Chapter 19 #2
Colleen looked up at him and it took every bit of restraint not to tuck his hands along the fine edges of her jaw, thread his fingers in her hair, and pull her in for a kiss. A kiss that would lead to pressing against her, their heat mingling, their tongues dancing.
He could see it in his mind's eye. The scent of Bilbee's, wood smoke and sour beer. The sound of his friends laughing and telling stories around them. It was a movie in his head of what the next thirty seconds could be.
But if he did that, they would be going public before Jordy knew. And he worried that this extraordinary relationship he was finally building with his son would be undone by a single kiss in the wrong place.
Colleen's eyes reflected his own need right back at him. She stood on tiptoes, one hand going to his shoulder, and he bent down to put his ear close to her lips.
"You have a free night," she murmured. "What do you plan to do with it?"
“Do you know how weird it feels to be here with you?” Moore asked.
Luke walked by carrying two beers, giving them a grumpy look that made him look like a nun carrying a yardstick at a middle-school dance.
“Weird?”
“Yeah. Everyone here thinks we’re just friends. And next time we’re here, we’ll show them we’re more. But for now, we have to hold back, and that feels–”
“Weird.”
“Right.”
“What if we leave?”
“Leave?”
“You said it yourself. You have an empty place. We have all the time in the world, for once. Why not use it?”
“Skip out on darts?”
“They can manage without us.”
“And go back to my apartment to make love?”
"Is that really an option?"
"I wouldn't have suggested it if it weren't."
"Then what are we still doing here?"
She reached for his hand, but he dropped it quickly. At that exact moment, Rider showed up at their table with an enormous tray filled with appetizers.
Moore downed the rest of his martini. Bilbee's Tavern was within walking distance of his apartment over the store.
"Where did you park?" he asked her.
"Out back."
Years of desire pumped through him, the frustration of the last couple of weeks coming to a head. Yes, they'd made love back at her cabin shortly before Jordy came, but that had been almost tentative, an exploration to see if what had happened at the cabin was just a one off.
This would be their third time, and with plenty of hours stretched out before them to see what was real and what wasn't.
As more patrons came into the bar and Rider went back behind the counter, he realized Colleen hadn't had even a single drink.
"I've got wine and beer back at my apartment,” he told her.
"Are you serious?"
"More serious than I've ever been."
"Besides," she whispered, "We've already christened my house. It's time to do yours."
Moore didn't need to be convinced.
"What kind of excuse do we come up with to get out of here?" he muttered through the side of his mouth. "Everybody's just beginning to play darts."
"Food poisoning?" she ventured.
"Can’t start a rumor like that. Rider would kill us."
"Something's wrong with Sandwich?"
"Luke will just send Darren over."
"Jordy?"
Moore made a face.
"He's over at the Forsythes. Word will get out."
"How about using me as an excuse?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'll just say something's wrong with my wrist and I need a ride home."
"If I don't come back, people will wonder."
"People like who?"
"Luke."
"Let him wonder."
Moore's eyes went soft, watching her with a newfound appreciation.
"We're so close, Colleen,” he said as his phone buzzed.
Dad?
The text from Jordy made him sigh.
Yes?
I need my rubber bands. Can you bring them?
Instantly, a plan formed.
Sure, bud.
“Hey. Jordy needs his rubber bands for his braces.”
Colleen perked up.
“And you drank too much!”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did,” she stressed. “But I haven’t had a sip of alcohol yet. You need a driver!”
“I need… a driver! Yes!”
For once, Jordy’s forgetfulness was going to pay off.
“Where are you two going?” Kell called out as Colleen and Moore began shrugging into their coats.
“Jordy!” she yelled back. “He needs Moore to deliver something.”
“You’re not Moore!”
“I drank,” Moore explained, earning looks of instant understanding from his friends. “She’ll drive.”
“Hurry back,” Kylie called out, munching on an onion ring the size of her thigh. “Or we’ll eat all the food.”
“That a threat or a promise?” Moore joked. “You can have my cheeseburger, Kylie.”
“With peanut butter on it?” She made gagging noises. “I’d sooner get trapped in a metal donation box again!”
Laughing their way out the door, they raced around back to Colleen’s car, but before they could even reach it, he stopped her, their kiss dizzyingly hot.
His hands went under her coat, seeking the warmth of her skin, finding her breasts as his tongue slid between her lips and opened to her exquisite taste.
Warm and soft, she pressed back against him with a full abandon that made him desperate enough to have a quickie right here in the alley.
