Fated to be Mine

by Larson, Jodie

  “I could listen to you laugh all day. It’s my most favorite sound in the world. And the way your face lights up is nothing short of spectacular.”

  He leans in close, pressing our lips together to savor and taste each other. I still can’t believe that I wasted so much time running from him, running from my feelings. Love is about trust and I know this man will do anything for me. He’s told me a thousand times before but now I will actually start to listen.

  Andrew’s lips begin to drift from mine, creating a burning trail down my chin and over the column of my throat before settling at the hollow dip above my collarbone. My fingers run through his sex-mussed hair, gently pulling at the silky strands. His hand moves over my breast, plumping and caressing it, making the nipple pucker into a tight little bud.

  “I have half a mind to keep you captive in this room for all eternity so I can ravage you day and night.” His mouth covers my aching nipple, lightly sucking and licking it.

  “I like the sound of that,” I say, letting my hands drift across his shoulders and follow the lines I find in my exploration.

  I can feel a smile against my skin as his lips travel lower across my body. Desire heats my blood again, making me squirm for an entirely different reason now. But as his lips dip into my belly button, my stomach announces its displeasure, growling loudly once again in his presence. I groan and cover my face with my hands, rolling over to the side in an attempt to hide.

  “The thought is very tempting however I do believe I need to feed you.” He gets up and stretches his arms above his head as I peek through my fingers, getting a glimpse of the naked Adonis I’m sharing a bed with. “And you’re staying here tonight. I won’t sleep another night without you next to me.”

  I move to prop myself against the pillows to sit up against the headboard, bringing the sheet with me to cover my exposed chest. “That was my plan anyway. I’m not sure I could be at home by myself when I could be lying next to you instead.” I lick my lips quickly before looking back up at him, my voice soft and fragile. “You keep me safe at night, warding off all my nightmares and protect me from myself or whatever it is that’s trying to tell me something through my dreams. It’s something I’ve never actually felt before in my life and I’m going to hold on to it with everything I have.”

  Andrew sits next to me, running his hand across my cheek before cupping it behind my neck. “Felt what?”

  “Safe.”

  He leans over, brushing his lips against my own. “I will always keep you safe Tessa. You don’t have to be afraid of anything ever again. I’ll do everything within my power to guard you at all times.”

  A tear slips down my cheek and I kiss him with unrushed passion, a sweet and lazy movement while trying to convey all my feelings into this one simple act. He pulls away, kissing the tip of my nose and smiles.

  “As much as I would love to stay here all night to make up for lost time and forget everything else, we do need to eat.” He leans closer to me, pressing our foreheads together. “We need to keep up our strength.” With a wink, he stands and leaves me feeling like a puddle of mush on the bed. I watch him walk over to the dresser and pull out a pair of sweatpants which hang low on his gloriously naked body. That impeccable V peeks out over the top, drawing my eyes to it and I can’t help but stare unabashedly at him. His body is perfect in my opinion. Tall, lean, not overly defined but still so strong.

  He catches my stare and smirks, giving me that sexy grin of his. But the smile quickly falls off his face as I stretch my arms above my head, letting the sheet fall from my body to expose my naked breasts. He runs a hand over his face and adjusts his pants when I attempt to roll off the bed. His reaction makes me smile.

  “Do you want to go out and eat?”

  “Actually, can we order in? I’d really just like to stay here wrapped in your arms,” I say, picking up his discarded white shirt and slipping it over my head.

  I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his middle, clinging to him tightly. Andrew holds me to him, rubbing his hands up and down my back, soothing me while quieting any and all worries inside my head. “If that’s what you want then that’s what we’ll do. Besides, I like the idea of just the two of us staying in. We can feed each other naked,” he teases, wiggling his eyebrows. I laugh and sit back on the bed, curling my legs underneath me.

  Andrew grabs a menu from the restaurant downstairs and sits next to me as we go through it. My head falls against his shoulder as he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. This is what I’ve missed the most, the closeness between the two of us, him knowing my needs before I do.

