Sliding his hands beneath her ass, he lifted her around his waist and she braced her feet against the sliding glass shower doors. His one arm clamped around her hips and the other braced against the wall above her.
Yvonne reached down, gripping his shaft tight in her palm and dragging her thumb across the slick tip, pumping him and sliding on the condom before positioning him at her opening. His mouth tightened as Yvonne bent her knees, lowering herself onto him. He curved his hips, driving slowly inside of her—stretching the tightness and replacing the throbbing, achy desire with a whole new sensation.
He filled her entirely, and even the slightest circling of his hips created intense explosions in her core. The arm around her waist, holding her firmly in place, shook against her body and she jerked her gaze to Steve’s tight face. “You okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Are you?”
She nodded. “I’m perfect.” He pulled his cock, gently dragging his erection almost entirely out of her before thrusting himself slowly back inside. “Except for one thing…” she continued.
He froze, concern pinching the corners of his eyes.
Dropping her lips to his ear, she sucked his lobe into her mouth before whispering, “I need you to fuck me harder.”
His face gave no indication of a reaction other than a slight upward turn of his lips. “Don’t wish for things you can’t handle.” His eyes twinkled with the challenge.
“Don’t promise things you can’t deliver,” she threw back at him.
“You better brace those legs, baby.” And with that, he drove hard into her. Each pump hit that knot deep inside of her and that clenching need tightened, clamping his cock inside of her. The shower rained over both of them, the friction of water hitting her nipples, causing them to stay permanently pebbled. And that same water dripped between their bodies, only adding to the wetness gathering between them. Their bodies slid against each other’s in beautiful waves and Yvonne threw her head back against the wall, calling out Steve’s name.
“Touch yourself,” he grunted and his eyes flicked to where his hand was braced above her. “I’d do it, but—”
“Your hands are a little full,” she finished for him. Dragging her hand down her stomach, she circled a finger over her clit, and the electricity that had been buzzing through her body quickly flared to a full on electrocution. With a shiver, she bucked, spasming around his cock. She was so damn turned on that her body was flushed—the body heat, combined with the shower and the hot sex, was making her damn near feverish. Her hips circled him shamelessly and greedy for each calculated thrust.
“I’m so close,” Steve said, his mouth a mere breath away from hers, his smile both wicked and so utterly tantalizing that it made her chest tighten.
“Wait—” she pled. She was close too—so fucking close. She moved faster over her clit as his pace sped up. All the chaotic energy and emotion and intensity that they had been holding in for years with each other came to be too much to contain.
“Look at me,” he said and brushed his lips over her closed eyes. Everything in her core tightened at the rawness of his demand, pushing her closer to that edge of orgasm as he pumped himself in and out of her hard, in hurried, steady thrusts. She blinked, her eyes locking with his and with moisture dripping down his face, his skin a flushed pink, they looked even more impossibly blue.
“I’m going to—”
His groan was the most erotic thing she’d ever heard. Her sex rippled around his thrusting dick, her climax coming quick with a thready whimper. She gripped his shoulders, white-knuckled, pumping her hips against him. Searing pleasure rocked through her and her cry was interrupted by his hungry kiss. His body shivered against hers and he gently put her feet back down.
Yvonne’s muscles felt flimsy and she was out of breath. She straightened her legs as he pressed kisses down her neck.
They each took their turn rinsing off beneath the now chilly stream of water before Steve bent, turning it off. Grabbing her towel off the hook, he wrapped it around her shoulders, and little by little dried her off, finishing by twisting the water gently out of her hair. He flipped the towel over her shoulders, wrapping it around her. She tucked the corner in like a towel dress in a futile attempt at modesty.
She stepped out, grabbing a clean towel from her linen closet, and handed it to him. “You hungry? I had planned on making dinner before you came over and Gatsby got sick.”
He paused from his quest in drying off, looking to her with a lifted brow. “You’re going to make dinner?”
She rolled her eyes, grabbing her cell phone. “Fine, I was going to order a pizza. You in, or not?”
