The Last Rule of Makeups (Breakup Bash)

by Nina Crespo

  Suddenly, he gripped her firmly by the shoulders, stopping her. Need burned in his eyes. “I want to be inside of you.”

  She let go of him, and as soon as she rose to her feet, he gave her a hard kiss. More kisses filled with sexual need followed as they quickly stripped off their clothes.

  Cori snagged a condom from her purse, and after Grey rolled it on, she nudged him back to sit on the couch. She was still in control of this ride. Straddling him, she laid one hand on his chest and guided him inside of her with the other.

  As he thrust upward, seating himself deeply, Grey’s fingers bit into her thighs, but he let her take the lead. She rolled her hips, slow and easy, mesmerized by the play of pleasure and lust on his face, and the way his pecs and abs bunched and rippled underneath his taut skin. He pulsed and grew larger inside of her.

  She did this to him. Her and nobody else. But as Grey played with her breasts, caressing and sucking the nipple of one and then the other into his mouth, her own desire began to unfurl. As she moved, natural friction stimulated her clit. He held onto her, grinding his hips upward and keeping pace as she rocked over him, faster and faster, each hard clench of her sex bringing her impossibly closer to overwhelming pleasure. A cry shot out of her as she dissolved into decadent sensation. She fell forward to his chest, and Grey’s hands tightened on her hips as he bucked his, burying himself deeper, finding his own release.

  Their ragged breaths filled the silence.

  “Damn…” Grey tipped his head back on the couch and closed his eyes.

  As heated pleasure dissipated into wonderful bone-melting languidness, Cori glimpsed the letters glittering on the open condom package on the floor. “Do Me.”

  Smiling, Cori leaned her head on Grey’s shoulder. She was definitely “done” in the absolute best way.

  …

  As Cori headed downstairs at her townhouse, the skirt of her casual tangerine sundress swished around her legs. A few hours after finding bliss with Grey on the couch and cuddling in her bedroom afterward, she was a mix of sated, energized, slightly tired…and hungry.

  The sound of water running in the bathroom adjacent to her bedroom filtered down from upstairs. Her imagination filled in the picture of him standing in the shower lathering soap on his skin, the suds gliding down slowly through every muscular dip and valley of his chest and abs and traveling over his taut butt and down his muscular legs.

  Temptation halted her steps.

  No. She needed to keep walking. If she didn’t, she would never make it to Alexa’s.

  Cori picked up their clothes in the living room, leaving his folded on the couch and hers in the downstairs laundry room. Then she went to the kitchen and grabbed the carton of eggs from the fridge.

  Just as she cracked one and dropped it in the bowl she’d left on the counter near the stove, Grey walked in wearing a rose-colored towel around his waist. A sheen of dampness trailed down between his pecs to his abs. The scent of her lemon body wash wafted from his skin. On him, the feminine fragrance transformed into something wholly masculine and potently sexual.

  He came up beside her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and kissed her temple. “I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t take a shower with me.”

  “Because you’re too distracting.” She grazed her fingertip over his slightly damp chest.

  “And the problem with that is?” He rested his hands on her hips.

  “We both have places to go and people to see. And I need to eat something before I pass out.”

  He glanced at the eggs and bowl on the counter. “Yeah, I could eat a whole plate of scrambled eggs right now. Do you want me to cook?”

  He was offering to cook? When they were together, he was the Microwave King, and breakfast Hot Pockets and Toaster Strudel had ruled his kingdom. Starvation must have messed with her hearing.

  “You mean like actually crack the eggs open and cook them, in a pan, on the stove?”

  “Yes, I can scramble eggs and actually cook a few other things.” He lifted her chin to shut her mouth, sealing her lips with his. “Stop looking at me like I just grew another head.”

  “You kinda did. The Grey I knew owned exactly one flimsy pot that he never used.”

  “No, I owned two, but yeah, that was me. But now I’ve got skills. I can even handle toast and coffee to go with it.”

