36. Cecelia
Sterling came for me. His lips were home and his arms my secure shelter. I had felt so lost and alone, and he was here now.
“I couldn’t even think after I thought you were breaking up with me. I hurt so completely. It hurts every day,” I confessed when his lips left mine.
“Shh, Cecelia, shh. I’m here. We’re together. Everything will work out, I promise. Come, stay with me and Georgie tonight. We’ll all be together like we are meant to be.” He hooked his finger under my chin and looked deep into my eyes.
I missed his deep, earnest expression when he was being caring and thoughtful. I had missed him so much.
I nodded. There was no way they could stay here, not with Reina. She had been here a week, and I had found her in my room more than once. I was really glad I had only packed the basics and we weren’t the same size. I did not trust her not to take my clothes or anything she wanted.
“Get me out of here. I hate this place so much,” I whined.
“Tell me what you need. Let’s get your things. You’re coming with me right now,” he said.
I loved it when he took charge. I felt safe with him.
“You aren’t driving back to Dallas tonight, are you?”
He shook his head. “Not with Georgie. If it was just us, maybe. Let’s get your things, and then we can find a hotel for the night.”
I pointed into my room. “That’s my room. Grab my clothes. I’ll get my things from the bathroom.”
I stopped and looked at the mess Reina left as she was getting ready to go out. I groaned. I really did not like her.
I grabbed my stuff out of the shower. The new bottle of conditioner was suspiciously light. Screw her, she was using my stuff. Too bad there was nothing of hers that I liked enough to consider taking with me. But I was feeling petty. I left the shampoo and conditioner after I dumped them down the drain and put about an inch of water in the bottles.
I stepped into my room, and Sterling was going through all of the empty drawers. “Is this all you packed?” He gestured to the small pile of clothes on the bed.
“I didn’t think I was going to be here for more than two weeks, so I didn’t pack much. The complex has decent laundry facilities, so I just wash and wear what I’ve got.” I grabbed my clothes and shoved them into the small bag I had originally packed everything in. I grabbed the library book off the bedside table. “Ready.”
Sterling led the way out of the room. He scanned his gaze around the apartment. “Anything else yours?”
I shrugged. “The mess. But Reina can deal with it. I’ve had to put up with her sloppiness.”
I followed him out of the apartment. I stopped when he beeped to unlock a giant Cadillac SUV.
“I should have guessed you drove a car like this. This or a tiny little sports car,” I said as I tossed my bag into the back seat.
“You’ve seen my car before,” he said.
I shook my head. “Nope, anytime I’ve been with you in a car, it’s been a car service or a limo.”
“There are so many more interesting things to do than drive. But yes, this is my car. I’m too tall for most sports cars.”
It made sense. He was tall. Those tiny little cars would require him to fold up on himself. It couldn’t be comfortable.
I sighed and closed my eyes as he pulled away from the apartment. I hadn’t left a note for Reina. I was a bad roommate. I didn’t care. She was a worse roommate. Sterling drove, and a few minutes later, he pulled into a hotel parking lot. I waited in the car with Georgie. She was out cold. Sound asleep.
He climbed back in and handed me a card key. He parked, and we went inside.
The room was a basic nice hotel room. It felt clean in a way I could never get that apartment to feel. I flopped onto the big king-sized bed.
About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
“Who’s that?” I asked as I sat up. I began pulling my shoes off.
A moment later, someone rolled in a crib. Sterling pointed to an empty spot for it. He handed the bellhop a tip, and we were alone again. He unfastened Georgie, and my heart thrummed just watching how careful he was with her as he put her into the crib. When I first met him, he had been insufferable with a cocktail and leaving her on the floor, and now, he was the best father that little girl could have.
He climbed onto the bed and pulled me against him. We lay like that, just holding each other for the longest time. His hand brushed over my back and shoulder.
I couldn’t help it. I had Sterling in my arms. I let my hands roam over his body, feeling the shape of his muscles through his clothes. He let out a soft moan and eased me back onto the mattress before covering me with his length and kissing me.
His lips were tender and warm, and kissing him was the singular best thing that had happened to me in at least a month. His hand skimmed over my ribs before cupping a breast.
I lifted my leg over his and shifted, pressing my hips tighter to his.
With a groan, he pushed away and climbed out of bed.
“Hey,” I complained.
“Here we go,” was all he said as he unlocked the wheels on the crib and rolled it into the bathroom.
“Did you just put Georgie in the bathroom?” I asked.
“I’m not making love to you with her in the same room. It’s not right. And there is no way I am not making love to you tonight.”
I gulped at the sincerity and ferocity of his words. I nodded. I wanted him to make love to me too. I wanted his touch to reassure me that everything was going to be okay. I pulled at my clothes in a most functional fashion. I wanted them off. I didn’t care about putting on a show. The sooner I could have Sterling’s skin against mine, the better.
We pulled the blankets back and slid in against the clean sheets at the same time. I wiggled up against him. His cock pressed against my belly, hard and ready. I was ready too, but I still wanted all the touching and the teasing. Foreplay wasn’t just for my body. It made everything feel so much better and gave me more time touching him.
His mouth searched out, placing kisses along my skin until he found my nipple. I mewled and tried to keep the noise down. But it was hard when he made me want to cheer and be loud.
His hands roamed and grabbed at me like he had missed touching me as much as I had missed him. I tugged his hair until he lifted his mouth back to mine. His arms enfolded me, and his lips claimed mine. I was surrounded by him, his body, his warmth, his smell.
This felt like home. It didn’t matter where we were as long as we were together. Okay, and maybe not back at that horrible apartment. But I probably would have been happy to have been with him there as long as I was with him.
“Are you good if I don’t have a condom?” he murmured against my ear.
“Ah, yeah, I’m good.” There was something I desperately needed to tell him, but right now was not the moment. He wasn’t going to get me pregnant tonight.
I let out a long sigh when he slid into me. This was the most perfect moment. Each and every time felt like perfection. I belonged to him, and he belonged to me. When we moved together, the world fell away, and we were all that was left.
How could I have doubted this? Brains and emotions got in the way of something so perfect. But that didn’t matter now. Sterling slid inside me, and he was where he belonged. I moaned as my body responded. His touch was everything, yet it somehow wasn’t enough. I needed more of him, more of his body.
“More,” I moaned.
He growled low in his throat. “Demanding.”
“More,” I whined. I grabbed at his skin, clutching him to me. I bucked my hips up to meet his. “More!”
His mouth over mine stopped my demands. But my body pushed back, and I moved against him. His thrusts grew more forceful, and I took everything he gave me. Everything tightened up. My breathing grew shallower. I was fighting as everything rolled and crashed and sent me over the edge. The orgasm didn’t slam into me, it grew and built and became more intense with each touch, each stroke. It made its presence known and then became more and more intense.
I cried out because there was no way I could contain what was in my body. And then I broke apart. I was stardust, I was glitter. I was magic. And then I was me, in Sterling’s arms. And I was happy.
He pressed hard against me, grabbing my leg to hold it over his hip. He thrust a few more times before falling to his side. He wrapped his arms around me and kept me tight in his embrace.
“Never doubt that I need you.” His voice was gravelly and low as he panted out the words.
I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I think our bodies had conveyed that pretty well.