by Aly Martinez
Lifting them to my nose, I inhaled deeply and then spoke on the exhale. “Maury, what did you do?”
One side of his mouth curled up. “I may have enlisted River’s help in exchange for these.” He withdrew more cupcakes from his magical box.
“Ohhhh,” I breathed, trading packages with him.
Three of them were vanilla with vanilla frosting and colorful sprinkles: River’s absolute favorite. But the other three were all different. One was red velvet. One appeared to be something lemony. And the last, judging by the smell, was peanut butter—River’s arch nemesis of cupcakes.
“She picked peanut butter?”
He scratched the back of his neck. “I, uh, didn’t know what kind to get Savannah, so I just took a guess.”
I blinked. Then blinked again. And then, suddenly, I couldn’t stop blinking.
It started in my fingertips. Faint, like a million pin pricks. I stood frozen as it traveled up my arms and over my chest, stealing my breath.
He’d bought them cupcakes.
Thirty-dollar, roughly nine percent of his weekly salary, cupcakes. And he didn’t want to leave Savannah out, so he’d just guessed on fifteen dollars’ worth of freaking cupcakes.
Panic hit me as I felt my throat get thick. I softly gasped, trying to collect as much oxygen as I could before it closed.
And then I felt it. The stinging at my nose followed by the burning in my eyes.
Oh shit. I was going to cry.
Oh shitty shit shit shit. I was going to cry and I wasn’t alone, hidden by the walls of my room.
“No,” I croaked. Dropping the box on the counter, I was ready to sprint when his hand curled around the back of my neck, rendering me motionless.
“Cora?” he rasped, the question of what the hell was wrong with me being clear.
I shook my head repeatedly, trying and failing to fight it back.
Do not let him see you cry, I told myself. Unfortunately, my tear ducts missed the memo. A droplet slipped from the corner of my eye, and with no other choice, I face-planted against his chest. He wasted no time before folding his arms around me. One went around my shoulders, the other going around my waist, plastering me to his front.
“Talk to me,” he rumbled.
“I…uh…think I’m having some kind of emotional allergic reaction to you buying cupcakes,” I told his shirt.
He didn’t immediately respond. However, when he did, it was not at all what I had been expecting.
A deep, rich laugh sprang from his throat. It was bold and carefree. The antithesis of everything I knew about Penn. I’d heard him chuckle. I’d heard him attempt to muffle a laugh. But this was…different.
This was beautiful.
Slowly, and without concern for any tears that might still be showing, I tilted my head back to enjoy what would surely be a spectacular show.
At the movement, he looked down at me, a wide smile splitting his lips. “You’re crying over cupcakes?”
“I wasn’t crying. I was just…having a moment.”
Using his thumb, he wiped under my eye and then lifted it so I could see it. “Then I should probably warn you that you’ve sprung a leak.”
I huffed with mock frustration. “Fine. Consider it a medical condition like that thing with your mouth. Which I’d like to note seems to have developed a new, much noisier symptom.”
He winked. “I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine.”
“Deal.” I started to push out of his arms, but he shook his head and gathered me tighter.
“Nuh-uh. We need to talk.”
Those words usually struck fear into me. Conversation meant questions. And, more often than not, questions meant I had to lie. But, considering he was still smiling and I was utterly content to stand in his arms for however long he wanted to hold me, I didn’t put up a fight.
“About what?”
He glanced down the hall. “Where are the girls?”
“They’re watching movies on the second floor with—” I paused when a thought dawned on me. “Wait…did that cost you cupcakes too?”
“No. That cost me cash.”
“Penn!”
“What?” He laughed again and I’d been absolutely right, it was spectacular to witness. “I couldn’t risk getting roped into another non-date musical. Don’t think I didn’t see Chicago on your shelf last night.”
I circled my arms around his neck. “Wow. All that to avoid seeing Catherine Zeta-Jones naked.”
“She gets naked?”
I shrugged. “I guess you’ll never know.”
Burying his face against my neck, he burst into laughter all over again.
I let myself go and started laughing too. I used him for balance, and he more than took my weight.
And then he really took my weight.
I squeaked when he lifted me off my feet and carried me into the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” I asked, still lost in hilarity when he sat me on the counter next to the sink.
My legs opened and he didn’t delay in moving between them like it was the most natural thing in the world. And maybe it was. Though the nerves in my stomach were fluttering at full tilt. I kept my hold around his neck while he bent, put his hands on the counter on either side of my hips, and leaned in close. As in super close. Like we were breathing the same air. Not that I was actually breathing or anything.
My mouth dried as those blue eyes of his, which were no longer carrying the weight of the world, met mine. They were bright and sparkling with excitement even in the dull florescent lighting. “I have a surprise.”
“What kind of surprise?” I whispered. “Is it better than cupcakes?”
“I thought so, but then you cried. So, now, I’m not sure.”
I pinched his shoulder. “Hey! Secrets, remember?”
“Right. Sorry.” He looked down, but it was impossible to hide a grin that big.
I loved every second of knowing that I was the one to put that on his face.
“Close your eyes,” he ordered.
“How about I keep them open?”
