Somebody to Love

by Ann Christopher

  Her only consolation? He did his share of the staring, those amazing eyes of his wide and passion-glazed, his delicious lips tender and swollen.

  She tried to laugh. What else could she do in this singular and thrilling moment?

  “What’s going on here, Sean?”

  His eyes gleamed with male satisfaction. Relentless determination.

  “I don’t want you thinking about your ex. Not after tonight.”

  She experienced another semi-hysterical urge to laugh, this time at the fact that he didn’t realize he’d already relegated everyone else to a distant second place. As if she’d waste time wanting someone else when he was capable of making her feel like this.

  She felt alive for the first time in months. She felt wanted. Needed. Cherished. In that abandoned moment, she felt like the center of his universe.

  With Edward? She’d spent far too much time feeling invisible.

  It was galling to discover that she’d spent so much of her adult life on autopilot, sleepwalking through her days and nights. But now she knew better. And now that she knew better, she planned to live it up.

  So she undulated against Sean, causing his breath to hitch and his lids to droop. Smiled a wicked smile.

  “You’re off to a solid start,” she said.

  He tightened his grip on her and scanned the room with palpable impatience. “Bedroom.”

  “Down the hall,” she said, pointing.

  He set off, slinging her around like a bag of groceries rather than the unemployably overweight ex-model that she was. His miraculous hands, meanwhile, focused on her ass, pressing the two globes together with unyielding and rhythmic squeezes that were a direct pipeline to Orgasm City.

  “Stop, Sean.” She rested her forehead against his, desperate to both catch her breath and to stop her facial features from contorting with pleasure this early in the game. “You’re not even inside me yet.”

  “So?”

  “S-so?” God, she couldn’t even talk, her voice was so unsteady. “You’re going to make me come.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  To prove his point, he brushed his fingers against the slick core between her thighs on the next squeeze.

  She came with an agonized and high-pitched cry of astonishment that these four walls had certainly never heard from her before. And it wasn’t that she and Edward had never had good sex before.

  There was good sex, and then there was explosive sex.

  She and Sean had the latter nailed.

  “Oh, my God,” she said on a breathless and trembly laugh when he turned into the bedroom. The nightstand lamp lit the way for him as he yanked the duvet back and disrupted her artfully arranged pillows before depositing her on the bed. She kicked off her heels, covered her eyes and shook her head at herself as she laughed again. “Oh, my God.”

  “I like the sound of that,” he said with a hint of masculine smugness, eyes glittering as he watched her sit up and wriggle her way out of her dress. “You got any more for me?”

  “Oh, there’s plenty more.” Reveling in his attention, she divested herself of her lacy black bra and dropped it on the floor. “Come see.”

  Soft whistle from Sean.

  “Look at you,” he said softly, his all-encompassing gaze touching on her small breasts as they bounced back into place, her dark and beaded nipples, the flare of her hips, the sheer lace of her thong over her bare pussy and the long length of her legs. As a gangly teen and often the tallest woman in a room of non-models, she’d spent a lot of time feeling like a giraffe on stilts. Not today. “Look at you.”

  “I’d rather look at you.” She propped up the pillows and leaned against them, the better to admire the view. “Take off your clothes.”

  He wasn’t shy, thank God. A man like him had no more business being reluctant to show his body than Adele had being reluctant to share her voice with the world. Staring her in the eye the whole time, he kicked off his shoes. Pulled off his sweater and undershirt in one fell swoop, revealing a broad-shouldered, lean-bellied and perfectly bronzed torso that had all the muscle definition a woman could hope to get her hands on. He tossed his wallet onto the nightstand and the pants went next, uncovering a pair of black boxer briefs along with a tight ass in the back and a generous package in the front. He had sinewy thighs and calves. Even his feet looked good when he peeled off his socks.

  He put a knee up on the bed, then hesitated, hitting her with another of his soul-melting and vulnerable looks.

