“Hope you’re happy with yourself,” grumped Vaughan, lying on his back, staring at the bedroom ceiling.
I hid my grin against his side, breathing him in. Turns out, the man smelled even better the morning after hot sex. I wanted to lick him from top to toe, then come back for more. Instead I yawned, cautiously stretching. Certain things hurt in the very best way. After months and months of neglect, joy had finally come my vagina’s way. “I honestly don’t think I could be happier.”
A grunt.
“Thank you for all the effort. I really appreciated it.”
“You went straight to sleep.”
“I know,” I said. “But it’d been a very long day and I’d just come hard enough to cause myself actual neurological damage.”
Another grunt.
“Now that I think about it, it was probably closer to a coma than sleep.”
“Babe, you’re not funny.” He slipped an arm around me despite his lack of amusement, fingers stroking the side of my breast. Of course. Such a tit man. “It was supposed to be romantic.”
“It was.”
He raised his weary head. “Lydia, you’ve got bruises down your back from me banging you so hard against the front door. I might not have a lot of experience in this area, but I’m pretty fucking sure that’s not romance.”
This from Mr. Bitey himself. The dude was serious.
Stripes of sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains. Just enough to illuminate the unlit candles scattered around the room, the vases overflowing with wildflowers. An unopened bottle of champagne sat in a bucket of long since melted ice. I’m certain the fresh sheets were Egyptian cotton. I wanted to roll around on them with Vaughan until the world went boom. What a perfect way to make my exit.
I wiggled closer, holding on tight. Acting like a limpet sometimes is soothing, don’t question it. “I do appreciate you going to all this trouble. Thank you.”
With a sigh, he laid his head back against the pillow. “I’m going to owe Joe for years for doing all this while we were at work.”
“You certainly went all out. The room looks amazing.”
“Yeah.” His frowny face turned sheepish. “Actually, I just gave him twenty and asked him to grab a bunch of flowers and a couple of candles. I had no idea he’d do all this.”
“Huh. Who’d have thought Joe would have the soul of a romantic.”
All the flowers and the clusters of candles, the bubbly on ice and awesome sheets. Amazing. The big blond bear of a bartender knew how to woo.
He patted me on the arm. “Got to use the bathroom.”
I set him free and slowly sat up, holding the sheet to my chest. A fine position for watching all of the goodness that was Vaughan Hewson rise from the bed. The pale skin and ink work on his back, his broad shoulders and firm ass. All so good. He shoved a hand through his shaggy golden-red hair and yawned long and loud, wandering out into the hallway in all his naked glory. “I should get a haircut.”
“No,” I commanded, a bit too forcefully considering the temporary nature of our relationship. “Get one when I’m gone.”
He laughed and went to heed the call of nature. I needed to do some of that and teeth brushing too. Also, my hair felt remarkably similar to hell. I should probably fix it sometime. Funny, with Chris I’d been all over my presentation. Constantly checking my hair and makeup to the point of OCD. Not just at work, as per the usual, but all the time. Yet here I sat a thoroughly rumpled mess and quite relaxed about the whole thing. Strange how easily the woman I’d been with Chris had dropped away. I could kiss Paul for sending the video and stopping me from making the biggest mistake of my life. Kiss him and hit him too. The rage hadn’t completely abated.
“Hey.” Vaughan sat at the end of the bed, gently pulling at the sheet.
I held it to my chest, keeping things covered. “Hey.”
“You’re frowning.”
“I was just thinking about Chris. How badly I let him mess with my head.”
He nodded, giving the sheet another surreptitious tug.
I held on tighter. “You know, it wasn’t just him. It was their whole world. Everything was image, all the time. The right hair, the right clothes, the right labels. And I let myself get sucked into that. I bought into it.”
“You were looking for happiness, Lydia. How do you know whether something works unless you give it a try?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m looking for happiness.” He pulled at the sheet.
I clutched it against my chest. “Are you?”
“Oh, yeah.” The sexy bastard gave me a slow smile. “No work today. We’re free to do what we want.”
