by Ann Everett
She hesitated and he didn’t want her to stop, so he urged her lower. She had him so aroused, and if he wanted to keep his promise of no sex on the first night, he needed some relief.
Once she reached her destination, he arched to meet her. She lightly licked the tip, circled it, then ran her tongue the full length and took him into her mouth.
God, he’d dreamed of this moment. That mass of red hair pumping between his legs, her sweet lips hot and tight. As innocent as she was, somehow, she knew how to drive him crazy. He was on the edge, and it was more than pleasure. He wasn’t sure there was a name for it. He couldn’t believe what she was doing, but for the life of him, he couldn’t hold back any longer. When he came, he moaned her name, prayed for mercy, and accepted his world would never be the same.
Moments later, she nuzzled beneath his ear. “Was that okay?”
“Hell damn, Maggie. What was that? That couldn’t have been a first time.”
“It was. Good, huh?”
“Better than good.”
“I googled it.”
He jerked upright. “What? You googled a blow job?”
“Yeah. That one is called a French BJ. It got excellent reviews. Five stars from everyone.”
He laughed again. Funny, she could give one, but couldn’t say it. Wrapping her tight in his arms, he said, “Oh God, Maggie. I’ve never met anybody like you.”
When I kissed you, I was afraid to love you.
Now that I love you, I’m afraid to lose you.
~Unknown
Maggie’s eyes fluttered against the haze of early morning, her favorite time of day. A drowsy moon settled, the sun winked promise, and she talked to God. Today’s subject, fornicating, because she’d done plenty of that in the last eight hours. No use asking for forgiveness. God only granted it if she intended to change her ways, and she didn’t.
She stretched out long and lean and rolled to look at Jace. Her heart jumped into her throat. The bed. Empty. She lurched forward and scanned the room. No boots or clothes. Her mind raced. Jumping to her feet, she ran to the living room and peered out to the street. His truck—gone.
Stomach churning, she went to the bathroom, leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on her face. Tears welled and she stared at her reflection in the mirror. You idiot. You gullible, stupid girl. Last night, he sounded so sincere. How could she have been so wrong? Unable to control them any longer, tears came fast and hard. Staggering back to bed, she buried her face in the pillow. The roaring in her head blocked everything but jumbled thoughts. At least she’d not declared her love for him, so he couldn’t get a good laugh about that. For a second her tears waned and she thought she’d regained control, but a moment later, another wave surged.
“Maggie?”
She jerked upright in one quick motion.
Jace rushed across the room and knelt beside her. “What’s wrong? Are you upset about last night? Do you regret it?”
She threw her arms around him. “I thought you were gone.” She wanted to say more, but her breath hitched.
He pulled away and tilted her face up. “Didn’t you find my note? I left it on my pillow. Sarah told me you loved the cinnamon rolls from the bakery down the street, so I went to get some.” He dangled a paper bag.
She wiped her face on the sheet. “I didn’t see it. I thought maybe you’d…” her voice trailed off.
“You thought I got what I wanted and hit the road? Understandable.”
She lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”
He heaved her back into his embrace and kissed her. “It’s okay. Don’t cry anymore. You’re stuck with me.”
She pressed her hands to his cheeks. “Your face is frozen. Get back in bed. I’ll give you my warm spot.” She scooted to the other side.
He got rid of his clothes, crawled in next to her, and wrapped her in his arms. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry I cried.”
Aphrodite appeared and placed her front paw on the bed. Jace lifted her and found his sticky note clinging to yellow fur. “Dydee, you’re killing me.”
Jace and Maggie laughed.
Thirty minutes later, Maggie climbed out of bed and walked to her closet. She selected a pair of scrubs from the hanger, balanced on one foot, threaded her other through the leg of the pants, repeated the movement and ended at the bedside table, where she opened the drawer and withdrew a piece of paper. “Here’s my schedule. Tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday, I work eight to four. That will give you time to spend Thanksgiving with your family.”
“I want you to spend Thanksgiving with me.”
She pulled her shirt over her head and bent forward to gather her hair into a ponytail and spoke between her legs. “I told you I’m working.”
“We’ll wait to celebrate. Mom and Dad won’t mind.” Jace grabbed his jeans and put them on. “We don’t usually eat until one o’clock anyway, so I’ll tell everyone to eat a late breakfast. Mom can serve dinner at five. How will that be?”
She stood in the doorway of the bathroom waving her toothbrush as she spoke. “I don’t want to change your tradition.”
“And I don’t want to have Turkey Day without you.”
“Okay. You win.”
“Oh, by the way, you won’t be our only guest. My uncle and his family will be there.”
She rinsed her mouth and called out from the sink. “On your dad’s or mom’s side?”
“Mom’s. It’ll be Uncle Bob, Aunt Kim, and their two girls, Ashley and Sydney. And there’s something I need to tell you.”
She stepped to the doorway. “What?”
“You kinda already know Uncle Bob.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I do?”
“Yeah. My mom’s maiden name is Adams.”
