by Sarina Bowen
“Pretty great, right?”
“Thanks for not watching that awkward scramble.”
“Babydoll, I watched the whole thing in my cup.”
“What?”
He raises the stainless steel tumbler that’s holding his drink. “These don’t break. And they have an excellent reflective surface.” He turns toward me, letting his gaze roam across the tops of my breasts where they meet the water line. “I don’t want to miss a thing, Shipley. Been thinking dirty thoughts about you for days.”
Oh, my. The hot look in his eye makes my girl parts quiver. “Funny, I haven’t thought about you once.”
The corners of his mouth quirk. “You are such a liar.”
“Yeah, fine. Busted.” I give him a little splash, and then stare like a zombie at the water droplets clinging to his chest. I have the sudden urge to lick them off.
“What are you doing all the way over there, anyway? Here—sip?” He offers me his tumbler.
“Depends what’s in it,” I have to say, and it brings me right back down to earth. In the months before we broke up, Daniela used to refer to me as her girlfriend “who doesn’t drink because she’s no fun.” She said that aloud. More than once. And I didn’t walk out.
Alec clears his throat, and I look up into his big brown eyes. “Everything okay over there?”
“Sure.” I really don’t need to think about Daniela when I’m naked in a hot tub with Alec.
He extends the glass. “Coke and lime. I’m not going to hand you a shot of rum. I still feel stupid that I offered it to you that one time.”
“You didn’t know.” I take the Coke and enjoy a sip. “Can’t be expected to read minds, Rossi.”
When I offer him the tumbler, he takes it and then tags my hand, too. With practiced ease, he sets the drink on the ledge and then tows me closer to him. Big hands scoop me up, and I end up sitting across his lap, my nipples poking above the waterline like headlights.
He makes a low growl in his chest, and I shiver—half from the cold and half from excitement.
“Holy shit,” he says, and I realize he’s spotted the tattoo on my back. “This is incredible.”
“I guess you missed that during explosive truck sex.” I guess he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t like tattoos on a woman.
Alec groans and kisses the back of my neck as his hands trace the shape of the gnarled apple tree on my back. “You amaze me.”
“I didn’t draw it, though.” I close my eyes as his fingertips follow the lines of the branches. I’m naked in his lap and his erection is poking me in the back.
My evenings haven’t been this exciting in a long time.
“Although…” He pauses again to tongue the back of my neck, and goosebumps rise all over my body. “You’re not easy to read.” He hums as strong arms wrap around my slippery body. “You’re half good girl, half vixen. The brainy lawyer with the killer tattoo.” He hugs me against his chest, lowering me into the hot water again, keeping me warm. “Glad to see you,” he says, his breath tickling my ear. “Thought you might bail on me tonight.”
“What, you think I’m chicken?”
“Didn’t say that.” He places one kiss on my neck, and it’s a struggle not to shiver from the contact. His whiskers scratch me in a pleasant way. “But you were embarrassed about last week. Thought you might not go slumming a second time.”
“Slumming?” I turn to catch his eye, and I can’t even tell if he’s kidding. “With the clean-cut business owner in the nicest apartment in Vermont. Maybe in the world?”
His shrug is noncommittal. “A smarter man wouldn’t have invested so much in the apartment. But whatever.” He sighs. “Sorry. I’m in a funky mood.”
I recall the news article he was reading on his phone. “Is that Giltmaker brewpub going to be a problem for you?”
“Maybe. Depends where they put it. Even without it, I’ll need to invest more in the Gin Mill. If I were serving food, that would help with the traffic. But I don’t have a kitchen yet.”
“Kitchens are expensive, right?”
“Yeah. I have some other big ideas, but every one of them is tricky in a different way.”
“Like what?”
“Making beer,” he says immediately. “And growing hops. There isn’t enough local hops on the market. If I sold it to the craft brewers, they’d have to keep me flush with the tourist beers.”
Tourist beers. Now there’s something a recovering alcoholic never has to think about. “You mean like Goldenpour?”
