When I'm with You (Hope Town #3)

by Harper Sloan

  “She’s the one?”

  I tilt my head in confusion. “The one?”

  “The one who went to one of your art school’s showcases and freaked out about you right in the middle of it, right?”

  “How did you know about that?”

  “Uh, I probably shouldn’t admit this at the risk of sounding pathetic, but I was there.”

  I can feel the shock on my face. He was there? I knew that the majority of our group had been there, but I didn’t remember seeing him. Then again, I had been about as close to freaking out as it got when the Annabelle Kingston, the owner of the largest gallery in Atlanta, had started dancing and screaming in front of one of my pieces. She had taken me under her wing before I even finished school, each of my paintings turning in a higher and higher profit. Here I am, two years later, debt free, in my own home, and my own show proving that I am—in fact—a successful artist.

  Finally able to find my words, I open my mouth. “How come I didn’t see you?”

  He wipes his mouth before dropping his napkin over his plate and leaning back. “I didn’t want you to see me.”

  “I see.” The hurt I feel from his answer is not something I’m proud of.

  “Stop whatever you’re thinking, Ember. I went because I wanted to support you, but I knew things were still weird between us and I didn’t want you to look back on that show and remember me making it awkward for you. I went and celebrated for you in the shadows.”

  “I wish you would have been at my side.” I think out loud.

  “Yeah, I wish I would have been too, but the time wasn’t right.”

  “You’re coming next weekend, though?”

  He stands and offers me his hand. Once I’m upright, he bends to look into my eyes. “I’ll be by your side every second. I’m so damn proud of you, and I want everyone to know that I’m the man in your life.” I shiver—something he doesn’t miss. “Clean up in here first or dessert?”

  “Dessert. You could burn the kitchen down for all I care, just as long as I get dessert now.”

  He bends and with a squeal, I’m in his arms as he walks to my bedroom.

  “I WANT YOUR COME IN my mouth,” I tell her, feeling her hum against my cock. All fantasies I had over spanking her ass before she had me in her mouth vanished when I first felt her mouth take all of me. Her head moves up and down quicker, but I don’t miss her hand moving between her legs. “You touch my pussy, and I’m going to spank your ass, Ember.”

  My cock touches the back of her throat before I feel her relax her neck and take me so far down that I feel the breaths from her nose on my skin. My head slams against her headboard when she swallows my cock. The sensation of her wet mouth sucking hard on me, her hand playing with my balls, and the hum of her enjoying the fuck out of this was becoming way too much.

  “Jesus fuck. That’s right, baby, take all of me.”

  She continues bobbing her head and hollowing her cheeks until I fist her hair in my hand and thrust into her mouth. She whimpers against the bite of pain I’m sure my hold brings her, but just sucks a little harder before she pauses in her sucking to lick against the sensitive flesh she’s consuming.

  Through the narrow slit in my eyes, I catch her free arm moving, and I know she’s ignored my warning. With a noise of protest from her, I pull her up off my cock, ignoring my own jolt of displeasure when I lose the heat of her mouth, and lean forward so that she is looking directly at me from her kneeled position between my legs in the center of her bed.

  “I told you not to touch yourself. You don’t come unless I tell you, and you damn sure don’t get to take your sweetness from me by coming against your own hand.” She doesn’t speak, but her eyes spark with the knowledge of something, although it’s a mystery to me what that something is.

  “You’re going to wear my mark on your ass now,” I promise her darkly.

  She shifts and I watch as she rubs her thighs together. Then, to my utter disbelief and fucking pleasure, she turns so her head faces the end of her bed, and bends so she is on her elbows with her knees still kneeling on the mattress. That ass I just promised to mark is up in the air, presented to me like a goddamn gift. The wetness coating her pussy makes my mouth water, and for a brief second, I forget why she is getting her ass pinked.

