“I’m already living here rent-free thanks to you. I can’t accept this kind of money.”
“Caro, hear me out.” I grabbed both her hands in mine and squeezed them. “It’s in my best interests you have enough disposable income to afford that college education you’ve been talking about.”
“But this is too generous.” A lone tear slid down her cheek. “I don’t deserve your kindness. How can I ever make it up to you?”
The bad boy in me surfaced before I could muzzle him. “I could name a few things for starters.” I winked at her, grinning broadly.
Sorry, not sorry that I’d thrown the sexual component out there.
“What are you saying?” She tugged on her hands, but I held tight. She glared at me, and I chuckled. Much to my surprise, she laughed. Her laughter captured my heart and locked it under her spell. Everything about her captivated me, just as it had years ago. I loved the feeling of her soft hands in my rough ones. The differences between us aroused the man inside me, and I wasn’t able to hold him back this time.
“I want you,” I blurted out, channeling my teenage, horny-boy self. “I can’t stop thinking about you naked. I’m going crazy with lust, and I’m tired of satisfying myself when I’d much rather you satisfied me.”
“You want me?” She sounded incredulous, which was almost as funny as my interest in her was blatantly obvious.
“I want to fuck you,” I clarified bluntly, annoyed with myself that deep down I might want more.
“Oh.” Her face fell, and sadness flashed briefly in those hypnotic eyes. She’d been hoping for something different, and I’d stomped on that seed before it had a chance to grow. This wasn’t about anything but sex, damn it. As hard as it was for me to see her hurt, I had to be perfectly clear. A person didn’t do what she did and expect to be forgiven. There had to be consequences to withholding a father from his children. But she hadn’t known, said my fairer, nicer side. Bullshit, said the asshole in me.
“I want to bury my cock inside your warm body and slam into you until you beg me for mercy. Then I’ll turn you over and finish the job from behind. Later, you can ride me, or I’ll take you up against the wall. Hell, there are hundreds of ways I want to fuck you.” Explaining what I wanted in graphic detail distracted me from what I really wanted—or thought I did.
“And if I say no?”
“That’s your choice. The money isn’t tied to having sex with me, but if things advanced beyond friends to friends with benefits, I’d welcome the change.”
“You think we’re friends?”
“We don’t hate each other anymore. I’m working on the friends part.”
“You still blame me.”
“A little.” I spoke honestly. “Maybe my resentment and bitterness prevent us from ever having that special thing we had before, but it doesn’t stand in the way of sex. We were explosive together, and our chemistry is still there. Don’t you feel it?” I’d never planned on propositioning her, especially not following a discussion about money, but I wasn’t taking it back now. I made it clear where she stood with me. She had the power to say yes or no to a purely physical relationship.
She chewed on her lower lip, much like our daughter did when contemplating a decision. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to give me an answer right away. After all, you know where to find me.”
She nodded. Her blue eyes were troubled, and I fought off a wave of guilt at reducing our former relationship to something carnal and almost demeaning. She tugged again on my hands gripping hers, and I let go. Caro stood and walked into the kitchen. Unable to resist, I followed her and spun her around.
“You do make me crazy.” I put my hands on her waist and lifted her onto the counter. Before I knew what I was doing, my mouth was on hers, hot, hungry, and demanding. Instead of pushing me away, she gave it right back to me, wrapping her legs around my waist and pushing her crotch against mine. She whimpered into my mouth, and I groaned in response. She tasted of broken promises and no-strings sex with no expectations of a future. For reasons I chose not to explore, that saddened me. I’d set the rules of this game, and I’d be bound to live by them.
I didn’t know what I wanted beyond today, but I was pretty clear on the present. I needed this woman right now like a hockey player needs his skates. Okay, stupid analogy, but I wasn’t a fucking poet. I was a guy in the presence of a beyond sexy woman who was offering her body to me to do with as I pleased.
She felt so fucking good, writhing against me like she was trying to rub my clothes off. I slid my hands underneath her sweater, feeling her sweet, smooth skin against my palms. I ran my fingers up her rib cage, feeling every indentation, not stopping when I touched her bra. Upward my fingers journeyed. Her bra was one of those lacy things. Her nipples were erect against the thin material. I ran my thumbs over them, and she rewarded me with a gasp of pure pleasure.
“I want to take your nipples into my mouth one at a time and suck until you are begging for mercy.”
“Then do it,” she challenged me, and I did love a good challenge.
If I wanted, she’d let me fuck her right here on the kitchen counter. Right now. And, damn, did I want to be inside her body again. I had to know if the sex was as epic between us as I remembered or if my mind had built it up over the years into something it wasn’t.
“Let’s fuck right now.”
She didn’t protest, so I kept kissing her, revving up the passion quotient in both of us, until I thought I’d explode. I rubbed my hard cock against her, but dry humping wasn’t enough. It’d never been enough as teenagers. I needed more, and I wasn’t sure how much more would satisfy my craving for her and only her.
I’d felt this same way the first night we’d met, and the chemistry between us had exploded, and there’d been no turning back. We fucked every chance we got, and right now, I felt like a horny teenage boy once again. Only she wasn’t that teenage girl I’d known. She’d probably learned quite a few moves since them, and I was dying to have her try them out on me.
I yanked her sweater over her head, and she lifted her arms to help. I tossed it to the tiled floor. Her bra followed it a few seconds later. I held her at arm’s length for a few seconds, allowing my hungry gaze to drink in her beautiful body. Despite having had twins, she looked fucking great. Her body wasn’t the slender body of a teenager, but curvier and hotter if you asked me.
Bending my head, I slid my tongue across her nipple, pinching the other at the same time. Her breasts were bigger than I remembered, and I enjoyed every mouthful. She moaned, low and deep.
I ran my palm down her stomach to the fly on her jeans and flicked open the button. The sound of the zipper being pulled downward must have alerted her. She pushed on my chest and struggled against me. I stopped, still holding her against me. I didn’t want to let her go.
“Easton,” she panted against my neck, “the kids. I have to pick them up from school.”
Somehow her words penetrated my foggy, lust-crazed brain. I backed a few steps away, and she skittered past me, picked up her sweater and bra, and sprinted down the hall. A few seconds later, the bathroom door slammed.
With a sigh, I glanced longingly down the hall. I debated on going after her, but doing so would only increase my frustration. The kids came first. I gathered my things and let myself out. The most I would get tonight was a cold shower, but I had my answer. There would be more times like this one, and we wouldn’t stop until we were both satisfied.
I was a patient man, and I would wait for her. She was worth it.
Caroline point of view
I avoided Junie the rest of the day, pretty sure she’d be able to guess what I’d been about to do. The next morning, Easton left on his road trip, giving me a break from having to see his handsome face.
When Junie got off work, she poured herself a glass of wine and sat next to me on the couch. The kids were curled up on the large sectional. Hailey was reading, and Heath had his Legos spread all over. I was in for a grilling, but the kids’ presence made that difficult. Junie studied me as if she saw right through all the bullshit to the confused woman underneath.
I swear that woman had a hidden camera in here and knew I’d almost done the nasty with Easton on the kitchen counter yesterday. What little we did had felt so damn good and been so damn wrong.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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