21. Chapter Twenty-One - Reed
Reed - 5 Weeks Later
M y whole body hums with anticipation as I wait for Abby to open the door. I think today might be the day. After a year of wondering if I’d ever see her again, a whirlwind week in Paris, and four weeks of dating back in London, I hope today is finally the day I get to have her again.
Just like I promised, I’m taking things slow, the proper way, you could say. Sure, she spent every night in my bed during our time in Paris, but that was only because I couldn’t stand the thought of a night without her in my arms or waking up without her beside me. “No funny business,” as she put it. And honestly? If sticking to that means this becomes more than just a vacation fling, it’s a price I’m more than happy to pay.
We jumped right into bed, skipping the awkward dates, the courting, the ‘will he kiss me goodnight when he gets me home?’ but turns out, I want that with her.
Only our dates aren’t awkward, there is no question whether she wants me to kiss her, and we already work like we’ve been a couple for years.
Returning from Paris was a cruel awakening and the ultimate test for us . For her, it meant returning to her real life and finding a place for me in it. Her day job often leaves her so drained, she sometimes can’t even muster the emotional strength to see me or falls asleep minutes after dinner.
For me, it meant turning a large part of my life around. While Adam got better at leaving me alone with last-minute replacements, I now put a complete stop to it and took some much needed time off. Finally, I have time to rediscover who I am outside of modeling and going to the gym to keep my body in shape for work. I've even gotten into cooking!
Finding time together was challenging enough, and when we found some, we spent it getting to know each other. Now I know that her favorite movie as a child was Lilo and Stitch , that her brother’s nickname for her used to be Abby-Dabby and she hated that she shared a name with one of the geese from Aristocats because he used to make fun of her for it.
It took us a little while, but we’ve fallen into a great rhythm now. Some days when she's not getting her behind kicked in 'UNO' by her friends, I’ll come to her place with agreed-upon takeout, other days I cook for her or we whip up something together. And today?
Well, today might be special because she offered to cook some fancy risotto for me and that’s a first in our little routine. Apparently she got the recipe from her grandmother who lived in Italy for a while. It didn’t stop me from bringing dessert, though, courtesy of Jackson’s girlfriend, who works in a bakery and makes the most divine pastries.
And if my charm doesn’t get the point across, these pastries will, because I’m convinced these little strawberry tarts can charm the pants off anyone.
There’s no way I’m imagining it, the way the air sizzles between us when our eyes meet, the lingering gazes and touches, like we don’t want to let the other go again… Yet neither of us quite dares to make the first move. How’s that for dating awkwardness?
But it stops today. Because I literally cannot wait any longer. One year, not knowing if I’d ever see her again, was torture in itself, and now that I’ve found her and realize that she makes my heart flutter just as badly, my body is aching to be inside her. To claim her, officially as mine, to watch her fall apart beneath my hands, shout my name with pleasure dripping from her voice.
Fuck. Just the thought of it sends my blood straight to my cock.
“Come on,” I whisper under my breath and press the bell to her apartment again.
“One second,” she calls from behind the door, her voice muffled. I shift my weight, foot scraping lightly against the floor, nervousness making my belly tingle and anticipation tugging the corners of my mouth into a wide smile. But when the door finally opens, I freeze, eyes wide, and mouth parted, nearly dropping the desserts in my hands.
Holy fuck.
No, I most definitely didn’t imagine it. Because Abby, my beautiful, wonderful girlfriend, is leaning against the doorframe like it’s the cover of a magazine, one hip popped, a cheeky smile playing on her lips, and wearing just about the sexiest lingerie I’ve ever seen.
There are straps and sheer white lace that displays more than it hides, and I can’t help it, my eyes are instantly drawn to her boobs, nipples peeking through the see-through fabric.
“You want to come in?” she asks in a seductive whisper, lifting her eyebrow, as her smile turns from mischievous to amused.
That’s when I shake off the spell she just put on me.
“Fuck yes, I want to come int,” I growl, pushing my way inside and kick the door closed behind me. I blindly set the bag of pastries on the counter and miss it. I hear them fall to the ground, but I can’t bring myself to care.
All I can think about is her.
My arm snakes around her waist, pulling her flush to me as my hand finds the curve of her neck, fingers threading through her hair, keeping her head right there as I capture her lips in a scorching kiss.
“Fuck, you look beautiful,” I whisper against her lips, only breaking the kiss because I need to catch my breath. She bites her lip, eyelashes fluttering as her eyes jump between mine, lipstick smeared around her mouth and, without a doubt, mine too.
“Do we need a condom?” I ask her, hands wandering down her back and coming to a stop on her ass.
She shakes her head, fingers in my neck playing with my hair, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Good.” I lean down and, before she can react, I hoist her up by the back of her thighs, pulling her legs around my waist.
“Reed!” she squeals before breaking into a giggle and holding on to me tightly.
“This,” I murmur, shifting her so I can hold her with one arm, letting my finger trail over the pale lace strap of her lingerie, “is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. And that’s the only reason I’m not tearing it off your fucking body right now.”
I carry her to the bedroom, my fingers kneading the warm flesh of her thighs. She runs a hand down my back, and I feel her soft giggle against the side of my throat.
“Fuck, you’re driving me crazy,” I whisper, kicking the door to her bedroom open.
She stretches her neck and leans in, her lips brushing my earlobe as she whispers, “Likewise, babe.”
Giving her ass a squeeze when she wriggles in my hold, I step into the bedroom and lower her onto the bed. As soon as her back hits the mattress, she tightens her legs around me for a moment before lowering them, and her hands slide under my t-shirt, pulling it up by the hem until I help her yank it over my head and blindly throw it behind me.
