She squirmed on my lap, then leaned back. Before I could protest, she reached down to remove her sweater, revealing her small, perfect breasts. Holy shit. No bra.
Immediately, my mouth found one of her nipples even as my hand grasped her other breast. I dipped my tongue into the cleft between the two, and she gasped, her fingers running through my hair and over my neck. I kissed a trail up to her throat. I settled there for a while, sucking and nibbling her sweet skin, loving each and every one of her little mewls and moans.
“Yes,” she whispered when I ran my thumbs over her delicate peach-colored nipples. She gasped, throwing her head back.
She was the most exquisite thing I’d ever seen.
I needed to feel her skin against me. I pulled my shirt off and shivered as she ran her hands over my chest and shoulders. She ground her hips against me and I swore.
“Keep that up, and I’m going to embarrass myself,” I growled at her.
She chuckled until I latched my lips around her nipple and she jerked, all laughter gone. My fingers dug into her hips, trying to hold her still while I worked teeth and tongue over her nipple until it was swollen and she was writhing.
“Bedroom,” she whispered raggedly.
Damn straight.
I stood up, and she wrapped her legs around me. I was starting to like it very much when she did that. I carried her into the bedroom and we fell onto the bed together. Her fingers worked on my belt while I kicked off my shoes. She quickly removed my pants, relieving me from the pressure of the constraining zipper.
I knelt above her, eager for my turn. I slowly removed her leggings, running my hands up and down her smooth, soft legs, then kissing a trail up the inside of her leg, before I worked her black silk panties down. I hadn’t taken the time to do this before, and after my earlier epiphany about how my actions would leave her with new ‘first’ memories, I was determined to do her justice.
I settled between her legs and cupped her ass in my hands. I flicked my eyes up to see her staring at me. I grinned, then placed my mouth over her mound. She cried out again, the sound spurring me on. I licked and sucked until she was shuddering and trembling, her fingers tugging painfully on my hair. I didn’t mind. I wanted to feel her explode against my mouth.
I dipped my tongue into her, then danced up around her clit before wrapping my lips around it, and sucked...hard. She screamed, her body arching up off of the bed, and I felt her orgasm rip through her. I kept at her though, coaxing out every last drop of pleasure until she was a quivering mess.
Then it was my turn. I had to have her. I hastily rolled a condom over my throbbing dick and slid into her, relishing the feeling of her tight, still spasming, warmth. She was so small, felt so breakable, but she pushed up against me, nails digging into my back.
“More,” she begged. “More.”
I let myself go, giving into the urge to drive into her hard and fast. She met me thrust for thrust, my name falling from her lips, mingling with moans and cries. I wasn’t going to last long, not with the way her pussy was squeezing me. She was too hot, too tight.
I pulled her upright as I went to my knees. I clutched her against me, her nipples hard against my chest. She pressed her mouth against my neck as I moved her on my cock, pulling her down even as my hips went up. I could feel myself bottoming out, pressing places so deep inside her, I wasn’t sure where I ended and she began.
“Close,” I managed to grunt out the word.
She bit down on my neck, and that was all it took. I called out her name as I held her close to me, sucked in a breath as she ground down on me. Even as I was coming deep inside her, I felt her tense and knew she’d come again.
I was surprised at how much I liked that I’d been able to make her come more than once. I’d always prided myself on being a generous partner, but something about Preslee made me even more determined to please her.
I lowered her back onto the bed and curled my body around her, tucking her against my chest. It wasn’t until later that I beat myself up for getting carried away. Now that the frenzy had passed and I could think more clearly, all my thoughts were of self-reproach.
Preslee was already half-asleep, her breath coming slower and more evenly. She looked so relaxed, so sated, but I couldn’t shake the sense of guilt I felt. She was so trusting of me, and while I knew she’d enjoyed what we’d done just as much as I had, and that she’d wanted it just as much as I did…I still felt as though I’d taken advantage of her. Again.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m so sorry.”
Chapter 13
Preslee
“I mean, who is this guy, really?” Ava sounded more than a little suspicious.
I’d gotten back from Kris’ apartment earlier this morning to find her waiting. Ignoring her original questions about where I’d been, I’d told her about my flashback. Even though I hadn’t really needed confirmation that it was a true memory, she gave it. Then, after making sure I was okay, she started in on Kris.
“It’s really nice that he took care of you when you were so upset, but then you tell me that you ended up in bed together. Like…how convenient for him.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I told her, feeling a rush of defensiveness even though I’d had my own doubts. “He wasn’t trying to take advantage of me. He even tried to stop it from happening. I wanted it. I knew what I was doing.”
“You’re a smart person. I trust you, Pres...” Ava trailed off, her mouth turned down as she played with some lint on the sofa.
“But?” I prompted, knowing there was something she wasn’t saying.
“But…I’d feel a lot better if I spent some time with this guy. I met him, but it’s hard to size someone up from just a handshake. You don’t remember this, but the two of us look after each other, and that includes policing each other’s dates.”
I could tell she really meant it, that she wanted to make sure Kris was a good guy. And considering my own questions about it, it would probably be a smart move to get someone else’s opinion. Except I worried that Kris would be put off if I asked him to hang out with us. Aside from the fact that we’d slept together twice, our relationship was supposed to be professional. And even if it wasn’t, I didn’t know what this thing between us was. Wasn’t this the kind of thing that signified a relationship?
But I knew there was no getting around it. I’d never hear the end of it if I didn’t at least ask, so I agreed to extend an invitation for brunch at her apartment the next day.
“That would be great,” was Kris’ reply when I called later that day to invite him. “I’d love to get to know her. If she’s your best friend, she must be pretty special.”
“She is,” I told him, feeling relieved that I hadn’t even needed to persuade him.
