A Better Place

by Jennifer Van Wyk

I nod my head and begin to kiss my way down his body. Taking my time, relishing every part, loving the feel of him, of the sounds he’s making because of me, of the shivers that wrack his body from my touch.

  I wrap my fingers around the edge of his boxer briefs and look up at him, smirking. “You don’t have to ask my permission, baby,” he says, lifting his hips.

  I pull off his boxers, staring for a few moments at the sight before me. I lick my lips and feel his hand in my hair. I look up to his face, his eyes soft as he looks down at me. “Carly, you don’t…”

  “Don’t you even dare say I don’t have to. I know that. I want to. And not just because I want to see you happy and pleased. Because I want everything with you. I love you. I love you more than I thought I could ever love another person besides Jack.”

  “Fuck me, but I love you so damn much,” he growls, jack-knifing up off the bed and taking my mouth with his.

  I let him have control for just a moment, kissing and feeling. But I still want my turn. I press him back, and he resumes his position, cool and collected, but the second my mouth wraps around the tip of him, licking up the small bead of liquid, he loses all sense of calm.

  “Holy shit!” He tugs my hair, and his hips buck off the bed for just a moment, pushing him farther into me, inadvertently testing my gag reflex. “Damn, beautiful. Sorry about that. Got a little excited.”

  But he has nothing to be sorry for. Knowing that I affect him just as much as he does me makes heat flood to my core.

  I take my time, licking up and down the length of him, sucking on the tip as I use my hand around the base, sliding up and down, twisting with each stroke.

  “Carly, baby, you’re gonna have to stop. I can’t…”

  “Can’t?” I tease, keeping my face close to him, not letting up my sucking and licking.

  He lets out a heavy breath, twisting the sheets. “Oh, I can. I just don’t want to be done yet.”

  “No?”

  “Carly. Dammit. Get your sweet ass up here. You can finish what you started another time. Right now, I want to sink into you. I want your sweet warmth squeezing the shit out of me the first time I come with you.”

  Oh well. Since he put it that way. I crawl up his body, and he flips us over, kissing me deeply, mixing our flavors. He positions himself at my center, staring into my eyes.

  “Do we…” he begins to ask.

  “No condoms. I mean, you’re…”

  “Hell yes, I’m clean.”

  “Yeah, I was tested after… well, after I left.”

  “Enough. I trust you. You trust me?” he asks, but it’s so much more than a simple question. And the answer I give is lifting my hips to him again.

  “You’re so beautiful, Carly. I know I tell you this, but you need to know. You’re so beautiful to me.”

  “James,” I say quietly, tears springing to my eyes. “You’re everything,” I say to him, words he’s used on me more times than I can count.

  The second they escape my lips, he presses into me slowly. He takes a few moments, allowing us both to feel.

  “Never felt so amazing.” He slowly starts to move, my body stretching and opening up to him, the feel of him strong and tense.

  I wrap my legs around his waist, his hands above us, threading my fingers through his, holding me down. He lowers himself and kisses me deeply before pulling back, both of us gasping for air. He releases me, allowing me to touch him, to trail my fingers down the ink that turns me on so much.

  Sweat begins to bead on his forehead, the sounds of our heavy breathing and panting fills the air around us. I moan as he shifts his hips slightly, and I lift mine, allowing him to reach the spot that sends me flying. He continues his motions, his hips pistoning back and forth, as I soar, not letting up once.

  I shout his name over and over through my release, squeezing the flesh of his shoulders tightly, my toes curling under as my legs bind around him. I haven’t come down from my high yet when he shifts once more, causing me to gasp and fly once again. I don’t know if this is a new flight or just a beautiful continuation, but I stay right with him through his own release.

  “Unnhhh.” He jerks, his body pushing into mine to the hilt, his face buried in my neck, his breath hot on my skin.

  Once we have come down from our high, James reaches over to his nightstand and picks up a box of tissues out of the drawer. We clean up before collapsing to the bed, bodies sated and exhausted.

