by Allie York
She buried her face in the nape of my neck without stopping our momentum, moaning out my name against my skin. I stroked her hair and nipped at her neck, gripping her ass. Another orgasm rolled out of her, and she clawed at my back, biting my neck. I growled out my release, unable to take anymore, and squeezed her into me. I held Jovie against me until our ragged breathing evened and then relaxed back into the headboard, taking her with me. She settled next to me, sighing her contentment.
“I could also get used to that.” I kissed the top of her head.
“I was just thinking the same thing. Sorry I interrupted your conversation about our mutual lack of religion.” I laughed, relieved she was enjoying me as much as I enjoyed her. I slid out from under her and strode to the bathroom to take care of the condom, leaving her in the bed. I turned the sink on cold and ran my hands under it then wiped my face.
“Speaking of religion, is it safe to assume your family will be celebrating tomorrow?” I yelled over the water running. She groaned.
“Unfortunately, and my presence at holidays tends to be mandatory.” I came back to find her under the blanket, my clothes folded on the dresser and sweat pants on my pillow.
I clicked off the light before joining her, leaving only the light from the bathroom night light. “Your family can’t be all bad.” Jovie tossed the cover back and glared at me. Jovie was so gorgeous, especially when she looked all shocked and pissed. I grabbed her waist, dragging her into me, and rubbed my nose into her hair.
“My immediate family is run of the mill crazy. The extended family was spawned straight out of Deliverance.” I chuckled against her neck, sliding a hand under her shirt. “Don’t laugh, I mean it. I am the third oldest of like twenty cousins and a bunch of them have kids. Actually, my little sister and I are the only ones who haven’t procreated, and we’re the ones with our shit together. Anyway, there will be at least a million people and more than half will be children that don’t behave.”
“I could go with you.” My other hand found her hair and the familiar movement of toying with it started. It was so soothing to stroke her hair, letting my fingers soak up her scent, relishing in the texture.
Jovie laughed, shaking her head. “No way! I like you way too much to expose you to them. I get quite enough of the ‘why don’t you try to meet a nice guy’ without one being there to suffer with me. At the last family gathering, my uncle brought some guy that actually told me to stop wearing baggy clothes and men would look at me.” She shuddered dramatically. Jovie did tend to cover herself, but I appreciated her modesty. It meant what was underneath was only for me. The thought made me pull her closer. “My grandmother is the most amazing woman ever, but if she reminds me one more time that my ex was attractive, I will honestly vomit all over her sparkly pink coat. In her mind, being handsome excuses a man from even the worst behavior.” I laughed at her exaggeration, but the idea of someone condoning that shit was sickening. The man had not only abused her emotionally, screwing her up for other men, but had shattered her trust.
“Fine, but if you change your mind, I have no problem turning up my English charm and making them all fall as madly in love with me as you have.” I tugged her hair to punctuate my point, and she scoffed at me.
“How do you have space for all your ego? No one said I was madly in love with you.” Jovie narrowed her eyes, daring me to argue, and lightly punched my arm. I loved her feisty streak. Amelia and our mother had one as well. They were not the kind of women to roll over and accept what they were told; they had opinions and spoke them, sometimes a little louder than necessary.
“My ego is just fine, thank you. It’s yours with the issue.” She started to defend her lack of ego, but I shook my head and covered her mouth with mine for a moment, sweeping my tongue gently against her lips. I grabbed her chin and made her look at me when I pulled back. “Your absence of it is the problem. The look of sheer disbelief when I said you were beautiful was maddening. Because you are fucking gorgeous.” I stared into her eyes, watching them swirl with desire and embarrassment.
Chapter Ten
JOVIE
I heard him say it but didn’t believe it to be more than him being caught up in the moment. He was about to get too deep too soon. “No one has ever told you how beautiful you are, have they?” Ewan moved completely out from under me to study my profile. The light from the bathroom was just enough for him to see, but I hoped the red in my face was hidden in the shadows. I couldn’t answer him. Guys had called me hot or pretty, but never beautiful. Beautiful was an all-encompassing abstract. Beautiful was timeless and truly in the eye of the beholder.
