Fall Into Love, page 27
When I say the last few words, her eyes go to my mouth. Her cheeks blush, and I wonder if she’s thinking they sounded a lot dirtier than I intended them to. Oh well, sometimes there are happy accidents.
Valerie pulls down two plates from the cabinet and places them on the small bar. Even the plates are mismatched, with delicate flowers on them. I pull out the little stool she’s got next to the bar and sit down. She doesn’t look at me as she moves around the kitchen and serves the roasted chicken Rosebriar is famous for.
“How long have you lived in this apartment?” I ask.
“Since I got back home.”
“Hmm.” I nod. I already knew, that but it’s nice to confirm. “You didn’t want to move back home?”
“What?” She laughs and shakes her head. “No, I like my space.”
“And you’re an only child?” Again I know this, but I like hearing her talk.
“I am, but I think you knew that.”
She’s a smart girl.
“Sweet tea?” she asks me, and I nod. She pours two glasses and then takes a seat on the stool beside mine.
The whole place can’t be more than five hundred square feet, but even in something ten times this size, I’d still feel her heat next to me.
“Hungry?” I ask, and I can’t help it when my eyes drift to her mouth. Her full pouty lips and the dimple on the side of her cheek make me want to kiss her.
“Starving.”
For one quick second, her eyes travel down my suit, and I have the urge to pull her against me. This sharp-tongued woman has driven me mad from the moment I met her, and I can’t say I don’t like riling her up. When she’s mad at me it gets me so fucking hard, and all I can think about is pushing her against a wall and kissing her until she softens.
“Do you want me?” I ask, my voice husky and low.
“What?” Her eyes snap to mine, and I have to blink to clear away the fantasy.
“Do you want me to get you a knife?” I say, looking down at our plates.
“Please.”
The butcher block filled with mismatched cutlery is right next to me, and I grab one out for her. Jesus, Tidas, get it together. My hands almost shake as I place it on the table next to her and take a deep breath. I’ve never been this close to her for this long, and it’s fucking with my head.
“So why don’t you tell me all your ideas and I can tell you why they won’t work.” When her eyes narrow on me, I smile.
This is familiar territory, and this is where I’m safe. It’s in the quiet softness between us that I feel like I can’t breathe. Like she’s somehow stolen my soul and I won’t live without her. But when she’s aggravated, it’s pure sex, and I fucking love it.
Chapter Seven
VALERIE
He keeps touching me. It’s only small brushes, but his fingers linger a bit longer than they should. He even offered me bites of his food. He has to be doing it on purpose, I just don’t understand why.
“You don’t want the last bite?” He brings the spoonful of cheesecake toward my mouth, and I open, not willing to answer. He smirks when my lips close around the spoon. Sometimes he can be sweet and other times he’s just a jerk. Tidas is confusing me and has my emotions all over the place. I don’t like it.
I freeze when he lifts his hand to my face. My breath catches in my throat as his thumb grazes the side of my mouth. Then my heart stops as he brings it to his mouth, sucking it clean. Heat pools between my thighs and my nipples tighten. Oh god. This is not happening.
“Thanks for dinner.” I jump up from my chair, needing to get away from him. Not that there is much space in my small apartment. Especially with someone as big as him. Even when he leaves, I know his presence is going to linger.
“I’ve barely told you my ideas.” That smirk of his turns to a full smile.
“Does it really even matter? You’re going to do what you want. You always do.” I grab my plate and take it over to the sink.
I watch out of the corner of my eye as he gets up from his seat. His big body comes right up behind me, and his chest brushes my back as he leans around, placing his plate in the sink. When I feel his arm rub against mine, I close my eyes.
“Breathe,” he whispers in my ear, and his hand comes to rest on my stomach. “There’s no reason to get worked up.” I swear I can feel him smile against my ear.
I try to spin around, but he stops me from moving as his body presses into mine until I can feel every single inch of him.
