by Karla Doyle
He winked. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound like you at all.”
“As you’re also aware, I’m pretty dedicated to my schedules. Everything was going according to plan except the relationship-that-leads-to-a-baby thing. No matter how much positive energy I put into the universe, it seemed unwilling to send me the right man for the co-parent job. Hence, my alcohol-fueled meltdown to Tim. When he suggested fathering the baby I wanted, I realized the universe had set the right man in my path years earlier.”
“And that you were in love with him after all.”
“I already knew that I loved Tim. I had for years and I still do. But I wasn’t in love with him. Never have been. If you asked him, he’d say the same about me.”
Sam contained a grunt. Barely. Friend-zone Tim could say whatever he wanted, but Sam knew the guy would just be towing the party line. There’s no way Tim, or any man, could be that close to Leigh and have strictly platonic feelings. Unless—
“Is Tim gay?”
Leigh choked on her mouthful of gin and grapefruit juice, spraying it in a way Sam had only seen in sitcoms. “Oh my God, I’m sorry,” she said, dabbing moisture from the tabletop. “And no, Tim’s not gay.”
“Maybe he is, but hasn’t come to terms with it.”
“Why would you think that?”
“You said the friendship chemistry didn’t transfer to sex. Maybe that’s how you felt, but no straight man could be intimate with you and not feel lit on fire. If things didn’t work in the bedroom, he has to be gay.”
“When I said the chemistry wasn’t there, I meant it in the burning-passion way. Neither of us felt that all-encompassing need to rip our clothes off and spend the night consuming each other. We both wanted the fireworks effect, not sparklers, so we agreed not to settle. But everything worked just fine in the bedroom and we got Lennox out of it, the old-fashioned way.”
So the guy wasn’t gay. That much, Sam accepted. Believing Tim hadn’t been into Leigh with every fiber of his being, on the other hand…no way. Didn’t matter though, because Sam had delivered those fireworks Leigh wanted in the bedroom. Tonight, he’d give her a whole lot more.
“Now you know the whole story.” Leigh tipped her glass and drained the remaining pink liquid. “And I need another drink.”
Sam scanned the patio for their server and signaled her with a raised hand and a smile. “Can we get another gin and grapefruit juice next time you go by?”
“Of course. Another double?” Tammy directed the question at Leigh.
“Probably should.” Leigh collected the menus they hadn’t opened and handed them off. “I don’t think we’ll need these after all.”
Tammy nodded, then turned her attention to Sam. “Refill on the beer for you?”
“No, thanks, I’m driving.”
Another nod from the waitress. “I’ll be right back.”
“You don’t have to be the DD,” Leigh said, after the waitress left. “We could grab a cab home later.”
“Are you suggesting we get drunk?”
Pink bloomed in her cheeks as a naughty smile curved her glossy lips. “Maybe a little drunk.”
Interesting. Overindulging in alcohol had never been his thing. If Leigh’s plans for tonight included losing a few inhibitions, he’d play along.
He lifted the pint to his lips and took a long pull, nearly draining the glass. “Think I’ll take another after all,” he said offering his cup to the waitress when she delivered Leigh’s refill. Tonight was going to be a good night.
Chapter 5
LEIGH
The tortured groan that rose from Sam’s chest made every word of her risqué request worthwhile.
“I would love to do that to you, but I won’t take advantage of you when you’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“Babe, you had three of those double-gin drinks.”
“Two and a half,” she said, twisting to remove her panties—the only clothing remaining since they’d tumbled onto her bed in a make-out frenzy. “Half the first drink went to waste when you asked if Tim is gay.”
His rumbled laugh vibrated against her body in all the best places. “That’s still a lot of liquor in a short span of time.”
“You know I’m a control freak. Control freaks don’t get drunk. I’m tipsy, not drunk. Drunk is sloppy. Tipsy is fun. Don’t you want to have fun with me?”
