Chapter 23
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Collin
The moment the door is closed, I spin her around and press my lips to hers. My fingers glide against the side of her face and her hair, which is pulled up in a high ponytail. “I’ve been needing to do that for a while now.”
She grins against my mouth. “You just did that a few hours ago,” she reminds me, referring to when we came up here to use the bathroom.
“Too long ago,” I inform her, rocking my hips against her, letting her feel my erection.
I feel like I’ve had one for hours, watching her work.
She moves so easily around her bar, laughing and smiling with customers without flirting.
It was a huge fucking turn-on tonight; despite the fact I wasn’t able to react to her the way I wanted to.
Every time one of those assholes came up and hit on her, I wanted to turn into a caveman. Throw her over my shoulder and stake my claim right then and there, but that’s not toeing the professional line we both agreed to.
“I enjoyed meeting Gio and his friends,” she murmurs, gripping the side of my shirt.
“I don’t want to talk about him,” I say, sliding my knee between her legs and reveling in the feel of her grinding against my thigh.
“What do you want to talk about? Cade dancing on the bar?”
She’s teasing, I know it, but I still growl at her question. “Fuck no, Lizzie. I want to talk about getting you out of these clothes.”
“I should shower. It was hot and sweaty all evening,” she says. “Plus, spilled beer.”
“Hmmm,” I murmur against her neck, sliding my nose against the long column. “I have an idea.”
“Does it involve the shower?”
Smirking, I give a quick nod before bending down and scooping her up and over my shoulder in a matter of seconds. The sound of Lizzie squealing makes my heart soar higher than ever before. I carry her to her ugly bathroom and slowly lower her onto the floor.
“Undress,” I instruct, watching her eyes widen and dilate. She enjoys this side of me too, loves it when I get all bossy.
Quickly, I turn around and spin the knobs.
Knowing it’ll take a handful of seconds before the water temperature warms, I return my attention to her, cracking a smile when she’s trying to strip in record time.
When her foot gets tangled in the leg of her pants, I reach forward and assist. “What’s the rush, sweetheart?
” I ask, sliding my palm along her calf as I help her detangle.
“You naked in the shower is the rush, Collin,” she mutters, a wicked glimmer reflecting back at me in those hypnotic green orbs.
When her leg is free, I toss the jeans onto the floor and reach for her panties. “These should go too,” I murmur softly, taking my time to remove the thin material. She’s better than any gift I could open on Christmas, all warm, wet, and mine.
Mine.
It’s been too damn long since I even considered the concept of a woman being mine again, but this feels right. Hell, it feels more than right, and surprisingly, that doesn’t scare me as much as I expected. In fact, I want more.
No, I need more.
And I’m not just talking about this, getting naked in the shower with her.
I need more of us, together.
My heart is trying to beat out of my chest, and if it weren’t for having to remove my hands from her body, I’d rub the spot where it aches.
But I keep my hands where they are, sliding around to her backside and kneading her ass in my palms. Lizzie moves forward, pressing her entire front to mine, and I’m completely torn between wanting to strip us both naked immediately and savoring our time together by dragging it out as long as I can.
But the fact remains, I have to work in only a handful of hours, and even though Lizzie will be able to sleep in a bit longer, she has a long day at the bar as well. So, as much as I want to keep her here, drawing out the pleasure and release, it’s irresponsible of me to do so.
So, I’ll just have to have my wicked way with her fast and hard in the shower.
I make quick work at removing her panties and bra, and while she steps out of her socks, I strip away all my clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor.
The room fills with steam, and even though my cock is seeping precum and I want nothing more than to bury it deep inside her, I move to adjust the water temperature to a comfortably hot level.
“Come.” I extend my hand, and she gently places hers against my palm.
We slip behind the curtain, the hot water hitting my side and stinging. “Too hot?”
“No way, this is perfect,” she replies, dipping beneath the spray.
She pulls me toward her, snaking her arms around my neck. I claim her lips in a bruising kiss, our tongues tangling as my hands move over her wet skin. “Are you ready for me, Lizzie?”
