She paced in front of him. “So, that means I get a raise?”
He nodded. “Big fucking raise, H. How’s about fifteen percent on every gig.”
A sharp whistle left Maria’s lips.
“Seriously?”
“You bring me the jobs, you get paid. I looked into it H. That’s more than fair, plus we pay your expenses out of our business account when we travel. Your name will appear on the albums, the whole enchilada. So”—he held his hand out—“do we have a deal or what?”
Heather’s eyes were wide; her mouth opened and closed like she couldn’t catch her breath. “But…but…but, that’s so much.”
It was a rhetorical statement but Anton answered anyway. “No, it’s what’s going to happen for me to keep my talent. Now, you gonna keep me hanging, or are we going to do this?”
Heather held out her hand. It trembled as she clasped Anton’s. Without hesitation he pulled her into his arms in what I knew was a bone-crushing hug. I’d been on the other side of those arms when he was worried or frightened. “Never doubt my love for you. H, you are the most talented woman I know. You keep me going. Having my sister, my hermana, my mejor amiga making sure I’m taken care of, getting us the best contracts, that’s my dream come true. I’m sorry I didn’t do it earlier.”
She sniffed into his neck, tears rolling down her cheeks. I hugged myself not able to give them privacy. It was too beautiful to witness.
“H, we’re going to have to hire us a new PA. You’re going to be too busy to be dealing with our day-to-day necessities. Oooh, hire a sexy little Latina?” His eyes twinkled, and a sexy grin slipped across his lips.
She shook her head. “Oh, hell no. You’ll be banging her in five seconds. I’m hiring a gay man! End of. Nothing to distract either one of us.”
Anton shrugged. “Party pooper.” He swung her around and set her on her feet. “Now can you call that bastardo that’s trying to steal you from me and tell him you’re off the market, that you’ve been promoted and to fuck way off. If I see that slimy hijo de puta I’m not going to be kind. He tried to take my girl away from me.”
Heather chuckled. “He’s actually really nice.” Anton’s head shot around and he glared at her showing his teeth. “Okay, okay! I’ll tell him today I’m not interested.”
His eyes softened and he smiled.
On that note, I tiptoed out of the dance studio and headed for my home away from home. Things were now right in the world. Well, in Anton and Heather’s world. It was yet to be determined how I’d move on with Weston. Tomorrow would tell.
Chapter 7
Studying myself in the mirror I figured this outfit would do. The top half of the black dress was a ribbed tank-top style, the bottom loose and flowy to about two inches above the knee. It was cute. I scanned my back and front one more time. I felt sexy, young, hip, yet still me. Casual Mia. Instead of putting on sky-high wedges that matched, I stayed barefoot. Wes would be here soon, and I had no idea what his plans were. Would we talk? Make out? Would it be weird since this was the first time we were seeing each other face-to-face since our hookup in March.
Hookup. I cringed. That sounded too “casual ho” for my liking. Besides, Wes would tan my hide if I called myself a ho. He’d probably consider our romp in March an extension of our long-term friends with benefits relationship. It reminded me of a time when we just first met.
“What are we toasting to?” I ask.
“How about to being friends?” He grins setting a warm hand high on my thigh, much higher than a ‘friend’ would. It feels good there. “Good friends.” His eyes drop to my mouth as I bite my bottom lip.
“Friends with benefits?” I inquire, lifting an eyebrow for maximum effect and crossing my legs. That hand of his went a few inches higher until it brushes along bare thigh.
His gaze focuses on mine making me feel warm, positively hot, under his intense look. “God, I hope so,” he whispers leaning closer.
Yes, that was the start of something I had no idea would turn into more. More friendship, more fun, more living, and most of all—more love. The doorbell rang through the apartment, sounding ultra-loud in the cavernous space.
Taking a deep breath, I jutted my shoulders back, clasped the door handle and pulled it open. There he stood like blazing California sunshine glinting off the Pacific Ocean. Surreal perfection.