“I always have fun with you.” The sweetness in his voice almost convinced her not to push. But that deep, sexy groan he’d made when she whispered in his ear…
“You won’t be taking advantage of me. Touch me, Sam.” She guided his hand between her legs. “I want your fingers inside me. All of them.”
Groaning, he slid one finger inside her pussy. Then added a second.
“Mmm…” She opened wider, tipped her hips higher. “More.”
He shifted position, looked down at her with wolfish hunger. “I need a taste first.”
She whimpered at the loss of contact when he withdrew, her breath hitching at the sight of him sucking her essence from his fingers as if he’d never tasted anything better.
He inched his way down her body, a calculated route that included dedicated stops at each nipple. Kissing. Circling. Sucking. All the while, fucking her with his fingers. One. Two. Three. Yes.
Oh God, four? So good, even better than she’d imagined. She closed her eyes, let the sensations wash over her.
“Babe, look at me.”
Opening her eyes, she met his hooded gaze.
“Still want more?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He drew her nipple between his teeth, just hard enough to make it burn.
“Please.” Please what, she didn’t know. More. Less. Both, somehow. “I want to come.”
His growl against her breast sent a wave of need straight to her clit. He nipped harder. Eased his fingers out of her pussy. Worked them back in. All of them. All.
Her hips bucked upward at the intrusion. Spread wider, wider. “God, oh God…”
Then his mouth was on her clit, his tongue taking her higher, higher, as he filled her with his hand, in and out, in and out.
The heat, the fullness. So much. Too much. Not enough. God, so good.
Wide, strong shoulders pressed to her thighs, he opened her wider. Filled her deeper. Sucked her harder, pushed her to the edge.
Then over. And over and over. Wave after wave of spiraling orgasm. Uncontrollable, unending crests of ecstasy—
SAM
The crazy-hot moaning stopped. So did the pressure from her hand on his head and the trembling in her legs.
He eased his hand out of her pussy. Lifted his face from his new favorite place in the world to spend time—between her legs.
Her eyes were closed, her cheek against the duvet. Beautiful, like an angel. A peaceful, unmoving angel.
“Babe.”
No answer.
“Babe.” Reaching up, he stroked her face and got nothing.
She couldn’t have passed out. Not in the middle of what’d seemed to be an epic orgasm. Unless she was a lot drunker than she’d said.
Shit. He’d chosen to believe her “tipsy not drunk” line, but he should’ve known better. A woman her size putting away that quantity of liquor in a short span of time—of course she’d been drunk. Consciously or not, he’d taken advantage of that fact.
He moved up beside her, pulled her in tight against his body. “Leigh.”
“I like it better when you call me babe. Nobody’s ever called me babe before.” Not totally unconscious after all. Totally adorable though.
Chuckling, he nuzzled her silky hair. “Glad I could be your first.”
“Mmm, me too. I always wondered if it’d really feel good, if getting fisted would be as hot as it looks in porn. And it was,” she said, wiggling backward, a move that trapped his cock in the valley of her ass. “Now it’s your turn. Fuck me. Any way you want.” Turning her head, she looked up at him and smiled. “And I
mean any way.”
His hips thrust involuntarily. Because that invitation, fuck. But after what’d happened, and what she’d just said…
“Sam?” Her head tilted as he groaned and put space between them. “Is something wrong, did I do something?”
“No, babe, I did something wrong.”
“As the recipient of what you just did, I’m going to have to disagree with you. Trust me, it was all very, very right.”
Unable to resist, he pulled her against him again, this time face-to-face. “When I said I was glad I could be your first, I meant, the first man to call you babe. But what you said after makes me think I’m the first man to touch you the way I did.”
“You are. And I loved it, if that wasn’t obvious.”
“It was.” Thinking about her sexy sounds and the way she moved against him sent more blood rushing to his cock. The thing felt like a battering ram, desperate to knock at Leigh’s door.
“Then why do you think you did something wrong?”
