Chapter 8
Arianna
“Shit,” I mumble to myself when the doorbell rings.
Cora’s head pops up and she lets out a small woof but doesn’t move an inch from where she’s curled up beside me on the couch. After an accidentally extra-long walk at one of the local nature conservations this morning, we’ve been cuddled up and watching New Girl reruns.
It’s an effort to untangle myself from the pile of fuzzy blankets and I’m glad no one but the dog witnessed how close my face came to meeting the coffee table.
Finally righting myself, I smooth my hair down and glare at said witness.
“Some guard dog you are, letting me almost wipe out and not even moving a muscle to attempt to scare off whoever is here.”
Cora yawns at me before resting her head back on the pink blanket she claimed earlier.
It isn’t until I open the door and find Dean’s smiling face that I realize how late in the day it is.
The sun has almost finished its descent, casting the sky in a beautiful cotton candy collage.
After their flight was delayed twice, I tried telling him that I would drop Cora off tomorrow morning so he didn’t have to drive all the way out here after traveling all day.
He was adamant that he would come, but when he didn’t respond to the picture I sent of Cora and me curled up and cozy, I assumed he was going to leave her here for the night.
But here he is, holding a box of pizza and my favorite bottle of soda, with an infectious grin spread across his face.
“Hi,” I say, internally cringing at the breathlessness of my voice. Clearing my throat, I open the door wider and motion for him to come in. “I seriously could have kept her for the night.”
Dean shrugs, slipping his shoes off neatly beside mine.
“I promised pizza. Plus, I couldn’t wait to see my girls.”
Ignoring the way my heart jumps at the way he says “my girls” with a cheeky smile, I’m offered the distraction of Cora prancing into my entryway.
She does another little bark. The blanket she was curled up in is hanging off her back half and doing nothing to hide the excitement of her tail wagging when she spots Dean.
“Ah, look who finally got up,” I tease, moving around Dean to snatch the blanket from her before reaching out to take the pizza box so he can say hi to his dog.
Watching them reunite is so insanely cute that I have to walk away before I come off as a creep for staring too long.
Passing through my living room, I drop Cora’s blanket back in her spot before heading to the kitchen to pull out a couple plates and cups for us. Dean joins me, his pup hot on his heels.
“How was the flight?” I ask, already suspecting the answer.
Dean groans, dropping into one of the barstools at my island.
He runs a hand through his messy curls and it’s then that his exhaustion becomes plain as day.
While he tells me about his brutal travel experience, I serve us both two slices, grab the bottle of ranch dressing from the fridge, and take the seat beside him.
“You should have stayed home. I seriously wouldn’t have minded bringing her to you if you just asked,” I tell him while dipping my slice into the dressing, then take a bite.
He nudges me gently with his shoulder, forcing me to look his way. There’s a seriousness shining in his eyes that makes my breath catch, that damn smile on his face light and natural.
“That would have meant waiting another sixteen hours before seeing you, though.”
Well, shit, that is a smooth line.
I could be normal, maybe blush at the comment or deflect with some cute and witty comeback. However, neither of those things happens.
“I mean, if you wanted me to take my clothes off for you, asking would have also worked.” And before he can respond, I’m pulling my crop top off and dropping it onto the floor behind me. “Apparently, lines like that do the trick too.”
Dean’s slice of pizza hits his plate with a gentle thud before he turns to face me completely as his gaze slowly trails down my chest.
“Ya know, for as much as I enjoyed the red on you,” he starts, pushing from his seat and walking to the kitchen sink. He washes and dries his hands and continues, all while keeping his eyes on me. “Green might be my new favorite.”
I grab my napkin, wiping the pizza grease off my hands before resting my elbows on the countertop and leaning forward with a smirk.
“Then you’re gonna love it when I tell you it’s part of a matching set.”
The sound he makes sends a shot of excitement through my whole body. Dean stalks back to my side of the island, his darkened eyes never leaving me. I twist in my seat to keep him in my sights as well, ending up trapped by him with my back to the counter.
He leans forward, placing a hand on each side of my body, and smirks.
“You know, I didn’t come here tonight with the intention of getting you to remove your clothes.”
Swallowing thickly, I drag a finger slowly up the length of his muscular arm.
“Do you want me to put my shirt back on?” I bat my eyelashes, pushing my chest out so it brushes against him.
“Fuck no.”
Then he’s on me.
Dean kisses me as if he’s seconds away from drowning and I’m the air his lungs desperately need.
His arm wraps around my lower back, stepping between my legs and pinning me in place, all while never breaking our kiss.
The feel of his hard length pressing against my inner thigh, only inches away from where I desperately want him, has me groaning into the kiss.
Dean responds to the sound, grabbing both my thighs in his hands and lifting me from my seat.
My legs wrap around him on instinct, and I cling to him as he moves.
He only takes a few steps before setting me down on my kitchen table.
Dean wedges himself back between my thighs, only this time, when he grinds against me, his cock brushes beautifully against my clit.
I’m practically panting when he finally breaks the kiss, but his lips never leave my skin.
He trails down my neck, nipping, sucking, and teasing every spot his mouth touches and making my skin erupt in goose bumps.
When he makes it to my collarbone, he releases his hold on one of my thighs.
With a gentle touch, he traces a finger along the edge of my bra.
I finally open my eyes and am two seconds away from ripping the fabric off myself and begging him to stop playing with me when movement over his shoulder catches my eye.
Cora is sitting in the doorway to my kitchen, staring directly at us. I laugh and lightly push Dean away. I can see the protest and question in his eyes, so I point behind him.
“As much as I would love to keep going, having an audience is not my thing.”
