by SJ McCoy
He hugged her closer, hoping that maybe, over time, she might start to see him differently.
Her next words dashed that hope. She rested her hand on his thigh. “I’m looking forward to some fun later.”
He closed his eyes. His body was agreeing with her. It wanted the same kind of fun she did. But his mind wished that she’d understand he wanted a different kind of fun, too. He wanted them to have the same kind of fun Logan and Roxy did, teasing each other, laughing at shared jokes. Making plans for their future.
“Too soon?” she asked. “Sorry. I’ll clean up.”
He frowned as he watched her get to her feet.
She gave him a rueful smile. “What can I say? I’m horny for you. But straight after dinner isn’t ideal, is it?”
He shook his head. He didn’t care about having just eaten, but he couldn’t tell her what he’d really been thinking.
He followed her through to the kitchen and she rinsed the dishes and he put them in the dishwasher. He couldn’t help but think that this could be their life if she lived with him, if they were together.
She dried her hands and smiled at him. “I feel so comfortable with you.”
He wanted to tell her that he felt comfortable with her too. But he meant that he felt comfortable having her in his space, doing dishes with her. She only meant that she was relaxed enough with him that she didn’t mind being open about wanting to get him into bed.
They went and sat back down on the sofa, and she snuggled into his side. “Talk to me.”
He gave her a half smile. “What about?” He half expected that she wanted him to talk dirty to her, and he was ready to. He needed to get out of his head, and the best way he could think of to do that would be to get into her pants.
He had it wrong again, though.
“Tell me about who you are? About your family. About your life.”
Each time he thought he had her figured out, she shifted the goalposts on him. “Why do you want to know?”
Her smile faded. “I want to get to know you better. I told you that. Or is that too much? Do you want to just keep this casual? I don’t want to be that chick who only wants to talk when you want to …”
This was frustrating as hell! He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t keep guessing or keep her guessing. He turned to her and cupped her face between his hands.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Does this mean you just want to …?”
“No, Abbie, it doesn’t.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “It means I want to tell you something, and I want to look you in the eye and watch your reaction when I do.”
She waggled her eyebrows. “Are you going to tell me what you’re into and ask if I want to?”
He smiled through pursed lips. “Yes.”
Her eyes widened a little. He didn’t know what she was expecting him to say, but he knew she wasn’t expecting this.
“Will you promise me that you won’t be mad at me, won’t tell me that I’m crazy—and that you won’t storm out in disgust?”
“Err. I think so. But I can’t make any promises. I mean, if you’re into some serious kink, then I can tell you now that I’m not your girl.”
He smiled. He couldn’t drag it out any longer. “Okay. What I’m into is you.”
Her eyebrows knit together. “I thought we’d already established that.”
“On some level, yeah—but not on the level that I need you to understand. You keep talking like I only want to be your fuck-buddy.”
She nodded.
“I want more than that. I know you don’t see me as someone you’d want more with, but I need you to know that I see you that way. If all you want from me is sex, I’m not going to say no. But I’m driving myself crazy here. Watching what I say, trying not to scare you off. I’d rather get it out in the open than walk on eggshells the whole time. I like you, Abbie. I’d like you to be my girlfriend, and I don’t know how that sounds—and I don’t know if you’ll walk out the door now.”
She stared back into his eyes. As the moments dragged on before she spoke, he was convinced that he’d blown it. She’d told him from the beginning that he wasn’t the right kind of guy for her. He wasn’t going to take it back, though—wasn’t going to apologize. It was better to be upfront.
“Wow!” she said eventually.
He shrugged and gave her a rueful smile. “I have to be honest, even if it’s not what you want to hear.”
She shook her head rapidly. “No! I didn’t mean it like that.” She smiled and planted a kiss on his lips. “You don’t get it. That’s exactly what I’ve wanted to hear from you, but I didn’t think …” She frowned. “You told me that first night we went for a drink that you weren’t … You weren’t … interested in anything serious with me.”
He frowned. “I didn’t say that! You said that I wasn’t what you were looking for and when you told me that you needed someone …” He stopped to remember what exactly she had said. “Oh. You said we were too much alike.” He frowned as he tried to recall the conversation. She’d said she needed to get married and settle down and have two-point-four kids.
He looked into her eyes. “I said I wasn’t going to marry you and produce offspring.”
She nodded. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked uncomfortable.
“I was only repeating what you’d said.”
“I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about. I still thought that I needed to set up some perfect little life and conform to what I thought was expected of a nice girl.”
He had to laugh. “You are a nice girl.”
She made a face. “You know what I mean.”
He nodded. He did.
She blew out a sigh. “Okay. You’ve been honest with me. I owe you the same. Do you want to know what I’ve been thinking all evening—all day?”
“That you wish I’d hurry up and screw you so you can go home?”
She scowled. “No! That I wish I hadn’t screwed things up between us that night we went for a drink. That I wish we hadn’t gone out until after I figured out how stupid I was being, thinking I needed to squish myself into a life that wouldn’t suit me.”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “Also, that I wish you hadn’t been so straightforward when you told me that you wouldn’t want anything serious with me.”