Instantly, my sex fired up, knowing exactly how and what it wanted. But Practical Lydia got to my mouth first, the cow. Some habits are hard to break. “I thought you said you were going to fix the kitchen door and do some more work on the Mustang, start on the back garden. And I should really go over the paperwork from Ray and look for a car.”
Brows drawn down, he gave me a disappointed look.
“Maybe?”
“Babe.” Vaughan shook his head, pulling a little harder on the sheet. “Those things are work. They won’t make us happy.”
“No?”
“No. But fucking will.”
“True. Okay then.” I grinned.
The crazy man launched himself at me. My back hit the mattress and I was covered, the long length of his body suspended over mine. Luckily, he’d caught himself before impact. We both had enough bruises. Skin is our largest organ and he played with mine like a maestro. While I laughed like a lunatic, squirming beneath him, he nuzzled my neck, stubble tickling every damn sensitive spot. The heat of his body, the feel of his hair brushing against me, all of it fed the fire building between us. Slowly, he worked his way down to my breasts. All of my girl parts still sore from the night before were wide awake and wanting more. Squadrons of butterflies took flight in my stomach. The man was a whole-body experience, awesome and addictive. I couldn’t see how I’d ever get enough of him.
A day in bed with Vaughan sounded like heaven. His cell phone buzzing away on the bedside table, not so much.
“Shit,” he muttered, reaching over and lifting it to take a look at the screen. “It’s Nell. I better answer or she’ll keep calling.”
I cried on the inside, my craving for the man making me weak.
“Yeah?” he answered, lying on his side next to me. The corners of his mouth turned down. “We’re still in bed. What do you want to talk to her for?”
Nell’s voice sounded small and far away. As much as I liked the woman, I did not want to talk to her right now.
“Fuck’s sake.” He held the cell out.
I took it. “Hi, Nell.”
“You need to get your own phone,” she said.
“I know.”
“And what are you doing in my brother’s bed?”
The brother in question pushed aside the exceptionally fine top sheet and started kissing his way down my torso once more. Licking here, nibbling there. What a nice man. My heart beat double time, flooding me with even more happy hormones. I caressed his hair, then pushed him in the direction of my pussy. In a friendly manner. You know. He laughed and shook off my hold, sharp teeth snapping at my fingers. Christ, he was cute. And hot.
“You don’t really want me to answer that question,” I told her.
Nell groaned. “Well, whatever you’re doing, cut it out. I need you at the bar.”
“What? No,” I said, voice panicky. “I can’t. I have the black plague.”
“Good one,” murmured Vaughan, moving ever closer to where I wanted him. Needed him.
“Take an Advil,” said Nell. “Rosie’s caught the puking bug off her kid and Joe’s helping his dad with a building job. We’re booked out for lunch. Masa can’t handle it on his own.”
“Who’s Masa?” I asked.
“One of my waiters, he just got back from holidays. Goes to the local tech college. You’ll like him.”
“Great. But what about Eric, can’t he help?”
“Eric’s behind the bar,” she said, obviously growing impatient. “Come on, I’ll cook something delicious just for you.”
“Nell…”
“Look, I know you’d rather do stuff in bed with my brother, but I need you. Please, Lydia?”
GAH. “Fine. Let me take a quick shower then I’ll be in.”
“Thank you.” She hung up in my ear.
People were the worst. I dramatically flung my arm over my eyes, quietly crying. Okay, so they weren’t real tears. The sadness, though, was unfeigned.
Vaughan took this opportunity to bite my thigh, sinking his teeth into my flesh and holding on. It hurt. “Ow.”
“That’s for not putting your happiness first.” He kissed the sore spot a time or two. Then he licked it. “And that’s for helping my sister. I’ll make it feel better when you get off work.”
“You better. Jerk.” I put his cell back on the bedside table, climbing off the bed. “Keep biting me like that and I’m going to buy you a teething ring.”
“Your skin’s so pretty, I can’t resist leaving my mark on you. It’s your own fault.” Not even a hint of remorse from him. “Go on. I’ll make coffee, you shower.”
“Thanks. Can I borrow your car?”
