Sweet Love

by Lauren Accardo

  With both hands framing his face, she let her head fall back, taking in every bit of sensation from his firm cock sliding inside her. She hadn’t been with anyone in so long, and she stretched and tightened around him as he breathed into her neck.

  “Oh God,” he breathed. “Jesus, Mila, you’re so tight.”

  “You feel so good,” she said, muttering the words directly into his ear. “Deeper.”

  She wrapped her ankles around his legs, gently rocking her hips as he thrust deeper and deeper still. The pleasure mixed with pressure, and she squeezed her eyes shut tighter. Pure, unadulterated bliss infiltrated her bloodstream, and she clung to every moment.

  As he rocked harder, their bodies slick with sweat, he dragged his arms down to hold tightly to her shoulders. She pressed her face into the sweet curve of his neck and sucked on the skin there. One part of him inside her was not enough. She needed him like air.

  “J,” she breathed. “Oh God. J . . .”

  Waves of adrenaline shot through her, and she came again, tightening around him as she shattered, her nails dug firmly into his back.

  An expletive exploded from his lips as he thrust one last time, shuddering against her and touching his open mouth to her cheek as he shivered. His chest heaved. Their bodies moved in sync, his labored breaths matching hers.

  She trailed a hand up his neck and into his thick nest of mussed hair, her nails tracing patterns against his scalp. The breath on her tongue tasted of him, the air in the room filled with their scent. She wanted to live here forever and bask in the warm glow they’d created.

  He lifted his head, his eyelids dark and his cheeks pink, a stark contrast against the loose strands of dark hair falling over his eyes. He had the face of eighteenth-century nobility, worthy of being immortalized in a painting.

  “Wonder if Vin knew what he was doing when he threatened me with blankets in the Black Bear conference room,” Jared said.

  The laughter trickled out of her, adrenaline and dopamine mixing in her blood to create the perfect high. “We’ll have to thank him later.”

  Jared rolled onto his back and settled his hands behind his head. She stole a glance at his satisfied smile and tugged the covers up under her chin.

  She wanted to ask what happened now. Were they dating? Sleeping together? Friends with benefits? Her body flooded with desire just thinking about having him again, but how did that mesh with the close friendship they’d developed in the last twenty-five years?

  “Room service is probably too much to ask, huh?” he said.

  She laughed. “Seeing as they barely had rooms for us, I’m gonna guess there’s no on-demand dining.”

  He turned his face toward her, his eyes darkening as he studied her face. The quiet of the room roared in her ears, her body still buzzing and high.

  “I enjoyed that,” he said.

  Her smile stretched. “Always nice to hear.”

  “No,” he said. “I mean . . . that could’ve been a disaster, right? And it wasn’t.”

  Uncertainty tickled her chest. “Right.”

  He sighed, grinning as if he’d said all he needed to say. Did he wonder about the state of their relationship now? Did the same doubts course through his mind like they did hers?

  “Come on,” he said. “Roll over. Unless you want to be big spoon?”

  For the moment, she quieted the questions plaguing her brain. His smile was too sweet, his hair too perfectly disheveled. She’d never been the type of person to risk ruining the constants in her life, to throw caution to the wind when it came to people and relationships that formed the bedrock of her world. But as Jared slipped an arm around her waist and pressed his smooth cheek against her neck, she didn’t have space in her heart for caution.

  chapter thirteen

  Jared shoved the metal cart over the threshold to their hotel room, grimacing as the covered dishes rattled and stirred Mila’s formerly sleeping form under the downy blankets.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Guess I’m not as stealthy as I thought.”

  Mila’s cloud of curls appeared, followed by her heavy-lidded gaze and timid fingers gripping the edge of the quilt. “Why hello, bellman,” she said, her voice thick with sleep. “I hope you plan on feeding me whatever you’ve got under those domes. I heard it was a service of the hotel, and I won’t accept anything less.”

  Jared bit back a grin. God, he loved her like this. Sexy and tousled and flirty. He wanted to forget the food and get down to it.

  “Your wish is my command, Ms. Bailey.” He lifted the dome off a plate of thick-cut French toast, releasing the rich aroma of maple syrup and cinnamon.

  “Wow,” Mila said. “Whatever that is, give it to me. Give it to me now.”

  “God, I wish you weren’t talking about the food.”

  Her nose crinkled in a laugh, and she tucked the covers up under her arms, ready and waiting for her meal. “Come on. Before it gets cold.”

  Jared arranged trays and plates in her lap and across the bedspread, ripping off his pants before scurrying back into bed with her. She hadn’t waited for him. He hadn’t expected her to.

  “Oh my God,” she groaned. “This bacon has a sweetness to it. Maybe brown sugar?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “That’s what the sign said. I tried to get a little bit of everything from the spread. Can’t believe they pulled all this together last minute. Chef Constance said they hadn’t planned breakfast, but they made it work.”

  “Damn,” Mila said. “This is them making it work. What an insanely talented group of people.”

  He sipped his coffee and snagged a piece of bacon. The crispy strip shattered on his tongue in a blend of sugar, salt, and fat. He couldn’t stop his eyelids from lowering in pure, unadulterated pleasure.

