by Kim Karr
He prevents me from saying anything with a heart-stopping kiss, and around the kiss he says, “Don’t say anything.”
I don’t.
Nick starts to move again, pulling back and easing forward, pushing gently until he is all the way inside me again.
Almost instinctively, I reach up, wrapping my arms around his neck, and holding onto him tightly.
Our bodies tangle and clash, twisting and rolling until I am breathless and panting. Nick groans low in his throat and again he surprises me when he pushes his arms underneath me so he can hold me closer against his body.
He’s fucking me hard and fast, and making love to me soft and slow, all at the same time. I’ve thought about little more than this for days, but never had I imagined it to be this good.
Nick’s hips arch fluidly, his cock slides in and out of my body until I am practically dizzy with pleasure.
His body is pressed so hard against mine that I can feel every twitch, feel every time his muscles coil and bunch with the effort of his movements, feel every ounce of energy he expels.
In fact, we are so close I don’t think there is a part of me he isn’t touching in some way. It’s like he can’t get enough of me, and the thought sends a shiver racing down my spine.
It hits me when he tears his mouth from mine to press a line of kisses down my jaw to my neck that I thought sex with Nick would be quick, dirty, and emotionally bereft.
This is anything but.
Suddenly, I’m overwhelmed by my feelings, and I’m climbing that endless mountain of pleasure even faster.
Nick is surrounding me, touching me, filling me, filling me in places that have been hollow and aching for way longer than three months.
Soon I find myself hugging him to me. Like him, I can’t stand for the barest of inches to separate us. When I am close to reaching the top of the mountain, I cling to him so tightly, I’m sure I will leave marks. It’s then that my body starts to shake with an uncertainty as to what this is and why it is happening,
Perhaps feeling I’m close, or perhaps close himself, Nick rocks into me, deeper, harder, faster.
Still uncertain as to what is happening, why there is such a profound connection between the two of us, I close my eyes.
“Tess.” Nick’s tender voice pulls me from my scattered thoughts. “Look at me.”
I open my eyes to see him staring intently down at me.
“Are you okay?”
I nod.
“You sure?”
Again I nod, and this time I hug him tighter. “Kiss me.”
He does. Fiercely.
I shiver and arch my body.
“How close are you?” he whispers.
“Almost there,” I whisper back.
“Tell me what you need to get there?”
What I need? I’ve never been asked that, and I answer with the one word my body is telling me will send me over the edge. “You.”
His eyes flash and his jaw clenches. Then he is kissing me again. Harder. Hot. Nipping. Licking. Sucking. Until I am breathing his air and he is breathing mine.
We are locked together so tightly that I have no idea how he manages to keep thrusting. With each movement he makes, my release is building low and deep. So deep, I feel like I’m being turned inside out. “Oh, God,” I moan. And then I’m on the top of that mountain and for a moment I’m afraid to fall. Afraid of what will happen when it’s all over, but it’s too late, and before I can stop myself, I’m coming around his cock.
“Fuck,” Nick groans as he begins to move faster, harder. Any control he had is gone and he’s pushing into me so deep that I gasp at his depth.
That’s when I begin to unravel. I thought I’d come just seconds ago, but now my orgasm is owning me, taking me over, making me slick and wet, and out of control.
I squeeze him tightly, never wanting this feeling to end. Gasping his name, I close my eyes and the world blurs around me. All I can feel is him. On top of me. His mouth on my skin. His cock buried deep. The noises he is making. Him. All of him. All around me.
When I start to float downward, my body feels weightless, sated, free. It’s a strange new feeling. I can’t quite grasp it.
I’m not sure I want to.
Nick collapses on top of me. His body is limp and his chest heaves with exertion, but he feels so good, and I want him to stay right where he is.
I press my lips to his neck and start to suck.
Nick laughs, and rolls so that I’m on top of him. “You, Tess Winters, are incredible.”
I look down at him. “You aren’t so bad yourself.”
“You mean for a jerk,” he jokes.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Stop with that, please.”
He smiles and kisses me softly. “Since you said please.”
This time I roll my eyes.
He kisses me again, this time harder. “Let me get rid of the condom and then I want to do that again, but this time I want to taste you first.”
With my legs still shaking and my body still trembling, I roll onto my back. “We have at least another hour before Max wakes, so if you insist.”
Nick cocks a brow and then makes his way upstairs. Within seconds he is back beside me, reaching for me and tugging me on top of him. “I want to say that was unexpected, but that would be a lie. After the last five days it wasn’t,” he laughs.
“No, it wasn’t,” I laugh back.
His fingertips trail down my back and my body responds in the same way it has since the first time he touched me. “Are you sure you didn’t want me from the first time you saw me?”
I rise to my elbows, my fingers going to his hair and threading through it. “After what we just did, I want to say yes, but that would be a lie.”
“Way to hurt a guy’s ego,” he responds with color in his voice.
Twisting my lips, I stare down into his blue eyes. “I doubt that ego of yours has ever even been scratched.”
Nick slaps my bare bottom and rolls me onto my back, spreading my legs wide as he hovers between them. “Shut up and let me taste you.”
