by Holly Jaymes
But what could be said? I knew what had happened. He’d denied it. I didn’t believe him. He accused me. I denied it. He didn’t believe me. It didn’t seem like that would have changed just because we had sex. Then again, we weren’t in a relationship now. We’d had sex, but that was all it was. There were no statements of affection. No confessions of love, my tits notwithstanding. It was lust.
“You alright?” he finally asked.
I nodded. “Some things never change.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Like what?”
“Like sex with you.”
He grinned that cocky sexy grin. “We do know how to get it on, don’t we Sam?”
Now that it was clear with both of us that this was just sex, and that we didn’t need to delve into the past, I felt steadier. I wasn’t sure we’d have sex again, but whether we did or didn’t, there was no risk to my heart. This was just a physical release, not love.
He kissed me. “Sam?”
“Hmm?”
“How’s that clawfoot tub you have?”
I arched a brow. “It’s the one thing in this house that’s perfect. Why?”
“Because since I’ve seen you in your robe twice, and you always smell like jasmine when I do, I’ve wanted to get in that tub with you.”
I smiled. “Will the water heater be able to handle the load?”
His smile was wicked. “See, this is one of the reasons to always have the best systems. You can have tub sex as much as you want and you won’t run out of hot water.”
I laughed. “I’m willing to test that theory out.”
Book 1: Chapter 8 Gabe—It’s Just Sex
Gabe
I tried to avoid Samantha; I really did. I’d only texted her to let her know I was in the house so she didn’t think she had an intruder or a ghost. I explicitly told her she could stay away.
She was the one who came downstairs to find me. She was the one wearing only a robe. She was the one who drew my hand down her cleavage to expose her soft skin and reveal she had no panties on. How was I supposed to avoid touching her after that? I couldn’t.
I remembered vividly how she tasted all those years ago. The sweet scent of her. The grip of her pussy when I was sliding inside her. Even after what happened four years ago, my body craved to have all of that again, consequences be damned.
My erection was so thick and hard, it was a wonder my zipper could contain it. Thank fuck I had a condom on me. My head probably would have exploded if I hadn’t been able to fuck her.
My memory of being with her before was pretty good, but it still fell short of the real thing. Christ, she was so soft and pliant. She still made those sexy sounds and her pussy tasted like sweet nectar.
The only thing that was different was when she said, “Fuck me, Gabe.” Samantha hadn’t been very talkative during sex before, and she certainly had never used that language. I came right about then at her words.
When it was done, I was sure there would be regret, both on my end and hers. But I didn’t feel regret. All I wanted was to start from the beginning and do it all again. Maybe with her on top riding me. Or maybe she’d fulfill my fantasy and suck my dick. Then the scent of jasmine filled my nose and I remembered her bath. Her riding me in that gorgeous clawfoot tub became my new fantasy.
I didn’t see regret in her eyes either. Instead, we had an unspoken agreement. This was sex and just sex. No attachments. No love. And as a result, no risk of heartbreak. I could do that.
I set about doing it a lot. She blew my mind as she rode me in the tub, her tits swaying as she bounced on me, seeking her pleasure. Later, being out of condoms didn’t slow us down either. Before I went home that night, she sucked my dick until I saw stars and my cum dripped from her mouth. Yes, I was perfectly happy to have no-strings-attached sex with my ex.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t leery when I entered the house the next morning for that day’s renovation and filming. The morning after could bring the regret that we’d avoided the night before. But when I entered the kitchen where Samantha was standing by the coffee pot while Megan and Steve talked with her about the plans of the day, a blush and sensuous smile came to her face. My dick immediately perked up.
I went to the coffee pot to get a cup. “Careful, sweetheart,” I whispered. “I could get injured with you looking at me like that.”
“Poor Gabe.” She sauntered off, discreetly brushing her hand over my dick.
Fuck. But I smiled as I kept my back to my staff and then started reciting room measurements to calm my dick down.
When I turned around, I quickly sat at the table with Megan and Steve, in case there was still any sign of Samantha’s effect on me.
Megan’s brow arched.
“What?” I tried to act innocent. Could she tell?
She smiled knowingly but didn’t say anything. How were women so perceptive like that? She turned to Steve. “Gabe and Samantha should finish taking the paper down in the library.”
Christ, did she know what Sam and I did on the couch in there?
“We’ve got guys to do that.” Steve looked to me. “I thought you were going to take care of that last night.”
I cleared my throat. “I got caught up in another project.”
Megan snorted. I glared at her.
Steve - thankfully - looked clueless. “We’ve got men for that,” he repeated.
“They can do something else,” Megan said.
Steve stared at her.
“Trust me on this.” She smiled like she had it all handled.
Steve shrugged.
Wanting to move on, I asked, “Where are we on paint and refinishing the floors on the main level?”
“Got to get the paper down in the library and living room before we can paint,” Megan said.
This I knew.
“The primer over the plaster will need some time to dry. I’m thinking we’ll do the floors last thing before bringing in furniture,” Steve said.