“I’ve been wet all night.”
I groan, picturing her behind the bar, wet and achy. “Well, we should do something about that now, shouldn’t we?”
She nods insistently.
“Turn around,” I instruct, taking in her naked, wet, red skin. Moving behind her, I lift her right leg, propping it on the edge of the tub. My fingers glide through her pussy. “Are you wet for me?”
“So wet,” she murmurs, rocking her hips and pushing them back to grant me better access.
“Hands on the wall.”
She does as instructed immediately.
“I can’t wait, Lizzie. I need in your pussy so fucking bad,” I whisper in her ear, thrusting two fingers inside her.
She moans and pushes her sweet ass into my groin. “Yes. Please. Hurry.”
I reach down and line myself up with her entrance from behind. Just as I start to thrust forward, it hits me. “Shit. I don’t have a condom.”
“I’m on birth control,” she replies, gazing at me over her shoulder. “And I’m clean.”
My heart hammers so hard, it’s as if the band is still playing downstairs and echoing through the apartment. “I’ve never…” My brain seems to short circuit at the thought.
She holds my stare as she says, “Me either. And I trust you.”
“I’m clean. I’d never risk you, Lizzie. Ever.”
The sweetest smile spreads across her lips. “I know.”
“Are you sure? I can get out and grab a rubber from my wallet.”
Her answer is to push just enough to take the head of my cock inside her.
I close my eyes and let a curse fly, instantly surrounded in fire. Grasping for any ounce of control I possess, I place my hands on her hips and slowly push forward.
Pure.
Fucking.
Heaven.
When I’m fully seated inside her, I know I’ll be hanging on by a thread the moment I start to move. Fortunately, I can already feel the muscles of her pussy tighten, so I know it’s not going to take much to get her there.
“Don’t move your hands,” I instruct, gently pushing her forward a little so her sweet ass is pointed back at me.
And then I move.
I start to pump, long, deliberate motions. With each rock of my hips, she reciprocates, rolling her body and taking me as deep as she can. Reaching up, I wrap one hand gently around her ponytail and give it just the slightest tug. The result? I feel her pussy squeeze as she cries out.
She’s so fucking close, which is good because my body is teetering on the edge of release, barely hanging on myself. The feel of her bare is overwhelmingly amazing, and I’m barely holding on.
“I need you to come, Lizzie. Let me feel it. Let me feel you,” I coax, dropping my hand from her hair and reaching around between her legs. All it takes is a few swipes of my fingers across her swollen clit and she detonates.
The grip on my dick is so fierce, I have no choice but to follow. I come hard, pumping my hips and emptying myself until I’m spent and breathless. I lean forward, spooning her body against mine.
Lizzie starts to sag, and as much as I’d love to stay right here, wrapped around her like a glove, I know we need to get washed up and to bed. Backing up, I dislodge my cock and step back into the water spray. “Come on, Lizzie.”
She turns around, a mixture of euphoria and exhaustion in her stunning eyes, and joins me under the direct spray.
Neither of us says a word as I grab her bodywash and squirt a glob in my hand.
I didn’t think to take a washcloth from the cabinet, but this’ll do just fine for tonight.
All we really want to do is clean the alcohol and sweat off our bodies.
Lizzie does the same, placing her hands on my chest and washing.
Our eyes are locked, and I realize this is the most intimate moment I’ve ever shared with a woman, sex excluded.
This is pure, our vulnerability and flaws on full display, and I’m not just talking about our bodies.
It’s as if we see each other, all the parts you try to hide from the world.
But I see her.
And the fact that not only does she see me, but I want her to, is pretty telling.
I’m in love with her.
When we’ve both scrubbed work off our bodies, I turn us so she’s fully beneath the spray. As the water cascades down her body, I lean in and press my lips to hers. This kiss is tender and full of meaning. I’m just not ready to say it yet, but maybe she’ll feel it.
“Come on, Lizzie. Let’s get to bed.”