  “No regrets?”

  Regret this? Silly rabbit.

  “No regrets,” she said without hesitation as she reached for him.

  He eased atop her and gathered her close. His body, which felt thrillingly hot and powerful, was the most delicious shock imaginable to her system. She unleashed her greedy hands, running them over every part of him that she could reach. Those wide shoulders. Those flexing arms as he caressed her breasts… Her ass… Her thighs. That unbelievable ass with its contracting muscles as she palmed him.

  She studied him as he levered over her, desperate for the feeling of him and for every reaction he gave her. He shivered. He shuddered. He groaned. He whispered mindless words of encouragement in between open-mouthed kisses that were so deep and voluptuous she could have died from the pleasure. The heat and intensity built between them, coalescing where the dusting of hair on his sweat-slicked chest abraded her aching nipples and where his hard dick unerringly rubbed her sweet spot.

  She did not know him, she reminded herself.

  But she couldn’t have cared less.

  He cranked her higher and higher, until her frenzied pulse and too-tight skin left no room for shyness or pride.

  With Sean?

  There was only unadulterated need.

  So when he lowered his head and nuzzled her neck, discovering yet another explosive erogenous zone that made her whimper, she let him unravel her for another minute or two. Until she couldn’t live for another second without him inside her.

  “That’s enough.” Stiffening, she used both hands to smack him hard on the ass. The sound rang through the air, punctuating her words. “Stop messing around and fuck me.”

  Sean’s head came up. He studied her with glazed eyes, looking stunned. Resolute. Triumphant.

  Locking his hips to hold her in place, he pivoted his torso and reached for his wallet. Quickly produced and tore open a foil-wrapped package. Nudged his underwear aside and sheathed himself. Shot her a dark look of intent as he yanked her thong just far enough down her thighs to be out of their way.

  And then he was right there, holding himself in hand and poised at her core with a question in his eyes.

  “We’re good?”

  Good? She had to laugh.

  “Don’t make me tell you again.”

  He flashed a victorious grin. Surged inside her. Stiffened as she cried out and the reverberations from their connection overtook them both. It took Amber a beat or two to catch her strangled breath. She was no virgin, but it had been a few months and he was big.

  Bottom line?

  It felt extraordinary to have Sean Baldwin buried to the hilt inside her.

  As she’d known it would.

  “Shit,” he said, taking his own time to adjust as he levered up on his elbows. “Fuck.”

  “That about covers it,” she said, lungs working overtime.

  They laughed together for an exquisite moment as he laced his fingers with hers on either side of her head and got adjusted. His smile was so bright and disarming that she found it hard to meet his gaze. It was as though all the sun’s power had been concentrated in his face and installed here in her bedroom. But then he slowly sobered and that smile left behind something serious and vaguely melancholy.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked, her heart thudding so hard against her breastbone that he could surely feel its reverberations through his own chest.

  He hesitated.

  “I’m thinking that I like you, Sweet
ness. I like you a lot.”

  “I like you, too,” she said quietly, rising up to kiss him again.

  He loved her with his mouth and his dick, surging in and out with an exquisite and relentless skill that she tried to match. He turned her hands free and held her face. Trailed his fingers up and down her sides, making her squirm and giggle even as he fucked her harder. Clamped his hands on her ass and anchored her so that every sharp thrust hit her sweet spot and made her a bit more insane.

  She gloried in the spiraling pleasure, letting her eyes roll closed and her back arch before letting her legs fall open and taking him deeper. He rumbled with approval, so she ran her legs up his and wrapped them around his waist to see how he liked that. He whispered her name, his voice throaty. Drunk on her own power, she tightened her grip on him, holding his chest between her thighs and reveling in the intensification of her own pleasure.

  The inevitable result? Her second orgasm roared through her, causing her to call his name. She stiffened. Eased. Savored the spasms low in her belly and pussy as the aftershocks went on and on into infinity.

