The Sexy One

by Lauren Blakely

  The elevator door in Gabriel’s building closes with a soft whoosh. We’re alone, having just said goodbye. Simon presses the button for the lobby then meets my gaze.

  “Dinner was amazing.” I feel like I’m glowing, from the good food and good company.

  “It was, and I’m so glad you were here with me. Thank you.”

  “It was my pleasure,” I say as I smooth a hand over the skirt of my black dress, a knee-length flouncy number with slim straps.

  He steps closer as the car chugs downward. Then even closer as he reaches for my arm and runs his finger down the bare skin. Goosebumps rise in his wake, and I shiver.

  I swallow, my eyes staying on his the whole time. “How do you think we’re doing with the feats of strength?” I ask, my tone laced with the desire that builds in me every second that he looks at me like this—like I’m the answer to his every wish.

  “Well, I haven’t ripped off your clothes,” he says with a wry grin, his blue eyes sparkling as his fingers change directions, heading back up my arm.

  “Pity, that.”

  He raises his hand to my face and runs the back of his fingers over my jawline. I lean into him and sigh contentedly. I feel as if I’m glowing all over, like everything is bright and beautiful in my world.

  “Abby,” he says, his voice full of tenderness.

  “Yes?”

  With his free hand he gestures from me to him. “What’s happening here?”

  My heart squeezes, and my skin heats to supernova levels. I know what he’s asking. I know what he’s getting at. I want him to say it first, though. “I think you know,” I whisper.

  He nods and presses the barest of kisses to my lips. I light up everywhere from that sliver-of-a-second of a kiss. My entire body tingles from head to toe. He separates and gazes at me, and sparklers ignite in every cell of my body. I’m a firework, and I’m about to burst in brilliant red jets of light. If he just says what I think he’s going to say . . .

  He tucks a finger under my chin as the car slows, nearing the lobby. “I do know.”

  My body hums with hope. “Then tell me,” I say, my voice bare, stripped to pure need.

  “I will. I’ll tell you what’s happening to me, and it’s this,” he says, stopping to take a breath, holding my gaze. “I’m in love with you.”

  And I swoon. I melt. I burst. I don’t know that I’ve been very good at resisting this man, but I sure as hell know I no longer want to. I’m crazy for him. Looping my hands around his neck, I pull him close. “I’m so in love with you.”

  “I’ve been falling in love with you since the day we met,” he says, and my heart soars above the earth.

  “It’s completely the same for me.”

  He sighs against me, and it’s the happiest of sounds. I’ve done this. I’ve made this man incandescently happy. I stand up on tiptoe and move my mouth to his ear. “Will you take me to your home and make love to me?”

  A shudder moves through his body, and he answers with the sexiest, hungriest yes.

  21

  Simon

  * * *

  She walks into my bedroom looking like she belongs.

  Not because she struts in like she lives here. But because she owns me. She’s claimed a piece of my heart, and now I have the chance to touch her in the most intimate way.

  It staggers me.

  Watching her run her fingers along the covers of my bed knocks the breath out of me. She’s here. In my bedroom. When she turns around, she drops her purse on my bed, brings her hand to the strap on her shoulder, and gives me the most inviting look.

  Like she’s saying come and get me.

  I will. Oh yes, I will.

  “Let me do that,” I say, closing the distance between us and pushing the slim black strap of her dress down her shoulder, exposing her bare flesh. “Let me undress you.”

  I bend to her, kissing her, imprinting my lips on her soft, vanilla-scented skin. She murmurs and sighs as her hands loop into my hair. I travel along her collarbone, nipping her lightly with my teeth then kissing the delicate column of her throat. She stretches her neck, exposing more of her skin for me. I kiss up to her ear, bite down on her earlobe, and whisper, “This feels like a dream.”

  Her hand curls around my head. “It’s all real. I assure you.”

  “So real,” I echo as I brush my lips to hers. “I didn’t stand a chance of resisting you, Abby. The minute you walked through my door, it’s been a battle.”

  “It’s the same for me, I swear,” she says, breathless.

