10. Vivian #4
“Let me make it better,” he responds just as quietly.
Looking in my eyes, he waits until I give a small nod.
Gently he positions me so I’m facing away from him and my back is to his front.
Sweeping his hands lightly over my shoulder blades, my muscles tense and then loosen, and his fingers zero in on exactly the right spot.
My whole body exhales as he starts to lightly massage the tender muscles.
“Do you like it soft or rough?” At my startled breath, he lets out a low chuckle. “Okay, let me try again. Is this too much or do you need more?” His breath tickles just below my ear and his words send tingles up my spine, distracting me from the sore pressure points he’s expertly working.
“More. Deeper,” I whisper, closing my eyes and letting his magic fingers soothe me as much as his presence and the heat of his body. He groans and shifts slightly behind me. Is he as affected by this as I am?
“Whatever you need, mi amor,” he says, a soft kiss brushing my neck sending a thrill down my nerve endings. It’s like the cherry on top of his amazing fingers. Maybe we don’t need dinner after all. Damn, he’s good at this.
I let my head fall forward as he continues his broad strokes along my neck, soothing my body like my massage therapist does when finishing the session.
Michael wraps his arms around me, cradling me against his chest, cocooning me in his warmth.
We cuddle for a minute, fitting perfectly together, and I’ve never felt so peaceful. So safe, so relaxed, so cared for.
“Careful there, I might have to keep you around as a full-time masseuse,” I say as he rests his head lightly on the same shoulder he took from a seven down to a two on the pain scale.
“You can count on it,” he says, brushing his mouth along the shell of my ear and I shiver.
He sneaks in a quick kiss along my jaw and I go from cozy and content to intensely aware of everywhere our bodies are touching in zero-point-five seconds.
His grip on me tightens and the strong bulge pressed up on my back tells me he feels it too.
But we’re not just in any restaurant, we’re in Claire’s restaurant and my workplace, so I need to tone this down a bit.
No need to give my co-workers any more fodder.
“How did you know where to touch me?” His rumbly laugh reminds me of exactly how much our conversations have been laced with innuendo, and I grimace as my head falls back and I look up at the ceiling, embarrassed.
Normally I’m down for every lewd euphemism there is, but this is different.
He’s different. I want his body, sure. Well, okay, most definitely.
But I want him to respect and admire me as much as I do him.
And if I keep making comments like I’ve been living in a frat house (okay, that one was true too, but only for a summer), I don’t think he’ll view me in that same light.
Laughing, he runs his hands up and down my arms and tucks me closer into him.
“I’ve been giving massages to my mom for years.
She showed me where all her trigger points are.
Sometimes it’s the only thing that helps, but she prefers a lighter hand.
” He grips my chin and turns me so his lips just barely ghost over mine.
“Somehow I think you can handle a whole lot more.”
His breath feathers over my mouth, his eyes locked onto my lips.
Then he drags his gaze back up to mine, holding me with a warm intensity as I melt into his embrace.
Instead of the kiss I’m anticipating, he pulls back, continuing to rub my arms gently and soothing me with his presence.
I miss the promise of his lips on mine, but sitting here in comfortable silence feels just as nice.
My body is completely relaxed, a pleasant hum running through me.
This sensation of being safe and content is unfamiliar and still a little scary.
But everything feels right with this man.
Returning Michael’s call was the best choice I’ve ever made.
“How about this?” his low voice breaks the reverie and I turn to look into his delicious espresso eyes.
“Why don’t we skip Dave Georgia’s known for its potholes.
“A friend’s dad hooked me up at his dealership.
She is indeed my baby… or at least, she was.
I think I've found another one now.” I reach over and brush my knuckles across her cheek, not wanting her to mistake my meaning, and she closes her eyes at the contact.
Her chest rises and falls a little more rapidly, and I’m about to move in for a kiss.
But her eyes open swiftly and she tenses, almost steeling herself.
After watching Tomb Raider and stuffing ourselves full of buttery popcorn and junk food, I thought Vivian had finally relaxed enough that we could enjoy these last moments of our date.
I had plans to make love to her mouth, to whisper promises of what I was going to do to her once we were in a comfortable space, somewhere I could lay her down and worship her body.
But something keeps holding her back, and I need to find out what it is.
So I can eradicate any doubts from her mind.
Whatever she’s afraid of, I’ll take care of it. Whatever problems she has, we’ll face them together. She’s mine, and I’ll spend my whole life making sure she knows how much she’s loved and cherished.