His large hand cupped the back of my neck, and his nose brushed mine. “Eyes closed or no surprise.”
Forget the butterflies—a stampede of elephants took up residence in my belly. Licking my lips, I followed his direction and dropped my lids.
And then, much to my dismay, he disappeared.
My shoulders sagged. “Uh…Penn?”
“Nope. Keep ’em closed,” he said from somewhere nearby. In the background, there was a metal squeaking like he was twisting a screw.
“Can I at least have a clue?”
“Well,” he murmured as he blessedly resumed his position between my legs. “It’s wet and warm.” His voice grew husky as his hands landed just above my knees and then coasted up my thighs. I gasped when they stopped at the hem of my shorts, but not before his thumb slipped under the fabric, gently teasing in circles. “I’ve wanted to give you this since the moment we met. To rain it over every inch of your smooth skin and dampen your perfect lips.”
Chills exploded across my body, and my heart picked up a marathon pace. My throat closed as I waited for his mouth to find mine. His tongue to sneak out, urging my lips to part before starting a slow and dizzying rhythm.
Unfortunately, he only continued with the verbal seduction. “And some nights, I’ve done nothing but lay in bed, my mind spinning, trying to figure out when I was finally going to have the chance to do it.”
A soft moan escaped my throat. Then, in the miracle of all miracles, his lips ghosted across mine. It wasn’t exactly a kiss. But it wasn’t exactly not a kiss, either.
“Penn,” I breathed, gripping his strong shoulders, my nails biting into the hard muscle.
“You ready, Cora?”
I nodded multiple times before finally finding the word, “Yes.”
“Give me your hand.”
Hypnotized and teetering on the edge of anticipation, I obeyed immediately.
>
His callused fingers folded around the back of mine, and, palm up, he extended my arm out to the side.
And that’s when I felt it.
Everything he’d described.
Everything I’d been asking for.
Yet, in that moment, nothing I wanted.
“Penn!” I exclaimed as water from my kitchen faucet rushed over our joined hands. My eyes flicked open and I found him standing in front of me, a shit-eating grin splitting his mouth.
He feigned innocence. “What?”
I gave his chest a shove that did nothing to move him. “That was mean.”
“Wait, what’d you think I was talking about?”
I glared. “Oh, I don’t know. Wet. Warm. Laying in bed dreaming of giving it to me.”
His eyebrows shot up and his mouth fell open, but he was still joking as he said, “Oh wow. I did not realize how filthy your mind was.”
I barked a laugh and flicked droplets of water off the tips of my fingers, splashing him in the face. “I didn’t mean sex!”
He wiped his cheek on his shoulder. “So, what, then? A kiss? Like on the forehead? Farther south? I’m gonna need specifics here.”
I rolled my eyes, feeling my face go up in flames. “Sweet Lord. Let’s just talk about the water. You actually fixed it?”
His only answer was to hook his arm around my hips, forcing me to the edge of the counter.
I cursed, fisting my hands in the front of his shirt when my core met his zipper.
His smile grew knowingly. Rough as velvet, he murmured, “We could try a forehead kiss, you know?”
“Oh, goodie,” I smarted, pushing at his chest, desperate for an escape. “Is the bathroom working too? I want to see.”
“No. I need to connect a few pipes. But, first, close your eyes again.”
Forging ahead on my escape plans, I shimmied, trying to get down while mumbling, “I think we’ve had enough surprises tonight.”
With a hand in the back of my hair, he stilled my retreat and tipped my head back until our eyes met. His face had drained of humor, but the flicker of desire remained. “Have you unlearned the In my experience yet?”
I swallowed hard and shook my head.
“You been with anyone since your ex?”
My eyes flared. “Not before and not after.”
“Right. So this is going to work a little differently for me and you.” Sliding his free hand down my calf, he wrapped my leg around his hip. “Say the word, Cora, and I’ll kiss you breathless. But that’s where we start and stop tonight. We take this slow. Get to know each other. Gain some trust. Ease into things.” His voice became jagged. “Don’t look so disappointed, baby. There’s a lot of fun to be had with our mouths. You just gotta ask.”
The herd of elephants resumed their stampede, and my throat got tight. “What word exactly?”
“Any of them.”
“And you’ll kiss me breathless?”
His mouth twitched. “That’s what I said.”
I licked my lips as I tried to formulate a witty retort that hopefully included The Word. When I came up with nothing, I smarted, “That doesn’t sound like a forehead kiss.”
Grinning, he nuzzled his nose with mine, whispering on an exhale, “You’ll have to ask and find out.”
The magnificent sound of water running played in the background as I stared into his eyes.
On one hand, I wasn’t particularly eager to beg a man to kiss me.
On the other hand, he was giving me control and thus the safety that came with it.
I hated that he knew I needed that.
But I adored that he used what little he knew about me to make me comfortable rather than using it against me.
And, for that reason alone, I felt not one bit of shame as I whispered, “Kiss me, Penn.”
Penn
Drew had told me that I didn’t have to fall in love with her or even sleep with her.
But there were no two ways around it. I had to kiss her.
I had no concept of why Cora Guerrero wanted me.
