by Jen Talty
No one had ever trained him on how to deal with an ex-girlfriend who fulfilled a promise long after the relationship ended, never telling him about it either.
She turned, raising her hair up, exposing the back of her neck and a matching tattoo.
“Why? Why did you do that?” He reached out with a shaky hand, his index finger hovering over the letters. He recoiled when she let her hair fall. The wavy locks bounced over her shoulders.
“I don’t know. Maybe in a weird way, I thought I owed it to you. Or maybe it was closure.”
He pushed her hair to the side, unmasking the symbol that once represented their undying love. He inched closer, studying the design. “This is a little different than mine.”
“No, it’s not.” She tried to turn, but he grabbed her arms, holding her steady.
“What’s this?” He followed the lines—there were letters etched in the lining of one of the hearts—H K J. “My initials?” His throat dropped to his stomach. A woman didn’t permanently scar her skin with a man’s name when she was looking for closure.
She cleared her throat, smoothing down her hair as she scooted to the edge of the bed. “I was feeling sentimental.”
“Seriously? You tattooed my initials into your neck over an emotional moment?”
She sprung from the bed, her head hitting the low ceiling.
“Shit,” she whispered, sitting back down.
“Are you okay?” He palmed her shoulder, his fingers tangling in her soft hair.
She shrugged his arm off. “It wasn’t an emotional moment, as you called it. You’re a huge part of my past and I wanted something from that time. My dad and your mom had just gotten married and—”
“And their union made you want to engrave me on your neck?”
“I’m sorry this is freaking you out. I never had any intention of telling you.” She pulled her hair to the side, twirling it in her hands as she leaned back against the headboard. “I thought if I got the tattoo I would be able to prove to myself that I was finally over you leaving me. The initials I had done a year later when I got the butterflies.”
“So, I was an afterthought,” he mumbled, unsure of the sensations swirling in his gut. Part of him was flattered, but he couldn’t wrap his brain around why she’d do it. He positioned himself next to her, their arms touching ever-so-slightly, but enough that it generated the kind of raw heat that reminded him she was every bit a woman.
“I wouldn’t say that. I really don’t know how to explain it all without sounding like a crazy, psycho ex-girlfriend.”
“Yeah, it’s a little nuts.”
“Trust me, I know. But getting over you dumping me was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“Harder than living in a third world country?”
“At least you can admit you’re the one who broke up with me.”
“We both called it quits.” Everything that she’d ever meant to him came crashing down on his heart, squeezing the life out of him. He’d been telling himself for years that he didn’t need her or even want her. But the ugly truth was he’d never gotten over the fact that she’d never chased after him. Never called him or looked for him. A childish thing to hold on to, but it still hurt as much as how his mother scolded him for telling his father what he’d seen before she got a chance to do it herself. His mother made it clear it was her life, and he had no right butting in.
Only it affected everything he’d done from that day forward.
Now, to find out, Claire had done the one thing she couldn’t do when they were together, years after they broke up, he didn’t know what to think about his inability to call her over the years. Not once did he ever think that she, or his mother for that matter, were hurting like he had been.
“We didn’t fight for each other,” she said. Her dark blue eyes captured his gaze, holding him hostage.
“You told me if I left, we were done.”
“Only after you said if I loved you I’d drop out of college and run off with you, turning my back on my family.”
He laid down, resting his head on her thighs, looking up at her. “You were always a stubborn mule.”
“I still am,” she said smiling, running her fingers through his hair. “But so were you.”
“Tell me something. Did you wear those heels and dress to get me all hot and bothered so you could get me to do what you wanted?”
“What do you think?”
“You could make a pair of sneakers look sexy.” He reached up, cupping the back of her neck, rolling his thumb in a tiny circle just behind her earlobe, drawing her plump, luscious lips closer to his.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m getting ready to kiss you.”
“You promised you’d keep your hands to yourself.” Her pink tongue darted out, rolling across her mouth in an exotic ritual.
He lifted his head, getting lost in her sea-blue eyes. “I can roll over right now and go to sleep or I can do something as crazy as tattooing your initials on my arm.”
Her hot breath covered his face in a warm blanket. “Us being together isn’t a good idea.”
“I know. But it seems like we both need something so we can move forward.”
She arched a brow. “Are you suggesting we have one last romp in the sack as a way to get some sort of resolution to the way we ended things ten years ago?”
“Either that, or I could go get C A T tattooed in my hearts.”
“You know how I feel about my initials. My parents didn’t think that one through.”
“But I love pussy…cats,” he said, enjoying how easily they fell into their old banter, like the ten years was more like ten days.
“Not a good line to get me in bed.”
“We’re already there, so how about we stop talking.” He took her mouth in a tender, deep, passionate kiss, probing every succulent crevice.
Her hands glided across his chest as she sprawled out next to him. Their lovemaking had always been filled with a combination of delicate compassion and a raw craving that left them breathless. Not a single woman since had satisfied his appetite the way she had. Sure, he’d had some great sex with some really hot women, but they didn’t make his blood turn to lava.
