“My turn,” he agreed.
He bent and unlaced his hiking boots, pulling them and his socks off. He straightened, unbuttoned his jeans, and shoved them and his boxers down in one movement. His shirt came last, landing in a heap on the floor with the rest of his clothes.
Her gaze was glued to his cock, and he groaned when she licked her lips. He remembered exactly what it was like to have her mouth on his dick. So good. Everything with her was good. Even arguing was fun.
He moved over to the side of the bed and plucked a strawberry out of the bowl. He bit down, letting the juices burst over his tongue, and then chewed slowly. Her gaze locked on his lips and she swayed toward him. Her pupils expanded until only a thin ring of gold remained, and her breasts rose and fell in quick pants.
He held out the strawberry. “Want some?”
She nodded mutely and came toward him, her body a testimony to willowy grace. He lifted the fruit to her lips, and she took a bite, closing her eyes. He took shameless advantage and curved his hand over a bare breast. Her breath caught as he circled his thumb around the beaded tip. After setting the strawberry stem down, he swiped his fingers through the whipped cream, and dabbed it onto her nipple. Then he bent to lick and suck, her flavor mixing with the sugary sweetness.
Her hands clenched in his hair, her torso arching into him. She gasped, “More.”
Yes. More. That always seemed to be what he wanted when she was near. More. He graced the other breast with cream and repeated the process, scraping over her nipple with his teeth. She moaned, rising onto her tiptoes. He kept teasing the puckered nub, flicking it with his tongue.
“My turn.” She pushed at his shoulders until he eased away.
She picked up a strawberry, bit the end, and then smeared it over his nipple. The cool juices contrasted sharply with the heat pumping through his body.
She picked up the bowl and took it with her when she dropped onto the bed and settled on her back. “You know, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have someone drink champagne from my belly button. Fruit juice would work just as well. Want to try it?”
He could only nod, because his tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth. Having her laid out like a buffet before him while she suggested carnal acts was enough to make his brain short-circuit.
They experimented with licking and sucking whipped cream and strawberry juice off various body parts, every second ratcheting the tension higher, making him throb with need. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he shoved the bowl back onto the nightstand, covered himself in a condom, and rolled on top of her.
“Finally.” She clung to him, wrapping her arms and legs around him.
He laughed. “If you wanted me to get to the main event faster, that’s all you had to say.”
“I was having too much fun to stop. But now I want…” Her hips lifted in blatant offering and the shreds of his control snapped.
“Fuck, yes.” He slammed his cock deep in one swift plunge. Her sex closed around him, so sleek and tight he had to clench his teeth to keep from coming then and there. They’d spent enough time revving each other up that he knew it wouldn’t take long to shatter.
“Hurry, Gabe.” Her nails dug into his back, and she undulated beneath him. He gave her what she wanted, what they both wanted. He shoved into her again and again, their skin slapping together with the force of his thrusts.
She pressed upward, urging him on with gasps and moans. He moved with her, and the pace they set for each other was hot and fast and pushed them to the very edge of their endurance. Even then, she always kept up with him, always challenged him. A smile lit her face as she rocked her pelvis up to meet his plunges, her cheeks were flushed, and he could tell from the sounds she made exactly how close she was to orgasm.
A rough whimper broke from her throat. “I’m so…I need…”
“I know.” He reached between them and thumbed her clit. She groaned, long and loud, her inner muscles milking the length of his dick as she came. It was more than enough to make him explode. Come jetted from him, but he kept rocking into her, loving the feel of her pussy clamping down on his cock. It was a high like he’d never known before, better than any adrenaline rush he’d had.
He dropped his forehead into the valley of her cleavage, and she cupped the back of his skull. “That was damn good, Gabe.”
“You’re welcome.” He turned his head and kissed the smooth swell of one breast.
She laughed and lightly smacked his shoulder. “You’re crushing me. Move.”
They took turns taking showers, since they were sweaty, sticky and messy. She called the maids and had the sheets changed while he cleaned up, and he could only grin, knowing how the crew would harass him. Totally worth it.
After they collapsed bonelessly in bed, he folded his hands behind his head and let out a gusty sigh. Every single muscle in his body was relaxed, and an easy grin stretched his lips. Damn, he felt good. Every time with Anne seemed to get better, and he’d never have guessed that was possible. He couldn’t complain about that lovely quirk of fate.
She lay curled on her side, her backside snugged up against his hip. The soft sound of her breathing mingled with his, the only break in the mellow silence that filled the room.
“Are you awake?” he asked, pitching his voice low in case she wasn’t.
She made a snuffling little noise, but then her breathing settled into the slow, deep rhythm of sleep.
After turning to his side, he fitted his front to her back and curved his arm around her waist. Something sweet and tender expanded in his chest, but he just closed his eyes and let himself drift into a place that wasn’t quite alert, but wasn’t quite slumber either.
He jerked back to wakefulness when her cell phone blared out a ring. Anne groaned, reached over the side of the bed to grab her purse, and fumbled for the phone. When she looked at the screen, she groaned again, though this sound was deeper and more tortured.
“Nooooo.”
