by Linda Kage
Her taste filled my mouth, and I drew in a deep breath before moaning my appreciation. There was just something so satisfying about going down on her. It was like her most vulnerable and yet her most powerful moment all in one where she was open and completely trusting but also held all the cards. To me, it felt like the greatest honor to be allowed here in this hallowed space, bowing before her and servicing her. Every needy, breathless sound she made was a victory because they all belonged to me.
Around my face, the muscles in her legs strained. Her pleasure mounted. I circled her entrance with a single finger as my mouth latched more insistently around her clitoris.
Just as I pushed the first digit in, a voice called from the front of the house.
“Hey, Bella! You awake yet?”
“Oh, shit,” she hissed, trying to sit up as she pushed at my head. “It’s Gracen.”
I lifted my mouth even as I thrust a second finger inside her. “But I haven’t given you the second orgasm yet.”
“Fox!” she whisper-yelled, her eyes wide and desperate, full of fear as footsteps started in the hall. “He’s going to blow through that doorway in about two-point-five seconds.”
“Then you better stop him,” I warned. “Because I’m finishing what I started.”
And I put my mouth back on her, licking her pussy and pumping my fingers into her without mercy.
Her body bowed up under me, even as she slugged me in the shoulder and muttered, “Damn you.” Then her voice lifted, high and desperate, “Don’t come back here! I, uh—I’m not dressed.”
The footsteps immediately halted, followed by her twin calling through the closed door. “I’ll start some breakfast, then. Meet you in the kitchen.”
“S-sounds good.” Sweat trailed down her face as she bit down on her own knuckle when I looked up at her.
I gave her a thumbs-up with my free hand and squeezed one more finger inside her with the other.
“Christ,” I heard her muffled moan. And then she was coming in great heaving waves, her legs stiffening and body straining as she fought to contain the noises she wanted to make.
Once she finished, she sank back into the mattress and gaped up at the ceiling.
“I cannot believe we just did that. My brother is in the freaking house.”
“Crazy awesome, wasn’t it?” I agreed, plopping down beside her and unable to stop grinning.
She sent me a dark glance, only to soften as soon as she met my gaze. Then her lips quirked into a reluctant grin before she rolled toward me to kiss me on the mouth.
“You’re crazy,” she countered. We spent another couple of seconds with our tongues dueling until she broke free to ask, “So, question. Do you want to hide back here in my room until he’s gone, or should I keep him occupied in the kitchen while you sneak down the hall, past the kitchen, and out the front?”
I smoothed out a crazy piece of her hair. “Or…” I drew out a third option as I met her eyes. “We could just walk into the kitchen together. I’m okay with Gray knowing.”
She winced, and I already knew that idea was going to be shot down. Implicitly.
The problem was, I wasn’t able to fully hide the disappointment from my eyes, and she saw it.
She bit her lip. “Not yet,” she answered, only to apologetically stroke my cheek and send me a cringe as she added, “Fox. I just—if Gracen knew, then everyone would, and I’m not ready for that yet. Just…”
“Not yet,” I finished for her and nodded. “Okay. It’s fine.”
I tried to look away, pretending to look for my clothes, but she knew me too well. She gently caught my face. “Baby,” she whispered, pressing her forehead to mine. “Please don’t be mad.”
“I’m not,” I assured her, stroking her hip. I got to sleep with this incredible woman whenever we worked out the chance to see each other. There was no way that angered me.
“I just like keeping you as my special secret,” she admitted, petting my hair. “Don’t you like this? It’s stress-free and drama-free and it’s just—it’s nice.” Worry and uncertainty entered her expression. “Don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, kissing the side of her throat. “It’s the best.” Which was probably why I wanted to make it so binding and permanent and public.
I wanted it labeled and packaged as mine.
As ours.
“Good.” As if she thought we were on the same page, she pulled away, grinning madly. “I better get out there before he tries to come back and check on me.”
As she rushed to dress, I was slower to find my clothes and drag them on.
“I’ll wait here until he’s gone,” I finally decided.
She paused after tugging on a shirt. “You sure? I thought you had to meet with a client this morning.”
“I do.” I checked my phone. “But I’ve still got some time.” I couldn’t leave just yet. The world felt wrong whenever I had to leave her.
I could linger a few minutes longer.
Flashing me a smile, she cupped my face in her hands and hummed her happiness. “Good.” She kissed me lightly on the mouth. “I’ll be able to give you a proper farewell, then.”
Pulling away, she opened the door, which let the aroma of cooking bacon into the room.
Oh, damn. My mouth immediately watered. “Hey.” I caught her wrist before she could leave. “Save me some bacon,” I said with a wink.
She rolled her eyes, then grinned and blew me a kiss over her shoulder as she mouthed, “You got it,” and shut the door.
I sighed and sat back on the bed. Then I shook my head and finished dressing.
Not sure what to do next, I paced the confines of her room for a minute, then made her bed for her. Once that was done, I paced some more and checked the time.
Gracen had probably made some eggs with the bacon too. Hopefully, Bella saved some of those for me, as well.
My stomach growled.
I paced some more.
Gray wasn’t leaving anytime soon, I realized. Damn close twins. Those two could talk for hours.
