I believed him, but I had latched onto the green-eye monster and it wouldn’t let go. “Fine.”
He put his hand under my chin and forced me to look at him. “It’s just you,” he said and kissed me.
I couldn’t really be mad at the guy. It wasn’t like he had done anything wrong. I jumped to conclusions. “She’s pretty,” I pouted.
“I’m sure she is, but she’s not who I want.”
I wanted to believe him. I did believe him. A moment of insecurity left me feeling a little foolish. “She was openly flirting with you,” I complained.
“That’s just how she is. She’s like that with everyone. She’s bubbly and outgoing.”
“I noticed.”
He walked away and locked his office door. He stalked toward me, pulled off his glasses, and put them on a bookshelf against a wall. I knew that look. I shook my head. “Uh uh,” I said.
He nodded. “Oh yeah.”
“Thomas, we’re in your office.”
“And the door is locked,” he whispered before jerking me against him and kissing me with his usual intensity.
His hand quickly unbuttoned my jeans and pushed down my zipper. He pushed my jeans down and walked me backward towards his desk. I slipped my hand between our bodies and jerked his belt until I could loosen it. I fumbled with the button of his slacks and got them undone before unzipping his pants. I wrapped my hand around his cock and squeezed like I owned the thing.
He grunted and sucked in a breath at the same time. His arm snaked under my ass and lifted me before dropping me on the edge of his desk. He jerked the jeans down before bending to take off one shoe. He reached over me, opened a drawer, and pulled out a condom.
My eyes widened. “You keep those in your drawer?” I asked with accusation in my voice.
“I bought a box this morning at the store when I stopped to grab a sandwich for lunch. I planned on taking it home. You’ve been insatiable and I only had one left.”
I knew there was only one left. We had talked about it last night when we’d been in bed. “Oh,” I said.
He was sheathed and pushing inside me a second later. My body still got shocked every time his thick girth pushed inside me. He ruined me for any other man. He was too good to be true. He pounded inside me, knocking a pen to the floor before a notepad dropped.
I held on to the edge of the desk and let him rock my world. I reached out to grab his shoulder to keep from sliding across the desk. “I’m close,” he grunted.
“Me too.”
He fucked harder and took us both over the edge. We had to keep things quiet, but our ragged breathing sounded like it was on a massive speaker and pumping throughout the room. My head dropped to his shoulder as I struggled to catch my breath.
He kissed the side of my neck. “Better?” he asked.
“What?”
“I’m only doing this with you,” he said in a gruff voice. “Never doubt my loyalty. When I say it’s only you, I mean it.”
I nodded and kissed him. “I get it.”
He helped me off the desk before stepping back and doing up his pants. I quickly redressed and adjusted my shirt. I was flushed and fanned my face with my hands. “I did not come here to do this, but, uh, thanks.”
He chuckled and gave me another kiss. “I think I should be thanking you. Is this an afternoon delight?”
“I’m delighted.” I laughed.
“Me too.”
He put his glasses back on and adjusted his shirt. I couldn’t stop looking at the man. Every time we had sex, I found myself marveling at how handsome he was. It was like he got more attractive by the day.
“You know you’re hot, right?”
He looked up from the binder he had picked up again. “Do I?”
“I’m thinking about stripping you down and fucking you again,” I said.
He smirked. “It might take me a minute, but okay.”
I laughed at the thought. I gave him another kiss. “I have to go.”
“Why? Are you going home?”
“Yes.”
“Then stick around,” he said. “I’ll give you a ride.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I told him.
“Why not?”
“Because you are looking way too good for me not to try and get you on the floor,” I told him.
“Damn woman, you are insatiable. I’ve created a monster.”
I groaned and looked up at the ceiling. “Yes, you have. I feel like a man. All I think about is sex.”
“I like that.”
“This is why I have to go,” I told him.
“I’d like to show this to Chris,” he said. “Can you hang around and explain it to him?”
“Sure,” I said with a shrug.
“I’ll grab him. Then I’ll take you home.”
I agreed to stay. It wasn’t like I had anything pressing to do.
32
Thomas
I walked into the apartment and tossed my briefcase on the chair. I smelled something good coming from the kitchen. She was making dinner. I loved when she made dinner. I walked to the pot on the stove and lifted the lid. It was spaghetti sauce, her own recipe. We had it once before and I had made a glutton of myself. She loved to cook and experiment. I was a willing tester. She was a damn good cook.
I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it on the back of a chair before I went in search of Lily. I checked the balcony first before going down the hall to her bedroom. I heard her talking and gently knocked on the door that was only partially closed.
She was lying on her bed with her feet hanging over the side. She put her finger to her lips when she saw me, then pointed to the phone. I got the message. She didn’t want whoever was on the phone to know I was there. I lay down on the bed beside her and placed my hand on her belly.
“No,” she said. “I’ve been so busy with school I don’t have time to go out.”
