by A. K. Evans
“Did Nikki’s list grow?”
I laughed. “I think she added number seven to the list. That being the fact that birthday celebrations would be much easier if we all lived close to each other.”
“Not that I’m complaining, but why did you move in the first place?” Wes asked and then took a bite of his sandwich.
My stomach grew cold and I looked away from him.
Wes noticed my distress and spoke up, “Hey, I’m just trying to get to know you. You don’t have to talk about it now if you aren’t ready to.”
“I hate to disappoint you, Wes, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able talk about it,” I paused a moment. “I’ll just say this, I have no plans to ever move back.”
“Well, there is the bright side then.”
After swallowing a mouthful of stromboli I asked, “Oh yeah, and what’s that?”
“I don’t have to worry about you leaving me,” he said on a wink. Then, he continued, “So, what birthday was this?”
“The big two five,” I answered.
“Same age as Elle.”
And there it was. My opening to discuss the situation from last night. No time like the present if I was going to do this. I was feeling full already and with the subject I was about to bring up I couldn’t eat any more food. I put my fork and knife down and looked to him.
“Listen, Wes, about last night and the situation with Elle,” I said before he cut me off.
“Charley, don’t. It’s fine. In fact, as much as it killed me to see you with tears in your eyes, especially on your birthday, I’m not upset or angry at you with how you reacted. In fact, it felt good.”
“It felt good?” I asked.
“Let me tell you something about me. I’m not that kind of guy. If I am with a woman, I’m with only her. As far as I’m concerned, the second night I walked you to your car and you said I could kiss you, you became my woman. A few days later when you said yes to me giving you snowboarding lessons with you wearing my gear, you really became my woman. Then, gorgeous, you officially became mine when you were in my bed a couple nights after that. Knowing you saw Elle and didn’t know she was my sister, but thought she was with me in a different capacity, and got upset shows that you want to be my woman. I’m not happy you got hurt, but it feels good that you like being my woman.”
“I think I’m done eating and would like the rest of my birthday celebration to commence,” I announced.
Wes’ eyes heated. He took out his wallet, threw a couple bills on the table, grabbed my hand, and took me to his house.
We were barely inside the door and had just stepped into the kitchen area when Wes came up behind me, brushed my hair off my left shoulder that was exposed from the shirt I had on, and pressed his lips to my skin there. I tilted my head to the opposite side to give him better access as he continued to kiss and suck along my neck. One of his hands was resting on my hip while the other cupped my breast, gently squeezing it. He pulled my body back against his and I could feel his arousal at my behind. I arched into him.
“Fuck,” he groaned, his voice rough.
Wes pulled my shirt over my head and then positioned his hands at the front of my jeans. He undid the button, pulled the zipper down, and my jeans (and shoes) were off within seconds. My back still to his front, his hand slid inside my panties. His fingers immediately found the right spot and I moaned as I arched my back even further. My head fell back on his shoulder and I turned my face to his. His mouth captured mine, the fingers of his other hand on top of my bra swiping across my nipple. Wes slid a finger inside me and I rolled my hips inching myself closer to release.
“Oh, Wes,” I moaned.
He continued and seconds later my body came apart, my knees buckling. Thankfully, Wes tightened his hold on me and took my weight. Moments after, he picked me up and carried me through the house to his bathroom. He set me down on the ledge of the sink and turned on the faucet for the massive soaking tub. Wes turned back to me, pulled his shirt over his head, and closed the distance between us.
“As magnificent as that was, Mr. Blackman, I’m thinking maybe we should have stayed at the restaurant so I could have finished my lunch,” I told him, then continued as my hands made their way to the waistband of his jeans, “I’m suddenly feeling very hungry.”
I opened the fly of his jeans and pushed them along with his boxer briefs down his thighs. I got myself off the ledge of the sink, started to trail down his body, and was hauled right back up.
“Christ, gorgeous. I want nothing more than your mouth on me right now, but you aren’t going to get on your knees on the floor. Bedroom first, then you soak in the tub with me.”
Wes turned off the faucet and opened the drain. He turned, lifted me up by my bottom, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
“Ever since that night in the parking lot when I massaged your legs while they were wrapped around me, I’ve been thinking about this. You pressed up against me, wearing next to nothing, with your legs wrapped around my waist,” he said.
I was carried into the bedroom where Wes sat on the bed and in one quick move glided himself backward so his back was against the headboard. As soon as he settled on the bed, I moved my legs and began kissing and licking down his body, running my hands over every delectable inch.
I finally got to the prize and gripped his length in my hand. He groaned. I licked my lips and then looked up at Wes while I put the tip of him in my mouth. I flicked my tongue across the head, lightly sucked, and pulled away only briefly before I took more of him into my mouth. I held on to the root of his cock while I worked his length with my mouth. All throughout this I could hear the grunts and groans coming from him and hearing that only made me work him harder.
Wes soon had his hands under my arms, pulling me up his body until I was face to face with him.
With one hand still under my arm and the other behind my head he said, his voice low and gravelly, “This fucking mouth. Fucking knew it was going to be good. Even better than I imagined.”
