Never Close Enough (14 page)

   “What is it?” she asked him, placing her hands on the sides of his face.

   “I don’t want to scare you,” he stopped and shook his head.

   “Porter, tell me.  It’s ok.”

   He leaned down and kissed her with so much gentleness and passion it broke her heart a little.  He broke the kiss but only moved back far enough to speak, so his lips still brushed hers with his words.

   “I just can’t imagine going back to a life without you in it.”  They stayed there, frozen, mouth
s barely touching, breathing in each other’s shaky breaths, looking into each other’s eyes.

   “Then don’t,” she whispered.  He searched her eyes for a few seconds more.  Then his mouth was on hers again, only this time it was a starving kiss, like he need
ed her to breathe or survive.  He was kissing her like it was all he knew how to do.

   His hands started to move on her body, softly he trailed a hand down over her breast, stopping to palm it, making her whimper slightly into his mouth.  He pulled away f
rom her suddenly.

   “There are those sexy sounds you make.  They drive me crazy.  Don’t ever stop making them.”  She didn’t have time to respond before he put his mouth on her nipple over the lace of her bra, his teeth teasing her.

   “Oh god,” she cried.  He pulled the lace down and took her whole nipple in his mouth, sucking and kissing.  She was writhing beneath him, her hands grasping at the sheets beneath her.  She wanted him inside of her.  Then she remembered something that startled her.  “Porter!”

  He quickly abandoned her breast, “What’s wrong?  Are you ok?”  Ella laughed a little and put her hands over her face.

   “Oh my god, Porter.  You’re going to kill me.”

   “Unlikely.  What the heck is going on?”

   “I don’t have any condoms.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t bring any with me to the beach and it never occurred to me to buy any,” she was looking at him through the slots between her fingers, waiting for him to become frustrated.

   He laughed a little and cocked his head to the side.  “Would it have bee
n presumptuous of me to bring some?”

   “What? You thought I was a sure thing?” She asked smiling.

   “A guy can hope,” he said and resumed his attention at her breast.

   “You’re like a boy scout, always prepared,” she giggled.  Porter stilled and then lo
oked up at her.

   “For future reference, when I am trying my hardest to turn you on, please refrain from using the term ‘boy’ to describe me.”

   “I’m sorry.  Did I insult your manhood?” She asked with a smile.

   “Hmm.  My manhood is fine, thank you very
much.”

   “Yes, I can tell,” she said suggestively, wiggling underneath him.  He groaned at the friction she caused and then he did another ninja roll.  She ended up sitting on his lap, as he sat in the middle of the bed, her legs wrapped around his waist
.  Nose to nose, he tucked her hair behind her ears and then reached behind her to unclasp her bra.  He pulled it down her arms and tossed it on the floor.  He began kissing her again, as one hand found her now naked breast.  He used his fingers to roll and pull her nipple.  She groaned and arched her back, lost in his touch.  His free hand moved from her waist and cupped her over her panties, using his palm to grind into her.  Electricity shot through her body at his touch and the combination of all he was doing to her was taking her higher and higher.

   “Sorry about your underwear,” he said in a gravelly voice.  Ella was confused, but didn’t have time to voice it before she felt him grab her pretty blue lace panties and tear them off of her, completely de
molishing them.

   “Holy shit, Porter,” she breathed, more turned on now than ever.  Then she felt him gently tease her opening, running one finger slowly up and down.  She was relishing in the moment and the sheer intimacy of it.  They were so close,
looking in each other’s eyes and he lazily stroked her.  He continued to look right at her as he slowly sank two fingers into her and she let out another whimper.  He massaged her from the inside and she was rolling her hips against him, urging him along, begging for more.  His thumb found her clit and she was unable to keep her head up, dropping it on his shoulder, moaning and looking for relief. 

   “Oh, please…” she panted.

   “We’re almost there, Baby,” he whispered.  He quickened the pace, going from a slow leisurely caress to a more vigorous and firm stroke.  She could feel the ball of pressure building in her core and the muscles in her legs tensing.  It was all she could do to hold her breath until the relief came.  “You feel so good around my fingers, Ella.”

   “Yes.  Please don’t stop,” she panted on his neck.

   He continued his assault on her and with a detonation she felt crash through her body, she came around his fingers.

   “Oh god,” she moaned and leaned her head backwards, delighting in the
warmth that was flowing through her.

   “I will never tire of watching you come, Ella.  You are stunning.”

