Lizzie
Chapter Forty-Three
Who knew a man in an apron with flour on his forehead could be so damn sexy? Then again, I’m pretty sure Holden Aron looks delicious all the time, so it shouldn’t surprise me.
Since I can’t watch him from the doorway like a creeper forever, I’m extra quiet as I lift my phone, frame him in the camera, and snap a picture.
When the sound of the photo being taken clicks, Holden looks up and immediately smiles. He drops the cake spatula he was holding and walks toward me, reaching behind him to untie the apron.
“No, leave it on,” I tease. “I like it.”
He listens and covers the last few feet in seconds, then sweeps me into his arms and holds me tight against his body. He kisses the top of my head, then pulls back and looks at me.
“God, I know it’s only been two days, but at the risk of sounding like a wuss, I missed you so damn much.”
I’m smiling so big my cheeks hurt.
“I missed you too,” I say quietly. “More than you know.”
He grins, then kisses my forehead. “Really?”
“Yes, really. But, are you going to kiss me sometime today?” There’s a flirty air to my words. I somehow feel lighter. Maybe it’s because I let myself acknowledge how I felt about my dad and finally had a chance to tell Landon off.
Without hesitation, Holden’s lips find mine.
After a few moments, I ask, “Is Simon in the office watching another bug documentary? I want to hug him.”
“He’s at Harrison’s with Georgie for an impromptu pool party. Let me clean up, then we’ll go.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun. How long do you think they’ll be?”
He glances down at his watch. “Whoa, have I been down here that long? He’s due home in about forty-five minutes.”
I’m eager to see him, but by the time we clean up and get there, it won’t be long until he’s home.
“It’s okay. I can wait. Maybe for dinner we can go to Smiley’s for burgers and milkshakes.”
“You sure?” he asks. “We can go now.”
I sit on one of the high barstools I keep around the kitchen island. “I’m sure. I could just sit and watch you do whatever this is.” I gesture to the mess on the counter.
“Hey! Don’t hate. I was just about to finish up. I’m making cinnamon roll dough so it has time to rise. Our boy asked for them for breakfast tomorrow, and I knew you wouldn’t have time to make the dough without staying up late.”
My heart pounds in my chest. He’s making cinnamon rolls simply because my son asked for them. He didn’t want me to have to stay up late making them.
He said, “Our boy.”
“Lizette? You okay?”
I blink a few times until my vision clears. Why have I been so afraid to really let myself hope until this moment? It’s so clear to me now that the beautiful soul I fell in love with in the library has grown into this marvelous man.
Holden steps between my legs and lifts my chin with the backs of two fingers until my eyes meet his.
“Hey, what’s—”
“I love you.”
At first, the words are hushed, almost whispered. His eyes widen.
“I love you, Holden. So much.”
He lowers his mouth to mine and places the most tender, yet insanely sexy, kiss near the corner of my mouth. Then he pulls back and cups my face in his hands.
The smile on his face might be the most stunning I’ve ever seen on him.
“I love you too. I never stopped. Not even for a minute. I’ve known for a decade that my heart would only ever belong to you.”
“Kiss me again. Please.”
My voice is teeming with need.
His lips are on mine in an instant, and a split second after that, he slides his hands underneath me, cupping my ass. I wrap my legs around him, and he lifts me from the stool effortlessly and places me on the island. It’s perfect—our mouths align just right like this.
He peppers my lips and my neck with kisses, and he has me so turned on that every pleasure center in my body gets stimulated. I don’t even try to quiet my moaning. And the louder I am, the more intense his attention becomes.
Within seconds, we’ve removed our shirts, my bra comes off, and he has one of my nipples in his mouth.
He sucks and licks, then he uses his teeth to scrape against the sensitive flesh.
I dig my fingertips into his back to stay anchored in the moment instead of losing myself to pleasure.
I don’t want to miss a second of what he’s serving.
When he slips his hand underneath my skirt and feels that I’ve soaked my panties, he growls. He lifts his mouth from my breast and looks up at me, and at the same time, he slips a finger, then another, inside of me and begins to fuck me with them.
I whimper with pleasure.
“Tell me again,” he growls.
“I love you. I’ll always love you.” I pant the words out, and he fucks me harder with his fingers.