“Get up,” she whispers. I rise to my feet in front of the bed as she turns around, crawling toward me on all fours. When she reaches me, she lifts herself up, her breath grazing my chest. With practiced fingers, she unbuckles my belt and tugs my pants down in one confident motion.
Before I know it, I’m naked, and she’s still in that fucking lingerie.
“I don’t even want to take this off you,” I mumble, slowly running a finger down her sternum, between her breasts, then lower, face only a breath away from hers, watching the blush on her cheeks deepen. “Though I really want you skin to skin.”
“Then how about I take this off myself?” she whispers hoarsely, her hand wandering to the back of my neck and pulling me in, her teeth gently capturing my lip as she reaches behind herself to find the clasp. As soon as she releases my lip, my tongue darts out, chasing her touch as her bra falls to the mattress, eyes transfixed to her breasts while she shimmies out of her panties, the sight making my cock twitch.
“Fuck, you’re so beautiful,” I groan, palming my cock. Just seeing her naked has me rock hard and desperate for her.
“I don’t think I can be gentle,” I whisper as I climb onto the bed again, cradling her face between my hands. My cock brushes her belly, and she reaches down to palm it and give me a few gentle strokes.
“Who said I wanted you to be?” she asks breathily, biting that goddamn lip again.
And something in me snaps.
I push her back until she falls onto the mattress, my lips crashing into hers in a deep, desperate kiss that leaves us both panting for air, my hands running over every inch of her body I can reach and hers doing the same.
“Are you wet for me, babe?” I ask with a smirk, trailing a path down her front with my fingertips, brushing over her nipple, already perky and desperate for attention, drawing a soft moan from her lips.
“Hurry the hell up and find out,” she whispers, fingers running through my hair as my hand slips between her legs, drawing ribbons over the sensitive skin of her thighs, so softly my barely-there touch sends goosebumps over her skin.
“Fuck yes, you are,” I whisper when I finally slide a finger through her folds, groaning when I feel how hot and ready she is for me, my cock all but ready to burst.
“Fuck,” I groan against her neck, trying to calm myself down. She fists my hair, tugging my face up to meet hers, cradling my head in her soft hands.
“Breathe,” she whispers, a grin tugging on her lips. “I need you, so bad, Reed. I’m prepared.”
Her words have the opposite effect though, because all I can picture is her playing with herself and getting ready for me. Fuck. Her tongue flicks over her lips and I lean down to capture it with mine as I palm my cock and line myself up to her waiting entrance.
A pained sound falls from her throat as I begin to push inside slowly. I swallow it, intensifying the kiss to distract her as I inch deeper, filling her. Once I’m fully inside, I pause to let her adjust, kissing a path down her neck as she catches her breath.
“Fuck, babe,” I whisper, our faces only a breath apart, the pained crease between her eyebrows smoothing out. “You feel so perfect.” I draw back slowly, then carefully thrust inside her. “So perfect for me.”
Her pained groans turn into aroused whimpers, her fingers digging into my shoulder blades.
“There you go, give me more of those cute little moans. Fuck, I’ve missed those.”
“Not as much as I missed your cock,” she whispers with a grin, wiggling her eyebrows that makes me shake my head with a chuckle.
“Debatable.” I lean in for a kiss. “You feel so perfect,” I whisper. “So wet for me. So tight.”
Thrust .
She throws her head back, breaking the kiss for a guttural moan, and I kiss a trail down her neck, over her breasts, pulling a nipple between my lips.
Thrust .
“So responsive for me,” I murmur, giving it a flick of my tongue before shifting, pushing myself up for better leverage, fucking her harder, just like she wanted. Her moans turn into those whiny, incoherent whimpers that have burned themselves into my brain and I can’t help but smile.
“Come for me, baby,” I whisper, continuing to drive myself into her, harder and faster.
She looks at me through thick eyelashes with glassy eyes, determination washing over her face as she trails a hand down her body, between her legs, to get her right there.
“That’s it, beautiful,” I growl against her breast, lifting myself back up to watch her touch herself. “Take what you need.”
I palm her breast and give it a rough squeeze, feeling myself get closer to my release as well. Her eyebrows crease, cheeks flushing red and her mouth falls open.
“Almost there,” she breathes, fingernails of her free hand digging into my upper arm. “Reed… fuck…”
“I’m right there with you,” I grunt, voice low and raw, pounding into her hard, chasing my own climax.
She comes apart, her whole body trembling, squeezing me inside her as she moans my name, the sound pushing me over the edge, whispering her name over and over as I finish inside her, fucking her until we’re both breathless and sweaty messes.
“Fuck, babe,” I whisper, collapsing on top of her, burying her completely beneath me and pressing a kiss against her forehead, noting the small smile playing at her lips.
“Sorry for ambushing you like that,” she whispers after she’s caught her breath, but I chuckle and look at her amusedly.
“Babe,” I say, tilting her chin until her eyes meet mine, “just know, I will never, never be mad about a surprise like that.”
“That’s good to know,” she mumbles, a cheeky grin tugging on her lips, and I lean in kiss her again.
As we lie there, wrapped up in each other, a quiet certainty settles deep in my chest: we’re going to be just fine.
Sure, there are logistics to figure out, like visas, and my jobs, but if being with her means jumping through hoops of paperwork and bureaucracy, then I’ll jump. Happily.
Because this, holding her in my arms, just like now, is what matters most.
Hearing her talk about her day, her dreams, the cute little café she stumbled across. Telling her about my brothers and their subsequent drama. Letting her into my world, and getting to be part of hers.
I might’ve been the last brother to get coupled up, as Zoey would say—but waiting for Abby? Completely worth it.
And whatever the future holds, I know we’ll face it together. And I honestly can’t wait.