Chapter 22
Today I was leaping over the line from unwise and careless to downright stupid and reckless. It couldn’t be helped though.
Moving day had arrived for my sister and her new roommate, none other than the woman I’d slept with every single night for the past week and a half. And by sleeping, I meant minimally sleeping and mostly fucking every which way, including loose.
I kept thinking the spectacularness of sex with Harper would fizzle out, but our nights together were so incredible that the sleep deprivation didn’t bother me.
The night after we’d agreed to our no-strings fling, she’d come over again after Danny was asleep, bursting with the news that she’d committed to the business venture with Cambria and my sister. I knew what a big step it was for her, and the teacher in me was so damn proud of her for taking the leap.
Who the hell was I kidding? That wasn’t the teacher in me; it was the man who was getting to know Harper with all her strengths and quirks.
Even if we hadn’t been sleeping together, I would’ve felt the same. Harper was easy to like. She was funny, creative, and carefree in a way I’d never be, not to mention sexy as sin with an insatiable drive that kept up with mine.
Surprisingly, we found we could talk for hours, which didn’t help with the sleep deprivation. We’d delved into long, middle-of-the-night conversations on everything from the creative process to the psychology of teenagers, from the best spots on the lake for stand-up paddleboarding to our respective first dates.
As for her lack of interest in a commitment?
I was one lucky sucker.
Was it a good idea to spend every single night together? Unequivocal no. But I hadn’t found it in me to suggest a night off.
It was nearing ten a.m. on the second Sunday of September. Harper had snuck out of my place a mere five hours ago to her car, parked in a random spot downtown, and driven herself back to Naomi’s one last time.
Dakota had asked me to help her move. After all the times she’d watched Danny, I couldn’t say no, so today I’d spend hours with Harper, her dad, my sister, and our brother, Levi. My mom was helping by watching Danny at her house. Acting as if Harper didn’t affect me would require an award-winning performance and a megadose of restraint. For hours.
My siblings and I arrived with Dakota’s first two loads before Harper and her dad got to the apartment. All that was left for our next trip was living room furniture from my mom’s basement that she was donating to the cause.
We were down to the last few boxes when I walked out of Dakota’s bedroom and straight into a view of Harper in the living room, bending over to prop open the main door, her perfect ass pointing right at me from under a pair of pink running shorts.
I stopped dead in my tracks because I hadn’t heard them arrive and had not been fucking prepared for that view.
“Good morning, Max.” Her dad’s jolly voice pulled me out of my stupor as he entered the apartment. His gaze lingered on me a second too long, as if he knew damn well what I’d been staring at.
“Hi, Max,” Harper said, cheery and nonchalant as could be, but I was sure she knew what kind of view she’d given me. With her, there was a good chance she’d done it intentionally.
“Morning,” I said, my voice rough. “We were starting to wonder about you.”
“Thought maybe you came to your senses and changed your mind,” Levi said as he came out of Dakota’s room.
Dakota followed with an exaggerated sigh. “Hey, roomie, need a brother? I’m selling mine.”
For half a second, Harper’s gaze met mine and flared with meaning. “No, thanks. One is more than enough.” She laughed as I checked whether her dad had witnessed our silent exchange.
My boss was too busy examining the apartment like only a father could. He inspected the locks on the windows, then eyed the kitchen appliances. I tried to act as if I wasn’t battling a hard-on in my jeans and went down the stairs for more of my sister’s boxes.
While I finished emptying my SUV and Dakota unpacked boxes in her room, Levi helped Harper and her dad unload Bob’s truck. As much as I wanted to be the one to assist, it was better this way. I was having a hard time acting unbothered.
The truth was, I was bothered as fuck just by being in the same apartment as Harper.
By the time we had all three vehicles empty, it was after noon.
“That’s all of Harper’s stuff,” Bob said as my sister, brother, and I congregated in the as-yet-unfurnished living room. Harper was in her room, assembling a bookshelf. “Did I hear you had a couch somewhere?” he asked.
