Chapter 24
You’re a Free Agent
Justin
Fuck!
The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt Mia, in any way. But as soon as our lips met, I forgot everything else. I’d buried these memories deep or I would never have married Sharleen. Because there’d been nothing like kissing Mia since we split.
My body wasn’t on board with stopping, but I had to. I had to listen to Mia. I was afraid though that by the time this job was over something would come up to make sure we never had another chance
But…I could end it now.
I met Mia’s anxious gaze, my thumb smoothing over her cheek. “Just give me a moment. I’ll fix it.”
Her brows drew down but she didn’t pull farther away. I reached for my phone, thankful I had two mostly functioning hands now. I tore my gaze away from her lips and scrolled through my contacts till I found the one for the team. I quickly typed out a message.
I no longer need someone at the house. I’m at the rink most days, and I’ll be back in Toronto in two weeks.
Please terminate the contract with Caring Hands Home Care.
I’ve informed Mia that I no longer require her services as a PSW but that she will be paid until the original termination date.
I will happily recommend Mia and Caring Hands for their stellar work.
I was vibrating, waiting for a response. It was business hours in Toronto, the season not yet over, so someone should be in the corporate suite.
We’ll need to add a health check to the workouts at the rink in that case.
Whatever.
Agreed.
I hit send. Then showed it to Mia.
Her eyes widened. “You fired me?”
“Maybe? Let’s say I bought out your contract. You’re a free agent.”
“But you’re paying me.”
“Technically the team has been paying you, but I wanted to make sure there were no issues for you. Contract closed. You’ll get paid till the end of the month, but if you’re here now, it’s off the clock.”
She bit her lip. “This crosses a line.”
“The whole arrangement crossed lines.”
She shook her head. “It’s a mess.”
“But my fault. I take the blame. And I promise, whatever happens here, it’s just between us.”
“I should…”
There was so little time left to us. I couldn’t stay, and she couldn’t leave. “Could we have now, just now, to enjoy what might have been?”
She swallowed. “What might have been?”
“If things had been different. I can’t think of anything I want more than being with you.”
She drew in a breath. “Sex.”
“Sure. Or making out. Holding hands. Being together, without trying to pretend it’s over or that there’s nothing here. Because there is.”
She huffed a breath. “Yeah, there is.”
“There are a million problems, but we can leave that for the future. I want to enjoy now, because the past eleven years have been brutal.”
There was a little crease between her eyebrows. “So, a time-out?”
“Exactly. The puck is out of play and the game is paused. We just enjoy now.”
For interminable seconds she kept me waiting, and then finally, quietly, “Okay.”
Relief almost made my knees give out. I gripped her hands. “And maybe not in the kitchen?”
Her lips tilted into a smile. A breathtaking, heart-stopping smile. “Maybe not.”
“Living room or bedroom?” I wanted her in my bed. I wanted to wrap myself around her and lose myself in her. But it was her call.
Again, she made me wait, but this time she was holding back a grin. “Bedroom.”
Damn it, had I even made the bed? I wasn’t going to risk Mia changing her mind while I changed the sheets, so I towed her upstairs behind me.
I paused in the doorway of my room, checking how bad it was.
The duvet wasn’t pulled up and the pillows were crooked, but at least the laundry was in a basket.
“This brings back memories,” she said.
Yeah, we’d spent time together in this room whenever we could slip away and be alone. Grandma used to be so careful to tell me when she’d be out for a while. “I’m sorry, I didn’t change the sheets…”
“Justin, I don’t care. Let’s pretend it’s us, back then, and we’ve got the house to ourselves. Just live in that moment. We never fussed about sheets.”
I didn’t want to live in the past. I wanted the now. I’d take this gift Mia was giving me, but I’d damn well do better with her than I had as an eighteen-year-old.
I tugged her into the room and wrapped my arms around her. “Where were we?”
“Your family just left, Justin! What if they come back?” Her eyes were sparkling as she got into the game. She wasn’t worrying about Arne. Good.
“I heard the car go. They’re gone. Let’s make the most of our time.” I ran my hands over her hair and gently pulled the tie out, letting the strands fall freely around her face. She looked more like my Mia that way. I cradled her face and reached down to kiss her again.
This time she was the one to push into my mouth and chase my tongue.
I let her lead, familiarizing myself with her taste and feel, remembering the things she liked and that drove her crazy.
A kiss under her left ear and she trembled.
My hands skimmed up to brush the sides of her breasts and she made that whimpering noise again.
She pressed closer, but I let my hands drop, grabbing the bottom of her scrub top and tugging upward.
She broke away from the kiss. “Great idea.” She lifted her hands so I could pull the top off.
The bra underneath was plain and worn, but the way it cupped her was sexy as hell for me.
Her breasts were fuller and heavier. Her body had changed, and I was looking forward to tracking each difference with my mouth.
Before I unhooked the bra, she’d shoved her hands under my T-shirt and pushed up.
I reached behind me for the neck and tugged it off.
Her eyes fixed on my chest. The hair was thicker, and there were scars from years of playing hockey.
I was broader, and heavier. Not like her ex.
Would that be a problem? But she ran her hands over my pecs, brushing my nipples and scratching through the chest hair. Guess older and heavier worked for her.
I reached to undo her bra, and this time she stiffened. I stopped. “Problem?”
Worried eyes met mine. “I’m not the same.”
My hands caressed her ribs. “Me either. That’s okay.”