And for once, I have no problem doing just as he says.
15
Tess
Sex changes everything.
No matter how many times you say it won’t, or want to pretend things will be the same afterwards, they won’t be.
They never are.
For Nick and I, that isn’t saying much. After three years of war, the cease-fire had resulted in both of us crying out each other’s names, and now trying to catch our breath.
It isn’t anything I would have predicted.
My breasts are crushed against his chest when I spot the sun rising. “We should probably get dressed,” I say, “Max will be waking up soon.”
His muscles grow taut beneath me, and with an uneasy feeling stirring in my belly that I can’t shake, I wait for it.
This was a mistake.
This shouldn’t have happened.
This is a one-time thing
Or better yet—don’t get too attached to me.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Nick says, sitting up and forcing me to do the same.
He runs a hand through his hair, and then looks around before standing. As he gathers my clothes and hands them to me, I wait for it. Nothing. I start to wonder just how bad this is going to be.
We still have nine days together; will we be able to do it?
Time to find out.
“Nick,” I call as I shrug into my shirt.
He turns, just finishing pulling his pants up. God, that body. It’s hard not to stare at it. “Yeah,” he says, his voice thick.
That’s when I do something very unlike me, and go fishing. “We probably shouldn’t have done that.”
Standing there shirtless, he puts his hands on his hips and raises a brow. “Look Tess, I’m not going to play games. If you’re looking for me to agree because you think you know me so well, I’m not going. Or if you’re waiting for me to tell you it
was a mistake, that’s not going to happen either.”
Honestly, can he just address the statement? Agitated, I can’t help but shake my head, because really, he can be such a jerk. “Alright then,” I say, and get to my feet, my body language sending out all kinds of vibes. What vibes though, I can’t even be clear.
Whatever he reads them as, it’s not anger or hostility I can tell you that because his eyes greedily take me in.
I smirk at the heat I see in them, but then quickly remember I’m put off by his attitude and turn away to gather the pillows. Still, I can’t help but steal a glance or two his way.
He’s poking at the fire when he looks over his shoulder and catches my gaze. “Do you really think that?”
I’m just about to set the pillows on the couch when I freeze. I could lie and tell him yes, or I could be honest. In the end, I decide to be honest. As soon as I finish my task, I whirl around. “No, but I thought you might, so I wanted to make it easier for you.”
Nick is a lot of things, but gracious and humble aren’t any of them. With amusement glittering in his eyes, he says, “Awww…that’s really sweet Tess, you were worried about me.”
Now I’m infuriated. “Screw you,” I say with more force than I intended. “I just didn’t want things to feel awkward between us.”
He throws his head back and laughs. Laughs. The nerve of him. When he settles himself, he sets those eyes on me. “Oh, and if I had said thanks for the lay, but don’t get to attached to me, that wouldn’t have been awkward?”
I stare at him. “Why are you being such a jerk about this?”
Nick sets the poker down and strides toward me with a predatory light in his eyes I’ve never seen before. My heart slams right out of my chest. When he stops in front of me, he gently wraps his fingers around my upper arms and says, “You’re the one who made the comment. Perhaps you should just apologize to me for thinking so little of me, and then we can plan our day. It looks like neither of us will be going to work, and obviously school will be canceled, so let’s make the most of it.”
My jaw drops open. “You want me to apologize to you?”
He nods, and simply says, “Yes, and then we can plan our day, together.”
I’m a little torn here. On one hand, wow, I was so not expecting that, on the other hand, is he really serious? I decided on the latter. “You’re unbelievable,” I say, and turn to march up the stairs.
He catches me before I reach the first step, and I whirl around. “If you’re worried this was a one-night stand for me, it wasn’t,” he says in a low voice, no more menacing in his tone.
There is nothing but the truth in his eyes.
“I just thought you should know,” he adds.
I swallow, and blow out a slow exhale. “Thank you,” I say, and then tack on, “And I am sorry. I was fishing.”
Nick steps up, and forces me back. I end up sitting on one of the steps, looking up at him. He runs his hands possessively up my arms, over my shoulders, along my throat, and then he cradles my face, where he proceeds to crush his lips to mine. He kisses me like he’s starved. Like I’m the only thing that matters. Like I’m his.
Hot.
Torrid.
Consuming.
His breath explodes over me as he breaks contact with my lips, and we both gasp for air, and then he says, “Now, Tess, is that settled?”
My body is quivering from head to toe as I look up at him, and then I do the only thing I can, and nod.
With Nick, you just never know what to expect…
Except the unexpected.
16
Nick
Snow days could be compared to hitting the jackpot—when I was a kid that is.
As an adult, usually I see them as a giant pain in the ass. With schools closed, businesses closed, and roads closed, conducting work as normal is just a wet dream. Today though, I find myself saying—I fucking love snow days.
The Rover can get through anything, but by noon it’s completely unnecessary to engage the four-wheel drive. The snow has stopped and the sun is out. Instead of going to the office though, I decide to take Tess and Max out for the day. We all dress warm and go skating at Warren Park Ice Rink. There I get to show off my skills on the ice. Having played hockey most of my life, I can honestly say I know how to skate. Tess isn’t so bad herself. And Max is having a blast wearing blades for the first time.
