In Full Bloom [Second Chances 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Michelle Roth

  “No thanks necessary,” he said, pulling back and settling his hands on her hips.

  “It is necessary,” she said softly. There was so much that she wanted to say, but she was absolutely terrified to put any of it into words.

  Hesitating, she finally added, “I’ve never really believed much in luck before now, but I know I’m incredibly lucky to have you.”

  She watched as the expression on his face softened. He cupped her cheek, seemingly at a loss for words, then leaned his forehead against hers. Their mouths just a breath apart, he finally said, “You have no idea what you do to me, Taryn.”

  Taryn tilted her chin up, so their mouths met. She brushed her lips across his gently a few times before their mouths clung together. She felt his fingers slide from her cheek to tangle in her hair. As he angled his head to deepen the kiss, she sighed and then slid her hands up the back of his T-shirt to trace her fingertips along the muscular ridges of his back.

  When his mouth broke away from hers some time later, his eyes gleamed. He said, “You’ve got ten seconds to go or I’m going to make you late for work, baby.”

  “Mmm,” she said, reaching up to pull his mouth back down to hers. “Make me late for work, Evan.”

  With a groan of surrender, he nipped at her lips as his hands moved to work at the knot in the belt of her robe. When he loosened it, he slid the robe off her shoulders and tossed it onto the work bench behind her.

  Reaching up, she peeled him out of his T-shirt and began placing hot openmouthed kisses against his neck. She let her hand drift lower, to rub against the growing arousal in his gym shorts. As she felt it harden against her hand, she murmured against his skin. “Fuck, I can’t get enough of you.”

  When her hand moved to slide underneath the waistband of his gym shorts, she felt him grip her wrist tightly. His voice strained, he said, “I need to be inside you, baby. Let me be inside you.”

  The feel of his firm grip around her wrist and the urgent need in his voice left her powerless to resist.

  “Yes,” she said, her voice breathy. When the hand that held her wrist let go, she moved to pull her tank top over her head. He leaned down to shove her boxers and panties down. She kicked them aside and reached for the gym shorts he still wore and pushed them down until they fell around his ankles.

  Both of them now naked, she watched as he stepped around her and moved things out of the way on the work bench. Spreading out her robe, he moved back to her. With one swift motion he lifted her, moved her to the other side of the greenhouse, and placed her on his work bench.

  He looked her over now, his eyes blazing. He reached down and started stroking his cock slowly. There was something about seeing his hand glide over his cock like that. She let out a low moan.

  The smirk on his face said that he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

  Taryn scooted back on the bench ever so slightly, then propped one heel up on the edge of the table. She leaned back on one arm and used her other hand to cup one of her breasts. She pinched and tugged at her nipple as he watched with rapt attention. Finally, she released her breast and let her hand stray between her legs. Using two fingers, she started to rub slow circles around her clit.

  His voice sharp, he said, “I didn’t tell you that you could play with my pussy.”

  Her hand paused as she took in the darkly sensual look on his face. His dark eyes were practically smoldering when he stepped forward. He plucked the hand from between her thighs and held it up to her lips. He said, “Lick it clean for me.”

  Taryn considered for a moment before she ultimately complied. She had never tasted herself. Not like this. Indirectly on the lips of a lover, but never like this. Slowly, she stuck the fingers in her mouth, licking them clean one at a time.

  “Jesus Christ,” he said. “That is the sexiest fucking thing I have ever seen in my life.”

  She licked the remnants off her lips and said, “I need you inside me. I ache for you.”

  He moved forward and wrapped his arm around her. One still stroked his cock lightly while the other one wrapped around her shoulders. “Lean back,” he said. “You don’t need to support yourself on your arm. I’ve got you.”

  She leaned back against his arm, testing and then said, “Inside me. Please.”

  Seconds later she felt the press of him against her. He teased her, rubbing against her swollen flesh but not penetrating her. Her eyes closed on a moan as he rubbed against her clit.

  “Stop teasing me,” she panted.

