Chapter 8
EMBERLYNN
Today was fun. We decorated cookies and drank spiked apple cider while we worked. There were five other couples, with one of them being Elijah and Raya. After bonding through frosting and sprinkles, we went out for dinner and drinks.
The Italian food was amazing. I had lasagna that was almost as delicious as the one my grandmother used to make.
He had a Parmesan-peppercorn steak with fries and zucchini.
Raya had the redfish and Cajun shrimp, broccoli, sweet butternut squash, and baguette, with a strawberry and pecan half salad with the raspberry vinaigrette dressing.
It sounded amazing, but I couldn’t pass up this lasagna.
Elijah had Cajun seafood tortellini, chicken Caesar salad, and rye bread.
When he’d ordered their food, I’d noticed how they looked at one another.
There had to be something special about it.
“So, Emberlynn, how long are you going to be staying to visit Hardison?” Raya asked thoughtfully. She leaned forward, but her fully round belly didn’t let her get far. One of her hands rested on top of her bump, while the other poked at her salad before she took a bite of it.
“For at least another week. Then I have to go back and find work.” I waited for the backlash from them, hoping they didn’t think getting to know Hardison wasn’t about the money.
“What do you do?” Elijah asked.
“I am a psychologist.” I firmed.
“Oh! I know my therapist is looking for others to fill her practice. If you moved, I’m sure she’d be interested in chatting with you.” Raya quickly interjected.
“Well, that was smooth,” Elijah said quickly before we all laughed.
“I… don’t know how to beat around the bush.
I say what I mean,” Raya responded. “I see how happy Hardison seems with you around and just wanted you to know that if you explored it further, you have options.” She beamed, and it wasn’t lost on me how beautiful she was.
I couldn’t see her hair because of the hijab, but her face was prettier than the girl next door, and her pregnancy glow elevated her skin.
It was no question that she was enjoying herself in her marriage to Elijah.
“I truly appreciate that.” I exhaled. Not knowing what the future held was tough for me. However, I knew how much I liked Hardison.
Two weeks of being around him wouldn’t get me married, barefoot, and pregnant, but maybe it would help me figure out what kind of man he was and to see his red and green flags sooner than I would’ve if I weren’t here.
Besides, there was something to say about a man who was actively working on himself.
He was repairing his body, his mind, and seemingly his soul.
He wasn’t perfect, but I loved that, too.
He wasn’t a project for me to fix because he was doing the work all on his own.
Sure, he’d needed some assistance when he was met with a wall of resistance, but he’d done the rest of the work on his own.
He was thoughtful and caring. I knew there was more to him than what I’d seen, but I had seen nothing that made me question his motives with me.
I know that I’m being cautious because of my past, but could you blame me?
I didn’t want to rush things. In fact, I wanted them to occur naturally, and so far it had.
There was a lot more to see, but I loved what I was revealing as I stuck to being by his side.
Plus, the way he’d been caring for me was top tier.
Not just opening doors, paying for everything, and being a gentleman.
The way he communicated and let me deal with my own feelings was something I wasn’t used to in any previous relationship that I’d been in.
My exes didn’t matter in a territorial way, but more in an “I deserved better” kind of way.
I hadn’t come across a topic that seemed off-limits as we talked, and that drew me even closer to him than anything else. It was beautiful.
I said nothing to Raya in front of Hardison, but I was curious about the job opening.
Especially if I could do video calls for when I wasn’t here.
Even if I wanted to explore things long term with Hardison, I wouldn’t rush into moving in with him or moving my entire life into his house.
I could take steps and maintain my independence as well.
If I still felt good about it at the end of my time here, I’d ask Raya for the information and hope that it didn’t get back to Hardison.
When we finally came home, I was in a good place filled with Christmas cheer and alcohol. Hardison stretched out on the couch, tired from the day’s events. He wouldn’t admit it, but I knew his leg was killing him from all the walking and standing.
“Here, let me help.” I kneeled on the floor in front of him, unbuttoned his pants for him, and pulled to get them over his butt.
“What are you doing?” He tried to sit up, but he was tired, and it was a half-assed attempt.
“I’m going to give you a massage.” I took off his boots and socks before working his pants off. It took much more effort than I cared to admit.
“You don’t have to do that, Queen.” He stopped my hands from working.
I paused my movements and looked up at him. “But I want to.”
He nodded sheepishly, and I went back to getting his legs free from the denim.
