Sound Proof (Save Me #5) (19 page)

I relax back into the scalding hot water. It’s too hot, but the burn takes some of my attention off of the fact that I haven’t seen AJ in two weeks. It’s been two fucking weeks since I was with him on that bus. Fourteen days since I’ve felt his lips on mine. That’s three-hundred-and-thirty-six hours without being able to touch him, to hold him. Twenty-thousand-one-hundred-and-sixty minutes that have gone by without feeling the way his chest rumble as he laughs. I miss him. My body misses him.

Physically.

Fucking.

Misses.

Him.

How the hell that is even possible is beyond me, but it does. It aches for him when he isn’t near me. Dropping my head back against the edge of the tub, I close my eyes and breathe deeply. A few more days until he’s back and everything is back to normal. A few more restless nights and self-induced orgasms until he’s here and I won’t have to miss him anymore.

Since Willow is at Liam’s, and Sage is at a sleepover, I pull the receivers off the back of my ears and set them on the side of the tub. The sudden silence calms me. It’s something I never thought I would miss, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to check out. Don’t get me wrong, I’d never trade being able to hear the girls talk to me, or AJ whisper in my ear when we’re lying together in the dark, but having the ability to shut everything off is good sometimes. Especially after the hell this case has been putting me through.

I’m not sure how long I lie there with my eyes closed before the air in the room swirls around me from the door opening. I don’t have time to open my eyes, let alone react and cover myself before someone is climbing in the tub with me. My eyes shoot open, drinking in the sight of AJ— fully clothed, shoes and all—climbing into the tub with me. My heart speeds up a bit as he inches closer. His lips— mere inches from mine— curve into the sexiest smile before he dips in to kiss me. His soaked t-shirt drags against my nipples with every movement, making me even more aware of how much I missed him while he was gone. He finally pulls back when neither one of us can breathe correctly, and gives me enough room to wiggle and reconnect my receivers.

“You’re early,” I whisper, unable to contain my smile. I’m not sure why, but this situation, this relationship with him, makes me feel like a giddy teenager. Maybe it’s the sneaking around, maybe it’s something different entirely, but I love it.

AJ pushes away from me, settling down at the other end of the tub so he can stare at me and shrugs. “I took an early flight.” He says it like it’s nothing, but based on the look in his eyes, it’s not nothing.

“Ahh, any particular reason?”

“Yup.”

“And that would be?” I ask.

“I fucking needed to be near you,” he states calmly.

I nod, trying my hardest to keep myself under control. “Is that why you came into my house unannounced and invaded my bath without warning or disrobing?” His fingers wrap around my ankles, drifting up and down slowly. It’s enough to drive me mad, but I know this game, and if I let him know he’s getting to me, it’ll go on longer.

“Nobody answered. Just wanted to make sure you didn’t drown.”

“Is that why you text me and asked what I was doing?” He shrugs, but the corner of his mouth perks up. “That required barreling into my bath water with your dirty shoes?” I cock my head to the side, trying like hell to keep myself from laughing or moaning when his fingers slide higher up my legs.

AJ’s tongue darts out to wet his lips. “You weren’t moving so I figured I should get in just in case I needed to perform a lifesaving procedure. I felt like there was no time to get naked first.” He shrugs, a smile playing on his lips. “It was a judgment call.”

I can’t help but laugh, but I’m cut off quickly when he leans forward and trails his fingers up the inside of my thighs. “Like what?” I chuckle. “Mouth to clit resuscitation?”

“I think that’s just what the doctor ordered. I hear it’s the best cure for jet lag.”

My stomach flutters in anticipation. His eyes heat as he reaches for my hands. Grabbing my wrists, AJ tugs me forward until I’m above him and willingly stand there while his eyes trace over every inch of my naked body. The voice in the back of my head that is usually telling me that I need to cover up and hide is no longer there thanks to him. He stares at me like I am the most beautiful woman in the world. I feel confident with him, sexy, and something that I never thought I’d feel from a man again after leaving Max…

AJ makes me feel loved.

Leaning back, he rests his head against the edge of the tub and grips the backs of my thighs, moving me until I’m right where he wants me. Pushing my knee up next to his head on the edge, he wraps his arms around my legs and I’m a goner the second his tongue hits my skin.

Every second his mouth is on me, he never breaks eye contact. It’s hot, intense, and completely overwhelming. For so long I was only touched when the lights were off and even that was rare. Seven thrusts, socks on, emotionless and would only leave me feeling empty afterward. That’s what I was used to. I need to stop comparing AJ and Max because I knew from day one that they were polar opposites.

AJ adjusts his hands, sliding them between my legs and opens me up for him. I brace myself against the wall, knowing that I’m in for it now that his hands are in the mix too. The cold tile against my heated skin does nothing to cool me down and the breath AJ blows across my clit makes me hotter. The noise coming from me when he finally pushes me over the edge echoes off the bathroom walls and I’m so glad both girls are gone tonight.

I slide down into his lap, my body still trembling, and follow the path his tongue makes as he licks his fingers clean. Reaching for the hem of his shirt, I drag it over his head and throw it to the floor with a wet slap. AJ pulls me into him, chest-to-chest, and trails his lips over my neck.

“Damn, I missed you.” His mumbled words force hot air across my throat as he talks. “I’m tired of hiding this, Payton.”

I pull back, putting some distance between us. I’ve been trying to tell myself that it needed to be this way. That I couldn’t handle this relationship with him if it went public, but the truth is, I could probably handle anything as long as I had him beside me. Maybe part of me is worried that he’ll get bored once we’re not sneaking around anymore. It was to try and keep the girls out of the press, but that didn’t work out with everything that happened with Max. Why am I hesitant about something that I’ve thought about more times than I can count?

