"I want to fuck you hard," he said, complying with Sophia's request for dirty talk. Although it was hot as hell, almost pushing her over the edge, the words didn't sound natural on his tongue.
But what he lacked in the way of smut, his long rod made up for tenfold.
Sophia let her head fall back as he thrust deeper, in and out as she raised herself up and slammed down along his length. His lips blazed a trail from the sweet spot behind her ear and down the curve of her neck, until he lifted her sweater, removing the last barrier between them.
When his hot, wet lips suckled her hard nipple, she let out a gasp, digging her nails into his back. Riding wildly on top of him, she bucked. He pressed her breasts together and buried his face between them, giving each one the same amount of attention.
"Everett, you feel so good. Harder. Please, harder," she begged. Sophia dragged her tongue over his thick neck.
With his hands pressed firmly on her hips, he thrust himself harder to meet her fall, pounding against her throbbing ache. "Oh, fuck."
For a few more incomprehensible minutes, they continued this way until they were both short of breath, shuddering with sated pleasure, and their bodies spent and limp.
"Sophia?" Everett whispered into her hair as she collapsed on top of him.
"Yeah?" she moaned.
"Are you okay?" She could feel his body stiffening beneath her. His hard chest crushed against her. Unmistakably, his worries were getting the best of him.
"I'm more than okay," she said, sitting up, still straddling him. "I'm...on freaking cloud nine." She was bubbling and buoyant, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this way. Not about herself, or any man. "Please don't overthink this, Everett. You gave my body what it needed. You gave me what I needed. I don't want you to spend even one second thinking this was a mistake."
A giggle escaped her, sputtering into a full-on laugh, and she threw her arms back around him. "Instead I want you to be thinking about when we can do it again."
But he still said nothing.
"Everett, would you say something? Is this like the nursery thing for you again? Did I freak you out?" Sophia leaned back against the steering wheel, searching his wide eyes.
"Sophia, this was amazing, and I don't know what I did to deserve you, but—"
"Don't." She pressed a finger to his lips. "No buts. Don't ruin this. At least not while you're still inside me. It was perfect and beautiful, and I don't want to rain down on it with worries about mistakes, and second-guessing." She leaned in to kiss him harder now. "Plus, I already want you again."
As if on cue, her stomach gurgled, making a croaking frog sound. "Well, maybe after we eat."
"This is where you made reservations?" Sophia was practically bouncing out of the seat when Everett backed into a parking space beside a Japanese Garden sign. The plan was to take the shuttle over for lunch and a little sightseeing.
"I've been wanting to come here for a while."
"Yeah? I was hoping this would kill two birds with one stone: tourist attraction and sustenance all in one." He shrugged.
As they exited the truck and headed over to the MAX station, she twined her fingers in his and nuzzled her face in tight near his neck. It was early, but the crisp breeze picked up, fresh with the scent of pines and flowers.
In Portland, it was almost perfect.
"Look how smart you are. Good thinking." Sophia scrunched her nose at him and dragged him by the hand.
By the time they made it over to Umami Cafe, they were just in time. Apparently reservations were usually for parties of six or more, but because Everett used some kind of secret power connection, the rules didn't apply to him.
"So do you make a habit of deflowering girls on the side of the road and then schmoozing them with VIP treatment at iconic gardens?" Sophia stifled a smile, but he did not appear amused. She held her hands up in defense. "What? I was just checking."
She said it only in Everett's earshot, but just the idea of the hostess overhearing her sent a surge of heat up her spine again. Who was this new person she was becoming, this hot and bothered seductress? Whoever she was, she definitely shocked the hell out of Everett. If anything, this new sex-crazed thing she found buried within did a number on her, too.
A shiver coursed through her as images of them in the truck flashed in her head, especially the way he filled her so completely. Sophia waggled her brows at Everett.
"What am I going to do with you?"
"I could think of a lot of things." She winked playfully, but his question was just as much serious as it was sexy. "Please stop thinking so much. Last I checked, amazing sex was a good thing."
Basically ignoring her comment, Everett reached across the table for her hand and held it, rubbing her fingers. It wasn't hard to tell where his mind was going, but she didn't want to go there. She wanted to stay firmly rooted on the fun, carefree, hedonistic side of things. Having no expectations was turning out to be strangely freeing. Going blind equals less to lose. Plus, she did the straight and narrow, the safe way. But now she'd gotten a taste of the other side, and she was in no hurry to go back.
As it turned out, also in no hurry to get back to the straight and narrow: her raging libido.
"I talked to Zora the other day," she said, trying to push the conversation in a different direction. She stuffed a forkful of her deep-fried avocado, crab, and cream cheese roll into her mouth.
"Yeah?"
"Uh-huh," she muttered, staring out the window at the garden in autumn bloom. Trees in varying sizes and all shades of red, green, orange, and yellow painted the horizon. "I was telling Zora my cousin's wedding is coming up in September. She was helping me with catering ideas since I'm basically going to be doing the food as well as jumping in as a bridesmaid."
"You should really consider letting her help you with the menu for your restaurant. She's pretty talented. Learned from my grandmother."