“Wes…” was all I got out before he pressed a hand to my stomach, pushing me back away from the door a few steps. He dropped his bag on the floor in a heap, kicked the door shut, and yanked me into his arms. His mouth was on mine in the blink of an eye. His minty tongue dove inside as I gasped. Tongues touched, remembering. Hands groped, reacquainting.
In seconds I was pressed up against the door, legs wrapped around his waist, hands gripping my ass, mine twisted into his hair at the crown of his head. I held him close, plundering his mouth like a woman in a drought who hadn’t had a sip of water in days. He tasted of mint with a hint of alcohol. Mojitos. I grinned and tugged on his lips. He groaned and pressed his denim-clad length directly against my aching bundle of nerves. Crying out, I tore my lips from his. As I gulped air, his lips were all over my neck, sucking, biting, tasting.
“Can’t fucking get enough of your taste. Christ, I need inside…” His growl was muffled when he sucked at the fleshy globes of my cleavage where he’d managed to push down the tank enough to access them.
“Need you too.” I lifted up his head and took his mouth again.
Vaguely I heard my panties tearing at the sides, and felt the pinch of pain as he tugged them from my body in his haste to get me naked. Then he pressed me harder against the door. I moaned, feeling his knuckles press against my wetness as he unzipped and unbuckled.
“Going to take you. Take it hard. Make it mine again.” He bit down on my lip hard as one hand curled around my ass and the other slinked up behind my back where his hand gripped my shoulder. “Fuck, Mia,” he roared as his cock drove home.
“Oh, oh, God...” My mind spun, so filled with pleasure, I tightened everywhere barreling like a speeding train towards my release. So fast. With Wes it was always a sure thing, but it was like every draw, release, and thrust back home I splintered, my body crackling with so much need I was going to lose it any second. “Gonna come…” I warned.
Wes licked up my neck. “Already?” he growled between clenched teeth and sucked in a fast breath. “Fuck, your pussy missed me. Christ, sweetheart, like a vice on my dick. So. Goddamned. Tight. And. All. Fucking. Mine.”
That proclamation and one more piercing thrust accompanied by his pelvic bone crushing my O-trigger between our bodies and that was all she wrote. Twitching, howling, toes curling, I clung to Wes’s body as he rammed home over and over, finding his own bit of heaven on a mighty roar. His body sunk deep, planted to the root where I milked him of his release. His breath came in potent punches against the skin of my neck, and I felt the door digging painfully into my back.
Moments later, when our breathing was more relaxed, I pulled his head from its hiding spot against my neck until Wes’s eyes sought mine. He grinned lazily. “Hey babe. Missed you.” I noticed the shy timbre in my voice.
He chuckled and rubbed his forehead against mine. “I got that. Obviously not as much as I missed you since I attacked you at first sight.”
I grinned and kissed him, putting all my joy, happiness and regret for the time spent apart into the kiss. “It’s okay. If you had noticed“—I clenched around his softening, still semi-hard member within me—“I was all about it.” I winked and unwound my legs from his hips groaning when we disconnected.
“Want a drink? A nap? Another go?”
He laughed and the sound reverberated like a drum within my chest. I loved hearing him laugh. “Perhaps not in that order but I’m thinking, shower, food, another go, then a nap.” He waggled his eyebrows.
I smoothed down my skirt. “Now that you mention it, I am pretty hungry.” Probably because I hadn’t eaten anything becau
se I was too nervous about seeing Wes again. “How about I call for takeout while you shower?”
He frowned. “Wanted to shower with you, sweetheart.”
“Then we’ll never get to the food part of your plan,” I cocked my head with a hand on my hip. His eyes took in the stance and he smiled then shook his head.
“Shower that way?” He pointed towards the back end of the apartment.
“Yep. I’ll order us some food. Go wipe off the travel and um, you know,” I pointed to the general vicinity of his lower half.
“My cock? You want my cock clean, sweetheart?” He grinned and the sexy quirk of those lips went straight to my pussy where a blossoming throb became a pounding rhythm.