   She looked back at him and placed a light and lingering kiss on his mouth.  He slowly placed her back on the bed, and after a moment pulled back from her mouth.  He turned to the side of the bed and reached to the floor.  Digging around for a few seconds he came back to Ella with a condom.  She watched as he opened it and put it on.  He crawled back over her, kissing his way back up her body.  When he got to her neck, he nuzzled in and inhaled deeply.

   “Mmmm, vanilla,” he said quietly and she smiled at his sweetness. He used his hands to push her hair off her face, and they were nose to nose again, his body draped over hers.  He looked directly in
to her eyes.

   “I want you to be mine, Ella,” he said as he slowly entered her. 

   “Porter,” she breathed his name, shivering from the intense intimacy she felt with him inside her.

   Once he was fully engulfed in her, he stilled and let her feel him.

   “You don’t have to answer me now and I am not trying to pressure you,” he pulled out slowly.  “I just want you to know what you mean to me and how much I want you for myself,” and he pushed back in with a gloriously slow thrust.  Ella felt tears forming behind her lashes.  Never had a man moved her in such a romantic and intimate way.  Even though her gut was telling her to never let him go, her brain was yelling at her about moving too fast and broken hearts.  She wanted to lose herself in Porter and let him lead her into whatever he had waiting for her, but she was too scared to lose control.

   “Porter,” his name was a prayer.

   “Ella?”

   “Please make love to me,” she cried silently.

   “Always.”

   His hips continued to move in slow and sinuous
circles, taking his time, slowly building the wall she would eventually fall over.  Breath by breath, and thrust by thrust, he was slowly lifting her again.  The higher she got, she knew the more devastating the fall would be.  His mouth found all the places on her body that were begging for attention.  He kissed her neck, ran his lips along her collarbone, nibbled on earlobe.  All the while his hands were worshipping her, softly caressing her breasts, grazing over her stomach, cradling her face.

   Eventua
lly, his thrusts became deeper and fractionally quicker, alerting to her that he was just as close as she was.  She helped them along by meeting his thrusts allowing him to feel her deeper.  His mouth found hers again and this kiss was silently pleading with her.  It was all she could do not to promise to be his forever.  She knew promises made in the throes of ecstasy were impulsive and fickle, but it was tempting.

   “Ella,” Porter said as he went over the edge.  It was the love and affection with which h
e said her name that finally pushed her over as well.

Chapter Fifteen

Porter

   Porter woke up and wasn’t sure at first where he was.  All he saw at first were white billowy curtains hanging around the bed and unfamiliar walls.  Then he felt m
ovement on the bed and looked over to see Ella asleep.  She was curled towards him, lying on her stomach, with her hair fanned out on her pillow.  The comforter they were using had been pulled down low and he could see the length of her back and the swell of her backside.  She was the most breathtakingly beautiful woman he had ever seen and he was going to do anything he could to convince her to be with him.

   He took a look at his watch, cursing the time, and figured if he left now he would have enough ti
me to go home and shower before heading to work.  He slowly rolled over and climbed out of bed, trying hard not to disturb her.  He found his clothes and headed to her bathroom.  When he came out, she was still sound asleep.  He didn’t want to wake her, but he also didn’t want to leave without letting her know.  He gently rubbed her bare back, trying to rouse her from sleep.

   “Ella,” he whispered.

   “Hmm?”

   “Ella, I have to go to work, I wanted to say goodbye.”  She rolled over to look at him taking th
e comforter with her to cover herself.

   “What time is it?” She asked sleepily.

   “Early, I’m sorry.  I just didn’t want you to think I ran out on you,” he said looking down at her, captivated by her early morning beauty.  He leaned down and placed a small kiss on her mouth.  “Go back to sleep.”

   “Ok,” she said and rolled back over.

   He smiled as he walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs.  He found his keys on the hall tree by the door, and headed out the front door, making sure to lock it behind him.  He was almost in his car when he heard Ella yelling his name behind him.

   “Porter!”

   He turned around and saw Ella running towards him wrapped only in the white comforter from her bed.  “Ella, what happened?”  She didn’t answer him, she just continued running towards him.  When she made it all the way to him she ran straight into him, pulling his face down to hers, and kissing him hard.  He wrapped his arms around her waist, to feel her against him, but also to make sure she didn’t lose her blanket.  She held the blanket up with one hand, fisting it between her breasts, and used the other hand to thread her fingers through his unruly hair.  Their tongues were dancing and she pulled his bottom lip between her teeth, making him groan into her mouth.

