by Alison Bliss
Uh-oh. This can’t be good.
“Okay, Dad.” Ethan headed toward the stairs but stopped halfway there. “By the way, when you say a couple of beers…”
“A couple…meaning two. One for me and one for Sam. If you’re thirsty, your grandma has some juice in the fridge for you.”
Ethan rolled his eyes and continued on his mission.
Bill shook his head. “That boy loves to push his luck, doesn’t he?”
“I’m betting he gets it honestly,” Sam said.
“Ah, yes. Well, that he does. And that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.” Leah’s dad clasped his hands and threaded his thick fingers together in front of him. “Nancy really doesn’t mean any harm. I know that the things she says sound terrible coming out of her mouth, but they are coming from a place of love. She just doesn’t know how to communicate them in a way that doesn’t sound like she’s…”
“Insulting your daughter with every breath?”
“Exactly. I’m not trying to make any excuses for her. Nancy’s own mother—God rest her soul—was much the same way. Worse in some ways. Because in that woman’s eyes, Nancy had to be perfect. And nothing she ever did measured up. Every family has their burdens, and this one is ours. But I don’t want that to scare you off.”
Sam shook his head. “Nothing your wife says about Leah would ever make me change my opinion of your daughter. It’s more of a reflection on Nancy’s insecurities than it is on Leah’s.”
“I absolutely agree. That’s why I’m going to ask Nancy to see a therapist when we get back home. This has gone on long enough. I’m sure Nancy doesn’t want to revisit her past, but she has some issues she needs to work out about her deceased mother. That woman was harsh and never had a kind word for my wife. It may take some time, but I’m hoping she’ll make an appointment. Leah’s birthday party is coming up soon, and I can’t imagine a better present than that.”
“Party?” Sam asked, raising a brow. He knew Leah had a birthday coming up sometime in the near future, but this was the first he’d heard about an actual party. Seemed odd, given that he was supposed to be her fiancé. “Is it a surprise party or something? This is the first time I’ve even heard anything about it.”
Bill looked at him strangely then shook his head. “No, Leah knows all about it. I’m surprised she hadn’t mentioned it. It’s nothing fancy. We just sit around eating cake while we watch Leah open her gifts. It’ll be at our house two Saturdays from now at six o’clock. You’re welcome to come, of course.”
Ah, okay. So that was why Leah hadn’t mentioned it. It would be past the two-week mark, and they were supposed to be broken up by then. “I’ll see what I can do, but I may have to work that weekend,” Sam lied.
Bill nodded. “Well, that’s another reason I wanted to talk to you. I’d like to set up a date for you to install those French doors. I was thinking we could do it…” He halted his words at his son’s arrival.
“Here you go, Dad,” Ethan said, handing his father a beer. Then he passed Sam a can of soda and clasped him on the shoulder. “You know what they say about payback, right?”
Sam threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh. “You’re all right, kid.”
Ethan gave him a fist bump and then went back to the picnic table, where he settled in to play on his phone once again. Sam held the soda away from him as he popped the top, making sure the little shithead hadn’t shaken it up before handing it over. When it didn’t explode out of the can, he settled back on the lounge chair and took a sip.
“That boy and his phone, I swear,” Bill said, shaking his head. “He hardly ever puts it down.” A tender smile slid onto Bill’s face. “I guess he will eventually…when the right girl comes along and gives him something better to stare at.”
Sam nodded. “Happens to the best of us.”
An hour and two beers later, Sam said good night and went upstairs to turn in. Entering the room, he noted Leah lying on her side of the bed facing toward the bathroom. He couldn’t see her face and didn’t know whether she was awake or not, but he tried not to disturb her as he grabbed his bag and locked himself in the bathroom.
Still on edge from the talk he’d had with her father, Sam cursed under his breath and stripped down to nothing. He twisted the shower handles, making the water as hot as he could stand, then stepped under the spray. He felt like a dirtball—a scumbag, really—for the way he kept tricking her family into believing he was going to be Leah’s future husband, which would make him a part of their lives for the long haul.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, then he’d gone and asked Leah to have sex with him. Friends with benefits. Jesus. Her dad was right about one thing. Leah did deserve better. Better than Gavin and better than him, if he were being honest.
She needed a guy who would take a chance on her because she was worth it. Not some chickenshit like Sam who was afraid to get into another relationship because none of his earlier ones had worked out.
But the mere thought of her being with someone that wasn’t him really pissed him off. God, he was an ass. I don’t want you, but no one else can have you. How was that for a fucked-up way of thinking?
And it wasn’t actually true. He did want her. He just didn’t want to want her. He’d love nothing more than to slide into that bed, pull her panties off, and crawl up in between those amazing legs of hers.
But he couldn’t do it. He’d told her he would give her time to think about it and wasn’t willing to push her for an answer. Maybe he shouldn’t go down that road with her at all, but if her answer was yes, he had no doubt he would pay the toll. He hadn’t meant for all of this to happen, but now that it had, he needed to figure out a way to get her out of his system. And fast.
In the meantime, he would resort to other measures.
