Chapter 4
Chapter Four
JOE
With a lapful of Thea and her lips brushing across mine, the need I’d been trying to tamp down flared hot. Before I could think it through, I was sliding one palm down her back to lever her closer to me and lacing my fingers in her hair to angle her head to the side.
I fit my mouth over hers and took control of our kiss.
Fuck me. Lightning sizzled through me. Ever since that kiss back at the garage, I'd been trying to get control of my need, all to no avail.
My arousal had been at half-mast all evening.
My cock swelled to an ache the moment her lips touched mine.
Thea was a drug, the very best kind for my body, the forbidden fruit. I’d fallen for her so hard in high school and pined for what we’d had after she broke it off. And here she was, kissing me, and there was absolutely no reason not to let this go further.
Maybe she wanted just one night, but I had other plans. We would start with one night, though.
She gasped when I slid my hands down her sides. Her skin was silky soft when I slipped a palm up and caught the hem of her shirt, letting it ride up around my wrist.
Fuck me. Kissing Thea was heaven. She tasted just like I remembered, a little sweet. Her lips were soft and plump as her tongue sensually glided against mine. She broke free, gulping in air. Her lips were swollen and kiss bitten as she stared at me.
“Is this crazy?” she rasped.
“Absolutely not.”
She blinked, her lips curling in a slow, sensual smile.
“Let's get the practical matters out of the way first,” I added.
She took another breath. “Practical?”
“I need to get a condom. Do you have any condoms?”
Her eyes widened slightly, and she let out a startled laugh. “No. Do you?”
I shook my head. “No, I'm not seeing anyone, and I don't usually bring anyone here. We might have to take a drive.”
Thea shook her head sharply. “I can’t get pregnant.”
“You can’t?” I was jolted at this.
She nodded and took a quick breath. “I can’t. I swear.”
I had no idea how to respond to this. “Are you okay?” I pressed.
She swallowed, shrugging lightly. “Well, yes and no. I’d rather not talk about the whole thing right now. This isn't exactly a romantic conversation, you know,” she added.
“I know.” Her eyes were tight at the corners, and I sensed she was shutting me out.
“If you're worried about me not being clean, it's been a while.” This whole conversation was strange. When we were together before, we were young and so into each other we didn’t think much about serious matters.
My father had given me a very stern lecture about condoms, and I always had them on me back then.
“Same,” I said slowly.
“Okay, is there anything else practical that we missed?” Thea pressed.
No, but I was suddenly worried about her. I should have known this, and my heart felt a little funny. “Thea, if—”
She shook her head sharply. “Please, Joe, don’t force me to talk about this now.”
I brushed her hair back and nodded. I figured we would have to cross this bridge later. She lifted her hand, trailing her thumb along my jaw before she leaned forward to kiss me again.
Then I was breathing her in as our kiss went on and on. She shoved at my T-shirt, breaking free to murmur, “I need to feel your chest.”
Our clothes came off in a tangled rush. Thea had filled out since high school, and her breasts were plump and bouncy.
“Fuck, sweetheart,” I murmured, pressing greedy kisses along the side of her neck.
Her skin was flushed pink. She bit her lip as I trailed my knuckles down her breastbone and paused to undo the clasp of her bra. It fell to the sides, and her breasts bounced free.
She took a shaky breath. I cupped a breast, dragging my thumb across her already taut nipple.
I watched as her eyes darkened and her hips rocked over the hard ridge of my arousal.
I dipped my head to catch her nipple in my mouth, savoring the way she arched her back reflexively.
I swirled my tongue around, sucking lightly and letting my teeth graze her nipple before I lifted my head.
She blinked, letting out a ragged gasp.
Thea was glorious, and I forgot how good it felt to be with her.
She’d been the star of many fantasies, but if there were memories to doubt, high school memories were definitely those.
It was so easy to view those years through a haze.
We’d dated for six months in the open and six months surreptitiously.
One whole year. I thought nothing could usurp just how hot those memories had burned.
Yet getting this chance with her was its own fuel to the fire burning inside me. It kindled higher and higher with every subtle response from her.
“Thea,” I whispered.
She dragged her eyes open, and we stared at each other.
“Let's go to my bedroom.”
She blinked again, looking a little confused. I decided to simply be honest. “All we ever got before were stolen moments. This night is ours. We even have a bed.”
It felt as if our youthful selves—craving each other, loving each other, but being too young and stupid to really know how good it had been for us—rose like smoke in the air around us, that connection shimmering to life and taking shape at this moment.
Her lips curled into a slow, sensual smile, and fuck me, she bit her bottom lip again. Right on the corner. She had one tooth that was the tiniest bit crooked. I'd never forgotten how sexy it was when she bit her lip, and that tooth was a little kickstand on the corner.
“Okay,” she whispered.
I palmed her cheek, giving her a fierce kiss. Just as she began to shimmy off my lap, I lifted her. We stood together, stumbling to the bedroom. It wasn't all that far, but we didn't make it quickly. We kept pausing to kiss, our hands mapping each other, stealing touches, reacquainting ourselves.
Her skin was still silky soft, and her curves were fuller.
Something about her was more solid—not physically but just in her presence.
She giggled when she bumped into the edge of my doorway and then rolled around it, leaning against the wall.
