25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter 25
Risto
W hen I pulled into my driveway and cut the engine at 11:00 p.m., Leslie waved to me from Dot’s front porch. Votive candles flickered from the surrounding tables, the light shimmering off the goblet of her wineglass. Even in the dimness, I could sense a lightness about her as she swayed on the wooden swing. Until I saw her ease, I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been all day.
Sharing my plans with Jose and Freddie.
Agent contracts.
Deliveries.
Recipe tweaks.
I abandoned my car in the driveway without waiting for the garage door to open.
Cricket chirps and frog peeps greeted me, their tones holding a special magic when Leslie was near. We’d spent too many hot summer nights necking in the grass while fireflies danced in the air above. We pretended to be alone on a far-off prairie. As if her aunt and my grandmother couldn’t look out their windows and spot our silhouettes in the moonlight. Doing what young adults do when they’re in love and no one is around to stop them.
The only people stopping ourselves these days was us.
Gravel crunched underfoot as I advanced up the walk. “You’re up late.”
“I was hoping to catch you.” Leslie shifted in her seat so I could join her on the swing. Instinctively, my arm fell languidly, seeking her shoulders, but I fought the instinct and rested on the wooden backrest instead.
I couldn’t keep on this way. I wanted her more than anything, but the idea petrified me at the same time. There were so many changes happening in my life. If I gave in, our history showed we’d likely end up where we were right now, both broken and miserable.
She set her glass down and faced me. “We need to talk.”
“Okay…?” I answered.
“We’ve had a silly flirtation simmering since I arrived. So I’m just going to say it. I want us to be together. I’ve wanted it for years, but have been too afraid, or proud, or stubborn to try again. Hell, I have a bigger reason to be scared than you do. You’re the one who left me. But I’m right here. And I deserve a relationship with someone who can fully commit and be present. Something happened today. Something big. It dismantled fears that kept me living life by the dropperful. I’m thirsty for love and will be happy—with you or without you. I prefer with, but I finally believe down to the marrow of my bones that I can find happiness without you. It’s your decision.”
I swallowed the boulder in my throat. What the fuck happened to her? There was a resolve in her voice I’d be an idiot to ignore. Had I stayed away thinking Leslie would sit around waiting for me until I was ready?
Yes. I absolutely had.
I was so convinced that she’d wait that I’d done nothing to seek her out. Leslie put so much passion into her career, it often seemed she preferred it to me. But wasn’t that what I was doing to her? Choosing my culinary dreams over the woman I loved? In life, if you wanted something, you made it happen. I hopped on the opportunity to get an agent and investors but gave Leslie mixed signals. I’d treated her like the backup plan. She’d just told me in no uncertain terms that shit was over.
I nodded my understanding. “That’s fair. But what we had before won’t work for me. You in New York, doing God knows what till all hours. Me, here, pretending I wasn’t gutted with worry. If you want to be together, we need to be together. Every night. As a couple. We stay honest. We talk things through, no matter if it hurts. We’ve got to communicate, or this thing between us will fall apart again.”
“Honest?”
“Always.”
“Okay. Let’s start now.” She downed her drink and set the empty glass down. “I just admitted to about 1.6 million people today that I have an eating disorder. It’s scary as hell, and I think it’s what hurt our relationship. I’m working on it, but there’ll be difficulties. If you’re not in, say so now and we’ll—”
My lips smothered her words. I did what I’d been longing to do since she’d walked into my life weeks ago. She tasted of fruit, and love, and…
Leslie pushed gently against my chest to separate us.
“Risto. I need an answer. If you aren’t committing to me, don’t dive in simply because you’re horny.”
There’s that honesty. I’d asked for it, but it sucked to be on the receiving end.
“Where will we live?” I asked.
“Here and New York for work, sometimes.”
“Are you done with your adrenaline junkie stories? Not every reporter does that shit, you know.”
“Yeah, but some go to war zones and crisis flare points. At least I don’t do that.” She teased, but I wasn’t having it.
“I’m not comfortable with you using your body to ingratiate yourself with men who would do you harm if they found out you’re a journalist.”
She looked stunned. “No undercover work or disguises?”
“Dress up all you want. But I’m not comfortable with the faux mob moll act. Stop using yourself as bait to gain access to unsavory characters. It’s too risky. I don’t want you hurt or, God forbid, killed over an article.”
She paused, staring at the ground while she assessed my words. Every second of delay an agony.
“Okay, deal. I can be very resourceful. I’ll figure it out. What about you? How do I fit into your work world?”
“What do you mean?”
“I hear you’re thinking of opening a restaurant in New York. And getting an agent. If you’re going to be spread so thin, will you even have time for me? For us?” Leslie asked.
It was a good question. I wanted everything, but there was only one of me. But I deserved to “have it all.” Having her by my side was exactly the right place.