He smiled. “Are you saying what I think you are?”
“I’m saying that yes, I’d love to be your girlfriend.” She smiled back at him. “I still want to screw your brains out, but I think it’ll be even better now.”
“Now that you know that I want more than your body?”
She chuckled. “Now that you know that I want more than yours.”
He wrapped his arm around her and drew her closer. He loved the feel of her full, soft breasts against his chest. “You want more than my body?” He tangled his fingers in her hair and kissed her deeply before lifting his head.
She nodded breathlessly. “I do, but I want more of your body first.”
He leaned forward until she lay back on the sofa. “I want more of your body, too.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. He loved that she wasn’t shy about what she wanted. Her hands roved over him as they kissed. She spread her legs and rubbed herself against him, making him ache to be inside her.
His head was still reeling from the revelations that she was as eager to explore this as he was. His body was more interested in exploring hers. He moaned as her fingers found his zipper and then found their way inside his boxers.
“I want more of this,” she murmured.
He cupped her breast with one hand and closed the other around her ass. “You’re about to get it.”
~ ~ ~
They were naked in a matter of seconds. Abbie had been hoping that they’d make it to his bed this time. But that hardly mattered. What mattered was this was about more than sex now.
She closed her eyes as he dipped his head and sucked her nipple. She sank her
fingers in his hair and moaned her pleasure. He grazed her with his teeth, sending warning signals racing through her body. She reached down, wanting to touch him, to prime him, but he moved his hips away.
“Let me taste you,” he breathed.
She relaxed back on the sofa. If he wanted to make it about her, she wasn’t going to refuse. She closed her eyes while he cupped her breasts between his hands and tormented her with his lips and tongue. She arched her back as he worked his way down over her rib cage. She knew what came next, and she spread her legs in eager anticipation.
Her fingers tangled in his hair as he trailed his tongue over her. He was good. He knew what he was doing and … oh! She had to let go of his hair, or she might pull it out, that felt so … She clutched at the cushions underneath her. He was kissing her, kissing her deeply, and her lips were opening up to him so he could slide his tongue inside and … oh!
“Ivan!” she gasped.
Without breaking his rhythm, he cupped his hands under her ass, lifting her up to give him better access. His tongue slid deeper, and her stomach tightened. He was going to make her …
Her orgasm took her, and she let herself go. It felt as though his talented tongue was carrying her away on a tide of pleasure. She was totally at his mercy, and she loved every second of it.
When she stilled, he lifted his head and smiled.
“Oh my God!” she breathed.
He chuckled. “Not quite a god, but I’m not bad.”
She pushed herself up on her elbows. “And confident in your abilities, too, huh?”
He shrugged. “Why not be?”
“I like it. I’m pretty confident I can return the favor.” She knew she could make him feel as good as he’d just made her feel. She reached for him, but he shook his head with a playful smile.
“But I want to.” She knew guys loved that. She did, too. She wanted to taste him.
He slid his hand between her legs, and she shuddered as his fingers teased her. “I’d love that. But right now, I want to be inside you.”
Something about the way he said it melted her insides. She needed him to tell her.
“What do you want to do?”
He raised an eyebrow, and she nodded, hoping he’d understand.
He did. “I want to lie back and watch you ride me.”
She got to her knees as he lay back against the cushions.
He closed his hands around her hips and positioned her above him. He guided himself toward her with his hand, and she rubbed herself against him. He was so hot and hard; she was aching to feel him inside her. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry. He was caressing her clit with his tip, watching her face as he did.
“Does that feel good?”
She nodded and cupped her breasts in her hands. “I’m going to need you to fuck me.”
His eyes glazed with lust as he watched her tease her nipples into tight little peaks. “Give it to me,” he breathed.
She shook her head and continued touching herself. “Take it.”
His hands tightened around her hips, and he pulled her down hard, making her gasp as his thick hard shaft filled her.
They moved together in a frantic rhythm as he drove deeper and deeper. His gaze didn’t leave her breasts as they bounced above him. She wasn’t going to last. She was already on the edge, but he slowed, leaving her wriggling, desperately needing him to finish her. Instead, he pulled her down to him and kissed her. One hand closed around the back of her head, the other grasped her ass. He moved so slowly it was exquisite torment. She tightened around him as he inched deeper inside her then just when she was about to go over the edge, he pulled back just as slowly, leaving her panting desperately for him to finish her.
The tension built and built in her belly as his cock and his tongue slid deep inside her, took her almost to the edge and then withdrew. She wanted to get back to the pounding rhythm they’d set at first, but he held her tight and moved her in his time.
The pleasure was mounting relentlessly between her legs. She wanted to hurtle her way toward release, but he took her there so damned slowly, she felt like she might implode. She writhed against him, needing him to … and he did. He thrust his hips hard, making her scream. Now. His thrusts were frantic, burying himself deeper and deeper inside her until she felt him tense and grow harder still.