Maggie rested her hands on her hips. “Bob Adams? As in Professor Bob Adams? As in, will you do me a personal favor by tutoring a football player Professor Bob Adams?”
Jace clamped his teeth together and stretched his lips thin. “That would be the one.”
“Oh. My. God. Now I understand why he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Do you have any idea what that man promised to get me to help you?”
“Are you mad? I know I should have told you, but we didn’t get off to a good start and when things got better between us, I didn’t want to do anything to jinx it, but then you got pissed and I didn’t figure that was the right time either, but come Thursday, I didn’t want you walking in and seeing him there and finding out…”
She raised a palm in the air to stop his chatter and broke into laughter. “Mad? No. After last night, I’m going to send him a thank-you.” She giggled and walked over to sit beside him. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got two classes this morning and work from eleven to seven. Will I see you tonight?”
“Absolutely. You still owe me a date, so I thought we could go out.”
She wasn’t sure she could survive until then. Tonight was the night. He’d promised. Besides, they’d covered all the foreplay, so sex had to be next. The thought of everything they’d done the night before had her hot and tingling. The memory of his lips, and hands, and what he’d done with them, well, the recollection caused every nerve in her body to jump.
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her slow and sweet.
“Are you leaving? We could have sex now. I have time,” she said.
“Maggie, don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“All innocent and eager.”
“Well, I’m not as innocent as I was yesterday, but I am eager.”
He hugged her and she loved the way he felt, strong and solid, yet gentle. She inhaled his scent and kissed him on the neck. “When it comes to you, I have no pride, no shame. I want you so much, I’m losing my mind.”
He stepped back and touched her cheek. She closed her eyes. She’d basically begged him for sex. He probably thought she was crazy and was putting a getaway plan in place. She didn’t blame him.
“Open your eyes.”
She buried her face in her hands and he pulled them away.
“I want our first time to be special, not only for you, but for me too. I don’t want it to be rushed. I want us to take our time. I want it to be a night to remember. And fifty years from now, when you reflect on this, you won’t have a single regret. Okay?”
“What kind of man-whore are you? If anybody should be taking the moral high ground here, it’s me.”
He laughed out loud. “Baby, my whoring days are over. Now go to class. I’ll see you tonight.”
She grabbed her purse and headed to her car. This was going to be the longest Monday of her life.
All day she counted the minutes until her shift ended. She thought of nothing but Jace. She double-checked everything she’d done. It was a miracle she hadn’t killed a patient.
By the time she got home, it was seven-thirty and his truck was parked on the street. He met her at the door with a kiss.
“How’d you get in?” she asked.
“Sarah. I got here right before she left for work.”
Maggie pulled him to the couch, straddled him and kissed him hard. “I can’t wait until after our date. As a matter of fact, let’s not go out. You’ve only been waiting for me a few months. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.”
Then her hands were all over him. She wanted to touch everywhere at once. She stripped his shirt over his head, popping the top button. It skidded across the floor.
“Slow down, Maggie. Not on the couch. Let’s go to the bedroom.”
Heat spread through her, desire gained control. She needed him. Naked. Hard. Inside her.
He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom and when she saw it, she lost her breath. Candles glowed on every table, rose petals littered the floor. She looked at him. His eyes were dark, intense, and full of promise.
“I never thought you’d be so romantic.”
“Just with you. Only with you.” He claimed her mouth again.
Sliding down his body, she shimmied out of her scrubs and panties then lifted her arms to let him strip off her shirt. She unhooked her bra, while he got rid of the rest of his clothes, removed a foil package from his pocket and tore it open with his teeth.
“Jace? Don’t use a condom. I know you have a rule, no sex without one, but it’s my first time and I don’t want anything between us. I’m on the pill, and…”
He dropped the packet to the floor, smiled at her, then sat and pulled her to stand between his legs. Her skin tingled as he trailed fingers along her back then to her hips. He pressed his lips between her breasts. She ran her fingers through his hair and held him there.
Heat flashed to frenzy. Her body knew what it wanted. She wanted him. Only him. “I love it when you do that.” Her chest heaved, rising and falling as he gave attention to each peaked nipple.
He moved back onto the bed and brought her with him, rolling until he was on top.
Her hands moved over his body fast and frantic. The air in the room thickened.
He sucked in a quick breath. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.”
He trailed kisses down her torso and blood seared through her veins at the thought of him repeating the mind blowing cunnilingus from the night before. God, how she’d grown to love that word in the last twenty-four hours and what it meant. Then he was there. She lost every ounce of modesty. She raked her fingers in his hair, holding him in place and writhed against him as the orgasm consumed her.
A low, soft rumble came from the back of his throat as he moved back to her face.
She opened her eyes to find him staring at her. She turned her head away. “What? You’re laughing at me?”
“No, baby. Not at you. I like that I had you begging.”
“I wasn’t. Was I?”
“I think Jace, please, please qualifies as begging.”
Now she laughed and covered her face with her hands. “Oh my God. What’s happened to me?”