Shutting off the water, I reach out and grab a big fluffy towel off the bar and wrap it around her. “I didn’t think to grab another. Let me get you one,” she says before carefully stepping out of the tub and pulling a second towel from the cabinet.
“Thanks,” I tell her, rubbing the soft material over my body before wrapping it around my waist.
She pauses at the sink to brush her teeth, while I go out and check the door and turn off the kitchen light. When I return, she’s finishing up, so I slip into the bathroom and do the same, using the extra brush I started keeping at her place. Finally, it’s time to hit the hay, and my body is ready.
When I get to her bedroom, I find Lizzie lying in bed, the sheet and thin blanket covering her naked body. I drop my towel onto the floor with hers and climb beneath the covers. Instantly, she moves, shifting her small body to curl against mine. I can’t get over how perfectly she fits there.
With me.
She exhales, her fingers wrapping around my arms as she rests her cheek against my chest. “Night, Collin,” she murmurs softly.
“I’m not going to wake you up in the morning, okay?” I ask, referring to when I leave for work.
“Be safe tomorrow.”
“I will,” I tell her, kissing her forehead and just holding her close. Her skin is soft and warm, maybe even a bit tacky still from the shower. But it still feels good.
She sighs and wiggles, shimmying even closer. I’m hot, but there’s no way in hell I’m moving right now. “I like you here. With me.”
The corner of my lip ticks with a hint of a smile. “I like being here with you too.”
My throat is thick, my emotions running high.
All I can think about is…what if? What if we really make a go of this?
What if I finally let go of the past that’s had a death grip on me for the last decade?
What if I grab on to this woman and never let go?
What if I finally get everything I never even realized I wanted?
Her soft snore fills the room, and as exhausted as I am, I don’t find sleep right away. I lie here, listening to her sleep and thinking about the future. A future I want with her.
Why?
Because I’ve fallen completely in love with her.
And those lines we’ve tried to walk, keeping our relationship professional when needed and private when not?
Well, I’m so far past those lines, I can’t even see them anymore.
And that’s okay.
We don’t need lines or rules. I want to date this woman, and if that means I need to quit so things don’t get confusing at work, then so be it. I’ll quit tomorrow. Because being with her is more important than a job. So, if she wants me to choose, I choose her.
It’s that simple.
She once asked me to give her thirty days. It was her request when she bought the business.
Well, what if I want more? Not just thirty days or sixty. Not a year or five. I want it all. All her time, all her love. I want forever.
That’s my simple request.
As I finally start to drift off to sleep, I whisper, “I love you.”
It’s the first time I’ve said it in more than ten years.
But it feels right.
She’s the one.
I feel it deep in my soul.
She’s forever.
When the alarm on my phone sounds, I almost shut it off. I’m too comfortable, too tired, but that’s not fair to my teammates at the station. So, I reach over and tap my screen, silencing the noise. Lizzie wiggles in my arms, snuggling closer. Her warm, naked skin is too tempting, but I can’t stay.
Not this morning, anyway.
Pressing my lips to her forehead, I slowly coax her to her back and extract my arm from beneath her body. Fortunately, she doesn’t wake. Instead, she rolls over onto her side and buries her face in the pillow. With a little mumble, she drifts back to sleep.
I move to the bathroom and grab my clothes.
Even though I should dress in the living room and take off so I’m quieter, I return to her bedroom.
With my eyes locked on her sleeping form, I dress in last night’s clothes.
Finally, when I have nothing left to do but put my shoes on, I move to where she lies and lightly brush my lips across hers. “Goodbye, Lizzie.”
“Bye,” she mumbles, turning onto her stomach.
I stand here for a minute, watching her sleep and repeating those three words just said. I’ve never heard anything sweeter, and I know what I have to do.
Taking a step back, and then another, I keep moving until I’m exiting her bedroom.
I put on my boots and make sure I have my wallet before leaving her apartment, checking to make sure it’s locked, and heading down the stairs.
I want nothing more than to just go back up and be with her, but that can’t happen. Not today.
I have a job to do.
My feelings for Lizzie will have to wait.
For now.