Mimi
It was barely light outside when I woke up in Max’s arms. Yep, it was a pretty good place to be, all things considered. He spooned me, and I was glad for that—nobody wanted to wake up the first morning after sleeping with somebody knowing their morning breath was hitting their partner right in the face. I was also betting that I’d drooled in my sleep or at least snored a little. Because there was no way life was really as perfect as it seemed just then. Something had to be wrong.
I ran that hand over my face. No dried drool. There was a chance I wouldn’t scare him away, after all.
Last night seemed like a dream. A dirty, erotic, incredibly beautiful dream. But it must have been real, or else why would I still be buck naked and so sore between my legs, the kind of soreness a woman felt after having sex three times in one night? And why would he be lying just as naked with his arm over me? I heard his soft, even breathing behind me and relished the sound.
I was in love. No doubt about it. Only a woman in love could find the sound of her lover’s breathing so joyful and fulfilling.
I only wished I knew how he felt about me.
Don’t overthink this, Mimi. That never got you anywhere. The only thing overthinking ever got me was chewed-up fingernails and the very real concern of developing an ulcer. Besides, thinking too much made a girl do stupid things like become jealous, clingy, and possessive. I didn’t want to be any of those things. I wanted us to be us, just the way we were. If I read too much into it, I’d make it weird even if I tried not to.
He stirred, letting out a confused snort as he did. I stifled a giggle.
“Good morning,” he murmured, pulling me close.
Oh, he felt so good. His body was warm and firm as he enveloped me. I let myself sink into the sensation of his lips against the back of my neck, my throat, my ear, my jaw. He wasn’t trying to be sexy, but it didn’t matter. I felt my body respond like he’d flipped a switch.
“You’re up early,” I whispered. I took a chance and rolled over, hoping I didn’t look like something out of a haunted house. Damn him for looking even more delicious first thing in the morning than he did all day long. How was that even possible? Did he wake up in the middle of the night to make himself look presentable? Even his hair looked artfully tousled. Like he had a hair and makeup crew in that suitcase of his.
“Didn’t you hear me making plans to go fishing with Alexander and Peter this morning?”
I frowned. “I guess I missed it. Was that before or after you started placing bets on this year’s football draft?”
He chuckled softly. “After.”
“I see.”
“You could come, you know.”
I wrinkled my nose before I could stop myself. “I don’t think that would be the best idea. The thought of hooking a fish turns my stomach a little.”
“Do you eat fish?”
“Like it’s my job, but that’s another story.”
“Hypocrite.” He kissed my forehead, my cheeks. It was heaven. I wished time would stop. Everything was perfect, right here in our cocoon.
“That’s not hypocritical. It’s me, having a weak stomach. Besides,” I added, snuggling up against him just a little closer, “you need your guy time. I would only ruin it.”
“I don’t think you could ruin anything.” He stroked my face, my hair, before letting his hand move down to my back. I told myself to stop shivering every time he touched me, but I couldn’t help it. He was magic.
“I wish I could see myself the way you do,” I admitted, closing my eyes as his lips found mine.
“I wish you could, too. I really do.” He held my chin in his hand, then kissed me again before getting up. “I guess I’d better do this now, or else I might never leave.” He looked down at me in all his glorious nakedness, and I let my eyes linger on his body as long as I could.
“I’m taking a mental picture,” I told him, then held my hands up on either side of my face like I was holding a camera.
“Wow, is that supposed to be an actual camera in your hands? And you accuse me of dating myself.”
“Oh, sorry. Should it be a phone, instead?”
“Yeah. Try living in this century.” I threw a pillow at him and he laughed as he stepped into our bathroom.
Just before he closed the door, I murmured, “And to think. I was going to suggest we take a shower together this morning.”
The door stopped moving. “Uh, we can definitely still do that.”
“Why would you want to take a shower with a woman who doesn’t even live in this century?”
I rolled over, giggling to myself with my back to the door. So I didn’t see him rush to the bed, but I did feel him scoop me up in his arms and carry me to the shower. I could have fought him off, but why bother? He was a man who got what he wanted.
And he wanted me.
Max
Why I needed her body so much was a fucking mystery to me. With every other woman, I immediately lost a big chunk of my desire for her the second I finished I fucking her. And every time we fucked I lost more and more until I couldn’t even bear to be in the same room as her. But not with Mimi. With her, I couldn’t get enough. Fucking her was like pouring oil on fire. Just made the flames rise higher.
The more I got the more I wanted.
I put her on her feet and she gazed at my cock. I stood still and allowed her. When her gaze left my erect cock, and rose up to meet my eyes, I stepped into the shower and pulled her with me. I turned on the tap and warm water cascaded down on us. I took the bar of soap from the metal holder and held it out to her.
“Let me watch how you soap yourself.”
For a couple of seconds she hesitated. Then she took the bar and ran it across her chest, under her arms, and around her neck. Soap suds slid down her beautiful body. Fuck, I couldn’t wait to get inside her. Then, with adorable shyness, she swiped it between her legs.
“Don’t stop,” I growled.