  “Oh my gosh.” She exaggerated her surprise. “You’re practically a certified chef. I must partake of this goodness.”

  “Uh-huh. I can’t believe you doubt my skills.” He tightened the towel.

  Her gaze dropped to where he tucked the ends around his waist.

  One light tug… The prospect of what would happen if that barrier was taken away was exciting as well as slightly unnerving. She’d never been this needy for a man. She’d only been in a sexual drought for a few months, not years. What was wrong with her?

  She turned her attention to the counter and took another egg from the carton. “Do you want coffee?”

  “I’d love some.” He went over to the Keurig plugged in on the counter behind her. She was about to ask if he knew how to use it when he turned it on, snagged a white mug from the drying rack, and stuck it on the drip tray. He looked through the K-cup pods in the small wire basket next to the coffee machine. “What kind do you want?”

  “The Green Mountain Breakfast Blend. I think I used the last one yesterday. Can you grab a new box from the pantry?” She pointed to the half-closed door near the corner of the kitchen.

  “Sure. Which shelf?” He flipped on the light switch on the wall and went into the walk-in space.

  “On the back wall. Third one down.” Without him as a distraction, she expertly cracked the egg on the side of the bowl with one hand and dropped the contents into the bowl. “Found it?”

  “No,” he called out. “I don’t see it.”

  “It’s there.”

  “Are you sure it’s on the third shelf?”

  “Positive.”

  “Maybe you should take a look.”

  She rinsed and dried her hands. “You’re not looking hard enough.”

  But he’d certainly been hard enough earlier. The play on words made her smile as she walked to the doorway of the pantry closet.

  Grey faced away from her, searching through the built-in shelf on the back wall. “What does the package look like?”

  It’s six foot one with a towel molded to its grabbable butt. Her gaze strayed to his ass and lingered. It was solid with muscle, just like the rest of him. He’d definitely been working out a lot more since she’d last seen him.

  “Cori…” Grey looked over his shoulder at her. “If you keep staring at me like that, there will be consequences.”

  Consequences… “Like what?”

  He turned and faced her. The tenting of his towel became more prominent before her eyes.

  A small smile tipped up his mouth, but his gaze, as it roamed over her, was intense with need. “Like finding out just how sturdy these shelves are.”

  As he came toward her, she squeezed her thighs together, trying to slow the growing ache, but a glimpse of his cock as he walked over to her made it worse.

  Grey backed her up against the rack on the left wall and gripped the edge of the shelf near the sides of her head. He leaned in, and his hard chest brushed against the sensitive tips of her breasts.

  He pressed a kiss near her ear. “I’m not playing with you.”

  Desire shallowed her breathing as she reached for the tucked edges of the towel. “No games here.”

  The doorbell rang, and the front door lock disengaged.

  Her hands froze, and Grey’s head snapped up.

  The security system chimed with the opening of the door.

  “Cori,” her mother called out. “It’s me.”

  Chapter Nine

 
; Panic blazed through Cori. In a matter of seconds, her mom would walk into the kitchen and see… She glanced down at Grey’s erection jutting out from the towel. Shit! Pushing past him, she whispered, “Stay here.”

  “Wait—”

  Cori rushed out, just closing the door behind her when Adina Ross came down the hallway.

  “There you are.” Her petite mom, neat and comfortable looking in beige capri pants, a loose navy shirt, and matching flats, stuffed her keys in a navy shoulder bag as she walked into the kitchen. “Sorry for barging in and not waiting for you to answer the door, but I made the mistake of asking your favorite neighbor how she was doing.” Her mom’s light brown face was free of makeup. Soft creases formed at the corners of her eyes as she chuckled and gave Cori a brief hug. “That woman talked for ten minutes straight about her root canal. She was about to go into the neighborhood drama report before I finally got away from her.”

  “But it’s Saturday. Don’t you have a standing hair appointment this afternoon?”

