What Once Was Perfect

by Zoe York

  “That’s my greedy girl.”

  She nodded despite herself, cheeks pink with excitement. Kyle wrapped one arm under her ass and pushed to his feet in one fluid motion. Laney gasped and wrapped her legs tight around his waist. Her pussy clenched at the loss of contact. She was so wet Kyle could probably feel it through her yoga pants. She buried her face in his neck, and he murmured in her ear that he was going to put her down on the bed for a minute. As she sank into a soft grey bedspread, she realized he had carried her into a makeshift bedroom on the far side of the entrance. He stepped out, disappearing behind the curtain that blocked off his sleeping area, and she was alone. Half-naked, on her ex-boyfriend’s bed. He was still fully clothed and now gone, and her nerve slipped, spurring her to wrap her arms across her chest.

  Kyle stepped back into view, holding a condom. Something about her pose caused him to pause, and he slowly crawled onto the bed, dropping the condom before stopping above her. “Where’d my greedy girl go? Don’t cover up, Laney. We’ve been through this, remember? It just gives me another layer to peel away.”

  She did remember, then, the first time that Kyle had come to visit her at the farm when her family wasn’t home. She’d invited him up to her bedroom and he’d said it would probably be a better idea to go for a walk. They’d gotten as far as the barn, and she’d pulled off her t-shirt. She didn’t need a bra then. Could still get away without one, although she’d come to appreciate them more with age. That afternoon, desire had only taken her so far, but after Kyle had wiggled her out from behind her arms, he’d used his mouth and hands to convince her that naked breasts were a good thing for both of them.

  No convincing required this time. She took a big breath and slid her arms over her head, grasping for a non-existent headboard. Stretching under his gaze was foreplay in itself. He was looking at her like she was a crazy expensive steak dinner. Kyle lowered his head to her nipples, alternating licks and whispering puffs of hot air on them until she was twisting beneath him, begging for him to help her.

  “Help you? You’re going to need to be more specific than that, sweetheart.”

  “I want you,” Laney panted. “Inside me. I want you inside me.”

  Kyle reached for her hands pawing at his shoulders and returned them above her head, anchoring them this time to the pillow. “Don’t let go.”

  He swept down her body, grabbing the waist of her yoga pants and tugging them down over her hips and off her legs as he staggered off the bed. He jerked his t-shirt over his head, and Laney got what felt like her first sight of his naked torso. His body was familiar to her, but time had hardened the planes of his chest, and he now had more hair there, and trailing lower. Kyle sucked in a breath as her gaze stopped at the button on his jeans, and she almost surged off the bed as he flicked it open.

  “Stay there. Just watch.”

  She slumped back against the pillow, panting, legs twitching, devouring the sight of Kyle slowing undoing his zipper, then his faded blue jeans dropping to the floor, and he moved toward her again, wearing just a pair of black boxer briefs that did nothing to disguise how much he wanted her.

  She sprawled in front of him on the bed in a pair of skimpy black boy shorts, her legs spread wide, her pink nipples pointing straight at the ceiling, but all Kyle could see at that particular moment were her ice blue eyes, full of need. He was a bastard for taking advantage of that, but unless she changed her mind, he wasn’t going to stop. He only had one option, and had to hope that it was enough.

  “I’m going to make this good for you, sweetheart.”

  Her whispered response just about brought him to his knees. “I know.”

  He nuzzled the hollow below her ribcage, tracing ever so carefully around her sensitive belly button, his palm on one side, his face on the other. She shivered, and he circled her navel again.

  “You remember.”

  “Oh, yeah.” He knew that she was ticklish on her hips, and couldn’t resist wiggling his fingers a bit as he peeled back her underwear. He shot her a wolfish smile of appreciation at the sight of her blond curls before sliding his hands, tangled in her panties, down her legs. As she kicked the last of her clothing off her toes, he stroked up her legs, pausing for a moment to squeeze the tender flesh behind her knees. A whimper confirmed that still made her clit twitch, and his grin widened. Yeah, he remembered.

