Valentine Next Door (6 page)

“What you doing, baby?” Jeremy whispered in her ear, his voice husky.

She jumped. She’d been so caught up in her thoughts she hadn’t even heard him come in. It was hard to believe with the whack his cast made against the wooden floors with every step he took.

“I missed you,” he purred, sliding up behind her.

His heat flamed against her back, his fingers tracing softly along her neck as he pulled the hair from where it lay across her throat. He placed a kiss on her neck and a shiver ran all the way to her toes. His lips were warm and soft, and she almost moaned at their touch on her skin. He slipped his hand around her waist, his fingers forming little patterns across her stomach through the fabric of her shirt.

Almost involuntarily, she leaned back into his hard, warm chest. Why did she have to react to him so much? It would all be so much easier if he didn’t affect her this greatly. Then maybe she could walk away from this unscathed.

“I was hungry. I thought I’d make something to eat.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, then down at the batter in front of her. Maybe it had been a dumb idea to cook pancakes. It was silly to eat breakfast so late. “I didn’t know what you’d want—”

“Pancakes sound great.” He smiled that big grin that made her stomach clench.

He nuzzled into her hair, skimming his hand down her stomach to the edge of her shirt. “But not half as good as you look in my T-shirt.”

She paused in her stirring, looking back at him. She hadn’t even thought about it, had just grabbed the closest thing, which just happened to be Jeremy’s shirt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“I could get used to seeing you like this,” he interrupted, his hand smoothing along her sensitive inner thigh.

She relaxed beneath his hold. His fingers danced across her skin, just along the hem of the T-shirt. He leaned in close, sucking on her earlobe, and her entire body shook.

“I could especially get used to you not wearing any panties.” His breath whispered along her neck and her heart sped up. “I think I already mentioned how big a fan I am of easy access.”

He let his fingers wander up her thighs, tickling the outer lips of her pussy. Her knees wobbled and she grabbed onto the counter for support. No man had ever touched her like this, played and toyed with her until she almost begged for release.

I’ve been missing out.

“God, baby, you’re so wet.” He leaned in, sucking on her neck until she whimpered. “I love how wet you get.”

He turned her around roughly, then pulled her close. His kisses were fierce, fiery, his mouth bruising against hers. He nipped at her lips. And she responded in turn. She didn’t have any choice. Rational or not, Jeremy created a fire in her she didn’t know how to deny. She wrapped her arms around his neck, fisting her fingers in his hair.

Their bodies crushed together, and her eyes fluttered shut at the complete bliss of his skin against hers. Her aching breasts molded into his hard chest. She coiled a leg around his hip, thrusting her pussy along his crotch, demanding pressure where she needed it most. His arms shook around her as she did her best to quench the ache between her legs.

Jeremy dropped his arm from her side moments before the clank of bowls being pushed aside filled the kitchen. Before she could even turn to see why, he grabbed her ass and hauled her up his body. She tightened her legs around him, holding on as they continued the kiss. The hard bulge of his cock pressed against her, and the flutter returned to her stomach.

He must have felt the same. He took one shaky step forward and pushed her up on the counter. The tile was cool beneath her ass, but not nearly cold enough to tamper the flames racing across her skin.

Jeremy shoved the shirt up and over her head then tossed it aside. “I love your tits,” he mumbled between her breasts, pressing kisses to her chest.

He licked across her right nipple. She moaned, arching her back to offer him more room to explore as she fought for each breath. How could just one brush of a tongue make her feel so much? The mere touch of his lips upon her and her muscles transformed to the same consistency of the batter she’d been stirring.

Pushing her legs apart, he stood between her spread thighs. Her sensitive skin rubbed against the flannel of his boxers, sending her into overdrive. Her legs clutched around him. Her body shivered, desperate for more. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this way before, so needy, so desperate. How much had she been missing out on? How much more could Jeremy show her?

He leaned in close, capturing her nipple between his lips and sucking hard. She screamed. The world around her started spinning. As if sensing her unease, Jeremy pulled her closer. He twisted his right arm around her waist, holding her up for his attention. The other lifted her breast up to his mouth as he used his lips, tongue and teeth to devastate what remained of her senses.