And then he kissed me hard. It was wet and demanding. Wes snaked an arm around my waist and brought me up so I was straddling his lap. He tore his mouth from mine because at some point during the kiss he managed to procure a condom. He opened the packet between his teeth and sheathed himself quickly.
I was then lifted in the air and brought down on him as he slammed into my body. I rode him while he gripped my hips and kissed my mouth. I felt it building again so I rode him harder, my movements quicker. Wes thrusted up as my hips crashed down and we eventually found it together, exploding into pure bliss.
I sat there in his lap, my head resting on his shoulder, as he stroked his hands up and down my back. That felt really good. Several minutes of silence had passed when Wes finally spoke.
“I’ve got to get rid of this condom, gorgeous. Lift up.”
“So sleepy.”
“You can take a nap. I just need to dispose of this first.”
Begrudgingly, I hoisted myself up and off of him. I whimpered at the loss and collapsed on the bed beside him. He tried to suppress a laugh as he got up and moved to the bathroom.
I felt the bed dip moments later as Wes got in the bed, wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me into him. My head was resting on his chest, my hand on his abs, my leg thrown over his thigh, and Wes had his hand wrapped around my back curling me into him.
“Great birthday celebration. Thank you, Wes. Sorry we didn’t make it to the bathtub.”
“It’s not over yet, Charley. We have a lot of the day left still; we’ll get it done.”
“Next time, I want to feel you,” I said.
“What?” he asked.
“I want to feel you. Just you, Wes. Nothing between us. I’m on birth control so we’re covered with that.”
“You sure?”
“Very sure. I’m clean, too. I’ve never been with anyone else without protection. I want that with you, though.”
“Feels good to hear that, baby. Jus
t so you know, I’m also clean.”
I smiled into him. He traced his fingers along my hip and I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 14
Charley
“Wake up, gorgeous.”
My eyes fluttered open and I was staring up into Wes’ beautiful face. I was now on my back while Wes was sitting on the edge of the bed, his torso twisted backwards so he was leaning over me.
“How long have I been sleeping?” I asked.
“About an hour,” he said, smiling down at me.
“Happy birthday, Charley,” he said, as he put his hand around my wrist and placed a box in the palm of my hand.
“You got me a birthday present?” I asked, surprise filtering in my voice.
He grinned at me. Then he said softly, “That’s what you do when someone you care about has a birthday, isn’t it?”
Admission that he cared about me. My belly warmed and the butterflies there had taken flight. I knew he liked me and I had experienced the ‘you’re my woman’ talk, but something about the way he said this made my heart squeeze and I was flooded with emotions.
I sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet up to cover myself and I looked down at the box. My throat got tight. I opened the box and the stinging I felt in the back of my eyes couldn’t be blinked away. My eyes filled with tears and I looked from the necklace to Wes.
With my throat so tight I barely managed to rasp out, “Wes.” Then, a single tear spilled down my cheek.
He looked at me, concern in his face. His thumb swiped the tear off my cheek and he held my face in his hand.
“Charley, talk to me. What’s happening inside your head right now?”
I glanced down at the necklace again. It was a silver chain that attached on either side of a snowcapped mountain range. Not showy or overstated. Simple and perfect.
“It’s perfect,” I said, my voice still constricted.
“I was hoping you’d like it, but I have a feeling there’s more going on here,” Wes pressed on.
I nodded. “Wes, I can’t…” I said before he cut me off.
“Listen, I know we’ve only just met not even two weeks ago. That doesn’t change the fact that I am feeling something for you right now. I get that it might seem like it’s too soon, but babe, no matter where this goes, you’ve got some shit that’s eating at you. I saw it in your face the first night I walked you to your car. I thought maybe I was seeing something that wasn’t there, but I have seen it several times since then — most recently, today at lunch and just now. You’ve got to get it out, baby. You don’t want to talk to me, fine, but you’ve got to talk to someone. Now I’m not going to upset you any further, but I want you to know that the way I’m behind you when you’re riding down a trail making sure you don’t get hurt, I’ll be there the same way for you with whatever this is. I’m not going anywhere, so whenever you are ready I’ve got your back.”
I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him burying my face in his neck. Wes’ strong arms wrapped around me and I couldn’t deny the comfort and safety I felt there pressed into his body.
“Will you put this on me?” I asked holding the necklace out to him after I pulled out of his arms a few minutes later.
“Absolutely.”
Wes carefully took the necklace out of my hand and clasped it around my neck. He kissed me at my neck right where the mountain sat, then kissed my forehead.
“Come on. You need a relaxing soak.”
Following a bath, which was in fact very relaxing, I found that Wes had set out one of his t-shirts for me. I pulled the shirt over my head and went to look for him. I made my way out to the kitchen and found him standing there at the island wrapping something in foil. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that fit snug across his chest and arms. Yum.
Wes glanced up when I approached stopped what he was doing, looked me up and down, his eyes warmed as he smiled and then spoke.
“You eat salmon?” Wes asked.