She raised her arms and bent her elbows to do her back. Her breasts jutted forward. I wanted to suck the pink tips into my mouth. Sheepishly, she did the crack of her ass. I watched her do her thighs and legs. She picked up her foot to clean the sole of her foot. The action revealed the delicate, pink folds of her pussy. I stared, transfixed. She put the foot down and raised the other. Showing me another eyeful. Water beat down on my cock, making it bounce. It was so fucking hard it was fucking tingling.
I bent down and took her nipple between my teeth. Water ran into my mouth, changing the normal sensation of having a woman’s nipple in my mouth. In my life time I’d been in the shower with hundreds of women. I’d taken all their nipples in my mouth, but when I took hers I didn’t feel like it was a simple exchange of pleasure: I make you see stars, you make me come.
No, with her, I felt like eating her alive, consuming her. I wanted to go on my knees and fucking feast on her pussy for days. I couldn’t imagine letting anyone else have her. I wanted to keep her forever. I felt like she was mine.
I sucked hard enough to cause her pain, because she gasped.
I lifted my head. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No,” she whispered her eyes wide and dilated. Her eyelashes were full of water.
I took her other nipple in my mouth and sucked it gently, and she moaned sensuously. The sound sent me wild.
I turned her around so she was facing the tiled wall. Very firmly, I grabbed her hips and tilted them upwards. Then I got on my haunches. I grabbed the flesh of her cheeks and pulling them apart blew on her glistening sex. She shivered with anticipation. I buried my face between her cheeks and…I feasted. This time I couldn’t stop. I sucked, I licked, and I bit the plump flesh. Even her whimpers didn’t stop me. I ravished her like I had never ravished another. I sucked until she shuddered and climaxed sobbing.
My cock was hot and hungry so I felt the blood surging urgently through it. If I didn’t get into her soon, I was going to fucking explode.
I pulled her out of the showe
r and positioned her in front of the sink.
“I want you to watch me fuck you in the mirror. Hands on the sink, legs spread, ass sticking out,” I told her. While she stood gripping the sink hard, legs apart, and pushing her curvy ass as high as it would go, I retrieved the condom I left on the counter.
“Play with your clit,” I ordered.
Her back arched even more as she obeyed. It made her ass go higher, and her whole sweet pussy hung between her legs and begged me to fuck it. My favorite pose for a woman.
Perfect. Just fucking perfect.
I grabbed her hips and slid into her. I rammed so far into her body, her eyes widened in the mirror. I fucked her hard from the back while I watched her hand as it circled her clit. It was so engorged with blood it protruded out. We carried on like that, our wet bodies slapping, our eyes locked on each other in the mirror. I fucked her so hard the Field’s designer sink began to creak. Finally, with an animal-like cry, that I muffled with my hand, she came hard on my dick. She always went over the edge so beautifully.
There was no holding back after that.
I exploded deep inside her. I didn’t immediately slide out of her. We stood there joined and breathing hard, as I stroked her hair. Pushing it away from the back of her neck, I kissed the smooth wet flesh.
I looked up and her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks were flushed, her swollen mouth slightly open and panting. I had never seen a woman look more achingly beautiful.
She belonged to me now. Every fucking inch of her was mine.
Mimi
It was nearly eight o’clock. After a toe-curling shower, I’d sat in the easy chair with my e-reader and finished one book, then started another.
Serenity. That was the word for it. A beautiful, serene world full of beautiful people.
From my window, I could make out the back of the property and the lake just beyond it. Max was out there, somewhere, and a few other boats dotted the water. The sky was deep blue, clear, and it seemed like I could see for miles. And it was all lovely. I wished I could take a picture that would accurately capture it all, but no camera could do that.
It was enough to sit and breathe it in, to know I was part of it for a little while before going back to the noise and congestion of the city. I loved it, of course, but I was starting to see the value of being able to get away sometimes.
A couple of hours later, when the thought of coffee was too much to resist, I contemplated going downstairs. After dressing in jeans, a fitted button-down, and cardigan—I’d done my fair share of research before packing, and that seemed to be a popular clothing combination—I went down to the kitchen. There, Millicent and Gretchen sat with their coffee. Fortunately, there was no sign of Lillian.
“Mimi, sweetheart, help yourself. Cora has the morning off, so we’re sort of pitching in to do things on our own. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” I said.
Pouring a cup of coffee was hardly a hardship. And of course, it was the best coffee I'd ever tasted, because why wouldn't it be? Everything was perfect there.
The kitchen was stunning, a chef’s dream come true. Stainless steel appliances, a six-burner gas range, dual ovens, even a wood-fired oven built into the wall. I couldn’t imagine what they baked in there. Pizza? Bread? Either way, I’d happily taste test.
The ladies sat in what I guessed was the breakfast nook, a sunny spot in the back corner of the room which faced out in the direction my room did. Millicent waved me over. I wondered what Gretchen thought of that. How much did she know about me? If Lillian had told her, she hid it well. Either that or she thought her soon-to-be son-in-law was as big a piece of garbage as he actually was.
“The boys should be back soon from their little trip,” Millicent chuckled.
Gretchen’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “I simply can’t understand the allure of fishing.”