  I slide the other strap down then bring my hands to her back and work open the zipper. “I’ve longed for this moment. Dreamed about it,” I say as I glide down the metal teeth.

  She trembles, and her breath stuttering like that is the sweetest sound. I don’t need music. I don’t need noise. I want to hear only her—her gasps, her voice, her sighs, mingling with the far-off din of a New York City night.

  “Me, too,” she says, her breath ghosting over me. “You have no idea.”

  “No. I have every idea. Because I’m so fucking crazy about you.” My entire body burns with desire for her. My bones vibrate with the need to touch her, to take her, to have her. To be as close to this woman as I possibly can be.

  I dip my mouth to hers, crushing her lips in a kiss. My brain goes haywire, my veins shooting full of electricity from the way we connect. As I kiss her hard, I tug her dress to her waist, her hips, then down her legs. I barely break the kiss as she steps out of her clothes.

  Her fingers race up my shirt, grasping at buttons, undoing them in a flurry. Soon, she spreads open the fabric, running her hands across my chest, tracing the tattoo. I still for a moment, taking in the enormity of this night.

  Abby’s hands are on my bare skin. She’s touching me. She wants me to make love to her, and I’m going to. I’m going to strip the rest of her clothes off, lay her on my bed naked, and slide into her—

  Fuck.

  The sky falls, and my night crashes down. “I don’t have any condoms,” I blurt out.

  She wiggles her eyebrows. “But I do.”

  “You do?”

  She shrugs sexily. “I was kind of hoping you’d want this. And I didn’t want to presume you stocked them, so I did.”

  “I don’t stock them,” I say, and don’t need to add no need to. Obviously, if I don’t have them, that’s why.

  She reaches for her purse, snaps it open, and tosses the wrapper on the bed.

  “Only one?” I tease, as I unbutton my pants.

  “I have another one. If we need it,” she adds as I toe off my shoes and pull off my socks.

  “Oh, we’ll need it,” I say, my voice commanding, strong. “Once with you won’t be enough.”

  I unzip my pants and take them off, tossing them somewhere on the floor.

  She breathes out hard as she stares at my boxer briefs and the outline of my hard-on. Her eyes widen, looking hazy with lust. Good. I like the way she stares. The way she licks her lips. Her eyes shine with desire, and the look in them makes me even harder.

  Her hand reaches out, and she presses it against my dick. I groan.

  “Fuck, Abby,” I mutter as she rubs her palm against me. Her touch is out of this world. I rock into her hand for a few seconds. Then I step back, taking in how utterly stunning she is, clad only in a dark bra and matching lace panties that will be off her in seconds. “You look gorgeous in all this black, but I’m dying to get you into absolutely nothing.”

  She runs her hands up my chest and whispers, “Strip me.”

  So I do, unhooking her bra, sliding off her panties, and then admiring her naked beauty. All that creamy skin, those beautiful breasts, her soft belly, her hips, and then, as she sinks back onto my bed, between her legs, where I want to spend the rest of the night.

  I strip off my boxers and climb on top of her, skin to warm skin. She moans and arches up into me, and I could slide into her right now. But I want her wild. I want her reckless. I wa
nt her out of her mind with pleasure. Making my way down her beautiful body, I kiss her breasts, her belly, her waist. She raises her knees and lets them fall open.

  A lust-fueled reverence charges through my body as I run my hands under her thighs, spread her open more, and bury my face between her legs.

  She whimpers the second my tongue flicks against her sweet center. My eyes roll back into my head. She tastes exquisite, and she’s mine. All mine. As I kiss and lick her wetness, her fingers tangle into my hair, and she moves with me, her hips rocking up, her back arching.

  A broken pant falls from her lips, then a plea.

  More, please, God, more.

  It’s so good.

  Oh God, it’s so good.

  Her words ignite me as I devour her. Soon, she turns wilder, frantic and frenzied, her fingers gripping my skull as she grinds against my tongue. She’s all over me, her liquid heat on my chin, my lips, my jaw, and I fucking love being coated in her.

