Chapter Six
Tara
I’m too old to drink like a teenager. I wake up, my head pounding and my mouth feeling like cotton and tasting like something foul settled in there.
My bladder is screaming at me, and I slowly pull myself to a sitting position, wait for the waves of nausea and head throbbing to settle, before opening my dry eyes.
I look around the unfamiliar room and panic seizes me.
Where am I? Who did I go home with? Heart pounding, I glance down to see my bare legs and a man’s T-shirt covering my important parts.
No bra, but panties still on. Thank God.
I hope that means I passed out and nothing happened. But where and with whom?
I can’t remember last night, and a careful look at the other side of the bed tells me I’m alone. I blow out a breath, stand, and make my way to the bathroom.
I find an array of towels stacked on the counter, a folded man’s shirt, a toothbrush in a package, and realize whoever took care of me seems to be looking out for me.
I close the door and lock myself in before brushing my teeth well, then stripping down and taking a hot shower.
Although there is only generic shampoo and men’s soap, I use both.
Once I come out feeling fresh, I dry off, put my underwear on inside out and use the new shirt left for me.
I glance in the mirror, take in my tangled hair and the Caged Chaos logo on the shirt, and know exactly whose house I’m in.
I let out a low groan, trying my best to remember how he found me last night at Amy’s bachelorette party. Texts. Shit. I drunk texted him. Where is my phone so I can see how much damage I did to my self-respect?
Pulling in a deep breath, I open the bathroom door. Steam escapes as I step into the bedroom to find Axel sitting on what I assume is his side of the bed.
He’s barefoot, wearing a pair of faded jeans, and the button is undone.
His chest has a light coating of hair, and he has muscles indicating he works out.
His abs are a six-pack any woman would drool over, and his flat stomach makes me want to lick from his belly button down. My nipples pucker beneath the T-shirt.
He catches me staring, and his lips lift in a sexy, knowing grin. “See something you like?” he asks, amused.
Caught but refusing to admit it, I fold my arms across my chest. “How did I get here?” I ask.
“You drunk texted me, and I came to make sure you got home safely. I brought you a glass of water, some toast with jelly, and two Ibuprofen.” He gestures to the nightstand on the side of the bed where I slept.
I swallow hard. “Thank you.” I walk over to the items he left for me and sit down, taking my time to eat the piece of toast before taking the pills.
Feeling better, I turn to face him. I appreciate what he’s done for me, but I woke up in his shirt. “Axel, did you undress me?”
“I did, but let’s be honest, I’ve seen you naked before.” His eyes gleam at my question. “But I did my best not to look. I just wanted you to be comfortable.”
“And did you … did we…?”
He shakes his head. “Drunk texting might be your thing, but consent is mine. I wouldn’t take advantage, and you know me better than that.” He sounds hurt by my question, and I see the pain in his eyes.
I glance down. “I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I just woke up and couldn’t remember much.” I turn and scoot over to his side of the bed, facing him. “Don’t take anything I say to heart. I’m hung over.”
“What about what you said last night?”
I shake my head and regret the motion. “I need to see my phone.” Because the actual words aren’t coming back to me.
He grins at my lapse in memory. “You asked if I was home with the babies.”
“What babies?” I ask, trying not to let my mortification show.
“According to you? The ones we would have had if we’d stayed together.” His amusement is clear in both his tone and his expression.
Oh, now I’m beginning to remember. My mom and aunt pressuring me about not being in a relationship and wanting me to have babies. Then the shots with the bridesmaids.
“I’m so sorry about that.” The memory has my cheeks heating in embarrassment.
“I’m not. It told me you think about the same things I do. All the things that could have been if we hadn’t put our careers ahead of our feelings.” Those deep green eyes hold me in place while the word feelings reverberates between us.
“Axel, that was a long time ago. We were kids, and we had to grow up and become who we were meant to be.” Even if losing him left a hole in my heart that never healed.
“I agree.” He sits up straighter. “But here we are, on the same side of the country, in the same town, no less. Wouldn’t you call that fate?”
“What about coincidence?” I ask, not ready to concede because I’m so scared of losing people in my life and he has one foot out the door just by virtue of his profession and how he lives.
