by Tessa Teevan
I place my hands on his chest, slide them up, and wrap them around his neck. “You just said I’m your woman. That makes you my man. My only man.”
The door opens and Bryan’s head pops out. We both turn to look at him.
“Alyssa’s like my little sister. I’m not attracted to her in the slightest. Even if I was, I wouldn’t ever go there. A wise man once told me not to get the honey where I make my money.”
“Thanks a lot, Bryan.”
He nods then closes the door again.
She’s grinning. “It’s good advice,” he says, and I roll my eyes.
“You’re only saying that because it benefits you.”
“And?”
I playfully slap his shoulder and he sobers.
“You know, I can’t ever remember being on a date that I didn’t want to end. I know this is the part where I say goodnight, but the truth is I don’t want to. I don’t want to let you go again.”
“Well, considering we’ve already slept together twice, feel free to come inside with me,” I tell him, praying, hoping, wishing he’ll take me up on my offer.
“I shouldn’t. You’ll think I’m easy.”
I take a step back, placing my hand on my chest in mock shock. “Are you calling me easy?”
“Alyssa, the past year, you’ve been anything but easy.”
“Which means we have a lot of time to make up for.”
He hesitates, so I close the distance between us and wrap my hands around his waist, blinking up at him with innocent eyes.
“Come in,” I tell him. “We can just cuddle if you want. In fact, that’s all I want. You don’t want the night to end? It doesn’t have to.”
“Can we make out, too?” he asks, his eyes alight with mischief.
I laugh, taking his hand and leading him into the apartment, past a video-game focused Bryan, and into my room, where I push him onto the bed and pounce on top of him.
“I spent this entire week on this very bed, thinking of making out with you, Shane. Of course we can.”
So that’s what we do until the early hours of the morning. We kiss, we cuddle, we talk, we laugh.
It’s so normal. So comfortable. So freaking perfect that I don’t know how I’ll ever go back to sleeping alone.
A girl could definitely get used to this.
THIS IS weird.
I’m pacing the floor of my condo, mentally checking items off my to-do list. Tonight’s our third date, and I want everything to be perfect. Our first two dates—not counting the one last year in Navarre—were standard, as far as I could tell. Dinner, drinks, and the aquarium on our second date, a great way of getting to know each other better than we already did. Date two was to a Falcons game. Once I found out how much she loves football, I scored big with fifty-yard-line tickets.
Just not in that way.
No, I’ve stood firm on going slow, and up until tonight, we’ve done nothing more than make out like horny teenagers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s actually been kind of refreshing. I never knew getting to know someone, taking your time with them, could be this way. But the more I learn about Alyssa, the happier I am she’s giving us a chance.
I’m just turning on the whole condo stereo when the doorbell rings. I press play then make my way to the door. I may check my hair in the mirror right next to it.
The moment she enters my vision, she takes my breath away. The first thing I notice is the way her hair hangs in waves, framing her beautiful face. She’s dressed casually, in black leggings and a teal-colored off-the-shoulder sweater. The sight of her bare skin makes me want to kiss her right there in the curve of her neck.
It’s been three weeks since Branson’s wedding, and three weeks since I was inside her. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to resist. Isn’t date three that magical number where the magazines say it’s okay to put out?
“Are you going to stand there and stare or let me in?” she asks, her eyebrows raised in question.
“You’re fucking beautiful.”
Her lips curve into a smile as she steps inside and places a hand on my chest. “Such a romantic,” she teases. “Now, kiss me like you mean it.”
And I do.
The next thing I know, Alyssa’s jumped up into my arms, her legs wrapped around my waist, and we’re making out like the world’s ending and we don’t have enough time. All too soon, she pulls away, staring directly into my eyes.
“Hi.”
One word, so simple, yet something about it makes my heart soar. “Hi.”
She slides down my body. “Is it too early to say I’ve missed you? This was such a long week, and since I didn’t have you to cuddle with every night, I swear I haven’t slept well.”
With a final kiss on the tip of her nose, I take her hand and lead her towards the kitchen. I pour her a glass of wine and set it on the island in front of her. “Sit. Let’s talk while I finish up dinner. Tell me about your week.”
And she does. We go back and forth, discussing our work weeks, griping about long days, sleepless nights, and only being able to communicate over the phone. I haven’t spent the night with her since the night of our first date because it was way too fucking hard to keep myself from fucking her. Tonight, however, I have plans for her to stay here, no matter what.
“It smells heavenly,” she says as her stomach growls. “What are you making?”
I can’t help the pride I feel when I describe the first meal I’ve cooked for her. “A pan-seared filet mignon with a goat cheese risotto.”
“When you cook, you don’t mess around, do you?” she teases.
“Only the best for you, babe,” I tell her.
Alyssa pauses and studies me, tapping her finger on the island counter. “Shane, you could make peanut butter and jelly and I’d love it.”
I grin. “I’ll do you one better. Next time, I’ll make you a peanut butter and jelly burger. You’ll never eat hamburgers the same again.”
