Beautifully Done

by Riley Mackenzie

  Done. I toed off my shoes and undid my tie. She stayed put and clocked my every move. I unbuttoned my cuffs and then my shirt. Her eyebrows rose when I slipped it off, clearly enjoying the view. That once-over alone solidified I would never skip a workout.

  With two strides back to the sofa, I held out my hand the way I did when we started the evening. “Time to sleep, Teeps … don’t get any ideas.” I smirked. “Sweet dreams only.”

  She smiled and unfolded herself off the couch, steadying her rise with my hand. She released her grip almost immediately and traded it for a tight embrace. Barefoot and much shorter, her head nuzzled right into my shoulder. She was so small in comparison to me, soft, but not waify. Even though we were separated from skin on skin by her paper-thin tank, her tits felt amazing pressed against me. Suddenly I felt cheated by the night and not from my lack of release. “You owe me a slow dance.”

  She squeezed tighter. “There’s no music.”

  I wanted it that way. “Sing for me.” There were few things in this world I would beg for, hearing her sing again being one. She didn’t make me.

  The vibration heated my chest before I heard her quietly humming. The sound was unmistakable. Perfectly controlled and smooth with a simple raspy rawness that was sexy as hell. Just like her. Our bodies swayed in unison, small movements, our feet never leaving the floor.

  Then she started to sing, in a hushed tone, but I knew it instantly. Aerosmith. That was my girl. There was no point in hiding my hard-on, it wasn’t budging anytime soon, and I wasn’t wasting a second of holding her this close. I wasn’t missing another thing. She was perfect.

  But before she finished the second verse, this moment was interrupted by her phone bouncing around the glass coffee table.

  “Who’s calling you at three AM?” We both looked down at the table, Paul flashed on the screen.

  “It’s midnight in California,” she responded. As if that answered the bigger question.

  “Want to answer it?”

  “No.” She wiggled her nose against my chin. “Since I know you’re a gentleman and won’t ask, Paul’s the um, douche—I think that’s what you called him—that I ended things with months ago, who still doesn’t get it. But he’s harmless. And since I’m technically on a date, probably the best first date of all time, by the way, no, I don’t want to answer it.”

  Fan-fucking-tastic answer. My chest puffed out a little, a completely primal and involuntary response to male ego stroking. Honest.

  “This gentleman is taking you to bed now.” I kissed her temple and led her into the bedroom. “Wait a sec. I do believe I just got to hear your sweet pipes...” She crawled under the fluffy white covers and waited for me to finish. I jogged back out to the living room and dug in my jacket pocket.

  “I’d know that shake anywhere, Ace,” she yelled from the bedroom. I laughed. Totally addicted. I sat at the edge of the bed and put the box of Hot Tamales in her hand. “You are the best. God, I missed you.” She rested her head against the cushioned pillow. “You always had them for me, after every gig, every single time. You never forgot, not once. Thank you for that.” She looked a million miles away as she reminisced.

  I ran a finger down her cheek. “Never gonna forget, Tal. Sweet for sweet.” I peeled her fingers back and placed the box on the nightstand. “Save them, don’t wanna rot your teeth.”

  “Looking out for me.” She giggled and then pouted.

  Those puckered lips were far too tempting to leave without a kiss. A little moan escaped from her mouth. Ah, screw the Hot Tamales. I could have devoured her. Instead, I circled to the other side of the king-sized bed and turned off the lights. Her eyes were already half closed.

  “You don’t have to wear your dress pants to bed, you know. We made it this far and I trust you.”

  We barely made it this far and the night wasn’t over.

  “Trust me, no choice here.” One commando to another, she got me. An explanation of the boundaries to my cock was another story and I figured a layer of fabric was essential. This was so far from the way I envisioned tonight ending, but somehow any and all preconceptions I might have had were surpassed ten fold. I untucked the sheets and climbed into pure heaven, and not the twelve hundred thread count. Talia molded perfectly against me and hummed a little more Aerosmith as she dozed off. I, on the other hand, didn’t want to close my eyes and I sure as fuck didn’t want to fall asleep. I squeezed her tighter as I watched the slow rise and fall of her chest. I brushed away the loose blonde wisps from around her face and lightly kissed her eyes. I didn’t want to miss one thing. Never again. Even if it went against every motto I had ever lived by.

