“Fuck dinner. I’d rather eat you.”
Oh my.
His eyes blazed and sent heat pooling low in my belly.
We left my car at the restaurant and took Stephen's back to our house. The drive back to the house felt like it took hours, but in reality it was less than ten minutes. My hand cupped Stephen through his jeans causing him to curse under his breath. He pushed my dress out the way and groaned when he saw my black thong. I pushed his hair back from his face and he kissed the delicate cross tattoo I had near my pinky.
He looked away from the street long enough for me to see the heat flare in his eyes. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel as I bit down on my bottom lip. My fingers played with the button to his pants and he groaned.
“You’re asking for it, little girl.”
“Bring it,” I said laughing.
We pulled into the driveway and I jumped out of the car. He scowled because I hadn't allowed him to be the perfect southern gentleman. I giggled as I walked past him. The sharp pain of his hand smacking my ass made me gasp.
Holy hell.
Yelping, I ran to the front door. He was right behind me. His hips pinned me against the wall as he wrestled with getting his keys in the lock. My lips sucked on the sensitive spot behind his ear, and I was rewarded with the sound of his husky growl. I tangled my hands in his hair.
“Get in the house,” he demanded.
I shot him a sultry look over my shoulder and he smacked my ass again. As soon as I was in the door I took off running down the hallway towards our bedroom. Our laughter and shouts echoed through the halls. He caught up with me and wrapped his arms around my waist. My hands cupped his face. We backed up slowly, our lips never breaking. Stephen pushed me down to the mattress, his body following mine.
His fingers tangled in my hair and I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him against where I wanted him most. The scrape of his stubble against my neck had my back arching. This man knew every spot that made me a puddle of need at his feet. My fingers clumsily unfastened the buttons of his shirt. Stephen pulled back and grinned down at me.
Stepping off the bed, he took over and had it off in seconds. I sat back and watched as he tugged his undershirt over his head and stepped out of his shoes and jeans. Stephen filled out his black boxer briefs incredibly well. It was hard to keep my eyes locked with his. My fingers itched to run along the hard lines of his chest. He grinned down at me and I knew I was in trouble. If I let myself, I could be ruined by this man.
He pulled my dress over my head, leaving me in only my black bra and panties. I sighed as his mouth trailed down my neck to the edge of the lace covering my breasts. His mouth sucked on me through the soft lace. My fingers ran through his hair. I liked the contrast of my pale skin against his dark strands. I arched against him as his mouth trailed further down my body.
When his fingers slipped inside my panties, a soft whimper filled the room. My eyes met his, as he pushed two fingers inside my core. The intimacy of the moment startled me. We had been in this position more times than I cared to admit, but in this second something felt different. His husky growl met my ears and there was no warning before his mouth sucked down on my clit.
“Oh god. Stephen,” I gasped. "I can’t—”
I cut off as an earth shattering orgasm took over my body. Maybe it was the fact that we hadn’t done this in a while or maybe it was the emotions flowing between us, but I had never experienced something so totally enrapturing. These emotions terrified me. How was I going to pick up the pieces when this ended?
Stephen picked me up and moved me to the top of the bed. His hips pinned me down, and I shivered as his lips trailed down my neck. The stubble on his jaw only intensifying the pleasure. My fingers tugged at the tips of his hair as he moved over me. Our soft moans filled the bedroom as we rubbed against one another, desperate to get skin to skin. He grabbed my hips and flipped us over so I was on top of him. His fingers flicked the clasp to my bra, and it slowly slid down my arms.
His mouth clasped down on one nipple, biting and teasing the tip expertly. His right hand squeezed and pinched my other breast. My fingers trailed down his body and rubbed him through his boxers. A smiled curved my lips as his hips thrust into my hand.
"Taylor," Stephen groaned. "You're trying to kill me." I smirked, and he smacked my ass again. "Don't make me really punish you."
"Promises, promises," I taunted. Before I could move, he flipped us over again. My squeal had him chuckling softly.
"Still think you have the upper hand, baby?"
I ground my hips into his hardness. "Shut up and fuck me." The sound of ripping fabric filled my ears and suddenly I was incredibly naked. Not that my little thong was much coverage, but it was completely gone. "You really have to quit ruining my panties. Those fuckers are expensive."
His lips captured mine, and I forgot all about scolding him. My toes dug into the back of his boxers and tugged them down around his knees. He grinned against my mouth and I ran my fingers through his hair, pulling lightly on the ends. Stephen leaned back and his smile was breathtaking. I sucked in a breath as the emotions tumbled around inside me.
Stephen's large hand cupped the side of my face. "Baby, are you okay?"
I bit my lip and nodded. His lips brushed over my cheeks and eyelids. My breath caught in my throat as he pushed inside me. Our moans were in unison as he pulled out and pushed back in. This was all too much. I couldn't do this.
I pushed at Stephen's chest and he leaned back. My heels dug into his ass as he did, sliding into a different position.
"There. Right there," I gasped.