“My career may take off a bit. I won’t lie and say I’m not thrilled about it. But it’s no different than you being on TV or streaming to millions on YouTube. Me pursuing my dreams doesn’t mean you can’t be a part of it. You are as much a dream of mine as growing the restaurant. I can’t make any promises about my ambition, but I can always promise to love you and be an equal partner.”
Leslie stood up. I thought to leave, but instead she extended her hand. “I’m in. Are you?”
I rose to face her, my hand dwarfing hers as we shook to seal the deal. “Let’s do this.”
She made to sit back on the swing, but I yanked her toward the porch steps.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
I stopped short, sending her colliding into me. “Home. To bed.”
“Well, all right then,” she said with an amused lilt in her voice.
We entered my house through my dark garage, the opener’s light having long since switched off. The hinges squeaked closed behind us as I pressed my alarm code into the keypad to enter the dark kitchen.
“Welcome home,” I whispered in her ear.
Leslie took hold of my head with both hands and pulled me down to her waiting mouth. I devoured her lips while she shifted to squeeze my biceps for dear life.
Holy fuck.
Desperate, we tore at each other’s clothes, wishing them gone.
My fingers crept under the hem of her loose T-shirt, and I slid it off in a single, swift motion. I nibbled at her bra straps, using my teeth to slide one, then the other, off her shoulders.
“Oh my God, Risto…” Her back arched into me, pressing her small, perfect breasts toward my face. I leaned down and took one nipple into my mouth, eliciting a throaty moan.
Dizzy with want, I lost focus, the reality of finally having her hitting home. This would be the first of many times we’d make love, and I wanted it to be fucking amazing. An exclamation point on the promise that once and forever, she was mine.
I lifted my eyes to hers and near drowned in their dark intensity. Without saying a word, I knew what she craved.
Her look said , Take me. Now. Here. And deep.
Frantic, we stripped the other, laughing as we tangled in clothes pulled inside out, then abandoned on the kitchen floor. We slammed mouths, my hands running over her silky hips while she reached around to squeeze my ass.
“Oof! I’ve missed this. It’s fucking delicious,” she groaned.
My mouth curled into a smile as I kissed her. “Is that so? What else is delicious?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She exhaled, grinding herself into me like the nymph she was.
Quick as lightning, I hiked her over my shoulder and headed upstairs.
“Hey!” She giggled, kicking her legs as we ascended the stairs. At the top, I marched straight into my master suite, flicking on the light switch with my elbow.
Leslie hid her face in my back. “Sweetie? The lights?”
“Oh, sorry.” I backpedaled to darken the room. Now the only light came from the glowing green clock on my nightstand.
I laid her gently on the bed, moving aside to take in the contours of her silhouette. “So many times I almost hopped in a car to come get you. I can’t believe you’re here. In my house. In my bed.”
“Don’t you mean ‘our bed’?” Leslie scooted forward and wrapped her legs around me to pull me down. She then rolled us over until she sat on top, straddling me.
I caressed her curves, her skin rippling to attention as I touched her in the way I knew she craved. But I had cravings too.
I slid her onto my face so I could drink her in, together with an aromatic sweetness all her own.
“Oh, it’s like that, is it?” she purred.
“Can’t talk. Eating,” I said, teasing pleasure out of her until she writhed against my hungry mouth.
“Holy fucking hell…!” Leslie braced herself as ecstasy ripped through her, moaning and gasping as aftershocks rippled in waves until she flopped to the mattress, boneless.
Some things never changed.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, then rummaged in my night table drawer for protection, which I handed to her.
“Mind doing the honors?” I asked.
Her arm shot up, fingers wiggling in a “gimme” motion, so I obliged.
She ripped the wrapper open with her teeth, then slid the protection on, unfurling it with overhand caresses. “I love how you’re a large man in every way.”
She climbed onto me, both of us exhaling audible sighs.
Fuck yes.
“Jesus, you feel so good…” I moaned, more to myself than the woman driving me wild.
We savored the union, reacquainting ourselves and drawing each tactile moment of connection and release into oblivion.
Perfection.
Giving and receiving pleasure as only we two could. We completed each other and always had. I sat up with Leslie straddling me, deepening our union, and guiding her to hit me just right. Deep and hard.
Oh good God…
How was feeling this good even possible?
“God damn it, woman! You make me so crazy, I…”
“Oh!” Leslie cried as I shattered into a million blissful pieces while she succumbed to another rapture of her own. We rode the wave together until it broke against the shore and left us fizzing with afterglow.
Panting, my head swirled, barely conscious. I was hilt deep in the woman I’d dreamed about every night. Fantasies flickered through my mind of all that I’d imagined doing to her and with her, triggering another round of sensation that forced my thumping heart to synchronize with hers.
Our foreheads fell together as we gathered enough breath to devolve into giddy laughter and sloppy kisses.
“Wow,” she said. “That was…”
“Yeah. Me too.”
We tumbled flat on the bed, panting and smacking kisses on each other. Wrapped in my arms, Leslie snuggled into her spot. Head on my chest, curls tangled in my fingers. Right where she belonged. And where she’d always stay.