“I reacted the same way when Max told me he was going,” I confided. “I’m not much of an outdoorsy girl, I guess. Though I do like hiking.”
“Sure. It doesn’t involve slimy fish and worms.” The three of us grinned, and I thought I didn’t hate Gretchen as much as I’d assumed I would.
Until she opened her mouth again. “So exactly how long have you and Max been together? I heard you were already in another relationship until just recently.”
My blood turned to ice. Millicent, bless her heart, looked confused. Whether or not she actually was, I had no idea. I felt like a deer about to be run over by a semi with sweet, pretty Gretchen at the wheel. There I was, worrying about people taking Max and me for a fake when I should’ve been coming up with a rebuttal for a question about Josh. Finally, I managed to squeak out, “I wouldn’t call it a relationship. It was all under false pretenses.”
“Oh, was it?” She leaned her chin on her hand, all innocence.
“Yes, and I was deeply hurt when I found out the truth.” I stared at her, almost daring her to keep going. I didn’t want to embarrass Millicent by flinging my dirty laundry around, but I’d go there if Gretchen kept pushing.
She didn’t. Instead of running me down, she sat back in her chair. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“So was I.”
“How about some cake?” Millicent asked, smiling almost too brightly.
"None for me, thanks. I think I'll take a little walk."
I went out without my coat and was glad to find it unseasonably warm outside. I wouldn't have to suffer the cold while I sulked. I couldn't stay in there a minute longer, not with Judgy McJudgepants staring at me over the rim of her coffee cup. I should’ve known she would find some thinly-veiled way of bringing Josh into the conversation. Well, I wasn’t ill-bred enough to tell the whole sordid story, though that would’ve been just what Josh deserved.
I would never do it anyway. Lillian made my skin crawl and I wouldn’t have minded if she moved to Nepal and never came back, but it wasn’t her fault her boyfriend cheated. She was just a woman, like me.
I guessed I would’ve freaked out the way she did if the shoe was on the other foot, but I would have dropped Josh like a freaking scalding-hot potato if I’d found out what she did. Good luck to her. She wanted to stand by her man, even when he wasn’t much of a man.
There was a wooded area beyond the painstakingly manicured lawn, and I walked toward it. Maybe a little time around nature would make me feel less homicidal. Max was bound to come back soon, and nobody would be mean to me when he was around. They wouldn’t dare. He was one of them.
When I saw a figure emerging from the trees, my heart skipped a beat. It was Max coming to look for me. Too cold for outdoor sex, but it would be nice to walk with him.
But it wasn’t.
Mimi
I looked up at the sky and laughed when I realized it was Josh walking toward me. Was this my punishment for being so happy? What next? A phone call to tell me my apartment had burned to the ground?
“What are you laughing about?” he asked as he approached.
We were out of sight of the house, which was at least a relief. I didn’t need anybody spying on us, thinking we were sneaking around together. Like I would sneak around with Josh if he paid me in gold bars and designer shoes.
“Nothing worth talking about,” I replied with a slight frown. I did not want to encourage him to hang around me out here.
He glanced back in the direction of the house, probably wondering as I had whether we were out of sight. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” he said, his eyes shifting toward the house every so often as he spoke. Right then, he looked what he was. A slimy creep.
“There’s nothing I want to talk with you about, Josh. We’ve already said all there is to say.”
I tried to walk around him, but he stepped in front of me. I went the other way, and he blocked me again. Finally, gathering my courage, I stepped up and laying both my hands on his chest, pushed him away as hard as I could. Instead of backing off, he grabbed me by the arms.
“Would you stop fighting me, damn it? I’m not trying to hurt you. I just wanted to tell you I was wrong. I made a big mistake.”
“Oh, get off it, Josh. Let me go.”
“Not until you listen to what I have to say.”
“Say it, fast, then never touch me again.” I glared at him, ready to spit in his face.
“You don’t mean that.”
“Oh, try me. I wish you would.”
His face fell. “I know you’re angry with me. You can’t be angrier with me than I am.”
I sighed with exasperation. “Get to the point please.”
“Don’t you get what I’m trying to tell you? I made the biggest mistake of my life when I let you go. I want you back.”
I was so stunned, I stopped pulling away. My mouth fell open. Just when I thought I’d heard it all he comes up with this. Where does this man get off?
“Were you dropped on your head when you were a baby?” I gasped when I got my voice and the ability to use it back.
“What?” His eyes searched my face desperately. “Mimi, I know you’re pissed with me, but you can’t pretend you don’t feel what’s still there between us.”
“I’m not pretending,” I said through clenched teeth. “There is no ‘us’, Josh. There never was. You were never honest with me, and if I didn’t have to work with you, I’d happily never see your cheating face again.” I yanked my arms away from him, pushing him again for good measure. “And don’t ever lay your hands on me again. Ever.”
“I love you, Mimi.”
I just about told him to go straight to hell when a tall, dark blur broke into my line of vision and shoved Josh away much more forcefully than I ever could have. I gasped when I saw Max standing in front of me, hands curled into fists.
Kissing Booth Page 32