One Night with His Ex

by Katherine Garbera

  “Isn’t that job over?”

  “I thought so, but this email means he probably needs one more tweak to his marketing campaign, which I designed.”

  “You’ll never know if you don’t open it up.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “You don’t say.”

  “Open it. Whatever it is, not knowing is worse than whatever he wants. Plus, I don’t want it to ruin our entire Sunday.”

  She leaned her head back against the couch and studied him. They had spent the entire weekend together and she was starting to get used to living with him. Everything was different this time. He was different. Before he would have been on his phone or taking calls or rushing out to meet a potential buyer. Instead, he’d been dedicated to making this time together quality time.

  She tossed her phone on the coffee table and straddled his lap.

  He pushed his hands up under her T-shirt and with the snap of his fingers undid the clasp of her bra.

  “Do that thing you do,” he said.

  She quirked her head to the side. “What thing?”

  “That thing where you take your bra off without removing your shirt,” he said, his voice dropping a decibel and rumbling through her, turning her on.

  She reached under the sleeves of her T-shirt, slowly drawing the bra strap down her left arm, taking her time as she pulled her hand from underneath the elastic. He was watching her as if she were performing some sort of complicated task and it made her smile. She loved seeing him so serious about her. She slowly drew the second strap down her other arm and then tugged her lace bra out of the sleeve and dropped it on his chest.

  “Was it as good as you remembered?” she asked, arching one eyebrow at him.

  “Better,” he said, putting his hands on her waist and then pulling the hem of her T-shirt until it was tight against her body. “That’s what I wanted to see.”

  She glanced down at her chest and saw that he’d made it so her light colored T-shirt was pressed against her chest and her nipples were visible through it.

  She put her hands on his shoulders, kneading them as she shifted on his thighs, pushing her shoulders back so that her breasts were thrust toward him.

  “Are you just looking tonight?”

  He made a sort of rumbling noise that didn’t really answer her question, but then she felt his arm moving up behind her back, holding her as his head came forward. She felt the heat of his breath on her nipple before his mouth closed over it, sucking her through the fabric of her shirt.

  She closed her eyes and let her head fall back, pushing her fingers into his hair and holding him. But then he lifted his head, moving to her other breast and doing the same thing to her other nipple.

  The wet fabric clung to her skin and she shivered. He shifted back, undoing the button fly of his jeans, and she glanced down to see the firm ridge of his cock pressing against the fabric of his boxer briefs. She reached down to stroke him, and he smiled as she ran her hand up and down his length, feeling him grow underneath her touch.

  “That’s better,” he said.

  She leaned over him, using the hand that was in his hair to urge his head back as she brought her mouth down on his. He opened his lips under hers, his tongue thrusting up into her mouth, and she couldn’t help but bite it. He turned her on like no one else, and though she’d started out with a slow burn in mind, there was no way that was going to happen with him now.

  She pushed herself off his lap and stood next to him, watching as he pushed his underwear down to free himself. Then he took his length in his fist, stroking up and down.

  She melted a little and shifted her legs. He watched her with narrowed eyes as she slowly undid the buttons on her jeans and lowered them down her legs, swiveling her hips and thrusting her breasts forward as she did so. She paused and looked up at him when her jeans were at her knees. He stared at her pointed nipples, then his gaze slowly moved down to her white lace bikini panties.

  “Like what you see?”

  “You know I do,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you disrobe from the other side.”

  To be honest, she knew that. Mauricio liked her butt. It wasn’t as though she was extra curvy or anything, but he liked the way she looked from all sides. He’d told her more than once, and tonight, with the new knowledge that they were stronger as a couple, she wanted to make this hotter than it had ever been before.

  She turned around and slowly drew one leg from her jeans and then the other. As she stepped out of them, she bent over so he could see her backside and glanced at him over her shoulder. His cock had gotten so hard that she was pretty sure it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge. And that was exactly what she wanted.

  She wanted him so on fire for her that he forgot the past and the future, and thought of nothing but the two of them in this moment.

  She turned around and pulled at the hem of her shirt, slowly pulling it up over her head. As she tossed it aside, she felt his hands on her breasts and his thigh between hers. He rubbed his leg against her center and she arched her back, feeling one of his hands move around to hold her to him.

  She let her head fall back, trusting him to hold her up. His mouth was on her breast and his other hand slowly moved down her body, tracing her ribs, then dipping into her belly button and then lower, skirting over the top of her mound. He palmed her, rubbing his hand over her, and then slowly she felt his fingers parting her.

  She reached for him. Taking his long length in her hand, she stroked him up and down, and she used her grip on his cock to rub the tip of it against her clit. It felt so good, pulses of pleasure rushed through her.

  He bit her nipple lightly and then he fell back on the couch with a bounce. He maneuvered her until she lay on the sofa cushions and he came down over her. She rubbed his chest; he was still wearing his shirt.

  “Mauricio,” she said.

  “Yes, darling,” he responded.

