Chapter 32
Wes
My car is really not built to have two people and a dog in it, but the fact that Bailey is smiling right now is enough to erase every complaint I may have. We’ve all fit in here with Bruno before, and he’s bigger than Sadie.
Stopping by the pet store so Bailey can get the items she needs for Sadie, we end up stuck in the aisle with food and water dishes while she stares at them. Sadie just sits next to her new owner happily.
“Thinking too hard will cause your brain to explode,” I tease.
She rears back, looking at me like I have two heads. “Did you just try to tell a joke?”
“Calling it what it is usually takes out the humor of it,” I grumble.
“I just don’t know which kind she will like the best.” She sighs.
“Something tells me the food in the bowl is what she will care about most.”
She nods. “I guess that’s a good point.”
She picks up a dark green ceramic bowl, holding it toward Sadie with a soft smile. “What do you think of this one?” she asks, tilting it slightly.
She sniffs it, and then sticks her tongue out panting.
“Does that mean she likes it?” Bailey asks me.
“I’m not a dog whisperer, but I think so.”
She nods, and puts the bowl in the cart I’m pushing for her. We’ve already loaded up a large bag of food, a bed, some treats, and now a bowl. She puts another one in the cart, I assume for water and then we continue to the toy aisle.
Being here with her like this feels…normal.
Unexpectedly so. And while I’d usually be searching for any excuse to leave, that urge isn’t there.
It’s just easy being with her. No arguing.
No tension. Not even anything sexual which is how I usually ground myself, how I stay in control.
With her, right now, I don’t need that. I don’t want that. Just being here with her is enough.
We get to just be ourselves and it’s simple. Easy.
After several minutes of Bailey giving Sadie toy options, she settles on a handful of toys stacked in the cart.
“I don’t know how we’re going to fit all of this in my car with the two of you,” I tell her at the cash register. “I may have to make you guys walk home.”
“This joking thing doesn’t really suit you.” She shakes her head, but I catch the smile she tries to hide.
“Better yet, Sadie can get a ride with me, and you can walk home.”
“Now you’ve gone too far,” she deadpans, but when she turns to pay I catch the smile that peeks out.
“I got it,” I tell her, pulling out my wallet instinctively.
“Absolutely not.” She puts her hand up, swiping her card. The second her palm is flat against my chest I see her sharp intake of breath while I try to control my own reaction.
“Have a great day,” the cashier’s voice breaks the strong tether of tension between Bailey and I.
We leave, and I manage to wrangle everything she just bought in the small trunk. If we knew this would be happening today, we probably would’ve taken her car, but I like being in such close proximity to her.
Once we get back, I pull into my driveway and immediately go around to the trunk to help unload everything she bought. I watch as she releases her seatbelt and tries to detangle Sadie and the leash from the backseat.
My arms are both full as I follow her to her front door.
“I guess you can just set that stuff over there,” she instructs, removing the leash from Sadie’s head so she can explore. “Thank you, but I could have gotten it.”
“I know,” I tell her, simply. “I’m going to check on Bruno; let me know if you need anything.”
She nods, her hands slipping into her back pockets. This is the most awkward goodbye I think we’ve had. Do I kiss her? Hug her? Give her a high five?
I do none of the above, just giving her a single curt nod before walking out, feeling stupid and unsure.
It shouldn’t be this difficult. For some reason when I take control of the situation and when she’s acting bratty it’s so much easier to know what to do.
It’s natural. But in a simple, normal situation like this where all we’re doing is saying goodbye, I’m lost.
Bruno looks up at me from his spot on the couch when I walk in. “There may be a new friend for you next door.”
He wags his tail once, and I’d like to think he understands.
Which is why I won’t say that it’s only temporary since he’s bound to find his perfect family.
I ask if he wants to go outside and he jumps off the couch, stretching his legs before following me to the back door.
I can’t help but keep my eyes on Bailey’s place thinking about what she and Sadie might be doing.
I want to give them time to bond and get to know each other, but I also don’t know if I’m going to be able to stay away. Not after the day we had. One of the most normal days I’ve had in I don’t know how long. And all I want to do is end it buried inside the woman who lives next door.
I give her the day. It’s all I’m able to manage because even after trying to do everything I can think of to wear myself out to attempt to sleep, I’m still restless as I lay in bed staring at her darkened window. I know she works early and I shouldn’t disturb her.
But the longer I lay here and think about every single thing she’s done to annoy me, test me, and be her bratty self, it gets harder and harder to justify not going over there. She practically begs me every time she tempts me with her smart tongue.
