Chapter 26
Shane woke up,arm numb from being slung over Avery. She was still asleep so he studied the variations of color in her hair in the dancing morning light. The strands were like mahogany, going from brown to red and back again. He was relaxed, content. He thought about the night before, waiting for embarrassment to sink in about his confession. He didn’t talk about his father, and certainly not his fears, ever. To anyone. Not even to his sisters, though they were well aware of them, without ever having to discuss them out loud.
Regret didn’t arrive though. He trusted Avery. Plus she hadn’t given him honeyed sympathy or worse, pity. Neither had she tried to talk him out of feeling bad, or convince him he could be married or would be a good father. She told him he was entitled to feel however he chose.
Running his fingers along her arm, he lazily watched goosebumps appear on her soft skin. He still wasn’t sure he’d found all her freckles. There were secret spots he hadn’t explored yet. He hoped she didn’t have any weekend plans because he wanted to keep her for a while. As long as he could. He wanted to try this, with Avery. Just feel their way through it, without expectation or promises.
She made an incredibly adorable sound and jerked away from his fingers. He just followed her arm, still tickling her. He wanted her to wake up because he wanted to see those unique eyes trained on him, with the look only she could give him. Suddenly she turned and her eyes popped open.
“Knock it off,” she said.
That made him laugh. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Her eyes drifted closed again.
He bypassed her arm and went straight to the soft curls between her thighs. He teased between them and stroked into her, coaxing forth an immediate wet response from her body.
“Stop it,” she murmured. “I’m sleeping.”
Shane pressed his erection against her ass. “I’m up. That means you’re up. And you’re pussy is wet.”
“You’re mean,” was her response.
“I thought I was decent,” he said, only half joking. He kept stroking inside her, slowly, gently. Her body was welcoming, responding to him readily.
Avery turned and looked back at him. “Why do you keep saying that? What does that mean?”
“It was in your note that morning. You said ‘Thanks for being decent,’” he said.
“I meant thank you for being nice. And I don’t even remember writing that, for the record. I was more than a little emotionally shattered.”
“Oh, okay.” Now that she was facing him, he kissed her raspberry-colored lips. How could she wake up looking so beautiful? Other than the surly expression on her face, that is. “Do you want coffee first, sweetheart, or an orgasm?”
“I want more sleep.” She turned away and shut her eyes.
“Orgasm it is then.” He was in the perfect position to continue stroking her, easing into her more deeply, while his other hand sneaked around to roll over her nipples. He knew she would pretend to sleep and she did.
But Avery wasn’t good at holding anything back and even as she kept her eyes closed, her breathing grew more shallow and her legs practically twitched from the need to thrust her body against his finger. She maintained her fa?ade all the way through a big, shuddering orgasm, moaning softly.
He kissed her earlobe and whispered, “Wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”
That made her laugh. She opened her eyes. “You’re a dream, baby,” she teased. “Never a nightmare.”
“Now you’re just trying too hard.” He took her hand and put it on his cock. “Speaking of hard.”
“What am I supposed to do with this?” She rolled over so she was facing him. “And I’m being serious now. I don’t know what to do with this thing. It’s like handing a toddler a firecracker and saying go for it, kid.”
Shane snorted. If it were any other woman he would think she was just trying to be coy, but he knew Avery was serious. “Just run your hand up and down on it, maybe squeeze it a little.”
The sleepiness was fading from her eyes and she stared down at his cock, which invariably made it leap a little as he grew even harder under her scrutiny.
“Holy crap,” was her opinion. “It’s alive.”
She cracked him up. “Avery. Focus, please.”
“Okay, sorry.” She took a deep breath. “Wait, was this my idea or yours?”
“Yours,” he lied. Then immediately admitted the truth. “Of course it was my idea, what are you talking about? But only if you want to.”
“Of course I want to. I just doubt my ability to do that.”
“Just do whatever feels right, and trust me, I will be fucking putty in your hands.”
She looked intrigued. “I do like the sound of that. Wait. Let me get ready.” She shook her hands out and pulled her hair out from under her shoulder.
It was like she was getting ready for an Olympic race. Amused, Shane just lay there and let her tackle it however she wanted. Then she shocked him by gripping the base of his cock and instead of stroking him, bending over and encircling him with her mouth. He groaned, not expecting the full-on contact.
“That’s a good start,” he murmured.
She pulled back. “Really?”
“Yes. Don’t stop.” He lazily watched her study his cock then descend on him again.
Watching her only added to his arousal. Avery was curious, exploring him with her hand, reaching down to cup his balls while she took him into her mouth. Her hair was spilling over him and she gave little sighs as she teased over him with her tongue. He’d let her do this all morning, entirely at her own pace. He felt languid, relaxed, aroused. The scent of her was on his fingers when he raised his arms to fold them behind his head. For a second, he wondered why in the hell her crazy ex wouldn’t want her to do this before he banished that thought. The fucking idiot had missed out on something amazing, but his loss was Shane’s gain.
“Am I doing this right?” she asked. “I don’t feel like anything is happening.”
He wasn’t sure what she thought was supposed to happen, exactly, but maybe he needed to give her more reassurance, encouragement. More direction. “I’m just enjoying it, trust me, you’re doing fine. Go a little harder if you want.”
Avery took his request seriously. She squeezed the base of his cock and went down on him with renewed enthusiasm. He was no longer relaxed. That was some serious sensation she could drag out. “Yeah, that’s it, honey, keep going.”
Maybe it was because it was Avery, and because he knew she was doing what he wanted, he felt his balls get tight and his whole body tense. He was going to come, so he reached down and urged her head off of him. Then he took her hand and used her small grip with his to finish the job, wanting to close his eyes but needing to see her face. Her expression was one of awe. She watched their hands moving together and caught the final result all over her fist.
Then she fucking licked her lips.
Which made him groan out loud, unable to hold it in any longer. “Damn, you’re trying to destroy me, aren’t you?”
She glanced up at him and blinked, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “That’s what I was hoping for.”
Shane shook his head, his throat tight. There were many ways she could destroy him and he had a feeling she was going to manage every single one without even trying.