  “You want me inside that tight cunt, don’t you, baby?” he asked, his voice gravelly.

  “Yes. Yes. Fuck me. Please,” she moaned.

  “I don’t know, baby. You touched my pussy without permission. It would serve you right if I just jerked it, came all over your stomach, and left you unsatisfied,” he said, still rubbing against her.

  Her breathing erratic, she almost whimpered his name in response.

  “Cup your breasts for me. Play with your nipples,” he said, relenting.

  She released the grip she had on his arms and moved her hands to her breasts. As she traced her fingers lightly against her nipples, she felt them respond. Boldly, she teased and plucked at them as he watched her.

  His breathing ragged, he said, “Pinch them,” as he continued to swirl the tip of his cock around her opening.

  When she pinched them, she felt another pang of desire go straight to her core. She moaned and began to tease her nipples more roughly.

  “Fuck,” he said. “You’re gorgeous. Wrap your legs around me.”

  With no further delay, he finally drove into her. One hand supporting her back, the other moved to hold her hip in place. He said, his voice thready, “This is going to be quick and dirty, baby. I’m already on the edge. Jesus Christ, you’ve got no fucking idea what you do to me.”

  Gasping with each stroke, she said, “Yes, I do. It’s the same thing you do to me. Every time you slide your thick cock into me, I lose my fucking mind.”

  He slammed into her, with no restraint whatsoever now. The way he was gripping her hip, she was sure it would bruise but she didn’t give a damn. She just wanted him to fill her up, to cure the aching need that rose up inside her every time he stepped into the room. This was way too much. She was feeling too much.

  The tension that had been slowly building in her lower belly began to bloom. She cried out with each thrust, feeling herself moving closer to the edge.

  “Put your hands on me, sweetheart. I need your hands on me,” he grunted.

  She released her achy nipples and clutched on to his shoulders. As he continued to pound against her, she dug her nails into his shoulders.

  A wave of sensation so acute welled up inside her that it felt like someone had detonated a small explosive. She dragged her nails down his chest as she cried out his name.

  He groaned roughly and said, “You feel so good clenching around my fucking cock, Taryn,” as he reached his hand in between them.

  Her whole body tensed up again as he rubbed his fingers quickly against her. She panted out, “Oh fuck. I love the way you touch me. Like that. Just like that.”

  His hips slapped against hers with every thrust. His cock pressed up against her G-spot on every stroke. She was slowly losing her mind. Sweat dripped down them both, the heat and humidity of the greenhouse was too much for her. She was feeling almost light headed.

  But honestly, she didn’t know if it was the heat or if she was just overstimulated. Her skin burned where his fingers touched and she couldn’t focus on anything but the intense pleasure rolling through her in waves.

  As if he realized she was falling apart beneath him, he gave her swollen clit a quick pinch that had her shuddering and moaning his name as she clenched around him almost violently. On the heels of her release, he buried himself inside her one last time and shouted her name like an oath.

  * * * *

  Taryn had only been a few minutes late to work. They had, once they’d been able t
o focus again, taken a quick shower and gotten dressed. Evan had ended up driving her to work.

  She’d protested, saying that he needed to open the shop, but he’d just given her that smug, satisfied grin and said, “No, no. It’s the least I can do after this morning, baby.”

  Her muscles were a little bit sore. He hadn’t been gentle with her. Not that she’d ever ask for that. Gentleness was entirely overrated. Until they’d started dating, she hadn’t known the human body could orgasm like that.

  She worried that things were moving too quickly between them. She felt too much. A part of her wanted to trust in what he offered. The sex was great, but it had become about much more than just that. She woke up next to him. He had offered her a place in his life. He was taking her home for Thanksgiving, for christ sake. This was all too much.

  She walked around for the remaining part of the morning in a haze. Luckily, it was a light day so there wasn’t a whole lot going on. She was on her way to the administrative offices to see if Millie wanted to grab lunch when she heard her walkie beep.

