35. This Man… This Lovely Man
This Man… This Lovely Man
Cara
‘There you go, Ms. McKenzie. She’s all yours.’
Doug holds out some scissors, and I laugh. I’ve been out of town for a few days visiting Missy, and when I pulled up in front of my house a few minutes ago, I couldn’t help but smile at the yellow ribbon tied in a bow across my porch. The house is finished.
Smiling, I take the scissors and cut the ribbon, a flash of excitement running through me before I head up the porch steps and into the hallway, the man I’ve spent the last month completely wrapped up in, hot on my heels.
‘Oh my god, Doug. Look what you’ve done.’
I look around in awe. I’ve been living in this house for weeks, but it was a worksite. There were dust sheets and bare unfinished floors. Unpainted walls and furniture wrapped in plastic. Now it’s a home. It’s my home. The candles are lit, the furniture is all built and arranged, and it’s so cozy. He’s put up the artwork I bought for the walls, laid out my rug, and hung my curtains. I run my fingers over the soft grey fabric of the sofa and fight the tears in my eyes.
‘You’re home,’ he says against my neck as he wraps his arms around my waist, and I smile. I completely agree.
It’s been a crazy few weeks. We’ve stolen as many moments together as we could, but Jessie has a new boyfriend who lives near the beach, so she’s been leaving Bo more than ever. Lynnie knowing about Doug and me means she’s always happy to watch Bowie and help us have time together, but Doug is a dad first. He’s not about leaving his daughter just so he can have sex, and I respect that so much. We have spent time together, the three of us, but unable to let Bowie know about her dad and me, it’s been just like it was that first time—him working at the house and me spending time with her.
She’s amazing. I never imagined I’d be involved with someone who had a child, but I’m falling for the little mite. She’s clever and funny. She has a thirst for learning and constantly asks us to Google the answers to whatever questions randomly pop into her head.
The other thing that’s been happening is that Doug might soon have a house in town. Jessie doesn’t know yet that he’s looking to go for full custody of Bowie because he wanted to make sure his ducks were in a row before she found out in case she ran, but it’s looking good. The money from the house renovation has helped him financially, and he’s been advised on the quiet that Tristan is moving out of town, so his place will be becoming available.
‘You want to look upstairs?’ Doug asks, and I nod, yes, before he turns me to the doorway and points me in the direction of the stairs.
Upstairs had previously been just my bedroom and the attached bathroom—nothing else was done. Now though, I have three useable guest bedrooms, not that I need all of them, and a library or reading nook, we bickered over what to call it, but essentially, it’s my cozy little haven with all my books, a ridiculously comfy sofa, and plush soft furnishings. I don’t know who I think I am. I giggle, and he nudges my shoulder with his.
‘Library,’ he says as he turns and leaves the room.
‘Reading nook,’ I whisper, closing the door behind me.
‘What about this room?’ he says, his hand on the door handle to my room, and I laugh.
‘We’ve seen that room once or twice.’
‘Not like this.’
He opens the door, and I step inside, gasping at the jars and jars of wildflowers covering every surface.
‘Four weeks,’ he whispers from behind me, close enough to my ear that my skin tingles. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me back against him. ‘Four incredible weeks.’
He walks us forward and turns me in his arms before we reach the bed. He’s so right about that. It has been incredible. We’ve spent nights laughing at silly comedy movies and nights talking about anything and everything. We’ve played games, cards, listened to music, and cooked together. We’ve made the most out of every second with each other, and it’s been the most magical time of my life.
Being a secret has been hard—being restricted to this house or having to disappear out of town and hoping Jessie doesn’t call him back for Bo has been tiring, and we’ve even had our first silly little fight over the pressure of it all, but I can’t pretend it hasn’t been amazing. I can’t pretend I’m not head over heels for the man.
‘I want to explore you,’ I whisper against his lips in between soft, lingering kisses.
