by RJ Moore
I dash to the living room to get my keys, which of course are nowhere to be found. I grab my purse and after rummaging through it with no luck, I end up dumping everything out on the floor. I don’t know how I accumulate so much junk in there—I think it’s more packed than my suitcases. I finally find them then shove everything back in, making a mental note to clean it out later.
When I open the door, Duke sneaks past my legs, running to my truck door. “You want to go too boy?” I unlock the door—habit of living in the city—and Duke jumps in but his back legs miss, so I have to grab his butt to keep him from falling out. I hoist him up in the seat and look down at my shirt, which is now covered in black dog hair.
“Really?” I sigh, brushing as much hair as I can off my white shirt. I love having a dog, but getting used to dog hair is something I don’t think I’m ever going to do. When I look up to Duke, I swear he’s smiling at me with a long string of drool hanging from his mouth. “Nasty Duke!”
I take off down my driveway and before I even hit the paved road, Duke lets out a loud fart. Almost instantly the inside of my truck is bombarded with an overwhelming stench. I can’t seem to roll the windows down fast enough as I start gagging.
“Duke! You’re staying home next time. What is wrong with you?” I blast the air with the windows down and it doesn’t take long for the smell to disappear. I pull up to Scarlett’s apartment and panic when Duke takes off around the back of the apartment complex.
I start chasing after him but breathe a sigh of relief when I see Conner giving him hugs on the playground. Duke knocks Conner down on his butt, licking his face everywhere. I can’t help but laugh along with Conner’s infectious giggling.
“Hey Conner. Where’s your mom?”
He looks up at me from the ground. “Hi Eve! She’s inside. Can Duke stay with me?” I can barely make out what he is saying between all his squealing and giggling.
“Of course, sweetie.” I chuckle. When I turn around, I see Scarlett standing on her back patio, leaning against the railing with a warm smile. I wave at her and saunter that way. I love seeing her when she looks at Conner. The love she holds for for him is so clearly visible and I can’t wait to give the same look to my little one.
When I reach the patio, she finally looks over to me. “So, what brings you here so early?” She hands me a coffee mug. “Tea, I know you prefer it over coffee.”
I didn’t even notice that she was holding anything. “Oh, thank you.” We take a seat at her small circular patio table. I peek over at Conner and Duke to make sure they’re still there before I start talking. “So I found this idea for Ian’s present and I need some pictures. I know you like photography, so I figured you’d have something I could use.” I hand her my phone to show her what I’m planning on doing.
“Oh, I’ve done that before. It’s really easy. I have almost everything you’ll need. I’m a huge crafter so I have tons of stuff you can use.” She stands up, heading toward the door. “I’ll be right back.”
I glance back to Conner and see that a little girl has joined them. Duke is lying on his back while both kids are scratching his belly, making one of his hind legs kick in the air.
Scarlett comes out the door carrying her laptop. I pick up my cup of tea for her to set the computer down on the tiny table. She looks over at Conner and smiles. “That’s his little friend, Daisy. They are so cute together.” When Daisy waves, Scarlett waves back, yelling hello.
She opens up a folder full of pictures and turns it for me to see. “There are a ton of old photos I scanned and downloaded on here. Pick out a few you like.”
I scroll through photo after photo, stopping at a few I can’t resist taking a closer look at. Ian was the cutest little kid. His hair was super blond when he was little; I’m amazed at how dark it’s become. I love the pictures of him with his arms around both his sisters’ shoulders, and him waterskiing with a big toothy grin. There is a lot of him riding his bike with Quinn, jumping ramps they made together. He looks so incredibly happy. It’s clear as day that he and his family grew up so close. I used to feel envious of what he has, this loving, caring family; now it just makes my heart soar.
I’m going to have this.
Finally!
I pick out more than I probably should, but it is too hard to decide. I show Scarlett and she smiles, telling me the story that goes with each picture.