  Nearly as much as I love the way her hands curl tighter through my hair, and she cries out, thrusting up into me, moaning, groaning, calling my name as she comes on my lips, then collapses.

  I crawl up her body, brushing kisses on her skin as I go. I reach her face and she pulls me close, pressing her lips to mine. Without breaking the kiss, I grab the condom, open the wrapper, and then separate from her so I can roll it on. Can’t fuck up this part. Got to do it properly.

  I stare at her, all warm and glowing in my bed, her wild blond hair fanned out, her eyes shimmering, and I’m floored. I’m here in my home with this wonderful woman I’ve completely fallen in love with.

  And she’s fallen right along with me.

  How lucky am I?

  She loops her arms around my neck. “Now,” she begs.

  “So demanding,” I tease, as I rub the head of my dick against her wetness.

  Holy hell. She feels amazing, and then I elevate that assessment to divine as I push into her. Her lips part, and she moans softly as I fill her. When I’m fully nestled inside her, she grabs the back of my head and brings my face close to hers.

  “Hi,” she whispers.

  “Hey, you,” I say as I start to move, stroking inside her, then dragging back, letting her feel the friction of us.

  “You feel incredible,” she says, and she never takes her eyes off me. She’s so open, so vulnerable, so fucking honest.

  A shiver runs down my spine as I take this all in. Our intense connection. The dark of the night. This woman in my bed. “Have I ever told you how much I love making you come?” I whisper as I thrust.

  She flashes a quick smile. “No. Tell me,” she murmurs.

  I lower to my elbows, and she runs her fingernails up my arms and over my biceps, squeezing them.

  I push deeper into her, savoring the wet heat, the snug feel, the tightness of her as she grips me. “It’s my new favorite hobby. Giving you orgasms,” I say on a groan.

  She digs her nails into my arms and arches up, her back bowing off the bed. “Oh God,” she moans, her eyes falling shut. “You’re so good at it.”

  “Because I love it. Because I love tasting you,” I rasp in her ear. I circle my hips and drive into her. Her pitch rises as she moans. “Because I love making you feel good,” I add, continuing my ode to her pleasure as I fuck her. She moves faster, matching me thrust for thrust, stroke for stroke. I meet her rhythm, then punch my hips, upping the pace, harder and faster. Her breath grows louder and wilder, and her legs wrap around me.

  “Oh God,” she groans.

  I press my lips to her neck, then thread my hands in her hair, my chest to hers, our bare skin touching. “Because I’m so fucking in love with you,” I say, and she rises up, grinding into me. Arching. Seeking.

  Her mouth opens, and she’s silent at first, then beautifully loud, as she shatters beneath me, writhing and moaning and breaking apart.

  My own pleasure isn’t far away. It’s just within reach as I watch the climax move through her. Her breath catches. Her face contorts. Her pants turn to delirious cries.

  That’s all I need. She’s all I want. I follow her to my own ecstasy, and it’s never been better than it is with her.

  22

  Abby

  * * *

  Probably someone somewhere said no wise decisions were made at three in the morning. But I disagree.

  As Simon wraps his arm around me, I ask, “So are we doing this?”

  My heart beats faster, making a case for taking that leap. After all these months of fighting our feelings, I don’t want to hide them anymore. I’m not blind. I’m not stupid. I know the risks. But this wild happiness in my heart when I’m with him? It’s stronger than all those warning signs.

  “Not sure how to break this to you, Abby,” he deadpans, “but we’ve already done it. Twice in fact.”

  “You know what I mean!” I swat his chest. Have I mentioned he has a fantastic body? Just in case I haven’t, I’ll say it again. The man is cut, and strong, and muscled. His arms are shrine-worthy. His abs are lickable. And his ass deserves an award for firmness.

  He runs his nose along my hair, inhaling me.

  I shudder. “Don’t distract me from talking.”

  “You’re distracting me,” he whispers.

  Moonlight slices through the blinds in his room, casting a silvery glow across the covers. “I’m serious. Where do we go from here?”

