by TC Matson
“Have fun.” He pushes off and I turn my attention back to Brooklyn, who’s eyeballing the hell out of me. “Fine. We’ll walk.”
“He was cute,” she says.
“Was he?” I glance over my shoulder to see him running the opposite direction. “Hmph. I didn’t notice.”
“You didn’t notice a cute guy? I know Aimee is in there. Her twisted sense of humor just spilled out all over the sidewalk. Since when do you not notice a cute guy?”
Red Alert!
“I guess since I’m trying something new. Not bouncing from guy to guy.” It’s the truth.
Precariously, she eyes me. “I think you’re seeing someone, just one man, and for whatever reason you’re hiding it. I know you’ll come clean soon because you can’t keep it away without it eating at you. But just know I’m here and I’m loving the happy glow exuding from you.”
I want to come clean, tell her everything, but it’s so early in whatever it is we’re doing. I don’t want to say anything and jinx us, ruining a circle of friends. So, I smile, and we don’t talk about it again as we finish walking.
We drop into her new BMW, a surprise from Nathan on their dating anniversary, and immediately she starts the ignition, blasting the AC on high.
“I hate sweating,” she groans as she adjusts the vents.
I pull my phone out of the pocket on the side of my leggings and see I’ve missed a text.
Cody: Dinner at my place tonight? I need to see your beautiful smile.
My grin explodes and Brooklyn notices.
She slaps her thigh. “See! That’s what I’m talking about. That smile right there. That happiness.” Her hands wave over my face. “Who is he?”
“Maybe I’m finding new friends? Ones who like to run and do things other than canoodle in the bed with their men. I am the fifth wheel nowadays.”
“Canoodle?” She snorts. “I was the fifth wheel forever. If I can do it, you can do it. And since you’re finding new friends, the next time you want to run, call them because this killing me thing sucks.”
I laugh. “You know I’d rather kill you and Shyla first.”
She glances to my phone. “So, what’s the text say?”
I decide to go with the truth because she’s right. I’m dying to talk about it. “He misses my smile and wants to do dinner tonight.”
“Awww,” she swoons. “That’s sweet.”
Me: Sure. I’m off today, so whatever time works for me.
Cody: Six?
Me: Do I need to bring anything?
Cody: Yourself. Everything else is covered.
“So…are you going to tell me?” she pries with a pleading tone.
Inhaling a deep breath, I glance to her. “I’m not giving up any details yet just in case it goes to shit. I like this guy, a lot. Too much, probably. I’m scared because of the obvious, but I’m trying, and I don’t want to jinx it.”
“You realize they’re not all the same, right?”
“Yeah. I do, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying. The hurt is still fresh. I’m trying to trust him. He’s never given me a reason not to. Not yet.”
“Since you won’t give me a name, will you at least tell me a little about him?”
“He’s hot, really hot.” I can’t fight off the grin just thinking about him pulls from me. “He’s sweet and funny, sharp and smart.”
“I already like him.”
“Let me work through some things and I’ll tell you everything. I promise.”
She reaches over and hugs my neck. “We’re here if you need us.”
* * *
The moment Cody opens the door, his sexy smile reaches out and tugs my lips up. He looks good in dark-washed jeans and a blue shirt, his hair mussed and a mess, just the way I like it. Reaching out, he grasps my wrist and tugs me against him, cupping my face and pressing his lips to mine.
“I’m man enough to admit I’ve missed you.”
My smile is a little goofy. “Yeah?”
He nods. “Yeah. Come on. Dinner’s ready.”
By my hand, he leads me into the house and to the dining room where the table is set up. Two plates of chicken parmesan, two glasses of red wine, and one candle. Holy shit, Cody’s the guy we swoon over in the movies and something in my stomach flip-flops.
Dinner is great, our conversation leading us all over the place. He’s asked about my week and told me about his. I help him with the dishes. I rinse and he places them in the dishwasher. It feels natural, like something we’ve done for years. It’s comfortable just as much as it is unnerving that we can fall right into a routine.
