Mina's Heart (13 page)

Her confidence in what she was doing grew immeasurably. She licked the underside of his cock like it was an ice-cream cone. His lids fluttered downward, and his breathing grew uneven. The smooth skin felt like velvet, so she decided to explore him with her tongue the same way she’d explored him with her fingers. He’d said to take her time.

He seemed to be holding it together until she got to his balls. She lapped at the thin line between his testicles, and he moaned loudly. Then she sucked one ball into her mouth, and he swore. She took that as a good sign. She couldn’t stop the slight smile of pride from stretching her lips or the hum of satisfaction.

He tangled his fingers in her hair and grasped his cock with his other hand. “Playtime is over, honey. Open your mouth.”

This change in dynamic shocked her a bit, but his commanding tone also made her wet. She opened her mouth, and he eased his cock inside. She had been nervous that she wouldn’t be able to establish a rhythm he liked, but that ceased to be a concern. He took over, thrusting with his hips and dictating the rhythm. In essence, he fucked her mouth, and it was one of the hottest things she’d never imagined.

He took one of her hands from where she gripped his hips and wrapped it around the base of his cock. She was thankful he didn’t expect her to take the whole thing. She’d choke on it, and that was not sexy.

“Touch my balls, honey. Cup them with your other hand.”

It did not annoy her that he had taken over. She was vastly relieved that he was telling her what he wanted. She realized he’d asked her to do this for him the night before, and she hadn’t really said anything. There had been no need. He’d been wonderful.

She rolled his sac gently in her palm, trying to get a feel for what he liked best. Just as she lost herself in the rhythm of the motion and the slide of his silky skin against her lips, she felt his fist tighten in her hair, pulling it in a way that made her eyes water and her pussy weep. Hot jets of semen spurted in her mouth. He pumped twice more before pulling out.

He backed away from her, and she looked up at him to see why, but his sated expression told her nothing. He grabbed two tissues from a box on his dresser and handed them to her.

“Here. Spit it out.”

Mina felt heat climbing her neck. How had he known she hadn’t swallowed? Did he mind? She accepted the tissue and used it. “Thanks. I just didn’t want to—”

“That’s fine. In the future, you don’t have to hold it in your mouth. You can spit it into your hand until you get to a sink. I don’t require you to swallow.”

That was a relief. As much as she enjoyed the licking and sucking parts, she had no desire to swallow. His wording took her by surprise—how in the world could he “require” her to do anything?—but she chalked it up to postorgasmic bliss.

He took the wadded tissue from her and threw it in the small trash bin next to the dresser. Then he hefted her from the floor and tossed her onto the bed, which was only a few feet away. He followed her down, pinning her in place with his hips, and kissed her.

Mina felt engulfed, surrounded by Everett. His body pressed her into his messy bedding, and his scent cradled her from below. He touched her everywhere, caressing her and moving her clothes out of the way so that nothing separated them. She felt his lips move over her skin as he kissed his way down her neck to linger at her breasts.

Surrendering to urgency, she let her hands roam his body, exploring his textures and lines and finding the places that made him kiss her a little more frantically. His cock hardened against her leg. She worked her hand between their bodies until she could enclose it in her palm. She meant to see what it took to make him moan, but to her surprise, she found it only partially hard.

In her hand, his cock swelled to its full length. She tightened her grip and slid her palm up and down as she marveled at the transformation. “I can’t believe you’re ready again.”

He thrust his hips, fucking her hand. “You keep that up, and I’ll come in your hand.”

Perhaps he meant to gross her out, but the second he said that, an erotic image came to her of him kneeling over her, ejaculating on her stomach. He had that sultry, possessive look he wore so well. In her minifantasy, he smeared his semen over her breasts. If she didn’t want to swallow, that was fine. She had other uses for his semen.

“I want that.” She wanted more than that, but she wasn’t at the point where she felt comfortable asking for it. He wanted to wait until he thought she was ready to have sex. He probably wouldn’t think too highly of her if he knew she was having some lightly kinky thoughts.

She pumped her hand up and down his shaft. He regarded her with a mix of wonder and affection that had her completely willing to rethink her life plan. Really, what could she do in California that she couldn’t do here?