She wrinkles her nose, a reaction I’m used to whenever I bring my signature sliders to a tailgate party. “Jelly on a hamburger? No, thank you.”
“Hey, don’t knock it till you try. I’ll have you know if I wasn’t CFO of the Atlanta division of Wellington, I’d be a celebrity chef.”
She grins. “I’d certainly pay to watch you work in the kitchen.”
“Play your cards right, sunshine, and you can watch, for free, whenever you want.”
A smile plays at her lips as I transfer dinner to plates and pick them up.
“Follow me,” I tell her, leading her to a small dining room right off the kitchen.
Alyssa takes a sip of her drink and sits down. “I have to say, I’ve never had a man make me dinner before.”
I grin at her. “I’m just checking off a lot of firsts for you, aren’t I?”
Her eyes dance. “Keep it up and you’ll be checking of all my firsts.”
Is it wrong that I really hope she means anal?
Not that I’m asking that. I’m not an idiot. I’ve just gotten her back in my life. Way too early for that conversation.
“Can I ask you something?”
She tilts her head, studying me. “Shane, you can ask me anything. I’m an open book.”
“Why’d you wait until you were twenty-five to have sex for the first time? And why the hell did you pick me? I mean, I know I’m a catch, but to you, I was just a stranger.”
“A sexy stranger,” she says with a laugh. She toys with the stem of her wine glass and looks at me. “I didn’t have much luck with men, and once I started my internship at Wellsley, I didn’t have the time for them. Between school, work, and interning, I was spread thin enough. Add a man into the mix? No, thank you.”
She gives me a quick rundown of her past exploits and I nearly choke on wine when she tells me about the guy whose mother walked into the room as he went down on her.
“And now it all makes sense.”
Alyssa laughs. “So thank you,
Shane, for finally giving me a sexual experience that didn’t make me want to scratch my eyeballs out.”
She cuts into her steak, and I wait as she takes a bite. Her eyes drift closed, and she leans her back, and moans.
Fuck me. The sound is going to haunt me on many sleepless nights in the future.
“Oh my God. I don’t even care if it’s rude to talk with food in my mouth. This is so freaking good,” she tells me, opening her eyes back up and staring at me with awe. “Quit your job immediately. The world deserves your cooking.”
Before I can respond, she tries the risotto. Another moan.
“Scratch that. I don’t want to share you.”
I grin. “They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I’m an equal opportunist and think it works both ways.”
“Is that so?” she asks.
I nod. “Absolutely.” I lean forward. “Tell me. Is it working?”
She holds a hand up and starts ticking things off. “Attractive, good job, cooks, cuddles, and kisses well? Yeah, Shane. What you’ve got going for you is definitely working. Now, shut up so I can eat.”
She’s grinning as she says it, but I do what she asked. We have plenty of time for conversation later.
We eat in a comfortable silence, with Ella Mai crooning softly in the background. When she eats her last bite, she places her napkin on the plate and sits back, her eyes hooded.
“I thought Bryan and I had a good thing going. But this? I could eat like this every night.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her we can make that happen, but I don’t. “Any time you want a good home-cooked meal, you let me know.”
She smiles and looks at me under her lashes. “Careful. I might just take you up on that far too often.”
“If it means I get to see you, I’ll cook every damn day.”
We head to the kitchen and work together doing the dishes and cleaning up. It feels so right, so normal, and it shocks me how quickly I could fall into domesticity with this girl.
As I put away the last cast-iron pan, I turn to Alyssa. “How about a movie?”
She walks toward me and places her hands on my stomach, sliding her palms up until they rest on my chest. “I was thinking something a little more…intimate.”
My cock screams yes; my head tells me it’s too soon.
Alyssa notices my hesitation. “Shane, you’re killing me. I get it—you don’t want to rush things. It’s sweet, so sweet, and also unnecessary. We met almost a year ago. We’ve been dating for three weeks. I know what it’s like to be with you. I want that again. I miss it.”
I nearly groan because I feel the same damn way. “Baby, I want you, too. But I also want you to know it’s not just physical. I thought if we took the time to date, really get to know each other, you’d see I’m all in on this. I don’t just want you in my bed, sunshine. I want you in my life.”
Alyssa’s eyes dart back and forth as she studies mine. “I know that, Shane. You don’t have to prove it to me.”
“I know. It’s just… It feels like I’ve known you for so long, and yet every day, I discover something new and then I feel like I know nothing. It’s stupid. I know.”
“It’s not stupid. It’s true. That’s what dating is. Getting to know things you otherwise wouldn’t. And with us, you know what matters. Everything else will come with time.”
“For someone who hasn’t dated much, you sure as hell make a lot of sense.”
Her lips turn up into a wry grin. “I’m learning. And so you will. The important thing is that we learn together.”
“I’ve never been a good teacher, but I’m willing to try for you.”
She pokes my shoulder, ignoring my teasing. “Plus, you’re being cruel.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“I’m new at this. You’ve had the whole damn buffet; I’ve only had a taste.”
“I wouldn’t say I’ve had the whole buffet,” I tell her, unsure of how open I’m supposed to be here.
