Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Dean
I dozed for a little while with Keira in my arms. The reality of what we’d done was plenty evident, but the guilt hadn’t hit me yet. I didn’t want it to. There was no way I could regret being with Keira.
I’d told her I wasn’t a good man. Yeah, perhaps that sounded dramatic, but that was my truth. She hadn’t blinked. She still wanted me. While she didn’t know everything, she knew enough to make an informed decision.
Or maybe I was lying to myself and being selfish. Either way, there was no going back to what we’d been before.
I’d fought this temptation for so long. Denied myself what I wanted most. But I could no longer deny her.
Was it terrible that I got off on being the first man to have his mouth between her legs? Or his cock between her lips?
She wiggled on top of me like she was trying to get comfy.
At some point, I’d pulled her blankets over us, and she’d taken off her cotton bra.
We were skin to skin. This bed was the best place in the world, and I had no plans to leave it anytime soon.
At least until morning, and that was a long time from now.
Don’t think about tomorrow, I instructed myself. Just be with her. Right here, right now.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmured.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“I was a little asleep.”
She lifted her head and smiled. “You’re either asleep or not asleep. It can’t be a little.”
“Sure it can.” I yawned, stretching my limbs out and relaxing. Her body on top of me was sweet and soft. “I never sleep very deeply. I’m up half the time most nights.”
Keira frowned at me. “Nightmares?”
“No. Just a light sleeper.”
I felt her assessing me, so I let my gaze wander around her room. I hadn’t checked it out much earlier when she was cutting my hair. It had been impossible to focus on anything else but her.
Who knew having Keira give me a haircut would be such a turn-on? Going to the barber definitely didn’t do a thing for me.
“You brought over the lavender candle I gave you,” I said, pointing at her nightstand. “And the blue throw blanket.” She’d draped it over the chair in the corner.
She tucked her head against my neck. “I packed everything from your care package and brought it here. Didn’t want to leave any of it behind.”
“I did well? Even the fuzzy socks with the cats?”
Keira snorted. “You know you did well. You knew exactly what you were doing. Like you haven’t seen me wearing those fuzzy socks.”
Grinning, I smoothed my hand down her back beneath the covers. “Had to do everything I could. You’d thrown me out of your hospital room. I was afraid you’d never forgive me.”
She propped her head on her hand. “I was mad. But there wasn’t really anything to forgive. Well, that’s not true. You were a crappy friend.”
“I was.”
“But there was never any question that I’d forgive you, even when I was trying to stay angry. I’ve always had a soft spot for you. Never could resist you.”
Warmth spread through my chest. I kissed her hairline. “That’s how I felt about you. You’ve got no idea how many times I almost kissed you over the years we were friends.”
“Clearly you could resist me.” Her tone was light, but we were getting close to harder topics.
“I thought I was doing the right thing.” I’d told myself it would be easier on us both if we didn’t know how good it would be.
Now, we did.
“You really didn’t date anyone while I was gone?” I asked.
“You think I was lying?”
“No. But you’re gorgeous. Sweet and strong and amazing. I’m sure men have wanted you. Asked you out.” My gut swirled with nausea at the idea of her with someone else, but facts were facts.
“Some did.”
“And you said no?”
“I said no,” she whispered. “Even when you were gone, you were the only man I wanted. No one else came close.”
I lifted my head to kiss her. “I never felt a thing for any other woman. I’m the idiot who refused to acknowledge why.”
“Were you lonely?”
“I would’ve said no,” I said softly. “But I think I was. No one could ever replace you.”
Sorrow crossed her beautiful features. “Did you ever think about coming back here?”
“All the damn time. At the end of every season, when I had to pick a new place, I thought about Colorado. Deep down, I probably knew I’d end up back here eventually.”
“I guess I was holding on to that hope too. Stephie kept telling me two years was enough time to move on and get over you. I’m glad I didn’t.” She flinched. “Not that I think this is permanent or something. I know what this is. I don’t expect anything.”
“Keira, you should expect more than I can give you. You deserve someone who’ll give you everything.”
“But I want you. So I’ll take what I can get, and I’ll keep enjoying every second of it. And I do mean seconds because that’s how long you lasted.”
“Hey, now!” With a growl, I flipped us so I was above her, still careful of her healing injuries. “Years, Keira. Nothing but my hand for years. I was pent up.”
“It wasn’t just that I’m a natural at blow jobs?”
“Your mouth had a lot to do with it.” I kissed her, sucking on her tongue when she offered it to me. “I blame all of you though. You’re an extremely sexy woman. In my fantasies, you’ve made me come at least a thousand times. The reality is even better.”
My cock was firming up against her thigh, eager for more attention. She meant more to me than I could ever tell her, but at least I could give her pleasure and show her how irresistible she was.
She shuddered, eyes dreamy. We kissed some more, and I rubbed my swelling cock on her thigh.
But then Keira pushed against my chest. “Wait.”
I lifted up onto my elbow. “You okay?”
She sat up against the pillows, and I shifted so I was sitting beside her. My erection rested against my stomach.
“I need you to be honest with me. Is this a one-night-only thing? We wake up tomorrow, and you have a million excuses for why we can’t do this again? Some line about protecting my heart or that I deserve better.”
I took her hand and kissed it. “What do you want?”
“For this to not be over yet. Not when we’ve just started.
There’s a lot more I want to do with you.
” Her fingers brushed down my chest. Then all the way to the swollen head of my cock, where she dragged a fingertip over the slit.
Fuck. I tipped my head back and groaned.
She was playing dirty in every sense of the word.
“But if this ends when the sun comes up,” she went on, “I guess we could stay up all night for a sex marathon. If you can get it up that many times.”