Ever rolled them both suddenly, shoving her shorts and panties down while she was on top of him. He shifted her to the side so that she had a better angle to access his cock, and then he eased what felt like two fingers inside her.

“We’ll come together. Then we’ll make dinner, and I’ll have you for dessert.” He lifted his head, darting with predatory accuracy to capture her mouth for one of his soul-searing kisses.

She followed his rhythm. When he sped up, so did she. When he slowed down, so did she. And she realized that doing so delayed orgasm and prolonged pleasure. Each time he led her up that cliff, it got higher, and the precipice grew more dangerous. She didn’t know how many times he changed directions; she only knew the coil tightening in her abdomen had become a fire that burned out of control.

Just when she thought she couldn’t stand it anymore, he pushed her a little harder, and she fell down that chasm, screaming at the intensity of the pleasure and clinging to her anchor. Dimly, she heard his shout. He came, and warmth splashed onto her stomach as he fulfilled part of her unspoken wish.

Chapter Five

Mina clicked Send and sighed. This marked her fifty-seventh job application, and not a single one of them had panned out. She was either overqualified or unwilling to relocate. In the three months since she’d come home, her life had changed completely, and it was all due to Everett Burke.

He filled every moment of her life, even those he wasn’t present for. She thought about him when she woke in the morning, alone in her bed. Though she’d spent a few nights at his place, he hadn’t consented to more than oral sex.

She’d started taking birth control, going so far as to regularly take the little pill in front of him so he’d know she was ready and willing. She’d asked several times, but he’d merely reiterated that he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t regret anything, and then he’d changed the subject.

He took her out a lot, even on weekend trips to New York, Boston, and Detroit. Most of those were work related, but he’d managed to wrangle an extra day or two of vacation. They hiked together. They picnicked on his property. He consulted her on the design options for his house.

She’d invited him to dinner to meet her mother, and his parents had them over regularly. Everybody in both their families and probably in the entire town assumed they were sleeping together, but everybody was wrong. Frustratingly wrong.

She’d fallen in love with him. Totally, irrevocably in love with a man who was driven to protect her and take care of her. This was not the type of man she’d ever thought she would fall for.

Tonight she would tell him that she was in love with him, and then she would tell him that she couldn’t find a job in Vermont. It would test the strength of their relationship, but she felt like they were at a point where they needed to decide how they were going to move forward. Perhaps he knew she wasn’t being entirely forthcoming with him, and that was why he refused to take their relationship to the next level. She couldn’t stay in this limbo forever.

“Mina, should I wear the black shoes or the navy ones?”

She turned to face the door of her bedroom. Her mother held up two pairs of dress shoes, neither of them appropriate. Mina rose to her feet. “It’s a Labor Day cookout, Mom. They’re having hamburgers and playing ladder golf. Wear sandals.”

Macy and Russ Burke had invited her and her mother to their annual event. It was the first time both families would be together socially.

“I need to look my best, Mina. Macy Burke always looks amazing.” Jin Ae sat down on Mina’s ottoman and considered the shoes in her hands.

“It’s not a competition.” From what little Mina knew about Macy Burke, she had the impression Ever’s mother would be horrified if she found out how stressed Jin Ae was about the upcoming event. “Macy’s not like that. She’s actually a pleasant person. You said so yourself when you worked with her on the Fourth of July festival committee. Wear those red sandals I gave you for your birthday. They’re comfortable, and they look nice.”

Though her mother changed more times than Mina could count, they arrived at the party exactly on time. Jin Ae might be a stress ball, but she was never late.

They parked on the lawn at the end of a row of cars. Other people did the same thing, so Mina didn’t feel like she was doing something she shouldn’t. She followed the stream of people around to the backyard. The Burkes owned a huge spread of land near town, and they’d built a magnificent house in the middle of it.

The house Ever was planning wouldn’t be as large. He had shaken his head at the opulence of it and asked her if she wanted to be the one who had to clean all the rooms. Mina knew Macy employed domestic help, but she also knew that Ever didn’t want to deal with that kind of responsibility just yet. That was fine with her. She wasn’t sure how she would feel about paying somebody to clean up after her.