“What about the fireplaces?”
Steve checked his notes. “She wants one in the master bedroom and the one in the library. We’ll do that before we paint.”
I felt bad that I wouldn’t be able to rehab all the fireplaces. For a minute, I considered using my own money to do it. I certainly had it. But I wasn’t sure how to do it without it looking unfair to all the homeowners I didn’t help or tipping people off that I was having sex with a homeowner.
At least she chose good rooms for it. I could already see the couch in front of the library fireplace, and my having my way with her while a fire roared on a cold night. Or on a thick rug in front of the fireplace in her bedroom.
“Earth to Gabe,” Megan said.
Huh? I shook my head free of thoughts of fireplaces and naked Samantha. “What are we filming today?” I asked.
“Taking down the paper.” Megan’s smile held a mischievous gleam behind her coffee mug as she took a sip. Had Samantha told her about us? I hadn’t noticed them being extra chummy, but women often shared more details of their lives than guys did.
“That’s as boring as watching grass grow,” Steve said.
“Not today it won’t be.” Megan stood and made her way to exit the kitchen. “I’ll go let Cliff know,” she said referring to our producer for this series of episodes.
“He won’t like it,” Steve said after her. He looked at me. “What’s she thinking?”
I shrugged. “No clue.” Not wanting him to speculate, I asked, “when is kitchen demo?”
“We’ll start on that in week three. We should have most of the smaller projects done by then, so we’ll be able to put most of the effort into it. It will take the longest of all the rooms since it’s a complete gut and redo.”
The image of Samantha swinging a sledgehammer came into my head. It was sexy as hell and I thought about seeing if we could move up the date. But the schedules were set for a reason.
I stood. “Well, I guess I better go peel some wallpaper off the wall.”
As it turned out, Megan was on to something. Now that the animosity was gone, working alongside Samantha was enjoyable, titillating even. The man in me enjoyed how hot she looked as her strong arms worked the paper off the walls. Or maybe it was the way her ass swayed as she did it. Every now and then she’d give me a coy smile that suggested she was thinking about how we’d scraped paper and then fucked each other senseless on the couch the night before.
As much as I enjoyed this, the resulting hard-on was uncomfortable and not something that needed to be seen on TV.
As we worked, Samantha asked me about the history of the home and I admired how she understood a house’s importance in history. How the walls contained the memories of the lives that had been there before. Right now, we were recording our own imprint on the house. Would she remember me and our time together once I was gone?
Later, we were in the back yard, discussing landscaping. That was one area we were going to have to cut back on too because of the budget, but she took it well.
“There’s room for a dog,” I said to her. “And it’s already fenced.”
“Yes, I guess there is.”
“Speaking of dogs, what happened to Daisy?” For the most part, I avoided talking about old times, partly because I didn’t want others to know Samantha and I had known each other before, and partly because talking about the past with Samantha could be a Pandora’s box of trouble. Staying in the here and now, I was able to avoid the feelings of hurt and anger from before.
“Poor Daisy went to doggy heaven. She had a good life though.” She sighed.
“Do you think you’ll get a new dog now that you’ve got your own place?”
“I don’t know. I’m gone during the day and that’s not ideal for dogs.”
“A cat then?”
She made a face “A cat might scratch up my new old home.”
“No pets?” I looked at her, feeling something odd in my chest at the idea that she’d be in this large home all by herself. The home was too big for one person. It was too big for two people. It was a home built for a family and a pet.
She turned to me. “I don’t know. First, I want to get the house done. Then I’ll see.”
“Why don’t you ask her about plans for a family?” my producer suggested.
I shot him a glare. I wasn’t going to ask her if she was going to raise a family in this house. Yes, it was a house for a family, but the idea of her making babies with another man made my stomach churn, which was stupid. I put it off to my male ego. I wanted to think no man would compare to me, when in fact, she’d proven four years ago that someone had.
I hadn’t had the same luck. I’d tried to move on, but none really had the same draw that Samantha had for me. The fact that she’d left me for her ex four years ago, and yet last night I was desperate to have her proved there was something about her that pulled at me.
“I’d like a family someday,” she answered my producer anyway.
Pushing my annoyance aside, I forced a smile. “You’ve got the room for it.”
She looked at me again and I wondered if it was sadness I saw in her eyes. Did she regret that we hadn’t been able to keep our dream of having a family? I shook my head to rid it of that thought and told the cameraman to stop filming.
“Let’s take a break. I have a few things I need to check on.” And I needed to get away from the regrets of my past and a yearning to try and resurrect them.
I spent the rest of the day avoiding Samantha. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend time with her. The truth was, my problem was just how much I did want to be with her. I couldn’t afford to let my emotions get involved. It was one thing to touch her and for us to seek physical comfort with each other, but there was no way I could allow it to become more. Not after what happened before.
The time I had with her was limited. While I’d negotiated being home for the next year, eventually, the show would be making a return to Florida. Assuming they’d renew my contract. There had also been some discussion of taking the show on the road again out west. Samantha and I had a good thing when we were together, but she hadn’t been able to hold on to it when we were apart. I needed to remember that when I found myself bewitched by her smile or her laugh.