“I’ve got the living room pieces at my mom’s,” Dakota said. “We’ll need Levi’s truck.”
“Is that a two-person job or three?” Bob asked.
“Levi and I can get it, can’t we?” Dakota asked our brother.
“Piece of cake,” Levi replied.
“Tell you what,” Bob said. “You two go get that last load. Max, you can help Harper assemble those shelves. I’ll order pizzas from Humble’s and bring them back for all of us.”
I eyed him to gauge whether this plan was another veiled attempt to leave me alone with his daughter, but he avoided looking at me as my siblings voiced hearty approval of his offer.
Within three minutes, the others left Harper and me alone in her apartment.
I knew my boss was matchmaking, and that was fine. I could be alone with his daughter and not act like a sex-starved animal in mating season, no problem.
To prove it, I went into her bedroom to see if I could help with the shelves.
Harper stood, eyeing the living room. “Did everyone leave?”
“They’re all gone.” I kept it to myself that her dad had done that on purpose.
She closed her bedroom door, and before I could blink, she threw her arms around me, pressed her body into me, wrapped a leg around mine, and kissed me hard.
I filled my palms with her ass, drawing her closer as I turned and pressed her into the closed door.
With a gasp, she broke off the kiss. “How fast do you think you can make me come?”
That was all it took for all my blood to pound to my dick. “How fast can you get your panties off?”
She shoved her shorts and underwear to her ankles and stepped free in less than two seconds. Next thing I knew, she had my fly unzipped and was reaching into my boxer briefs, freeing my steel-hard cock.
“Fuck, Harper.”
“That’s the plan,” she purred.
With a hungry growl, I lifted her up, pinning her bare lower half between me and the door. Her legs circled me, centering her core right where I needed it. I pressed my dick into her even though my jeans still constricted me. The little bit of skin-to-skin contact above my boxer briefs was a taste of hot, damp heaven, but I needed more.
Spreading one of my hands across her gorgeous ass to support her, I shoved my other hand down my side to get rid of my pants.
“Fuck,” I gritted out again, stopping before I freed myself. “I don’t have a condom.”
Harper let out a shaky, needful breath. “I’m on birth control,” she said in a rush. “And clean. I’ve always used a condom.”
“I’m clean too,” I said.
She slid her fingers into my pants, dragging them down to my thighs. I didn’t even bother to take them off farther, because before I could make sure she was okay with this, she raised herself enough to slide down on my dick.
“Not gonna last long,” I managed through a clenched jaw.
“Kind of the point of a quickie.” Her breath came out in a gratifying gasp as I thrust into her—hard.
Then I rutted into her exactly like a sex-starved animal in mating season. She didn’t appear to mind as she clung to me with both arms and locked her legs behind me as if holding on for dear life.
I knew I was.
I closed my eyes and nearly bit through my lip in an effort to make sure she came before me. At the first contraction of her muscles around me, I lost it and plunged over at the same time as her, grunting as I emptied myself into her.
“It’s not official because I didn’t check the clock,” Harper eventually said, still catching her breath, “but I’m pretty sure that was under five minutes. A good first effort.”
I laughed, my body jerking and causing Harper to contract around me again, which felt incredible even now. “You’re gonna be the death of me,” I managed. “And no, I’m not complaining.”
As my blood gradually trickled into my brain once again, I wondered how long it’d been since everyone had left and, more importantly, how long till they returned.
I kissed her, then slid her down my body, severing our connection. “You need to put yourself back together before they return.”
Her dad might be playing matchmaker, but I was sure he hadn’t had a quickie against her bedroom door in mind.
Harper bent down and pressed a kiss to my spent cock. “Might want to put that thing away,” she said, looking pleased with herself.
Jesus. What this woman did to me…
As she picked up her shorts and underwear and hurried off to the bathroom, I pulled my pants up and tucked myself in, in need of a shower. I could smell sex in the air. What had I been thinking, for fuck’s sake?
