Chapter 10
Ever
After spending the morning with the principal, librarian, maintenance worker, and a handful of kids at Maplewood Middle School reviewing the plan for their bee-friendly garden and a beehive, and answering questions about bees and how to encourage that they thrive, and checking on a few hives at neighboring farms, I’m in my truck headed back to the shop.
The kids were more engaged than I expected.
If things go well with the middle school, the principal at the elementary school has already said she’s considering doing something similar there.
I’ve already assessed the area and located a suitable spot, out of the way for a hive.
There’s nothing better than getting kids engaged in conservation early.
I drum my thumbs on the steering wheel with the pent-up energy that has had me hard and horny since kissing Dmitri last night.
Letting him walk away was harder than it should have been after knowing someone for a handful of days.
Instead of spending the night mapping every inch of his body with my tongue, I tossed and turned in bed.
After hours of restlessness, I finally gave in and jerked myself off with visions of him splayed out for me, getting to take in the smooth skin and muscles I’ve caught glimpses of under his tailored clothing.
Having him writhe under me, begging for more as I teased and coaxed his orgasm to the surface, imagining him digging his blunt nails into my back as he shouted my name, sent my cum spewing across my stomach.
But it wasn’t enough. It won’t be until I have him.
I palm my hardening cock, adjusting it to a relatively more comfortable position when a call comes through my hands-free speaker. “Hey, Asa. What’s up?”
“Are you on your way back?”
My turn signal ticks as I take a right onto Maple. “I’m two blocks away. Why?”
“You have a visitor.”
My pulse quickens and my foot presses down on the accelerator while I try to keep an unaffected tone. “Dmitri?”
Even to my own ears, I hear the desperate longing when I say his name, but the snort of amusement from Asa confirms how gone I am. And I’ve only kissed him. Once.
“Yeah,” she says.
I pull around the back of the building and turn into the designated parking spot for the store, and kill the engine. “I’m here.”
The phone disconnects when I open the door and I stride into the back room.
For as fast as my pulse is hammering, there’s a lightness in my chest, knowing I’m seconds away from seeing Dmitri.
I push through the back and into the store.
The whir of my blood pumping in my ears hushes, replaced by a feeling so big my chest is at risk of being unable to contain it.
Elbows on the glass countertop, behind which Asa perches on the stool, he says something that has my assistant breaking into a wide grin.
My footsteps echo over the soft music playing from the speakers. “Hi.”
At the sound of my voice, Dmitri turns to me, his expression seeming to match the too-big feeling in my chest. I reach him in four long strides, pulling him into my arms and kissing him.
It doesn’t matter that it’s the middle of the workday and in front of my employee because the lure is too strong to ignore.
One of his arms wraps around my waist, while he holds the back of my head with his other hand, his body melting into me like his night was as long and tortuous as mine.
For all the things we discussed last night, I still do not know how long he plans on staying in Maplewood, but I’m not wasting another minute worrying about what could happen. It’s time to enjoy the moment.
I break the kiss. The desire to claim and be claimed by him pulses through me, and from his blown pupils, I’m going out on a limb and saying he feels the same. I cup his face, press my forehead to his, and whisper, “Wanna get out of here?”
“Yes.”
One word. One raspy word incinerates my insides. My skin burns and a flood of tingles seizes me. And we’re still standing fully clothed in my store, with Asa—
Shit, Asa.
I spare a glance. She’s steadily focused on the tablet on her lap. I clear my throat and she looks up. “We’re going to go. You’ll be okay?”
She waves my question away. “You weren’t scheduled to be in today, anyway.”
“Right. Okay.” I thread my fingers through Dmitri’s, and like last night, it feels as natural as if we’ve been doing it for years. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Walking as fast as I can without running, I haul Dmitri out the back to my truck, as he calls his thanks to Asa over his shoulder. The tinkle of her chuckle chases us.
The four-block drive to my house is the longest ride I’ve ever driven, and it’s only made worse by the heat of Dmitri’s hand on my thigh seeping through my jeans.
