But then there was the selfish side of me that hoped she’d do really well, but not be offered the position so that she would need to stay here with me. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want my family.
** Wednesday **
ME: Hey, handsome.
TOBIE: Hey, beautiful.
ME: Whatcha up to?
TOBIE: Daydreaming.
ME: About?
TOBIE: You.
ME: Is it good?
TOBIE: The best.
ME: Got plans for tonight?
TOBIE: Only if they include you.
ME: Dinner? Here?
TOBIE: Count me in.
ME: Stay the night?
TOBIE: Hell. Yes.
Tobie pulled up in his truck right at six o’clock as I was getting dinner ready. Grilled chicken, fresh green beans and baked potatoes. He knocked twice before opening the garage door to let himself in. There was a happiness fluttering around in my stomach like little bees jumping from flower to flower. The idea of having a low-key evening together was, to me, the best kind of date.
Tobie dropped his bag at the bottom of the stairs and headed over to me. He placed his hands on my cheeks and gave me the softest kiss on my lips. My hands were suspended in the air desperately wanting to touch the hard muscles of his chest.
He stepped back, looking at my hands with one eyebrow cocked up. “Raw chicken juice.” I explained.
“Ah.” He grunted. Then grabbed me by my hips and effortlessly boosted me up onto the kitchen counter. He pushed my knees apart and slid his hips in between my thighs. “So that means you can’t push me away.” He winked and drove his lips into my neck, digging his fingers into my hips and pulling me tight against him.
“Tobie!” I gasped. “You can’t do this when I can’t touch you back! It’s not fair!”
He laughed into my collarbone and gave it a little nibble. An immediate shot of pleasure that pierced between my legs. He backed up and nuzzled his nose against mine.
“Fine,” he relented. “But as soon as you get cleaned up it’s game on. Now. What’s for dinner?”
“I’ve got potatoes in the oven and I just finished preparing the chicken. I was going to throw it on the grill. I have some green beans, too.”
“How can I help?” he asked sweetly.
“How about you snap the beans? I’ll go start the grill.”
“No. I’ll go start the grill. You snap the beans.”
“What’s wrong with you snapping the beans?” I knew he was being overly macho. Like I haven't ever used a grill before.
“Men don’t snap beans, Amber. Men grill.”
“Ohhhh. Well then,” I laid the sarcasm on thick, “I’m sooo glad you came over because I haven’t had grilled meat in over seven years.”
“I figured as much. But now that I’m around you can have all the meat you want,” he wagged his eyebrows at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Did you seriously turn ‘grilling meat’ into a sexual innuendo?”
“Who me?” he asked innocently, “I would never.” He smiled and grabbed the plate of chicken. He leaned into kiss me quickly on the cheek right before he headed out the back door to the grill.
Tobias
“Good grief, I’m stuffed.” I leaned back in my chair.
“It’s about time.” Amber laughed at me. “That was your third helping. I was planning to save some for lunch tomorrow, but dang. Guess I’ll have to eat in our cafeteria instead.”
“I’m a growing boy, Amber. You have to feed me.”
“I’m gonna have to expand my grocery budget to accommodate your bottomless pit.”
“I have a large appetite.” I leaned forward onto the table, resting my weight into my forearms. Looking her directly in the eye, “Especially when it comes to dessert.”
Amber’s eyes widened. Her lips parted. I stood up from the table and walked around to her. I grabbed the sides of her chair and spun her around to face me. “Leave the dishes.” I growled in her ear. “I’ll get them later.”
I grabbed under her hips and pulled her up against me. She looped her arms around my neck so she could wrap her legs tightly around my waist. “Got any more of those lacy panties you were telling me about?’
She nibbled my ear lobe. “I’m wearing some,” she whispered.
“Mhm.” I grunted. “Game on.”
Amber
I was having hard time motivating myself to get off the bed after all the touching and licking Tobie had just done all over my body. I was pretty sure that every muscle in my body had just gotten a full workout. That man is magical. How he could do all that with his mouth and hands was insane. Wow. Just wow.
