Chapter 26
Adrian wakes up more excited than he can ever remember being. Having spent a lifetime pushing down emotions, he’s thrown off guard with this new experience. He’s not prepared for the adrenaline pumping through my veins or the sweat gathering above his brow.
His gaze settles on Beth still asleep next to him. He studies her, her sex-mussed hair and her naked body tangled in his sheets. God, she’s amazing. She’s everything that he never knew he wanted.
He’s no stranger to “the morning after.” He never stays somewhere he can’t make a quick exit from before sunrise. But with Beth, he’s finding that he makes lots of exceptions. Around her, he feels like a kite in the wind, helplessly tethered to her, following wherever she leads. The moment he laid eyes on her this morning, his three-part routine– act normal, focus on business, and keep his distance went out of the door.
She stirs when he runs his fingers lightly across her face.
He buries his head in her neck. “Morning.”
She gives him a groggy smile. “Good morning. Any Sunday plans?”
He holds her casual smile and her hand in his, but inside, his mind races to piece together the last couple of weeks. She is so far outside of what he knows how to handle, that he doesn’t quite know how to behave. When he’s with her, all his barriers disintegrate into a blurry, hazy fog that leaves him exposed. He’s almost frightened by it. “Yes. I’m going to cook for you. Tell me what you want for breakfast.”
She blinks. “You are?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’d love bacon and eggs and pancakes.” She sits up. “But first…”
Every muscle in his body flexes as she reaches over and wraps her fingers around his exposed cock, taking her time. The heat of her palm scorches his skin. He struggles to focus, as his eyes keep bouncing from one glorious part of her body to the next. Everything loses focus when she rises to her knees, the room around him blurring so badly he nearly passes out.
“Holy fuck,” he breathes, his neck craning back in ecstasy.
She slides her mouth down as far as it goes and moves back up, leaving a coating of moisture behind. The chilled air tingles the skin she unsheathed and shoots straight to his tightening balls. A swirl of her tongue at the tip later, she takes him inside again, pushing the flat of her tongue against the underside and tapping it in a rapid rhythm. Up and down she works him, adding her free hand at the base and mesmerizing him with a twist of her wrist.
“Baby,” he groans, letting his hand shoot out to grip her hair. He pulls it up with a jerk but takes care not to be too rough or startle her.
His mind races and blanks at once when her eyes meet his, eating him alive with the same intensity as her mouth.
He can’t hold back anymore.
“Shit. Fuck. I’m gonna come. Fuuuck.”
She responds by sucking even harder instead of letting go, pushing him to get there faster with a strum of her fingers at his balls.
When the last jerk subsides, she soothes him with her tongue, sliding her loose hand up and down the shaft slowly. “Mmm,” she moans and smiles up at him.
“Jesus Christ, Beth.” He shakes his head, still lightheaded from his release.
He grabs her by the hips, slamming her naked body directly into his, and crashing their lips together. She moans in his mouth, hard and deep and needy. His hands have already found their way up to her breasts, and he knows if he doesn’t stop now, they will spend the entire day in bed. Which wouldn’t be the worst thing, but he has other plans for her.
He breaks the kiss. “Go put on a shirt, baby,” he orders softly. “You can take a shower if you want to.”
He presses a soft peck to the corner of her lips and inhales the smell of the skin of her cheek; subtly sweet like flowers and fruit.
“I’ll go make breakfast,” he says into her skin before pulling away.
“Adrian?” she asks, ignoring his words and sliding her hand up his neck to the line of his jaw. His throat tightens and his pulse beats double time as her thumb brushes the line of it.
“Thanks.” She gives him a soft kiss on his lips later, turns, and retreats to his bathroom. All he can do is watch as she goes, thinking about how really and truly fucked he is.
****
“Omelette’s ready,” he calls through the closed bathroom door after making a quick stop in his closet to put on a pair of jersey shorts.
He expects her to call something back through the door, but she opens it instead, stepping into the doorway and nearly running into him with wet hair, and a towel around her body. With a mind of its own, his hand reaches out to wipe away the lingering drop of water on the top swell of her breast. She shivers.
He feels downright needy for more contact. Hugs, hand holding—he doesn’t give a fuck. He just wants to touch her, and he wants to do it all day.
“I’ve laid out something for you to wear. Meet me in the kitchen.”
When she joins him in the kitchen, his shirt is hanging off of her tiny frame in a blob-like shadow, covering her completely. “You really are full of surprises, Mr. Dane,” she says, settling into a chair at the kitchen table.
“I aim to please.”
She smirks. “I can’t argue with that.”
As they eat, they settle into easy conversation. They flirt and he feeds her and they banter about both wearing slightly goofy smiles. It’s nice. Comfortable.
She leans back in her chair when she has cleared her plate and placed a hand on her stomach. “Not bad if I do say so myself.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He stands, gathering their dishes and taking them to the dishwasher. “Do you have any plans for next weekend?”
Beth is leaning against the kitchen island drinking her coffee. “No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“I want you to come with me to my brother’s wedding.”
Her face pales. “Oh.”
“Is something wrong?” He asks, hoping her visible discomfort was more about being caught off guard than anything else.
“No, no. I’m just a bit shocked, I guess.”
In all fairness, his question was a bit out of the blue. Even though he’s had this idea in mind since the phone call with his mom, he’d never actually believed there’ll come a day when he’d willingly ask a woman to accompany him to a family event. But he’s certain he’s ready to take this step. Plus he’ll take whatever time he can get with her.
“So will you come with me?”
She starts to say something but pauses. After a while, she smiles and says, “I’d love to.”
“Great,” he breathes in relief. “The wedding is on Saturday, and on Sunday there’s a brunch with the wedding party. So we’ll be spending the whole weekend in the Hamptons.”
“Wow. That’ll be another weekend together,” she says with a soft smile.
He dries his hands on a towel and walks to her. “Does that bother you?”
“No,” she breathes when his face is only a few inches away from hers.
He takes her face into his hands and kisses her deeply. A strange feeling builds up within him. It’s unsettling. It keeps tugging at the corners of his guard trying to get out. It’s pleasant, in a way. But also not at all.
But he wants that feeling more than anything.