  “You’re going to remember what I said about taking your sweetness from me tomorrow when you can’t sit without the burn of my touch heating your flesh, aren’t you,” I vow, my voice low and controlled even though I feel seconds away from losing my shit. The sight of her offering herself to me, ass up with her wetness begging to be filled, is unmanning me.

  Shifting until I’m up next to her, my knees next to her legs and my cock pointing at her hips, I rub my palm softly against each of her smooth cheeks. I go back and forth as my free hand trails up her spine. I can feel the heat of her with each pass I take down her left globe, but I ignore her whines when I get close enough, and continue to caress her skin.

  Just when I know she had started to relax into my touch, I bring my hand back and quickly slap one and then the other cheek before rubbing the sting. Her scream, of pleasure and not pain, hits my ears, and I give her another two quick cracks of my palm. It isn’t long before she has the red imprints of my hands on her skin. I keep rubbing her flesh with my hand as I lean to the side and see that her arousal is now starting to drip down her thighs. She could come from my hand alone and that thought pleases the fuck out of me, but it won’t be tonight. After another solid slap, I keep my hand in place, loving the way that her ass shakes.

  My eyes never leave her red ass as I straddle her calves and take her hips in my hands. I lift her up with my hold and dig my fingers in while lining up my cock. The second I push into her, she lifts up her head and screams. Her cunt sucks me in even deeper before it clamps down tightly. I grunt, deep in my throat, and rock forward even though she has every fucking inch of me. That’s all it takes for her to scream my name and coat my fucking balls as her juices leak from her body.

  “God, yes,” she continues as I pound into her.

  I let go of her ass when I push in again, using my own hips to hold her up and bring my palm down on her ass, loving when she clamps down on my cock again. “You’re going to come again, Ember,” I order before returning my hand to her hip and picking up my speed.

  By the time I feel her start to tighten against me, I know she’s close and I tilt her again so I’m hitting that sweet fucking spot inside her. The words coming out of her mouth don’t even make sense, but the second I feel my come shooting deep inside her, she jerks in my hold and gives me what I want.

  I slowly drag my spent cock from her wetness, loving the way that her cream coats it, and help move her so that we’re lying on the mattress. She doesn’t say a word as her fingers trace my abs. I place my hand on hers when I feel my cock twitch and hold it against my stomach, kissing her head, and tightening the arm around her back. She pulls one leg over my thigh and tilts her head up. Pressing my chin down, I look into her sated eyes with a smile.

  “Thank you,” she slurs, drunk from the pleasure I’ve given her.

  “Thank you for what, baby?”

  “For giving me you. For taking me. For giving us … us. I think my head is ready to catch up to my heart now, Nate.”

  And with that, she tucks her head back down and drifts off to sleep.

  If only she knew.

  The sound of my phone hits my ears before I could register Ember shifting in my arms, our bodies still on top of the covers where we had fallen asleep after ‘dessert.’ Not willing to let go of the soft woman in my arms, I ignore it and pull her closer.

  “That’s the third time it’s rung, Nate,” she sleepily mutters.

  Shit. “Okay, baby. Let me grab it.”

  She moves so that I can slide out of bed, and I almost ignore the phone when I see the look in her eye when she sees my hard cock.

  “Hold that thought.” I laugh, bend, and grab my jeans and search the poc
kets for my still ringing cell.

  “Nate Reid,” I answer, annoyance in my tone when I see Shane’s name on the screen.

  “I need you to come close. I got a call from Lacey and I need to go home.”

  Fuck. Me.

  “Does she really need you to come home or is she just pulling some more of her shit because she doesn’t like you working at Dirty?” I question, knowing damn well his girl would do that shit. I can’t stand the bitch, but I’m not going to tell him how to live his life.

  He sighs. “I don’t know, man. She claims she fell and hurt herself, but she didn’t sound like she was in pain. I need to go check it out, and if she’s pulling another stunt, I’ll be back. I don’t know what the hell her problem is lately.”