“I’ve happened to you.”
She gave him a slight push. “You are so full of yourself.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Yeah. Well, you’re about to be full of me.”
Helpless to stop it, she quivered beneath him.
He placed his knee between her legs and pushed her thighs apart, then kissed her softly.
A sob rose from the back of her throat and she spread her legs wider. This was the moment she’d waited for.
He teased her with his finger and she moaned his name and this time she heard it.
He removed his finger and tried to push inside her. “Relax.”
“I am.”
“No, you’re not. You’re hot as hell, but you’re not relaxed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re nervous, that’s all.” He stole her mouth again in a lingering kiss, and when it ended, he spoke softly. “I’ve wanted you beneath me from the moment I met you. I’d lie awake at night and fantasize how you’d feel against me. Skin to skin. Have my hands on you. Touch you where no one ever had. Have you touch me. Be inside you.”
“Jace,” she said with a deep sigh.
He tried again.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Stop apologizing. It’s okay. We have all night. Don’t think. Just let it happen. Maybe it will help if I tell you a secret.”
“Yeah. Tell me.”
He leaned his head away from her and gazed into her eyes, lowered his face to hers and licked her lips.
She shivered under him.
He nuzzled her hair. “I love you, Maggie.”
With those three little words that barely took a heartbeat and breath to say, she went hot and loose and he filled her.
She trembled beneath him and took a ragged breath, so he stopped.
“Are you crying? Am I hurting you? God, I’m sorry.”
He started to pull back, but she gripped his hips and held him. “You’re not hurting me. It’s just—nobody’s said that to me since Rose died. I’m pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic. You’re perfect and I love you, I love you, I love you.”
She surrendered. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she moved against him. The muscles that worked so hard to keep him out now tightened to bring him deeper. He pushed through her virginity and she whimpered. Not a sound of pain, but of pleasure.
She couldn’t get enough. He took her to a place she’d never been. Her need was as great as his and that surprised her. He stretched his body out long and lean, pinned her hands above her head, then pushed high into her and rotated his hips.
She opened her eyes and found him staring down at her. God, he looked so beautiful in the candlelight, his skin damp and glowing. His eyes deep and dark with passion. Now he easily thrust into her.
“Stop,” she said.
“What? You want me to stop?”
“For just for a second.” She’d done her homework. She wanted to please him in ways he’d never experienced.
~~*~~
Jace did as he was told. Still deep inside her, she clenched around him, then released. Clenched again. Released. Again and again, until he thought he’d lose his mind. He had to stop her or he was going to explode. “Stop, Maggie. If you don’t, I’m going to finish before you and I don’t want that.
“Are you sure?”
“God help me. You’re driving me crazy.”
She smiled up at him and moved against him again.
He picked up the pace. When she shuddered and cried out, he gave her more. It was his first time for sex without a condom and he couldn’t believe the sensation. He felt so good inside her he wanted to stay there forever. They moved together, no longer separate, but as one. Long, slow, smooth strokes taking him to the top of the world where pleasure consumed him.
He stayed inside her for as long as he could until apparently his weight got the best of her.
She released the grip she had on his hips and he rolled off her.
“Damn, Maggie. That was unbelievable. What the hell was that?”
“Benefits of Google research. I’m glad you liked it. I liked it, too. I like sex. I wasn’t sure I would. You know, I’ve heard women at work talk like it’s a real chore. It seems their husbands always want it and they don’t, but I like it. If they don’t like it so much, maybe they aren’t doing it right.” She took a quick breath and continued her chatter. “I mean, I’ve heard Sarah and Sam plenty of times and she sounds like she likes it. Oh, and the night I was in the laundry room and they were doing it, they both seemed to like it. A lot.” She propped on an elbow. “Jace, did you hear me?”
“Hmm, you like sex. Good to know.”
“Jace, don’t sleep. Let’s talk.”
He opened his eyes for a second and then closed them again. “I need a little nap. You talk, I’ll listen.”
She kissed him. “I know you want to sleep. After sex your brain releases a cocktail of chemicals. Along with others, they include serotonin, oxytocin and the hormone prolactin, which makes you drowsy. But wake up. I want to talk.”
His eyes opened and he laughed. “Damn, that’s the first post-sex chemistry lesson I’ve ever had.”
“I’m hungry. We haven’t eaten.”
His lashes fluttered again. “Order a pizza.”
She traced his collarbone with her fingers. “This is one of my favorite body parts.”
He half-opened his eyes and pointed to his left side. “This other one was my first football injury. I broke it in seventh grade.”
She leaned over and kissed it. “What else have you broken?”
He smiled and placed his fingers. “These two ribs.”
She planted two more kisses.
He held his hand to her mouth. “My wrist.”
She kissed the spot.
“My dick,” he said and laughed.
She punched him. “You are awful.” Her cheeks flushed.
“Awful good.” He flashed a sexy grin.
She covered her face. A long moment passed and he didn’t say anything. She spread two fingers and peeked between them. “Stop gawking at me like that.”