“I have never been so honest about my life with anyone, ever,” he said, chuckling. “I told you more in the first twenty-four hours of knowing you than I’ve ever told anyone else. I’m not even that honest with myself most of the time. But you are special, unique, and I feel a connection with you that is safe and comfortable. What I just told you about sleeping with a different girl every night, that isn’t a normal thing for a guy to admit to a girl that he’s interested in, but I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. I have to be honest with you, I have to let you know who I really am, and I have to take the chance of not knowing how you will react. There was no other way around it in my mind, which is crazy, because I’m a lawyer, and there is a way around everything in our world. But as I stood there looking at you, I knew that if I lied, I would one day have to come clean, because I didn’t plan on going anywhere. I didn’t want any other girl in my life, and a weight had been lifted off my chest that I had been suffocating under for far too long.”
I looked him in his big beautiful eyes and knew that everything he was saying was the honest to god truth. There wasn’t one hint of a hidden agenda written anywhere on his face. Butterflies fluttered wildly through my stomach, and I took a deep breath, trying to formulate a response.
“I understand,” I said softly. “I had no time for relationships in my life with the way my father is, and my mother was gone. I had no patience for games or misunderstandings, and I had no want or need for any drama in my life. When I saw you, all I thought about was how gorgeous you were and how long it had been since I had gotten laid. I was wasted, but when your lips touched mine, you sobered me up really fast. By the next morning, I was beating myself up for not giving you my number. I thought about you all day, and when you showed up for breakfast, I was beside myself with excitement. I kept my life a secret, too, for reasons I’m sure you could understand, but with you, I felt that you were my safe place. I wanted you to know everything about my life so that there were never any secrets. However, now I feel like we are both waiting for the other shoe to drop, nothing could really be this perfect, right? At least, that’s what I ask myself in the morning.”
“I think it can be,” he said. “And I think it is.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” I laughed and squeezed his thigh. “Invite me to your place, and make passionate love to me. I don’t want to go through another night without feeling you inside of me.”
His eyes widened, and he grinned, turning on the car and putting his hands on the steering wheel. He looked out the front window, and his smile got wider and wider. His hand moved down to the stick, and he shifted us into drive.
“You know what? You’re right.” He chuckled. “I have been trying to resist the urge, wanting to get to know all of you without you thinking I was just in it for the booty.”
“Well, I don’t think that,” I said. “And there is nothing wrong with having a little bit of both.”
“I can’t resist you for one more minute,” he said.
I leaned over and kissed his neck, nibbling at his earlobe as I pulled back and sat down in my seat. He sped out of the parking lot and hit the road in his sports car, weaving down the road toward his place. He looked over at me and took my hand, smiling and rubbing his thumb over my palm. I could feel an excitement in my chest mixing with the desire to get him naked. I was pretty stoked to see where he lived, and I was even more excited to feel him inside of me. The heat in my stomach bubbled and twisted as I watched his blue eyes darting over the road as we drove. If I could have taken him right there, I would have.
Chapter 9
Blaine
I had lived in my place for years and had done a bunch to it to make it feel like home. However, as I pulled up and walked Josie inside, I was seeing my place with a fresh set of eyes. I hadn’t really ever thought about the many different aspects of my life until Josie came around. She really had a way of making me feel like I needed to take a good, long look at things. Not to mention the fact that she was so adorable when she was faced with something new and exciting. I could see how well she would be able to relate to the kids that she taught. Just like at the zoo, when she saw my house, I could see her endearing and natural curiosity sparkle in her eyes. She was giddy, like a kid on Christmas, and she really did care about getting to know every part of my life. I had only known her a few days, but it felt like a lifetime. At the same time, it didn’t feel long enough. I had completely forgotten that I hadn’t brought her to my house before.
Outside, she stood staring up at the five thousand square-foot beach house. Her eyes scanned the white shutters, perfectly manicured grass, and flowers planted along the walkway. I didn’t keep up with yard work since my thumb was more orange than green, but I had some of the best landscapers in Palm Beach to make sure it was neat, tidy, and beautiful from all angles. As we stepped inside, I started to feel slightly awkward. I lived in the lap of luxury with maids and housekeepers keeping every inch of my place clean and sparkling at all times. The floors were redone every few years, the furniture was updated to match the current trends, and the electronics were the best that money could buy. I spent my wealth freely and without restraint, but thinking about Josie’s meager home with run down furniture and old flooring, I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable showing off my place. I wasn’t purposefully showing off or trying to rub her nose in my
wallet. I was pretty sure she already knew that, but it didn’t make me feel much better.
