Modern Girl's Guide to Friends With Benefits (26 page)

The storm lasted all day Sunday and late into the night. Peter was surprised and thankful for how busy the work kept him. He didn't have time to dwell on his argument with Meg. By the time the snow slowed to flurries and all the trucks had been dispatched, it was past midnight. He cautiously navigated the snow-covered Chicago streets back to his empty apartment.

He came home, shed his clothes, and collapsed. But despite being bone tired, he couldn't sleep. It was the first night in over a week that he'd spent apart from Megan. Even after such a short period of time, he missed having Meg beside him. She'd always been a big part of his life, but now her presence seemed vital to his very existence. She was like that first cool, sweet breath of air he'd take after a long lap in the pool. Peter hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath all these years until she came along and revived him.

After an hour of trying, Peter was resigned to the fact that sleep wasn't going to happen. He got up and paced the apartment. He tried reading. He even grabbed a beer out of the fridge, but nothing helped.

Finally, he picked up the phone. It was way too late to call, but he had this insatiable desire for some kind of contact with Meg, so he texted.

Peter: I miss having you in bed next to me.

He hadn't expected a reply, figuring she was fast asleep, but a few seconds later the phone buzzed.

Meg: Miss you too.

Peter: You're still awake?

Meg: Nope. This must be the Ambien texting.

Peter: Smartass. It's late. You should be asleep.

Meg: You're the one who texted me. Is everything alright?

Knowing that she was at home awake made him want to jump in his truck and drive over to her house, but that was just his libido talking. Going over wasn't an option. The snow might have stopped, but he'd be surprised if the roads were passable. He'd barely made it home. Besides, he was exhausted and shouldn't be behind the wheel.

Meg: Peter?

Meg: I'm calling.

The phone rang in his hand and he answered.

"Peter? Is something wrong?"

Even the sound of her voice settled his nerves. "Everything's fine. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have texted. Go back to sleep."

"I couldn't sleep either," she said, her voice a soft whisper in his ear. The sleepy, husky tone settled deep in his chest, soothing and arousing at the same time. "I hoped you'd come over after you were done tonight."

"I thought you might like a break from me," he said. Peter leaned back against the headboard, finally able to relax. "I'm sorry about this morning. The way we left things."

"Don't be sorry. You have every right to be angry. The longer we wait, the more it looks like we were trying to hide things. I'm going to call Simon after work tomorrow."

"I miss having you here next to me, but I like hearing your voice. Are you in your PJs, all tucked in bed?"

"I'm in bed." Her voice deepened and he thought he detected a hitch in her words. "But I'm not wearing anything."

He closed his eyes, imagining her splayed out across her bed, her creamy skin bare, and found his hand straying under the covers. "Oh?" he said. "And what exactly are you doing all alone, naked in your bed? Are you touching yourself?"

"My, straight to the point," she breathed. "I was waiting for you. I wanted you to find me like this."

He loved the erotic, breathy sound of her voice in his ear. He closed his eyes and stroked his cock a few times, convinced he could get off to her simply reading the phone book. "You still haven't answered my question. Are you?"

"Of course I am," she whispered. "I've been lying here half the night thinking of all the things I wanted you to do to me. Remembering last night. I'm so wet, I'm going to need to change the sheets."

She was good at dirty talk. And if she wanted to play, he was more than ready. "Tell me what you wanted me to do."

"The other night when you went down on me. I've never come so hard in my life."

"I can still taste you on my tongue. If I was there, I'd spread you wide and suck and tease you until you were begging me to stop." She moaned on the other end of the phone and Peter held his breath, not wanting to miss a single sound. "Tell me what you're doing."

"I'm stroking myself, imagining it's your mouth. That my fingers are your tongue." Her breath hitched. "God, do you have any idea how much you turn me on? Even thinking about you touching me has me right at the edge."

There was a long pause and he heard shuffling on the other end. "Meg? Are you still there?"

"Just a minute, I need something," she said, sounding farther away.

He missed the intimate sound of her voice whispering in his ear, but when he heard the buzzing he understood. Switching the phone on speaker, he set it on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes. He tightened his grip and stroked his cock a few times, imagining Meg with her little purple vibrator. "You've stopped talking," he said. "Tell me what else you want me to do."

"After you've made me come—the first time—I'll push you onto the mattress and ride you." Her words were clipped and breathy. The soft hum of the vibrator was eclipsed by her throaty moans. "I need your hard dick inside me, filling me. This vibrator is a poor substitute. I want to feel you grip my hips as I plunge down over and over." Her voice cracked and all he could hear was her breaths, harsh and quick, through the speaker. Although the sounds could have been coming from him.

Behind his closed eyes, he could see her up on her knees, straddling him, taking her own pleasure. Her large breasts bouncing with the effort. He was pumping hard and fast now, imagining the rhythm she'd pick. He could taste her skin, imagine how she smelled, aroused and so close to coming. Fuck, he wanted her. He wanted to put an end to this call and jump in his car, roads be damned.

"Peter, say something. I'm almost there, and—" She gasped. "Please, I need to hear your voice."

"I want you so bad right now. I love the way you feel coming around my cock. Tight and hot. The sweet sound you make when I rub your clit."

