are.”
Chloe laughs. “I’m not sure. You’re so big.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
She slaps my chest again. “I’d rather be in this warm, comfortable bed with you.”
“I’m fine with that. And I’ll add sitting on my face to my list of things you enjoy.”
She laughs, burying her face in my side.
“You can add anything you want to that list, you know.”
Her head pops up. “Anything?”
My eyebrows rise. “Sure. Although, with that tone, I’m really wondering what’s coming next.”
“I just want you to hold me, Hunter. You make me feel safer than I have in a long time.”
“It’s because I’m like a giant teddy bear, right?”
Chloe laughs again. “Maybe. And maybe it’s because I can trust you completely. With my body and my heart.”
I wrap my arms around her and close my eyes. She has so much affection to give, and not a huge amount of worldly experience. I can return that affection and give her so much more.
“Hunter,” she whispers.
“Yes?”
“Sleeping with your neighbour isn’t always a bad idea.”
Her body trembles again with laughter, and all I can do is shake my head in amusement.
“You’re the only neighbour I should have ever slept with.” I open my eyes and meet her gaze. Her smile gets me every time, and I smile back at her.
“Now we’ve settled that, let’s get some sleep.” She yawns.
“The alarm’s set.”
“I sleep better when I’m with you.”
That’s the last thing she says before her breath on my chest slows.
I’m in love with Chloe all over again. It’s impossible not to be. Only this time, we can be together—all I have to do is be patient and give her time. Which isn’t easy when you’re not a patient man.
Maybe that’s something Chloe can help teach me.
Nineteen
Hunter
I tap my fingers on my desk as the website takes forever to load.
“Hey, Liz,” I call.
“Yes?”
“Is the internet usually this slow?”
She laughs, appearing in the doorway. “How have you not noticed?”
“I’ve been using it at home and it’s been fast. I guess I should upgrade this.”
“Yes, please.”
“You know you have the authority to make those kinds of changes, don’t you?”
She crosses her arms and leans against the doorway. “Now you tell me.”
“When I’m not here, you’re the boss. Hell, you’re really the one running the place.”
Liz grins. “You’re hopeless. Why are you even here?”
“I just wanted to check some contracts.”
She walks in and around my desk before taking a look at my screen. “Do those clients need flowers sent?”
“Uh ….”
Cocking her head, she seems to be suppressing a smile. “These aren’t for clients, are they?”
“The site’s so slow. Which ones do you like?”
She sighs. “What ones did you used to send?”
“I’m not sending Chloe the same flowers I used to send Piper. That’s just wrong.”
She smiles smugly. “So Chloe’s her name?”
I laugh. “Yes, and I want to impress her. I mean, I’m not sure I need to, but …”
“Send her red roses. Those always work.”
“Aren’t they a bit over the top?”
She grips my shoulder. “You really like this woman, don’t you? Just do it. She’ll love it. I promise.”
“Okay.”
The site’s still slow, but I click through, ordering a dozen red roses for delivery. I can’t help but feel that it’s corny, but as long as Chloe loves it, I’ll be happy. And they can be delivered before the boys get home so she can tell them whatever she wants.
It’s tiring keeping this to us, but everything’s going so well, I don’t want to rock the boat.
I love her.
The kitchen door opens right as I’m pouring a drink.
“I got the flowers.” Her eyes shine with happiness. “They were lovely. Thank you.”
“Didn’t cause any issues with the boys?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t even know if they noticed them. They’re in a vase in the middle of the kitchen table and they both walked past without saying a thing.”
I chuckle. “I was worried there might be trouble.”
<
br /> “No trouble. I think they just assumed I bought them for myself. I’ve bought flowers before.”
I grasp her hands. “I’m glad you liked them. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired tonight. I just want to go to bed and hold you.”
Chloe smiles. “I’d really like that. All these late nights are getting to me.”
“Me too. I’m way too old for this.” I lead her up the stairs to my bedroom.
