I giggle as he walks to the kitchen and puts the dishes in the sink. I’ve never felt so happy before.
“I’m going to go upstairs real quick and,” I pause, looking for the right words, “freshen up. Find me up there soon?”
I see a glint of intrigue in his eyes. “I’ll find you.”
I get on my tip-toes and kiss his cheek before scurrying up the stairs. Once in the bathroom, I strip off my dress and grab the garments I left in here earlier: A lacey, black bra with panties to match. To up the sexy factor, I put on some thigh high, micro-net fishnet stockings, and then slip my heels back on. After using some mouthwash, I open the door and step into my bedroom. Chris is already sitting on the bed.
His eyes widen in surprise when he sees me, and he stands up immediately, drinking me in.
“Wow,” he breathes, licking his lips.
I take two steps before he collides into me, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around to lay across the bed.
“I take it you like it?” I say with a grin.
“No,” he growls. “I fucking love it.”
He leans over me, and my legs go up and wrap around his waist. His hand touches the side of my neck as his lips move to kiss the other side. I close my eyes in anticipation of feeling his mouth on my skin, because I know it’s going to be nothing less than amazing.
Chris kisses and licks a path from my neck to my chest, before tugging on the material so his mouth can cover my nipple. His hand squeezes my breast as he sucks the hardened bud into his mouth and then grazes his teeth over the sensitive flesh. I gasp, throwing my head back in pleasure.
His tongue and lips move down my stomach, and my breathing becomes heavier, knowing where he’s headed, and wanting it more than anything. He teases me, though, kissing over the black material of my panties, licking and sucking the flesh of my inner thigh. His hands go to squeeze my upper thighs, and his thumbs graze my bikini line. So close to where I want him, but not close enough.
“Chris,” I moan. Maybe it’s a plea.
His face moves to the apex of my thighs and his tongue licks the length of me through my underwear. I squirm, needing more. Instead of taking them off, he moves the skimpy material to the side and then . . . I’m in heaven. His mouth is on me, licking and tasting me like I’m the best thing he’s ever eaten. With his hands on my ass, he lifts me up, giving himself better access to all of me.
I feel his tongue dip inside of me before moving to my clit and licking me softly. His flattened tongue continues to dance over the bundle of sensitive nerves, and I thrust my hands into his hair, gripping it tightly between my fingers.
“Oh god, Chris,” I scream.
He lets my bottom half lay back on the bed, and then slips a finger inside of me while continuing to lick my clit. My noises have become louder and more desperate. I’m dying to reach that blissful peak, and luckily Chris knows what he’s doing. His finger curves within me, hitting a spot that sends me over the edge. I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s such an intense sensation, but I don’t have time to think about it, because I’m coming and screaming, and pulling on his hair, all while he continues to lap me up, moaning with his own pleasure.
After I release his hair, he moves to get up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and then ridding himself of his clothes. He tosses a condom on the bed and pulls my panties down my legs before dropping them to the floor.
I watch with hooded eyes and my bottom lip between my teeth as he sheathes his impressive cock with the latex. My heart pounds with excitement, and the desperation of needing to feel him inside of me takes over my every thought.
Chris moves between my legs, allowing them to rest in the crook of his arm as he props himself above me. This position has his cock steadily hitting my most sensitive spot, causing me to dig my fingernails into his biceps with every thrust.
“Fuck,” I groan, squeezing my eyes closed and curling my toes.
He’s so deep inside of me, making me string several curse words together when I’m not biting down on my lip and grunting like a wanton woman.
It takes a little while, but another orgasm is building, and it feels more intense than the last one. Chris rocks into my body over and over, each thrust getting gradually harder and faster. I can feel his muscles tightening as the sweat from his face drips to my chest.
“Damn, Aria,” he groans. “This is too fucking good.”
I moan in response, and seconds later, my orgasm hits. I feel like it lasts forever, and I yell and grunt as it rolls on. Chris drops my legs and picks up the pace even more. His grunts and growls are the sexiest noises, filling the room.
“Fuck!” he exclaims, coming inside of me.
“Yes, baby,” I pant, my hands squeezing the sides of his ass.
After several seconds, he rolls off of me, and we both lay there in post-coital bliss.
When we’re both back in bed after going to the bathroom and cleaning up, we lie together under the covers, facing each other. Our fingers intertwine, and I smile at his handsome face as he studies mine.
“What’re you thinking about?” I ask.
He smiles, pausing for a few seconds. “I’m thinking . . . I love you.”
My heart slams against my chest and the air seems to rush out of my body. His words have taken my breath away and all I can do is stare at him, waiting to see if he’s going to play it off or take it back.
He chuckles as his thumb gently brushes across my cheek. “Don’t look so terrified.”
I blink my eyes rapidly, suddenly aware by the burning sensation that they must’ve been as wide as saucers for quite some time. “I’m s-sorry,” I stammer. “I was just surprised. I mean, I am surprised,” I say with a small smile. “You love me?”
His beautiful smile makes my heart skip a beat. “I do.”
I lean forward and kiss him. I kiss him a lot. My lips touch his lips, his cheeks, the corners of his mouth, his jaw line . . . everywhere.
