Chapter Fourteen
FRANKIE
I planned to make dinner for Addison again, having been officially allowed to re-enter the grocery store for my weekly hour of shopping, but I’m not surprised that she would derail those plans. I should have suspected she had her own plans when she showed up at my door without Moose.
She arches against me and I pull back, tugging her up to my apartment. We kick off our shoes and her hot pink toenails pop out at me. I hate hot pink. I tend to dislike most bright colors, and yet on Addison, they’re perfect.
I sit on the couch, diverting her when she goes to sit next to me and tugging her down to straddle my lap instead. I tilt my face up as I lean back against the cushions, taking in the temptress above me. The succubus who seduced me with one glance.
The answer I didn’t know I was looking for.
“What are you looking at?” Addison says, shifting her weight as her hands start to curl on my shoulders.
I slip one arm around her waist, pulling her against me, then drive my other hand into her gorgeous locks. I grip the back of her neck and urge her down, pulling her lips back to mine.
“You. Perfection,” I murmur, right before our lips meet again.
I know she heard, and I’m glad, but I don’t want to talk about it.
Not yet. She’s perfect in my eyes, and I’m greedy for all of her.
I urge her to open for me and she does, allowing my tongue to sweep across her lips.
I groan at the feel of her against me. Her weight in my lap, her breasts pressed to my chest, her thighs hugging me, her nails digging into my shoulders.
I slide my hand from her back to her hip, grinding her down into me, and she lets out a tiny “oh” of pleasure. I breathe that in too, taking everything and wanting more.
My other hand drops from her neck to her thigh, soft skin exposed where her dress is pushed up as she straddles me.
The bright colors make her skin glow like she’s luminescent.
I palm the bare skin of her thigh, then drag my hand up her leg and under her dress until I meet the crease of her hip.
I smile when I move my hand further, feeling a tiny stretch of silk.
She’s wearing a thong, and when I run my finger between it and the skin of her hip, she arches into me, wanting more.
I trace the soft material to the firm globe of her ass, kneading and squeezing it, and she grinds into me harder.
My emotions rise and fall, a bewildering dichotomy clashing inside me.
There’s a sense of power in the way Addison reacts to my smallest touches, but also this insignificance in the face of someone so incredible.
She’s gorgeous inside and out, and it’s beyond my wildest dreams to have this with her.
Every move I make, she meets it. I nearly combust when she angles her hips to allow my hand between us. I push aside her wet thong to find her slick beneath it. I’m going to have a wet spot on my shorts from her grinding on me, and it makes me want to purr with satisfaction.
I tease her clit, circling one finger gently, but she’s having none of it. She presses down on me, then her demanding little mouth pleads, “More, Frankie.” between gasping breaths and desperate kisses.
I angle my hand so she can grind her clit against the heel of my palm, and I curl two fingers inside her, letting her set the pace and pressure.
She uses me for her pleasure, taking what she wants as she wants it, and I love every moment.
I open my eyes as we kiss, wanting to see her body, her skin, the expressions that play across her face as she chases her orgasm.
I can tell when she gets close, her inner walls fluttering around my fingers, and I speak against her lips.
“That’s right, use me. Find your pleasure, dirty girl,” I groan, kissing her between words. “Take what you want and drench my fingers. That’s a good girl.”
I whisper praise and filth into her mouth and she clenches around my fingers, biting down on a scream as she pulses around me. I rock her through it, kissing and sucking down her neck until she falls limp against me, sated.
Her heartbeat slows and her muscles relax as I hold her, winding down from her orgasm.
She tilts her face up for a kiss and I meet her lips gently, putting all of my tender devotion into that one soft touch.
I want this so badly it scares me. When I pull away, she opens her eyes.
Eyes I never want to look away from. They’re soft, and vulnerable, and hungry.
I can tell Addison wants her turn with me.
I’m not ready, though, so we take a break for dinner together.
My thoughts and feelings are a confusing swirl with her return to San Diego nearing.
It’s a shock to realize how much my heart is at risk.
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this off-kilter before, or this unsure of my future and what it might hold.
I finally set my utensils down and lean my elbows on the table, my forearms folded over each other in front of me.
Addison glances up and must see something in my face, because she nods and sets her utensils down too.
She takes a quick gulp of water, then leans back and pulls one leg onto her chair, hugging her knee to her chest.
“We should talk,” I say, and Addison cringes.
“Are you breaking up with me?” she says, eyes downcast.
I rear back. What the fuck?
“No!” I exclaim, and her startled eyes dart up to mine.
“No,” I say, softer this time. I pull my chair around to sit next to her and take her soft hands in my work-roughened palms. I stroke my thumbs along the tan skin of her knuckles and her fingers twist to grip mine.
“What then?” she says .
“I really like you, Addison. I care about you so much. I’ve never been happier than I have been spending this last week with you. You’re fierce and resilient, so strong and courageous in your vulnerability. I want to make this work, but…” I trail off, my gaze searching hers.