  “Dent?” I ask, hoping that I don’t have to leave Ember on the one night that was supposed to be just for us.

  “Still in LA. Won’t be back until next week. Fuck, man, I hate calling you for this shit, but I don’t know what to do.”

  I sigh, turning to look at Ember, expecting to see anger. However, she gives me a nod and smile, understanding that I need to go without even hearing the reasons. Supporting me and my responsibilities to Dirty without thought. Something that Shane’s woman clearly doesn’t understand. “I need to say good-bye to my woman. Give me thirty and I’m there.”

  I hang up, and when she stands from the bed and walks into my arms, I pull her naked body close.

  “I hate leaving.”

  “I know you do, but you can’t help the reason why.”

  “I wouldn’t go if I wasn’t needed, but Shane is the only one there and he has to run home.”

  She leans back and looks up with a smile. “You don’t have to explain things to me, Nate. I’m not upset.”

  “How can it not bother you? We haven’t had time to do anything but eat, sleep, or fuck when we’re together.”

  Her eyes narrow. “Way to make it sound so meaningless,” she snaps.

  I open my mouth to soothe my comment over, but she shakes her head.

  “First of all, I support you and Dirty because I know how much it means to you. Does it take you from me? Sure. But it also just opened and you guys are all still just getting your footing. It won’t be like this forever. Hell, it might not even be like this next week. You will all find your stride. If you feel like it’s taking too much from you personally in a few months, I’ll still be here, and you can find another person to help hold the reins. Second, we have spent plenty of time together, and if anything, it’s been better than if you were to take me out to dinner or whatever. We’ve had time to ourselves alone, sharing who we are now and getting to know each other as a couple and not friends. Third, if you would kindly find another way to express what we do when we’re in bed and not sleeping, I would appreciate it.”

  Her gaze travels to my mouth when I feel my lips curve.

  “I’ll work on that, baby.”

  “That would be splendid.”

  I toss my head back and laugh, but when I feel her small hand smack my naked ass, my head drops forward and all laughter stops when I see the wicked look in her eyes.

  “You’re going to pay for that later,” I threaten.

  “That’s what I’m hoping for,” she smarts and pulls from my arms, grabbing her robe and walking out her door.

  “Fucking Shane,” I mumble under my breath and start to dress. I would kick his ass for pulling me from my time with Ember, but regardless of how I feel about his girlfriend, I know I would be doing the same thing if I were in his place.

  THE HIGH SCREAM OF MY smoke detector is the first thing that I hear.

  Confusion fills my sleep-fogged brain, but when I feel Bam jump on the bed and whine in my ear, I wake with a start.

  He starts leaping from the bed to the floor while the alarm continues to blast and I almost fall on my ass in my hurry. Luckily, when Nate left, I had pulled on some yoga pants and an old tee shirt, so it didn’t take me long to leave my bedroom. As I cautiously walked down the hallway, the first thing that hit me was the smell of smoke. Panic started pulsing through me when I get to the living room and see the flames dancing around my kitchen.

  I can’t tell how bad it is from where I’m standing, but I don’t dare go look. My house is newly remodeled¸ but it’s an older construction and I’m not going to take the chance that something snaps and I’m trapped.

  I turn on my heels and rush back to my room, where my cell is, before I sprint back to the front of the house and to the front door. I press a few keys before putting my phone between my shoulder and ear. Just when I reach the entryway, I hear the emergency operator asking me a question. I rattle off my address, telling her that there is a fire as I grab my purse off the entryway table and pull the door open. Right when I’m about to run out, I turn and grab the only other thing besides Bam that I care about.

  She continues to ask me questions and I answer when needed, but the second I walk to the side yard and see the back half of my home blazing, I want to scream in pain.

  Flames completely engulf the kitchen and my studio.

  I drop to my knees as I watch the inferno continue to destroy everything it touches.

