Swoon, p.16
Swoon, page 16
I brushed and lathered and spit over the shower drain. Oddly liberating. I did it again, rinsed under the showerhead, repeat.
The bathroom door opened and shut, and Lawrence peeked just his face around the shower curtain, eyeing me lecherously.
I grinned. “Shower toothbrushing. It’s amazing.”
He nodded and smiled, then disappeared. A moment later, he stepped into the shower. Naked and ripped and apparently very excited to shower. My jaw dropped as I took in the sight, and I had to spit out the water that had collected in my mouth.
I reached out a hand to trail my wet fingertips down his abs and over to outline the flag along his side. His muscles tensed and quivered at my touch, and he captured my hand in his and raised it to his lips. Our eyes met and my breath caught when I saw heat darkening his blue gaze.
He stepped under the showerhead with me, pressing our bodies together. His skin felt cold when it met mine, which was flushed and hot from the water. His hand pressed against the small of my back, pulling me against every hard inch of him. I tipped my head back to look up at his face, the stubble across his jaw giving him a dangerous edge. The corners of his mouth tilted up in the beginnings of a smile, but before he could finish, his hand gripped the back of my head and his mouth crashed to mine. I sucked in a breath as my knees went weak and I fell against him, his strong arms supporting me fully. I let my hands wander up and down his chest, around to his back and down over his ass, pulling him toward me. One of my legs wrapped around his, desperate for closer contact, but he pulled away.
He quickly spun me around, pushing my shoulders forward so I had to brace my hands on the cold tiles of the wall. The shower beat down on my back, and I turned my head to look behind me. Lawrence’s strong hands gripped my hips and he rocked against me, then leaned over to capture my lips once again. He pulled his mouth away, and I let my head drop to my chest as his hands began to wander around. Up my spine, around to my breasts, cupping and teasing them, then down between my legs. I was at his mercy, unable to take a hand off the wall without falling over. Hot water cascaded around and between us. I concentrated on my breathing as the onslaught of sensations threatened to overwhelm me.
When he suddenly pushed into me, filling me completely, I stopped breathing altogether. One hand returned to my hip, gripping it in a bruising fashion, anchoring me in place, while the other continued to wander, continued to tease. His motions strengthened, his rhythm increased. The sounds of our skin meeting, water splashing, and panting breaths filled the steamy air. I risked taking one hand from the wall and placed it over his, between my legs, pressing firmly against his palm while his fingers tormented and his thrusts became furious. My eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and when his teeth fell to my neck and I felt the scrape and pinch of his bite, stars exploded and my entire body spasmed. He eased the movement of his hand under mine but kept firm pressure, holding me still as he pounded his release into me with a loud groan. His exclamation sent aftershocks through my system, and I pulsed around him and against him. He leaned heavily against my back, kissing my neck and shoulders, letting his lips play against my skin as we regained our senses.
“Now I need another shower.” I chuckled breathlessly.
He laughed as he eased out of me, and we both straightened. I turned in his arms and looped my hands around his neck. I was smiling like an idiot, unable to wipe the expression off my face. He kissed my cheeks, brushing his lips lightly over mine, then pressed a long kiss to my forehead, causing my eyelids to flutter shut in deep contentment.
We stayed like that for long moments, wrapped in each other, and only when the water turned cold did we let go.
* * * *
Lawrence
I gave Steph’s hand a squeeze as we walked up the steps between the large white columns to my parents’ house. She was nervous. She alternated between babbling and waving her hands around to silently chewing her lip. Before we reached the door, I tugged her close to me and softly kissed her lips.
“You look beautiful,” I whispered, because she did. She’d done some crazy thing with braids twisted around her head, transforming her gloriously wild but definitely just-fucked-in-the shower-hair into something casual and elegant. Jeanine’s dress fit her perfectly, draping over her small curves and showing just enough cleavage to make my night more interesting. She kept whining about the fact that she didn’t have a bra but felt better when she realized it had some sort of shelf thing in there. Whatever worked for her. I could still cop a feel and make her nipples stand out, though she kept getting mad and hitting me for it.
She hung her fingers in the belt loops of my beige slacks. “You’re very sexy all dressed up.”
I snorted. She thought this was dressed up. This was Kentucky and my family was old school. We dressed for dinner, especially Sunday supper. But I wouldn’t necessarily call this dressed up.
I took another second just to look at Steph, enjoying the peace and quiet before swinging open the heavy front door of the old manor house I had grown up in. The foyer was suspiciously quiet, but I let Steph take it in. I was so used to it, but I knew it was kind of a sight. The whole estate had been in our family for generations, and each generation had worked hard on keeping up the integrity of the place. While it wasn’t really my style, it was still beautiful. Lots of ornate fixtures, gleaming mahogany, bright windows, and hardwood floors. It was… stately. But still comfortable and homey. For instance, I used to slide down the banister as a kid all the time. Actually, I still did and would probably never stop. And there was a dumbwaiter hidden in the walls that still had some old Playboys duct-taped underneath. It was home.