Sam’s gaze fell onto his chest and followed the trail of running water down to his dick. His brow furrowed at the sight. God, he was pathetic. But he needed to do something to take the edge off. He blew out a slow breath and let his hand follow the same path.
Twenty minutes passed before Sam emerged from the bathroom. He was a little more relaxed than he had been before but still felt like shit. The mere idea that he might be fucking with Leah’s head by asking her to sleep with him did a number on his conscience. He didn’t want to hurt Leah, which was exactly what could happen if he didn’t put a stop to all of this now.
He tossed his bag onto the chair in the corner, then made his way over to the bed in the darkened room. Pulling back the covers, he slid beneath them only to come into direct contact with a warm, soft body. While he was in the shower, Leah had apparently rolled over in her sleep and was now lying in the middle of the bed, sprawled out on her back. Not wanting to wake her, Sam squeezed himself into the eighteen inches of bed she had left for him and positioned his left arm under her pillow.
The motion jostled her a little, and she startled, moaned, and then rolled toward him, curling into his chest. He considered waking her and getting her to scoot over, or even getting out of bed and walking around to the other side to sleep, but something happened that held him firmly in place.
She murmured his name.
Without a word, he pulled against his chest and kissed her.
Leah startled awake as his lips brushed firmly against hers, massaging them in a slow, sensual motion. “Sam?” she whispered.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Then he kissed her again. This time, his tongue dipped inside, making a shallow sweep of her mouth. When her tongue met his head on, he groaned and pulled her tighter against him. What started out as a simple kiss quickly changed into a passionate tangling of tongues.
His pulse raced as his heart pounded against his lungs, beating the breath right out of them. He only probed deeper though, and Leah moaned.
Sam stiffened, then tore himself away from her. Damn it. He’d promised not to push her into anything. “Leah, I—” He cut himself off and lay there staring at her, not knowing what to say.
“Leah, wait…” Sam pushed her onto her back as he rolled on top of her, pinning her body beneath his. “Look, I know I said I wouldn’t push you but…”
She panted softly and shook her head, as if she didn’t understand. “What the hell do you want from me, Sam?”
“I want my mouth on you.”
Her brows knitted together. “Yeah, well, you had your mouth on me.”
Sam grinned sadistically. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.” Then he leaned forward and grazed his lips over the shell of her ear. “You have about three seconds to stop me before this gets out of hand.”
She blinked at him in stunned silence as the seconds ticked by.
When he was sure she was willing to partake in whatever the hell this was, he said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
He rose to his knees, shoved the covers off the bed, and wedged himself between her legs. The room was dark, which he hoped helped to soothe her frazzled nerves about her body. He grasped her calves, massaging and kneading them, acclimating her to his basic touch. Slowly, his hands worked their way up her legs until his fingers landed on her bare thighs.
She trembled, and her posture stiffened.
Okay, apparently not.
Sensing her hesitation, his roving hands stopped immediately. “You sure you’re okay with this?” he asked softly, searching her face for an answer.
Leah shook her head.
“Then maybe we should start with something else first.”
She paused, then smiled shyly at him. Her eyes lit up with pure determination as her hands moved down to peel the tank top off her body. He hadn’t expected that, but he stilled her hands with his and shook his head. “Okay, now you’re just taking away all of my fun. Do you unwrap other people’s presents on their birthdays too?”
Leah gave him a meek smile. “Sorry. I was just…trying to get it over with quickly.”
He snaked his arms around her, pulled her to a sitting position, and whisked the tank top over her head with dizzying speed before dropping it to the floor. “Fast enough for you?”
“Yep.” A giggle slid from her lips, but she stifled it the moment his gaze lowered to her full, round breasts.
His breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t meant to blatantly stare, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from doing so. “Jesus. You don’t know how beautiful you are.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “You don’t have to say that.”
His glaring eyes shifted to hers, and his voice roughened. “I didn’t say it because I had to. I said it because I meant it.”
“But it’s just that—”
Sam kissed her again, taking his frustration out on her mouth. He wanted her to feel the bold caress of his tongue and the way his lips burned against hers to make her breathtakingly aware of the brutal strength of his attraction. Whether she wanted to believe it or not.
“Before this is over, Leah, I’m going to make damn sure you see yourself the way I see you.”
Before she had a chance to speak, his firm mouth closed over one hardened nipple, making her body jolt. He sucked strongly, and she arched her back, thrusting out her chest even more, which only provided him with a better angle.
His free hand cupped her other breast, stroking and fondling, until his thumb strummed over her tight bud. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, as if she enjoyed the feeling of him touching her. Then a low moan rose from her throat, and her fingers threaded through his hair, encouraging him to continue. After several more minutes of lavishing attention to both breasts by switching between his mouth and his hands, Sam sat upright.
He smoothed his hands over her bent knees at his sides and began slowly working his way up the outside of her thighs. He tugged her shorts down her legs and off her feet before tossing them to the floor. His dick hardened instantly at the sight of Leah lying there in nothing but a pair of black panties. As he reached for them, his fingers whispered over the silky material, then slipped beneath the stretchy waistband. Taking his sweet time and enjoying the hell out of it, he eased them down her legs until they joined the other garments on the carpeted floor.
