18. Graham
Chapter eightee n
Graham
I ’m a goner.
Her moans, the way she rode my face, and her taste…
Fuck, she tastes tropical everywhere. Convincing myself I could make it through four days without crossing a line with her was a fool’s error.
One I want to make again and again the next few days, but I can’t.
This slip-up, while it was perfect in every facet of the word, was not supposed to happen.
I was not supposed to want this woman more than the very air that keeps my lungs inflated.
There are important things at stake, my job and my dad’s hospital bills. A refocus of priorities is what I need.
“Would you relax?” Rosay asks through heaving breaths beside me.
I allow myself only a moment to drink in her side profile, the plump lips I’ve become drunk on kissing, the smooth expanse of neck and that special place behind her ear that when kissed causes goosebumps to break out down her arms.
“I am relaxed.”
“Graham. Your tongue was inside me less than two minutes ago and you’re already in your head about it.”
I scoff, ignoring the way my lower half thumps at the image. “No, I’m not.”
Rosay sidles up next to me, throwing her leg over mine as her hand lands on my chest. I stiffen beneath her touch, not because I don’t want it but becau se I shouldn’t want it. I shouldn’t crave her, shouldn’t want to know what’s going on inside her head at every moment.
“See?” she asks.
“See, what?”
“You’re literally like cardboard right now.” Her hand slides down my torso and lands on my still hard erection for all of two seconds before I grab her hand and move it back to my chest.
“Don’t.” I close my eyes to beat back the tidal wave of emotions her touch elicits.
“Look at me,” she says.
I clench my jaw and shake my head. Looking at her while she’s this close, when I can still smell and taste her on my lips, is a recipe for disaster.
A firm hand latches around my neck, a starling yet welcomed action as every fiber of my being jolts to life. Goosebumps pebbled my skin, and my cock lifts in my pants as if roused by a snake charmer.
“Rosay,” I growl.
“Chill. Out.” She squeezes my neck lightly, ensuring my focus stays on her. “Give us this weekend to get it out of our systems, then we can go back to annoying the fuck out of each other.”
Every muscle is tense from holding myself back from her, from not letting myself fall further under her spell. The things we shared last night showed me another side to her, a reason for the armor she wears to repel everyone, and my worries that she was anything like my ex evaporated.
Is there any harm in getting over this attraction that plagues me day and night?
Or is there a chance that I might crave her even more once I have her, effectively ruining our work relationship and potentially my chance at a permanent position with Thompson?
My mind reels with the “what ifs” of our situation, but every thought quiets when Rosay’s soft lips meet mine, scattering my worries away.
“Three more days then we stop,” she says between kisses.
I sigh into her mouth, allowing my tongue free rein to tangle with hers. “Three days.”
“Deal.” She collapses into me, and I wrap my arms around her, relishing the fit of her, the sheer perfectness of this woman in my embrace.
A rooster crows in the distance, background noise to the little mewling sounds Rosay makes as I grasp her ass and pull her back on top of me fully.
Her gaze takes on a devilish gleam as she inches her way down my body.
My cock is hard as steel, the pierced head already beaded with precum and ready for her tongue to flick against it, to feel the warmth of her mouth wrapped around all of me.
The loud jingle of my phone breaks through the haze just as she reaches for my waistband. Like a dark room illuminated by fluorescent light, my brain is immediately on alert. Though my body and mind protest, I stall her hand.
“I have to grab that. It’s my dad.”
“Go, go,” she says, pulling back from me quickly with concern instead of frustration etched into her features.
I slide out of the bed, heart beating nearly out of my chest.
“Hey, Dad.” I pull my shirt on and walk downstairs. “Everything alright?”
“Hey Graham, it’s Tanya.”
Adrenaline shoots through my system hearing my dad’s neighbor’s voice. A wave of vertigo washes over me, blurring my vision.
“What happened?” I ask, fumbling on the lock to go outside. My chest squeezes, not allowing enough oxygen to get to my lungs.
“Nothing severe,” she says with a calm, motherly voice.
Tanya has lived beside my dad since I was young, always there to help the neighborhood kids.
She’s about eighty yet spry as someone twenty years younger.
“He’s okay. He was gardening and passed out.
Thankfully I was outside when it happened, but I brought him in to be checked out either way. ”
“I was fine, Tanya,” Dad grumbles in the back.
I suck in a lungful of air, relieved at hearing his voice.
My head thuds against the door, and a soft hand lands on my shoulder, squeezing with slight pressure to let me know she’s here.