Bruno is snoring at the end of the bed, and I know I can get up without disturbing him. Sleep isn’t going to find me anyway. Either I can go for a drive like I normally would, or I could do something different. I could take a risk.
Decision made. I swing my legs over the side of my bed and look over at her window one more time.
I don’t hesitate before pulling on a pair of sweatpants and don’t even bother with a shirt.
It’s cold out, but I hardly feel it with the way my skin is burning at the thought of getting to touch her again.
This time, there’s no holding back.
I knock on her door rapidly and debate just breaking it down to get inside, but I don’t think Bailey would appreciate that. When it swings open I’m met with her wide eyes. “Wes?”
I hardly let her finish saying my name before my hand is gripping the back of her neck, and my lips are crashing down onto hers.
She doesn’t hesitate, just opens for me, letting my tongue slide against hers, welcoming the kiss like she’s been waiting for it.
I groan, deep and guttural, as I push us inside, kicking the door shut behind me without breaking contact.
Our mouths stay locked, desperate, hungry, like I need her to breathe.
We aren’t moving fast enough through her house for my liking, but this time I’m not some reckless, possessed man acting on impulse. I’m in control. Fully. And I’m going to show her exactly what she needs. Remind her that what she craves is something only I can give.
She wants punishment?
Good.
Because I’ve spent the last three years waiting to deliver it.
How badly I’ve wanted her the entire time. How badly I’ve known she’s wanted me. How we’ve both held back after our explosive first night together, even knowing how good it could be. It’s finally time to show her everything.
My hands trail down her body, over the curve of her ass, then lower to the backs of her thighs.
In one smooth motion I lift her into my arms. She comes willingly and I carry her up the stairs toward her bedroom.
My leg protests with every step, but I barely feel it.
All I can focus on is Bailey wrapped around me, her mouth on mine kissing me like she can’t get close enough.
Like she needs this just as badly as I do.
Once we’re in her bedroom, I sit on the edge of the bed, keeping her in my lap while her tongue slides against mine.
I could keep kissing her for hours, days, years and never get tired of it.
When her hips start to move, slow and deliberate against me, I know she can feel the way my cock is thickening beneath her.
Every grind sends a pulse of heat straight through me, and fuck, I want her to keep going.
I want to feel her come undone right here in my lap. But not yet.
Not like this.
Not until I say so.
With a firm grip on her hair, I pull her head back, reluctantly separating our lips for the time being. She tries to close the inch I’ve just created between us, but I don’t let her.
“So needy for someone who claims to hate me,” I breathe.
“I don’t hate you,” she practically whispers.
“Maybe not now, not when you know I can give your desperate little pussy what it needs. Tell me, before I find out myself how wet you are.”
She swivels her hips against me. “Hardly at all.”
Her voice is breathy and gives away her lie. I chuckle. “You really do want to be punished, don’t you?”
She squeaks in surprise, especially when I shift her in my lap maneuvering her until she’s draped over my thighs. I band an arm around her lower back, holding her steady as my fingers trail up the back of her thigh, pushing her oversized T-shirt up over her ass covered in tight black underwear.
I hook a finger in the waistband and tug them down, slowly, savoring the reveal of her perfectly, round backside. My palm glides over the bare skin I’m already imagining turning red.
Then my hand moves lower, slipping between her thighs. And the second my fingers meet the wet heat there, a groan tears from my chest. She’s soaked. And all for me. It’s the kind of feeling that makes me want to lose myself in her, to bury myself deep and never come back up.
But first, I’m going to make her desperate. I can wait. I can be patient.
My eyes catch on the small tattoo inked into the top of her right cheek, and I trace my finger over the two words.
Bite me.
A dark grin spreads across my face. “You know, I’ve wanted to, ever since I first saw this tattoo of yours,” I murmur, and she knows exactly what I’m talking about.
She wiggles slightly, teasing. “Then what’re you going to do about it?”
I answer with a sharp smack, landing my palm right over the dark ink. She yelps at the contact, but I don’t miss the way she rocks her hips against my lap, confirming everything I need to know. She wants this. She needs this. And she wants it from me.
“Look at you, Angel.” I groan, rubbing the sting I just left behind. “You’re so fucking perfect.”
I spank her again, and the sharp sound mixes with her low, needy moan. I do it again, and again until she’s squirming, crying out, completely at my mercy.
“Had enough, baby?” I ask, kneading the heat blooming across her skin.
She shakes her head, breathless. “No. Give me more.”
I smirk. Of course she wants more. And she’s mine to give it to. I don’t have time to freak out about the fleeting possessiveness in that thought, because she’s already moaning again, and I’m already giving her exactly what she’s begging for.