Chapter Fourteen
The day had been perfect. Every. Single. Moment.
Faith practically floated on air as she got off the bike.
It was nearly eleven o’clock in the evening, and night sounds filled the air.
She watched Gus roll his bike into the small garage beside the house.
When he locked up and found her waiting, a slow, sensual smile spread across his handsome face.
There were no words. Only a feeling, an electric current that connected them as they walked up the path together, fingers inches apart.
Hyper-aware of the man at her side, Faith tried to still her fast-beating heart.
Gus opened the door, and once she was inside, he followed her upstairs.
She had exactly one second of panic before the touch of his warm hand on her back grounded her.
“Where do you . . .” she began, and mouth dry, took a moment as her brain fast-forwarded to all the things she wanted to do with this man. “Where should we . . .” Shit. She was making a mess of things.
Gus leaned down and swept the lightest kiss ever across her mouth before murmuring in her ear.
“Your place has a bigger bed.”
His dark eyes made her pulse take off like a rocket, and she shakily exhaled then turned to her apartment door.
“I’ll be over in a couple of minutes.”
She nodded but didn’t speak. Jesus, she could barely gather her thoughts let alone form words.
The anticipation of being with Gus fully had been building all day.
If she were honest, it had been building since the first time they’d kissed at the dance.
And after the things he’d done to her the night before, well, it was a miracle she hadn’t jumped him in Central Park.
Quickly, she let herself inside and scurried across the room to turn on a lamp. Then she ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth and freshen up a bit. As she rinsed the toothpaste from the sink and looked in the mirror, Faith studied the face that looked back at her.
It was Faith Winters. But it wasn’t. Had she ever looked this . . . God, she didn’t have a word for it.
But she was different. Changed. And a part of her wondered if it was because of Gus or this town.
This place with the kind of folks who created bonds that lasted.
She thought of Hal and Samantha, Tully and Ford, and even Cassidy.
In some ways, they’d kept her sane from the darkness that had descended on her the moment her parents had been arrested.
And even though she’d only known them a short time, they’d done more to ease her burden than they knew.
“I don’t want to leave,” she whispered. She could make a home here. Live a life that mattered.
But Gus wasn’t here to stay. He’d been very clear that his time in Fire Lake was short-term.
She put her toothbrush away and grabbed some gloss.
As she dabbed it along her lips, she told herself that things were going to be fine.
This thing between her and Gus wasn’t serious.
This was two grown single adults having sex and hanging out with zero expectations.
Men and women did this sort of thing all the time.
She had needs, and he was going to meet them.
It’s not as if she was in love with Gus.
Faith heard the door to her apartment close and fluffed the waves that spilled over her shoulders. She took exactly two steps out of her bathroom and spied him leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom.
God. Damn. He looked good.
He held a bottle of wine aloft with a questioning look, then set it on her dresser when she slowly shook her head.
She wouldn’t be able to keep anything down on account of the swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
How was it that she, a grown-ass woman of twenty-seven, was so incredibly nervous around this man?
He’d already seen every inch of her. Kissed places. Touched places. Licked places.
And yet there was something in those dark eyes that set off all kinds of things inside Faith. Hot things. Fragile things. Needful things.
Moonlight spilled through the open windows and there was a slight breeze that spread goosebumps across her bare arms. She shivered and took a step toward Gus, suddenly unsure.
Which was dumb. Each of them knew why they were here.
He slowly moved toward her and slid his hands up along the sides of her face, his touch gentle and coaxing. When he leaned in to kiss her, Faith held her breath and tears poked the corners of her eyes because it was so damn perfect. This moment and this man.
His mouth was soft at first, his hands on her head light. But as the kiss deepened and desire took over, his grip tightened, and so did hers. Faith dug her fingers into his chest, her body pliant against his.
Gus kissed her until her knees buckled and she sagged against him. Hot and sweaty, with her body aching for more, she tore her mouth from his and rested her cheek against his shoulder.
The throb between her legs was intense, and with a groan, she wiggled her hips, but that only increased the friction. She gasped because now there were fingers down there. Caressing. Probing. Rubbing through her jeans.