  “Whoa.”

  “Yeah,” he responds.

  “It’s never been like that.”

  “Never,” I agree.

  “Cheesecake?”

  “In bed?”

  He lifts up on his elbow then leans down and kisses me soundly on the mouth, his tongue moving with mine. He skims his hand up my side, brushing the bottom of my breast before grazing the center with his thumb. “Yeah, I don’t think I’m ever letting you out of this bed. But we’re still going car shopping tomorrow.”

  “Relentless,” I murmur, pressing my lips against his once more.

  “Only when it’s something I really want.”

  I feel his smile against my lips.

  Dessert is eventually eaten.

  In bed.

  Much.

  Much.

  Later.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  James

  I wake up slowly, my arm wrapped around Carly’s soft body, keeping her close. Her breasts are pressed against my chest, and her arm is wrapped around my stomach. The light sounds of her breathing and soft puffs of air hitting my skin give me a sense of calm I never knew before.

  She’s really here. And she’s really mine.

  Last night was… well, every single word better than good describes it. And last night happened long into the morning hours. After we ate our fill of chocolate cheesecake in bed, we raided the fridge for anything else we could use for… dessert. And of that type of dessert, I’ll never have my fill.

  Once Carly gave herself over to me, she completely surprised me, showing me parts of herself I’m certain she’s never shown another person.

  And for that reason alone, I should let her sleep. But I’m not going to. I have bigger plans for her today.

  “Beautiful,” I murmur into her hair, letting my hand slowly drag down her back to her ass, squeezing one of her butt cheeks. My middle finger makes a trail down farther, between her thighs, and she squirms under my touch. She moans my name in her sleep, and I roll us over gently, not wasting a single second to put my lips on her body.

  I begin at her neck, kissing lightly, making a trail over her collarbone, over the swell of her breast, paying special attention to her nipple before continuing my path. She whispers my name, and I glance up. Her eyes are trained on me, and a soft smile covers her face. She bites her lower lip and wrinkles her nose. Adorable.

  I cover her stomach with butterfly kisses until I reach my destination, kissing, licking, and sucking on her tiny bundle of nerves. Her moans get louder, and I wrap an arm over her stomach, holding her in place.

  Her taste. Her smell. Her sounds. I’ll never get enough. And I never plan to. She’s mine. She has been all along, but last night just solidified it. Every word I’ve spoken to her has been truth.

  I take her to the brink and pull back, not willing to give her what she wants just yet.

  She groans. “James, please,” she begs, and damn if I don’t want to give in, give her everything she’d ever ask of me. And the crazy thing is, I would.

  “Tell me what you want, beautiful,” I murmur, my mouth not leaving her sensitive skin. Her thighs squeeze against the sides of my head in response, and unintelligible words are muttered from her mouth.

  “What’s that, baby?”

  “Please,” she repeats.

  “Please what?”

  “James! Stop messing around!”

  “Not messing, beautiful. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you. Come on, I want to hear the words.”

  “I�
�� I don’t think I can,” she whispers.

  I release her tiny bundle and move up her body, kissing my way to her face. Morning breath be damned, I kiss her hard, letting her taste herself on my tongue.

  “Yeah, you can. You trust me?”

  “You know I do,” she tells me without hesitation, and hell if it doesn’t make my heart squeeze.

  “I’m damn glad to hear that, baby. Now, what do you want?”

  The look she gives me will be one I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It’s the last of her worries, the last of her hesitation crumbling around us, giving over her everything to me.

  I feel myself grow harder at the knowledge and can’t help myself but to press closer to her. I rub my tip over her center, causing her eyelids to shutter as she throws her head back into the pillows.

  “Tell me,” I murmur, kissing her neck.

  “I want you.”

  “Good start.”