  “Why are you still wearing your shirt?” she asked.

  “You like it,” he said.

  “I like it when I can feel your skin better,” she said.

  * * *

  The soft sound of her voice, the teasing tone and husky timbre, inflamed him and made it hard for him to think about anything other than driving his cock deep inside of her and taking her over and over again until they were both exhausted. This was what Sundays were made for, he thought. Making love to Hadley.

  He took her hand in his and kissed it before bringing it to the buttons on his shirt. She slowly undid them. He held himself over her body. Each brush of her fingers against his skin drove him closer to the edge, to the moment when all this teasing was going to be too much and he was going to just thrust up into her. Hell, he didn’t even care that his condoms were in her bedroom.

  But he knew he should. They were rebuilding their trust and he couldn’t expect her to trust him if he didn’t use protection.

  “Dammit. The condoms are in your room,” he said.

  “Then take me there,” she said.

  “Wrap your legs and arms around me,” he said.

  She did, her center pressed against him and her breasts against his chest, her arms underneath his shirt holding him tightly to her.

  He groaned, knowing if he shifted his hips the tiniest bit, he could enter her. But he didn’t. He sat up and pulled her close to him with one hand as he stood up and walked across her loft to her bedroom, not stopping until he reached the bed. He sat down on it and she straddled him, dropping a kiss on his mouth that made him harder than he’d been before.

  She shifted, her breasts brushing against his chest as she reached for the nightstand and the box of condoms he’d put there earlier. She grabbed the box and handed it to him.

  His entire body felt too hot. Like he was going to explode if he didn’t get inside her. But he shoved his own need down. He didn’t w
ant to waste a moment of this second chance with her. Putting his hand on her waist, he felt her brush over his erection. Her nipples were beaded and hard.

  She arched her back, which thrust her breasts forward, and a growl escaped him. He put his hands on her waist as she leaned forward, the tips of her breasts grazing his chest. Her mouth was on his neck, kissing and nibbling up the length of it until she reached his ear. Scraping her teeth down the column of his neck, she suckled the pulse that beat there and then lightly bit his skin.

  He groaned, “Woman, I can’t take much more.”

  “Good.”

  He shifted his hips to rub the ridge of his erection against her center.

  She bit him again with a little more force and then shifted back to put her hand between their bodies, rubbing his cock.

  She scratched his chest with her nail, tracing the thin line of hair that ran down to his stomach and lower. He shuddered. He wasn’t going to make it much longer. He brought his hand to hers and held her hand to his pecs for a moment, placing it over his heart. It was then that he realized how much she meant to him. That this was more than he’d expected to find with any woman. He wished he could tell her, but he didn’t have the words and he wasn’t sure she’d believe him.

  “Hadley.”

  “Don’t,” she said, putting her finger on his lips. “Don’t talk. Just take me, Mo. Make me forget everything but you.”

  He nodded. He wanted her and in this moment that was all that mattered. Her other hand was on his erection, rubbing him, and he shifted his legs. His mind was no longer on talking; it was on her sex. He needed her naked.

  He needed to be buried inside her. Talking could wait for later. He lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips met his and he thrust his tongue deep inside, taking her the way he wanted to take her.

  She sucked on his tongue and drew it deeper into her mouth. He shifted back on the bed until he felt the headboard against his back. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she leaned down and kissed his chest. He saw her tongue dart out and brush his nipple.

  She traced each of the muscles that rippled in his abdomen and then slowly made her way lower. His cock was so hard he thought he couldn’t get any harder. He felt his heartbeat with each pulse through his shaft. He wanted to take control and get inside of her. But another part of him wanted to just sit back and let her have her way with him.

  Her hand went to his erection, brushing over his straining length. He wrapped his arm around her back, holding her so that his forearm was aligned with her spine and he could tunnel his fingers into the back of her hair. Then he brought their chests together so that her nipples were poking his torso.

  Blood roared in his ears. He was so hard, so full right now, that he needed her. To claim her. To make it so she never left him again.

  Skimming his fingers down her body, he found her center. It was warm and wet and he parted her, tapping her clit lightly. Her hands tightened on his shoulders as she arched her back, her head falling to the side as he rubbed her sensitive flesh.

  She bit her lower lip as she shifted her hips, moving until he was touching her in the exact right spot. He wanted more. Needed her to come for him. He slipped one finger lower and traced the opening of her body, and then when she moaned, he pushed two fingers up into her.

  He worked his fingers in and out of her, keeping one finger on her clit, rubbing and tapping against her as she began to rock against him with more urgency. She put her hands on either side of his face and drew his mouth to her breast. She brushed her nipple over his mouth and he sucked on it, drew it between his lips and teased the tip with his tongue.

  He caressed her, bringing both of his hands down her back until he could cup her ass in his hands.

  Then he went back to thrusting his fingers deeper into her. When he felt her body start to tighten around him, he bit her nipple, which pushed her over the edge. She called his name as she came and he held her until she quieted. Then he rolled over so that she was underneath him and he put his hands on her ankles and drew her legs apart, putting one knee on the bed between her spread legs.