“Because you’re drunk.”
“I’m tipsy, not drunk.”
“You passed out. That’s too drunk for me to do stuff to you for the first time, especially if it’s your first time ever doing it.”
“I didn’t pass out. I think I blacked out a little, but it wasn’t from the alcohol, it was from the orgasm. That last part was so intense. I’ve never come like that.” She circled his cock and slid her hand up and down. “I don’t care if it’s greedy, I want more.”
“Be as greedy as you want, babe. I love making you come.”
“Then do it again.” With her free hand, she reached for one of the condoms he’d tossed on the bed. “Fuck me any way you want. And that’s not the gin talking, it’s me. Because I want to do everything with you.”
Only a crazy man would turn down that request. Crazy, he was not. Except for the part where he was crazy about Leigh.
He took the packet from her hand and ripped the foil. The seconds it took him to get sheathed were the longest of his life. Rolling Leigh onto her back, he dipped down for a kiss. Slid his tongue into her mouth while gently stroking between her legs.
Everything about her was soft. Her lips. Her skin. Her moan as he circled her clit with enough pressure to push her toward climax, but not tip her over.
“Please,” she said, tilting her hips higher.
“Please what?” He loved teasing her almost as much as he loved satisfying her.
“Please fuck me and make me come.”
“With pleasure.” He scooped one limber leg over his shoulder and slid into her hot, welcoming body.
In perfect sync, she arched, angling to take all of him.
Balls deep, he rolled his hips, watching her face, her curves. Beautiful, every inch of her. But when her lips parted and her body trembled, he knew he’d found the spot. Over and over, he rocked into her, hitting that magic place.
Her eyelids fluttered closed. Body trembling, nipples so hard, they begged to be pinched. Head turned to one side, she bit her bottom lip. So close to coming but not quite there.
He needed to watch her go over. To see her lose control because of him. He leaned in, pushed impossibly deeper. Slid his hand between their bodies and rubbed her clit.
Her throaty moan filled the bedroom as she bucked beneath him, grabbed at whatever parts of him she could reach and pulled him closer, harder, deeper.
That’s all he needed. All he could take. Heat roared up from his balls as he unloaded, rutting on her like the desperate, wild beast she’d made him. “Fuuuck…”
If he could’ve stayed there, inside her, on top of her, all night, he would have. Since he wanted her alive, he rolled off when her panting turned into gasping for breath.
“Fuck, you’re sexy.”
“Me?” Her smile could’ve lit up a city block, but it was all for him. “I didn’t even do anything tonight. All I did was lay there and have mind-blowing orgasms.”
“Fucking sexy, like I said. Watching you come is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Emotion flickered in her soft gray eyes as she reached up to stroke his jawline. “Thank you.”
He’d always liked how well she accepted compliments. Hell, he’d always liked everything about her. That became truer with every minute they spent together. Made him want more minutes with her, maybe even a lot of minutes. Definitely more minutes like they’d just shared. As many of those as possible.
But first, they needed refueling. “I still owe you a real dinner. Want to get dressed and go out?”
Her gaze drifted to the bedside clock, then back to his face. “It’s kind of late.”
“It’s only ten o’clock. Even Cinderella got to stay out until midnight.”
“Cinderella was significantly younger than me,” she said, laughing, then poking him in the chest. “So are you.”
“You worry about numbers too much.”
“I’m not worried. Worrying is about a lack of control. I’m very much in control of all the numbers in my life. My business, my mortgage, Lennox’s college fund.” Her animation increased with each thing she ticked off on her fingers. “My caloric intake, how much sleep I get.”
He captured her hands. “I think organization turns you on more than I do.”
“It is very stimulating,” she said, smiling up at him with mischief in her eyes.
“Challenge accepted.” He dropped a kiss on her smiling mouth, teased his tongue between her lips. A couple of seconds was all it took to coax a needy hum from his numbers-infatuated beauty. And take his cock to full standby.
