by Tess Oliver
Her sweet groans of pleasure drifted over me, bringing me close to the edge myself.
"Oh, Jack," she softly pleaded. "Jack." She reached down and tangled her fingers in my hair as she bucked against my mouth and hand. Her pussy streamed with hot pleasure as she shuddered and mewled with ecstasy.
"Here, Jack," she said weakly. "I need you here."
I pushed up and leaned down over her. She smiled teasingly up at me, the blush of orgasm still pink on her skin. "I can only assume Bronx Devlin has some protection in his nightstand."
"Protection, right." I clumsily, frantically fished around in my nightstand drawer. I was 'suited up' before I could take another breath. I wasted no time. I pushed my hand beneath her ass, lifted her higher to meet my cock. She gasped and moaned as I slid into her.
"God, you feel amazing," I grunted, then pumped into her, slowly at first, then faster and harder. Her nails dug into my shoulders, and she wrapped her legs around my body to take in more of me. It took only seconds before she had milked me to climax with her hot, tight pussy.
The heat of our bodies circled around us as I collapsed to the side and pulled her against me.
She rested her head on my chest and sighed. "Let's not talk right now, Jack. Let's just hold each other and pretend that we're in an entirely different life. Two strangers who met at a bar or wedding and who were instantly so attracted to each other, they had to fall into bed. No thoughts, no regrets, no words . . ." Even the sound of her yawn made me love her. It was vulnerable and funny and squeaky. "No words right now." Her words trailed off, and she relaxed against me as she fell fast asleep.
16
I'd slept off and on until moonlight poked through the blinds in my room. I was still reeling from the notion that I had Layla in my arms. I was bathed in her scent. Every time she stirred or made some adorable sound in her sleep, my heart raced so that I couldn't fall back asleep. I didn't want to miss a minute of having her. I wasn't sure if this was just a fleeting moment of weakness between us or if the dynamics of our relationship had changed. I was hoping it was the latter, but I was sure it was wishful thinking. A relationship with Layla was still fraught with complications. There were too many people who would view it as a betrayal.
A lyrical little sigh ushered from Layla's lips. She wriggled closer to me and pressed her naked breasts against me. I turned to cradle her in my arms, wrapping myself around her completely.
Long lashes fluttered over her cheeks as she lifted her face, waiting for a kiss. My mouth pushed down over hers. I loosened my hold on her and stroked my hand along her back and over her perfectly round ass. I continued on between her legs. She instantly pushed her bottom out so my fingers could penetrate her from behind.
"Fuck yes," she whispered against my mouth. Her hand wrapped around my already solid erection. She stroked me, making sure to finish each movement by rubbing her thumb around the moisture on the tip of my cock.
Layla pushed against me, signaling that she wanted me on my back. She pushed up, her big brown eyes now open and glittering with need. She straddled me. Her breasts pressed against my chest as she lowered her mouth over mine. Her tongue danced inside my mouth as she settled her pussy down over my waiting cock.
"Jack . . ." She pushed to sitting, bracing her hands on my chest, so she could swallow up more of me. The bed creaked and clanged against the wall as she rode me, harder and harder, impaling herself with my cock, over and over again. Her head leaned back and her breasts bounced and shimmied with each movement. I lifted my ass off the bed to meet her. This time, we hadn't bothered with the condom, and it was that much better.
Her fingers dug into me. Her breaths came in short spurts as she writhed over me, taking me in, stroking my cock with her tight pussy. Her movements quickened and her head lulled back until her cries of pleasure filled the room. I continued pumping into her, keeping the waves rolling, never wanting the whole fucking thing to end. She was too tight, too delectable. My body tightened, and I came in clenching waves.
Another seductive sigh and she crumpled down over me, exhausted and satisfied and content. That was exactly what I was feeling, and it had been a long damn time of wanting this too.