“Jovie, look at me.” I swallowed the dryness in my mouth and tilted my head slightly to catch his eyes. “I am starting to agree with you on your horrid taste in men.” I clenched my jaw, and he reached for me, but I sat up, crossing my arms. I did not want to be patronized by him immediately after sex. Ewan moved behind me, moving my hair to rest his chin on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my middle. “You are beautiful, Jovie, undeniably so. The freckles across your nose and shoulders, and the fact that every part of you is so soft and touchable. The fullness of your hips and the scar that runs across your back, and the fact that you agreed to supervise my sister’s party after knowing her a week just because she asked, all of it makes you beautiful. You’re beautiful and you’re mine.” When he kissed my neck, I remembered to breathe, and my dizziness faded. I couldn’t form an answer. The man truly found me beautiful or the guy faked it really well. How could anything follow a speech so swoon-worthy? My reservations about jumping in with both feet were slipping, and it scared the shit out of me.
Ewan sat pressed against my back for a while and would occasionally squeeze my waist or rub my arm. When he finally moved, I heard him pat the bed, but it took me another minute to move. I slid under the blanket with him and curled myself around his back, draping my arm over his ribcage and nuzzling between his shoulder blades. He took my hand and kissed my fingertips softly. One week, it took all of one week for me to fall for him. It was too much; he was too much. I wanted to think the sudden whirlwind we were caught up in was a lasting thing, but I braced for the fallout anyway. Good things seemed to run from me, they were repulsed by me, and yet the man had readily gone over a list of things he found beautiful about me. I was much less ballsy when it came to those things, but could have written a novel on his beauty.
I woke up the next morning to the sensation of something stroking my face. My eyelids fluttered open just enough to see Ewan doing just that. “Ewan, that’s creepy.” I rolled away from him, and he chuckled, snuggling into me for a moment. He climbed over me, kissing my head, and made a point to rub himself against me as he wandered to the bathroom. I rolled my eyes at his obvious attempt to have me follow him.
“I guess I’m creepy then.” He left the door open, and I watched him strip off his clothes and toss them in the hamper. My gorgeous date caught me staring and cocked his eyebrow at me before disappearing around the corner toward the shower. Once I heard the water running and heard the glass door close, I followed him. I had obviously been possessed by some lustful demon because the next thing I knew, I was naked and climbing in the shower with him. Ewan made a purring noise and pulled me under the stream with him, pressing me against his hard everything. The same lustful demon took hold again as I pushed him back against the tiles and kissed from his neck down to his chest and then kept going lower. The look of shock on his face was amazing. I was on my knees in front of him with the hot water hitting my back, and he was in my mouth. Ewan pulled back, mumbling something about, “You don’t have to,” but there was nowhere for him to go, so he was stuck. I glanced up enough, while I took as much as I could in my mouth, to see his head tilted back against the tiles and his hand bracing him on the wall. His other hand threaded into my damp hair, and he pumped his hips, driving himself to the back of my throat. When his sounds became more intense, I slid my body up his and took him in my hand. His fingers
wrapped around my upper arm, and Ewan gently bit into the curve of my neck. His other hand gripped my waist and his whole body shook as his release coated my hand. I reveled in the reaction, wearing a cocky smile. Having never done that before, his enjoyment gave me a surge of confidence, making me want to do it again. Damn lustful demons.
When he pulled away slowly, his eyes moved from my face to where he gripped my arm a little too hard. He jerked back revealing a red imprint of his hand. I hadn’t even noticed how tight the grip was and fair skin meant I bruised easily. He winced at the sight. “You didn’t have to do that.” His face and ears flushed. I smirked.
