Yeah, that was what I told myself. This was all about him. It had nothing to do with how badly I wanted him again.
Chelle found me in the kitchen, her book bag hitched over her shoulder. I could hear Micah out in the living room, playing a video game until his mom showed up. She was taking them into the city for the weekend.
“Mom got us Hamilton tickets!” Chelle bounced in her boots.
“No shit?”
Chelle beamed and threw her fist in the air before launching into one of the songs. She’d been playing the damn soundtrack to that musical for a solid month. It had been cool the first two times, but now I was about ready to shoot Hamilton myself. I reached into my pocket and leafed through some bills before handing her a wad. “Here, buy your mom something nice while you’re there, like flowers or something, as a thank you. Any leftover, you and Micah split.”
Chelle shoved the money into her pocket. “Sweet. Thanks, Dad.”
A horn beeped outside, and I herded the kids to the door, checking to make sure they had all their bags. As the kids walked down the porch stairs, I waved to Nadia. She rolled down the window.
“Have a nice time. You need anything, you call.”
Nadia winked. “And interrupt your weekend? I think not.”
I scowled.
She wiggled her fingers, then drove off. A couple of years ago, my kids used to wave to me when she pulled away, their little faces pressed against the window like it was the last time I’d see them. Now, their heads were bent over their phones, and they couldn’t have cared less.
I glanced at my watch. Dominic was due in a half hour. Inside, I finished straightening up, making sure the kids’ doors were closed and most of their stuff was out of sight.
By the time I heard the knock, I’d begun pacing in anticipation of seeing Dominic again. When I opened up the front door, he was standing on the porch, wearing a pair of sweatpants, a zip-up hoodie, and unlaced sneakers.
His hair was damp from the shower again, and his blue eyes sparkled over a cheeky grin. He had a dimple, for fuck’s sake.
“Hey, man.”
Those two words and the sight of him after two agonizing weeks sent a bolt of lust through my body like wildfire. I grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulled him inside, and slammed the door shut before shoving him into it.
He didn’t even struggle as I bent to kiss him. In fact, he wound his fingers into my hair, pulling me closer while his hips thrust against mine. I gripped his hips, sliding my thumbs under the hem of his hoodie until they touched bare skin. I pulled back, frowning as I unzipped his sweatshirt to find his bare chest beneath.
He panted as he toed off his shoes and let his sweatshirt drop to the floor. “You told me to wear clothes that came off easy.”
“Since when do you follow directions?” I asked as I gripped his chin.
His lips curled up wickedly. “When it involves getting into your bed.”
I kissed him again, shuffling him backward, loving the eager sounds he made as his tongue tangled with mine, the way he clutched my shoulders to pull me closer, as if I could melt into him. I ripped off my shirt and began to work on my jeans as we stumbled up the stairs and across the hallway to my bedroom. Dominic dropped his pants, revealing he was commando underneath.
“You walked over here like that?”
“What? It’s not like my dick print was showing.” He smirked. “Well… not that much.”
Christ, to be… however old he was again. Although, I’d been hard before he showed up, so maybe his youth was rubbing off on me.
After dropping my jeans to the floor, I shoved him onto the bed on his back. He bounced once and then I was on him, taking his cock into my mouth until the tip touched the back of my throat.
Dominic swore and his hips bucked, so I slapped a hand on those rock-hard abs of his so I could go to work.
He squirmed when I swirled my tongue around the head. I tasted precum and knew I had to stop before he came, but I was reluctant. I hadn’t given head in a while, preferring to bypass foreplay for a quick fuck, then on with my day, but Dominic tasted so goddamn good. And I loved the sounds he made.
When I pulled off, he grabbed my pillow and shoved it against his face. I heard a muffled scream, which made me grin, before he slapped the pillow back onto the bed. “You are fucking evil. Goddamnit, I want to come.”
I smacked the side of his thigh. “Roll over, and I’ll make you come so hard you won’t know your name.”