“But?”
“I need to know if you feel the same. I need to know if it’s worth it to you.”
If I’m worth it.
“Yes,” Addison says. “Yes, you’re worth it, Frankie.”
Somehow she knew what I was saying, responding to my unspoken words. It makes my heart trip in my chest.
“You’re everything. I’ve never met someone like you before…”
“Intimidating?” I say, attempting a joke, even though it cuts a bit.
“No, not intimidating.” Addison’s voice has turned soft, contemplative.
“I admire you. You bring out parts of me I didn’t know existed, and while those things I first said about you are true, you’re so much more beneath the surface.
You’re more than a successful business owner, you’re a staple of this community and so freaking resourceful it’s incredible.
You’re kind and compassionate under that confident exterior, and you’re the most thoughtful friend either Everly or I could dream of.
You’re loyal, dedicated. So yes. Yes, I feel the same.
Yes, you’re worth it. Yes, I want to make this work. ”
She punctuates each ‘yes’ statement with a kiss. One on each cheek, the last on my lips.
My eyes are glassy as I stare at this angel. Not a witch, not a succubus. I was right the very first time, a week ago when the morning sunlight cast a halo around her in my coffee shop. She’s a heavenly gift, one that I certainly don’t deserve, but that I will strive to every day.
Her eyes search mine, crystal blue and utterly enchanting.
“Us, together. Right?” she whispers.
“That’s right.” I stand and tug her up into my arms, banding them tight around her. She giggles and buries her face in my neck, then I take her hand and move us to the couch. She follows easily, so trusting.
I pull her legs over my lap and she tucks herself into my side, hugging my arm. We’re sitting as close as we can—touching as much as we can.
“So, what are your thoughts, my sweet Addison?”
Her cheeks tint a lovely shade of pink, and I swipe my thumb over one tenderly. Then she puffs out a breath and slumps, her shoulders falling forward.
“I was hoping to hear back about that transfer by now,” she says, confusion and concern passing over her features.
“I think I should have heard back by now, so I’m going to plan for the worst and say it’s not going to happen.
So if we assume I won’t be working a mostly virtual position, and that I instead have to continue in-person at this department… ” she trails off.
“This is the department that Benji is in, too?” I ask. I don’t want to bring him into our safe space, but I need to know what her concerns are, especially since they’ll inform my own.
“Yeah. Honestly, I like my job, but if I don’t get the transfer, I’ll probably look for something else. I don’t think I can keep working with him.”
I squeeze her to me for a moment and she tips her head, laying her cheek on my hair.
“Plus, I don’t know how we can be together if I don’t.”
“What if you do get the transfer?”
“Then we’re set,” she huffs a sad, wistful sort of laugh.
“I’d only have to go into the office four days every two weeks.
That would be easy to navigate, right? We could make that work.
I could be here most of the time…” She pauses, pulling back to glance at me and I notice her back muscles have tensed beneath the arm I have slung around her.
“I’d love to have you here more. You can stay with me some nights, or if you’re not ready for that, I know Everly would be happy to have you too. Or heck, stay at the Sioria! You know she’d give you a room free of charge.”
Addison peeks up at me from beneath long lashes.
“You’d want me to stay with you? Like, multiple nights?” she asks, tentative and hopeful. My sweet, darling woman .
“Of course. I want as much of you as I can get,” I say, squeezing her again in emphasis. “The real question is would you survive staying with me? I get up between four and five a.m. most days.”
Addison’s eyes bug out. “You’re lying.”
“I most certainly am not,” I laugh. “I’ve been paying the kids extra to open for me this week when I want to spend the morning with you, but that’s not a long term option. Think you could handle it?”
“If by ‘handle it’ you mean curling myself into a burrito blanket the moment you leave me cold and alone in bed, then sleeping for another four to five hours, yeah. I suppose I could handle it.” She’s grumbling and pouting and it is adorable.
I kiss her nose and she scrunches it at me, trying not to smile.
I love the thought of her curled up in my bed, cozy and soft with sleep, as I start work and open the coffee house downstairs.
I imagine deciding what to bake based on what mood she might be in, the tantalizing scents of fresh muffins and coffee drifting up to pull her out of bed and to my side.
“Well, let’s wait for a final verdict on the job. If it’s a yes, perfect. If it’s a no, we’ll have to finesse our schedules a bit the next few weeks while you decide what you want to do,” I say.
Worst case scenario, I’ll pack up Roasted and move to San Diego. They’re gay as fuck and would love a queer coffee joint, I’m sure I could make it work.
“Yeah?” she says.
Her eyes are bright with hope and I circle my arms around her, tugging her further onto my lap as I press my nose to her neck. I inhale the scent of her, allowing it to calm the worries still working their way through me, then I nod.
“I promise,” I say, pressing my words into her skin.