I’d tried to push her away. Tried guiding her in Drew’s direction, despite it feeling like acid in my veins. He could have taken care of her. He had an end game.
I had a grave waiting for me.
But if this was what she wanted from me, I wasn’t going to deny her.
God knew I was attracted to Cora more than reason or logic could ever explain. So I stopped trying to rationalize it.
I’d picked up Thai food and cupcakes she loved, bribed River and Savannah to get gone, and opened myself up for whatever the hell made her happiest.
As it turned out, we’d wanted a lot of the same things.
Like my mouth sealed over hers.
And, eventually, my body driving between her legs.
For fuck’s sake, someone had to win in this entirely messed-up situation.
Why couldn’t it be her?
I could spend my days making her happy and my nights making love to her until we were both too sated to remember the past. Who knew? Maybe that was all she truly wanted from me.
A distraction from reality.
A warm body to make her forget.
A man to worship her.
I could do all of it.
What came after, I had no idea.
But I could make this easy for her.
And, selfishly, it would give me time to gather up a few million memories to torture myself with when I was gone.
“Kiss me, Penn.”
She didn’t have to repeat herself.
I kept my eyes open, drinking her in as I angled forward, slanted my head, and then took her mouth without a single regret. Her long lashes fell, and with one more stolen glance, I let mine follow.
Palming either side of her face, I relished in the way the ache in my chest disappeared.
Her lips were just as soft as I’d feared. Warm and pliant, her mouth opened, welcoming me in.
I groaned when her tongue touched mine. I’d thought about how she’d taste more times than I’d ever admit. Turned out, it was mint, soft and smooth. Just like her.
She set the pace of desperation, and I more than followed her.
Her tongue rolled with mine, her fingers slid into my hair, and her legs locked around my hips, holding me as though she thought I was trying to get away.
But, in that moment, the world could have fallen off its axis and I was going nowhere.
I glided my hands down her sides, allowing my thumbs to sweep over the curve of her breasts. Her mouth fell slack, a soft moan escaping, and I swallowed it like a man on the brink of starvation.
I wanted more of those.
I wanted to give her more of those.
She released my mouth and started shoving the front of my shirt up. A curse tore from my throat as she latched on to my neck, her teeth raking deliciously across my skin. I sucked in a sharp breath when her nails traveled down the ridges of my abs, teasing at the waistband of my jeans.
“Take this off,” she ordered.
I’d told her we’d go slow.
I’d fucking lied.
Panting, my cock thick and ready behind the denim, I stilled. “Jeans or shirt?”
She giggled, peppering kisses up my neck before nipping at my ear. “Have you reconsidered your stance on boxers?”
“Nope.”
“Then maybe we should start with the shirt.”
It was gone in the next heartbeat, and then my mouth once again sealed over hers.
We both moaned that time.
Our upper bodies were flush, her large breasts pillowed between us. But she was wearing entirely too much clothing.
“Tell me what’s off-limits,” I murmured.
“Nothing.”
“Cora,” I pressed.
“Shut up and touch me, Penn.”
That I could do.
Her shirt joined mine on the floor, revealing a simple white bra that did nothing to hide her peaked nipples. My mouth watered as
I dove between her cleavage. Licking and sucking, I made my way up to her delicate collarbone before heading south again.
“Oh God,” she breathed, throwing her head back and using the top of my hair for balance.
I could have handled that. The erotic sting on my scalp. Her breathless urgency and sultry mews.
But what I could not handle was the roll of her hips, searching for friction against my zipper.
“Shit. Slow down,” I groaned.
Get naked, my mind screamed.
She leaned forward, forcing me upright. One of her hands snaked into the back of my pants. I couldn’t help but smile when she gripped my ass and bit my shoulder, mumbling, “Speed up.”
“Any faster and I’m gonna be inside you.”
She suddenly stilled, her head popping up, some unreadable emotion blazing in her wide eyes.
In my experience, Penn…
“Fuck,” I muttered, regret dousing me like a bucket of ice water. I started to back away, but she refused me my space.
“That’s not where this is going,” I said. “I’ll kiss you any way you want. But that’s as far as we go.”
She shook her head. “Wait, Penn, I—”
“I don’t need an explanation. We got ground rules. Pants stay on. Everything above the waist is fair game.”
She opened her mouth, but I silenced her with another kiss.
“No more talking.” With both hands on her ass, I scooped her off the counter.
Her legs once again encircled my hips, and our mouths reconnected. Our tongues danced and dueled as I carried her from the kitchen, blindly bumping into walls.
The couch seemed to be approximately seven miles away, but with our mouths fused together, I was content to take the scenic route.
We lay on that couch, making out for somewhere between ten seconds and a hundred years.
I catalogued her every curve, and she explored my back from ass to shoulders.
My pants stayed on.
Her bra remained in place.
But there was nothing innocent about the way our bodies rolled together, like waves unable to find a shore. And I was a delirious man lost at sea who never wanted to be found.
When the frenzy finally ebbed from our bodies, I was lying on my side, my back against the couch, her front pressed to mine, our noses only inches apart as her head rested on my arm, and my fingers teased at her lower back.