He interlocked our fingers and rested them on my open thighs. His thumb rubbed small circles on my clit as he thrust. My eyes caught Stephen's and it felt even more intimate. I was terrified he could see everything I tried to keep hidden inside me. I cried out as my orgasm built. My body shattered around him, and a few seconds later Stephen collapsed against me, careful not to crush me as his own release followed.
"That was intense," he whispered into my hair.
I nodded as I tried to catch my breath. If he only knew.
The sun flooding in through the open window woke me early. It occurred to me now that we should've closed the blinds before going to sleep. I tried to keep from moving so I didn't wake Stephen. He was such a light sleeper, and I needed to assess how I felt before he woke up. The light of day made me realize that sleeping with him might not have been the best idea. We still hadn't figured anything out between us and last night had been more intimate than I planned. He stretched behind me and his arm wrapped tighter around me.
"Good morning, baby."
Too late.
"Hi," I whispered.
He leaned up and nuzzled my ear. "How are you this beautiful morning?"
How was I feeling? I wanted more time to figure it out, but now that option was gone.
"I think I'm okay?" It came out as more of a question than a statement.
I glanced over my shoulder and a frown covered his handsome face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, really."
"I'm happy you're here with me." I gave him a small smile. "Okay, you're making me nervous. Can you please tell me what's wrong, baby?"
"This is uncharted territory. Last time I was here, and we did this," I gestured between us. "It didn't turn out so great. I'm just nervous, I guess."
"I regret how I treated you. I thought you understood that."
"I do, but it doesn't change the fact that we still haven't actually talked about anything yet."
Stephen climbed out of bed. "I'm going to go make breakfast."
"Okay," I said quietly. He pulled up his boxers and went into the bathroom.
The last thing I wanted was to hurt Stephen, but I couldn't just jump back into something unresolved. Just because we slept together didn't mean we were back together. I ran my hand down my face and pulled the pillow over my head. Why did I always have to make things so fucking awkward?
I got dressed and went into the kitchen. Stephen wore a pair of low slung pajama pants. Not many people knew he loved to cook. He made me pancakes at least once a week when we were living together, so when I walked in and he was pouring the batter, my heart pounded in my chest. Every day he didn't have to rush off somewhere for work, we sat out on the deck cuddling and eating. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to ward off the memories of him feeding me small bites as I leaned back into his chest.
"Pancakes?"
"That sounds great." Hopefully I could hide how much this was killing me inside.
"Okay, so you want to talk."
"That was the whole point of going to dinner."
"Taylor, I get that one night together won't fix everything, but we need to start somewhere. What do you want?"
I paused. Did I really even know the answer to that? "I'm not sure, but I miss you and I miss us."
"We can't really figure anything out until you decide what you want."
"What do you want?" I fired back at him.
"You. Plain and simple. It's what I've always wanted. Yes, we need to talk about why you left, but my feelings for you have never changed."
I stared at his back while he flipped the last two pancakes off the griddle and onto the waiting plate. We sat down in our small kitchen nook to eat. Breakfast was painful. The silence between us was weighted, and I didn't know what to say to him. Apparently I didn't have the answers he desperately craved.
When we finished I kissed his forehead. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Pancakes are my specialty."
"That's not what I meant."
"I'm trying to give you an out here, Taylor."
"I don't want an out; I just want time to figure out what I want. You are amazing and I don't deserve you."
"Why do I feel like you're saying goodbye?"
"I'm not, well I am because I'm going back to Vi's, but I'm not saying goodbye in that way."
He sighed. "I knew you were trouble."
"I tried to warn you," I said softly.
After that very awkward breakfast, all I wanted was a hot shower and a massive amount of coffee. Stephen drove me to go get my car. The silence between us was deafening. I didn’t understand why things were so off. Even worse, I had no idea how to fix it.
The door slammed behind me as I walked into the kitchen at Violet's and I winced.
“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in,” Jax said over his coffee cup. He leaned back against the counter and smirked.
Fuck.
Why was Jax always catching me in the most embarrassing situations? I narrowed my mascara smeared eyes at him. At least I didn't have on the same dress from last night. “Aren’t you Australian? Why do you know American euphemisms?”
“I’m not a fucking idiot, Taylor.”
“Could've fooled me,” I mumbled.
“Language,” Violet said from across the table.
“Sorry, Harper,” Jaxon said laughing. “You’re getting home awfully early, or is it late?”
“Fuck off, Jax.”
“Language,” Vi said again.
I glanced over to where she had Harper. She was trying to shovel in baby food, but Harp was blowing raspberries at her. Better her than me, I’d rather not end up covered in banana or whatever nasty concoction she had.
“So how’s Stephen this morning?” Jax asked in a singsong voice.
“Leave her alone or I’m cutting you off." Vi glared at Jax. "I mean it, no sex for a month.”
“Fine. You guys don’t want me to have any fun do you?”
“Just go surf, you big idiot,” Violet said to him while she smiled at Harper. She looked up at me. “Want to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, fine. When you want to learn how to work through being a fucking pussy, come find me.”
“Language!” Jax and I said in unison. We glanced at each other and started cracking up. My family might annoy the hell out of me, but they really were perfect.