I’m wiping off my hands with the dish towel when he steps behind me, gripping my waist and kissing my shoulder. “I like this,” he says.
I swallow hard and say nothing. I do too and it’s freaking me out.
His mouth trails down my neck, setting my body ablaze with desire. Slowly, he turns me. His piercing green eyes are fiercely wild with heat. Those butterflies scurry in my stomach as electricity storms my limbs. I need him.
I yank his mouth to mine, tongues dueling. It’s hot and messy. Our hands roam all over. Finding the hem of his shirt, I slide my hands under and up the skin of his stomach, around to his back. Releasing the kiss, he grabs the back of his shirt and tugs it over his head, tossing it to the floor. Swiftly, his mouth is back on me and he grabs my ass and lifts me, prompting me to wrap my legs around his waist.
“I need you in my bed tonight, Aimee. I need to be inside you.” His words are thick and hungry.
“Please. Yes.”
Crashing back to his mouth, he kisses the hell out me while he carries me up the stairs toward his room. He lowers my feet to the floor, pulls my shirt over my head, and pushes my pants down my legs before his mouth hits mine again. He palms my breast, gently kneading them before sliding his hands around my back to unhook my bra.
Easily, he lowers my back to the bed. His hands move down my body until his fingers meet my black lacy thong and he slides it down my legs.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he rasps. The way he’s eye fucking me, intense and hungry like I’m the only thing that can satisfy him, has me blazing from the inside out.
He lowers his head, his lips trailing along my thighs and setting fire to my skin. He inches closer to my ache, closer…and closer…until his tongue swipes over my clit causing my hips buck.
I gasp as he licks my entrance and circles around my clit again before sucking and sending a jolt of pleasure to shoot through me.
With a groan, he presses his finger into me. “So wet for me…”
It’s almost embarrassing how quickly my orgasm spreads over me as he pumps his fingers and feasts. Minutes… and I’m falling over the edge, crying out and gripping his sheets, writhing against his face until the wave recedes.
Somewhere along the path of delirium, he’s ditched his pants and kneels over my body, scooting me up the bed. As he lines the thick tip of his dick to my entrance, his eyes latch on to mine and he fills me with one thrust. I gasp, rolling my eyes closed and pushing my head into the mattress.
Cody begins to thrust into me, sure and powerful strokes, immediately trying to elicit another orgasm from me. He rocks, his hips rolling into me. Streaks of pleasure spread through me and my moans become louder. Pushing up to his hands causes the angle to change. Fireworks explode behind my eyes and I lose control.
“Cody…” is my final word before ecstasy floods me.
His pace picks up. His cock thickens, throbbing against my muscles as he pounds into me. He growls, his face screwing up tightly as he climaxes.
Sweat drips down his forehead, and his back is slick as our breathing continues to be ragged. I can feel my pulse in my skin, in my muscles, in my damn ears.
The moment he pulls out, I’m left with an unwanted feeling of emptiness where he was. I watch his taut ass disappear into the bathroom before he comes out with a wet washcloth for me to clean up. It’s a sweet gesture that has me blushin
g all over.
Once I’m done, he tosses it to the side of the bed and pulls me to lie on his chest. “I want you to stay with me tonight. I want you in my arms when I fall asleep. I want to wake up beside you.”
My mind, post-orgasm, finds something funny and I laugh. “That’s a lot of wanting.”
Tipping my head up by my chin, he pins me with a serious as hell stare. “I want you. Everything you. Which includes you in my bed.”
The way he’s looking at me makes me feel like he can see into my soul and see how hard I’m fighting things. I need distance… But that can come tomorrow when I leave because honestly, I want to fall asleep right here. With him.
I nod voicelessly and nuzzle deeper into his side as he tightens his arm around me.
Sleep tonight. Distance tomorrow.