“What is it, mi amor?” I slide my hand down to hers, lacing our fingers together and squeezing, not wanting to give up a single second of skin-to-skin contact.
She blows out a breath. “Michael…” She falters, then swallows and turns in her seat to face me directly. “Are you really sure you want to do this? With me, I mean.”
I’m still, my mind trying to process what she’s asking. Why she’s asking, when I’ve been doing everything in my power to express exactly how I feel. What she means to me. How she’s it for me, the one . Have I not made myself clear? I ask her just as much.
“No, no. You’ve been very clear,” she says, looking away as she picks at invisible lint on her shorts. “It’s just…”
She sighs, pulling her hand from my grasp and raking both hands through her hair.
“I’m a mess, okay? A total mess. I’m not sure what you’re doing with me. You’ve got everything going for you. A good job, a loving family, friends who care about you. Plus, you’re all,” she gestures up and down toward my body, “this, and I’m just a hot mess.”
She motions to herself.
“I don’t know why you’d want to date someone like me. Someone who’s broken,” she mutters quietly, looking down as the last word catches in her throat.
If this is what she really thinks, I need to choose my next words carefully. I didn’t realize she was bottling all this up inside. And my heart hurts to think that she sees herself as anything less than perfect.
“Vivian,” two of my fingers tilt her chin up so that she can read the sincerity in my eyes as I speak, “you are the farthest thing from broken. Beautiful, smart, strong, yes. Resilient, determined, loyal, too. But definitely not broken.”
I take a deep breath. “What you said, it may look like I have it all on the outside. And yes, I’m thankful to have work I enjoy, but you know the story that brought me down here.
I could’ve just as easily lost my job and had to start all over.
” I pause. “My family and I are close, true. It’s kind of hard not to be, when you can’t stub your toe without someone finding out. ”
This elicits a small smile from her.
“But their love can also be smothering. They mean well, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them, but we don’t always see eye to eye.
They’ve come to accept that about me, but maybe your mom isn’t quite there yet.
” Vivian hasn’t talked much about her mother, but this is what I’ve gleaned from what little she’s said. “But she will be, mi amor.”
She casts her eyes to the side, so I decide to drop that one for now.
“And as for my friends, yeah, we’ve been to hell and back. I couldn’t have made it through my teens without them. But we’re also moving in different directions in our lives. We’ll always be close, and they’ve always got my back, but it’s not the same as you and Claire. I miss having that.”
I slide both hands down her body, tracing her curves as I go. Her shoulders, exposed from her tight tank top, erupt into goosebumps as my fingers sweep over her flesh.
“This hot mess, as you call it, is what I can’t wait to get my hands on. I’m barely refraining from tossing you in the backseat and kissing every single inch of your skin. My tongue aches to taste you. I’m dying to show you just how unbroken you are, mi amor.”
She shivers as my hands cascade down her arms, my eyes appreciating the view. As I reach her hands, I bring her wrist to my mouth, grazing my teeth over her skin before pressing a firm kiss and releasing it.
“What I want to do to that delectable body of yours, carino,” I growl low in my throat. “I’m not gonna last much longer, and your perfect body deserves to be worshipped where we have plenty of room, not in a small sports car. You’re worth so much more than that.”
Her eyes are heavy with lust. She’s leaning closer, and I don’t think she’s even aware of it.
I debate asking her to come home with me now.
I’d be happy just holding her in my arms all night.
My dick might complain, but he can wait til she’s feeling better.
All I want to do is take care of her, in whatever way, shape, or form she’ll let me.
But she’s had a long day, and I don’t want to take advantage of her fatigue with her defenses being down.
I don’t want her to regret or overthink anything when it comes to us.
When she gives in to me, when we come together, it has to be because she wants it just as much, needs me just as much as I need her.
More than just the heady endorphin rush I get from being around her, I want her mind and heart on board too. All fucking in.
“Come home with me next week, carino. Let me cook for you. Let me take care of you.”
She doesn’t hesitate as she nods, and I have to draw on every bit of inner strength not to give in to what we both want.
I ignore my cock straining against my jeans.
Bringing my mouth to hers, I force my lips to stay closed and not ravage hers.
I press the firmest kiss I can manage to her delicious mouth before pulling back and resting our foreheads together.
“Let’s get you home, mi amor. You need to rest. And I… I’m gonna need a cold shower.”