“Hey, your tire’s shredded. Do you need help?” he asks, when I roll the window down.
“I don’t have a spare. Forgot to replace it.”
“Oh, damn. And my truck…” he waves to his pickup parked a few meters away.
“I understand. Your spare won’t fit. Thanks anyway.”
He shrugs. “Well, the least I can do is take you home.”
“Unnecessary. I called roadside assistance.”
“They take ages, remember?”
“I don’t mind waiting.”
He dips to my level, disbelief gracing his face. “You’d rather wait until God-knows-when than let me take you home?”
“I’d rather—”
“I won’t bite. Come on, let me rescue you from your misery.”
He doesn’t realize he’s adding to my misery. I want the distance back. I don’t want him near me. “Nate—”
“I won’t take no for an answer, Alison. If Jude finds out I left you here, I’ll never hear the end.”
How about if he finds out you’re trying to get between my legs? “Fine. You can take me home.”
An initial silence takes place as we journey home, with me staring out the window, thinking of a conversation starter to end the awkwardness. Try as I can, nothing comes to mind. But I can’t take the tension between us.
“Nate, about the other night…” what about it? I’m struggling with the words to say. “If I hurt your feelings, I’m sorry.”
He changes gear in silence, his eyes peeled to the road. I thought he wouldn’t answer until he murmurs. “You didn’t. But I got the message. You want me to leave you alone and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
His reply should have brought relief. Instead, I feel disappointment. What did I expect, that he’d pine over me? Did I think he’d want to continue chasing me? I was nothing but a potential notch on his belt. He’s moved on to greener, more willing pastures. Which is how it should be. He’s not in my league, nor I in his.
“It’s for the best, Nate.”
“If you say so…” He rolls off the highway. It’s another ten minutes before we arrive at my apartment. Ten long minutes. The tension rises, thickening, this time with a sexual edge. There’s air conditioner in the truck but I’m hotter than the gateway to hell.
I think of something else to say, anything to steer my mind from the fantasy that’s forming in my mind. “How are things at Frost & Co.?”
Again, he shifts gears before glancing me. “It’s going great, actually. I took your advice another step and got rid of the entire construction team. It's the best decision I ever made. It's only been a couple weeks but I’m already seeing positive changes. Plus the Ads are working wonders. We just won the bid for a major commercial project.”
“That’s awesome news!”
“Yup. I have you and your team to thank for that.” He smiles, a tiny one, the first since I saw him in the grocery store.
“You’re welcome.” I tap my fingers on my thigh as another round of silence activates the tension once more. I lean against the seat and close my eyes, trying to summon clean thoughts. Anything to keep the urge to sleep with Nate at bay.
“We're here.”
At Nate’s gruff announcement, I open my eyes and rummage my purse for the clicker to open the front gate to my apartment building.
“No need to park, Nate. Just pull up at the front steps and I’ll grab my groceries and head in.”
“Like hell I will. I’m taking you up.”
“That’s unnecessary. The building’s totally safe.”
He gives me a determined stare. “Sorry. I can’t take your word for it.”
Mhmm. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he’s looking for a pass to get into my apartment. My sex pulses at the thought. A crazy side of me hopes he’s still trying to get with me.
Oh, Alison… you’re playing with fire, girl.
Maybe I am. There’s a thrill that comes with touching what’s forbidden. It’s getting stronger by the minute. I want to lose myself in it. In him.
Don’t do it, girl.
“I just want to see you home safe, that’s all.”
I gesture to the box of groceries on his backseat. “Be my guest.”
I should have said no. I just know it. My rising arousal mixed with Nate’s presence in my apartment, it’s a lethal combination. My self-control is already hanging by a thread when I turn the keys in the door.
“I’ll take the groceries now, thanks.” I reach for the box, but he swipes it to the side.
“I want to finish what I started, ok? Just let me in.”
The double entendre isn’t lost on me. Against my better judgement, I let him in.