I didn’t have to wonder who it was. It was Tamlyn. Tamlyn was always asking about her dating life. I got the same questions from my nosey sister. I sat up, ready to give her some privacy when she pulled me back down. “Wait,” she mouthed.
I was more than happy to wait. I could keep myself occupied. I slipped my hand under her shirt and fondled her breasts through the bra. She tried to swat my hand away while carrying on her conversation.
“No, that guy turned out to be a douche,” she said.
She was talking about Gage. I was glad she had blown the guy off.
“I don’t want to call the other guy,” Lily said at the same time I pressed my lips to her belly button.
She slapped at my head. She was smiling mischievously, silently daring me to keep going. I took it as a challenge. I kissed her neck before sucking her sensitive flesh between my teeth. She was struggling to talk. I knew I was getting her worked up. She was helpless to stop me because that would mean alerting my sister to what was happening. She tried to push me away, but it was without any real conviction. She was enjoying our little game.
“Thomas is fine,” she said.
“Amazing,” I whispered.
She bit back her laugh. “He, uh, he’s at work,” she said.
“Liar,” I mouthed.
She pushed my face when I tried to kiss her. I licked her cheek instead. She gasped. “No, I stubbed my toe,” she lied. “I’m fine.
I could hear Tamlyn’s muffled voice through the phone. It upped the stakes. I moved back to Lily’s belly and pushed her shirt up. I kissed her breast through the lace of her bra. She wiggled on the bed as I sucked the nipple into my mouth. I tweaked it again and felt her body jerk. I was keeping score. This was one point for me.
“I’ll see you soon,” Lily said.
I immediately jerked away. She ended the call and put the phone on the bed. “You’ll what?” I asked. “Is she coming for another visit?” I pulled her shirt down like someone might walk in on us at any moment.
“No,” she said with a worried look on her f
ace. “She’s not coming.”
I sat up and breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“I need a beer,” she said with a sigh and got up from the bed to head to the kitchen.
“Why?”
“Because I feel like I just lied to my best friend,” she groaned. “I feel dirty. I feel like the worst person in the world. I have never lied to her like that. To anyone. I don’t like lying.”
“Did she ask if you were sleeping with me?” I asked in an attempt to prove she hadn’t technically lied.
“No, but she asked if I was seeing anyone,” she said and pulled two beers from the fridge. She handed me one before opening hers and taking a drink. “I told her no. That is lying.”
“I think it can be left open to interpretation,” I reasoned. “Seeing someone could be anything.”
She gave me a dry look. “Really? Do you really think she is going to accept that when all this comes out?”
“Let’s get back to the part about you’ll see her soon,” I said. “Is she coming for another surprise visit? If she uses the spare key to bust in and catches us in bed together, that could be bad.”
“No, she wants me to go back with you for Thanksgiving,” she explained.
I suddenly understood what had her freaked out. “Oh shit.”
“Exactly,” she said. “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“She insists I go. I’ve begged off the last couple of years, but now that I live here, I don’t have an excuse.”
“You should go,” I said. “I know my parents would love to see you.”
“Tamlyn insisted I catch a ride with you,” she said. “I feel trapped.”
“It’s not that bad.” I laughed. “You don’t have to chew off your own foot to escape.”
“You know what I mean,” she groaned. “I love your family and I want to see them, but how are we going to navigate this?”
“We play it cool,” I said. “Do you like what we have going?”
“You know I do.”
“Then we don’t have to change anything,” I said. “We play it cool and act like we are roommates. We carry on like we are roommates and nothing more.”
She walked to the stove and stirred her sauce. “I hate lying to her. I want to tell her how happy I am. I want to tell her all about the guy I’m seeing and how amazing he is. I always tell her everything and it sucks I can’t tell her about this.”
“Amazing, huh?” I teased.
“Stop,” she said. “You know you’re amazing.”
“Yes, I do know.”
“What do you think about telling her?” she asked.
I shrugged. “If you want, we can.”
“But you don’t want to.”
“I just think there are some consequences that we have to be prepared for,” I cautioned. “I know it’s hard to hold this back and I don’t like the idea of lying either, but I like what we have. I don’t want to mess this up with a bunch of outside opinions.”
“Because you don’t think she’ll approve,” she said with a sigh.
“I think she might have some hesitations,” I admitted. “Not because of us, but because she thinks we are too similar. She wants us to go out and party. She isn’t going to think it’s a good idea for us to be settled down.”
“You’re right,” she agreed.
“I like what we have, and I don’t want everyone to get wrapped up in our relationship.”
I knew I was protesting a lot, but I knew my sister. I knew my parents. They tended to believe they knew what was best for me. I knew that was my fault. I didn’t speak up enough. I didn’t act like I knew what I was doing with my life and that concerned them.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll play it cool. No looks. No touches. Just totally cool.”
I slapped her ass. “Means I can’t do that either, right?”
