“I’m glad you approve, Kitten,” I whispered against her lips as I backed her onto the bed, settling us into a spooning position.
As uncomfortable as my raging hard-on might have felt, I couldn’t deny how great she felt in my arms. The bed, though smaller than my own in the main house, was comfortable, and I had to admit I liked it being the size it was because that meant she had to stick close to me. Suddenly, any worry I had about trying to push things to fast seeped out and I calmed.
“Good night,” she whispered, and I kissed her shoulder, quickly turning off the light on the nightstand before coming right back to her, kissing her shoulder again.
“See you in my dreams, baby,” I whispered, shutting my eyes.
The darkness mixed with the busy emotional day and the added bonus of her warm body in front of me. With the scent of her hair in my nose, I somehow drifted off into a deep sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Anne
I was lying on my side, still caught in that space between reality and dream. I felt someone snuggled up behind me, but I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t anxious or afraid. I knew who it was. John’s body felt too good to fully wake up. Last night was some of the best sleep I had in years.
Even as I felt my shirt being lifted right below my breasts, I wasn’t afraid. My pulse kicked up in excitement at whatever he was planning. Warm fingertips traced my outer torso. It didn’t tickle or make me uncomfortable. If anything, it woke up every nerve in my body, making my nipples tighten, goose bumps covering my skin, and warmth pooling at my core. The bed shifted slightly, the radiating heat at my back disappearing, but within seconds, his wet, warm mouth was at my hip. My hand moved, fingers in his hair, and I forced myself to open my eyes.
Sunlight began to filter through the window, the sun filling the darkness of night slowly, almost as slowly as John’s mouth kissed my side. As if his movements and the new day were magically in sync. Wetness and an ache began to build at my core as his mouth moved up my body and he nipped the side of my breast.
“Mmm.” Surprised at how fast he had my body trembling with need, that was all I could vocalize.
He turned me onto my back, his powerful body over mine, his knees on either side of my body, and his very hard and very large erection pressing against my center, making me arch my back into him. I tried to touch him, but he shook his head, lifting my hands above my body, effectively making me his captive. I was about to protest, feeling uneasy about the position, when his fingers intertwined with mine so damn sweetly that it caught me off guard. I completely forgot the feeling of apprehension, of being powerless with him or any man. His eyes revealed that he was as hungry for this as I was. I braced as his face came closer, expecting the kiss to be violent and crushing, but he surprised me.
It was slow and sweet, his lips tenderly peppering kisses over my mouth, my cheeks, and my neck. Soft moans escaped from somewhere deep inside me while muttered groans of appreciation escaped from him as he kissed me and ground against me.
“More,” I finally muttered and felt him smiling against my neck.
“I’ll give you more, Kitten. Trust me. Patience.” The richness of his voice, hoarse with sleep, made me ache all over.
“Please,” I started to beg but stopped when the tips of his fingers touched the waistband of my panties. They gently lingered there, grazing my skin back and forth with utter patience, patience I did not have.
“John.”
“Your skin is as soft as I imagined it would be. Softer actually,” his deep voice rumbled against my neck, and I arched, tilting to give him more space. The fact he’d thought about my skin was surprising. “Are you trying to rush me, Kitten?” He smiled against my skin and I loved it.
“Please,” I groaned and heard his soft laughter.
“You’ve been driving me crazy these last couple of months, Anne. I’m going to take my time driving you crazy now.” He moved down my body, lifting the oversized shirt. His mouth was above my navel. His dark eyes looked at me salaciously, as if I was wearing the raciest lingerie instead of a threadbare dorky nightshirt.
His hands at my thighs stroked softly, and I opened my legs wider, hoping he’d finally touch me and give my body the relief it was aching for. His fingers grazed my panty covered lips, and I threw my head back at the sublime sensation of finally feeling his fingers there. Expecting him to take off my panties, I lifted my hips, but he shook his head.
“They stay on,” his hoarse voice demanded, and I nodded as if I had anything to do with that decision.
His fingers hooked in, sliding my cotton panties to the side, and the pad of his thumb rubbed me from front to back and back to front. The sensations were so damn good I dug my head further into the pillow, my eyes tightly shut.
“Look at me, Kitten,” he softly demanded, and I opened my eyes. His dark stare held me captive. “I’m going to....” he didn’t finish telling me what he was going to do, because Zoey chose that very moment to cry loudly. His body held still, and part of me thought he might get upset, but instead, he laughed, and I was again held captive.
This time it was because of the beautiful sight of him laughing. He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.
“Morning.”
“Morning,” I whispered, “I have to go get her.”
“I know. Want a rain check?” He asked, and I squeezed my thighs together and nodded.
“Okay.” He gave me one more peck then helped me off the bed, where I walked past him towards the room where Zoey’s crib was.
John
So close. So fucking close.
I shut my eyes, trying to calm my body down. My erection was killing me. I took a deep breath in and out.
If I had hurried my shit up, I would have been able to get us both off with time for a nap, but I had wanted the first time to be slow. Unrushed. Even as my body yelled at me to get us both there in record time, something deep in me told me to take it slow. It took all my self-control not to rush so that I could savor her.