EIGHTEEN
When I said I needed distance from Cody, I meant it. I fully intend to stay away, keeping him at arm’s length. One hundred percent. This is purely infatuation because, let’s face it, there’s no way I can be falling in love as quickly as I am. Love takes time to develop. It’s a slow process with intimacy and a connection required. Infatuation is a craving of physical affection, intense and short-lived.
Short-lived. It’s been my mantra for an hour.
I need someone to convince me that what I’m feeling wrapping slivers around my heart is nothing more than pure infatuation and our connection comes from the months I’ve known him. Not love.
The red neon alarm clock chastises me as the last digit changes from a three to four. My thoughts have been haunting me as I’ve quietly waited for my decision to stay with him to come crashing down around me.
A strong arm snakes around my waist and pulls my back against his solid chest. “Why are you awake?” Cody’s voice is gravelly and full of sleep.
“Would you believe me if I said I was still asleep and you’re dreaming?”
His chest vibrates behind me as a deep rumbling chuckle escapes him. “No.”
“Well then, you woke me up,” I quip.
He presses a kiss behind my ear. “Get out of your head, Aimee. Please. The faster you do that, the faster you and I can get on the same page.”
I stifle my gasp. “What makes you think—”
“I know you better than you think. Don’t hold it in. If you have worries, talk to me. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”
My cheeks heat furiously and I’m glad he’s not able to see it. “I don’t think I like how you focus on minute details.”
He hums a chuckle. “I’m programmed that way, babe.”
I take a long deep breath, filling my lungs and body with courage. “I’m scared.”
His arms pull me impossibly closer against him. “Want me to buy you a night light?”
I can’t help the laugh that rips out of me. “I’m being serious, ass.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of,” his tone is clear from sleep and sweet. “I’m not out to hurt you. If anyone should be scared, it’s me. You have the power to destroy me and you don’t know it. All I want is to add to the reasons to make you smile. The way your eyes light up when you’re happy… I want that for you always and I want to be the reason for it.”
“You’re adding to the long list of your wants,” I jest, trying to hide the emotions in my voice.
“It all falls into the same category—you. All I want is you.”
“I’m sorry I’m so insecure about this.”
“For six years you thought you were secure only to find out what you thought was real turned out to be nothing but heartache. I get it. I understand why you’re scared. What I don’t get is why you’re holding on to the pain when I’m right here wanting to fill you up with happiness and security.”
My heart does a weird thing in my chest. “Since when does Cody do sweet and serious?”
He kisses behind my ear again. “I’m full of surprises. It’s one of the things you’ll learn when you let go of the pain and grab on to what’s waiting in your future.”
Holy swooning hell….
“I can’t promise we won’t hit rough times. But I can promise I’ll always be honest, even if the truth hurts me. And I swear I’ll never be unfaithful, nor will I put myself in the position where the opportunity arises.”
“I don’t think I deserve you,” I hear myself admit.
“You’ve got it wrong. I don’t deserve you.” He props up on his elbow and pulls me to face him. The room is pitch dark except the small sliver of moonlight slicing through the blinds and giving me just enough light to see the silhouette of his face. “One day at a time I’ll show you.”
His lips find mine, his tongue delving in and seeking. This kiss is different than the rest. It’s intense, full of promises, and I feel it everywhere. Like a full-body experience. His dick nudges against my entrance and slowly, he pushes in. Tortuously. Inch my inch until he’s buried and the intensity forces me to rip my mouth away from his.
I arch into his rocking hips. My hands travel over his skin, around his ribs and across his slick back. In the darkness our pants echo.
Cody pushes up and grips the inside of my thighs, pushing them wider apart. The angle hits every delicious spot. His thrusts become longer, pulling out to his tip and plunging back in. Pleasure begins zipping through my body, bouncing off every nerve ending until it detonates, and I explode.