If anything, fear should shoot through me, but that’s far from what hits me. A rush of desire sizzles through my body, and I close my eyes. He’s turned on by me. How is that even possible? He's supposed to only tolerate me because he has to.
“What are you doing?”
“What I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” He brushes the hair off my shoulder so his nose can graze along the column of my neck. I grip the side of the sink when he touches my skin. “Do you taste like apples too?” He must be talking about my body wash, but he doesn't wait for me to respond as his mouth latches on to me, and he sucks.
“Tidas.” I gasp at the sensation.
“Fuck,” he groans, and the hand he has on my stomach flexes. It pushes me farther into his erection as my body falls back against him. My heart starts to pound when he tugs at the string of my pants, and need like I’ve never felt throbs between my legs.
I should stop him. This is wrong. We really shouldn’t be doing this. It’s going to make everything so much worse than it already is.
When I open my mouth, all that comes out is a whimper as his hands slide into the front of my pants.
“Bare,” he groans, and I don’t know if he means bare as in I didn’t have panties on or the fact that I shave everything. “You’re a naughty girl.”
“Oh god.” I am a naughty girl, aren’t I? I don’t even like this man and I’m letting him do this to me. I’ve thought about him doing a lot of things to me when I was alone in my bedroom at night, but that’s totally different than it actually happening. Right?
“Do you know how hard it makes me to know you’re smooth like this?” He cups my sex. “It’s like a little secret you hide away from everyone.” He inhales against my neck, sending shivers down my back. “You’re so wet, Val. I should help you take care of this.”
He uses two fingers to spread the lips of my sex as his index finger comes down on my clit. My hand flies up from the sink to grip his arm, and I dig my nails in it. This might be wrong, but I don’t try to pull him away; instead I think I might be holding him in place.
“Tidas,” I whimper.
I know he’s toying with me. His finger only makes small circles, and I don’t know if he’s doing it to be mean or because he doesn’t want it to be over too quickly. I would know because I feel the same way.
The second I orgasm, I know the lust will fade away and I’ll be brought back down to reality. Right now I’m enjoying this. Hell, I’m enjoying what he’s doing to my body and the way he makes me feel inside. My emotions are out of control, and I think I might like it. He’s the only one to ever make me feel this way. He’s also the only man I’ve ever actually fantasized about when I’ve found my own relief.
“Kiss me and I’ll give it to you.” I turn my head to the side without hesitation, but he doesn’t make me come all the way to him. His mouth is on mine the second it’s in reach. His neediness to get his mouth on mine only adds to the pleasure. For the first time in my life, I feel sexy.
He doesn't wait for me to part my lips but instead presses his tongue right into my mouth, taking what he wants. He dominates me so easily.
His fingers finally give me what I need as he rolls my clit between them with perfect pressure. I let go, giving him control of my body, and he takes it. I moan into his mouth as I come apart. He keeps me close, and his fingers never stop as he pulls out every bit of my orgasm. My knees give out, but he’s got me, his strong arms holding me in place.
It’s a long moment later when I catch my breath and open my eyes to see him watching me. Then, to my shock, he brings his fingers to his mouth and sucks them clean, never breaking eye contact with me. A groan rumbles from him and all I can do is swallow hard.
Before I can speak, he turns me in his arms, and his mouth comes back down onto mine. This time, the kiss is slow and easy, and I can taste a hint of myself on his lips as he lifts me in his arms. My arms and legs wrap around him as he carries me toward the bedroom.
“What are you doing?” I ask with a yawn when he sets me down on the bed.
“We’re going to sleep,” he says, and to my surprise, he kicks his shoes off.
“Wait.” I try to stop him, but I’m finding it hard to stop Tidas from doing anything.
“Shh.” He looks at me so sweetly as he turns off the light. “It’s just sleeping.”
A moment later, the bed dips as he climbs in. I try to scoot over, but the bed is small and it’s impossible to even put an inch between us. His big body drapes over mine, and for some reason, his heavy weight makes me feel safe. I want to protest and to tell him this was wrong, but it's nice being held. I close my eyes and reassure myself that in the morning he’ll be gone.