The foyer went through the center of the house, with a large dining room and kitchen to the left and a family room, formal living room that never got used, and an office to the right. All the bedrooms were upstairs. But directly in front of us was a set of french doors that led out into the lawn and garden area. When I saw a small body darting past, I realized that’s where everyone was and I led Steph that direction.
She stiffened next to me, standing close as we stepped out onto the back porch to survey the mayhem, and my mom stood to rush over. It was go time.
“Hi, Mom.” I smiled and kissed her cheek. She patted my shoulder, dismissing me, and turned to Steph with a delighted expression on her face.
“You must be Steph! I’m Melody.” She wrapped her arms around Steph and, judging by the wide-eyed expression on Steph’s face, surprised the hell out of her with a hug. I winked at her and shrugged. My family was very affectionate. Not in a weird way. Well, maybe weird to some people.
Steph barely had a chance to respond before she was whisked away by my mother toward my waiting sisters.
My dad walked over and put his arm over my shoulder. “How are you, son?”
I nodded. “Good, Dad. Same as yesterday.”
He smiled in Steph’s direction. “I’d say you’re a little better off than you were yesterday.”
I chuckled in agreement. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“It’s been a few years since I’ve seen her. And I’m not sure what all went on since you’ve never brought it up. But I like her. She’s not one to let slip away. Again.”
He glanced at me pointedly, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “It’s not like it was all my fault.”
“It’s always our fault. No matter what she did or said, you allowed it to happen. In every relationship, at different times, someone has to be the one who won’t let go. Sometimes it’ll be you and sometimes her. But you two wasted years just because you took her at her word.”
I shook my head. “I would think taking a woman at her word would be a good thing.”
He laughed. “No, son. Never take a woman at her word. There’s always more going on in her head than in yours. Unless you don’t care.” He finished with a shrug.
“I care.”
“Good.”
“But I don’t really know how to make this work, Dad. We don’t even live in the same state, and I don’t think either of us has any plans to move. We’re pretty set where we are.”
“Are you?”
“Of course.”
“Lawrence, don’t ever feel locked down to the family business. We have plenty of family.” He looked out across the lawn and smiled. “Plenty. Yes, you have responsibilities here. It’s your job. But never feel like you can’t talk to me about changes you want to make. My life does not necessarily have to be yours. And for the love of God, don’t ever give up on the woman you love because of a job or let something as easily changed as geography stop you.”
He patted my shoulder and jogged out to the group of family surrounding Steph, weaving her farther, tighter into my life. Leaving me thinking of all the changes and challenges already ahead if we were going to make this work. And I was up for it. But I couldn’t carry us through it by myself.
Chapter 20
Steph
Holy shiznit. This was a lot of estrogen, even for me. When Lawrence’s dad, Bill, finally joined the fray, it actually eased my tension, and it brought the rest of the menfolk, with the exception of Lawrence, over as well. I was glad that I’d already met Jeanine and her kids today and that I’d met Bill a couple of years ago. Ahem, the first night I slept with his son. I tried to move my thoughts on from that one and pretend we’d never met.
Melody terrified me. She hugged and she was really nice.
Jeanine’s husband, Adam, was uncomfortably good-looking with dark, almost black, wavy hair and piercing green eyes. He was very intense to talk to, but when his wife or kids were around, he was the ultimate hot dad and husband. It was cute.
Julie was the next sister down. She looked pretty much just like Jeanine except she was the only sibling with brown eyes. Her husband was Will. He was an incredibly cheerful guy with shaggy auburn hair. I learned they’d only been married about six months and that Lawrence had taken that other chick, apparently her name was Tina, to their wedding, and the whole family was still harboring resentment that she’d made it into a few photos. Funny. Me too.
Lawrence fell in the middle, and then there were two younger sisters. Chrissy had the same bright blue eyes as her brother, but her hair was dyed a dark, glossy black with purple highlights. Dressed in a feminine, lavender sundress, she was a walking contradiction. Plus she was sweet as pie and newly engaged to Jeremy, clean-cut and handsome, clearly a military man.
Tessa was the youngest. She was absolutely identical to Jeanine except she was about four inches smaller. The jockey. And she looked much more mature than her twenty years. But she was the only one wearing jeans. I could tell she enjoyed being the rebel, but she certainly had no cause since everyone just rolled their eyes at her in amusement.
They were a fun-loving group, and I should have felt great about them, but now I felt a heaviness in my chest, felt consumed by unfamiliar familial responsibilities. And they weren’t even my family. I felt uncertainty mixed with hope mixed with assumptions. The newness of what had occurred between Lawrence and me last night still felt fragile, and I wasn’t sure it could handle the weight of… anyone else. Even without meaning to pressure me, their acceptance felt like expectations. Lawrence and I hadn’t even talked about what would happen tomorrow. Or next week. Or next month. When we’d see each other again. And now his family was making me feel like I was part of them.
Panic was rising in me—I was alone and surrounded by people who were probably better than me, definitely nicer than me, and certainly more accepting. Where the fuck was Lawrence? The man I couldn’t even call my boyfriend in my mind because we hadn’t really talked about it was off somewhere else and had left me to fend for myself.