“I know.” I turned to pick up his shampoo, but Ewan snatched it from me and squeezed some in his palms before lathering it into my hair. I stepped back to rinse my hair, and he took the opportunity to run his hands over my chest and stomach. Ewan buried himself in my chest, licking and teasing my nipples while he slid his hand down between my thighs and nudged them apart. I shook my head, stuttering through him not needing to return the favor, but went quiet when his mouth crashed into mine. His hand worked, teasing me at first, making me whimper against his mouth. Just as I was about to beg, Ewan moved back down to nibble at my breasts, and his thumb started making small circles against my clit. I grabbed at him as I was pushed toward my release, clawing at his shoulders. Then I came undone, moaning, and grinding my hips into his hand. When he was satisfied, he released my nipple with a pop and kissed my forehead like nothing happened. Ewan then commenced to washing his own hair with the same shampoo while I stood panting against the wall.
Once we both smelled sufficiently like him, I was handed a towel and went to get dressed. Suddenly his madly in love comment was less offensive. His eyes kept darting to the mark he left on my arm.
“Jove, I’m—” I shook my head and tugged my shirt on. He wasn’t going to apologize for enjoying himself. I pushed him out of my way to untangle my hair in the mirror and braided it down my back. His fingers brushed the purpling hand print. “No one has ever … And that’s how I thanked you.” He tripped and stumbled over his words, refusing to meet my gaze in the mirror.
I spun to face him. “Whoa, what happened to your massive ego from last night?” He chuckled, and I skimmed my fingers through his short beard and around to the back of his neck.
His eyes flashed from embarrassment to mischief. “You seem to have an affinity for my massive ego.” I laughed and fell into his chest. We had obviously stopped talking about his ego. But Ewan was right about my affinity and being massive.
Amelia was downstairs at the kitchen island when I finally got him to stop groping me long enough to make it out of the bedroom. She handed me a cup of coffee. I felt like I had a giant blinking sign over my head that said, “I went down on your brother” over my head, but she didn’t look at me any differently than the night before.
“Do you need help with any party stuff?” I broke the silence, and she looked up from her phone.
Amelia tapped the rhinestone-covered phone against her chin. “I planned on pedicures and movies and junk food. There are only going to be six of us since Tia and Addie can come now. Should I aim higher?” Ewan settled next to me against the island and leaned over to kiss my forehead. Amelia gagged but was grinning.
“It’s your party, but if you want my help, I’m volunteering. I haven’t been sixteen in a while, but I’m at your disposal.” I thought for a moment. “My sisters might have suggestions; I can ask them today.” Amelia put her phone in her pocket and hugged me, whispering a, “Thank you” in my ear. I squeezed her back and found myself aching for her. The poor girl hadn’t had a mother in nearly eleven years, no older female advice, no maternal dating tips. Ewan had obviously done an amazing job raising her, but there was something to be said about having a mother figure. Amelia sniffled and pulled back, wiping her face. She cleared her throat and was on her phone again in an instant. Ewan watched our exchange with a troubled look in his eyes, but kept quiet as he sipped at his coffee.
“Well, I need to go mentally prepare for my family,” I washed my mug and set it back in the cabinet. Amelia hugged me again and Ewan followed me to my car. Outside, I pulled him into me. “What’s wrong?” I looked up at the mixed emotions on his face.
His fingers found the end of my braid. “Please don’t get upset, but my sister liking you so much concerns me.” He sighed. “I mean, if you and I end things, Ams is not going to take it well, and I don’t want her to have to deal with the break-up. It’s why I’ve avoided relationships.” He looked like it pained him to even say the words. It stung to hear, but I understood. She shouldn’t have to suffer because he and I messed up.
I shook my head. “As much as I don’t want to think of us ending, I understand. I would like to think that I am not the type to take our issues out on your sister, though.” Ewan cocked his head, like he didn’t understand. “I like Amelia and I can’t see myself being any different toward her whether you’re involved or not.” His sister and I had made evening walks with the dogs our routine and she spent as much time texting me as she did her friends. I kind of loved the girl.