"Yes, yes." The moan of her orgasm filled the room and it was enough to push him over the edge. Warm, wet semen filled his hand as he continued to listen to her ragged breathing. Just the sound made him want to be buried balls-deep inside her. It was shocking that even after his release he still wanted her. But that's how life had always been with Meg: extreme. There were no halves where she was involved.

The room felt empty. Only his heavy panting filled the void. God, he was a goner. She was it for him. When Peter finally found the breath to speak again, he felt off center. He wanted her to know how he felt. He reached for the phone but didn't find it.

"Meg? Are you still with me?" He was greeted with silence.

Peter had a sinking suspicion that he'd dropped the phone. After flipping on the bedside lamp, he was able to locate it, or at least parts of it, next to the bed. And the back plate, under the bed. And the battery, under the nightstand. The glass was shattered, and even after he had reassembled it, the damn thing wouldn't turn on.

The house phone rang, and Peter hurried to the kitchen to answer it. "Meg?"

"We got disconnected. Do you have your phone on Do Not Disturb? Because it went straight to voicemail when I called."

"The phone, unfortunately, didn't survive the encounter."

She laughed. "I'm sorry. I have a friend over at the Apple store. I promise to get you a new one."

"Meg? We're not screwing this up, are we?" he asked as he padded back to bed.

"I don't think so." She took the phone off speaker. "That's the first time I've ever had phone sex, but I think we managed to achieve the objective. The phone was an unfortunate casualty. So if I had to give us a grade, I'd say A-minus." Her laugh turned into a long yawn, and in a sleepy voice she said, "I've been thinking a lot about us, this new relationship. I know things are going to work out. I promise. Now get some sleep. You're going to need all your strength for when I see you tomorrow."

"Thing are going to work out," he parroted. He settled into his pillow, yawning himself. All of the earlier tension had left his body and his eyes were feeling heavy. It was too late—well, too early in the morning—to have a serious conversation. She was going to talk to Simon. Then they'd be able to move forward. Make some real changes in their relationship. Maybe even skip over a few steps and get right to the serious stuff. "We'll talk tomorrow. Good night, Meg."

Chapter Sixteen

Modern Girl Tip #7 Don't Expect Everyone To Understand:
If word gets out about your agreement, your friends will talk. Some will tell you you're making a mistake. Others will try to convince you that you're really in love with him. Take what they say with a grain of salt. Only you know the truth.

Sure, she didn't get much sleep last night, but Megan actually felt refreshed. Hell, she felt like doing a little spin, she was that damn happy. After Connor arrived with the coffee, she was ready to get straight to the business of finishing the house.

"I've made a decision about the paint," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "I've also picked out cabinet hardware. And I think you were right about the pot rack. Let's get that too. It will go nicely with the knobs I picked."

"My, you're in quite the chipper mood this morning," Connor said. "Did Peter make it over last night?"

"In a way," she said, leaning back against the counter.

She'd come to an epiphany while lying awake, staring at the ceiling. They'd been through some hard times over the years. Peter had always had her back. It didn't matter what it was—she could always count on him. They trusted each other and were brutally honest. He kept all her secrets and she his. So there was no reason they couldn't make this work. Hell, they were closer than most married couples she knew, and now that they were having sex, a lot happier too.

"I was thinking about what you said yesterday. And you're right, I was being selfish," she said, fiddling with the lid of her coffee. Megan had many virtues, but admitting she was wrong wasn't one of them. "Thank you for calling me on my bullshit."

"That's what friends are for, love." Connor kissed the top of her head and moved back to the island where he had the master plans for the renovation spread out. "Now, let's talk about paint. It's the last thing I have to do and then the house is all yours."

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you stopping by in the morning."

"Oh, I think you'll get by," Connor said with a wink. "Who knows, you might need me to come back in a year or so to renovate the spare bedroom."

"Why would I do that?" she asked, not following his logic.

"To paint it a nice pastel color. Pink or blue," he said and grinned. "And I'm also qualified to childproof."

"Whoa! Slow down there," she said, stepping back from the island. "I think you're getting ahead of us."

"If you say so." Connor shrugged, the cocky grin still on his face. "But I've seen the way you two look at each other. I give you a year at tops."

Kids? What was he thinking? Megan was just getting used to the idea that Peter was her boyfriend. Kids weren't on the horizon. They weren't even on the same planet.

But then again, hadn't she just been thinking about how great this house would be for kids? She wanted to talk to Peter about inviting family over here next Christmas. They had all this room, and it would be nice to fill it up with family. It was the reason she'd changed her mind on the pot rack. Maria had always wanted a pot rack in her kitchen, but it was just too small.

"Why don't you leave the future of my uterus up to me. Just stick to what you know, okay?"

"Speaking of the future, the roads are clear enough now. If I go to Naperville this morning, I can be back before it starts snowing again. We can have this kitchen wrapped up before the end of the week."

"That will work out great. I'm done with my novel. I just want to do one more proof pass. It would be nice to have the house all to myself."

Megan had finished her draft last night, a week ahead of schedule. She was determined to send that baby off to her agent. That way she'd have time off to spend with Peter. Classes didn't start for another week. And when they did, she was going to be swamped. All she wanted was a few more days of uninterrupted time with him.