Never Close Enough (21 page)

   “I’m close, Porter, please…”

   He wanted desperately to give her what she needed, but wasn’t sure if he could hold out long enough.  He reached around her and found her clit with his fingers, rubbing it in quick circles.

   “Oh yes, just
like that…”

   He was thrusting in and out, pumping into her hard, rubbing her clit and he couldn’t take it anymore.  He came hard and he heard her come along with him.  He collapsed over her body.  His sweat soaked body nearly slid right off her. She was
breathing heavy, trying to speak, but couldn’t make words come out.  They lay like that for a few minutes until his legs got feeling in them again.  Once he stood up, Ella rolled over on the couch and smiled up at him.

   “I knew you had a thing for linge
rie.”

   “So it would appear.  Although, I feel like I have more of a thing for you.” He held out his hands to her.  “Let’s go upstairs and take a shower.”  She reached out and let him pull her up to his chest.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and loo
ked into his eyes.  He was running his hands down her back to rest on her ass.

   “Porter, I’m not going to be able to have nice things if you keep shredding them.”

   “Don’t pretend like that wasn’t the exact response you were going for.  You knew what you were getting into,” he said with a smile.

   “May be so, but it was still really sexy.”

   As they sat at dinner, Porter had his arm slung around the back of Ella’s shoulders as they shared a booth at a little family owned Italian restaurant. 

   “I have an idea,” he said between bites.

   “What is it?”

   “I think we should go back to your house, pack up all of your stuff, and you should spend your last two days with me at my house.”  Ella looked at him, and he was trying to read her mind.

   “You wa
nt me to move in with you for two days?”  She asked him suspiciously.

   Porter laughed and gave her shoulder a light and gentle squeeze.

   “Yes, I suppose that’s what I’m asking.”

   “This is all so sudden, Porter,” she said coyly.

   “Ok, well, either you stay with me or I’m coming to stay with you.  We’ve only got these last two days until you go back to Portland.  I don’t plan on spending much time away from you in the next 36 hours.”

   She leaned up and kissed him.

   “I know, babe.  I’m just kidding. I’d love to stay with you until I have to leave.  What shall we do for the next 36 hours?”

   “I don’t really care what we do, Ella, I just want to be close to you.”

   The next day, after a day spent making love and walking on the beach, Porter had gon
e out to his shop to make sure everything was put away and locked up.  When he came back into the house he didn’t see Ella downstairs so he locked the doors and turned off the lights.  Heading up the stair to the third floor he saw light coming out of his bedroom.  When he entered the room he stopped at the doorway and took a moment to appreciate the sight.

   Ella was lying on his bed, on top of the blankets, wearing the same shirt he’d given her the first night they’d been together.  She was curled up on
her side reading a book, twirling her hair around her finger.  The t-shirt did nothing to hide her body from him, and even if it had, his imagination would have filled in the blanks.  He had her body memorized.  Every curve, every corner, every freckle.  The t-shirt did, however, add an at home look to her that he was caught off-guard by.

   “You look pretty sexy in my bed,” he said, interrupting her reading.  She looked over at him and gave him the same shy smile he hoped would melt his heart forever.

   “You like my shirt?” she said, her smile indicating that she knew exactly how he felt about her choice of sleepwear.

   “You weren’t planning on stealing that, were you?  That’s my new favorite shirt.”

   “I think it’s only fair that I get to take it back to my place.  I will need a memento to remind me of you on nights when I am lonely.  And it smells just like you,” she said, almost pouting.

   “And what will I have to remind me of you?”  He walked slowly towards the bed.  Ella put her book on the nightsta
nd, and rose up onto her knees facing him.

   “Whatever you want,” she answered.

   “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Ella,” he said with a smirk.  “What if I want you?”  He stopped at the edge of the bed and took her face in his hands.  “Stay with me,” he whispered. 

   Ella inhaled deeply and a pained look came across her face.

   “I want to be with you, Porter.  Nothing would make me happier than us, together, all the time.  But I can’t just uproot my life any more than you can yours.”  He saw her struggling with wanting to be with him and still maintain her life, and he understood how she felt.  He rested his forehead up against hers.

   “Baby, I’m sorry.  I’m not trying to make you upset.  I don’t really expect you to just move here a week after we’
ve met.”  He paused and kissed her forehead gently.  “I guess I just need you to know that I want you that badly.  That forever is where I am hoping this is heading.  A t-shirt isn’t going to make me feel any better when you’re gone, and I don’t know what I will do, or how I will deal with you being away from me.”

   “We’ll get through it together.  Lots of texting and phone calls,” she said as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms, the contact soothing him.