He offered to bring pastries from a bakery next to his building, and I accepted, hoping Ava would see it as a friendly gesture. I knew Ava would like him if she gave him a chance. I just hoped she would play nice. I’d gotten the impression that she wouldn’t care what he did for a living. If he rubbed her the wrong way, she’d let him know it.
***
Ava was in a good mood while we were getting the coffee ready and squeezing fresh orange juice. Practically buzzing with energy, she flitted from one side of the kitchen to the other, not that it took much. She made me tired just looking at her.
When Kris knocked at the door, my stomach flip-flopped, and Ava raced to beat me to the door. I made a mental note to ask her about how many times she’d interrogated guys I’d gone out with. It was more than a little weird to realize that she knew more about my dating history than I did. Hell, she knew more about my prior sex life than I did.
“I come bearing gifts.” Kris smiled as he stepped inside.
He held out a box to Ava. He’d picked up danishes as well as bagels and cream cheese, and on top of one of the boxes was a bouquet of bright spring flowers. The flowers went to me.
“You did too much!” I told him as I rummaged through the cupboards for something to hold the flowers. “We didn’t invite you over so you could feed us for a week.”
“I wasn’t sure what everyone liked, so I figured I should get a little of everything.” He gave me an appreciative once-over before turning his attention to Ava. “So…Preslee told me you work with computers.”
“Yeah, I work at an electronics store downtown,” she told him. “Just a little place, but we do pretty good. Lots of people would rather get to know the techs who are working on their machines than go to a big store and hand it over to some random person.”
“And you do your own work with clients on the side?” he asked. She nodded again. “That must be interesting.”
“Some people don’t exactly, um, want the info on their machine to fall into the wrong hands,” she said dryly. “And I don’t mean state secrets, either.”
Kris laughed. “Ah, shady internet searches?”
Ava laughed and gave me a look over Kris’ shoulder. So far, so good. I settled into the chair between the two of them, but didn’t interject myself into the conversation.
“Do you ever have to disassemble hardware?” Kris asked.
“I’ve done it in the past. I don’t usually have to, unless the problem is a faulty fan or something. I can replace parts, add memory and new drivers, that sort of thing.”
“I’m impressed,” he told her, honestly. “Computers, technology, I use it, but the actual components are like a whole new frontier as far as I’m concerned. Not everybody can do what you do.”
“I’m sure it’s the same with you.” Ava said. “You sound like a pretty important guy, yourself.”
I looked up when she said that, to gauge Kris’ reaction. I saw his brow furrow, and a look of disquiet crossed his face, but it passed quickly. He changed the subject to the weather.
***
“He’s hiding something,” Ava said bluntly, only moments after the door closed behind Kris.
We’d had a nice time together, or so I’d thought. The food had been great and there hadn’t been any awkward silences. After talking about computers, Ava shared a lot of stories about the trouble we’d gotten into when we were growing up.
Kris and I both sat in rapt attention as we heard the stories for the first time. She asked Kris questions about his own work and family, and he answered them all easily enough. Though I couldn’t deny that some of his answers had sounded vague.
“It seemed like you liked him. You got along well enough.”
Her face was grim. “I didn’t say I didn’t like him, that’s what bothers me. I like him. But I also think he’s lying. It’s the likable liars who are the most dangerous.”
“You sound like a script from a movie of the week, Ava,” I said tersely. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
Ava flung herself onto the sofa in frustration, throwing an arm over her eyes. “Did you notice how he sidestepped when I mentioned his job? How he kept his answers short, then turned it around to a question about you or me?”
“You know, some people are better listeners than they are talkers. Some people actually like to hear about other people instead of talking about themselves.”
I walked over to the window and looked out, so Ava wouldn’t see how unsettled she’d made me. It’s not as if she was saying anything I hadn’t already thought myself. I remembered the look Kris had on his face when she mentioned how important his work was. I knew some people had issues with lawyers, but it wasn’t like something he would need to hide or anything.
“Listen,” Ava ventured after a long, silent tension. “I know it’s tough for you to hear this. It’s not easy for me to say, either, but you need to know that this isn’t like you.”
I took a deep breath. She was right. It was tough to hear, mainly because I’d spent every moment since I’d woken up wondering if my choices were ones I would’ve made before.
“What do you mean, exactly?” I finally asked.
“I mean that the Preslee I’ve known for almost my whole life wouldn’t jump into a relationship with this guy she barely knows. Forget about the fact that I know you have a weird feeling about him. You’re just…ignoring it. Or talking yourself out of it. It worries me. That’s all.”
“We’re not in a relationship,” I retorted. It was the only comeback I could muster, because I knew she was telling the truth and I didn’t want to admit how right she was.
“Oh, come on. It’s a relationship. You might not have discussed it, but you’re going out with him. You’re sleeping with him. You’re bringing him around to meet friends. You’re in a relationship.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “So what? Maybe this is the new me. Maybe the old me won’t ever come back, and the new me is the permanent me. Maybe I like how I am now and you’ll just have to deal with it.”
I knew I wasn’t being fair, but it was like she was giving voice to all of the doubts I’d been having about Kris...and about myself.
“Remember what you said before, when that lawyer visited you in the hospital? That your instincts told you not to take the money. God, Pres, you had just woken up from a coma, and your instincts were guiding you. Why are you ignoring them now?”
“Because I have to second-guess everything in my life right now, Ava,” I told her. I turned from the window to face her. “I even second-guessed you at first. If I hadn’t had that dream about the sleepovers we used to have, I wouldn’t have believed you either. Because I didn’t know what to believe or who to trust. I’ve spent almost every moment since I woke up on alert, trying to decide if the little warning signals I’m getting are actually my instincts telling me something’s off, or just me freaking out about who I can trust.”