And when that happens, it won’t hurt.
Chapter Eight
TIDAS
When I get to the front counter of the Sweet Spot, the woman behind the counter smiles politely at me. “Good morning,” she says as I check the cooler.
“I’ll take all the chocolate croissants.” I go to pull out my wallet, and she hesitates.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to leave one back. We have a customer that comes in every morning to get one, and yesterday I forgot to save her one.” She shrugs. “I’m sure you understand.”
“It’s okay. I know it’s for Valerie, and I’ll make sure she gets it.”
The baker looks at me and then at the cooler and hesitates. “I’d really rather make sure she gets it this time.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure—”
“He’s good to take them all, Claire,” someone says from behind me, and when I turn around I see one of the ladies that was in the bridal shop yesterday.
“Thanks,” I say and check to make sure Claire is putting all of them in the box.
“Do you do this just to torture Valerie?” the woman asks.
“It gets her attention.” I try to hide my smile as I think about her snoring softly in my arms last night. It was the cutest thing ever.
“I’m Gracie,” she says as she reaches to the side of me to grab her coffee. “I know who you are.”
“So Valerie talks about me?” I try not to sound cocky as I pass the baker my card and take the box of pastries. “Want one?” I offer the box to Gracie, but she shakes her head.
“I wouldn’t call it talking about you. It’s more like complaining.”
“I see.” I can’t hide my laugh this time. “She’s thinking about me, that’s all I care about.”
“You might be on to something.” I hold the door for her as we exit the coffee shop. “Even with her planning the bachelorette party tonight, she had time to mention you a few times.”
Her words stop me in my tracks, and I turn to face her. “Tonight?” She didn’t mention anything about a bachelorette party.
“Yeah, she’s the one planning it, and it’s sure to be epic.” She checks her watch. “Anyway, it was nice to see you again.”
Before I can stop her and ask for details, she’s hopping into her car and pulling out of her parking spot.
This morning when I woke up in Valerie’s bed, it was so early the sun wasn’t up yet. I lay there and watched her sleeping, her face smooth, devoid of worry and annoyance at my presence. She was so tired last night that she was asleep the second her head hit the pillow, and I didn’t want to disturb that peaceful rest. So instead of waiting around for her to kick me out, I left a note on her counter that I’d have her breakfast in my office. And to make sure, I once again bought all the chocolate croissants. Now she has no choice but to come see me because I know there’s no way she’ll back down from the challenge.
Now I’m hearing about this bachelorette party, and my mind is beginning to churn. What’s she planning on doing? What if she’s hired strippers? I open the door to my law office a little harder than I intended, and the bell on it clangs around loudly.
“Morning, Tidas,” Rebecca says, but then quickly corrects herself. “Mr. Combs.”
“Morning,” I mutter, trying not to be an asshole. It’s not her fault Valerie has me in knots before nine in the morning.
“Your brother has called you twice already. He said you’re not answering your cell.”
“Shit.” I reach in my pocket and see my cell is dead. I forgot to charge it last night at Valerie’s. “I’ll call him now.”
I go into my office, close the door, and reach for my desk phone. I dial his number, and he answers before the first ring can stop.
“Where are you?”
“I stayed with a friend last night,” I offer, not wanting to elaborate to him right now. “I’m at work. What’s wrong?”
“You didn’t come home.” His voice is stern, like he’s angry with me.
“Donovan, I'm a grown man. I can stay out all night if I want.”
“I told Mom you didn’t come home.”
“Fuck,” I hiss and close my eyes. Great, now my mom is going to be riding my ass about who I was with and what I was doing. “We’re not nine anymore, Van. You can’t fucking snitch on me.”
“Too late,” he says, and I can practically hear him shrug. “Was it that bridal shop chick?”
