CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Corbin

I’d only seen Aimee naked twice so far. Once she’d been sopping wet and I’d only had the slightest chance to appreciate the promised land. Then we’d made love after the boat ride disaster, and I’d worshipped her then, worshipped her tawny skin and the curves of her breast, brought my lips to perfect pert nipples. But it hadn’t been enough. Now I was leaning against the doorframe, clad only in a white towel wrapped around my waist, watching her slip off that brilliant red dress and reveal her skin underneath in all its bronze glory. Reaching up, she pulled the pins out of her hair and let the brown curls cascade down her back.

Smirking at me, she leaned against the bed fame, her fingers trailing over her chest, playing with her breasts and making me wish I was already there.

“So, big boy,” she said, jutting out her hips at just the right angle to give me a look at that thin line of curls over her sex. “Seems we have our mutual apologies out of the way. What do you want to do now?”

I came away from the doorway, dropping the towel at my feet and letting my erection finally spring free. It’d been the best slow torture for the last couple of days to be ready for her, to crave her with every part of my body. My cock twitched as I strode forward. I gathered her in my arms and let my cock stroke the soft skin on her stomach, let her feel how hungry I truly was for her.

“I know exactly what I want to do to you, darling, and I always have,” I said, punctuating my point by grinding into her a bit, relishing the way the soft flesh of her belly felt against my cock.

She grinned and kissed me, her tongue dancing with mine, teasing me with everything it had, even as one of her lithe, short legs wrapped around my waist.

I broke away and frowned at her. “Sorry,” I said, “I didn’t plan ahead quite fast enough.”

“Huh?” she asked.

“Condom,” I offered, grabbing for the condoms in my duffle. After she and I had made up in the kitchen, I’d run back out to my GTO and grabbed my duffle and the gift I’d bought Aimee at O’Hare. After taking a quick shower, I’d come back into my bedroom, hoping to see Aimee naked, in my bed. That she’d still been dressed had been a big turn-on.

A turn-on I was about to put to use.

I pulled on a condom in record time. Neither of us needed anything more complicated in our relationship right now. “Now, I’m ready. Honestly, darling,” I said, lowering my voice to a throaty growl. “I didn’t expect to be so damn impatient. I know it’s what you do to me. The two of us together are combustible.” I finished by picking her up.

She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I walked to a free part of the wall in the room. Then I pressed her back up against the wall, making sure she could feel the heft of me, feel all of me as I leaned over her. Her wild, wavy hair was rubbing up against my nose, and I was overwhelmed by the flowery smell of her hair. Her skin was soft, as delicate as it always felt, and the heat of the core against my waist was enough to drive me nuts.

“I’m going to fuck you now,” I said.

Aimee grinned at me and reached down with one hand to stroke my cock. It felt so damn good that I struggled even as I closed my eyes to keep my knees from buckling. “I’m waiting, big boy.”

I didn’t need to any instructions after that. Lifting her up a bit more, I lined us up and then plunged upwards and into the soft heat of her channel, feeling her warm and comforting around me. Aimee hissed as I slid in and then wrapped her legs tightly around me and dug her heels into my ass.

I started rocking then, my hips pistoning on their own, her kisses fast and frantic on my cheeks and then on the hollow of my throat, her hands gripping my shoulders. Her nails dug in to the skin of my back, a bite that made the pleasure and pain mingle in my mind. Leaning down, I flicked my tongue over the dusty rose of her pert nipple. Then I wrapped my mouth over her areola and sucked it into my mouth. Aimee’s interest was as apparent as the pebbling spreading over her nipple, the tantalizing bumps I ran my tongue over as fast as I could even as I plunged into her.

Aimee was screaming by then and I could feel my balls grow tight as I worked hard to hold in my own orgasm. I wanted to make her feel good, to make her come first, and feel the passion of her climax sweeping over her.

“God, Corbin!” She shouted again, her nails digging in so tightly that I was sure she was going to draw blood. “Don’t stop, never stop.”

