“Do you know how many times I’ve wondered if your pussy could possibly taste as sweet as I’ve imagined?”
I shake my head, incapable of a reply. I’m speechless that he’s been thinking about me in such a way.
“Too many times to keep track of.” He runs a finger through my slit, stopping to coat my clit with my juices. “But I’m never going to forget what the first taste of you is like.” His head lowers and my eyes drift shut only to fly open at the first swipe of his tongue. “Hmm,” he groans, “You taste so fucking good. I could do this all day.”
Oh damn. And I could let you.
My hands release the covers and move down until I can bury my fingers in his hair. Completely swept up in this moment, all I can think about is the feeling of his tongue as he flicks it over my clit. I picture it sweeping back and forth before circling around. Just when I think I’ve got his rhythm down, he sucks the engorged flesh between his lips, pulsing it with his tongue until I’m thrashing on the bed in the throes of an unforgettable orgasm.
He feasts on my juices, sucking every drop from me like a dying man in a desert. I’ve never experienced anything like what he just did to me.
Raising his head, he flashes me a wicked smile and then eases up between my legs. My hands slide from his head to his shoulders as he hovers over me, hips pressed to mine. All that separates us is the towel wrapped around his waist.
I thought his fingers were magical, but Jesus, that tongue. I don’t know if I could survive his cock, but I’m willing to take the chance. Just as I begin to imagine how amazing that would be, my dirty thoughts are interrupted by words that kill any lingering orgasm high I might’ve had.
“This has been amazing, but you must know everything that’s happened between us shouldn’t have.”
Is he kidding me? He literally still has my juices coating his chin and these are the words coming out of his mouth?
“Why must I know that? Maybe I don’t see the big deal with what happened.”
“I know you well enough to know what we did isn’t something you take lightly.”
My eyes reflexively roll. “Don’t worry, I’m not expecting a marriage proposal from you.”
“I didn’t say you were. I just don’t want to cloud things.”
“It might be a little late for this conversation.”
He closes his eyes for a second and then stares down at me. “I like you. What’s not to like about you? You’re intelligent, beautiful, and fun.”
“But?” I question because there’s always a but after someone leads with compliments.
He grimaces at my prodding. “But, you’re too young for an old guy like me. I have responsibilities that you don’t, and you shouldn’t have to adjust your life to accommodate them.”
“How did us getting naked together and having some fun turn into me adjusting my life for you?” I understand what he’s saying, but he’s trying to give me reasons why this can’t happen again. I’m not interested in what he has to say. I’m going to downplay what this meant to me and hope we can do it again. If that’s all he wants, it’s better than nothing. I’ll take what I can get and deal with the fallout later.
He carefully studies my face while I keep my expression as neutral as possible.
He quirks a dark brow. “You’re okay with no strings sex?”
I shrug. “Why not? You’re hot and this has been…” amazing, life changing… “fun.”
He smiles, and I feel it in my chest. He’s so much more to me than no strings sex, but he can’t know that.
* * *
“Look. Sandcastle, Daddy.” Joey scrambles to his feet and runs the few steps to Miles as he approaches. Shirtless and only in low hanging board shorts, he’s attracting the attention of every woman nearby, especially mine.
“Hey, buddy.” He scoops him up in his arms for a wet, sandy kiss. “Hey, Sophie.” He grins down at me. My reflection stares back from both lenses of the mirrored aviators shielding his eyes from my view.
“Hey,” I reply and try not to blush. I know behind those sunglasses he’s checking me out in my blue bikini. I hope he likes it because I purchased it just for this trip. More revealing than what I’d normally wear, I’ve been nervous about it all day. Until now. With the way he smiled at me, I know it was a solid purchase.
“Daddy, look.” Joey’s excitement is palpable and Miles turns his focus to the sandcastle we’ve been working on for the past hour while he and the guys were jet skiing.
“Where’s the moat?”
“What’s a moat?” Joey questions curiously.
“It’s a ditch filled with water that keeps people from getting to the castle.”
“I want one,” Joey shouts, waving his hands excitedly.
“What do you say?” I interject.
“Please.”
Miles sets Joey on his feet. “Nice manners,” he comments with a glance my way.
“I’m sorry.” I chew on my bottom lip. “I didn’t mean to step on your toes. I know you’re his father and it’s your place to teach him manners.”
He winks. “I love that you’re helping me to reinforce those things. It takes a village and, in case you haven’t noticed, our village is almost nonexistent.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely. Can a person’s manners be too good?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Exactly. And he’s old enough to know how to use them, so it’s all good.” He turns his attention to Joey. “Son, where’s the big shovel?”
Joey scampers off to pick up the bright orange shovel he cast to the side once we started to fill the sandcastle molds.
“Here you go, Daddy.”
Miles takes it from him, sinking to his knees in the sand next to me. He uses the tip of the shovel to mark out the perimeter of the area that needs to be dug. “Joey, this is where the moat’s going to be. Is that where you want it?”
“Yes, please.”
