Page 22

Chapter Twenty-One

T he room was the same size as ours, its ceiling sloped on one side, a fan lazily rotating above a double bed next to a surprisingly large desk. Andrew’s journals, old books, and letters were scattered on the floor.

I gestured at the paper mess, carefully stepping around it. “You have a desk, but you seem determined not to use it.” My voice came out too strained.

“Yes, I like to spread out my work. It helps me to think better.”

Andrew kicked off his shoes and lowered himself onto the floor, crossing his legs. I sat close to him and picked up a pencil drawing of an outer design of swirls on the bracelet I wore. He pulled a sheet of paper from the stack of his notes and handed it to me.

“Is this the map from the second bracelet?”

“Yes.” He sipped his coffee.

“You’re great at sketching.” I stole a glance at him, then my focus returned to the drawing. “Why do you draw these, anyway?”

“When something interests me and I can’t take it back to a hotel or home, I make a copy and study it later. For example, this bracelet.” He brushed his fingers over the metal on my wrist, and heat traveled over my skin. “It’s on you, so you would always have to be next to me. When I thought of something and needed to check it, I would pick up your hand…” Andrew sat his coffee on the floor and did exactly what he’d just said. A slow pull turned his lips up. My pulse picked up at our contact. “I would look at it, then turn it over.” He turned my hand, my wrist up. “And I’d study it for some time.” His thumb drew gentle, slow circles in the center of my palm. I watched the movement, and possessive lust curled in me as if he wasn’t just pressing there. I wanted him to put pressure in the place I needed him the most. I involuntarily shuddered and glanced up at him. And he gave me a smile that made my insides ripple with pure lust.

“You could take a photo with your phone,” I said in a whisper.

“I do that, too, but I see certain details in my drawings. Something about paper and pencil reveals more to me than a picture.”

Did I mention he was still holding my hand?

“I don’t think it’s the reason you like pencil drawings more than pictures.”

“No?” he said in a low voice. “Then what is it?”

“I think,” my fingers closed over this thumb, “you’re old-fashioned… or don’t know how to use technology.” I didn’t know what I was saying. I was blathering. Andrew bit his bottom lip, smiling. My nose twitched, and I jerked my hand out of his and covered it. Shoot. It was a big tic, and I was sure he’d noticed it.

Andrew reached for my hand and gently pulled it off my face. “It’s cute.”

“What is?”

“Your nervous tic.”

“How do you know it’s a nervous tic? Maybe you smell funny.”

“I pay close attention to everything or anybody that interests me.”

The lust and longing swelled where I was pulsing, wet and needy. “You’re interested in me?”

“Very much.” His smile dimmed. “You’re like the loveliness of a summer sunrise, and the gentle elegance of a crescent moon,” he said, serious but also endearingly nervous. His intense and hungry gaze moved to my lips and locked on my mouth. “I have traveled to almost every part of this world, and I thought I had seen every beauty it offered, but when I saw you I knew I’d been wrong.” He looked into my eyes. “You’re the most stunning allure this world can offer.”

His words stopped my heart. If he had asked me to marry him right then, I would have agreed. I had known him only for a few days, but those words were so beautiful, my heart drowned in love. Many men had told me I was beautiful. Sometimes in a funny way, sometimes a perverted way, other times in a clumsy way, and sometimes in an honest, from-the-bottom-of-their-heart way, but no one had ever said it to me this way. It took all my willpower not to jump on Andrew’s lap and smash my mouth against his.

Andrew dropped his head with a chuckle. “That sounded so cheesy. I’m sorry.”

“Not at all,” I croaked. “I think it was the most beautiful speech I’ve ever heard.”

Andrew lifted his head, and his eyes burrowed deep inside my soul. His free hand cupped my face, then slid behind my neck. He leaned close—holding my gaze with his own—and I gravitated to him. The tips of our noses touched, and I could hear his rapid breathing. I closed my eyes.

Time ground to a halt.

Andrew’s lips brushed mine. They were soft, wet, and warm. His tongue stroked along my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth to let him in. His tongue rolled against mine, and the electricity shot from my chest to my core. He tasted like coffee, and it awakened every fiber of my body. I pressed my hands on his chest, feeling his heart pounding under my palms. His seductive and masculine bergamot scent intoxicated me, imprinting itself in my mind. This was the moment I’d been craving for days now. If not my entire life.

Our kiss was slow and languorous, our tongues caressing each other. Andrew wrapped his arms around my body, his hands finding their way under my T-shirt, his palms pressing against my bare, hot skin. I fisted waves of his hair, and he made a quiet groan of appreciation, deepening our kiss.