“Not gonna, darling,” I groaned, feeling the sweat pour over my brow. My rhythm increased, and I thrust against her down to my root, so deep that my balls slapped against her. She took all of me in, almost greedily, already accommodating me after our first night together. The first time had been eager but more gentle, this was raucous and loud.

It was everything we needed to forget the miscommunication between us.

We needed each other.

Aimee screamed again, and now her body was quivering around mine, the heat of her core seeming to contract around me as she climaxed. My body felt like it was made of pure lava, as if all of me was being consumed by heat and light and power. I came then too, finally releasing the pressure that had been consuming me for hours.

As I did, I lifted up my head to look into her eyes, to see the way her eyes were widely dilated, not quite focusing on anything as she recovered from her own orgasm.

“I could love you, Aimee,” I murmured. When I realized what words had come out of my mouth, I froze. What the hell?

It had been what I’d been thinking in that moment. Of course I’d be feeling close to her—we’d just had sex—but why had I said that? I’d confuse her. Confuse myself. We were just supposed to be a summer thing…

But that’s when it hit me, and hit me hard.

I didn’t want to just be a summer thing with Aimee.

I wanted more with her. At least, I wanted to move forward as if that was a possibility.

But did she?

Aimee blinked at me for a moment, then she whispered, “You said we had until the end of summer.”

“I did. Because that’s all I thought I wanted. All I thought I could have. But being back here with you…I want more. I think we could have more. I want to open myself to exploring that. Do you?”

She hesitated. Bit her lip. Then she rocked my world when she said, “I do.”

* * *

Aimee

I was smiling. I couldn’t help it. The light from the moon was faint, spilling like silver over the lines of Corbin’s torso, highlighting the tempting ripples of his abs. I felt a ripple of pleasure run up my spine as I stared at him. Before he’d fallen asleep, he’d asked me if I had tomorrow off. When I said yes, he’d made me promise we’d spend the entire day in his bed, exploring each other’s bodies and stopping only to eat. I’d happily agreed.

A nightbird’s call outside the window caught my attention and I got out of bed to stare at the moonlit night. Across the watery bayou I could barely make out the roof peak of Evangeline’s, and far beyond that were lights from the town. I knew where one of the streetlights was located: at the corner of Main and Broad Streets, right above Reba’s Diner.

No, I corrected myself. It wasn’t Reba’s Diner any longer. In a few weeks, it would be Aimee’s Decadent Desserts.

In Miss Cecily’s folk tales, anything could happen and the bayou was magical. It sure seemed that way to me. In a few weeks I’d have my dream business, and Aimee’s Decadent Desserts would finally be open. Once, I’d hoped to go to culinary school and then business school. My dream had been to start my own online dessert business. I’d had images of my chocolate truffles being flown all over the world, of my cheesecakes being served in New York or Los Angeles. But my mother could never seem to keep herself out of trouble and Uncle Daniel needed extra hands at Evangeline’s. I’d done what I had to in order to survive. My dreams didn’t matter.

But now the dream of Aimee’s Decadent Desserts, tucked in the corner of Pontmaison, Louisiana, was about to take shape.

And even better? I had the possibility of everything working out between Corbin and I to look forward to. I wasn’t fooling myself that they might not. He said he could love me, that he wanted to be open to us being together for longer than the summer, but there were no guarantees. Moreover, my fears about him hurting me and me turning out like my mother hadn’t vanished overnight. But just as I’d seen he’d been telling me the truth earlier about leaving me that note, I’d seen the truth about him wanting to explore more with me.

I think it helped that he hadn’t said he loved me already. That he hadn’t made grand promises about our future. Instead, what he’d expressed was a desire for more, a willingness to try, and that seemed real. As real as the emotions I felt for him. And as long as we both continued to be honest and real, why couldn’t we have a shot at something special? We just had to take one day at a time.

And if things did work out? I’d have this amazing, incredible man to share my bed and life with.

And that was something worth taking a chance on.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Snuggled close to Corbin. Began to drift off.

And that’s when my cellphone rang.

I jerked up, my heart beating fast. Beside me, Corbin sat up, as well. Our gazes met, and I saw what I was thinking in his eyes. It was late. So late that if someone was calling my cell now, chances were something was wrong.