by Willow Aster
Spence’s jaw grinds together and he glares at Caden before turning all his anger toward me. “Where’s your boyfriend?”
Hmm, he must have forgotten all about Rocco’s community service award that never was.
“That isn’t going to work out after all. I’ve moved on. See ya.” I lift my fingers in an airy wave.
Caden laughs, gazing at me with the perfect amount of adoration.
We step outside and I drop his hand and laugh. “Thanks for going along with that.”
“You know you can count on me. But tell me what that was about? Are you sticking it to Spence? Something going on between you two?” He smirks.
“Absolutely not. Just giving him a dose of his own medicine.”
“You sure seem to care an awful lot about what Spence thinks.” He crosses his arms over his chest and puckers his lips.
“It’s nothing. Or maybe a little something,” I admit as we walk toward my place.
“So, you like him?”
“He’s fine.” I laugh, because I sound like a combative child.
“Why are you leaving? Now that I’m seeing everything a little more clearly, I think he went to all that trouble to make you jealous tonight. And you used me to do the same thing.” I cringe when he says it out loud, but he laughs, not looking mad at all. “You actually like him. He likes you. What’s the goddamn problem?”
“The GD problem, you mean?”
“Stop deflecting. Answer the question, Kingsley.”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I can’t do relationships.” I shrug when we get to the Auto Shop, and I pause at the steps leading to my door. “I don’t want to mess things up.”
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a coward,” Caden says, and it hits me straight in the chest.
I remember saying something like that to Mya not too long ago and look at me now.
“I’m not a coward.” I reach for my purse and dig my keys out.
“Then stop behaving like one.” Caden leans forward and kisses my cheek before walking away.
My heart sinks at his words. I am a coward when it comes to Spence Taylor. But that’s only because there’s so much to lose. And that terrifies me.
He terrifies me.
I go through the motions the next day at work and I fill Mya in on what happened after she left. She finds the whole thing hilarious and doesn’t understand the dilemma. I remind her that I’m not the settling down type and it’s Spence and things could get messy. For the first time in our friendship, Mya is the one calling me out. And I’m not happy about it.
I leave the office in a huff, because she can’t seem to grasp the issue.
I arrive at the steakhouse to meet my mother and am surprised to find her standing with Bob outside. She canceled on our girls’ night and rescheduled for today. With her boyfriend.
I’d let the fact that she canceled slide off my back like it was nothing. If I don’t let it penetrate, it won’t hurt.
True story.
“Hey, sorry. I made the reservation for two. I didn’t realize Bob was joining us,” I say, as I hug my mother and then give Bob a brief hug.
“I called and switched it. He wanted to see you.”
I find that doubtful since we don’t really know one another.
We walk inside, pausing to give my name to the hostess, and she takes us to a table in the back. We strip off our jackets and my mother is noticeably tense. She seems very different than she did the night at the coffee shop. This is more like the Veronica Kingsley that I knew my entire life.
Unreadable.
Unpredictable.
And full of prickly edges.
The waiter walks over to the table and asks if we’d like anything to drink. I order a club soda with lime, Bob orders a Coke, and my mother orders a bottle of Cabernet.
Mom for the win.
Always full of surprises.
My shoulders tense and Bob looks over at her. The Neil Diamond song, “Love On The Rocks,” starts playing in the background softly and I want to fall over laughing.
It’s beyond fitting, as Bob looks like he’s about to start crying.
The waiter sets down three glasses and I hold my hand up and stop him from filling mine. I’m not going to join in on my mother falling off the wagon. She’s going to have to do this on her own.
Surprisingly, Bob allows his glass to be filled.
After we all three place our orders, I look at my mother as she pulls the glass to her lips.
“Do you really want to do that?”
She laughs. “It’s wine. It hardly counts. Bob and I have been having a glass every night this past week and we’re fine.”
Oh, really.
“I thought you were working on living a sober life?” I ask, and I hate the way my voice cracks as the words leave my mouth.
“You’ve always been too literal. Wine is a fruit and harmless. Don’t overthink it.”
I want to tell her that I’ve spent most of my life overthinking because that’s what you do when a parent bails on you. But I bite my tongue and sit there as the two of them polish off a bottle of wine, steak and lobster, and a nightcap.
I haven’t spoken more than three words and I’m wondering why I’m here.
They bicker and argue and my mother tells Bob that she isn’t happy. Bob cries—no, he sobs—and tells her that he loves her and begs her not to leave. I have sympathy for the man, because I’ve been in his shoes. But I feel like it probably would have hurt less if I’d only known her for a month.
The bill arrives. I’ve barely touched any food on my plate, and I suddenly know why I’m here.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I forgot my wallet. Do you mind getting this one? I’ll get the next one. Just you and me, next week.”
I nod and drop my card on the table.
I’m fairly certain that my mother brought me here to pay the bill and give her lover a farewell three-course, fine dining experience.
She leans in to hug me goodbye. “I’ve met someone that I want you to meet. I’ll call you next week. Thanks for helping me end things with Bob.”