Andrew trailed kisses along my jaw and down my neck, lighting my skin on fire everywhere his lips touched and his stubble scratched. His thumb circled over my stiffened nipple. I threw my head back, and a guttural sound escaped me, mingling with the low sound from his throat. His mouth moved down, and he took my hard bud into his mouth, grazing it with his teeth through the fabric of my shirt, and making my toes curl. He repeated the same with my other breast. Heat pooled at my center, and I needed his lips on every inch of my body.

The air around us turned searing hot, and I wanted him out of his clothes. I needed him to rip mine off. I wanted the weight of his body against mine so I shifted, slowly falling on my back, tugging him down with me until his body was firm on top of mine.

Andrew rose on his elbows. “I want you so much it hurts.” His pupils were wide, hiding most of their blue and green color, his lips red and swollen.

My trembling hands clenched his shirt, and I pulled his mouth back to mine. We didn’t have much time remaining on this trip. Why didn’t we do this in the church when he told me he wasn’t married?

“Just to clarify.” I kissed the base of his neck. “In a normal situation…” Andrew pressed his mouth to the sensitive spot behind my ear, then sucked on my earlobe. My head spun. “If we were to date”—his hot breath was against my breasts—“we’d take it slow and have a few dates before we moved to third base.”

His warm body hovered over me, and he stared at me. “I don’t know what third base means, but I hope it means sex.”

He crashed his mouth against mine, his thumb rubbing my hardening nipples over my shirt. We should really consider taking clothes off. I pulled my lips away from his.

“No.” I took a breath. “It means touching everywhere you want to be touched.” I swallowed. “Home run is when you have sex.”

Andrew nuzzled my neck and dragged his teeth over my skin, his breath sending fireworks through my body. “Can we count our dinner at Erizo as one date?”

“I think so.” I moved my hips, desperately seeking friction against his erection. A needy groan floated up from the back of his throat. He shifted down and dragged his mouth from my neck over my chest, stopping at my stomach. He bunched up my shirt, exposing my skin, and pressed his lips above my belly button.

“What about Iglesia San Antonio church?”

“Definitely.” Dragging my fingers through his hair, I tried to pull him up to kiss him, but he resisted.

“And behind the waterfall?” His unapologetically demanding mouth slowly kissed its way down. “Can that be a date too?”

I arched my back. “Yes. Please.”

“So that’s three dates already. That means…” His lips reached the elastic band of my shorts. He stopped and looked up at me. “Third base. Or…?” He arched his eyebrow.

I let out a ragged breath. I sure hoped we’d do more than third base. “I think tonight is a home run.” My hand went under my ass, and I fished the condoms out of my back pocket. I laid them next to us on the floor.

Andrew sat on his heels, and his lips pulled into a cocky smile. “You brought five condoms? You’re not joking about keeping me up all night.”

“That’s too much?”

“Not at all.” His fingers circled my shorts’ band, and he tugged on them. I lifted my hips to help him to take them off. Andrew threw them to the side and took off his shirt. I took a moment to admire him. His Roman god’s torso with its taut muscles took my breath away. And I could touch it now. I could press the entire length of my naked body against him. What was I waiting for?

I pulled off my shirt, and Andrew caught his bottom lip beneath his teeth. He dragged a lazy gaze over my breasts, and whispered, “You’re perfect.”

Andrew bent, his fingers sweeping the tender curve of my breasts, then he took my left bud between his teeth, teasing it with his tongue. I moaned and pushed my chest forward, feeling more wetness pooling between my thighs. He moved to my right breast. My hands fumbled with the zipper of his pants until I was able to unfasten them and push them down his hips. His mouth found mine, and I clung to Andrew for dear life, pressing my bare breast against his naked chest. I couldn’t get close enough to him. As he kissed me deeply, he freed his body from his pants and lowered me back onto the floor. Now our bodies were pressed against each other, so much of his hot skin touching mine. My hands skated over his back, learning the curves and swells of his muscles.

I pushed him over, and we rolled. He was flat on his back, and I was straddling him, his large, bulging erection pressing into my aroused center. His hands seized and squeezed my thighs.

“I want to look at you.” I pushed my hair off my face. Somewhere along the way, my bun had come undone.

He gave me a cheeky smile and crossed his arms behind his head. “Feast away.”

“Oh, I like your smug attitude.” And I liked his cock beneath me, too.

I let my eyes explore Andrew’s body, noticing every detail I hadn’t had a chance to see before. His broad chest had just enough hair. Three small moles were on the left side of his flat abdomen. I ran my finger around his nipple, making it hard, then down his stomach. His muscles flexed and goosebumps rose on his skin. I traced his well-defined abs until my finger came to a stopping point near the edge of his boxers. My finger curled inside, and he took in a sharp breath. Our eyes met.

