Why Lie? (Love Riddles #2) (23 page)

“What are you doing?” she asks, laughter still in her voice.

“Sexiest fucking elbow I’ve ever seen,” I reply, speaking the God’s honest truth.

“You are crazy,” she teases.

I lift my head, my hands still on her arm. She’s on her back, her hair a wild riot across my bed. Her expression is a mixture of lust and laughter.

“Crazy about you,” I reply and watch as her eyes soften.

I’m conflicted. I don’t want to look away but I also want to continue my exploration of her skin. I gaze into her eyes for another beat, so I can hold that image of her in my mind. Then, I sit up, my hands moving to the boot on her left foot. “Can I take this off?”

She nods.

There are three Velcro straps, one across the top of her foot and two on her shin. Just like her elbow, that sound of the Velcro being pulled apart is weirdly erotic. It’s not a sound that would turn me on normally but in this moment, what it represents, the baring of her skin to me, is hot as hell.

Her toes wiggle once I have the boot and the cotton sock she wore with it off, her soft heel in the palm of my hand. Have I ever touched her feet? For the first time in my life I understand the appeal of a foot fetish. Her foot is so small in comparison to mine. My thumb slides over her arch making her gasp.

“Ticklish?” I ask, looking up as I do it again.

She nods, pressing her lips together.

Lifting her foot to my mouth, I kiss the inside curve of her arch. Her eyes flutter shut and her hands fist the comforter on either side of her.

Jesus.

My lips move over her ankle and up her shin. When I reach her knee, I slide the tip of my tongue across the cap. She shifts her hips, and I spread her legs. Her dress has ridden up high on her smooth thighs. There, peeking out from under her skirt, I can see a triangle of lace, black lace.

My mouth waters. Her hips shift again, telling me she’s impatient. Too bad, I’m not done teasing her.

I drag my fingertips up and down the insides of her thighs, watching as little goose bumps kiss her skin and then fade away.

“Heath,” she pleads, the sound of her desire going straight to my dick.

“I got you, baby.”

With each pass, my fingertips get closer to the apex of her thighs.

“Please,” she begs.

I shift closer and kiss her legs, first the left, then the right, on the inside, above her knees. Gently, I push her legs further apart.

“This okay?” I ask, not wanting to strain or hurt her.

“Yes.” She groans, lifting her hips in a silent invitation.

“You’ll let me know if anything hurts?” I ask, looking up.

Her hands have moved from either side of the bed to cup her breasts.

Fuck.

I lean my forehead against the inside of her thigh and inhale in an effort to calm myself. All I want to do is rip her black lacy panties off and bury myself inside of her.

“Heath?” she asks.

She must wonder why I stopped. I answer her by kissing her through the lace.

It catches her off guard, a startled gasp bursting from her lips.

Her hand moves to the top of my head, its weight a reminder that I am right where she wants me. I tease her through the lace of her panties, soaking them in more ways than one. She smells like lust and I want to gorge myself on her. As sexy as her panties are, they’re in my way. I push them to one side and fuck her with my tongue.

She grinds her hips against my mouth and I slide my hands under her to tightly grip her ass.

This I remember. This, even if I never tasted her again, I would have remembered until the day I died. Experiencing Sydney get off is almost divine. She is so free, it frees you by mere proximity to her. There is nothing forced in her reactions. When she comes, I can’t look away.

In fact, I do everything in my power to make it never end.

It’s not until her fingers fist in my hair, pulling and urging me upward that I move. My fingers replace my mouth, two of them pushing inside her as I lean over her. Sydney’s hands move to either side of my face, her eyes wild with desire as she pulls my lips down to hers.

I take her mouth, sliding my tongue inside. She fucks my fingers and I move my thumb in circles over her clit. My cock is pulsing in my pants, angrily beating against my zipper, jealous that my mouth and hands are the ones having all the fun.

You’ll get your turn,
I think to myself.

“Harder,” she demands against my lips.

Her confidence was and still is one of the things that turned me on the most. There’s nothing sexier than a woman knowing what she wants and asking for it. She asks and I deliver. I break our kiss, my face hovering over hers so I can watch, close up, as she goes over.

Boldly, she does not look away. Silently, her lips part. Her mouth forms the shape of an O and then speaks it. “Oh, oh, oh.”

She grips my bicep, the press of each fingertip digging into my skin.

As she comes down from the physical high I’ve given her, she stretches like a cat. Reaching up over her head, she pushes her chest out and murmurs a sated, “Mmm.”

“You like?” I ask a question I already know the answer to, my hand moving to caress her thigh.

“Oh yeah,” she replies, then adds, “it’s crazy that I’ve come twice and am still dressed.

“We should do something about that,” I agree.

She shifts to one side, offering me her back, a not-so-subtle invitation to unzip her. I accept. Her dress ends up on the floor next to my bed, my clothes following not long after.

I’ve spent weeks wanting her. Now that I have her back, I hope I’ll spend a lifetime with her. This is all I want, my body tangled intimately with hers. We are one in a way I’ve never experienced with anyone else.

Our lovemaking is a contradiction; it is frantic but peaceful, frenzied but calm, and also rough but gentle. There is nothing sexier in the world then staring down into the eyes of the woman I love while I’m buried deep inside her.

When she comes I’m helpless but to follow where she leads.

She clings to me, and I turn us onto our sides not wanting to collapse on top of her. Our skin is slick from sweat. I drag my tongue across her neck.

She groans. “No more turning me on.”

I lift my head. “Tonight? Or in general.”

She shoves at my shoulder. “Tonight. I think three orgasms is my limit.”

I press my lips to hers. “Another night I’d like to prove you wrong.”