A warm hand at the small of my back made my breath hitch and my stomach tighten. I swallowed hard because at the same time, my nerves settled and I stopped feeling alone at the gathering. My chest lightened and I was able to take a relieved breath.
“Easy,” Lawrence whispered in my ear.
I turned my head slightly. “What do you mean?”
“I could feel your freak-out all the way from where I was standing. You’re fine. It’s just dinner.”
I laughed breathlessly. “Just dinner? Then why were you standing across the yard by yourself?”
He took my hand and walked with me to a stone bench in the middle of a large herb garden. We sat side by side.
“I was talking to my dad. Then just thinking, watching you.”
“That’s creepy.”
He grinned. “Nah. It’s not creepy if it’s allowed. Didn’t you say something about me being allowed to do whatever I want to you?”
I shook my head slowly. “I’m not sure that’s precisely what I said.”
“Anyway, when I was talking to my dad, I got to thinking about… what’s next.”
I raised my eyebrows and waited for him to continue.
“Like, when can I see you again? Is next weekend too soon? And what about after that? We need a schedule.”
His insistence made me smile. I loved a good schedule. “Well, I have to work through the end of the summer. I have to work the next couple of weekends, so it’ll be hard for me get up here. But by mid-August… I’m pretty wide open.”
“I could drive overnight Friday and be to you early Saturday morning. I can have you naked five seconds after I walk in the door until five seconds before I need to leave Sunday.”
“Lawrence.” I shook my head, laughing. “That’s a long drive for just a few hours together. We need to be realistic.”
“Reality will interfere soon enough. Let’s just take time when we can and go from there.”
“That’s not a schedule,” I pointed out. “I thought you said we need a schedule.”
“It’s enough of one for me.” He grinned, triumphant.
I blinked a few times at his rationale. “Then what?”
“Well, mid-August is Chrissy and Jeremy’s engagement party. You’re my date for that.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And then you may as well stay for a while, because you’ll be homeless.”
“What if you get sick of me?”
“I could never get sick of you.”
“Bullshit.”
“Nope. Never.”
“Well, what if I get sick of you?”
“That’s a terrible thing to say. You’re a horrible girlfriend.”
My laughter rang out, drawing the eyes of his family. “Are we doing the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing?”
“Yes, we are. You’re at a Sunday supper. I’ve never brought a girl to Sunday supper. It’s official.”
“You brought a girl to your sister’s wedding.” I inwardly clapped at the fact that I was the first Sunday-supper date.
He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. “I’ll never live that down.”
I shrugged. “You probably shouldn’t. She’s in pictures. Forever memorialized.”
He laughed. “Well, you sure as shit weren’t going to be my date. And I didn’t want to show up to another family function alone. Especially a family wedding.”
“What do you mean? Weddings are the best places to be single.”
“Not family ones. You can’t hook up at a family wedding. It’s borderline incest, and you’ll never live it down. Trust me, I know.”
I held up my hands. “Oh my gosh. Okay. I don’t need any more details.”
He laughed and threw an arm around my neck, pulling me over, halfway into his lap, and kissed the top of my head. “No, you don’t. All you need to know is that you are my date for Chrissy’s wedding next spring. Here.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Really? You’re ready to commit that far in advance?”
“I won’t take anything less, sweetheart. You in?”
“All in.” I kissed his cheek, once again reassured. “All in.”
He turned his head, capturing my lips in a lingering kiss, his hands cupping my cheeks, fingers running up to my scalp and making me moan and forget his family standing fifty feet away. As he released me slowly, I blinked into his eyes as the back of his hands skimmed my neck and shoulders, fingers momentarily slipping beneath the spaghetti strap of my dress, pulling it away from my skin. My nipples pebbled under the thin jersey material when his knuckles skimmed over my breasts.
And I smacked him upside the head because I knew he’d done it on purpose.
He just winked.
I loved it.
* * * *
Lawrence
“No. I’m not sitting between Chrissy and Tessa. I’m sitting next to Steph. She leaves tomorrow.” I was being petulant and I didn’t care.
My mom pursed her lips, although I could see amusement dancing in her eyes. She looked to my dad, who shrugged. Dinner table etiquette be damned.
“I don’t blame the boy.” He held up his hands.
I pulled Tessa’s chair out with her still sitting in it.
“Out, runt,” I said, pointing across the table.
She laughed evilly and stood, whispering something in Steph’s ear as they swapped spots. Steph acted embarrassed as she seated herself, and I pushed her chair in, but I knew she loved it. Deep down.
We were all settled into our chairs around the glass and iron dining table on the back porch. The sun was still high in the sky because Sunday supper started early and lasted long. Except for tonight. When dinner was over, I planned on ending this torture session and taking Steph back to my house to spend the rest of the evening and night with her before she had to drive back the next morning. I wanted to tie her to my bed and make us late for our days. Well, I wanted to tie her to the bed for a lot of reasons. But keeping her body handy was just one of them.