‘What does that mean?’ He lowers his lips to my neck and exposed collarbone, and I tip my head back to give him better access. Oh, that feels nice.
‘I want you naked and laid out for me,’ I say without hesitation, and he pulls back to look into my eyes, questioning, a tiny smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. ‘You have spent every day trying to make me feel more confident and sexy, and it’s all been about me understanding my body. Now I want to understand yours.’
‘You understand mine just fine.’ He smiles and leans in to press his mouth to mine. I let him, once, then pull back.
‘Take your clothes off, Doug.’
His eyebrows raise up in surprise until I push gently on his chest, and he steps back away from me, then pulls off his shirt.
I take my bottom lip between my teeth as I look him over, every hard ridge of muscle, every line of black ink, every perfectly placed dark hair.
Doug’s hands come to the button on his jeans, and I focus my attention there until his low chuckle has me raising my gaze to meet his.
‘Something funny?’ I ask, and he shakes his head, no.
‘Let’s just say you don’t have a great poker face.’
‘I don’t?’
‘ Uh uh .’
‘So, what’s my face telling you?’
He smiles and pops the button, and I swallow hard, anticipating the big reveal. He releases a soft sigh.
‘So damn much.’ He lowers his zipper, and I feel my pulse start to race. ‘It’s telling me,’ He grips the waistband and starts to push. ‘That you like my naked body as much as I like yours.’
‘More.’
‘Not possible.’
I can’t help my smile until he drops his jeans and boxers, and I devour him with my eyes.
‘Lay down,’ I instruct, and he takes a breath before doing just that.
Walking to the end of the bed, I pull his socks off slowly, one by one, then stand and look at him.
I watch the flames of desire burn in his eyes and the way his lips part slightly. I want to be more conscious of his reactions, so I watch him as I bring my hands to the buttons on my jeans.
His tongue dips out and runs across his bottom lip, and his eyes become hooded and dark. I undo the buttons and push the denim down my legs, stepping out of them and climbing onto the bed.
Kneeling between his calves, I run my fingers over the dark hair coating the muscular legs, up to his strong thighs, and back down to his ankles. I watch his chest rise and fall, and I take in the way his biceps bulge as he pushes his hands under his head, and I smirk, suspecting that’s to keep from touching me.
I watch his dick harden and pulse as arousal takes over, and I grip the bottom of my cropped shirt before bringing my gaze back to his face in time to see him squirm—his nostrils flaring as his throat bobs.
Pulling off my shirt and throwing it to the mattress, I revel in the way he looks me over, taking in every curve. Doug has ways of making me feel like the sexiest woman in the world.
‘Don’t touch me until I tell you you’re allowed to.’ I voice is almost a whisper as I crawl forward, lowering my chest to brush my breasts along his dick and kiss his stomach, then his chest, until I climb up to straddle his abdomen.
‘Ugh, baby,’ he groans. ‘You’re killing me.’
I sit upright and take in the way his fists grip the pillow beneath his head. Midafternoon sunlight streams into the room, making his hazel eyes glow intensely. God, he really is beautiful.
I trace the patterns on his chest with my fingertips, loving how he shivers when I stroke the sensitive skin covering his collarbone. I lean down to replace my fingers with my mouth, kissing and sucking gently before lowering down his chest a little and flicking my tongue across his nipple.
‘You’re feeling naughty today.’ He groans, low and slow.
‘Just trying it on, seeing if it fits.’ I close my lips around his nipple and suck lightly.
‘ Oh, ’ he hisses. ‘It fits. Like a glove.’
I sit upright again, meeting his heated stare as I reach behind my back to unclasp my bra and take it off.
‘ Fuck me. ’ He moans, and I chuckle.
‘Not yet.’
I cup my breasts in my hands, watching his eyes widen as my thumbs drag across my nipples.
‘I never imagined I would enjoy sex,’ I say, my voice husky as my own desire amps up. ‘You showed me how wrong I was. You have turned me on since the day I met you.’