  He quickly put on a condom before leaning over her, placing his hands on the bed near her breasts, he lowered himself over her and rubbed her body with his, loving the feel of her underneath him. She reached for his cock again and he caught her hand, lacing the fingers of her left hand through his and stretching it over her head. She smiled at him.

  He pushed his hips between her thighs and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He felt her hand on the right side of his chest and glanced down to see her tracing his tattoo of his family’s crest this time. What did that mean?

  But he couldn’t think right now. Instead, he drew his hips back and entered her, taking her as deeply as he could. Her hand fell to his shoulder, her nails digging into his skin as he drove himself into her, her head tipping back and her eyes drifting closed with each inch he gave her. She took it all. All of him.

  He leaned down and caught one of her nipples in his teeth, scraping it very gently. She started to tighten around him. Her hips were moving faster, demanding more, but he kept the pace slow, steady, wanting her to come before he did.

  He suckled her nipple and rotated his hips to catch her pleasure point with each thrust. Her fists were clenching in his hair as she threw her head back and her climax ripped through her.

  A moment later he followed her, coming hard and deep and feeling like he’d lost his soul to her. He cradled her close in the aftermath and held her to him. She opened her eyes and looked at him in a way he couldn’t explain, and he wanted to believe that something had changed.

  They spent the rest of the evening in bed, talking about her job and the fact that she had to go to New York. Mauricio had a pang at the thought of her leaving. He needed her by his side. Something had changed inside of him and he was afraid to say it out loud.

  But he needed Hadley more than he had thought he would.

  Fourteen

  Manhattan wasn’t as fun as Hadley remembered. She found the pace dizzying instead of invigorating. She missed her morning coffee from the new shop that had opened in the retail park near her loft and frankly, as she stretched out in the king-sized bed in her friend’s guest bedroom, she missed Mauricio. When they’d made love on her couch before she left, she knew something had changed between them. That she was in love with him again. Had she ever really fallen out of love with him?

  She was beginning to think she hadn’t, but she was definitely in love now. And that scared her. She’d left him more than once and each time it had been harder than she’d ever imagined it could be. And they were back together but trusting him... Well, it was getting easier because he was so different from the man she’d walked in on with another woman. But the truth was, there was always going to be a little part of her that believed that it couldn’t last.

  She didn’t know if it was her past experiences with Mo or her sister being brutally honest about her problems with her fiancé. But something kept Hadley from letting go and just trusting Mauricio fully.

  She felt like a mean girl for holding back though. They’d talked on the phone last night until 2:00 a.m. He was in Houston today. He was receiving a charity award at a ceremony later tonight, and he had been cute, trying to say that he didn’t deserve the honor. But she had seen firsthand how hard he worked building houses for the underprivileged in Cole’s Hill. While the economy of their small town was growing, there were always those who didn’t benefit from the new industries, and Mauricio was doing his part to make sure as many families as he could help wouldn’t be left behind.

  She was proud of him.

  She couldn’t think of a time in the past when she had felt like that. He’d always been driven by success and trying to become a millionaire before he turned thirty. It was something he’d done many times over at this point, but it had driven him for so long that the man she k
new had been lost.

  And it made her happy to think that he had changed.

  If only she could make herself believe the change was real. Her phone rang, and she glanced over to see it was Mauricio video calling her. She glanced around her friend’s apartment to make sure she was alone, that Merri was still in her own room before answering the call. Merri and she had been cubicle mates in the office and after Hadley had gone freelance, Merri always offered her the guest room when she was in the city for business.

  “Hey, you,” she said as the call connected. She saw he was in the hotel bathroom, fresh from a shower—she could tell because his hair was still damp and he had shaving cream on his face.

  “Hey, darling,” Mo said, turning to face the screen. “Missed you this morning and thought you could get ready with me.”

  “I’d love to watch you get ready,” she said.

  He arched an eyebrow at her. “I was hoping I’d catch you before you were ready for your day, but I can see I’m too late.”

  “You are,” she said. “I got up early to practice my presentation one more time. I think I’m ready.”

  “I know you are. You’ll wow them like you always do,” he said, turning away from the camera and leaning toward the mirror to shave. He had a white towel wrapped around his lean hips. She curled her legs underneath her body to watch him. “Thanks for that,” she said.

  “I set up an alert for Manhattan, Upper East Side, on my phone and there are a few places that might make a nice investment for us,” he said.

  “Us?”

  He stopped shaving and turned to face her. “Isn’t there an us?”

  She nibbled on her lower lip. All those things she had wanted to say and to hear from him in return before she’d left for New York were coming out in the open now.

  “Yes. I want there to be an us. Do you?”

  “Had, I’m looking at real estate, so we can have a place to stay when your freelance business takes you to Manhattan,” he said. “I thought that would make my intentions clear.”