  “Inside. Inside, James. Make me…”

  I don’t allow her to finish the sentence before I plunge myself deeply inside. The moment I’m in to the hilt, I close my eyes, resting my forehead against hers. I relish in the feeling of our skin brushing against each other’s in the most sensual and intimate way possible.

  Slowly I start to move, and she rears her hips. I look down at her, and she bucks again, but this time she tries sitting up. Realizing she’s trying to spin us so she’s on top, I give in to her. She flips us both over, with my help, of course, and takes me in her hand, positioning herself over me and slamming down quickly.

  Our bodies find a rhythm easily, like we’ve been together for years, my hands gripping her hips. Her hands are pressed against my chest, and her hair is wild around her face, the ends grazing the tops of her perfect breasts. My eyes bounce all over, studying her body like it’s a piece of art. Which it is, to me. Perfection. Every single inch of skin is silky and smooth, soft curves in just the right places, and muscles firm from yoga and tennis.

  Her eyes start to glaze, and she throws her head back as she grinds herself against me.

  “Can I try something?”

  “Huh?”

  “You trust me to do something a little different?”

  She looks down at me and nods quickly, so I reach behind her and grip her ass before sliding my middle finger between her cheeks. I press the tip of my finger against her, putting just enough pressure that she gasps, her eyes springing open wide.

  “You like that, beautiful?”

  “Mmm,” she moans. “James, holy shit.”

  “Yeah,” I grunt.

  “So good.”

  The faith and trust that she puts in me, giving me every part of her, is humbling and overwhelming. “That’s right. Just me and you, beautiful. Just me and you,” I promise her and push up into her harder.

  She groans deep and throws her head back, her walls clutching me so tightly as she lets go. I have no choice but to follow her.

  And I will.

  Anywhere.

  Carly

  “I can’t believe you’re actually making me go through with this.”

  “Really? Somehow this shocks you?”

  “I suppose it shouldn’t. But yeah. I mean, buying a new car is not something I do every day, James.”

  “And clearly you’ve been doing it wrong before anyway.”

  “Hey!” I protest around a mouthful of warm cinnamon French toast.

  “You’re so classy,” he teases, reaching over with a napkin to wipe off some syrup from my chin.

  “Not my fault it’s too good to not chew and speak at the same time.”

  He smirks and takes a bite of his own, not dripping syrup all over his face like an animal.

  “Show off,” I mumble.

  He chuckles, and we continue to eat our breakfast of French toast and bacon. While we’re cleaning up our breakfast dishes, he gets a text. I watch as his fingers fly over the keyboard, responding to whoever just texted him. He waits a few moments, and his phone chimes again. He barks out a laugh at whatever he sees.

  I place my hands on my hips and look at him. “Sharing is caring, you know.”

  He smiles up at me then moves his eyes to his phone again.

  “Hey! Secrets don’t make friends, James!”

  He finishes texting and places his phone on the counter next to me, screen side up. He reaches over to me and pulls me close. He nuzzles his face into my neck and starts kissing me while his hands roam up and down.

  “Is that what we are, beautiful?” His lips never leave my skin. “Just friends?”

  “Hmm,” I hum.

  “You sure are friendly.”

  “Mm-hmm,” I say, words not being able to form, his mouth causing the best kind of distraction.

  “Carly.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You gonna let me help you buy a new car today, baby?”

  “Anything you want, James,” I tell him, realizing much too late what I just agreed to.

  “Perfect,” he says, standing up and walking away calm as can be.

  Meanwhile, I’m wound up tighter than a top.

  “That’s not fair!”

  He swats me on the ass. “All’s fair in love and war, baby. Get ready. Jack’s meeting us at the car dealership.”

  “He what?”

  “He’s of like mind, recognizing your car for what it is. The size of a Matchbox toy.”

  “Apparently y’all are gonna gang up on me the rest of my life?”

  “Aw, my words are rubbing off on you. And yes. Yes, we are. Get used to it.”

  “Fine. I get Lily then.”

