by Karla Doyle
“Make me come.”
“Like this?” he asked, giving the perfect pressure. “Or with my mouth?”
“Your mouth.”
Settling on the bed between her legs, he looked up her body and met her gaze. “Say it again, sweets.” His request wasn’t about consent. It was about wanting. About needing. Things she understood very well right now.
She reached down and threaded her fingers through his hair. “I want your mouth on me.”
His pure-alpha growl rippled through her as he pressed his lips against her sensitive flesh. Then kissed her, long and thoroughly. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long.” Another swipe of his tongue accompanied another hungry groan. “You taste so good. Fucking delicious.” He kissed, lapped, feasted on her, as if he couldn’t get enough, taking her closer and closer to the edge.
“There, right there,” she breathed, gripping his head with both hands when his tongue found the explode button.
Arms banded around her hips, he devoured her—mercilessly and deliciously delivering wave after wave of body-shaking, mind-blowing, star-shattering climax. Only when she went limp did he relent.
“Wow.”
The crinkles at the corners of his eyes told her he was smiling, even though she couldn’t see his mouth, which was still busy kissing every inch of her aside from her well-spent clit.
“I was crazy to wait so long for that.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to the crease of her thigh. “I’m happy to make up for lost time,” he said, dipping down to gently draw her clit between his lips.
“You don’t have to…” Her intended protest fizzled as her hips bucked upward involuntarily, her body craving more of the pleasure he seemed happy to give. “Okay, maybe one more.”
His burst of laughter vibrated against her pussy, the rich, albeit muffled, sound wrapping around her with warm, joyful contentment. He made it easy. All of it.
That’s when she knew. She was never going back. And she didn’t want to wait another minute—even an orgasm-filled minute—to go forward.
“Jake,” she said, shimmying away from his skillful tongue. “Come up here.”
“After I give you your ‘one more.’”
“I don’t want it right now.”
He stared up at her, furrows forming between his eyebrows. “Was it the laugh?”
“Yes, but not in a bad way. Your laugh makes me happy. You make me happy, and—” She reached for him, smiling when he followed her cue and moved up her body.
Gaze locked with hers, he held himself above her, with their bodies nearly touching. “And?”
“And I hope you brought condoms, because I want you inside me.”
His eyes twinkled. “Hold that thought.” He lifted his body as if to move away, then leaned back in for a kiss.
Her taste was on his tongue as he swept into her mouth. Intimacy she hadn’t known in so long, she’d forgotten what a turn-on it could be. Having it with Jake made it that much hotter. Cupping the back of his head with one hand and grabbing his firm butt with the other, she pulled him down, mashing their bodies together.
He kissed her deeper, rocking his hips, rolling his cock back and forth against her clit. Again and again and again.
So good, every second took her closer to the peak. She tilted her hips, desperate for more pressure, eight-thousand nerve endings fired-up and ready. “Jake,” she whispered.
“I’ve got you, sweets. Come for me.” He stroked his tongue into her mouth, matching his rhythmic, erotic grind against her clit. He banded one arm beneath her hips, holding her tight as he pressed his steel-hard cock exactly where she needed it, how she needed it.
Locked in his embrace beneath his strong, hard body, she let the spiral of pleasure wash over her, through her, panting and moaning as she came for what felt like infinity.
“One more?” he asked, when she dissolved into a boneless heap of orgasmic satisfaction.
“If it happens while you’re inside me, then yes.”
“That’s guaranteed.” He dropped a kiss on her lips, then pushed up from the bed. Without taking his eyes off her, he located his shorts, then his wallet, then the condom packet.
She’d seen more condoms in the past three years than she cared to think about. None of them mattered now, only the one Jake was rolling down his cock.
The mattress dipped when he knelt on the end. He skimmed his palms over her skin, ankles to inner thighs, gently spreading her legs and positioning himself at the apex. The head of his cock nudged her opening as he lowered his body to cover hers. The slightest forward motion and he’d be inside her, yet he didn’t make it. He held still, cradling her head between his hands, his eyes holding nothing back as their gazes locked.
Emotion surged through her, as powerful and consuming as the orgasms he’d delivered. The urge to tell him everything—that she’d decided to quit Lucky’s, that she was in love with him—nearly overtook her. Later. Right now, she needed this. Needed him inside her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and curled one leg around his backside. She drew him lower, their mouths meshing as his thick cock slid home, filling her to breathless perfection.
He stilled, groaning against her lips. “You feel so good.”
“So do you,” she said, wrapping her other leg around him.
Hands on her hips, he changed the angle and sank even deeper. His lips found hers again, his tongue plundering her mouth as he stroked in and out of her body. Each thrust was like a match strike, sparking her need to come. A need he fulfilled by slipping one hand between them and rolling two fingers over her clit.
“That,” she breathed. “God, Jake, that…” Her head fell back as another wave of pleasure washed over her.