  He runs a hand gently through my hair. “Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t have an answer to how all this works. But I’m still in love with you.” It scares me to voice the depth of my feelings, but they’re real and true. My job matters, but so does my heart. With him, my heart is full.

  This man brings me joy, and I don’t just mean between the sheets. He makes me happy, and it’s not because he fills a void in my life. It’s not because I had a shitty childhood or a bad father—I had a good childhood and a great dad. And it’s not because I have a history of ex-boyfriends who treated me like crap. I have none of that in my life story. I’m not damaged goods. I’m the twenty-something woman who loves her family and who loves her life.

  Simon doesn’t fill a void. He makes my life richer.

  He nuzzles my neck. “Good. I’d have been devastated if you fell out of love with me after sex.”

  I can’t help but smile. “Well, I didn’t. Maybe I fell more in love.”

  He runs his hand along my ribs. “Same here,” he whispers, his voice smoky and sexy. Then he clears his throat. I tense momentarily, but there’s no need to worry when he says, “I want to figure this out. I want to be with you. I don’t want you to lose your job. I know it might be weird if you work for my family if we’re together like this, but it’s not weird to me. I want you to be mine, Abby. Maybe I’m a greedy bastard, but can I have you in every way?” He grins, a sweet, lopsided grin.

  I bring my index finger to my lips and adopt a pensive stare. “Hmm. So I can have the job and the guy? Sounds too good to be true.”

  “Maybe it’s our time for all good things.”

  “And does that mean next time I ask you to play pool or go bowling with my friends and me, you’ll go?”

  He drops a quick kiss on my lips. “I will. But part of the reason I pulled away in the cab after our first kiss was that I didn’t want to drag you down. Are you sure you don’t care that I’m the guy with the kid?”

  I roll my eyes. “Stop that. Stop saying that. Your daughter is not a deal-breaker. She’s part of why I love you. And you could never drag me down.”

  He runs his hand along my arm. “Then we’re doing this.” He takes a beat. “Which also means I should tell Hayden.” That’s one of the biggest steps of all and my heart thumps harder as I wait for him to say more. “I’m not saying she needs to know everything, obviously. She’s only five. But I want you in my life as more than her nanny, and that means I don’t want to hide how I feel for you.”

  “I don’t think I’m even capable of hiding how I f
eel anymore.” Then, because I can, because we’re stepping over the line that’s no longer a line, I kiss him.

  He’s mine now.

  He belongs to me.

  Morning sun streaks through the window as lips flutter across my forehead. A soft voice whispers in my ear, “Going for a run. Back soon. Sleep more, my love.”

  “Running,” I murmur with a shudder. “I choose sleeping.” I slide back into blissful slumber.

  When I wake up, I’m all alone. I stretch my arms over my head, savoring the new day and the chance to be with Simon—just us, all day long, being a couple. I peek at the clock. It’s nearly nine. I make my way out of bed and head to his adjoining bathroom. It’s all white with navy blue towels. Classy and masculine at the same time. The shower is huge by Manhattan standards, and I turn on the water, let it steam up, and then step under the showerhead. I use his body wash and his shampoo as I clean up, then turn off the water and wrap myself in a fluffy towel, with another for my hair.

  I spot a toothbrush on the sink with a Post-It on it. For you. That brings a huge smile to my face, and after I brush my teeth, I towel-dry my hair, hang up one towel, and grab a hair-tie from my purse. I check my phone to find a text from him.

  * * *

  Simon: Leaving the park. Back in five minutes. I have good news!

  * * *

  I write back, and tell him Can’t wait!

  Then I drop my phone in my purse, wishing I had thought to bring a change of clothes, but c’est la vie. I’ll head home shortly in last night’s dress, after Simon returns. I’ll change into something casual, and we’ll spend the day together.

  Or maybe I won’t head home.

  Maybe we’ll spend the day naked in bed.

  That possibility brings a wicked grin to my face.

  It only widens when a knock on the door sounds through the apartment. I head to the living room, adjusting the towel over my breasts, spotting Simon’s keys on the coffee table. He must have left them here, knowing I’d let him in when he returned from his run. Easier to run without keys, I guess.