by Taryn Quinn
For a second, her eyes were too bright. Then she arched up on her tiptoes to capture my lower lip between her teeth. “You don’t want me unshielded until I eat, PMS. Trust me on that.”
“Okay. How much longer?”
“Not much.”
“So, we’ll dance.”
I told Alexa to play more Elvis, and we danced next to the oven in my kitchen. The memories of her easy laughter as I whirled her around and around would probably fuel me for a lifetime.
Or so I told myself when that longing feeling swept over me again while we were eating by lantern light outside in the dark. The breeze kicked up, slightly lessening the oppressive humidity, and she told me about her mom while she fed me gooey bits of egg and cheese and ham with her fingers. I only nibbled her fingertips every other time or so.
“She always shows up in the summer. Usually, without warning. Blows in like a summer storm to tell me all about her fabulous new adventures. Her van is an Airstream now.” She shook her head and nibbled on a crust. “She always asks why I stay by myself when the world is full of so many hot, wealthy men.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, especially when she looked down at her plate as if it was a crystal ball. What she was seeing there I was almost afraid to ask.
“Will you tell her about me?”
Twenty-One
Her depthless eyes flashed up to mine, somehow gleaming blue even in the low light. Or maybe that was my newly found fanciful side talking.
“Tell her what, PMS?”
I jerked a shoulder, feeling like a class-A jerk.
“You want me to tell my mom I’m fucking an esquire?”
“You just can’t quit that, can you?” I scooped up ketchup-laden hash browns—and man, did she have a way with the broiler—and shoved the fork between her lips. “Here. Keep your mouth busy.”
She laughed and chewed, swallowing it down with a mouthful of iced tea. I’d bought her a jug of the stuff, intending to keep some in my fridge for her.
Not that I hoped she’d keep coming over. That would be foolish.
Tomorrow was her last day of work.
Tomorrow already.
“She won’t get it.” She set down her glass. “How it is with us.”
My heart started beating way too fast. I wanted her to say more, but this was Ryan. I should be grateful she’d even said that much. And with a mother like the one she was describing, how could I blame her? It wasn’t as if she’d had a good example of healthy relationships.
Nor had I, but I hadn’t known that fact until this week. Until a week ago, I’d believed for over thirty years that my parents were happy and in love and faithful. They’d never argued, not even over petty stuff like who was going to drive that day. Everything between them was seamless—and loveless, apparently.
Whereas Ryan and I fought over even the smallest things. I had no doubt that would continue to be true.
“What direction is your toilet paper?”
She tilted her head as if I was an unknown life form. “Did I run out at home? I didn’t have to go before we left.”
“No. I mean, the direction. Do you tear off from the top or bottom?”
“I don’t look, dude. I just use it how it hangs.” She didn’t add weirdo, but she might as well have.
I leaned across the table to cup her cheeks. “Thank God for you.”
“Goddess,” she corrected, turning her head to nip my fingers.
We finished the rest of the food, and Ryan went in to the bathroom while I checked on the cat. He was sleeping on the pillows in the guest room bedroom, stretched out like a king. I didn’t have the heart to move him.
Any future guests would just have to deal with cat hair on the sheets.
I found Ryan walking barefoot over the dim paw lights outside, stepping over them as if she was playing hopscotch.
“They don’t work properly yet.”
“No kidding, Obvious One. The sun tomorrow will charge them. But they’re so cute, right?”
I grunted noncommittally.
“They go with the solar lights over there.” She gestured to the neatly manicured bushes and ornamental trees. “Your yard is so pretty.”
“Thanks. True Green Home appreciates your praise. They’re the ones who did all that stuff.”
“Oh. I should’ve known Mister Grumpy Pants wouldn’t have time to dig in the dirt.”
“I wouldn’t know what to do.”
“You can learn.”
“Or you could come over and commune with the dirt whatever you want.” I came up behind her and gathered her long, loose waves in my hands. “I love when you take your hair down. I’m going to hide all your rubber bands.”
“You are such a male, PMS. I don’t use rubber bands.”
I took her hand. “I want to show you something.”
“I’ve already seen it. Very nice.”
I squeezed her fingers, leading her into the deepest part of the yard. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a smart ass?”
“Me? No way. Where are we—oh.” She picked up the pace to reach the hidden gate in the back that led to the secondary yard behind the garage. “I didn’t even see this here. You have so much space.”
“For the baseball team,” I reminded her, opening the gate and nudging her ahead of me.
We walked behind the garage and emerged on the other side where a small fountain bubbled merrily. Beside it was a pair of cushioned wicker chairs.
“This is such a beautiful spot. Secluded. Probably gets a lot of sun?” She looked up at the break in the canopy of trees overhead. The moon shined down like a spotlight. “Wow.” Her voice was reverent.
I came up behind her and nudged her dress off her shoulder to kiss her fragrant skin. “You’re not going to comment on the fountain?”
“I figure it’s kind of a theme with you.”
“I like the sound of water. I don’t get out here nearly enough, but when I do, it relaxes me. Someday I’ll put in a pond maybe.”
“With koi fish?”
I wasn’t exactly sure what those were, but if she liked them, I was onboard. “Sure. Why not?”
