Worth the Fall (27 page)

He growled his approval and his mouth was back on her neck as his hands prodded her hips into movement.

She hugged him closer and rose up on her knees, needing to feel his flesh beneath her. Reading her mind, one of his hands ripped the towel out from under her and she sat back down on his wonderful hardness. They both moaned in satisfaction—and he wasn’t even inside her yet.

“
Take me in your hand,” he said and then returned to sucking on her neck. She reached between their bodies, grasped his thick cock, and started stroking.

He hissed.
“No. Shit, I’m too close. Just get me...yeah...that’s it.” She shifted up and then eased down on him, her muscles stretching to take him all in. She arched back, taking him deeper. He leaned forward and took a nipple into his mouth. His tongue twirled before he sucked on her. She held his head to her and began to ride him.

“
Yes. That’s it. Ride me. Ride me hard,” he said, then moved to her other breast and sucked. His arm wrapped around her and settled across her ass, his hand on the indent of her hip. He pulled back from her chest and took her face in his hand, forcing her to look at him.

“
Faster now, baby. That’s it—see how deep you can take me.” His words drove her frantic pace. His thumb dug into the top of her ass, his fingers grasping the curve of her hip. She tried to kiss him, to bury her head in his neck, but he held her still, demanding she look at him. She braced one hand on his shoulder, the other on his pec and picked up her pace.

“
Do it. Take it. Take what you need, Al.” His voice was commanding even though in essence he was giving her the power. Her knees ached with her rapid motion.

“
I…I can’t…get there,” she moaned, trying to release his grip on her, thrashing her head.

But he didn
’t let go. In fact, his grip tightened as his other hand slid back around to her front and down into her curls. “I’ve got ya. Just keep riding. I’ll get you there.” He found her so quickly, seemed to know exactly the right pressure to apply. His thumb circled her clit and then pressed just as she came down hard on him.

This time when she reared her head back he let go and moved his hand to clasp her shoulder as she shuddered in her climax.
“Keep going, keep going,” he urged. It went on and on, wracking her body with spasms and lights that flashed in her head.

Just as she was coming down, his grip on her shoulder tightened, his other hand grabbed her hip, and he pumped her up and down on himself as he came.

They breathed heavily through the aftershocks and their arms easily wove around the other, hugging tightly.

They stayed entwined—sated. When she finally made to move, he held her tight and whispered,
“Stay with me.”

She nodded into his chest, not trusting her voice.

As gracefully as she could, careful to slide to his left side and away from his bad knee, she moved off of him. He kept an arm around her as he slouched down out of his sitting position and onto his back. She curled up next to him, her hand and head on his chest.

For all they
’d been through, they’d never had a moment like this—peaceful intimacy.

“
This is nice,” he said, reading her mind.

“
Yes,” she agreed and burrowed into his side. She kissed his chest and was rewarded by a tightening of his arm around her.

Her neck tingled and she chuckled.

“What?” he asked, nudging her.

“
I was just thinking that it’s a good thing it’s turtleneck season, ‘cause I’ll bet I’m going to have one hell of a hickey come morning.”

“
I can guarantee that,” he said with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“
Why do you suppose I get so turned on by the caveman thing?”

He raised his other hand and covered his face.
“Jesus, Al, do you have to analyze everything? Can’t we even have a little afterglow before you have to pick it apart and examine it?” There was teasing in his voice, but she knew he meant it.

And she knew that he was right.

“Sorry. Sorry.” She kissed his chest again and licked his nipple. She loved the groan that came out of him and licked again. “I just find it fascinating. I mean, there’s no way in hell I’d ever let you control me out of bed.”

“
Believe me, I’d never try. I may be a dumb jock, but I’m not stupid. I only know there’s no right or wrong way to get turned on. What does it for you—does it for you. To try to understand it can only kill it.”

She laid her head back down on his chest as she smiled.

For a dumb jock, he could be kind of smart.

I don
’t sing because I am happy; I am happy because I sing.

~ William James

Wonder of wonders, she was still in his arms when Petey awoke the next morning. Not quite morning, but the hours just before. The only other time they
’d spent the night together—after Katie’s wedding—she’d snuck out him while he slept.

Depriving them both of the morning hard-on he
’d awakened with, just like he was sporting this morning.

But today she was soft and warm and right next to him. Her back to his front, they made a lovely spoon. He slid his hand from where it rested on her hip up to cup a breast. He molded and fondled and the tip of her nipple hardened in his fingers. She moaned and rocked her ass into his erection. He nuzzled her neck as he played with her tits. She was obviously awake, but he didn
’t speak, not wanting to break the mood. But would she get as hot—as worked up—without him telling her what to do? Without his demands and control?

His hand slid off her breast and she let out a whimper, which he tried to calm with a soft
“Shhh,” and kisses on her neck. He trailed his fingers down her petite body, over the curve of her hip, down to her stomach, gently circling her belly button. Her hips started to roll and her own hand came up to her tits and continued what he’d started. “Yes,” he encouragingly whispered.

He moved down further, into her curls, fingers spreading her. So. She didn
’t need the commanding voice and stern direction to get wet. His fingers glided in her moisture, slick and hot. He slid one finger inside her and she clenched around him. He nipped her neck and then kissed the same spot. Even in the pre-dawn hazy light, he could see the mark he gave her last night. He licked it just as he added a second finger and she sighed, her body pliant and relaxed. He removed himself from her warm pussy and slid his hand down and around to cup her thigh, which he lifted just enough to be able to slide his hard cock deep inside her.