From his fingers. His cock. His lips and teeth, grazing her neck, her shoulder. His growl against her skin. His voice, rich and husky with desire, saying, “Candace, fuck. Candace. So sexy. So fucking good. Fuuuck…”
He dipped down for a kiss before rolling off to lie beside her.
She turned onto her side, watching the rise and fall of his chest return to its normal rhythm. Inside that chest beat the heart of an amazing guy. She loved his good, kind heart. The body that housed it too. She loved the whole package, inside and out.
The weight of his gaze pulled her attention to his handsome face. He stroked her cheek, gently tucking an errant lock of hair into place. “Everything okay, sweets? You’re pretty quiet.”
“Just thinking about you. And us. All good things.”
“I like the sound of that. Tell me.”
The door was wide open, all she had to do was walk through it. Share her decision about work. Tell him she loved him. She opened her mouth to say the words, but a different voice filled the air instead.
“Mommy…” Macy’s whimper drifted through the monitor on Candace’s nightstand. “My tummy hurts, I feel like I’m going to be—” Retching of the unmistakable variety followed.
Candace sprang from the bed as if ejected. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for being a great mom.”
“Oh my God,” she said, fighting with her robe, which seemed to have become a tangled ball of satin since hitting the floor. “Where the hell are the sleeves?”
“Here, let me.” Extricating the robe from her fumbling fingers, he easily sorted it out, then slipped it onto her body and tied the belt. “What else can I do to help? Round up towels, cleaning supplies, a bucket?”
She shook her head while moving toward the door. “I’ve got this, and you have to go to work.”
“I can go in late.”
“I don’t need help.” The words came out ten times sharper than they should have. Shit. She didn’t have time for this. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“I know,” he said, motioning her out of the room. “Go. Take care of Macy. Text me later and let me know how she’s doing.”
“Okay.” The bedroom door was six feet behind her before she realiz
ed she hadn’t even said goodbye. Six feet that felt like a million miles from saying the three big little words that’d been on the tip of her tongue.
Chapter 13
Jake
His phone pinged with an incoming text.
The doctor cleared Macy to go home.
“Finally,” Jake said, reading Candace’s message. Beside him on the couch, Trooper lifted his head and cocked it to one side. Jake stroked the dog’s fur until Trooper sighed and went back to sleep.
He rose from the couch, tapping a reply on his way out of the living room.
That’s great news. On my way now, I’ll pick you up from your place in fifteen minutes.
I’m already at the hospital.
Of course she was. Candace had barely left Macy’s side since last Saturday night.
Macy’s sore stomach and vomiting had gone from bad to worse in the course of a few hours, to the point that Candace had taken Macy to the ER. With a dangerously high fever and severe dehydration, Macy had required IV fluids for twenty-four hours, then an additional three-day-stay in the hospital. Poor kid had been through the ringer. So had Candace.
Then I’ll meet you at your place after you get her home.
After hitting Send, he stood at his apartment door, waiting for the reply his gut told him would pop up.
That’s not necessary. I’ve got everything under control.
And there it was. Candace, subtly shutting him out, as she’d been doing all week.
Jake had spent as much time as possible at the hospital. But between his long-ass shifts, visiting-hour restrictions, and the walls Candace had thrown up, he hadn’t been there nearly enough.
Now that she and Macy were on their way home, things were going to change. Multiple things.
No point in texting back. Everything else would be better said in person. He tucked the phone in his pocket, grabbed his keys and headed out.
Jake
“Jake.” Legit surprise registered on Candace’s face at the sight of him on her doorstep. “I didn’t expect to see you.”
“Told you I’d meet you here.” He raised the shopping bag he’d brought. “I stopped and picked up a few things for my two sweets.”
She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you. For whatever it is.” Stepping aside, she opened the door wide and ushered him inside. “Macy will be so happy you’re here. She asked about you constantly.”
Crazy how much he liked hearing that. “I wish I could’ve been at the hospital more. I hope she knows I would’ve been there if I wasn’t on duty.”
“I explained that you had to work. And I read her your texts.”
“Not all of them, I hope.” He winked and moved closer, tucking her soft, golden hair behind her ear so he could whisper into it, “Some of those texts were just for you.”
“I didn’t read her those texts.” Her breath hitched as he traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. “Jake…”
“I know.” He placed a kiss on her cheek, then took a step back. “Is Macy awake, or should I come back later?”
“Oh, she’s awake. After being confined to a hospital bed for the last four days, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get her into her own.” Candace motioned him to go beyond the hall. “I told her she could play quietly in her bedroom. You can go up. And if you find her jumping on the bed or overdoing it in some other way—”
“Tell her she needs to settle down and take it easy.”
A hint of a smile—the first he’d seen in days—curved her pretty mouth. “I was going to say that you can keep it as your special secret and not tell me.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “A perk of being a fun friend and not a parent figure.” Her comment held no negativity or sarcasm.
That didn’t stop his stomach from twisting as if he’d downed a glass of sour milk.