Her bra had gotten lost on the floor somewhere between the couch and here.
Her jeans were unbuttoned, and her breasts heaved with her laughter.
My heart gave a sweet twist as fierce tenderness stole through me. That girl, my girl, was here in my house. She was currently stringing kisses along my collarbone. Then she dragged her palm boldly over my cock.
That was a little different. She hadn't been bashful when she was young, but we'd been each other's first. That came with fumbling and uncertainty on both of our parts. Anyone who pretended that wasn't the case in their early experiences was a bald-faced liar as far as I was concerned.
I rested my palms on the wall, just above her shoulders, and dipped my head, pressing a kiss in that sweet dip at the base of her throat. When I lifted my head, she had stopped giggling.
“I'm glad you're here,” I rasped.
I heard Dexter's tail thumping on the floor, just beyond the doorway. He had a preference for sleeping in the hallway. He liked to keep an eye on things.
“I think Dexter thinks you're talking to him,” she offered.
I chuckled. “Yeah, well, I'm glad he's here too, but he can stay in the hallway.”
I felt my lips kicking up at the corner as we stared at each other for a few beats. She lifted a hand, and her knuckles landed on my breastbone. She unfurled her palm, pressing it flat there.
“I'm glad I'm here too. It definitely wasn't something I was expecting.”
“Sometimes, surprises are the best things.”
Her eyes searched mine, and then we were kissing again. I peeled her jeans off. She tugged impatiently on the buttons of my fly, swearing when she caught a finger.
“Geez, Joe. These are stiff.”
I laughed. “They're actually kind of new.”
“I hate new jeans,” she announced.
“They need a few more washings.”
Her eyes swept up to mine. She was seated on the edge of my bed now, naked save for her bright pink cotton panties, which somehow suited her perfectly, and a pair of mismatched socks. Socks weren't something Thea had ever thought much about.
I let my eyes trail upward. When they collided with hers again, her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink.
“Fuck, Thea. You're more beautiful than I remembered.”
Uncertainty flickered in her eyes, and I wanted to punch every man who had put any doubt there.
“You're not so bad yourself,” she teased slightly.
“I try to keep up, you know.” When I patted my stomach, she rolled her eyes.
“You actually have a six-pack, Joe. You were all lanky in high school, but you're definitely not anymore.”
“Sweetheart, my job is pretty physical sometimes.”
“So you don't work out?” she asked lightly.
I shook my head. Because Lord knows I didn't need to. She dipped her head, stringing kisses just above the open fly of my jeans. Each spot where her lips landed felt like a hot brand on my skin with flames licking over the surface and scattering sparks through me.
Impatient and frankly needing something to keep me under control, I nudged her back on the bed. Then I shucked my jeans, keeping my briefs on.
Thea shimmied back a little further, and I paused, pressing one knee into the mattress between her ankles. Her hair was tousled around her shoulders, and she was resting on one hand as she shifted back, wobbling and almost tumbling to the side. It wasn’t graceful, and it was perfect.
I slid one palm up the inside of her calf, and her eyes locked to mine. Her mouth parted slightly when she sucked in a sharp breath of air.
She said something, but I couldn't even absorb it.
I leaned over, dusting kisses over her belly, and she trembled under my touch.
I slid my palm farther up along her leg, pushing her knee to the side.
I cupped her mound, only to discover her bright pink cotton panties were damp.
Her hips bucked reflexively into my touch.
Holy hell. I wanted to take this slow, to savor every second of it, but I could hardly think over the roar of desire crashing through me. I teased my fingers over the cotton, and she murmured something followed with, “Please, Joe.” And then she said, “Don't make me beg.”
I chuckled against her belly. Lifting my head, I replied, “You just did.”
She had enough sass to roll her eyes. I shoved that cotton out of the way, dipping my fingers through her slippery wet folds, savoring her ragged gasp and the arch of her hips into my touch. After that, everything blurred.
I dragged her panties off, impatient to taste her.
As I sank two fingers into her again, her salty musk filled my senses.
She bucked roughly, ruining any attempt at finesse.
I gripped her hip with one hand, swirling my tongue around her clit and lightly sucking it.
I could feel her about to spin loose, to crash over that edge as her whole body trembled.
I needed to be inside her before that happened.
Thea was on the same page, ordering, “Joe, come here,” in a raspy but demanding whisper.
I rose, looking down at her. She impatiently shoved at my briefs. She almost knocked me off the bed when I rolled to the side to try to shimmy them off and give her an assist.
We were laughing by the time I recovered from that. Then her eyes were dark on mine, and she straddled me, saying, “My turn.”
She rose over me, and I held her still for a moment, muttering, “Hold on.” I shifted until my back was propped against the pillows.
She followed my motion, her eyes holding mine. Her lips were kiss swollen. With my heartbeat kicking hard and fast, I watched as she rose, reaching between us. I felt the slick kiss of her core before she slid down slowly, sheathing me in her silky, clenching channel.
I had to grit my teeth and cling to the frayed threads of my control. She made this little humming sound when she settled her hips down, seating herself fully. She moved to rise up again, and I murmured, “Wait.”
Her lashes lifted. Releasing her hip, I slid my palm up her back, levering her closer. Eyes wide open, I brought her mouth to mine. We tumbled into a kiss, and I felt like I'd finally come home.