I squirmed, squeezing my legs together and huffed trying to pretend that this crass discussion didn’t affect me. “Hey, you want a dirty dick, that’s on you. I’m most certainly not putting my mouth on it after a six-hour plane ride and a sweaty fuck against the door. Go shower. I’ll take care of food and then we can catch up.”
Wes turned on a heel and headed towards the bathroom. “As long as part of that catching up is me spending a great deal of time between your thighs, with this”—he gripped his denim-clad cock in a vulgar display that had me chuckling—“and these”—he wiggled his fingers—“and this”—he tapped his mouth—“my life will be complete.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, ignoring him so he’d leave, even though he knew it affected me the way he intended it should. That was when I started to feel our combined fluids slipping down the inside of my thighs. Shit. He’d ripped my underwear off. No barrier. I needed a towel and then maybe I would join him in the shower.
***
Our bellies full of Miami’s primo sushi and egg rolls, Wes and I were snuggled up on the couch, his hand methodically running through my hair. I’d let it air-dry while we ate and talked. Now we were content just being in one another’s company. I couldn’t remember a time when being with a man I had feelings for was so simple. No demands on time, no stress, no drama just being with one another. It was nice. More than nice, it was exactly what I wanted to set roots around, and let it grow into something even more than nice, something long lasting.
Without comment Wes stood up and grabbed my hand. I followed because, well, I’d probably follow him anywhere right now. He led me to the bedroom. The sky outside the windows had turned to a hue of pinks, oranges, and blues as the sun began to set.
Wes turned me around facing the view. We were in a high-rise overlooking the ocean. The ocean always reminded me of my time with him. He slid his hands around my waist and leaned close. “Tomorrow morning we’ll surf.”
I smiled and leaned into his back. “I’d love that.”
He hummed against my neck and slipped his fingers under the tank dress at each shoulder. I’d thrown it back on sans bra after our shower. Hey, a girl could hope. He pushed the material down until it fell in a puddle at my feet. I stepped out of it and kicked it to the side. Wes’s hands went to my waist and slowly slid up my ribcage. Gooseflesh prickled along my skin. His large hands came up to my breasts and cupped them reverently. Gasping, I closed my eyes and pressed into his hands.
“Missed these. Best tits I’ve ever seen.” He placed tiny kisses along my shoulders. “Best I’ve ever touched.” He squeezed them, setting up a rhythm that had me thrusting my hips forward as if on autopilot. “So sensitive to touch,” he murmured against the nape of my neck.
“Only your touch,” I mumbled rubbing the back of my head against his pecs.
“Is that right?” He hummed again. I focused on the feather-light touch of his fingertips as they played delicately over my breasts and around the nipples in a caressing, petting massage. Heat built all over, a slow, simmering sensation from the tips of my nipples, through my chest and around, to nestle heavily at the apex of my thighs. Then he spoke again, blowing me away, reminding me of one of the best nights of my life.
“Rule one,” he started and I smiled wide, not able to contain the sheer happiness of what I hoped he was about to do. “We’re going to have an insane amount of sex over the next three days.” Three days? He squeezed hard on each erect peak cutting off further thought. I cried out, remembering this feeling, overjoyed that I was finally in his arms like this after so long. Any fear or anxiety was completely obliterated by this man. The only man’s touch I needed, craved, wanted more than any other. The space between my legs softened and clenched at nothing. I needed him there, right there. Taking me to bliss.
“I seem to recall that rule,” I said breathlessly, leaning further back into him, grinding my ass into his thick erection. Oh, sweet mother of all things good, I missed that steely length. Even though we’d had sex earlier today, we had some serious time to make up for.
Wes chuckled and reacted by pinching each nip just right. Sparks of electric pleasure rippled through my tits on a live wire to my clit where it throbbed and ached to be manipulated. “Rule two,” he continued, “is that we’re monogamous.”
This time, I laughed, only he retaliated by twisting and running the edge of his nail along the over-sensitized peaks. I moaned and shook in his arms. “Remember that one, too,” I choked out. “Only before, it was for the month. How long this time?” My heart clenched; I was unsure if he was feeling the same tension and anticipation that I was. He didn’t know things had changed for me, that my previous views about us had flown out the window wailing like a banshee into the night.