“We’re the same age. That makes me too old too.”
When we’re inside the room, I pull her into my arms. “I want to grow old with you, Chloe.”
She says nothing but raises her hand to stroke my beard. It’s her move, and I love it. I’ll never shave it off if she likes it that much.
Chloe presses her hands to my chest, never dropping her gaze before undoing the buttons on my shirt. Her hands are warm and soft, and her touch makes me hard as a rock.
I don’t think we’ll be going straight to sleep.
She lays her palms flat on my pecs.
“I love you touching me,” I say.
“Feeling’s mutual.” Her eyes are so expressive. We haven’t said I love you, but I can see it, feel it.
I reach for the bottom of her T-shirt, and for a moment her hands lose contact as I raise it over her head. She smiles, reaches for the clasps of her bra, and undoes it before dropping it to the ground.
“You still have my shirt at home?” I ask.
“You’re not getting it back.”
She laughs as she slips off her jeans and climbs into my bed. I drop my pants to the floor and get in beside her.
She’s only in my arms for about thirty seconds before she cups my cock.
“We were going to sleep.”
“Doesn’t have to take long.” Her flirty smile undoes me.
“You’re not doing my ego any good with that comment.”
Chloe laughs. “You know what I mean.”
I slide my hand up her leg, and her breath hitches. Nuzzling her neck, I slip my hand into her panties.
There’s still a part of me that can’t quite believe this is real. Making Chloe come has to be my favourite thing to do.
When we’re both ready, I slide into her, and close my eyes as her heat closes around me. I’m so in love with Chloe. I meant what I said before: this is the woman I want to grow old with.
Her lips taste of her coconut gloss. It’s so familiar now I crave it when I’m not around her.
Moving slowly, I keep kissing her. It’s so easy to get lost in her when she’s all I want.
I drop my lips to her neck.
“Scott,” she whispers.
It’s just one word, but it’s not a name I want to hear. Not now.
Her eyes fly open. “Hunter. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean …”
I pull out of her, roll over onto my back, and stare at the ceiling as she turns toward me.
This is so hard.
“Hunter. Please.”
“Who is it that you see when we’re together, Chloe?”
“You.”
I turn my head to look at her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don’t know why I said it. It’s you I want.”
I sit up, dropping my legs to the floor. “The thing is, I’m in love with you. I loved you when we were kids, and I love you now. And I only love you. I’m not angry that you’re still in love with Scott. It’s only natural. But I need to know you love me for me.”
Chloe shuffles over the bed and places her hand on my back. “Hunter.”
I turn my head. “I love you, Chloe, but I need to hear it from you and know it’s true.”
Her eyes fill with tears.
“You can’t say it yet.”
She blinks. “I’m not sure what I feel. It’s so big and overwhelming, and all I want to do is be with you. But I can’t remember falling in love the first time around, so I’m trying to work out these emotions.”
“I think maybe you should go home.”
Chloe blinks a bunch of times and nods. I’m glad she’s not fighting me on this because I need some time to clear my mind. I know how I feel about her, but will she ever feel the same way about me?
What if we’ve been so swept up in this new-found lust for each other that it’s all this can ever be for her?
The weight on the bed shifts, and I look up to see the woman I’m so madly in love with walking naked out the door. The bathroom light floods the hallway before fading as she shuts herself in.
Maybe I’m being selfish. Maybe I should understand there’ll be times that she thinks of Scott. But that doesn’t make her calling out his name while we were making love any easier.
I really thought she was mine.
The bathroom door creaks.
Her hands cup my face and pull it up so I’m looking into her eyes. She doesn’t say a word but leans over and gives me a soft, lingering kiss on the lips.
“Please don’t be angry,” she whispers.
“I’m not angry. How can I be? I feel selfish for wanting it, but I need to know you’re mine.”
Chloe presses her forehead to mine. “I am yours. I’ve not been anyone else’s for a long time. I screwed up, and I’ll own that. But I don’t want to lose you in the process.”