  Then she laughed a woman’s sultry laugh as he swore and froze with his own release, shuddering and murmuring her name when his muscles loosened again.

  Her lids were too heavy to stay open for long, but she saw his drowsy smile as he eased out of her and slipped to one side. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to roll on her side as he reached for the linens and covered them both. To melt as he spooned her from behind, one possessive hand on her breast and the other nestled between her legs.

  Wow.

  Wow.

  She blushed and grinned at nothing in particular. Giggled. Lay there like a handful of diamonds twinkling in the moonlight as she enjoyed her body’s exquisite tenderness and listened to Sean’s breathing as it evened out.

  Until her phone buzzed out on the coffee table.

  Sean shifted restlessly, murmuring something indistinct.

  Stifling a curse, she slid out of bed and soothed him with a quick kiss. Smiling, he murmured again before rolling over and sighing with unmistakable contentment.

  Leaving her to hastily grab her robe from its hook in the bathroom, throw it on and smooth her bird’s nest hair as she dashed to the living room.

  Heart thudding, she sank to the sofa like it was any other night and tried to pretend that she hadn’t just been fucked into oblivion by a man she might well never see again.

  There was no need to check the display. Hormone poisoning might have caused her to temporarily forget her responsibilities, but there was only one person who called at seven fifty-five on the dot.

  She hit the button. The picture resolved to show her ex, Edward, wearing a T-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms and sitting on the sofa in his house back in Journey’s End. More importantly, it showed their chipmunk-cheeked toddler, Ella, sitting on his lap.

  Chapter Six

  “Hi, Baby Girl,” Amber said brightly, praying her cheeks weren’t as incandescently red as they felt as she pulled her belt tighter. The last thing she needed was for her robe to gape open in the front and her aroused nipples to make an unscheduled appearance right now. “How are you doing?”

  Eighteen-month-old Ella, who was bedtime-ready adorable in her pink footed pajamas and snuggling with her latest favorite toy, a plush stuffed elephant that was roughly as big as she was, popped her pacifier out of her mouth and waved.

  “Hi, Mommy.”

  With that, she replaced the pacifier and drowsily rested her head on her father’s shoulder.

  “Did you take your bath?” Amber asked.

  Ella nodded, holding out a few strands of her damp black curls to show that they’d been washed.

  “Did you brush your teeth?” Amber asked.

  Nodding, Ella once again popped the pacifier out of her mouth and grimaced to show Amber her minuscule but sparkling white teeth. Then she replaced the pacifier.

  “What book are you reading tonight?” Amber asked.

  Edward reached for something off camera and handed it to Ella. Ella held it up for Amber to see.

  “Where the Wild Things Are.” Amber nodded and tried not to think about the number of times she and Edward had jointly sat on this very couch at bedtime to read that very story to Ella. “A classic.”

  “A classic,” Ella said around her pacifier, rubbing her eyes and snuggling a little deeper against Edward’s side. “I’m tired, Mommy.”

  “I see that, Miss Ella,” Amber said.

  There was a short pause while Amber racked her brain and tried to think of something else to say to her daughter, but conversations with sleepy toddlers only went so far. Plus, Amber could only ignore her ex for so long before looking childish and petty. Which she probably was, now that she thought about it.

  But, still.

  Time to deal with Edward.

  As always during these calls, Amber tensed when their gazes finally connected, but felt she did a reasonable job of keeping her expression placid.

  “So? Everything good?”

  Edward nodded, putting a little too much effort into his smile. He seemed desperate to please these days. Desperate to keep the peace. Guilt would do that to a person. Having torpedoed their little family unit after Amber rode with him for several long years (off and on, mostly on), she felt it was the least he could do. The least he could suffer. Especially after he hooked up with someone new immediately after ditching Amber’s ass. Someone he seemed likely to marry, despite telling Amber such gems as I need to finish veterinary school, I need to establish my veterinary practice and the biggie, I’m not sure I’ll ever get married over the course of their relationship.

