Christ Almighty. Perfectly matched didn’t begin to describe how good they were together. More like two of the same being.
He bent and kissed her hard, tightening his hold on her hair. “You gotta stop me if I get too caught up in you and push too hard.”
“I promise.” She pushed his chest up and wrapped her slender fingers around his shaft, giving it a few hard tugs before swirling her tongue around the head.
His balls pulled up tight. “Suck me, baby. Suck me hard.”
Her eyes flared, and in the next breath she was sucking and stroking like her life depended on it, taking him right up to the edge. When she slowed, he quickened her pace with a thrust of his hips and a tug of her hair. She was eager to comply, giving his balls a gentle tug. His chest constricted, and his eyes slammed shut.
“Emery—” he warned.
She grabbed the backs of his thighs, taking him deeper, faster—and right over the edge. His release quaked through him with magnificent force, and she devoured every pulse. His body jerked with aftershocks as she licked him clean, then rose to her feet. He gathered her against him, and she grabbed his jaw, tugging him into a mind-blowing kiss. She tasted of him, with an undercurrent of his blissful doll, and after a deep, sensual kiss, she tasted only of her sweet, loving self.
After he recovered, they lovingly washed each other off, and then Dean gathered her in a towel, stealing more steamy kisses.
“If you keep that up, we’ll miss the sunrise!”
Her giggles and threats filled the air—and his heart. “We have thousands of sunrises in our future.”
“Maybe,” she said teasingly.
“Christ, woman.” He smacked her ass and she scurried out of the bathroom toward her room. It felt weird to return to his bedroom alone, where Emery’s scent hung in the air. As he dressed, his mind skipped ahead, and his stomach clenched tight. How could he let her move out?
Twenty minutes later they were sitting on a blanket on the dunes in their sweatshirts and shorts, overlooking the water. Ribbons of red, orange, and lavender crept across the sky. Emery rested her head on his shoulder, fitting to him like a piece of a puzzle. He’d brought a thermos of ice water with lemon slices for them to share. This, he decided, was the perfect way to greet the day.
“This is my favorite time of day to do yoga, before the world wakes up, when it’s just me and the gift of a new day.”
“I like the way you said that. A gift.”
“Oh, I might blow through life like I think it’s all here for my taking, but trust me, I know each day is a gift. It’s a chance to renew ourselves in so many ways.”
“How’s that?”
“The way I see it, if we mess up one day, the next day is a chance to make it better or move past it. It’s a gift of another chance. A new beginning.” She gazed up at him and said, “That’s what I love so much about doing yoga first thing in the morning. It centers me in a way nothing else ever has. It’s like my mind, body, and soul all have this one chance to come together without any clutter.”
“You, without any chaos?” He leaned down and kissed her. “I’m not sure I’d want to even imagine that.”
She laughed softly. “You sort of center me, too.”
Her confession warmed him all over. “Is that so? How?”
“I’m not sure, but you push me to see things differently. I know this will seem weird, because you have already made me act so differently than I normally do. But I feel more like myself than I ever have.” She looked out over the water as the sun crept higher. “Ever since our first kiss, which I know wasn’t months ago or anything, but ever since that kiss, I haven’t wanted to hold back.”
He brushed her hair over her shoulder so he could see her face more clearly, and when she turned, her cheeks were flushed.
“I tried to fight it,” she admitted, “because I didn’t want to risk our friendship. But I feel completely uninhibited when we’re close. I never realized until now that I wasn’t uninhibited with anyone else.”
“It’s because you feel safe with me,” he said. “We’ve shared a lot over the months we were apart. Some things I would have rather not heard about, and I’m sure there were times you didn’t want to hear about things I shared. But I never judged you, and you never judged me. That creates a sense of safety.”
“I didn’t see it that way. I saw our talks as two friends sharing their daily lives. When you told me about the dates you went on, I wanted you to be happy, but now I know that the reason I ate nearly a half gallon of ice cream on those nights was because I was jealous.”
“No way.” He pulled her closer. “I can’t even imagine you being jealous.”
“No? I could have clawed Chloe’s eyes out in the first thirty seconds of seeing her. The way she looked at you was proprietary and intimate.”
That surprised him. “We’ve known each other forever, but we’ve never gone out. She’s a friend, unlike all those horseback-riding, lasso-swinging cowboys you call friends back home.”
She buried her face in his chest. “And yet you still want me.”
He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. “More than you can imagine. I like who you are. I told you, there’s nothing you can do that will scare me away, and I’m not going to let you sabotage our relationship when you get scared.”
She scowled. “You think you know me so well?”
“Hardly. You’re not the type of woman a man can ever be done getting to know. You’re power and passion, too wild to be tamed and too smart to let anyone dull your shine. You’re like the ocean, shaping the landscape around you as you go through life. I know better than to stand in your way. You’d find a way to blow right through me.”
She went up on her knees and moved between his legs, looking hauntingly beautiful against the rising sun.
“You really see me like that? Powerful? Wanting others to change to fit my needs?”