“Abbie!” he gasped.
His release triggered her own, and they carried each other away to a place where nothing existed except the two of them. Where nothing mattered except the feel of him inside her, the feel of his hands on her and their frenzied movements as they soared on waves of pleasure.
She finally slumped down on him, and he closed his arms around her.
“So, you’re going to be my girlfriend, right?”
She lifted her head and looked down into his eyes. She was more used to guys who wanted to wriggle out of promises after sex—not ones who wanted to hold her to them. She nodded, wondering what he was going to say next.
He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. “Good, because we need to do this every day, at least once a day.”
She chuckled. “That can be arranged.”
His eyes were a deeper blue as he looked into hers. “I like the sound of that.”
Chapter Twelve
Ivan slowed the treadmill to a walk. He’d gotten a good workout in this morning. He smiled. Not as good as he’d gotten with Abbie last night. She was insatiable! After the sofa, they’d taken it upstairs to his bed. He shifted in his shorts at the memory of how she’d repaid him, as she called it, for the way he’d tasted her. Then, before she left, he’d taken her in the shower, hard, against the wall with the water running down over her full breasts. He blew out a sigh. His cock was coming to life at the memory.
He looked around, feeling as though someone might see him and read his thoughts. There was no one here. There’d been a couple of guys when he first came in, but now the place was empty.
He got down from the treadmill and got a drink of water. He’d taken Abbie home just after eleven. He got that she wanted to be there for her mom, but he hoped that with time, she’d want to stay with him, too. He was thrilled at the way she’d reacted to his confession that he wanted to explore a real relationship with her. But he didn’t see how that could happen if she didn’t ever want to stay with him. It was a big thing in his mind. If you were just screwing around, then you went home afterward. If you were a real a couple, then you slept together—in the more literal sense, as well.
He went over to the weight bench and set his water bottle down. He hadn’t lifted since the beginning of the week. He needed to put some time in. It was a good way to spend the morning. He’d thought he might spend the day with Abbie but she’d called to say she had plans with her mom. She was going to call him later. He hoped that meant he’d get to see her this afternoon or evening. He’d asked about getting the Christmas tree, but she’d told him that her mom was struggling with that. She wanted to decorate, but it was hard for her since Abbie’s dad had passed. He wondered if there might be anything he could do to help—to ease things for her. But it was probably best if he left that alone. Grief was a very individual process, and it wasn’t his place to interfere in it.
“Hey, big guy.”
He snapped back to the present moment when Logan came toward him from the locker room.
“I thought I’d have the place to myself. What are you doing here? I thought you’d be sleeping in with Abbie this morning.”
Ivan frowned. He didn’t like the assumption that Abbie would have stayed with him last night. “No.”
“Sorry. Did I hit a nerve? Did that not work out?”
“It worked out okay.”
Logan gave him a raunchy grin. “She’s quite a girl. I’m glad you figured things out with her.”
“Me, too.”
“Are you two an item now, then?”
“Yeah.”
“Casual … or …?”
Ivan frowned at him. “
More than casual, why?”
“Just curious. She used to be a real party girl, but since she came back to the lake, she’s been more like a nun.”
Ivan nodded.
“I guess I’m curious if you two are going to take each other back to old ways or if you’re going to be good for each other.”
“Why do you think it’s any of your business?”
Logan held up a hand. “It isn’t. You’re right. Sorry. It’s no excuse, but in my defense, I’m only saying it because I think the two of you might be good for each other.”
“Thanks. Sorry I bit your head off. I forget that’s the way it works around here, everyone knows everyone’s business and thinks they get a say in it.”
Logan laughed. “I should know better than to stick my nose in. I’ve told the girls often enough that they shouldn’t interfere; now, I’m doing the same thing.”
“It’s okay. I know you mean well.”
“So, are you two seeing each other with an eye on something more—or screwing each other with your minds on nothing else?”
Ivan had to laugh. “It’s still none of your business, but since I know that until not so long ago, you were the kind who was only into screwing, so you’re not judging, I’ll tell you. I’m hoping for something more.”
“Does she know that?”
“Yep, she says that’s what she wants, too.”
Logan grinned. “I was hoping that was it. You’ll be part of the couples crowd soon.”
“I hope so.”
“I’ll keep ‘em crossed for you.”
“Thanks.”
“One more question?”
“What?”
“Do you plan to stay here for good?”
Ivan shrugged. “It’s where my job is.”
“I know, but before you go all in, you should probably be sure you want to stay here. Abbie’s never going to leave. She’s sworn up and down that she’ll never move away from her mom again.”
Ivan nodded. He knew that. Of course, he did. It just hadn’t occurred to him what it really meant. He was happy here in Summer Lake. He was enjoying small-town life. But would he enjoy it so much if he knew that this was it for him? If things got really serious between Abbie and him, would he be happy to spend the rest of his days here—or at least, the rest of her mom’s days?