I threw on an oversized t-shirt and some clean panties before heading back downstairs. My clit was still ticking from pleasure overload. Tobie was looking fine as hell loading the dishwasher in just his gym shorts. They should make pinup posters of hot men doing house chores in their underwear. I bet every woman in America would buy one. I'd buy a whole calendar of just Tobie. I took a mental snapshot to save for later use.
“You alright over there?” Tobie teased.
“Oh, I'm good. Just enjoying the show.” I winked. “Men doing house chores is like lady-porn.”
He laughed and dried his hands on the dish towel and sauntered his way across the kitchen to me. He wrapped his strong arms around my waist and pulled me close. “Maybe you should have me over more often. If you’re lucky, I’ll vacuum for you.”
“Now I really have something to fantasize about!” I joked.
“Did you have fun upstairs?”
“You have to ask!?” I laughed. “Babe, that was incredible. I'm beginning to think you're some sort of unicorn or something!”
He smiled and kissed the top of my head. “It seems like it's been a long time since someone put your needs first. I enjoy making you happy.”
His words cut deep. It had been a long time since I put myself first, let alone anyone else doing that for me. It was surreal and almost uncomfortable to allow it to happen. Since Mom and Dad died all I'd done was take care of Hannah and made sure their estate was taken care of. Allowing someone else to take care of me felt almost selfish. I rested my cheek against his bare chest.
“You do make me happy,” I spoke into his chest. “Very happy.”
He pulled me tighter against his body. I could feel that he hadn’t fully settled down from our activities upstairs. His thickness was beginning to swell against my stomach. I remembered that each time we had fooled around, he was always focused on me and I had yet to return the favor. “Tobie…?”
“Yes, love?”
“I like making you happy, too.” I tilted my face to kiss the side of his neck. His cock jumped against me. “Can I make you happy?” My kisses made their way up his neck, across his stubbly jaw and landed softly on the corner of his mouth. He turned his face towards mine and deepened the kiss. Pressing his hips hard against mine. His fingertips dug into the small of my back. They trailed down to the bottom of my t-shirt, slid the fabric up over my backside and palmed my cheeks.
“I will never refuse an offer like that from you.”
I lead him towards the family room and positioned him in front of the couch. I ran my hands all over his bare chest, down each of his abs and followed closely behind with my mouth just as I had told him I would. His gym shorts were doing nothing to conceal his obvious approval of my actions. I ran my hand over the bulge in his shorts. He laced his fingers into my hair and groaned. I hooked my fingers in to the waistband and pulled down ever so slowly allowing his cock to spring free.
Despite the heated moments we had shared, I had never actually seen Tobie outside of the time I saw him in the shower and based on the evidence before me he hadn't been at his full potential then. He was so much larger than I had even felt through his clothes. “Holy shit,” I whispered, not meaning to say it out loud. I blushed.
“Fuck, Amber. You can’t say that and not do anything about it.”
/> My hands guided him to sit down on the couch. I ran my fingers up the insides of his thighs. Lightly wrapped my hand around the base of his shaft, barely touching his skin and stroked all the way to the top causing him to flex in my hand.
My mouth lowered to the tip and licked off the drop of pre-cum that had settled there. Tobie’s breathing shifted from being slow and controlled to deep and ragged. I continued to lick and palm his cock until his hips lifted off the couch. I spit into my hand and used the lubrication to stroke up and down his length. He let out a deep groan. His head seemed to get even fatter, more swollen. My lips stretched over him, taking him into my mouth.
Tobie tugged at my hair slowly thrusting his cock in and out of my mouth. My tongue swirled around the underside as my hand continued its work. I continued to work his length until I felt him begin to twitch.
“Amber…” he gasped, “...stop…”
I didn’t stop. My movements stayed slow and tedious just as he had done to me. His hips writhed beneath me. The most erotic sound escaped from deep inside his chest as his cock began to pulse and shoot hot cum down my throat. I swallowed every drop and continued to suck and lick him down from his high.