His drive becomes eager, increasing the speed with powerful pushes as he chases my orgasm with his. He hisses as he loses himself, his fingers digging into skin on my thigh. I’m positive there will be bruises, but I don’t give a care in the world. His body shudders, and hips jerk until he lets my leg go and drops his head beside mine, still holding himself off my body with his elbow.
“You’ve wrecked me.” He feathers kisses on my cheek.
When he pulls out, I’m left wishing he could stay inside of me forever. What? Forever?
“Since there’s no damn way I’m going back to sleep now, I’m going to take a shower and get ready for work. You’re more than welcome to join me or go back to sleep until you need to head out.”
And be left in his house alone? That feels…way too intimate. A place in our relationship I don’t think he’s ready for because I know I’m not.
“Go take a shower,” I say.
He’s in the bathroom and I’m scrambling to find my clothes. What the hell is happening? Something is shifting and it’s shifting fast. Like that ride at the fair that starts slow and suddenly you’re slammed against the wall as it spins so fast it holds you there.
Needing to busy myself, I make us coffee after finding everything in his too-organized-for-a-man cabinets. After it finishes, I set a mug out for Cody and pour myself some, adding a half spoon of sugar. I’m inhaling the steam about to take a sip when Cody comes down the stairs and turns the corner into the kitchen.
The world stops, as does my heart, my breath, and my brain.
He’s in a black suit, fitted to precision, crisp and sharp with a powder blue shirt and a black and blue striped tie. He looks… “Wow.”
His lips curve up confidently as he strolls toward me.
I’ve seen Cody dressed for work, normally after his day when he’s ditched his tie and lost a few top buttons. Even the day I stopped in, he had the “I’ve worked hard all day” look going on. But seeing him fresh out of the shower, power-position, looking like he could be the next James Bond has my entire body and mind cross-firing.
“I like that look on you,” he says.
I blink up to him. “I couldn’t work for you. I’d be fired for screwing everything up, tripping over my tongue, and trying to blow the boss.”
He bursts into a deep laugh and I realize I love the sound of it. “I could arrange that. Whatever your pay—”
I stop him by holding up a hand. “I am not a hooker and you will not be paying me for blow jobs.”
The smile on his face drops and turns serious. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Didn’t say
you did.” I pour coffee into his mug and hand it to him. “I have no clue how you take your coffee so you’ll have to do the rest.”
I watch as he puts a splash of milk in and a half spoon of sugar, memorizing it for the next time as I trail my view down his body. The fabric of his suit sucks against the curve of his ass. He really does have a damn good-looking ass.
“Do you like looking at my ass?” he asks with his back to me.
“Yes. Very much so.” I admit, not at all embarrassed.
“Good.” He drops his spoon and turns around, leaning against the counter. “Then we’re even because I love watching yours.”
“Do you have a busy day?” I ask.
Spinning away, he grabs a teal and white plastic to-go cup and pours his coffee into it. “I try not to be hectic on Fridays. Kills the weekend vibe. A few meetings, a few hours reviewing reports.”
“Sounds like you could call it a day by lunch.”
His brow is arched high when he turns back to me. “If only it were that simple.”
“I’m not going to pretend like I know what the hell you do. I play with hair, get paid, and do it over and over until it’s time to go home.”
“I would be the guy to make sure your cash base has a positive flow.”
“If my bills are getting paid, I’m sure it’s positive.”
He chuckles. “Think of your job like it’s split in different departments. Coloring, women cuts, and men cuts, add multiple employees to those divisions and then add your suppliers, vendors for products, things of that nature. I am the guy who reviews and analyzes each and every cent to make sure the goals are met and budgets aren’t being blown. Each manager reports to me…daily.”
“Basically, you’re my accountant on steroids?”
Mirth dances in his beautiful green eyes. “In my position in Bennett Towers, your steroidal accountant reports to me.”
“Good. Tell him to squeeze some more money out for me.” I grin.
Cody pushes off the counter and drops a kiss to my lips. “Feel free to stick around. Take a shower. Whatever you’d like. I’ve got to go. Got a meeting in an hour.”