“I’ll drive you in, pick you up when you’re finished.” Arms wound around me as he hugged me from behind, pressing himself against my back. I’d forgotten how nice having a hot and horny male around felt. This one in particular worked for me big-time. Huge.
“Are you sure?”
“Gives me a chance to pick up some strings from Andre. Run a few errands.”
“Cool.” I ran my hands over his arms, enjoying the feel of him, of being with him.
He lined up the length of his cock with the divide between my butt cheeks, rubbing himself against me. Whoa. What an interesting sensation. My spine stiffened then relaxed, getting into the feeling. He rumbled a low noise of approval in my ear.
“We don’t have time,” I said, getting turned on once again. I was a wet and wanton, swollen mess. No way could Nell cook me anything delicious enough to make up for losing out on bed time with Vaughan. Impossible.
“I know.” Big hands gripped my hips, pulling me firmly back against him. “Fuck, that’s sweet.”
“Vaughan.” The feel of him hardening, lengthening, made breathing difficult. Thinking was pretty much right out.
“I like your ass, babe. I like it a lot.”
“Thought you were a breast man.”
His hot mouth pressed against my neck, lighting fires wherever it went. One hand splayed over my belly, the other playing with a nipple. He continued to rub himself against me, making everything that much worse. Or better. Both, maybe.
“So did I,” he said. “But I pretty much want to kiss, lick, bite, and fuck every bit of you.”
Oh, god. My knees shook.
“Shit. Nell’s timing sucks.” He groaned, stepping back. “Go shower.”
“Right.” My weak knees wobbled. “Go make coffee.”
“Yeah.”
I stumbled toward the door. Then stopped, befuddled in body and mind, but curious about something. “Hey. You never did finish that story last night.”
With a pained face, he held his cock against his stomach. “What?”
“The one about the girl and you coming too soon.”
He half smiled. “Ah, yeah. So she tells me to think about something else that I like while we’re fucking. To take my mind off of being inside her and everything. Next time we’re doing it, I think about Fender guitars. I think about them good and hard. I tell her my plan so she knows that I’m trying.”
“And?”
“I lasted. She came shouting, ‘Yes! Fenders!’” He smiled. “Woke up her parents. I’ve never climbed out a window so fast in my life.”
Quietly, I laughed, shaking my head. “Great.”
“Mm.”
“Why were you telling me that?” I leaned against the doorway, watching him. Carefully, slowly, he sat on the edge of the bed. “I mean, it’s a great story. But why last night?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “To get you to relax, to take your mind off worrying about your body.”
“Oh.”
A shrug.
“Thanks.”
“I didn’t like you trying to hide parts of yourself from me.” Vaughan stared at the wall. “I’m not like that asshole, picking and choosing which bits of you suit him and expecting you to change the rest. I’m into you, Lydia. All of you.”
My heart felt huge. Out of control.
“It worked,” I said, voice thick with emotion despite my best efforts.
He turned his head toward me.
“I’m standing here naked, not covering anything. That’s not usually me.” I shrugged, nervously laughing. Somehow having my pale wobbly ass and bumps and bulges on display hadn’t sent me running for cover. Yet. A miracle, really. The earlier tug-of-war with the sheet had been more about fun than anything else. “I don’t know … I guess I trust you. I mean, I must.”
Nothing.
Not a goddamn thing.
Ouch. When would I learn? Baring your soul sucked. I looked at the floor, the wall, at everything but him. It didn’t even make any sense; I mean, so he’d told me a silly story. So he’d been kind, understanding. He was always being kind and understanding. This was nothing new. That he’d then screwed me senseless, giving me the best sex of my life thus far, meant we’d had a great night. But not some life-altering, perception-changing, stars-aligning experience. I just happened to be going through a growth period and he just happened to be a part of it.
That’s all.
When would I learn? Just because my vagina was having fun didn’t mean my heart had to get all clingy.
“Babe,” he said. “Look at me.”
Reluctantly, I did.
“Thank you.”
I nodded.
“I’ve said it before, but … I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” The smile on my face felt foreign, wrong. Time for a reality check. Things that shouldn’t really mean anything were beginning to feel big and important, and that was neither necessary nor good.
Just friends having sex. Nothing more.