“Another night I’ll let you,” she replies.

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” I mutter before pulling away to deal with the condom.

On my way back to bed, I snag one of my tees for her to wear. She tugs it on and her panties while I pull on my boxers. Then I fit her body to my side in my bed.

“Now a good time to talk about what happened today at Lola’s?” I ask.

She tenses but replies, “As good a time as any.”

“Ferncliff was buzzing. I had to switch my cell to silent.”

She rolls her eyes. “I can only imagine.”

“I should have asked earlier but are you all right?”

Her shoulder lifts and she presses her palm to my chest. “It’s weird but whatever happened today started a long time ago.”

“How do you mean?” I ask.

“Well, when things went down between us the first time, I didn’t tell either of them. And then it was over before I could.”

I cringe, not liking that was all my fault.

“It wasn’t until after Jake came back that I finally spilled. I was hurting and needed my girls. To say they were unsympathetic would be an understatement.”

I push her hair back from her face and rest my hand at the back of her neck.

“Molly was pissed that you wanted me and not her. And Gina, she didn’t seem surprised that we hooked up but was surprised that I thought you wanted more than sex from me.”

“Nice friends.” I bite, wanting to shake both of those assholes for treating Sydney like that.

“Seriously. It wasn’t one singular action on either of their parts but a multitude. What hurt the most was they weren’t hiding the fact that they both thought you were too good for me. Who does that?”

She shakes her head and keeps talking. “Friends are supposed to lift you up not try and tear you down. Molly stopped thinking of me as her friend when she saw me as competition. Gina could have tried to act as a peacemaker but instead picked a side. I can’t lie. The way they ditched me hurt. Those first days in the hospital I could have used their friendship. But each day that passed, I became grateful for learning what they were really like. What went down at Lola’s was crazy but other than thinking they were idiots I didn’t need in my space, I’m over it.”

“You know I’ve never given Molly any indication—”

“Trust me. I know.”

I shift closer to her and joke, “Since you’re over it, that means no teepeeing either of their places, right?”

She laughs. “Right.”

“Fine,” I grumble. “But, if we’re together and I see her, I’m kissing you long and hard in front of her.”

Her brows lift. “To make her jealous?”

“To make it crystal fucking clear that I want you and I don’t care who knows it.”

“I suppose I can handle that,” she murmurs.

“Good,” I reply, pressing my lips to her forehead.

“Are you annoyed that the whole town texted you?” she asks.

I shake my head. “They’re going to be all up in our business until something more interesting happens. The only thing I don’t like about what happened today is that I wasn’t with you. I doubt either of them would have said the shit they did if I was there.”

“I can take care of myself,” she replies.

“I get that. Thing is, you can lean on me now too,” I say.

Her face softens. “Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you for giving me another shot,” I admit.

She presses her fingers to my lips, silencing me. “No more of that. It’s in the past. This is our fresh start. Deal?”

With her fingers still pressed to my mouth, I reply, “Deal.”

Her words are like a key unlocking the shackles of shame I’ve been carrying around since I first hurt her. A fresh start with her is a gift I will not squander. But first thing’s first, I have to take care of my girl. “We skipped dinner and went straight to dessert. Are you hungry?”

She wets her lips. “Starved.”

I push the comforter off and sit up, I’m not much of a cook but I can scramble the hell out of some eggs. “Want some breakfast in bed?”

“That sounds perfect,” she replies.

We had breakfast in bed for dinner and watched a movie together. Then, I had to watch him pack since he was going to be sleeping at his parents.’ I can’t ask him to stay but I still don’t want him to leave. Tonight has been the best night I’ve had in a long time. I shouldn’t be sad. Though all I want is to tangle my legs with his and fall asleep in his arms.

“Are you sure it’s okay?” I ask for a second time.

He pushes his hand into my hair, tilting my face up to look at him. His hands on me, his mere proximity to me, both make me want him all over again.

“Yes, I look forward to meeting him.”

Cecil wasn’t able to get away from work after I was discharged from the rehab clinic till now. He was going to crash at my place but since Heath will be sleeping at his folks, I asked if Cecil could use his spare room instead.

He didn’t skip a beat before telling me yes. “Thank you,” I murmur, reaching to cover his hand with mine.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” he asks.

“I would feel like I was intruding,” I admit.

When he asked if I would go stay with him at his parents’ house, it was less about him needing me there and more about feeling bad for leaving me. If he needed me with him, I’d be there in an instant. What he doesn’t need is to be worrying about me while his mom is dying.

“Will you text me when your friend gets here?” he asks.

It’s a long drive down from San Fran. Depending on traffic it might be late. I don’t argue. “I will.”

He kisses me, long and hard. By this time, I have my cane and my boot back on so I walk him to the door. Once he leaves, it feels like he took a piece of me with him.

Now, I’m standing in his apartment, all by myself, missing him. I turn on his TV so I won’t feel lonely and clean the kitchen. There isn’t much, only the mess from making us dinner.

Between Gigi and Pops, his kitchen has been getting a once or more like twice over daily. There’s something about working in a diner that makes it impossible to live with a dirty kitchen.

It’s the longest I’ve stood though and with all the horizontal exercise I got earlier, I’m wiped out. Grabbing my phone, I stretch out on his sofa.

I need to stay awake at least until Cecil gets here. Knowing him, I’ll get a second wind from his excess energy and we’ll gab all night.

He lost his mind when I hinted at the drama that happened with Molly and Gina. He flat out forbade me from uttering another syllable on the subject, his words, until he could hear all of it in person.

An hour of me dozing in front of the TV goes by before I hear a knock at the door. “Ce?” I call out as I make my way too it.