Miles begins to dip the shovel through the wet sand, making short order of creating the moat. High tide recently passed, so with each drag of his shovel there’s some water pooling in the moat. He digs deeper and I let my eyes glide over his upper body as his muscles flex. My face feels hot, along with other parts of me, as I remember what took place earlier.
Needing a distraction, I call out, “Joey, let’s fill some buckets with water, so when your daddy’s done, we can pour them in the moat.”
He pops to his feet with me and we each grab a bucket before heading the short distance to the edge of the water. Wading into the ice cold sea cools my body temperature off, but it doesn’t do a damn thing to stop me from stealing glances at Miles, which perpetuates me being hot all over again.
Bending down, I scoop the bucket through the tide, collecting water. Next to me, Joey’s busily filling his to the best of his ability. Resisting the urge to take care of it for him is hard, so I retrace my steps back to the castle. He follows grunting from the weight of the bucket.
“Daddy, we got water.”
“Good job. I’m almost ready for you to pour it in.” Miles shovels a few more piles of sand off to the side. “Okay, bud. Pour it in.”
Joey ends up dumping more of the water outside the moat than in, but judging by the smile on his face, he doesn’t seem to mind.
“Here.” Miles holds his hand out to me and I pass off the still full bucket. “Joey, come help me pour this, please.” Little hands join his on each side of the blue bucket and together they carefully pour the water into the ditch. Joey squeals as it starts to fill up.
“You need some more water,” I suggest, pointing at the empty red bucket.
“I’ll get it,” Joey shouts, grabbing the bucket and running toward the ocean. The gleeful expression on his face has me giggling.
“He’s definitely having a good time on this vacation,” I state.
Miles smiles. “So am I.” He nudges my arm with his. “Are you?”
I find my lips parting in a
ridiculously wide grin. “I am.”
16
Miles
“Are you sure you didn’t want to go out with the guys? I’ll be fine here, alone.”
I shift my weight, moving closer to her on the couch. Bracing an elbow on the headrest, I lean my temple on my fist and gaze down into her molten chocolate gaze. “I know you’d be okay, but I wanted to spend some more time with you. The guys were going out to a few of the local bars that are known as places for meeting people who want to hook up.”
“And you didn’t want to join them?”
I reach over, caressing her cheek with the back of my hand. How do I tell her there’s no one else I’m interested in without falsely encouraging her? I’m not in a position to offer her a relationship. “I’m perfectly content to be here with you. I don’t want to be anywhere else.” Simple and honest. That’s the best I can do.
She catches hold of my wrist, pressing a kiss to my palm and lacing her fingers with mine. “That’s sweet.”
“No, it’s true. I like spending time with you. It’s easy and comfortable.”
“Does that mean I’m boring?”
“No, not at all. I like how unpretentious you are. My wife,” I grimace at my slip of the tongue. “My ex-wife, came from money and we fought about it often. She wanted the best of everything. If money could buy it, she wanted it.”
She angles her head to the side, her ear and shoulder meeting in a quick shrug. “I’ve never had enough money to be pretentious. Maybe if I did, I’d be the worst of the bunch.”
“No, you wouldn’t. It’s not who you are.”
“I noticed your slip up when you said your wife, instead of ex. Are you still hung up on her?”
This girl doesn’t pull any punches. For how sweet and innocent as she can be, she’s also tough when she needs to be. Someday, she’ll keep some lucky man on his toes. Too bad it won’t be me.
“No, I’m not. It’s taken me a long time to be able to say I’m completely over her, but I am.”
“What if she came crawling back to you a changed woman? I don’t mean her saying she’s changed. I mean irrefutable proof that she has.”
I shrug. “It’s hard to say because I’m not in that situation. If she had really changed, I might think about it for Joey’s sake, but it would take a lot of persuasion for me to believe her. I’m not sure she could ever regain my trust.”
“She cheated on you?”
“Yeah, with my best friend.”
“Oh, wow. That’s… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything.”
“I know, but I hate that you and Joey had to go through that.”
“It happened at the best time as far as Joey is concerned. It’s better for him to not remember her at all.”
“You haven’t dated at all since the split?”
I shake my head.
“May I ask why?”
“Sure. It’s not a big secret or anything. My wife and my marriage were the most important things to me, and when Joey came along he moved to the top of that list. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the same for Sandy. She didn’t like being home all the time and she certainly didn’t like being tied down to a husband and a child.”
“That still doesn’t answer why you haven’t dated yet.”
“It took me a long time to get over her betrayal, and don’t forget I lost my best friend also. The people closest to me betrayed me the most. That was a tough pill to swallow. Add being a single father to the mix and it doesn’t leave much time to spend wooing a woman.”
“Not all women need to be wooed,” she counters.
“That’s true. But Joey has to be number one in my life and I don’t have much time or energy to offer to a relationship. Maybe someday when he’s a little older and doesn’t need me so much.”
“I think there are women out there who would fit into the parameters you set up for the relationship. Not everyone wants to spend every minute of every day with their partner. I know I don’t. Which is why I’m single.”