   “Lots of late night rendezvous is Salem?”

   “Probably that, too,” Ella laughed.

   Porter pulled back and looked Ella in her eyes.  “You can keep the shirt.  I’d rather think about you wearing it than keep it here.”

   “A compromise, then.  I will take the shirt with me, but in exchange I will
send you pictures of myself wearing it.”  She grinned at him, obviously pleased with her idea.  “Only, of course, to aide in your plans to imagine me in it.”

   “Ok,” Porter said, as he rubbed his chin in mock contemplation.  “Visual aids might be useful.”

   “It might also be useful, you know, in terms of memory, to get a visual of me
not
wearing the shirt.  In case that is something you’d like to visualize when we’re apart.”  Ella reached down to grab the hem of the shirt and pulled it up over her head.  He was surprised and pleased to see she had nothing on under the shirt.  He was a sucker for lingerie, but seeing her bare under his shirt sent shocks of arousal throughout his body.  Instantly he was hard and getting harder by the second.  Porter ran his hands down the front of her body.  Starting from the top of her shoulders he gently grazed his hands down her chest, over her breasts, continued along her stomach, and down her thighs.  He watched her eyes change from crystal clear blue, to a darker and deeper shade, alluding to the effects he was having on her body.  His hands circled to the back of her legs and came up to rest on her ass, pulling her into him.

   “Now that you’re already naked, I should tell you that I didn’t need a visual.  There is no p
art of your body that I haven’t used my body to memorize.”  His mouth slowly descended on hers, and she opened for him instantly.  His hands came up to wrap around her waist and held her close.  With every sweep of his tongue he was trying to convey his need and his love for her.  His mouth moved over her jaw, down to her neck.

   “My mouth knows the slope of your neck,” he said as he trailed kisses along the tender curve.  He heard her whimper breathily, knowing fully what his mouth on her neck did to her.
  He felt her body tense slightly as back arched from the pleasure.  He brought his hands up to cup her breasts, using his fingers to pinch and tug her nipples.  “My hands know your breasts, Ella.  I know how they feel when you’re turned on, when you want me.”  His mouth took one of her breasts in his mouth, swirling his tongue around her nipple, feeling it harden between his lips.  “I know how you taste, babe, and nothing tastes sweeter than you.”

   “How will I ever survive a day without your words, Porte
r?”  Ella said as her fingers threaded through his hair.  “I will miss your words almost as much as I’ll miss your touch.”

   “Not a single day will go by without you hearing how much I love you, how much I miss you, or how much I need you.”  His mouth cam
e back to hers and he used their kiss to lower her back onto the bed.  He peeled his shirt off of his back and took of his pants and boxers before climbing onto the bed and resting over her, coming back to her mouth.  His hands were slowly wandering her entire body, paying every inch of her skin attention, hoping that the memories of his hands on her would keep loneliness at bay for both of them once she was back home. 

   Ella’s hands were exploring as well, and when they found him hard and waiting a quie
t growl escaped from him, vibrating against her mouth.  She was stroking him up and down, synchronizing the sweeps of her tongue through his mouth with the silky passes of her hand on his cock.

   “Ella,” he said against her mouth, mid-kiss.  “You’re drivi
ng me crazy.”

   “Good,” she said.  “The feeling’s mutual.”  She suddenly pulled away from him and placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing him onto his back.  She straddled him, giving him the sexiest, sly grin he’d ever seen.  “Relax, babe,” she said.
“I’ve got you.”  He placed his hands behind his head, prepared to enjoy whatever she had planned.  He watched her head dip low and start to kiss down his chest.  Slowly she made her way down past his belly button and when her breath hit his cock he smiled as she looked him right in the eyes and tasted him.

   Her tongue moved all the way from the base to the tip, up and down, and where her tongue wasn’t, her hand was sliding and rubbing and coaxing him into oblivion.  Finally she took the head of his penis
in her mouth and in slow motion sucked him all the way down.  Her mouth was like hot velvet, and she took him in and out, over and over.  He couldn’t watch anymore as the pleasure took over his body.  His eyes closed and his head fell back.  He was consumed by her.

   “My God, Ella…”  He was quickly reaching his breaking point.

   “You like this, Porter?”  She said between gulping him down and pumping him with her hand.  “You like it when I put my mouth on you?”

   “I love it, baby.”

   She moaned around him and the vibrations sent a whole new sensation through his veins and he couldn’t take much more.