“I have this program that can put all of them in different styles of collages. The only thing I don’t have is the wood, but the craft store down the road has some.” She opens the collage program and we piece together all the photos. Somehow they all fit together perfectly. “I’ll go print them out. If you want to leave Duke here, you can go get that wood piece.”
I stand up, grabbing my purse. “Great, thanks. I’ll hurry.” As I walk to my truck, I pull out my phone to check the time. Holy cow! I spent over an hour and a half looking at pictures. Right as I’m about to throw my phone back in my purse, it starts ringing.
“Morning sunshine.”
“Good morning. I was hoping I didn’t wake you up.” I can hear him smiling through the phone.
“Nope, I’ve actually been awake for a while now. I’m running a few errands.” I start my truck, driving toward the store. “Are you on your way back?”
“I sure am. I’ll be there in about an hour.”
An hour! I need to make this a super quick trip.
“Wow. You must have hit the road early.”
“Yeah, I didn’t sleep long, then woke up my dad and hit the road.” His voice drops in a husky tone. “I am a little eager to get home.”
Now it’s my turn to grin. “Are you now? And why’s that? You got a hot date or something?”
“You better believe it,” he growls. “You better be ready for me.”
“You know where to find me.” I pull up to the store, parking. “I’ll be waiting.”
Hanging up the phone, I scramble inside, not knowing where to start looking. I’ve never been inside a craft store so the curious side of me wants to stop to look at everything, but I know Ian is getting close. I go down each aisle, and of course, I find what I’m looking for in the very last aisle.
There is not a huge selection to choose from, but one catches my eye that looks like it was cut right from a tree. It’s perfect. I grab it then dash to the register. The cashier is an older woman who is very chatty. I try to be polite as possible, but after having to search the entire store, time is running short.
After talking about the weather and her favorite flowers for five minutes, I finally make it back it back to Scarlett’s place. I jog into the kitchen where Scarlett is looking out the window, watching the kids play. She turns to me and raises her eyebrows in question at my heavy breathing.
“Did you run to the store or drive?”
I huff out a breath, smoothing my hair down. “Well it took longer than I expected. Ian will be here in not too long so I was trying to hurry. Either I’m completely out of shape or this little one is squishing my lungs.”
I pull the wood out of the plastic store bag and hand it to Scarlett. “Will this do?”
She nods her head approvingly. “Nice. He’ll like this.” She brings it over to the kitchen table and sets it down on the newspaper she’s already laid out, next to all the materials that are needed. “Okay, you start spreading the mod podge on. I’m going to trim the picture up a little to make it fit perfectly.”
We work surprisingly fast together and it’s doesn’t take long before I’m applying the last coat of sealer. “Okay, now all I have to do is wait.”
I smile down at my work. It may not be a lot, but I actually made something that took some effort, something that took thought. I would pat myself on my back if it didn’t make me look like a weirdo.
“Thank you so much for helping me out.” I wrap my arms around her in a hug before gathering the supplies to bring to my house. I glance out the sliding glass door to see Duke chasing Conner and Daisy, barkin
g happily. I hate to break up all their fun, but I want to be home by the time Ian arrives.
I walk outside, Scarlett following behind me, and my heart skips a beat when I see Conner trip, falling down hard. Before I can run over to him, he gets back up and starts running again as if nothing even happened.
Scarlett chuckles beside me. “Tough as nails, that one.” I am still gaping at Conner and can only nod in response. His pants tore so I can only imagine that his knee is scuffed up too. I probably would have been down, rolling on the ground and screaming at that age. Tough as nails is right. I am about to be the bearer of bad news and yell at Duke to come get in the truck when Scarlett beats me to it.
“Conner, say goodbye to Duke. Eve has to go home now.” Conner instantly stops running, giving Duke a big hug and looking so sad.
I go up to him, ruffling his hair before squatting down next to him. “We will come over soon so you can play again. How does that sound?” Conner’s face lights up with a big grin as he jumps in my arms to hug me, almost knocking me on my butt.