Why had I said I’d wait? I checked my watch and gnashed my teeth. I still had to go home and shower and change. If I left now, I could still make it on time. But then I wouldn’t get my full goodbye from Bella.
Fuck it, I couldn’t stay. I’d just pick up some breakfast on the way to work. Creeping open the door to Bella’s room, I strained to hear where the twins were in the house.
Thankfully, they had moved from the kitchen and were already back in the living room. Gracen must be preparing to leave. Yes! I was going to get my special Bella farewell, after all.
Darting into the hall, I stole into the kitchen and—even better—there were still two strips of bacon left on what I assumed was Bella’s plate, plus enough eggs to satisfy me. I sat at the table and inhaled the food in about thirty seconds flat, then I poked my head back into the hallway.
“Well, I’ll call,” Bella was saying, obviously trying to shoo her brother along.
“Yeah,” he started. Only to pause. “Hey.” A second later, he added, “Isn’t that Fox’s hat?”
I frowned and patted my bare head.
Shit.
Bella had knocked the cap off me last night about half a second after she attacked me at the door and wrapped herself around me like a spider monkey.
Wondering how she was going to play this off, I wandered closer to the opening of the hall as Bella evasively answered, “Is it?”
I peek into the front room just in time to see Gray send her an incredibly odd look.
“It has a Fox brand emblem on it,” he said, pointing. “Just like Fox always wears. Who else would it belong to?”
“Oh. Hmm.” Bella paused to clear her throat. “Well, I don’t know. He must’ve left it here the last time we all hung out.”
Gracen sent her another incredulous glance. “Weird,” he murmured. “I’ve never known Fox to go anywhere without his hat before. Can’t believe he’d forget it here for that
long.”
With a shrug, he bent the bill in half and stuffed it in his back pocket.
From the hall, I died a little inside and balled my hand into a fist. But, come on, man, I wanted to howl. Take it easy with my baby there. Did he seriously have to fold her like that? That hat was getting too old and brittle to handle with such brutality. And she was too faithful of a headpiece for me to give up on yet to buy a new one.
“I can give this back to him tonight,” Gracen was saying, completely oblivious to me expiring in the hallway. “The guys are going out for drinks later. I’m sure he’ll be there.”
Well, I definitely would be there now, just to get my hat back from that apparel-abusing maniac.
Glancing uneasily toward the hall and catching sight of me gripping my head in anguish and mouthing for her to save my damn hat, Bella whirled back to her brother and nodded. “That, uh, yeah. That sounds great. Thanks.”
What? No! That was not great. Not at all.
“Yep.” Gracen opened his arms and pulled her into a hug. “Take care. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Sure.” She patted him on the back and sent me a warning glance over his shoulder to keep quiet.
I ignored it and jabbed my finger insistently toward Gray’s back pocket. But she didn’t oh-so-accidentally knock the hat loose as he pulled away. Nope. She just smiled up at him before he left, closing the door behind him.
With my hat still with him.
The latch had barely clicked shut after his departure before I shot into the living room.
Bella immediately turned to me, frowning. “Did he seem off to you—”
“He took my hat,” I charged needlessly. “Why the hell did you let him take my hat?”
She blinked. “What did you want me to do? Tackle him to the ground and wrestle the damn thing from his clutches?”
“Yes!” I cried. “I can’t go through an entire day without my hat. My head will feel naked.”
“Oh my God.” Pressing a hand to her brow, she shook her head and sighed before glancing up and lifting her eyebrows. “You’ll get it back tonight.”
“As if,” I snorted. “You know how forgetful Gray is. Who knows when he’ll remember to get it back to me? And I can’t directly ask for it, either. He’ll know I was here—with you—when he took it. And did you see the way he folded it? He freaking folded my hat. Then put it in his back pocket. My hat—that I wear on my head every damn day of the year—has now touched your brother’s ass. That is so not right.”
“Oh, you poor baby,” she cooed, coming in to clutch my face gently and kiss the side of my throat. “Do you want me to get you a new hat?”
“No,” I mumbled petulantly, only to tip my face to the side, letting her kiss more. “I want my hat back. It took me years to wear it in just right so it fit my head perfectly. It has my smell and it’s always there for me. A new hat would just be fucking wrong.”
With a groan, she pulled away. “Okay, fine. How about this?”
She picked up her phone from the coffee table and typed in a quick text. A second later, my own phone vibrated in my back pocket, where phones were meant to be kept. And wallets. But not fucking hats!
I pulled the phone free, only to realize Bella had group texted me, along with her brother.
BELLA: Hey, Fox. Gracen just found your hat at my place. Make sure he doesn’t forget it tonight when he says he’s meeting y’all for drinks, okay?
I sent her a confounded look. “Um. What?”
She rolled out a hand. “I have officially told you that my brother should be returning your hat to you tonight, so now you can pester him about—”
“Holy hell! You’re right.” A broad grin spread across my face as I leaned in to smack a loud, grateful kiss to her cheek. “You’re a genius, baby doll. Thank you.”
Then I immediately responded to the message.