I close my eyes. “There’s no way you can lose me. I belong to you, Chloe. No matter how long it takes. But I won’t be your friend with benefits. I want it all.”
She pulls back, and for a woman whose eyes are so expressive, all I see is confusion. Maybe her slip-up is a good thing. It’s making us both examine whatever this is between us more closely.
I thought what we had was enough, but I do want it all.
I want to be her husband. I want to be Braden and Xander’s stepfather. I want to give her more children like she always wanted. She’s the one I want to have my children with. But I can’t be all of that if she’s not ready for me to be.
She bends and picks up my shirt from the floor before slipping it over her head. “I’m taking this.”
I stifle a laugh. “I love you, Chloe.”
“I know you do. And you’re right. It’s not fair to you that I can’t say it back yet. But I don’t want anyone else either, so you’re stuck with me when I finish getting myself together.”
I grab hold of her hand. “I’m not trying to push you. Take your time.”
She nods. “I know. If we’re going to be together, you deserve all of me, and that includes having a relationship out in the open.”
“What if this is all it is?” It hurts so damn much to ask the question, but I have to. Are we in the shadows because this is the limit of our relationship?
“It can’t be.”
And with that, she slips into the night and I’m left alone with my thoughts.
He’ll always be there and a reminder of what she used to have.
How do I compete with that?
Twenty
Chloe
Tonight was awful.
I hurt Hunter, and the pain in his expression will be with me for a very long time. I’m not even sure how, but the word just spilled out at the wrong time, and now I have to work out what I want.
Who am I?
It was so easy falling into something with Hunter, and he’s the one I want to be with. But I think I need to work myself out first.
This isn’t the first time I’ve asked myself that question, but I did get swept away by this overwhelming attraction to Hunter and everything that went with it. I have no regrets about anything that happened between us. And I need to find a way back to that.
He’s whom I want my future to be with.
I need to let my heart take that final step, but if I’m honest, I’m holding back.
Sighing, I slip into my cold bed and stare at the ceiling. I came home to bring my children back to the birthplace of their parents, to let them get to know their family here, and to bring my husband to his final resting place. And while the twins have settled into life here and made fri
ends, I’ve not fulfilled my final promise to myself about Scott.
His ashes sit inside a small wooden box in the living room. He travelled in the car with us to our new home, but he’s not been laid to rest yet.
“Mum?” I’m so tired I’m not even sure which of my sons appear at the door. As he draws closer, I realise it’s Xander. “Where have you been?”
“I went out for a walk.”
He slides into bed beside me. “At this time of night? It’s not safe.”
“I’ve just got a lot to think about right now.”
I lean over and peck him on the forehead. He screws up his nose because he’s told me before he’s too old for that.
“I miss Dad.”
Of all the nights to come to me with this …
“I do too.”
“And I like Hunter. Maybe you should invite him over more often.”
Tears prick my eyes. “Are you saying that because you know he’s my friend, or …”
“I’m saying it because I think he likes you. And he’s pretty good to Braden and me. Maybe then you wouldn’t have to buy yourself flowers.”
Despite it all, I laugh while tears pour down my cheeks, and he just looks at me with confusion all over his face.
“I know it’s hard, Mum. Dad would have approved, I think.”
“I think he would have too,’ I whisper.
He rolls over, turning his back to me.
“Goodnight, Mum.”
And for once, Braden doesn’t join us, and I roll the other way. But sleep isn’t coming any time soon.
There’s still so much to work out.
Sleep is almost non-existent.
But in the quiet, once the boys are at school, I make my way to my bedroom and take a look at the bed.
Maybe this is where I start.
It didn’t feel right to have Hunter over here while I still sleep in the bed Scott and I shared. If we are going to have a relationship, it has to be open and honest. I’ll take that on board. In an effort to protect the boys, I think I took it a bit too far.
They both like Hunter; that much has been made crystal clear. And while I might not yet be ready to say I love you, he’s stolen so much of my heart.