  Her boss, Mike, rang through the speaker. “Taryn. When you get a second stop by my office.”

  She picked up the walkie and responded, “Ominous.”

  Mike snorted over the air waves at her and said, “My office.”

  She decided to put off her lunch break and headed into the offices in the back of the veterinary center. She gave a light tap on his door, wondering if she was going to get in trouble for being slightly late this morning.

  He answered, “Jesus, Michaels. I told you to stop by when you got a second, not to sprint over here.”

  She rolled her eyes and said, “I was about to head out for lunch. You know how I feel about suspense. What’s up?”

  “Do you have anything planned for the second week in December?”

  “Uh, yeah. I was thinking I’d come to work and stuff,” she said, grinning.

  He ignored her wisecrack and said, “The reason I ask is because there’s an opportunity to fellowship in San Diego. I’m going down there and I get to take another staff member down there with me. You haven’t had the opportunity. Honestly, though I’ll never admit to saying this if you repeat it, you seem the most eager to learn. I think it will do you the most good.”

  “Sure,” she said enthusiastically. “I’d love to go. What am I going to be working with? Isn’t there usually a specific focus?”

  “Reptiles. They’re getting new Burmese pythons,” he said.

  Her face fell. She fucking hated snakes. Especially snakes so large that they could literally digest an entire human.

  Mike cracked up and said, “That look was priceless. Pandas. Los Angeles is trying to get one, so they want a couple of us to know what we’re doing.”

  Taryn felt equal waves of relief and excitement swamp her. She calmly said, “Oh good,” as she gave a mental fist pump.

  They talked for a couple more minutes, discussing the general time line, before she excused herself to go to lunch. Grabbing her purse from her desk, she ran to grab a quick bite. As she waited in line, she realized that she wouldn’t see Evan for a whole week. She’d seen him almost every day since he’d moved in. That would be strange.

  As she sat down and took a bite of her sandwich, she pulled her cell phone out of her bag and texted him.

  “Guess what?”

  A couple of bites later he answered, “Could I have a hint?”

  “Someone just got invited to do a one-week fellowship in San Diego. They’ll be working with freaking pandas. I bet you won’t guess who!” she quickly typed.

  “Holy crap, baby! That’s awesome. A whole week though?” he responded instantly.

  She sighed as she typed her response. “I know. I thought about it, too. That’s the only sucky part. It’s only a week though.”

  “Congrats, sweetheart. That’s amazing. I’ll miss you though,” he responded back.

  “I’ll miss you, too. My boss said that Los Angeles may be getting a panda at some point, so that’s why we needed to go. That would be so freaking awesome.”

  “Oh. Mike is going with you?” Evan asked.

  “Well, yeah. I’m the most junior on the team. It makes sense,” she said.

  She waited, taking another bite of her sandwich. She knew exactly what was running through his head. For a man who claimed to not be jealous on a whole, he was pretty jealous. As she popped the last bite of sandwich into her mouth, her phone buzzed.

  “I’m being irrational. I know it. Tell me he’s old and married, please.”

  Yep. There it was. Just as she’d suspected.

  “I don’t think he’s married. But he’s pretty old,” she said, trying not to giggle as she typed.

  A moment later, she added, “He’s gotta be like, forty.”

  “A customer just walked in, smart ass. I’ll talk to you later,” he responded.

  “Hanging out with Cora tonight. I’ll stop by if it’s not too late,” she responded, then slid her phone into her purse.

  She walked back to her desk, and opened the bottom drawer. On impulse she checked her phone one more time and saw another text.

  “Stop by even if it’s too late,” he had replied.

  She smiled as she put away the phone and stuck her bag into the drawer.

  * * * *

  She waited just outside the gates of the zoo at 5:00 p.m. for Cora. When she saw the silver hatchback pull up to the curb, she tossed the bag containing her work clothes into the back and slid into the front seat.

  “Best news ever,” Taryn announced as she got into the car.