“You’re so easy.” She shot me a heavy-lidded look over her shoulder. “At least outside of work.”
“Mmm. How do you feel about being naked outdoors?” I was already undoing the rest of the buttons on her dress.
“I’m okay with it. I’ve done a couple rituals skyclad on Beltane and Litha and Lammas.”
“Skyclad?”
“Nude.”
“With other people?”
“I’m more a solitary witch.”
I kept undoing her buttons from behind, moving into a crouch as I reached the bottom. “What kind of rituals?”
“Spellwork and candle magic for the most part. Releasing intentions into the universe. Utilizing smoke and fire to—” She let out a low laugh. “Are you going to get me entirely naked while you stay dressed? That seems to be a habit with you.”
I rose to pull the dress off her shoulders and searched for my voice as the moonlight cast her curves in pure white light. “You are magnificent.”
“You’re good for my ego.” She hooked her hand around my neck as I cupped her breasts from behind. Her nipples pebbled in the breeze as I sucked on the soft skin next to her ear. “You’re going to be naked too this time.”
I released one breast to slide my hand down her belly to the small smattering of hair on her mound. She drew in a quick breath at the brush of my fingertips over her clit. Slow glides meant to tease at first, then I slipped a finger into her and her head dropped back against my shoulder. I could just hear her low moan over the burbling water while I played with her, using her body for my enjoyment as much as hers. Feeling the trust that she was giving me without question like a steady hum between us.
Her breathing sped up as one finger became two. My thumb flicked over her swollen clit while I rolled her nipple between my fingers and kissed the side of her neck.
; She was so responsive, and she seemed even more so out here. Her honeyed scent mixed with the hint of flowers and fresh earth drifting on the warm breeze made me almost lightheaded. I needed more of her.
I pulled my hand up and slid it up between her breasts so I could taste my fingers before I offered them to her. She didn’t hesitate, gripping my hand and shifting her head to meet my eyes in the darkness.
Her pupils were so deep and dark as she erotically licked my skin. Almost as if she was holding me with her gaze, she turned toward me and ran her hands down my chest to the belt of my shorts. Slowly, she pulled it open and drew the leather through the loops as she knelt before me, her hair tumbling over her back.
She never fumbled, reaching her hand inside my shorts and boxers to scoop me out where I was like stone against my stomach. Her tongue darted over the swollen head of me, and I grasped handfuls of her hair, the silken darkness flowing over my skin like water.
Like ink, branding me every bit as much as the tattoo I’d gotten for her. For me too, as a reminder to never forget the world beyond work. To always keep my eyes on the sky.
But most of all, the moon and sun was the dichotomy of Ryan. That touch of wickedness inexorably enmeshed with sunshine.
She took me into her mouth, slicking her warm lips and tongue over my flesh in a deep, easy pass. Her gaze remained riveted on mine in an unbreakable connection as I started to breathe faster. I wasn’t aware of her nudging me toward the chair but then she was pushing me down, rising up against my legs to suck on me so deeply that my hands turned into fists in her hair. Cool fingertips stroked my sac while she led me to my destruction, and she dragged the taut tips of her breasts over my lap with every pull.
One more torment in a night of them.
I wanted to haul her back. Every time I tried, she withstood my efforts. I was panting now, half bent over her, but she wouldn’t stop, hollowing her cheeks with every suck. Her eyes glittered in the shadows, and her nails nicked my skin with an arousing warning.
“Do I need to tie you up?” She cocked a brow, inching back just enough to catch her breath. Her mouth was puffy from her ministrations, and her hair was wild from my hands.
I was so near to detonating that I couldn’t answer. She took my silence as a yes, yanking my belt free and shoving my shorts and boxers off faster than I could process. Fluidly, she wrapped the belt not around my wrists but around the base of my cock, constricting it until the intensity was just this side of pain.
I’d never been harder in my life. Even the air against my dick made my balls throb.
“Christ, really?” In a second, I was going to wheeze.
“If you want me to free you…”
“No. You can make me your sex slave forever.”
She had no clue how true that statement was. It was probably better for both of us that she didn’t.
She flipped back her hair and licked her lips to dive down for round two. The belt helped prolong the pleasure, nudging me to the precipice and keeping me there while she alternated licking my rigid shaft with taking it deep into her throat. I couldn’t keep my hands out of her hair and lifted my hips, crazed for her to take all of me.
She complied, again and again. Pushing me to the very limit.
Even her makeshift cock ring wasn’t enough to stave off my impending orgasm. And the temptress knew it, reaching up to loosen the belt just enough that even that minor assistance in holding back was gone.
“Come,” she whispered into the night.
I couldn’t resist her. Not now, not ever.
I groaned as she sealed her lips around my shaft one last time, helpless to keep from spurting into her mouth while she caressed me with her moonlit-soaked gaze.
She gave me mere moments to gulp in air. Then she rose to brace her hands on the arms of my chair and slipped her tongue between my lips, transferring my intimate taste. I reached for her, knotting my hands in her hair as I dragged her onto my lap, not even fully aware if I was hard yet. It felt like I’d barely even come, and it had been the best climax of my damn life.
