Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
DEAN
Workouts have become a strange balancing act.
Three months ago, I’d disappear into the gym for an hour, lose myself in whatever frustration the day had handed me, shower, answer a few more emails, and call it a night.
Now I find myself checking the baby monitor between sets.
I rack the dumbbells and drape the towel around my neck before taking one last drink from my water bottle.
Liana was perfectly content in her swing. Aubrey insisted she’d keep an eye on her so I could actually finish a workout without rushing through it.
I didn’t realize how much I’d missed having an uninterrupted gym session.
As soon as I step into the living room, Aubrey glances up from the couch.
Her eyes meet mine and then very slowly travel south. One eyebrow lifts as she takes her sweet time looking me over before finally making it back to my face.
I can’t help but smirk. “Caught you.”
She blinks innocently. “Caught me doing what?”
“Checking me out.”
“I was simply observing.”
“Oh, were you?”
“Mmhmm.” She nods like she is giving a business presentation. “Very professionally.”
I laugh, dropping onto the couch beside her. “Professionally.”
“Strictly for research purposes.”
I lean back against the cushions. “And what exactly are you researching?”
“The effects of excessive confidence.”
“And?”
She tilts her head, as though carefully considering her findings. “The data suggests it’s completely justified.”
A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. “I like your research.”
“I had a feeling you would.”
I turn toward her, catching the way her eyes flick back to my chest for the briefest second. “There it is again.”
“What?”
“The research.”
Her cheeks color just enough to give her away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I lean a little closer. “You know …” I lower my voice conspiratorially. “You’re awfully lucky Liana’s awake.”
Her eyes widen with amusement. “Oh?”
I nod toward the swing, where my daughter happily kicks her feet.
“If she were asleep”—I grin— “you’d be in a whole lot of trouble for the way you’ve been looking at me.”
She doesn’t miss a beat.
“I don’t know.” She taps her chin thoughtfully. “You just spent an hour lifting heavy things.”
“I did.”
“I’m pretty confident I could outrun you.”
I stare at her for exactly one second before I laugh so hard that I have to lean forward, my elbows falling to my knees.
“You think that’s funny?” she asks, trying—and failing—not to smile.
“I think …” I shake my head. “I think you’ve become entirely too comfortable teasing me.”
“You make it easy.”
“That’s a dangerous habit.”
“So I’ve been told.”
As if deciding she’s been ignored long enough, Liana lets out a little whine from her swing.
I look over. “Well, someone has opinions.”
I push myself off the couch and cross the room. “There you are, Peanut.”
The second I lift her into my arms, the fussing stops.
“Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be?” I ask, settling her against my chest. “You just wanted an audience?”
She answers with a gummy smile.
“I knew it.”
I kiss her tiny belly through her footed sleeper, and she squeals.
I do it again and am rewarded with another delighted laugh filling the room.
“There it is.” I smile. “That’s my favorite sound.”
Behind me, Aubrey lets out a quiet sigh.
I glance over my shoulder. “What?”
She smiles, her expression impossibly soft. “Nothing.”
I adjust Liana higher on my shoulder. “You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?” she answers.
“Looking at me.”
She shrugs. “I can’t help it.”
“Oh?”
“I think”—her smile grows— “the way you make her laugh might be even more attractive than the gym shorts.”
I laugh. “Well, that’s good.”
“Why?”
“Because the gym shorts only have about another fifteen minutes before I shower.”
She rolls her eyes, laughing as I bounce Liana gently in my arms.
“I walked right into that one.”
“You absolutely did.”
Liana rewards both of us with another happy squeal, and for a while, the three of us laugh together.
After I get out of my shower, I walk into my bedroom in nothing but my towel to find Aubrey sitting on my bed, leaning back on her hands.
She’s in another pair of her pajama shorts, this time black, and a white tank top. The closer I get, I realize she has no bra on underneath and can see her nipples through her top.
My dick responds instantly, pushing up against my towel.
Her eyes follow the movement, and a slow, seductive smile spreads across her face.
I can’t quite identify what settles in my chest. A burst of something that catches me off guard.