   “Ella, get a condom from the drawer.”  She sat up fully and smiled down at Porter, and by the look on her face she knew he was on the edge.  She opened up
a condom and pulled it down around him.  Without breaking eye contact, she climbed up over him, and with an expertly maneuvered roll of her hips she captured him and took him all the way inside the depth of her.  She paused once he was buried in her and her head fell back.

   “Oh Jesus, Porter.  I love how you feel inside me.”  He reached up and placed his hand on her hips, urging her to move.  Eventually, at her own pace, she started rocking back and forth.  He never lost sight of her face, and she kept h
er eyes on his, only breaking the spell to lean down and kiss him between slowly torturing him with her grinding hips.  She was looking for release, and enjoying the journey, and he was happy to help her along the way.  As she continued to use his body to find her orgasm, he brought his thumb to her clit and slowly circled it.

   “Oh God, yes.  Porter, just like that…”  She let out a series of moans, each one louder than the last, until she stilled and her nails sunk into the flesh on his chest.  He watched
her ride the wave and could feel her tighten around him.  She eventually sank back down onto his chest, slightly out of breath.  He let her rest for a moment and then rolled her over so that he was blanketed over her.  He flicked his nose on the tip of hers and smiled down at her.

   “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen,” he said as he nuzzled into her neck and pushed into her slowly.

   “You’d be wise to remember that, seeing as how you’re in me right now,” she giggled.  The sensation of her laughing, her muscles clenching around him, kicked his arousal to the next level, and his mouth crushed into hers.  Thrust for thrust she met him, spurring him on.

   “There will never be anyone but you, Ella.  And there will be no one else for you but me,” he said
.

   “I’m all yours, Porter.”

   Her words triggered his lust and he pumped in and out until he found his release inside her.  After they had both caught their breath, and cleaned up, Ella lay in Porter’s arms.  They were in the dark, breathing each other in.

   “I don’t want tomorrow to come,” she said quietly.

   “It’s ok,” he said as he placed a kiss on her temple.  “We have a whole lifetime of tomorrows.”

Ella

   “So you’ll text me as soon as you get to your apartment, right?

   “Yes, Porter, I
promise I will text you when I get there.”

   They were standing on his porch and his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and hers around his neck.  They had spent the last two days in each other’s arms one way or another, and it was causing her a n
ear panic attack to know she’d have to drive away from him in just a few minutes.

   He gently flicked his nose against hers and gave her a small, sweet kiss.

   “I bought you a present,” he said.

   “What?  Why?  I don’t need a present.”

   “Well, actually, you do.  This isn’t a typical gift a man would get a woman, but I think it’s fitting.”  He winked at her and then took her hand and led her to her car.  “Open the trunk, Babe.”

   Ella looked up at him with a questioning glare.  As soon as she opened th
e trunk, she let out a loud laugh and covered her mouth.  Sitting in her trunk, wrapped with a big red bow, was a box of jumper cables.

   “Everyone should have jumper cables in their trunk.  Now, you’ve got no excuse.”

   “You just don’t want some other responsible man to come to my rescue.  Joke’s on you, Babe.  I will still need someone to jump me.”

   Porter spun her around to face him and brought his mouth down to hers, stopping right before they met, teasing her with his breath.

   “I’m the only one who gets to jump you, Ella.”  His mouth closed in on hers and she fell into the kiss, giving him every ounce of longing she felt down in her core.  She longed to be by his side, to stay tucked under his arm and feel the warmth of his body wrapped around her.  Getting in her car and driving away wasn’t going to be easy, but she was determined to put on a brave face.  She didn’t want to be the weeping woman.  She wanted to be the funny, sexy, and strong woman that she felt like when she was around him.  That’s how she wanted him to think of her when she was far away.  She savored the kiss for a few minutes, trying to be present in every moment of it, so she could relive it in her mind whenever she needed to.  Finally, she pulled away. 

   “I have a present for
you, too.”

   “Oh yeah?”

   “Yes.  It’s upstairs on your bed.  But you have to promise me you won’t open it today.”  He gave her a questioning look and raised an eyebrow at her.  “You have to wait until you miss me so much you can’t take it anymore.  When you feel like I might slip away from you and all you want to do is hold me in your arms.  Then, and only then, can you open it.  It’s my insurance policy,” she said with a smile.

   “What are you trying to insure?”

   “That you’ll still want me when I’m not here.”  He framed her face with his large hands and drew it close to his, looking into her eyes.

   “Are you still confused about what’s happening to us?  I’ll miss you every second you’re away.  I’ll ache every morning to wake up in an empty bed withou
t you.  But I’ll never want you again, Ella.  You can’t want for something that you already have.  I have you. Don’t I, Ella?  You’re mine.”  A single tear slid down her cheek, the lone evidence of the river of tears she wished she could cry at his words. His words that always seemed to be the salve to heal her heart, offered her reassurance when she needed it most.  He wiped away the tear trail with his lips.