Her other hand unlatches the lock, and I step back as she opens the door and lets me walk outside into the fresh air.
“Thank you so much, Tanya. I can’t believe he was outside in this heat.” Though it’s technically fall in Texas, the weather is a roulette wheel of high 90s and other days dropping as low as 65 degrees. “Can you put him on the phone?”
The fire pit bench welcomes me like an old friend, and Rosay follows me out, standing at the back of the seat to lend me support. She kneads the knots at my shoulders, offering her soothing touch to quell my nerves. Appreciation fills my chest, spreading tingles throughout my limbs.
“I’m fine,” Dad says the minute Tanya hands him the phone. “Just forgot my water.”
Every muscle loosens, a mixture of Rosay’s firm fingers and the strength of my dad’s voice. I let out a harsh breath and sink into the seat.
“What in the world were you doing in the garden, old man?”
“Don’t you old man me,” he chides. “I am fully capable of taking care of my vegetables myself. I’m not a child.”
“No one is saying that, Dad. But you know your iron always takes a dive after treatment. Did you eat the iron heavy meals I prepared this week?”
“Yes,” he says just as Tanya counters with, “No.”
I sigh he avily so he can hear me. “For someone who doesn’t want to be treated like a child, you’re sure acting like one.
I need you to eat those meals, Dad. You’ve got to keep up your levels or you’re going to end up back in the hospital for a longer stay.
Are you at least taking your supplements? ”
“Yes, Dad ,” he says, exasperated.
“Do you need to go home?” Rosay asks, sliding her hand down my chest to rest above my heart. Her ring glimmers in the sunlight, and I wrap my hand around hers, lacing our fingers together.
“Who’s that?” Dad asks.
Without thought, I say, “My fiancée.”
Rosay’s forehead crinkles, and her mouth parts to allow a surprised sound.
Stampeding is the only word that comes to mind for what my heart is doing beneath our hands.
I didn’t mean to tell my dad that, it just slipped out.
Though I like the sound of it, how right it feels to call her that, I know it’s wrong.
“Your what?” he asks.
“My…” I squeeze Rosay’s hand and look into her worried eyes. “My Rosay.”
“Is that like a new word for a bartender?” Voices sound in the background of his call, and I can only assume it’s a nurse coming to check on him. “Are you drinking at eight o’clock in the morning?”
I chuckle. “No, Dad. I’m not drinking. I’ll explain everything when I see you.”
“Alright, son. This lady is here to poke me again,” he grumbles. “I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
Tanya comes back onto the line. “I’ll keep you updated if anything changes.”
“Thank you so much. I owe you one. ”
“Happy to do it.”
We hang up, and my head falls against Rosay’s torso. Her fingers glide into my hair, soothing me with her caress.
“You okay?” she asks, tugging my head back. “That sounded like a lot.”
My brain filters through her words, searching for any hint of resentment or irritation. I know this isn’t real and that we just made a deal to let this weekend be whatever it is, and I may be hyper aware because it’s what drove Bethany away, but I need to know that I’m not causing Rosay any strife.
“I’m okay,” I say. “Sorry our time was interrupted.”
She comes around the bench and sits in my lap. I steady her with a firm grip on her waist as she tilts my chin to look at her.
“Family is important. Especially sick family.” She plants a chaste kiss on my lips.
“Don’t ever apologize for being there for your dad.
” Her eyes turn glassy, and she stares off in the distance where a tractor chugs along.
“I’d give anything to be able to fuss over my mom like you do over your dad. ”
I wrap my arms around her and squeeze, hoping she feels my appreciation. “Thank you.”
Gravel crunches as a car approaches. Winnie hops out of the vehicle with Jordan quick on her heels. They’re dressed in all black as if they’re going to rob a bank.
“Morning, sunshine,” Winnie chirps, slinging herself into one of the rocking chairs.
“Morning,” Rosay says. “What’s with the burglar getup?”
“Paintball,” Jordan replies, sitting beside his wife. “Easier to see when you hit your target.”
“Ugh,” Rosay says. “Forgot we were doing that today.”
“I know , I know. I’d rather be shacked up with my fiancé too,” Winnie says. “But it’s going to be fun, I promise.”
How right she is without even knowing it.
“Rosie, can you help me get the tables set up at the event hall before we head up for breakfast?”
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
Before they leave, Rosay kisses me and says into my ear, “Raincheck on that blowjob.”
I grip her ass. “I’ll hold you to that.”