I give her hand a squeeze. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. No special treatment just because I gave you an earth-shattering orgasm or two.”
“Earth-shattering?” She tilts her head, her other hand tapping her lips as she ponders. “I can’t recall if it was earth-shattering or not. You’re just going to have to remind me,” she shrugs with feigned indifference.
I lean in, my voice dropping even more. “I guess I will. Shall I begin with my mouth, my fingers, or…” My eyes follow her tongue as it sweeps across her lips, distracting me.
When I lift my gaze to hers, her pupils are dilated, and her finger moves along the top of her turtleneck. Goodness, I’d love to take her home right now and remind her how good we are together.
“Are you ready for your wine?” the waitress appears out of nowhere, cooling the moment.
“Sure,” I nod and thank her as she clears our empty glasses.
Averly exhales, blinking a few times as she looks around the cozy restaurant. My eyes have been on her, I’ve barely seen what the place looks like.
“It smells so good,” Averly comments as I glance around the place. Brick walls, wooden beams on the ceiling. Nothing that screams for my attention more than the beauty sitting across from me.
“It does.”
“Have you eaten here before?” she asks.
“No, my sister recommended it. Joy came with her husband the last time they were in town.”
“How is she? She lives in Chicago, right?”
“Yeah, straight from college when her husband got a job offer. He’s from there, and Joy went with him when they graduated. They got married shortly after.”
“That’s nice.”
“Yeah, they come out here whenever they can, usually for the holidays. Gives me time to spend with my nephew also.” My sister and I are close, being only a couple years apart. She’s older, but I’ve always been protective, being the brother and all.
Averly smiles as she listens. “I think that’s sweet. Family is important.”
“It sure is,” I nod. “Anyway, I called her today, and she recommended this place.”
“You told her about our date?” Her eyebrows jump on her forehead.
“Yeah…”
“Huh,” she smiles.
“What?” I furrow my eyebrows.
“Nothing.” Averly shakes her head.
“You’re difficult to impress, and I wanted to take you somewhere nicer than Howdy’s for pizza,” I explain.
“Relax, I’m okay with you telling her. Actually, I like that you did.”
“Yeah?” I breathe out. God, I’ve never been nervous on a date before, but Averly and I have more than a relationship on the line. She’s currently my client, and I’m breaking my rule for her. Dating clients can get messy, but she’s more than someone I find attractive and want to spend a night with. Something can grow between us, and she’s worth the risk.
“Have I made such a horrible impression that you think I’d get upset at something like this?” The valley between her eyebrows deepens as she frowns.
“No,” I say quickly. “We’ve had a rough start, but that’s because we’re both stubborn and strong-willed. I’m completely in on this, and you’re not as intimidating as you think,” I tease.
“Really?” She crosses her arms as the waitress reappears with our bottle of wine, serving us both.
“Yup,” I grin. “You’re sexy, smart, and stubborn, but you’re harmless.”
“We’ll see about that later tonight.”
“Is that a promise?” I challenge.
“Damn straight it is.” She takes a sip of wine, licking her lips when she’s done. Damn her and that tongue. I can’t wait to have those lips wrapped around my cock and that tongue pleasing me.
I shift in my seat, adjusting myself, and a wicked gleam crosses through Averly’s eyes. Oh, yeah, tonight is going to be fun.
A few moments later, a waiter serves our pizza, placing it on a stand in the center of the table.
“Oh, man, that smells delicious.” Averly practically drools as she inhales.
“It does,” I agree.
We eat the pizza, Averly moaning and repeating how good it is, and she’s not talking about my bedroom skills.
Averly
I never expected to enjoy being out with Eli this much. His good-natured teasing makes me laugh, and he doesn’t back down when I’m quick to respond. We’ve talked, joked, and gotten to know each other in the last couple of hours. Not to mention, the growing tension with each innuendo is heavy.