“Exactly. If those guys hit a snag, or some other beer becomes internet famous, my business will suffer. I’m vulnerable to that.” His arms tighten around me. “But you didn’t come here to talk about beer distribution.”
“I don’t mind. Small business is a family obsession. We talk about it all the time around the dinner table. That’s the kind of law I want to practice, too. But for now I’m stuck doing real estate closings.”
“You are a fun date, Shipley. In more ways than one.” He gives me a big smile. And then he dips his chin to find the juncture of my neck and shoulder and gently bites me there. And even before the goosebumps rise up on my body, he laves that spot tenderly with his tongue.
I’d wondered how we would transition from the chatting part of the evening to the screwing around part. But apparently that’s as easy as Alec making love to my neck. My nipples pebble and all my senses flare. I try to turn my head to kiss him, but he stops me—bracing my chin in one hand and continuing on his sensuous journey.
His mouth finds my chin, and then my collarbone. And I’m not allowed to contribute in any way, except to sit there and feel wave upon wave of goosebumps as he discovers all my most sensitive places. I become hyperaware of the soft water circling my breasts and of the hard steel of his leg muscles beneath me. I take a deep breath of steamy air and sink into the sensation of his lips and tongue on my upper body.
Showing up here tonight was a kickass decision. Well done, libido.
Broad hands began to stroke me. First my belly. My hips. Alec turns my body a little farther towards him and finally kisses my lips just as his hands cup my sensitive nipples.
“Mmm,” I moan against his mouth. With Alec, I’m someone who makes shameless sex noises. I feel free to be a little crazy with him, because we’re not a real couple. It’s liberating.
Meaningless sex—who knew?
Alec is shameless, too. He grabs my hand and puts it right on his erection. Even as my hand closes around his cock, I already crave him. For days I’ve been flashing back to the frenzied moment in the driver’s seat when I impaled myself on him. He’d made the most amazing, helpless sound. Like he couldn’t believe his luck.
It’d been a long time since someone made me feel so sexy.
I stroke him, hoping to move things along.
But he breaks our kiss. “Don’t start thinking we’re doing this your way.”
“Hmm?” I’m distracted by the idea of bouncing on his dick again.
Then his mouth is on mine, hot and determined. The kiss is aggressive, but it’s brief. “You don’t get my cock until you’re spread out on my bed,” he says. “When I’m good and ready.”
My body contracts with longing. “Then we’d better get out of this tub soon.” Because I don’t want to wait.
“No way.” He grins like he can hear my thoughts. “We’re just warming up.”
He kisses me again, but I am made of impatience. With my thumb, I tease his cockhead. Surely that will quicken the pace? It always made the college boys crazy.
It’s really been a while since I had to seduce a man.
Alec shifts his hips to improve his contact with my teasing hand. So I must be making progress. But then he grabs my knees and spreads my legs apart. I don’t see the point until he rotates me a little and the jets begin to pulse against the inside of my thigh.
Oh.
Ohhhhhh. Hedonism is my new favorite thing. Our tongues tangle as warm water massages my pussy. It’s arousi
ng and delicious. Like getting oral from a mermaid.
But after a while, the hot kisses and tempting hands leave me needing more. So I turn around on Alec’s lap, straddling him, teasing myself with his cock, showing him exactly what I need.
“You really do like dick, don’t you?” he mumbles against my tongue.
“I like yours.”
He smiles, because no man ever can resist a compliment on his junk. “You know just what to say.”
As a matter of fact, I do. I rise up on my knees, cup my hand around his ear and whisper into it. “Fuck me, Alec.”
Later I’ll probably feel embarrassed about that. But for now it has the desired effect. He hits a button that shuts down the hot tub, and we climb out into the frigid night. He slams a cover down on the tub and nudges me toward the door, which I’ve already slid open.
Scrambling like a couple of Keystone Cops, we drip water across the floorboards. He grabs the robe off the floor and uses it to pat both of us dry, while somehow kissing the hell out of me at the same time.