“Oh, I’m in.” Still completely and shamelessly nude, he grabbed her waist, tugging her against his body and planted a lingering kiss on her. “I’m so in.”
Yvonne tugged the towel tighter around her body. She didn’t know if it was the sudden change in temperature… stepping out from a steamy shower onto the cold, hard tiles, but the gravity of her decision to be with Steve slammed into her. “Can you check on Gatsby for me while I put the order in?”
Steve pulled pack, keeping his hands possessively gripping her shoulders. He brushed the length of her jaw with a gentle knuckle, concern marring his stunning features. “Of course. Are you okay?”
She nodded, moving past him and into her bedroom. She was okay. She was certain of it. In fact, for the first time in years, she felt more okay than ever.
‡
Chapter Nineteen
It had been a few days since Steve had seen Yvonne. Several torturous days. And it wasn’t for lack of trying on either of their parts. She swung by his practice on her lunch break yesterday—which he discovered hours later because he was in surgery, removing an obstruction from a German Shepherd’s stomach. He had tried to stop by her place after work, only to find that she wasn’t home (and later learn that she’d been called to one of her kitten foster homes when they thought it had run away). As it had turned out, the kitten had fallen asleep inside their linen closet. And to make matters worse, he had recommended skipping Gatsby’s treatment that week to let him fully heal from the previous week’s treatment.
Steve was finishing up at the Wilson farm, checking on the calf he delivered a few weeks earlier, when his phone rang. His gloved hands were covered in animal hair and God knew what else. He looked to Amanda, who had tagged along in an effort to see if large animal veterinary visits were something she wanted to specialize in. Judging from the way her face scrunched and she covered her nose, he thought it was a safe guess that no, she wouldn’t be joining the large animal vet club any time soon.
“Could you grab that for me?” he asked her, nodding toward his back pocket.
She dropped a hand to her hip playfully and sucked the inside of her cheek. “You’re kidding?”
Steve rolled his eyes. “I just performed a rectal exam on a baby cow… come on. Do me a solid?”
“Solid may be a poor choice in words.” She smirked and reached her hand into his back pocket. “You don’t pay me enough for this shit,” she said, grabbing his phone and looking at the screen. “It’s Yvonne.”
“Oh, great. Could you—”
Before he could finish his question, Amanda answered the call and had the phone pressed to her own ear. “Hey, Yvonne! No, it’s Amanda. Nah, your man is elbows deep inside a cow right now.”
Steve cringed. He wasn’t shy about his profession at all and yet hearing it presented that way to Eve? Yeah, it wasn’t exactly the mental picture he wanted to give her. Steve snapped the gloves off, washing his hands at the water pump outside of the stables. He dried them on his pants and held out a palm to Amanda. “Give me that phone.” He softened the order with a smile.
Not that he needed to. Amanda could hold her own and didn’t take shit—especially from him. Something he really loved about her. He didn’t know how he would survive when she graduated veterinary school. Maybe there was a way he could rework the books and bring her in
as a doctor… but even with that, he wouldn’t be able to afford to pay her the standard starting salary a vet usually makes.
She grinned, her teeth whiter than an Orbits commercial. “Sorry, Yvonne. Some guy is being super pushy right now. Yeah, I should file a harassment suit. He made me touch his butt—”
With that, he yanked the phone from her grasp. “Do not believe anything that girl tells you,” he laughed.
“I don’t know,” Yvonne trilled from the other end of the line. “Sounds like you’ve had a more eventful day than me. Fingering cows, harassing employees…”
He pulled the phone from his mouth and looked to Amanda who watched on, grinning. “You’re so fired.”
“Oh, please,” she rolled her eyes. “You know as well as I do that you couldn’t run this place without me.” With that, she skipped back to where they were parked, calling from over her shoulder. “I’ll be waiting for you in the car!”
“So,” he said, directing his attention back to Yvonne.