If I’d been thinking, none of that would’ve happened.
I couldn’t get myself to regret it though.
By the time my dad returned with pizza, we had the sofa, chair, and coffee table in place, and the apartment was starting to feel like a home.
Max’s mom, Brenna, had followed Levi and Dakota over, bringing Danny for lunch with the family. She sat on the sofa with Danny on her lap, my dad next to her, and Levi on the opposite end. Max was in the easy chair. Dakota had brought out a kitchen chair, and I sat on the floor, my back against the wall opposite Max.
We were all worn out and hungry from hauling everything up the stairs—and some of us from a life-altering quickie in the bedroom—so the pizza hit the spot. The mood was light, with Dakota and her brothers giving each other a hard time and my dad talking to Brenna and Danny. From time to time, Dakota and I discussed ideas for how to decorate. At Dakota’s request, Max started a list on his phone of items we needed to buy.
“We could put a Christmas tree in that corner,” Dakota said, pointing.
“It’s not even Halloween yet,” Levi said, shaking his head.
Dakota eyed me. “How do you feel about a life-sized skeleton for Halloween?”
“As long as we can dress him, I’m all for it.”
“We can name him after one of our exes,” Dakota said enthusiastically, making everyone laugh.
I caught Max glancing at me and met his gaze, just for a second. I’d never longed to be able to do something as much as I wanted to go over and climb into his lap in that oversized chair and just…be with him. Be touching him. Not even sexually, although I was always up for that.
I could easily imagine this gathering in a different context—two families brought together by a couple, by Max and me, maybe for holidays, maybe for a casual dinner. Maybe I was overtired, because I was getting downright sappy and wistful for something that would never be.
“Ooh,” Brenna said as she set her empty plate on the coffee table. “It’s time for a diaper change, isn’t it, Danny boy?” She kissed his temple and scooted to the edge of the cushion, preparing to stand with him.
“I’ve got it, Mom,” Max said. He scooped up Danny. “Let’s go, stinky boy. You could use a refresh.” He held his son out in front of him, parallel to the floor like a plane, and made airplane noises, grabbing the diaper bag on the way to the bathroom.
Max closed the door, but I could hear his running conversation with his son as he changed him. Something about that made my insides warm and mushy. I couldn’t help but wonder what had gotten into me. Was it sentimentality over finally, officially having my own place with one of my best friends?
“Your son is a good father,” my dad said to Brenna.
“Yes, he is,” she agreed. “He sure didn’t have a role model for it, but somehow he picked up how to be a caring man.”
“Max is a nurturer,” Dakota said matter-of-factly. “He loves to help people, encourage them, teach them.”
What she said was true. I’d never considered that to be on my list of desirable traits in a man, but…God, it was hot. I loved all of that about Max. I didn’t get to see him with Danny very often, which was probably a good thing, because it turned me inside out and made me want to…
I caught my breath, then glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. No one paid attention to me, thank goodness, because I had, in that moment, realized a very bad thing.
I wanted more from Max. I wanted a real relationship. A long-term one, where we lived together, loved when we wanted to, and took care of Danny as a team.
God help me, I was pretty sure I’d fallen for Max.
Maybe it was just lust on steroids? It was so fast. It’d only been a few weeks since our date at the gala. But no. This wasn’t just wanting his body. It was more.
He came out of the bathroom at that moment, Danny walking at his side, his little hand in Max’s, and swear to God, that image did nothing to make me feel less.
My mouth went dry, and I was suddenly shaky inside. I turned my attention to picking up plates and tidying the living room. Anything to ignore the man who’d ravaged the hell out of me in the bedroom less than an hour ago.
In the kitchen by myself, I threw away the paper plates, my heart pounding.
I’d screwed up, and I couldn’t let Max know.
Because real feelings were never supposed to be part of our deal.