What The Heart Wants (17 page)

Sam kissed the side of her face, tapping her legs. “Here,” he said, quietly. “turn around.”

Anna moved, sitting between his legs but facing out to the field. Sam made a grunting sound, pushing her closed legs back open again. “Lean on me,” he said and felt her weight press against his chest.

His hand went to her pants, pulling at the button and moving the zipper down. She almost went to push him away when his hand quickly moved into her pants, resting on the outside of her panties. He leaned closer to her ear, nipping at her lobe and saying in a deep breath. “You’re already wet for me,” he said, his hand still against her. “Tell me what you want,” he demanded.

Anna felt her stomach twist in a knot. He knew what she wanted. Why did he need her to say it? But he remained unmoving and she knew he wasn’t going to do anything if she didn’t tell him. She bit down on her lip, closing her eyes tight in embarrassment. “I want you to touch me,” she whispered, barely audible.

Sam inhaled deeply, kissing her neck. “Good girl,” he said.

Anna felt her breath rush out of her as his fingers pushed down on her panties, sliding between her folds and finding her clit, working it in fast circles. Anna’s palm slammed down on Sam’s thigh at the contact, a moan escaping her as she leaned against his broad chest. “Oh my god,” she whispered, her hips moving against his hand as his fingers traced slowly up and down, stopping to tap on her clit before going down again. Her fingers dug into his arm, nipping into his flesh as she pushed her pelvis harder against his hand.

She felt it build quickly and rush toward climax at an almost frightening speed. Her hand grabbed harder, cutting into his skin as his fingers found her clit one last time, pressing hard circles until she felt her insides clench once tightly then spasming uncontrollably, her moan coming out loud and choked.

“Oh my god. Oh,” she whimpered, her legs shaking. Sam’s hand stilled its moving, pressing his whole palm against her body as her orgasm ripped through her. His free hand went across her belly, holding her tight against him.

Anna sucked in a unsteady breath, her chest feeling tight. Her body felt fluid, detached, almost foreign. Sam’s hand slipped out of her pants, his arm going up across her chest and hugging her against him.

A few moments passed like that. She liked being held. It wasn’t something she could have ever known before. There was something undeniably comforting about having a man’s strong arms around you like you’re important, like you’re worth holding on to. She settled against his chest, enjoying the closeness for a moment.

Then, breaking through the haze, she noticed his hard cock still pressing against her back. She shook her head, a small almost unnoticeable motion.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked.

“This isn’t fair,” she admitted.

“What isn’t fair?”

“You know,” she said, feeling squirmy at having to say it. “You’ve… touched me a couple times now and I haven’t…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sam cut her off quickly, kissing her hair.

“No,” Anna said, pulling herself out of his arms and turning around to face him, her legs resting on his thighs, her feet behind his back. “I want to,” she said and realized that she meant it. Partly it was curiosity. She had never touched anyone before. But mostly it was a desire to give him at least a hint of what he gave her.

Sam gave her a weak little smile. “Anytime you want to touch me, go right ahead,” he said.

Anna’s eyes fell from his, her fingers finding his collarbones and moving lower, touching the raised firmness of his chest muscles, the small hardened points of his nipples. As her fingertips touched his stomach, the muscles underneath twitched once and Sam’s breath came out more quickly. Her fingers fumbled with his pants buttons before finally getting it out of the hole and pulling the zipper down.

It was then her uncertainty had her pausing. She didn’t even really know what to do. “You can stop,” Sam’s voice said, husky and aroused. Even when he was about to get what he obviously wanted he was willing to have her stop if she was uncomfortable. Always the good guy.

And that was what pushed her past her own discomfort. “No, I want to,” she insisted, forcing her hands to slip inside. She felt the impossible hardness of him straining against he fabric of his boxer briefs. Her finger brushed the tip and Sam’s breath hissed out of his mouth. Emboldened, Anna closed her hand around his shaft, gently moving up and down, amazed at how hard a dick got when aroused.