“What? What’s wrong?” Gabe frowned, concern spurting through him.
She sighed and sat up, tapping the screen. “Hi, Mom.”
He blinked. That wasn’t the sort of reaction he was used to when hearing someone speak to their parents, but he already knew Anne’s family was, at best, complicated. She scooted around to sit on the edge of the mattress, her shoulders hunched. Should he give her privacy and leave or should he stay and offer support? He didn’t know which she’d prefer, but he knew he didn’t want to leave her, so he froze in place and remained silent. From where he lay, he could only see one side of her face.
He couldn’t make out the words, but her mother was loud and clearly upset. After a few minutes, it became clear that her mom had plugged in one too many appliances and managed to trip the breaker to the living room and kitchen. The power was out, the lights were off, and Mommy Dearest was in a towering tizzy. Anne patiently walked her through how to get to the breaker box in the garage and flip the correct switch to set everything to rights.
Gabe was more than a little surprised that Anne’s mother seemed to have no clue what a breaker box did, let alone where it was located in her own house. He was flat out shocked when the volume on the other end grew louder after the crises had passed.
“No, Mom, I’m not coming home because you don’t know how to work a circuit breaker.”
What sounded like sobbing came through. Anne’s voice remained calm and composed. “No. You’re an adult and you need to handle things like this yourself. Or you can call one of your friends who live close by. You have other solutions besides having me there to do your bidding. And calling any of the girls isn’t an option either. They’re working out of town this summer.”
The crying stopped abruptly, which seemed pretty suspicious to Gabe, and whatever Mommy Dearest said was in a sharp, pissed off tone. Anne’s jaw flexed as if she was about to grind he
r teeth to powder, but she kept an even tone. “Dinah, you need to put on your big girl panties now. You have the lights back on. You’re fine. I am in the middle of nowhere on a cruise ship, and I won’t be near an airport until the day I’m scheduled to leave. There’s no way for me to come home early even if I wanted to, which I don’t.”
The answer was a whiny complaint, and the tone was worthy of a toddler who needed a nap. Gabe shook his head in horrified amazement at Anne’s back. What fresh hell was she living in? Her mom was unreasonable enough to expect her to abandon a very expensive trip and come home over a blown breaker? If he wasn’t listening to Anne’s side of the conversation and hearing how deadly serious she was, he’d assume this was some kind of joke.
Anne sighed. “No, I’m not being selfish for taking a vacation, Mom. If we continue this conversation, it’s going to turn into an argument. You have power, you now know where the breaker box is and how to use it if you need to in the future. You’re fine. Have a good night.”
Her mother kept squawking, and it sounded like she’d dissolved into tears again when Anne tapped the button to hang up.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, her face carefully blank. “I need to send a quick text. Give me a sec?”
He nodded and her fingers flew over the screen. He craned his neck a bit but could spy nothing. “Who are you texting?”
She held the phone out for him to see. “My sisters.”
The message said, Mom blew a fuse (literally and figuratively). If she calls, don’t answer.
While he was reading, responses started coming in and her phone buzzed.
The name Hazel popped up. Got it. Thanks for the warning. Love you!
Cami came next. Ugh. She drives me insane. I don’t pick up anyway if I can avoid it.
Then there was Nora. Sounds like you answered and got the brunt of the drama mama. Sorry, hon. Try to forget it and enjoy your trip.
Anne pulled the phone back and replied.
“What did you say?”
She sighed, glancing at him again. “Just told them I loved them, then reminded them that they are busy this summer. They are under no circumstances to let her guilt them into going to stay with her.”
“Wow. Your mom is…” How the hell did he say it without sounding like an ass? Even if her mother really was as psychotic and needy as she appeared, he doubted that was something Anne wanted to hear. He also doubted it was something she didn’t already know.
She shifted around, propping her knee on the mattress. Her lips compressed and she nodded. “Yep. That pretty much says it all. She renders even the most stalwart souls speechless.”
Indeed. He cleared his throat. “Uh…you live with her?”
Her expression darkened. “Nope. She lives with me, not to put too fine a point on it.”
Hesitating a moment, he wondered if he should just drop the subject. But he sensed this was a sore spot, sensed that maybe this was a topic she needed to let out. Anne was usually so open, but whenever her mother came up in conversation with his parents or him, it was like she shoved herself down into the smallest, most repressed version of herself. It was painful to see, when he adored her live-out-loud personality. “Does your mom have…health issues?”
Her gurgling laugh had an edge of hysteria to it. “Do mental health issues count?” She slashed her hand through the air. “No, that’s not true. She’s perfectly healthy. She’s just a drama llama mama. World champion, gold medal winning drama queen.”
He met her gaze squarely. “So, you let her loose in your house…why?”
“That’s complicated.” Her lips twisted.
Propping himself up on his elbows, he tried to project an air of casualness. “I have time.”
Her sigh was a long, low, tired sound. “Cohabitating with her was for my sisters. I told you I went to college nearby so I could help my family out. Basically, my mom is just unable to handle…life…without having a daily meltdown. She doesn’t have real psychological issues that I know of, she just refuses to grow up and be an adult. Unfortunately, my dad and I have enabled her for half her life. Him for my sake, me for my sisters’ sake after he died.”