“I want to kiss you more.” He pushed up on one elbow, ran his other hand up my thigh, and cupped my bottom.

“You already did.”

He sat up until our faces were close, my hand still between us, fingers curved into the fabric. The rich, seductive scent of coriander and ambrette enveloped me. I took in a deep breath like it was the last one for me. I needed to know the name of his cologne so I could bathe in it.

“Can I touch you first?” Andrew swept my hair to one side and traced his fingers over my bare neck. He tilted his head and his tongue dragged over my bottom lip. “I want to taste you.”

Every muscle in my body tightened, and I captured his mouth. Andrew hoisted me up and rose to his feet. He carried me to his bed and lowered me carefully onto it, then he grabbed the condoms off the floor. When he laid on his side next to me, he leaned in, his mouth taking over mine. My fingers wove into his hair, gripping it. He dragged his warm palm over my breast, down my stomach, then over my soaking panties. My breath escaped in a whoosh. Without taking them off, he moved his fingers in a firm, circular motion, making me moan into his mouth and lifting my hip to chase this touch.

Slow circles.

Gentle but firm thrusts.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Don’t,” I rasped, my lips moving against his. He pulled the fabric to the side and ran his fingers along my folds, squeezing my center between them with enough pressure to destroy my last rational thought and my soul with it.

Without breaking contact with me, Andrew shifted and with his free hand took my arms and pinned them above my head. He stroked his tongue over the edge of my mouth, then kissed me with urgency, setting my blood on fire. He made a possessive noise, and his long fingers eased inside of me, dragging a hiss out of me. He curved them and pushed at the right spot, making me cry out his name. With slow, deep thrusts, he moved his fingers in and out of my body, driving me closer to my release. He brushed his thumb over my clit and a deep rush of pleasure flooded me. I clenched around his fingers, and my orgasm came over me like a tsunami, drowning me in ecstasy.

“Andrew.” I smiled against his mouth. “Can we hit a home run now?”

“You know why women are superior to men?” he asked, his fingers now lazily gliding in and out of me. There were many answers to his question, but I shook my head. “Because women can have multiple orgasms. One. After. Another.” He kept moving his hand, fingers inside my soaking sex, his thumb grazing my pulsating nub. “I want you to come again,” he said, teasing my breasts, stroking my skin with his tongue.

“Please.” It came out as a moan. Might as well take as much as I could.

Andrew’s fingers circled the waistband of my panties, then dragged them over my legs until they were off my body. His eyes pinned me down and he lowered himself.

“Your body is a treasure map,” he said, his hot breath leaving a trail of goosebumps on my stomach, my pelvis, and beyond—avoiding the most sensitive spot—until his face was between my parted knees. Slowly he pushed my legs farther apart and I was completely open to him. His lips skimmed over my inner left thigh, the rasp of his stubble sending a lightning bolt to my core. I was so fucking wet and ready for him. He kissed the right thigh, then returned to the other, but his mouth landed closer and closer to my pussy. I bit my lip, shivering with pleasure and struggling to keep still. My chest fell and rose and?—

In a long, slow stroke, Andrew ran his tongue along my slit.

I sucked in air.

His mouth found my center, and his tongue swirled over my clit, then gently tugged on it. My eyes rolled back as he licked and sucked, fast, slow, simultaneously pushing fingers inside of me, and I lost myself in pure pleasure. He did it over, and over again, until I shut my eyes, and my climax came out of nowhere, my hips jerked up, and my body quivered. Andrew’s mouth rode out the orgasm with me, licking me softly, until I came apart and landed on the mattress.

Mustering the energy to raise my head, I looked at Andrew. I was in love. “Oh. My. Lord. You’re so good.”

Andrew grinned ear to ear, his face damp with my wetness. He rolled on his back and took his boxers off, then reached over for a condom, broke the foil open, and rolled it down his length. And then I was again underneath his body, his hard cock dragging against my thigh. I opened my legs wide to welcome him. He looped his hand under one of my knees and lifted my leg, letting me hook it around his hip, and then he buried himself inside me. I gasped, and he grunted. The sexiest combination of sounds I had ever heard. I tightened around him, and he growled like an animal. His eyes held mine, and he began to move.

We found the rhythm, our bodies moving together as if we had done this many times before. It was all new yet felt like we’d been this close for ages. He left a trail of tender kisses along the side my face, along my neck. When his thrusts got faster, I wrapped my legs around his waist, letting him enter even deeper.