Shuffling on damp feet, we bump into furniture and then a doorway as we maneuver toward his bedroom. The backs of my knees hit the bed, and then we’re tumbling onto the quilt, our mouths fused together, our hands wandering over damp, heated skin.
Hooray! my body shouts. Everything is eager, forward motion until Alec removes his hot, sexy self from my environs, leaving me blinking in the soft light of his bedroom. I hear a crinkle and look up. He’s rolling a condom down his erection and I’m mesmerized.
“Do you like lube?”
“Yes,” I say, even though I don’t really have a strong opinion on lube. But I do have a strong opinion on how much fun I’m having right now. It’s like I woke up from a month of eating the same peanut butter sandwich every day to discover that life is more like a steak house with a big menu.
And I want to try everything.
“A lot?” he asks as I hear the snick of a bottle opening.
“What? Sure.” Just hurry.
Alec is kneeling above me, completely naked, his long legs straddling my thighs. He has a beautiful body—long and lean and rippled with muscle. He drizzles lube out of the bottle onto his cock, and I feel like I’m starring in a porn flick.
Except then he tips the bottle over my belly, and I yelp when the cool liquid splashes on my skin. “Hey!” I squeak.
He laughs, clicks it shut, and tosses it off the bed. “Just fucking with you.”
I don’t even have time for a comeback because he leans down to kiss me. His body is hot and hard, and I wrap my arms around him and dive in.
Alec moans against my lips as he thrusts his body against mine. The tip of his cock finds my clit, and the lube he squirted on me as a joke makes our skin slide smoothly together. “Aw, fuck,” he gasps. “Wow.”
My thoughts exactly. But I can’t speak because I’m busy writhing against him and spreading my legs in wanton invitation. If he doesn’t do me soon I’m going to burst.
He props himself up on an elbow and reaches down. Yes! But instead of making his move, he circles his palm in the slickness of the lube and then spreads it upward, sliding it over my tits with a naughty gleam in his eye.
“Oh,” I gasp, because it feels shockingly good.
“You look like a wet dream right now,” he growls, pinching my nipple. “So slippery and begging for it.”
“Then get on with it,” I whisper.
But he doesn’t. Not immediately. First, he takes a long moment to stare down at his hand as it travels my body. His expression is sharp with desire.
And it’s aimed at me.
He makes a happy noise and then leans down to take my mouth in another eager kiss. Then that naughty hand slides back down over all my slick skin until it lands between my legs. Thick fingers tease and circle. I want him so badly it aches.
“You make me crazy, Shipley.”
I can’t even respond because he’s finally—finally—filling me. It’s a lovely invasion, and my muscles clamp down around him, as if to prevent any retreat.
He lets out a happy groan and then pauses to kiss me some more. I will my body to relax, but his tongue in my mouth stokes the fire inside me. I can’t be patient. I grab both his biceps and arch my body toward his.
“Pushy girl,” he whispers, grabbing both my forearms. He pins them over my head, and then rolls his hips.
I am made of pleasure. Everything is pressure and slickness and joy. We bump and grind together until neither of us can last another moment. And then, very loudly, we get exactly the release we both crave.
Chapter Twelve
Alec
By the time May and I are done with each other, I’m exhausted in the best possible way. Three snaps in the shape of a good time.
My brain is melting.
After round one, I coax a blissed-out May into my walk-in shower to get all the lube off her. But as we wash each other with soap-slicked fingers, I can’t resist kissing her again.
We end up on the bed for a second round, this time with May on her knees, bracing herself against the headboard while I take her from behind. My hands cup her soft tits, and I come listening to her moan my name, staring down at the incredible artwork on her back.
Good lord, I’m spent. As we collapse onto my pillows after one a.m., I feel like someone who’s just learned a secret. That secret is May Shipley. She keeps surprising me. And I’m sure there’s even more to learn.
“I should go,” May says, and then she yawns.
“It’s snowing,” I point out. “It might not be safe to drive.”