Big mistake.
The box of groceries doesn't quite hit the counter when I reach for him and seize his mouth with mine. He doesn’t hesitate; he kisses me like a starving animal, touching my soul with each stroke of his tongue. Our bodies become one. No air can pass between us. I’m hot, burning up for him and I need more than our bodies connecting. I need to feel him inside me. There’s no way I’ll sleep tonight if I don’t.
Again, I know it’s wrong, but can’t I have just a teeny, tiny taste? Just once, and I’m done.
He’s eating my mouth with such skill, making me so wet, soaking my panties. I can’t take any more of this edginess. My fingers get busy, removing my dress and helping him undress. And when he stands before me, naked, I melt into a puddle.
The clothes he wears don’t do him justice. His body is a masterpiece, sleek, sculptured, perfect. I run my hands over his torso, touching his broad chest and his flat stomach that’s as ripped as I imagined it would be.
And his cock, oh, it’s marvelous; not too long, but with the right girth. My sex throbs in greeting, ready for penetration.
All this time he’s watching me with blazing eyes, his chest rising and falling to a steady beat. I grip him, pumping slow, meeting his gaze. He sucks in a breath.
“Alison…”
I pump harder, and satisfaction fills me as he throws his head back with a loud hiss. His hips began thrusting, gliding through my hand. I let go, and he releases a curse. “Don’t fucking stop. Please…”
But I ignore his plea. Sinking to my knees, I grip the base of his shaft, stroking to the tip, licking it once, twice, eyeing his tortured reaction. His sexy groan is like a fuel, egging me on.
I wrap my hot mouth around his warm, rock-hard velvety tool, descending as close to the base as I can. My lips provide suction as I work my way upwards.
“Yes, Alison, yes… fuck me with that sexy mouth…”
I quicken the beat and he grips a handful of my hair, pumping to keep up. His cock swells, filling my mouth.
“Oh, God… Oh!” He clutches another handful of my hair with his free hand, thrusting harder, faster. I taste the saltiness of his pre-cum and jerk my head away. No ma’am. No coming in my mouth.
Nate gives a protesting cry when I release him. He stares at me, blowing hard, sweating, looking like he’s just ran a marathon.
“Do you have condoms?”
Still breathing hard, he nods and points to his pants on the floor. I’m not surprised he has protection in his wallet. What’s unexpected is the sudden surge of jealousy that runs through me.
What do I care if he’s sleeping with other women? I just want to come, that’s it. He can return to his hordes of women afterwards.
I take great joy in slipping the condom on him, watching the agony on his face. But when I mount him on the living room carpet, the torture begins for me.
Oh, sweet Jesus. Never, ever have I been filled like this, so perfect, so right, as if we were made for each other. I ride him like the hounds of hell after me, and he knifes me like it’s his last day on earth. Our moans fill the room, along with the sounds of our slapping skins as our bodies connect. I’m lost, so lost to the ecstasy, to this man.
God, help me.
I reach my pinnacle with such speed, it almost k
nocks me over. My pace quickens, matching Nate’s powerful strokes as he meets me on cloud nine. There’s hardly any breath left in me when the feeling subsides.
Rolling from him, I take deep breaths to calm myself. I’m easily addicted. Food, alcohol, sex—once it’s good, I want more. Sex with Nate was beyond this world. Mind-numbing. Amazing. Which means I’m in trouble.
“Fucking hell, Alison.” Nate looks at me with wonder, breathing as hard as I am. “You are…” he shakes his head. “Shit.”
I give him a smirk. “Yup. Still got it.”
Our gazes lock for a long moment. It feels like hours. Again, that stifling, intrusive feeling. I tear my eyes away.
“Alison.”
“It's getting late. You need to go.”
He reaches for me, twisting me so our eyes meet once more. “Can I see you again?”
I sigh. “Nate—”
The sudden ringing of the doorbell startles me. Who the hell could it be?
