Declaration (17 page)

Most of all, she was life. Messy and realistic, flawed and flawless, and I had to have her.

She hummed in appreciation at my response and took me fully into her mouth, gliding slowly back and forth, sucking gently. My teeth clamped together and I guided her head up and down, my eyes rolling upward to the ceiling. If she kept this up, I’d never make it inside of her.

And God, did I want to be inside of her.

“Hey,” I said, my voice gruff, “come here.” I cupped the back of her neck and tugged lightly at her nape, glancing down to watch her rise. Her eyes were hazy with sleep and arousal, locking onto mine like target-seeking missiles. She crawled up me and I reached back to the bedside table drawer to hand her a condom, letting her tear it open and roll it gently onto me.

She leaned over to kiss me, licking the edge of my piercing. “
Mmmm
, I love this.” With one last gentle tug of my lip with her teeth, she sat up and pulled her dress over her head, freeing her breasts.

Hail holy Britain. She’d been going completely commando last night.

My gaze drifted down her bare breasts and navel, my mouth watering. No panties, no nothing. Just gorgeous, natural skin, ready for me to devour. She lifted her hips and sank down onto me, drawing long, intense groans from us both. We sighed in unison and my hands gravitated toward that sweet ass, cupping and guiding her up and down and back and forth. I didn’t force her rhythm, just encouraged her with gentle pushes, letting her know I’d take anything she wanted to give me.

She continued to ride me like that, in no hurry, just enjoying each pump and slide, her hands falling to my abdomen. She began to pant, her breaths filling the quiet room, and it spurred me on, increasing the need to drive deeper into her. I met her harder each time she slammed down onto me, feeling my chest tighten and release with each ragged breath.

Needing to taste her, I rolled myself up to sit on my elbows, and brought one hand to her back to guide her forward. My mouth closed over one nipple and she sighed against me, her head dropping to my shoulder. I licked and sucked, bringing my hand around from her back to grope her other breast.

Feeling her bounce beneath my fingers and mouth was my undoing.

I grabbed onto her waist and flipped her over, sending her sailing onto the mattress with a thud. I hovered over her and she crawled backward on her elbows, moving with me. My thighs slid against hers as our bodies aligned and I thrust back inside of her, this time pulling a shout from her lips.

“Carter!”

“Put your arms around me,” I growled, bracing myself on my forearms.

She adjusted to the new position with ease, her arms falling effortlessly around my back, her fingers pressing into my skin, urging me on. I steadied my pace, delivering sharp strikes, then pulling out slowly. She trembled beneath me each time I pulled out, biting her lip and tilting her head to peer between us and watch me thrust inside her again. “Stop teasing,” she whimpered, raising her hips to meet my cock.

I slipped in, watched the satisfaction roll over her face, then slipped out.

“That’s not fair.” Her hands drifted down my back to grab my ass, bringing me forward to keep me right where she wanted me.

“You’ve been teasing me since I met you. It’s very fair.”

“I have not,” she moaned. “You’ve been imagining things.”

“Oh, I have, have I?” I pumped into her again, then pulled out completely, enjoying her little cry of protest. Grabbing her hips, I flipped her over. She shrieked and pressed her face into the pillow, muffling the sound. I grabbed a handful of her hair, turning her head to the side so she could see me over her shoulder. “You’re saying you haven’t been taunting me with that beautiful ass of yours?” I resumed my position above her, lying against her bare back and bracing myself on my forearms, using a hand to push her legs apart and raise her ass from the mattress.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she mumbled into the side of the pillow and wiggled her ass at me, anticipation increasing her boldness.

“I think you do.” I reached down to position my cock against her wet warmth and guided myself back inside of her, painstakingly slowly. She shuddered and her hands glided up the sheets and stopped near her head, her fingers gripping the cotton tightly. I bent down to place a chaste kiss on her shoulder, then her ear. I spoke quietly against her lobe. “I think you know exactly what you do to me. And for the record? I love it, sweetheart.”

“Carter,” she exhaled, melting into the mattress, “more. Please, more.”

Delicate beads of sweat began to roll from her neck down the slope of her back, following the luscious curve right above her ass. My gaze followed the trail of moisture and then roamed back up, soaking up the succulent glimpse of the side of her breast, smashed against the white sheets.

There was no holding back then. She could have what she wanted, because I needed it, too.

I moved to sit up on the backs of my heels and grasped her hips firmly. Powering forward, I began to fuck her hard, relishing the way her fists tightened on the sheets. I couldn’t look at anything other than the action happening in front of me, watching every slap of her ass against my cock. I smacked into her, over and over. It was all too good for words. I had none. Only sounds. Completely desperate, primal sounds, which prompted her own needy wails. I exploded against her and her head rolled forward as she screamed into the sheets, the pillow stifling her cries.

Collapsing beside her, I pulled my glasses from my nose. They’d steamed up. I dropped them on the bedside with a clatter and fell back against the pillows, breathing hard.

Whitney’s head rolled to the side. “That was…”

“Wow.” I nodded.

“I think I finally understand why some people smoke after sex.”

I laughed, reaching for my pack and lighter next to my glasses. “I’m going to step outside. Care to join me?”

“I can’t walk yet.”

I smiled and rolled onto my side, bringing my arms around her. She wiggled against me, letting me spoon her, and I swept some sweaty hair away from her neck to kiss beneath her ear. “How do you like your new tattoo?”

“I love it. It makes me want to be a bird.”

“You already are a bird.”

“I don’t get to fly.”

“You fly all the time. Haven’t you noticed?”

She grinned into her shoulder, playing with my fingers. “I don’t want to go into work today. I just want to roll around in the sheets with you and order take-out.”

