by Lauren Runow
Tears well up in my eyes as I’m overcome with the heady emotion of my first orgasm by someone other than me in years.
As he works his way up my body, he takes in my face. “Hey there, Lacey girl. I told you, if it’s too soon, we can wait.” He lovingly strokes my hair as he looks down at me in concern.
I smile. “It’s not that. I’m happy actually. And it scares me.”
His shoulders fall in relief. “I have a secret,” he says, and I’m all ears. “I’m scared too. I’m crazy about you. Maddeningly addicted. I’m laying a lot on the line too. I’m falling for a girl who doesn’t believe in love.”
Maybe it’s because he’s so damn good-looking or because he climbed my fire escape. Hell, it could be because I just had an intense orgasm, but in this moment, something about Jake has me lowering the barriers that protect my heart, and I’m completely honest with him.
“I’m crazy about you too.”
“Really?”
I nod and feel for the buckle of his pants. “Delirious and wild. I want all of you. Right now.”
He doesn’t waste any time. He takes a condom out of his wallet and tosses it onto the bed. His pants are discarded and pushed onto the floor. His boxer briefs are next. As he settles on me, his cock hits me inside, and the sheer proximity of it has me reeling in anticipation.
I reach down and grasp it in my hand. It’s hot and heavy as I slide over the hardened shaft.
His forehead falls to mine. “Fuck, that feels so good.”
“I need you inside me.” My voice is desperate as I lift the condom and take it out of the wrapper.
He sits up on his knees, and from this angle, his cock looks massive. As I slide the rubber on his erection, I get excited at how incredible it will feel once it’s inside of me.
“I’ll go slow,” he says as he settles between my legs.
“Don’t you dare.”
My words are rewarded with a kiss as he slides himself inside my core, and I gasp at the foreign feel of it. It’s thick and hot, and already, my eyes roll to the back of my head as he thrusts his hips against my body.
My hips and legs are practically vibrating as he slides in and out. He leans down to take a sensitive nipple in between his lips and then lifts up to claim my mouth. His jaw is tight as he fights the urge to come, and I give him his out.
“Come, baby. Let it go.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “This is for you.”
He raises one of my legs and pushes in further. The sensation is incredible, and coupled with his dedication to making me come, I’m in a lust-filled haze, writhing and panting beneath him. He pins his hips to hit the spot that seems to make me see double and slams into it relentlessly.
Our eyes lock as we surge past every barrier I have up. Beyond my past, crashing into my present. I come with a cry in the dark, clenching around him. His weight falls on me as he pumps into me like a machine, chasing his own orgasm as he grips me, kisses me, claims me, and absolutely owns me.
When he comes, it’s with my name on his lips.
His hands are on my hips, and his mouth finds mine again.
I wrap my legs around him, and we fall to the side, kissing, gasping, and grasping on to one another like teenagers in heat.
I don’t know what this man will do to my heart, but for tonight, I’m going to let him own it because being his is more than amazing.
Chapter Fifteen
I wake to the sun shining through the window and the heat of a warm body. My first reaction is to flinch before I remember who’s lying next to me.
Staring at his back, I admire the pristine form of it. Broad shoulders. Tapered waist. He has a birthmark on his spine and another at the top of his ass. I run a finger from one to the next, connecting the dots and watching as his body shifts with the touch.
“Hmm,” he hums as he rolls onto his back, pulling me into his arms and resting my head on his chest. “Good morning.” When he kisses the back of my head, chills run through my body. “You don’t like to snuggle, do you?”
I place my hand on his. “I’m used to having my own bed.”
His chest rumbles with his laugh. “I’m aware. I tried to snuggle you last night, and you kicked me. I was tempted to build a pillow fort around me to avoid getting bruised.”
I lean up and bite my lip. “Sorry. Was I really that bad?”
He pulls me in closer, snaking both his hands around me and wrapping a leg over my thigh. “I’m okay if you need your space to sleep so long as you let me do this to you when you’re awake. Cuddle time is definitely a priority.”