“Mom!” Jude’s voice comes back at me before the doorbell rings again.
Shit.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nate
Oh, fuck.
Jude’s on the other side of the door and I’m lying on his mother’s living room carpet, naked as a newborn. Damn it!
The ringing doorbell shatters my ecstasy and sends me in a panic. The look on Alison’s face is much worse. She’s scrambling, grabbing her dress and dragging it on, muttering under her breath.
There’s a knock on the door this time. “Mom! I left my keys!”
“Thank God,” she murmurs, slipping into her panties. She looks up at me. “Hurry!”
“What are we going to do?” I ask, after pulling the shirt over my head. I could always hide upstairs. But who knows how long he’ll be? Although, it’s the perfect excuse to spend the night…
“I'm going to get the smell of sex from this living room. You’re going down the fire escape.” She picks up a bottle of air freshener and begins spraying. “Go!”
The pounding comes louder this time. “Mom!”
I put my shoes on in a flash and make a mad dash through the kitchen, climbing through the window and onto the landing. As fit as I am, taking twenty flights of stairs after sex is no joke. My sweat-soaked shirt sticks to my body by the time I reach the ground floor.
Here, I slow down, catch my breath and think about what just happened in Alison’s living room. If anyone told me tonight would end this way, I would have called them a liar.
My resolution to stay away from Alison was a real one, honest. That night at the restaurant, I glimpsed her dilemma for the first time. I’m aware of the age difference between Alison and I. She thinks I’m too young for her.
Her date, Ethan, he didn’t help, calling her a pedophile. Fucking asshole. I wanted to punch his lights out.
But the damage was already done. I saw her shame, heard her denial. She would fight her feelings to the death, deny her body its need for me. Anything to keep her peers from giving her the side-eye.
There was no use sticking around afterwards, no use trying to get under her skirt. She’d never give in to me unless I apply pressure. I don’t want to. I need her surrender from a free will.
I had to get her out my system. A sure way was to get laid. But I wasted my time hitting the club that night. I had no desire for another woman. Just Alison.
Caught between two minds, I debated; do I leave her alone, or keep it moving?
I decided on the latter. Alison deserves more than my selfish intentions. What I want is to conquer her and have a good time. What she needs is a man who can give her forever.
Even if I want to be that man, I’d never stand a chance. My relationship with Jude is the biggest hurdle of all, because I doubt he would take the news with an open mind. At the very least, he’d want to kick my ass.
So, as much as I ached for her, I had to consider the consequences.
But that all went out the window when I saw her in the supermarket, in that dress that sent blood rushing to my dick. Alison has an effortless sexiness that exudes through whatever she wears. A simple pair of leggings and a t-shirt, or a fire-red dress with a keyhole neckline, it doesn’t matter, she’s always sexy as hell.
But that tiny dress… damn, it made me forget. It made me want. Ache. I didn’t care about her reservations, or the consequences, not then. So I chased her.
Thank God for her flat tire, it gave me another foot in the door. This time I planned to seduce her until she gave in.
Turned out, I didn’t need to worry about making a move. Alison was on me before I put the groceries down, shocking me with that body-heating kiss. From that second onwards, she had me; hook, line and sinker, her mouth, tongue and sex taking me to a high I’ve never been before.
Goddamnit. I want more. Once isn’t enough. But do I dare?
I jog to the truck in my damp shirt, summoning a slight breeze that adds a little chill. But it doesn’t faze me. Inside I’m burning up, determined like hell to get another taste.
I don’t know why Alison let me in tonight. Maybe she had a moment of insanity. I’m banking on another. And another. Because I’m already addicted. I have no clue what to say to Jude, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. But now I’m positive that Alison’s worth the risk.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Alison
“Hey. It’s late,” I say to Jude, stepping aside so he can enter. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s just past nine.” His eyes sweep the living room before coming back to me. “What took you so long?”