“No reason we can’t do that on our next day off. Let’s swap schedules and see when we can make it happen.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I kissed her hair. “It’s a date.”

“Yay! Okay, and speaking of dates, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Will you go on another date with me?”

My chest shook with a soft chuckle. “Didn’t we just agree to another one?”

“Technically, yes. But I have something else in mind. A Halloween party. It’s coming up soon. One of my coworkers is throwing it at her aunt’s beach house. Her aunt only visits in the winter and gives her the key for the rest of the year. Will you be my date?”

“Oh God, does this mean I have to dress up?”

“What kind of Halloween party would it be if you didn’t have to dress up?”

I cringed.

What was worse than being the center of attention? Being the center of attention
while
up like a total ass clown. “Okay, you know me and parties don’t mix, right?”

“You mentioned you used to do karaoke back home with your friends.” Shit. I told her that? “You’ve thrown parties back home. You played in a band, for crying out loud. You’re telling me you can’t go to a simple Halloween get-together?”

“That’s different. Way different.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What? How is any of that different?”

“Those are social situations I can handle. Barbeques. Karaoke and beer. Laid-back stuff. This sounds like a full-on spike-the-punch and buy-a-costume kinda party.”

“Oooohhhh, you’re one of
those
,” Whitney said, suddenly cracking up.

“What in the hell is so damn funny? One of what kids?”

“You had a horrible high school experience, didn’t you?”

“High school is where demons go to eat little children.”

“Carter!” She erupted into body-shaking laughter, rolling from left to right. “Oh my God, you are too much. This isn’t high school anymore!”

“Um, hello, have you
seen
the movie ‘Carrie’?”

“Please,” she begged, gripping her stomach as the laughter crippled her. “Stop. I can’t breathe!”

I covered my eyes and sighed. There was no way I’d get it up again today for this girl if she kept up with this escapade.

“I’m sorry, I’m done.” She waved her hands around with a snort, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. “I swear, I’m done. Anyway, you have to come with me.”

“Says who?”

“Says me!”

“What are you going as?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“You’re just full of those, aren’t you?”

“So are you.”

Completely resigned to giving this girl whatever she wanted, I nuzzled into her neck and sucked gently, pulling her tighter against me. “Of course I’ll be your date. Just say when, and I’m there. No promises I won’t hide in a corner the whole time, though.”

“Good.” Wiggling free from my grip, she sat up, then stood, letting the sheet drop from her body. She glanced over her shoulder to send me a coy smile. “See ya later, Montgomery.” Just like that, she bent down to retrieve her blue dress. I sat up to watch her, enjoying the view. She slipped the dress on, grabbed her shoes and purse, then sashayed to the front door without looking back.

She was gone, and I was left sitting there in a daze, already plotting how I’d get out of this whole dressing-up thing.

***

The next week was full of cool developments. For one, Jackson and Emma had finally gotten together. Whitney and Emma were all giggly with girl gossip whenever they were together, so I tried to steer clear of their gush sessions and give them their space whenever I could. Jackson was on cloud nine, skipping and singing and generally scaring the shit out of his neighbors at the marina—and me.

Whitney and I were sneaking dates whenever we had the chance. Between her two jobs and classes and my job at the shop, it had been tough, but so worth the effort. We did dinner and a movie, I played for her out on the dock during her lunch hour, and she slept over a few times. She modeled her maid uniforms for me, I modeled my top hat and invisible cane, and God love her, she even watched a season of “Downton Abbey” with me.

We’d also dined at Orpheus, and I’d accepted Tony’s offer to give his daughter Tia guitar lessons. The extra cash couldn’t hurt, and something about the opportunity appealed to me. Maybe it was because it meant getting paid to share my love for music with someone else. Maybe it was the challenge. Whatever is was, teaching a kid to play an instrument was somehow…exciting.

Things were starting to feel normal again. Not like old times, just…comfortable. Not only had I settled into my job at the shop, my flat, and my new set of friends, but I’d managed to chat again with Kate without things feeling all awkward. I noticed a trend.

As long as we stayed far, far away from the wedding subject, we were good.

So, I didn’t bring it up, and when she tried, I changed the subject. We’d have to discuss it as some point, but hey, this was progress. Dean and I texted constantly, and even he didn’t bother bringing up the dreaded topic. I couldn’t help but want everything to stay just the way it was: peaceful, content, and productive. I was moving on. I’d built a brand new life from scratch, and although I still wasn’t sure where it was taking me or if I was any closer to figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of it, I realized that right now, those things simply didn’t matter to me.

What mattered was the fact that I was doing exactly what I came here to do. I was living life, moving forward, and trying new things.

The door jingled as I walked into Orpheus around 6 p.m. The place was quiet, much different than the lively atmosphere I’d grown used to seeing around this time in the evenings, with only a few patrons enjoying a meal on the far side of the restaurant.

“Ah, Carter, my boy!” Tony’s voice came at me from the kitchen doorway. He made his way toward me with open arms, pulling me into a hug like a long-lost relative.

I patted his back awkwardly and gave him a smile. “How’s it going, Tony?”

“Good, good. You have…what do they call it…the glow!”

“The glow?”

“Yes, the glow. You know, like pregnant women get.”

I cocked a brow at the man. “Uh…”

“You very funny, my boy. Very funny. Come. Tia is upstairs.” He gave his afternoon patrons a little wave and led me through the kitchen to a stairwell. We ascended and entered through a door at the top. He offered me a seat in the living room and disappeared behind a small hallway to call out for his daughter. “Tia, your teacher is here.”