  Cora leveled a glance at her as she pulled out of the waiting area and said, “First. What the hell happened at the game last night? Evan looked pissed and you got really quiet.”

  She knew it. She’d tried gloss over it when they’d gotten back to their seats, but she really sucked at that.

  “I ran into Jeremy outside the bathroom. He was, predictably, an asshole. Evan almost hit him. There was a tense moment.”

  “Oh, shit. What did that little dickhead have to say?” Cora asked as she maneuvered out of the parking lot.

  “Do I really have to rehash this?” Taryn asked, her voice pleading.

  “Yes,” Cora said. “What did that asshole say to you?”

  Taryn ran a hand through her hair, uncomfortably, then said, “He told me I had put on some weight. Evan caught that as he walked up. I had to physically hold him back.”

  “Fuck that guy, Taryn. I wouldn’t have held Evan back. That abusive little shit needs an ass-beating,” Cora said.

  Taryn snorted and said, “You’re not lying about that. I couldn’t let Evan get in trouble. Jeremy would have totally pressed charges after what happened on campus.”

  “True. But I hope you at least put him in his place?”

  “Evan caught that, too, which meant I had to go into the whole story with him. The way he treated me, what I allowed him to do? It’s embarrassing to look back on. Not a fun night last night,” Taryn admitted.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Cora said. “I’ll tell you that any time you need to hear it, babe. I didn’t understand it back then, but I get it now. That guy was a fucking predator, taking advantage of someone who didn’t realize she deserved better.”

  “I know, but still.”

  “You know better now. You have better now,” Cora added, squeezing her knee. “Evan is pretty great.”

  “He’s…” Taryn trailed off, unable to put it into words. A smile crept across her face that she couldn’t contain.

  Cora flicked a quick glance at her and said, “Oh my god. You’re totally in love with him!”

  Quietly, Taryn said, “I think I might be. At first I thought all of the warm feelings were just because he finally managed to break my sexual moratorium, but he’s incredible. He does all the right things. He says all the right things. I’m scared it’s too good to be true.”

  “Stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, honey. Go with it.�
�

  “We’re moving slowly. Taking things one day at a time,” Taryn said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable about her previous admission.

  “Not that slowly. Jamie says you’re going to Thanksgiving dinner,” Cora said as she pulled into the parking garage.

  “Yeah,” Taryn said. “His mom popped in one night. Totally interrupted us by the way. Mortifying. Anyway, she invited me. She’s a pistol. Beware.”

  Cora grinned as they pulled into an available parking spot and then she turned off the car. She said, “Thankfully I’m not meeting his mom yet.”

  “How’s that going, by the way?” Taryn asked.

  Cora blurted out, “I slept with him.”

  Taryn felt her mouth drop open.

  “Holy freaking shit! What happened to saving it for marriage?” Taryn asked, recovering from her shock.

  “I wasn’t necessarily waiting for marriage,” Cora explained. “I just didn’t want to waste it on someone who wasn’t worthy.”

  A moment later, she winced and said, “Sorry, Tare. I didn’t mean that you wasted it. I meant that—”

  “Calm down,” she said. “I did waste it. He was a fucking asshole. I didn’t know any better. I’m glad you didn’t make the same mistake I did. So glad.”

  She reached over and squeezed her knee, then asked, “Well? How was it?”

  “It hurt for a second but, not like I was expecting. After that it was pretty amazing,” Cora answered, a stupid grin on her face.

  “So he knows what he’s doing?” Taryn asked.

  “Yeah. Wow. He really knows what he’s doing,” Cora said. “I didn’t realize it would feel like that.”

  Impulsively, Taryn reached over and hugged her tightly. She said, “I’m so glad. It should always be like that.”

  Cora said, “He told me that he was falling in love with me.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “Before or after?”

  “So cynical, Tare. After. Right after, actually.”

  “Good,” she said, ignoring the comment about her cynicism. “Let’s go eat. I’m starved.”

  As they slid out of the car, Cora said, “So, tell me about this epic news!”