  It wasn’t that Amber wanted to, say, take her eight-inch chef’s knife, sharpen it to a razor’s edge and use it to separate his balls from their tender little protective sac, but these things were not easy to get over. They were impossible to forget. And Edward had quite a bit more groveling to do as far as she was concerned. Quite a bit more tiptoeing through her minefield before she finally relented and let him back into the safe zone.

  “Yep. Everything’s great,” Edward said with a rabid enthusiasm more appropriate for discovering large nuggets of gold in your abandoned mine. “She had chicken and rice for dinner. Ate most of her roasted carrots.”

  Ella perked up. “And a Popsicle, Mommy!”

  “Oh, you had a Popsicle, did you?” Amber said, seizing on this distraction as an opportunity to resume ignoring Edward. “What kind?”

  “Red!”

  “Oh, and she took her antibiotic,” Edward said eagerly, as though he thought that if he jumped in quickly enough, some of the leftover smile that Amber had directed toward Ella might trickle down to him. “Her ear seems much better.”

  Ella frowned and tugged the ear in question.

  “Great,” Amber said, making sure she didn’t spill any of her smile on him. “Well, looks like it’s bedtime. I’d better let you two go.”

  “How are things with you?” Edward asked quickly.

  That was the new thing he did—going out of his way to check on her. Like he cared. Actually, he probably did care, because Edward was an innate good guy whose spirit animal was probably a Boy Scout. And while she might currently wish she could consign him to the fiery pits of hell for all eternity after the way he’d cast her aside, even she knew that he had her best interests at heart. Which, as she’d told him before, made it difficult to hate him with the fervor she would have liked, despite her best ongoing efforts.

  All of this was complicated by their mutual absolute determination to put Ella’s needs first. She was a precious innocent who hadn’t asked to be born or to have her parents split. And as someone whose parents had split back when she was a kid, resulting in her father moving out west and starting a whole new family out there, Amber had long understood abandonment issues. She’d had a refresher course following Edward’s abrupt scuttling of their relationship over the summer, at a time when Amber had actually thought
(O, stupid girl!) that he might propose.

  The lesson buried deep in all that heartache?

  Men flaked out. They just did.

  But Amber needed to differentiate between her father, who’d flaked on both her mother and her, and Edward, who’d flaked out on Amber but remained a committed father. Much as she resented Edward at the moment, children needed good fathers, and it wasn’t like they grew on trees. Nor did Amber have a backup father for Ella warming up in the bullpen.

  No, Amber’s love for Ella far outweighed her hard feelings toward Edward. Not that she was happy about that fact all the time, especially when it called for her to be nice to him.

  Honestly, it was all very confusing.

  “Got the apartment all packed?” Edward continued.

  Ah, there was his guilt again, showing its ugly face in another area: her move back to Journey’s End. Which she’d initiated months ago by declining to renew her lease on this very apartment and instead signing a yearlong lease on an apartment there. And which she’d done unilaterally in an abundance of hope about their shared future, thinking that if she moved home and they were in the same town, a year would be enough time for Edward to realize he wanted to take the natural next step and marry the mother of his child.

  Well, why not?

  Some women issued ultimatums to get their men to put a ring on it.

  Amber made strategic geographic moves.

  Both equally risky.

  To no one’s surprise but Amber’s, her plan had gone down in flames.

  But hey, lesson learned. Now she knew to make damn sure her man was as invested in their relationship as she was before she went around making any grand gestures. Assuming, of course, that she ever: a) learned to trust men again; and b) landed someone worthwhile who was willing to work with her single motherhood, an event as likely as looking up at the night sky above Manhattan and discovering three moons.

  Yeah, she was the real problem here, wasn’t she? Not Edward.

  Poor guy. Why should he feel guilty because of her criminal stupidity? One of these days, when she’d gotten over their breakup, she intended to absolve him of any blame.