  “That’s really freaking good,” he said.

  “Everything is really good.” She lifted a forkful of fluffy scrambled eggs to her lips and hummed.

  “It’s gonna be pretty cool when you get to work alongside them,” he said.

  She paused mid-bite as the joy melted from her face. “Maybe.”

  “It’s not gonna be cool?”

  “I might not get to work with them.”

  He trailed his teeth over his bottom lip and massaged his eyes with the heels of his hands. Blinding morning sun seared his brain. They’d never closed the curtains last night. Much more important things to tend to.

  “There’s that Bailey optimism,” he said.

  She swallowed, her gaze dropping to the plate in her lap. She set the fork down before raising her thumb to her lips. “Can we just enjoy our breakfast?”

  The mood chilled as if they’d opened the window. He wanted to press on, remind her that she had all the talent necessary to settle in among the staff of Indigo Hotels Adirondack Park. But after last night, he wasn’t sure of his place with her. Could he still badger her into positivity like he’d done when they were just friends? Did he have more license now?

  And yet, what were they? The thought of defining their relationship unnerved him, his stomach tightening around the food he’d swallowed.

  She ate quickly, her attention focused on the meal, and before he’d finished half his plate, she was up and back in her velvet dress and checking her phone. Was she pissed at him? Had he pushed too far? Or had she finally had time to think about what had happened between them and begun to regret it?

  “Are you ready to go already?” he said.

  “I have to get to work,” she said, eyes trained on her phone. “The roads are clear, and Amy can only cover for me until eleven.”

  He cleared his throat. “Is something wrong?”

  “J,” she said gently. “Honestly, I just have to get to work. I can’t afford to miss out on hours right now, much less piss Benny off and risk losing my job altogether.”

  “Lee . . .”
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  She hovered near the door, giving him a smile he’d seen her use on customers at the diner when she listed the specials for the seventieth time that day. “Just get dressed, okay? I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”

  She didn’t wait for a reply. Before he could speak another word, the door closed behind her.

  He dressed quickly despite the nagging queasiness in his stomach. He thought they’d climbed a mountain last night and come out the other side unscathed. Exploring her body had been the greatest gift, and he’d hoped he’d get to do it at least once more this morning.

  Was she annoyed because he had only one condom? He scratched his head as he slipped on his shoes. That would be a weird thing to be upset over. Plenty of fun, dirty stuff could be accomplished without condoms.

  He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. Hair stuck out in every direction, a result of her incredible blow job, a distractingly good orgasm, and a very deep sleep. He tried to finger-comb it, but nothing helped.

  Was it possible she regretted it? Had he come on too strong? He thought he’d read all the signs. When she came out of the bathroom with that shirt half-unbuttoned, he couldn’t stuff his feelings back in. She had to know that.

  But last night she’d slowly migrated to the far edge of the bed, and this morning she’d treated him like a one-night stand she wanted to disappear. Anxiety swirled in his chest, tempting him into believing something he didn’t want to believe.

  Maybe Mila was just like every other woman, changing her mind whenever it suited her.

  He stared at his own face, dragged his hands down his cheeks.

  No. Not Mila. He knew her inside and out. And now he really knew her inside and out. Something else was wrong. He’d just have to figure out what it was.

  * * *

  * * *

  Denny aimed the dart, his hulking frame a solid foot closer to the board than anybody else’s. Who could blame him? The guy was big. He’d have to stand across the street from Utz’s to even the playing field.

  “But,” Denny said. He paused mid-toss and turned to Jared. “You said the sex was good?”

  Jared shoved his chair backward to avoid getting a dart in the eye. “Better than good, dude. Maybe the best ever. We were laughing . . .”

  “Laughing?” Denny’s face screwed up, and he turned back to the dartboard. He launched the dart at the wall and it bounced off, landing at the feet of two female tourists who’d been eyeing him like prime rib.

  “Yeah,” Jared said. “It was great. It was comfortable. I mean, I thought it was comfortable.”

  “Laughing, comfortable sex sounds like my nightmare, dude.” Denny took a slug from his pint of Coors Light and winked at the tourists. “Are they cute, or am I hammered?”

  “Can we focus?” Jared gathered up the darts and tossed them onto the bar. He wasn’t in the mood for games. The drive home from the hotel had been as quiet as the deep woods in winter, and when he dropped Mila at her apartment, she’d given him a pleasant wave and a “see ya later.”

  “Sorry, bruh.” Denny slammed the last of his pint and motioned to Hank for another.

  “Hey. Sorry I’m late.” Sam hurried into the bar, sniffing against the cold that still lingered in Pine Ridge. The winter season stretched far beyond the calendar around here. Jared prayed they wouldn’t have snow for the bake-off weekend.

  He tried to catch Denny’s eye to let him know the Mila sex talk was not a conversation for his brother’s ears, but the big dude shrugged, his face creasing in confusion.

  “What’s your deal?” Sam asked, catching his brother’s frantic hand motions. “Are you having some kind of fit, J?”

  Jared ran a hand over the back of his neck. He didn’t want or need his brother’s advice on the situation. He’d chime in with some bullshit about not sleeping with your friends, and how Mila deserved more than he could offer.