“So,” she responded. There was a moment’s pause and the quiet messed with his head in ways he didn’t want to admit. He inspected his tie and sighed. He loved dressing up for work. As a boy, he always knew he wanted a job where he looked presentable. He bent, brushing the dirt from the navy pinstripes with a sigh. And yet, maybe he should really revisit his unspoken “button down shirt” rule. With the amount of vomit and blood and all kinds of other shit he dealt with on a daily basis, it probably wasn’t the smartest dress code.
“Is it ridiculous to admit that I miss you?” he finally asked. “I’m clearly crazy, obviously. Because only a crazy person would say something like that after less than a week of being apart. Even still… go ahead and commit me because it’s true.” Ah, shit. Now he was blabbering.
“Well, I guess we’re a match made in Bedlam. Because I kinda miss you, too.”
The relief left him swiftly in a sharp exhale that he hoped to God she didn’t hear. “Wanna do dinner?”
“I’d love to—but…”
Steve groaned at that.
“No, seriously,” she continued. “I’d love to. I just have to run to Elsa’s. I promised Lila that I’d take a look at the dog she’s fostering and give her some training pointers. She’s having trouble adjusting.”
“It’s a date,” he said. “Or… something.”
“It’s a something.” Even though he couldn’t see her, he could hear her smile.
*
Later that afternoon, Steve arrived at Elsa’s to find a frazzled Lila tethered to a puggle who was pulling on his leash, barking wildly at something in the tree. “Benny, no! No! Bad dog, stop that!”
Steve moved beside her as she gave him an exasperated expression. Worry lines pinched across her forehead and bags under her eyes alluded to a few sleepless nights. “I don’t know that I can do this. He’s so difficult!”
Pulling a treat and his phone from his pocket, he opened the “clicker” app he kept on there for problem clients and pressed the button. The phone made a loud noise, reminiscent to a training clicker. Benny immediately quieted down, his gaze jerking curiously to Steve—or more accurately, to the sound his phone made. The dog’s head tilted, ears up and Steve clicked one more time, giving the dog a treat. “Good boy,” he said, leaning down and scratching behind his ears.
Lila’s wet eyes widened. “How did you do that?”
“It’s a free training app—but the pet stores have actual clickers which might be easier for you. Click—then treat. Even if he’s only quiet for a second. You want to reward him for looking at you. Then work your way up from there.” Almost on cue, Benny lost interest in their conversation and turned his attention back to the squirrel. Steve clicked one more time, giving Benny another treat when the dog looked back at them. “It’ll be a lot of back and forth, but he’ll begin to associate the sound of the clicker and treats to the positive reinforcement.”
“Oh, my God, Steve, thank you. He’s been unbearable this week.”
“When you have to stick needles into dogs—even aggressive ones—you learn some tricks.” He paused, looking around the sidewalk outside the cafe. “Is Yvonne coming?”
“Yeah, she texted me that she’s running a little behind. Got held up.”
He nodded, gesturing to the door of the diner. “You guys take your time. But tell her I’ll be waiting inside.”
He waved goodbye to Lila and pulled out a small envelope with Yvonne’s name scribbled on the front. Excitement surged through his body and he couldn’t wait to see her face when she opened it. As he was about to slide into a booth, he caught the eyes of his little sisters Ronnie and Callie sitting across from Lydia. His youngest sister, Callie’s blond hair hung straight down past her tanned shoulders, and she and Lydia were gesturing wildly, giggling and looking through magazines spread out on the table. Ronnie, on the other hand, looked like she was about to pull the fire alarm and rush out the back door. Her mouth pushed into a firm, straight line, and those bright blue eyes that so beautifully contrasted with her olive skin and dark hair widened. He knew that look… he knew it back in high school when she was cornered at the dance by a guy she didn’t want to be near. He knew it when their mom would question her about who she was dating and she needed an escape. And he knew it now.
“How are my three favorite sisters doing?” he asked, interrupting the girlie chatter.
Ronnie jumped to her feet, crushing him in a hug. “Steve!” Ronnie was the middle child and owned a gym in town that specialized in cross-fit. She was all lean, sculpted muscle—and currently damn near cutting off his windpipe. Pulling back, she braced her hands on his shoulders, her eyes wild and wide. “We’re choosing dresses for the engagement party next weekend. Apparently, I’m a winter. A cool-toned girl.” She looked more disgusted than if you had told her she had to spread mud all over her body and go to the party like that. Then again, knowing Ronnie, she was probably more comfortable wearing mud than a frilly dress someone else chose for her.