“Excuse me? I answer in my own time, thank you very much. That’s why I gave you a key.”
“I left it at my apartment.”
“Try attaching it to your apartment key, bighead. That way you won’t forget it.” I move down to the kitchen for a drink. I’m parched. “You want some juice?”
“Thanks.” He leans against the kitchen counter while I remove a bottle of apple juice from the fridge.
“So, what brings you all the way across town? I’m sure you don’t miss me that much.”
“You’re right. I don’t.” He grins when I cut my eyes.
“I met someone,” he begins, as I pour juice into glass cups.
“Uh, wait a minute. I told you, I don’t want to hear about your randoms.” I hand him a glass of juice.
“She’s not a—mom, you’re sweating.”
I touch my damp forehead. My body’s still running hot after that sexual exercise with Nate. “So? It’s seventy degrees outside.”
“The ACs on.”
“I’m premenopausal. Give me a break. Okay? Now tell me about this girl.”
“Do you have company? Did I interrupt something?”
My fingers tighten around the glass. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Mhmm… let’s see.” Looking up, he taps his beard. “You took a minute getting to the door, you’re sweating like a pig—”
“I’m not!”
“And your hair’s a mess.”
“Tell me about this girl.”
“Are you seeing someone? Come on, mom, fess up.”
“No, I’m n—boy, quit being nosey and tell me about this girl.”
He smiles sheepishly. “Vanessa's not a girl. She’s a woman.”
I fold my arms across my chest, raising my brows. “How old is she?”
“Forty-two.”
“Oh… wow.”
“And… she has a kid.”
“What? Jude-Rhys, have you lost your effing mind?”
Jude screws up his face into a frown. He hates when I use the addition to his first name. “I’m not here for the third degree, mom.”
“Well, I’m about to give it to you. Do you need that baggage, huh? A kid? Oh, hell no.”
He looks at me with a deep frown. “So, that’s your problem, right? Her son; not that she’s too old for me.”
How do I answer without sounding like a hypocrite? I’ve always pictured w
alking with him down the aisle, waiting for his bride—his unattached bride. A woman with a kid… that’s too much drama for my son. I’m sure there’s a baby daddy in the wings, waiting to make his life hell. I don’t want that for him.
“I don’t care about her age, Jude.”
Jude scoffs, reaching for his juice. “I know you don’t.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing.” He empties the glass and places it on the counter as another scoff escapes him.
“Jude, if you’ve got something to say, just say it.”
“I have nothing. Do you?”
There’s no way he knows about Nate and I. Impossible. But the accusing look he’s giving makes me wonder. “No, I don’t.”
He’s still giving me that look. “Okay. If you say so.”
“Jude, stop looking at me like that. Why did you come beating down my door?”
“I need your blessing before Vanessa and I take things to the next level.” Affection fills his expression, and he smiles. “I think she’s the one.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah…”
“Well, I can’t give you my blessing until I meet her. I need to see the woman who’s got my baby’s heart.”
“Oh, God. Please don’t do that when she’s around. She already thinks I’m too young for her.”
I understand how Vanessa feels. It’s difficult, wanting a man so young. I’m already judging myself for surrendering to my impulses and sleeping with Nate. And in the same breath, I’m aching for another go.
“Mom?”
“Yeah, Jude.”
“You’d tell me if you’ve met someone, right?”
“Of course. But only if it gets serious.” Which Nate and I aren’t, nor we'll never be.
He doesn’t seem satisfied with my answer but he gives a slight nod. “I’ll arrange for you to meet Vanessa. On the weekend, maybe?”
“Sounds like a plan.” I follow him out and he kisses my cheek before leaving. Closing the door, I lean against it and stare at the spot where I fucked Nate. A wave of euphoria fills me and I hug myself to keep it in.
Falling for My Son's Best Friend: An Age Gap BWWM Forbidden Romance Page 5