  So I had the simple fix. New weekend, new place. Fuck the ten states that separated us. No one said we had to date like everyone else: do dinner, and a movie, hold hands, and gaze into each other eyes. Nah, we weren’t everyone else. Never would be.

  The first weekend we hiked the Grand Canyon and explored the spectacular Havasu Falls without another soul in sight. Vigorous, but romantic. The hundred foot plunge into the blue green waters were asking me to strip her bare. I tried and failed at getting her naked. My argument that the water temperature never deviated from seventy degrees all year long didn’t stand. That was what I got for attempting to woo in the winter. By the time we trekked back to the cozy warmth of our resort, we were no longer alone. Talia’s unexpected friend paid a visit. I couldn’t have cared less, that’s what towels were for, but she wasn’t as enthused. The only upside was her disclosure that she had an IUD that made her friend’s visits extremely short and infrequent. Sweet. Even sweeter was the conversation that followed. I never rode bareback. Ever. The risk wasn’t worth it, and to be brutally honest, I never got to know any of the women I was with well enough to trust them. Trust wasn’t an issue with Tal. I almost shot in my pants when she shared my sentiment.

  “I trust you, Ash.” That was all that needed to be said. Eight thousand, six hundred forty minutes and counting.

  Six days later, I made sure our weekend date was a little warmer and less rugged—Sonoma Valley, celebrating all things olives. Bring on the Martinis. We had a different type of olive in every damn glass. We got drunk, laughed our asses off, and stumbled to our room. We kissed, holy shit, did we kiss … until she incoherently mumbled about sharing something before she passed out. Cold. Luckily there was no hair holding required, but the only banging Tal experienced the next day was her head’s not-so-gentle reminder of her golden rule: Prosecco only, and in moderation. Wished she would’ve ‘shared’ that little detail sooner. Poor thing, I was a schmuck. Another hangover was not the gift I intended on giving her or us, for that matter. I loved kissing and touching every inch of her body, but damn, by the end of the weekend I could have dipped her pretty little ass in a martini and licked her dry. We were dating and taking things slow, I got that. And in my opinion we had done a fucking brilliant job at it. So at this point I was left with four words. So. Fucking. Over. Dating.

  My turf this weekend. Tal took the red eye, but Lili insisted on picking her up to squeeze in their mani-pedi-soak-in-mud-rub-me-down naked day. And why did these spa days only involve women? I would have happily partaken in soaking and rubbing. Hell, I could have helped out. As much as I was jealous of sharing our limited time, I was psyched she was bonding with Lili and Sierra. And I had a shitload of stuff to catch up on at work anyway, or so was my excuse for why she was minutes from me and not within my grasp. I couldn’t complain, she fell back into my life and made me reevaluate everything I thought I was about. I wasn’t gonna lie, it still felt foreign.

  Tonight was going to be a little more low-key, more normal. Dinner was at eight. My place. I was cooking.

  “Ash, I can smell it through the door. Hurry, open up.” I grinned like an idiot at the sound of her voice. “I’m starved.”

  Me too. For one thing only. She was a craving I had no intentions of ever satisfying.

  “For what?” I swung the door open to a huge as
s smile. Fuck me, if this was what came from a spa day—fucking live in a spa. I thought there was no way she could ever look more beautiful. I was wrong. My breath seized and I grabbed the top of the jamb to steady myself. She didn’t have one stitch of makeup on, yet the glow radiating off her skin was blinding. Her hair was blown pin straight and she was dressed in skinny jeans and a short black blazer over a tight white T-shirt straining against her tits. Her impeccable simplicity made it that much more seductive.

  She poked my chest. “Hey, you. Miss me?” Without a moment of hesitation, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me softly. Her silky lips against mine weren’t enough. I picked her clear off the ground and buried my head in her neck, inhaling the only scent that mattered.

  “You didn’t answer my question, hungry for what?” I mumbled into her neck, licking and sucking back up to her lips.