   In his mind, he was logistically trying to figure out how he could spend the day in bed with Ella instead of going to work.  Then she pushed those thoughts out of his head when she pulled away and moved on to his neck. 

   “Ella, you’re practically naked,” he groaned, liking the idea of her nakedness but unsure about their visibility.

   “Mmm hmm,” she garbled at him.

   “Maybe we should go inside before someone sees something not intended for them.”  She pulled her mouth away from his neck and looked up at him.

   “I thought you had to go to work,” she said with a sly smile.

   “I did.  I do,” he sighed, “but then you came running at me all sexy and I might be convinced to make poor, yet sexually satisfying, decisions.”

   “Oh, I didn’t come out
here to get you to stay with me,” she said with a completely straight face.

   “You didn’t?”  His eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

   “No.  I just wanted to make sure you remembered to call me later,” she winked at him.

   “You play dirty, Babe.  Now
I’ve got to go to work like this, all hot and bothered.  You should be ashamed of yourself.”  He tried to sound like he was upset but the giant smile on his face gave him away immediately.  Ella lifted onto her tip toes and kissed him quickly before turning to saunter back to the house.

   Halfway there she said over her shoulder, “I never promised to play fair, Porter.  Have a good day at work and call me later.”

   He watched her go inside and was shaking his head as he got into his truck.  He was glad he had already planned to take a shower, because there was no way he was going to make it to work in this state and be safe to handle powered equipment.  She was a firecracker that was for sure.

   He managed to make it through half the work day without seriously maiming himself or any of his workers, although, not for lack of his mind wandering.  Again, he spent his day thinking about her, picturing her as she was the night before, tangled around him making those seductive whimpers that make his blood boil through his veins.  It was his lunch break, so he pulled out his cell phone to call her.

   “Having a good day at work?”  Her voice was smooth and lazy, and he pictured her still lying in her white shrouded bed.

   “I am distracted again and I blame you.”

   “You like my distractions,” she teased.

   “Yes, well, that may be true but it doesn’t do anything to ease my mind.  I’ve got the image of you asleep in bed, just barely covered by the blanket.  Tell me your still in bed,” he said hopefully.

   “I don’t
think that would help you and your distractions any, and I need you in one piece.  Tell me, what are working on?  Still the demolished garage?”

   “Yes, partly.  That’s where my team is, but after lunch I am headed to do an estimate on a rebuild.”

   “What’s a rebuild?”

   “Well, a lot of the beachfront houses here are older, so when people buy the houses they usually are just interested in the land.  So they hire someone to tear down the existing house and build a new one.  People are looking for modern h
ouses and it’s cheaper and faster to just build it yourself.”

   “That sounds like a big job.”

   “It can be.  If they like my bid and I win, this job could keep my team busy through January.”

   “January?  That’s a long time from now.”  He detected a shif
t in her mood; she sounded almost sad.

   “Well, that’s the idea, Babe.  So on Wednesdays, my mom has the day off and I usually take her out for dinner.  I was wondering if you would like to go out with us tonight.”

   “You want me to go to dinner with you and your mom?”  She asked with a hint of frustration.

   “I was hoping,” he said hesitantly, not sure why she sounded upset.  “Is everything ok?  You sound like something is bothering you.”

   “I’m fine, Porter,” he heard her sigh.  “I’d love to have dinner with you and your mom.  When and where?”  He was confused by her ambivalence.

   “I can pick you up at six,” he answered.

   “Perfect.  I will be waiting.  Have a good rest of your day, Porter.”

   “Are you ok, Ella? You’d tell me if something was wrong
, wouldn’t you?”

   “Yes, of course.  I’m fine.  I will see you at six.”  He heard the line go dead.  Despite her words, he felt like she was holding something back.  He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.  He wanted to go to her and make her
talk to him, but knew it probably wouldn’t do any good.  He resigned himself to making sure he had a moment to talk to her tonight and he would try to get her to open up to him.

   He arrived at her house right at six o’clock and knocked gently on the door.  She opened the door and he couldn’t help but sweep his eyes up and down her.  He wasn’t really in tune to fashion in any way, but there was no denying that Ella was a very well-dressed woman and that she took a lot of pride in the way she looked.  It made sense that she owned a boutique.  She wore a pair of jeans and a cream colored shirt that looked incredibly soft that had lace draped delicately from the collar.  She wore a small jacket that tied with a bow that made her look young and feminine.  The part of her ensemble that took his breath away was her hair.  It had been pulled up to make a neat and tidy bun and all his mind could see was her delectable neck.  It was going to be a long night of trying not to touch or kiss her neck while his mother was around.