His hands traveled slowly back up to her knees, which were now locked tightly together. He glanced up and grinned. “Spread your legs, sweetheart.”
She trembled as she took a deep breath and reluctantly obeyed the command.
Sam’s mouth watered with the need to taste her. So much so that he didn’t even hesitate, didn’t give her time to prepare. He just leaned forward and flicked his tongue over her clit to capture her flavor. Leah practically shot off the bed like a bottle rocket, but he managed to grip her hips to keep her in place. Then he lowered his mouth to her once again. Buried in the apex of her thighs, Sam flattened his tongue against her and gave her another long, drawn-out lick.
Fuck, that’s good.
He firmed the pressure on her sensitive bundle of nerves and lapped at her insistently as he reveled in the vibrations coming from her throat. He grinned when she whimpered and opened her legs wider to provide him better access. He knew that he was the first man she’d ever let get this intimate with her, and he was determined to show her what the hell she’d been missing out on.
* * *
With each feathery stroke of Sam’s tongue, a fierce yearning coiled in Leah’s belly, and her eyes slid shut in ecstasy. A gripping sensation built inside her, threatening to rip her apart at the seams. Her body quivered at the thought.
“Oh God,” she moaned. “Sam…please…”
She didn’t know what the hell she was begging him for, but the urgent, breathless plea seemed to fuel his greedy mouth to work faster, licking and sucking, while coaxing the orgasm from deep within her. And she was close. So damn close.
When she finally reached her peak, a strangled, incoherent sound tore from her throat, and she involuntarily bucked her hips against his face. Sam’s mouth molded to her as systematic waves of pleasure took over her body, and she cried out again from the delicious torture.
Heaven. She’d died and gone to heaven.
Actually, she probably looked like a dead person lying there with her limp body melting into the bed like an overheated ice cream cone. She felt fragmented. Shattered. Her bones disintegrated, her body lethargic.
He gave her a gentle nip on the inside of her thigh, then rose to his feet with a proud grin on his face. “You okay to continue?”
When she only gave him a sluggish nod, he chuckled. “Okay, so round two it is,” he said, still smiling as he moved to the door. “But you’re going to have to hold on a second while I go downstairs and get a condom out of my truck. I stashed a couple in the console at the last minute.”
Leah twisted her neck sideways to look at him and blinked rapidly.
Sam grinned. “Yeah, so I brought condoms on our trip,” he said with a shrug. “I’m a guy. Sue me.”
She smiled back at him, then gestured lazily across the dimly lit room.
“What?”
Leah panted softly but couldn’t seem to speak. She motioned again.
His brow rose. “You have a condom…in here?”
Leah smiled.
He glanced in the direction she pointed then back at her. “In a drawer?”
She shook her head, though it wasn’t a very coordinated effort.
“Is it in the bathroom?”
She shook her head again.
“You know it would be easier if you just spoke already, rather than playing a game of charades.”
“My bag,” she managed to whisper, though it took a lot of effort. Then she gestured to the chair where she’d left it.
He unzipped the duffel bag and rummaged through it, using his hands to feel around the inside until he found what he was looking for. As he pulled out the foil packet, he said, “Guess I’m not the only one who took condoms on our trip, huh?”
&nb
sp; Normally a comment like that would have sent her into an embarrassed state, but she couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to be mortified. Besides, he’d already admitted to doing the same thing.
Condom in hand, Sam sauntered back over to the bed and stopped at the end. She watched as he pulled his shirt off and added it to the pile of clothes on the floor, then reached for the button on his shorts.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t see what he was doing from the waist down, but the rasp of his zipper sounded in her ears. Although she was curious and wanted to take a quick peek at what she had signed up for, she fought the urge to lean up onto her elbows.
Not only was she completely spent from the magnificent orgasm he’d bestowed upon her, but breaking her neck to catch a glimpse of his dick would look a little conspicuous. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel self-conscious about his size. She knew how it felt to wear that badge of shame and wouldn’t wish that kind of neurosis on anyone.
Besides, not every guy with a big one was good in the sack, and there was no way every guy with a small one sucked in bed. That just wasn’t possible. Or reasonable. The saying about the boat and ocean probably held a lot of truth. So even if she didn’t have any expectations about the size of Sam’s…boat, that didn’t mean she couldn’t hope for some rough seas and decent swells.
Either way though, it didn’t really matter to her how much heat he was packing. This was Sam, after all. Her Sam. The man she’d fallen head over heels for.
The man she…loved.
Leah smiled, realizing the truth. She did love him. More than she’d ever loved anyone before. And she didn’t give a shit if he had a matchstick in his pants, as long as it was her matchstick, and she was the only one getting to blow it.
Not that he’d asked her to reciprocate or anything. Wait. Why hadn’t he asked me to return the favor?
In her experience, most men liked it when a woman went down on them. Then again, none of the guys she’d ever dated in the past had mentioned having an issue with the size of their dick. They weren’t hung or anything. Just average-sized, which they seemed comfortable enough with.