  “You,” she murmured against my mouth. Hell yeah. “But first food.” The sexual tension burst and I laughed out loud and squeezed her ass. She giggled.

  “Tease.” I stole another kiss.

  “Good things come to those who wait.” Her smile went a little crooked and she batted her lashes. The last month was filled with the hopes of this dream coming true. Hell, I might be able to shower at a normal heated temperature. She stepped around me and headed toward the kitchen. She peeked in the pot. The waft of steam went up into her face. She inhaled deeply and moaned. Top two sexiest things she has done thus far. And I was doing so well controlling my situation. I poured her a glass of Prosecco—not making that mistake again—and popped the top of my beer for distraction. “Better things come to those who feed me.” She spun around looking dead serious. I roared. “Ace, I’m serious. I soaked in mud and sucked on lemons all day. Look at me. I’m wasting away. And Sierra made me do Zumba too. What the hell is that?” she hissed. I laughed harder. “I love them both, I do, they’re great and I can’t wait to hang out with them again, but I’m not in my twenties anymore. Cucumbers on the eyes can only last so long before they get nibbled on.” I shook my head. She was too fucking much.

  “Sounds like spa day was a blast, cheers.” I slid her glass across the counter and lifted my beer. I ignored her age reference, well, because it deserved to be ignored. No offense to Lili and Sierra, but Tal gave sexy new meaning at thirty-seven. There was something about the faint creases where her smile met her eyes that highlighted her sparkle and screamed life confidence, not to mention her killer body with a perfect distribution of firm and soft in all the right places. Our ‘dating’ gave me enough of a preview, but even without the unrestricted access, I was hoping to score tonight. Bottom line: thirty-seven trumped twenty-nine. And if Chase hadn’t practically declared Lili’s birthday a fucking national holiday I would’ve never known their ages. Age never mattered to me, still doesn’t. But for Tal, her September birthday made her the baby of the four of us, and while growing up, her life mission revolved around bitching about being last for everything. It was ironic how when you’re younger you would do anything to hit those crucial numbers, eighteen, twenty-one, but when you’re older—and you weren’t me—you wanted to slow it the fuck down. Finally I got it. Finally I wanted to fucking savor it too.

  We clinked and sipped, and then I finished my original thought. “Ha, still crabby when you’re hungry.” Something else that hadn’t changed. “Go sit. I’ll dish it up.”

  As much as I knew my way around the kitchen I hardly ever cooked. The perpetual bachelor stigma held true … until now. Witnessing that orgasmic look on her face when she smelled my food was enough to make cooking my new favorite hobby. And she had the perfect palate. She looked like she lived on rabbit food, but she loved everything, especially seafood, a serious bonus from growing up on the coast. So a quick stop at the fresh fish market downtown while she was draped in seaweed led to a seafood paella.

  “God … mmm … I can’t … this is so amazing.” The furthest thing from my mind was the dinner. The food was good, but watching her eat it was better. She lifted her eyes to mine and must have caught my smirk.

  I raised my palms in the air. “Don’t stop on my account, please keep going.” If she sounded like this now, help me wait until it was time for me to eat.

  “What-”

  I finished her question since I knew what she was going to say before she opened her sweet lips. “What are you going to do with me? I have a few ideas, but ladies first.”

  Her high cheeks pinked, but she didn’t break our stare. Then she took a quick sip of her bubbly, like it was liquid courage. “Sierra asked the craziest thing today.”

  She had my full attention, not that she hadn’t before.

  “Oh yeah?”

  Her blush turned crimson, and she finished her glass. I definitely wanted to hear this.

  “She wondered how many times the Green Giant could rock my world in a night.”

  I busted out laughing for the twentieth time tonight. She followed suit. She was even more beautiful when she laughed.

  “I thought Lili was gonna drown from mortification.”

  “And your answer?” I was dying to know.

  “I told her I didn’t call you Ace for just your monogram.”

  I hoped she was full because we were done eating. Now. I slid my chair out and stalked around the table. She tipped back, startled at first, but smiled.

  “We’re done.” And not just with dinner.

  “What about the paella?”