Callie stood up, giving Steve a quick kiss on the cheek and taking one of the magazines with her. She shoved it under his nose. “See? We took the quiz. I’m a summer tone—pinks and teals and bright colors work for me. Lydia’s autumn… neutrals, oranges and yellows.”
Lydia looked up at him with a shrug. “It’s silly, but fun.”
“Super fun,” Ronnie said, crossing her eyes while facing Steve so the other two couldn’t see her.
Callie smacked the magazine onto the table. “It’s really accurate, too. That’s why Ronnie’s colors are blues and lavenders. Winter—cold, like her heart and sense of fun.” She leaned in toward her older sister’s ear. “There’s a mirror behind Steve, Ronnie. I can see all your faces.”
“Can you see this?” Ronnie flipped the bird at the mirror.
Lydia cleared her throat. “Hey, Ronnie… I was thinking that I’d love to taste some of Lex’s cakes and maybe do a pastry table for the engagement party? I know decorations and dresses aren’t really your thing… do you want to be my point person for the food?” Lydia jerked a hand up, pointing in her soon to be sister-in-law’s face. “But, they cannot be gluten free!”
Lydia gave Steve a quick wink. Why that little schemer. She knew just like he did that Lex and Ronnie had something going on between them.
“I’m happy to help with whatever you need me to,” Ronnie said nonchalantly.
“Hey,” Steve said, teasing her, “if you’re too busy, I could swing by Lex’s now and ask—”
“No, no, I got it,” she cut in, quickly.
“That would be so helpful.” Lydia scribbled notes into a three-ring binder with at least half a dozen tabs. Good God, was she planning a wedding or handling international weapons trading?
Ronnie grabbed her tote bag.
“Steve, are you planning to bring a date next weekend?” Lydia asked. His gaze traveled out the window to where Yvonne had met up with Lila and was giving her pointers on Benny.
Callie snorted an
d quietly muttered, “Yeah, right.”
“Actually…” he said, and all three women jerked their gazes to his.
Lydia’s smile widened, a knowing expression settling on her face. “I’ll mark your plus one as a maybe. Let me know for sure by end of the weekend?”
Steve nodded. “Sure thing.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… what did I miss? Who are you dating?” Callie looked around the cafe as though his mystery date were hiding at one of the other tables.
Ronnie’s eyes also narrowed, but instead of looking elsewhere, her gaze seared right into Steve. “Yeah… who are you dating?”
Steve suppressed a groan as Yvonne entered the cafe and Callie, Ronnie, and Lydia’s eyes all drifted to the doorway.
Callie gaped, slapping Steve’s shoulder. “No way!” she whispered—only it may as well had been a shout, it was so damn loud.
“No,” Ronnie said, her voice like a steel blade and just as deadly. “Not her, Steve. Please tell me you’re not this stupid.”
He’d always been close to Ronnie, despite her hard outer shell. It wasn’t easy to break down, but once it cracked, the whole surface crumbled to reveal a mushy interior. But despite their closeness, he rumbled a warning. “Easy, Ronnie. Don’t say anything that I won’t be able to un-hear.”
Ronnie’s face flushed and she pressed her lips together so hard that they blanched of color. “She wrote that horrible note—”
“Ronnie, he hasn’t had a date in a long time. Let the guy have a little fun,” Callie interrupted.
But Ronnie didn’t stop. “She’s the reason you drowned in guilt for years—”
“Enough!” Though he spoke quietly, Steve’s tone had a firmness to it. “I love you, Ronnie. But seriously, I don’t need a guard dog.”
With that, Ronnie’s face softened, the anger melting into concern. She hiked her bag higher onto her shoulder, turning her attention to Lydia. “Any specific type of dessert I should ask Lex about?”
Healing You Page 14