“Please keep going,” I managed to say, pressing my head into his pillow, and arching my body into his. My hands clutched at his sweaty shoulders, sinking my fingers into his flesh. An overwhelming hunger for Andrew, for another—if it was possible—climax roared inside me. “Please,” I pleaded. I never thought I was a beggar, but my god I would explode if he didn’t give me what I needed. Andrew’s thrusts became more certain and rapid. Greedily, I wanted this moment to last forever, but at the same time, I needed to come undone. With each stroke, the slippery sounds got louder, and the pressure built higher until I shattered, once again, just as he buried his face in the crook of my neck, groaning against my skin.

Once our breathing returned to somewhat normal, Andrew fell on his back beside me, his hand found mine and he intertwined our fingers. Sweat glistened over his muscular body.

“I’ve never been to a baseball game,” he said, still panting, “but if this is how it feels to score a home run, I’m a huge fan now.”

I chuckled. “Don’t tell anybody, but I have been to only a few games myself.”

Andrew let go of my hand and got up, disappearing into the bathroom. A few seconds later he returned to the bed. “I’m confused. Are you talking about a literal game or sex?”

I laughed harder now, and a tear slid out of the corner of my eye. I wiped it. “I have only been to a handful of games. I have enough knowledge to carry some sort of conversation, but I have no clue what’s going on or why people shout when something happens.”

Andrew rolled on his side, propping his head on his elbow, and resting his leg over mine. His fingers gently glide over my breast, making my nipple harden at his touch.

“I thought,” he said, “all beautiful American high-school girls dated athletes.”

I rolled on my side, mimicking his head prop, and slid my leg between his so now our legs were entangled. “I guess I’m not all that pretty or not that much of an American.”

“You’re certainly both.” He leaned in and kissed me.

“In school, I didn’t have time to date,” I said. “I was busy studying and working. I had to make sure I’d get multiple scholarships and grants.”

And then I never finished college.

“Tell me more about yourself,” he said.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” He smoothed my fallen hair away from my face, tucking strands behind my ear.

“That’s thirty-plus years of things.”

“Then tell me five things that nobody knows about you.”

“Hmm.” I bit my bottom lip, thinking. What did I want to share with this man who no longer felt like a stranger but someone I had known all my life? Once this trip was over, Andrew’s and my paths would never cross again. I could share with him anything I wanted, and I sensed he wouldn’t judge me for any of it. The familiar ache of loneliness uncoiled in the pit of my stomach. We were covered in sex and sweat, and I already missed Andrew. I already hated the thought of going back to my old life, where he wasn’t part of it.

“The reason I don’t like when people start explaining with the word ‘well’…” A prickling sensation ran at the back of my neck. Over twenty years have passed. This shouldn’t have bothered me anymore, but my gaze dropped to Andrew’s chest, and I focused on its dark hairs. “When our father left us, his last lie was ‘Well, I’ll just run out to get some smokes.’ It stuck with me. Even William doesn’t know it. He keeps poking fun at me, and I let him. I do the same to him about his fear of dark water.” Andrew laced his fingers with mine, and my gaze met his. And, of course, my heart tripped over its beat because a thought crossed my mind. The thought of how it would feel to wake up next to Andrew every day. The only probable answer to that question was: great. Wonderful. Spectacular. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Yep . That was a word in the English dictionary:

su·per·ca·li·fra·gil·is·tic·ex·pi·a

·li·do·cious

| ?so?op?r?kal??fraj??listik?ekspē?al??dōSH?s |

ADJECTIVE: Waking up next to Dr. Andrew Jones; being next to Dr. Andrew Jones; Dr. Andrew Jones.

ORIGIN: The day Dr. Andrew Jones turned into a man.

I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry. I should come up with something fun to share.”

“You don’t have to.” His thumb gently made circles on my hand. “You can share whatever you want.”

“I rarely talk about my parents.” Or ever.

Andrew nodded.

“Okay, so that was one. Next is… I’m afraid of Gremlins toys or anything related to that movie. When I was about eight, William watched it on TV, and when the gremlins turned into horrifying monsters, it scared the living crap out of me. I had nightmares for years.” I still sometimes did. Andrew’s eyes sparked with amusement. “What?” I made a pouting face as if I was offended. “They’re creepy.”

He chuckled. “Yes. I agree.” His hands slid down to my waist, his fingers trailing over my skin, leaving an arousing sensation and jumbling up my thoughts. My breath hitched at the thought of where his fingers had been and what they had done to me earlier.