He reached into the shopping bag and retrieved a coloring book and pack of markers, then handed the bag to Candace. “Nothing exciting in there, just some food stuff. I figured you probably hadn’t been to the grocery store since you’ve been at the hospital pretty much 24/7, so I grabbed a few things I thought might be good for Macy, while she’s getting back to normal.”
“Thank you. You’re always so thoughtful.”
Because he was always thinking about her. How she still didn’t realize that boggled his mind. “Think we can find a few minutes together later, to talk?”
“I think we should.”
At least they agreed about that. He pointed the rolled-up coloring book toward the ceiling. “I’m going to head upstairs. You don’t want to come with?”
Candace’s hair danced on her shoulders as she shook her head. “I know she’ll enjoy having your undivided attention for a while.”
“Maybe she’ll get tired and go to sleep, so you can enjoy my undivided attention later.”
Not only was she silent, her smile didn’t go all the way to her eyes. Something was off. Had been since Macy got sick.
He leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips. A soft one that demanded nothing in return—which is exactly what he got.
Yeah, something was definitely off. Whatever it was, they’d figure it out. Get through it and back to that amazing place they’d reached last Saturday. He wouldn’t stop trying until they did.
Candace
Candace stood a couple paces from Macy’s bedroom door. Out of sight from the two most important people in her life, but within earshot. Not because she didn’t trust Jake. She did. Completely.
She stayed close to hear Macy’s happiness. To memorize the warmth and affection that always tinted Jake’s deep voice when he interacted with her daughter. Because after the talk that’d happen next, she wouldn’t hear those things again.
She had to let Jake go. More accurately, she had to push him away. Macy’s illness had set a ball in motion, one that had the potential to bounce back and cause many kinds of damage. She had no doubt Jake would stick around and support her, support them, if that happened. That’s exactly why she had to cut him loose. He’d accepted so much already, she couldn’t let him take on yet another thing from her complicated life.
Back pressed to the hallway wall, she listened. Ten minutes went by, filled with a variety of happy sounds. Macy’s squeal of excitement. Her innocent giggles. Her sweet little voice jibber-jabbering Jake’s ear off, a running commentary detailing every second of her hospital stay. Jake’s genuine laughter. His kindly spoken responses that proved he’d paid attention to every word Macy said. All of it so beautiful.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as she attempted to rebuild the defenses that’d fallen while listening to them.
“Hey.”
At the sound of Jake’s voice, she battened down the emotional hatches and opened her eyes. “I couldn’t resist eavesdropping a little. I like hearing her excitement when you make her the focus of your attention.”
“I like that too. More than I ever thought I would.” Shoulder against the wall, he smiled down at her. “Thank you for that.”
Just like that, the boards flew loose from the hatches. She needed reinforcements, stat.
His gaze traveled her face before settling on her eyes again. “I see you, Candace, even though you’re doing your damndest to hide from me.”
She motioned for him to follow her down the stairs. On the main floor, they sat together on the couch, Jake’s arm slung along the backrest with his fingertips grazing her nape. The position had become the norm. Any other time, she would have leaned closer, relaxed against his shoulder and chest. She wanted to do that now. So much so, she had to consciously maintain an upright posture.
“Talk to me, sweets. I want to help.”
“I know you do. But this time, I can’t let you. And it’s not because I’m being stubborn, like that time with the money. This is just something I have to handle on my own.” Now, to add the kicker. “Permanently.”
“Permanently, as in, you’re never going to let me help with this particular problem, or…?”
“Permanently, as in, the other kind of permanently.”
“You want to break up?” He shook his head when she nodded. “I don’t believe you.”
A frown did its best to pull her mouth downward, but she fought it, managing to hold her lips to a straight line instead. “Things changed after last weekend.”
“You’re damn right, things changed. You, me, Macy, Trooper. Everything clicked. Then you and I, we definitely clicked.” He caught her hand as she rose, halting her attempted getaway and holding her captive between his knees. “What’s going on?”
“Macy getting sick led to my realization that we don’t really click, Jake. You’re a great guy and we’ve had some fun together, but I’m a single mother whose priority and focus needs to be her child.”
“I’ve never suggested otherwise.”
“Good.” She nodded, pointless as it was. “Then you understand why we can’t see each other anymore.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Look at what happened last weekend. We were finally together together, then I jumped out of bed and left you there. That says a lot.”
“Yeah, it says you’re the best mother in the world to a little girl who needed you. Just because I don’t have a kid of my own doesn’t mean I’m an idiot about them.”
Of course he wasn’t. He was great with Macy. Better than she could ever have hoped. Which made pushing him out of their lives that much harder.
“It’s not just about that moment, Jake. The four days afterward, I barely talked to you, or texted you back. I was so wrapped up in what was happening with Macy, I never even told you how amazing it was to be with you that night.”
“I didn’t need you to tell me. I was there too, remember?” He winked, then released her hand and leaned back against the couch. “How about we lose the bullshit and you tell me what’s really going on.”