My want for her had no bottom. There was just more.
She settled over me, grinding her wet slit against my cock. No problem with getting hard again. Not with her. I pushed two fingers into her and she threw back her head, releasing a sound that almost befit the moonlight silvering her from her cascading hair to the tight tips of her breasts to her swollen pussy, spreading open around my fingers.
We didn’t speak, just kissed like the world was ending and her body was mine to use as I saw fit. Just as she’d done with mine.
I rubbed her clit until she was crying out, only stopping to grip her jaw with damp fingers. “Watch me.”
She watched, her gaze zeroed in on the sight of me thrusting into her body. Bare. Without anything between us but shadows and desperation.
The need spiraled higher and higher. I couldn’t temper my strokes into her, and she rode me with her knees jabbing into my hips as she anchored herself on my shoulders. Hair flying back, breasts bouncing, my name on her lips.
Mine.
I bit her nipple, nearly manic to see her covered with my marks. I rubbed my scruff against her delicate skin, knowing from her keening moans she enjoyed the extra sensation. And I fucked her like I would never fuck her again.
This was forever, contained in the span of one moment in the dark.
She wrapped her hand around the back of my neck as she stared into me, linking with me in a way that transcended anything I’d ever known. For a second, the sweet agony was almost unbearable. A flash of heat streaked over my shoulder as she drew back her hand, and then she touched her own lips.
The instant she removed her touch, the burn cooled. But the ache remained.
She tightened around me and finally let go, drowning me in her pleasure. Breaking around me and going limp so that I could cradle her against me and fasten my mouth to her throat while I joined her.
Pouring into her felt like dying and being reborn. Stripped down to my most elemental state.
We didn’t move for the longest time. I stroked her hair when I could lift my arm, and she snuggled into me, boneless and replete. Her weight in my arms felt so right.
Perfect.
There was no teasing. No words at all. I’d never felt such…harmony. It was a strange description, but it fit. We were in total sync, from our heartbeats to our breathing.
I didn’t want to lessen the moment with something inconsequential, and everything felt inconsequential after this.
We stayed so long in that same spot that the moon rose to its peak in the shifting clouds overhead before beginning its descent. The heat of the day cooled until the breeze turned cooler. And Ryan stayed watchful, her fingers curled against my chest as if she was in no more of a hurry to move on than I was.
I didn’t know what time it was when I finally admitted defeat.
“I need to use the facilities.”
She giggled against my chest, probably the best sound in the universe. “You can just say pee. You can squash your prim and proper side outside of work, you know. I mean, you can squash it there too, but I don’t want to blow your mind.”
“Too late there, Miss Moon.”
“Gotta say I rather enjoyed it.”
“Rather?” I tugged on her hair. “My dick probably has a belt imprint.”
“I can kiss it better.”
I had to laugh. “Give me a couple hours.”
“You underestimate yourself.” She gave a testing wiggle against my lap. “After earlier, I have no doubts you could get up to anything you put your mind to.”
“That wasn’t my mind.”
She looked up under the fringe of her lashes. “No indeed.”
I nearly broke our quiet spell with my necessary truth.
Hey, guess what? I quit today.
It would be so easy to tell her what I’d done. Especially out here where work seemed so far away and not at all related to the heart of us.
Then she shifted against me to stretch her arms far above her head, and I forgot all about things that didn’t matter right now in favor of sucking on her pretty nipples.
A guy had to have priorities.
Eventually, we dressed again and shambled inside like drunks, leaning against each other every few feet when walking seemed too complicated. She stumbled over something on the path and I picked her up, savoring her laughter as I tried to summon enough coordination to get us both inside in one piece.
The cat eyed us as we made it into the master bedroom. He’d changed his location to the pillows we needed to sleep on, most likely so he could be a peeping Smoky while Ryan undressed for bed.
Not that she was exactly comfortable with the prospect.
“I can go home. I should go home.” She stood in her bare feet, tugging on the dress she’d buttoned entirely incorrectly so that the slightest shift revealed a hint of nipple. I didn’t mind, although I’d prefer the full naked picture.
I propped my head on my hand where I was stretched out on the mattress, already dressed in my silk sleep pants. “If you want me to, I’ll drive you home.”
“Oh, no, you’re already undressed. I can catch an Uber. Or call Luna. Or Luna can get an Uber and come get me.”
I was tempted to ask why she needed best bish accompaniment on her ride home, but she probably intended to rate my skills in the sack—or in the wicker chair. I wasn’t sure why that couldn’t be done via text, but far be it from me to question such things.
But there was one thing I definitely needed to ask.
“Why are you afraid of my bed?”
Twenty-Two
“What?” Ryan gave a light laugh. “That’s silly. I love beds.” She smirked. “I love chairs outside even more. What about you?”
“Come here.” I sat up and patted the bed beside me.
She sat reluctantly on the edge.
From his pillow perch, Smoky started to wash as if he had no interest in the proceedings, but I could tell he was a giant faker.
I cupped her cheek and lifted her face toward the light, gently stroking the corner of her lip with my thumb. The place she’d touched herself earlier after our connection had singed my shoulder.