Chapter 20
Hayes
The twilight sky dances with the last purple and orange strands of sunlight as Kelsie and I walk to the top of the hill where our house faces a mountain vista. Kelsie draws to a halt at the end of our walkway, pulling me to a stop with her. I look down at our joined hands and smile as I absently run my thumb alongside hers.
It’s taken all of my willpower not to throw her over my shoulder and hurry us back home. These last few days have felt magical, like some sort of healing balm has covered my emotional wounds. I feel more alive, living in the present and not in the past.
I’ve been more focused with my football training and my coursework. Kelsie does something to me, and now that I’ve begun to open up to her, it’s as if we’ve reached a whole new level in our relationship. We’ve summited a mountain and the view is so much better than I ever thought it would be.
“What is it, mon amour?” I whisper as I tug her against me and kiss the side of her head.
“Just look at that,” she states as she raises a hand to motion toward the colorful sky. My gaze follows her fingers and I let myself take in what she’s seeing. I pull her closer to me so her backside is pressed against my chest and I wrap my arms around her, leaning my head on her shoulder.
“It’s beautiful,” she says on a contented sigh, her head falling back to rest against my shoulder.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmur into her ear, kissing the soft skin there that drives me wild.
She shivers from my touch and slowly turns to face me. “I want to paint it.”
My eyebrows lift in question. “Now?”
She shrugs almost apologetically. “Yeah, I need to at least sketch it out with a little color so I don’t lose the image in my head.”
Rising up on her tiptoes, Kelsie feathers a light kiss over my jaw. My hands slide down to grab her ass, fitting her snuggly against me.
How incredibly sexy would it be to watch her paint this moment? I drop my gaze to stare into her deep blue eyes.
“Can I watch you?” I ask, sounding hopeful and maybe even uncertain.
Her eyes widen like saucers. “Really? I…”
Her words trail off and she bites down on her bottom lip.
“Please? I’ll be quiet and I’ll stay out of your way,” I add and lift a hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
As much as I want her naked and in my bed tonight, the idea of watching her do what she loves seems even more enticing for reasons I can’t explain. Maybe it’s the dreamy expression she wears when she’s painting or the way her body relaxes peacefully with every brush stroke over the canvas. It’s like she gets lost in a fantasy world all her own and she finds her true purpose in life.
“Okay,” she agrees hesitantly, stepping back to extend her hand to me. I take it in mine as she leads the way up to the second floor landing to the attic door. When the stairs narrow, I follow behind her and I’m greeted with a perfect view of her ass. I remind myself this time is about her desires, not mine.
At least for now.
She pauses at the top of the steps and points toward the right. “You can sit on the chair over by the table.”
“Okay.”
Kelsie grabs a blank canvas that leans against a host of others and places it on her easel, staring at it for a long moment. I suddenly realize this is going to be harder than I thought it would be because I want nothing more than to distract her with my hands and tongue. Yet, I also don’t want her to miss the opportunity to create something beautiful. Just like soccer was a lifeline for me, I feel like painting might be hers, even if she doesn’t realize it.
I clear my throat. “You know what? Why don’t I give you some time to get started and I’ll go take a shower?”
“Oh, uh, sure,” she says distractedly, as if she’s already lost in her work and my voice surprised her.
I step up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Get to work, mon amour, because I don’t know how much longer I can wait for you.”
The need in my voice is already present and I slide a hungry finger down between her breasts.
“Oh,” she murmurs, relaxing against my body. “Well, maybe this can wait…”
I love how quickly she responds to my touch. I want her so much but decide for once not to listen to my dick. This is important to her, and so it’s important to me.
I slide my thumb over her jawline and her eyelids flutter. “Get your thoughts on the canvas. I’ll be right back up.”
Hesitating only for a second at the top of the stairs, I gaze at her longingly. She’s slipped on her painting overalls and already has a brush in hand.
That’s my girl.
I make my way to the bathroom, taking a very quick shower because my willpower is waning. All day long my need has grown bigger and wilder. As we played the flag football game together and I watched her true happiness in the company of her friends and the way she was so uninhibited and free, it’s increased my need to be close to her. To connect. To be inside her.
I hurriedly finish the shower and return to my bedroom where I throw on a pair of sweatpants and tear off a few packets of condoms from the strip.
With barely a rough dry of my hair that’s sorely in need of a cut, I ditch the towel in my bathroom and head back upstairs to the attic. The quiet of the house makes me realize that our roommates are out for the evening, giving us some much needed privacy.
As Kelsie comes into view, my breath hitches.
She’s so fucking beautiful. She’s wearing her painting overalls with only one strap secured and has removed the shirt underneath, leaving her in just a sports bra. Her hair is pulled high up on her head in a messy bun, stray strands sticking out in different directions. Her eyes are on the canvas, but I swear her mind is a million miles away. Watching her like this in her element makes the wait to touch her so much more worth it. I’m a spectator at the sport of Kelsie’s imagination coming to life, and it’s awe-inspiring to see it.
God, what I wouldn’t give to feel that deep passion toward something again.
I look past her at the canvas. She’s begun to capture the view from this evening, complete with the bright colors in the sky reflected on the snow-capped mountaintops. And at the bottom of the landscape are two figures. They are dark, like shadows, but I know immediately who they are. Us. I hesitate for a second. I’m not sure if the mountains are meant to be literal or figurative. If she’s painting the visual depiction of our relationship, I know we still have a long way to climb and a lot to work through. Maybe she sees that too. I still have dark secrets I haven’t shared.