Ewan kissed me. “You really are too perfect,” I rolled my eyes, and he snatched my chin between his finger and thumb. “Don’t roll your eyes when I compliment you, Jovie.” Ewan smirked, but I could tell he meant it and I pulled my chin from his hand. His accent saying my nickname made me surrender as much as the sincerity in his voice. I wanted to take him with me, more for support than anything, but it wasn’t time to pop our bubble yet. Ewan, Amelia, and I were all still getting to know each other, and my family would be too much.
A few short hours later, my green Honda joined the other mass of cars in my parents’ driveway, and Merlin nearly leapt from the window to get out. My dog followed me around to where the kids were playing in the backyard and immediately accosted Olive the basset. Before I could make it up the stairs, a series of foam darts popped me in the back. I turned slowly to see my cousin Austin with a Nerf machine gun aimed at me and a wide grin on his face. He was the little brother I never wanted, but we had grown distant as he got older. Panning the yard, I spotted a discarded weapon and made a mad dash for it. I stooped to snatch it up and grabbed a handful of darts from the bucket before scrambling up the ladder into the fort to load. Austin and two of my other cousins, Jay and Jordan, circled my hide out. Then my nephew, Ollie, joined in. I aimed and picked them off one at a time before swinging from the monkey bars and hauling ass to the bucket for more ammo as the darts rained down around me. Every time I spun fast, I caught the scent of Ewan’s shampoo in my hair and my chest fluttered.
I finally gave in when I was surrounded and out of ammunition. They murdered me under the deck, forcing me to my knees, and I rewarded Austin with a punch to the arm as I walked off. The kid was as tall as me; a far cry from the four-pound baby my aunt had brought home nearly fifteen years before. I went in through the back door, ignoring the creepy neighbor, Shane, and his lustful look following me in, and poured some coffee before dropping next to my grandmother at the dining room table. She patted my arm with a wrinkled, overly-jeweled hand, and I waved at the rest of the table. My mom, my sisters, my sister-in-law, and three aunts were all there. Hen party came to mind.
“I didn’t know you were here. I just texted you.” My mom eyed me suspiciously from across the table. I pulled my phone out and read the text. Amelia had obviously gotten a hold of my phone the previous night because my background was a picture she had taken of the three of us. I chewed my lip and turned my phone off, trying not to blush. Creepy Shane came and parked his fat self near Mom.
“Sorry, I was out back laying waste to some teenagers with Nerf guns.” I sipped the coffee. My grandmother was reading a new book so I snatched it from her to read the back and then handed it back. I couldn’t help but laugh at my eighty-year-old grandmother reading Jefferson Bass.
“You’re in a good mood considering you hate Easter.” My sister-in-law, Kristin, tossed me a
Peep from the other end of the table, and I popped it in my mouth, shrugging. She tossed me another.
My aunt, Chelle, handed my mom her phone. “It’s because our Jovie has a boy toy she’s hiding from us.” Chelle grinned, and I fought the urge to fly across the table and murder her. I felt my eyes bulge. How did she know, and what the hell is on her phone? The whole table quieted, staring at me. Even my dad leaned out of his recliner to see me. Reese covered her mouth, laughing her ass off, and I forced myself to swallow the Peep whole. Mom handed me Chelle’s phone to reveal the picture of Ewan and me at the sink doing dishes. It looked like the cover of a romance novel. Damn, Ewan made everything look good, even dishes. I flipped through the photos from the night before of the three of us looking like a cute little happy family. Apparently, the same Tia who would be attending the party was my cousin, and Chelle’s daughter. I stood to hand Chelle her phone and sat back down rigidly.
“Do we embarrass you?” my mom demanded. Uh, yes.
I shook my head. “No, we just haven’t been talking long enough to do the family thing yet.” It was true. The last thing I wanted to do was scare him off with my family before we had a full week under our belts.
Tia appeared next to her mother. “Ewan is super-hot.” She winked at me. “That’s why Mom wasn’t letting me go to the party. Most of Amelia’s friends like him.” I forced out a breath through the tightness in my chest.
“What party?” Mom looked from me to Chelle. “What are you guys talking about? The picture looks a little more cozy than ‘talking’, Jovie.” Mom used air quotes when she said talking.
