Cuffing Season

by Danielle Allen

  “I am.”

  “Will you turn the light off, please?”

  He reached over to turn off the light, and the room was engulfed in darkness. I put his hand back on my belly and he slipped it underneath my camisole. His warm hand rested against my skin.

  “I’d wait for you if you were locked up,” Luca argued.

  “You better.”

  “Oh, is that right?” He tickled me, causing me to squirm and laugh in spurts.

  “Stop! I’m sorry! I’m just kidding! Luca! Stop!”

  He chuckled but discontinued his tickling. “Your laugh is so loud.” He leaned down to kiss my shoulder. “I love it.”

  Heat spread from where his lips touched my bare skin and warmed me to my core. In the dark, with his hand still resting on my belly, I became hyperaware of the fact that we were two thin pieces of clothing away from being naked in bed together.

  I turned on my side, and he adjusted accordingly so that we were spooning. His hand still under my camisole as he caressed my belly. His breath skated across my neck as he held me close. And his dick firmly pressed against my ass.

  I was so comfortable and warm. I felt cocooned in his arms as if that was where I was always meant to be. And as tired as I was, there was a fire brewing at the apex of my thighs. I tried to ignore it, but as the silence settled around us, the pressure only intensified.

  I swallowed hard.

  “I’m hard because I want you,” he acknowledged, breaking the quiet solitude as if he could hear my thoughts. “I know you can feel me against you, and I don’t want you to think that’s what I came for. I just can’t hide what you do to me, especially since we’re in bed…and I’m feeling your soft skin…and you smell so good.” He inhaled deeply before kissing my neck. “But I came over here to sleep with you, not to sleep with you. You mean something to me, so I’m going to do this right.”

  Even though he was right, everything he said made me want him more. “Okay,” I murmured in response. “Tonight isn’t the night. But that is a distraction.”

  He chuckled softly. “It isn’t my fault.”

  “You’re right.”

  I covered my hand with his and pushed it down toward my shorts. Slipping his hand under my waistband, I lifted my leg and guided his fingers over my wetness. He sucked in a sharp intake of air. I let him move in a few rhythmic circles around my throbbing clit before dipping into me. I closed my eyes, relished the feeling, and then closed my legs. Pulling his hand back up to my belly, I fought the urge to continue.

  “So, now we can both be distracted,” I concluded.

  He didn’t say anything for at least thirty seconds. “That was fucked up.”

  I giggled. “It’s the same thing you’re doing to me right now.”

  He kissed my neck, my cheek, and when I turned my head, my lips. “You are trouble, Serena Brooks.”

  “You like trouble.”

  Against the shell of my ear, he whispered, “Very, very much.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Because the temptation was too great, we decided to not spend the night with one another again until we went on a date. We woke up in each other’s arms on Wednesday, and it felt right. But the moment only lasted a few minutes because he had an early morning and a long day. My day started later but lasted longer, well after his concluded. We didn’t talk much, but we realized that if he rescheduled his dentist appointment and I finished a few extra things on my to-do list, we could make Thursday work for us.

  It was a chilly morning and I thought I would be sore from the five miles we managed to cover as we strolled from one end of downtown to the other—and then back to the car. But the only thing that hurt was my side from laughing so hard.

  “Well, don’t invite a woman on a breakfast date and just have a protein shake and a banana,” I commented as we arrived back at Luca’s townhouse.

  Luca parked his car behind mine and then turned the ignition off. He looked at me and grinned. “Why are you so full of shit?”

  “Because I eat real food,” I quipped.

  He tried not to laugh, but his whole body was shaking as he held it in. “I ate a healthy breakfast.”

  I put my hand under his shirt and rubbed his belly. I tried to ignore the way his abs rippled under my fingers. “Your stomach growled loud as hell in the middle of our kiss. Clearly, you’re still hungry.”

  Giving me a look, he leaned his head back against the headrest. “I’m about to eat a whole lot when we get in the house.”

