by Jess Dee
Tori’s hand, the one that had been caressing his chest, ceased moving. For a long moment she was quiet.
“Your mum has dementia?”
“Alzheimer’s.”
“That sucks.”
“It does.” Andrew had gotten used to the blankness in his mother’s eyes, the lack of recognition when he walked into the house. He’d also gotten used to the times she’d mistakenly thought he was his father and called him Harry. It left him feeling wretched whenever he saw her, which was every day. “What made it harder is my dad has always insisted on looking after her. From the day she was diagnosed, he swore to be there for her. To keep her at home, with him. But this last stint in hospital…” Andrew grimaced. “It showed us we have to make alternative plans.”
“What happened to your mum while your dad was sick?”
“She stayed home. I hired a team of nurses to care for her. But the strangers in the house threw her, and she was more confused than usual. More angry. She…” Jesus, how did he explain his mother’s tendency to wander? “She walked away from them a few times. And just kept walking. Out the front door, down the road, and she was gone.”
Tori gasped. “A nurse lost her?”
“Once. I found her at the local park hours later.” Dressed in her pajamas. Suffice it to say that nurse had been dismissed the same night. “The second time, the nurse—” a different one, “—followed her, just to see where she went.”
Again Tori looked up at him. “Where did she go?”
“To the bus stop around the corner. But she never boarded any of the busses. Just sat there watching as they stopped and drove off again.” The nurse had thought his mother instinctively walked to the bus stop, the same one she’d used for the last twenty-odd years, but once she got there she had no idea what to do next or how to get back home.
“God, Andrew.” She touched his cheek. “It must break your heart.”
He nodded. “Scares the crap out of me too.”
“Are you happier now that your dad’s back home?”
“No.” He frowned. “He’s not strong enough to look after her and certainly not to go chasing after her next time she decides to take a walk.” The stress alone could kill his dad. “We had a chat, my old man and me.” A long, serious chat that had left Andrew exhausted and his father devastated. “We decided it was time for them to move to a home.”
Even as he said it, he felt sick. His mother had always abhorred the idea of an old-age home, something his father had taken to heart when he’d sworn to look after her. But both Stafford men could see the problems inherent with that choice now.
Much as they hadn’t liked the decision they’d come to, it was the only logical one.
“I’m so sorry. I know that can’t have been easy for either of you.”
It had been an impossible decision, and even harder to convince his father it was the right one.
“That was the easy part.” Well, kind of. “Visiting the homes in the area was…hell. Seeing what’s available for the elderly. And walking through the facilities.” The stringent smell of disinfectant and other odors he didn’t want to think about had turned his stomach.
He burrowed his face in Tori’s hair, inhaling deeply, filling his nose with cinnamon and spice. And yes, all things nice.
So appalled had Andrew been by what he’d seen, he’d looked into opening his own old-age facility. He’d done extensive research into retirement homes but eventually had to concede that he simply did not have the knowledge or experience in either health care or the elderly to open a home.
“Did you find somewhere for them to go?”
“Yeah. After looking for a long time.” And promising to donate a ridiculous amount of money so the facility could build a hydrotherapy pool. The donation ensured his parents would jump the queue on a very long waiting list.
Andrew hated flashing his wealth, but when it came to his parents, he had no compunction doing whatever needed to be done to get them the best of everything.
“It’s big and institutional, but it’s modern, the care seems to be good and the rooms are okay. Cramped, but nice.” He’d hated it on sight. So had his father, but that had been an emotive response to a situation neither of them wanted to face.
“When does the big move take place?”
Andrew drew in a deep breath. “Next week. A couple days after I get home from the Hunter.”
Chapter Five
Father with pneumonia, mother with Alzheimer’s and the weight of responsibility for both sitting squarely on Andrew’s shoulders? No wonder his business partner had barred him from the office and sent him away for the long weekend.
Tori wanted to hug him tight, comfort him. She settled on burrowing her head into his neck.
“That must be just awful for you.”
He sighed heavily. “It’s worse for them.”
She shook her head sadly. “There’s very little dignity in aging, isn’t there?”
“Getting old sucks.”
“But it sounds like they had a good life together. Up until now.”
“They did. They were happy. Very happy.”
Which made Tori very sad all over again. Yes, Andrew’s parents might be facing a massive challenge, but they’d found each other. Married each other. Lived their lives together, and happily from the sounds of things. She’d never have that opportunity. Not anymore. The man she was supposed to live out the rest of her life with was no longer a part of her future.
“I think you’re amazing,” she whispered into his neck. He smelled amazing too. Musky and masculine. She’d always loved Declan’s expensive aftershave—until right now. Suddenly she preferred the earthy, natural scent of a man.
“Me?” He snorted in disbelief. “You think I’m amazing?”
“I do. What you’re doing takes an incredible amount of courage.”
“If you want to discuss courage, let’s talk about you.”
“Me?” Yeah, let’s not.
“I think your being here, with me tonight, is incredibly courageous. Seeking happiness when you could be wallowing in self-pity.”
“Oh, I’m wallowing. Believe me.” Using Andrew for rebound sex wasn’t courageous. It was selfish.