“Me too,” I finally admit. My fingers fidget with the buckle on his belt, trying to distract myself from the conversation, but wet clothing is hard to get off of someone sitting under you.

He grabs my hands, pulling them away from his belt and pins them against his chest.

“What’s that mean for us?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper. “But can’t this conversation wait until
after
you fuck me?

“I have never
just
fucked you, Payton. And don’t plan on starting now. It doesn’t matter if I bend you over the hood of the car and pound into you mercilessly, or drag you into a supply closet at the office and have to muffle your screams with my hand, or if I spread you across the bed and touch every inch of your skin for hours. It’s never
just fucking
when it’s you and me.”

Payton shuts down in front of me, turning around so she can slide down and lean back against me. Taking a chance, I reach for her hand and lace my fingers through hers. I’m tired of hiding how I feel about her, not just from the people we love, but from everyone. There’s no need of it. I can see in her eyes that she wants the same things from me, but she’s scared to admit it because she’s afraid of how people are going to react.

“For a second there I was thinking you were actually going to let me in,” I whisper against the side of her head. “Come on, baby, don’t shut me out.”

Sliding my hand through the water, I run it over her stomach and chest while we sit in silence.

“I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

Payton rolls to her side, pressing her cheek against my chest. I run my fingers up her spine and over her hair. “Of how you make me feel. Of how everyone is going to react. I’m scared that Max is going to find out and somehow take it out on the girls.”

Gripping her chin, I make her look at me. “Payton, I will never let anything that happens between us hurt the girls. I’ll protect them like they’re my own. Always.”

“I know,” she mumbles. “You already do.”

“Then what’s the issue? What other people think of what we do shouldn’t matter.”

“The issue is I love you but I know how the press works and I don’t want it to get to you and make you change your mind because I don’t think that I could handle that.” I slam my lips against hers, cutting her off since she can’t stop her rapid rambling.

Payton’s body trembles with nervous energy under my hands. I smile against her lips because no matter what comes out of her mouth, the only thing I hear and the only thing that matters is the fact that she just told me she loved me.

“Fucking finally!” I growl. “I’ve been waiting for forever to hear those damn words come out of your mouth. Nothing is going to change the way you make me feel, Payton. You’ve gotta trust me on this or it’s never going to work.”

“I know,” she finally whispers. “Please take me to bed.”

My fingers dig into the back of Payton’s thighs and I stand up and step out of the tub. She wraps her legs around me and starts pulling at my undershirt in an attempt to get it over my head. I lean Payton back against the hallway wall and send a silent thank you that we’re alone. I reach over my head and grab a handful of shirt and pull it over my head, tossing it on the floor behind me with hers.

I drop my head and nip across Payton’s wet collarbone, around her neck, and down her chest. There isn’t a single inch of skin that I don’t want to touch, kiss, or taste. It’s like an addiction that I never want to get over. There is no cure, no rehab that will get me over my need for her.

I whisper against her skin a few times, telling her I love her. I pull her back off the wall and continue making my way down to her bedroom with her wrapped around me. Payton’s fingernails drag against my bare skin, making my cock throb behind my zipper.

Her back arches when I lay her across her bed and kiss my way down her body, moaning when I dip my tongue into her bellybutton. As soon as I get to her sexy-as-hell legs, she pulls me back up her body, flipping us so she’s straddling my hips.

“Your pants are still in my way.” Payton laughs, but there’s a moan mixed with it as she grinds herself against me. Her fingers fumble with the button and as soon as it releases, she lifts her hips enough that I can slide out of them and kick them to the floor.

Note to self: wet pants are hard to get off when in a hurry.

The second there’s nothing holding us back from each other, it’s an entirely different game than what I’m used to. Neither one of us says anything. It’s not about words right now, but how high we can take each other. The light from the bedside table casts just enough light over us that I can watch the pleasure flash across her face when she finally slides down onto me.

My hands fall to Payton’s hips, moving with her with every rise and fall of her body. Her head drops back, mouth slack, wet hair falling down her back. She’s more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her and it’s not because she’s naked and riding me. It’s because for the first time in months, she’s completely free of all the stress and tension that’s usually written across her face and body. She is letting go, but at the same time she is embracing us. That’s what I want, for her to hang on to us, to this, and draw her strength from what we have together.

I sit up, pulling her down at the same time and she gasps into my mouth when I kiss her. My tongue swirls against hers, feeding the growing addiction I have for the taste of the woman who has my heart. I flex my hips, thrusting up into her. She cries out, her grip tightening on my arms as she tries to keep herself in place. Every inch of skin I can reach is touched, caressed, and worshipped, whether it’s with my hands or with my mouth.

Payton pulls me tight against her body, burying her face into my neck when she starts to come. She cries out my name, her lips moving against my skin as she trembles. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard in my life other than when she told me she loved me. The second her body tightens around me, shaking from the power of her orgasm, it sets me off. My fingers tighten against her hips, holding her in place.

I fall back against the bed, pulling her along with me and attempt to catch my breath. Payton’s head presses against my chest and she runs her fingers along my skin. It doesn’t take long before I’m drifting off to the hushed sound of Payton telling me she loves me.

I reach out, running my hand over where Payton is supposed to be but all I touch is cold sheets. I slide out of bed to go find her but stop short for a second when I see the crayon note I wrote her hanging on the mirror. Once I finally drag myself away from the mirror and slide my almost dry jeans back on, I make my way toward the noise in the kitchen. I hesitate when I see Willow and Sage sitting at the island in the kitchen.