Protecting the Boundary (LA Wolves #8)

Chapter 35

THIRTY-FIVE

It’s been a week since Kaylee made it clear she knew about Mere and me, but instead of getting to soak in the new relationship endorphins, I’ve been slammed with work—either games, practices, or meetings with my agent and current sponsors.

I don’t need more money, but I want to make sure I fulfill all my contracts and agreements with my sponsors to get the full payout. That money will go into a high-yield savings fund for Kaylee which she’ll be able to use for whatever she wants, whether that be college, buying a house, or anything else.

While I know these meetings are necessary, all I’ve wanted to do all week was have some real alone time with Meredith—and not just alone time we steal after Kaylee goes to bed before I inevitably need to go to bed, so I can be a functional dad when Kay wakes up at the butt crack of dawn.

Which is why I talked Ty and Lexi into watching Kaylee tonight so I can take Meredith out on a proper date.

They show up right on time, and I help Ty get Kay’s car seat strapped in.

“Text me if you need me to come get her,” I tell Ty. Over the years, these guys and my in-laws have rallied around me and helped take Kaylee so I could occasionally get a break. It’s a luxury I’m grateful for because it helped a ton, and I know not a lot of single parents have this level of support. But it’s still always hard to see her go with someone else, to know I’m not going to be the one reading her a bedtime story. It never gets easier.

Ty slaps me on the back. “She’ll be fine.” In a lower voice, so no one else can overhear even though Lexi and Kaylee are still inside, he adds, “Do you have everything for tonight?”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

He wiggles his eyebrows. “You know…condoms and shit.”

Jesus fucking Christ.

“We’re not having sex.” Although I wouldn’t mind. As much as I love eating her sweet pussy, I’m aching to feel her come all over my cock. Four years of celibacy followed by a raging libido is not a good combination.

Ty purses his lips. “Dude, come on. It’s me you’re talking to.” He opens the trunk of his SUV. “Don’t worry. The guys and I figured you’d probably try to cock block yourself, so I made a stop by the store on my way here.”

He throws a box of condoms at me. I look around to make sure none of the neighbors are walking by and then shove the box under my shirt. “What the hell, man?”

He grips my shoulder, staring me in the eye, his face the picture of seriousness. “You’ve been there for all of us when we were in new relationships and trying to find our footing. It’s our turn to be there for you. You’re more emotionally mature than the rest of us, so we figured where you’d struggle would be the bedroom department and going slower than molasses.”

I shake my head. “You guys are insane.”

He smiles wide. “It’s what you do for your brother.” He points to the box. “Those are good for a year, but I recommend breaking that box open tonight. You’ve gone long enough, my friend. Time to ditch the celibacy.”

Before I can respond, Lexi and Kay walk out the front door, hand in hand. Kaylee’s smile is as big as her face as she laughs at something Lexi says. In her hand, she’s got her small overnight bag that she typically uses for when she stays at Larissa and Jimmy’s house.

“Daddy! Auntie Lexi got a fish!”

Now I get why she’s so excited. Lexi looks at Ty. “Uncle Ty wanted a dog, but with the baby, we thought it was better to start with a fish before we had our hands too full.”

Strapped to Lexi in a baby carrier is little baby Lana, sound asleep against her mama.

“God, I can’t wait to get that woman pregnant again,” Ty says low enough so only I hear him.

I shake my head and fight back a laugh. We’ve started teasing him that he has a pregnancy kink—which Lexi overheard once and corrected us, telling us it’s called a breeding kink. Who knew that was a real thing?We’d thought Ty was joking the first time he mentioned it at the beginning of the season.

I give Kaylee one last kiss and then wave as they drive off. I turn back toward my house, and instead of the usual “what now?” feeling I used to get whenever Kay was gone on the rare night she’d sleep over with our extended family, I’m filled with anticipation.

I pull the box of condoms out from under my shirt and wonder if maybe my friends are right. Maybe this dry spell has lasted long enough.