  My fingers stopped moving and my lips parted. Speechless, I felt his words everywhere.

  He smirked. “Get in the house.”

  Without another word, I opened my door and damn near jumped out of his car. I followed him into his townhouse and as soon as the door closed, his mouth was on mine.

  “I need to take a shower. I’m sweaty,” I murmured a few minutes later.

  “You want to use the one down the hall?”

  I nodded. “I just need to grab my stuff from your room.”

  “Make it quick or I’m coming in with you!”

  Laughing my way to his bedroom, I grabbed my bag, packed with the stuff he told me to bring, and made my way down the hall. After a long, hot shower, I stepped out thirty minutes later, shaved, moisturized, and wearing a pink t-shirt dress.

  I let the smell of bacon sizzling lead me straight to the kitchen. “It smells great in here.”

  Luca was wearing grey sweatpants and a tight, white t-shirt. Even with his back to me, seeing him in sweatpants made me smile.

  “Thanks!” Glancing over his shoulder, he called me over. “Come have a seat.”

  Instead of going to the table, I went to him. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I buried my face in his back. The scent of his body wash infiltrated my nostrils and I sighed. “You smell so good.”

  “So do you. And come to the side so I can see this shirt you have on with no pants.”

  I moved to the side of him and laughed as he whistled.

  “Come here,” he demanded. When I was close enough, he dropped a kiss on my lips. “What would you like to eat?”

  “I’m still full. I’ll grab some water or apple juice, if you have it.”

  “Help yourself.”

  I opened the refrigerator and grabbed the water. “What would you like?”

  “I’ll have water. Thanks.”

  “Oh!” I exclaimed, taking another bottle out. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I have no idea where we’re going today.”

  “I got us tickets to the History of Fashion exhibit at the art museum.”

  “You did?” I sat down at the table and watched him, my mouth agape. “Are you serious?”

  He winked at me. “I did good?”

  “You did really good! Oh my god! Thank you!”

  When the omelet was done, he brought over plates of bacon, eggs, and cinnamon bread with raisins. He sat it in the middle. He put a plate in front of me and a plate across from me. After grabbing silverware, he sat down.

  He tapped the table in front of the bread. “I broke out the cinnamon bread for you.”

  “A fashion exhibit and carbs? For me?”

  He chuckled. “It’s actually low carb. Taste it. It’s pretty good.”

  “It looks delicious, but I’m not hungry.” I paused, taking the piece he’d cut for me. “This really is good!” I looked at all the food between us. “Luca, this is a lot of food.”

  He winked. “I told you I was going to eat a whole lot when we got in the house.”

  Choking on the bite of bread I’d just popped in my mouth, I couldn’t do anything but laugh. “Oh, okay. I see.”

  We laughed and joked our way through his breakfast. Once he finished eating, we discussed my photoshoot for the next day. When I helped him with the dishes, we discussed our families. And when we got on the couch to watch a movie, we talked about our schedules and our plans.

  “I don’t have many free days like this,” I sighed.

&nbs
p; We sat side-by-side, his arm along the back of the couch and my legs draped over his lap. He was staring at me while stroking my bare legs. “Neither do I.”

  When he gave me a tour of his office, I saw his huge wall calendar. Every day seemed to have a reminder on it. I didn’t study it, but I noticed that he had something other than the dentist written down for today.

  “Are you missing out on something by being with me today?”

  “I’m with you. I’m not missing out on anything.”

  I pursed my lips and cocked my head to the side. “You know what I mean. Did you have something to do today? Your schedule looks jam-packed like mine.”

  “Honestly?”

  “Always.”

  “I rearranged something to allow me today. There are things that I can’t reschedule, but what I had today wasn’t one of them.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that I shouldn’t get spoiled by today?”

  He chuckled under his breath. “Pretty much. But you should also take away that when I can clear a whole day for you, I will.” He hesitated briefly. “What about you?”