“Yes,” he hissed, getting up on his hands and knees. “That’s what I’m talking about.” He wiggled his hips, spearing me with a look over his shoulder. “Hands-free, remember?”
I rolled on a condom and lubed up. “I remember.”
After playing with his ass and listening to his moans and pleas, I took a deep breath and pushed inside. My vision went blurry, because, Christ, he was tight.
A shudder ran down his back, and he grunted—a sound that could have been pain or pleasure. I ran a hand down his spine, rolling my hips, and after a minute his body loosened. He began to push back into me.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “This is what I dreamed about for two weeks. Fuck me.”
I dug my fingers into his hip and began to thrust harder, listening to his cries, focusing on his body language until I knew I was hitting it like he wanted it.
“God, yes. Fuck me just like that!”
Kid was a communicator.
Sweat dripped down my chest as I planted one foot on the bed for a better angle. Dominic went wild beneath me as I pounded the spot that would make him come harder than he ever had in his life.
I leaned down over his back, a fist on the bed and another in his hair. He made a strangled cry as I tilted his head back and whispered in his ear. “You feel me?
“Fuck yes.” His eyes were half closed. Swollen lips parted. His fingers were curled and his body matched my rhythm.
For just a moment nothing existed but our bodies, moving together like we were born to do this, like our bodies were made to fit together this way. There was just us. Unending pleasure and harsh breaths and sweat-damp skin.
Increasingly hoarse shouts led up to him gasping, “Holy fuck, I’m coming,” like he couldn’t believe it was happening without someone touching his dick.
And I wasn’t far behind, my hips stuttering as I slammed into him, unable to stop the long moan from escaping my lips.
My knees and arms couldn’t hold me up anymore, so I collapsed onto Dominic who was now spread-eagle on the bed with his eyes closed.
When I landed on him, he let out a small oomph but otherwise it seemed he couldn’t care less that a two-hundred-fifteen-pound man was lying on top of him.
Rolling away, I shoved a pillow under my head and glanced over. He was staring at me, lips parted and those blue eyes so pretty next to my pale sheets. He smiled, a soft smile I hadn’t thought he was capable of, and it tightened something in my chest.
“Wow, you really man up to challenges, huh?”
I laughed and brushed the hair out of his eyes. “I try.”
He sighed. “Fuck, I know in five minutes you’re about to kick me out, but you gotta wait until my legs work unless you’re offering to carry me home.”
The thing was, I didn’t want him to leave. That feeling of too-tight skin I always got after hookups wasn’t kicking in. In its place was… contentment. Or something. I wasn’t about to declare love or even tell him how I liked my coffee, but I was fooling myself if I acted like I didn’t want to fuck him again. And I didn’t mean another round later today.
I squeezed his ass. “Be right back.”
He mumbled something, but his eyes were closed. I rolled out of bed, disposed of the condom, and pulled on a pair of briefs. After one last look at Dominic dozing while wrapped in my sheets, I left the bedroom.
* * *
Dominic
My body was full of lead, but I was tingling all over. If I’d have known it was possible to be screwed that del
iciously and thoroughly, I would have been bending over a long time ago. I couldn’t even remember why I’d initially been resistant to the idea on the base. Probably something to do with macho pride and some brainwashed idea that a real man wouldn’t spread his ass cheeks, but those screwy notions were out the window.
I was here to get fucked. Over and over again. Preferably by Luke.
Breath hissing out as I shifted on the bed, I looked around for something to mop up the mess I’d made. Kleenex sitting on the side table did the trick, and then I helped myself to his bathroom to wash up. Looking in the mirror was kind of a trip.
My hair was messy, my lips puffy, and my pupils were blown. I looked strung out and slutty. The reddened parts of my skin didn’t help. I winked at my reflection, grinning, and returned to his enormous bed.
I hadn’t slept on a bed this big in years, if ever. I wondered how it would feel to eventually have my own place with my own belongings. It was strange to think back on my life and everything I’d experienced, only to realize I’d never actually lived on my own. Strange and pathetic. Another reminder of how I was still dependent on other people when I was almost thirty.