I take Meredith to my favorite seafood restaurant on the beach for our date. Growing up near Seattle, I was used to fresh seafood, and it’s always been my favorite. Thankfully, Meredith loves it too. I was nervous she wouldn’t, and I didn’t even think to ask her if she liked fish before we arrived. It’s been so long since I’ve dated, I’ve forgotten the basics and feel a bit out of my depth here.

As if she knows, Meredith has made this night exceptionally easy for me. She’s got a carefree attitude like she’s up for anything, and it’s been nice to enjoy each other’s company.

When we get back to my house, I walk her to the guesthouse. I don’t know why I feel so nervous. It’s not like I haven’t seen her naked—at least partially naked—or already had my mouth on her body, but somehow the thought of having sex again is weirdly terrifying.

She’s been giving me all the signals that she’s down for that—lingering eye contact, a lot of touching, and she even kissed me when I opened the car door for her. Now she’s looking at me with those hooded eyes that have my dick hard as stone, and yet my stomach is clenched with mild panic.

What if I come too fast?

What if it’s not good for her?

What if I forgot what the hell I’m doing and she doesn’t like it?

She wraps her hand around my neck, and my attention focuses on her eyes. “What’s going on in that head of yours?” she asks.

“You don’t want to know.”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know.” Her brows furrow. “Are we moving too fast for you?”

My relationship with Sydney was the only real relationship I had, but we were always honest and clear with each other from the get-go. It’s something I want to have with Meredith too, so there’s no time like the present to start.

“I haven’t had sex in four years, and I’m worried it’s going to be bad for you.”

A slow smile fills her face. “Is that what’s got you all stuck in your head?”

“Yes,” I admit, wondering if I should just toss out my man card right now. I’m only twenty-seven. Coming quickly should not be my concern right now.

She steps forward, pressing our bodies together, and pulls on my neck so I’ll tilt my head down where she murmurs against my lips. “I’m willing to give it a shot. And if you come before me, then you can make it up to me during round two. How about that?”

I swallow thickly, my cock stiff as hell, and there’s no way she can miss it pressing against her. “Sounds good to me,” I say, my voice hoarse.

And then we’re done talking as I seal my lips over hers and get lost in the feel of her body against mine. Like always, she practically melts against me, and I love the way her whole body submits to me like I’m the only thing she’s wanted all day.

I open the door to the guesthouse and then lift her up with my hands under her butt. She wraps her legs around my hips, her ankles crossed right above my ass. I carry her inside and straight to her bedroom. Once there, I put her down on the bed and lift up one of her legs, kissing the exposed skin up to her high heel before I pull it off. I do the same to her other foot and then push her thighs wide. Her dress rides up even farther, exposing her red satin panties that already have a dark wet spot on the crotch.

“Fuck, I need to taste you again.”

I drop to my knees and pull her underwear down her smooth legs before tossing them behind me. Her pussy glistens with arousal, and knowing it’s for me has me feeling a new type of high. Her heavy-lidded gaze watches my every movement as I lean forward and lick from her ass to her clit. Her head drops back as she lets out a moan and I go for gold. I’m too impatient to get inside her, to feel what I’ve wanted to feel since the first time I tasted her like this.

Her thighs tighten on my cheeks and her fingers grip the top of my head as she rocks her hips, grinding her pussy against my face. I shove two fingers inside her and suck on her clit until she explodes with a scream, her movements becoming stilted as her orgasm crashes through her.

Her body shudders as she sags back against the bed, her legs relaxing, and I take her recovery time to get undressed. When I’m standing at the end of her bed in only my boxers, I reach for her and help her get out of her dress and bra. It nearly takes my breath away to see her completely naked for the first time.