“
Ahh,” she said, echoing his own thoughts. There was a stillness to them. No frantic pace, no commands, just the two of them joined together.

He couldn
’t ever remember feeling more…at peace. He rocked into her slowly, the stroke deep but gentle. His fingers returned to her center, finding her clit, hard and in need of some attention. Which he gave as he slowly ground his hips with each surge forward. Her hand left her tits and reached back for his arm, which she held on to as he wiggled her clit and she came apart. She didn’t cry out this time, or moan in delight. She rode her wave in silence, her little body shuddering on the outside, her pussy spasming around him. He followed soon after, emptying himself into her. The thought briefly went through his head that it was too bad she was on the pill. He waited for sense to prevail, to be horrified at his momentary lapse in judgment, but it never came. Instead, he found himself warming to the idea.

He nuzzled her neck again, rocked into her one more time. He moved his hand up her belly and held her anchored to him, her hand still on his forearm.

“We can do this, Al,” he whispered in her ear. He was suddenly drowsy again, his lids growing heavy, his thoughts muddling. But he wanted to say this, felt he had to get it out. “We can finally do this. Give us a real shot.” He kissed her neck one more time and then burrowed his face into her sexy nape as sleep overtook him. “Get it right this time. Make it count.”

He barely registered her body tensing as he drifted off.

***

“
What’s that on your neck?” Lizzie asked Alison when she came into the waiting area at the hospital where Alison had been sitting.

“
What? Where?” Her hand flew to the spot where Petey had left his mark, only to feel the two layers of clothing—turtleneck and high-necked sweater—that she’d put on this morning to hide the hickey.

A hickey! At thirty-six!

“No. Here,” Lizzie said, reaching for her other side and then pulling back with a piece of red fuzz, which she flicked off her fingers. “It must be from your scarf. It looked like blood when I first saw you.”

“
Nope. No blood for me.” Though she felt like she’d been bloodied—at least emotionally.

We can finally do this.

His words had been running like a loop in her mind ever since she’d crawled out of bed. She’d done so quietly, not wanting to wake him after he’d fallen back to sleep. The entire time it took her to shower and get dressed, she’d expected him to awaken and join her, but he hadn’t, so she’d quickly left the house and come to the hospital. Katie and Darío were in the delivery room, the baby on its way after a night of labor, or so Katie’s mom told her.

Alison had gone up to see her father to kill time, but he
’d been sleeping, so she’d gotten herself a cup of coffee and returned to the waiting area where she’d made small talk with Katie’s family until Lizzie’d shown up.

Lizzie passed out a bunch of coffees that she
’d bought from the gourmet place in Houghton.

She gave Alison one, which she gratefully took, having polished hers off a while ago.

“How long have you been here?” Lizzie asked her.

“
A few hours, I guess. I figured if there was no news with KitKat I could see my father, but he’s still asleep.”

Lizzie sat down next to her on the little upholstered loveseat Alison had been sitting on and put an arm around her.

“Poor Al. You’ve been in this place so much lately. Too much.”

She nodded, then put her head on Lizzie
’s taller shoulder. “I’m tired, Lizard. Really tired.”

“
Of course you are. I can’t believe you’re holding it together so well with all the back and forth you’ve been doing these past months. And to top it all off, you have to come home to Petey, with the way you two push each other’s buttons.”

“
Yeah,” she said noncommittally. She didn’t want to give away just exactly what buttons of hers Petey had been pushing. And pulling. And sucking.

“
You know, I owe you an apology for that. It just seemed like a great solution that day in the hospital, but it totally put you on the spot.”

Of course, she had no idea of their history. She was talking about just the nuisance of having a buddy you occasionally verbally sparred with in your home.

“It’s fine. It’s worked out okay.” She meant it. And it went well beyond having the best sex of her life. Last night had been cleansing for them both, and she felt that they could finally put some of their shit behind them and let it stay there.

Make a go of it.

But that? What he’d said this morning as he had held her close? She just didn’t see how they could have any kind of future beyond a few more nights of great sex before he was able to move into his parents’ house.

She wanted to get married, wanted to have a baby—there was no reason physically why that couldn
’t be possible. And she just couldn’t see that happening with Petey. They were too different, too combustible, and had way too much history.

She wanted a nice, quiet life with a husband who loved her, a child—or two—to raise, and the chance to help her patients with their lives.

And yes, perhaps her sex life might be as boring as it had been with the men she’d dated who were perfect for her on paper. But there was more to making a great life than passion and complete compatibility in bed.

She took a sip of the coffee and continued to rest her head on Lizzie
’s shoulder. Lizzie put her hand on Alison’s head and patted her.

She tried to think what she
’d say to a patient who said to her what Alison had just said to herself—that she’d trade passion and great sex for a nice quiet life with someone who may not meet her needs in bed.

She
’d probably try to lead her patient in discovering why she didn’t feel she could have peace and stability with someone to whom she was attracted.

Or perhaps she
’d steer her toward the realization that passion and great sex ebbed and flowed in a long-term relationship and that there were ways to spice up one’s sex life. But compatibility and respect were sound foundations of any relationship.

Shit. Maybe she
’d just tell this phantom patient to squeeze every inch she could out the great sex guy and move on.