  “I guarantee you’re gonna taste a whole hell of a lot better than this paella.”

  “Hmm.” She grinned against my lips and I lifted her into my arms, her body molding against mine.

  That was answer enough. She was done with dating too. Thank fuck. Her hand inched around the back of my neck and her fingers slid into my hair. I guided us to my bedroom. Her lips brushed my neck and I turned my head. Our mouths collided and her small throaty moans reverberated deep inside my chest, encouraging me to explore further. My heart drilled against my ribs, no doubt working overtime to keep any blood flow up north. In the name of all things holy, she tasted so delicious.

  I placed her down and walked her backwards until her knees bumped the bed. She scooted back without hesitation, propping up on her forearms with one knee bent. Her black blazer hung open, revealing the thin material of her white shirt stretched tightly enough across her perfect tits to expose her hardened nipples. I took a small step back to linger on her sexy as shit body. Whatever bra she was wearing fit like a second skin. Nothing padded, nothing fake.

  Just like Talia. What you saw was what you got and I was starved for it. The honest expression on her beautiful face conveyed her matched hunger. I fisted my light thermal sweater up and over my head while I wrestled with my breathing. Her eyes unapologetically roamed down my abdomen and darkened to the color of chocolate, feeding fuel to my already fiery blaze. The strain against my zipper burned, surely embedding track marks along my cock, I was so engorged for this woman. Blushed and beautiful, she inched back further, inviting me to a fantasy twenty years in the making. I snapped a mental photograph and closed my eyes to permanently burn the image to memory. Picture fucking perfect … except. Hold up, what the hell was I doing? Unwelcomed visions blurred my perfect snapshot, all sharing the same pages from my old book. I never wanted anything as much as I wanted Talia, but not here, not like this. Everything here was used, overused. Shit. I couldn’t do it. As stupid as it sounded, if this was the beginning of our story she deserved a fresh page.

  “Ash?” She sat up, confusion widening her eyes.

  I exhaled a lungful and braced my hands against the edge of the bed, trying to figure out how the fuck to explain my sudden psychotic break, since that was the only reasonable explanation. “Umm, not here.”

  She glanced quickly around the room before the realization of my dilemma washed across her face. Her lips curved up slightly and she lifted her chin toward my bathroom. I blinked and shook my head. Nope. Her smile grew wider and she pointed out thr
ough my bedroom door. I followed her line of sight out to my pool table and thought, hell yeah, that was my girl, but not tonight. I smirked and shook my head no. “Soon.” Her head cocked to the side and she laughed. Gorgeous.

  Her gaze was plagued with desire, her voice almost pleading when she said, “It’s fine, really.” She patted her hands along my bed. “I don’t care.”

  “I do.” She was not just another woman to share my bed, my shower, my couch, my carpet, my closet, my pool table. Shit. And then it dawned on me, my guest room. I didn’t even remember what the damn room looked like. Perfect. With enough adrenaline coursing my veins for a one-punch knock out, I swept her up, tossed her over my shoulder and jogged down the hall.

  “You’re crazy,” she huskily whispered as her panting wet mouth found my chest and skimmed across my collarbone, driving me crazier.

  “About you, yes.” It was the truth. I pushed her back on my guest bed. It was smaller than my king. Even better. I slid my fingers underneath the bottom of her white T-shirt, needing skin on skin almost as much as I needed my next breath. “Tal, I need this off.” Now. She complied willingly, slipping her jacket off then lifting her slim arms over her head. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” The sheer lace of her bra barely concealed the top of her round hard nipples, causing the ache in my balls to intensify and the drill in my chest to morph into a jackhammer. Her blonde locks spread across the dark grey comforter in a million different directions while her heated stare never wavered from mine. I crawled between her long legs and traced her smooth torso. Small shivers traversed her body and her breath became ragged beneath me. I lowered myself down, connecting our heat, feeling her pulse match my own. Done, I was done. I devoured her mouth, licking and sucking every inch, claiming ownership. Pure fervor shot straight to my swollen cock when her teeth grazed my lower lip. I mercilessly ground my hips against hers and cupped her breast, circling her nipple.