  He pushed himself between her legs, rasping his rough cheek against her upper thigh.

  “Don’t close your eyes, sweetheart. This is the good part.”

  “It’s all pretty good.”

  He chuckled, and lowered his face to nuzzle her pussy lips, stroking inside with his tongue, then flicking her clit. She was soaking wet already, and she convulsed around the first finger he slipped into her. He added a second, moving inside her, matching that pace as he sucked and flicked her nub. It didn’t take long for her breathing to speed up, and as she approached her first orgasm she started moaning with each exhale. Kyle urged her on, telling her how gorgeous she was, how much he liked her taste, until she cursed him to stop talking and get back to sucking. He hummed his agreement against her clit until she stumbled over that cliff, wrapping her legs around his head, all of her twitching in release. As she oozed back onto the bed, he shed his boxers and reached for the condom, but Laney shook her head.

  “Let me taste you first.”

  Oh, hell yes. He couldn’t take much of her hot little mouth without exploding, but he needed to feel her tongue on him for just a minute before he covered up.

  “Can I let go of the pillow now?” Laney twisted her lips into an innocent smile, but the fire in her eyes told the truth. She wanted to be in charge for this part, but she was going to let him give her that instead of taking it.

  He nodded and she slithered up and around him, wrapping him in her intoxicating scent. That damn shampoo again, but also her arousal, mingling in a heady combination. She kissed him, tasting herself, and he groaned into her mouth. She pulled him to the edge of the bed and knelt on the floor between his legs. She’d only done this a few times over their summer together, and always with nervous hesitation. New Laney was confident in her appraisal of his cock.

  “Like what you see?”

  “Mmm hmm.” She leaned forward and rubbed her face along his shaft, then ever so slowly drew him into her open mouth, swirling her tongue around his wide head. Her small hands caressed up his thighs to join her mouth, one curving around his base to match the motion of her tongue, the other reaching lower to squeeze his balls.

  It was possibly the best thing he’d ever felt in his entire life, but he had a feeling the main course would be even better, so he reluctantly tugged her to her feet. She stumbled against him, her hand still wrapped about his erection, and after he ripped the condom from its foil package, she helped sheath him.

  “I think this is where I say stop and you explode,” Laney teased.

  Kyle growled and yanked her into the cradle of his hips. “I would stop. I’d probably jerk off, but I’d stop touching you. Is that what you want me to do, sweetheart? Keep my hands to myself?”

  “Don’t you dare.” She shoved him farther back on the bed and straddled him, notching his cock against her ready slit. As his eyes grabbed hers, she sank on to him, wrapping him in her incredible wet warmth. He cupped her ass, shifting her pelvis to accept him to the root, and her legs twisted tight around his body. Their fingers molded together, providing leverage as they rocked back and forth, slowly at first, then faster at Laney’s urging. Kyle didn’t want to hurry to the finish, fearing that she would shutter herself as soon as they unwound their bodies, but as his erection swelled inside her, he knew he’d be joining her as she started to come around him.

  “You fill me up,” Laney whispered against his lips as he surged into her one last time, and then he did, and she giggled.

  Chapter Six

  Laney knew that Kyle needed to deal with the condom, but she didn’t want to climb off his lap just yet. As he reached
between them, she lifted her hips to give him clearance, then settled back to rest on his hard thighs. This clinging was out of character, and she should feel unsettled, but she’d just had the best sex of her life, with an ex-boyfriend she’d spent the last decade pretending didn’t exist, in his adorable half-finished, renovating-by-himself one room school house. Unsettled wouldn’t even begin to describe how Laney should be feeling, and it didn’t matter, because how she actually felt was pretty damn good.

  Kyle leaned back, his gaze wandering over her face. “Are you hungry?”

  She nodded and slid to the side. She wrapped herself in the bedspread as Kyle headed for the kitchen. It had been a long time since she’d had middle of the day sex. Even longer since she’d wanted to linger afterward and share food and conversation.