“Did you really just say ‘cuddle time’?
“For the record, most women would love a man as affectionate as me.”
“Leave it to you to find the one girl who needs her space,” I say. When I feel him pulling away, I grip his back and push my body into him, letting him know I like him exactly where he is. “That said, I really like you invading my space.”
His mouth leans down to my ear and neck, showing me just how appreciative he is for this physical connection.
I lean up to look at the clock, noticing it’s almost eight. It’s early for me, but I remember him saying something about having to be up at six for work. I guess that’s what we get for staying up way later than we should have, but after we had sex, we sat and talked for hours before having sex again. It was the best night I’d had in a long time, and the sex was the cherry on top.
“Are you going to be late?” I ask, concerned.
“My mom will understand.”
I look up at him in shock. “You are not going to tell your mom we slept together.”
He chuckles as he grabs his cell phone off the nightstand and starts texting. “Fine. I won’t tell her that or that we stayed up for hours, talking in bed before going for round two.” He winks at me. “How about I tell her we went on an amazing date last night and that I took you to breakfast? She won’t suspect anything since you live next door.”
“Okay, that works better,” I say, watching him punch in a message to Bobbi. “I’m surprised you’re willing to lie to her about breakfast.”
“I’m not lying. I still plan on feeding you. I make spectacular French toast.” He puts the cell phone down, comes up behind me and grabs my waist, pulling me into him.
“Or we can skip breakfast and use the time for something even better?” I wiggle my ass against him and love the sound he growls into my ear.
“You’re making it hard to leave this bed. How about you come to the flower shop with me today?”
I still. “You want me to come to work with you?”
“Yeah, it will be fun. I’ll teach you all the dirty little secrets of the flower business.”
A grin spreads across my face at the idea of spending the day with him. “I’m sure there’s a real dark web of the petal pushers.”
“You teasing me, Rivers?” He tickles my sides, and I laugh into him, only subsiding when he starts kissing my neck again as I run my hands down his torso.
“I have a confession to make. Rivers is a pen name.”
With a bent arm, he holds his head up as he lies on his side and asks, “What’s your real name?”
“Lacey Camille Wampo. I didn’t think Wampo was romantic enough for a writer, and Rivers sounded so beautiful. And if I’m being completely honest, I kinda like having my own name. Something that’s not associated with my father or my mother or anyone for that matter. I’m my own person. That must sound crazy to someone like you with strong family ties.”
“No.” He shakes his head slightly as he looks down with pursed lips. “It would be rude of me to assume anything about your feelings. I didn’t have your upbringing. You must think I’m crazy for giving up my dream to fulfill a family obligation.”
“Not at all. It’s admirable. That’s quite possibly my favorite thing about you. Which is why I would love to go to work with you today. You sure your parents won’t mind?”
“Nah, they’d love to
have you. My mom hasn’t stopped talking about you since she met you the other day. You could bring your laptop, and if things get busy, you can sit in the back and write, so you’ll still get your words in.”
“Look at you, speaking author lingo.”
“I pay attention to what you say.” He moves a stray hair away from my face. “Sound good?”
“I think it sounds like the perfect way to spend the day.”
I pull the covers off and hop out of bed, but he stops me short, reaching for me and sliding me underneath him.
“Okay, I was wrong. That was a good idea you had before.”
I laugh out loud as his lips crash into mine, instantly making me lust for him and what his body can do to me.
“Lacey, I’m so glad you decided to spend the day with us. So, tell me, are you making one of your characters a florist? Perhaps a woman named Bobbi with age-defying beauty and business savvy, who takes the city by storm?”
Jake raises his brows. “You’ve read her books, Mom. The heroine falls in love.”
“A woman in her fifties can have a love affair,” she explains. Turning to me, she adds, “I’d like to fall in love with a firefighter who looks like Dylan McDermott.”
