Chapter 34
MAKING YOU HAPPY
Dinner was fabulous.
Emotions were high.
Clarity filled the room.
It was everything she needed to hear and be said.
On both of their parts.
The hefty burden of the truth being lifted freed a part of her she’d been waiting for.
She knew more about him and had more to understand.
He could say the same about her.
She got her answer about why things had been dull and boring and didn’t even have to ask.
It all made sense and she felt better with his thoughtful reasoning.
“Let me clean up,” she said. He was picking up the plate and she pushed his hands aside. “You did all the work. It’s my turn.”
“I’m not even going to argue with you.”
She gathered the plates. “Good. You won’t win.”
When she got to the kitchen, she noticed how messy of a cook he was.
Empty bags that the seafood were in, the box of pasta upside down with half the top ripped off in frustration. The can of sauce with drippings down the side and on the counter.
The stovetop, not much better. Multiple utensils lying on it, leaving a baked-on residue.
She rinsed the plates, put them in the dishwasher, then gathered all the trash to dispose of that.
Twenty minutes later, the kitchen was in order and Arik was on his phone in the living room with a frown on his face.
He looked up when she came in with the box of cookies she’d bought open and in her hand.
She set them down on the glass coffee table and joined him on the couch.
“What’s in there?”
“Take a look,” she said. She moved the box closer; he reached in and snagged a chocolate chip cookie. She went for the frosted brownie. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Just a message from my old job.”
“The one that made you Willy Wonka rich?” A giggle escaped. “Sorry, it’s holding the chocolate in my hand that had that slipping.”
“It’s funny. And yes. That job. They’ve had some turnover and were asking if I would consider consulting.”
Did that mean he’d have to go there for that?
After everything they’d just said to each other and her confession about not wanting to put pressure on him, the last thing she could do was ask. Not now.
“Have you done that before?”
He’d shared how the last job had affected him, and the thought of him going back made her fear he’d fall into those same habits all over again. Even if it was temporary, didn’t he just acknowledge that was a flaw of his?
“I haven’t.”
“But you want to? There is part of you that is thinking of what you did that someone else is ruining?”
His ego.
She wouldn’t insult him saying that, but she was positive that was playing a part.
“It’s there. But you’re not. You’re here. I don’t have any intention of going there.”
The breath slipped from her lips before she realized she’d been holding it. Then she laid her head on his chest needing the closeness more than she wanted to admit.
She got the answer she wanted without having to voice the question.
“Don’t let me stop you from doing something you want.”
“I’m not going to lie and say I wouldn’t be interested in finding out more, but traveling there is off the table unless it can’t be avoided and only for a few days. If it can’t be done remotely, it’s not being done at all.”
“That’s your choice. It’s not as if you aren’t focusing on something else right now.”
“I can do both because one has no timeline. And you’re working. I don’t want to take that from you. I need something to do. I’m not one of these people to work on my tan. But nights and weekends are off limits with anything else. That’s my time with you.”
She leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I enjoy hearing you say that, but you need to do what makes you happy.”
“I enjoy making you happy.”
She put her brownie down that she’d only taken two bites of, licked the fudge off her fingers and straddled his hips.
He talked about breaking patterns. She could do it too.
She had been, but it was fun to continue.
To do it as a follow-up to their conversation.
She took the cookie out of his hand and set it down next to the brownie in the box.
“I like doing the same to you.”
Her hands went to his cheeks, her mouth to his, a kiss that was gentle quickly turned to more.
Their lips brushed, tongues tasting not with urgency, but with purpose. Teasing, tempting, drawing each other in and building heat with every slow, deliberate pass.
“Are we going to do this here?” he asked, his hips lifting for her to feel the strength and power beneath her that clothing couldn’t hide.
“I’d like that,” she said. “Unless you want to go to your room.”
“Nope. Here is good. But I need a condom.”
“Got one in my purse.”
“I love a prepared woman,” he said.
She unhitched her leg from his hip and walked to the stairs where her purse hung. The condom, a secret hidden away so the world didn’t know what she really wanted to do when she saw the man she’d lost her heart to.
Natalie Bond didn’t think about sex much. Not before Arik came into her life.
“Being prepared is my jam,” she said.
“I’m going to tuck them all over the house so you don’t have to move next time,” he said, his hand reaching for her.
She tossed the condom next to them on the couch and let herself be pulled back into his embrace.
This kiss wasn’t gentle or playful. It was raw, commanding, and ignited a heat that threatened to burn through every layer between them.
“And we’ll make use of them,” she said, her teeth nipping at his lower lip.