She shifted in his lap, uncomfortable with how quickly he’d directed the conversation back to her and stunned by how much she’d wanted him.
Andrew groaned softly, and she lifted her head in time to see him grit his teeth.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m…fine.” His voice was hoarse.
She shifted again, seating herself more comfortably, and he emitted another groan, this one more anguished than the first.
“You don’t look fine.”
He closed his eyes and breathed deep. “Just…keep still, and all will be good. I promise.”
At which point Tori became aware of the hardened bulge pressing against her butt.
Ah-ha.
Mentally she shook her head, belatedly berating herself. She’d been so wrapped up in her own pain, her own need and her own pleasure, she’d failed to think about Andrew’s.
His interest in her had been obvious from the start—and it had served to increase her own level of arousal. Made her want him with a hunger that had cut through her heartache and her pain, blinding her to everything but him. But still, she’d taken, then taken again, and in her dazed state of satiation afterwards, had not thought to give. She’d simply snuggled into the hard, comforting warmth of his body and let him numb her pain.
He’d done too good a job. Not only had he numbed her to her pain, he’d numbed her to his pain too.
“You mean keep still as in don’t do this?” Deliberately she rolled her hip, so the side of her body undulated against him.
He grunted and took a good few seconds to respond. “Th-that’s exactly what I mean.”
“Oh. Okay.” This time when she shifted it was to turn in his arms and face him, wrapping her legs around his waist in the process. She would have locked her feet t
ogether behind his back, but the beam stood in her way, so she was forced to bend her knees and rest her feet on the ground. She leaned forward then and undulated her hips again, this time rolling her groin along the length of his erection. “So I can do this, and it won’t be a problem?”
Huh. It might not be a problem for him, but it sure was for her. Her action had just set her body on fire all over again.
For the second time, it took a while for Andrew to answer. “You can do that. As much as you like.” He sucked in a shallow breath. “But I reckon if you do, you’ll find yourself naked and flat on your back before you’ve taken your next breath.”
“That wouldn’t be so terrible.” No, that would be fucking amazing. Her breasts tightened and white heat raced through her body at the idea. She grinned and once again rolled her pussy over his hard cock.
Andrew surged forward, grabbing her by her waist. Her heart lurched, and she braced for impact, knowing he was about to flip her on her back.
But in an unexpected reversal of intent, Andrew dropped his hands and slumped back against the beam. He let out a frustrated moan, closed his eyes and banged his head against the beam, once, twice, three times.
She stared at him, stunned. “Y-you’re choosing a brain injury over a sure thing?” Because she was a sure thing. No question about it. All he needed to do was get her naked, and she was all his.
Well, for tonight anyway.
He banged his head again, then glared at her through one eye. “No… Fucking… Condom.”
And just like that, Tori experienced the same urge to bang her head against a wall.
Sheesh, she hadn’t even considered protection. She’d gone on the pill months ago, but Andrew was an unknown entity. No matter how badly she might want to fuck him, there was no way she could take a chance on sex without a condom.
Which left her with a problem of her own making—a very aroused man whom she’d deliberately teased to a point of pain.
Tori scrambled off him and pushed herself to her feet.
“You’re…leaving?” he wheezed.
“Hardly.” She gave an unladylike snort and offered him her hand.
He eyed it but made no move to take it. “Need a minute a here.” He closed his eyes again and rested his head against the very spot he’d just banged.
“No, you don’t.” She leaned down and took his hand in hers, tugging at it.
Pulling him up was as easy as shoving a mountain a few feet over to the left.
“Andrew,” she cooed.
He opened just one eye and stared at her.
“Stand up, Ando. Do it for me.”
With a hoarse curse, Andrew pushed himself up, muttering something about an imminent stroke. The second he was upright, she switched positions with him, dropping to her knees at his feet.
“Fuck, Tori…”
She buried her face in his jean-clad groin, rubbing her cheek against his erection. “Shhh, Ando. Fair’s fair.”
“Oh, Jesus.” His cock jerked erratically. “Y-you don’t have to do this.”
“I know.” She replaced her cheek with her hand, massaging along his length. “I want to.”
Andrew swayed, and a thunk echoed through the air as he hit the beam, using it to hold himself upright.
Tori took the opportunity to undo his button and fly and flip the elastic waist of his cotton boxers over the head of his cock.
“You can stop, sweetheart. Anytime you want, you can stop.”
“Yeah, right.” As if. “Like maybe tomorrow morning?”
His response was incoherent.
She wrapped her lips around that head and sucked him into her mouth.
“Tori!” Her name exploded out of him, and if she could have responded, she would have. But since his cock was in her mouth, and she wasn’t releasing it anytime soon, responding wasn’t an option. Instead she gave her full attention to the tip of his shaft, sucking gently as she ran her tongue all the way around its circumference.
His musky smell was stronger now. More intense, and the very manliness of it made her wetter.
For a brief moment she wondered when she’d put her shorts back on and where her panties were, but then Andrew’s hips surged upward, and she stopped wondering.
God, he tasted good. Just like he smelled. Musky and manly. And salty.