  After calling to place an order for a selection of appetizers, Andrew stalks over to where I’m still seated on the bed. His eyes look feral, hungry with need and desire as he takes in my current state of undress.

  “You look so sexy sitting there in just my shirt. It’s driving me crazy to know you’re not wearing anything underneath it.” The bed dips when his knee presses down on it, making me crawl backward on the bed as he climbs above me.

  “I love wearing things that smell like you. If I could wear this all day long, I would.”

  Andrew runs his nose along mine, sending a shiver down my spine. “If people saw you like this I may not be held responsible for my actions. You’re mine, love. No one gets to see you this way but me.” He grabs the hem of the shirt, slowly dragging it over my body before tossing it back to the floor. “Perfect.”

  Instinctively my arms move to cover my now bared breasts but he shakes his head, pulling my arms away and holding them down. “No hiding from me, ever. I want to see every inch of your beautiful body.”

  A blush creeps across my skin, heating it even more than what Andrew is doing simply with his words. His finger trails over my cheek before tucking my hair behind my ear.

  “Okay, no more hiding. But if I get cold you’re going to have to warm me up,” I exclaim.

  Andrew moves over me, settling between my thighs as he presses his forehead to mine. Fingers trail across my ribs, making me sigh.

  “I have many ways to warm you up. Do you happen to know the best way to do that?” I shake my head and he smiles. “By getting completely naked.” He rolls his hips into me. “Skin to skin contact.” Another roll. “With lots of friction.” I gasp loudly as his growing erection hits me in just the right spot.

  My eyes lock with his and I trail a finger across his sensual lips. “Then I guess we’ll have to put that hypothesis to test.” His bare chest is pressed against mine and I can feel his warmth permeating my skin.

  “I would love to.” He dips low, capturing my lips in his. A knock sounds at the door and he smiles against my lips. “But first we need to eat.”

  He jumps off the bed and walks to the door, still naked from the waist up. I really hope it’s a male delivering the food and not a female. I sit up and prop myself against the pillows again, contemplating on getting his shirt once more. But Andrew comes over with a tray of goodies and sits next to me.

  The air quickly fills with delicious smelling food, making my stomach rumble once more. Popping a piece of strawberry into my mouth, I narrow my eyes at him as they travel up and down his body.

  “What?” he asks while taking a bite of food.

  “How come I have to be naked and you get to have clothes on?” I pout.

  A spark appears in his eye as he stands from the bed and slowly drags the pants down his hips, over his thighs, then letting them drop completely to the floor. My brain misfires as I gawk and stare at him, still unable to believe that this gorgeous, perfect man is mine.

  “Better?” he asks, pulling me into his side as he reclaims his spot.

  “Much. Thank you.”

  He smirks and grabs a berry, tracing it around my lips. “If you want me to take my clothes off, all you have to do is ask.”

  He pushes the sweet fruit between my lips. The juice runs out of the corner of my mouth, but Andrew quickly licks it away. Holy hell, I thin
k to myself as my nipples tighten. It feels as if all of the air has been sucked out of the room, replaced by the feelings of desire and passion. I want to say forget the food and let me feast on his body, but I remind myself that we have all night together. He’s not going anywhere and neither am I.

  We continue to eat, feeding each other pieces here and there while talking about everything except the last few weeks. Andrew tells me more about his family, asking me if I want to go visit them this summer. The thought of meeting his family is enough to give me hives but at the same time it delights me beyond belief because he’s making plans for us in the future.

  Once the food is gone, we turn on the TV, flipping through the channels before stopping on my favorite Thursday night program.

  “I can’t believe I forgot it was Scandal night,” I say, snuggling in close to his side.

  He chuckles and kisses the top of my head. “Well then let’s watch your program.”