  Her mom smoothed a hand over her ebony hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. “I’m on my way there, but I needed to talk to you first. What were you so busy doing that you couldn’t call me back?”

  “I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. We were out late catching up.”

  “And this morning?”

  Images from earlier flashed in Cori’s mind of her and Grey on the couch…and of him standing in her pantry closet wearing nothing but a towel and a hard-on. Well, he probably didn’t have the hard-on anymore.

  Her mom waved away a response. “Never mind. Keep making breakfast.”

  “Breakfast? Yes, that’s exactly what I was doing, scrambling eggs for breakfast.” Cori went to the bowl and started whisking the eggs. “Want some?” Shoot! Wrong question. She needed her mother to go, not stay. Sure, her mother knew she had a sex life, but there were some things her mom just needed to imagine and not see…like Grey.

  “I can’t. If I’m late to the salon, I’ll lose my spot. But I’ll have some coffee.” Her mom went to the Keurig and rifled through the wire basket beside it. “I really loved that Green Mountain Breakfast Blend you gave me the last time I was here. It looks like you’re out. You have more in the pantry, don’t you? I’ll check.”

  “No!” Cori dropped the whisk into the bowl and turned from the counter. The response had earned her a raised brow from her mother. “I mean, maybe. I’m not sure. But I’ll look for it. Don’t you want to put your purse down?” She pointed to the place where her mother usually dropped her things when she came for a visit—the kitchen stool on the living room side of the breakfast bar.

  Her mom glanced down at her purse and laughed. “I guess I do look like I’m about to run right back out the door. I have a few minutes to spare.”

  As her mother left the kitchen, Cori quickly went to the pantry and opened the door.

  Grey held out the box of Green Mountain Breakfast Blend.

  If the situation hadn’t been so surreal, the look on his face would have been comical. But his raised brow expression reflected exactly how she felt about her mom being there.

  Cori mouthed “sorry” to him before snatching the box from his hand and shutting the door in his face. Her mother had undoubtedly mulled over the unreturned phone calls and the “no” RSVP for Dana’s and Ben’s engagement party. Grey standing half-naked in the pantry was a topic Cori didn’t want to add into the conversation.

  She busied herself with brewing the coffee her mother wanted.

  Her mom took a container of hazelnut creamer from the fridge and shook it. “This is almost empty. I guess you’ve been so busy, you haven’t had time for grocery shopping or to put away your laundry.”

  Noted. She not only had to keep her mom out of the pantry, but also from investigating the clothes on the couch.

  “Busy. That would be me.” Cori went back to the stove and turned on the gas burner under the non-stick ceramic skillet. Grey was probably starving. Once her mother left, she’d make him fresh eggs with toast and bacon as an apology for shutting him in the closet.

  Her mother took the full coffee mug from the drip tray and poured in the creamer. “Work is important, but…”

  Here it comes…

  “So is family. You need to make time for Dana and Ben’s engagement party.”

  Cori poured the eggs in the skillet and used the whisk to scramble them. “I know you’re worried about Dad, but I don’t think you need me there.”

  “What about Dana and Ben?”

  “I’ll buy them a really nice gift as an apology. It’s just an engagement party. It’s not like I’m missing their wedding.”

  Her mom released an audible breath. “It’s still an important moment, and you should be there to help them celebrate. That’s what Dana and Ben and the rest of your family would do for you if the roles were reversed.”

  As Cori took a plate down from an upper cabinet, memories of the last family get-together Kevin had attended rose up. It had been Thanksgiving at her parents’ house last year. He may not have liked being there, but he had enjoyed the food. He’d practically eaten his weight in turkey. In hindsight, that was fitting, and what happened at the table during the meal was also telling. Everyone had been teasing her and Kevin about when they were getting engaged. She’d laughed and said, “Who knows? It could be soon.” But he’d coughed as if he’d suddenly gotten a turkey bone stuck in his throat. And he hadn’t agreed with her.