His hand moved inside her jeans, turning and cupping her heat. One finger slid between her dewy lips, found her opening and jammed inside.
A harsh moan escaped. Not in pain. Never that.
More like a deep need that was dying to be unleashed.
She stayed still, letting him finger her, her legs wide around his thighs, her knees squeezing him to stay in place, her eyes shut to savor each movement.
“You’re close,” he said. “I can see it on your face, hear it in your breath.”
She nodded her head. She couldn’t speak when he was playing her body.
Then he stopped right when it was getting to the good part.
Withdrew his hand and left her craving for more.
Her eyes flew open to see his grin.
“Why did you do that?”
“I don’t want to waste it on my hand.”
She dropped her eyes to his crotch. He was straining at the denim. “That has to be painful,” she said, reaching for the button and zipper to free him.
“It is,” he said. “What are you going to do about it?”
“You’ll just have to see.”
She gripped him in her palm, squeezed a few times making him flinch. Maybe it was harder than she meant to be, but he wasn’t complaining.
No, she was watching his face this time.
Now his eyes were closed, his lips parted as she stroked him, her thumb brushing the liquid at his tip, massaging it in and around making each movement slicker.
There was a delicious thrill in watching your partner inch closer to the edge, unaware they were about to unravel and you were controlling the timing.
Her motion increased, then slowed down. His face hid nothing, his eyes finally opening to gaze at her, as if he knew she was staring as he had been to her.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Very much,” she said. His tongue came out to wet his lower lip, his hips moved up into her hand urging her to increase her speed.
But she stopped.
Pulled her hand away and sat back.
“Let me guess,” he said. “Not going to waste it in your hand.”
She pointed her finger at the condom. “You’re a smart one.” She climbed off his lap, unfastened and discarded her jeans and underwear, then climbed back on him and sat down fast.
She needed a moment for her body to adjust, but secretly she loved to sit and feel all of him inside of her. Touching every wall, every nerve, every muscle.
In the past she never thought of sex as something to take your time doing, but a release at the end.
With Arik, it was all about what they felt in the moment.
Another thing she’d never experienced before. Something else she could credit to Arik.
He didn’t just steal her heart, but her inhibitions.
She lifted her eyes to see his gaze on her. “Everything okay?”
“Just having fun,” she said.
He moved forward, then guided her legs to go around his hips, him moving to the edge of the couch.
The gravity of her hips hanging there had her dipping and squeezing him tight.
The minute she did, she knew exactly why he’d put them in this position.
“Nice, isn’t it? It’s all you now.”
It was more than nice. It was fabulous. Exciting. Exhilarating.
It was a whole new level of sensation. Him handing over control, making her decide exactly how much she could take, and when to stop.
Her hips went back and forward, adjusting to the newfound freedom.
His hands did little more than hold her in place, not letting her fall, but not leading her either.
“Kiss me,” she demanded.
Her mouth landed on his, her arms around his neck to anchor herself. She trusted him not to drop her, but just in case, she was holding on.
His tongue invaded her mouth, their chests smashed together, but not as tightly as they were below.
She was swaying forward and back, squeezing as she went.
The tension coiled up tight in her core, climbing in her belly ready to burst out of her chest.
The way his fingers were gripping her skin told her he was as close as her and might even leave his mark.
The more in control she felt the faster she moved.
There were noises in the room that didn’t sound human and couldn’t possibly be coming from her.
Not Natalie Bond.
The good girl.
That Natalie was shoved in a closet.
This one was screwing the man she had the hots for.
The one who stole her heart, knocked down her walls, and gave her the strength to be the person she always dreamed.
He was giving her everything she had always wanted and she was going to do the same back to him.
She was going to give him the ultimate power.
The kiss ended, her back arched, she was leaning back and making sure he had her. Putting it in his hands to keep her from falling as she opened up.
He got the message loud and clear. She was giving everything to him.
He took it. He took her.
Hard. Fast. Dominating.
His feet were cemented on the floor, his dick rammed in as she kept her limbs wrapped around him tight.
“That’s it,” he said. “Let it out. All of it.”
His words always did it. Always threw that last stone to knock everything out of her.
“More,” she said, her body coming undone, the pulsing draining her already exhausted muscles. “Give me more.”
He was heaving out breaths, doing exactly what she demanded. Giving it to her.
Her body went off in a series of exploding sensations, her arms and legs limp hoping he didn’t let go because she couldn’t hold on any longer.
She was exhausted in mind and body. Even her soul.
“I’ve got you,” he said. “Always.”
His arms were tight, as he sat back holding her against his chest.
The beating of his heart mirroring the sound of hers.