After that we make our way to Cloud Gate. I haven’t stopped by the giant bean in years. Neither has Tess. In front of the giant silver sculpture, Tess takes a million pictures of Max and texts them to Fiona and Ethan. She also insists I take a selfie, of which I refuse. Somehow she manages to wear me down and I end up snapping one just to shut her up. She’s relentless when she wants something.
We then make our way to Mindy’s Hot Chocolate to warm up. Max has two cups, and Tess has one. I settle on coffee, but Max makes me taste his hot chocolate because it is the best ever with so many extra marshmallows.
We spend the later part of the afternoon driving around Printer’s Row. There I give Tess a tour of the whats and wheres. Once I’ve showed her around, I take her and Max into my office just to check on things, after which we hit the drive-thru at McDonalds to feed Max because he pleaded. And then we make one last stop at a local Italian restaurant for the adults.
By the time we get home it’s after seven and Max is out cold. Carrying him up the stairs has become a habit, but I don’t mind. The little guy has so much energy that his body just can’t keep up.
In his room, I lay him down at the foot of the bed.
“I guess I’ll bathe Max tomorrow,” Tess says as she pulls off his shoes and then tugs down the bedcovers.
I pick him up again and carry him to the head of the bed. “Shit, I forgot about that. Don’t tell Fi we put him to bed without a bath, she’ll freak.”
Tess laughs as she turns on his nightlight. “That secret is safe with me. Fiona is a little crazy about baths, and I think she’d have my head for putting him to bed without one.”
I raise a brow. “You could have my head.”
Tess shoves me toward the door. “Out,” she orders.
In the hall, I lean against the spare room door with one foot propped up and wait for Tess to finish tucking Max in.
Today has been filled with illicit touches and covert looks. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this much sexual tension without satisfying it. So yeah, right now the word head makes me think of my throbbing cock. Just like watching her bend down earlier made me think of her sweet pussy. And seeing her pucker her lips around her cup of hot chocolate created visions of how that mouth would feel wrapped around me.
Tess comes out of the room, closes the door, and then turns to look at me across the hall. “We should eat while the food is hot.”
I shrug. “We could always warm it up.”
She eyes the door I’m leaning against, the one to the spare room. “Ask me nicely.”
I remain right where I am. “Ask you what?”
“If I want to fuck?”
Amused, I go ahead and ask, “Do you want to fuck?”
She shrugs. “I am hungry. Maybe if you ask a little nicer.”
“What? Do you want me to beg?”
Her eyes light up. “That just might satisfy my hunger for now.”
I raise a brow. “I don’t beg.”
She doesn’t move, or say anything.
We’re at a draw.
Let’s see if she’s feeling the same urgency that I am.
“Okay, let’s eat,” I say, and slowly step for the stairs.
Within seconds she grabs me by the collar of my shirt and tugs me inside the spare room.
I let her.
Once inside, I kick the door closed.
Then she tugs my shirt off and pushes me against the wall.
Starving for a taste of her, I yank her sweater off and then rip her blouse open to see those tiny pink nipples, to pinch them, lathe them with my tongue. Before I can r
emove her bra and close my mouth around one of them though, she drops to her knees in front of me.
Holy fuck.
Without fumbling, she yanks my belt open, undoes my button, and unzips my zipper. My straining cock pushes at the front of my boxers and I’m in her fist before I even have a chance to make a sound.
Tess uses one knee to nudge my legs farther apart as she pulls my pants down to my thighs. My boxers, too. I’m mostly naked for her in half a minute.
My cock pulses against her palm as she skims her hand upward, barely brushing my head, but enough that my hips jerk forward in excitement. As soon as they do, she grips my shaft, keeping me in place.
Oh, fuck.
I flatten my palms against the wall and hold on. I have never been at a woman’s mercy like this. Sure, I’ve been blown a million times, but never when I wasn’t the one in control. And never have I wanted to be out of control as much as I do right now.
I look down at her, my gaze darkening with an unbelievable bout of lust. Her gaze drifts up, and I see in it the same.
And in that single moment that our eyes lock, she opens her mouth and let’s her hot breath seep over my even hotter flesh.
It makes me shiver.
With a smile on her face, she brushes my cock against her cheek, close, so close, and yet my tip is not quite close enough to be inside her mouth.
Lower.
Lower.
A little lower.
Not low enough.
Shit.
Teasing me, she breathes against my cock as her hand works it. And then she turns her head, mouthing the inside of my thigh, nuzzling it, and then she nips it and I cry out. I want to reach down and push her head so her mouth is right there, right on my cock, but I don’t.
I’m giving her this.
Letting her control this.
When she runs her tongue along the underside of my cock, stopping just before she reaches the tip, I close my eyes and let my head drop. The long, tortured cry that escapes my throat isn’t a sound I’ve ever made.
Oh, fuck, she’s using her teeth and my body is shaking in a way I am powerless to stop.
Soon her hands are moving up and down, up and down, and then a little higher to graze my cock head—that’s when I pump my hips, needing to be in her mouth, needing to fuck her mouth.