Is she telling me this in hopes of me seeing her as a viable option for a girlfriend? Aside from her age and her lack of life experiences, she’s near perfect. But those two reasons are big ones. They’re large red flags waving in my face, reminding me to keep my distance. The last thing I need is to hand my heart over to anyone. I need to guard that sucker and protect it at all costs.
Time to change the subject. “What happened to Clay? Have you seen him since my work picnic?”
“We went to lunch one day.”
What?
“You did?”
“Uh huh.”
“And?”
“And what?” She looks at me. “And did I sleep with him?”
“Well, that’s not where I was going with this, but sure, did you?”
“Don’t be an asshole. Of course I didn’t.”
“Why is that being an asshole? Plenty of people would use seeing an ex as an excuse to hook up.”
“I guess I’m not plenty of people because I wouldn’t do that. All that would come of it would be regret and I don’t know about you, but I try to avoid things that could cause me regret.”
“And yet, you’re pursuing something between us.”
“That’s different.”
“How do you figure when there’s no possibility of us having a relationship?”
“I wouldn’t say there’s no possibility. I’d say you won’t allow one even if you’re tempted to try.”
Fuck. She’s got me figured out pretty well and I can’t have that.
“I think you’ve got some teenage girl romantic fantasy going on. I’ve seen the movie, too, so I get it.”
“What movie?”
“Any one about a young girl wanting to fuck the older guy they’ve set their sights on. Just pick one. There are plenty to choose from and the stories are all the same. But different variations on how the girl finally seduces the guy. And you know how those movies always end, don’t you?”
She shakes her head, unlacing her fingers from mine and moving my hand off her leg.
“With the girl in tears wondering why she wasted her time and innocence on someone who didn’t deserve it.”
“I’m not a virgin.”
“That’s not what I mean when I say innocence. There’s more to it than your virginity.”
Her head whips around and her eyes flash with fire. “By the way, I didn’t ‘set my sights on you.’ I didn’t even like you when we first met. I thought you were a dick, and to be perfectly honest, I’m still not sure that you’re not.”
My lips twitch with the hint of a grin.
“After spending time with you, I began to see you differently. Sure, you’re a good looking guy, but that wasn’t the biggest draw for me.”
“Then what was?”
“The way you are with Joey. You’re a wonderful father and as I saw that side of you, it blocked out the giant asshole side.” Her lips tip upward at the corners.
“And then you made up your mind that you want to fuck the older, single dad and you’re committed to making it happen. Should I offer my dick up on a silver platter?” I ask this partly in jest, but I want her to think about what I’m saying. There’s some merit in what I’m telling her. If we do this, it won’t end well for Sophie.
“Don’t be an asshole.”
“As you’ve pointed out, I have a giant asshole side. It’s not easy to keep him in check all the time.”
“Can we not talk anymore? We’re not going to agree and I just want to enjoy the rest of the night.”
“Sure.” Now I feel bad for having this discussion with her. No. Fuck that. She needed to hear it. She’s only upset because she knows what I said is right and she doesn’t want to hear it. “Want to watch The Challenge with me?”
“I don’t like you very much right now, but I do love that show.”
“Understood. Let’s see who’s going home on this episode.”
* * *
Waking up in the bed alone isn’t as much fun as waking up when Sophie was with me. I know at the time, my head was fucked up about it, but she still felt wonderful beside me. And she smelled delicious too. I wish she was with me now. And I’m not happy about it. Sophie and I both turned in early to make up for the complete lack of sleep we’d gotten the night before.
It seems like no matter how many times I remind myself that I must leave Sophie alone, I fall right back into the trap of thinking about her all over again. And let’s not forget about longing for her. I’m definitely doing that. I try to push down my morning hard-on, but it’s not going anywhere. And the more I think of her… I might have to take matters into my hands.
Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I notice it’s almost nine a.m. Joey never sleeps this late. I try not to panic, but it’s unavoidable. I jump from the bed and race around to find some clothes to put on.
We’re not at home where everything is familiar and safe for him. We’re in a house that’s not toddler proof, with an inground pool in the backyard and the ocean close enough that he could easily get to it. Fuck. I should’ve set the goddamn alarm. I’m an idiot.
I tug on the first pair of basketball shorts I find and an old t-shirt, the writing so faded I can’t remember what it originally said. I push a hand through my hair as I rush to find Joey. As soon as I get into the hallway, I hear Sophie’s soothing voice speaking to someone. Is Joey with her?
Racing into the kitchen, I come to a screeching halt when I see Joey sitting at the table with Sam and Tanner.
Sophie stands in front of the stove making scrambled eggs. There’s a plate next to her, piled high with a mountain of bacon. Oh boy. She turns when she hears me enter the room.
“Good morning, everyone,” I direct the words to them all, but my eyes tell Sophie the greeting is just for her.
The large tiles on the floor are cold against my feet as I amble over to kiss Joey on top of his head. “How’s my boy this morning?”
DEPRAVITY: KING UNIVERSITY Page 13