His hands roamed her body, feeling every soft curve. All he wanted was to feel her warm skin against his. Lifting her shirt up, he ducked his head into the crevice of her neck, kissing and nibbling on her earlobe. He palmed her breast, catching her soft moans in his mouth. His body told him to devour every inch of her.
His brain whispered to stop.
His heart begged him to stand up and go sleep on the extremely uncomfortable sofa.
He jerked his head back, staring down at her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked with a smoky voice that rolled across his ears like a soft whisper.
“Nothing.” He cupped her chin with his thumb and forefinger, ignoring his heart. She couldn’t hurt him anymore. They weren’t destined to be together and after this trip home to give closure to his mother, Claire would walk out of his life again.
No. He’d walk out of hers.
Slipping his hand into her cotton panties, he cupped her smooth, bare sex, circling his fingers over her hard nub.
She arched her back, raising her breasts to his mouth. Her hips rolled slowly against his palm. He remembered every inch of her body and knew exactly what it craved. He teased her, nibbling on her nipples, slowly sliding his finger in and out of her. She tried to get him to increase the speed and pressure, but he kept his strokes deliberate and soft.
In one swift motion, he yanked her underwear to her ankles, tossing them across the room. He stared at her shaven womanhood that glistened with desire. Cupping both her breasts, he bent over, first breathing on her before licking gently.
She clutched his head, pushing him against her.
“Please, don’t torture me. I can’t take it.”
“But it’s half the fun.” He pulled back just enough to continue brushing h
is lips and tongue gently across her soft sex. She smelled like bottled sunshine and tasted like a warm day on the beach with a tinge of salt in the air.
Her fingers dug into his scalp as she arched her back, raising her hips higher.
He pinched and twisted her nipples, enjoying her deep throaty groans.
“Jesus, would you just do it,” she said in a pant.
He smiled against her, clamping his mouth over her, sucking on her hard nub until she dug her ankles into his back. Her body jerking and thrashing about the bed, legs squeezing his head and her creamy climax spilled out, coating his mouth and fingers, igniting a deep burn across his skin.
He had to have her. Right now. He couldn’t wait.
He kissed the inside of her thigh, making his way down her long silky legs. Standing, he removed his shorts and found a condom. He held the foil wrapper up to his mouth, preparing to tear it with his teeth.
She’d propped up on her elbows, knees bent, staring at him with a mischievous smile.
“Seriously? You still have to do that?”
She cocked her head. “Don’t all women?”
He wished. “Not like you.”
“Well, sex shouldn’t happen without it.”
He tossed the condom on the bed. “Do with me what you want. I’m not going to complain.”
“Never complain, only beg me to stop.”
“Yeah, in about three seconds, unless you want this to end with oral.”
“That would be a travesty.”
He sucked in a breath, gritting his teeth as she took him in her soft hands, gliding them up and down. Her tongue swirling over the top, taking just the tip into her mouth.
He hissed as she squeezed his shaft, cupping him, easing him into her mouth with her hot lips. He used to tease her about her insatiable appetite for giving blowjobs. The first one she’d ever given, he swore she had to be lying that she’d never done it before. The way she admired him as she toyed with him, bringing him the kind of pleasure that made a man weak at his knees.
He let out a long guttural groan, clenching his fists, doing his best not to grab her head and slam deep inside her mouth. Though, he knew from past experience, she wouldn’t be opposed, but that is not how he wanted this to end.
“You’ve got to stop,” he ground out, swelling inside her, on the verge of losing all control.
She reached for the condom, tearing it open with her teeth.
“Christ, that is so hot.”
She smiled, rolling the barrier over the length of him. “So, your favorite, or mine.”
“Yours.” He might last a little longer that way, saving himself some embarrassment of acting like a teenager who climaxed the second he was touched.
She raised up on her knees, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, pressing her lips against his. “Get on your back, Hunter,” she whispered. She’d never been afraid to express herself or ask for what she wanted, needed.
Who was he to deny her?
She straddled him, resting her sex against his. She rubbed her clit gently over his while she plucked at her nipples, biting her lower lip. Gliding one hand down her stomach, she flicked her fingers across herself, scrapping her nails against his sensitive skin.
He grabbed her hips, moving them back and forth slightly, creating more friction where she needed it most. Biting down on the inside of his mouth, he held onto her so tight he worried he bruised her delicate skin. Her moans grew louder and her movements harder and faster until she raised up slightly, taking him inside her.
He thrust his hips up, holding her over him for a long moment, before repeating the motion. She tightened around him. “Yes,” she said in a long moan, drenching him with her hot climax. She dropped her hands to his chest, her hair spilling over his face and body. “Hunter,” she whispered, grinding as he thrust inside her. He grunted as he flipped her on her back, ramming himself deep inside, burying his face in her neck as his body rippled with the kind of pleasure only she could give him.
He jerked and his stomach twitched as he collapsed on top of her. Their chests heaving up and down, breathless. He kissed her neck and earlobe.
