Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Theo
Found.
It was the perfect word for it—and I found her again, and again, and again. I was sure I’d pushed her to the point of exhaustion when she came hard on my tongue that last time, but after a moment’s respite, she shoved me onto my back and did some finding of her own.
“Fuck,” I groaned as she trailed her lips over my abs, her fingers at work on my zipper.
“That’s the idea.” She grinned at me. “It’s my turn to play. Just lie back and relax.”
Relaxing was out of the question, but I reclined on the pillows and bent my knees to give her room.
Her mouth, sweeter than any of her confections as she teased and tasted, was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
I tried to control my breathing, to keep myself in check, but play was exactly what she did.
My hands tangled in her hair, lifting it back from her beautiful face so I could watch as she explored my cock with her lips and tongue.
Sex had been many things for me over the years—stress relief, catharsis, exercise, connection.
This was different. More. Her joy and enthusiasm were contagious.
“Esther, I’m close.” I tightened my fingers in her hair, but she ignored the warning and took me deeper.
I groaned when she hollowed her cheeks on a hard pull, her hand stroking the base of my cock in time with her mouth.
Then she drew back, releasing me with a loud pop, and gazed up at me from under a sweep of dark lashes, her hand still moving as I spurted across my stomach, the orgasm hitting harder and lasting longer than any I could remember.
Actually fucking her might be the death of me.
Her fingers trailed along my thighs as she sat up, surveying the mess with a satisfied smile. “I didn’t know how fun that could be.”
I blinked at her, feeling like my brain cells had leached out as well. “Glad I could be of service.”
“Stay there,” she ordered.
Watching the luscious curves of her naked body as she climbed off the bed, I was relatively sure I couldn’t have moved if I’d wanted to. She returned from the ensuite bathroom a moment later and gently wiped my stomach clean with a damp washcloth.
“Queen of Sweets,” I mumbled when she tossed it into the hamper. “It suits you. Sweetest mouth, sweetest ass, sweetest—”
She clapped a hand over my lips. “I get the picture.”
I kissed her palm and waited until she moved it, stretched out alongside me, and rested her head on my shoulder before saying, “If I call you sweetness, are you going to accuse me of catching feelings?”
“Not after your list of my sweetest attributes,” she replied.
“Good,” I murmured, sifting my fingers into her hair. Every so often, as the silky strands tumbled onto her bare back, she’d shiver against me and snuggle deeper into my side.
With each passing moment, my contentment trembled on the precipice of dread. Only the fact that this relationship had an end date allowed me to shove it back down—things wouldn’t drag on before ending in tragedy.
This would be different. I’d make sure of it.
To distract myself from that line of thinking, I rolled toward Esther, hooked her leg over my hip, and let my hands wander over her body until she was panting with need.
“Theo,” she whimpered, trying to tug my hand between her legs.
“So impatient.” I nipped at the side of her breast, sucked her nipple hard, swirled my tongue around the peaked tip, then finally gave her what she wanted.
In a sense.
She might not have agreed when I spent what felt like hours edging her upward and easing her back down just to start all over again, until we were both sweaty and breathless, before finally bringing her to one final orgasm so intense, tears sprang to her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks.
Gently, I brushed them away with my thumbs, then gathered her back into my arms. Evening had faded into night, and when she yawned against my throat, I waited as she dressed and then walked her home to the guest house.
The way she smiled up at me when we reached her front door melted something inside me. I reached up to stroke the soft curve of her cheek and she nuzzled against my palm.
“Sweet dreams, Esther,” I murmured, dropping a kiss to her forehead.
“I’ll see you in the morning? We have prep work to do for the tree lightning.”
“As your trusty sidekick, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
She nodded, but before she turned to go inside, she tangled one hand in the front of my shirt and kissed me properly, then smirked. “Goodnight, Long John.”
I waited for the sound of the lock, then winked at the door in case she was watching through the peephole.
By the time I returned to the house to feed Toni her dinner, I was so tired I could barely think, but it had all been worth it just to see those sharp edges Esther was made of growing soft and warm.
While I pulled out a can of cat food, the entire afternoon replayed in my head over and over again.
The expanse of silky golden skin, the soft, supple curve of hip and breast, the way she filled my palms—fuck, she’d just left and already I wanted her back.
Every time I closed my eyes, I could see those midnight curls and the hot, sweet flesh hidden beneath.
And I hadn’t even been inside her yet.
With a groan, I forced myself to find a distraction—any distraction.
I was too restless to sleep, so I fired off a text to Billy, my business partner, even though I knew he was handling everything just fine without me.
We exchanged a few messages, most of which were thinly veiled albeit good-natured insults about my micromanaging, but that only killed fifteen minutes of my evening.
The urge to go back to the guest house was almost overwhelming.
Instead, I took a shower and failed spectacularly at not thinking about Esther’s sweetly rounded thighs wrapped around my head.
My own hand barely began to take the edge off my desire for her, even after she’d made me see stars barely an hour before.
I did everything I could to keep myself busy, from browsing every bookshelf in the house to scrolling mindlessly through social media.
My dad had sent me a few pictures from Florida earlier in the day, presumably while I’d been occupied with learning every inch of Esther’s delicious body, but when I thought about responding, my head filled with too many other questions.
First and foremost: was this the outcome my mother had been aiming for?
Jesus Christ. I scrubbed my hands over my face.
Leaving home at eighteen meant my mother’s involvement in my sex life had been limited to golden tidbits like always use a condom and for God’s sake, learn where the clitoris is.