“Holy shit, Amber!” He gasped. “That was amazing.” I raised up from the floor and he pulled me into his lap pressing his lips to mine in a hungry kiss. I stayed in his arms as his breathing returned to normal while his fingers played with my hair.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Tobias
My alarm jarred me from a deep sleep at seven o’clock. The warmth of Amber’s body was pressed against mine. My arms were still holding onto her, keeping her close all night. I gently tugged my arm out from underneath her and rolled to silence my phone. Amber smacked her lips and rolled to face me. I pulled her back in close, kissing her on her forehead. “Morning, love.”
She moaned. “No… I was having the best dream…” she pouted with her eyes still closed.
“What about?” I brushed a piece of loose hair off her face.
“I dreamt that you spent the night. It was wonderful. You held me all night.”
I chuckled. “Babe, that wasn’t a dream.”
Her eyes opened, she blinked several times as she gained focus. A smile spread across her face. She closed her eyes again and snuggled in close to my chest. “So dreams really can come true.”
I don’t think she understood the magnitude of the words she just spoke. This moment had been the epicenter of my dreams for years. Waking up next to her, feeling her body against mine, holding her in my arms was everything I had imagined and more. This. Everyday. I kissed her forehead.
“Sadly, though, we need to get up. As much as I would love to stay in bed with you all day, I don’t think either of our bosses would appreciate that. And mine is especially an ass about telling me what he thinks.”
“Ugh. Alright… only because we have to.” She was grumpy in the morning. And it was cute.
We took turns in the shower but only because I insisted. Otherwise I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to keep my hands - or other parts of my body - to myself, making my promise to honor her wishes next to impossible. I resisted the urge to leave my toothbrush in the holder next to the sink.
We ate breakfast together at the island before packing our stuff up head to work. I walked her out to her car and kissed her as she got in. “Stay over again tonight?” she asked.
“I thought you’d never ask.” I kissed her again. “See you tonight.”
“So…..?” Adam asked.
I stared at him blankly. “So… what?” I questioned back.
“So, you gonna tell me what’s up? You’ve been walking around with a shit eating grin on your face all day. You look insane.”
I laughed. I’d felt like I was walking around with a stupid grin all day. Didn’t realize it was that obvious. “I uh… I spent the night at Amber’s last night.”
“Lucky bastard.”
I rolled my eyes. Adam was a good guy. We’d been on the same crew before when I’d come home for the summers. He was two years older than me and happy as a clam doing hard labor. I don’t mean to sound weird or anything but Adam was a sexy beast and built like a damn lumberjack. The full beard and tendency to wear red plaid shirts didn't help the stereotype. He was maybe two inches taller than me and had probably fifty pounds on me. He wasn't lean like I was but damn he was strong. I’d seen him handle two eighty pound bags of concrete like he was fluffing pillows.
“Count your blessings, man. It ain’t easy finding a good woman. Gotta hold onto her if she’s the right one.”
“Like Caroline?” I asked. Adam’s lips tightened. His brow furrowed and he looked down at his feet. “Aw, shit. I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know.”
“It’s alright,” he brushed it off. “It was mutual. We both kept thinking we’d finally become more than what we were but four years is plenty long enough to know if you’re with the right person. It was time to cut our losses and move on. We split up about a month ago.” Adam shrugged his shoulders and shoved his hands deep into his jeans. “It’ll be alright, I guess,” he sighed heavily. “I need some time to figure out what I really want anyway. We were stupid young when we started dating.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. I’d met Caroline a handful of times over the years. She was sweet, smart and easy to be around. It was painful to see the sadness in Adam’s face that things didn’t work out. It made me appreciate the feelings that I had when I was with Amber even more. I didn’t need four years to know that she was the one for me. It had only taken me a few weeks.
Amber
“Did you get to the hotel ok last night?” I asked Hannah.