My hands come to his abdomen as I push back, dragging my damp panties over his erection and making him squirm beneath me. I adjust my body to kneel between his thighs and drag my fingernails down over the taut muscles of his abdomen. His sharp inhale, and the way he trembles under my touch makes me smile. I’m doing that. I’m causing that reaction in him, and fuck, if it doesn’t turn me all the way on.
I run my fingers up the inside of his thighs, marveling at the way his erection bobs and swells, the thick head red and glistening with the bead of his arousal gathering at the tip. I dab my finger against the moisture and pull it away, watching the string of precum stretch, connecting us before I bring my finger to my mouth, tasting him as he inhales deeply, and his dick stiffens further.
Wrapping my hand around the hard length, I make a conscious note of the impressive thickness. I’ve touched him before. I have made him come with my hands and seen him naked more times than I can count, but I was always under his spell. Too in the moment to take it all in. This is at my pace, my control, and I’m going to remember it all. I twist my hand as I slowly pump up and down, the loud, long exhale that leaves his parted lips spurring me on.
Lowering my head, I glance up at him to find him watching intensely.
‘You don’t have to…’
We’ve talked about this, me going down on him, and he knows I’m nervous. It’s not that I’ve never done it, I have, but it was with someone too selfish to consider my needs. It was with someone who demanded it whenever I was on my period because it wasn’t his fault we couldn’t have our scheduled sex . With Doug, it’s entirely different. When I had my period a week ago, he cooked for me, held me, stroked my hair, and used one of my vibrators to make me forget all about my cramps; and that was before he showered with me, pressing me against the tiles and lifting my leg so he could slide into my body and make me call his name into the steamy air. He’s erasing every bad experience, rewriting every moment I thought I had wasted before him, so it’s time to erase this one.
‘I want to. You just might need to help me.’
Truth is, Jamie controlled it, all I had to do was kneel and open my mouth, and other than that, I don’t know what to do.
‘I won’t. Trust your instincts.’
I do. I see the way he looks at me like he wants to devour me. I see the way he clenches his jaw and his fists when we’re around people, and he can’t touch me. I feel the way he worships my body every time we’re alone. No, I don’t need help. I can do this.
Fisting him, I lower my head and lick the bead of moisture away with the tip of my tongue. The salty, tangy taste of him explodes on my tongue as Doug jolts beneath me, and I smile, trying again, this time circling my tongue around the head of his dick.
‘ Fuck .’ He exhales, spurring me on to open my mouth and wrap my lips around him. I flick my tongue against the tight seam under the head and then circle it, wetting my lips in the process.
I pump slowly with my fist as I take him into my mouth more, bobbing slowly up and down and adding a little suction. There’s no way I’ll be able to take all of him, so my hands are going to have to share the workload.
‘Baby,’ he groans, ‘Can I touch you, please?’ Oh, well, I like how he begs.
Raising my eyes up to meet his, knowing he’ll like seeing me with my mouth full, I shake my head slowly from side to side, no. I’m going to need more of that begging.
Raising my head, I release him into my hand while I maneuver my body, climbing over his legs and bringing my knees around on the mattress close to his shoulder. Knowing he’ll be able to see everything now; him filling my mouth, my tits, the wetness between my legs on the grey cotton knickers I’m still wearing.
Lowering my head, I take him to the back of my throat, and he grunts above me.
‘Fuck, Cara.’
It feels different from this angle. Somehow, I’m able to take him deeper now that I’m upside down, and the thought encourages me to do just that. I experiment, lowering down further with each bob of my head, taking more of him, sucking as I come back up, feeding off his moans and grunts and the way he writhes and hisses beneath me.
‘Can I see you?’ he whispers, his voice a whisper as desire holds him captive. I know what he’s asking, so I reach my hand back and push my panties back off my hip. ‘Let me,’ he groans. ‘Please.’