“Okay, you win.”
“Damn right, I do.” And he planned to enjoy that victory to its fullest, all night long.
LEIGH
Thank goodness she didn’t have to work today. After she’d claimed to have control over her sleep quantity, Sam had spent the next several hours ensuring she got far less than her usual amount. For the second night in a row.
She liked being in control. Needed to be. This weekend, though… Being out of control with Sam had its perks.
Swapping her coffee mug for her phone, she leaned back and tapped the screen to connect a video call. A couple of rings later, the screen opened to a bouncy view of the cottage with a sliver of Tim’s face at one side.
The sliver smiled. “Good morning.”
“Oh, hi. Sorry, I meant to call Lennox’s phone.”
“You did. She left it in the living room. I’m taking you to her now.”
“Is she still in bed?” she asked, as the cottage’s main hallway filled the screen.
Tim turned the camera on himself, laughing while giving her an incredulous expression. “She’s a mini you, Leigh. Up and at it, bright and early. She’s been out of bed for over an hour already.”
“Then what’s she doing in her room? She never hangs out in her room when she’s there.”
“You’ll see.” He aimed the camera at the door, then opened it. “Hey, Len. How’s our little friend doing?”
“Little friend?” Leigh asked as her daughter filled the frame.
“Hi, Mommy. Look,” Lennox whispered, pointing at her lap.
Instinctively, Leigh leaned forward, angling for a better view. “Is that a—”
The answer to Leigh’s question popped its head up from the nest of blankets covering Lennox’s cross-legged position.
“A puppy!” Lennox scooped the tiny black creature from her lap and thrust its face in front of the camera. “Isn’t she cute? We’re naming her Ladybug because Daddy wanted to call her Lady and I said we should call her Bug. What do you think, Mommy?”
“I think Ladybug is a good compromise and a nice name for a cute puppy. But why is there a puppy in the cottage?”
“Because she’s ours now.” Lennox pressed her face against the puppy’s head and smooshed it with kisses. “I love you, Ladybug.”
The sweetness of the moment wasn’t lost on Leigh. It was, however, overshadowed by the cyclone rising from the pit of
her stomach.
“Honey, I need to talk to your dad for a few minutes, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Have a great day. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mommy. So does Ladybug,” she said, waving the puppy’s paw at the camera.
No. She would not get her daughter’s hopes any higher by talking to a puppy that wouldn’t be making the trip home next week. A smile and wave, that’s the best she could do.
Tim’s face filled the screen. No laugh this time. Just his usual calm, neutral expression. “Let me explain.”
“Please do. Because I’m certain we didn’t agree to get a puppy for Lennox. Ever. So forgive me for being confused and shocked by the appearance of a puppy that you’ve named and apparently claimed as ‘ours.’ You know what my schedule is like. I work long hours at the bakery, six days a week. I don’t have time for a puppy.”
“The puppy is ours as in, mine and Lennox’s. Ladybug will live with me. Lennox can spend time with her there.”
“That’s totally unrealistic, Tim. Your condo doesn’t have a fenced yard and you’re frequently out of town on business. I’m going to get saddled with raising this puppy I didn’t plan for. I wish you had talked to me before you gave Lennox the ultimate present.”
“We both know a puppy isn’t the thing she wanted most.”
Guilt stabbed at her, making her grimace.
“I’m sorry, Leigh. That wasn’t fair.” The beautiful beach stretched out behind Tim as he stepped onto the cottage’s deck and leaned against the railing. “Let’s rewind a bit so I can explain everything.”
“I’m listening.”
“I didn’t intend to get Lennox a puppy. I would never deliberately undermine you or go behind your back. Yesterday, we heard whining, then found the puppy hiding under the deck. We knocked on every door in the neighborhood and called every shelter and veterinary clinic in the area, but nobody claimed her. I had her checked over at a local clinic and the vet said she appears healthy, just a bit underweight.”