I shake my head as I look at her, and she hops in an Uber as Bob stands there dumbfounded.
“Did you want to share a ride with me?” I ask, because I feel so bad for the poor bastard.
“Would you mind?” his voice trembles.
I want to tell him that he’s better off without her, but it feels like the wrong thing to say, seeing as she’s my mom. He sobs the entire way to his brother’s place and I hug him goodbye.
I’m tempted to go to my dad, but I don’t want to weigh him down with this. He wouldn’t say I told you so, but I’m saying it for him. He warned me and I did what I always do when it comes to my mother—I gave her another chance. Not only that, I played right into her manipulative hand.
God, I’m so much smarter than this. When will I learn?
Will I ever stop being that five-year-old girl inside who will do anything to have her mom come back and stay?
I tilt my head back and call Mya before the lump in my throat gets too hard to swallow around. I fill her in on what happened on my way home, and when Carl the Uber driver pulls into the parking lot in front of my place—the poor guy has heard enough drama tonight to last a lifetime—Spence Taylor is sitting on the steps outside my door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve got to go.” I end the call to my bestie as she’s still asking questions. “Thanks, Carl,” I say before hopping out of the car.
Spence pushes to his feet, looking like every fantasy I’ve ever had.
Dark jeans running down his long legs. A navy pea coat. Plump kissable lips. And his eyes are an indistinguishable color of the sea that look right through me and seem to know all my secrets.
“Hey,” I say, unsure about what else to say. It’s been a crappy night and I’m so happy to see him. To feel something other than sad.
Other than disappointed.
Spence makes me feel so many things tha
t I’m not used to. And for once, I want to know what it’s like to welcome that feeling instead of running from it.
He moves into my space, and his mouth crashes into mine. He lifts me off the ground and my legs come around his waist before he carries me toward the door.
Chapter Fifteen
Spence
We barely come up for air all the way up the stairs and when I place her against the door, she hurriedly unlocks it, her lips leaving mine for seconds before coming back for more. Once we’re inside, I set her down and put my hands on her cheeks, pulling back to look at her long enough to see if she wants this. If she’s all in.
Her eyes are glazed over with lust and I’ve never felt so goddamn happy in my life.
“Caden mentioned I should have a chat with you,” I say, leaning my forehead against hers.
“I didn’t take Caden for an oversharer,” she says, but her tone is without its usual bite.
“He’s full of surprises.”
She winds her hands around my neck, her fingers in my hair, as she pulls me down for another kiss. I have a few things I want to say to her, but she feels so good, I kiss her the way I’ve wanted to for so long. It feels too right. We’ll talk later. Maybe showing her how I feel is the way we can communicate better anyway.
She takes my hand and leads me back to her bedroom, her hips a siren’s call that I will answer tonight, so help me.
“God, I want you,” I whisper.
She turns and looks at me over her shoulder, her smile hitting me straight in the heart.
When we reach her bed, she surprises me by pushing me back on it. I let myself fall and watch, engrossed, as she takes off one item of clothing at a time. Her pencil skirt drops first. She’s wearing this tiny strip of blue lace that has me leaning up on my elbows to see if I can reach her to pull them off. She shakes her head and I lean back, letting her run this show.
She turns around and my eyes widen at her perfect ass and then a groan escapes when she tugs them down and I see her perfect silky skin.
“You’re killing me.” My voice is raspy and I tug my shirt off over my head. It’s too hot in here.
With her back still turned, she undoes each button of her shirt, going so slow that I’m about to jump off this bed and toss her onto it, when the shirt is thrown over her head, hitting me in the face.
I put my nose in it and inhale. Mmm. Her bra is next and I lean up again, patience be damned.
“Turn around. Let me see you,” I tell her, and when she does, my mouth goes dry.
“Fuck.”
She crawls toward me like a lioness on the prowl and undoes my dress pants. “So fancy tonight,” she says, smirking.
“Work after meeting. I mean … other around way.” I shake my head, hoping it’ll jog my word memory. “You mean what I know. The fuck?”
She cackles and I grin, and then she pulls down my pants and her eyes widen as she takes in the bulge trying to break free of my boxer briefs.
“Definitely happy to see you,” I manage to get it out in the right order and she looks like a cross between elated and terrified.
She straddles me and her head tilts back to the ceiling when she feels how good we are together. Even with layers between us, not moving at all, we are on fire.
I reach out and tease her nipple on her right side and then can’t resist leaning up and putting my lips there. And then I pay attention to the other side, letting my tongue skate across her skin.
She tugs my head to her chest and I stay there, worshipping her until she starts rubbing against me, the friction making me insane. I’m afraid this will be over too fast if she keeps it up, so I flip her over on her back and reach between her legs, my fingers giving her what she craves. She whimpers and stares up at me, her lower lip pressed between her teeth, as my fingers drive deep inside her. I dip in and out, over and over, dragging her wetness over her sweet spot and then back in deep, as she chases it and starts to shudder against me.
