Grinning, I look down at my phone one last time to make sure I read it right. It’s not the text that’s making me smile—well, not entirely. I’m pretty sure I haven’t stopped smiling since I woke up this morning.
Rex did as he promised; he spent the entire night, and well into the morning, showing me just how sorry he was for interrupting my birthday dinner. And trust me when I tell you, he was very, very sorry, and yesterday ended up being the best birthday ever.
But with Rex as my present, why wouldn’t it be?
I woke up this morning with his face buried between my legs, and if that isn’t the greatest way to wake up, I don’t know what is. With his lips around my clit, he tortured me in the best possible way until I gave in and agreed to spend the day with him. Only then did he climb up my body and fuck me senseless.
Hence the smile.
He left me a few hours ago with a promise to text when he had our afternoon planned. That text just came through a few minutes ago.
Rex: Last night and this morning were perfect. I can still taste you on my tongue. Meet me downstairs in one hour.
Me: What am I supposed to wear?
Rex: Your birthday suit?
Me: Haha! Seriously.
Rex: I don’t care what you wear, but leave the panties at home.
I grin, biting my lower lip as I re-read his message. He’s such a dirty boy, and I fucking love it.
Already running short on time, I take a quick shower, blow-dry my hair and wrap it into a loose bun behind my right ear, and apply a light dusting of makeup. I choose a pair of skinny jeans, my favorite KISS t-shirt, and a pair of red chucks. I check the clock, and it’s almost time to meet Rex. Grabbing my purse, I toss in my phone, grab a light jacket, and rush through the house, hollering a quick goodbye to JJ over my shoulder.
Rex is waiting for me downstairs when the elevator doors open, and he looks absolutely mouthwatering. Faded jeans, a red Henley with the sleeves bunched around his elbows—giving me a clear view of his tattoos, which makes my insides twist with pleasure—and a pair of black Vans.
“You look beautiful,” he says, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
I bury my face in his shirt, breathing in his spicy scent. Resting my chin on his chest, I smile up at him. “You don’t look too bad yourself. What’s the plan for today?”
He kisses my nose. “I can’t tell you; that would ruin the surprise.”
I roll my eyes. “I hate surprises.”
“You’re going to learn to love them,” he says, pulling a piece of black fabric from his pocket.
I lift a brow. “What’s that?”
“It’s a blindfold. Now turn around.”
I do as he asks because even though I hate surprises, I’m a little giddy about where he could be taking me. He wraps the fabric around my head, tying it in the back.
“Kinky.”
His lips brush my ear. “If you’re good, we’ll use it again later tonight.”
“You’re not playing fair.” I turn around, feeling blindly for him. He takes my hand, leading me to the car and doesn’t shut the door until I’m buckled in.
I hear the car purr to life, and a few seconds later we’re pulling away from the curb. I reach across the car, wanting to touch his leg or hold his hand, but because I’m the luckiest girl in the world, my fingers land on his cock.
He sucks in a sharp breath as I explore his hard length, which grows considerably with each passing second, and after a moment, he captures my hand and moves it to his thigh.
“Hey!”
He chuckles. “If you’re not careful, I’ll have to pull over and fuck you on the side of the road.”
Heat rushes between my thighs, and I squeeze my legs together, suppressing the throb. “I’m on board with that. Pull over.”
“You are going to be the death of me,” he murmurs.
“Chicken,” I taunt.
“If I didn’t have something special planned, I’d have you naked and riding my cock before you could even breathe my name.”
I squeeze my thighs together again, and Rex releases my hand. I hate not being able to see. A moment later his hand lands on my thigh, making its way toward the throb, and I shift around in my seat.
“Are you that turned on right now, baby?”
I nod, afraid to speak for fear of sounding needy and desperate. He must see me nod, or feel the desire pouring off of me, because next thing I know he pops the button on my jeans and his hand slips into the front.
“Make room for me, Shae.”
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. I’m blindfolded in a car with a dangerously sexy man who is going to get me off while driving down the road.
“Please let me take the blindfold off,” I beg. I lower my pants enough for him to maneuver.
“I can’t do that.”
My hips buck with the first swipe of his finger. “Rex.”
“Put your right hand on the door, Shae.” Once I comply he croons, “Good girl. Now put your left on my leg.” I curl my fingers over his thigh. “The only thing you’re allowed to move are your hips. Your hands stay in place. Understand?”
I nod, and he rewards me by pressing the heel of his hand against my clit and pushing his fingers deep inside my pussy.
“Oh, fuck,” I moan, tossing my head back.
“Look at you.” His husky voice has dropped a few levels, and I imagine his hooded eyes bouncing between his hand and the road. “You’re so wet, Shae.”
“Feels so good,” I mumble, reminding myself that I can’t reach for him.
Rex’s fingers work with a distinct precision. He plays my body like a fine-tuned guitar, gently working me to the edge with each swipe of his fingers. He curls them inside me, and I arch off the seat, eagerly searching for more. When those magical fingers pull out, circling around my clit, a kaleidoscope of colors explodes behind my eyelids.