“That’s none of your business.” I clench my jaw. “How the fuck do you even know that? You never leave this goddamn house!”
“I have my ways.” His voice is so cool and unbothered.
“Yeah, well I’ve got work to do, so if you’re only calling to bust my balls, I need to go.”
“Did she bust your balls last night?”
“Goodbye,” I say before slamming the phone in the receiver.
There’s a pain beginning behind my right eye, and I wonder how my brother can cause me to have a migraine so early in the day.
The chime on the office door has me looking up, and I hear Rebecca quietly greet someone before my door is opened. Valerie is standing there in a periwinkle dress that hugs her curves from her tits to her knees.
“You look beautiful,” I say, ignoring her glare as she closes the door behind her.
“Listen, Tidas.” She clears her throat. “Whatever the hell that was last night.” She lowers her voice as I stand up from my chair and move toward her. “Whatever that was,” she repeats. “It’s not happening again.”
“This color suits you,” I say, ignoring her, and I slide my hand around her hip as she backs into the wall behind her.
“I mean it.” Her words are weak as she tilts her head back to look up at me.
“I can still smell you on me.” My mouth moves below her ear, and I feel her shiver in my arms. “I can still taste your sweetness on my tongue.” I kiss along her jaw until her breath hitches and her lips part. That’s when I cover her mouth with mine.
The shock of it makes her open her mouth and I slide my tongue inside. She tastes like spearmint and something that’s so perfectly her that I can’t stop kissing her. Hours could pass or even days and it wouldn’t be enough. My hands have a mind of their own as they move up and down her hourglass to cup her ass and squeeze her breasts. She’s full in every place my palms squeeze, and I’m so damn hard for her. I push her up against the wall so I can grind between her legs, seeking that softness around my cock.
“Mr. Combs,” Rebecca says and knocks on my door. Thankfully she doesn’t open it, but I’m reminded that we aren’t alone.
“Just a second,” I tell her as I look down at Valerie and her flushed cheeks. “We’re not finished here. Not by a long shot.”
Chapter Nine
VALERIE
Tidas’s words roll around in my head all day. I’d gone into his office to set things straight, but instead he kissed me into submission. All while being devilishly handsome. Cocky has never worked for me before, yet Tidas somehow manages to make it sexy as hell. Normally it makes me want to throat-punch a man, and I don’t think I’d mind smacking Tidas. And then maybe letting him kiss me again.
I have no clue what to make of him. I should have been thankful when Rebecca interrupted us, but instead I’d been annoyed. My body was begging me for another round with Tidas, and I would have let him have one too. I’d melted for him, and hours later I’m still turned on.
It burned when I got up this morning and saw he was gone. I would have thought it was a dream if not for the note he left. He also finished cleaning up the kitchen too. It was almost sweet. Then I remind myself who Tidas is. He’s my opposite in every way. At least I think he is. Sometimes I’m not sure I know him as well as I think I do.
Still, I’m wondering what he means by saying we’re not finished yet. My lips and other places start to tingle the longer I think about that. Would it be so bad to let him finish things? At this rate I’m going to turn into an old maid. We could have some fun and get whatever this is out of our system.
“Earth to Valerie.” Gracie snaps her fingers in front of my face. “You with me, babe?”
“Sorry, what?” I zoned out on her for a second. I’ve been doing that a lot today actually.
“Which lip stain do you want to use?” She points to the ones she’s laid out. The three of us are getting ready for the bachelorette party at my shop.
“Whichever you think.” She knows more of what she's doing than me. My normal makeup routine takes me a couple of minutes, but tonight we’re going all out.
“Bold it is. Open,” she orders, and I part my lips for her to put it on for me.
“If Jacks gets word about this dress, the night is going to be short,” Julie laughs as she steps out in her sexy little white dress. She’s got a veil pinned in her hair, and it’s got plastic dicks that light up on it. She’s in white while the rest of us are in little black dresses. I actually had to go buy one. Well, one that didn’t look like it belonged at a funeral.
