“Not crazy, Teeps,” I grinned even wider. “You brainiacs all seem to stick together. Falling from the same tree and shit.”
She laughed.
Best sound ever.
“I love you, woman.” It needed to be said.
She swallowed her laughter, her eyes drinking in my every word.
“You are it for me. I’m done. It’s been the two of you long enough; I’m squeezing my way in. Being that Tack’s gotten nineteen years of your undivided attention, I’m thinking he’s not going to mind, especially seeing how he looks at you like you hung the sun. And if he does, trust me, I’ll convince him otherwise. I’ve had plenty of practice with his personalities.”
That beautiful smile turned to lip quivering, eyes wide and full-blown tears. I tucked her into my chest, kissed her forehead, and this time, I laughed.
“Stop laughing.” She mumbled into my tear soaked shirt.
I laughed harder, and it felt great. She squeezed me tighter. She didn’t need to say anything back. I knew she loved me. Some things never changed.
“Lili’s called me twice and texted me double that. You think she’s nervous?”
“It’s dinner.”
“It’s more than dinner.”
“It’s dinner, Teeps. With friends.” It was more; we both knew it. She circled the kitchen island and refilled her glass of Prosecco. She was nervous. Hell, I was nervous.
True to her word, Talia had confessed everything to Tack the day she met him at the hospital. Well, almost everything. Some things a son never needed to know. She admitted that her greatest fear had always been that he’d resent her for growing up without a father, not to mention a sibling. All things considered, Tack handled the truth better than she expected. He was furious at first, but not with her. He was having a harder time swallowing what his mother had been through and sacrificed than accepting his DNA. Join the club, kid. Her eyes had an indescribable weightlessness when she shared his reaction. ‘I never needed a father. I never knew I missed out. I didn’t care, you were more than enough for me, Mom, and still are.’ She described Tack as overprotective when it came to her. Yeah, I liked him already. Unfortunately he wasn’t feeling as “Kumbaya” about his new extended family, especially after the revelation that Chase was old enough to be his father. But no one could be shocked by his fiery stubborn trait; he was a half brother to Chase after all. Luckily there was female DNA shining through and he promised his mom he would think about the whole let’s-meet-and-be-one-happy-family event. This was a tough one, I felt for the kid. The whole situation sucked. For everyone involved. Tal believed he just needed a little time to digest and would eventually come around. Who was I to question? And since we both knew what would happen as soon as Chase found out, boundaries not being part of his vocabulary, I agreed to give the kid the time he deserved and keep their secret.
The last two weeks had dragged like two months, especially since I hadn’t seen Tal since our talk. We hadn’t missed a weekend since New Year’s, but she had a speaking commitment at a medical conference, and I wasn’t able to fly out to see her. Damn work and high maintenance clients cramped my weekend. I was also stuck avoiding my best friend and his wife like the plague. Torture. Honestly speaking, I wasn’t exactly known for my ability to keep my mouth shut. I actually sucked at it. And Chase liked to remind me often how bad I sucked at it, since every time I was left alone with Lili I pretty much proved it by letting shit slip, especially that first year when they were getting to know each other. I always had good intentions, but I couldn’t help myself, diarrhea of the mouth. If I got started, shit just poured out. I liked to blame it on my livelihood. I did solemnly swear to always tell the truth, nothing but the truth, yada yada. Whatever, it all worked out in the end and now she was family. Luckily time was up, I didn’t have to worry about spilling the beans on this situation to them anymore. They were coming over tonight for dinner, Tal’s idea. She called it; enough was enough.
I peeked down at my watch, an hour and twenty-three minutes. I tried to keep chopping, but the jasmine and mint radiating off her scrumptious body was too distracting.
“Ace,” she whined when I slipped my garlic stained fingers under her silky robe. “I’m going to smell like garlic and ginger.” I found her mouth and tongue and took my time. “Let me go,” she mumbled into my mouth, but did nothing to push me away.
“Nope,” I groaned back. “We have time.” Kind of. Not really. Her desire to ‘soften the blow’ involved asking Lil what their favorite foods were. I bailed on rolling my own sushi, well, because that was just dumb. With my luck I’d serve bad raw fish and everyone would wind up puking and shitting their brains out. No thanks. But I made a mean teriyaki sauce. Add in a few dumplings that I had yet to roll and we were serving a full Japanese spread. Wasn’t my first choice, nor did I think either one of them was going to stomach eating after Tal said what she had to say, but it didn’t matter. Menu prep kept Tal busy and distracted most of the day, now it was my turn.
“I just dried my hair.”
“Not a problem,” I chuckled, loving that she couldn’t turn me down, “that’s what a genital shower is for. Won’t mess up a strand.”
She burst into laughter. “The huh?”
I loved her laugh.
“You’re wasting time. I’ll show you in a few.” Because that was about how long I was gonna last with her looking so sexy. Did I mention it had been two weeks? Two really long weeks. I carried her back to my room. Her giggles slowly diminished to an open jaw when she saw how hungry I was and not for a bento box. Or well—I meant not that type of box. Um, I meant for her box. Fuck, you know what I meant. She coaxed me closer, pulling me down on top of her, connecting our mouths. Damn, she was just as starved and more than ready to get down to business. I slipped the silk material down her shoulders and kissed her neck.
“I like that you’re not dressed yet.” Her pulse quickened under my lips.
“I should be, they’re gonna be here soon.” I nipped and sucked my way toward her tits. She arched in response. I smiled. She wasn’t worried, or at least not right this second. I continued my downward track. Her nipples peaked under my warm breath. I traced her sexy abs with my tongue and dipped below her lace underwear. She lifted her back off the bed forcing our eyes to meet. She cupped my chin and connected our mouths. “Let’s do this together.” I felt her smirk against my lips. “Saves time.” Hell yeah. She flipped her body and pushed my sweats down my thighs. “Mmm, I like that you’re commando.”
“I need you the same.”
“Not a problem.” She smiled, parroting my words.
I rolled to my back and made her just as commando as me. Positioned her knees on either side of my head, I inhaled the only smell that mattered. Screw Heineken—bring on the single malt scotch. She rocked back slightly, giving me better access as she gripped me at my base. She dragged her thumb up and down my underside before swirling her tongue along the tip. Her long blonde hair brushed against my thighs as her head dipped up and down, taking my dick deeper into her mouth. An incomprehensible curse left from somewhere in the depths of my throat. I tugged her thighs back and lifted my head, starved for her taste. Forget finesse, I lapped and plunged as if it were my last meal. Her taste, her smell, the sounds of her stifled moans, the feel of her warm mouth working my cock. Sensory overload. I was so close. But there was zero chance I’d let go before her. I dragged my thumb through her wetness and back toward her tight ring. Seeking entrance, her entire body tightened and her movements stilled. Her moan vibrated against my dick and her thighs started shaking. Somehow in my frenzied haze, I made a mental note. I followed her cues and continued my assault. The ache in my balls intensified while my hips unconsciously bucked begging for her to continue.