The sadness in her eyes told him that she’d misunderstood the beauty he meant to convey. “I do see you as powerful and beautiful, but not asking others to change to fit your needs. You own who you are, and you do what it takes to get where you want to be. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
He kissed her softly, but the uncertainty in her eyes remained. “Emery, you don’t ask for anything. You’re beautiful and passionate. You’re bright lights and steamy nights. You’re the little girl who would move heaven and earth to make her best friend feel safe and happy after her mother broke her heart and the strong woman who won’t settle for anything less than she deserves.”
Her eyes glossed over again, as they had in the bedroom.
“You don’t ask others to change. But you don’t take any shit. When you’re not treated right, you walk away. I’ll never ask you to change, either. But as you know, I have asked that you open your eyes with regard to our relationship, to make sure you don’t accidentally blow us both out of the water.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. “You see me clearer than anyone ever has in my entire life.”
He held her close, wishing the sun would take hours to rise so they could remain right there together, keeping the rest of the world at bay. He couldn’t hold back from asking for what he really wanted. “I wish you’d consider staying, and not move to the inn.”
She was quiet for a long moment.
“It’s too soon,” he said, more heartbroken than he’d like to admit and wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. “Sorry I mentioned it.”
She moved back and gazed into his eyes with a serious expression. “It would be easy to say okay, but I’m still worried I’ll somehow drive you away, and I don’t want what we have to end.”
“You won’t drive me away.”
“Then let me prove that to myself. Moving out will be hard, especially since you’re so addicting. I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like to wake up in a separate house, much less a separate room. But I have to know this is real, and if it is, then
a short walk won’t make a difference.”
He wanted to push her, but even if he didn’t need proof that their relationship could withstand a little distance—for God’s sake, they’d been hundreds of miles apart for months—he acquiesced to ease her mind. “Okay, doll.”
She rested her head on his shoulder again, remaining quiet for so long this time, he hoped she was reconsidering.
“You’re really good at these example outings,” she finally said. “I don’t want them to end. Because once they stop, it means we’ve decided to date, and when people date, they find flaws in each other. Everything will change. And when you couple that with me moving out…”
She lifted her head again, and the worry in her eyes brought his hands to her cheeks, holding her so she couldn’t look away, couldn’t avoid seeing the honesty in his eyes. “No, sweet girl. We’ve had months of getting to know each other’s flaws. When they come out, we’ll embrace them, and the ones we can’t, we’ll talk about until we find a way to accept them. Not everything good ends with disappointment. We’re moving from example outings to a real, claim-me-as-your-guy relationship, and I’ll do everything within my power to make sure you never regret that decision.”
Chapter Seventeen
EMERY SPENT WEDNESDAY evening hanging out with Desiree in Provincetown. She needed a little girl time, and it was a good distraction to keep from running back over to Dean’s house and crawling into his bed. She hadn’t even spent one night alone yet, and already she missed him. When she’d visited over Christmas, the inn had felt homey, and it had been easy to see herself there. Now, at a little after midnight, as she closed her bedroom door, leaving the expansive emptiness on the other side of it, everything felt different. Over Christmas, the big Victorian had been bustling with their friends. She’d been by Dean’s side even then, sharing his drinks and dinners, laughing and joking.
Flirting.
She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her still-packed suitcases and thinking about how they’d gone from shamelessly flirting to falling for each other. She ran her finger over the bracelet he’d given her, missing everything about him. His laugh, that serious expression that would suddenly flash so hot her heart would stutter. God, she even missed the way he touched her when he walked by, and the scratch of his beard on her cheek when they kissed. Lord, she missed that. But she’d made the right decision to follow up with her plans and move into the inn. For once in her life, she was thinking things through.
And it sucked.
She fidgeted with the edge of her sundress, wondering if Dean was asleep yet. Were Tango and Cash curled up in her spot beside him? Or was Dean lying awake wondering what she was doing? They’d texted before she’d gone out with Desiree, and he’d told her he missed her already and to have fun.
She did have fun.
They even made plans to start looking at wedding dresses in the fall, even though Desiree and Rick hadn’t picked a date yet.
But now she was done. She’d caught up with her bestie.
Now she was ready for Dean.
She pushed from the bed, stepping around the open suitcases and clothes that were hanging over the sides, and went into the bathroom. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. When she set her toothbrush down on the counter, even that felt lonely without Dean’s right next to it. Geez, she was really losing it. Since when did she even think this way? She pulled off her dress and tossed it in the hamper. She changed into a cami and sleeping shorts and sat on the edge of her bed again, this time holding her phone. Her finger hovered over Dean’s name on her recent call list.
Would he think she was clingy if she called? He’d asked her to stay. Surely he would be happy?
Or sleeping…
Ugh. But she missed him. How could she go to sleep without hearing his voice after having talked with him nearly every night for months on end, and being together every day since she’d come to the Cape?
She couldn’t be expected to go cold turkey.
That would be torture, and Dean would not want her tortured. Of that she was sure.
But maybe he wouldn’t want her at all if she were clingy…
She glanced at the bathroom, and an idea came to light. With her heart dancing to a nervous beat, she called him.
He answered on the first ring. “Hey, doll. Everything okay?”
The sound of his voice sent relief whooshing through her. She flopped onto her back and said, “Yeah, great.” Okay, she lied.