The drink stopped halfway to my lips as I heard the familiar voice behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at the stage across the bar and my jaw dropped open as I saw who was singing. Rhys looked amazing as ever standing there strumming his guitar. I stood up and made my way across the crowded room without a word to any of my friends. They all shot each other confused looks, but no one stopped me. When Rhys looked up, his voice faltered for a second. Clearly he hadn’t expected me to be standing in front of him right now.
At least I knew he hadn’t followed me here. I hadn’t seen him since the night in Vegas and I never thought I would again. Finding his number in my phone a few days later surprised me, but I didn’t delete the number. The spark had been too strong for me to ignore, so it had stayed. Rhys finished his song and jumped off the stage. He wrapped me up in a huge bear hug and I smiled into his shoulder.
“What? You had to come to the one bar I live at in Cali?”
“That was the biggest surprise ever to look down and see you in front of me, but you are a sight for sore eyes. How have you been, Taylor? You made it back to the one place you said you would never return to.”
“Don’t rub it in. I wish I hadn’t come.”
“Why?”
“Asking for forgiveness isn’t easy.”
“So it has to do with the guy staring daggers at me? Is he the ex?”
I sighed. “His name is Stephen, but he doesn’t want me back.”
“I’m not so sure about that darlin’.”
“I am. He told me he didn’t, but I think it was because he was upset. Now he keeps saying he does. That man is all over the place.”
“Just because a man says something doesn’t mean we actually mean it.”
I paused looking up into his electric blue eyes. He was even more handsome than I remembered. Granted I had a lot of alcohol that night, so that might have something to do with my faulty memory. Before we moved further into the bar, ‘I Feel A Sin Comin’ On’ came on, and he pushed me towards the stage. He watched me from below and smiled encouragingly. Hesitantly, I took the mike in my hands and started singing. Closing my eyes, I got into the song and forgot who was watching or listening. I sang to Rhys because he was the only one who knew this part of me.
Looking up as I finished, I realized the entire bar was screaming and whistling in appreciation. My face turned crimson. Rhys reached up and placed his hands on my hips, lifting me off the stage. When my feet hit the floor, I threw myself into his arms and gave him a huge hug.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you to my friends. And the asshole staring daggers at you.”
He laughed and followed me over to the table where I had left everyone sitting. His fingers loosely intertwined with mine as we walked. Seeing the shock on Stephen’s face was almost worth getting up in front of the entire bar to sing. Before anyone could talk about my performance, I introduced Rhys so they hopefully wouldn’t bring it up.
"Guys this is my friend, Rhys Brooks. Rhys, this is my sister, Violet, and her husband, Jax. This is Gage, Scott and Stephen.” I glanced around. "Where's Amanda?"
"She left ten minutes ago. Her flight out was tonight," Violet answered.
He held his hand out to Vi, then Jax. “It’s nice to meet you guys. Taylor, you never told me your sister was a movie star,” Rhys teased.
“You never asked. I see it as more of a hindrance than help most days.”
Everyone laughed because we had this argument at least once a month. I hated being limited to certain places when we went out, and that was if we even got to go out at all. For the first few months after my niece was born, we couldn’t go anywhere without paparazzi following us. Tonight we all made the sacrifice to get out of the house and actually spend some time together.
“I’m happy you finally let someone else hear you other than the shower tiles, Taylor,” Violet said.
“You’ve heard me sing?” I swung around to face her and she tried not to laugh at my shocked expression.
“Yeah, but only a few times. I thought you were shy, but now, I’m not so sure that’s the case.”
She pinned me with a sharp look, and I looked away. This wasn’t the time for this conversation. Stephen looked between me, Violet and Rhys, saying nothing.
“You should sing more often, Tay. I loved it,” Gage said. I blushed and tried to change the subject, but my sister beat me to it.
“So how did you guys meet?” Violet asked.
“She wandered into my bar in Vegas and sang her little heart out,” Rhys said easily. Thank goodness he brushed over the embarrassing parts from that evening.
“There might or might not have been a lot of whiskey involved before I climbed up on the stage though.”
“She was even more amazing that night. Lost inhibitions and all that junk.”
“I’m sure there were lost inhibitions,” Stephen muttered under his breath.
“Excuse me?” I asked him, an edge lining my voice.
“Nothing. I’m leaving,” he said, throwing a wad of bills down. He pushed back from the table and left without saying another word.
Oh, hell no.
I pushed my way through the crowded bar as I followed him out into the parking lot. This wouldn't be pretty, and I could tell he wanted a fight. He had wanted to say more the other day, but he’d held back and now he was just aching to say everything he'd held back.
“You want to do this, let’s do it. Stephen, you can’t get pissed off at me because someone I haven’t seen in over two months shows up and I talk to him. I didn't think I would ever see him again.”
“You fucked him when you left me, didn’t you?”
“What?” My eyes widened, and I lifted a single eyebrow at him.
“You heard me," he snapped.
“No, I didn’t fuck him, but that tells me exactly what you think of me. I wanted to get over you, but I couldn’t. If it would have been as simple as sleeping with someone else, I would have fucking done it! I would have fucked the whole damn state of California if it would have helped me.”
Restless (Relentless Series Book 2) Page 5