The second the words left his mouth, Sophia couldn't believe she hadn’t come up with the idea herself. Zora was as crazy, if not crazier, about food than she was—a complete foodie. Plus, as a blogger, she knew the suppliers and the locations, the best farmer’s markets. They’d talked for over an hour about everything under the sun, and they got along like long-lost sisters who actually liked each other.
With her cheeks bulging as she chewed, Sophia nodded and mumbled, "I just might."
"Although, I don't know if I like the idea of you guys spending so much time together without me." Everett flashed his devastating smile and a fresh wave of lust slammed through her.
"Well, then. If you want me to keep you around, you're going to have to make it worth my while.”
In record time, Everett waved their waiter over while they finished their food. By the time he signed the merchant copy of the receipt and placed it—along with a generous tip to make up for their abrupt exit—in the leather check presenter, Sophia was standing by the door, ready to go.
She winked. “Round two?”
* * *
As it turned out, rounds two, three, and four were all as mind-blowing as the first, effectively erasing the last of Everett’s blue balls. He couldn't get enough of Sophia, and she was insatiable for him, dragging him behind trees, taking him in the truck on the way home, and back at his place again. He couldn't remember the last time he wanted it nonstop with the same woman. For years sex was just sex, a way to meet his most basic primal needs. With Sophia, he wanted her every time with more urgency than the last, and he was hard-pressed to turn her down, no matter how misplaced his morals were at the moment—or his spent body. Which was nestled beside her in his bed.
Snuggling for Christ's sake.
She felt like some kind of test or prank between God and the devil to have something so wrong feel so mercilessly amazing. The kissing and hand-holding were nice, tame. But having her naked body molded to his beneath the sheets wasn't exactly where he thought he'd be when he agreed to show her retail spaces.
Wh
en did the initial lust ever fail to wane?
When did the sun come up?
Sophia lazily pressed her butt against his hard-on. "Morning," she moaned.
"Good morning." Everett pressed his finger into her warm, slippery folds, a move that was nearly his undoing. Fuck. She was already wet for him. As he penetrated her, gliding against her slick hollow, he groaned with satisfaction. "Fuck. Am I ever going to get enough of you?"
She covered her breast with his hand, arching into him as he slid in and out again and again, keeping it smooth and simple, letting the rhythmic friction do all the work. "I hope not. I can't imagine feeling this good without you."
He should have freaked out at her admission. Made up some excuse and told her to pack it in and go. But Everett's ego flared at the idea that only he could give her this kind of unrelenting pleasure. He drove deeper inside Sophia, filling her up until she quaked and trembled, squealing his name.
Still, he wasn't finished. He pulled out and turned her flat on her back so he could see her eyes. It almost hurt to see how beautiful she was. Long curls fanned over the pillow, framing the soft curves of her tawny brown cheeks. Her lids hung low over those warm, depthless eyes, and her lips were rubbed pink as she sucked on his middle finger.
Slowly, he lowered himself down her body, sucking the hard peaks of her breasts down to her trim belly. When he was just low enough, he centered his tongue at the meeting of her thighs and laved it over her pink bud. He lingered there, stabbing it repeatedly like a jackhammer until her toes curled.
She squirmed and writhed against his tongue while his hands weighed her down and pried her legs open. She gripped the headboard, lifting her hips for his access. And when he was done, her body bucked and jerked and jolted upright.
"I'm in heaven," she breathed. "Can we just stay like this forever? Let's never leave the house. Forget about the restaurant and your business. We could just stock up on food and water and ice cream, and hole up in here until we overdose on mind-numbing sex."
"Ice cream, huh? It's an amazing plan," Everett said, crawling up her body.
Now she was completely sated, he settled between her thighs once more. This time he was slow and gentle while he allowed his eyes to wander over Sophia. She was stunning and kind, and sexy as all hell. She was more than he ever wanted in a woman. And for however long he could have her, she was his.
Slowly, he lowered his face to brush his lips over her soft pout. He drove deep and tight until he steadied his full length inside her. Then, he lifted himself up onto his elbows. He stayed like this for a few minutes, staring into her eyes, letting her in. "I'm crazy about you, Sophia," he said finally.
It was more than he should have said, but it was true—exactly the kind of secret that claws at the caged heart until it's free.
Right then, he should have told her the truth, while they were naked with nowhere to run or hide.
While their hearts and eyes were open, he should have told her about the house.
He should have helped her see how Austin wronged both of them. Surely there was a way they could make it all work out in the end.
Instead, he stroked until he came and watched her doze until she fell asleep in his arms. He studied her without a care in the world, as her light breath feathered in soft ripples over his arm.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to lose you," he whispered, thankful she wouldn't hear him.
Chapter Fifteen
A week later, with the help of Blue, Everett continued his personal tour guide services for Sophia with a trip out to Mount Hood. They started early on the Paradise Park trail, headed for Ramona Falls. For the first quiet, crowded three miles they held hands while Everett led the way. But as the trail cleared, he found himself dragging his feet, lost in the war in his head.