Her eyes dropped. “I’ve had a kid. It changes you. I’ve got stretch marks, a pooch…”
I whispered in her ear, “I’m not lean like your ex, and my skin is marked up.”
“But you look good.”
“Honey, so do you. I like curves. I especially like your curves.”
She puffed a breath and then reached back to undo the bra herself. She let it drop and watched for my response.
Her nipples were larger, and I could see slight white lines on the skin. But if she looked down at my sweats, she’d see that I was hard as a rock. I lifted a breast in each hand and leaned down to kiss them.
“Beautiful,” I said. Her body started to relax, until I licked one nipple and then gently sucked.
“Justin!” she squeaked, the nipple pebbling in my mouth. Her hands found my hair and gripped tightly. I released her and she tugged. “More!”
I was happy to do whatever she wanted, but I was going to get a knot in my back bending over like this, so I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted. She let out a surprised oof when I dropped her on the bed. “Much better,” I said as I crawled up and braced myself over her.
“Is it?” She smiled, but it wavered.
“I’ll show you.”
I lowered my weight on my arms, and her breasts were there, one wet, one begging to be the same. I’d have to take care of that. Her hands were soon in my hair again, grabbing, little zips of pain that kept me anchored while I feasted on one then the other.
“Please,” she whispered.
I started kissing lower. Her muscles tensed and loosened beneath my mouth. I reached her waistband and tucked a finger in to pull it down. As the elastic stretched and exposed more skin, she stiffened and held the pants in place with one hand.
I checked her expression. “What is it?”
A long breath escaped her. “I’m just self-conscious.”
I dropped a kiss on her abdomen then pushed up. “I’ll go first, okay?”
There was a crease on her brow but she nodded. I knelt, shoving my sweats and boxers down. Then dropped to my ass to pull them off.
I wasn’t quite in playing shape, but I’d been working out while I’d been here. I knelt over her again. “May I?”
Her eyes were roving over me, my stomach, less defined than during the season, my dick, standing at attention, and the bush of hair around the base.
Suddenly I was self-conscious. Was she comparing me to her ex? If ever there was a guy who manscaped… “I used to trim, but…” That was something Sharleen had considered important, but as I retreated into myself, I hadn’t bothered.
She met my eyes, a slight smile curling up her lips. “I haven’t either, so…”
I reached for her pants again and this time she didn’t stop me. I hooked her waistband and tugged them down, grabbing her underwear too. She helped me kick her clothes off, and then she was finally naked below me.
I wanted to stare, map out every inch of her skin, but it was more important to show her how sexy she was.
I pressed kisses to her waist, her belly button, noting the white stretch marks and laving each one with my tongue.
Then I was at her pussy, her hair thick and her core wet and warm for me.
I nosed through her pubic hair while she squirmed underneath me.
I braced my weight on my left hand, and with the right, combed through until I found her clit and licked it, my fingers moving to her sex, sliding one inside as I sucked on her.
“Justin!” My name came out high and shaky. I remembered this, the way she was before her orgasm tipped over the edge.
I slid in another finger, rubbing against her walls, and soon she came on my mouth and my hand. I stroked, gently, until she squirmed and tried to move away. I lifted my head and saw her staring down at me with wide, glassy eyes.
“Okay?” I asked.
She smiled and nodded. I sat back, wiping my hand across my face. I’d remembered Mia’s body, the things that brought her to her peak, and I felt awesome. Still horny, but this was a win for me.
Mia sat up, put her hands on my chest and shoved until I fell on my back.
“My turn.” Her grin was wicked. “Stay still.”
Mia
That had been amazing. My worries about the changes in my shape fled. Justin remembered my body, but now it was time for me to show him I hadn’t forgotten what he liked either.
Once I’d pushed him onto his back, I shoved his hands over his head.
“Keep these here.” He nodded, and with a smile I followed his guidebook—kissing his chest, licking and sucking on his nipples.
His biceps flexed as he fought to control his movements, but his bitten-off moans let me know that he was enjoying it.
That, and his cock, which was hard and now leaking precome.
I could feel it rigid against my stomach and I pressed, making his hips twitch and thrust. I hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff yet.
I kissed down his torso, through the thickened chest hair, enjoying the chance to map the changes in his body.
The hair funneled to his belly button, and then led directly to his cock.
I liked the idea of teasing him, kissing everywhere but there, where he wanted it, but I was too impatient. I needed to make him feel good.
I slid back and grabbed the base of his cock. He shuddered. With my free hand I caressed his balls, gently rolling them as I licked the tip.
He shouted, hips punching the air. I pushed them down and sucked the head into my mouth, swirling my tongue around it.
“Mia, Mia, Mia…”
I didn’t worry about my larger, less perky boobs, or my broader hips. Not when he was chanting my name as if I was a sex goddess. I felt like one. Still gripping the base of his cock, I slid my mouth down, as far as I could take it.
He was big—all of him, including this. My lips reached the hand I had gripped him with and I pulled back up, sucking hard. My jaw began to ache, and I sped up.
He came.
I was surprised, and for a moment, froze. His come started to leak around my lips, so I swallowed, pulling off when I thought he was done.
I grabbed a corner of the sheet and wiped my chin, and around his spent cock.
“Mia,” he repeated, this time gently. “Come up here.”
I crawled until he pulled me onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling my hair.
“That was incredible. Imagine what we could do if we had condoms.”
I snorted. I hadn’t even thought of that. I’d just wanted to please him the way he’d pleased me.
His hand rubbed soothing strokes up and down my arm. “Next time.”
I blinked. Next time? Was there going to be a next time?