There must be something in my expression, because Alyssa wraps her arms around my neck. “Shane, I don’t care who or how many women you were with before me. I don’t need to know. I don’t want to. I’m just happy I have you now.”
Crisis averted. Not that I was sleeping my way through Atlanta, but I was a young, single bachelor.
I brush her hair away from her face. “I’m all yours. For as long as you want me.”
Rich, dark-chocolate eyes watch me with burning desire. “It feels like I’ve wanted you for so long, Shane. And I know it’s my fault, for denying what was between us for so long. Please. Please don’t make me wait any longer.”
Hell, even if I wanted to, the heat in her expression sends all resistance flying out the window. As much as it’s killed me to keep her at arm’s length when it comes to sex, it’s so worth it to know she’s been wanting this as much as I have. The anticipation was well worth it.
“I won’t. God, sunshine, you have no idea how hard it’s been not to fuck you every night you’ve been in my bed.”
Relief washes over her expression right before a smirk crosses her lips. “Oh, I know. I’ve experienced the same longing. And now you have to make it up to me by fucking me all night long.”
Like I’d ever say no to that.
Alyssa takes a step back from me, her eyes never leaving mine. She walks backward, removing her shirt and tossing it to the side. I sit here, riveted in my spot as I watch the show. When she gets to the edge of the kitchen, she’s left in only a tiny lacy bra and an even smaller pair of panties. She crooks her finger, beckoning for me to follow, then disappears down the hall.
Like a love-struck fool, I follow without word or thought, removing my own clothing until I’m in only my boxers. I find her in my bedroom, her hip resting against the nightstand next to my bed. The vision of her takes my breath away. I’m captivated by the contrast of tan skin and the light blue of her lingerie. I want to explore every inch of her, and I’m not quite sure where to start.
“The feeling’s mutual,” she says, pulling me from my trance.
Alyssa walks to me, and I pull her into my arms, my hands sliding down until they rest on the curve of her ass. She rises and I capture her mouth with the same hungry urgency I’ve been feeling for weeks. Hands roam and tongues wage war as we explore each other with a desperation I’ve never felt in my life. It’s like I can’t get enough. I won’t ever be able to get enough, but I’ll give it my damnedest to try.
Her breasts crush against my chest, and I have the sudden urge for there to be nothing between us. Even though I don’t want to stop touching her, I want her bare. I reach behind her back, unclasp her bra, then step back to let it fall between us.
The sight of Alyssa’s bare breasts unleashes the short rein I had on my desire. I cup each one, my fingertips taking on a mind of their own. Her eyes flutter closed when my lips close around one nipple and I suck until it hardens. I take my time, moving back and forth between each breast, until Alyssa’s squirming, panting. The reaction has my cock straining against my boxers, and as much as I want to savor her, it’s been far too long since I’ve been inside her.
With one last kiss to each breast, I sink to my knees in front of my woman. My fingers hook on the sides of her panties. I slide them down her smooth legs slowly, and she steps out of them. My hands caress their way back up her legs, seeking the warmth between them. She opens them as soon as my fingers hit wetness.
I cup her pussy with my hand, thrilled at how fucking wet she is. I want to thrust my cock into the warm, wet heat of her. Instead, I use one finger to probe her entrance, teasing her with just the tip. Her hands come to my shoulders, where she digs her fingertips into my skin. She holds on tighter when I use my thumb to massage her clit, rubbing it with soft circular strokes until she’s moaning.
“Harder,” she insists, impatiently thrusting her hips into my face.
She’s watching me with hooded eyes. Her bottom lip is sucked in between her tee
th, and the sight of flushed cheeks, her arched back, and her pelvis tilted toward as me she tries to grind against my hand nearly undoes me.
“Shane, please.”
Two words. That’s all it takes to break me.
I want to make this last. I want her to have it all. The romance, the foreplay, everything before we get to the fucking. But I’m barely hanging by a thread, and if she begs one more time with that sultry voice, I’m afraid I’ll lose all control.
Alyssa’s soft whimper echoes in the room when I pull my finger off her clit. Her eyelashes flutter when I stand and push her back onto the bed until she’s resting comfortably on a pillow. She watches me as I position her legs so that they’re bent, her feet flat on the sheets. The way her legs spread sends the scent of her arousal into my nose, and fuck me, I’ve never smelled anything sweeter. The sudden urge to taste her is unbearable.
I settle between her legs and lower my head, gently blowing on her pussy before allowing my tongue to take over, making its own exploration, tasting every inch of her delicacy. Then I take her clit into my mouth, sucking on the aroused bud. A full body shiver runs over her, and she closes her legs around my head, trapping me between them.
Not that I’d ever complain about that.
Since it’s apparent she’s happy with my current location, I settle in to give her one hell of a ride. As my tongue descends to meet her entrance, it thrusts in with quick strokes before I slow down and pull away, teasing her in the process, and enjoying the sound of exasperated whimpers. Her body responds to each kiss and caress, and with each sexy moan I elicit from her, the need to be with her builds until I’m ready to explode. I repeat the process until she’s on the verge of climax.
