Chapter 12 #4
“Damn,” Ember said softly. “That wasn’t fair.”
Craig moved so quickly, she didn’t have a chance to evade his grasp. He hauled her out of her chair and across his lap and had his mouth on hers before she could say another word.
He tasted like coffee and bacon, and Ember moaned as he devoured her mouth. Unlike the other times he’d kissed her, his hands roamed. One arm held her tightly against him so she didn’t fall off his lap, and his other hand snuck under her shirt and palmed one of her breasts.
Ember squirmed on his lap, feeling his hard cock under her ass. It felt good knowing she could turn him on so much, and so quickly, because it felt as if she’d gone from zero to one hundred in a millisecond herself.
“Craig,” she moaned when she lifted her head to take a breath.
He didn’t respond, just pulled the front of her scoop neck down and latched his mouth onto the fleshy part of her upper breast. She felt him suck her skin into his mouth, and she couldn’t help but moan again.
He lifted his head a minute later and gave her a grin as he met her gaze.
“Did you just give me a hickey?” she asked.
“Yup,” he said without apology. “But it’s in a place only I can see. I don’t want anyone looking at you and thinking about sex. Well, any more than they already do because of how damn gorgeous you are. And tonight, I’m gonna find a lot more places to mark.”
“You’re lethal, you know that?” Ember asked.
“I’ve never felt this desperate to make love to someone before,” Craig said seriously. “But I swear if I don’t get inside you sooner rather than later, I’m gonna literally die.”
Ember couldn’t help but smile. “That was a little dramatic, don’t you think?”
“No.”
“Do I need to stop and get condoms?” Ember asked a little shyly. She knew adults talked about this kind of thing, but it was harder than she’d thought.
Craig gave her a tender smile. “No. I’ll take care of that today.”
“Thanks.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to thank me for taking care of you. It’s my pleasure.”
“What are you going to do today while I’m busy with Julio and Marie?”
“Going to the grocery store, checking in with the guys to make sure everyone got home all right and all is well, making sure Grover hasn’t decided to head to Afghanistan by himself, buy some condoms, and wash my sheets.”
Ember’s head spun. “Wash the sheets?” she asked.
“Yeah. I want our first time to be perfect. And I can’t think of anything better than taking you on fresh, clean sheets.”
“Right.” Ember liked that he’d thought about that small detail.
No—she loved it.
“Is there a chance Grover will go overseas without you guys?”
Craig sighed. “I’d like to say no, but I’ve never seen him so worked up about a mission before.”
“I’ll check my account today and see if anyone mentioned seeing Sierra.”
“I know you were glad to take over your own accounts, but maybe you should think about hiring someone again.”
Ember opened her mouth to disagree, but Craig kept talking before she could speak.
“I’m not saying someone who would take over.
But they could respond to posts and keep you updated on whether there’s anything you should be concerned or informed about.
You aren’t going to have time to keep it up once the gym gets going.
You can tell the person what to post and stuff, and you wouldn’t have to read all those horrible, mean comments. ”
Ember thought about his suggestion for a moment.
It was actually a good one. She didn’t love all the crap that came along with her accounts.
She thought she would, but once she took it over, she realized what a time suck it could be.
And Samer had been extremely helpful about answering any questions, even after she’d basically fired him.
Maybe seeing if he’d consider working for her—and not her parents—would be a good idea. “I’ll think about it,” she told him.
“Good,” Craig said. Then he kissed her hard and fast on the lips and stood, taking her with him.
Ember’s feet hit the floor and he steadied her. “We’ve got some time to kill before you need to head to Austin. Do you want to go to the store to get stuff for your apartment? I could come, then help you unpack and put things away…if you wanted.”
“I’d love that,” Ember told him with a huge smile.
She hadn’t had time to pick up some of the things she needed, like rugs for the bathroom, pillows, and other odds and ends.
And having Craig by her side would make it even more fun.
She also appreciated that, even though it was obvious she’d be spending the night at his house tonight, he wasn’t pressuring her to give up her apartment already.
It was silly, but even if she spent a lot of her free time with Craig at his place, she still liked the idea of having her own apartment.
Of being independent. She could have a boyfriend and still be independent.
Was looking forward to it, actually. Craig would be deployed, probably sooner rather than later, and there would also be days when she wanted some time to herself.
She wasn’t assuming that she’d have her apartment forever, and she certainly wanted things to continue to progress with Craig…
but for now, she needed her own space. Didn’t want to trade one form of dependency—living with her parents—for another by moving in with a man.
“Why don’t you go pack your stuff. Leave anything you want to use Monday. You can grab what you need for tonight after we shop and set up your place. I’ll do the dishes and then we can head out.”
“You do dishes?” Ember teased.
“Yup. And vacuum, mop, and do the laundry too.”
“Be still my heart.” Ember was kidding, but kinda not.
“Adorable,” Craig muttered, then gave her a small shove toward the stairs. “Go now, before I decide I don’t want to wait for tonight.”
Ember paused and put her hand on her chin, as if deep in thought.
Craig laughed. “Go. Have pity on me.”
So she went. But she did so smiling.