  “I was taking it easy today because I’m just coming off the fashion show, and I have the shoot with you tomorrow. But usually, my days are full between school, work, and sewing. I work hard, but I also make time for things that are important to me.”

  “After this marketing campaign gets on its way, you’ll have a whole lot of orders to fulfill. People are going to be lining up outside of your classroom to get some Simply Serena.”

  I grinned. “I hope so. The lots of orders part, not the lining up outside the classroom part.”

  We talked about where his next few assignments were going to take him and how we could carve out as much time as possible while he was doing his seminar at Hamilton. But when I was in the middle of telling him about my interview with Akila, he reached up and touched my face. I bowed to his touch and stopped speaking.

  He leaned over and brushed his lips against mine. “I love your voice. I love hearing you speak.” He kissed me again and then sat back. “Please continue.”

  It was so unexpected. Butterflies moved from my belly to my chest as I finished telling him.

  “It’ll come out the same weekend as the New York trip.” I leaned my head to the side, resting it on his arm and the back of the couch. “Speaking of which, what is this trip about? Is this your interview and half naked photoshoot?”

  His gaze shifted away from me, he groaned, “Yeah, something like that.”

  “Why are you going to be naked?”

  “All of the people being interviewed will be naked.” He pointed in the direction of his office. “I have the paperwork they sent. It has something to do with them getting all of us to bare it all in every sense of the word.” He stared at the TV that had been on mute since we sat down. “I’m not worried about being naked. It’s more about me not being in control of the images, me not having any creative control.”

  I nodded. “I can see that. You’ve been a celebrity—”

  “I’m not a celebrity.”

  “—photographer for several years now, and I’m sure you’ve been the main one calling the shots. This time you’ll have to take direction. I get it.”

  A soft smile graced his lips and his eyes returned to mine. “Of course, you do.”

  It was like a hug I didn’t know I needed.

  Reaching up, I touched his face. “I know it’s going to be different on the opposite side of the camera, but you’re going to be great. The camera loves you—doesn’t matter if you’re behind it or in front of it. This face”—I let my finger drag down his cheek— “this body”—I trailed down his neck, his chest, and his abs— “but most importantly, this heart”—I put my palm over his left pectoral muscle— “is undeniable. The shoot and the interview are going to be incredible because you’re incredible.”

  He picked up my hand and kissed it.

  “There’s nothing for you to worry about,” I continued. “But I’m honored you asked me to be there for you and with you.”

  “Come here,” he whispered, pulling me until I was straddling his lap. He looked up into my eyes as I sat on top of him. He threaded his fingers through mine and kissed the back of my hand. “What are you doing to me?”

  “The same thing you’re doing to me,” I pointed out, leaning down to trail feathery kisses across his lips.

  With his hands resting on my hips, he studied my face. “I’m not going to lie to you,” he started in a hushed tone. “I haven’t been in a relationship in a long time. I work a lot. And the last time I was in one, it didn’t work out because she couldn’t understand my work ethic. Well, that and because I didn’t communicate well.”

  “I’m glad you know that about yourself so you can work on it. Communication is a big deal for me.”

  He licked his lips. “I didn’t think my communication was a problem in my last relationship. That was just something she said. It didn’t even occur to me that there was probably a whole lot of truth to what she was saying until I met you.” Holding my gaze, he shook his head. “You make me want to talk to you. I’ve never had that before. I’ve never connected with someone like this.”

  The sincerity in his eyes moved me. “I’ve never felt as understood as I do with you. You get me, and that’s why my feelings for you are so intense.”

  “Same here.” He cleared his throat. “If you want to make it to the museum at a decent time” —he scanned my body and his hands found their way to my hips— “you’re going to have to sit back on the couch.”

  It was difficult for me to continue ignoring how hard he was beneath me. He was pressed against the lace of my panties through the cotton of his sweatpants. Feeling the longing in my core, I rotated my hips against him. “And what if I don’t?”

  “Serena…” He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the back of the couch.

  “Luca.” I placed my hands on the sides of his face and let my nails lightly coast down his perfect jaw. “I have a question for you.”