Wes plucked my nips, elongating them to the point that pleasure and pain coalesced in a symphony of heat and need. “Indefinitely.” His voice was hoarse, a rough grumble against my spine. His teeth dragged along my shoulder until he sunk them into the exact same spot Aaron had. I expected to be taken back there. Instead, my body jolted under his capable hands, obliterating all thought except the desire for him. My Wes.
“Does that mean you cut ties with your other friend?” I closed my eyes waiting, holding my breath, too afraid to hope for what I wanted. In the past, I’d never gotten what I’d wanted from a man I fell for. Ever. It seemed to be part of my genetic code. I had the fuck-over-Mia gene stapled to my heart. With Wes, I wanted so badly for him to demolish that fear of the unknown that would enable me to trust another man again. Trust him. Unlock my heart, break it wide open and let him in.
“Stopped that friendship when I fucked you over the phone.”
That was a full month ago when we sexted. Holy shit, he really was serious. Chills raced along my spine, and at the same time, longing for more filled me to the brim.
“Rule three: We always sleep in the same bed. We do not want to confuse this with something it’s not.”
I shimmied against his dick until he groaned, placing a hand on my hip and rubbing into my backside, circling. “Mmm. And, uh, what is it this time?” It became harder and harder to finish our chat knowing he was harder than a two by four behind me. My panties were soaked through with the ache he’d built.
He pulled his bottom half away from me and I wanted to sob. I did try to protest, but he held me fast, leaning my head to the side and snuggling into the crook of my neck. That’s when he blew my world wide open.
“Sweetheart. You, me…it’s paradise. From here on out, no matter where you go, what you have to do for the rest of the year, this paradise will be waiting for you with open arms.”
Paradise. Wes did not lie. Our time together, the month we had, the followup in Chicago, all the calls, texts, and then some were all part of the bundle. A place I was able to go where I could be me, live life, be happy.
“And rule four?” The words came out in breathless veneration. This was it, the ultimate question. Over six months ago, we stood, just like this, and he set the rules in stone. Rule number four was never fall in love. My heart was in my throat. I arched like a cat, his hands squeezed and caressed each nip with a reverence I hadn’t felt in too long. Still, he didn’t answer. Worry, panic, and longing built within my soul and I spun around and clutched him
around the neck, fingers tugging on his hair, forcing his face down to mine. His eyes were so green, I gasped at the sheer beauty and grace that was Weston Channing.
An adoring smile filled his features, and I held tight. “Fuck rule four. I broke that rule six months ago when I fell in love with you.”
Tears filled my eyes, so much so that he was blurry. I swallowed reflexively around the knot in my throat. “Wes, I…”
“I know, sweetheart. Something changed in you. From my visit in March, to our calls, texts, the shit with Gi—“ I placed a finger over his pouty lips I wanted to gobble up and burn with repeated tugs and blistering kisses; the last thing I wanted to hear from that sexy-as-fuck mouth was her name spoken here and now, when I was about to confess my love for him.
“Not now, not when it’s you and me.” My voice shook.
He nodded. “Tell me what I want to hear, Mia. What I need to hear. I deserve it.” His voice demanded nothing but honesty.
Want. Need. Deserve.
And he did. All of those things were true and finally, after six months of waffling, trying to deny it, wanting to deny it, I let it all go. For the first time in my life I was going to take something for me. Something good, kind, and all mine.
My paradise.
Looking into his bottomless green eyes, running my fingers through the dirty blond layers of his just-fucked hair, and stroking my lips along his stubbled jaw, I leaned close enough so that no matter how quietly I said it, he’d hear it.
“I love you, Wes.”
His arms tightened painfully around my mostly naked form as he let the declaration sink in. I could feel the tension pumping off him in powerful bursts of energy. “Not going to let you go this time,” his words came out harsh, though I knew the gruffness was driven by the intense feeling behind them.
“I love you,” I kissed his cheek, and his arms loosened a bit.
July (Calendar Girl #7) Page 7