At the desperate need in his voice, I pull my hand away and let him take over, pulling them down my thighs to my knees. I raise each knee slightly in turn as he takes them off completely, and then I’m bare before him. On my knees, my mouth full of him, my naked and very wet pussy inches from his face.
‘Jesus, fuck.’ He pants, sticking to the rules and not touching me even though I know he wants to. ‘Cara, fuck, that’s good.’
I take him deep, gagging a little as I reach my limit, and a deep low growl escapes him. Huh , he liked that… noted.
‘I need to taste you.’ He sighs, and I look back to see him gripping the sheets beneath him.
Deciding to just go for it, I glance back as I raise one knee off the bed. Understanding and eager, Doug moves, sliding under the leg he pushes a little higher until my knees are on either side of his head, and gripping my hips, he wastes no time licking along my wet slit.
I moan, my mouth too full to say anything intelligible. My god, that’s—holy fuck…
I feel his fingers move to part my lips before he goes to town, kissing and licking and sucking with a desperation that has me needing to pull off him to get my breath.
‘Doug…’ I moan, and he pulls me harder against his mouth. ‘I can’t. Oh god, shit …’
I want to please him. I want to make him come, but I can’t concentrate on what I’m supposed to be doing when my body is racing toward release.
‘ Doug , please . Oh god. ’ I moan and grip his dick, trying my hardest to remember to move my hand, but it’s no use. As he flicks his tongue across my clit once more, my climax hits me in a rush I can’t deny.
I call out his name and drop my head to his stomach and push back shamelessly as the waves of ecstasy roll me over.
The grip on my hips releases, and I try to talk, but I don’t have a chance when he flips me over onto my back and moves quickly, repositioning and driving into me.
He snatches up my t-shirt and wipes my wetness from his face, smirking as he tosses it to the side before lowering to kiss me roughly, pushing hard into me, sending me toward another bone-rattling orgasm.
‘You have,’ kiss, ‘no idea,’ kiss, ‘what you do,’ he kisses my neck, ‘to me.’ I throw my head to the side, calling out as he sucks on my skin and pounds into me relentlessly. ‘You make me fucking feral for you.’ He growls through gritted teeth as he lifts, pushing my knees back to my chest and fucking me like never before.
‘ Doug ,’ I call out loudly, ‘ God , yes, that , that, ah .’
My head hangs off the end of the bed, the ferocity of his thrusts moving us up the mattress, but I don’t have time to worry about falling off. As his thumb presses against my sensitive clit, I scream, pleasure ripping me apart in a way I don’t think I’m coming back from.
‘You’re quiet.’ Doug speaks into my hair as I rest my head against his chest.
I inhale deeply through my nose and let it out.
‘I wanted to please you,’ I admit, wrapping my arm tight around his waist as his hand stills on my back. ‘I wanted to make you come.’
‘You did,’ he says sincerely, and I close my eyes.
‘No, you came in me.’ I push up to sit and look back at him, grabbing a pillow to hold to my body when I suddenly feel vulnerable. ‘You aren’t the same as the others. You are so eager to please me. You take pleasure from my pleasure, and I’m to blame for handing you that control, but I wanted it. I wanted to be in control. I wanted to explore you, learn your tells, and catalog your reactions. I wanted to tease you, take you over the edge, and feel the victory of that moment, but you came from sex. The way you have a hundred times before—the way they did.’
I watch the realization dawn on him, and he sits up, reaching up to cup my cheek.
‘Baby,’ he says quickly. ‘Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take that from you.’
I nod, my gaze lowering in the space between us.
‘I know. I do know, and it’s a silly thing to be upset about when I came like an express train twice in quick succession.’ I flick my gaze up in time to see his small smile. ‘I just, I wanted that moment, you know?’
He nods his head and leans in to press his lips to mine before pulling back and pressing his forehead to mine.
‘It’s not silly, not at all. I’m sorry, Cara. Please tell me to back off if I do that again.’
Dropping the pillow to the side, I lay back down and wait for him to join me before snuggling up to him again. This man… this lovely man.