   “You look amazing, as usual,” he said with a gentle smile, leaning in to kiss her.  She accepted his kiss but didn’t deepen it and pulled away quicker than he would have liked.  He looked at her quizzically for a moment.  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes. Let’s go.”  She pulled the door shut behind her and locked it.  He walked her to his truck and opened her door for her.  Once he got in the driver’s seat, he looked at her before he started the engine.  She kept her eyes at the front of the truck, never looking his way.  The drive to the restaurant was brutal; she wasn’t talking and when he asked her questions she’d answer him in monosyllables. 

   “Do you like Mexican food?”

   “Yes.”

   “My mom loves Mexican food, so we usually go to the same pla
ce every Wednesday.”

   “Great,” she replied with a strained smile.  He grew frustrated.

   “Ella, please tell me what’s bothering you.  I can tell you’re upset about something.  Just talk to me about it.”  She looked over at him and smiled, but the smile did nothing to light up her face or make the tiny crinkles by her eyes he’d grown to love.  She was placating him.

   “There’s nothing wrong, Porter.  I swear.  I’m just tired.”  She turned her head to continue looking out of her window.  He reached over t
o hold her hand and when his fingers intertwined with hers, she looked down at their hands.  He saw her eyes close briefly and when they opened he saw sadness in them.  She resumed looking out of her window.

   When they parked at the restaurant, he went a
round the truck to open her door.  As she got out, he let his hands slide up over her hips and rest on her waist.

   “I wish you’d let me into that pretty head of yours.  I know something is bothering you.”

   Ella shook her head, looking down at the pavement.

   “Later,” she whispered.  He feathered a kiss on her forehead and took her hand leading her towards the restaurant.  It would drive him crazy through dinner wondering what was on her mind.  It was obvious she was upset about something and until she
told him his imagination would run wild.  Tilly was already inside sitting at a table.  When they came in, she stood up to greet them.

   “Hello, Favorite Son,” she said with a loving smile as she gave him a hug.  “And Ella, I am so glad you could come to
dinner with us,” and she gave Ella a big hug as well.

   “It’s nice to see you again, Tilly,” Ella said with a tight smile.  They gave their drink orders to the waiter and settled into their booth.  Tilly was on one side and Porter motioned for Ella to sli
de into the other side of the booth and slid in next to her.  He wanted to put his arm around her shoulders or place his hand on her knee under the table, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.  His need to sooth and touch her was like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

   “How did the estimate go on that rebuild you were telling me about?” Tilly asked.

   “I think it went well.  They have a few other contractors bidding, so we will see how it all shakes out.  However, I did some work on the owner’s brother’s house last summer, so I think I have an edge up.”

   “That’s great, Honey.  That would be so good for you and your team to have that steady work to look forward to.  You always take good care of your team, so I’m sure they aren’t worried, but construct
ion can be so unpredictable.”

   “Do you usually have a hard time getting steady jobs?” Ella asked.

   “Not usually, but there is always the chance that when one job ends it could be a while before something else comes along.”

   “That must be stressful fo
r you and I’m sure the men on your team probably get stressed about it too,” Ella said, her voice soft.

   “Yes, this is why it would be nice to be able to guarantee some work for the guys through the New Year.  In fact, it’s such a big job I would probabl
y even have to bring on someone else just to keep up.”   Tilly’s face lit up and he knew exactly what was coming next.  He almost rolled his eyes at her but was smart enough not to.

   “I’m so proud of you, Porter.  Your dad would have been proud too.” 
Tilly reached across the table to pat him on the hand.  She always got sentimental whenever things were going well for him.  “And he would have loved you, Ella,” Tilly added quietly, still trying to maintain her composure.

   He looked over at Ella and saw
her give his mom an uncomfortable smile.  Yes, he was sure his dad would have really loved Ella.  But hearing this from his mom had really made her squirm.  The woman sitting next to him at the table was not the same one who had run out of her house this morning wrapped in nothing but a blanket just to kiss him senseless.  This morning she had been happy and playful, but now she seemed distracted, distant, and sad even.  His curiosity was slowly morphing into panic.

   When their meals came, they ate while
his mom told stories about customers at the bar and a few stories about him when he was younger.  Luckily for him she didn’t delve into any really embarrassing anecdotes, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because although Ella was being polite and nodding her head at the right intervals, she was not engaged in the conversation.  When his mother excused herself to the restroom, he decided to press the issue further.