The basics? He said he could do the basics. I was beginning to think his definition of the basics was far different from mine.
“Yes,” I answered.
He smiled and placed a tray with foil wrapped packages on it in the oven.
“Can I help?” I asked.
“Next time. I’ve got it today, gorgeous. Would you like some wine?”
“Sure.”
Wes poured a glass of white Pinot Noir for me and went back to dinner preparations. I figured if he wasn’t going to let me help make dinner then I needed to bring the conversation.
“So, yesterday you and Zane said that he is one of the top riders in the world and he’s a better rider than you. Does the same go for Stone and Luke?”
“That’s what they do. Though, Luke is a big mountain, big air rider.”
“What exactly is that?”
“Big air is basically when a rider launches off a man-made jump and does tricks in the air. Of course, landing those jumps is critical.”
“You mentioned they test boards for you. Are different boards needed for pipe riding or big air?” I asked.
“Yeah. Boards will be different based on the type of riding you do, whether pipe, big air, freestyle, slopestyle, racing, alpine…” he trailed off belatedly realizing that I probably had no clue what half of what he just said meant. He then continued, “I’m currently working on development of a new line of boards that we are calling the Elements Series. There will be four different models — Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. Each model in the series will have a variety of different designs in its group. The first step, though, is to get the boards made and tested, then we’ll work on the design. The first model that will be released is fire. It is made specifically for pipe riding. The second model will be the Air model, which is going to be made for big air riding. We have not yet begun production or development on the Water and Earth models. I have ideas of where I want to go with those, but I’m still considering my options on that while we get the Fire and Air models squared away.”
“That sounds amazing. I didn’t realize how much went into producing the boards. I mean, all I ever see is a finished product. I never really took in to consideration all the testing and data you probably need to collect before you can begin selling them. And then, they all need names.”
“It’s a bit of a process,” he said with a wink.
Wes moved back to the oven to pull the tray out. He plated our dinner of baked teriyaki salmon, broccoli, and rice. I was seriously impressed. We moved to the dining room to eat.
“Thank you for making this weekend so special, Wes.”
“Could have done better had I known it was your birthday,” he answered.
I decided to ignore that. Birthdays hadn’t exactly been the easiest for me for many years, but they were always made special. And then, shit happens and you realize you’ve got to make do with the hand you were dealt. That sucked, so I had no expectations for this birthday or any future ones, for that matter.
Sensing I wasn’t going to address the comment Wes spoke, “I’m thinking, you don’t have any plans yet, I’d like to spend Christmas with you.”
I looked up from my plate to find Wes looking at me waiting for an answer. “Seriously?” I asked.
“Wasn’t joking. You already have plans?”
“Um, well, not so much. I mean, Emme and I were probably just going to have dinner at home. We haven’t planned anything special.”
“Fuck, Charley. It’s Christmas.”
“Uh, I know.”
“You and Emme don’t have any family or friends coming to visit you from California?” he asked.
I looked down at my plate and felt my eyes start to sting.
“Shit,” Wes mumbled under his breath and then spoke to me, “Charley, I’m sorry. Forget I…” he said before I cut him off.
“I’d love to spend Christmas with you,” I said before I could think too long and change my mind.
Wes leaned over to me and kis
sed me quickly. “Ok, gorgeous. Then we’ll spend Christmas together. Just saying, though, that involves a trip to my parents’ house for Christmas breakfast.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I should have kept my mouth shut.
“Your parents’ house?”
He just smiled and nodded.
Fuck.
Wes and I finished dinner. He took our plates to the kitchen and put them in the sink. I followed thinking I could help clean up. Wes had other plans. He turned from the sink and looked down to see me standing right behind him. He put his finger under my chin and tilted my head up towards his. The next thing I knew Wes’ mouth came to mine and he kissed me, long and slow. I noted that he seemed to do this a lot. Sure, there were moments that when it was necessary, Wes could do rough and fast, but more often than not I found that he seemed to want to take his time, savoring me.
Wes deepened the kiss and then dropped his hands to the sides of his t-shirt that I was wearing and gently tugged the fabric up until his fingers were touching the skin of my legs. His hands roamed up the sides of my legs until they were at my hips and then he moved both to my ass, where he squeezed, pulled me closer, and groaned into my mouth. He pulled away.
“No panties this whole time, Charley?”
I feigned innocence and just shrugged my shoulders.
He laughed. It was the first time I’d seen and heard him laugh one of those laughs that comes from deep in your belly. It was a beautiful thing to experience.
He quit laughing, his eyes liquid, and said, “Turn around, baby.”
“What?” I asked.
“Gorgeous, Turn. The. Fuck. Around.”
He wasn’t playing around so I turned.
“Like seeing you in my shirt, but going to like seeing you out of it better,” he said as he lifted the shirt over my head and tossed it onto the island.
Oh. Ok. Kitchen sex. This I could do.
I saw the shirt Wes had been wearing land next to the one he took off of me. Then, I heard the zipper of his jeans before I heard them fall to the floor. My body quivered in anticipation.