He continues his ministrations as my body convulses around his hand, riding out the waves of this intense orgasm. My body is on fire, flames of lust racing up my spine. Chest heaving, clit throbbing, I relax against the soft leather seat. Rex gently tugs his hand from my pants. Blindly snagging his wrist, I guide his hand to my mouth.
“Baby, what’re you—” The words die on his lips as I suck his fingers, tasting my arousal. “Fuck.”
My tongue swirls around, licking his fingers clean. I hear the crunch of gravel beneath the tires, and then the car comes to a stop. Slowly, deliberately, I pull his fingers from my mouth. “You have incredible fingers. They’re positively magical.”
“And you have a magical mouth,” he says, unbuckling me. The seatbelt slides across my thighs as Rex reaches for me, moving me onto his lap. Fingers curled around the back of my head, he guides my face toward his. Our lips connect, moving together with the ease of two lifelong lovers.
I’ve suspected before that I have no control over myself where Rex is concerned, and that suspicion has been confirmed today. I can’t stay away from him. One night wasn’t enough. And right now, the intense need to feel him inside of me is taking over any and all rational thought.
I reach for his jeans, working his belt buckle until his hands grab mine.
“Shae,” he breathes, holding my wrists. “Later. I promise.” I pout, jutting my bottom lip out when he lifts my hands to his chest. “Now, are you ready for that surprise?”
“So ready,” I say, buttoning my jeans.
“Good.” He opens the door and somehow maneuvers us both out, holding on to my arm until he’s sure I’m steady.
Fingers wrapped in mine, he leads us through what I assume is a parking lot. I hear a door open followed by a waft of cool air and a gentle voice.
“Welcome. You must be Rex and Shae. Please, follow me.”
I squeeze Rex’s hand as he guides me forward, and I reach out with all my other senses. Upbeat music pulses through the speakers, and the smell of pizza tickles my nose.
“Mmmm. Pizza,” I hum.
We stop. Rex lets go of my hand, and I hear the faint sound of him whispering, along with what I can only describe as paper crinkling, and then he takes my hand again, leading me forward a few more steps.
“Step up, baby.”
I squeeze his hand as I take a high, blind step and then five more before we stop.
“You can take your blindfold off.”
Eager to see where we are, I reach behind my head, untie the cloth, and slip it away from my face.
We’re standing in the middle of a large room. The floor is slick with polish. A strobe light hangs above, twirling in a slow motion, casting a rainbow of colors across Rex’s smiling face.
“Rex, a skating rink? I can’t believe you did this.” I spin around in a slow circle. A table beyond the half wall of the rink catches my attention, and I walk toward it. A bouquet of balloons sits in the middle, and there’s a small, rectangular cake. I lean forward.
Happy Birthday, Shae is written in lavender icing across the white cake, and there are several sugar flowers adorning the masterpiece.
The familiar burn of tears gathers behind my eyes, and I take a deep breath before turning toward Rex. He’s followed me across the rink, and for the first time, I notice the box in his hand. It’s square, wrapped in glittery purple paper, and topped with a giant bow.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I whisper again, no longer able to keep my emotions in check. I press a shaky hand to my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut, and a few tears trickle over my lashes.
“I hope those are happy tears.”
I nod.
The smile he offers is gentle and sweet, a complete contradiction to the dominant man playing my body moments ago. He holds the box out for me. Without a word, I take it, set it on the table, pull the bow off, and tear off the paper as though it’s the first birthday present I’ve unwrapped since my ninth birthday.
Which it actually is.
Rex chuckles as I tear through the paper and peel open the top of the box, finding a pair of purple and white skates.
I gasp, holding them up. I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I am right now.
I’ve only known Rex for a short time, but he’s become so special to me, and I don’t really know how to express that to him. No words can explain the magnitude of what his efforts mean to me. So I decide to show him. I set the skates down and wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my face to his chest. I breathe him in. Soak up every bit of kindness and love he’s given me today and hold on for dear life.
“I don’t know what to say,” I mumble, pressing my lips above his heart.
No guy has ever gone through this much trouble and planning for me, to make me feel so special. What he’s just given me is something I never thought I’d have again: happiness on the day every year when I’m the saddest. There aren’t enough words to thank him for his thoughtfulness, his kindness. No way to express what he means to me. How in such a short time he’s found a way inside the formidable walls of my heart.
I expected him to be a distraction, and maybe he is since I’ve been obsessing about him rather than staying focused on that letter my father wrote and retrieving my memories. But he’s helping me make new memories and experience all the wonderful things I missed during my childhood. That can’t be all bad.
“You don’t have to say anything.”
“You’re taking me roller skating,” I whisper excitedly. “And you bought me purple skates.”
With a soft touch, he brushes the hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. “It was on your childhood bucket list of birthday parties, and you can’t skate without skates.”
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to do this. I find myself wanting to a lot of things for you.” A wild grin spreads across his face, and he lowers his head. “And to you,” he adds.
I smile, feeling the heat spread through my body, wrapping itself around my soul like a warm blanket on cool winter night.
“Thank you.”
He presses a lingering kiss to my lips. “No thanks needed. We have this place to ourselves for the next two hours. What do you say we skate?” He holds his hand out to me, and I slip my fingers in his.