  “What do you want to drink?” Kyle called from around the corner.

  “Water is fine!”

  “Still or sparkling?”

  The question shouldn’t send her into a laughing fit, but the last time Kyle had made a post-coital snack it had featured cold pizza and flat ginger ale. Times had changed indeed. She tipped onto her side. The scratching of nails on the hardwood floor warned her that Buddy was on his way to investigate the problem, and when he slid to a stop at the foot of the bed it sent her into another round of laughter. When Kyle returned, carrying a tray of fruit and croissants, she was still pressing a hand to her quivering abdomen.

  “I take it that you didn’t expect me to have sparkling water?” Kyle cocked an eyebrow at her as he settled next to her.

  “Ahhhh, god…I don’t know why that was so funny. It’s not. It’s just…” Laney gestured at the bed. “This was so familiar, you know? You are so familiar. It’s surreal when I think about all that has happened since the last time we slept together, and yet that part felt so…”

  Kyle nodded, as if in agreement that it was in fact so something. He cleared his throat and grinned. “It wasn’t all familiar. You’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with some things.”

  “Oh, that.” She blushed.

  “Don’t be embarrassed.” His eyes crinkled as he bit into a croissant. “It was awesome.”

  “I’m not embarrassed, exactly. I’m surprised at myself.” She could count the number of times she’d offered oral sex on one hand. Until today, she had never understood the appeal. “But it felt right in the moment.”

  “Felt more than right. Your mouth is wicked, Laney Calhoun.” He reached out and dragged his thumb across her bottom lip, sending a wave of heat crashing through her belly.

  “My roommate during med school worked in a woman-friendly sex shop, I attended a few of her classes.” Her blush deepened. “I don’t know why I shared that.”

  “It’s okay. I know you’ve had other relationships, so have I. It’s not a big deal.”

  Laney’s hand froze over the strawberries. Her chest felt tight, like the weight of all of Kyle’s girlfriends had just been dropped on her. “Yeah, right.”

  “Laney?”

  “What?”

  “Is it a big deal?”

  She focused all of her attention on the berries. There was a big one in the middle that looked yummy, but it would probably be too much to eat in one bite. She moved it out of the way, looking for its smaller cousin.

  “Laney.” Kyle moved closer and placed his hand flat against her bare back.

  She nodded. “It’s nothing.”

  “Clearly.”

  “So you’ve had…relationships? Since me? I mean, of course you have, but they’ve been serious?” She shifted a bit to see Kyle’s face. He was hard to read, but he didn’t look upset, just confused.

  “Yeah. I dated a bit after we broke up, and then a few years ago I was in a serious relationship. You haven’t dated?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve dated, I guess. Evie pointed out that I don’t like the word boyfriend, and she’s right. I haven’t been interested in anything emotional in a long time. Too messy.”

  “Haven’t been interested, or scared of the risk?” Kyle’s appraising look reminded her that they’d shared some brutal honesty earlier.

  She sighed. “You sound like Evie. Not wanting to get hurt again doesn’t need to be about fear.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that. I was actually accused of the opposite. That I think I want a committed relationship when I really don’t, that I’m scared to be alone.”

  “Is that true?”

  “I don’t think so. But I haven’t dated in two years now, kind of an experiment of sorts.”

  Laney couldn’t keep the shock off her face. “Two years?”

  It was Kyle’s turn to shrug. “I had some stuff to work out. Why, how long has it been for you?”

  She busied herself with choosing another strawberry. No way was she answering that.

  Kyle chuckled. “So, less than that, eh?”

  Time to change the subject. “The serious girlfriend … she’s the one in the photo on the fridge?”

  Kyle nodded. “Yep. Crystal. We dated for a couple of years.”

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know if we should talk about it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m hoping we might have sex again, and I’m pretty sure that if we keep talking about my ex, that won’t happen.”