Wilder greeted her once she made it to the party area. He slung his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. Then he held his hand out to her mother. “You must be Mrs. Sung. I can see where Mina gets her good looks. I am Wilder Burke. Welcome to my parents’ barbecue.”

Color rose to her mother’s cheeks at Wilder’s compliment. “Thank you, young man. We are honored to be here.”

Wilder took her mother’s hands and kissed the backs of both of them, laying on the charm a bit thick. Then he straightened up and grinned at Mina. “Ever’s helping over at the grill.”

Mina returned his big smile. “They don’t let you near that thing, do they?”

“Not if you want edible food. Look, there’s Mom, the other culinarily deficient member of the family.”

A stunning blonde woman slipped her arm through Wilder’s and regarded Mina and Jin Ae with a welcoming smile. “Jin Ae, Mina, I’m so glad you could make it.” She squeezed Wilder’s arm affectionately, and then she enveloped Jin Ae in a hug.

Mina knew that her mother didn’t care to be touched by very many people, and so she was surprised that Jin Ae didn’t stiffen under Macy’s demonstrative greeting. She actually hugged Ever’s mother back.

Macy hugged Mina, but it was appropriately brief. Then she threaded her arm through Jin Ae’s. “If you two will excuse us, I want to show Jin Ae my garden.”

For years, Jin Ae’s garden had been devoted to growing food, the only use of resources to which her father wouldn’t object. In the past three years, Jin Ae had begun cultivating flowers. Of course, the Burkes had legions of professional-grade gardens.

There was no way Mina was going to get in the way of her mother enjoying this day. She smiled at Macy. “By all means. You two can talk about aphids.”

As they walked off, Wilder took her by the arm. “Come on. I know you’re dying to see Ever.”

She blushed, but she didn’t deny it. Seeing him would go a long way toward making the hopelessness of her wasted morning seem not so bad.

Wilder led her through the throng, stopping to greet some guests and introduce her around. People liked him, and many single women flirted, but he didn’t seem to notice. She was dying to know the story behind why Wilder so rarely dated. She knew it was related to some woman, and she’d give anything to meet the person responsible for leaving Wilder to drift aimlessly.

Finally she caught sight of Ever. He nodded as he conversed with his father. Russ Burke gave her a picture of what Ever and Wilder would look like in thirty years, and she couldn’t find a thing to complain about. The man was both attractive and fit. She knew he’d suffered a heart attack a few years before, but looking at him today, she’d never guess it.

“Is it done yet?” Likely the aroma seeping from the grill had prompted Wilder’s question.

Ever and Russ glanced over, their conversation breaking off suddenly as Ever scooped her up in his arms and spun around. He stopped and smacked a loud kiss on her lips. Embarrassed heat traveled up her neck. She hadn’t expected such an effusive display of affection in front of his father.

Instead of setting her down, he hugged her tighter. “I’ve missed you.” He murmured his confession close to her ear, a private moment at a public event.

“I love you.” It wasn’t what she’d meant to say. She hadn’t planned to blurt it out that way. In her head, she had pictured a romantic scene with just the two of them.

He set her down, but the intensity of his gaze held her just the same. He was pleased, happy, and a touch more arrogant. “I love you too.”

* * * *

They’d served the last of the burgers. His father bent to make sure the grill was turned off, and Ever surveyed the crowded lawn. Mina was somewhere nearby, but search as he might, he couldn’t find her in the throng.

A firm hand landed on his shoulder. He looked over to find his father regarding him with “that look” on his face. It was an expression Ever hadn’t seen in quite a while. He tried to keep calm. Lifting his brows, he sent a silent query in his father’s direction.

“You found yourself a rare woman.”

Even though his father’s concerned expression didn’t ease, Ever relaxed a little. “I know.”

“You haven’t told her, have you?”

He dropped his gaze, embarrassed and chagrined that his dad had read him so easily. He knew Wilder wouldn’t have told their father things Ever had shared in confidence. “She’s not ready to know.”