“She’s on a Tom Hardy kick right now,” Jake says with a chuckle.
“Yes, but Tom Hardy is my dream love interest. I can definitely write a sexy and savvy floral designer from Chicago who gets rescued by a fireman with piercing blue eyes and thick, dark hair,” I say with a smile, making him groan.
“What is up with the light eyes and dark hair?” he asks.
I laugh. “Even your mother agrees. It’s the preferred heartthrob look.”
Bobbi nods her head as she cuts the stem off a rose and places it in a vase.
Jake points his cutting shears in his mother’s direction. “Don’t let Pop hear you talk about lusting about blue-eyed firefighters. And what does the fictional Bobbi do with the husband she has?”
“Write that he left her for a Sofía Vergara–type. It’s your dad’s celebrity hall pass, and it would make him happy to know he landed her in some alternate universe.” She laughs at her joke as Jake bows his head, as if his parents were the ultimate embarrassment.
I giggle at their antics. “Noted. First, I have to finish my current book. The hero is an artist.”
Jake lifts his head. “That was my idea, by the way.”
I smile. “Yes, it was his idea. Maybe being here will bring some inspiration. I’m at a standstill in the story line, and I only have a short time to finish.”
The front door to the shop opens, making a chime ring. A gentleman with dark blond hair, a smattering of gray on the sides, enters, carrying a box. He walks over to the counter, where Jake and Bobbi are making arrangements for the afternoon deliveries.
“My darling, these look beautiful.” He gives Bobbi a kiss on the cheek as he looks at me with a grin. “Who is this young lady?”
Jake puts a hand on the small of my back. “Pa, this is Lacey.”
I step forward, holding out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Moreau.”
“Please, call me Louis. Jake was right. You are even more beautiful in person than the photo on your author website.”
My eyes are wide as I roll my head in Jake’s direction. “Why are you showing my picture to your family?”
Louis saves his son. “I wanted to know more about the woman who has the ladies in my family going crazy as they keep their nose in a book. Bobbi wouldn’t sleep; she was reading all night. And my Penelope has been going on and on about Jake’s new friend who writes novels. And this one”—he points to Jake—“only has the kindest things to say about you.”
That’s so sweet to hear, especially since I’ve been pretty short with Jake in the past.
“He’s been nothing but chivalrous, and he is very easy to spend time with.”
Louis motions his hand in the air. “That’s my son. He can make friends with a house fly. That’s how we get so much business. He talks to everyone who comes in. His mother’s son, that one.”
I smile big at Jake as he finishes filling the vase in front of him.
“Lacey’s going to hang out with us today,” he tells his father. “Do you think you can stop with the flirting? You’re a married man after all.”
“Oh, hush. I do no such thing. Now, if she were Sofía Vergara, it would be a different story.”
“Told you!” Bobbi says and starts laughing.
Louis looks back to me. “I’m glad you’re spending the day with us. If you need anything, just let me know. This guy here hasn’t quite mastered the needs of women yet.” He thumbs over to Jake, who clutches his heart.
“Ouch. That hurts,” he fakes. “Just because I’m not married doesn’t mean I don’t know how to please a woman.”
I elbow Jake’s stomach, and he laughs in response. Bobbi throws her hands up in the air, as if not claiming responsibility for anything that comes out of her son’s mouth, as Louis shakes his head and turns toward the back room. I hear his laugh as he walks back there, followed by Bobbi.
I narrow my eyes at Jake, who just leans down, gives me a chaste kiss, and then follows his parents to the back, carrying two of the centerpieces.
As I chuckle under my breath, I take a seat on a stool at the table. Jake is back minutes later with a rag and wipes the counter down before sweeping up the floor. The table has four stools and there are photo albums on a nearby shelf. I pull one out and open it, marveling at the amazing centerpieces inside. This must be where newlyweds sit and look up inspiration for their weddings. It’s a nice flex space and a good place for me to hang out while I’m a wallflower at the florist.