Dean glances over his shoulder, groaning at the sight of his pup watching us without a care in the world.
“Girl, with everything I do for you, don’t you dare cockblock me now,” he tells her while placing his hands back on my thighs. They rub up and down, even as his attention is elsewhere.
I peek at Cora, who yawns in response to Dean before lying down with her front paws and head on my discarded shirt.
“Would it be rude to go to the bedroom and shut her—”
My words are cut off by Dean bending forward, pressing his shoulder into my stomach, and in one swift movement, my world is turned upside down.
He bands one arm around my thighs and another at my hip to hold me in place.
Planting my hands just above his ass so my face doesn’t bounce around and hit him, I laugh.
Cora immediately perks up, running over and jumping on Dean’s legs to get to me.
“Sorry, Cora. All you had to do was not be a peeping Tom,” Dean tells her, crossing through my living room to my stairs.
When he reaches the bottom, he pauses long enough to tell his dog to sit and stay.
She must hear the same seriousness in his tone that I do because she doesn’t even try to nudge forward to sneak after us.
“Good girl.” Dean praises the dog before starting up my stairs with me tossed over his shoulder like I weigh nothing.
“I could have walked, you know,” I say, words airy and strained as he heads down the hallway to my room.
“Then I wouldn’t have this beautiful ass so close to my face,” he says. He pushes my gym shorts up and out of the way a bit so he can rub a palm over my butt cheek.
Entering my room, he beelines for my bed and tosses me down.
I bounce a bit but manage to steady myself.
Dean doesn’t linger, turning back to the door and shutting it.
While he prowls toward me, I reach behind my back to unclip my bra hooks.
As the straps fall down my shoulders, his hungry gaze drops to my breasts.
“Fucking beautiful.” His voice is gravelly and my stomach swoops in anticipation.
He makes it to the end of the bed and sinks to his knees, then wraps his hand around my ankle.
Tugging me forward with an ease that somehow surprises me, Dean doesn’t stop until I’m positioned with my pussy directly in front of him.
He finds the waistband of my shorts and removes them and my underwear in one swift movement.
Dean kisses the inside of my thigh while guiding my leg over his shoulder before looking up at me with a smile that practically turns me into a puddle.
“I missed you.”
My cheeks flush at his admission, but before I can respond, he dives forward, and all words leave my brain.
His tongue gets right to work, delving inside me.
He groans at the contact and the light vibration of the sound adds to the sensations spreading through my body.
My hips move of their own accord, grinding against his face as I chase after the building orgasm.
The sounds that escape my lips don’t fully register. I’m pretty sure I say his name, almost positive that I repeat it over and over as his fingers find my clit.
“That’s it, beautiful. Let me hear you as you come all over my face.”
He switches tactics, flattening his tongue over my clit and thrusting two fingers into my pussy. I’m briefly aware of my head nodding, the sound of my begging filling the air, but I can’t stop. Can’t think of anything but the way he drags my body higher and higher.
“Come, Ari,” Dean demands, curling his fingers and finding the bundle of nerves inside me that he knows will set me off.
Black spots dance at the corner of my visions as my release washes over me.
Time could stop, could slow, or even move at warp speed, and I would be none the wiser.
Dean doesn’t stop. He gentles his touch but continues his ministrations and never removes his attention from my clit until it all becomes too much.
My hand is still tingling when I reach for his head and try to push him away.
He places a gentle kiss on the inside of my thigh, then repeats the action on the other before kissing his way up my stomach and chest. All I can do is lie there, a puddle of unmovable bones and light giggles as he makes his way up my body.
Only when he’s sprawled out above me, his mouth hovering inches from my lips, do I realize that he’s still fully dressed.
Dean cups my cheek in his palm, his thumb lightly moving back and forth as he smiles down at me.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.”
My already flushed cheeks heat more, and I distract myself by reaching for the hem of his shirt.
“In a rush?” He chuckles while grabbing my wrist and pulling my hand up to his lips where he places a featherlight kiss on my knuckle. I shake my head.
“Good, neither am I.” Dean presses one more kiss on my hand before dropping it and sliding his arm around me.
All I can do is let him move me around like a fucking rag doll until we’re both lying in my bed, my back to his front. He grabs the throw blanket from the end of my bed and drapes it over me before wrapping an arm around me and spooning me.
I tilt my head, peering at him from the corner of my eye, and find him smiling at me.
“When you said you weren’t in a rush…” I trail off, wiggling a bit closer until I feel the outline of his still hard cock against my backside.
“I meant that I plan on taking my time dragging at least three more orgasms out of you before the night is done.”
My jaw drops. “S-sorry, three? You expect me to come four times in one night?”
“Don’t worry, baby, I don’t expect anything.” Dean kisses my shoulder, and I can feel his smug grin against my skin. “But I do know I’m right on this.”
I laugh, shaking my head, and face forward. As Dean holds me, we recap the two games he played while away. By the time he’s finished, Cora is pawing at the door, crying to either join us or be let out.
We spend the rest of the evening talking about random things.
I tell him about my latest projects and Vivian moving in two months while he talks about the upcoming plans he has with the guys.
Hours later, we finally make it back to my bedroom, leaving Cora curled up and passed out on the couch downstairs while Dean follows through on his promise of three more orgasms.
After having what was left of my brain turned to mush, I didn’t even think twice about curling up in Dean’s warm embrace. Didn’t think about the fact that in all our time hooking up, we’ve never actually spent the night together.
The last thought in my mind is about how things between us are obviously changing. A year ago, that probably would have freaked me the fuck out. I would have run for the hills and not thought twice. However, now, falling asleep beside Dean felt perfectly right.