A plate clattered on the bedside table next to me, and I started. So much for my wartime instincts. Luke had come in without me noticing at all. And he’d come bearing gifts. A peanut butter sandwich. He’d even added some jelly. His eyes met mine, the icy gaze communicating without words. After the last sandwich debacle, this had to be some sort of sign. An I’ll-tolerate-you-now sign or an I’ll-fuck-you-again sign. Either one was fine with me. But… he’d said he didn’t do repeat hookups, so, sure, it was just a sandwich, but it was an I’m-breaking-rules-for-you sandwich.
Trying not to be smug, I asked, “Is that for me?”
Luke had put on a pair of black briefs, but his bulge was prominent as he straddled my thighs. “Who else would it be for?”
“Yourself?”
“Already ate mine.”
“You’re pretty greedy,” I said.
He gave me a once-over. “And impatient.”
The embers in my gut flared to life again. I tried to ignore the fact that I wasn’t above totally throwing myself at this strange man and snagged the sandwich. After a bite I noted that it wasn’t jelly. It was preserves.
“You make a mean PB&J. What’s your secret?”
“Potato bread.”
“Mmm.” I finished it in three bites and licked my fingers. “No wonder you said you liked to cook. You’re a regular top chef over here.”
“Do you ever stop talking?”
“Only when choking on your cock.”
“What do I do with you in the meantime?”
I bumped my hips up, rocking him. His furrowed-brow glare was ridiculously attractive. But then everything about him was. The black and silver treasure trail leading into the band of his briefs was a thing of beauty.
Luke slid his legs down and stretched up until his body was aligned with mine. It looked like he was planking above me, our crotches just barely rubbing. My dick twitched. The tiny curve at the corner of his mouth was indication enough that he felt my body responding to him.
“Talk back,” I said belatedly. “Tell me about yourself.”
He latched his mouth onto the side of my neck and bit softly. When I groaned, he pulled away.
“Not much to say.”
“How old are you?”
A brief hesitation. Then, “Thirty-nine.”
“I’m twenty-seven.”
“Older than I thought.” A harder bite. This time it was punctuated by rocking of his hips. “You act like a punk kid.”
“Product of going from a punk-ass eighteen-year-old high school student to being a punk-ass soldier. Not much time to adjust to real-life adult shit when I went from football and chasing skirts to manning the motherfucking machine gun in an MRAP.”
Luke’s body stilled. I swore tension lanced up his back, but I didn’t know him well enough to understand what it meant.
“You were the gunner?”
“Yup.”
He scrutinized every inch of my face. “So you’ve seen some shit.”
“Done some shit too.” I didn’t look away and I kept myself from asking just how he knew what an MRAP was. Only military folks were typically familiar with the name of the armored vehicles we used for patrols. But my silver fox was skittish, and I wouldn’t push. “And yet I’m still here making you smile. That counts for something, right?”
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “I never smiled.”
“Yeah you did.” I grinned at his flat stare. “We can pretend it didn’t happen if you make me come again.”
“Deal.”
And he did. He played with me until my dick was dribbling and I was begging him in low, throaty tones to turn me inside out with pleasure. Take me hard and deep until I forgot my name. He did more than that. After a while, I forgot how to talk. By the time he’d shoved my knees halfway over my head to pound the holy hell out of me, I was out of my mind.
When it was over, I fell asleep hard only to be woken by him shaking me a moment later. Uh-oh. Taking a nap was apparently out of the question. I understood that, though. We’d only met twice and it was a little early for us to be sharing a bed for anything other than getting nasty.
“I’ll be out of your way in a sec.”
I stood up on wobbly knees, washed up a second time, and was dressed in less than two minutes. My appearance was three times as wrecked as it had been earlier, but I didn’t give a damn about doing the walk of shame this early in the evening. My mind was spinning from the intense sex, and my gut was tightening at the thought that maybe this wasn’t just about cuddle time. Maybe he was done with me now.
Fuck.