But she deserved a bed. Sheets. Privacy.
And they deserved all of each other.
“Let’s deliver the rubber bands and get back to my place ASAP,” he murmured against her neck, licking her ear as she giggled, then kissed him until they were both breathless.
Her small SUV was typical Colleen, with thermoses in both cup holders and a half used roll of breath mints cluttering the console tray. As she drove the short two minutes to his apartment, he wondered if they should have just walked, but then he remembered the errand they still had to run.
Maybe they could quench their thirst quickly upstairs, deliver Jordy's orthodontia needs, and return for round two.
She pulled into one of the parking spots reserved for the store, behind the main drag.
It was a routine she knew well after years of being his friend, but it felt different now.
They were about to go upstairs into his living space, his private sanctuary, and make love.
Whether they did it now or after dropping the item off with Jordy didn't matter.
What mattered was that they were finally going to have all the time they wanted to connect.
His phone buzzed as they took the back stairs up to his apartment.
It was Jordy.
Never mind. Nathan has some I can borrow.
Moore read the text to Colleen. Before the words were completely out, she was on her tiptoes, kissing him, his back slammed against his front door from the force of her need.
If the first time they made love was one of crossing a line, and the second was one of exploring their bodies, the third time was all about lust.
Pure, unadulterated lust.
Naughty and slick, hot and wet, this was a quickie, Moore peeling out of his clothes, shirt off, belt off, pants unbuttoned and unzipped as Colleen pulled her own clothes off and they raced to the bed, their teeth banging against each other as they kissed, fingers flying everywhere.
“Tell me what you want,” he demanded, mouth on her breast, fingers between her legs, conjuring the magic that seemed to work last time. All he wanted was her, so much of her, and giving her pleasure counted so much.
“I’m sooooo ready. I hate hiding. I hate not having you.”
“Whatever you’re feeling, I feel it ten times over, Colleen.”
He rolled over to his nightstand, finding a condom, putting it on fast as she grabbed him and before he could say a word, guided him in.
“Colleen,” he rasped. “Don’t you want–”
“This,” she cried out loudly, her voice tense, body primed as she moved him, making him understand she wanted to be on top. He pulled out and repositioned her, the wet cocoon of her making all his edges merge with the word.
“You’re so luscious,” he said, hands going to her hips and leading her into a rhythm. Her head tipped down, loose hair tickling his chest, and he reached down to touch her.
Which made her pick up the pace, her lips parting, an unfocused look taking over her features.
Colleen was always so controlled, with a hard shell.
Penetrating that–penetrating her, literally–was an achievement.
If he could give her the kind of unadulterated, unleashed ecstasy that connected them in bed, he felt whole.
And now, his orgasm rising in him, he worried he couldn’t hold out.
“Moore!” she called out. “I’m so close. This feels so good.”
“You feel good,” he said, just as she bent down to kiss him, their mouths loose and frantic. She made a low, deep sound, one that came with a fierce tightening, as if he were being milked from the inside out.
Heart bursting with love and lust, he came in her, half dazed by the suddenness of it, loving every second of spontaneity and unexpectedly raunchy sex.
Until his phone interrupted them.
It actually rang.
“Damn,” he groaned, rolling over to find his pants, the phone going on and on. Colleen gasped and sat up, pulling her knees in and wrapping her arms around them.
“Jordy? What’s wrong?” he barked into the phone, his already rapid heartbeat speeding up.
“Can I watch an R-rated movie?”
“Excuse me?”
“I, uh, Dad. Look. I’m really mature, okay? I’m not that scared little boy who had nightmares after watching Frankenweenie, you know?”
“What are you talking about?” Moore looked down and realized he was naked except for the condom and his socks. Colleen was still wearing her shirt.
And socks.
And... shoes?
Head spinning, erection gone, he struggled to make sense of his son’s words.
“Dad! I mean it! I can totally do this!”
“Do... what?”
“Watch an R-rated movie! Reggie’s allowed, and he’s fourteen! A year younger than me!” An angsty, defensive tone was winding up in Jordy’s voice, confusing the hell out of Moore.
“What’s wrong?” Colleen asked.
He hit mute on the phone before talking to her. “Jordy wants to watch an R-rated movie and he’s freaking out about it with me.”
“That’s Cammie’s fault.”
“Huh?”
“Jordy didn’t tell you? She’s banned him from watching R-rated films. Not allowed until he’s seventeen.”