She looked up, Sam’s eyes were on hers, half open and hazy. She watched him as her hand released him, moving up to the waistband of his underwear and slipping under. Her fingers touched him then, his skin impossibly soft and hot. A groan escaped him as she ran her thumb across the head, finding wetness there. Her hand went around him again, amazed when her fingers barely touched. He was so big. How could something that size possibly fit inside a woman?

Sam’s hand moved between them then, coming gently down on hers and squeezing. “Harder,” he said quietly and she was glad for the instruction. She gripped his cock roughly, stroking slowly up and down. Sam’s hand released hers, moving upward. It slid up and under her shirt, reaching for her bra straps and pulling them off her shoulders. Once the fabric loosened, his hand slipped inside the cup, finding her breast and squeezing it.

Anna felt her inner core tighten with budding desire again. Her hand became more urgent on his hardness, moving up and down in a twisting motion, her thumb moving over the tip each time she slid upward. She could feel his breath next to her ear, hot and fast. He groaned, his hand squeezing her breast tightly. She knew he was close, her hand grabbing him harder. Her thumb brushed the head one last time and his whole body tensed against hers, his hand crushing her breast painfully as he gasped once and on his exhale groaned, “Anna.” She felt him cum, her hand stroking the wetness as his body jerked against her again and again.

Her hand slid away when his body stilled against hers. She leaned forward, resting her head against his chest, hearing his heartbeat thud against her ear. Sam’s arms went around her, pulling her close as his breathing returned to normal.

They sat there silently for a few moments until breaking through the quiet, Sam’s phone rang shrill from inside his pocket. Anna jumped away quickly, getting down off the truck bed and turning away from him to zip and button her jeans.

“Hello,” Sam said into his phone. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll be over in ten. Yeah.”

Anna sucked in a deep breath. “Everything alright?” she asked, turning to face him with what she hoped was a composed face.

“Yeah,” Sam said. “Just an issue with one of the refrigerators. I gotta go take a look at it.”

“Okay,” Anna said, shifting her feet. “Well, thanks for coming and helping out today.”

Sam gave her a weak smile before slamming the bed of the truck. He picked up a few shovels, throwing them on top of the pile of salt, grass, and soil in his truck before walking up to her, pulling her against him, and kissing her quickly. “Anytime,” he said, moving toward his car. “Go relax. Take a leg and hip bath in that ridiculous tub,” he said and she laughed. He had a good memory. “You’ve had a rough couple of days. Take it easy. You’ve earned it.”

“I’ll try,” she said and he smiled at her, climbing into his truck.

Anna walked to the bathroom, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. The only reason she was moving was the promise of pizza. It took her close to an hour to get bathed and dressed in black yoga pants and a pink tank top. It wasn’t fancy but she didn’t have it in her to throw on another tight dress.

She made her way to town just a few minutes before she was due to get to Eric’s, deciding not to fall into the habit of the inhabitants of Stars Landing and showing up obnoxiously early.

She parked her car outside his garage, feeling nerves settle in her belly as she made her way up the staircase to Eric’s apartment. There was a part of her that felt like she shouldn’t be there after having gotten intimate with Sam again. It felt weird. Like she was being dishonest.

A part of her wanted to reach out to her mother. Viv would be the first one to tell her that you had to test drive a car before you bought it. You had to make sure it handled well and wouldn’t break down. Anna laughed recalling that conversation her mother had given her when she turned sixteen, along with placing a fishbowl full of colorful condom wrappers onto the bathroom counter. “Just use them, no questions asked,” she had said and turned out being the only one to make the supply deplete.

Viv would tell her that she wasn’t in a relationship. Dating meant dating around, seeing more than one person to compare and contrast and make an educated decision. She was under no obligation to tell either guy about the other one. And she certainly didn’t have to feel guilty for feeling attracted to both of them.  

Eric answered the door within a few seconds of her knocking in baggy gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. Barefoot again. His hair was still damp from showering, brushing his forehead slightly.

Viv would tell her to pick Eric, she realized with blazing clarity.

“Hey baby,” he said, moving out of her way so she could walk in. He had cleaned his apartment she realized and wanted to laugh. Shoes and newspaper adverts had been put away and the floors looked swept and there was the faint smell of bleach and lemon, she assumed from the bathroom. Anna inhaled a deep breath and Eric laughed. “Yeah I put the pizza in the oven to keep it warm. Smells good, huh?”