Even though we’ve messed around here and there over the last few weeks, we’ve never been completely naked together. Those brief moments were always tinted with an urgency knowing I needed to get back in the house in case Kaylee needed me. Even with the baby monitor, I was too paranoid that she might wake up or something while I was in the middle of things with Meredith, and it kept me from going as far as I wanted.

But now, we have the whole night to ourselves. There’s no rush, nothing stopping me from savoring every single second of tonight.

“You’re so beautiful,” I murmur, cupping her face and leaning down to kiss her.

Her tongue licks the crease of my lips and I part my mouth, letting her taste herself on my tongue. She moans.

“Romel, please don’t make me wait anymore.”

I shake my head. “No more waiting.” Then I kiss her one more time before I push my boxer briefs off and reach over to my pants to grab the condoms I put in my pocket before our date tonight.

I’m increasingly thankful my boys were looking out for me. Because now that I’m here, I can’t imagine not burying myself inside her tonight, and I would’ve been completely ill-prepared.

My hands shake as I rip off the packaging and situate the condom over the head of my cock. It’s been forever since I wore a condom.

Meredith’s hands cover mine, and when I look up, she’s watching me with nothing but tenderness in her gaze. “Can I do it?”

My heart practically gallops in my chest and I have no words, so I just nod. She takes the condom from my shaking hands, pinches the tip of it, and then rolls it over my cock. I let out a shuddering breath as I watch her movements, the way she’s making this so much easier than I thought it would be.

Powerful emotions crash through me, but gratitude and need are the strongest. I need this woman—more than I’ve ever needed anyone.

Sliding my fingers through her hair, I lean down and kiss her. Without breaking the kiss, I move forward so she’s lying flat on her back and I’m positioned over her, her legs instantly wrapping around me. I grip my cock and rub it up and down her pussy, coating it in her slickness. Even just this sensation makes it hard not to close my eyes in bliss.

With a stuttered breath, I notch my cock at her opening and then slowly—ever so slowly—push inside. I can’t be sure if I’m going slow for her or for me, but either way we both moan as I push into her body, the sensation overload making my mind go blank.

“Goddamn.” She feels so fucking good.

Meredith wraps her arms around my back, her fingernails clawing at me as she tilts her head back, exposing her neck to me. I kiss where her pulse thrums rapidly, loving the way her pussy tightens on my cock when I suck on a certain spot where her neck and shoulder meet.

“Romel,” she cries out as I bottom out inside her.

“God, Meredith, you feel so damn good.”

Her arms tighten around me. “You’re so deep.”

I want to be as deep inside her as it’s possible for a person to be. I want to be so deep in her she’ll never let me go.

I push up so I’m sitting with my knees still bent and grab her butt to help tilt her hips. I hit a new, deeper angle in this position, and she grips the pillow with one hand and the sheets in the other as if she needs something to physically anchor her to the bed.

“Oh my God.”

“You like the way my thick cock stretches that pretty pussy?”

“Yes,” she cries, her thighs starting to shake.

Fuck, she feels too good. I’ve lasted longer than my paranoia thought I would, but I won’t last much longer if she keeps tightening her pussy around my cock like she is. But I need her to come before I do, or I’ll feel like a complete and utter failure.

Holding her legs to my chest, I keep thrusting inside her, loving the visual of my thick cock disappearing into her body. I take my free hand and use my thumb to rub gentle circles over her clit, and it takes only two more thrusts before she screams my name as her pussy grips my cock so tight, stars burst across my vision. My orgasm takes me by surprise—ripping through me with an intensity that makes me feel like I just got the wind knocked out of me.

I hold myself stiff inside her until my tremors start to subside and then collapse onto the bed next to her. Her chest heaves as she tries to catch her breath, and her hand is covering her eyes.

“Holy shit,” she whispers. “I can’t believe you were worried it wouldn’t be good. That was next level.”

A smile fills my face. She has no idea what she brings to life in me, how grounded she makes me feel. For the first time in years, I have hope that my future won’t be nearly as bleak as I’d feared.