I clear my throat. “Okay, so I’m done with two. Let’s see, three is… when I was eighteen, I got a fake ID but was too chickenshit to use it, so it ended up being a waste of my money. Wait. No. I used it once at the Biltmore Estate to get into the wine-tasting class.”

“And there you met the guy who gave you a job.” Andrew’s fingers made leisurely circles over my hip. I nodded. “So it wasn’t a waste of money at all. What was your name on the ID?”

I racked my brain, trying to remember what it was. “Tiffany Rose Smith.”

He peered curiously at me. “You don’t look like a Tiffany.”

“I didn’t feel like a Tiffany.” I hummed, turned my stare skyward, and tapped my finger on my chin. “Four is… after a long week at work, I often make a large batch of the unhealthiest, buttery, fluffy mashed potatoes, and eat the whole pot, while watching romcoms and drinking expensive wine. Butt-naked.”

At that one, both of Andrew’s eyebrows arched. “I like wine, mashed potatoes, and romantic movies,” he said. “Can I join you sometime?”

“Only if you wear your birthday suit.”

“Fine by me.”

I laughed again. It was cute how he was joking about staying in my life. My heart cracked at the thought. I didn’t point out that after this trip we’d never see each other again, and instead I said, “Five is I’ve never had a one-night stand. At least not until tonight.”

He leaned in and kissed me on my lips slowly, gently. “You need to come up with a different fifth item because this isn’t a one-night stand.”

A silty warmth spread through my body at the thought that for the next few days I could swathe my soul in a fleeting romance with Andrew. It would hurt like hell when it was over, and I had hard work ahead of me to pick up all the shattered pieces of my heart, but that would come later. Right now I wanted to lose myself in the oblivion of being with him.

“Now it’s your turn to tell me five things about yourself that no one knows.”

Andrew blew a slow breath, running his fingers through his hair. “I saw this coming the second I asked you the question.”

“Of course, it’s the only fair way to play this game.”

He gave me a coy smile. “One. For a brief time, I wanted to become a vet. But when I took a biology lab at uni, I couldn’t stomach dissecting rat specimens. After a minute of staring at a dead animal, I excused myself and stumbled into a loo where I passed out in a stall.”

I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh.

“Go ahead.” He rolled his eyes. “Laugh.”

“I’m sorry.” I chuckled. “You’re such a large man, I can’t picture you passing out from seeing a dead rat.”

Growing up, William and I had mice traps around our trailer because we couldn’t afford pest control services. We rotated whose turn it was to get rid of any new victims each week. Eventually, we got the situation under control—with Ms. Rudy’s help—but ever since, a dead rodent had always been the least scary thing in my life.

“I’m sorry, I’m being insensitive.” I got my giggles under control. “Please tell me your next four. I promise not to laugh.”

“Two. I can’t stand wearing socks. As soon as I have a chance to take them off, I do.”

I glanced at his bare feet, with their nice-looking toes and clean and neatly trimmed nails.

“Three. I lost my virginity when I was twenty-three.”

My jaw went slack, and my eyes widened. This was a doozy. How in the world had this Roman deity stayed a virgin that long? But then my eyebrows shifted together because I was sure his ex-fiancé knew about that. “Hey, we agreed on things that no one knows about you, and this?—”

“Brie doesn’t know.” He ran his hand over my arm and his eyes followed the movement. “I was embarrassed to admit it, and then it didn’t matter.”

“Nothing is embarrassing about that.” My fingers caught his, and I linked them. “It’s sweet.”

“Four.” His gaze swept over my face, and then he smiled. A sugary, timid smile. “I wanted to kiss you on the plane when you took my mind off the flight, and also, it was so hard to lie to you that I didn’t fancy your backside. You have the nicest one I’ve ever seen.”

My heart stuttered like it had then during our flight. What was he doing to me?

“That’s two things in one confession,” I said. “But thank you.”

“And five is,” his deep voice rumbled, “tonight was the most out-of-this-world, mind-blowing sex I’ve ever had in my life.”

I dropped my head on a pillow and covered my eyes with my hand. “Liar. It couldn’t have been your best sex. You did all the work. I just laid there.”

Andrew rolled me on my back, pinning my hands above my head, and letting his heavy, hard cock drag across my body, his weight deliciously pressing on me. His eyes were full of unexpected earnestness. I wished he would stop looking at me like that because it stirred up feelings inside me I wanted never to have again. “Just being with you made it that much better.” And he needed to stop saying things like that, too. He lowered his lips near my ear. “But you’re right. I’m a liar.” His breath on my skin drew moist from inside of me. “What’s about to happen next will be the most mind-blowing sex I’ve ever had.”