  Sorrow welled up as she scraped the eggs onto the plate sitting on the counter. Her family would undoubtedly remember that moment, too.

  “Mom…” She turned around to face her mother, planning to lean even harder on the work excuse, but the way her mother looked at her as if she’d guessed the real reason stalled the words.

  “Corinne Aubrey Porter Ross.” Sternness and compassion filled her mother’s eyes as she recited Cori’s full name, which included the first names of Cori’s maternal grandparents. “This isn’t about you. It’s about how your father and I raised you.” She sat down the mug of coffee on the counter, went to Cori, and cupped her cheek. “When you stopped coming around last year, we knew it was because of Kevin, and we all tried to be understanding because the two of you were in a relationship. But there’s no excuse now. Family is always there for family. We rely on each other, and we’re also there for each other for celebrations as well as the rough spots.”

  There was only one response to the reminder of the rule her parents had taught her, probably from the moment she could comprehend words, and how she’d set it aside because of Kevin. “All right. I’ll be there.”

  “Good. I’ll let them know you’re coming.” She kissed Cori’s cheek then hurried out of the kitchen to grab her purse. “I have to get going. Otherwise, I’ll be stuck at the salon all day.”

  “Love you,” she called out on her way to the front door. “I’ll see you next weekend. Don’t forget, it’s at one o’clock. And wear green.”

  The front door shut.

  The pantry door opened.

  Grey came out and joined her at the counter by the stove. “You okay?”

  No. But the decision was made. Frustration, along with hints of dread, sat like weights in her stomach. Cori forced a smile. “Now that my mother is gone, I am. Talk about awkward. That was close. I’ll make you some fresh eggs. And I have bacon if you want some.”

  He grasped her shoulders, stopping her from turning back toward the counter. “What I want is for you to be truthful with me. You and your cousin Dana were tight growing up, weren’t you? Why don’t you want to celebrate her engagement?”

  “I do.”

  “But?” His unwavering gaze held hers.

  Frustration leaked out. “Because when I’m around Dana and Ben, it’s so obvious that they’re right for each other.” The envy she picked up in her voice drove her g
aze down to her feet. “And it reminds me that Kevin and I weren’t. It makes me feel even more foolish for staying in a relationship with him for so long. That sounds terrible, doesn’t it?”

  “And understandable.” He gave her a squeeze. “But what your mom said about family being there for family, it’s not just about you being there for Dana. It’s about them wanting to be there for you, too.”

  “I know, but showing up alone at an engagement party because my boyfriend left me will feel like I’m riding a neon pink elephant into the room.”

  “You don’t have to go alone.” Grey slid his hands to her back, in a loose embrace. “I’ll go with you.”

  A part of her screamed “yes,” but last night and that morning was just a hook-up. A chance to roll back in time to when things had been really good in her life.

  She laid her hands on his chest. “I appreciate the offer. I really do, but I can handle it. I’ll show up for an hour, wish Dana and Ben well then leave. No big deal.”

  Grey opened his mouth as if to speak then shut it. He stared at her for a long moment as if he was debating something in his mind. Nodding slowly, he let her go. “Okay. I should head out. It’s almost noon. I don’t want to make you late.”

  “It’ll just take a minute for me to make more eggs.” She grabbed the plate behind her on the counter. “Or I can warm these up in the microwave.”

  “You should eat them. Moving takes a lot of work, and you’ve had a busy morning. You should fuel up.”

  He winked at her, and just like when they’d first met, her internal pause button stuck. But this time, she watched him walk away.

  As he got dressed in the living room, Cori busied herself cleaning up the kitchen. He wasn’t upset by her turning down his help, right? He’d volunteered to go with her because he’d felt sorry for her. He was just being nice. Grey viewed what happened between them—just like she did.

  Never retrace your steps back to a one-night stand…