Making love to her again didn’t bring him closure. It only reminded him of all the reasons why he loved her in the first place. It rattled his mind and opened the burning hole in his heart.
Chapter 4
Never, in the entire time Claire had dated Hunter had there ever been any awkwardness between them. Not even when most couples would have been self-conscious. There had always been an ease about their friendship, and the subsequent relationship.
But when she’d woken up in his bed, alone, self-doubt crept into her mind, tickling across her skin.
“Are you ready?” he called from the deck, his suitcase in hand. “The traffic on ninety-five is going to be a bitch.”
She took the hand he offered, climbing the steps in the same dress she’d shown up in. All she could hope for was that none of his friends would bear witness to her walk of shame. She chomped down on her lower lip. Since when did she care what anyone but her family thought?
Since she’d walked into the galley and Hunter could barely look her in the eye.
“Mind if I drive your rental?”
“That depends.” She slipped her feet into her pumps and followed him down the dock. The night sky slowly being replaced with the glow of the sun as a few pelicans made their perch for the day on the tall dock posts. “Do you still drive like an old lady?” she asked trying to ease the tension.
“I never drove slow, but you had a tendency to drive like you were a racecar driver. Not to mention, you were the queen of tailgating.”
She snagged the keys to the mid-sized sedan from her purse, tossing them to him. “I hate Florida drivers, so you can drive.”
Slipping in the backseat she zipped open her overnight bag.
“What are you doing?”
“Changing my clothes,” she said, pulling out her jeans and designer blouse, along with her fancy sneakers. “Keep your eyes up front.”
He laughed, glancing in the rearview mirror as he pushed the shifter into reverse.
“I’m serious.” She reached around her back, pulling down her zipper. Holding up her shirt, she slipped her arms out of her dress. As soon as he focused on the road in front of them, she shimmied out of her dress, pulling her top over her head, and hiking up her jeans. She found her make-up case and climbed over the seat just as he pulled out onto the highway. “Did I tell you we’ve got your father’s jet?”
“You neglected to tell me that little piece of information.” He handed her his phone. “Mind canceling my flight?”
“Why bother? You’re going to lose your money anyway.”
“Not on Southwest.”
She snapped her head in his direction. “Since when do you fly a discounted airline?”
“Since I don’t live off my father’s money.”
She laughed. “Because you can afford an Absolute luxury yacht on your salary. Not to mention I saw a Harley Davidson Ultra Limited in the parking lot and a Roadster, which were both your dream vehicles.”
He shook his head. “All right. I’ve used some of my trust, but I don’t live off it. I pay my own bills.”
“I’m just teasing you. I might have roughed it for a few years, but that didn’t stop Mommy and Daddy from sending me care packages with all sorts of goodies, including a fancy coffee machine that I couldn’t use and donated to the local hospital.”
“You’ve always been a bit of a do-gooder.”
“I still am, but I will admit to being spoiled and I do enjoy flying first class.”
“When you’re used to being transported in the cargo hold of a C-130, a no frills airline is first class.”
“I wasn’t surprised at all when I heard you’d become a fireman. You always said you wanted to become an arson investigator.”
“I also said I wanted to join the military after I got my degree.”
“But you dropped out
of school.” She flipped down the visor, exposing a small mirror so she could put on a little makeup.
“I got my degree. Six years ago, but I finished it.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Puckering her lips, she applied the lip gloss, trying to ignore the pull he had over her mind and other parts.
“I’ve been meaning to ask. Why the Peace Corps? You never talked about that in college?”
She leaned back in her seat. She could be honest or she could lie. Her mother would tell her to fudge a little, especially if she cared about the man and wanted him in her life. Her father would tell her to be brutally honest, and if he couldn’t take it, then he wasn’t the man for her. What was odd, however, was that it had been her father who had an affair for years, so his advice didn’t float.
Well, it did, just not coming from him.
“I’d planned on going back in high school, but then you and I happened and I figured you’d be joining the Air Force after college and having both of us living in faraway places wouldn’t make for a solid foundation for a life together.”
“What?” He snapped his head in her direction as he exited the highway, toward the airport. “You would have given that up just because of my plans?”
“Not your plans. Our plans.”
“But you never told me about this dream.”
“I wanted you more than I wanted the Peace Corps,” she admitted.
“But not enough to come after me when I left.”
Talk about brutal, though it wasn’t the honest truth. “We could go back and forth all day on who didn’t chase after whom, but I thought you’d come back to school and when I walked into the apartment we rented for our senior year, that you’d be there. But you never showed up and that said a lot.”
“I suppose it does, but maybe my leaving just opened the door for you to go back to what you really wanted.”
“Are you trying to pick a fight with me?” All morning he’d waffled between being nice, but standoffish, or acting like he’d been annoyed by everything about her being on his boat.
The car rolled to a stop at the rental return.
“No. I’m just trying to understand because so many of your actions contradict each other.” He stepped from the vehicle, giving the attendant the keys before grabbing his suitcase from the backseat.