  I distractedly think about the painting that I had just delivered to the gallery earlier that day, but knowing that everything else is most likely going to be gone is still crippling.

  Sirens echo through the night, and I hear the operator tell me that they’re almost at my location, but I don’t respond. I feel the tears and roughness in my throat only after I register that I’m crying. When the lights of the firetruck, ambulance, and police car surround me, I climb to my feet and back from the house.

  “Ember!”

  I turn, phone to my ear and tears running down my face, and see Liam, Megan’s husband, jump from his patrol car and rush toward me. I keep pulling air deep in my throat, feeling my vision start to blur as more tears come. He pulls the phone from my ear and speaks to the operator before hanging up.

  “Are you okay? Hurt anywhere?”

  I shake my head, still clutching my belongings to my chest and just look up at him.

  “Come on, sweetheart. Why don’t you come and sit in my car while I go get some information? Do you want me to call your dad?”

  I shake my head frantically, grabbing for the phone that’s still in his hands, and pull up Nate’s name before handing it back to him.

  He looks at the screen, his expression slipping slightly in shock, but just nods before walking away. I keep my feet on the ground next to Bam, the door open, and I watch as people rush around to put out the fire. Liam is moving around as he talks, and when I feel someone rush to my side, I look away from him.

  “Holy shit, Ember! Are you okay? I just heard about the fire and came right over.”

  I jump when Levi pulls one of my hands away from my body, Bam making a noise deep in his throat. The simple touch is enough to knock the shock out of me, and I jerk back, dropping the contents I had been clutching for dear life on the ground.

  He bends, ignoring my outburst, and picks up my purse, followed by the frame. The same frame I had just replaced when he had shattered it a few weeks before. He looks at the image, the one of Nate and me, and I see his jaw tick.

  “Can I help you?” I hear Liam question, his voice full of authority as he walks back over, handing me my phone.

  Levi stands and turns to look at Liam. “You can’t. I’m checking on Ember here.”

  “It’s okay, Lee,” I interject before things get weird. “Levi is just an old … friend of mine. He works with the Hope Town Fire Department and was just checking on me.”

  “Is that so? That’s mighty nice and all, Larry,” Liam sweetly says. “You just happen to be driving by?”

  At Liam’s question, I look over at Levi and notice that he isn’t wearing his uniform. Instead, he has on a nice polo shirt and jeans.

  “It’s Levi.” His nostrils flare and he stands a little straighter. “I had stopped by the station, act
ually, on my way home and was there when the call came in. Not that it’s any of your business.” He adds the last part under his breath, but I know Lee hears him because he gets a cold look in his eyes.

  “Actually, Levi, it is my business. Not only because I carry this,” he stresses while pointing to his badge, “but also because Ember is a close friend.”

  I ignore them, not interested in their macho bullshit, and look over at my house. They almost have the flames under control, and it looks like it didn’t move far from the back half of my house. I take a deep breath and try to calm my frazzled nerves, but that all goes to shit when I hear the sharp scream of tires protesting. I look up and see my father jumping from his truck and rushing over, my mom not far behind him, and jerk my eyes to Liam.

  “That wasn’t the call I asked you to make,” I accuse.

  He holds his hands up, ignoring the man still standing next to the open doorway. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not going to get my ass handed to me because I picked the wrong order when it comes to the men in your life. Your father is scary as fuck, and I know he can kick my ass.”

  “He isn’t who I wanted here,” I hiss.

  “Yeah, well the one you wanted here I imagine isn’t far behind.”

  I narrow my eyes, and he just rolls his. “I have a wife, Em. You can’t intimidate me with that look. Not to mention, Molly puts you to shame.”

  At the mention of his daughter, I feel some of my anxiety ebb, just in time for my father to take my shoulders and spin me until my nose is pressed against his chest.

  “Are you okay,” he huffs.

  “Oh my God, baby!” my mom screams in my ear when she joins the huddle.