  Laney laughed, and let it go. His plan was better. So much better. She moved the tray off the bed and slithered up Kyle’s body until all the necessary bits fit together.

  Chapter Seven

  Two hours later, Laney stepped out of the shower at the farmhouse. Kyle had suggested they shower together at his place, but she knew she needed to get home before her family returned or Evie would figure out how she had spent the morning. And a decent chunk of the afternoon as well. She grinned. Definitely not what her mother intended when she sent him across the road, but she finally felt like their breakup made sense. What they’d had was too big for either of them to handle, the combination of puppy love and intense chemistry overwhelming for young adults trying to find their individual paths. She once believed that love and chemistry were one and the same, and she blocked both out of her life, but today blew that idea out of the water. Laney wiped the condensation off the mirror and stared at herself. Her eyes were clear, her heart was calm. She didn’t love Kyle. But boy oh boy, has he raised the bar on awesome sex. She peered at her reflection like it might be lying to her, but she knew it wasn’t. She was content about her history for the first time in a long time. Slightly miffed that she’d let sex get so mechanical and routine, but otherwise at peace with the path from past to present. If Kyle hadn’t broken up with her, she wouldn’t have travelled across the country, might have stuck with her original plan of a family medicine practice in Wardham, wouldn’t have discovered the magic of reconstructive surgery. He freed her, even if it was in a shitty and emotionally stunted way. And it seemed like he suffered for that just as much as she did. They’d both wasted enough time on regret.

  “Laney? We’re home.”

  “I’m just getting out of the shower, Mom, be right down.” She reached for a towel, wondering how soon she could pop over to the school house again.

  The rest of that day and the next were dominated by Connor and Max. Part of Laney was disappointed that she didn’t have any time to see Kyle again, but she convinced herself it was a small part, driven primarily by the delicious ache between her legs, and resolved to not care. Her nephews filled her time and attention with dragon-slaying and fort-building, and before she knew it, she was reading them a bedtime story for the second night in a row.

  Downstairs, she found her sister taking a large castle out of its box.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Toy manufacturers hate parents. Did you know that? They think we don’t suffer enough, so they package toys with unnecessary twist-ties, zip-ties and the occasional screw, all in the name of ruining Christmas morning.”

  “Uh…okay, I’m sorry I asked.”

  E
vie blew a lock of hair out of her eyes and laughed. “Max is going to be desperate to play with this when he opens it, so I’m trying to eliminate the painful bouncing-yelling-whining that would happen if I need to release this thing from the clutches of packaging while he waits. Last year I had the same idea, but I did it on Christmas Eve. This year, I want everything done so tomorrow night can just be about carols and cocoa and an early bedtime.”

  “Living large in Wardham, eh?”

  “Shut up, you like an early bedtime even more than me.”

  Laney curled up on the couch. “That’s true. So…remember what we were talking about the other day?”

  “Mom’s meddling or how crazy my kids are? I’m familiar with both concepts.”

  “The first one. And that maybe I needed to talk to Kyle.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Evie’s head disappeared behind the back of the castle.

  “Well, I did. I went over there yesterday and we talked. It was good.” And then we didn’t, and that was even better.

  “Oh Laney…” Evie shoved the castle aside and pinned her under a heavy gaze. “It was good? Really? You’re fine?”

  “Really. I know, I asked myself the same thing. But yeah, I feel totally fine now. A bit silly for wasting so much time on bitterness, but knowing that he wasn’t left unscathed…I don’t know, we just…” licked each other’s wounds all better “…came to an understanding.”

  “Well, that’s good. I’m glad you’ve finally put him behind you.”

  Laney blushed, thinking that Kyle was the one who had put himself behind her the second time.

  “You have, right? You need to move forward, not backward. The last thing I’d want is for Kyle to break your heart again.”

  She considered telling Evie what had really happened, but doubted that her sister would think it was quite as hot as she did. “Guaranteed, Ev, my heart is untouchable. If I hadn’t learned that from Kyle, I did from you and Mom.”