I stayed inside of her. Pulling out now would have been useless. The deed had been done. I stroked her hair and back. "Sorry I didn't put on a condom, but I was sort of taken by surprise," I teased.
She lifted up onto her forearms and gazed at me with a teasing twinkle. "Couldn't have been too much of a surprise considering your fingers were inside of me." She kissed my chest. "Besides, I'm on birth control. The first time, I was just testing to see if it was true that Bronx Devlin kept a supply of condoms near his bed." She leaned over and pulled open the drawer. "Yep, the full assortment I see."
She positioned herself over me again.
"So, it was some kind of a test, eh?"
"Exactly," she said with a nod that dropped a dark gold strand of hair over her forehead. I reached up and pushed it back. She took hold of my wrist and kissed my palm. I could still feel the warmth of it long after she pulled her lips away.
"I'm confused," I said. "Did I pass or fail the test with my on hand supply?"
"Hmm." She rolled off of me and curled against me. "A little of both. I'm glad you're responsible when it comes to sex, but I'm disappointed, no that's not the word, jealous about the thought of you having other women in this bed."
I laughed. "Oh, I see. We made a pact not to see each other, but in the meantime, I was supposed to practice celibacy." I turned to face her.
"That's right. Nothing wrong with celibacy, unless, you know, it's my head on this pillow. Then, I think all bets are off on the celibacy thing."
"That's good because frankly now that I've had your head on that pillow, I think I'm sort of hooked. Who am I kidding? You hooked me a long time ago, back on that little island." I reached up and pushed more hair off her face. I couldn't keep myself from touching her.
She nestled closer to me, and I wrapped my arms around her. She pressed her face into my chest. I wondered, with her medical training, if she could hear the impact her nearness was having on my heart rate. The room fell quiet, just the sound of our nearly synchronized breathing. My lids felt heavy, and it seemed I would finally clear the excited adrenaline from my body and sink into a deep sleep. Layla was both an elixir and a stimulant. I was both relaxed and pulsing with energy. All of it was still too surreal, or at least it was until some very real tears wet my chest. Her body jerked slightly and sniffles followed.
I released my hold on her and backed my chest from her face. "Layla?"
She didn't lift her face but another sniffle followed. This one included a discreet wipe of her eye.
"Layla, look at me."
She lifted her face. Glassy brown eyes peered up at me.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Layla. We didn't do anything wrong. We're two consenting adults. Neither of us is married."
She nodded and rolled onto her back. Instantly, I felt lonely not having her in my arms. Was this how it would be, now that I'd had her there? Would I permanently feel desolate and alone when she wasn't with me?
"I've never slept with anyone else except Adam." Her voice wavered. "For awhile, near the end, it sometimes felt that sex was all we had between us, the only glue that still held us together."
I wanted badly to reach over and touch her, only this time, I held back. She didn't want any words earlier, but it seemed now she was ready to talk. And I was ready to listen . . . even if it meant I might hate what she concluded at the end of it all.
"My last girlfriend, Carly, that was all we had too," I said. "We stuck it out for longer than we should have just because we weren't ready to give up the physical part of our relationship."
She was silent. The tears had stopped. I couldn't read what she was thinking. Then she turned to me. "Here I am crying about this whole thing, and now I'm jealous of your ex-girlfriend. Jealous that she had you all to herself. Jealous that she brok
e your heart, or, at least, it sounds that way when you talk about her."
Somehow this had flipped to my therapy session. I thought about what she said, about how I sounded when I talked about Carly. Had she broken my heart? I sat up in the bed and leaned against the headboard. "It wasn't heartbreak so much as just a big disruption in my existence. You get used to having someone around—" I stopped my sentence. "Shit, Layla, I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say."
"No don't apologize." She pushed up to sit next to me. She dragged the sheet up to shield her naked body from the cool air in the room. Her hand covered mine. "Just because I lost Adam through death, and Carly is still alive—" She raised her smooth brow at me. "She is still alive, I assume?"