“Yay! Tomorrow, Eve? Like when I wake up?” He starts bouncing on my lap with all his excitement.
I laugh. “I don’t know about tomorrow but it will be soon. Duke would miss you if it wasn’t.” He stops his bouncing but still nods his head.
“Okay.” He kisses my cheek then runs off yelling, “I kissed Evie” over and over while Daisy chases after him, laughing.
I hear Scarlett let out a snort. “Boys.” I chuckle along with her then call Duke over to my truck. Opening the driver door, I wait for Duke to jump in before pulling myself in. I lean my head out the window to holler at Scarlett that we’ll be back soon, giving her a wink. I pull out of the apartment complex, turning on the road toward my house. I look over at Duke and see that he’s fast asleep.
That didn’t take long.
The drive home seems to take longer than it usually does. As soon as I pull up to my house, I jump out of the truck, finding Duke still out cold. “Duke! Wake up!” He looks up to me, yawns, and then puts his head back down, closing his eyes. I sigh before going over to the passenger side to pull him out. He slowly follows behind me as I rush inside to hide Ian’s present then reapply my makeup. I’m putting my final layer of mascara on when I hear a truck coming down my drive.
The knock at my door makes my heart skip a beat. I flip my head upside down, fluffing my hair before flipping my head back to see if it looks as good as I hope it does.
Nope, now it just looks like I was doing cartwheels or something.
Great, just great.
I smooth my hair as best as I can before hustling to the door, swinging it open. It’s only been a couple weeks, but somehow he still manages to take my breath away. His greens eyes are shadowed under his hat and his facial hair is a little longer, giving him a super sexy scruff I can’t wait to dig my fingers into. My eyes are drawn to those full lips of his and before I can even say hi, he swoops down, covering my mouth with his own. At my surprised gasp, he takes advantage and lets his tongue slide in, eagerly exploring along mine.
He cups my face with his hands, never once breaking the kiss, and backs me up until I bump softly against the wall. I don’t know how long we kiss for, but when we finally part, I’m panting for air. He touches his forehead to mine while catching his breath.
“Hi.”
I let out a breathless chuckle. “Hi.”
He straightens as he cocks his head to the side, studying me intently. I give him a shy smile and study him right back. He lets go of my face, slowly tucking my hair behind my ear.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmurs.
This time when he bends down to kiss me, he takes his time. I stand on my tippy toes so I can wrap my arms around his neck. How is it possible to feel so much for someone in such a short amount of time? The feel of his lips on mine makes it impossible to think about it any further.
He pulls away and I want to scream at him not to stop. I open my eyes to see him staring down at me with that cocky half smile of his.
“You look good with that freshly kissed look, all breathless and wanting more.”
I bite my lip in attempt to stop from smiling, but fail. He’s so cocky, but I love it. “I could say the same about you.”
He smiles wider, taking a step back. “I need to take a shower. Do you mind if I use yours?”
I shake my head and he winks at me before grabbing his bag from outside the door. He walks past Duke, saying hi, but Duke doesn’t even lift his head to return the greeting. Ian looks back at me with a fake pout. “Well at least you were happy to see me.”
I laugh. “I took him when I went to visit Scarlett this morning, and Conner and his little friend wore him out. They ran around the whole time with Duke chasing after them.”
“Then I don’t blame him. That boy has endless amounts of energy.” He bends down, scratching behind Duke’s ear then saunters into the bathroom. When I hear the water turn on, I try to busy myself and not think about Ian in the shower.
Naked.
Wet.
And did I say naked?
I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts, and decide to go put my dishes from the morning in the dishwasher. That doesn’t take long so I head for my bedroom to make my bed, anything to keep me distracted. As I round the corner to pass the bathroom, I notice the door is halfway open. I hear the shower running and with the clear glass, I know I should keep my eyes averted, but as I go to pass the door, they don’t seem to care as they take a quick peek. Either he doesn’t have the shower very hot or he hasn’t been in there long because there is no fog to obscure my view of his body.