He lowers his mouth to near my ear. I know what’s coming, and in the short time we’ve been intimate, he already knows it drives me mad.
“You’re going to come for me, right, love?”
I moan. “Please, I need you inside of me,” I practically beg. “
“I am inside you.” He moves faster and harder, just like he knows I love. “Don’t you feel that?” he teases.
A whiny moan escapes me, and he uses his free hand to reach up and pull my panties off my body.
“You want to tell me something?” He kisses my neck right behind my ear, and I shiver in response.
“I want you inside me. Your cock.” It comes out as both a plea and a command.
“That’s what I needed to hear. Now, come all over my hand. Then I want to fuck you until we’re both senseless and you’re a quivering, beautiful mess.”
His words drive me over the edge, and I fall apart with pleasure as his fingers continue their sweet torture, only slowing as I come down from the orgasm.
“Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart.” I do it without hesitation.
I trust this man implicitly. I trust him with my body, my heart, my son.
I trust him to stay.
He slips his fingers, soaked in my arousal, from my body, and I watch him put them in his mouth and lick them clean. I don’t know what’s come over me, but with a boldness I’ve not felt before, I lean forward and kiss him, tasting myself in his mouth.
“Fuck, babe,” he says. His voice is rough with desire. He lifts me, then carries me past the cooler to the short hall that leads to the storage room. Within seconds, his pants are off, his cock poised at my entrance. His eyes meet mine.
We’ve talked about this moment, unsure when it would happen. I’m on birth control, and we’ve both tested negative for any STIs. We knew we could go without a condom for the first time whenever we wanted. We just haven’t yet.
I nod. He presses into me with a controlled slowness that nearly kills me.
“Holden,” I beg.
He knows exactly what I want, what I need. So, he moves fast and pushes hard. I toss my head back, and I literally don’t have to do anything except drown in the pleasure he’s giving me.
He holds me up and kisses my neck. All while he fucks me. Senseless, as promised.
“I really need you to come again. You know my rule—”
“Rule?” Also, how is he not breathless yet?
“Yeah, you know. ‘Two for you before I’m due,’ and I’m barely holding on here, love.”
I can’t help it; I break apart in laughter.
He grins.
“Please tell me you’re not laughing while I’m doing my best work here.”
I try so hard to stop laughing and to hold it in that I snort.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry!” I cover my mouth with my hand. “But ‘two for you before I’m due.’ Really?”
“I stand by it, and now I’m pulling out the big guns.” His hand slips out of my hair and down to my clit.
“Holy hell. How are you making me laugh at the same time you’re making me… At the same time… Oh, God!”
My body explodes with pleasure, and I’m pretty sure I’ve died, and this is heaven.
I writhe on him, and when he roars with his own release, I swear it makes my orgasm last even longer.
There’s something about coming together that makes me feel like I don’t have a care in the world, especially when it ends like this: foreheads together, panting, and… smiling.
“Did you hear that?” Holden asks.
“Hear wh—”
Voices. Georgie’s, Ruthie’s, and—oh, my God—Simon’s.
“Holden! Our clothes are out there!”
His eyes practically bulge out of his head. Before I can say anything, he’s pulled away and takes off. Less than twenty seconds later, he’s back with an armful of our clothes.
“Do you think Mom’s home yet?” Simon’s excited voice asks.
“Oh, she’s definitely home,” Ruthie says, followed by her classic cackle.
“Why did she say it like that?” I whisper.
“It’s Ruthie. Who knows?” he chuckles.
Oh, no. I’ve never had stand-up sex before, and while it’s spectacular—and I definitely want to do it again—I didn’t think about, well, gravity.
On instinct, I throw my hands in front of my body as though that’ll somehow hide what’s happening.
But before my cheeks can heat with embarrassment, Holden is cleaning me up.
“Holden, you don’t have to do—”
“Hey, I love you, and I’m always going to take care of you.” He stands upright.” So you’d better get used to it.”
He kisses me on the temple, and my heart melts. I throw my arms around his neck and hold on for dear life.
“I love you, Holden.”
He wraps his arms around me, and we hold each other for a moment.
“What do you say we get dressed and go see Simon?” he whispers near my ear.
I nod, and we pull apart. I rustle through my clothes. I put on my bra. Then my shirt. Then I glance around.
“Um, Holden...”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Where are my panties?”