Even the waitress blushed when she came to clear our plates and heard the tail-end of Eli’s comment about how I didn’t complain when his tongue was on me last night. Poor woman’s eyes popped out of her head. I kicked Eli under the table, resulting in a snicker from him and flaming cheeks for me. The waitress wasn’t the only one embarrassed.
“I’m glad we came out tonight,” Eli smiles.
“Me too.”
“Happy enough to do it again?” he asks.
“You know, it all comes down to the goodnight kiss.” I bite down my smile, failing at keeping a serious expression.
“Then, I’ll start planning our second date because we both know the goodnight kiss will be to your liking.” His hand searches for mine on the table, linking our fingers. Bringing my hand to his mouth, his lips brush against the inside of my wrist.
I sigh, my shoulders dropping a bit as I relax. I can’t help but free my smile this time.
“If we do this, if we date, I wouldn’t see anyone else. Despite what you may think, I’m loyal to whoever I’m with.” Eli’s face grows serious, but he keeps his hand in mine. His hazel eyes swirl with amber and green as he waits for my reply.
I nod, taking a deep breath. “I believe you.” Three words that open me up to Eli. They open a trust that slightly terrifies me while the feeling in my chest expands into exhilaration. It’s been so long since I’ve dated, let alone actually allowed myself to like a man. The universe is a funny thing when that man is Eli Hastings, but this feels good.
Eli’s smile is wide, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Good.” He signals the waitress over to ask for the check. While he waits for it, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom.
I’m waiting outside the women’s bathroom, shimmying from side to side. Why is it that as soon as you know you’re going to the bathroom, the need to go hits you harder than ever, barely allowing you to make it to a toilet?
“You can use the men’s, you know?” A waitress sneaks up behind me.
“Huh? Oh, that’s okay, I’ll wait.”
“Really, I’ve done it before. It’s clean. It’s a one-stall bathroom, so it’s empty since that man just came out.”
“Are you sure?” I face her, my brows crinkled with worry. Honestly, that’d be great because I’m about to burst.
“Yeah.” She nods, confident in her suggestion, so I slip into the men’s bathroom and lock the door.
Dancing in place, I lift my skirt and lower my tights. Relieved, I turn toward the sink to wash my hands. Suddenly, the door opens, and I stare at it like a deer caught in headlights, my cheeks burning with embarrassment when I see Eli at the door.
Oh, my goodness.
His eyebrows furrow as he looks back at the outside of the door and then at me.
“Uh…” I keep my hands under the streaming water. “The waitress said I could use the men’s bathroom since the women’s was busy, and I reallyyyy had to go,” I draw out, rushing through my explanation.
“I thought I had walked into the wrong bathroom.”
I’m just glad he didn’t walk in when I was squatting over the toilet.
“Nope, this is the men’s.” I offer a sheepish smile, fighting the urge to squeeze my eyes shut and tap my heels as if Oz would magically return me home.
Eli gives me a mischievous smirk through the mirror, and I finally dry my hands. I turn around in time to see him walking toward me.
&nbs
p; “Have you ever had bathroom sex?”
“What? No,” I gasp, surprised by his question.
He presses his body against mine, my back digging into the sink, and he tilts my chin up. His calloused fingers brushing against the corner of my lips.
“I’m going to fuck you against a bathroom wall one day, but not here, not with a broken lock where anyone can walk in and see you.”
“My goodness,” my eyes pop open, and I lick my lower lip before biting down on it. Eli’s eyes follow the movement of my mouth as they darken with heat.
“Do that again, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep that promise,” he winks.
“If you kiss me right now, I won’t be responsible for my actions,” I warn, his proximity filling me with wild sparks of desire, and I no longer care that we’re in a public bathroom.
Chuckling, he takes a step back. “Is that so?”
I nod, my eyes stuck on his.
“I need you to stop biting that lip, babe.” And the butterflies in my stomach have gone wild, fluttering inside of me as my entire body shivers. All embarrassment of having him walk in while I was finishing up in the men’s bathroom has evaporated, replaced with desire for this man.