That one had made me groan and stomp out of the house one afternoon, desperate to get the sound of that word from my mother’s mouth out of my mind, but in the end, I supposed I should be grateful.
I’d made it my mission to understand what the hell she was talking about and, if this afternoon was any sign, I’d learned that lesson with gusto.
By the time I checked the clock again, I had barely managed to kill another hour. I finally brushed my teeth, undressed, and threw myself down onto the bed, only to realize her scent lingered. I drew a deep breath of vanilla sweetness, cool peppermint, and the woman underneath.
I was so screwed.
I’d lived in Asheville about as long as I had in Spruce Hill, enjoyed an active social life, had a good group of friends.
Now and then, I dated, but never had I felt like anything substantial was missing from my life.
I ended those relationships before anyone could get too invested—I’d learned not to let things linger and drag on.
I knew even the tightest of connections could be broken.
Maybe there was an occasional pocket of emptiness in my chest that I couldn’t quite place, but my life wasn’t lacking.
Or it hadn’t been, before Esther.
With a groan, I rolled over and buried my face in the pillows. By the time I came up for air, Toni had hopped up onto the bed and started grooming her plumed tail as though my troubles were beneath her. I glared at her until she lifted those shining amber eyes to mine.
“Why her?” I asked simply, but the cat had no response.
Even as I tried to stop that train of thought before it could build momentum, I could feel that empty spot in my chest taking shape, forming into a silhouette of a beautiful, lonely baker with midnight hair and moonlit eyes.
I wanted her in a way I’d never wanted anyone before, wanted to treasure and cherish her as she deserved.
I’d put my foot in my mouth with questions about her husband, but it was easy enough to extrapolate after all she’d revealed.
That bastard had hurt her and she’d hidden herself away from the world because of it.
I wanted to draw her back into the light and watch her blossom, even if it was only temporary.
While I was here, I’d just…ignore any thoughts of the future. Spending time with Esther would be no hardship, that was for damn sure. We’d enjoy each other’s company, slake our lust, get through the holidays, and part ways. No harm done.
Since it was easier—and far more satisfying—to reflect on what had already transpired than to worry about what was yet to come, I rolled onto my back and let the events of the afternoon flow slowly through my mind.
Esther, knocking at my door with cheesecake in hand.
The cozy softness of her curled up at the other end of the couch.
Those luscious lips, plump and sweet. Each curve and dip of her body, every silken inch of skin.
The hoarse cries and restless whimpers and low moans as I stroked and tasted her.
Somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew six more weeks would never be enough.
Ididn’t even remember falling asleep, but when I awoke, the sun shone through the curtains I’d forgotten to close last night in my distraction.
I groaned as I rolled out of bed, but Esther had suggested I come to the guest house for breakfast before her event preparations kicked into full swing for the tree lighting.
I wasn’t about to miss whatever time I could get with her.
After a quick shower, I fed Toni, glanced out the kitchen window toward the guest house, and grabbed a jacket to combat the frigid morning air.
Esther texted to let me know she was awake and to let myself in, so I rapped briefly on the door just to avoid startling her before I entered the guest house.
“Hello?” I called, hanging my coat on the hook behind the door.
She wandered out of the kitchen, dressed in leggings covered in tiny cupcakes and a wide-necked sweatshirt that fell off one shoulder. She was still adorably tousled and sleepy, cradling a mug of coffee in both hands. An unexpected wave of tenderness flooded my chest just looking at her.
“Morning,” she mumbled.
“Good morning,” I replied. Before I said anything else, she set the coffee down, walked straight into my arms, and buried her face in my chest. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a rock,” came her muffled response.
I chuckled against the top of her head. “Good. Can I help with breakfast?”
Reluctantly, she peeled herself away from me, though I caught her at the waist and kissed her, slow and deep. She sighed into me, just as soft and warm as she looked. When I released her, she smiled up at me.
My heart stuttered inside my chest.
“I’ve got it covered, but there’s coffee if you want to make yourself a cup.”
I followed her into the kitchen, my eyes on the smooth roll of her hips.
Though I wanted nothing more than to sweep her into my arms and spend the day in bed, she’d made it clear that we had work to get done before the event this weekend.
When she handed me a mug, though, I couldn’t resist leaning down to nuzzle the soft skin at the base of her neck.
Esther hummed quietly, swaying against me. “Remind me why I said no sleepovers?” she asked breathlessly.
Laughing against her skin, I laid a trail of kisses to her shoulder. “Because you’re not ready for that and we’re taking it slow?”
“Five or six orgasms doesn’t seem slow to me,” she replied.
“Oh?” I lifted my head. “Does that mean you lost count, sweetness?”
She wrinkled her nose at me. “It is possible, yes. You’re very talented, you know.”
I opened my mouth to reply, then caught sight of a swatch of red on her neck. “Did I do that?” I asked, mildly horrified at having marked her beautiful skin.
“It’s called beard burn, and yes.” She lifted one hand to gently scrape her fingernails through my beard. “I found it in various other sensitive places, too, but before you apologize, it was well worth it.”
“Was it?” I mused, stroking my fingers over the redness. “I could shave.”
“Don’t you dare,” she protested. “Nothing wrong with a little reminder.”
Pure heat streaked through me. I hooked one finger in the loose neckline of her sweatshirt and let my knuckle tease along her skin. She shivered under the caress.
“Maybe you should show me those other reminders, just in case they need some attention.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist. For about half a second, hope sprang, then she tipped her head up to me and grinned.
“No such luck, sidekick. We’ve got work to do.”