Jesus. She was going to come, and they were only five minutes in.
Already, that exquisite pressure was building, and when he pressed against her, when he slipped his fingers inside her pants and slowly, methodically began to stroke, she swore a blue streak because the tight knot of desire expanded.
“That’s it, sweetness. Come for me.”
She closed her eyes, her legs like rubber, her body on fire with need. It didn’t take much more, and when she shuddered and cried out, his mouth was near her ear, and it was satisfaction she heard in his voice.
“You sound amazing when you come, do you know that?”
Breathing heavily, Faith looked up at him and slowly smiled because she had plans of her own. Suddenly filled with the kind of confidence she’d never experienced before, she pushed back and then pointed to the bed.
“On your back,” she ordered, smiling when his eyebrows shot up.
“Should I call you sir?” he said, falling onto the bed.
“Madam will do.”
His grin was wicked. “I like that. Madam Sweetness.”
“You need to move forward.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded, eyes on the bulge between his legs. “With your butt on the edge of the bed.”
His eyes were dark and hooded, and the energy in the air electrified when she reached for his zipper.
She’d only done this twice with Declan and both times she’d fortified herself with alcohol.
Faith had done it because it was something that had been expected.
It had been a birthday present the first time.
She hadn’t enjoyed it, and she certainly didn’t look forward to it.
But this was different.
He was different.
Gus leaned back onto his elbows and gave her full access.
Carefully she undid his zipper, and he lifted his hips so she could tug down his jeans.
The man was commando — something she hadn’t expected.
He was a big man. Tall with wide shoulders.
Big hands and feet, and his cock was something to behold.
As she sank to her knees in front of him, doubt began to cloud her mind. How could a girl with vanilla experiences satisfy a man like him? He’d probably been with hundreds of women who knew exactly what to do.
Tentatively she reached for him, her fingers gently sliding up his length and then back down again.
He made a sound — a hiss or half-groan — not that it mattered because whatever it had emboldened her.
Faith leaned forward and ran her mouth along the path her fingers had just made and then she kissed her way down.
His eyes were closed, his jaw clenched tight, and when she took him into her mouth, she watched him closely. She used her tongue and mouth to tease, loving the way his body strained against her. She kept things moving slowly, enjoying the feel and taste of him, almost as much as the sight of him.
He had a tattoo on his lower abdomen, and she caressed it while taking him deeper into her mouth.
“Jesus Christ, sweetness, your mouth is like fucking heaven.”
His hips began to gyrate, to grind into her as she rode him with her mouth and sucked harder and faster.
“I can’t hold off much longer,” he said roughly, sitting up. He looked down at her with eyes that glittered, his handsome face covered in a sheen of sweat.
“Then don’t,” she murmured, holding onto him with both hands while she took him deeper yet.
“You’re killing me,” he muttered with a gasp as she rolled her hands around him faster and faster.
“Don’t die,” she managed to say, looking up at him wickedly. “It’s still early.”
She would have taken every last drop of him, but Gus withdrew, and as she sat between his legs, he pumped his fist and finished himself off in seconds. It was the hottest thing she’d ever seen.
“Hold on.” Faith ran to the bathroom and grabbed a damp towel. She tossed it to him and stripped off her clothes, tossing them everywhere in her haste to get naked.
“Round two?” he asked, before pointing to his cock. “It’s not going to take long. But first, I’ve got a condom in my pocket.”
She grabbed it and handed it to him, watching with anticipation as he pulled it over his still semi-hard cock.
Then she pushed him back and crawled over the top of him so that she could straddle him around the waist. The way he looked at her filled Faith with the kind of power all women inherently have. It was basic. Stripped down. Sensual.
She kissed him and teased him. And kissed him some more, allowing him liberties with her breasts and mouth until her head spun.
“Sit back,” he ordered. “I need to see you.”
Slowly, Faith straightened her body and leaned back. Her legs were spread as she sat on his hips, and she bit her bottom lip to stop from crying out when he spread her lips open and pressed his thumb against her clit.
“Don’t hold it in,” he said, voice low. “I want to hear you.”