She licked at his tip, loving the telltale signs of his excitement, the precome leaking from his cock. She wanted to eat him whole, just take his entire length into her mouth and work him with her cheeks and her tongue and the back of her throat.
But his jeans and boxers proved constrictive. She couldn’t get farther than halfway down his shaft.
Fisting the waistband of his pants, she yanked them over his hips and down. He wriggled around, helping her, and the jeans pooled at his feet. Then she did the same with his boxers. As she lowered the clothing, she took him deeper into her mouth, his responding groans urging her on.
Tori’s hands closed around his thighs, finding the rigid muscles in his long, lean legs.
His dick was also long and lean, and totally unfamiliar. She relished discovering every inch of it. She didn’t need to stretch her mouth quite as wide as she was used to, and surprisingly, Andrew’s cockhead touched the back of her throat long before her lips met the base.
She almost gagged. Had to remind herself to breathe through her nose.
He wound his hands through her hair and held her with such tenderness, tears filled her eyes. God, his touch did her wonders. Made the horror of the earlier evening seem not quite so horrible. Made the skin on her arms stand out with goose bumps.
“Tor… Christ…I— I didn’t expect this.”
And maybe that, right there, was what had made Tori want to do this more than anything. Andrew expected nothing from her that she wasn’t willing to give.
Sucking him off, making love to his dick with her mouth, was a major turn-on. The man was delicious. No two ways about it. Given the chance, she’d spend hours sucking his cock.
She wrapped her arms around his thighs and grabbed hold of his ass cheeks, using them for leverage, angling his hips a little higher so she could take him in deeper. His buttocks were hard as rock, as though he’d clenched them together in an effort to…restrain himself?
God, yes, that’s exactly what he was doing. Holding himself still, refusing to move, leaving it up to Tori to determine how deep she took him in, how fast she moved.
Yeah, right. That so wasn’t how this was going to play out.
As she pulled off him, she increased the suction with her cheeks, so when she finally released his cock, it popped out of her mouth, making him swear above her.
Tori let go of one ass cheek to wrap a palm around his dick, lowered her head and licked her way along the sensitive underside of his erection. She laved him from top to bottom, shifting her hand as necessary to allow her tongue access to every inch.
And then she dipped even lower and subjected his balls to the same treatment, licking as much of them as possible. She would have run her tongue behind his balls, but in this position, it was impossible.
Yet she couldn’t forget how he’d teased her earlier, the first time. How he’d run his finger between her ass cheeks and tickled her. She slipped her finger in her mouth, wetting it, and then ran that same finger over his balls and back, up the crease of his ass.
Andrew murmured something nonsensical and jerked his hips upward.
Tori abandoned licking his testicles for his dick, hungry to take him back inside her mouth. Only this time, she wasn’t going to let him hold back, wasn’t going to allow him any restraint. As she trailed her finger higher, she teased his tip with her tongue, then pulled back ever so slightly.
Andrew growled and pushed his hips forward an inch, just enough to get the head of his shaft back into her mouth. She suckled it gently before pulling back again.
He bucked his hips, and she gave him the victory, bobbing her head as she fucked him with her mouth.
&nbs
p; Andrew’s fists tightened in her hair, and she opened wider, inviting him in farther.
His buttock turned to iron beneath her palm, but he didn’t push in deeper. “It’s your pace, Tor. You decide.”
She’d decided. She wanted him to set the pace, wanted him to take what he needed from her. Tori looked up and shook her head, pulling back another inch.
He jerked forward again, as though helpless to stop himself, and his dick filled half her mouth. She sucked it before releasing his shaft and pulling her face away another inch. “More, Ando. Give me more.” She ran her finger higher between his buttocks, and Andrew’s hips surged upward, his dick unerringly finding her mouth—and filling it.
“Mmmmm.” Now move.
He didn’t. He just stood there with his fists pulling at her hair and his ass as hard as rock beneath her hand. She wasn’t sure, but she could swear his cock swelled in her mouth. Tori had to adjust her angle, open wider to accommodate him.
A deep groan filled the air.
Jesus, was the man a saint? Why did he hold back? Was he fearful of…hurting her?
Nope, no way. He wouldn’t hurt her. Not like this. Didn’t he realize everything he’d done tonight had been the opposite of hurting? He’d helped heal her. Soothed her aches and her pains. He was the balm to her wounds.
And from the way her body lit up when she was near him, he was the match to her kindling.
The only thing that could hurt her now was if he continued to hold back. Refused to give her what she wanted—his complete capitulation. Before, when he’d taken control of her seduction, he’d owned her, owned her body and her responses. And God knew, it had heightened her awareness a thousandfold. Intensified the experience and maximized her pleasure, over and over again.
She wanted that again. Wanted him to take control. Wanted him to own her, to fuck her mouth.
Tori pushed against his buttock, forcing the bun of steel forward.
There could be no mistaking her intention. Not when she drew her lips as wide open as possible while she pushed.
Andrew fought her, refused to move, and she just pushed harder, and maybe even moaned in place of openly begging. It was pretty damned hard to beg with her mouth full.