The day goes by smoothly. Louis and Bobbi go back and forth, making arrangements and getting them out for deliveries. Jake handles most of the front-end business—taking orders, making mixed bouquets, and checking out customers.
A man enters in the afternoon, looking for a bouquet for a girl he’s dating. He doesn’t want roses because he doesn’t want to come off as too forward, but he doesn’t want to give carnations because then she’ll think he’s cheap. He asks for Jake’s opinion because, in his words, he’s “friggin’ clueless.”
I never thought about how guys might prefer asking another man’s opinion on something like flowers. Jake walks him over to the refrigerator, pointing to bins inside the cooler. I watch the man’s face morph from apprehensive to relieved as Jake explains the flowers and gives him all of the options.
The end product is a gorgeous bouquet of a half-dozen red roses, purple hyacinths, and white lilies. If I were to receive them, I’d look at the flowers and see the romance in the red roses yet sense the connotation of a budding friendship and the pureness of a new relationship. The mixture elicits the right emotions for a new couple.
After the man pays, Jake turns to me, seeing the huge grin on my face. “What?” he asks, stepping closer to me.
“That was perfect, what you did there.”
“You mean, how I did my job?”
“Yeah. It’s impressive. You could have just tossed some baby’s breath over roses and told him to have a good date. But you listened and worked with him. Plus, I’m pretty sure he wants to be your new best friend.”
“I have that effect on people.”
I teasingly punch him in the arm. “So cocky.”
He leans down, briefly kissing my lips. “Only for you.”
“I knew it!” I hear Bobbi say as she walks in from the back room.
I close my eyes, embarrassed.
Jake stands straight and speaks to his mother, “You know we’re seeing each other? Hence the I’m coming in late because I’m taking Lacey to breakfast this morning text I sent you.”
“I knew you were dating. I didn’t know you were … this.”
“And what is this?” he asks her with a tilted chin and matching grin.
“This is … this.” With the flick of her finger, she looks at us like she has the best i
dea in the universe. “Lacey, you should come to the cottage with us. My daughters are dying to meet you!”
“Um, I …” I open my eyes wide to Jake, not sure if he would even want me there, let alone know if I even feel comfortable with going to a home with people I barely know.
He grins from ear to ear. “That would be fun. Everyone’s going. You should come.”
“Really?” I swallow. “Who’s everyone?”
Bobbi smiles. “Us, Jake, his sister Milène and her husband. Penelope will be there too.”
“Who watches the shop?” I ask.
“Louis comes back and forth. We’re only open from eight to four, and the cabin is only an hour away,” she explains.
“I’m taking two days off to spend time on the lake, and then I’ll relieve Pa, so he can get some rest,” Jake adds. “You mentioned you liked small towns and beautiful scenery. This has it all. You can work from the deck, and there’s a hot tub.”
“You had me at hot tub!” I say in a joking way when, really, I’m kind of excited Jake wants me to go. A little nervous about being around his sisters for the first time but happy. I rub my lips together and raise my shoulders. “I guess I’m going to the cottage.”
Bobbi does a tiny bounce in celebration. “Yay! This is going to be so much fun. I’m going to call your sisters.”
She runs off, and Jake steps in between my legs, sliding his hands onto my cheeks and lifting my head to face his.
“Are you just saying yes to be nice?”
“You should know by now that I’m not that nice,” I tease.
“Sure you are. It’s just behind the hard shell you keep up to hide how soft you are inside.” He runs a thumb over my lips, and I kiss the pad of it. “You sure you’re down to spend the weekend with me?”
I laugh. “I should be asking you the same thing. Don’t feel like you have to bring me if you don’t want to. I know you didn’t really invite me.”
He lowers his hands to the counter, placing one on each side as he pins me with his body and his stare. “Lacey?”
“Yes, Jake?”
“I’m not inviting you to the cottage.”