My body moves me across the room before I’ve made the conscious decision to. Before I know it, I’m standing at the end of the bed, between her legs.
The way she’s looking up at me … like she’s waiting.
I lean forward and place my hands on the bed beside her and bring my lips to hers. I feel her body quiver the moment I deepen the kiss, pressing my tongue against hers.
When I break the kiss, our breathing mixes together, lips only a centimeter apart. She raises her arms into the air above her head and waits.
A small smile breaks out across my face when I realize she’s waiting for me to undress her.
I slowly glide her tank top up her body. The second her breasts are free, my dick stiffens even harder.
I toss the top to the ground, then pull down her shorts, finding that she isn’t wearing any panties tonight.
She’s sitting completely naked on my bed, hands resting behind her.
“You’re waiting for me?” I ask, unable to hide the smile pulling at my mouth.
A shy grin spreads across her face. “Well …”
I shake my head, laughing softly. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
Her cheeks turn pink. “Maybe I do.”
That’s all it takes. My desire is too strong. I need her in a way I’ve never needed someone.
I pull the fabric of my towel until it falls to the ground. Her eyes open wide when they find my dick.
Tonight, I need to know what it feels like to be inside of her. I can’t get distracted by her mouth.
“Lie down on the bed, Aubrey,” I instruct.
She watches me as she scoots backward until her entire body is on the bed, and then she slowly lies back.
I give my dick a couple of strokes to calm him down before I crawl onto the bed and settle on the side of her.
I just look down at her body in complete awe.
How is anyone allowed to be this perfect?
Her body breaks out into goose bumps. I look up at her, wondering if she’s cold.
“When you look at me like that …” she whispers.
I lean down and brush my lips against hers. I pull up and once again look down at her.
My fingers brush against her chest and slowly move along her breasts. Her nipples harden as I move along them.
I move my fingers over every inch of her skin, reveling in every second. She watches me intently, her own breathing becoming labored as I bring my fingers down to her thighs.
I push one thigh to the side and move my fingers over every patch of skin but where I know she really wants it.
I’m not sure how long I tease her. Long enough that she can’t take it anymore.
“Dean,” she breathes.
I look up at her. “Do you need me to touch you, baby?”
Her head nods. “Please.”
Our eyes remain on each other as I move my fingers over her clit.
Her jaw falls immediately.
It’s just the softest of contact, but enough for her to act like it’s everything. I move my thumb to her clit and slowly increase the pressure as I rub circles over it.
“I need you, Dean,” she whispers. “You.”
I look up at her. I know exactly what she wants. And I want it too.
I swallow down the raging desire inside of me.
“I’m on birth control,” she tells me. “And I’m clean.”
I’ve never done it without a condom before. Ironically, even though I have a baby. But I realize in an instant that I trust her completely.
“I’m clean too,” I tell her.
I settle between her legs and rest my elbows on the bed beside her head. She reaches between us and places my dick at her entrance.
I feel the blood coursing through my veins in anticipation. Then I push forward just a couple of inches, and I know I’ll never be the same again.
Her fingers find the back of my neck, and I feel myself break out into my own set of goose bumps.
When I feel like she’s adjusted, I push all the way in.
Her back arches, and she gasps at the intrusion. I lean down and brush my lips against her neck as I pull out and push back in.
Her fingers dig into my shoulders.
An electric shock scorches through my body. Then instinct takes over, and we move together.
I find the spot and angle that makes her gasp and hit it over and over.
Our bodies are a mix of sweat and passion. Her legs wrap around my waist, and I grind my hips against hers until I feel her explode.
Her walls squeeze my cock so hard that I nearly see stars. My head falls into the crook of her neck as I make noises I’ve never made before while coming apart.
I’m not sure how long we stay entwined together.
The rest of the world seems to disappear, leaving only the steady rhythm of our breathing and the warmth of her against me.
I’ve spent years believing intimacy was something physical. This wasn’t that. This wasn’t about desire. It was about trust and feeling more exposed with my heart than I ever had without my clothes.
I lift my head just enough to look at her.
She smiles—that small, sleepy smile that somehow manages to quiet every thought in my head.
I know I can no longer deny that we are more than just two people fooling around.