FOX: You better not forget my fucking hat tonight, ass munch. I’ve been looking everywhere for that thing. And don’t FOLD her like I know you do. She’s old and fragile. She needs special care.
“Oh my God,” Bella mumbled, rolling her eyes as she read the message. “Your hat is a she?”
“Hell, yes, she’s a she. I’d never get that intimate and permanent with another dude.”
She chuckled as her brother responded with something. But neither of us paid attention to what he had to say.
“You’re so stinking cute sometimes,” Bella was too busy telling me as she wound her arms around my neck and grinned into my eyes.
“Oh yeah?” I asked, bumping my nose into hers as I sent her a heated look. “How cute?”
“Cute enough to take right here on the couch,” she hummed as she slid her cheek along mine in order to nip at my ear with her teeth.
I groaned. My body stirred, totally on board with that thinking. But—
“Damn it. I got a client waiting. I shouldn’t be late.”
“Shouldn’t?” she asked, winding her fingers through my hair as she ran her nose up the side of my neck. “Or can’t?”
“Ah, hell,” I groaned. “Shouldn’t. It’s definitely shouldn’t.”
“I hate how you have to work every Saturday morning,” she complained as her fingers worked down over my shoulders and along my sides, headed toward the front zipper of my jeans. “It feels like I never get enough of you.”
I agreed completely. “You have me now, though,” I promised. “So take as much as you want.”
“Oh, I will,” she promised. “I will.”
As the zipper came down, I was a goner.
Chapter Five
Yellow
ALMOST AN HOUR LATER
I glanced at the time on my wrist as I used my other hand to pull my foot up and back behind me until I was pressing the heel of my shoe against my butt and giving my quads a deep stretch.
I wasn’t sure how long I was supposed to stick around before I could call Parker a lost cause, but I was beginning to feel like a fool for the amount of time I’d been dawdling through my warm-up, waiting for him.
I was about to take off down the trail by myself when I glanced up and finally spotted his familiar figure jogging my way.
He waved and sent me a rueful grin. “Hey. Sorry I’m late. But thanks for waiting.”
I dropped my foot and shrugged as if it were no big deal. “It’s fine. As long as she was worth it.”
He paused to send me a surprised blink.
I froze too, not sure why I’d just said that. Seriously, I never teased him. Not about sexy, flirty things, anyway.
How inappropriate.
But at just the moment I opened my mouth to awkwardly retract my words, he broke into a very satisfied grin and rolled with it. “Trust me, she was.”
My mouth fell open when he followed it all with a wink.
“I…” I shook my head, baffled before blurting, “I can’t believe you just admitted that.”
He shrugged, only to counter with, “Hey, you brought it up, which I can’t believe.” Then he cocked his head to the side and squinted as if probing my mind. “Why did you say that?”
“Um…” Not sure how to answer, I rubbed the back of my neck uneasily while my face burned hot. Then I totally evaded, too scared to explore the reasons myself. “You ready to run or do you need to stretch first?”
He watched me steadily for another long, uncomfortable moment, seeing more than I wanted him to. Then he waved me on, letting me off easy without forcing the subject. “I’m good to go,” he said. “So lead the way, dirty-minded girl.”
I rolled my eyes but broke into a run, feeling more like I was trying to escape the moment than actually exercise.
He kept pace with me easily as we started down the trail, sticking by my side, not lagging behind or rushing ahead, and I found myself glancing sideways at my life coach, taking him in from head to toe.
About my age, with thick dark hair, he wore black jogging shorts, loose around the waist that slipped low on his hips whene
ver he exercised and a gray, V-neck T-shirt that was just snug enough to reveal he was packed with muscle. It was nothing fancy, except he made it look stylish by the way he wore it.
Mind wandering on, I tried to visualize what his girlfriend must be like. He didn’t mention her a lot, but when he did, I could tell he was wholly into her, which was sweet, but also made me think she had to be something fairly striking.
As gorgeous and personable as he was, he could be as picky as he liked, so she was probably pretty athletic herself, I deduced. Self-assured, beautiful, intuitive but also practical and level-headed. I bet she was a female version of him. Yeah, definitely a female him. There was just something overwhelmingly spectacular about him.
When Parker had first been assigned to me by the agency, I’d initially asked for a different coach. He’d been too attractive, too virile, too male for my taste. That was exactly what I didn’t want because it had immediately intimidated me and made me feel distinctly distressed. But no one else had been available, so we’d been stuck together unless I’d wanted to lose all the down payment I’d sunk into getting help—or rather, the down payment I’d begged my parents for help with. But I hated asking for monetary assistance from them, so it seemed even more important for me to put that down payment to good use.
So…
I’d suffered through the initial discomfort, and a year later, I couldn’t think of anyone else better to guide me through my issues than Parker.
Honestly, the man had become the best friend I had.
Without talking, we made a lap along the trail around the sports complex and then entered through a side door, finding our room reserved as it always was. My Saturday morning sessions with him always included a quick circle around the grounds to warm up and then a one-on-one game of basketball.
We hadn’t initially planned on making my sessions revolve so heavily around physical activity, but as soon as he realized what my true problem was, he’d tailored everything until I was exposed to as much body-to-body contact with someone as I could handle.