“You’re so going to blow this.”
“I won’t,” I insisted. “I’ll be a good boy.”
“You better because I will be pissed if you get us busted in front of your parents.”
“I will be on my best behavior.”
She dipped the spoon into the pot and pulled it out to test it. “Go shower. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.”
I gave her a kiss and headed for the shower. This little relationship we had was perfect. We were both happy. I hated the idea of having to share it or explain it to anyone. I knew it was wrong to keep this from my family and I knew it was even worse to ask Lily to lie. I was being selfish. I wanted to keep her all to myself. As soon as Tamlyn knew what was happening, I had no doubt in my mind she would interfere.
When I returned, she had set the table. “It smells delicious,” I said.
“I hope it tastes as good as it smells,” she said.
We sat down and went through our normal routine. After we ate, we moved to sit down on the couch for a bit. I could feel her tension and knew the upcoming holidays were worrying her.
“Have you talked to your dad?” I asked.
“No.”
“Do you want to visit him when we go home?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I hate this time of year.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Is there anything I can do to make it any easier?”
She sighed and snuggled closer to me. “No, but thank you. I wish there was something that could be done, but there’s nothing. I’ll call him, but I don’t expect him to answer.”
“I could talk to my parents and ask if we can invite him over.”
“No!” she quickly said. “He is not fit for company. He causes more drama. It’s just not a good idea. I don’t want to ruin your family’s holiday.”
“If you change your mind, let me know.”
“Thanks.”
We fell into a comfortable silence. “Chris is thrilled with the marketing stuff,” I told her. “He was pretty pissed when he found out what you did.”
“What I did?”
“That you were a marketing major,” I explained. “He wanted to know why I didn’t beg for your help earlier.”
She laughed and looked up at me. “I want to know why as well.”
“I told you why.”
“But you are going to talk to me about your other marketing needs, right?”
It was a trick question. “Yes.”
“Good.”
She sat up and kissed my cheek. “I’m going to get some studying done tonight.”
That was her telling me she didn’t want to sleep with me tonight. It stung, but we agreed we weren’t going to fall into a serious relationship simply because we lived together.
“Are you sure everything is okay?” I asked. “If this thing with Tamlyn is stressing you out, I’ll tell her. We’ll just get it out in the open and let the chips fall where they may.”
“Everything is fine,” she assured me. She kissed me and got up. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
I stayed in the living room for a little longer before turning off the TV and heading for bed. There was no point in staying up. I crawled into bed and couldn’t get her off my mind. We had not had the talk about what this relationship was. We both admitted it was a relationship, but we didn’t talk about the feelings involved with the relationship.
I knew I was crazy about her. I had some strong feelings for her. I wanted this thing between us to evolve and grow. I needed to find out where her head was. Living together was a double-edged sword. I loved that we got to see each other every day, but I still hated the idea of making her feel obligated. It could easily become very complicated.
I would give her a few days before I broached the subject with her. She needed time to sort through what she was feeling about the Tamlyn situation. If she truly was upset that Tamlyn didn’t know, I would encourage her to tell my sister. It was going to come out eventually.
33
Lily
I pulled my suitcase from the closet and tossed it
on the bed. I began to pack and wondered if this was the right thing to do. I had some serious apprehensions about this Thanksgiving holiday. It was normal to hang out with the James family but there was nothing normal about me and Thomas seeing each other. I felt like the chemistry between us was going to be obvious. Someone was bound to pick up on it.
“Are you close?” I heard Thomas call out.
I had put off packing last night because I hoped there would be a way out of this weekend. I kept thinking fate would intervene and save me from having to face Tamlyn. She knew me so well. She could see right through me. I had no idea how I was going to hide this one very big thing in my life from her.
“Five minutes,” I called back.
“We’re going to hit traffic,” he complained.
That might have been my plan. Maybe. Kind of. “I’m hurrying!”
I tossed in some panties and grabbed my toiletries from the bathroom. When I walked back into the room, Thomas was standing in the doorway. “You’re nervous,” he said.
“Not nervous but apprehensive.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” he questioned.
“Yes. No. Your sister is a mind reader. Lying to her over the phone is one thing. Doing it to her face is another. She’s going to know something is up.”
“Relax,” he said. “Just be you. My aunts and grandmother are going to be there. They are all going to be so busy gossiping about the other half of the family, they aren’t going to notice you. Just be normal. Do what you have always done.”
“I’ll try,” I said.
“Did you talk to your dad again?” he asked the same question he’d been asking daily.
“No.”
“Lily, let me take you by there,” he said gently. “You’re going to feel guilty if you don’t at least stop by.”
“He has a girlfriend. He’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t just saying that?”
I shrugged and closed the suitcase. “I don’t know. It’s his business. I hope he does have a girlfriend. Then I don’t have to worry about him being alone all the time.” I patted my suitcase and declared myself finished packing.
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