  “Nah, he’s looking for sex advice,” Denny said. “I dunno, man. I don’t really know what to tell you, except for maybe she’s just not into it, you know? Maybe she doesn’t like you. Maybe it was a pity bang.”

  “Oh God,” Sam groaned. “Who is it now? Chloe again?”

  For a moment, Jared saw an out. “Yeah, Chloe.”

  “Thought you said her name was Mila?” Denny said.

  A long, groaning exhale escaped Jared’s mouth as Sam’s wide-eyed stare fell on him. “Wait . . . what?”

  “Nothing,” Jared said. His cheeks burned with the shame of having messed up a decades-long friendship. His brother would never let him live it down.

  “You slept with Mila?”

  Jared glanced nervously around the bar, but no one seemed to be listening in. “Keep it down, all right? Until I know how she feels about it, I don’t know if I should be telling people. I thought this idiot could keep a secret, but maybe he took one too many hits in the league, you know what I mean?”

  Denny pursed his lips. “Hey, not cool, bruh. I didn’t know it was a secret.”

  “So,” Sam said. He leaned over the table, his interest fully piqued. “What happened?”

  Jared gave him the PG version of their night at the hotel, beginning with their almost-kiss five years ago and culminating with Mila’s nonplussed attitude that morning.

  “Wow, brother,” Sam said. He ran a hand over his hair. “Can’t believe you went there. Were you guys drunk?”

  “No,” Jared said. “I mean, we’d had a few glasses of wine, but we were both totally fine. We talked about it beforehand. I said I’d been into her for a while, and she said she felt the same. I don’t know what changed between last night and this morning.”

  The front door to Utz’s creaked open, and as if summoned by the mere mention of her name, Mila entered. Her boot caught the floor, and she stumbled when her gaze landed on Jared.

  “Hey, Grace is here!” Jared said.

  She huffed out a short, nervous laugh, but her cheeks turned bright red as she hurried toward the bar.

  “What the hell are you thinking?” Denny’s hushed warning forced the grin from Jared’s face. “Go talk to her. And try not to treat her like your little sister.”

  Jared tucked his pride down deep and approached Mila as she asked Hank the bartender for her takeout order.

  Hank scuttled into the kitchen, and Mila tucked her elbows into her body and huddled over the bar, sinking into her coat like a turtle hiding from a racoon.

  Jared leaned in next to her and studied her face.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey.” Her lips turned upward, just short of a smile.

  “Sorry for uh . . .” He waved in the general direction of where she’d tripped. “Old habits die hard.”

  “Nobody asked you to stop joking around with me,” she said. Her eyes remained trained straight forward on the rows of dusty liquor bottles.

  “How was work?”

  She shrugged. “Scintillating as ever.”

  He opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, Hank appeared with a large paper bag. “Here ya go, darlin’. Two chili cheeseburgers, three fries, one onion rings, and a hot dog.”

  “Thanks, Hank.” She grabbed the bag and sent her Can I get you anything else? smile to Jared before backing away from the bar. “See you later?”

  “Well . . .”

  “I have to get to my parents,” she said. “Before the food gets cold.”

  With a wave to Sam and Denny, Mila exited the bar. A flare of defiance rose up in Jared’s chest.

  Nuh-uh. No way would they continue on like that.

  He shoved the door open and jogged into the parking lot, blocking her car door before she grabbed the handle.

  Subtle anxiety tightened the corners of her eyes as she looked up at him. The wind blew through her hair, the curls twisting slightly in the chilly spring air. The bright, late-afternoon ligh
t did her smooth skin every favor. She glowed, the tip of her narrow nose shining in the cold.

  “What’s up?” she said.

  He snatched the takeout bag and her keys from her hand, opened the car door, and started the ignition. With the bag of food securely settled in the driver’s seat, he closed the door and turned back to her, crossing his arms over his chest. He dared her to slither out of this one.

  “What’s up?” he said. “You’ve been acting weird since this morning. I want to be cool and pretend to be aloof, too, but I’m not. I am not cool about this. I want to know why you’re acting like we went bowling last night instead of . . .”

  She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and shoved her hands into the pockets of her big blue parka. “I’m not.”

  “Lee.” He stepped closer, demanding her attention. When she finally lifted her gaze, her eyes glassy in the wind, his breath caught in his throat. She’d always been beautiful, but now that beauty belonged to him. Like each of them had given up parts of themselves they’d never get back.

  He couldn’t abandon it now.

  “What?” she said.

  “Last night was . . .”

  “What?” The word escaped her lips on a breath as if she feared the answer. “What was it?”

  His brow furrowed. “Last night was incredible. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I hoped we could do it again this morning, but you were so weird when you woke up. I don’t know what I did.”

  The crease in her forehead softened. “You didn’t do anything.”

  He waited. A big, beat-up Buick cruised past them in the parking lot and caught Mila’s attention before she looked back at Jared. Still nothing.

  “Is this all in my head?” he said. “You’re being the same Mila and I’m the one who’s different?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “No, you’re not making it up. I had this moment of panic last night that we’d done something we can’t undo. And that maybe you regretted it.”