He tilted his head. “How old are your sisters?”
She looked as if she might be grinding her teeth again. She was frustrated and trying not to be, repressing everything. Shifting around, she resettled against the headboard. “Cami, the youngest, just finished her freshman year of college.”
“Cami still lives with you too?” He pushed upright so he sat next to her.
“Nope.” Her tone turned brittle, no matter how hard she tried to sound teasing. “My nest is empty, except for my mom.”
He bumped his foot against hers. “You don’t seem happy with the situation.”
“I resent it.” She averted her chin, dropping the attempt at lightness. “I love my mother, don’t get me wrong, but she drives me insane. I sucked it up for a decade and a half for my sisters’ sake, but…Dinah is never moving out. Never.”
The ferocious snarl in her voice made his eyebrows arch. The relationship she had with her mother was clearly unhealthy, and it weighed on her. Then again, it sounded like her mom was unable to maintain healthy relationships. “Have you asked her to leave?”
“I’ve tried.” Her fists balled on her thighs. “Broad hints about wanting to downsize to a smaller place now that the girls are grown and gone. Nothing sticks. It slides off her like Teflon.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” Not with the attitude of entitlement that had come through the phone load and clear.
“I’d love to kick her out or just…walk away forever.” Her eyes closed. “I feel like an asshole just saying that. My mom can’t support herself, Gabe. She’s never made enough money to make ends meet, not once in my entire life. Child support from my dad was the only thing that kept her afloat while they were separated.” The look she gave him was exhausted, frustrated and helpless. “I think she had my sisters so he’d never be able to leave her again. It’s not that she doesn’t love them—or me—but she didn’t have us for the right reasons. I don’t even think she wanted kids.”
Jesus. His chest ached for her. His parents had been so good to his brother and him. They’d never doubted for even a moment that they were loved and wanted, even during the inevitable fights that came with growing up and becoming an adult. He was so fucking lucky. He’d always known that, but he was giving both his parents a huge hug in the morning. He only wished Anne had had parents like his. It pissed him off that anyone—even her mother—would use her. Because that was what was happening here. He could see it, even if she couldn’t. “So when your dad died, she forced you into the role of parent to your siblings and caretaker to her.”
“Force isn’t really the right word,” she said stiffly. “I volunteered and I knew what I was getting into.”
Of course, she wouldn’t like being cast into the role of victim. Not Anne. It didn’t matter that she should never have had to volunteer. She knew that, but she’d had only shitty options and she’d made the one she could live with. She was, quite possibly, the strongest person he’d ever met.
Reaching out, he laced his fingers with hers. “What was your dad like?”
A smile edged up the corners of her lips. “He was awesome. I mean, he was human and made mistakes like anyone else. After all, he did marry Dinah. Twice. But he was a good father to his daughters. He took us to the park every weekend to play—baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer. Didn’t matter, he loved sports. He coached my little league teams. Nora’s too, when she was old enough. He passed before he could do it for Hazel or Cami, but he would have.”
“So you coached for Hazel and Cami.”
It wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway. “Yeah, I did. It only seemed fair to give them the kind of involvement I’d had. It’s what Dad would have wanted.”
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br /> “You were a Daddy’s Girl, huh?”
“It’s difficult to imagine being a Mama’s Girl with Dinah for a mother. I don’t think any of my sisters are Mama’s Girls either. Thankfully, none of them picked up her drama llama tendencies. My sisters fight with each other like cats trapped in a burlap sack together, but even that’s gotten better with age.”
He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “I bet they take after you. Scrappy, loyal, smart, funny. They could have done a lot worse than having you to raise them.”
“Shut up.” Her nose crinkled and she bumped her shoulder into his. He was fairly certain her cheeks went pink in a slight blush.
Tugging her close, he wrapped an arm around her. She didn’t resist, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. He brushed a kiss over her brow. “I mean it. You’re an amazing woman, Anne Kirby.”
“You’re not so bad yourself, Gabe. It’s…nice to see someone who has such a great relationship with his parents.” Her voice was wistful, and it didn’t take a genius to know she wished she had that kind of bond with her mother. “And you’re very good at what you do—patient, competent, helpful.”
He rested his chin on the crown of her head. “I like you too. I’m sorry about your mom. You deserve better.”
“Thanks,” she whispered. “I needed this vacation so bad, you know? The last year, I’ve felt like I’m losing my mind. Like…is this all there is to life? Is this as good as it’s going to get? Doesn’t busting my ass for my family for over a decade earn me a little personal happiness?”
“I know what you mean. I felt the same way when I was doing the Silicon Valley tech company grind. At first, it was thrilling to dive in and put my skills to work, be creative, do important things. After a while, I just felt trapped. Like…is this all there is to life? Living for my work? Never seeing the light of day wasn’t making me happy. I was busting my ass, doing what I thought I wanted, and I still wasn’t happy. So I got out.”
“Just like that, you walked away from all of it?”
“I still do some freelance coding.”
Alaskan Adventure (Destination: Desire) Page 9