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way, beautiful.” He kisses me on the top of the head before disappearing into the bathroom. I hear the shower turn on, and he pokes his head back out. “Baby. Come on. I think we need to conserve some water,” he smirks.

  For the next twenty minutes, we conserve water then get ready.

  An hour later, we’re heading down the stairs to the parking lot behind James’s restaurant when he stops dead in his tracks. I look up at him in question and follow his gaze. The front driver’s side tire of my car is deflated. As in, completely flat.

  “Did I run over a nail or something?” I ask him, though I know that’s probably not the case. I know exactly where his mind is going. And judging by the fact that he’s looking around the parking lot, I’m right, and he’s worried it was the work of Vince.

  “Don’t know, baby. You have a spare?”

  “Yeah,” I tell him and swallow past my nervousness.

  “Hey, c’mere.”

  I walk to him, and he pulls me in, rubbing up and down my arms.

  “Do you think…”

  “Not gonna think it, baby. You’re with me, got it? I got you. No worries. Let’s change the tire and get outta here.”

  “Okay.” I nod.

  He makes jokes while he puts on my spare, and I know he is trying to decrease the tenseness we no doubt both feel. Less than ten minutes later, we’re in my car, heading to the car dealership, the jokes still coming about my Tinker Toy. I roll my eyes at him and tell him to buckle up.

  And not that I would ever admit it out loud, but it is tiny, especially with James’s large frame filling up the passenger seat.

  “Normally I would have asked to drive, but I think driving this thing would actually put a dip into my manhood more so than me riding along,” he said smugly.

  Fifteen minutes later, he rolls out of the car and dramatically presses his hand to his chest. “I see what you mean by not being a great winter driver.”

  “Shut up!” I laugh, hardly being able to argue against him.

  This morning after he woke me up and before we ate breakfast, we talked about options for cars and came to a good compromise between him wanting me to drive a tank and me realizing my limitations on the size of vehicle I can drive without risking dragging a tree or something behind me.

  “Hey, Mom. Fancy meeting you here,” Jack jokes.

&nbs
p; “You two will be the death of me,” I grumble, pretending to be agitated but not bothered by it in the least.

  “Let’s get you something we won’t feel like our feet will make move faster.”

  “Whatever,” I mutter.

  James and Jack both belly laugh as we walk into the dealership.

  And two hours later, Jack is following us in his pickup as we drive away in my new SUV, James in the passenger seat.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  James

  I’ve been gone for six days packing up the rest of my house and signing the paperwork for the sale. I’m grateful it sold but hated being away from Carly and Jack, especially with knowing Vince is in the area. It’s been the longest six days of my life.

  It may be awful of me to say, but I’m praying Jack isn’t at her house when I get there. Not that I don’t love the kid. In the short amount of time I have known him, we’ve built a good relationship. He’s an amazing kid, someone who’s fiercely protected his mother from things no kid should ever see. But instead of it breaking him, he used it to make him stronger. To make her stronger.

  I still can’t get over how well he handled hearing the news of Vince being back. After we took Carly’s new car to her house, we knew we needed to tell him. She showed me a picture of Vince and sure enough, it was the same guy I sparred with at Tate’s gym, which means it’s the same guy who was sitting outside Carly’s house at Christmas. After finding her car tire not just flat but what looked like possibly slashed, we felt like Jack had to know.

  “Hey, kiddo, James and I have something to tell you.”

  “What’s up?” he asks us wearily.

  “First off, I need you to understand something.” I look at him square on and wait until I have his eye contact before I continue talking. “You and your mom… you’re with me, you know? I would never let anything happen to you. I want you to really get that. To really understand it, okay?”

  He nods his head. “I get it, but you’re kind of freaking me out,” he admits.

  “Jack, son, Vince is in Michigan.”

  We both wait for the news to register, and when it does his face goes pale and his body rigid.

  “What?” he whispers. “How do you know? Has he been here? Has he hurt you? Did you see him?”