I was a fucking idiot.
Taking another deep breath, I stood up and headed to the small kitchen. Dressed only in my boxer briefs and a cheesy ass smile on my face, I listened to Anne talking to Zoey, her voice calming something inside of me that I wouldn’t overthink.
I placed the bowls of cereal on the table just as she walked in with Zoey in her arms. Her dark hair mussed from sleep, it was slightly wild. I liked it. I sure as hell liked it spread out on her pillow. Surprise that I’d made us breakfast was evident on her face, so I winked, pulling up Zoey’s high chair.
“You made breakfast.” She smiled, walking towards me, and I nodded.
“It’s cereal.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” The soft tone of her voice told me she appreciated what I did. It made me feel ten feet tall.
“Come, sit,” I told her, leaning down to kiss her lips, Zoey’s laughter surrounding us.
We sat and ate in comfortable silence. Anne fed Zoey a mushed-up banana that she seemed to be enjoying when a knock came at the door. I looked at Anne’s face, where I saw fear flash and then quickly disappear. For a moment I wondered if that was her reaction to the door knocking all the time or because I was here. I stood up and, walking behind her, I kissed the top of her head.
“It’s just Nick,” I told her, and she looked up at me.
“Nick?” She frowned, staring at me.
“Freelance. It’s on a computer, so you can do it anywhere. There’s Wi-Fi here.”
“But John, I don’t have a laptop. I had to pawn mine before...before the storm brought us here.”
“Pawn?” I frowned at her. I noticed her cheeks burn bright in embarrassment and hated that I was prying. But before I could rescind my question she started to talk.
“Zoey had to go into Urgent Care. I had to pay for the doctor to see her.” Her body was taut and her tone completely on the defensive.
“Okay, Kitten. Don't worry. When I called him yesterday to apologize
, I asked him to bring one with him for you.” I had actually bought her one, but I wasn’t going to tell her that, yet.
“You called to apologize?”
“Yeah, I was a dick. Mike had been goading me most of the night and I lost my mind. I really am sorry,” I apologized again, and I was glad I did. Her eyes went soft, and a shy smile appeared on her face when she nodded. Another knock at the door.
“Go get dressed, Kitten, I’ll get the door.”
“Umm…”
“What?” I asked and was tempted to bite that sweet, full lower lip.
“You’re in your boxers,” she whispered, her face slightly pink. I couldn’t help myself, I lifted her up from the chair into my arms and walked her back to her room.
“And?”
“He’ll assume."
“He would assume right.” Her eyes narrowed, and I sighed, “Kitten.”
“I just think you need to put on pants and a shirt,” she said softly, her eyes now not on mine but looking towards the floor as I sat her on the bed.
“Why?”
“Because I’m your housekeeper, John!” Her cheeks flushed, her eyes not meeting mine.
“And?”
“And, this,” pointing back and forth, “Could be frowned upon.”
“Again, and what?”
“John, there are people who—”
“I’ll put on my clothes, but I am not shying away with how I feel about you. I could care less what people think.”
“We need to talk about that.”
“There is a lot we need to talk about, Kitten,” I told her, throwing on my shirt from the night before and pulling on my pants.
“John.”
“What?” I clipped, feeling frustrated, though why, I wasn’t sure.
“Thank you.” The softness in her voice made me look at her.
Her eyes were warm, and I watched her walk to me, her hands wrapping around my waist. I leaned down, my face in her hair, and breathed in deep. I wasn’t sure what she was thanking me for, but I wasn’t going to question it.
“I’ll watch Zoey while you work,” I told her, and she smiled and nodded, mouthing okay. Her lips were like a siren call, so I leaned down and kissed her hard. I couldn’t help it, and luckily for me, she didn’t pull away. Instead, she met me head-on, giving as much as I took. I heard another faint knock at the door and begrudgingly pulled away.
“Get dressed. After he leaves, we are having dinner at my place. Pack a bag, you’re staying over,” I ordered, and the pink tint and nod of her head made my dick twitch.
Chapter Fourteen
Anne
Working with Nick Riley was fun. Not only was I able to help him—he seemed to be impressed with me—but I had learned quite a bit from him as well. Fixing the issue had only taken about three hours.
“Seriously, Anne, this is incredible.” Nick’s voice rumbled in the quietness of the small guest house. Both of us were sitting side-by-side, laptops open on the coffee table. “I’m serious, I’ve had my top people working on this issue and you resolved it in three hours!”
“I’m a little rusty. I might have been able to do it quicker if I had been more familiar with the program.”
“I’m not complaining, babe.” He smiled at me, and I smiled back. “So tell me, if you are a computer wiz, what are you doing working for Davenport?”
“I...” I didn’t know what it was about Nick’s brown eyes that let me open up. “I’m hiding,” I admitted and hated the shame at the admission. I stole a glance at Nick, his face was tilted, watching me. Studying me.
“I have been working odd jobs mostly,” I chickened out. His eyes still on me, he nodded.