“Spence,” she says, her head moving side to side as she comes against my fingers.
“Most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” I tell her.
There’s so much I don’t say.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about having her like this since that moment in the elevator.
She’s ruined me for anyone else.
Then and especially now.
I could write fucking sonnets right now and not even scratch the surface.
When her body goes limp, I take my briefs off and grab a condom from my wallet. Her eyes are huge when I look at her again.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “Is this okay?”
“I should’ve known you’d be perfect there too,” she says, pointing to my dick like it’s either the enemy or her favorite new toy. It’s hard to tell with her.
I decide I’m her favorite new toy because she’s mine.
I settle between her legs and just enjoy the way we feel, skin against skin. Her fingers trace circles down my back and my dick can’t be still. But I want to take my time and enjoy every second of this. I lean down and kiss her. I kiss her the way I intend to fuck her, long and slow and deep. I kiss her until she’s squirming against me and finally she says, “Spence, please.”
The best words she’s ever said to me.
I thrust into her when she says it again and when I’m balls deep, I look at her. My God. It’s intense. We stare at each other and it’s like every barrier that’s ever been between us crashes down as we take a moment and acknowledge how powerful this is. She closes her eyes first and I still stare at her, transfixed, as we move with one another.
It’s never been like this for me. Ever.
I pull out and her eyes fly open, alarmed.
“Look at me,” I rasp, driving back into her.
Hard.
Her eyes want to roll back, but she stares at me.
I do it again, all the way out so slowly and then slam back into her.
Again.
And again.
I shake my head, grabbing her hands and pulling them over her head. Loving the way her tits feel against my chest. The way she clenches my cock so hard when I thrust back inside.
“It’s never felt this good,” I whisper.
“I know,” she says.
She clenches around me like a vise again and I can’t go slowly any longer. I flip her onto her stomach and tilt her hips up and plunge back into her, her back against my chest as I hold onto her waist with one hand and tap against her clit with my other. She likes it fast and I don’t let up for a second. She’s chanting my name and I almost lose my load when she clamps down against me this time, but I hold it together for as long as I can.
And then she says please again in that sex voice that I will be dreaming about from now on and I lose it. I flip her back over so I can see her face, and she meets me move for move. My equal in every way. In banter, in combat, in mind-blowing sex.
“I don’t want this to end,” I admit.
But even as I’m saying it, I’m falling over the edge and I collapse into her neck, groaning as I lose my mind.
Her hands are gripping my ass like she’ll never let go and when I catch my breath, I lean back and look at her.
Her freshly fucked face is something artists should capture. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I’m captivated by her and I can’t quite believe I let that happen, but what can I say? I am a goner for Emma Kingsley.
I press my forehead against hers and kiss her, but she turns and takes a deep breath. I kiss her cheek and her neck and lean into her ear as I whisper, “Mind blown, my little she-devil.”
I feel her lips lift against my skin and I grin too, gradually pulling out of her. I head to her bathroom to take care of the condom and glance in the mirror. I barely recognize the guy staring back at me. Eyes bright, cheesy grin, and … something like contentment.
I walk back into the bedroom and Emma is staring out the window, the moonlight seeping over the shutters. When s
he glances at me, my smile falters because she looks so serious. But then she says, “I hope you’ve got more of that in you because I’m gonna need a few more rounds.”
Fuck me right and left and take names.
“I aim to please,” I tell her.
And I make sure that I do.
All night long.
We find ways to desecrate every surface of her apartment. Every position. I think we both particularly love when she rides me reverse cowgirl. When I sit up, as deep inside her as I can get, and pull her hair back, kissing her neck as my fingers play with my new obsession between her legs, I think she might wake the entire neighborhood.
And when we sit up, facing each other, the moment is as intimate as I’ve ever experienced as we rock back and forth, letting our bodies speak the truth we have yet to say out loud.
We fall asleep when the sun is starting its slow ascent. I’d thought about not bothering with sleep at all, but with the workout we’ve put each other through, we crash hard.
Her body is curled into mine, her head on my chest and her leg wrapped around my thigh, when her alarm goes off.
She sits up and clutches the covers to her chest, glancing down at me and then away quickly when she sees my cock bob to life.
Ready as ever.
“You should go,” she says quietly.
I sit up and put my hand on her back, feeling her tense beneath me. A niggle of worry creeps in, but I ignore it. “Okay, I’ll see you later? Have dinner with me tonight?”
She makes a sound—it’s somewhere between a cough and a whimper. I push back her hair and turn her chin so she’ll look me in the eye.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
She pulls away and gets out of bed, grabbing a blanket from a nearby chair and covering herself with it. “Of course, I’m okay. I’m fine. I’m good. We’re good.” She’s looking everywhere but me and now the dread is a full-on roar.
“Emma, look at me. Please.”
She looks at me, but it’s so completely different from the way she looked at me all night, I sag against the headboard.
“You should go,” she whispers. “Thanks for a great night. I’m glad we got it out of our system.”