“Yeah, I got in around six last night. Here time. They put me up in a junior suite so I’ve got my own little kitchenette and everything. And the bed? Oh. My. Word. Amber. Seriously, the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on. I wonder if the hotel would notice if if went missing.”
“Can you fit it in your suitcase?”
“Maybe.”
“You’re a mess.” I laughed at her. “So what times do the interviews start?” It was nine thirty in the morning here, making it six thirty there. Hannah had asked me to call her first thing to wake her up.
“Eight thirty.” I heard her start shuffling around the room. “I’ve got some time so I figured I’d get breakfast down in the lobby, run through my notes and limit myself to one cup of coffee. I’m trying to keep myself from getting too nervous.”
“Sounds like a solid plan. Will you text me as soon as your finished with the interviews?”
“Yeah. The agenda is pretty packed for today and then dinner tonight at some swanky tapas place. I’ll text you when I get back to the hotel after that. It’ll probably be pretty late though. That ok?”
“Of course, you know I won’t mind. Keep me posted. And good luck! You’re gonna nail it!” I cheered her on.
“Thanks, Amb. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Bye.”
I heard Tobie’s truck pull into the driveway right at six o’clock again. He didn’t knock before coming in through the garage door this time. He dropped his bag on the floor and kicked off his boots.
“Honey, I’m home!” he called. I walked around the corner to greet him. He was bent down petting Russell as the little dog scurried under his feet wagging his tail in a frenzy.
“Oh, really? So you live here now?” I raised my eyebrows to him. My hands on my hips.
“Temporarily, yes. You might not know it yet but I’m staying tomorrow night, too,” he wrapped his arms around my waist, my palms rested on his chest. He kissed me lightly on the lips. It boggled me that even a small kiss from him could take my breath away.
“Is that so?” I questioned, regaining my senses.
“Uh, huh. It is,” he smiled and flashed that adorable dimple. I poked it with my fingertip making him grin wider.
“And what if I didn’t want to share my bed with you tomorrow night?” I challenged him
.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, I guess you could sleep in the guest room because there’s no way I’m sleeping anywhere except wrapped up sheets that smell like you.”
I laughed at his utter arrogance. And at the fact that he knew damn well that I wanted him to spend the night again tomorrow. And every night after that. I rolled my eyes and pushed back from him.
“We’ll see.” He pulled me back, placing a deep kiss against my mouth. The sudden heat wave of pleasure surged through my body causing me to squeeze my thighs tightly together.
He broke the kiss, “What do you want to do for dinner? I’m starving.”
“I’ve got some steaks in the fridge. Since I finally have a big, strong, sexy man around the house how do you feel about lighting up the grill and serving up a big piece of meat for me?”
“Damn, love. Who’s making innuendos, now?”
Tobie cleaned up from dinner while I opened a bottle of wine. It wasn’t crazy humid for once and I wanted more than anything to sit out by the pool and listen to the frogs and crickets. I handed Tobie his glass and lead him outside. He sat down on one of the pool chaises spreading his knees wide so I could sit in between them. I leaned back against the heat of his chest. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against his shoulder. “Mmmmm.”
Tobie’s free hand sat naturally on the top of my thigh right where the fabric of my shorts stopped. I could feel the heat of his fingers lightly dancing against my bare skin. “I wonder how many times I swam in this pool.” He said. It was more of a statement than a question.
“I can’t remember many weekends that you weren’t here hanging out with Hannah,” I responded. “You were like a nerdy little puppy following her around,” I teased.
He chuckled, the movement of his chest bouncing against my back. “And now?”
My fingers trailed lightly along his inner thigh. I felt his manhood begin to swell against the small of my back. “Now? Now I see a big, strong, gorgeous man who makes me wet just by looking at me.”
I didn’t need to see his smile. I could feel it radiate from him. His face dipped into the side of my neck, kissing that oh-so-sensitive spot behind my ear he knows makes my knees weak. He set his wine glass down on the concrete and gently took mine from my hand, placing it next to his. “Care to take a swim with that man?”
Delicate (Sublime Series Book 1) Page 16