  As we watch the show, he asks me a few questions since he’s never seen it and I happily catch him up during the commercial breaks. When the show is over we channel surf some more before just letting it fall onto whatever program we find. Not that we are watching the TV anymore. Andrew turns and pounces like a ferocious predator, sending everything flying off the bed as we roll around and lose ourselves in each other. Our lovemaking is heated and incendiary but filled with so much passion that I could feel it right down to my bones. After several hours we fall asleep, tangled together in each other’s arms, right where we’re supposed to be.

  The morning sun pierces the darkness of the room, begrudgingly waking me up. Andrew’s arms are still tightly wrapped around me as I cling to his chest. With my head tucked safely under his chin, I bring my lips to the hollow dip at the base of his throat. A groan sounds from the back of his throat and I smile against his skin.

  “Good morning, my love,” I whisper. Strong arms flex around me before soft lips meet my forehead.

  “Mmm, I’m pretty sure that’s my line.”

  “I know it’s your pet name for me, but I thought I’d try it out on you.”

  Andrew stares at me, gazing deep into my eyes. Something passes over them but then is quickly gone. I furrow my brow.

  “What is it?”

  He shakes his head and sighs. “It’s nothing.”

  Rolling over, we look at the time flashing on the digital clock and groan.

  “It’s already seven o’clock. We better get up and get moving for work. I’m going to be late as it is and I didn’t bring any extra clothes with me.”

  I start to move away from Andrew, but he holds on tightly, not letting me move an inch. “Stay home with me today. I don’t want to share you with the world just yet.”

  “Why does that sound way too tempting? Don’t you have meetings with Kara and Chris today?”

  A slow smile lights up his face as he shakes his head. “Not today. There isn’t another meeting scheduled until Monday so I have given myself a three-day weekend.”

  Three days solely dedicated to Andrew? Could I handle that? I’ve never skipped a day of work in my life, but this beautiful man has me wishing we were on a deserted island with no responsibilities ever again.

  I press my lips together and dart off the bed, walking to where my purse had been placed on the dresser after being hastily discarded the night before. Pulling out my phone, I type a quick text to Kara.

  Hey, not going to make it to work today. I’m going to entertain the COO of the big account we have to make sure that he’s completely satisfied.

  I hit send and bite my lip as I look over at Andrew, who is now sitting up against the headboard with the sheet just covering all the necessary parts of his body. Wearing a smug smile, like a cat that ate the canary, he motions me toward him with his finger. Lascivious thoughts begin running through my mind as my eyes run up and down his body.

  The phone beeps in my hand and I glance down at Kara’s response.

  LOL! I bet you are! Make sure he’s completely satisfied and you better not come back to work until he is!

  My face turns bright red as I laugh at my audacious best friend. Andrew quirks an eyebrow to me and I walk over to show him the message.

  “So I believe I have permission to stay home today.”

  He laughs and grabs my waist, making me squeal as he plants me on his lap, my legs on either side of his thighs. Taking the phone from my hand, he places it on the nightstand and turns back to me, running his fingers through my tangled hair.

  “And what is home?” he inquires.

  I lean down, pressing my chest to his and kiss him with every feeling that’s pent up inside of me, aching to be released.

  “Home is where you are.”

  Andrew’s hands run up and down my naked back, tracing small circles as they make their way into my hair. Our foreheads touch and I close my eyes as his warm breath whispers across my lips.

  “Yes, it is. You are my home, Tessa. You are everything that I never thought I would have.”

  “I love you,” I say as I pull back the sheet and slowly sink onto him.

  “I love you, too,” he replies, grabbing my hips to guide me until he’s fully sheathed inside.

  My heart melts as our bodies mold into each other, slowly combining into one again and again all morning long.

  SUNDAY AFTERNOON WE FINALLY PULL ourselves out of Andrew’s hotel room, mainly because we haven’t seen the outside world since Thursday, and I didn’t have any clean clothes. Don’t get me wrong, being naked was fun and highly pleasurable but it was time to return to reality and the outside world.