Laughing, I pulled her into another deep kiss. “I’m happy to prove my mettle. It’s hardly a challenge with you around. I plan to take you in every possible way.”
Now that we’d crossed this line, I couldn’t go back.
I playfully nipped her lips with my teeth, and she sighed against my mouth.
“But we don’t have to rush,” I said. “If we stay up all night, I want to talk too. Laugh with you. See you smiling and feel you cozy and happy against me. And I’d like to do that tomorrow and the next day too.
However long we can. How does that sound? ”
Her eyelashes had drooped, blinking fast, and her expression was doing some complicated dance I couldn’t interpret. “It sounds perfect.”
Her voice was sad, and I couldn’t even bring myself to ask why. Because I knew. I knew.
I just had to make this so good for her that we’d both have the memories to keep us warm when it ended.
Bacon sizzled in one skillet, and butter melted in another. I wasn’t much of a cook, certainly not compared to a guy like Aiden Shelborne, but I had a few tricks. Breakfast was one of them. We usually had cereal or toast, so Keira hadn’t seen my skills yet.
She wandered into the kitchen just as I was cracking eggs into the butter. “It smells great out here.” Her voice was adorably rough from sleep, and she had a few lines on her cheek from her pillow. She’d thrown on a sweatshirt, but I was fairly sure there was nothing underneath.
With a spatula in one hand, I sidled over to kiss her. “Hey, sweetness. Coffee’s ready. Food will be up in a couple minutes.”
Keira grabbed a mug and filled it. Then took a sip, blinking at me over the rim.
“You okay?” I asked. “How’s your chest and shoulder?”
“I’m fine. Just…getting used to this. Last night, I wondered if I was going to wake up to you being all broody, saying you’d changed your mind about us.”
I pushed at one egg with the spatula. “I told you I wanted more than a night with you.”
Her brow wrinkled as she sat on a kitchen stool. “Yeah, but I was half convinced I’d dreamed all that sweet talk of yours.”
“So, I’m a dream come true.”
She laughed into her mug. “You’re so corny. I missed how corny you used to be. You’ve been pretty serious since you came back.”
I shoved the bacon strips and the eggs into a serving dish, then crossed over to her for another kiss. “There’s been a lot to be serious about. But I’ll be corny for you. If you like it.”
She tasted like coffee and temptation. But I didn’t have to say no to this anymore, and that was pretty wild to me too. She’d told me last night she planned to enjoy every second we had together. Made sense to me.
After I made her a plate, complete with toast, sliced bananas, and a side of hot sauce, I sat beside her with my own mug of coffee.
She stared at her food. “Sunny-side-up eggs are my favorite.”
“I know. I remembered.”
Keira broke off a shard of crisp bacon and popped it in her mouth. “Aren’t you eating?”
“Can’t eat much before my workout. The obstacle course is waiting.”
“Isn’t this a day off? I declare a sex holiday.”
I grinned. Fuck, she made me happy. “Sex later. Training first.”
Tension drew tight in the room, like an invisible string being pulled. I’d just reminded us both of why we were here. We had a mission.
Keira shook hot sauce on her eggs and took a bite. “Speaking of sex. Did we…last night…”
“Bad sign if you can’t even remember.”
She bumped me with her elbow. “I remember the best orgasm of my life and your cock on my tongue. I remember that.”
My skin glowed with pleasant heat. “Good. I was hoping to leave an impression.”
“But then we were working on round two, and my mind goes blank after that.”
“You fell asleep before anything else could happen. It was very cute.” I kissed her temple, my hand on her back. “You were drooling on my chest.”
“I left you hard? I’m sorry.” Her smirk had sarcasm all over it. So I had to kiss her lips some more.
“I survived.”
After she finished eating, I put away the rest of the spread to eat later and did the dishes. Keira offered to help, but I said no. “Go get dressed for your morning training.”
“You’re worse than my physical therapist,” she grumped.
After she’d changed into workout clothes, with her curly hair tied back, Keira returned to the kitchen. I was wiping down the counters. Her arms went around my waist, her cheek resting between my shoulder blades.
I closed my eyes and savored the contact. This was what I’d always longed for with her, and it was so perfect it hurt.
Then her hand sneaked into my shorts and brazenly squeezed my cock. “We have time for a quickie, don’t we?”
“Keira…” I groaned, turning around.
But she was already sinking to her knees. Damn. Tugging at my shorts and boxer briefs, she had her mouth around my soft dick in moments. Nngh, how was a guy supposed to resist that?
My hands gripped the counter. She sucked me, and my cock filled in no time. Hard and aching between her lips as her tongue flicked the underside.
Heaven. This was heaven, and I had no idea who’d screwed up and let me in past the gates.
When she pulled off me, I almost dragged her back. “Why’d you stop?”
“I almost forgot about morning training. Oops. I know how important it is. We’d better get out there.”
My head tipped back, and I made an undignified sound that some might’ve called a whimper. “When did you turn evil? How am I supposed to run with this thing?”
Keira stood up, brushing off her sweatpants. “Isn’t that the three-legged race?”
“Now who’s got the corny jokes?”
She went onto her toes and whispered in my ear. “I’m not so innocent anymore, huh?”
“Not innocent.” My arm draped around her shoulders, holding her close as I leaned back on the counter. “You’re good in all the ways that matter. But not innocent.”
Her face got a thoughtful look. “There’s an old proverb I heard once. Passed down through generations. A lady must be proper in the streets, but a freak in the sheets.”
We both cracked up. “Wow. Are you sure you didn’t get that from Donny Phelan and his podcast?”
She poked me in the chest. “Jerk. He wishes he was as clever as me.”
I had to give her a few more kisses before training time. We were still laughing as we headed out into the sunshine.
When had I ever been this giddy with happiness?
It was almost enough to make me forget this couldn’t last.