“Did you have fun with Des?”
“Mm-hm. We walked all over P-town, talked, you know. Caught up.”
“Good. And how’s your room?”
Lonely without you. She kept that to herself and said, “It’s fine, except…I was, um, just wondering if you could come check out my sink? It’s…not working right.”
“Your sink? Sure, when?”
“Now?” She closed her eyes, hoping that didn’t make her sound needy.
“Of course.” He made a noise like he was pushing to his feet, and she wondered if he was on the couch or in his bed.
“I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
“You are never an inconvenience.” His keys jingled. “I’m on my way, doll. Don’t you worry.”
THANK FUCKING GOD. Dean had been lying on his bed looking at what he knew would be a long, sleepless night spent thinking about Emery. He climbed into his truck and sped over to the inn. It was faster than walking, and he needed her in his arms now.
The inn was dark, save for the lights in Emery’s second-floor bedroom. With his toolbox in hand, he took the porch steps two at a time, reminding himself she’d asked him to look at her sink, not sweep her into his arms. The last thing he needed was to scare her off by wanting too much too fast.
He forced himself to slow down, and when he lifted his hand to knock, the door opened before he had a chance to. Emery peered up at him, looking beautiful and sexy in a spaghetti-strap top and silky pajama bottoms.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi.” He fought the urge to drop the toolbox and haul her into his arms. Why was he so nervous? He felt like everything was riding on how he handled things right this second. She’d called him for help, not to be carried back home. He didn’t know when that mental transition had happened, but he already considered his house her home—regardless of how few days they’d spent together there. He had the feeling it had started before she’d even moved to the Cape, when coming home at night had meant hearing her voice on the phone or over video chat.
He leaned down and kissed her. She tasted of toothpaste and blessed relief. How could a few hours apart feel like a lifetime?
“Thanks for coming over. My, um, sink is in my room, upstairs.” She glanced at the stairs.
“Okay, let’s take a look.”
He followed her up the stairs. The sway of her hips in those little silky bottoms made his cock twitch with hope. Down, boy.
She pushed open her bedroom door, and his gaze swept over a handful of fancy pillows scattered across the four-poster bed, her open suitcases lying on the floor, a pile of clothes on a chair. The room smelled pretty, like roses, but markedly not like Emery. The bed was too frilly, the furniture too fancy. Everything felt wrong. She belonged with him.
“Can you close the door?” she asked. “I don’t want to wake anyone.”
As he closed the door, he told himself once again not to read too much into it or allow his desires to take over.
“The bathroom’s in here.” She pointed to a door at the far end of the room.
She stepped just inside the bathroom door, and though it was a large bathroom, the space between the antique vanity and where she stood was barely enough for his large frame. He put a hand on her hip as he set the toolbox down, bringing his mouth to breast height. He wanted to slip that slinky top off and run his tongue over her pert nipples, to seal his lips over her breast. He loved the way she got off on him loving her with his mouth. He was hard just thinking about it.
&
nbsp; Their eyes connected, and he couldn’t resist cradling her face in his hands and gazing into her eyes. He wanted to say so many things. I miss you. Come home with me. You look beautiful. You belong with me. But he’d already asked her to stay, and he had to respect her need for this time apart if only to prove to her what they had was real.
He pressed his lips to her forehead instead, breathing in her unique and alluring scent. “I’ll always be here when you need me.” Drawing upon his feelings for her, he stepped back. “Let’s get your sink fixed.”
He turned on the faucets and felt the water. They were appropriately hot and cold.
“It seems to be running fine.” He looked under the sink to see if there was a leak, but it was bone dry. When his gaze caught Emery’s in the mirror, she was biting her lower lip, but her smile shone through. And the blush on her cheeks kicked his brain into gear. How could he have been so thickheaded?
“I think I know what’s wrong with your sink,” he said, turning to face her.
“You do?” She blinked up at him, her entrancing hazel eyes all surprise and curiosity, as if she really thought he’d figured something out.
He lifted her onto the sink and wedged himself between her legs, holding her tight against him. Lust brimmed in her eyes, telling him he’d guessed right. “It obviously hasn’t been properly broken in yet.”
As he lowered his mouth to hers, she touched his cheek, and he realized she was stroking his beard, as if she’d missed every inch of him just as much as he’d missed her.
“I missed you, too, doll.” His fingers threaded into her hair, and he kissed her again, deeper, his pent-up desires spilling out. He broke their connection only long enough to whip her top over her head and fill his hand with her breast. She panted and he groaned, then sucked her nipple into his mouth.
She gasped with pleasure, arching into him and pushing up at his shirt at the same time. “I think my mattress might need to be inspected, too.”
He chuckled and crashed his mouth to hers. He lifted her into his arms, pushing his fingers beneath her flimsy bottoms, touching her slick heat as he carried her into the bedroom. “Fuck, baby. I swear I like you for more than sex.” He laid her on the bed and came down over her. “I know you need to make sure we’ve thought this through, and I’m not pushing, but you need to know. I want you with me. Always.”
Bayside Passions (Bayside Summers Book 2) Page 19