“If you want to freelance doing similar work like this and work from here, we could figure something out.”
“Nick.”
“You would get paid in cash. No record of you helping me.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” I told him, and he grinned at me.
“You didn’t.” He stood, grabbing his laptop and putting it away in his bag. I closed the one I had been working on and went to hand it to him, but he shook his head. “That one’s yours.”
“Mine?” I asked in wonder, looking at the silver laptop, my heart filling at the mere joy of being able to work with a computer again, even as nerdy as it made me seem.
“You need one for the work I will be passing along to you. I’ll email you tomorrow.”
“But...I… what I mean is…”
“Anne, it’s all good, okay?” He told me reassuringly, and I couldn’t hide my giddiness at the opportunity of doing what I loved. Smiling, he shook his head, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Walk me out, kid.”
John
Putting a very active Zoey down for a nap, I wondered how Anne was able to do everything she did and entertain Zoey throughout the week. Without an answer, I walked to the kitchen to grab a snack and watched from the window as Anne and Nick walked out. My hands tightened at seeing the little nerd’s hand over her shoulder. He shouldn’t be touching her. Breathing in deeply, I could still see the surprised look and knowing smirk on his idiotic face. I watched him give her a small hug, then get in his earth-friendly car and drive off.
She didn’t move from the spot. She stood there looking towards the gazebo, and I wondered what she was thinking about. She was smiling so brightly that I couldn’t help but smile as well. I watched as she started her walk towards the main house and quickly left the kitchen to head to the front door.
Opening the door, I saw that she was still smiling brightly, tilting her head at me. I stepped out of the house and grabbed her in my arms.
“Hi.” Her voice was happy, and I leaned down to kiss her.
“How did it go?” I asked her. Her face softened in a way that I really fucking liked.
“Good. He seemed impressed.” Her eyebrows went high, her eyes went wider, and I kissed her.
“Of course he would be. You are wonderful.”
“He left me the laptop. He wants me to freelance,” she nervously mentioned, and I put two fingers under her chin and looked at her.
“That’s good, right? You like doing that?”
“I love it.”
“Then why the hesitation?” I asked, caressing her cheek.
“He has to pay me cash. I can’t leave a trail.”
“He knows that.”
“He shouldn’t have to. If he hired anyone else—”
“From what I understand, he’s been having some issues getting this problem resolved.”
“They were looking at it from the wrong angle.”
“That right there is why he is more than okay with doing things the way you need him to. You are worth it,” I told her, knowing that she was worth so much in so many different ways.
“Thanks.” She leaned in and kissed me, her hands going around my neck, and I pulled her even closer to me. “Was Zoey okay?”
“She’s a princess. She’s going to skip walking and start running,” I told her proudly, and she smiled at me.
“Yeah.” Her voice softened as I held her hand and led her into the family room.
“You didn’t bring a bag,” I mentioned, looking at her.
“Yeah. I just think we need to talk.” Her voice was determined. I sat on the couch, bringing her down on top of me so that she was forced to straddle me.
“Fine. Let’s talk,” I told her, sounding too confident for my own good.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“What isn’t?” I questioned, and she looked at me. Her hesitant eyes stared at me, and all I wanted to do was shield her from whatever the hell put that fear behind them. Trying to focus on what she was talking about, I asked, “Us or people knowing about us?”
“Both.”
“I’m too old for you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, and loved the way she laughed. It was real. Honest. And I fucking loved it.
“No.” Her voice was soft and honest. “Not at all.”<
br />
“Then?” I pressed on.
“I’m worried about the situation I’ve put you in the middle of and you are clueless about.”
“You mean about what you are running from?”
“John.”
“I can handle myself, Anne. Trust me.”
“I don’t know if I can. With you I mean.” I frowned, not completely understanding what she meant.
“What?”
“I just mean I don’t know if I could keep you interested.” I laughed at her words, but her face was serious, so I hid my own in her neck as I tried to stop.
“Kitten, everything you do catches my attention,” I told her as I looked at her, “I just want a chance.”
Where the fuck these words came from, I had no idea, but I meant them. Surprisingly, I wasn’t alarmed by them.
“I’m your housekeeper, John.” Her tone was hesitant, but her eyes were warm and right on my mouth.
“I don’t care about that.”
“I just think we should be careful with crossing the lines.” Leaning in, I kissed her to shut her up.
She was trying to talk both of us out of this and I wouldn’t have it. She didn’t even try to protest. She kissed me back just as passionately. Knowing that Zoey was about to wake up from her nap and that we needed to eat something for dinner, I stopped things before we got to the point of no return.
“I’ll order pizza while you go get a bag.”
“All Zoey’s things are back at the guest house.” Taking that into consideration, I suggested a new game plan.
“Fine, I’ll order food and bring a bag over there.” I was not letting her out of my arms. She smirked at me, and before I knew it, she was kissing me. I liked her kissing me. Her lips moved slowly. Nipping and tugging. Our tongues danced as her taste invaded all my senses.
Davenport Harbor (Six Degrees Book 3) Page 9