Once he was lying there in his boxer briefs, I got a good look at his dick print through the material.
I cleared my throat and focused on massaging his thigh.
My hands behaved the entire time. But my eyes kept roaming between his legs.
His eyes were heavy, and he barely kept them open to notice.
I wished I could deny how much my mouth watered at just the thought of it.
Maybe it was the alcohol I’d consumed today going straight to my vagina.
Or perhaps it was the fact that it had been so long since I’d had sex that I was just aching to be filled.
I was interested in seeing it in its entirety. Feel it. Touch it.
“Stop looking at my dick like it’s your last meal.” Hardison chuckled.
“Why? It could be.” I cupped him through the cotton material as I slid between his legs, climbed up his body, to lie on top of him.
“Little vixen,” he groaned out. But he pulled me into his arms and looked up at me.
Hardison felt good beneath me, and when he wrapped his arms around me, I purred against him.
“Or maybe I should call you kitten.”
It didn’t matter what he did because my head settled on his chest, and whatever sassy things I wanted to do had vanished.
Instead, I relaxed into his hold and passed out from exhaustion that had settled in my spirit long ago.
I don’t know where the intense need to close my eyes came from, but it wrapped around me and didn’t let go until I fell into a deep slumber.
I was awakened in the morning by nips and roaming hands that turned my core into lava.
Hardison’s mouth found purchase at my neck, where he kissed and nibbled until I was moaning and grinding against him.
The heavy fog that made it difficult to think wouldn’t lift as I tried to figure out what was right and left.
Right and wrong. Was I dreaming or awake?
“Hardison…” I whimpered, begging him to do something about the ache that had settled between my thighs, afraid to say much more than that, or he’d know just how much I wanted him. If I were asleep, I wouldn't have a chance of saying or making this fantasy disappear.
“Are you wet, Queen?”
I closed my eyes, hoping that he hadn’t just said that. But he had. I tried again to figure out if this was fact or fiction and failed once again.
“Yes,” I whispered, giving in to the moment. “Please…”
“You climbed on top of me. Don’t go sounding innocent now, baby.
” His hands followed my curves, waking up my skin and blazing it with heat.
“Palmed my dick, too. And now you want me to believe that you’re a good girl?
Especially when you’re smelling all good, feeling just right, and you’re begging for relief?
Selfish girl. It’s I who should plead with you for just a taste.
Me asking you if I could make you feel so good that we’ll both come.
Damn it. I don’t even need to fuck you to have your thighs on either side of my head.
You can just sit there, Queen. My mouth’ll do the rest.” He breathed into my neck and caressed the skin there with what felt like his nose. “I’d devour your pretty ass.”
“But…”
“No… buts.” He rolled his tongue against the sensitive area just beneath my ear.
I closed my mouth, ready to give him everything he could ever want with how good that felt, but questions formed in my head. How? When? What was taking so long? Was I making the right decision about letting this man have his way with me?
My body was on board, but my head was at war with my emotions. It’d been so long since I’d been touched the way I needed. What if I came quickly? What if this was the wrong move? Would I be able to satisfy him? It was a problem I’d had in my marriage. Our sexual needs weren’t compatible.
One thing that I remembered about Hardison’s profile was that he enjoyed kinky sex.
A lot of our tastes were similar. That was why this was complicated.
If what he’d said was true, he would leave an impression.
If we were in sync, I’d be in trouble opening up to him in this way.
In the past, good sex made me forget my mission and bend boundaries that I never should have. Would it turn out to be the same?
Things between us were becoming more complicated with each moment. He was making it difficult to determine need from desire, and right now, all I could think about was how good it would feel to have him inside me.
“Please,” I whispered when the teasing became too much to endure.
“Lead the way, Queen,” he murmured against me.
I slid down his body onto my knees, then I stood up and reached for his hand. He stretched out his body before following me to my room. Once inside, he kissed me as he backed me to the bed and pulled off my shirt. My bra was next, and he inched my pants down, leaving me in satin panties.
“Did you bring a vibrator with you, by chance?” He looked hopeful, and I was glad that I had.
I nodded toward the drawer beside the bed, and he opened it to find it and a bottle of lubricant as well.
His face changed to something wicked as he exited the room. I heard drawers opening and closing. Anxious, I could only imagine what he was doing.
When he walked back into the room, my eyes widened, but my sex clenched in anticipation.
What was he about to do to me?
I had an idea, but as I watched him, I hoped I wouldn’t regret what would happen next.