When the crew was done for the night, I headed back to my place and did some paperwork, rechecked the budget and had a call with my boss. Then I was free for the night. I considered getting a beer and watching a movie, but who was I kidding? This thing with Samantha was a limited time deal, and so I needed to take advantage of the time I had.
After a shower, I stuffed my pockets with condoms and headed back to her place, trying to come up with some excuse to be there. She answered in her robe, smelling of jasmine.
“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come,” she said as she let me in.
“I plan on coming a lot tonight.”
“Oh?”
I had her up against a wall, my hands on her soft warm skin. “I’ll make you come a lot tonight too.”
Book 1: Chapter 9 Samantha—The Other Ex
Samantha
It was amazing how a little affair could turn a tedious job and tense atmosphere into something enjoyable. Over the next few weeks, I worked and flirted with Gabe during the day, and got naked with him nearly every night.
Gabe said it was important for the show that we hide our nightly activities, so we tried to be sly about it while the crew was around. As far as I could tell, he was the one with the most trouble trying to keep our affair hidden. Many times, I’d be walking up a hall and be suddenly grabbed by him and pulled into an empty room where he’d kiss me senseless until my brain melted. Then, with his signature cocky grin, he’d go off and work on something. Surely his staff knew that was going on? The question was, did they film it?
To get him back, on occasion I’d squeeze his ass or even more brazenly, cup his balls. I loved the flash of heat in his eyes and the promise that he’d get me back later. And boy did he ever. We had sex in every room and surface of the house, including against the walls, on tables and floors, in the tub, the shower and even on the kitchen counter. Like before, his touch never got old. Each time he made me come was as satisfying as the last.
I found myself counting the days we had left and then chastising myself for it. I needed to savor the time we had, but not get caught up worrying about missing him when it was over. I couldn’t afford to let my heart get involved in this. I wasn’t sure how long he’d be in town after my home was finished, but I knew he wasn’t here to stay. His network was located in Florida. Eventually, he’d leave again and then be tempted by other women.
Besides, this time, there was no talk about staying together, as we had done before. We didn’t make plans for next week, much less the future. There was no mention of feelings beyond physical sensation. We’d both agreed to a just-sex situation right now, so that’s what I needed to focus on.
I wondered if Gabe’s roaming eye hadn’t started already when I saw his high school ex, Diana, walk through the front door of my home three weeks into the rehab. She made a beeline to him, hugging him and then taking an inventory of the foyer.
“It’s gorgeous, Gabe.” She looked down. “Is there marble under here?”
“Yes. Not many homes in this area have that,” he said of the marble foyer that was covered with a tarp to protect it during the rehab.
“I’ve always liked this house. To see it being restored is fabulous.” She turned to him, her eyes gleaming, probably with a hope of getting naked with him.
She still had the long blonde hair, stick thin body and long legs. Her makeup was perfect and her nails were a bubble-gum pink, which I noticed when she put her hand on his arm. “Thank you for letting me be a part of this.”
I shook my head as anger bubbled inside me. I thought he said there was no money for design. If that was the case, why was Diana in my house? Was this just a ruse because Gabe was having a thing with her too?
I wanted to
march down there and demand answers and then punch her. No, first I wanted to punch her and then I’d demand answers. Then I wondered if she’d punch me. Maybe she saw me as the interloper since she’d been with Gabe before I had.
Crimany, Samantha, you’re an adult now, not a crazed jealous teenager. Even so, I still wanted to punch her. So much for keeping emotions out of it. Still, it wasn’t unreasonable to want monogamy even in a just-sex situation, was it?
“Gabe, can I talk to you for a minute?” I said from the top of stairs where I’d been eavesdropping. No, I wasn’t spying. It was my house, for goodness’ sake.
“Yeah sure.” He turned to Diana. “Darryl is in the kitchen. You’ll be working with him.”
Diana removed her hand from Gabe’s forearm but then leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you.” I wanted to punch her for that too.
He took the stairs up to me by twos, with a grin on his face. “Let’s duck in here.” He pulled me into a bedroom. Before I had a chance to say anything, he pressed me against the door, his lips were fused to mine and his hands were on my breasts. Despite my annoyance, my body responded, wanting to get naked right then and there.
“How about a quickie?” He tugged on my earlobe.
My body screamed yes, but my mind, for once, stayed strong. I pushed him back. “Not now.”
His eyes narrowed at first in confusion, and then in concern. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” How dense could he be? “How can you have your hands on me when two minutes earlier your ex had her hands on you?”
“What?” He was back to looking baffled.
I pulled in a deep breath to calm myself because while I felt a little crazed about Diana being in my house and around Gabe, I didn’t want to come off as a hysterical jealous ninny. After all, he and I weren’t in a relationship. It was just sex. Technically, I didn’t think I had a right to be crazed. But that didn’t mean I was going to let another woman encroach on my territory.