Finally , we reach my house, and I jerk the truck to a stop. I’m out and around the vehicle before Dmitri has a chance to open his door, so I do it for him, dragging him out and suctioning my mouth to his. We stumble up the walkway, groping and kissing like it's the air we need to live.
The door crashes open, bouncing off the wall.
I hold my hand out, stopping it from banging into Dmitri’s head, but keep my mouth fused to him.
His hands are everywhere, like he can’t decide where to touch me.
I get it, because at the moment I’d give away my best producing hive to have more than two hands.
To be able to grip his ass, smooth my palms over his chest, squeeze his biceps, run them over the thick thighs, and trail them over the silky skin of his back, feeling every movement all at the same time would be totally worth it.
Bruising, desperate kisses devastate as he plunders my mouth.
He sinks his teeth into my bottom lip, then smooths over the sting with his tongue, and I crumble—in the best possible way, if there’s such a thing.
Before I can break free to catch my breath, he spins me, kicking the door closed behind us.
I pull him into the room. Getting him into my bed is the only thing my brain can focus on.
Well, maybe not only that… Getting him naked and into my bedroom swamps every other thought, but my bedroom is too damn far away.
Mouths fused together, we stumble our way to the living room.
I knock my shin into the corner of the coffee table hard enough I’ll probably have a bruise tomorrow.
But I don’t feel the pain because I’m focused on stripping Dmitri out of his sweater.
I grip the hem of said sweater along with the shirt underneath and yank them up.
My knuckles skim smooth skin, and I sigh into his mouth.
His skin is silky like the finest thread of honey and I want to lose myself in the feel of him.
I glide my knuckles along his stomach, above the waistband of his pants, and he hums his approval.
He steps away, and immediately, I’m at a loss without his mouth.
But before I can voice my disapproval, he pulls the sweater I was struggling with over his head.
His elegant fingers deftly unbutton the shirt beneath it.
My mouth waters with every inch of skin revealed until I can’t stand it anymore, and I swat his hands away, ripping open the shirt. A button hits the hardwood, bouncing to some unknown corner of the room, and I push the shirt from his shoulders and down his arms.
Muted light filters through the windows, casting Dmitri in a soft glow.
I take a moment to admire the smooth planes of his chest as I trail my fingertips over the definition of his pecs.
Over dinner at The Striped Maple, he had mentioned his views on musicians staying fit, and anyone with eyes can see how lusciously his sweater pulls against the tug of his shoulders.
But his chest is a masterpiece, better than my filthy fantasy last night.
Symphonies could be written about this man’s chest. The ridges beneath the velvety skin of his stomach.
The soft trail of fuzz below his bellybutton…
I let my fingers circle the brown disc of one areola and then the other. His head drops back on a low moan and his grip on my hips tightens.
“Stop teasing,” he demands, yanking my hips forward.
My breath catches with the feel of his stiff cock grinding into mine.
Even through layers of clothing, his heat scorches.
Instead of running from the fire, my instinct is to dive into the flames, happily letting them consume me.
I pinch the peak of his hardening nipple, then dip my head and suck it.
He tastes of the honey-infused soap I supply to the inn and a salty sweetness I could easily get addicted to.
“Fuck. Ever.” His voice is rough, the words scratchy, like forming them is beyond his capabilities. His breaths come hard, matching my own.
I swirl my tongue around the protrusion, flicking it, then biting down.
“Yes.” His fingers tangle in my short hair and he sighs. The sound like relief, like he’s been waiting his entire life for this. For us.
“Need you.” Lips pressed to his chest, the heat of my breathy words ricochets from his skin, and warms my cheeks.
In a move that would make any superhero envious, Dmitri shoves me onto the couch and has my pants pushed down my legs so fast my head spins.
He stands over me, and I have a glorious view as he makes quick work of removing his own pants, revealing the thighs I’ve dreamed of since first meeting him.
He straddles my hips and I reach out, petting the sparse black hair covering muscles that tremble as he holds himself over me before he leans down and captures my mouth.