Before I know it, he leans forward, grabs my hand, and pulls. I tumble forward, falling beside him until we are face-to-face.
“Fate,” he insists before his lips capture mine. One taste, and I’m not about to pull away. I missed him for years, and now we’re together again.
I’ll take the time I can get.
I grab on to his hair and kiss him back, my tongue meeting his. He groans, rolling me onto my back so he’s on top and in charge. I don’t care as long as we finish what we started.
I’ll worry about the ramifications and feelings I have for him later.
Even if later is too late.
* * *
Axel
The second Tara’s tongue slips into my mouth, I have her okay and flip her onto her back so I can devour her more thoroughly. My damned jeans are rubbing against my aching cock, but I can’t bring myself to break our kiss long enough to undress myself yet.
I waited too many years to taste her again, and I want to savor the moment. Her fingers tangle in my hair, and she keeps my head in place, our tongues tangling, teeth clashing, as a tentative, sweet moment turns into a needy frenzy.
She releases my hair and slides her hands between us. I raise my upper body so her fingers can glide over my chest and work their way to my nipples, her thumbs pressing into the peaks.
I groan and arch my hips, wanting to feel her heat against my dick and not the barrier of clothing. She must read my mind because her hands slip lower, and she struggles with getting the zipper over my rigid erection.
I maneuver myself off her, slide to the edge of the bed, and rise to my feet. I’m commando and yank my jeans down my legs and kick them off. Condoms are in the nightstand, and I open the top drawer, take one out, and toss it beside her on the bed.
I glance over to find Tara waiting, propped against the pillows. She’s removed the shirt she borrowed along with her panties, giving me a clear view of her glistening pussy.
I thought I was already as hard as I could get. I was wrong. Letting out a groan, I wrap my fingers around myself, doing my best to hold back.
Her gaze drops to watch, and I pump twice. Pre-cum leaks on the head of my erection, and she sighs.
“How much longer are you going to torture me?” she asks.
Her pleading tone gets to me, but I want to take in the view before I lose myself inside her. Her hair falls over her shoulders in tangled waves, her skin is creamy, and her body has more curves than I remember.
She’s filled out and is every inch a woman now. My woman, no matter what she thinks.
“You’re fucking beautiful.”
Her gaze rakes over me, studying the tattoos on my arms and chest before meeting my eyes. “So are you. Now get over here and fuck me before I lose my mind.”
I register her choice of words and decide not to let it go. I fucked groupies. Not once in my past have I fucked Tara, and I won’t start tonight.
I place a knee on the bed and climb over her, leaning down and bracing my hands on either side of her head. “We need to get something straight.” I pause for effect. “I’ll never fuck you.”
Those pretty eyes open wide.
“Will I make love to you? Yes. Fuck you? Not without a good combination of feeling involved.”
Knowing she’ll argue or give me shit, I slide down her body, part her thighs, and bury my mouth in her sex. The only sound after that is a long, low moan.
As I lick and nip my way around her pussy, she writhes on the bed.
Her hips arch, pressing herself against my mouth, and I fucking love it, flicking my tongue and sucking her juices.
I never gave oral with a one-night stand.
Had it done to me? Yeah, but not in reverse.
Am I a dick? Probably, but I don’t care.
It’s reserved for more intimate relationships.
I had one or two, but none lived up to Tara.
I push thoughts of prior experience, mine and hers, out of my mind. All that matters from today forward is us.
As I devour her, her taste brings back the best memories of the past. But the woman with her hands in my hair and her pussy grinding against my face isn’t the same shy girl I knew.
Thank fuck for that, I think, and concentrate on making her come. Once I begin nipping at her clit, it doesn’t take long for her legs to shake and the noises coming from her to deepen.
I slide one finger inside her and pump in and out, my mouth teasing her, bringing her to a frenzy, and slowing down all over again.
“Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”
My dick throbs against the bedding as I add a second finger and suck hard on her clit, flicking my tongue back and forth before pressing down with my tongue and curving my fingers inside her.
“Oh, my God. I’m almost, almost … there!” she cries out, her inner walls rippling around me, clasping my fingers in her wet heat.
I don’t let up until her orgasm subsides and she collapses against the bed, her muscles finally lax. Satisfied I took care of her, I rub my face against her thigh and sit up on the bed.