Why did that hit me so hard? We were strangers. And there were a ton of other guys willing to meet me who could probably perform just as well in bed. But…
I snuck a glance at Luke as we trooped to the door.
But those guys wouldn’t be this hotly grumpy with crazy blue eyes and a stingy smile. They wouldn’t be this genuinely intense. They wouldn’t be Luke.
“Thanks,” I said like an idiot once we got to the door. “I appreciate the bonus round. It was more than I expected.”
The comment earned me a serious stare. It seemed like Luke was trying to tell if I was being a smartass or not. After a moment, he jerked me forward. And just like last time, I found myself being devoured in a hungry kiss. Except this time, it was deeper. Longer. And when I moaned breathlessly upon pulling away, he yanked me back.
We wound up crushed against his front door, his hands in my hair and my fingers digging into his shoulders, as our tongues tangled. I didn’t want it to end. I loved the smell and feel of him. And most of all I loved the fact that he wanted me. Had nothing to do with military loyalty or future expectations or family obligations. He wanted me. That was it. Nothing else mattered inside this house but how good we could make each other feel.
“Fuck, you’re making it hard to swallow the fact that this is probably our last goodbye,” I said.
“Shut up.” Luke peeled himself off me. “I’ll see you in a week.”
My smile nearly split my face open even as he hustled me out the door. My cloud-nine high lasted for the entire three minutes it took me to walk back to the house. I was too distracted to remember to go through the side entrance and instead walked in the front door.
The place was a disaster. A combination of my father’s and sister’s clothes were strewn everywhere, and I nearly tripped over a skateboard. It irritated me until I realized my parents spent every waking moment at the bagel shop.
Cleaning wasn’t the way I’d expected to expend my just-got-fucked energy, but I’d rather help out than hole up since I was living rent-free. The mindless tasks helped me to calm the hell down and remind myself that I was skipping around and singing over finding myself a fuck buddy. I tried to ground myself in reality. This wasn’t dating. It was possible Luke didn’t even r
eally like me. He just liked what I could do with my ass. Maybe. Except that kiss said something different.
Maybe.
Why did I even care? I’d barely made the effort to date girls, so it wasn’t like I should be trying to jump into dating with a guy. And not just any guy, the first guy I’d let in my ass. Damn. Was I getting mushy? Or was there something about him?
These musings continued until I grabbed Adriana’s FWO hoodie off the banister and got smacked with deja vu. For the second time, it reminded me a little too much of the hoodie hanging over Luke’s bannister during our first meeting.
It bugged me the entire time I whipped up a protein shake packed with bananas, and it kept picking at me through my shower. It wasn’t until I was stretched out on my bed that I opened Grindr and forced myself to message him. I also said a quick prayer that it wouldn’t turn him off me.
StaffSgt: Hey man. Quick question.
Luke: We just saw each other.
StaffSgt: I know but… I gotta know. Are you sure you’re not married? The weird time restrictions and schedules are tripping me up. And last time I swore I saw like… family type shit lying around.
Luke: I told you I wasn’t.
StaffSgt: No judgment if you’re in the closet and dealing with your sexuality and shit, man. I get it. I do. But… I’m not into being the one who fucks up someone’s marriage. Just tell me what’s up.
Luke: Is this going to be an issue?
StaffSgt: You being married?? Fuck yes.
Luke: I meant me choosing to NOT answer this fucking question for the 10th time.
StaffSgt: Fourth time. And no. But… I dunno. I’m kind of addicted to you by now, and it may mess with my mind if you keep dodging it. Evasion seems like lying, stud.
Luke: Christ. I’m not married. I told you I’m divorced.
StaffSgt: But then why the schedule?
Luke: I have two kids with my ex-wife. They split their time with us.
I had to be the world’s biggest airhead, because I hadn’t even thought of that. Or maybe I just didn’t know any divorced or married people. Or people with kids in general. It seemed like everyone I knew from high school was waiting until they were Luke’s age to “settle down”.
Fast Connection (Cyberlove #2) Page 6