"Nope, have her buried out back." I rubbed my face. "Sorry, terrible joke. As far as I know she is living on the beach with a new guy. I'm happy she's moved on. I've tried to do the same, but there was someone else keeping me from falling in love again."
Layla was genuinely confused. She turned slightly toward me. "Really? Who?"
I looked at her. The moonlight had passed by the window, but I knew her face so well, even in the shadowy light, I could see it perfectly. "Seriously? You, Layla. I've been so hung up on you, I haven't been able to consider anyone else."
A long, awkward pause followed.
"See, this is generally where the other person sitting in the bed says, oh me too, Jack. I haven't been able to consider anyone else."
She leaned her head against my shoulder. "I think you already know that's true. Unless your ego needs a little stroking."
"Nah, now it would just feel forced."
Our laughter floated around through the shadows.
"How about we just don't tell anyone," Layla said quietly. "Do you think our consciences could bear it? I mean, it would be harder for you. I hardly ever see any of Adam's friends, except for Gabe."
"Helix does seem to consider it his duty to keep me out of your life but—" I considered what she was saying. It would be hard to keep secret. At the same time, it would definitely be a secret worth keeping.
"I know you guys talk all about your conquests and what not," she said. "Maybe you could just give me a different name and then make excuses for me whenever they ask why you don't bring your girlfriend to a party or social event."
I laughed. "Then they'd start calling me a loser and tease me that my girlfriend was just a figment of my imagination. Although, I'm all right with that. Let them think I've made Ginger up."
She lifted her head and peered over at me. "Ginger? There's not one inch of me that looks like a Ginger." She relaxed back. "I rather fancy myself a Diana." She shivered and scooted closer. "The room is cold."
"Think we can find a way to get warm again." We scrunched back under the covers, and I pulled her into my arms. We kissed. It wasn't the urgent, wild kisses from earlier. This was more of a kiss between people who had suddenly found someone who they could just kiss for the sake of showing affection.
Layla opened her big eyes. "Jack, do you think this whole idea, you know, just not telling anyone is going to sound totally ludicrous in the morning?"
I trailed my hand down her back, memorizing every curve of muscle. "That does seem to be the case with plans hatched in the middle of the night, but for our sake, I hope to hell it doesn't."
I rolled her onto her back and lowered myself down over her. My mouth covered hers as I slid deep inside of her. "I could stay inside of you all night," I whispered.
"Oh, Jack."
17
A coffee cup clinking against the counter woke me from a sound sleep. It was early, so early that the light was still mostly bathed in shadows. One thing was clear though, Layla was no longer next to me. I pulled on my jeans and plodded barefoot and shirtless to the kitchen. Layla was dressed and pouring herself coffee.
"Hope you don't mind," she said. "I made some coffee." She turned around and pressed her pink lips against the rim for a sip. She sighed. "Ah, the magic potion of life. Want some or is it too early?" She ruffled her hand lightly over her hair. "You are still wearing the whole sleepy head look."
I smiled and walked over for a cup. "Guess I'm a little worn out." I put the cup down before pouring coffee and gently took her cup from her hand, so I could pull her into my arms. "Imagine my disappointment when I woke to an empty bed this morning. I had all kinds of plans for my wake-up routine." My erection was hard to miss, even in my jeans.
Layla glanced down at it. "You do seem to be primed and ready, but I'm afraid I've got to go to work. I'm covering another nurse's shift this morning." She hopped on her toes and kissed me. "But trust me, I would much rather stay around here and participate in your wake-up routine."
"Could I sweeten the deal by promising to follow up the routine with some of my world famous French toast?"
Her smile sent new pulses of heat through me and straight to my core. Was I really standing in my kitchen with Layla? It was too fucking amazing to believe.
"As much as I would love some world famous French toast, the hospital administrators frown on tardiness."
"That's probably for the best since it's not really world famous. In fact, it's not even my French toast. It comes from the freezer and one of those frozen waffle companies. But I've found with enough syrup, it reaches a level of culinary greatness."