   “I’m yours, if you’re mine,” she laid her forehead against his cheek.

   “I’ve never belonged to anyone but you,” he whispered.  They stayed like that, breathing each other in for a few minutes.

   “I should probably get going.  I don’t want to drive in the dark.”

   Porter exhaled loudly and stepped back.

   “Promise me you’ll pull over if it star
ts raining too hard.  Call me if you have any problems.”  Ella smiled as his protective nature came out, loving the fact that he worried about her.

   “I will.  I promise.  Don’t worry.  I’ve made this drive plenty of times.  And I only pick up hitchhikers
who look friendly.”

   “Very funny,” he said, as he slapped her ass.  She started to walk towards the door of her car, trying hard to keep her thoughts off of their separation.  She was running through a grocery list in her head, thinking about things she
wanted to do at her store when she went back to work the next day.  Anything to keep her mind from thinking about the man who was keeping a large part of her heart here with him, from thinking about the fact that she would spend the next five nights alone without his touch or his voice.  She reached out for the door handle putting on the bravest face she could muster.  She felt his hand grip her arm gently and twist her around.  His arm wrapped around her waist and his other hand held the back of her neck.  He walked her backwards until her back was pressed against the car. 

   “You forgot one thing,” he said as he traced his mouth from her temple down the side of her face and landing finally on her neck.

   “What’s that?”  She whispered, unable to find her voice.

   “You forgot to tell me that you love me, and that you’ll think of me all the way home.  You forgot to tell me that being without me is going to be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do.”  She reached up to caress his face and made him look
her in the eyes.

   “I love you, Porter.  You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.  It’s taking everything I have to leave you here.  You’ll see how hard it is next weekend when the roles are reversed.  But until then, please believe me when I te
ll you that there isn’t anything in this world I wouldn’t do for you or for us.”

   “I love you too, Ella, so much.  I’m going to love you forever.”

   Ella laughed.

   “Ok, I’m going to hold you to that.”

   “I fully expect you to.”  He pressed his lips to hers and they rested there.  She was absorbing him, waiting for him to inevitably pull away.  But he didn’t.  He pushed her back harder against her car and pressed her lips open with his.  His tongue swirled around hers, inviting her into his mouth.  They were lost in each other and everything she was dreading floated away.  This kiss was the reminder she needed.  He would need her forever.

   Their kiss ended but their breathing needed a minute to calm down.  She rubbed her hands up and down his arms lea
ning against his chest.  He laid feather-light kisses against her hair, his hands on her hips.

   “I’ll text you in a few hours, ok?”  She said as she pulled away.

   “I love you,” he said quietly.

   “I love you too, Porter.”  She quickly kissed him on
the lips and then turned and got into her car.  Her hands shook as she put the keys in the ignition, put the car in gear, and started down his driveway.  She tried really hard not to look in the rear view mirror, but had no self-control and was blessed with the image of her ruggedly handsome man standing on the sturdy porch attached to the breathtaking house he’d built with his own hands.  That was a picture she’d keep in her mind for a while and pull out every now and then when she missed him.

   The road
and weather was kind to her, getting her back to her apartment in the usual two hours.  She pulled in to the parking lot of her apartment and found her reserved spot.  The sun was going down and the light was fading quickly from the sky.  She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Porter.

**
Made it home safe and sound.  The hitchhikers were very appreciative of the ride and were very good travel buddies**

   She waited for his response.  She knew he was waiting to hear from her, so she figured she wouldn’t have to wait long.  She was right.

**I am glad you made it home safely.  Perhaps along with the jumper cables I should have also gotten you a shotgun or a hunting knife for protection**

She grinned at his response and then a small frown came across h
er face as she typed her response.

**I miss you**

**I know.  I miss you too.  Everything will be ok.  I promise.  Call me tonight before you go to bed**

**Ok.  I love you**

**I love you too, Baby**

   She made it all the way to her door with her bags, a small smile across her face as she thought about all the sweet things Porter had said to her before she left his house.  She put her bags on the ground to search for her keys.  She didn’t know what her apartment would look like when she walked in.  She had no idea what Kyle had taken with him or where she would even sleep that night.  Hopefully, he left the couch.  She finally found her keys and as she put them in the lock, she felt the door shake and watched as the doorknob turned from the inside.  Her eyes darted up as the door opened and she looked right into Kyle’s eyes.