“I’ll see you outside,” I whisper. If I don’t walk out of this bathroom right now, we may get charged for indecent behavior, and this pizza place is too good to never be able to return.
Outside of the bathroom, I’m flushed with humiliation again. It shouldn’t be a big deal. A bathroom is a bathroom, and I was simply washing my hands. Besides, it turned out to be a lot hotter of an encounter than I thought when I saw him walk in.
“Ready?” Eli walks out, grabbing my hand.
I nod but remain silent, allowing him to lead me to his truck and climb in when he opens the door for me. I sit awkwardly as he drives out of the parking lot, racking my brain for something to say.
“So… That was embarrassing…” Not exactly what I had in mind. I internally cringe.
Eli looks at me briefly before focusing back on the road. “Why?”
“Because you walked in and I was inside the men’s bathroom,” I state with tense shoulders.
“Averly, you need to relax. You had to go and problem-solved. Besides, I liked having you to myself for a moment.”
“You have me to yourself now,” I add.
“But, I’m driving.” His words weigh with desire, the memory of his body pinning me to the sink, making my body jolt alive. My Lord, Eli knows how to excite me. If my momma heard me say the Lord’s name in vain, she’d chastise me. I squeeze my eyes. Sorry, God.
Some habits are hard to break.
We ride the rest of the way in comfortable silence, and by the time we’re back at my apartment complex, the embarrassment I felt has washed away.
Eli and I stand outside my door, and he smiles. “Thanks for tonight.”
“I should be thanking you,” I say. “It was thoughtful of you to take me to the restaurant because I like pizza, even if it was in another town.”
Eli shakes his head as if it were nothing. Cradling my cheek and jaw, he leans in, brushing his lips against mine in the softest kiss. I sigh, leaning into him in hopes we can deepen the kiss. He chuckles against me, pulling back enough to look into my eyes.
“You said it all comes down to the goodnight kiss, so I’m going to make sure it’s perfect.” His lips touch mine again in a closed-mouth kiss. My arms wrap around his body, feeling the hard muscles on his back.
The third time he kisses me, his tongue peeks out, running along the seam of my lips. I part my lips for him, inviting him in.
“Averly,” Eli murmurs against my mouth, but he doesn’t add to it. Instead, his tongue finds mine in a slow, sensual stroke. As soon as I feel him, I angle my head and kiss him with passion. Our tongues tangle as our bodies step toward each other.
I sigh and close my eyes, kissing Eli with need while he slows the pace to a lazy kiss, which amplifies my desire.
I’m breathing heavily by the time we break away.
“How was that?” Eli’s chest rises and falls as quickly as mine as he gives me a devilish smile.
“Do you want to come inside?” I allow that to answer his question, turning around to unlock my door.
…
Eli and I are in bed after what can only be described as physical paradise. He’s on his back, his fingers running up and down my arm as I’m lying on my side, facing him.
His eyes search mine before he asks, “When was the last time you dated someone?”
My head jerks, surprised by his honest question.
“You don’t have to answer, I was just curious, but that’s none of my business,” Eli quickly adds.
“It’s okay. I have nothing to hide, except what is probably an embarrassing story. However, you almost walked in on me using the bathroom, so I think we’re past feeling humiliated. I last dated a guy I met at work about two years ago. He was substituting our regular supplier and came into the resort one day. We chatted, and he asked me out, so I said yes.” I shrug as if it were no big deal. In retrospect, it really isn’t.
“Anyway, we went out a few times over the span of two months, and then one day, he stopped responding to my messages and calling me. He totally ghosted me. I had no idea why, but after an evening of drinking lots of wine and cursing men with Poppy, I got over it. Then, he reappeared five months later, texting as if we had spoken the day before. I was confused, to say the least, and when I asked him what happened, he said he didn’t know. He thought things were going well. That was a red flag, and nothing more came of it.” I run my hands down and up Eli’s chest as I tell him about my last so-called relationship.