“I love you, too.”
“Yeah?” he says with a boyish grin.
“Oh yeah,” I reply with a giant smile.
He wraps his arms around me as he moves his body on top of mine. We laugh and kiss, entangled in each other and ensnared in love.
“I love you,” he tells me, his breath touching my ear.
“I love you,” I reply, my voice dropping an octave as my legs wrap around his waist.
Chris touches every inch of my body with every inch of his, and while he makes love to me, I feel his heart and soul attach to mine.
Three Months Later
“Happy birthday!”
Sharon, Roberta, Scott, Anne, Raven, and I are all wearing cone-shaped birthday hats as Chris walks into the break room.
His face breaks into a grin as he takes in the scene in front of him. “Wow. You guys didn’t have to do this.”
“Of course we did,” Scott says. “You’re family here. That and Aria would’ve killed us if we didn’t go along with her plan,” he jokes, playfully elbowing me in the side.
“I should’ve known you were the mastermind,” Chris says as he wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Thank you.”
My divorce was finalized a little over two months ago, and last month we told everyone here about our relationship. It’s not that we go around making out in every corner of the place, but we didn’t want to hide our relationship from anyone. We’re still professional at work, but everyone knows we’re together. Anne was the happiest for me, and I had a lengthy discussion with Scott regarding my marriage and the subsequent dissolution of it. He didn’t judge any of us, and that’s one of the reasons why I love him so much.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s eat!” I announce.
I brought in pizza from Moose’s Tooth, since it holds a special place in both of our hearts.
“Ooh. Cake,” Chris says as he spots the sheet cake on one of the tables. “Aria,” he growls.
I stifle a laugh before turning around with an innocent l
ook on my face. “What?”
“Fifty-three?” he questions.
“Oh. I must’ve accidentally switched the numbers around.”
“Yeah, right,” he mumbles. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Promise?” I whisper.
“Mmhmm.”
Chris was talking about how “old” he was getting, which is ridiculous, because not only is thirty-five not old, he looks damn good.
“Well, now thirty-five doesn’t seem that old, right?” I say with a smile.
He shakes his head with a smile on his face as he grabs a slice of pizza. “Are you ready for tonight?” he asks.
“What’s tonight?” Anne asks, walking up with her own plate of pizza. “Sorry. I’m nosey,” she says with a shrug that tells me she’s not sorry at all.
“Dinner with his parents.” I make a face that says I’m scared.
“Ooh!” Her eyes widen briefly. “That’ll be fun.”
“My parents are going to love you. You have nothing to worry about,” Chris chimes in.
“When do they get here?” Anne asks.
Chris looks at his watch. “In a few hours. I’ll leave work a little early to get them from the airport.”
Scott calls Chris over, so Anne and I continue the conversation without him.
“I’m so nervous!” I tell her.
“They’ve known about you guys for a while, right?”
“Yes. I’ve even spoken to them on the phone a couple of times, but still. Meeting the parents is always a big deal. For a while, I didn’t think I’d have to worry about that again.”
“It’s a big step. He wants them to know you, and that’s a good thing. You’re so sweet, Aria, they could never hate you.”
I give her an appreciative smile. “What if they ask about my marriage?”
She scrunches her face. “Why would they?”
“I don’t know,” I huff. “I’m just worrying about all the things that can make this evening be as awkward as possible.”
“What did Chris tell them?”
“He just told them that he met me while I was going through a divorce. I just don’t want them to think he’s only a rebound.”
She places her hand on my shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
I take a deep breath and nod. We all finish our food and cut into the cake, scarfing down as much as we can before lunch time is over and patients start coming in. The afternoon goes by quickly, and before I know it, Chris is off to go pick up his parents.
After work, I rush home to take a shower and start getting ready for the evening. I go through most of my closet before finding the perfect outfit.
We have reservations at Orso, which is known as “The place to be.” It’s a very nice restaurant, and usually requires reservations no matter what time of year. They offer a ton of Alaskan seafood options as well as some of the finest steaks and pastas.
Since it’s November now, that means it’s cold and snowy, so I pick out a long-sleeved, dark purple sweater dress to wear. It’s a little form fitting, but it comes down to about an inch below my knees. Since it’s actually a wrap around, I put it on like it’s a robe before bringing the right side over and buckling the three small black buckles in place, cinching my waist in the process.
It’s extremely comfortable and warm, while portraying a simple classiness. I put on some black pantyhose and a pair of low-heeled black booties. I’ll make sure to hold on to Chris for support while we walk outside, because it’s not unlikely to slip on some ice and fall.
My phone rings as I’m straightening my hair, so I answer it and wedge it between my face and my shoulder while I continue to try to tame my hair.
“Hello?”
“Hey. Almost ready?” Chris asks.
“Almost. Finishing my hair now, then a touch of makeup, and that should be it.”
“Okay. Dad wanted to take my new SUV for a spin, so he and Mom are going to meet us there.”
I laugh. His new SUV is a brand new Lincoln MKX. It’s sleek and sexy while being helpful in the Alaskan winters. It has heated seats and a heated steering wheel, which you don’t realize how nice it is to have until your car has been parked outside in single digit temps for hours. I don’t blame his dad for wanting to drive it.