Anna put a hand to her growling stomach. “I’m starving,” she admitted.

“Good,” Eric said walking to the kitchen and taking a lid off a put on the burner. “Because I made macaroni and cheese and,” he said, peeking in the oven. “mozzarella sticks which are starting to explode a little.”

“You’re amazing,” she said, moving next to him to look at the breading of the mozzarella sticks breaking open and warm cheese oozing out. “So why isn’t all of this one a plate right now?” she asked and Eric chuckled, reaching for an oven glove and pulling the pizza and tray of mozzarella sticks out and placing them on top of the stove.

“Go sit down,” he said, reaching for plates. “there is a pile of movies on the coffee table. Pick which one you want to watch first.”

Anna walked over to the couch, slipping out of her shoes so she could sit cross-legged. “Oh my god,” she said, grabbing a DVD box and holding it out to him. “this is a goth opera. You have a goth opera.”

Eric smiled, coming toward her with a plate and bottle of beer. “I had to see what, exactly, a goth opera is,” he said, handing her the plate and putting the bottle on the table. Without a coaster, she realized and Viv would have had a stroke. He took the DVD out of her hand and turned to put it in the player. “It’s actually really interesting if a bit cheesy.”

They sat down to watch it, Anna making him rewind the music scenes until she learned the lyrics to the songs. “It’s important to know what they’re saying,” she defended herself with Eric raised a brow at her insisting to rewind a particular song five times.

Before she realized it, she had devoured half the pizza, four mozzarella sticks, and two servings of macaroni and cheese. She put her empty plate on the coffee table and reached for her drink.

“You’re a really impressive eater,” he commented, putting his own plate down and putting an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her closer to his side. Anna uncrossed her legs, moving them across Eric’s lap. Her head rested against his chest and the contact felt like the most natural thing in the world.

The movie went to credits and neither of them reached to turn it off. Eric took her empty beer and put it with his on the table. He sat back, his fingers absentmindedly running through her hair. His other hand landed on her hip.

She turned her head slightly, her face brushing under his chin. She breathed deep against him as the hand on his hip started to stoke upward, stopping just under the band of her bra before moving back downward. When her hand clutched against the fabric over his chest, his hand slipped up under her shirt, repeating the same motion over and over on her bare skin.

Anna sighed, amazed how easily her body responded to any kind of touch. Then his fingers stayed up, tracing the lower band of her bra making her skin feel like it was tingling.

“This okay?” he asked.

She nodded against his chest. “Mmhm,” she murmured.

His fingers moved upward, slipping between her breasts and running the length of the flesh above the cups. His other hand slid down her back, reaching under the fabric and unfastening her clasps with three fingers and impressive ease. He reached up her sleeves, pulling the straps out and she pulled her arms free. Then the hand above her breasts reached down, pulling the loosened fabric and tossing it aside.

Anna pulled her thighs together, feeling desire building deep in her center. Eric’s hand moved slowly up her belly, stopping on her rib cage for a second. Then his fingertips just barely brushed the delicate underside of her breasts. She moaned quietly, squirming against him. Then his fingers moved upward, continuing a whisper-light touch across her nipples until they were hard and straining, trying to get touched. But Eric’s touch remained relentlessly teasing.

Anna turned her face upward, her eyes heavy-lidded. Eric’s eyes were hooded, looking down at her, her smiled slightly. “You’re so sensitive,” he told her. “All I have to do is this,” he said and his thumb grazed the peak of her nipple. Anna closed her eyes and whimpered. “and you’re responding. It’s ridiculously hot,” he told her, leaning down and kissing her softly.

His hands dipped to her waist, grabbing the fabric of her shirt and pulling it up over her head. Anna pulled backward, moving to lay against the couch. Eric slipped into the small space between her and the back couch cushions, his face coming down to her neck. His tongue worked its way down the side of her neck as his hand went up to cup her breast.

She arched against the soft fabric of the sofa, her hips turning toward his. She turned to lie facing him, both on their sides. Her hands found the bottom of his shirt, slipping underneath to touch his warm skin.