  He sucked in a sharp intake of air as I moved my body back and forth, applying pressure along the length of him. His hands slipped down to my exposed thighs and then slid back up gradually, gripping the flesh of my hips. The low tone of his voice was gritty with want. “What are you doing to me?”

  The feeling of his hands clinging to me like he was clinging to his restraint turned me on. “What do you want me to do?”

  He lifted his head and looked at me with fire in his eyes. “I had a plan for today. Since we don’t have free days often, I planned this one out. I want it to be perfect and not rushed… but if you keep grinding on me…”

  I pressed my lips against his, silencing him. The kiss was hot and needy and as I pulled away, I lightly sucked on his bottom lip. Trailing kisses from his lips across his cheek, I whispered against his ear. “Right now, there’s nothing I want more than you.”

  Groaning, his hands cupped the roundness of my bare ass and pulled me into him harder. “We’ll miss the museum.”

  The way he was holding me, I knew he’d already made his peace with pushing the museum trip back.

  “You’re right.” I bit his earlobe gently before kissing my way down his neck and over his shoulder. “We should get ready to go.”

  “Yes, we should,” he growled.

  With a firm hold on my ass with one hand, he reached up, tangling his fingers in my hair. Forcing my head so close to his that our noses almost touched, he stared into my eyes. There was so much want and desire pooled in those brown eyes that chills ran down my spine.

  Seconds ticked by. My heart thudded because I knew we were at the point of no return. I waited for him to make the move. I waited to see if we would pull back or dive in deeper. His lips parted, and I could feel his chest rising and falling. And after what felt like an eternity, he gave in.

  Capturing my mouth with his, our tongues moved together in worshipful kisses, causing soft moans to escape me. Our breat
hing became labored as we explored each other’s mouths. I found myself rotating in small circles in his lap and the more he groaned, the damper my panties became. He released his grip on my hair and moved his hand down my back until both hands were back under my dress and resting on my mostly bare ass.

  Breaking the kiss, I sat up, trying to catch my breath. His hands rested on the top of my thighs as he stared up at me. His eyes traveled from my face down my neck and lingered on my chest before making its descent down the rest of my body. When his eyes traveled back up, so did his hands. On the way up, he took the dress with him, pulling it over my head. Tossing the dress on the couch beside us, he licked his lips and took me in, making my already erect nipples even harder.

  Sliding the soft fabric of my bra straps from my body, his fingertips danced over my shoulders and down my arms. I had goose bumps from his touch. Reaching around, he deftly unhooked my bra and it fell from my body. My heavy breasts were free, and I watched him as he took me in.

  He leaned up as if he was going to take a nipple into his mouth, but he only allowed his lips to graze it. Leaning to the other breast, he got close enough for me to feel his nearness and then he retreated, teasing me.

  I swallowed hard. “Luca,” I whined wantonly grinding harder into his lap.

  As soon as his name rolled off my tongue, he gave in. The wet suction of his mouth engulfed my nipple, and my head fell back. The sensation of his tongue swirling around my nipple shot straight to the apex of my thighs. I gripped his t-shirt to keep myself steady. Alternating between breasts, he trailed light kisses across my breastbone and then up my exposed neck. My skin was on fire.

  Sitting back, he just stared at me, his fingers flexing on my hips.

  “What are you thinking?” I murmured, reaching between my legs and feeling how damp my G-string was. My fingers skated over his dick and he sucked in air sharply. I bit my lip at his reaction.

  He licked his lips. “Honestly?”

  “Always.”

  “How sexy you are.” His eyes flicked down to my mouth, and then he met my gaze again. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone the way I want you right now.” His fingers flexed on my hips before moving up and cupping my breasts. His thumbs slid over my nipples and then went to my G-string. “It’s taking everything in me not to rip these off your body.” His hand drifted downward at a snail’s pace until his fingers pushed the scant fabric to the side and stroked my slick lips.