“Well, you can head over if you want. I’ll be ready by the time you get here.”
“See you soon. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I say with a smile on my face.
By the time the doorbell rings, I’m already downstairs, so I grab my black, double-breasted coat that falls to my knees and put it on.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he greets. “You ready for this?”
“I’m ready,” I say with a smile.
He offers me his arm, and I slip my hand into the crook and hold on for dear life as we make our way over my icy walkway and towards his car.
“Remind me to get some salt for this,” I say as I walk like Bambi over the ice.
“I’ll bring some over tomorrow,” he says.
“How was your parents’ flight?”
“Good. Mom enjoyed the view coming in.”
He opens my door for me before walking to his side of the car and getting in. I’m so thankful that the heater has been on, creating a toasty atmosphere inside. It’s not snowing now, but I don’t doubt that it will be later.
“You are extremely handsome,” I tell him with a smile after ogling him for several seconds.
He turns to look at me and grins. “I’m glad you think so.”
He’s got on black slacks and a dark gray, wool trench coat. I’m sure whatever lies underneath that coat is just as nice as everything else.
The closer we get to the restaurant, the more nervous I become. My legs start bouncing and I start fidgeting with a pen that he has in the car.
Chris looks over at me several times before saying anything.
“Aria, stop freaking yourself out. I can see the wheels in your head turning, and I’m sure you’re only thinking about everything that can go wrong.”
I look over at him. “Oh, so you think you know me?” I say playfully. Truth is, he’s completely right.
“I do. I know my parents, too. You guys will get along fine. I promise.”
I let out a long breath. “Okay. I’m sure you’re right.”
“Of course I am,” he says smugly.
I smack him on the arm. “Oh, shush.”
He reaches over and grabs my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Just a few minutes later, we arrive at the restaurant. Because it’s facing a fairly busy road, and squeezed between two other businesses, close parking is hard to come by. We get lucky and find something on the other side of the road.
“Are you parents here?”
He checks his phone as we cross the road. “Yeah, Dad says they’re inside.”
When we get inside, I instantly know who his parents are. His father is an older, more gray-haired version of Chris. Strikingly handsome, clean-cut, tall, and wears a suit just as well as his son. His mother has the same dark hair as him, and he clearly gets his blue eyes from her.
“Mom, Dad, this is Aria. Aria, this is my mom and dad, Alice and James.”
I extend my hand to his father first since he’s closest. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
His father smiles and instantly puts me at ease. “The pleasure’s all mine, darlin’. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
I glance at Chris briefly, the smile still plastered on my face, and he smiles in return. I turn my attention to his mother who looks genuinely happy to see me. I don’t know why I was so worried.
“I’m so happy to meet you, Mrs. Callahan.”
“Oh, come on. Call me Alice,” she says, ignoring my hand and stepping in for a hug. “My son is absolutely smitten with you, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on.”
Before we can say anymore to each other, the host leads us to our table.
“This place is gorgeous,” his mother explains a
s she looks around. “I love the atmosphere. It’s dim, but has enough sparkling lights to highlight certain aspects of their décor. What’s up there?” she asks, pointing towards the stairs.
“That’s the mezzanine where people can host private parties.”
She nods her head before breaking into a smile. “So, Aria. What a beautiful name, by the way. Chris tells me you’ve lived here your whole life.”
I nod. “Yes. Born and raised.”
“Well, you’re going to have to come visit us in Washington sometime.”
With a quick glance at Chris, I smile and respond. “I’d love that.”
The waiter comes by and takes our drink orders, and we all take some time to go through the menu to see what we want before he comes back.
“How did you two meet?” his father asks.
“Dad, I told you. Work.”
“Well, I want to hear her side of the story,” he gives me a grin. “Just in case he’s lying.”
I laugh. “Well, technically it was at work, but it was before I knew he was going to work there. He actually interrupted my lunch.”
“Chris,” his mom says with a gasp.
“What?” he replies, looking confused.
I can’t help but laugh again. “I was eating lunch in the lobby of the clinic, because we lock the doors during those hours and everybody already knows our business hours. I’ve never had to worry about it before.” I glance across the table at Chris and smirk. “Until Mr. Pushy came, anyway. That’s what I called him at first because I didn’t know his name.”
His mom laughs and leans forward to hear the rest of the story.
“I’m in the middle of eating my sandwich and watching TV when I hear a knock on the door. I open it to tell him that we’re closed and everybody’s at lunch, but he reminds me that I’m there. I tell him that I’m having lunch, and he asks if Dr. Monroe is there. Once again, I tell him everybody is at lunch, to which he replies . . .”
“That you’re there,” his mother finishes.
“Yep. So, he ends up telling me that he was dropped off by a cab and has nowhere to go.” His mother tilts her head and lets out an aww. “Of course, I let him in. He sat next to me while I finished my lunch, but I didn’t know who he was or why he was there. It wasn’t until later that Scott introduced him as the new physician coming to work with us. Scott had me take him around town, so I showed him the houses he was looking at online, and we had dinner, then I took him back to his hotel.”
Think Again Page 22