For every day he spent with her, the harder he knew it was going to be to unravel the lies. At some point, whether he wanted to or not, no matter how good it felt just being with her, he needed to tell her the truth. Every fiber in his being was dying to touch her again, to kiss her again, but he didn't want to get lost in the haze. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but more and more he knew the hurt wouldn't be Sophia's alone.
Just tell her.
"Sophia. I want to tell you something." The words struggled against his throat.
Up ahead, she stared at the beaming horizon in the distance. "It's gorgeous."
Everett moved closer to her and loosened her backpack straps from her shoulders, dropping it on the ground. From behind, he began massaging her arms and neck, which were warm from the high sun and thick humidity, as he took in the clear view, mesmerized.
Though he’d hiked this trail at least a dozen times, seeing it again through her eyes was very different in the best of ways. Over her shoulder bright oranges and evergreens were set amid a dusty blue skyline. Lush alpines peppered the meadows. Water cascaded down stair-like rock columns. It danced and splashed in an ethereal shower.
How did he ever overlook such a natural beauty? Was it simply because Sophia's presence magnified its brilliance the way she breathed life back into his world? She was changing something in him. In the short time he knew her, she’d given him comfort and ease. He'd been rejected and replaced many times, but Everett didn't know if he would be able to bounce back from losing Sophia.
He turned to face her. "Yeah. Definitely can't beat this view." She was the sight he wanted to wake up to every morning. The truth was the only thing standing in his way.
Everett swallowed over the lump in his throat. It's now or never. "Soph?" He braced himself.
"Hmm?"
"I want to share something with you." Sophia nodded, indicating she was listening. "The day when you were telling me about your dad, I knew what you meant. It's been two years since my father died. We weren't close, but it did hit me hard because I was still mad at him. He was unfaithful to my mom, and she took her own life because of it. But, on top of losing Mom, he abandoned Zora and me. So it was like we lost both our parents even though my grandmother took us in. He started a new family and we weren't part of it. I spent so many years trying to be good enough for him. And I realized how much his lies hurt our family—how much we lost because of him."
She squeezed his arms tighter around her waist. "I'm so sorry, baby."
Everett's throat tightened and he could feel the sting of tears in his eyes. Before he thought about what he was risking and couldn't get this out, he continued. "When he remarried and had more kids, he cut us off. So my grandmother, Babs, was everything to us."
"Her name is Babs?"
"Well, Barbara, but we all called her Babs." Everett smiled despite the memory of her. "She passed away a few years ago, and Zo and I took over the family real estate development business. It's basically just me, though, because she's concentrating on building up her food blog and a cookbook." Sophia turned in his arms to face him, and already he felt his nerve waning.
"What made you think about this?" she asked. Concern braided her brow as she looked up at him.
"Soph, I need to talk to you about the house."
A burst of shivers ran down Everett's spine and every nerve ending on his skin prickled.
"What's on your mind?" she asked, her voice low and sweet, but the tone was thick with worry.
"I know why you got the house in the divorce." The words sort of skidded out fast. Almost too fast, but they needed to be for him to lose his grip on them.
Her brow pinched together. "What do you mean? I told you it was the only thing I asked for. The only thing that meant anything to me." She let her chin drop, and Everett could tell she was thinking about the baby she lost.
He wondered if she really thought everything pertaining to the house was so cut and dried.
"Babe, you don't think it was too easy? I mean, from what you told me about your husband, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would just give you what you want without a fight," Everett reasoned. "If the house was all you wanted, I would bet it's t
he one thing he'd be unwilling to give you."
Sophia looked up at him, and he could see the war in her eyes. Their usual warm brown color darkened beneath her narrowing lids. "You're right, but you don't know him. You don't know what I went through. I agreed on mediation, with the house as the only contingency. If he didn't agree, we'd still be going back and forth. I’d still be fighting because of how much it means to me."
"I know all about how much a home means."
Everett brushed his thumb over the pad of her lip and cupped his hand over the curve of her cheek, resting it there. For the slightest moment, he gazed at her, contemplating his inevitable loss once he explained his connection to Patton Place to her. As much as he loved her, he couldn't be the person who caused her more pain.
Softly, he brushed his lips over hers, lingering, tasting her sweetness. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking in her familiar scent of coconuts and sunset. He waited until his heartbeat steadied before breaking their kiss. And in the moment, he couldn't bear to tell her he was the one standing in the way of her dream, for fear of losing his.
Everett twined his fingers with hers and guided her back on the trail. Their feet crunched down over rocks and twigs as they navigated the rough terrain. He looked down at Sophia again, and as he did, he stumbled over a raised tree root and fell facedown. With the slope of the hill, he rolled with the descending momentum a few feet until the path leveled off.
He groaned at the fierce pain stabbing at his knee.
Sophia came running behind him and bent down to check his injuries. "Baby, are you okay?" she asked, panic lacing her tone.
He moaned and held tight to his knee. A pained grimace smeared across his face as he took account of the damage. Dirty scratches and scrapes mostly, but on his right leg, a bloody gash covered the dusty kneecap. "I'm fine." Everett rolled to his side and tried lifting himself up, but a sharp hollow ache rendered him helpless.
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