I thought about the velvet picture of Elvis, the overgrown lawn, and the old, stained tile floors in her home. My house was mostly white with exuberant colors blasting from the paintings on the walls. I was pretty sure there wasn’t even a hint of velvet anywhere in my home. At the same time, though, that house was her father’s, and with his issues, I could see Josie holding on to anything that he hadn’t already pawned or sold to feed his gambling addiction. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to have your own father be so helpless to his vices that he would diminish the comfort and security of his own home at his child’s expense.
As we walked through the living room, Josie stopped and stared up at the eight-foot-tall canvas hanging on the wall. She gasped at the colors vibrating from the space, and I smiled, realizing that she liked art, something I didn’t know about her. I smiled and took her hand, pointing out the stainless steel open kitchen, which she gawked at. I showed her the living room, where she plopped down on the white sofa and ran her fingers over the fabric. Then I took her to my favorite part of the house, the deck. As we walked outside, I heard her “ooh” and “aww” for the fifth time since coming into the house. The sound of the waves crashing in my beach backyard was soothing, and she stared at the infinity pool that reflected the sky. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, proud that she loved my house the way she did.
“Everything is so perfect,” she said, laughing.
“Yeah, well, that’s not my doing,” I said, sighing. “I have a housekeeper and a maid that keep everything perfect for me. I was actually kind of a messy kid growing up.”
“Really?” She looked surprised.
“Yeah, I blame it on the fact that mother always picked up behind us,” I said. “I never thought about it until I went to college, and my dorm looked like a nuclear explosion. I forgot no one would come behind me and clean up.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of a neat freak,” she said, smiling. “So, I got you.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said, remembering the bottle of wine in the fridge.
I left Josie standing on my deck, looking out over the ocean. I loved to watch her. She was so fascinating, and I was constantly wondering what was going on inside of her brain. I pulled the expensive bottle of chardonnay from the wine cooler and plucked two glasses from the cabinet. As I walked outside, she shook her head and turned around, smiling.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said. “I can’t believe you get to live here.”
“I take it for granted sometimes,” I said, popping the cork out of the bottle and pouring two glasses. “I won’t lie. I am a very lucky man to have a life like this.”
I handed her the glass of wine and clinked her glass, sitting down in the chair for a second as she walked to the edge of the pool. She sipped her wine and stood staring out at the sunset, the colors so beautiful behind us. The sun was already below the horizon, and the stars were shining brightly overhead. It was my favorite time of day, when you could experience the beauty of dusk in one direction and the twinkling stars in the other. Adding to it, Josie looked absolutely gorgeous in front of the colors and the lighting from the pool.
I stood up, putting my glass down and walking over to her. I put my arm around her waist and looked out at the ocean, feeling her tremble slightly at my touch. She turned her face toward mine, and I looked deeply into her eyes, reaching my hand up and caressing her cheek. She leaned her head into my hand, and I smiled, moving down toward her and pressing my mouth against hers. Her lips tasted like the sweet wine she had been sipping, but there nothing compared to how sweet Josie really was. She was more than anything I ever felt like I deserved. She was kind, sweet, and so fucking sexy. Her heartbeat was picking up. I could feel it as my hand moved down to her neck, and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect scenario.
I wasn’t into romance very much, especially since the women I’d gone after before Josie really didn’t need romance to pull them into my life. But right there on that porch, I felt like the scene couldn’t get much more romantic. With the disappearing light on the horizon, the crashing of the waves, the soft lights from the pool, and the extremely sweet wine, I wanted to freeze time right there. I didn’t want to move from that spot, and though my mind was pulling me toward her, my body had other ideas. Her skin was so soft, and she breathed lightly as our lips moved seductively over each other’s.
I reached down and took the glass from her hands, setting it down on the edge of the deck. I turned toward her, putting both hands on each side of her face and pulled her into my kiss. I pressed hard against her face, pushing my emotions into high gear. She groaned softly as I enticed her lips open with my tongue and tasted every corner of her mouth. She reached her arms up around my neck and pressed her tits against my chest. I could feel her chest heaving up and down, her breath increasing and the kiss becoming something more, something primal. I ran my hands down her back and cupped her ass, picking her up into my arms and wrapping her legs around me. I didn’t want to move my lips from hers for even a second, so I walked carefully back into the house and across the living room. As I turned to go down the hall, she grasped onto my neck, sending waves of passion through my body. I turned my head and dug into her kiss, harder and deeper.