My mouth falls open while my steps slow as I take the view in. I know I should look away, but for the life of me, I just can’t. I’ve never seen such sculpted muscles before. His biceps flex as he scrubs the shampoo through his hair. My disobedient eyes can’t help but follow the trail of suds falling down his back to the most delectable ass I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. I’ve never thought an ass could be beautiful, but after seeing Ian’s, I stand corrected.
I’m still in the middle of my ogling when my forehead smacks into something hard.
“Son of a—” I bite my lip to stop myself from yelling out. I was staring so hard at Ian that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking, running right into the doorjamb. My feet must have been trying to follow my eyes. I turn, hurrying into my bedroom before Ian catches me being a peeping tom.
Walking over to my mirror, I lift my hand off my forehead and sure enough, there’s a huge red mark. Great. I hear the shower turn off so I quickly start making my bed. Ian walks in with just a towel wrapped around his waist and leans against the door with a raised eyebrow. My mouth once again falls open as I openly gawk at him. I know I’m probably embarrassing myself, but I’m powerless to stop. My thoughts turn really wicked when I start thinking how I could get that towel off…
I’m snapped out of my daydream when I hear Ian say my name. I look back up at him. “What?”
His face holds a satisfied smile mixed with a little confusion. “What happened to your head?”
“M-my head?” I stutter. At his chuckle, my cheeks turn pink.
Caught—again.
“Nothing. An accident. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“Was something distracting you?”
It dawns on me that the door being left open was no accident. “You left the door open on purpose!”
Ian throws his head back, laughing. I cross my arms and send him a glare, but it must not look very scary because Ian just laughs again before walking over to me, hugging me. I put my hand up to stop him, but as soon as I touch his warm, hard chest, the only thing I want to do is pull him closer.
He grins down at me. “You can watch me any time you want.”
I hide my face in his chest, groaning in embarrassment. I let my hands slowly slide up his muscular chest and just as quickly as my embarrassment came, it’s forgotten about.
The amount of romance books I’ve read always had me imagining what it would be like to actually feel such a chiseled body, but to be touching Ian right now, it’s as if my book boyfriend has come to life.
I lift my head but avoid looking at Ian right away, too entranced by his stunning body. I take my time to lightly trace my fingertips over each pec, down to every ridge of his abs. Ian doesn’t say anything, just lets me explore him, his breathing becoming deeper. I travel back up until I reach his hair, where I softly twist my fingers. I look up to see him watching me with lust and something else I can’t decipher.
I start walking him backward and he lets me lead until his legs hit the bed. I give him a little shove, making him fall back. He puts his hands behind his head, giving me an enticing view. I lean over him, kissing his lips, all the while tracing my fingers down his body, not stopping until I reach his towel. Only when I pull the tucked end loose do I stand up, letting out a shaky breath as I take my first unhindered look.
Beautiful.
I know guys don’t like to be considered beautiful, but looking down at Ian at this moment, that’s the first word that comes to mind. Beautiful, magnificent body. And he’s all mine.
I drop to my knees, sliding my hands up his thighs before gripping him. I hear Ian groan as I stroke him. I’m in no hurry as I take him in my mouth. I hear Ian loudly exhale as I take him deeper, letting my tongue slide up and down. His hands come down on my head, just holding, following my movements.
I’ve never liked going down on guys in the past, only having done it once before. My old boyfriend never affected me the way Ian does. After trying it once, I never had the urge to try again, no matter how much he wanted me to. With Ian though, I feel fearless and sexy. The more I listen to his groans, feel his fingers caressing my head, the more turned on I become.
I reach down with my free hand, stroking myself. I moan and knowing I’m not far from reaching my own climax, I increase my pace.