“I’ve never been skating before.”
“Never?”
I shake my head.
I can see it in his eyes, the question written across his face. What happened to you after your mother’s death? What else have you missed out on?
But he doesn’t ask, and I’m grateful because I’m not ready to tell him. Not here. Not on such a perfect day.
Today I want it to be us, surrounded by laughter and fun.
I can always tell him another day.
And I will.
Soon.
“I suck at this,” I say, toppling to my ass for the thousandth time. My butt hurts, and I probably won’t be able to sit for days, but I’ve had so much fun.
Rex, pro skater that he is, whirls around, stopping in front of me. He offers a hand to help me up, but when I stand, I fall against his chest.
“You’ll get the hang of it,” he says. “You just need a little more practice.”
I glare up at him, trying to stand straight without falling, and blow a chunk of hair out of my face. “I’m starting to doubt you.”
“Don’t ever doubt me. You’ll get it. You’re already doing so much better than you were in the beginning.”
“If by better you mean I’m only falling five times with each pass around the rink rather than twenty, then yes, I guess you’re right.”
“Come on, let’s do this next lap together.” Rex straightens his arms, holding them out toward me. He’s been trying to hold my hand all day, but I’m a stubborn woman and have refused any help, insistent that I can do this on my own. But maybe being on my own isn’t such a good idea. Maybe it’s time I let someone else help for once.
I can’t think of anyone better than Rex.
I rest my hands in his, gripping them lightly as he begins skating backward. My legs wiggle and wobble, but with Rex holding on, I know I won’t fall.
“Isn’t that hard? Skating backward?”
“Not so much.”
“It’s not fair,” I say, tightening my grip as my right leg gets too far ahead of my left, threatening to send me to the ground. “You can skate circles around me and go backward, and I can’t master forward.”
“That’s why I bought you skates. We’ll come back as often as you want and practice.”
“Really? You’d do that for me?”
His face sobers, his eyes holding mine as we scoot slowly around the room. “Sweet girl, can’t you see? I’ll do anything for you.”
As soon as the words leave his mouth, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” filters through the speakers. Neither one of us says another word. As Poison serenades, we make our way around the rink, laughing and giggling. Rex keeps me from falling, and when we make it to the entrance, he guides me to the half wall, and I hold on as I step over the ledge.
“Done already?” he asks. “We still have twenty minutes.”
“My thighs feel like I ran a hundred miles, which means I’ve burned a ton of calories, which means I need to eat this entire cake.”
“Well, then,” he says, chuckling. “By all means, let’s eat the cake.”
Lucky for us, the workers at The Great Skate have cut the cake, saving the biggest corner piece with the most icing just for me. I grab a fork and am about to dig in when Rex takes the utensil from my hand.
“Hey! I hope you know what you’re doing, keeping a girl from her cake.”
“Just wait.” He runs toward the front desk and comes back a moment later to stick a candle in the cake. He lights it and sits down next to me. “Make a wish, Shae.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and wish with every cell in my body, on every star in the night sky and the very candle in front of me, and then I blow it out.
Removing the candle, Rex tosses it to the side and hands me my fork.
“Aren’t you going to ask what I wished for?”
“Nope,” he says around a bite of cake. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to tell or it won’t come true?”
“What would you say if I told you I wished for you?”
Swallowing, Rex licks his lips and scoops a chunk of cake, holding it to my mouth. I wrap my lips around the fork as he slowly pulls it out.
“You already have me, so I’d say you wasted a wish.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing I didn’t wish for you.”
Scooping another bite of cake, Rex gives me a smug smile, pulls back on the tip of his plastic fork, and next thing I know, a blob of purple icing smacks against my face.
Eyes wide, I bust up laughing. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Believe it,” he says, swiping a piece off the tip of my nose and popping it in his mouth.
He reaches for his drink, and I use the distraction to my advantage. He sputters, nearly choking on his soda when a slab of icing hits his cheek.
Without hesitation, he grabs his cake and smashes it against my face, smearing it in. I’m laughing so hard I can barely breathe, but I manage to reach for my cake. His hand snaps out, shoving my plate away from me, and he engulfs me in his arms, tickling me as I squirm around, trying to break free.
“Uncle,” I yell, trying to catch my breath from laughing. “I call uncle.”
He stops tickling me, but his warm arms stay wrapped tight. Dipping his head, he licks a blob of icing from the side of my mouth, and then his sugar-coated tongue tangles with mine. I moan as the sweet taste erupts in my mouth. His scent is intoxicating. Fisting his shirt at his waist, I pull him as close as our chairs will allow. His hands glide down my back. Palming my ass, he lifts me up onto his lap. His erection pushes against my core, and it feels so good. I grind my hips, and a low growl rumbles from his chest. I can’t take it anymore. I need him.
Now.
“Take me home, Rex.” I should be embarrassed at how husky my voice sounds, but my body craves his, and it’s a craving I can’t resist. “I want you to make love to me,” I whisper.
His grip on my waist tightens. “Well, first we’re gonna fuck. Then I’ll make slow, sweet love to you.”