“You have no idea how many times I dreamed of these tits while lying next door in my twin bed. How many times I fantasized about sucking these round pink nipples until you screamed my name.”

She ran her fingers through his hair, scoring his scalp with her nails and he responded in turn. He switched sides, taking her other nipple into his mouth and she had to fight hard to remain conscious.

“I’m not sure I could ever walk into the library without getting hard. I spent almost every night of my adolescence dreaming about you in that library, just like this, naked and open to me. Shaking, screaming, crying in my arms as I pulled moan after moan from you. I almost rubbed myself raw fantasizing about you stretched out on one of those tables or bent over the reference desk, your skirt hiked up around your hips.”

She whimpered at the image he painted in her mind. All she wanted was the same. She’d never had those kinds of thoughts in the library before, but she had a feeling when she returned to work on Monday she wouldn’t be able to get rid of them.

Her entire body vibrated. The pleasure of his touch sizzled along every synapse, making her want more. Her clit ached. Her pussy gripped on the emptiness inside. Wetness coated her thighs. She needed more. How was it that Jeremy could do this to her? It was almost as if he’d found a manual to her body no one else had ever discovered. He managed to make her so desperate and craving she didn’t care about anything else.

“Jeremy, I need you.”

She couldn’t deny it anymore, not even to herself. She felt a lot more toward Jeremy than just a physical reaction. It was much more than lust. And at the moment, she couldn’t find a reason to regret it.

“I know, baby,” he responded, moving closer.

He dropped his hand from her breast to skim down her stomach and between her legs to her damp pussy. His fingers glided between her folds. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath when he found her clit and rubbed the pad of his thumb across it.

“Is that better?”

She moaned and, even with her eyes closed, she could tell he was smiling.

“I guess I’ll take that as my answer.”

Two digits pushed deep into her cunt. She cried out at the sudden invasion, the fullness rippling through her body, right, perfect. Her heart crashed against her ribs. The echo filled her ears, everything else sounding so far way.

He nipped at her ear, waiting for her to adjust. Grazing his teeth down the tender flesh, he sucked the lobe into his mouth, sending tingles throughout the rest of her body. Her nipples tightened into aching points, and her pussy clenched hard around his fingers.

Jeremy chuckled, and for a second, she thought he might say something. Instead, he pulled his fingers out of her then thrust them back, stealing her breath. Everything else faded away—the kitchen, her fears, her doubts—and she refocused on Jeremy.

She enfolded him in her arms, enticing Jeremy’s lips to her own. His kiss was soft and sweet, but at the same time his thumb brushed across her clit in a long, deep caress. She convulsed beneath the touch.

“Jeremy,” she cried out, holding tighter to his shoulders for support.

He kissed the corner of her mouth then down to her throat.

“What is it, baby?” he mouthed on her neck.

He sucked hard on the delicate skin at the same time he pushed his fingers into her. No doubt he’d leave a mark on her. As inappropriate as it was for a grown woman to have a hickey, she was turned on by the idea of his mark remaining on her skin.

Maybe she was having an early midlife crisis. It certainly made sense. Wasn’t sleeping with someone ten years younger one of the markers of a midlife crisis? Was she trying to recapture her youth with hickeys like in high school and getting naughty in inappropriate places?

Not that it mattered. Whatever it was, she didn’t have any intention of stopping it. This felt too damn good to end.

“What do you need?” He made his way down her chest.

She arched her back as he continued to tease her, licking across her nipple but never taking it into his mouth. She almost wanted to scream in frustration, but she loved it at the same time.

“That’s it,” he coached.

Her hips moved in time with his thrusts, shifting her off the counter to impale herself on the thick digits.

“Show me what you want,” he encouraged with the brush of his thumb across her clit.

She whimpered again, pushing hard against his fingers. He tightened his other hand around her back and pulled her closer. His tongue circled each peak of her tight nipples. First with the tip, then the broad, flat surface of his tongue. Moving slowly, deliberately, as though he had all the time in the world to explore her body.

