32. Nessa
32
NESSA
P ractice ran late and a couple of the girls asked for some extra help with the drills we’d done. By the time we’d finished, Jensen had texted to say that he and Remi had returned home with a new friend.
I told him I was on my way but guilt ate at me for having missed it. I knew the event was important to Jensen. The whole town had turned out to support Vetted Paws, and something about not showing up for it, for him, had me feeling a certain kind of way.
It was uncomfortable and I didn’t like it.
Grabbing my bag from the passenger seat, I take a steadying breath and push out of my car. The night air is crisp and cool, goose bumps erupting all over my skin as I cross the driveway and climb the porch steps. My hand stills on the doorknob, a momentary hesitation as disappointment floods me again. Tamping it down, I turn the knob and walk in to find Jensen on the living room floor.
His arm is propped up behind his head, a Christmas movie playing on the television and a tan-and-black puppy curled up against his side, fast asleep. It’s quite the sight and my heart squeezes for an entirely different reason.
“How was practice?” he asks quietly as I drop my bag and kick my shoes off before padding across the floor to sit next to him.
“I’m sorry I missed the event tonight,” I say without looking at him as I stroke the puppy’s soft fur.
When he doesn’t say anything, I look up to find him watching me, an unreadable expression on his face.
“How was practice?” he asks again, this time sitting up and bracing his palms on the carpet behind him.
“It was really good. The girls were really motivated, and I ended up staying after with a couple that wanted to work on the drills again. I lost track of time.”
“Are you upset because you’re devastated about not seein’ all the dogs, or is it because you think I’m upset with you?”
Biting my bottom lip, I look up at him through my eyelashes and brace myself for his reaction. But instead of disappointment, all I see is amusement and maybe a little adoration.
“I don’t know what we’re doing, Jensen, but I felt like I let you down, and it’s been a long time since I had to check in with someone else—to take their feelings into account—and I don’t know how I feel about it.”
“Hell of an emotional breakthrough, Miss Hart.” His lips twitch as his fingers caress the puppy’s fur.
“This is supposed to be temporary, Jensen. My life isn’t conducive to pets and promises and follow-through.”
“I know, but I like that smile on your face from bein’ with the team. And I like that you wished you could have made it tonight. But I’m not upset, Ness. None of this is easy and I don’t know what the right answer is, but I know that I love havin’ you in my bed and coming home to you.” He shrugs. “I think we’re doin’ all right.”
“Is that enough?”
“It is for now.”
“So, we just keep having sex and playing house?”
Jensen’s lips twitch. “I can think of worse ways to spend a couple of months with you.”
I laugh, startling the dog who blinks sleepily at me and stretches. “But what happens at the end of January? I don’t want to lose Remi and?—”
“Are you fallin’ for me, Trouble?”
I balk, the thought absolutely preposterous even as the question runs on a loop in my head. “Of course not.” He chuckles, the gleam in his eyes telling me he doesn’t quite buy it. “So you caved and got Remi a puppy?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.
“Subtle.” He grins and he’s so damn sexy it’s hard not to climb into his lap and just fuck him until the only thing I’m feeling is sated and spent.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Bodhi was ruthless. The other guys left with two dogs each.”
“How?”
“Blackmail and threats mostly.”
I faux gasp and clutch a hand to my chest. “And what did the Sheriff do?”
“I let him hold Remi while we picked out a dog.”
“Already a pushover, aren’t you?”
The puppy rolls back and forth on the ground, and Jensen immediately starts in with the belly rubs.
“We always had dogs, and I want that for Remi. And this way they’ll grow up together.” His smile is nostalgic and I can’t take it any longer.
Crawling into his lap, I cup his face in my hands and press my lips to his, licking at the seam until he opens for me, letting me lead and take what I want.
“Put the dog to bed and then come shower,” I murmur with my mouth a breath away from his.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I feel like that label should offend me, but it sounds really hot when you say it.”
He grins and squeezes my ass before giving it a slap and lifting me off him. I can feel him watching me walk down the hall, and I love the way my body is already anticipating him.
Stripping out of my clothes, I toss them in the hamper in the bathroom and turn the shower to slightly less than scalding. My reflection is almost impossible to see through the steam, but I can see the worry there anyway.
Jensen had been so sure we could just do this and make it out the other side—but I can’t just let it go. So much would be at stake.
So much already is.
Blowing out a breath, I rummage through the bottom drawer and pull out the little bottle for her pleasure and climb into the shower. The hot water can only drown out so much in my head, and I know I’ll need the little push to finish.
I’m washing the soap from my body when the bathroom door opens and shuts, followed by the sound of Jensen’s clothes hitting the floor.
Peeking around the curtain, he gives my body a thorough perusal. “You gonna turn that water down or should I get the burn kit ready?”
“Rude.”
Snickering as he climbs in, I roll my eyes when he still hisses as the spray touches his skin. The water snakes down his arms and chest, catching the dips and lines of his abs. Stepping forward, I lick at the drops as my hands run all over his body.
“What do you want, Ness?”
“I want you to fuck me slow against the wall.”
His fingers thread through the wet strands of my hair, his fingertips digging in and making me moan as he massages my scalp. My eyelids flutter shut as he works his way up and down the back of my neck and up to my temples. It’s heavenly, my back sagging against the shower wall, his lips landing on mine as his palms slide down to cup my breasts.
The pressure is firm but teasing, as he kneads each handful, pinching my nipples and making me moan.
“What do you need?” His voice is a low rasp, and I love the desire laced in every word.
Reaching for the bottle, I hand it to him. “A little bit and then just press small, light circles against my clit.”
I watch as he squirts some on his middle finger and then uses his index and ring fingers to spread me apart.
“Like this?”
“Yes,” I gasp, rolling my hips forward and chasing the sensation building inside me. “I need you.”
My hand wraps around his cock and he grunts as I stroke him, his finger sliding down my slit and dipping inside me, mimicking the pace I’m using on him.
Grabbing the condom from the ledge, he rolls it on and lifts me up, positioning the head of his cock against my core and pushing ever so slightly inside me. Pulling out, he does it again, sliding in inch by torturous inch and then out until he’s fully seated and I’m gripping his shoulders.
It’s everything I need.
Every slow stroke has my body igniting, his pelvis grinding against my tingling clit as he squeezes and digs his fingers into my ass cheeks. I cry out, his hands ramping up the way my pussy is already clenching around his length.
The feeling is incredible. I feel so impossibly full, savoring the closeness of our bodies and our mingling breath as he fucks me until I shatter.
But the building of the orgasm is nothing compared to the intensity with which it rips through every cell of my being, holding me captive as pleasure washes over me.
“Jesus, Baby, fuck, ” Jensen groans as he slams into me over and over before burying himself impossibly deeper inside me as he comes.
Wrapping my arms around him, I bury my face in his neck as I let myself feel everything in this moment—the good, the bad, and the unexpected.
And Jensen just holds me, weathering my storm right along with me, like maybe I don’t have to do this alone.