“I have steel-studded tires,” she says. “But I’ll peek at your terrace and see how much is out there.”
May disappears for a moment, then returns, hugging herself against the cold. “It’s only an inch. No problem.”
I’m weirdly disappointed as she tugs her clothes off my chair and steps into her panties. Usually I’m keen to show a woman the door so she doesn’t get the wrong idea. But right now seems like too soon.
I reach out and grab May’s hand and tug her down on top of me again. “You sure it’s safe?”
“Are you sure you’re not sexist? Would you ask a man the same thing?”
I think that over. “Sure. If I was hooking up with a dude, I’d want him to get home safely so he could come over and do me again another time. ”
She laughs and then kisses me, and I wrap my arms around her mostly naked body. I’m warm and sleepy and if she stayed, I know I wouldn’t feel any anxiety about sharing my bed. For some reason I feel more like I’m in the presence of a friend than a hookup.
“We’re totally doing this again,” I point out. “You know it’s inevitable. Give me your phone.”
She grabs it off the nightstand but then hesitates. “I already have your number.”
I take it anyway. “I’m changing the setting so my texts don’t show up on the lock screen.”
“Why?”
“’Cause you don’t want my texts showing up on the lock screen.” I give her a dirty smile.
“Oh. Hmm,” she says, sitting up and reaching for her bra. “You know, sneaking over here was harder than I thought. My family would give me a hard time about this.”
I snort. “I’m sure they would. What did you tell them?” I ask this as my fingers walk across her smooth waist, exploring the roots of the apple tree. I can’t stop touching May.
“Tonight you’re Selena from the law school.”
“I’m…who?”
She turns around and lies down beside me again, wearing nothing but lingerie. “I told them I was hanging out with Selena from law school. She doesn’t exist. I haven’t lied so boldly since Tommy Sullivan brought me home an hour past my curfew in eleventh grade, and I said it was because he had a flat tire.”
Laughing, I lean over and kiss her neck. I can’t stop putting my mouth on her, either. “So Selena, huh? Am I a hot chick, at least? In this scenario are you and Selena dating?”
“
Maybe? I didn’t give them details. I guess I’d prefer for them to think that Selena and I were watching movies and braiding each other’s hair. Though with me, you never know. My family might assume we’re having kinky lesbian sex.”
“Rawwrr. Some of my favorite movies go like that.” Now I’m playing with May’s long hair. It’s so soft against my fingers. “Tell me about this Selena. Is she a hottie?”
May snorts. “Who’s fantasy is this, anyway? If it’s yours, I guess Selena has a sixteen inch waist and triple D cups.”
That makes me laugh, because all good jokes are based in the truth. “Fine. It’s not my fantasy, it’s yours. Who’s your Selena? Weave the tale.”
“Well…” May considers the question. “She’s a friend first. Wait—she’s my roommate. I seem to have a roommate kink.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely. It’s an intimacy thing. First we learn how to enjoy each other’s company. We’re each other’s port in the storm, you know? Our friendship is based on gossip and late-night snacking.”
“Snacking on…each other?”
May slaps my arm. “You said this was my fantasy. So be patient.”
“Fine.” I kiss her shoulder while I wait for the next bit.
May shivers. “That is distracting.”
“Keep talking. I want to hear how your Selena goes from roommate to hot lesbian lovin’.”
“Of course you do. Okay—we live in a small space, and nudity sometimes happens. I already realize that I’d like to climb in to bed with her. But she’s a straight girl and doesn’t get it, until she finds herself admiring me after a shower.”
“A shower you took together?” I tease, just to be a pain.
May just ignores me. “Her gaze lingers more and more often as time passes. And then one day we’re laughing about something and she kisses me.”
“Yessssss.” I whistle.
“And it’s my big chance, so I really go for it. I show her how good it feels to kiss another girl. There’s no beard burn, for one. She’s nervous but she likes it when I unbutton her shirt and play with her breasts.”
Annnnnd I’m hard again. “You’re killing me right now.”