I’m deep in thought when Kelsie turns around to face me. She gives me a small smile and her cheeks pinken.
“It’s very rough and in the early stages. I’ll polish it up later with more details,” she rushes to explain.
Her chest rises and falls with her quickened breaths. The light from the fixture and the one standing behind her reflects against her blonde hair, the lighter strands glinting and making her appear ethereal.
I want to tell her how beautiful she is. I want to express that she’s the most gorgeous woman that I’ve ever seen. I want to let her know that she’s never looked more perfect than at this moment.
But words fail me and I take ten steps across the room and crush her against me in a hungry kiss.
She sighs into my mouth as our kiss deepens, our tongues sliding against each other’s. Her paintbrush and palette clatter to the floor and she wraps her arms around my neck. Gripping her lush ass again, I fit her against me and she wraps her legs around my waist. My cock strains inside my sweatpants in desperation to get closer.
“I need you, Kels.”
She hums in response and I turn my head to scan the room for some leverage.
Walking us over to a table, I brush off some rags and paint brushes with one hand before setting her down on it. I glance down to see that my bare chest and stomach are now covered in smears of paint from her overalls.
She bites her bottom lip. “Sorry, I made a mess.”
“I’m not.” I pause and cup her cheek. “Never be sorry about your art. I like that it”s messy.” There’s a splotch of yellow paint on her collarbone and I smear it up her throat before kissing her lips again.
“You’re so sexy and I love watching you paint.” I drop my head and lick a line up the base of her throat. “I love watching you…”
“You love watching me?” she questions as our lips touch again.
I smile against her skin. “Yeah.”
Blindly fumbling with her overall strap, she giggles and helps me to unsnap it as the bib falls down to expose her bra. She raises her ass in the air and shimmies out of them. My hands roam over her tight abs, down over her belly and stop at her hip bone. I swallow.
Holy hell. She’s wearing nothing on underneath. All day long she’s been without panties and I didn’t know it.
I suppose that’s a good thing, otherwise I wouldn’t have lasted long in that football game earlier.
She slips off her sports bra over her head and I step back to take her all in.
“You’re the work of art, mon amour,” I croon. I know it’s cheesy as fuck, but I don’t care right now. With Kelsie, I can be myself. That’s one thing she’s always allowed me to be. No bullshit. Just innately me.
I pull the condoms from my pocket and drop them on the table. She glances at them and then back at me.
“We don’t have to use them. I haven’t been with anyone else since we met in Paris, and I’m on the pill,” she explains.
I lean forward and run my thumb over her lips. “Same…or at least the part about not being with anyone else,” I counter with a grin.
She laughs, but it dissipates as I lick over her jawline and then down her neck.
“You have no idea how badly I want to be inside you,” I whisper. I drop to my knees and spread her legs apart, pressing a kiss to her inner thigh. She’s already so wet when I use my thumbs to spread her open. Then I circle her clit with my tongue and slowly sink it inside her.
Her head drops back on the table and a sexy moan escapes her lips.
“That’s right, baby. Tell me how good it feels when I fuck you with my tongue,” I say, remembering how much she loves dirty talk. I go back to alternating between licking her clit and sliding my tongue inside until her body begins to tremble. Her arms flail as her hands look for purchase, landing on top of my head. She fists her hands in my still damp hair.
“Oh, God! Don’t stop, Hayes! I’m so close!” she yells, spurring me on as I slide two fingers inside her. I’m rewarded when she tenses against me and cries out my name. She trembles and moans as she slowly comes down off her high, her body relaxing on the table. When her hands loosen their grip from my head, I rise up to stand between her thighs, spreading her legs wider as I circle her clit with my thumb.
She reaches down and coats her fingers with her wetness and then encircles my dick, stroking me with the lubrication. I groan from the pleasure it induces.
She lines up my hard cock against her entrance, my eyes entranced with the view of the top of my crown slipping between her folds.
Then she latches her legs around me, her ankles locked around the small of my back. She prompts me forward and I slowly penetrate her walls, my length disappearing inside. I drop my head forward and release a groan at the exquisite feel of her slick heat as it surrounds me.
Our eyes lock and we’re left without a single barrier between us.
I swallow at the sight of our joined bodies. “Fuck, mon amour. You feel so damn good.” With a wicked smile, I pull out and thrust back into her. She arches off the table and cries out a moan of pleasure. I bend over and swipe my lips over her neck and jaw as I begin to pump faster and harder.
“I’m so close…I’m going to come again!” she cries out and I quicken my pace. The slapping sound our bodies make and the friction with nothing between us becomes too intense, and my balls tighten, my body rushing toward release.
I circle Kelsie’s clit until I feel her tense underneath me and we both come together, my orgasm ribboning hot inside of her.
There’s a moment of stillness between us and I flatten my palm to the table as our breathing evens out.
“I think I love having you watch me paint,” she declares as she slowly opens her eyes.
“I think I love…” I trail off, catching myself before I say the words.
I think I still love you. I never stopped.
I clear my throat. “And I love watching you too.”
I leave it at that as I pull out, reaching for a cloth on the table to wipe away the remnants of my release from her inner thighs.
The love I have for her is so great, but I’m afraid to admit it. The last thing I want to do is scare Kelsie away after we’ve come so far and made it here at last.
The only place I want to be.