“Come for me, baby,” he mumbled, mouth still pressed to her skin.

He rubbed his midnight scruff against the engorged tip, and fire ripped along her nerves.

“Come now.”

He didn’t have to demand it. He pushed down on her clit, and the choice was taken away from her. Everything in her body seized. Her pussy clamped down on his fingers, she tightened her legs around his waist, pleasure overwhelming her. He glided his hands along her back, soft and comforting. He slid his lips up her neck and across her cheeks in sweet little caresses. His touch kept her tied to the real world as the need threatened to pull her away like a balloon on a windy day.

He continued to stroke her clit, drawing out her orgasm as long as possible. She whimpered beneath his touch, half grateful and half irritated at the never ending satisfaction. Her body shaking, nipples throbbing, she let go, allowing the pleasure to sweep over her, to overtake her, until there was nothing left. Not just the pleasure of the physical, but the joy of being held, of being close to someone again. The joys of being with Jeremy.

Shattered, she held onto him, breathing heavily, trying to gather her scattered thoughts. No man had ever wrung her out the way Jeremy did. His time, his care, his attention. The sweet words he whispered as he touched her. It was all too much.

“I need a condom,” Jeremy whispered against her temple.

His voice sounded desperate and hoarse, almost as though he was in pain. He lay her down on the counter, the tiles cold and clammy beneath her sweat-covered skin. She fought back a groan at the sensation.

“I’ll be right back.” He placed a quick kiss to her hair.

She vaguely heard the pound of his cast hitting the maple paneling as he rushed to her bedroom. It took a little while for her brain to refocus on what he’d said. A condom. Of course he needed a condom. He didn’t want her to get pregnant. He was doing the responsible thing.

What am I doing?
They weren’t in the same places in their lives. They didn’t want the same things. What an idiot she was. He was young. He didn’t want children. He didn’t want a family and a quiet life like she did. At least not yet.

He had a booming career. He’d set off on grand adventures, explored the wilderness, and had taken photos of locations so exotic she’d never even dreamed of traveling there. In many ways he was still a kid himself, still wild and carefree. That was the Jeremy she knew. The Jeremy who smiled at her when he came into the library between classes, the Jeremy who was friends with as many jocks as geeks. The Jeremy she loved.

No, it wouldn’t be fair to ask him to give any of that up. Not for her. Not for what she wanted.

But as much as she couldn’t ask him to abandon his career or the life he’d built, she couldn’t give him up either. Not right now. Not when he was still so close. She’d already come this far. She was naked and laying on her kitchen counter still breathing hard from the last earth-shattering orgasm he’d given her. Damn, he was good at those.

At least for tonight, she had him and she planned to enjoy him. Tomorrow she’d deal with the real world, the quiet, plain world she’d been living in and that would seem bleaker without Jeremy.

He walked back into the room, completely naked. His cock stood straight out from a thatch of dark wiry hair, encased in a thin latex sheath. He paused the second he saw her, his face dropping from the carefree boyish smile he’d sported all night. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head, trying her best to push the dark thoughts from her mind. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

He stopped in front of her, clutching her face with his hands and forcing her gaze up to his. His eyes were intense, focused, and so sincere it almost made her cry. “You can tell me. Whatever it is?”

For a moment she almost believed him. She wanted to. She wanted more than anything to tell him what she needed, hoping he’d want the same. But he didn’t. She knew it. And she couldn’t blame him. He still had so much life to lead, so many pictures to take. He didn’t want to be saddled with a family now. But for her, time was running out. She couldn’t wait for him.

Blinking back tears, she enveloped him in her arms, loving the feel of his skin touching hers and needing the connection now more than ever. “I just missed you.”

He pushed the hair back from her face, his hands warm and comforting. She leaned into them, seeking as much of his touch as possible.

“You don’t have to worry, baby,” his murmured against her cheek. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere ever again.”

Thankfully, he leaned down and kissed her, stealing any chance she had to speak. How she wished that were true. She wanted Jeremy forever. She could feel it all the way down to her bones, but it wasn’t fair to him. She loved him too much to trap him to her in a life he didn’t want.