Her laughter filled the kitchen. If only the crummy stucco walls had the ability to capture the sound and hold onto it.
Reluctantly, I released her and returned to my cup for some coffee.
"So, Jack, what do you think? Does our crazy, middle of the night plan still sound plausible? Should we try this thing out?"
"I don't think I can turn back now, Layla. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep this going, but I need to hear from you that you want this as badly as I want it." I held my breath as I waited for her response.
She put down her cup, walked toward me and wrapped her arms around me. "Jack Devlin, I want this. I want you."
We kissed long and hard, making it nearly painful for me to let her go.
"Hey, Layla?" I asked as she rinsed her cup and got ready to go. "Do you have some time off? Specifically, do you think you can take next weekend off? I'm driving out to the ranch. I told Vick I'd take care of the horses while he and my mom have a weekend away. It'd just be us and six horses and three dogs and a dozen chickens."
"You know, I've been doing favors for some of the other nurses, taking shifts while they go off on weekends or family events. I think I can swing it. Is this an invite?"
"Yep, and if we plan it right, you can meet Vick. He's been wanting to meet the woman who led him to the clinical trial. At the moment, his tumors have not grown. Initially, they even shrank some, and the side effects have been minimal. That's why they decided to get away for a weekend."
"I'd love to meet your parents. And I'll be hanging out with horses and the hottest cowboy this side of the Mississippi, and, possibly, the other side too. I'll see what I can do about my schedule." She scurried toward me for a quick kiss and walked out.
It was still going to take me awhile to convince myself this wasn't all just a dream.
18
"Order mine without the cheese," Kingston texted. "I'm getting a belly."
I laughed to myself as I sent back a text. The guy was having me order two double burgers, a large fry and a chocolate milkshake, but he was worrying about calories.
I ordered the food and sat at one of the outdoor tables. My phone beeped. I pulled it out figuring King changed his mind about the cheese. It would be another record for one of his weight loss regimes. He tended to start a diet Monday morning and end it by the time he headed to lunch. This time, the text was from Layla. We'd decided to change her name to Ginger on my contact list just in case. We were taking this secret relationship thing to a whole new level, and frankly, it was pretty fucking fun. She had changed my name to Rocky, for no other reason except she thought it sounded corny. She even came up with a descripti
on for mythical Rocky, apparently he had a shaved head, a ton of tattoos and green eyes that could knock a girl senseless. She noted the last detail was actually true.
"I'm on break and just started thinking about you. That seems to happen more and more lately," she texted.
"I couldn't start thinking about you because I never stopped." I sent back the text.
"Are you trying to out romance me, sir? Because I meet your challenge and raise you with one out of control shower I had this morning when I started thinking about you."
Her sexy text immediately hardened my cock. "I'm going to need details. You can't just throw out some vague reference to an out of control shower without going into specifics. My imagination is going to be at full throttle trying to decipher just what you meant."
"Hmm . . ." That was the entire first text. Before I could reply about the lack of details, another text popped through. "Well, I was standing there, stark naked, warm soapy water cascading over my breasts and down to my . . . oops, gotta go. Break's over. Guess your imagination will have to take over."
"Tease," I texted back.
My order number was called, but I wasn't exactly anxious to stand up.
King walked up right then. "What? Still no food?"
"They just called it. Be my guest." It seemed I was saved by my calorie conscious friend.
Kingston had half his fries eaten before he even got back to the table. He plunked down so hard the cement table wobbled.
"Think you should cut back on those fries too, Shamu. The plane isn't going to be able to take off."
He leaned back and patted his stomach. "The six pack is turning to a twelve pack and not in a good way." With that declaration, he took a long sip of chocolate milkshake. "Anyhow, since we don't have to go into the base camp this weekend, what should we do? I was thinking some mountain biking. Maybe a little bar hopping. What do you think?"