“I’m just glad that I didn’t give him the pleasure of fucking me,” I spit out.
“Pleasure huh?” His grin is wide, pearly whites showing off on his face. “So wait, does that mean it had been a while before you and I…?” He cocks his head.
“Yes,” I breathe out.
“I’m the first man you’ve been with in over two years?” His eyebrows dance on his forehead.
“In over four,” I cringe, sitting up on the bed and keeping my body covered with the sheets.
“So, you went out with him numerous times and didn’t sleep with him, but you slept with me before a date?”
“God, when you put it that way, you make me sound like I’m easy.”
“No,” Eli shakes his head, “trust me, you’re anything but.” He sits up now, panic laced in his words.
My eyebrows furrow.
“That came out wrong. All of it did.”
I sigh and lean against my headboard, the upholstered cushion providing some comfort.
“Averly,” Eli holds my chin and turns my gaze toward him. “I’m not going to judge you if you had wild sex with a hundred guys or haven’t had any in four years. You do what you want with your body. I’m just glad you’re here with me now.”
“Really?” My shoulders drop a bit.
“Of course.” His eyebrows dip, making the frown between his eyes appear.
“Thanks.” I smile and lean in to kiss him.
“You’ve really not had good luck lately, huh?” Eli teases.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” I shake my head.
“Well, I plan to break that cycle.” A proud smile tilts his lips up, and he winks.
“Really?” I arch a brow, cocking my head.
“Yup.” He tugs me by my hips and places me on top of him. Eli’s hips rise, the length of his cock rubs against my core, and I moan.
“No more undecided assholes or players. I’m here for this, all of it.” Eli runs his hand down my spine, bringing the sheets down my body with his touch. As the sheet pools around my waist, his mouth dips to take a nipple between his lips, his teeth grazing my skin enough to make my pussy wet.
“You’re so wet,” Eli groans.
“And you’re hard.” I rock my hips into his, groaning as my clit rubs up and down his dick.
> “That feels too good.” My words are rushed as I move my hips again, goosebumps breaking out on my entire skin.
“Do it again,” Eli demands on a growl before his mouth moves to my other breast. His rough fingers pinch the nipple he was just licking, and I do as he said.
My hips move again of their own accord, continuing to make my skin burn with the sensation of my sensitive clit rubbing against him. With each movement, my breathing grows heavier, and Eli’s cock grows harder, adding to the pressure building in my core.
As tempted as I am to use my fingers, I continue using his length instead, using Eli to get off as his mouth tortures me with kisses, teasing bites, and sucking.
One of Eli’s hands moves to my ass, kneading and encouraging my thrusts. I move faster, bringing a hand to his length and moving it up and down the head of his dick.
“Oh, fuck,” Eli groans. Both of his hands now move to my ass, squeezing and releasing it as my body shudders. My entire core grows more sensitive with each swipe of his length against my clit, but I want to make him feel good too. I want him to climax.
I slow my hips and lift them, my hand running up and down his entire length as his cock jerks in my hand. Eli stares at me with wide eyes and parted lips. One side of my mouth tilts in a smile before I kiss him with wanton desire. A firestorm breaks out between us, and no amount of water can extinguish our burning need.
My hips land on his length again, and we’re both thrusting. My erect nipples brush against his chest, and I moan into the kiss.
“You feel amazing,” I mumble before swiping my tongue with his. Eli simply grunts in agreement.
My hand angles his cock as my body shudders, my orgasm washing over me. I ride it out, moving over him as my toes curl, and my nails bite into Eli’s shoulders.
“I’m going to cum,” he groans, and I move the sheets away from us, staring at where our bodies are moving together as he releases himself.
I’m panting and gasping for air as my orgasm rocks my body further into oblivion. When I look up from our most intimate parts to his eyes, Eli’s eyebrows are slightly raised.
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