  We decide to work on my Sunday chores together, which means it’s laundry day, my most hated chore of all. Andrew brings his bag of dirty laundry, saying that he wants to help me around the house today. He’s too good to be true because I don’t know many men who actively want to do chores and mundane everyday tasks.

  We walk hand in hand down the street to the laundromat, stopping every once in a while to kiss against a random building or tree we pass. When we arrive at the laundromat, there are a few people also standing around, waiting for their clothes to get clean. That doesn’t stop Andrew from finding a chair for us, pulling me into his lap while he reads to me from my Kindle. Several strange glances come our way, but we ignore them as I curl into his lap and listen to the sound of his voice. I link my arms around his neck while pressing my lips to his lifeline, which is steadily beating just beneath the surface of his skin. It's a simple gesture, but to the both of us it's the most precious moment ever. Every moment together means more than the last, even if we're not doing anything special.

  After several hours, we’re back in my apartment with clean clothes in hand. Andrew is in the kitchen making us lunch while I straighten up the living room, getting it ready for our afternoon of lounging around. We play cards and eat our food while sitting on the couch, pausing briefly to get things to drink or make out like a couple of teenagers whose hormones have gone wild.

  “So what are your plans for tomorrow?” I ask, sitting down on his lap after bringing our empty dinner plates to the kitchen.

  He holds me tight against his chest and nuzzles his nose into my hair. “Well, I have meetings scheduled with Kara and Christopher for most of the morning. I figure we can leave here together since we’re both going to the same place. Seems logical, don’t you think?”

  “I agree, as long as you don’t mind having coffee in the morning with Michael. We always meet before work. Are you okay with that?”

  He smiles and tucks some hair behind my ear. “Of course. He did invite me after all.”

  “Good. I’d love it if you two became friends. He’s really sweet and funny with a personality to match my own.” I pause and think about that statement. “Okay, maybe a personality that compliments my own. He’s more of the outgoing type where I’m the wallflower.”

  Andrew laughs. “So you’re saying you’re attracted to people who are opposite of you?”

  �
��Isn’t that obvious? Look at who all is in my life. You, Kara, Chris, Michael, my dad. All of you are the polar opposite of me. All of you are strong and confident, which in turn makes me want to be the same. And I think it’s finally starting to work.”

  He nods and kisses my forehead. “Yes, I do believe it is.”

  Andrew stands and wraps my legs around his waist. “Let’s go to bed. Then in the morning we’ll meet up with your friend and we can start transferring my things over here.”

  I raise an eyebrow to him as he carries me down the hall. “You sound like you’re moving in with me.”

  He chuckles and kicks the bedroom door shut behind us. My feet hit the floor next to the bed and he gives me a heated look as I stare up at him.

  “I am. I told you that I’m not spending another night apart from you.” He grabs the hem of my shirt and starts to pull it upward. “And that’s final.”

  My shirt falls from my shoulders and he guides me to lie on the bed. I lean up on my elbows to watch him remove my flannel pants. He teases me by trailing his lips across each inch of skin that becomes available. Then he removes his clothes piece by piece before pulling my body to the edge of the bed and kneeling between my legs.

  “I’m so glad you’re here.” I trail my fingers along his jaw and he twists his head to kiss my palm.

  “I’m not going anywhere. You will be the first thing I see in the mornings and the last thing I see before we sleep. I will hold you in my arms to protect you and keep you safe. Then I will worship every inch of your body to show you how much you mean to me.”

  The world falls away as his lips trail up my inner thighs and then slowly cover the sensitive flesh between my legs. If this is what it’s going to be like all the time when he lives here, then I can’t wait.

  We walk into the Caribou Coffee shop and I immediately see Michael sitting at our usual table. He smiles brightly and waves us over. Andrew follows behind me and shakes Michael’s hand as we join him at the table.

  “Good morning,” Michael says, sliding my coffee over to me. He then faces Andrew and shrugs apologetically. “Sorry, I would have gotten one for you as well, but I didn’t know you were coming.”