Avoiding the past seven years would have never worked, and in our talks I realized that I’d forgotten that besides being my boyfriend, Reid used to be my best friend. We didn’t stay together every night, despite knowing that each of us wanted to. Some nights he would kiss me and tell me good night before leaving, others he would ask me to stay or vice versa. I was content with either way. I loved the nights we did stay together, but the nights we didn’t, I loved the anticipation that built up because we were apart.
The being apart was something I was going to have to get used to. I knew that it wouldn’t be long before he had to go back to Texas and get back to racing. I knew that it was part of the package, and I wanted all of it with him.
“I sold a house today,” I told him that night when he stopped by my house after work.
“That’s great,” he said with a smile.
“I guess. Pays the bills”
“You should be more excited,” he said, nudging his shoulder against mine as we sat on the couch. “Isn’t the goal to sell a house?”
“It is.” I nodded. The truth was, I’d sold quite a few houses since I’d started working at Hillcrest Realty. The first time I’d waited for the excitement to hit me, but it fell short. I was proud of myself, sure, but it wasn’t the thrill I’d hoped for. “It’s just a job.”
“If you don’t like it, don’t do it.”
“What else am I going to do?” I asked. “I need a job. I have to earn money somehow.”
“I seem to recall you being a kick-ass photographer at one time. You could always do that,” he suggested. I let my head fall onto his shoulder and laced my fingers between his. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “You can do whatever you want, Shutterbug.”
Could I? Could I really just quit my steady job and do whatever it was that made me happy? Could I earn a living taking photographs? It seemed too good to be true. The anxiety of not knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my life turned my stomach. I lifted my head to look at Reid, leaning in to press my lips to his. He knew about taking chances and I could tell by looking at him that he believed what he was saying to me.
“Not trying to sound like some alpha male here, but I can take care of you if you want to give something else a try,” he said. “I mean, I could help you with bills and stuff until you’ve figured it out.”
“I can’t take your money.” I shook my head. “You earned it. I need to earn my own.” I’d always considered myself a competent woman, capable of taking care of herself.
“What’s the point in me having money if I can’t help the people I love?” He had a sweet smile on his face and shrugged nonchalantly as if he hadn’t just offered something monumental. Why did he have to be so considerate? I shouldn’t have been complaining, but he being all flawless had me noticing all of my own shortcomings. The only thing I wasn’t short on was knowing that he loved me. We hadn’t outright said it to each other yet, but he’d made a few comments that led me to believe it was true. I knew that I felt that way about him.
“You’re too good to be true.”
“I don’t know about that,” he chuckled. “I’ve got some flaws. Have you seen the laundry in my room? I’m kind of a slob. And, I’ve been told I snore.”
“You don’t,” I promised. “I would have let you know if that was true.” We’d spent quite a few nights together over past few weeks. If he did snore, I was oblivious. Every night I spent with him I found myself peacefully drifting off to sleep in his arms.
“Oh, and I hate to lose. But, I’m guessing you figured that one out already,” he said with wink before leaning into touch his nose to mine.
“I did.”
“I love you, Nora Bennett,” he said, confirming my suspicions. “And I’ll support anything you want to do. If you want to sell houses, great. You want to take pictures, even better.” He laughed. “Hell, if you tell me tomorrow that you want to audition for the circus, I’ll go out and buy you a trapeze. I want us to be a team. I want us to be there for each other no matter what.”
“I want that too.” I placed my hand on his cheek and peered into his big brown eyes. “I love you too, you know?” I said before kissing him. I could feel his smile underneath my lips before our kiss deepened. He pulled me onto his lap, my knees settling on each side him as our tongues tangled together.
“Yeah, I know.” I could feel his smile on my lips.
My sister was working, the house was empty, and as I felt him harden beneath me I was grateful for her absence. I’d never been so turned on by another person. We could go from having a serious conversation to lust-fueled in no time flat. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of wanting him or of him wanting me. His hands moved to unbutton my shirt. I was still dressed in my work clothes—a cream colored button down shirt and a pair of black pants. I’d had a wide belt around my waist, but the second I walked through the front door it went on the floor along with the black heels I’d been wearing. There was nothing sexy about the outfit I was wearing, but as he worked his fingers over the buttons, and revealed the nude colored lace bra I was wearing underneath, I watched his eyes drink me in like I was a supermodel. He made me feel sexy, desirable and wanted.
He dropped his head to my chest, kissing the tops of my breasts as I shrugged out of my shirt. I sat up and he pulled the cups down, my nipples hardening into tight peaks from his gaze and the anticipation of what I knew would be coming. He took one nipple between his lips while his hand worked over the other one, pinching and pulling in the most delicious combination of pleasure and pain.
“That feels amazing,” I said as I tangled my hands in his hair, inviting him to apply more pressure. He nipped at me with his teeth and for a moment I thought I might just come apart at the seams.
“You feel amazing,” he said, his cock throbbing into my center. His arms wrapped around my waist and he kissed me again. “Do you know how many times a day I think about being inside of you?” he growled. “Too many to count.” He reached between our bodies and slipped his hand down the front of my pants, his fingertips grazing my sensitive flesh, soliciting a cry for more from my lips. “You’ve been thinking about me too, haven’t you?” He said, slicking his fingers through my already wet heat between my legs. It was true. I thought about sex with him more than I’d ever thought about sex with anyone. “Tell me what you think about doing to me, baby?” His rough whisper in my ear fueled my courage.
Verbalizing what I wanted to do to him seemed too easy. I wanted to show him. I grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it aside with a wicked grin. I lowered my head to his chest and began kissing my way down, nipping at his solid wall of muscle as I lowered myself off of his lap. My fingers softly scraping down his skin as I moved between his legs.
“I think I like where this is going,” he said, with a soft laugh. A laugh that immediately ceased the second I cupped my hand around him. Even through his jeans, I could feel just how hard he was. Just how much he wanted me. I unbuttoned his pants and worked them down enough to free his erection. A sight that I had me clenching my thighs together. The sheer size of him alone was enough to have me seeing stars. I licked my lips in anticipation as he watched me run a hand down the full length of him, my fingers unable to wrap around him completely. “Fuck, that feels good,” he said through gritted teeth. The tip of him glistening with just how much he loved having my hands on him. I licked the evidence away before taking him in my mouth. The fullness that I felt as I took him deep in my throat was exhilarating. Knowing I had this big, strong man at my mercy made me feel alive, and knowing that every move I made gave him pleasure was worth even more.
His head fell back against the sofa as I moved up and down, sucking and swirling my tongue around him until I felt him throbbing inside of my mouth. His quiet moans spurred me on. His hand tangled in my hair, and I knew that he was giving me fair warning that he was close to his breaking point. I pulled him in a little further and felt the first burst of his heat in the back of my throat. I used my hand to help him finish and then wiped the corners of my mouth with my fingers as I sat back on my heels to look at him.